16.May.08
Posted in Press Watch, Atlantis Spoilers at 2:38 pm by DeeKayP
Stargate Atlantis star Rachel Luttrell talked with MGM correspondent Sharon Gosling about her character’s changes due to becoming a single mother in Season Five.
“I think she’s completely changed. Teyla is now a working Momma! She’s had to completely deal with a shift in priorities. She’s decided to re-join the team, but it was a large question for her. It was something that she had to spend a considerable amount of time mulling over. Now, every time she leaves the base, she’s aware of the fact that she might not be coming home to be with her son. So things are very different.”
Things aren’t too different, however, when it comes to Teyla’s kick-ass ways, as Luttrell reassures her fans that Teyla is back in fighting form and has already filmed “a classic Teyla-style fight” for the new season.
Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi reassured fans in his weblog that Teyla will be actively involved in Season Five and even gave a list of episodes her fans should be sure to watch: “We’ll certainly see more of Teyla than we did in season four. As a fan of the character, you’ll no doubt love Search and Rescue, Broken Ties, and The Queen, and no doubt enjoy The Daedalus Variations, Ghost in the Machine, and The Shrine.”
Each season, the writers try to have a focus episode for each character, and this coming season’s feature episode for Teyla is most likely Alan McCullough’s “The Queen”. “Teyla is going to be doing something which is extremely, extremely dangerous! … Let’s just say it has a lot to do with her Wraith DNA and her link to them. It’s going to be something rather dark and challenging,” Luttrell teased.
“Where they will take her for the rest of the year, I don’t know. For me, it’s always been about learning a little bit more about who she is and her people and how that ties her into this galaxy. I just feel that there’s so much that Teyla knows about this place. There are some storylines there.”
To read the complete interview in which Luttrell addresses her real life changes in becoming a mother and her adjustment to returning to the set, visit MGM: Close Up: Rachel Luttrell.
Season Five will be making its premiere this summer (likely, July 11) on the Sci Fi Channel.
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Posted in Press Watch, Merchandise at 9:01 am by DeeKayP
It should come at no surprise to Stargate SG-1 fans that one of the target demographics for the new MMOG Stargate Worlds is comprised of those individuals who like peaceful exploration rather than combat. After all, Dr. Daniel Jackson was the archaeologist and scientist who wanted to understand what was “out there”—”the meaning of life stuff”. Sometimes, he had to fight, but it was obvious that his heart was in making friends and learning all about the diverse cultures his team encountered through their Stargate travels, illustrated by his chiding of Colonel Jack O’Neill and Captain Samantha Carter when they pointed their weapons at a bunch of priests on their first mission together as “SG-1″, “Unless we want to give ourselves a bad reputation, I just think we should avoid shooting the first people we meet on a new planet.”
And so, the peaceful explorer was born in the Stargate universe, and the game-builders at Cheyenne Mountain recognize his/her value. “One feature that we’re really excited about is the noncombat play style that will be available to the Archaeologist archetype,” said Dan Elggren, Stargate Worlds studio head, in a recent roundtable interview with Gamespot News. “MMOs, with a few exceptions, don’t really give players many options when it comes to navigating the play space. Generally, the only way you progress is through combat. The archaeologist and, to a lesser extent, the scientist will have a noncombat path they can take, even when teaming with a group of soldiers and commandos.
“This is a big deal in MMOGs, and we believe it will open up Stargate Worlds to an entirely new type of gamer who wants to be a part of [an] MMORPG experience but doesn’t want to be continually killing enemies to advance their character.”
In a previous article published by Gamespot that announced the structure of the new MMOG, contributor Andrew Park noted after talking with Joe Ybarra, FireSky senior vice president of strategic operations, “The game itself will feature what Ybarra hopes will be a huge world that will have ‘all the planets, as many as we have time to build,’ though the game will apparently be structured to drive players to both explore and to discover the locations of new stargates—the portals that lead to the next unknown destination. In fact, the designer suggested the game will focus on three key points: exploration through stargates; tactical battles using the game’s squad-based combat system that will involve both conventional weapons as well as more esoteric weapons such as orbital bombardment; and ‘replayability.’”
As to when the new game will be launched in the real world, Elggren said, “As you know, building an MMOG is a very difficult process, and the release date has to be somewhat flexible to account for the complexities. We have announced a tentative window of winter 2008, but we are continually evaluating the scope and quality of Stargate Worlds to ensure we release the best game possible.”
To read the full interview, which includes Elggren, Ybarra, and FireSky senior vice president of product development Rod Nakamoto, visit Gamespot News: Q&A: Stargate Worlds MMORPG team. To read more about Stargate Worlds, visit their website.
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Posted in Press Watch, Atlantis Spoilers at 6:05 am by DeeKayP
After the press got to see a screening of Brad Wright’s Stargate: Continuum a few days ago, yesterday they got a tour of the sets for Season Five of Stargate Atlantis. SCI FI WIRE’s John Sullivan described two sets he visited in his report Atlantis Will Have New Sets.
The two sets that Sullivan visited include one temporary one and one standing, or “permanent”, one. Production built a new Travelers ship set, pictures of which can be seen in executive producer Joseph Mallozzi’s May 9 entry, for the mid-season two-parter that will be going before cameras soon (with guest star Michael Shanks as Dr. Daniel Jackson). Sullivan described it, “It was a small set, very dark and claustrophobic. The interior bulkheads were flat black and studded with all varieties of mechanical junk. Bundles of cable hung everywhere. The set suggested a cramped, deteriorating ship that would be uncomfortable to fly, if not downright dangerous. This ship is a ’swing’ set meant to be used once in an upcoming episode and then broken down.”
The second set Sullivan visited was the new Wraith hive ship standing set. Sullivan described the organic design with great detail, “Organic in design, like previous ships, the new vessel has walls that resemble pale membranes of flesh, hung on an ornate, bony framework and shot through with blood vessels. In a few places this membrane has been torn away, revealing interior structures that look like bundled muscle fibers. The entire set looks like it should be dripping with slime. In particular, the skeletal framework appears to be speckled with some kind of yellowish substance. The set hints at an even nastier vision of the Wraith for the new season.” Images of the Wraith set are also included in Mallozzi’s weblog, some of which can be seen in the March 22 entry.
Visiting Mallozzi’s weblog could expose you to spoilers, so beware!
To read Sullivan’s full report, visit SCI FI WRE.
Although not officially announced by the Sci Fi Channel, outside sources have placed Season Five’s premiere as July 11, 2008, with “Search and Rescue” picking up where “The Last Man” left off.
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15.May.08
Posted in SG-1 Spoilers, Press Watch, Merchandise at 4:25 pm by DeeKayP
Members of the press were given a screening of Brad Wright’s Stargate: Continuum yesterday in Vancouver. SCI FI WIRE’s John Sullivan spoke with the movie’s writer after the screening and revealed some spoilers for the movie in his report.
Wright told Sullivan, “It’s much more fun in some ways to do a movie, because the story can evolve the way it’s supposed to. It doesn’t have to owe anything to the episode before or the episode after. That was the fun part, to actually write a movie and not just a long episode.”
Sullivan concludes the report, “With more time and more resources to work with, Wright and the producers and cast of Stargate: Continuum have taken their world and characters in new directions. They’ve also pushed the envelope for what the Stargate franchise can do as MGM considers whether to do more movies or create a third series.”
To read the complete interview, which contains the spoilers mentioned above, visit Continuum Expands SG-1.
Release dates for the movie are as follows:
- July 29, 2008: North America (DVD and Blu-ray)
- August 6, 2008: Australia
- August 2008: UK
If you know of other dates, please leave them in our comment section below, and we’ll update our list. Thanks.
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13.May.08
Posted in News, SG-1 Spoilers, Merchandise at 4:39 pm by DeeKayP
TV Shows On DVD has posted the “final” version of the cover art for Brad Wright’s Stargate: Continuum. This version has the names of the main cast, plus a “Special Appearance by Richard Dean Anderson” line, at the top, and the tag line “History may never repeat itself again” from the rejected cover art at the bottom.
Here’s the DVD’s cover art (the Blu-ray’s is similar, see the image at the TV Shows On DVD website):
Release dates for the movie are as follows:
- July 29, 2008: North America
- August 2008: UK
If you know of other dates, please leave them in our comment section below, and we’ll update our list. Thanks.
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Posted in News, SG-1 Spoilers, Press Watch at 9:53 am by DeeKayP
Stargate’s co-creator and executive producer Brad Wright recently talked with GateWorld about his next SG-1 movie script. “For me, an SG-1 movie should include O’Neill. That’s how I feel about Stargate. [The third Stargate movie] is an O’Neill story, and I would include as many of our cast as we could, both financially and in terms of availability.”
Actor availability is a concern for Wright in filming his movie, which he, along with Robert C. Cooper, has already pitched to MGM and to Richard Dean Anderson. “These are talented people,” Wright said in referring to all of the core cast members. “They may well not be available at our beck and call when the next time we want to make a movie. And that’s what happens.”
Considering the scheduling difficulties Cooper experienced with Julian Sands and Morena Baccarin in the filming of Stargate: The Ark of Truth (these two actors were only available for one day), Wright’s concerns are indeed understandable. Christopher Judge has written a movie script, Rage of Angels, that was recently bought by MGM, and he is set to star in it. Production company partner Michael Shanks is also involved with the movie and has been tapped to star as well. This movie script was originally written for television, but now has to be updated for the big screen. A pilot will also be produced to bring the story to series.
Amanda Tapping is one of the executive producers and stars of the new Sci Fi Channel show Sanctuary, which won’t complete filming until September 11 this year. Continuum director Martin Wood is also producing, writing, and directing the new show, but Wright hasn’t yet announced who will be the director of his new film.
Ben Browder is also writing and producing a new mini-series for the Sci Fi Channel, called Going Homer, and he recently expressed interest in the new webisodes for Farscape that will be shown on the SciFi.com website. Claudia Black has moved to LA and is actively seeking roles in network programs, the latest of which is her appearance in CBS’s Moonlight (see her episode this Friday, May 16, at 9:00 PM ET/PT). And veteran actor Beau Bridges is never out of work, his most recent project being the feature film Max Payne.
Despite being busy with all of these new projects, the core cast members have expressed on numerous occasions that they would gladly return to do more SG-1 movies. After the impressive sales figures for Stargate: The Ark of Truth, they feel that making more movies is a given.
Even with possible cast scheduling obstacles, Wright is optimistic, “But you know what? They have a good time when they come, and I think these guys had a good time making Continuum. Is it likely we’ll ever get them all again? That’s kind of unlikely just because of the math. But our core folks, I will move heaven and earth to get them if I can.”
NOTES:
- Vote in our site poll about who of the core cast you’d like to see in “an O’Neill story” starring Richard Dean Anderson.
- Please comment below, or visit our LJ Community or On-Site Forum for discussion.
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11.May.08
Posted in News, Merchandise at 6:17 pm by DeeKayP
Big Finish now has a sampling of the next SG-1 audio play featuring Claudia Black and Michael Shanks as they read James Swallow’s “Shell Game”, the third episode in the publisher’s first season of Stargate stories.
The Season Ten story: “Vala Mal Doran finds herself in a particularly sticky situation when an old foe catches up with her. With only Daniel Jackson able to fight her corner, Vala may have to do something that’s really not her style – tell the truth.”
Visit Shell Game to play the audio sample (the “play” button is under the cover art and the words “play trailer”). The CD and download are scheduled for release next month.
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10.May.08
Posted in Press Watch at 6:19 am by DeeKayP
Stargate star Paul McGillion’s new Lifetime Movie Me, Mom, Dad and Her premieres tonight at 9pm Eastern and repeats tomorrow, May 11, at 2pm Eastern.
Here’s the description of the movie from Lifetime’s website: “Sydney Foster (15) is sent to spend the summer with her father and his new wife Emma Pierangeli Foster (Melora Hardin) when her volatile behavior finally pushes her mother to the breaking point. While at first Sydney lashes out, feeling abandoned yet again, she unexpectedly finds herself connecting with her new stepmother, who is nervously expecting her first child. It is this relationship with her stepmother, and the birth of the new baby that finally heals the wounds left by her parent’s bitter divorce.”
According to TV Guide Online’s Jeanette Martin, McGillion portrays the “incredibly patient papa who manages to weather the storm of his tempestuous child’s visit.” The movie is being recommended by Martin as part of tonight’s “TV Hot List”.
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08.May.08
Posted in Press Watch, Merchandise at 8:38 am by DeeKayP
GameIndustry.biz’s Phil Elliott interviewed FireSky’s Joe Ybarra, senior VP of strategic operations, and Rod Nakamoto, senior VP of product development, about the upcoming Stargate Worlds MMORPG.
“I think the best way to look at it is that the IP [Intellectual Property] for Stargate Worlds was originally a television series, and what’s really interesting about working on a TV-based property - especially with Stargate - is the fact that it’s an ongoing production and the mentality that they take towards creating the show is very similar to that which we take when building a game,” Ybarra told Elliott. “Then of course post-launch we intend to produce incremental content on a regular basis very much like television programming - so from a development standpoint the two models are almost exactly the same.
“I think what’s also interesting is that the audiences that consume these products, both from TV with respect to science-fiction programming and gaming, is the same. As we refine our processes, as we start to look into the future of how we can make that relationship between television and gaming even closer than we’ve accomplished already, that’s a really exciting aspect of our business.”
Concerning how the game will be made available to consumers, Ybarra said, “One of the interesting challenges that we have with Stargate Worlds from a content distribution system is the fact that because we’re giving the user a high quality experience, the size of the project is fairly substantial.
“So in terms of ease of use for our customers, we could distribute it electronically, but we’re talking a lot of content here - it could be hours before you actually get the build. So for us we feel that the retail component continues to be one of the vehicles that we’ll use to get the product into customers’ hands.
“Longer term though, … as broadband continues to increase its penetration and become increasingly more powerful, then pushing the amount of data we’re talking about here becomes less and less of a problem for our customers.
“In terms of the economics of that, they’re pretty reasonable as they are today - so the question isn’t so much one of a business issue, it’s one of accessibility.”
In the interview, Ybarra said that FireSky will be making original IP for themselves, along with a platform called Social Networks At Play (SNAP), which is meant to bring gaming and social networking together. “But if you compare the other types of products, one of the things you have to recognise, being in the games business, is that the one thing we have to produce is a great game - and it really doesn’t matter what the property or subject matter is, we have to deliver to the customer a great game,” Ibarra noted.
To read the full interview, visit MMO Week: Joe Ybarra and Rod Nakamoto
Stargate Worlds is due for release this fall.
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06.May.08
Posted in News, SG-1 Spoilers, Merchandise at 5:41 am by DeeKayP
TV Shows on DVD has posted a revised version of the cover art for Brad Wright’s Stargate: Continuum. This time, the frozen Stargate, which has been featured in most publicity posters and ads to-date, is featured.
Here’s the DVD cover (the Blu-ray HD version is to be similar):
Release dates for the movie are as follows:
- July 29, 2008: North America
- August 2008: UK
If you know of other dates, please leave them in our comment section below, and we’ll update our list. Thanks.
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