So, I’m prepping for Comic Con, selecting giveaway items for the fans who will visit my booth – accidentally assuming it’s a Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-related signing only to discover the truth to late! The gate will be shut and locked behind them for the duration of my hour long meandering reminiscences of all the places we used to order lunch from while I was on Stargate. In addition, I’ll be signing copies of my comic series, Dark Matter. And, like I said, giving some stuff away: maybe a two dollar Canadian coin, maybe a lucky button, maybe a signed script – like the one pictured above. I thought that, rather than just signing the title page, I would further devalue the script with the addition of sarcastic commentary interspersed throughout. It’ll make for an entertaining read. Provided you can read my handwriting. Which is unlikely.
Speaking of Stargate, I ran into a couple of familiar faces from my SG-1 days this afternoon while taking the dogs for a walk on the beach. First up – Beefcake Alert! –
Dan is hard at work on Psych’s seventh season – and, of course, working on his tan. I recall that he and Martin Wood wore shorts ALL YEAR ROUND and were always the first ones in t-shirts at the first signs of winter’s end, even if it was only slightly above freezing. Eternal optimists. And probably really cold most of the time as well.
Then, further along the path, I ended up running into one of my favorite System Lords –
We chatted Stargate, how much quieter the industry is here in Vancouver compared to Toronto, and conventions. Very nice guy.
This wraps up a week-long Stargate reunion that kicked off Tuesday night when I met up with some of my former colleagues for drinks and churros…
From SG-1 to Atlantis, let’s continue to reflect back on SGA’s second season. Up for discussion today…
COUP D’ETAT (217)
It’s funny. Working on the show, we’d take in so many versions of an episode (from spinning the story to breaking it to commenting on the outline to reading the various drafts to watching the dailies and director’s cut and producer’s cuts and various mixes) that, by the time a completed version was available, time constraints would already have us moving on to the next episode. I mean, sure, by the time we got to that Day 2 mix, the episode would be all but done – minus a few finished visual effects that would be approved as shots or sequences at a later date – but it was rare we would sit down to watch a finished episode for pleasure. I remember thinking Coup D’Etat a good episode back in the day, but I didn’t realize quite how good until I reviewed it for this trip down memory lane. I likes me some political intrigue and this episode had it in spades, with some surprising little twists and turns. I mean, sure, we all knew Major Lorne wasn’t really dead, but did you see the Cowan double-cross coming? How about the Ladon triple-cross?
Another solid episode made all that much better by some fantastic guest stars. The story was originally conceived with the character of Kolya pulling the strings but, with Robert Davi unavailable, it was rewritten for the character of Ladon. Ryan Robbins was terrific and Colm Meaney equally great in his final appearance as Cowan.
My only bump in this episode was seeing McKay on point when they storm the facility. I mean, sure, it makes sense for him to be on the op since they’re looking to retrieve a ZPM, but it doesn’t make sense for him to be leading the attack.
In retrospect, one of my favorite episodes of Atlantis’s second season.
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