The Iron Hunt discussion:
ponytail writes: “I’ve always thought I did not like zombies, but after reading this book and a couple other choices from your book of the month club (like Boneshaker), I have come to realize I have always liked zombies.”
Answer: In all fairness, the zombies in this book are very different from the zombies of Boneshaker which are, in turn, different (but still closer to) the more traditional zombies like those found in The Walking Dead. They’re not of the mindless variety.
terryb writes: “I adore that the main character is a strong, capable woman from a line of strong capable women who have to make hard decisions but, at least in the case of Maxine, never entirely lose the softer side.”
Answer: Yes, that’s one of the things I really liked about the book as well. Marjorie has a knack for crafting well-rounded, charismatic, kick-ass characters. You should check out her heroine in “Call Her Savage”, one of the stories in the Masked anthology of superhero fiction edited by Lou Anders. Great stuff.
Sparrow_hawk writes: “The thing that didn’t ring true for me is Maxine’s romance with Grant. Okay, he’s hot and well worth a fling , but he does so many things that are counter to Maxine’s upbringing and mission that I have a hard time seeing why they are still together.”
Answer: Well, opposites do attract and there has been many a case in real life when I’ve wondered “What the hell is he/she doing with her/him?”. In this case, however, I wonder if we would have benefited from reading the prequel story, “Hunter Kiss”, that appeared in the Wild Thing anthology.
Sparrow_hawk also writes: “And Maxine’s mission is to destroy everything that Grant is trying to save.”
Answer: Which was a facet of the story that I really loved, those contradictory M.O.’s that end up leaving our protagonist deeply conflicted. Applied to my life, it was like Grant’s willingness to rehabilitate the demons and give them a chance was akin to Fondy’s love for Grey’s Anatomy. In the end and all things considered, I hope it works out better for Maxine.
antisocialbutterflie writes: “I did wish that a little more time was spent on some of the lesser characters, particularly Jack, Sarai, and Tracker. There seemed to be a lot of potential there that was skimmed over to maintain the pacing.”
Answer: What was revealed about these characters kept me engaged and, like you, left me wanting more. I have a feeling we’ll delve more into their respective backgrounds in the next couple of books in the series.
Fundraiser alert:
Michael Simpson of Cinema Spy dropped me an email to tell me about his fundraising efforts for the Make A Wish Foundation. “I am trying to turn my
campaigning for SGU into something that doesn’t just serve my wishes to see the show return but benefits other too.” You can check it out here: http://www.justgiving.com/awishforstargate
Mailbag:
TheDudeDean writes: “Hey Joseph, is this your twitter account?
http://twitter.com/josephmallozzi”
Answer: Apparently so. Exciting, no?
Raine writes: “Do the dogs do any tricks? 
”
Answer: Yes. They eat on command. And not on command.
dioxholster writes: “Joe, if SGU ever gets a third season on a different network, what will be the compromises we will have to live with if there will be any?”
Answer: A third season would be ideal, but the longest of longshots. Any consideration of possible compromises would be meaningless conjecture at this point and serve no purpose.
dioxholster also writes: “Back then the plan was five seasons, but in all honesty were you guys ever willing to stretch it a bit for another extra season or two?”
Answer: Again, no point in considering far-fetched scenarios. I will say that, at the time we were in production, we were always focused on the season at hand, comfortable in the knowledge that we did have an ending for the series in mind.
dioxholster also writes: “And during the brainstorm phases, was there any talks of a spin-off in the future had SGU been successful or was SGU planned to be the final stargate show?”
Answer: There was never any talk of another spin-off.
Bryan writes: “Joe, I know you have a more refined pallet.. but I have a simple “recipe” for delicious tomato pasta.”
Answer: Hey, Brian – thanks for this.
kadaju writes: “Mr. Mallozzi, please help some nerds out. We crave the dimensions of Destiny.”
Answer: The next time I see James Robbins, our Production Designer, I’ll see if he has schematics or, at the very least, a ballpark of the ship’s scale. I just have to remember… Or, if VFX Supervisor Mark Savela happens by, he could probably answer the question.
Tenacious D writes: “So, why do the Wraith use organic material in their hives when it’s obviously way less efficient and they had ten thousand years Ancient-free to upgrade their ships?”
Answer: The short answer is I don’t know. I would imagine it has to do with the fact that their architecture has always either been organic in nature or, at the very least, had an organic feel. The reason could lie in the possibility/advantages of a ship with an inherent limited intelligence, especially when one considers the Queen’s limited telepathic abilities.
dasNdanger writes: “Where can we send you fun stuff now?? Still the studio??”
Answer: Still the studio for now but, really, your presence here is all I need so no sense in sending me presents.
Escyos writes: “Say one were to dial all the gates in a galaxy at once and step through, what would happen? Would the matter simply be too degraded and simply fall apart? Would you exit at the nearest gate? Or one at random?”
Answer: No matter how precisely you time it, there will be some difference in timing. Those who connect first will interrupt the dialing process and establish a stable wormhole while others will be unable to establish a connection because, for lack of a better way of putting it, “the line is busy” with a pre-established connection.
mrmichaelt writes: “On 1/17/11′s mailbag, you answered 80% of Destiny is left to be explored. On the series finale of Stargate Atlantis, how much of Atlantis was explored by the expedition?”
Answer: My guess? 60%.
mrmichaelt also writes: “Mortal Kombat just got greenlit for a 10 episode Internet-based webi-series. Are webi-series a possibility for SGU’s future (i.e. posting new episodes on MGM’s SGU website like how they currently do with full episodes of season 2, featurettes, the Kino webisodes, blogs, fan question submissions)?”
Answer: A webseries is not an option.
Casey Clubb writes: “I’m curious about Colonel Young’s use of reading glasses which started toward the end of the first season, was there any particular significance to that?”
Answer: Not that I can recall. I believe it was something Louis wanted to add to the character.
paloosa writes: “Will the ratings on the second half of SGU have any effect on whatever decisions are being made now for SGU? And if David Hewlett’s episode “Seizure” significantly increases the ratings, would that have any impact in reviving an SGA movie?”
Answer: Unfortunately, no to both.
paloosa also writes: “Can you still have Q&A’s with folks we’ve come to know, even if it’s on other projects they’re doing?”
Answer: Sure. If they’re willing to take the time, I’d love to have ’em.
Zenophite writes: “I’m not sure if anyone has asked this yet but regarding Dr. Caine… He lived long enough to see the aliens arrival so did he in fact die the moment they got there (or soon thereafter) or is there something else going on?”
Answer: He was at the brink of death when they showed up – too late to save him.
Chris writes: “Are we allowed to create SGU fan videos using video and audio from SGU and upload it to YouTube?”
Answer: All photos and clips are the property of MGM Television. What they will and won’t allow is up to them. I know of certain shows that have clamped down on fan videos. To date, Stargate has not been one of them.
Josh writes: “Hey Joe, I was just wondering if any of the cast from SG-1 or SGA are going to be in any of the episodes of the back half of season 2?”
Answer: No. Only Seizure.
Laurence Stachow writes: “I heared someone talking about buying the DVD’s and Downloads from like ITUNES but will this really help?”
Answer: It certainly helps to keep the franchise viable and informs the studio that Stargate remains a sound investment.
MNP writes: “But in SGU there seemed to be a very… spiritual… tone to the characters. The whole attitude to the universe itself seemed different, more I guess mystical and willing to see things as simply beyond comprehension. Was this due to the situation? Was it just these particular characters? Was this a conscious decision for the show or did it just develop organically?”
Answer: I’d say all of the above. SG-1 and Atlantis were more high adventure shows where the humor took precedence over moments of introspection. That’s not to say the shows weren’t serious (the stakes were always big and both series dealt with their fair share of tragedy), only that they were more fun and lighter in tone. Universe was darker and, as a result, offered more opportunity to explore more solemn aspects of our characters.
Jayenkai writes: “While we’re mentioning David Hewlett, any idea what’s going on with Starcrossed, lately?”
Answer: No idea. You should swing by David’s twitter account for the update.
pjt writes: “What do you think about the tone of the show in retrospect? To me it looks like it was a great idea, back then when you started, to have a grittier, more realistic and dark Stargate show, but the then global crisis hit, people lost their jobs or had them in jeopardy, had to cut corners, and just couldn’t find the strength to get involved with the problems of TV characters on a weekly basis. They instead looked for easy entertainment like Eureka and Warehouse 13, even Sanctuary for their hour of escapism.”
Answer: I enjoyed the show’s darker tone. At the end of the day, you can spend fruitless hours second-guessing yourself but the truth is that if studios and networks knew for sure what audiences wanted, the prime time television schedule would be stacked with nothing but hit shows.
Lyle writes: “1) If a new SG series ever comes into play waaay down the road, do you have any ideas as to what you would use as the look-and-feel, storyline, and setting? Have you even thought about it?”
Answer: No idea. Haven’t thought about it and don’t believe I ever will.
“2) When will we know about the fate of SGU (or the Stargate series itself)? You’ve been teasing it for several weeks now! Any time-line?”
Answer: No timeline. Sooner is always better of course.
“3) Is there any chance we will see Joe Flanigan in Stargate again if no SGA movie is made? I miss that guy.”
Answer: No idea at this point.
“4) How’s Richard Dean Anderson doing? Is he willing to come back for a movie? Is he in the 2nd half of this season of SGU?”
Answer: From what I hear, Rick is doing great and still occasionally working in Vancouver. No appearances planned for O’Neill in the back half of season 2. As for possible movie appearances – no idea at this point.
Joa writes: “Will we be seing the SGC in season 2 ? Does Louis Ferreira speaks Portuguese?”
Answer: No and yes. Check out the Louis vid in this post: November 3, 2010: Production Update! Stargate Pics! More of that Q&A with Louis Ferreira!
Tammy Dixon writes: “So if you had to choose between Disney and Universal, which would you pick?”
Answer: I vote Universal.
JenniferG writes: “Have you ever read Stephen kKng’s Duma Key?”
Answer: Not yet, but it’s on the list.
ZMo writes: “My question is how do you do it all? So many projects, so much time for the fans, so many hobbies? Do you sleep enough / at all? How do you not burnout?”
Answer: I firmly believe that a writer should write every day. Maintaining a daily blog forces me to form and express semi-coherent thoughts and that, in the end, will hopefully make me a better writer.
Rich A writes: “In SG1′s Prototype, if Khalek had been allowed to ascent, could he have gone and rescued ol’ Dad from the fight with Oma?”
Answer: IF (and it’s a pretty big IF) he had been allowed to ascend then, yes, theoretically he could have tried to help.
Rich A also writes: “Following on from that, must have been a bit lonely at the ascended top there for Adria for a while. Could her and Khalek have, uh, made a go of things?”
Answer: Don’t think he was her type.
Rich A also writes: “I’m a UK fan and it’s a shame that international viewership doesn’t seem to matter one bit as to whether series like these get renewed or not 
”
Answer: But international viewers DO matter. They are one important piece of a very big, often complicated puzzle.
LoneThread writes: “How can radio communications work 2-way through a Stargate? Radio is Light (Photons) therefor matter. So the one way restriction should apply here. And also there should be a delay while the matter traverses the wormhole.”
Answer: All good questions that I don’t have an answer for. I’d say 2-way communications work because that’s what was established from the beginning. It’s sort of like wondering why do the inhabitants of every planet SG-1 visited speak English? Again, it was another conceit that was established early on in the series. In my mind, however, I assumed journeying through a wormhole “gifted” travelers with translator nanites that allowed them to understand and, in turn, be understand (in most cases. Goa’uld was a rare exception).
RedFlames writes: “Do you watch any non-US TV shows [anime excluded] and if so what [and if not are there any that have made you think ‘oooh…. i’d watch that if they showed it’]?”
Answer: Spooks, Wire in the Blood and, of course, The Office are three UK productions that come to mind.
levent writes: “1. Aren’t there any ancient medical devices or hand weapons on board Destiny designed by Ancients? TJ should not suffer that much as a medic!”
Answer: Check out the back of season 2.
“2. Will (would ) we see Destiny’s exact location in relation to earth, some number of light years etc? Will we have detailed specs of the ship (speed etc)?”
Answer: Nope. Nothing so specific onscreen.
“3 – This is pretty streching but is there any chance Tauri would ally with Langara for use of their Naquadria to dial Destiny?”
Answer: See Seizure.
“4 – Is it safe to assume Rush and Young will have a more stabilised relationship from now on?”
Answer: It isn’t safe to assume anything when Rush is involved.
Scott_land writes: “I know Destiny is way the heck out in space but is there any chance that we might see something more dealing with the Furling or Ancient people (if there is a third season)? Could a couple from either group have struck out on their own a long time ago that we might see them now?”
Answer: All possibilities.
nate writes: “Good luck with your future endeavors and I”ll still hold out for more Stargate. But no more comments on your blog.”
Answer: You will be missed, my friend.
maggiemayday writes: “Have you read The Shining? Far, far better than any movie incarnation, Jack or not. I do love me some Jack.”
Answer: Haven’t read The Shining, but liked the movie a lot. It’s interesting that, apparently, King wasn’t that big a fan.
Shadow Step writes: “Wow, I hope you are sure that Kat didn’t get an IP from a pool or posted from a place where other people use computers –”
Answer: The timing was way too good.
Jimbo writes: “But I must ask, do you watch Dexter? I am really getting into this show. I ask because I noticed you mentioned that a pilot in waiting is dark and humorous, which is what I would classify Dexter. And that characters are deep and well written. One of the best shows on today, aside from House, SGU, and Castle. Agree?”
Answer: Watched the first season of Dexter and haven’t seen Castle (although I’ve heard good things). I do watch House.
Arctic Goddess writes: “Speaking of which, are you going to bring back The Weird Food Purchase Of The Day”?”
Answer: If I can find something appropriately weird to eat, sure. Maybe I’ll just open up that bottle of clam juice sitting in my fridge.
max writes: “Joe, are you a fan or follower of J. Michael Straczynski by any chance?”
Answer: I really enjoyed what I read of Rising Stars and watched the first 3 seasons of Babylon 5 before getting distracted by life.
John M. Hammer writes: “Fortunately, as fellow Mac users, we have a way around this. Take a look at this bit of software:
DVD Player Patch 20101106 for Mac
http://download.cnet.com/DVD-Player-patch/3000-13632_4-75324910.html?tag=mncol;8
If you prefer to watch your DVDs on a screen other than your Mac’s, remember that Macs have video out which can drive even very large 1080p displays.”
Answer: Much obliged, sir.
I got the entire SGA box set for Xmas from my son.. finished the last episode today. It was awesome to be able to wath them all again back to back. Since I have him hooked on SGU and SGA I just bought him the entire run of SG!. Guess I am doing my part! I sure am hoping for an Atlantis movie and a new channel for SGU.
Thanks for the answer! 🙂
“Answer: A third season would be ideal, but the longest of longshots.”
The longest of longshots is certainly a bummer. 🙁
Hey Joe, speaking of your blog and writing, I’m really impressed at how disciplined you are and keeping it up daily, despite holidays, travels abroad, etc. Just out of curiousity how much time do you spend on your posts on average?
didn’t get my copy of Iron Hunt in time to take part in the discussion, but it will be at the top of my to read list when it arrives. Appreciate the lengthy mailbag, and I’ll look to donate a few quid towards the cause. Keep up the great work on digging through mailbags; I’m continually impressed at your time management abilities. All those projects and you still manage to wade through all the comments.
Answer: Still the studio for now but, really, your presence here is all I need so no sense in sending me presents.
But I already bought the snak…erm…SNACKS!
*shifty eyes*
das
Thanks for answering Joe, that was my way of trying to get information out of you! I’m guessing what we can hope for are SGU movies then? I can see why MGM would agree to this, there is a twist in SGU that I’m sure even non-fans would want to know about. It’s certainly better than nothing. I think a mini-series would be ideal, SGU is more fit for it and will I guarantee you get higher ratings because viewers will see SGU as an effective story arch with an ending. What you guys wanted was great too, the meticulous way of unwrapping the story and exploring the characters in the mist of all the weirdness of space, its inspiring but not for today’s audiences.
btw, not sure what your thoughts are about the drama concerning SGU campaign, but I think it would be best to quiet things down and let the issue disappear. Highlighting it would be worse I think, and might escalate further. Brian’s mom has been very supportive and I thank her for that.
Hi Joe,
I have some (non blog post related) questions:
1. How many pages does the average script have?
2. Why are you so damn good?
3. How did you get into the writing business? Any tip?
@maggiemayday Happy Birthday.
@randomness I didn’t know that person attacked Mark Savela’s wife, too. I just don’t understand people’s behavior sometimes.
OH JOE, you have to read The Shining. I love scarey books and this one almost made me sleep with the lights on. The movie was okay, but the book is ten times better! Heck, let’s all read it together as a book of the month selection. Then you work some magic and get the great Stephen King to answer our questions. That would be awesome!!!
I am going to have to re-read Marjorie M. Liu’s story Call Her Savage from Masked. I feel like I know her and her style better now after reading The Iron Hunt. A couple questions for Ms. Liu:
1. I read you loved reading the Laura Ingalls’ Little House on the Praire books. (Me too!) How did you go from that to Hunter Kiss and The Iron Hunt? Did you think Laura had a dark side or something?
2. I love to ask authors…how old were you when you wrote your first story and what was it about?
3. I also purchased and will be reading Darkness Calls. What can I expect from this book?
4. Who was/is the biggest influence in your style of writing and choice of subjects?
Thank you Ms. Liu. I really enjoyed reading your book and it is a real privilege that you take the time to answer our quesitons.
@PBMom
Yeah, personally I find that guys attitude/behavior disgusting/disgraceful. He attacked Mark Savelas wife on facebook, and Brians mom, well he did that more on twitter. But seriously what a horrible person.
He even told fans to.. well I don’t cuss but if he doesn’t find you useful well you know..
I hope the SGunite campaign grows larger than his, clearly it has the fans best interests at heart.
Hi Joe,
Thanks for answering my previous mailbag question. You said that iTunes downloads could affect the future of the franchise but I was surprised to see that SGU is being offered in both SD and HD in the US iTunes store but in the Canadian iTunes store, it is not being offered in HD. Do you know why this is? Is this an MGM decision?
I ask because I went on there the other day and there were tons of people commenting that they were going to wait until HD versions come out to buy them but they have been posting like that since SGU season 1 was put up there.
Hey Joe had some thoughts on this question that was posted.
“So, why do the Wraith use organic material in their hives when it’s obviously way less efficient and they had ten thousand years Ancient-free to upgrade their ships?”
To me you have to look at the way the Wraith came into being. They were bugs that after getting onto human dna after the Ancients went out into the Pegasus Galaxy they added it to their own and over time evolved into the Wraith we know. And the Wraith kept the insect theme with how they reproduce. Queen, drones, and they make their ships the same way by using a human as a starting point as what started to happen to Dr. Keller on Atlantis.
But the main point about the question is the words “Ancient-free”. They had no need to change their ships. They were the top dogs and nothing could touch their ships. They did not need to upgrade.
Also you have to look at the Wraith when they hibernate. According to Atlantis they wake up, cull the galaxy and then all go into hibernation (long enough for trees to grow over the hives) to let the humans repopulate to then be culled later. They only all woke up at once because Atlantis showed up again. In season one most races thought they had a few thousand years before the Wraith even woke up again to be a threat.
Joe,
Could you please one day tell us about the writing process that writers go through if working on a series like SGU?
Do you and other writers just sit there throwing ideas out then narrow down the ideas, then writer comes back and weave together the final ideas into a story?
I imagine a bunch of people here are interested in the process an insider like yourself have gone through in your 11 years.
– Does the producer just hand out episodes to each writer and say write it? eg. John, write ep 1, 4, 5, 19, 20 and Alan go write 2, 3, 7 etc
– Did most of the writers or producers gradate with a Fine Art degree or writing-related degrees,?
– Have you ever thought of going towards directing
– Did the writers and producers hammer out the rough storyline from beginning to end, prior to pitching this to MGM and Syfy, or was the ending always changing even after the series was green-lighted
– Have you ever entertained the idea of appearing in one of the episodes for a cameo?
You’ve been a very good sport, Joe. It’s rare for fans to interact directly with producers of tv shows! Thanks!
Wow – fantastic mailbag! Thanks for answering so many questions. And drat, and double drat for my first two. But yeah for Q&A’s!!
I’d love to know how and what the casts and crews for SG-1, SGA and SGU are doing these days. Especially those that have been with the franchise for years, and specifically you and Paul.
I’ve been wondering how you’ve both been coping emotionally with not getting back into the groove for an upcoming season. I know you’re busy with your own projects, and some post production on SGU, but after so many great years of Stargate and with it’s fate still undetermined, has it affected you?
Hey Joe,
I really must suck at questions. I guess I did it wrong…AGAIN. Crap…
Well…I loved the book. I think the writer was amazing. I’ll just read next time and avoid discussion night. I’ve had a terrible day…I was looking forward to the discussion. Just didn’t realize…I guess…how to be included. *looking through the fence at the kids playing*
Best to you Joe,
Always,
Cheryl 🙂
Hi Joe,
this is my first time posting on your blog, but i’ve followed your daily posts for about a year now. i hope you’ll answer my question!
Anyway, i just wanted to know, although you’ve stated that you joined the Stargate writing team during SG-1’s fourth season, did you watch or know of the show before that time? Did you have any input into the first three seasons?
Oh and, I read about your recent trip to Tokyo. sounds like it was fun! my suggestion? come down here to Australia next! there’s lots to see and do!
I just had a thought. Remember that ascended Lantean who was worshiped as “Athar?” in the SGA episode “Sanctuary”? If she was being worshiped, and is the same species (if the term “species” can even apply to ascended beings) as her Ori cousins, is she being empowered by her worshipers just like the Ori do their followers?
And for that matter, are the Ancients empowered by the Pegasus humans who ritualistically worship their ‘Ancestors’?
This leads me to a separate-but-related question…
The ascended Ori seemed to be still isolated to their home galaxy, much like it seems the Milky Way is still home to the ascended Ancients. Do the ascended Ancients “inhabit” the Pegasus galaxy as well as the Milky Way?
I would just like ot htnk you Joe for taking the time to answer our questions on here. I know you must be very busy, and it means a lot to me, a fan, that you are willing to take the time to do this in your very busy sechdule. Also, I do have one quick question, has it ever been planned to show the Furlings, either in SGU or in a SG-1 or SGA movie? I always wondered what they guys would be like since they are the only members of the Allaince of the Four Races that we ahve never seen. Thank again for taking the time to answer our questions.
Josh
I want to re-ask a question from todays mailbag, but in a different way.
If one were to use the ancient device at Dakara, which dials all gates simultaneously(ala Season Eight Episode “Threads”), and then decided to step through the gate, on which Planet would they arrive.
P.S. There is no time delay in this dialing sequence, as every gate activates and opens at the same time(unless buried).
Hi Joe,
Referring to the comment that overseas viewers do matter, how can we help get support?
I am in Ireland, SG-1, SGA and universe seem extremely popular. It is hard to find a day that they are not being broadcast on Sky.
Would it help to petition Sky? Could they somehow add something to the mix?
@StygianInq
About the SGU iTunes downloads onlyy being offered in SD format. Think it’s because the Canadian broadcaster The Space Channel only aired in SD for all their programs. IIRC iTunes could only sale what is available on air.
I only downloaded the first few episodes in SD from iTunes before giving up on any HD downloads. The Space Channel is not going to broadcasting in the HD format any time soon.
What?! How can you stop after third season of Babylon 5! That’s just when all the carefully prepped wheels starts to move!
Anyway, wanna save SGU? Try talking to Netflix. They might be interested if given first run exclusivity. The new world starts soon, and somebody has to be the first ones who start it.
Wasn’t able to get a hold of Iron Hunt before the discussion, but it sounds fascinating. I’ll have to see if the library has it.
@das: I like your sense of humor. 🙂
I know you said a webseries is not an option but I have a theory about Google that isn’t entirely insane. Google’s GoogleTV nosedived shortly after launch in part because the TV networks promptly blocked GoogleTV from their content.
I feel that if Google is going to get GoogleTV off the ground then they need to have original broadcast quality content on YouTube. Of course at this point you’ve got to convince Google to not only help finance a TV show but also finance SGU which is obviously more difficult than convincing another TV channel.
I know I’m probably suggesting something thats even longer of a longshot than a third season but it’s worth a mention.
In response to Tenacious D’s question about why the Wraith never upgraded their ships: I thought about this too and figured a plausable explanation would be that once the ancients were defeated the Wraith effectively became the apex predators of the entire Pegasus galaxy. They never improved their ships because with no competition or ambitions other than feeding and hibernating they never had the impetus to do so.
Hey Joe, I hope thinks will work out for the better with SGU, it’s one of the few shows I still enjoy watching.
Anyway, I may go to Vancouver next summer and I was wondering if you could recommend some sites to visit? I’ll only be there for a day since I’m staying with relatives in Anacortes, WA, but It’d be nice to get some tips. However your strength is probably resturants, so I’d be happy if you could recommend a few of those too. Nothing very pricy or over the top, just a place with tasty food and decent service.
Hi,
Would you be able to enlighten us as to MGM’s position regarding Stargate. Has Brad met with them at all to discuss future plans or is it just an internal thing at the moment?
I just wonder because having them willing to help is probably the biggest factor in SGU and Stargate in general having a future, at least under the current team.
Thanks
I like the idea that the wretched dwellers of Seattle’s fringe were possesed by zombies; it’s more exciting that simply being stumble drunk bums. But my fave thing was the armor tats; would love to have super power tats, tho I don’t think I could handle living with little demons who eat cell phones.
Today I got on the bus holding a red Netflix envelope; every single person on the bus stared at it like I was carrying the Arc of the Convenant. It was truly odd; that little red envelope drives people nuts.
Hi Joe,
Thanks for answering all my questions with satisfying answers so far.
Question one:
Do the seed ships have the same main battery that [i]Destiny[/i] has?
Question two:
Why didn’t the Atlantis Expidition use the energy weapons on the Aurora Class ships they obtained as I could clearly see energy weapon turrets on the hulls?
Joe on Twitter! Wow!
Maybe the Apocalypse is happening soon.
But, Joe, are you ever going to actually tweet anything?
Or is it just a placeholder so you can claim you have a “presence” on social media?
😉
Joe (or anybody else who enjoyed Matt Stover’s Heroes Die, a former Book of the Month selection): you might be interested to know that Matt is currently raising funds to put together a Caine comic book series.
Well, I guess I can just sit back for 10 years & wait for Stargate to be picked up again for theatrical releases like happened to Star Trek between ’69 & ’79. Stargate will never really be dead as long as obsessed fans like me exist. I wonder what they’ll call us: Gaters, Gaties? What are your thoughts on names, Joe?
Hi Mr. Mallozzi,
I really enjoy the answers you provide. Thank you.
I wish I had more time to read these days. How do you find time? I was a big reader in the “olden days” Always favoring the hard backs to add to my library. Still do like hard backs over readers (Kindle) or paperback. Which medium to you prefer (hard back, electronic, paperback?)
Book question: Do you read Gregg Hurwitz suspense novels? Mr. Hurwitz is associated with V Series as a producer and writer. His last book “They’re Watching” is on my list. He has a new novel coming in July called “You’re Next”. Will you read it?
On the status of Stargate Universe. There are a lot of positive support campaigns out there as we have reported at WormholeRiders News Agency SciFi site. We have run across only one individual (so far) who claims to be a fan, but has been negative stating he can save the show all by himself attacking people like Ms. Harris and others in the process. We ask that people work as a team like we do at WHR. No one person or organization can save anything except themselves. Work as a team people and great things can be accomplished.
Question 2: Do you think that negative individual(s) may cause you to stop pursuing finding a new home for SGU?
On some comments we have received about WHR SciFi site SGU Campaign News Reports being slow at times. Its true …. at times. Especially after a new article is published.
However if individuals wait a bit to link in to news stories are selected its not so tough on a visitors computer and our equipment. The last campaign status report link is
http://wormholeriders.com/blog/?p=22340
The As The Wormhole Turns catalog link is:
http://wormholeriders.com/blog/?cat=3506
The problems is the 75,000 RSS readers and bots that slam the site scanning it to cache the articles.
Of interest is that the main WHR server (1 of 3) was designed to support a maximum of 10 million hits, 600,000 visits a month or ~20K a day and we are approaching the monthly limits. Sometimes during the day the limits are reached or even exceeded.
Although WHR server # ! (WormholeRiders.Com) is dedicated leased equipment, it is only a single CPU server that needs to become a dual CPU or even a Quad CPU server. We have plans to upgrade in the March or April timeframe. We apologize for any inconvenience until we do upgrade the main WHR server.
Will be back soon. Always enjoy your interacting with the supporters of Stargate, food stories and mailbag responses.
Best Regards,
Kenn
WormholeRiders News Agency
PS: Please forgive us for not following your twitter account? There are no tweets there! We do follow JellMaxBubLu and would like to see the doggies tweet more often! This is especially true of @Adria_The_Cat (my kitty) Shes likes to tweet. Seriously and no joke, she used to climd all over the keybaord and send out typo tweets in the middle of the night! 😛
@Kevin
Stargate: The Next Generation,
with Colonel John Luke Pickhard (Jean-Luc Picard is taken, see)
I rather like that idea. They’ve already touched on VOY and DS9 with SGU and ATL respectively, but they haven’t touched on my favorite of the TNG era.
I could wait a few years for that level of epic.
Win, btw. I forgot to post the word win after epic. Sorry.
Just a quick question I was wondering about when watching a SGU S1 episode on DVD: Why is there no real main theme music?
SG-1 had this music similar to the original movie, Atlantis had another cool theme music, both very recognizable. But SGU only has this short genuine sound thing, you would have a hard time recognizing. Why is that?
@Kenn of WHR
Your cat sounds cute, do you have any pictures of her? I love cats myself.
If you don’t mind sharing of course. If not then it was nice speaking to you.
Yes, I’m voting for Universal too. While both parks seem torturous, Universal has some cool things I haven’t seen. Once my son goes to College, I’m hitting the road for the Florida Keys’! No more theme parks!!!!
Hi! In SGU, when the Destiny crew connect to the stones in the Pentagon (also, where General O’neill’s office is), is this the Office of Homeworld Command? Or has Stargate Command moved to the Pentagon?
If it is Homeworld Command, why was this chosen to be the Earth location that was used instead of SG Command? Also, who is now in charge at SG Command? I think Carter was in charge on the last episode of SGA, so I assume something happened with General Landry’s command.
Hi Joe,
Thanks for your answer re: Colonel Young’s reading glasses – I thought it was a nice touch for his character 🙂
Also loved seeing John Scalzi’s “Old Man’s War” being held by Rush’s driver in Subversion, whose idea was that? Awesome book, I had to forfeit a good night’s sleep as it simply refused to be put down!
I guess I just loved the extra little touches in SGU 🙂
Hi Joe,
I see I’m not the only one trying to piece together clues as to what the Stargate future might hold.
If I recall, you intimated that a 2-hour movie (say, direct to DVD) would not be enough to wrap up the SGU story-line…yet that a 3rd season was the longest of long-shots. To me, that would suggest a mini-series of some sort.
Before my imagination rockets off into the stratosphere…if–hypothetically, of course–there did turn out to be a SG mini-series, would it be exclusively SGU or might it involve several concurrent story-lines that would integrate characters and elements from SGU, SG-1 and SGA into one, epic grand-finale to the franchise…?
See…told you. Stratosphere.
Still holding out hope, regardless.
Thanks Joe, for keeping us as informed as you can.
SBS
Hey, props to you guys for coming up with “the single most important woman in the history of science fiction so far” which is how a London artist by the name of Martin Firrell described the character of Elizabeth Weir.
He is doing a huge Sci Fi project which has involved interviews with actors from Star Trek, Stargate and Firefly, among others. His latest was with Ben Browder, I think.
Here is an article about the project and links to his site:
http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/01/18/blog-the-art-and-philosophy-of-star-trek-and-stargate/
RP: “Say one were to dial all the gates in a galaxy at once and step through, what would happen? Would the matter simply be too degraded and simply fall apart? Would you exit at the nearest gate? Or one at random?”
See SG1 817 Reckoning Part 2
@Randomness
lol. I’ll let her know she has another fan.
Yes Adria the Cat has pictures on line and is featured on the WHR Reporters page:
http://wormholeriders.com/about_r_reporters.html
(scroll down)
She has also been featured in news videos from time to time around holidays like Christmas, New Years and Halloween (her birthday). Adria follows Stargate & SGU peeps mostly in total about~175 science fiction stars, a few cat lovers and naturally she follows Morena Baccarin whom she is named after! Adria’s full name Adria Anna Inara Morena.
The funny thing is she used to tweet when I left @WormholeRiders account logged in at night time with typo tweets, It happened quite often at night on the notebook or netbook computers on my desk.
I deleted most of them but left a couple as RT’s for people that asked if I had taken up heavy drinking (to explain the “&$&%$&%$(&$%GHQGIDG*^($^” tweets. (I rarely drink).
Somehow the darned cat had figured out how to press the enter key and “bingo” …. typo tweets on WHR account! And there were dozens of them!
So then I decided to log out of my accounts on Twitter at night. Adria seemed perturbed so I then made this account.
http://twitter.com/Adria_the_Cat
I then logged out at night (when sleeping) and left her Twitter account logged instead on both the netbook and notebook computers: I carefully explained to her she could tweet whenever she wanted to. So guess what? Not a peep errrr typo tweet out of her since then! All now in perfect English! That darned cat! 😛
Mr. Mallozzi, I am curious, do you have similar problems with your pooches on Twitter?
Best Regards,
Kenn
PS: I’ll consult with Adria and add images to her TWICPIC account soon.
You inspired me…AGAIN! I watched the Food Network last night. They had a baker contest and a chocolate contest held in Vegas. Two hours was all I cared to invest…but I liked it. 🙂
@Kenn of WHR
Thankyou so much for taking the time to post all that, great story/pictures. I’ll take a look at your website more later, seems very well done.
Your cat is cute.
I am now watching MAN Vs FOOD on the TRAVEL channel. What have you dune to me? *giggles*
Regarding one of the previous questions regarding radio through wormholes.
The way I see it, it works along the same principal as how energy can pass either way, such as how either side can power the connection as long as one side is able to do so for long enough to establish it. If the energy is in the form of radiation, then I don’t see why it wouldn’t include radio radiation, considering it’s been shown to do so.
As for why you can’t see what’s on the other end of a wormhole by that principle, I’d say that’s because at a certain point, radiation at too high of a frequency will destabilize after going through a wormhole and just become completely jumbled.
Would you say this sounds about right?
Hi Mr M!
And hello to all here. Have been insanely busy with moving, clearing attic space and a host of other things.
In any case, I am just setting up my itinerary for my long awaited return to Vancouver! Yes Campers…you heard it right….I shall be jetting into YVR for June 24th weekend for the Star Con organised by our own Arctic Godess!
So, I shall be swinging by ReFuel and indeed Don Francesco’s and maybe Viji’s (time permitting).
Wondered if there was any other “hot spot” since my last visit in 2008 that I should include Mr M?
Best to all
S’n’T