The Stargate Tweetstorm

Nice job, everyone! We wrecked twitter!#WeWantStargate@bradtravelers @stargatecommand

— Joseph Mallozzi (@BaronDestructo) December 7, 2019

Well, that was impressive.  We had a huge turnout for last night’s Stargate tweetstorm, with thousands of fans joining in from all over the world.  Those who took part were treated to exclusive concept art, never before seen show footage, and surprise appearances from numerous former cast and crew.  Just a few of the highlights –

Halfway through our SG-1 pitch to Showtime the fire alarm went off. We all had to go downstairs and assemble in the parking garage. When we got there, the head of the network just looked at me and said “okay, keep going…” So I did. I guess he was thinking #WeWantStargate

— Brad Wright (@bradtravelers) December 7, 2019

I don’t know about you, but #WeWantStargate…to be fair the robots want what i program them to…So humans…let’s get tweeting! pic.twitter.com/dPBlkrpmrv

— Hewlett! (@dhewlett) December 7, 2019

I’m here for a good time #WeWantStargate pic.twitter.com/3KQPKNW8sl

— Michael Shanks (@MichaelShanks) December 7, 2019

Hello all!!! How fun!!! It’s like a big family reunion. SGA always felt like family to me. Xox@markdacascos @loydbateman @StargateCommand @bradtravelers #WeWantStargate pic.twitter.com/PGiOFfedBV

— Rachel Luttrell (@rachel_luttrell) December 7, 2019

Stargate: F.O.R.D#WeWantStargate https://t.co/6rAFu2snjg

— Rainbow Sun Francks (@RainbowFrancks) December 7, 2019

#WeWantStargate@bradtravelers
@stargatecommand
@BaronDestructo
Season 2 Cast/Crew Gifts…designed by yours truly! pic.twitter.com/kDafKICTbm

— Peter Kelamis (@PeterKelamis) December 7, 2019

I think of this moment a lot from the #SGU finale, if only because it fulfilled a childhood fantasy. I got to fly a damn SPACESHIP! #WeWantStargate #bucketlist pic.twitter.com/aEBc6uvMYP

— Patrick Gilmore (@PatrickGilmore) December 7, 2019

Me too! #WeWantStargate https://t.co/XzVM78DCOE

— Jewel Staite (@JewelStaite) December 7, 2019

I’ll be stuck in space with @JewelStaite any day #WeWantStargate https://t.co/OZF1rDr4XQ

— Alaina Huffman (@AlainaHuffman) December 7, 2019

#wewantstargate @jewelstaite remember this? #sttargateatlantis #tracker pic.twitter.com/EW0nVMi5aU

— Mike Dopud (@dopudmike) December 7, 2019

Hey, hang on – is this thing legit? I typed in #WeWantStargate and got an email saying "Your order has shipped and your Credit Card charged. Allow 4 business days for delivery" – Where will I put it? pic.twitter.com/7HZLMEYvK9

— Peter Williams (@actualApophis) December 7, 2019

And many more, including Dark Matter cast members Anthony Lemke, Alex Mallari Jr, Jodelle Ferland, and Roger Cross!

We trended #1 in Australia, Canada, France, and the U.S., trended #2 in Germany, the UK and Worldwide, second only to the #BBCLeadersDebate and the always formidable BTS Army.  Hollywood also took note of our efforts, resulting in a notable campaign mention on Deadline:

#WeWantStargate Trends In Worldwide Campaign To Bring Forth New ‘Stargate’ Series

Head on over and add your voice to the 86 comments already there.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped pull off this seismic storm: the aforementioned cast and crew, the Stargate Now facebook crew, the gang at Save FutureStargate Travel, the High Council of StargateNow and StargateNowEurope, and, of course, all of you.

As promised, I have some goodies to give away.  Give me a day to organize. Winners will be announced in Monday’s blog entry!

So, what’s next?

Well, some much-needed R&R – and a new series ideally.

March 3, 2018: Congratulations, Stargate fans! One more test-drive to go!

Well, last night’s #TestTheDrive campaign went very well.  Here’s how we did in that hour…

Trendsmap

Almost 35k tweets in an hour.  Fantastic.  I think we can work on those replies, making more of an effort to engage with our fellow tweeters, but overall this is amazing for a dry run.  Almost everyone was fantastic at following the one hashtag rule with only about 1% of participants tweeting out more than one.

We got a big boost from some influencers lead by Stargate’s Michael Shanks, and Dark Matter’s Zoie Palmer and Alex Mallari Jr.  Majorie Liu, Rachel Caine, Peter Williams, Simone Bailly, Jeff Teravainen, Corin Nemec, Mika McKinnon,  Patrick Gilmore, Mike Dopud, and David Nykl were instrumental were a big part of yesterday’s tweet storm that saw us trending in both the U.S. and Canada.  As were you all, especially these three, our top tweeters…

Wow!  In fact, we continued trending in Canada into the week hours of this morning.  Congrats and thanks to all, and in particular the @StargateNow and @StargateNow_EU teams.   If you missed it, here’s an interview with two of our frontline stars, Kelli Zielinski and Tom Gardiner –

Meet Two Fans Behind the StargateNow Movement

Alright!  Now that we’ve sufficiently recharged, let’s get ready to do it all over again with our international fans in less than an hour!

A rules refresher…

Make sure you’re following @StargateNow and @Stargate_EU as they’ll be releasing the secret hashtag 15 minutes before the tweet-storm.

See you there!

February 28, 2018: The Stargate Initiative Gaining Steam and Best Comic Book Covers of the Week!

Less than 10 days out from our scheduled tweet-storm, the Stargate Initiative is gaining steam!  The @StargateNow twitter account is inching towards 9k followers with a number of familiar faces boarding the drive including: @MichaelShanks, @dhewlett, @martingero, @cpbinder, @Ivonbartok, @redTamsen, @JeffTeravainen, @dopudmike, @Ayisha_Issa, @PatrickGilmore, @mikamckinnon, @marksavela, @PeterKelamis, @MichaelMoreci, @MichaelWelchAct, @SamMaggs, @actualApophis, @ranthonylemke, @SuanneBraun, @cliffsimon, @PaulyMcGillion, @imcorinnemec, @SimoneBaily, @AlexMallariJr.  And we still have over a week to go!

We’ll be doing a trial run in preparation for next week’s tweet-storm.  Join us Friday, March 2nd (fans in America) and Saturday, March 3rd (international fans) at the above times.   We’ve got you covered!  (Thanks for the assist, Kelli and Irena)

Onto our weekly feature: My favorite comic book covers of the week…

Actionverse: Stray #6 (cover art by Mitch Ballard, Wilson Ramos Jr.)

Love the use of negative space in this take on the classic “Superhero No More” cover.  Bonus points for working a dog into the walkaway.

Avengers #682 (cover art by Mark Brooks)

Incredible color  detail, and use of depth in this gorgeous frame worthy art piece.

Captain Marvel #129 (cover art by Phil Noto)

I’m a sucker for alternate reality stories and this cover leaves me all sorts of intrigued.

Deadpool #295 (cover art by Mike Hawthorne)

One of the things I love about Deadpool is that he’s so damn over the top – an attitude that often translates to his covers.  Like this one, for instance.

Gasolina #6 (cover art by Mat Lopes, Niko Walter)

I have no idea what’s going on here – the shoes, the gun, that squid sitting atop the soccer ball – but I love the composition and colors.

Galaktikon #5 (cover art by Marissa Louise, Steve Mannion)

As a longtime scifi fan, I’m always charmed by these classic SF conceits.

Glitterbomb vol. 2: The Fame Game (cover art by Djibril Morissette-Phan)

Horrific and brutal but undeniably beautiful.

Doom Patrol/JLA Special #1 (cover art by Marissa Louise, Clay Mann)

Doom Patrol battles the Justice League in a giant bowl of milk while the Milk Man looks on.  What’s not to love?

Rich Veitch’s The One #1 (cover art by Rick Veitch)

Love the playfulness of this one as well.

Saga #49 (cover art by Fiona Staples)

49 issues in and Saga remains one of the most fiercely creative comics out there.  The series covers are equally imaginative.

Strangers In Paradise XXV #2 (cover art by Terry Moore)

I’ve been a longtime fan of Terry Moore’s work, and this is the latest in a long line of terrific (and, in this case, subtly unnerving) covers.

Teen Titans #17 (cover art by Dan Mora)

I always enjoy seeing super beings laid low by mundanities or the harsh realities faced by your average (dare I say it?) Joe.  Still, it make you wonder: Are they leaving the furniture?

What do you think?

April 2, 2017: A Walk in the Park!

“Is that Suji?”asked the woman in the bicycle helmet.

“Why yes,”I said.  “It is!”

We’d spent the better part of the beautiful afternoon in High Park, walking the dogs along the water, taking in the sights and the cantankerous swans, and were on our way back to the car.  Lulu and Suji were tuckered out, so I had the task of pushing them – and their stroller – up the winding incline toward the lot.  We’d just reached the nice little bench area at the top of the hill when we encountered the lovely cyclist couple.

“They’re exhausted,”I explained.  And then, by way of an explanation: “They’re old.”  Ironically, they looked quite comfortable in the stroller while I was the one fighting for breath.

They’d recognized Suji from a recent pug meet-up.  Initially, I’d assumed/hoped they’d recognized her from instagram where her NewOldPugSuji account has, in a mere three months, has more than doubled by follower count.  She’s on track to break 5k by mid-month.  At this rate, I’d be foolish NOT to stunt cast in season 4.

When I retire in about seven years from now, I’m going to just live off Suji’s various endorsements and public appearances.

But today, a lot of this:

Hey, this takes me back.  Actors Peter Kelamis, Patrick Gilmore, and Jennifer Spence behind-the-scenes on Stargate: Universe –

December 20, 2013: Stargate Universe 1.0! The Japanese Girlfriend Edition!

After dating me for almost four years, Akemi finally decided it was time to take the plunge.  Yes, after all these years, she finally made the BIG commitment.  She actually started watching Stargate!

I gave her a choice between the three series – SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe .  She elected to go with the latter because, apparently, next to spiders and moldy cheese, crappy visual effects are one of her biggest fears.

So, over the last week or so, we watched the first ten episodes of Stargate: Universe.  I was surprised by some of her reactions, and not all that surprised by others.

What follows are her thoughts on the first half of SGU’s first season.

AIR I and II

She found the opening two-parter very confusing with the jumping backwards and forwards in time and the various locations.  And then, when the stones were introduced… Ten episodes in, and she still couldn’t fully grasp the concept.  On the other hand, she did find the two episodes incredibly exciting and was very impressed with the show’s visual effects.  Curiously, she expressed the most admiration, not for a singular character, but for a piece of Ancient technology: the kino!  She likes “kino-chan’s” honeycomb style lens and desperately wants one.  She also found the fact that a character named Young is played by an older actor curious and amusing.

“First episode is most exciting for me.”

AIR III

By the third episode, we start exploring the characters.  The ones who stood out to her in this outing were Rush, Greer, Eli – and, of course, the kino (which warrants a mention even though it isn’t actually a character).  Some of her thoughts:

On Rush: “I liked Scottish guy at first and very much liked his accent but chotto (kind of) getting kowaii (scary) now; becoming angry bird.”

On Greer: “I like his character actually.  Very tough.”

On Eli: “I like Eli because he’s cute.  Like bear.”

On the episode itself: I kinda liked it.  Episode made me thirsty.”

DARKNESS

I was curious to see what she thought of this episode because of its, er, languorous pacing.  Well, not surprisingly, she wasn’t  huge fan.  She found the dialogue-heavy scenes difficult to follow, but had great respect for actress Jennifer Spence’s wordy/techy kino scene.

Akemi: “Who wrote such crazy sentences?  Who decides who says what?”

Me: “Well, she plays the part of a scientist so that’s the type of dialogue she has to learn for the role.”

Akemi: “So, just bad luck.”

Me: “Yes, bad luck she was cast as a scientist.”

Given that certain fans didn’t exactly warm to Chloe, I wondered what Akemi would think of the character.  Her take:

“I don’t like Chloe’s dress.  It looks like her father picked it.  I like her though.  She is beautiful.”

As for the episode itselfL:

“This episode I had a hard time understanding because a lot of talking instead of happening.”

LIGHT

She got back on track with this episode, mainly owing to the stunning – the star sequence, yes, but also the scene in which Greer strips down in his quarters to await certain death.

WATER

This episode caused her to reconsider the show, not because it was bad but because the suspense proved too unbearable.  Every time the swarm appeared, she was on the edge of her seat (or the bed in this case), asking a multitude of questions: “What is that bug by the way?  Where are they from?  Stalker?”  When I asked her why she could sit through American Horror Story without flinching yet practically crawl under the covers while watching this episode, she said: “I don’t believe in witch but unconsciously I’m afraid of aliens so chotto kowaii (kind of scary)”.

She did fear for Lieutenant Scott, stuck in that crevasse, commenting on the possibility and romantic ramifications of his death: “I though he gonna die.  Then, if he die, geek guy and beautiful girl be love-oo love-oo.”

As for the episode itself: “The episode was a little scary for me.  I can’t watch Stargate anymore.  One of the most scary episodes I’ve ever watched.”

EARTH

Fortunately, by the next night, she had reconsidered and was eager to get back to it.  While this episode was certainly NOT scary, I was curious to see how she’d respond given how polarizing the episode had been among the fans.  The verdict?  “I liked this episode so much.  Very nice episode.  Not scary.”

When they first use the stones –

Akemi: “How many times can they use the stones?”

Joe: “As many times as they like.”

Akemi (critical): “So convenient.”

On Young having sex with his wife in Telford’s body: “WTF?!”

When Chloe complains about the fact that her best friend has slept with her boyfriend: “But she’s sleeping with Scott!”  Good point!

TIME

Given her response to Water, I considered skipping this episode but she insisted on checking out.  And it turned out to be an excellent call because she absolutely LOVED it, declaring it her favorite episode of the show and instilling in her great respect for Rob Cooper (“Not just your friend and good at making pizza, but great director!”).  Not surprisingly, she found the time travel aspect a little confusing, and I talked her through it as best I could.  She was able to get on board thanks to her childhood viewing of the anime Doraemon about an alien cat-like creature that travels to the present from the future, armed with a host of far future tech like: “A door that when you open it and think of where you want to go, you are there.  A sort of hat that lets you fly.  A special pocket that you can put as much as you want inside, doesn’t matter the size.”

LIFE

She greatly enjoyed Earth.  Would she enjoy this similarly themed episode in which we explore the lives-left-behind of a couple of other characters.  In a word: no.

Her take: “I feel like I am watching a different show.   Affair.  Not affair.  Like Real Housewives.  Chotto ralakkuchan (kind of relaxed).  I don’t like when the kino doesn’t show up very often.”

JUSTICE

And, finally, we capped off the first half of the show’s first season with this shipboard court thriller.  It made her nostalgic for Time.  She bumped on Eli, casually searching Young’s quarter, suddenly keying on the vent of all places.  She not only couldn’t understand the details of the court scenes but questioned why a court had to be assembled at all given the lack of evidence.

A few other thoughts:

“Nice to see Patrick (Gilmore).”

“Why commander left that science guy on the planet?  They need him, no?”

Agree with Akemi’s takes?  Disagree?  I found it very interesting to revisit these episodes after a few years and was surprised by my own responses.  Two of the biggest: Justice was an episode I really liked back in the day but after a repeat viewing with some distance, not so much at all.  On the other hand, Time was an episode I absolutely loved when I first watched it three years ago and loved even more on the rematch.  Just brilliant.

And there you have it: Stargate Universe 1.0!  The Japanese Girlfriend Edition.    Stay tuned for Stargate Universe 1.5!  The Japanese Girlfriend Edition!  Coming in January of 2014!

August 7, 2013: Marked for death! Select your sandwich! News of note!

This morning, I came across this interesting article that offers up a list of 11 t.v. characters originally slated for death who were granted a reprieve by the show’s producers:

http://www.avclub.com/articles/i-can-kill-you-whenever-i-please-but-not-today-11,101147/

Some surprising names on the list including The X-Files‘ Melvin Frohike (the bespectacled member of the Lone Gunmen), Battlestar Galactica’s Karl “Helo” Agathon, Jack Shephard from Lost and, topping the list: Breaking Bad‘s Jesse Pinkman.  It makes for interesting reason as we are offered a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes creative reconsiderations, often owing to the actor’s fabulous performance and the audience response.

It reminds me of a similar situation in Stargate: Universe’s first season when we planned to kill off one of the Destiny crew in heroic self-sacrifice but, after seeing the dailies, watching the character grow and, most important of all, being mightily impressed with the actor’s performance, the character was granted an indefinite stay of execution.

Which SGU character am I talking about?  Check out the end of this blog entry for the (possibly) surprising answer.

Blog regular, Deni, sent me the following link to a countdown of the 50 Greatest Sandwiches Ever Known To Man:

These are the 50 greatest sandwiches ever known to man www.thrillist.comIn honor of National Sandwich Day, Thrillist decided to do the impossible: crown the best sandwich of all time. With a Dagwood’s…

It’s an interesting list offering a wide variety for every taste, from the simple Egg Salad Sandwich (a Martin Gero favorite during our days on Stargate) to the roast beefy French Dip (Exec. Producer Brad Wright’s go-to sandwich) to the Porchetta (which tops my list).  Go check out the various offerings and let us know your fave!

My take on the humble grilled cheese sandwich:

A little presumptuous – and a lot stupid:  The 6 Most Ridiculous Things People Claimed to Legally Own

The Ramen Burger is the new cronut  Maybe, but I’d still prefer a cronut.

A kickstarter project sake-loving-yours-truly can get behind: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1802764272/the-birth-of-sake

And, oh yeah, that Stargate: Universe character who survived almost certain death?

None other than Dale Volker, played by Patrick Gilmore, who we decided was just to good a character to kill off at the time…

March 22, 2013: The Destiny Bridge!

In Stargate: Universe’s second season, the crew finally discovers Destiny’s bridge.  From a creative standpoint, holding off the discovery until then allowed for some great drama: Rush’s attempts to hide it from the rest of the crew, the subsequent attempts to control the ship, etc.  Also, waiting until season two permitted us to give it a truly worthy. singular reveal rather than lumping it in with the rest of the ship.  From a production standpoint, holding it off the discovery made even more sense.  The portions of the Destiny built for season one cost several millions and we simply couldn’t afford to include a massively expense bridge as well.  And so, rather than settle for something simple, we waited a year until we had the money to do it right. And, boy, did it we ever.  It was, simply put, a thing of beauty:

Destiny Bridge and adjoining corridor

Under construction.  

Early season two.  The finishing touches in place.

The bridge was located in Stage 5 on and what made it all the more impressive was the fact that it was a raised, massive second level structure.  Directly below it stood the mess and shuttle.

David Blue (aka Eli Wallace) getting a feel for the place.

James Robbins did a terrific job designing the bridge, and our construction department went above and beyond the call to build it. But the work didn’t stop there.  It had to be properly lit and, of course, we needed the Playback Department to work their magic.  “What’s the Playback Department?”you ask.  Well, whenever you see an onscreen image be it a holographic map or computer data or scrolling alien script, you can thank the Playback Department.  On the surface, it seems like such a small thing but, in reality, those incredible, painstakingly detailed graphics go such a long way toward setting the mood.  Some of the stuff they come up with was downright incredible.

The Captain’s chair.

Commander Carl Binder

Carl makes it go

To give you an idea of the great work of our Playback Department, check out the designs for the onscreen visuals – then check out the finished product…

Bridge chair (left arm)

Bridge chair (right arm)

Bridge standard text

Ship Systems (left)

Ship systems (right)

Patrick Gilmore (aka Dale Volker) took a crash course in weapons and nav systems.

Navigation Systems (left)

Navigation Systems (right)

Sorry.  Couldn’t track this one down.  You’ll just have to take my word for it.

Weapons Systems (far right)

Weapons systems (standard)

Pretty amazing, no?

December 27, 2012: Snowed in!

No, not some back country trail in the early evening hours. This was my mother’s street at 10:00 a.m.

And another reason why moving back to Montreal holds little appeal: the snow and the cold.  It’s miserable out there today.  Pretty.  But miserable.  Especially when you’re trudging through two foot high drifts with your mom’s dogs, the wind whipping your exposed skin to a rosy pink.  The plan was to head downtown today for a little underground shopping followed by dinner at a Japanese restaurant (after three straight days of heavy French and Italian, Akemi is dying for Asian cuisine) but the weather has put a little hitch in that schedule.  It’s looking more likely we’ll be going with the alternate plan: season 2 of Modern Family, George MacDonald Frasier’s Flashman, and leftovers.

And not even last night’s leftovers!  We left those with sis!

Last night, we went to one of my favorite restaurants in town, Au Pied de Cochon, for a truly rustic, down home, Quebecois meal…

We were joined by my friend, fellow writer, and former co-worker (way back when I held an office job, developing animated shows for kids), Anne-Marie and her boyfriend, Jerome.

Sis and Daisy.

Akemi, off to a good start = bread and butter.

The tarragon bison tongue, a can’t-miss menu item.

The foie gras poutine temaki. Not bad but I wasn’t completely sold on the potato-rice combination.  It came with a foie gras sauce for dipping/pouring.

The melt-in-your-mouth foie gras terrine.

The guinea hen liver mousse.

Akemi – not the biggest fan of foie gras.

The blood sausage tart. It’s an acquired taste – which, yes, I’ve acquired.

The headcheese. Fear not. There’s no actual “cheese” in the dish. Only parts of the head. And tasty potatoes!

Other menu items sampled included some bison rib, cromesquis (tiny deep fried foie gras bites), two types of pork chops, creamed squash, onion soup, tomato tart, and this interesting dish – duck in a can (served table side):

And, of course, dessert…

The uber dark chocolaty dark chocolate pot de creme.

Sugar pie. Yep. Pretty damn sweet. But tasty.

The lemon meringue tart.

Maple ice cream.

And to wash it all down – everyone else ordered coffees and teas, but I went with the maple milkshake.

I guested on Blog Talk Radio last night, the first part of a two part chat on SGU and the Stargate franchise in general.  It was fun, interesting and, occasionally, a little bewildering.  One of the early discussion points was character creation and I explained how screen presence and chemistry will often steer character development.  I cited the case of Dale Volker, a character we had planned to kill off halfway through season one – but who won a reprieve on the strength of Patrick Gilmore’s impressive performance.  He was too good to kill off!  We covered a wide range of SGU-related topics (the creation of the series, ratings, its premature demise) and I fielded a few questions.  Join us next week for the second part of our Stargate-related discussion during which I’ll field some more of your queries – and fill you in on my plans for 2013.

Apparently, Montreal isn’t the only area snowed-in.  But it’s nice to see our very own gforce making the best of it –

February 24, 2012: The boys reconvene for blood, battle, and Vietnamese sandwiches! Ivon and Lulu sitting in a tree…! It aint good news for Cookie Monster!

Love!

My french bulldog Lulu has a crush on my buddy Ivon Bartok.  It’s pretty damn obvious the way she throws herself at him whenever he comes visit, sitting on his lap, sneezing in his face, lying down beside him and lovingly passing gas.  Yesterday morning, I told her that Ivon would be coming to visit, just to see her reaction.  “Lulu!”I called, immediately getting her attention.  “Do you know who’s coming today?”  A curious cock of her head.  “Ivon!  Ivon’s coming.”  At which point she vomited.  I kid you not.  At the send of his name, she yakked up a mouthful of partially digested kibble.  Talk about butterflies in your stomach!

In addition to Ivon, we were joined by Lawren Bancroft-Wilson and Patrick Gilmore for a marathon session of Game of Thrones.  I’ve read the books (well, all except the last one which I’ve yet to get around to), loved them, and looked forward to the series I’d heard so much about. In keeping with the whole fantasy, swords and sorcery theme, I made Vietnamese sandwiches for lunch.

I marinated some kurobuta pork and boneless chicken thighs for a full day, then seared them off and finished them in the oven.  The run-through sandwich I prepared the night before was undone by the tough buns I picked up from COBS Bread that afternoon, so I picked up buns from my local Safeway instead and they proved far superior.  And, oh yeah, fresh.  Also, my jaw didn’t hurt trying to chew them.

Instead of the typical pork pate found in most Vietnamese subs, I went with the bacon jam instead.

A smear of bacon jam, the roasted meat, some of the pickled vegetables Akemi made, top with jalapeno mayo and cilantro and - voila!

Lawren brought dessert.

As did Ivon.

We only got through three episodes before we had to call it a day on account of Ivon having a hockey game.  We’ll reconvene and watch another three this weekend- hopefully.  So far, I’m enjoying the show although, for some reason, I seem to remember Jaime Lannister being a lot more likable in the books.  Yes?  No?    Anyway, it looks great, is very engaging, and Peter Dinklage is terrific as my favorite character, Tyrion.

So, what fantasy series would you like to see get the big mini-series treatment?

Patrick and Akemi

Lawren, off to school. Don't want to be late for homeroom!

Oh, and since I’m showing off my latest culinary creations, I would be remiss if I didn’t include Akemi’s –

Daikon with yuzu and sansho.

Well, it pains me to say it (and, I’m sure, it pains Cookie Monster, our guest reviewer even more to hear it) but Condorman received more votes than Superman III in our impromptu poll.  This means that, next Monday’s selection for our Supermovie of the Week Club will be Condorman – followed by Superman III the following week.

Hooo boy! Looks not good!

February 22, 2012: Yet another Supermovie of the Week dilemma! Potential foreign entries!

Wow.  Not even 24 hours have passed since you all started casting your ballots for the next installment in our Supermovie of the Week Club and Condorman has already built a commanding lead.  If this trend continues through Friday morning then that makes Cookie Monster double-screwed because he’ll have to screen and review both Condorman next Monday and Superman III the week after.  To make matters worse (for him), blog regular Kathode is suggesting we include yet another film in our burgeoning line-up: the 1980 Super Fuzz.  Writes Kathode:

“This guy has actual superpowers, not just gadgets. And the trailer’s pretty hilarious. And, you know, you’ll feel you haven’t done proper justice to the superhero film canon if you skip over this one. (Timeline-wise, its proper place is right now, after Superman II and before Condorman.) Cookie would love it! ”

No, no.  I’m pretty certain Cookie would hate it.  But that’s beside the point.  The reason I was going to skip Super Fuzz, despite it clearly focusing on a hero with superpowers, is that, despite the American actors and location, I consider this a foreign film (Poliziotto Superpiù) and, thus, ineligible for consideration.  I mean, we could open it up to foreign entries but, if we do so, stand forewarned that we’ll be screening and discussing superhero movies from Mexico –

Japan –

Hong Kong –

Japan –

Thailand –

(Did I mention) Japan –

Russia –

Hmmmm.  Any of these movies look to be infinitely more entertaining than Superman II (III and IV).  As for Super Fuzz, a U.S./Italian co-production –

Thoughts?  Dare we do this to Cookie Monster?  At this rate, even at one supermovie a week, the fact that we’re watching them chronologically means we won’t get around to watching the new Avengers movie until late 2013!

Hey, speaking of Superman II, I’ve received a couple of impassioned defenses of the movie, most recently from none other than Patrick Gilmore (SGU’s Dale Volker) who dropped me an email the other day.  He wrote:

“I can’t keep silent.   If you give Superman 2 only  1 1/2 stars, what the hell are you gunna give 3, or The Quest for peace for that matter!?!”

I wrote back: “Hey, it’s not up to me.  Cookie Monster writes his own reviews.  Oooh.  Richard Pryor skiing down the side of a building in a pink tablecloth cape.  Can’t wait!”

To which he replied: “Cookie Monster needs to lay off the sugar. Superman 2 is the best of the series. Superman makes a cameo in that Richard Pryor movie, right?”

Not sure.  Well, there’s only one way to find out…and we will, eventually.

December 3, 2011: Snow Monkeys’ last shot! Mailbag!

Come on, come on, come on. Puleeeeeeze. I really need this win.

Well, this is it.  My fantasy football season comes down to one game – tomorrow – Snow Monkeys vs. Reagan’s Raiders.  A win allows me to snag the sixth and final playoff spot in our R.I.P. Stargate League.  A loss and I my efforts were all for naught and everyone I’ve invited over tomorrow to watch the games will be asked to leave before I serve the schnitzel sandwiches (pork and/or veal) and ice cream sandwiches (vanilla/chocolate/eggnog ice cream on chocolate chip cookies) Akemi and I are planning to serve.  I’m rolling with Romo tomorrow and my three top WR’s (Dez Bryant, Roddy White, and Hakeem Nicks in the flex).  I’ve got the recently acquired Rashad Mendenhall in the RB1 position and the Packers’ Crosby handling kicking duties.  The Pats are my defense against the much-bullied Colts.  My only question mark is the RB2 position.  Who am I going with – Helu, Spiller, or Hillis who are all facing tough match-ups, or do I roll the dice on the injured Kevin Smith or take an even bigger gamble on Miami’s Thomas? [Praying snow monkey pic available as an oil on canvas here: http://www.robertbissell.com/robert-bissell-originals/index.html].

Off to a super-special dinner with my friend Denise tonight.  Will tell you all about it tomorrow.  In the meantime, let’s hit the mailbag:

Debra writes: “I want Akemi’s soup recipe. Does that count as a question?”

Answer: Sure.  Roast a kabocha squash in the oven with a little butter, water and maple syrup until tender.  While it’s cooking, sweat some shallots and garlic in a pan until translucent.  Put the squash (sans skin of course) and shallots and garlic in a pot with some 2% milk and bring to a boil over low heat, then transfer to a blender and puree.  If you feel it’s too thick (which I never do), simply add a little more milk.  Top with a little curry oil to give it an extra rich flavor.  As Akemi says, she doesn’t really have a recipe, “It’s more about”, so she doesn’t really have any measurements to relay.  She promises to pay closer attention next time.

cherluvya writes: “I have pretty much given up on films and really am enjoying series TV.”

Answer: I’m with ya.  I stopped going to movies after I got my home theater, then pretty much stopped buying dvd’s when Blu-ray came out (And, yes, I blame Blu-ray for the collapse of the dvd market).

Michelle writes: ”

I’ve been watching Breaking Bad for a few weeks now (on Netflix streaming), after all the buzz I’d seen on line for the most recent season. I’m toward the end of Season 2.  Honestly, it’s one of the most finely crafted shows I’ve ever watched, and I’m completely hooked. Everything about it is so carefully constructed, so internally consistent, and so very brave. When they go dark, they go humanity dark, not Hollywood dark. Every consequence plays out in tragic glory for as long as it takes.”

Answer: Your thoughts echo those of whoever it was that recommended the show to me just recently (either Lawren or Patrick Gilmore).  Every set-up has a pay-off, every action a consequence – a rarity in series televison.

Michelle also writes: “On such an epically tragic path, too. I didn’t watch The Shield because the main character was such an a-hole from day 1…”

Answer: That’s what hooked me, that final moment in The Shield’s first episode, a huge twist that serves as the launchpoint – and inevitable descent – of our protagonist despite his attempts at redemption.  Your point is well-taken.  It’s one of the reasons my writing partner, Paul, had such a hard time getting into the show.  When he eventually did, I asked him about his change of heart and his response was that he felt the character of Vic Mackie we got to know in the series was a completely different guy from the one we were introduced to in that first episode.

Ponytail writes: “Why is it when you ask for questions I can’t think of any?”

Answer: Dunno.

daubermaus writes: “What is your favorite food blog?”

Answer: I don’t really do food blogs.  Do I, however, occasionally check out the chowhound boards, especially if I’m looking for good restaurant recommendations while traveling.

for the love of Beckett writes: “1. Is the Stargate Christmas Reunion for a project? Will you be officially filming anything? Will principal actors of SGU, Atlantis, or SG-1 be there?”

Answer: No, it’s just a casual get-together of former Stargate personnel.  I have no idea who’ll be attending.

“2. Is this the same project in the works that Stargate actors have referred to? We’d rather hear it from you than Twitter!”

Answer: Haven’t heard anything about a Stargate-related project in the works.  Sorry.

“3. Still have birthday Christmas prezzies for you and Akemi. May we use the address for your agent in Vancouver?”

Answer: I don’t have an agent in Vancouver.  The thought is much appreciated but your regular participation here is all I could ask for this Christmas.  And a series greenlight for Dark Matter.  Both would be nice.

iom666 writes: “I still hope to have the opportunity to shake your hand in person if you come around Montreal for Xmas. It would be like meeting Roddenberry or Asimov”

Answer: I think it would be more like meeting the guy who shops at your local comic book store who also read Asimov and watched Roddenberry.

Thornyrose writes: ” As for questions, well, how about your ultimate favorite Christmas and/or New Year’s dinner menu snacks, and beverages, perhaps with recipes?”

Answer: Presently working on an eggnog ice cream for the eggnog ice cream chocolate chip sandwiches Akemi and I are making for tomorrow’s football afternoon.

antisocialbutterflie writes: “I can deal with angst but it has to be counterpointed with a fair dose of humor (though it can be the dark variety).”

Answer: Breaking Bad has plenty of dark humor to counterpoint the show’s bleaker elements.  The scene in which the DEA uncle takes his bewildered nephew to witness the consequences of drug abuse is one of the finest sequences I’ve seen on television this year.

gforce writes: “Santa Joe, my sincere wish for my Christmas present is a third season of SGU to finish off the story. Can you make that happen?”

Answer: Alas, I can’t.  The ball is in MGM’s court.

SiSi writes: “I see that you are currently reading a Patricia Highsmith book, and I don’t remember seeing mysteries on your reading list before. Do you like mysteries as a genre? What mystery authors or books do you like?”

Answer: Although most of my reading is of the genre variety (SF, horror, and fantasy), I do like the occasional change of pace.  I recently read The Secret History (a gift from Rob Cooper’s wife) and, yes, Patricia Highsmith’s Deep Water.  In fact, I enjoyed the latter so much that I picked up Strangers on a Train.  As a kid, I grew up on mystery books: Agatha Christie and Ellery Queen.  No kidding.

 

November 13, 2011: Fantasy Football Sunday!

Another grueling day of football-viewing has drawn to a close and I am wiped.  Looks like my fantasy football team, the Snow Monkeys, are headed down to defeat (their third in a row) and looking at a 6-4 record.  Thankfully, they’re still in playoff contention.  Joining me on this day of channel-flipping were fellow fantasy football GM’s Ivon Bartok, Patrick Gilmore, and Lawren Bancroft-Wilson.

On the menu –

Ivon's slow-cooked root beer-braised pork. Served with creamy cole slaw.

Handmade Ice cream sandwiches from Indulgence: tangy lemon buttermilk and chocolate banana.

I turned on the t.v. last night to some white guy rapping.  Which can only mean one thing: Christmas shopping season is upon us!

So, what are your holiday plans?  I’ll be Montreal-bound with Akemi to spend Christmas with mom and sis, leaving the gang –

THE GANG

– in the care of our dog nanny and her boyfriend who’ll be moving in while we’re away.

Speaking of the gang, Maximus’s blood test and x-rays came back a-okay, meaning he’s good to go for surgery on Wednesday.  The procedure will remove part of the mass on his inside cheek and hopefully make him a little more comfortable.

Speaking of which – lately, I’ve been stricken by this mystery pain that comes and goes.  Now I’m no doctor, but I think I might have pulled a fallopian tube.  Anyway, it goes much more than it comes so I’ll just monitor it for the time being.  In case things take a turn for the worse, however, I’m going to need you guys to monitor the blog so that you can swing by and give me a lift to the hospital if I need it.  Thanks.

Taking a break from leisure reading to study more Japanese.  The other day, we met a Korean exchange student who was conversational in Japanese after spending a year in Tokyo.  Conversational after one year of immersion!  I’ve been listening to those damn CD’s for years and I’m lost three sentences into any conversation.  I’ve heard that most language learners have an easier time understanding a foreign language rather than speaking it – which I find altogether bizarre.  I understand next to nothing but can have wonderful chats with myself.

June 1, 2011: Off to the (pugs) races! Beware broadcasters bearing gifts! The summit is a wrap! Mailbag!

Although she suffers from hip dysplasia and arthritic elbows and shoulders that make getting around tough, my pug Jelly does haver her good days.  Yesterday was one.  Look at her go!

Our big two-day broadcaster summit for Transporter: The Series has come to an end.  Yesterday, the producers gathered with HBO/Cinemax, HBO Canada, RTL, and M6 to discuss production: cars, casting, stunts, scheduling, post-production, media relations, digital content and, most important of all, chocolate…

Julien and Alexandra from M6 surprised me with chocolates from my favorite Parisian chocolatier: Patrick Roger. They brought a huge box for the meeting and gifted me a separate box of my own. Guess this means I'm going to have to do all their notes.

We had our own chocolate party.

Not be outdone, Julia from RTL presents a German assortment! Guess I'm doing their script notes as well.

Hey, did I mention that Julien is a huge Stargate fan? Here he is recording a kino warning for future versions of himself that may stumble into the Transporter production time loop.

Day One went quite well.  Among that afternoon’s greatest accomplishments was the decision on the opening credit sequence.  Naturally, I was assigned the task of composing lyrics for the show’s theme song.  This is what I’ve got so far:

Transporter!  

He’s really quite cool –

‘Cause he follows his rules.

And when a job’s done,

He’ll go jump in his pool!  

Transporter!

The bad guys he’ll fight –

And his driving is tight.

He’ll impress the girls –

Then turn in for the nigh!

Transporter!

It’s a work in progress.  Given its obvious importance, I’ve set aside all script work for the time being to concentrate on this.

After our meeting, I headed back to my place, updated the blog, then headed downstairs to the lobby where I met –

Julien - always styling.

The ever animated Alexandra.

Julia and Ulrike ready to party.

As the designated driver, it fell on me to ensure everyone arrived at the dessert tray safe and sound and on time….

I much prefer the stand and chat get-togethers over the formal sit-downs that take forever and always end up with me having to fake a call from my mother admonishing me for being out too late before excusing myself and heading home!

The finger food was tasty. And freakin' hot - as Aubie from HBO Canada discovered when he tried to take a bite of this scorching canape.

The beautiful Rachel Skarsten (Delia) and the equally beautiful Alexander M. Ruemelin (Sunshine).

Jocelyn and fire-lips Aubie from HBO Canada. Jocelyn and I go way back. I worked for her when she was a VP at Nelvana. Hell, even further back - I went to high school with her.

High points of the evening included meeting Rachel, the chocolate dessert, and winning a bet with Jocelyn that saw her backing the poodle as the world’s smartest dog only to lose out to my candidate, the border collie (as confirmed by two separate Top Ten Smartest Dogs sites).  I had an unfair advantage.  My accountant is a border collie.

Today, it was back in the big boardroom for an in-depth discussion of our twelve scripts.  The best/most exciting note came from Klaus via actor Francois Berléand who requested we play up his character’s affinity for fine food and cooking as evidenced in Transporter 2.  As a gourmand, I have a feeling I’ll be channeling Inspector Tarconi through most of this season.  One of my first orders of business once the meeting wrapped was to head down to my office and look up merguez and couscous recipes before rewriting the Tarconi scene in my first script.

Mailbag:

Randomness writes: “Joe, what do you think of this interview with Patrick Gilmore?

http://www.mediablvd.com/magazine/the_news/celebrity/patrick_gilmore_on_%27the_killing%27_and_the_end_of_%27stargate_universe%27_201105232512.html

I’m usually supportive of peoples opinions but I disagree with his comments that some fans hated the show because it wasn’t Stargate Atlantis.

Hater websites aside, I’ve always got the general vibe that people just didn’t like the show because of the direction it took, basically it didn’t appeal to them.”

Answer: Actually, Patrick is absolutely right.  “SOME” fans certainly did hate the show because it wasn’t Stargate Atlantis.  They essentially said as much, lobbying for the show’s cancellation in the foolish belief that it would bring back Atlantis.  And, when just the opposite happened and the cancellation pretty much killed any hopes of a continuation of the Atlantis storyline, they were left standing around like a bunch of dazed dorks wondering “Wha – happened?”. Watching them scramble to retroactively put a positive spin on their moronic logic (“Oh, uh, we WANTED that to happen!) was an awesome silver lining to the whole affair.

Chad writes: “Just out of curiosity, why was the SGU episode “Epilogue” originally titled “Radio”?”

Answer: The original pitch involved Destiny picking up messages (in the form of radio waves) from a distant civilization.

Brain writes: “By season 8 did the writers consider the tok’ra all but extinct? It seemed to be what was being inferred in season 7.”

Answer: Nope.  Although they were touched upon, their presence decreased considerably as the threat of the goa’uld was finally dealt with.

Scarym writes: “So do you think Daniel & Vala are living happily ever after together?”

Answer: In my mid, they’re together and as happy as could be expected given Vala’s volatile personality.  But you know – opposites attract.

May 24, 2011: Transporter: The Series Pre-Production Update! Site Stats!

No turning back now!  The production machine is rolling along and picking up steam, speeding, faster and faster, toward the precipice that will launch us into glorious flight!  Provided the mechanical wings on this contraption hold firm.  Our European team is gearing up to start shooting in Paris, Berlin, Nice, Marseilles, and the south of France.  To that end, we had a conference call this morning to go over the storyboards for the early episodes.  The guys in France have come up with some terrific car action sequences that, like the ones in the Transporters film series, are fun, inventive, and holy-smokes-impressive!  I suppose this shouldn’t come as a surprise since a number of the key people on our car and fight stunt teams are the same ones who worked on the movies.

When car stunt coordinator extraordinaire Michel Julienne gets into town, I’m just going to start catching a lift with him in the morning.

I figure that’ll allow me to shave about fifteen minutes off my twenty-two minute travel time.

Every so often, I like to check out my site stats – Top Referrers, Top Posts, and, my favorite, Top Search Engine Terms that directed new readers to this blog.  I always find it very interesting.  For instance, here’s a sampling of the Top Search Engine Terms over the past six months…

Search	Views
julia benson	59,088
joseph mallozzi	36,572
joe mallozzi	16,013
mallozzi	7,600
joseph mallozzi blog	7,581
elyse levesque	6,252

jennifer spence	5,400
alaina huffman	4,193
mallozzi blog	3,876
batman	2,914

joseph malozzi	1,882
julia anderson	1,766
joseph mallozi	1,751
vanessa james	1,659

stargate blog	1,553
amanda tapping	1,526
julie mcniven	1,450

jamil walker smith	1,047
brian j smith	984

elyse levesque hot	955
louis ferreira	932
jewel staite	895
patrick gilmore	882
joseph mallozzi weblog	865
joe malozzi	839
peter deluise	831

bermuda triangle mystery solved	751
mike dopud	744
david blue	727
malozzi blog	707
stargate universe destiny	706
stargate atlantis	693
leela savasta	693

iron chef chairman	455
michael shanks	454

joseph mallozzi’s blog	433
peter kelamis	428
lexa doig	424
paul mcgillion	416

mint leaves

313

icarus base	288
wraith todd	282

julia benson pictures	267
todd wraith	265
julia benson hot	263
andy mikita	263

stargate destiny model	243
todd the wraith	242

christopher judge

234

chocolate party

223

vanessa james sgu

217

julia benson actress

203

julia benson pics	192
“jennifer spence”	190
mark savela	189
butterscotch schnapps	189
stargate universe shuttle	188
sgu destiny	188

stargate universe julia benson	175
josephmallozzi.wordpress.com	171

julia benson sgu	165
stargate universe chloe	163
vanessa james stargate universe	161

julia benson photos	149
joseph mazzolli blog	149

space shuttle interior	133
stargate atlantis city	131
seed ship	131
blog mallozzi	129

julia benson stargate universe

127

stargate universe ship	117
rodney mckay	117

2nd lt. vanessa james	109
batman pictures	109
destiny gate	109
“elyse levesque”	109
viscous	109

lieutenant james stargate	102
robert picardo	101
brad wright	101

sgu vanessa james	91
stargate universe cast	89
best atlantis episodes	89
stargate atlantis todd	89

ben browder	79
amaretto cream	79

stargate universe ships	71
paul mullie	71

coq au vin

67

carl binder

66

alien ship	55
teryl rothery	54
destiny corridor	54

the chairman iron chef	53
julia benson images	53
peter de luise	53
stargate destiny schematics	53
stargate universe kino	53
stargate destiny bridge	53
kobe beef	53

joe flanigan	51
stargate atlantis gate	50
jaffa stargate	50

julia benson picture	48
florida state cowgirls	48
dr rush	48

leaves

48

butterscotch liqueur

25

snow monkeys

19

fedora hat

15

Carl learns he comes in at 66 searches, beating kobe beef by 53 but falling well short of amaretto cream at 79. Also, for what it's worth, just a shade under "coq au vin".

More people searching the internet came here looking for “Julia Benson” than “Joseph Mallozzi” and “Joe Mallozzi” combined.  Searches for “Batman” (2914) beat out searches for “Patrick Gilmore” (882), “Stargate Atlantis” (693) doubled “mint leaves” (313), while “Joe Flanigan” (51) was trounced by “Brad Wright” (101), “Robert Picardo” (101), and “viscous” (109).

Even more interesting are the daily single digit search engine terms that range from the obscure to the downright bizarre.  Today’s stats yield a unique mix:

Search	Views
sucking pig	3

brian j smith girlfriend

2

godzilla tokyo	2
mallozzi fondy divorce	2

janina javankar married or single

1

raccoon lottery

1

leon with pig puppet

1

psych symptoms include speaking in accents

1

confit brain	1
bermuda trapezoid	1

I would assume the first one was supposed to be “suckling pig” rather than “sucking pig”, but the fact that three different search attempts went with “sucking” gives me pause.  It’s nice to know there are people searching for love on the internet, doing their research to ensure their prospective future partners are indeed single: Brian J. Smith, Janina Gavankar, and my ex wife.  Also, I sincerely hope that whoever searched for “psych symptoms include speaking in accents” found the sound medical advice they were looking for here on this blog.  Finally, what the hell is a “raccoon lottery”?

November 27, 2010: How did I miss that?

I’ve been doing a little updating of late, clearing out some old emails and bookmarks, checking in with distant friends online, and discovered a bunch of interesting developments I missed out on for whatever reason.  And so, I’d like to take a moment to draw your attention to said developments in this “How did I miss that?” entry.

1. Marty G. has a website!

 

Presumably a shot from his recent GQ photo shoot.

Martin Gero, as most of you know, is a good friend, fellow foodie, former Stargate writer/producer, and all-around charming talent who now calls L.A./New York/Toronto home as he jets between his various projects on the go.  I try to keep up with Mary G. via his twitter account, the one stop spot for all the exciting developments in the Golden Boy’s life (ie. Oct. 26th = “I’m 33, it’s midnight, and I’m standing in line with my best friends to buy a videogame.”).  Anyway, I happened by the other day and, while it’s entirely possible I just never noticed before, I noted a link to a Martin Gero website:  http://martingero.com.  Look at that handsome mug gracing the front page.  Coincidentally, Martin called me this morning and, while we were talking, informed me that, in fact, the website has been up for two years now.  Furthermore, my drawing attention to it on this blog would shame him into updating it given that it’s been about that long since he last visited.

2. Jamie Elman co-wrote and starred in a web series!

Another funny and extremely talented guy I worked with way back when is Jamie Elman who, some time this summer, forwarded me a link to a great five-episode series he co-wrote and stars in called crazy/sexy/awkward.  It’s all three of those things and hilarious.  What’s it about?  Well – “Neurotic romantic Ben Hoffman hasn’t had sex in a year. Ever since the love of his life walked out on him, Ben has been stuck in a rut of despair and an endless streak of dates gone horribly awry.  But now, his manchild best friend Sebastien and wingwoman neighbor Ashley have decided enough is enough: it’s time to get Ben out of his cave, and throw him head-first into the wild jungle of the LA singles scene to break his seal.” www.crazysexyawkward.com

I think I can be excused for missing it since the email was sent to my old email account, but I dug it up and bring it to your attention.  It’s funny as hell, but stand forewarned – it’s raunchy stuff.

3. Alyssa Ciccarelli is writing for Riese.

Alyssa is someone else I know from way-back-when.  She’s a talented writer who is presently pulling scripting duties on Riese: The Series, a steampunk web epic now screening at SyFy.com: http://www.syfy.com/riese/.   The cast boasts some impressive talent, among them several Stargate vets including Sharon Taylor, Patrick Gilmore, Ben Cotton, Ryan Robbins, and Amanda Tapping who provides the voice of the show’s narrator.

 

4. There’s an artisan sakemaker in Vancouver!

Despite my ridiculously replete liquor cabinet, I’m not much of a drinker.  I’m not a whiner or whineo (what do you call a wine aficionado) nor am I the type to crack open a nice cold beer on those hot summer days.  Having said that, I do enjoy my sake – so I was pleasantly surprised to learn the city boasts its own artisan sakemaker (http://osake.ca/).  Head on over to Masa Shiroki’s shop on Granville Island and do a tasting of his handcrafted Osake fresh premium Junmai Sake.  Or check out the various inspired products that make use of kasu, the “lees” that remain after the fermented rice mash has been pressed.  The flavor is intense and delicious, and can be found in products like kasu hot sauce, kasu cherry drink, and even an out-of-this-world kasu ice cream with raisins.  Vancouver’s  primo gelato shop, Bella Gelataria, makes their own version of kasu gelato that is so unbelievable that it’s surpassed chocolate as my favorite ice cream flavor.  For real!  But more on Bella Gelataria in the coming days…

Today’s entry is dedicated to Michelle, Izzy, and AB!