With the cast reveals right around the corner, it's time to ramp up the big visual reveals as we count down towards our early summer premiere. So let's kick things off with a mini blog feature I'm calling The Four Days of Tabor Calchek. Introducing the crew's handler, their de facto agent, the guy who…
April 3, 2015: Yet another Stargate-Dark Matter connection! And let’s meet some more of the people who’ll be bringing you the show!
Well, well, well. If it isn't another Dark Matter guest star with a Stargate connection. Which of you diehard SG-1 fans recognizes Supreme High Council Per'sus of the tok'ra, who nearly lost his life at the hands of a za'tarc way back in the season four episode "Dive and Conquer"? Small galaxy, no? Back when Stargate concluded…
February 19, 2015: A casting hint! Cat Shirt Thursday on Shaofu 2!
While we wait for the official press release on our recent casting coup (any day now!), how about a little hint in the from of a character breakdown for the latest addition to the Dark Matter family: "Slick, silver-tongued, and more than a little seedy, Tabor Calchek is the crew’s “handler” and the ultimate agent. For the standard…
February 9, 2015: Introducing Dark Matter VFX Supervisor Lawren Bancroft-Wilson!
Well, well, well. If it isn't former Stargate script coordinator, fellow fantasy football enthusiast, and self-styled Thai food expert Lawren Bancroft-Wilson who joins us - all the way from comparatively warmer Vancouver, B.C. - to take on the role of Visual Effects Supervisor for Dark Matter's first season. Lawren will be acting as the on…
January 31, 2015: Cheesing! Toronto’s best rum cakes! And a script update!
"You're cheesing me,"said Akemi. "Cheesing you?"I asked. "Yes, cheesing me." She elaborated: "Making fun of me." "You mean teasing me,"I corrected her. "Teasing. With a t." She frowned, brow furrowed, genuinely perplexed by the revelation. "But cheesing makes more sense." "It does?" "Yes because cheese is like a food bully, kind of aggressive, always going…
October 31, 2014: Remembering Wray Douglas
I received word today of the passing of longtime Stargate Special Effects Supervisor Wray Douglas. It's shocking and sad when someone so young leaves us, but doubly so when it's someone as gentle and even-keeled as Wray. Despite the occasional onset chaos or the rigorous demands of his job, he was always the calm in the…
July 30, 2014: Fade in…humor!
It NEVER gets any easier. Inevitably, the jubilation of convening with your fellow writers and hashing out a terrific story is extinguished by the prospect of having to actually write the damn script. You sit down, type FADE IN and then...What? Oh, you know what the scene is going to be (You just broke it the other…
July 23, 2014: My favorite spaceships!
While we're on the subject... SUPER DIMENSIONAL FORCE MACROSS ANDROMEDA ASCENDANT STARBUG SERENITY THE BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO VORLON CRUISER MOYA STAR DESTROYER ASGARD SHIPS THE BEBOP ANCIENT AURORA CLASS BATTLESHIP THE ARCADIA THE USS SULACO THE MILLENNIUM FALCON THE DESTINY USS ENTERPRISE NCC-1701 THE NOSTROMO KLINGON BIRD OF PREY ROMULAN WARBIRD
May 30, 2014: Stargate Returns!
Wait. What trilogy? Oh, THIS trilogy: Yep, I'd heard rumblings - and they've finally been confirmed. 20 years after the original movie, Devlin and Emmerich will be rebooting Stargate for the big screen. I continue to be amazed by the franchise's staying power and continuing evolution, from a Devlin-Emmerich feature film that grossed 200 million to…
April 24, 2014: Completing our Stargate: Atlantis re-watch with…Enemy at the Gate!
So, I finished re-reading A Feast For Crows today and have A Dance with Dragons sitting on my night table. I've been holding off on reading it because I want the story fresh(ish) in my mind for when I eventually sit down to read the sixth book in the series, The Winds of Winter. Of…
April 23, 2014: News of note! Continuing our Stargate Atlantis re-watch with…Vegas!
An update to a story I brought you last week concerning that french bulldog stolen from a local Vancouver tattoo shop - and it was all caught on camera. A happy ending as the dog was finally reunited with its rightful owner: http://www.petsearcherscanada.com/found-and-safe-stolen-french-bulldog-in-vancouver-do-you-recognize-this-woman2-updated/ Apparently the theft was the result of an ownership dispute over the…
April 22, 2014: Zombies in cars getting brains! Bubba! Continuing our Stargate Atlantis re-watch with…Identity!
Today's inane conversation with my Japanese girlfriend: As we pulled into the underground parkade... Akemi: That looks like zombie car (indicating an old, tarp-covered sedan). Joe: What's a zombie car? Akemi: A car that zombie hide in so it can eat people. (Obviously). Joe: What do you mean? They drive around offering lifts to people and…
April 21, 2014: Bubba’s surgery! Stargate stuff! Continuing our Stargate Atlantis re-watch with…Infection!
Bubba had his surgery today. Before... And after... The bandage conceals a nasty cut-and-stitch that looks like a wound he may have sustained in a knife fight. Thanks for all the well-wishes. He's on the mend and already eating like crazy. Robert Cooper forwarded me the following link under the email heading: "Where were these…
April 20, 2014: Bubba’s surgery surprise! Our Stargate Atlantis re-watch continues with…Brainstorm!
Sigh. Here we go again. Last month, a routine check at our local vet clinic revealed that Jelly had a mast cell tumor that would have to be removed. Given their advanced ages, and the fact that they are pugs, surgery always worries me as much as whatever it is they are being treated for.…
April, 2014: Dognapping in Vancouver! My March Reading List! Continuing our Stargate: Atlantis re-watch with…Remnants!
Wow. This has been all over the news here: http://www.petsearcherscanada.com/stolen-french-bulldog-in-vancouver-do-you-recognize-this-woman2/ If you live in the Vancouver area, check out the video and maybe help identify this sorry excuse for a human being. Capsule reviews of all the books I read last month... Blood Kin by Steve Rasnic Tem A southern gothic tale that alternates between the…