So I’ve finally started to personalize my office. Rather than hire an interior decorator, I decided to stick with the supervillain motif that made my Stargate workspace so inspirational and the high point of any high school tour. Today, Ultron went up on the shelf. Surprisingly, no one knew who the hell he was. As I was running through his backstory for the edutainment of my fellow co-workers, it suddenly dawned on me that his origin didn’t make a whole lot of sense. He was created by Henry Pym (aka Giant-Man, aka Goliath, aka Yellowjacket, aka Wife Beater) but eventually rebelled against his master, demonstrating a shocking and unexpected ego and ruthlessness. Of course, had I been working on the Ultron project, I probably would have suspected the robot may have been predisposed to evil considering he was designed to resemble a FREAKIN’ SCARY-ASS LUNATIC! (see above)
Which brings up another question. Way back when he was battling the original X-Men, Magneto ran an outfit called The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Then, years later, the buy is all upset because, instead of giving mutants the benefit of the doubt, humanity views them with suspicion and fear. Okay, granted, while The Brotherhood of Misunderstood Mutants wouldn’t have had quite the same ring, it certainly would’ve done a better job of helping the cause, no?
Okay, I’ve decided I’m going to be starting a rigorous diet and exercise regimen. Just as soon as I clear a few items out of my fridge…
Desserts aside, I’ve been eating fairly healthy. Akemi is a big fan of fish and prefers the simply preparations common in Japanese society.
However, she prefers the not-so-simple preparations when it comes to baking…
…and breakfast. These are a couple of the creations that have graced my Happy Panda bento box the last few days…
Not helping matters on the work front is Alexander who came in today with these –
– no doubt intended to bribe us in advance of the notes session on his script.
Reflecting back on SG-1’s eight season…
IT’S GOOD TO BE KING (813)
I always enjoyed writing the funny episodes and this one was no different. It gave us the opportunity to bring back Harry Mayborne, one of my favorite recurring characters. This episode ran long and, as a result, I had to cut a scene in which Mayborne displays Solomon-like wisdom in a dispute over a duck. When the complainants cannot agree on ownership, Mayborne demands a knife be brought forth so he can cut the duck in half and offer an equal share to each. The men standing before him are shocked at the suggestion and thus, King Mayborne makes his ruling, declaring that neither men are deserving. As the two men head off, Mayborne turns and hands off the duck to one of his assistant with a: “Cook it up. I’ll have it for lunch.”
FULL ALERT (814)
There’s a point in the episode where Kinsey meets up with three suspicious characters who use the pseudonyms Mr. Kent, Mr. Wayne, and Mr. Parker (the references should be pretty obvious). The scene was shot in an old mansion in Vancouver, presumably the estate of a former game hunter because one of the rooms was bedecked with animal trophies. This, apparently, didn’t sit well with some of the crew, but especially Exec. Producer Michael Greenburg, an animal lover, who didn’t like being surrounded by the stuffed heads.
CITIZEN JOE (815)
Richard Dean Anderson’s love for The Simpsons resulted in him being invited a table reading of the show – which result in him befriending Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson on the show – which resulted in Dan doing a brilliant guest spot for us in this episode – which resulted in Stargate getting a big shout-out in a later episode of The Simpsons guest-starring Richard Dean Anderson.
I remember meeting Dan Castellaneta for the first time. I was in the lunch line, standing behind a casually-attired fellow in a baseball cap who seemed distracted by something when it came his turn to order. “You’re up!”I offered helpfully, assuming he was a new crew member. “Joe,”said Robert Cooper, standing to my other side, “have you met Dan?”. Oh.
RECKONING I (816)
This big two-parter was the climax of 7+ terrific seasons of SG-1. We’ve got SG-1, the tok’ra, the jaffa, the goa’uld, Anubis, and the replicators all involved in the galactic throwdown to end all galactic throwdowns. Although there were three more episodes to go before the season wrapped, Reckoning I and II brought things to a head, addressed the major arcs and issues, and tied up most of the loose ends. Of course, there were a few dangling plot threads – which were taken care of in, appropriately enough, an episode titled Threads.
The late Isaac Hayes makes a guest appearance as the jaffa Tolok. He was a apparently a huge fan of the show and an utter delight on set – kind and surprisingly soft-spoken.
The free Jaffa world was originally called Bakara, but I didn’t like the name because it reminded me of both baccarat, the card game, and bakana, the Japanese word for stupid or silly. So I changed to it Dakara – which reminded me of daquiri. But that was okay.
Joe…
Please ask Akemi if she’ll make breakfast for me every day. I’m in the Chicago area which, as I understand it, isn’t all that inconveniently located in relation to Toronto. If she’s willing, let me know, and I’ll get my address to you to forward to her.
I love just about anything with figs (my favorite fruit).
“It’s Good To Be King” was a fun episode. As was “Citizen Joe”.
Bakara reminds me of both baccala and baklava, so I’m glad you changed the name. As you said, similarity to daiquiri is fine. If you want to name a race “the Maitai” in some future project, that would also be cool.
Haagen Das ice cream, Joe, you have the right idea. Can’t have any rigorous diet and exercise when that’s around. And I like Akemi’s baking too. It’s always good to have a sense of optimisim.
My favorites out of this batch of eps were: It’s Good to be King (for the humor) and Reckoning (for all the plot arcs it finished–very grand and epic).
Have a good evening!!!
great quote courtesy of the little boy in Citizen Joe that seems quite apt..
“you gotta finish it, you can’t just finish it in the middle..”
Nutella CHIPS?!?! All of the Nutella-y goodness in chip form?
Are they homemade, or can you buy them somewhere? Me want for COOKIES!
i’m glad that was the last we saw of mayborne.
not a fan of clip shows like citizen joe, but i liked this exchange;
DANIEL
Broke into your house?
O’NEILL
Yeah.
DANIEL
Second week in a row.
O’NEILL
Mm hmm.
DANIEL
Alarm.
O’NEILL
I’m thinkin’ dog.
JOE
You could try locking your front door.
Supervillains and their shallow diatribes on evil caused me to be delayed in understanding the Dale Carnegie Institute principle that no one considers their actions anything but justified. Thinking some people are evil for the sake of being evil really set me back in my ability to walk in the other guy’s shoes.
Assign positive intent – it’ll change your outlook on life – and is a hilarious caption for a picture of a rampaging supervillain.
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Healthy eating isn’t so much about what’s in your pantry/fridge, but what you have to replace on a regular basis. Types of items that don’t get eaten often can accumulate.
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Yeah, the Solomon scene was great.
Citizen Joe was a gem for being a decent take on a flashback episode. I got to see lots of cool scenes and I’m sure that freed up some budget for action in later season 8 episodes, which were awesomely done. Everybody wins.
Except I had a boredom attack hearing dinner chatter about some book the wife was reading. Kinda’ made the point about the contrast in O’Neill’s life and Joe’s life a little too well there.
————-
Will Transporter: The Series be something I can watch with small kids running around the house?
Will Transporter: The Series be something I can follow if I have no hope of hearing the dialogue?
How creative is Akemi? Very adorable.
Of the episodes above, It’s Good to Be King and Citizen Joe were my favorites.
That is a lot of ice cream. I think I just gained a pound looking at it.
Whoa. Nutella chips??? They MAKE such a thing??
Nutella is from Heaven itself. Nutella chips is like…is like…well I don’t know but FOR CRYING OUT LOUD how did I not know about them???
Oh. And very nice work by Akemi. I’m impressed.
But NUTELLA CHIPS!!! >.<
*hobbles in, shame-faced*. Hi, all. I’ve been off on walkabout in Twitterland and Fan Fiction Nation.
Finally wandering back due to a sprained ankle in Real World. Will try to catch up on Joe’s posts while icing/elevating. Probably will skip comments.
Hope this finds everyone well & happy!
You totally ripped off my idea, didn’t you, Joe? Misunderstood Mutants? Sounds awful similar to my Misunderstood Wraith comment on yesterday’s entry. 😉 Do you need some help with Transporter scripts, too? I mean…I do have some great ideas, just need someone to execute them for me.
Lemme see…how’s about…
Snakes in an Audi
O Brother, Where Art Thou, Spare Tire?
Once Upon a Time in America a Gallon of Gas Was .98 Cents
Pump Fiction
Requiem for a GPS
To Kill a Manual Transmission
Fellowship of the Pine Tree Air Freshener
For a Few Dollars More I’ll Get the Wash AND Wax
Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Parallel Park
There Will Be Blood if I Don’t Find My Car Keys
😉
das
Let’s try this again with the right name this time:
Joe, seeing as how the new Transporter series is to be shown on cable (HBO?), will there be cussing and nudity?
Citizen Joe was great! My son and I are going through the Simpsons (starting at season 1) as a result.
@Lou Zucaro:
If you’re in ChicagoLand, are you going to this:
http://www.creationent.com/cal/sgchi.htm
My family enjoyed it so much last year that we’re going again.
Is there an official name for the race “Breeders”?
Citizen was one of my favorite episodes (definitely in the top 5). One of my favorite things about it was the ending when they asked Jack if he had seen the life of Joe. Then the flashback of simple ordinary things and Jack saying that he found them Refreshing (was that the right word, it’s been a while since I’ve seen it).
OMG,that food looked amazing! Akemi should give instructions but how could you eat the dogs 🙂 ?
My favorite was “It’s good being king”. I giggled all the way through. It reminds me of one time I worked at the animal ER. I came in at my shift and checked all the cages. There was a duck in one of the cages (we sometimes would see exotics but it was rare).
So I asked the vet what I should do for the duck. With a straight face he says, “turn the oven on 325F”.
Don’t forget Wayne Brady’s guest spot in 813. He was the smoothest First Prime in the entire series (sorry Chris Judge), and he probably could have sold the galaxy’s finest malt liquor on the side if he’d wanted (he does a great Billy Dee Williams). It’s just a shame you killed him off!
Jelly looks fabulous! Look at her go! I’m glad she received a reward for her effort. 😀 Such a brave, sweet girl.
I loved both “It’s Good to be King” and “Reckoning”.
Turkey Hill ice cream is exempt from all diets, didn’t you hear?
Just ate chicken pad Thai with spring rolls for dinner… yummy!
Methinks Akemi is sweet on you Joe. 😆
Enjoying a lovely evening minus the usual high humidity. Slight breeze and lower heat, my kind of day.
G’night,
2cats
Hm-m-m… interesting. The time stamp on my post says 3:29pm while the clock here says 7:32pm. I thought Toronto was in same time zone as the Eastern US?
Anyone?
2cats
Nummy num nums on the breakfast!
Nutella chips? Swoon. Drool.
Ultron looks like a 25th anniversary version of Robocop.
Hey Joe, I need a job. Need a college graduate with a technical writing degree and experience in journalism and coywriting? I can also make pizza. Willing to relocate. And do whatever needs to be done.
Remember I said copywriting? I’m also good at making up words, such as “coywriting”.
Joe,
The cut scene from “It’s Good to be King” would have been great in the episode! Your description reminded me of a recent episode of Camelot, in which two separated parents barter guardianship of their kid. Morgan le Fay plays at it with the father, who willingly accepts payment for the kid, though he ends up losing out. The main difference, the kid doesn’t end up on Morgan’s dinner plate.
Regarding “Reckoning” and Dakara’s original name. Bakara sounds more like the delicious, syrupy sweet, pastry… baklava. The actual Dakara name, that sounds like it could be a slick model sports car made by Lamborghini… “Lamborghini Dakara”.
Question:
Although you weren’t involved with the franchise at the time, any chances of reminiscing seasons 1-3 of Stargate SG-1 after you’ve gotten through the rest?
That’d nicely round things out. 🙂
I was going to suggest a Goodbyn if you’re that into bento, but it looks like Akemi has compartmentalizing the food figured out in more creative ways than using a box that has compartments. I need the compartments just not to be tempted to go lazy and just serve sandwiches and carrots every day.
One thing I always thought would be an interesting twist with Pym & Ultron was to somehow make it that Ultron was actually performing what Pym wanted him to do all along via proxy.
Joe san,
The first bento box is not supposed to be a face.
It’s a letter “J”.
“J” as in Joseph.
Akemi
You must keep Akemi there, she is needed, and can not go back in Oct, she spoils you and I imagine the pups also.
I enjoyed Mayborne, he was a fun bad guy, and perfect for king.
Oh, NOW I see the “J” – you had it sideways, Joe – hence the confusion. However, the bento boxes look amazing. You have a Happy Panda? I have a yellow “Pocket Monsters” (Japanese version of Pokemon) two layer bento box with Pikachu on the cover!
Akemi, you are a very creative and talented person!
I thought it was very clever of you to turn oatmeal into onigiri-style breakfast treats! Do you put a filling in all of them?
Hey so, what are the odds of SGU finishing up its story in comic book for ala Buffy Season 8?
That breakfast looks tasty. I sort of lost the joy of cooking, but after following this blog, one could almost be inspired to pick it up again!
@archersangel – Regarding Citizen Joe: I liked that exchange as well. Very Daniel, very O’Neill. I also liked the “That’s not a knife, THAT’S a knife!” moment between O’Neill and Joe, only with guns instead of knives.
In “It’s Good to be King,” O’Neill finally gets to step through the gate again! My husband and I always cheer at that part.
Wayne Brady! I knew he was a fan from an interview he did with RDA. Some of you may remember it. “Gimme!!!”
I always crave ice cream after reading this blog, and chocolate!
@2cats: It’s very likely the time stamp is from WordPress’s home location…the western U.S.
I loved the Maybourne character. He was morally ambiguous and willing to do whatever worked for his own agenda. I think if I was ever going to go dark side, I’d want to be like Maybourne. His life was never boring. However, I’d go for the two husbands, rather than the two wives. 😀
Patricia
Harry Mayborne is a very underrated character. O’Neill and Mayborne should have had a spin-off of their own. The way they bickered and sniped at each other was hilarious.
Citizen Joe was yet another great episode. Particularly the self-criticism bits.
Oooh Ultron! Cool! By any chance, have you watched Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? He makes an appearance in the show.
Hi Joe !
Will you go to France for the filming of Transporter ?
Thank you for the summaries of the SG-1 seasons ! Very good.
In response to you reply, can you please forward the e-mail to MGM, i have been trying to contact them for the past MONTH with no luck, it would be really great if you could forward it.
Attached below is my original message.
—————————————————————————
Hello Joseph,
I decided to post here since you would actually ‘read this’ d hopefully respond. I have a solution for SGU. Can you please sent this message through to MGM. I talked to “The Syzgy Network”, a new channel coming in 2012. Attached below is the response from “The Syzgy Network”.
Thanks for your letter.
We would certainly consider a comprehensive deal for Stargate if we were in a position to, but as yet, we haven’t had any luck attracting the kinds of investors it would take to launch a new cable network (potentially as much as $50 million).
If you’ve had any contact from companies who might be interested in getting this going, we’re all for it. MGM themselves would make ideal partners, not only because of Stargate, but all of the other existing content they could bring to the table. If I could find a way to get them to sit down with us, we’d certainly be amenable.
Thanks again for your contact!
Dave Andrews
CEO and founder, The Syzygy Network
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@das: Love the titles!
Its to bad you couldn’t have found a way to have him voice homer in the episode which I love by the way
Hi Joe, wanted to know what you thought to one fans season 3 SGU opener script (I didn’t write this just passing on the link)
[edit. Sorry. While reading fanfic would’ve created all sorts of problems for me while I was working on Stargate, I’m in no hurry to read any know that I’m no longer working on Stargate].
@ Akemi – I love the little touches you add to Joe’s treats. You are very clever and creative! I especially love the puppy cookies! They’re almost too cute to eat…ALMOST. I’m pretty sure Joe made quick work of them. 😉
@ Your Mallojesty – You really need to teach Akemi how to make Wraith cookies… then send me a batch! 😀
das
By the way Joe, I wasn’t defending the actions of some of the more vocal haters that dislike the show or the people who have given grief to others, I was defending the fact that a vast majority of people who dislike SGU for one reason or another, dislike it because they simply don’t like the show, not because of any past grudges, or anything held against Brad or Rob or anything like that.
I’ve always found it brutally unfair that the Atlantis show gets mentioned when associated with Stargate Universe, you in a way should feel the same because you obviously put your heart into Atlantis.
If you look around the internet, or even use your twitter account to gather opinions, you’l find most people that disliked Stargate Universe do so because of the show.
The ratings reflect the popularity of the actors/actresses in a way, if you look up Hewletts or Tappings or Flanigans twitters, you’l see they have way more followers than anyone involved with SGU besides Blue.
It just seems so you know sad that some of the cast feel like people hate SGU because of SGA being cancelled when it simply isn’t true, no one outside the Stargate fandom thinks so either, and I’m sure if you aimed at comment at Engler over on his Syfy account the reasons why SGU wasn’t as popular, I think you’l find he’l say the same, that haters didn’t kill SGU.
Point being, I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful yesterday, but clearly the guy needs a PR guy, or an agent that knows that mouthing off against fans that don’t like a show you’ve worked on, is a big no no..
P.S I have more twitter followers than him.