Have you told your friends? Your family? Their friends and family? Neighbors? Co-workers? Casual acquaintances? People you ride the bus with? No?! Well getting moving! Only nine days until SGU premieres!
The excitement is certainly mounting on set and in the offices, often finding expression in a colorful lunacy that has gripped certain individuals involved in the production. Things are getting mighty weird.
Take Executive Producer Carl Binder for instance – USC grad and diehard Trojan fan. This was him the day after his team suffered a stunning upset loss at the hands of the Washington Huskies -
Yep, it's official. He's lost it.
In the meantime, just days after poking fun at Executive Producer’s Assistant Ashleigh for looking so much like WWII icon Rosie the Riveter -
- I had to do a double-take while strolling by Ashleigh’s office today because the following pic was pasted to her office door (no doubt compliments of Lawren Bancroft-Wilson)…
Out of the blue, for reasons unknown, Visual Effects Supervisor Mark Savela surprised us with a little gift. Not t-shirts or caps or interesting books, but something he calls a Bacon Explosion (or was it Bacon Overload?)…
From what I understand, it’s bacon wrapped around sausage wrapped around bacon. Oh, and glazed with barbecue sauce. For the guys who have everything. Except bacon wrapped around sausage wrapped around bacon glazed with barbecue sauce.
And what the heck is going on over on Stage 2, the site of not one but two green screen off-world locations. In a bid to give the place an out-of-this-world alien feel, they’ve trucked in tons of dirt and mud for the ground – and, for some inexplicable reason, what certainly smells like a half ton of manure for good measure. Was this done to hint at some sort of methane atmosphere? I’m not sure.
Still, despite the burgeoning craziness, it’s nice to see that some things remain constant – like, say, Ming-Na’s crazy furred footwear that she insists on wearing to set. Yes, granted, we are in Canada – but it was 27 celsius (80.6 fahrenheit) today! At this point, I think she’s just doing it to annoy me.
A late post tonight as I was out to dinner with the lovely Ming-Na, and the equally lovely Carl Binder and Robert Cooper. More on our amazin meal tomorrow along with pics (Atlantis) past and (SGU) future.
Today’s entry is dedicated to birthday boy (I’m guessing) Tim H.!
JYS writes: “I wish I could watch the premiere! But unfortunately, I’ll be in class. I went to DB Bistro today and had the DB burger. Maybe my palate’s really bad, but I didn’t taste any truffles.”
Answer: I’m not crazy about the DB version. I mean, it’s fine, but the flavors of both the truffle and the foie are overwhelmed by the beef. Interestingly enough, Diva at the Met served their own version (I believe they called theirs the DC Burger) that was actually more flavorful and included braised short rib as well.
Daniel writes: “Boston Legal alum!!!!! That’s my second favorite show after Stargate (all of them). Clues to who it is please!”
Answer: Female.
Phil writes: “Joe, what would you say to those who didnt watch SG1 or Atlantis (for whatever reason) to watch Universe?”
Answer: If you enjoy science fiction, action, adventure, exploration, discovery, character-oriented drama, or any and all of the above, then definitely check out the premiere of Stargate: Universe. And if you’re new to Stargate, the beauty is you don’t really need to be familiar with what has come before. Even if you’ve never watched a single episode of SG-1 or Atlantis, you’ll be able to tune in and enjoy the new show.
Airelle writes: “Just finished reading Stranger in a Strange Land. Not bad, enjoyable reading. Picked up another by Heinlein/Spider Robinson, Variable Star, looks promising as well, any other suggestions by him that are good Joe?? Heinlein I mean. “
Answer: I enjoyed The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.
Tammy Dixon writes: “Ming Na was awesome in E.R. I’m rewatching it on TNT now. I’ve gotten to the episode where she is overworked and accidently kills a patient. She doesn’t look any older. What’s the deal with that?”
Answer: I don’t know. Maybe she’s an immortal. Seriously, after meeting her for the first time I was amazed by how much she hadn’t changed since The Joy Luck Club. A lot of the time, certain actors look great on screen and then, when you see them in person, you’re floored by how much “work” they’ve had done. In Ming-Na’s case, it’s just the opposite – you‘re floored by her natural good looks. So, yeah. Probably an immortal.
JES writes: “I have just received the Non Prop Rock of Mallozzi from a special courier cleverly disguised as a U.S. postal carrier. As I opened the seemingly innocuous package, I was struck by the overwhelming responsibility I was about to shoulder to preserve and protect this unique relic.”
Answer: Guard it well, my friend. Before sending the rock on its way, it joined Carl and I for an evening of football. As it turned out, the rock was an Ohio State fan and, well, things got kind of ugly…
The evening starts off amiably enough. Everyone's all budy-buddy at kick-off.
Things quickly turn ugly as Carl and the rock get into a heated argument.
Carl has had enough. He's through talking.
Carl is exhausted.
Bubba consoles the rock following the Ohio State loss.
Tim H. writes: “Could you please do the same 5 and 5 with the NHL? I’d be really interested in seeing your picks.”
Answer: Although I’m not a big hockey fan (I know I know. Shamefully un-Canadian.).. Top 5 Favorites (5. The Chicago Blackhawks – They’ve been perennial losers for so long that I’ve taken pity on them. 4. The Phoenix Coyotes – The only thing crazier than the thought of hockey in Arizona were those wacky Aztec coyotes they used to have on their jerseys. 3. The Buffalo Sabres – For some reason, this was my NHL team when I was a kid so I still have a soft spot for ‘em. 2 The San Jose Sharks – I miss the garish teal jerseys. 1. The Montreal Canadians – Strangely enough, I hated the Canadian when I was living in Montreal but, since leaving la belle province, I’ve re-adopted them as my team. To 5 Hated (5. The Toronto Maple Leafs – Surprising only because I used to like this team until I actually spent some time with their trash-talking fans (Ivon Bartok). 4. The Philadelphia Flyers – Chalk this one up to an Eric Lindross hangover. 3. The Boston Bruins – The Canadian’s biggest rival. 2. The Minnesota Wild: What’s a wild? Is it anything like a Laker? 1. The New York Rangers: The equivalent to baseball’s Yankees and basketball’s Lakers – both of which I also hate.
Jimmy writes: “Are there any space battle scenes planned for season one? I am a big fan of sweet explosions…”
Answer: Yep. There’ll be several, both small and large-scale battle sequences.
Narelle from Aus writes: “Hey Joe. Where did you study for your Marketing degree?”
Answer: I don’t have a Marketing degree. I do have a Masters in English Lit if that helps though.
For the love of Beckett writes: “How’s your Mom? Has she had her knee operation yet?”
Answer: Mom had the operation and is now at home, with sis, recuperating nicely. Thanks for asking.
