Done and done. Sort of. I finally finished the first rough draft of the miniseries. Now, I switch off and go over the first part which Paul has been revising and rewriting. I think it’s coming along quite nicely – a suspenseful, near-future four hour television event. They’re looking to go to camera in July which, on the one hand, means the turnaround on the rewrite is also going to be tight, but on the other hand means that our work will be complete by July. As much as I enjoy producing, I like the fact that we were basically hired guns on this one. We write the script and then go on our merry way. I was hoping “all the way to Hawaii” but it looks like our dog-sitter is fully booked so I’m going to have to hold off on any trips until July’s Comic Con in San Diego. Well, that’s the plan anyway. Anyone else going? I will, of course, be there to talk Dark Matter in advance of the trade paperback release collecting the first four issues of my comic book series, but if you’d like to chat Stargate, scifi, or my Snow Monkeys’ chances heading into this next fantasy football season, then by all means let’s chat.
I picked up about a dozen fresh spot prawn the other day and, while we were cleaning them, Akemi asked whether I wanted to prepare them head on or head off. She’s squeamish about certain things (ie. eating a face with beady black eyeballs) and leaned toward tossing the heads which I found altogether unJapanese. Why, I recall that one of my favorite menu items at a tempura joint in Ginza was its deep-fried prawn heads. And so, I decided “Why not have the best of both worlds?”. We decapitated the prawn and I prepared the heads as a side dish. Like so:
They were quite good but, of course, nowhere near as good as the ones I enjoyed in Tokyo. In retrospect, maybe I should’ve gone with the egg and soda water.
Mailbag:
Ponytail writes: “I can’t think of any 70′s show that might have had a “bible”. Can you? Each week was basically anew again.”
Answer: I’m quite certain that whether or not they had a series bible had nothing do with its serialized or stand-alone structure. SGU, for instance, was somewhat serialized – we knew where we were going – but we were never working off an official “bible”. We had a series overview and character breakdowns to get us started in addition to the plan creators Brad Wright and Robert Cooper had in mind, but there was never a detailed blueprint for the show that a “series bible” implies.
Michael Carney writes: “Joe: how fleshed-out are series bibles typically before a series begins?”
Answer: It really depends on the show. Some productions prefer to have a highly detailed bible in place before moving forward on a show while others prefer a less-detailed series overview. I personally prefer the latter because the more detailed your game plan in the beginning, the more difficult it will be to make changes as a series progresses – and there are always changes. Somethings work out better than expected while other things don’t work out at all. Opportunities suddenly present themselves and it’s nice to have the ability to respond in stride and allow the creative to evolve rather than paint yourself into a corner from the get-go.
Michael Carney also writes: “And, in a related question, does a network being pitched a series like SGU or Fringe need details of the story arc and its eventual conclusion before giving the green light?”
Answer: A network will certainly want to know where the show is headed, and see proof of concept in the form of a pilot script, but it won’t need to know the conclusion in order to green light a show.
Ponytail also writes: “Joe those two elder pugs you’re trying to adopt aren’t getting any younger. What is the problem with that organization? They are starting to make me really mad!”
Answer: I’m to blame for the delay. I’ve been busy working on this miniseries and haven’t had time to gather all the necessary documentation. I just got a letter reference from my vet and will be forwarding that tomorrow.
Cyn writes: “Do you look back, Joe? Do you look at SGA or SG-1 and say nobody did that like us or we did a hell of a thing? Do you miss it? Will Stargate ever come back, you think?”
Answer: I do reflect back fondly on my Stargate days. I worked with a great group of people – generous and immensely talented – and really miss the camaraderie and the incredible results of all of our hard work. Nobody did do it like us, especially with regard to our visual effects. Our VFX team, led by the great Mark Savela, was continuously producing viz effects at least a step or two ahead of anything else being done on television at the time. It’s a damn shame they didn’t receive the recognition they deserved. As for Stargate’s future – I don’t know. It’s a valuable franchise that, someday, will be reborn, probably in the form of a feature. Whether or not it builds on the mythology and characters developed in its television incarnation is the big question.
JeffW writes: “Any other “must try” restaurants in Gastown? Macarons?”
Answer: Boneta is also a nice restaurant. Cobre is terrific but, alas, closed until September. Cartem Donuterie is within walking distance.
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