Every so often, I like to check out this blog’s site stats to get a sense of the daily visits, most popular posts and, most interestingly of all, what leads people to check out this little corner on the internet. In the case of the latter, if you go by recent search engine terms, it’s “Stargate”, “Joseph Mallozzi”, and “Julia Benson” – and not necessarily in that order. Site stats also include a rundown of Top Referrer’s who have provided links to this blog. They’re usually fairly vague – facebook, google image search, etc – but, occasionally, they’re quite specific. Like, yesterday, when I clicked on one of the Referrer links and ended up on Reddit where somebody asked: Does anyone have some deck plans for Prometheus? Another user offered the following advice: “Joe Mallozzi used to be a writer/producer on SG-1 back in the day. He has a blog where he occasionally posts pictures of set blueprints. I’ve seen him post a bunch of set blueprints from Atlantis, but you might get lucky and find some Daedalus/Prometheus stuff. Gonna take a lot of digging though.”
Yes, admittedly, a time consuming process. According to Site Stats (again), this will be my 2 333rd post. That IS a lot of digging. UNLESS, you have an affable executive producer willing to take the time to wade through the mountain of Art Department handouts he received over the years in search of Prometheus schematics.
Sadly, I don’t have anything in the way of an actual ship plan. I’m not even sure if one was ever drafted but, even if it was, that would have been during the SG-1 days, long before I started collecting these pre-production mementos. However, I DID find a few Daedalus-related plans which, I hope, will prove somewhat helpful because – here’s a secret: the Prometheus was the Daedalus was the Odyssey was the Apollo was the Korolev! They were the same sets and, for design purposes, the same ships. When it came time to shoot them, however, one was able to distinguish them in a variety of ways: besides specific crews, there were the distinguishing plaques that adorned the walls. In addition, the lighting on the various bridges differed. From what I recall, the Apollo was slightly blue while the Daedalus was slightly green. The Prometheus, I believe, was white.
Anyway, this is what I was able to dig up:
From The Kindred Part 1 Art Department package: The Daedalus Bridge, Corridors, and Mess Hall. Note the reminder to swap out the Apollo plaque for a Daedalus plaque. Also note the reminder to repair/restore the section of the Mess Hall damaged during “Ark of Truth”. Was it damaged in an actual scene in the movie or did Director Robert Cooper kick a crew member through the wall? Again. I don’t recall.
The Daedalus Bridge from the Be All My Sins Remember’d Art Department package.
Daedalus Engineering, also from the Be All My Sins Remember’d Art Department package. Note the additions of Asgard tech that came with the last engineer, Hermoid, in Siege 3. Also note the use of the term “gak”, used to refer to circuitry/wires/panels – essentially, cool, high-tech looking “ship innards”.
Sadly, that’s it. BUT, I did find this cool layout of the Midway station:
Some interesting comments to yesterday’s blog entry “March 14, 2013: Veronica Mars fans are finally getting their movie! So when are Stargate fans getting THEIR movie?” A few thoughts on your thoughts:
Matt writes: “Would a CG/Green screen set be more affordable now?”
Answer: Hmmm. How shall I put this? The problem with green screen sets is that they look like…green screen sets.
stargateatlantisseasonsix writes: “Have you ever thought of asking the fans to donate their abilities in effects making, set building, make-up and prosthetics, etc. for just the simple exchange of putting their names in the credits at the end. I don’t know a single fan that wouldn’t be estatic to see their name or see their work on the official film.”
Answer: While I’m sure many talented and dedicated fans would do wonderful jobs, there are agreements in place that require a production engage the services of unionized professionals – individuals with proper training and experience. I’d argue that, at the end of the day, you’re better off hiring someone who has made a living building that sturdy set.
Emily H. writes: “And just as a side note, when the fans brought Farscape back from the dead, they did it with a 4-hour miniseries, complete with an epic story, space battles and astonishing special effects — all to the tune of about $20 million dollars. I may be an optimist, but I think that’s doable.”
Answer: Well, okay. The fans did bring back Farscape with that 4-hour miniseries – but, in all fairness, they didn’t foot that bill to the tune of $20 million dollars.
Chris L writes: “Can someone please send MGM an email?”
Answer: Oh I’m sure MGM is receiving plenty of emails from Stargate fans. It’ll be interesting to see if they receive enough to reconsider their options…
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