I suffered a head injury yesterday afternoon. No, not playing pick-up football. No, not in a fistfight with an angry Weir fan. I got conked in the head with a book. Seriously. I was at a bookstore, looking for Robert Reed’s Marrow, when I spotted it sitting atop a pile on the top shelf of…
September 6, 2008: Whispers Breakdown, Part 1
Well, as promised, I’m dedicating today’s blog entry to a post-Whispers blow-by-blow. Since I was on set for this episode, I have plenty to talk about and, over the course of this breakdown, I’ll touch on a variety of subjects including revised scenes, deleted footage, and on-set anecdotes. And, seeing as how it looks like…
September 5, 2008: Whispers
Hey, Whispers finally airs tonight (10:00 p.m. on Sci Fi)! If you enjoy thoughtful, character-driven stories that explore the themes of trust, friendship, and the indomitability of the human spirit, then you should definitely check out our last episode, The Shrine. If, on the other hand, you’re in the mood for some good creepy fun,…
September 4, 2008: The Lemons Roll In, August’s Top 3 Reads, and The Weird Food Purchase of the Day
Paul walked into my office and held up the lemon so that I could read the message marked on its plastic surface: “SGA!! not SGU!!”. And so it begins. “It’s part of the fan campaign protesting the cancellation of the show,”I enlightened him. “Yeah, I figured.” He set the lemon down on my desk. “But…
September 3, 2008: Director Andy Mikita Calls the Shots, and The Weird Food Purchase of the Day
Hey! Look who it is! Why, it’s 20-year film and television veteran Andy Mikita, director of such episodes as Heroes I and II, Before I Sleep, Be All My Sins Remember’d and, more recently, Search and Rescue, The Daedalus Variations, The Shrine, First Contact, and The Lost Tribe. Andy, who is presently prepping the series…
September 2, 2008: A Touch of Evil, a Kellerific Mailbag, and The Weird Food Purchase of the Day
Today, Evil takes over this blog. And by Evil, I am, of course, referring to "Evil" Kenny Gibbs, our Stargate Atlantis Props Master. Kenny a.k.a. Evil a.k.a. Yellow has been with the show as long as I can remember and it's a pleasure to have him drop by for a little meet 'n greet. While…
August 29, 2008: We’re #1, Ducking the Mix, Honk! Honk!, and a Video Tour of Stage 5, Part 1.
We’re #1! Well, we were anyway. The #1 pirated show on BitTorrent last week, beating out the likes of the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, Psych, and Mad Men, and up from #6 the previous week. No actual hard numbers provided in the report, but one can’t help but wonder whether all those illegal downloads have been…
August 28, 2008: Lexa Doig Answers Your Questions And We Complete A Tour of Stage 6.
Here’s a tip. If the Stargate event you’re attending is turning into a bit of a bore, track down Lexa Doig and hang with her for a while. She is freaking hilarious. Smart, no-nonsense, and gifted with a razor-sharp acerbity capable of keeping you entertained for hours or cutting you to shreds if you step…
August 27, 2008: Keep it. Keep it. Toss it. Keep it. Burn it.
With production on the Stargate Atlantis series slated to wrap in the coming weeks, it was time for a little house-cleaning, so the producers took a trip down to the various lock-ups the other day to decide what should stay and could should go. After twelve years of television, you tend to amass a fair…
August 26, 2008: Author Catherynne M. Valente Answers Your Questions – And Carl Binder Takes Us On A Virtual Tour
Today, it gives me great pleasure to turn this blog over to Catherynne M. Valente, author of The Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden. If you didn‘t get the chance to participate in this month‘s Fantasy BOTMC discussion, all is not lost. Both The Orphan‘s Tales: In the Night Garden and The Orphan‘s Tales: In…
August 25, 2008: The Church of Dead Girls, the Mailbag, and a Walk Through the Production Office
The fact that this book club covers three different genres each month often requires me to do a bit of research in order to come up with quality selections, especially when it comes to the horror category. It’s not that there aren’t plenty of worthy books out there, only that I’m not as familiar with…
August 23, 2008: Questions, Answers, Guests, and Pics!
Well, not surprisingly, you guys have more than a few queries concerning recent developments. I’ve received about 650 comments over the past two days and, while I can’t address them all, rest assured I have read them. Still, many of you bring up some very interesting questions that I’m going to try to respond to…
August 22, 2008: Firstlies through Eightlies…
First, let me start off today’s entry by saying if you have any questions about the new spin-off, Stargate: Universe, I’m not the person to ask. Hell, I didn’t even know the ship was named Destiny until I read it in the press release this morning. What I do know, however, is that with Brad…
August 21, 2008: All Good Things…
By now, I assume you’ve all heard the news. This will be Stargate Atlantis’s fifth and final season. I’m disappointed but not surprised. We came into this year knowing that renewal would be a longshot. With 100 episodes under our belts, rising production costs, and the US dollar’s steep decline, the odds were stacked against…
August 20, 2008: Production Update, More Guest Announcements, and The Weird Food/Medicinal Purchase of the Day!
The other day, Fondy was sick. Today, it was my turn. It’s, of course, easy to point the finger at some of the items I’ve sampled for my Weird Food Purchase of the Day segment but I prefer to point the finger at all of you for encouraging my outrageous behavior by watching these videos.…