Holy Smack! So there I was this morning, minding my own business, perusing the internet for cornish game hen recipes when I came across THIS article in which a religious group alert us to the possible end of the world May 21. The evidence is mighty convincing. According to the article, the group’s elderly leader claims he arrived at the May 21st date through “a mathematical calculation that would probably crash Google’s computers. It involves, among other things, the dates of floods, the signals of numbers in the Bible, multiplication, addition and subtraction thereof.” Multiplication, addition AND subtraction! Usually, you get one, maybe two of the aforementioned in your average doomsday calculation, but the fact that this guy made use of all three (division is for losers by the way) suggests a mind-boggling thoroughness and attention to detail. If that’s not enough to convince the skeptics, the group’s leader also points to the many obvious signs that the apocalypse approacheth. According to the story in the Washington Post, he “mentioned the massive earthquakes in Chile, Haiti and Japan, as well as the recent tornadoes in the South. And to top that off, gay people are thriving.” Yes to the earthquakes in Chile, Haiti and Japan. Another yes to the tornadoes in the South. And, the last time I visited my favorite cupcake shop in Vancouver, owned by a really nice same-sex couple, business was booming which seems to be confirm the final piece of the prophecy.
I’m of two minds here. On the one hand, I’m horrified at the prospect that, in a matter of days, everything I know will cease to be. On the other hand, this means I don’t have to kill myself to complete that pesky script rewrite.
Hell, I’m taking the rest of the week off!
Steve Eramo interviews actor Louis Ferreira (Colonel Young) here: http://scifiandtvtalk.typepad.com/scifiandtvtalk/2011/05/stargate-universes-louis-ferreira-forever-young.html
Thanks to all those who have taken the time to weigh in with their comments and questions. I do read them all and, hopefully, will get around to addressing most. Eventually. In the meantime, my trip down memory lane continues with more Stargate: SG-1 reminiscences…
UNNATURAL SELECTION (612)
Although I liked the replicators when they were first introduced, I felt a little of them went a long way – which was why I loved their evolution into human form. Same villain but new, improved, and far more dangerous. What made this very good episode great was O’Neill’s double-cross of the all-too-trusting Fifth. Was he right to do it? Sure, an argue could be made for the fact that his actions do contain the replicator threat. Of course, the double-cross comes back to bite us in the ass down the line when Fifth escapes the time dilation bubble. So, would we have been better served taking him with us. Again, hard to say. And that’s one of the things I loved about SG-1. Sometimes, amid the high adventure and humor, there were situations that offered no easy answers.
SIGHT UNSEEN (613)
Boy, did I NOT like this episode, this despite actor Jodi Racicot’s brilliant turn as the beleaguered Vernon Sharpe. My note at the script stage was: So what?. I mean, okay, people started glimpsing interdimensional creatures that caused them to “Freak out, man!” but, when it came down to it, those alien centipedes really weren’t much of a threat.
SMOKE AND MIRRORS (614)
See if you can spot Peter Kelamis (SGU’s Adam Brody) in one of his first guest spots on the franchise. Yep, that young little guy who gets clotheslined by Teal’c. That’s him! This episode also marked the return of one of my favorite characters you love to hate: Senator Kinsey played by the brilliant Ronny Cox. It was always a pleasure to have him on the show.
The hotel at the beginning of the episode where Kinsey gets shot is actually located right across from The Bridge Studios where the show’s production offices are located. Apparently, back in SG-1’s early days, a new writer joined the staff and was offered accommodations in town. Instead, the writer elected to move into The Accent Inn! I mean, sure, it was convenient in that all you had to do was walk across the street to get to work but there is nothing of interest in the neighborhood outside of the ABC Country Restaurant. Sorry. Strike that. Nothing of interest in the neighborhood.
PARADISE LOST (615)
Robert Cooper’s long-standing distaste for arugula is finally revealed. The mysterious plant Jack and Maybourne eat in order to survive apparently tastes horrible – not unlike arugula. Not only that but, at episode’s end, we realize it’s the cause of the frightening hallucinations that almost get them killed. Rob’s aversion to spicy leaf plants isn’t restricted to arugula alone. Back in the day, we used do our annual trips to Vegas to celebrate our respective birthdays that all used to fall in the same month (Rob, Chris Judge, John G. Lenic, and myself). I remember going to The Cheesecake Factory with him once and, when our two orders of corn tamales arrived, having him look down at the heavily cilantro-topped tamale he’d received and lamenting: “Hey, why do I get to have all the cilantro?” as if to imply I’d been left out because my tamale was relatively cilantro-less. A clever bit of reverse psychology.
METAMORPHOSIS (616)
And the award for Most Awkward Seduction scene in an episode of Stargate goes to… Whenever I see the Nirrti’s Bedchamber scene, I vacillate between squirming and laughing out loud. “Mrs. Nirrti, you’re trying to seduce me!”. Poor, simple, innocent Jonas.
Another thing I recall about this episode was the gratuitously gory shot of the mutant exploding on the hospital gurney that ended up being cut.
Mailbag:
Darth Novos writes: “MGM may own the rights but there is nothing stopping you from talking to other people about possible deals.”
Answer: Actually there is – believe it or not, MGM, who own the rights.
Marius writes: “I think your unwillingness to “wrap up loose ends” is what has driven the Stargate franchise down the toilet. […] It is obvious you´ve “gone with the flow” on both Atlantis (which also sucked) and Universe. […] I also want to add, that I have some genuine good ideas for an alternatively new Stargate series concept. […] I´m positive my ideas could generate a show that gathered good viewer ratings. If you believe in me, contact me via email.”
Answer: Clearly, you know what makes for a successful t.v. show better than any of us who were involved in Stargate’s 14-year run. I’m forwarding your email to the Grand Councilor of Awesome Programming at MGM’s moonbase headquarters. Good luck!
glennh73 writes: “1. Your comic Dark Matter, does it have any connection to the book Dark Matter written by S. W. Ahmed. Great Read!”
Answer: Nope.
“2. You stated Atlantis couldnt connect to Destiny with 3 zpm’s nor with the Ori Supergate. Well if the Anicents were still around, how would they of going back aboard?”
Answer: That’s a questions for the Ancients. Or Brad and Robert.
“Honestly wouldnt a black hole powered ORI Supergate have more power than a Icarus type planet?”
Answer: Possibly.
“3. Oldie but goody. Daniels grandfather Nicholas Ballard. Those aliens he is with, were they the Furlings or even the Faith Aliens or something else and why didnt we get another story about him.”
Answer: Definitely not furlings. We never did another story about him because, alas, no one came up with a good story idea that would have included him.
“4. From SG1, is there any storylines you wished you could of expanded on. Ex Daniels grandfather, the Aschen, Re’tu, ORi?”
Answer: While there were no specific stories I’d want to revisit, I would certainly love to revisit every one of those characters.
Shannon writes: “Just wondering if you can clarify here. Was it Destiny just trying to help TJ survive/cope or was this Destiny actively doing something (like, since it’s the latest fashion, uploading the baby to the Destiny computer)?”
Answer: It was the former – Destiny reaching out to T.J. and creating a scenario which would have made it easier for her to accept the loss.
tidusspear08 writes: “Did you have any plans to make Ginn a series regular?”
Answer: As much as we all absolutely loved Julie McNiven, there were no plans to make Ginn a series regular.
nm writes: “Assuming though that you are referring to the dvd market in general rather than specifically the SG1 sales figures, do you think if the movies could have been made within a year they would have been successful?”
Answer: Don’t recall the timing of the collapse in dvd sales (and, yes, I’m referring to the general marketplace) so it’s hard to say. Back when Atlantis’s fifth season was drawing to an end, Robert Cooper floated the idea of rolling right into a production of a two-hour event (I dubbed “Project Twilight”) that, once completed, could have delivered as either a movie (in the case we didn’t receive the sixth season pick-up) or the first two episodes of season six (if we did receive the pick-up). For whatever reason, we weren’t able to move forward on this idea which, in hindsight, probably would have been the best way to proceed.
detanfy writes: “First of all, what exactly did the Blue Berry aliens want with Destiny. I know you said they are collecting information to try and take over, but what do they actually want with the old gal. Do they even know about Destiny and her ultimate mission?”
Answer: This is something we would have discussed and detailed in time but the idea was that the Blueberry aliens had been aware of Destiny for quite some time. It’s doubtful they would have been aware of her ultimate mission, but they certainly would have been impressed with her capabilities both offensive and defensive.
detanfy also writes: “How did the Blue Berry aliens discover Destiny?”
Answer: I imagine they encountered Destiny during one of her many refueling stops, attempted communications and, receiving no response, scanned the ship. Their interest pique and assuming their prize was unmanned, they attempted to board Destiny – only to be rebuffed by the ship’s automated defenses.
detanfy also writes: “Can you tell us about any of Destiny’s past experiences before the Icarus crew got on board? She seems to have been through a hell of a lot of battles. I would imagine she would have just been in FTL all this time and would only drop out to recharge, so why all the battle scars?”
Answer: A lot of the damage could be attributed to attempts by the Blueberry aliens to capture the ship. Of course I’m sure they weren’t the only alien life forms to attempt as much.
detanfy also writes: “Are the Icarus crew the first to gate to Destiny since its launch?”
Answer: As far as we know, yes, but I loved the idea of discovering some humanoid corpses during a search of the ships unexplored sections. Along with those corpses, we would also discover a recorded account of what happened to them when they gated aboard. Of course, the experience of the long-dead explorers would somehow help or hinder our crew (preferably both, first hinder, then help). Again, one of those stories that never developed beyond that germ of an idea.
mike mcginnis writes: “Also was there ever a plan to bring ford back for another episode?”
Answer: Yes. I believe the story is included as part of my AU Season 6 post.
Andrew Jung writes: “Being from Vancouver Island, would you have ever considered doing an SG shoot on the island, or other parts of BC outside of the Lower Mainland; like the Okanagan desert?”
Answer: Sure. We considered all possibilities. What it ultimately came down to was budgetary constraints, what we would really gain from shooting so far out of the zone and whether it would be worth the extra costs.
Andrew Jung also writes: “Was there ever any talk about having a point where the Stargate actually became public knowledge and start using the gates and ships for colonization?”
Answer: The possibility of the Stargate program going public was going to be the premise of the next SG-1 movie, Stargate: Revolution.
Don Matthews writes: “…was the idea of Destiny going into the past and creating a civilization that would stretch into the present partially designed to allow SGU to showcase human type aliens ALA SG1/SGA?”
Answer: Yes, it would offered us a plausible scenario by which humans would have colonized that section of space.
Don Matthew also writes: “Oh and frying the Wormhole drive, that was kind of a “this tech is too powerful/deux ex machina and we have to get rid of it” decision?”
Answer: Over the course of Stargate’s run, there have been several technologies the show introduced that I felt undermined drama or handcuffed the storytelling. Off the top of my head, in particular order: beaming technology, the Asgard core, and the wormhole drive.
Don Matthews also writes: “And was there a big payoff to come with the “franklin getting absorbed by the ship” thing? We saw him but it was kind of ambiguous.”
Answer: Purposely so. It was something we could have explored more in the show’s third season.
Don Matthews also writes: “Was the “disappearing fetus” story just a way of dispensing with a pregnancy that you didnt feel fit with the rest of what you had planned for season 2?”
Answer: Over the course of Stargate’s long run, the production has had been faced with a number of pregnancies. In a couple of cases, we were able to ignore the pregnancies by shooting around them. In another case – Rachel on SGA – the pregnancy became part of the storyline, as did the subsequent birth and associated motherhood issues. Ultimately, we decided that, while Atlantis was a hopeful enough environment to raise a child, Destiny was not. We wrestled with how we wanted to proceed, none more so than Paul who faced the challenge of scripting the season two opener and, eventually, came up with the ambiguous/mysterious solution. It’s interesting to note that, even though it’s more or less stated that Destiny was responsible for T.J.’s vision, many in the writing department refused to confirm it one way or the other.
Don Matthews also writes: “Oh and any gate that was powered by a blackhole should have been able to contact Destiny since they were able to keep the supergate blocked indefinitely (Pegesus Project).”
Answer: Having slept on it, I’m now firmly uncertain as to whether or not it would have been possible.
ben writes: “Regarding your new series The Transporter, have you already cast the lead roles? I’m eager to find out who you will cast as Inspector Tarconi, since you both share an affinity for haute cuisine.”
Answer: Oooh, you’re in for a treat on the casting front. Stay tuned.
Shiny writes: “Finally got to see a marathon of SGU on Hulu; was there a caveman lurking in background of Common Descent?”
Answer: Peter DeLuise loves unique-looking extras. The producers, not so much so. There was plenty more of him but Paul succeeded in cutting around him. For the most part.
paloosa writes: “You mentioned something about another series in the works? And are you still looking for a more permanent home?”
Answer: Everything I mentioned in my previous post is all I’ve got on the go. And, yes, still looking for an actual house here in Toronto.
Dustin writes: “Judging by how far Destiny is away from earth could it be the gates left by the seed ships are sending back info to the other gate networks in the Pegasus and Milky way? ”
Answer: Theoretically possible, but not something we considered.
Spectrefire writes: “I read up on Netflix’s intentions on possibly footing the bill for shows and series that are about to be cancelled, and was thinking that Stargate Universe, or at the very least, a couple of movies might be right up the service’s alley.”
Answer: Agree. I suggested this option to the studio. The fact that it didn’t pan out suggests it wasn’t a viable option.
Arctic Goddess writes: “I have a question about Torri Higginson and something that Joe Flanigan said at the Creation Convention. I’m paraphrasing, but Joe said how good and serious an actress Torri was and how she fought for every word she got and was concerned that she only worked two days out of five, but that she got quite a lot of screen time in spite of that.
Then Joe said that the writers were all aiming for the young adult male demographic and did not write a lot of strong women parts. That the writers did not come to the conventions and see the wide audience that Stargate was reaching. and that the writers were not very receptive to Torri’s concerns.
Eventually when you keep getting that kind of reception, you stop going upstairs to talk to them. He said it would probably have been better if there had been a few women writers writing it.” What is your opinion of Joe’s comments?”
Answer: Between seasons, we always made a concerted effort to bring in new writers by inviting them to pitch and, hopefully, sell a story that would allow them the opportunity prove themselves and land a staff position on the show. No easy feat. Many of the writers, while very good, simply weren’t able to offer us stories that we felt were right for the show. Others did manage to sell us pitches but, for whatever reason (and, again, I have to stress that it often had less to do with talent than it did with their inability to “get” the show’s tone), were unable to get past the outline or script stage. If you check the credits on past shows (particularly in the first half of each season), you’ll note that quite a few writers, both male and female, were given a shot. Ultimately, what it came down to was the fact that the show (be it SG-1, Atlantis, or Universe) was tough to write for because, after so many years, it was backstory and mythology heavy.
I can’t speak to claims that the writers weren’t receptive to Torri’s concerns as I was never privy to any such conversations. I do know, however, that Brad and Robert always maintained an “open door” policy with regard to the scripts and the actors (something Paul and I maintained when we took over as show runners in Atlantis’s fourth season). I’m aware of many shows that simply ignore actor input, so I do take exception to the suggestion the writers weren’t receptive to any serious issues the cast may have had – especially since I would often see the actors in discussion with either Brad or Robert. To be fair, there is a difference between “not being receptive” and “disagreeing with a take on a particular scene. Simply drawing from personal experience, I can tell you I had great conversations with Bob Picardo, Beau Bridges, and the late Don Davis about their respective characters and was always receptive to any input they might have had. The same was true for other actors like Jason Momoa (whose desire to go darkside resulted in my writing Reunion and Broken Ties) or Jamil Walker-Smith (who’s crisis of confidence story in The Hunt came about as a result of a visit he paid me one afternoon).
William Francais writes: “I wish you would have brought Jack’s clone back, did anyone in the writing room want to bring him back years later?”
Answer: Yes, revisiting Young Jack was suggested on a couple of occasions but we were never able to find the write story for the character.
scottland7 writes: “… why did Hammond get reassigned? I think I read because of Don Davis’ health problems started around this point. Is this really the reason he was written as being reassigned?”
Answer: I don’t recall the circumstances. There was a point in the series when Rick was scaling down his appearances on SG-1, resulting in quite a challenge for the writing department. I remember Don coming up to the production offices one day and volunteering to have his character retire so that O’Neill could take over as the commander of the SGC and thus make things easier from a creative standpoint. That was typical Don. Incredibly generous. We didn’t take him up on his kind offer but, later on down the line, that more or less became the scenario that was adopted. To my recollection (again, I wasn’t privy to these discussions), the call to have Hammond reassigned was a mutual decision on the part of Don and the show’s Exec. Producers. He enjoyed a semi-retirement of sorts, focusing on his art but still finding the time to do the occasional guest spot for us.
MNP writes: “Also, what did Jonas do during the Ori invasion? Did he lead a resistance movement? Go into hiding?”
Answer: In my mind, he led an underground resistance movement. Following the defeat of the Ori, he retired from public office.
Lance W. writes: “1. What does Eli do for those two weeks when he’s not fixing his stasis pod? Did he even attempt to fix it, or did he know it couldn’t be fixed? Does destiny come across problems that he alone must fix? Does he take a final trip back with the stones?”
Answer: Presumably when he’s not working on the problem, he’s eating and sleeping. I assume if it was the 11th hour and he realized he wouldn’t be able to fix the problem, he would use the stones to pay his mother one final visit – but that’s awful pessimistic.
“2. Did Rush volunteer, knowing that Young would deny him and instead choose himself? Was Rush hoping to get rid of Young, despite how well they’ve been getting along?”
Answer: I think Rush volunteered because he wanted to be the one to stay and fix the problem, but there’s no doubt he suspected that Young might disagree and insist he be the one to stay.
“3. What year and month did they enter the pods? I wish to make a note on when the three years is meant to be up.”
Answer: I suppose whenever the episode aired: May 9, 2011.
“Finally, I’m grasping at my last straw here, but this episode seemingly left it open to a film after three years, is that even a possibility any more?”
Answer: It’s a nice thought but, given the fact that the sets are about to be struck, very unlikely.
Lisa R writes: “When you planned your original five-year arc, was it planned for the Destiny to be in a different galaxy each season as they got closer to their goal or would there be more time spent in one particular galaxy?”
Answer: That’s was the original plan – but plans change.
Phillip writes: “Were the mindless drones in SGU a metaphor for the unsupportive fans that wanted to see SGU the show end?”
Answer: Ha. Apt but no. Reminds me of a similar theory way back in early SG-1. During a warehouse shootout, a bullet ricochets off a fan. The following days, some fans were claiming this was wish fulfillment on the part of the producers = shooting a fan. No kidding. Well, I’ll say the same thing to you now as I told fans back then – you’re reading too much into it. Entertaining theory though.
zakhar writes: “I was wondering if there was every any plan to further explore Alan McCullough’s unknown aliens from The Daedalus Variations episode in Atlantis.”
Answer: Another idea that was floated but ultimately shelved.
Greg writes: “Why would the blue aliens have to transform Chloe when they had access to Destiny ? I make that conclusion based on their ship detaching at the end of the one episode.”
Answer: That assumption is incorrect. They were able to attach a scout ship to Destiny’s hull, but that doesn’t mean they were able to gain entry to the ship. And the only reason they were able to do so in Space was because the inexperienced crew was running the show (cutting off power to a section of the ship, thereby bringing the shield down and allowing the alien ship to attach and penetrate the hull) instead of Destiny’s automated defenses.
Greg also writes: “How did Chloe suddenly become Bruce Lee by changing into a blue alien when Rush was able to take one out with a metal bar ?”
Answer: Chloe wasn’t transforming into a Blueberry alien but mutating into a hybrid alien form with similarities to them – and another species they had experimented upon.
Elliott writes: “1.) Did you ever discuss who built the ruins from “Human” and “Lost”?”
Answer: Not to any significant length, no (and by significant, I mean to the point where it would offer us a kernel of an idea we could use as a springboard for another story).
“2.) Who is your favourite character from each of the Stargate shows?”
Answer: Which ones did I have the most fun writing for? SG:1 – Vala, SGA – Ronon and Woolsey, SGU – T.J. and Greer.
“3.) Why didn’t you mention that the Odyssey’s secret mission in “Enemy at the Gate” was the search for an Icarus planet? I think many assumed that it was “Revolution”.”
Answer: I didn’t write the SGU premiere so I can’t answer that. I assume Brad and/or Robert changed their minds and did, in fact, shift Odyssey’s mission to Revolution.
“4.) If you could change anything about each of the Stargate shows (besides cancellation, greenlighting movies etc.), what would it be?”
Answer: Probably the aforementioned tech. I’d have lost the beaming tech, Asgard core, the Earth fleet, and wormhole drive. I’d have maintained Atlantis’s isolation from the Milky Way.
“5.) Any idea when “Dark Matter” will be released?”
Answer: January of 2012. Will have a firm date shortly.
John T. Williams writes: “So how’re the two types of statis chambers different? Do the Destiny type freeze completely so that the occupants don’t actually age whatsoever?”
Answer: Yes, that’s the way they were designed to operate.
Airelle writes: “How are the pups doing in day care, have they taken over the place yet?”
Answer: They’ve been attending two different daycares. Lulu and Bubba passed the rigorous screening process and are now attending St. Roch’s Academy for Gifted Canines where they are learning arts & crafts, proper table manners, and elementary Latin. Jelly and Maximus, meanwhile, are occasional attendees at a more downscale every-dog institution.
Lloyd writes: “How did you get into the world of Stargate?”
Answer: Our Canadian agent got us the opportunity to pitch. We came up with five story ideas, two of which we sold. One, Scorched Earth, was the script that landed us a position on staff.
“Have you watched before Season 4 Stargate SG-1 before coming to the team?”
Answer: No. In fact, I had only seen one episode of the series – Emancipation – and hated it. It wasn’t until we got the opportunity to pitch that we started watching episodes and realized – hey, this show is pretty good!
“When you watch an episode of Stargate (SG1, SGA, SGU), you have the eyes of a fan (or viewer) or a critical eye on your work?”
As with every film or television series, I view it through the eyes of a writer first and the eyes of a producer second. My ex used to hate going to see movies with me because I’d spend most of my time sighing and muttering angrily to myself in the dark.
“If the MGM offers to return to something new: about Stargate, Will you join in?”
Answer: I’m committed to other projects and, unfortunately, would be unable to participate. Provided Brad Wright was in charge, any new project would be in excellent hands.
“Is there some episode you remember most? and why?”
Answer: A few. Harmony, Whispers, 200, Ripple Effect, The Hunt to name a few. As for why – well, you’ll find out when I get around to reminiscing about their particular seasons.
“Today you have another project (the series “The Transporter”), how would you like your job, compared to Stargate?”
Answer: To be honest, Toronto has been a major adjustment (still ongoing), but I can’t say enough great things about Transporter: The Series. I can honestly say that I enjoy going into work and that speaks to the show and the people involved.
“If you had to summarize in one word, all your work on Stargate, which one? ? and why this word?”
Answer: Fun. That’s what I set out to do (have fun) every time I envisioned a story and sat down to write a script. If the viewers at home had fun watching, then mission accomplished.
“Finally, what do you think about the cancellation of ALL projects Stargate? (“Extinction”, “Revolution”, a film SGU) Why all of a sudden?”
Answer: I think 🙁 .
Jeff writes: “obviously the ancients had to create a ZPM to power their ships, bases, and atlantis, so i guess my question is, didnt they leave directions in the ancient database on atlantis on how to actually create a ZPM?”
Answer: You would presume so but the fact that this was never discovered suggests that either: a) it wasn’t uploaded to the Atlantis database, or b) is there somewhere but is so top secret it will take a while before scientists uncover it. Ideally, they could have uncovered it in time to come up with an alternate power source capable of dialing Destiny and sending a retrieval team to the rescue – but that’s a story for another fan fiction.
Jeff writes: “btw, the wedding is october 29, where should i send your invite?”
Answer: Just tell me where in Vegas you’ll be.
Alex writes: “in your mind was the earth Stargate still at the SGC in Colorado or was it moved to Homeworld Command?”
Answer: In my mind, it would make sense to have moved it to Homeworld Command – but the nostalgic part of me says it’s still inside Cheyenne Mountain.
C-Verse writes: “1. Given that Atlantis was more family friendly, do you think the darker tone of Universe might have discouraged people from watching it?”
Answer: I’m sure it turned off some people. On the other hand, I’m sure it attracted new viewers as well. It’s a double-edged sword, just like the word Stargate in the title.
“2. Again concerning the darker tone, do you think Universe would have had better luck, if it taped more in the Battlestar Galactica fanbase, than the old Stargate fanbase?”
Answer: Sorry. Don’t understand the question.
“3. Do you think Universe could have survived if it had a smaller budget?”
Answer: I don’t think it would have made any difference.
“4. Given that more people are now downloading shows instead of watching them, do you think Sfy-Fy should put in more effort in advertising it shows online, rather than traditional media?”
Answer: Eventually, we’ll all be going that way.
Michelle writes: ” fans reacted more to how Daniel was treated than to his screen time, anyway: Jack didn’t seem to give a crap about Daniel going off undercover with the system lords; in fact, he seemed irritated at him when he made it back alive. Seriously? And on and on.”
Answer: Again, because I wasn’t privy to any discussions Michael may have had concerning his character, I didn’t realize there was an issue. In fact, having written episodes like Scorched Earth, The Curse, and Summit (and looking at season 5 episodes like Beast of Burden and Menace), I still have a hard time seeing it. In the case of Jack seemingly not giving a crap, being irritated with him, or not even broaching the subject that he almost killed him (Scorched Earth), I can see it but this was a source of frustration because these reactions (or lack thereof) were not scripted.
Michelle also writes: “As far as it being Michael’s decision, there was a rumor he changed his mind after filming Meridian, but Brad and/or MGM told him to get lost, they’d already found another 6′ actor to fill his role. Any truth to that?”
Answer: Again, I was out of the loop but I’d bet my last dollar that Brad and/or MGM did not tell a guy they had worked with for the last five years to “get lost” or any variation thereof. If there was an issue, it would have been with the fact that they’d already signed an actor to a one year deal that made it difficult for Michael to come back as a series regular. I stress again, I was out of the loop and don’t know what happened, but I’m quit certain all parties discussed the decision at length before taking the next step.
Michelle also writes: “And I know it is hard to accept, but, just as with SGU vs SGA, not liking Jonas was not solely a reflection of missing Daniel. Convenient to blame it on that, but also inadequate.”
Answer: True. There were fans who simply felt Jonas didn’t work. But there were also fans who, quite clearly, had not intention of ever giving the character a chance. Some of the arguments made against him at times felt a little suspect. For instance, the fact that he turned his back on his people led some fans to brand him a traitor and untrustworthy, yet these same fans had no problem with Teal’c who did the same – and also had the deaths of hundreds of innocents weighing upon him.
Joe Cooper writes: “At risk of sounding harsh about something that happened like a million years ago, Jonas was written as a bit of a “mary sue”; his only real flaw was that others around him (namely Jack) wouldn’t accept how ridiculously awesome he was. Over and over again everyone would be shitting bricks and then Jonas would come along and fix everything.”
Answer: That’s fair. In an effort to make his inclusion and eventual (necessary) acceptance as part of SG-1, we built up the character in such a way that he came across as a little straight and one-note. In retrospect, given the time, we would have been better served adding a little more depth to the character by taking our time and not worrying so much about making him an instantly beloved and accepted teammate.
Dave writes: “I’ve always wondered, was any thought given to which SG unit Young commanded before being assigned to Icarus base? Was he on an SG team back in the days Jack led SG-1 or was it more likely during the Mitchell years?”
Answer: We never got into this but I think it’s more than likely, given their respective ages, that Young and Mitchell crossed paths at some point. Hell, it’s likely that Young and O’Neill crossed paths at some point as well.
Rachel Grizzot writes: “I was looking through the old notes about what could’ve been the Season 6 of SGA and one of the topics were ‘Carls replicator story’
can i assume that maybe that was a attempt to bring back Elizabeth Weir ? or not?”
Answer: Yep. That was the plan.
DeanGrr writes: “With a a reputation earned by years on Stargate, why not try it to support a new or cancelled production? ”
Answer: Again, you’re approaching the wrong guy. The only entity that can make this happen is MGM.
DeanGRR also writes: “What is Dr. Rush’s true motivation, given that even with all the power of the Ancients, he cannot bring his wife back?”
Answer: The answer to this is tied to the conclusion Brad and Robert imagined for the series.
I guess I won’t name names, but looking at one of the questions on here, and looking back at the original comment that person made, simply made me feel disgusted. That person had such a poor attitude Joe, and none of the points that person made were really valid.
One of the great things about Stargate is the open ended nature of the series, once one story is over, by its very nature you could start a new one and have that fit right in.
It wouldn’t be interesting if every point was explained/resolved right Joe? It makes you think and come to your own conclusions.
Always a plus!
Living in Vancouver i really regret not going to any of the conventions, i really would have liked to meet Don. On the other hand is Joe Flannigan as much of a stuck up ass as he sounds like or no comment?
If you had unlimited time to tell the story of Atlantis, do you think they would have rebelled against earth and become independent? They always make me think of the American colonies dealing with Britain pre-Revolutionary War.
Wow, everything on the blog is great tonight! Thanks for the mailbag and the memories. My favorite eps from this batch are Unnatural Selection and Metamorphosis.
Oh, and the impending end of the world has been discussed at great length on several of my homeschool boards. Quite interesting, actually.
Have a great night!!!
It’s really killing me, that I will probably never know what Destiny’s true mission is. You’ve set up this amazing story of the “God signal” or whatever you want to call it and now we’ll never really know what The Mission really is. Joe, does Rush know way more about Destiny’s mission than he lets on? I’m sure that Rush knows some secrets he hasn’t told anyone yet. Am I right? Can you please get one of the other writers on this blog, so they can tell us Destiny’s true mission? It’s so unsatisfying not knowing what the mission was.
I love SGU and will be buying the DVD to support the show (I hope others do, too).
blog title typo… it’s May 15th 🙂
I’ve read and seen enough interviews with Torri to know she saw things differently. Everybody has their own perspective about things, and sometimes nobody is completeley wrong or right, just depends on which side of the table you are sitting. And that goes for people named Joe too, I would imagine.
Answer: Fun. That’s what I set out to do (have fun) every time I envisioned a story and sat down to write a script. If the viewers at home had fun watching, then mission accomplished.
I, for one, had fun watching. Mission Accomplished!
Elminster
The Destiny dialing by the Ancients, I think, has a deceptively simple answer. The power requirements are proportional to distance traveled. As such, the Ancients would likely have been hopping on board millions of years earlier. This equates to hundreds of thousands (if not more) galaxies further traveled than possibly expected. Combine that with a limitless supply of ZPMs (which McKay equates to at least the power of a black-hole in the Season 3 finale of SGA) the question doesn’t seem so hard to answer. At least not to me. Worst case scenario they would be able to ump to a point closer in the gate network. Either their existing one, or the one built by the seed ships. When you have the blue prints and understanding of all the tech it seems simple to modify it ever so slightly. Does all of this make sense or am I just talking nonsense?
I wonder if you could maybe cajole Brad and Robert into revealing the plans here or elsewhere? I understand that people get busy and I wouldn’t dare try to impose any form of a timeline. I was just hoping you could poke them to get either a “when I have time” or “not anytime soon” sort of response from them. The Ancients were one of my favorite parts of the series. I always loved learning more about the amazingly arrogant, and (at times) surprisingly short sighted race.
“2.) Who is your favourite character from each of the Stargate shows?”
Answer: Which ones did I have the most fun writing for? SG:1 – Vala, SGA – Ronon and Woolsey, SGU – T.J. and Greer.”
Ronon! Yeah! And it showed. Thank you!
WOT??! TODD was not your favorite character to write for??! I am…incensed! 😡
(Actually, mostly I’m just tired from a big day out of town, and a late dinner, two glasses of wine, and a slice of flourless chocolate decadence cake…I’ll deal with you about Todd later…fair warning, and all that. 😉 )
das
Are the sets for Universe being struck and stored, or struck and destroyed?
Thanks for answering my questions and comments, in spite of my rather snarky tone, which wasn’t intentional.
Can’t wait to hear the casting news. Hope there are some hotties for we ladies to ogle. Yes, I’m shallow. I’m not the only one. 🙂
“I wonder if you could maybe cajole Brad and Robert into revealing the plans here or elsewhere?”
Seconded times a million.
“The Ancients were … amazingly arrogant, and (at times) surprisingly short sighted race”
Also seconded!
lolz, I kid because I love. But seriously, it seemed like there was some kind of ancient robo-microbe death trap around every corner in Atlantis.
Or they meet the ancients and they’re like “oh we are so smart, out of our way peons” and by the end of the episode they’re getting their throats slit by people who can’t keep up with four kids from the air force, one of whom is McKay.
Not to imply this detracts from the endless fun of the series!
Let me say i wish you well on your future projects the transporter and dark matter.I also wish to thank you for your work on the stargate franchise.I have always loved star gate in all of its forms from sg1 to sga to sgu.I loved the idea of the destinys crew going back in time to see it built or having the anceints come forward in time.Which leads me to my question.If all of the movies would of been made and SGU got its 5yrs to tell its story do you think that they might of done a stargate anceint movie which would tell the rise and fall of the anceints in more detail or better yet have another stargate series set in the far past about when the anceints were here in our galaxy?
Of the characters on SGU Chloe and Eli are my favorites because they are so ‘normal’, and becuase I am a Chloe/Eli shipper.
So naturally my questions are about them.
1) In the beginning Eli was a slacker and Chloe, for lack of a better term, was a spoiled daddies girl. But by the end they had both changed a lot. Which leads me to wonder, what was the intent for them, where where they meant to end up?
I see it as; if Rush, Wray, and Young are the big three in charge I kinda saw Eli as Rush’s successor, Chloe as Wray’s, and Scott as Young’s.
2) Now this next question is a shipper question, previously you gave some insight into the Young/TJ/Varro triangle. So now I am asking for some insight into the Eli/Chloe/Scott triangle.
I’m going to leave the question a little vague so that you can give as much, or as little, input as possible.
Thank you for taking the time to read, and hopefully answer, these questions. I look forward to any insight you can give, even if it is just personal opinion. Hell, especially if it is just personal opinion.
(Wow, that came out longer than I thought. lol)
frankly sight unscene was a bit….lame.
smoke & mirrors was pretty good.
that was a awkward seduction scene in metamorphosis & it was never really explained in what way jonas was more advanced. and was it all of his people, or just him?
once again, thank you for all of these reminiscences.
Any chance un-filmed scripts can be published as book or books, or is MGM restricting this option? It would be interesting to read scripts that were not made filmed, perhaps because of length or simply too expensive to shoot. Perhaps if Stargate can’t live on celluloid it can live on in print form.
Thanks for all your work and taking the time to create this blog. Wish you the best on your future projects.
You mentioned you didn’t like the Asgard Core I thought it was one of the things that made Stargate unique there is an episode of another less impressive space based drama that on their way back to earth are asked to retrieve an earth satellite they discover a planet that almost destroyed themselves. The core was a chance to show that even with great power earth could still do what is right. I am talking about all the knowledge not sure if you didn’t like it all.
My question did anyone ever suggest exploring the history contained in the core? I don’t know if I am unusual watcher but most of the episodes I liked were history/back story based and less shooting or one episode arcs with a few exceptions.
Have there been any thoughts of scanning the SGU sets or any other SG remaining sets in 3d, so that if down the road a movie or series is needed, actors could act in a virtual environment?
I know they did this for BG. Im very surprised i havent heard of MGM or Syfy doing this for these series.
Another nice entry, Joe. Great mailbag, and going down SG memory-lane is good stuff! On another note, I am now *OFFICIALLY* Dr. D. 😀 Time for some celebration!
Joe,
First of all, other than Jesus Christ Himself and some of the people in the Bible, you are one of my “hero’s”. I really loved all of the work that you, Brad Wright, and all of the myriad cast & crew of SG1, SGA & SGU have done on all of the respective series. Please pass this on to those that you see / communicate with!
Back in the summer of 2002, I was involved in a major freak car accident that left me as a paraplegic. I was then hospitalized for apx. 8 months b4 finally being able to go home. During that time Stargate SG-1 (and Star Trek TNG re-runs) was a staple of my “life” in the hospital as I fought for my life and went through rehab & learning to deal with life in a wheelchair.
I was a SG-1 fan b4 my accident, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every iteration of Stargate since, what with SGU being my favorite series ever of the Stargate Universe.
Thank-you greatly to all that have been involved in these shows (& the movies too), as you have helped me not only maintain my sanity while hospitalized & going through rehab, but have challenged me by the brilliant stories you all have come up with that have challenged me to look at MY LIFE & to examine how I can overcome obstacles facing me!
Rest assured that I am attempting to “do my part” as a fan to let the powers that be know that we the fans want if not a third season of SGU, at least a mini-series OR movie to finish some loose story lines!
Once again a BIG THANK-YOU to everyone involved in SGU, SGA & SG-1, and here’s hoping and praying that MGM, SYFY or ANYONE will pick up on things and at the LEAST give us movies or the like; esp. the SG-1 & SGA movies that had been planned as well as a more fleshed out movie that answers bigger ?’s about plotlines from SGU!
BTW; anyone wanting to help “Save SGU & the other SG movies”, here’s a link with a great idea of how to mount a campagin to save these shows/ movies!!
http://bit.ly/jGDAEQ
I fondly look back on so many years of Stargate, it’s been a big part for almost half of my life.
The one thing that’s always bothered me is re s9 and I always wanted to know if it was an oversight and intentionally. Why wasn’t a single mentioned of where O’Neill went and why in all of season 9?
We all knew RDA wanted to leave because of his daughter and I don’t think anyone can fault him for that, in fact he should be applauded for putting his family first.
In interviews and promotion for s9 and the new team, we were told that Jack was heading Homeworld Security in DC, but why was there never a single mention of any of this in an actual episode? How could you have your lead character disappear just like that?
You had the scene with Landry in Avalon, but nothing was said. Then in Origin there was the scene with Daniel and again it’s implied that Daniel knows, but nothing is said on screen. I suppose we can deduct that he’s still in the military judging by his uniform and we know there was a promotion, but again that’s it. In fact it takes until S10 Uninvited when it’s confirmed the first time that Jack is indeed in Washington.
Anyone not involved with fandom didn’t have a clue what happened to him. So oversight or intentional?
Thanks again for fielding all those questions, much appreciated.
Hey Joe,
first of all: Thanks everything we get with the stargate franchise! 🙂
Would be great, if you can give some information about the storyline of the moonbase Carter was talking about on Continuum. What was the plan for?
Thanks for answering an greetings from Germany.
Missing Stargate!
bye
Moritz
You were not kidding. This is one monster mailbag! Thanks for answering tons of questions.
Joe, I’d like to personally thank you for all of the behind-the-scenes Stargate stuff you’ve included on the blog the past few years – especially in the past few months. I really appreciate how you’ve made an effort to connect with the fans all these years and answer our questions to the best of your ability. I don’t follow any other shows as in depth as I have the Stargate Series, so I don’t know how common it is for writers and producers to do what you do, but I’m sure there’s not that many out there. I’m 19 years old and Stargate has been a part of my life since I was 12 years old. Needless to say, as corny and nerdy as this sounds, Stargate has been a really important part of my formative years and has been really important to me. While I don’t like every episode and didn’t like every decision you guys have made, I have always enjoyed the show, no matter what. You’ve written a lot of my favorite episodes. I am a reasonable and realistic person, (unlike a lot of Stargate fans, as you very well know firsthand), and understand that the fucked up (for lack of a better term) ending of the Stargate franchise was not your fault. I really liked the direction you guys were going in with SGU. I felt like the series was finally maturing along with me lol. I just wish more Stargate fans were more receptive to it and not just expecting more of the same old stuff. Anyway, I’m rambling now. I’ve never posted on here before, and this will probably be my last one lol. So I just wanted to say Thank You again, for everything. Keep up the good work. Good luck with all of your future ventures.
*reminds about sending Joel an e-mail*
Joe, I got the feeling that you wouldn’t go back to a Stargate show even if you had the choice (I mean from your current situation as you now moved to Toronto)? If so is it because you considered you had enough of Stargate or do not want to do business again with MGM/Syfy… or your consideration is purely on business AKA “why not if there is money to make with Stargate again, i’m in” ?
Note: the more I watch the finale, the better I find it. Now that I did read your BLOG I better see the structure of it, the goodbyes, the dinner… Eli’s smile. It’s perfect because it wasn’t (yet) done with the knowledge of cancellation.
What would you have done differently for the finale if you had known it was ‘the’ finale and only still had 42mn to tell it ? Thx
Hi Joe,
If youre answering questions here is another one that I am very curious about.
1. Ronon’s gun is the same as the Travellers gun (correct me if im wrong) so where did he get it from? Did he trade/steal it from the Traveller’s directly or did he get it from someone who got it from the Travellers?
2. Also how many technologically advanced races did you guys imagine inhabited the Pegasus Galaxy?
Thanks
Hey, how much of a budget per episode did sg1/ sga/ sgu have respectively? How much do you get paid for a script starting out as a writer?
The other day it dawned on me- with such a “small” budget per show and the many employees of the franchise, the actors (with the exception of special guests, etc.) must have been working for much smaller salaries than “network” TV actors. While I am sure they were making a decent wage, it must be painful for them to be out of work for an extended period of time. What portion of the total budget went towards salary?
Coucou!
ça va bien Joseph? Moi oui, j’ai passé un bon week end mais avec beaucoup de travail! Je suis contente d’être enfin sur votre blog 🙂
Bon alors dites moi, quand allez vous enfin avoir Facebook?
Je rêve il ne reste plus qu’1 ans et 4 mois avant je puisse vous voir, enfin si vous voulez ;)!
Sachez que je vais faire ce voyage en partout pour vous rencontrer….exiting, le plus beau jour de ma vie, c’est sûr!
Waou!! merci pour toutes ces Q&A 😉
Gros gros bisous!
Hi Joe, I was wondering, was it ever the plant to intorduce any more ‘reverse-engineered’ earth tech (thinking mainly power sources here, like a earth built ZPM) like the base for communication stones, because surely by now they would have learnt enough to produce a version of there own. Im not sure what episode it was but there was an SGU where Telford said ‘were adapting this tech for our own ships’ could it be possible (if the show was still running) that we could have seen a earth ship catch up with destiny (using maxed out hyperdrive?) or an earth expidition with a earth ZPM? come to destiny? i was wondering whats your take on this?
I’m looking for a bit of clarification on something. You said that a novel/comic continuation will most likely not include any of the writers.
Many of use are really very hopeful that an official canon comic continuation can be made for Stargate, in the same way that Joss Whedon did with Buffy, Angel, and Firefly and Rockne O’Bannon with Farscape.
I’m in the process of winding up a Stargate Comic Continuation Campaign.
You said that any such continuation would most likely not include any of the writers. Is it for certain that any novel/comic continuation will be strictly non-canon? (not including creator/writer involvement)
If that is definitely the case, I won’t waste my time.
Hey Joe,
Looking forward to the new Transporter series! If it’s something you’re involved in, then I’m sure it’s damn good.
Anyway, I’m curious, at the beginning of season 7, was it ever considered to keep both Jonas and Daniel around, and have a five-person team? Was it a budgetary reason that necessitated Jonas’s leave from the team when Daniel was brought back?
How does Destiny’s FTL drive work? any details would be fantastic!
Dites Joseph, rassurez moi..il s’agit d’un photoshop?:
http://twitpic.com/4wp3w1
Biss:)
I’m confused about the gore being cut from Metamorphosis. I heard on the DVD extras (about the time it was Russian Guy’s turn to liquify) about how it was “a family show”, too. Though the DVD extra comment was made in that later scene where the gore did happen off-screen, it implied the gore on the gurney hadn’t been shown either. I did see that dude liquify on the gurney. He formed into a dude-shaped mass of liquid and the liquid just blech’ed all over the place, all on-screen, in a nice little frame where we could see his terrified eyes until they turned to goo. Why is that image etched in my mind if it was cut?
I’m not so sure it was gratuitous. It was dramatic for us to see Carter’s expression while it was happening to the Russian guy off-screen and gore-searing it into our memories made that amount of drama possible. And it excused the viewer from wondering how all that DNA jargon played into some invisible phenomenon happening off-screen. It was informative, that’s right, not gratuitous, I enjoyed it for the drama and scienciness and that’s the story I’m sticking with.
But I get that the suddenness of it, no warning to cover the kids’ eyes in time, wasn’t family show material.
Intriguing. I admit, I’m a little behind on SGU eps…but why would Destiny have non-aging stasis pods and the later-created ones, like on Atlantis, didn’t?
As always, thanks for the run down of the episodes! I’m loving the blast from the past.
Hi Joe!
1) Will your Transporter series still need to be green-lit after a network has seen the pilot? Any idea, if all goes as planned, when the series will air?
2) I know there’s been a lot of people wondering about what would have happened when Destiny reached it’s final destination, but is it possible that Brad/Robert will not reveal anything at all just in case Universe (or another SG show in the future) is revisited? Have they told you whether or not they will?
3) Which hairstyles of the destiny crew do you prefer: Their styles during first episode or the by latest episode?
3) Have you seen a Jays game yet?
I have an old question that’s been racking me for years, I hope you have time to answer.
What was the ‘beam’ of light from the wraith ship we saw in ‘Letters from Pegasus’, way back in season 1 of Atlantis? I’m not sure it was ever resolved, and if it was I completely forgot.
Joe I always enjoy your snide but still polite responses to those “fans” who seem to think you are personally responsible for the cancellation as though you had somehow you were the mastermind of the show’s demise. I think I would have ceased being polite quite some time ago.
Goodnluck with the new show, can’t wait to see it.
Shaggy
My mom has been going on about “The End of Days”, as well. I warned my hubby, “Don’t get her started again”. 🙄
Thanks for the memories and the mailbag! Where is the cute dog picture?
Hey Joe, don’t get too busy. We are pushing to get Netflix involved to Save SGU. At the risk of sounding naive, I’m hopeful we can get something done before its absolutely too late!!
Hi Joe
My questions are simple ones i hope, Just wondering how many light years/galixes Destiny is from the milky way? and once the Ancients assended did any of them diecide to say follow or tag along with destiny to see her progress?
Dear Joe,
Is Brad working on a new show ?
Is Dr Rush an Ancient ???
I found a cute dog picture for you. http://dogs.icanhascheezburger.com/2011/05/16/cute-puppy-pictures-you-gotz-some-splainin/
Thank you all of your contributions to Stargate over the years.
I do (suprising, no?) have a couple of questions.
Are downloads (iTunes, Amazon, etc) considered at all when looking at ‘DVD’ sales? I buy fewer DVD’s now, mostly because clicking buy now and letting it download is easier, quicker and often allows me to view the show/movie prior to it’s DVD release. I would assume a direct to download option was looked at but just figured I would ask.
Around here (Maine), there has been a recent rise in “community supported” farms/fishing/etc. The general idea is, if you are a farmer/fisherman/whatever, you sell shares of your upcoming crops/catch prior to actually growing or catching said product to help pay for it from the beginning. The shares then entitle people to a share of the product when it finally does come in. There is understood risk when purchasing the shares, it could be a bad year or a really bad year. Any chance something like this could be used in tv/film? I’d like to think there are more than enough people out there who would be willing do something similar for the SG movies. I know I would be willing to pay upfront (possibly even more than normal price) to get a conclusion to something that has been part of my life for the past 10 years or so.
Thank you again, hope the dogs have settled into their new surroundings in Toronto.
Thanks for the answers to the blue aliens.
Regarding the apocalypse I thought this was amusing;
“This is not Camping’s first end-of-the-world prophecy. In a 1992 book, he predicted that the world would end in 1994. When he woke up in 1995, clearly something had gone wrong”
Similarly my theory on the mayans predicting 2012 would be the end of the world… they just couldn’t count higher then that. They argued for a period of time on what to do when some sarcastic mayan in the back joked “The world ends!”
They decided to stick with that one. Anytime someone asked “Whats with 2012 how comes theres nothing after?”
“The world ends.”
“Oh ok, makes sense.”
Hi Joe,
I would love to know your opinion about your perfect SGU team that would go through the gate together, like in SG1 and SGA (choose 4-5 people)?
I would have loved to see a episode that revolves around Rush and Greer. The two had an interesting dynamic, what do you think about the Rush-Greer “relationship” in general? Where their any plans for such an episode?
Is their not a little bit hope for SGU?! MGM, netflix, books, comics?
Any words from Robert Carlyle about the end?
Hallo Mr. Mallozzi,
If my English isn´t perfect plz don´t blame me, im german ^^
OK, so…
There is a Idea in my Head and i realy want to share to someone that maybe can make things happen (well… i know may sounds stupid but, it would be a way. and i think it would be possible to do it) but not by my self, be course im not famous like you =)
ok lets move to the idea:
as far as i know 1 episode of SGU cost 2.000.000 $ so season 3,4 and 5 would cost 120.000.000 $ ok so far so good, now if i or someone else could be able to join 1.000.000 fans together and everyone would donate 120 $ than MGM or Brad Wright or i dont know who where be able to move on with SGU.
I would do it immediately and donation 120 $ if SGU could be continued.
so i could need help in spreading the idea but dont know how, do you have a idea? or someone else?
Glad to know that I’m not just imagining a cave person randomly popping up behind..I can’t even remember who or what the scene was about, I was too distracted by the caveman. His name wouldn’t have been Chaka, would it?
Not sure if you guys already covered this (I was trying to stay spoiler free and not read the ep comments until I was caught up) but can we now surmise that the reason so many of the gateworld people we’ve met in SG1 and SGA speak English is because they are the descedents of the Destiny crew? Kinda like Destiny descendents are the prequel to everything that came later?
I’m still on the Sweet and Spicy Pecan kick; they are so good with ice cream. Today I was struck again by how spot on “Pittsburgh” looked in Blockade; here’s a pic that show’s how much, again; with fewer killer drones.
http://pics4.city-data.com/cpicc/cfiles539.jpg
Joe, I’m loving your mailbag marthon entries! Very informative. I have just a few more questions if you don’t mind:
Were we ever going to get an official name for the blueberry aliens?
You mentioned a hypothetical group of Destiny’s decendents that are an advanced military civilization as a possible solution to the S2 cliffhanger. I’m not sure how this could be since Destiny visited the recently deserted Novus (where all of the human decendents originated from) and they hadn’t yet developed FTL.
Were there plans to encounter human decendents in the next galaxy?
I got the impression that the drones were SGU’s version of the replicators. Your thoughts?
Again, thank you for satisfying our curiosity!
Hey,
First off I would like to congratulate you on all the staragte seasons and movies from sg-1 to sgu. I have been a loyal fan to all of them, Upon reading about numbers and why scyfy cancelled the show I was disheartened to find out they cancelled it because of low viewership ratings. I am surprised to find what the studio did not target online downloading more as I would imagine alot of people who watch this show are tech savvy people and if there are like me has not watch cable t.v. in many years and preferred to use the computer to watch all t.v related shows and since they are commercial free. Or even banning it and making a website dedicated to all the shows where they could be purchased. Marketing it would be a challenge but if links where put there the main star-gate website I believe it could gross through ad’s and click through buying in excess of the required amount to produce and make a decent profit.(only my opinion)
My question is… is there any hope what so ever what stargate universe could be revived in the next year or 2 or is it wishful thinking?
Again thank you for your many years of dedicated work and excellent and enjoyable shows. I look forward to your response
1. Approximately how many galaxies away is Destiny?
2. And approximately how far away could you dial with a normal blackhole-powered Stargate, like in “The Pegasus Project”? One? Ten? A hundred?
3. “I suppose [the Destiny crew went in their pods on] the episode aired: May 9, 2011.”
I thought that the first two seasons of SGU only took 1 year of time. Did it chronologically start in 2010?
4. Everyone, don’t forget that Star Trek managed to rebuild the old TOS sets decades later even with nothing being saved besides the episodes themselves! (Okay, not a question, just a way of us keeping hope alive!)
Others:
that we could have seen a earth ship catch up with destiny (using maxed out hyperdrive?)
Without a ZPM, the 304’s could cross the void between two galaxies in ~3 weeks. Guessing that Destiny has gone 1000 galaxies away, it would take ~58 years to get that far.
With a ZPM they could do that in 4 days, which is still ~11 years, even assuming that the ZPM would last that long.
Still I think it would have been worth it, especially because they could have set up “depots” in various galaxies along the way where they found suitable black holes. A big question is how many galaxies you can cross with a black hole, as I asked in #1.
Re: Cave person
I saw him, too, but I thought I was imaging things!
Joe, thanks for answering all these questions so we can a) die, or b) be raptured, in peace. Best of luck to you!
@Chad
@I’m not sure how this could be since Destiny visited the recently deserted Novus
They could of used the Stargate to set up various colonies.
Not sure how these doomsday folks get around certain passages in the Bible. Christ’s return is stated as happening first, with the end of the world following much later. Some argue that the tribulation happens before Christ’s return, but either way, according to the Bible, much happens before the absolute end.
Senator Kinsey! What a rascal! Mr. Cox played his part so well, I almost couldn’t watch! Great character.
Paradise Lost includes one of my favorite jumps through a gate, when Jack goes after Mayborne.
Watching the space shuttle launch today brought to mind a conversation between Bratac, Jack and Daniel. Bratac says something like, “Do you not have ships to defend your planet?” And the guys can only respond with, “We haaave…shuttles.”
Fair day!
Joe,
Do you think the fans Stargate Revolution…(See what I did there)… to get the show back has any chance of succeeding?
Concerning S3 possibilities, I would have loved to see Eli finding a way to live in the shuttle. Three years later we see a edgier (sp?) Eli. It would made for an excellent third season.
Joe, in your answers to our questions, you’ve said several times that Brad (Wright) and Robert (C. Cooper) had some amazing, big ending planned to SGU. Given that not only SGU, but the entire Stargate franchise appears to be shelved, if not permanently then for the foreseeable future, I’d love to hear what they had in mind. So, two questions:
1. Would *you* like to see them share their ideas for the series resolution?
2. If yes, I’d like to ask if you could communicate with them, and ask if they’d share whatever they can (perhaps in a guest spot on this blog) about the planned big series wrap up that would have been.
Thanks.
Hey Joe
I am immensely enjoying your trip through the seasons.
BTW, today is my Birthday, same day as last year! Imagine that!.
Elminster
Happy Birthday Elminster!
Congratulations Dr. D.
@ Ken – sorry about your accident and the road you have to travel through this life. You sound like a neat person. At least you’ve got your priorities straight (your faith). God bless you.
Hi, I dont usually partake in blogs or comments, but I really wanted to tell you how much stargate has meant to me for the last fourteen years. All the saturday mornings I would look forward to, especially when sg1, sga, and bsg were all together. The good old days! Anyway I loved all 3 but sgu has become my favorite, the hopelessness, the characters, and above all the absolutely incredible mystery of it all. Particularly the structure found in the cosmic background radiation. I could go on and on about whats great about the show. Its really sad to me that it has been canceled when there is so much junk on tv. Best scripted scifi/drama ever I say! So thank you very much for all the enjoyment I have gotten from Stargate.
Hey Joe and thanks for the answer when i asked about the Replicator story. even though season 6 is not gonna happen in my mind she (Elizabeth Weir) is still alive… just floating into the dark outter space …
btw i’m really enjoying the memories from Stargate it makes me wanna re-watch everything all over again…
Have a nice day.
Why not use Stargate: Revolution as a starting point for a new SG TV series?
RE:
Thank you Ponytail!
Wow, I take a few days off and it’s taking me hours to catch up. Cannot even imagine how much time you, Joe, have poured into this. You are awesome.
Saturday can’t be the end of the world because I have a hair appointment. And, next Tuesday, May 24, I fly out for the American Idol finale on Wednesday, May 25. I need my mini-vacation. Of course, I’m deeply devastated that James was voted off last week. But I’ll try to enjoy myself anyway. LOL.
Hi Joe,
I did what you tolled me and ask VFX Supervisor Mark Savela on twitter and i have got a respones look like you have to be following eachother to ask them a qustion i was wondering if he has a email that i might be able to ask him the qustion that way if not thanks anyway.
Concerning the finale of SGU, if I were writing the story, I guess the “signal” in the CBM radiation would be a footprint of Heaven. Maybe, where you end up when you do NOT ascend? Maybe the Ancients wanted a string of stargates that can take them there after they ascend? That doesn’t explain how they would hop over galaxies though along the way.
Something to amuse Akemibunny http://www.flyborg.net/games/bunny_vs_world/
I was wondering, what did you have planned for Earth and Atlantis 3 years later? Is there a new threat Earth is facing? Did Woolsey come to an agreement with the Langarans for gate usage?
Was there any thoughts of bringing Adam Baldwin back? He’s got one of the best monologues of the series IMO and was great during the episode he was in. I was kinda disappointed that was all we really saw of him during the franchise’s run.
I made a fun SGU wallpaper for XP, hope you will like it. 🙂
http://imageshack.us/f/814/newworlds.jpg/
June 2, 2011: Late to the party, but for scottland7:
I had the privilege of meeting Don Davis at cons and becoming a friend. Joe’s answer to your question mirrors what Don said both publically and in private correspondence.
hi,
I wanna ask u 1 question, well i know u listened this question a lot of times, but i have to ask it. Its about Jak´s & Sam´s relationship. I know that there was somethimes some kissing scenes or ” I love u” looks , but nothing more, even there was a kiss not both of them remembered it. I mean for exampl. “Window of oportunity” Jack remembered but Sam had no idea why he was so much smiling at her after the last loop. Or “Grace” there was just her iluzion about kissing him. I missed so much something like both of them will remembered on The Kiss! There was just looks, but nothing more! I missed that too much.
And I wanna also ask about …. i saw one stargate fanside that u are/was preparing a new movie “Evolution”, I read that it will be about Jak´s life and I was just wondering or hoping that if u will take here some scenes which i missed in SG1. Some Sam and Jack scenes! I know that i look like I will be obsesed with them but …. u have to understand. Plz respond me on my mail. And thank u just for reading it.
bey