Stargate suffered the loss of a loved and respected member of our extended family yesterday with the sudden passing of Nora O’Brien. Before becoming Vice President of Drama Programming for NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, Nora was VP of Original Programming at SciFi Channel where, for several years, she oversaw the production of both…
April 29, 2009: Simul-posting, Stargate, and the SyFy Slant.
Several weeks ago, when SyFy (sic?) and MGM first approached me about becoming the official behind-the-scenes voice for the new Stargate: Universe series and simul-posting on SciFi.com (sic?) I was admittedly leery. As someone who has made it a point to post a daily entry going on 2+ years now, the last thing I need…
April 28, 2009: Is Susan Boyle For Real? What About Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny? The New York Post is On the Case! Also – The Comics Roundup!
The article was titled “WHY IS NO ONE SUSPICIOUS OF SIMON COWELL’S LATEST CREATION?”. Intrigued, I clicked on the link and was redirected to a New York Post piece by writer Maureen Callahan that seemed to question the authenticity of Susan Boyle’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent. You know Susan, that dowdy, 47-year old woman…
April 27, 2009: Still Recovering, More Party Pics, and Marty G. Checks In
Carl says: "Be still my beating heart." Me, Julia, and Peter (photo courtesy of Lawren Bancroft-Wilson) Will enjoys his chocolate rush (photo courtesy of Lawren Bancroft-Wilson) I’m still recovering from this weekend’s excesses. Yes, while the chocolate party was indeed taxing, spending all of Sunday (Well, seven hours anyway) uploading pics and putting together a…
April 26, 2009: The Best Chocolate Party Ever!
I know, I know. I said the same thing about last year’s chocolate party - and, at the time, it certainly was The Best Chocolate Party Ever! Until yesterday’s chocolate party of course. This was the second year in a row I hosted the party at my favorite Vancouver restaurant, Fuel. After some…
April 25, 2009: Editor Ellen Datlow Answers Your Questions
Editor Ellen Datlow's career has spanned almost thirty years. She spent 18 years as the fiction editor of Omni, 21 years co-editing Year's Best Fantasy and Horror with Terri Windling, and has edited countless anthologies in the realms of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Her work has garnered her the Shirley Jackson Award, two Bram Stoker Awards, two Hugo…
April 24, 2009: Bon Voyage! (And if not “bon” then at least not “mauvais”). One Doctor Checks In, The Other Doctor Drops In. And, Some Mailbag.
I walked into Ashleigh‘s office and leveled with her. “I’m worried. All this morning, I was reading about that possible pandemic in Mexico…” The implication was clear. She was about to head off on a week-long Mexican getaway and the prospect of her flirting with danger was paramount on my mind. No doubt touched by…
April 23, 2009: It’s Like That Episode Of SG-1 Where The Team Has To Introduce A Foreign Element Into the Sun Of Another Planet In Order To Save The World’s Inhabitants Except That Instead Of “The Team” It’s “Me” And Instead of “Introducing A Foreign Element Into A Sun” It’s “Making This Entry” And Instead Of “Save The World’s Inhabitants” It’s “Entertain The Readers Of This Blog”. Oh, And A Production Update.
Hey, remember that episode of Atlantis where the team encounters a civilization of children living in a village located within some mysterious neutralizing field that renders technology inoperable? Well, switch out “village” for “my office”, substitute “a civilization of children” for “me”, and swap “technology” for “my wireless internet connection” and you have a pretty…
April 22, 2009: Director Peter DeLuise Answers Your Questions + Another Upcoming Guest Blogger
Some of my fondest memories of my early years on SG-1 involve Director Peter DeLuise - his fast-paced style, his encyclopedic knowledge of the show's mythology, and , of course, his unrestrained sense of humor. He occupied the office across the hall from Paul and I, a veritable Stargate shrine he decorated with the weirdest collection of curios imaginable: prop…
April 21, 2009: Advice and Observation Cookies, In Life We Are All Winners (Although Some Of Us Are Clearly Bigger Winners Than Others), More Scripts On Deck, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots on Hoth.
“I have no future!”cried my wife perhaps a little too loudly. Our mortified waiter mumbled some sort of apology and scurried off, returning seconds later with another two fortune cookies. Fondy actually felt bad for the guy. She’d been kidding of course but appreciated the fact that the second cookie contained an actual message, something…
April 20, 2009: Poe – 19 New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, Edited by Ellen Datlow
One of the nice things about picking up a short story collection is that it allows you to hedge your bets. When reading a novel, you’re in it for the long haul - especially if you’ve selected it as a book of the month club selection. In the case of an anthology, however, it’s a…
April 19, 2009: Now All I Need Is A Title…
To borrow a Gordon Ramsayism: “Stargate Atlantis Movie with satisfying conclusion…Done!”. Satisfying conclusion for who? Well, me for one. And, I suspect, for many fans as well although, of course, it goes without saying that you can’t please all of the people all of the time. Still, I’m very happy with the story we have…
April 18, 2009: @&%#ing Blackberry! And Some Mailbag.
Amazing. We can put a man on the moon but can’t invent a blackberry that doesn’t accidentally dial 911 on a regular basis. I mean, seriously. Of all the stupid features you can incorporate into a device, this has got to top the list. Brush up against it the wrong way, and your blackberry will…
April 17, 2009: My Unbridled Skepticism is its Own Reward, Wallpaper Paste Tikka, Chocolate and Sake Overload
Some solidifying developments on the Atlantis movie front. I refuse to call it “good news” because it’s only good news insofar as the naysaying, sky-is-falling, that-movie-aint-getting-made contingent is concerned - of which I am not a part of. Instead, I welcomed the update with a resounding “meh”. Sure, to the average outsider, it…
April 16, 2009: Almost a Full Script, Shanks on Set, Comic Book Round-Up
I spent the morning working on the Atlantis script and hit the 90 page mark. From the looks of things, we should have a first draft by Monday. There are a lot of BIG moments throughout and the last third of the movie will be nothing short of spectacular. Action, humor, drama, and at least…