29.Jul.05
Posted in SG-1 at 7:10 am by DeeKayP
It’s not just Daniel Jackson’s doing…
Excerpts from Steve Eramo’s interviews with Stargate SG-1’s creative team in TV Zone Special #64
“In re-tooling the show we wanted to stay true to many of the ideas that we’d already established,” notes [Executive Producer Robert C.] Cooper. “This included the theme of false gods and what it is to be a god and whether or not you believe in that. We wanted to continue to explore that concept and I think our new villains, the Ori, actually provide greater opportunity for us to do that. With the Goa’uld there really was no question. They were bad guys with snakes in their heads and who used technology to enslave people. With the Ori, it’s not quite so clear to everyone as to whether or not they’re worthy of our devotion.
“So these episodes introduce that idea along with the Ori. Up to now, the Ancients have been protecting Earth; basically keeping it from the Ori’s view, so they didn’t know about us. However, when Daniel and Vala visit the Ori galaxy and start to poke around, all of a sudden the Ori know we’re here. They send their representatives or missionaries, called the Priors, to try to convert our galaxy to their religion. These missionaries have tremendous power at their disposal and a fervent belief in their mission. They’re offering people what is essentially a real religion with this wonderful pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. There’s a catch, though,” smiles Cooper. “So this is pretty much what we’re up against this season on SG-1.”
As with the Goa’uld and other aliens on SG-1, the show’s art department played a big role in designing the look for the Ori and Priors. “The Priors are the Ori’s front line 'troops' if you will and we had to develop them from scratch,” says art director James Robbins. “We were given a description of who they were, what that they’d carry a staff of power. We first looked at Japanese and Samurai from a costuming point of view more than anything, but at the end of the day that look got watered down. Then we got into more mystical aspects and I came up with the idea of using scarification. Looking at some of the remote jungle tribes there’s face painting, scarification and burns, and I’ve always found that stuff kind of mystical.
“So I began experimenting with treatments for scarification and carried that through to the final look of the Priors and also the Doci, who are the overseers of all the lower level Ori, who are the Priors. The Priors have the chin and cheek scarification, whereas the Doci also have them on their foreheads. That’s all relegated, though. The higher up you are in their 'establishment' the more scarifications you receive, including on the backs of your hands. We even started out with the Priors having finger extensions, but that became too much of a physical anomaly to deal with. For example, when they tried closing their hands around their staffs it just didn’t look right, so after one episode we jettisoned the whole idea of doing that.
“Each of the Priors has his own symbol that’s part of his wardrobe and is also set into the handle of each staff. With the staffs, we thought it would be fun to have these little glowing orbs encased in natural wood. So the model shop built a number of staffs, each with its own Prior symbol as well as other markings etched into their sides. The staffs are actuated to glow by pressing a little button, either on the side or on the end, which is pretty cool.”
Stargate SG-1 Solutions Season Nine Episode Guides
Visimag.com: TV Zone Special #64
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28.Jul.05
Posted in SG-1 at 6:20 pm by DeeKayP
Producers talk about Season Nine and how it will end
With all the excitement going on right now concerning Stargate SG-1’s placement in the ratings, it comes as no surprise that talk has started concerning whether or not the show will be renewed for a record-breaking tenth season.
SG-1’s first two episodes, “Avalon Part 1″ and “Avalon Part 2″, both rated at 2.1. Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi stated recently in his GateWorld Blog that they are pleased with the show’s standings. Mallozzi has consistently insisted that it will be the fans who will determine if the show is renewed, based on the ratings. “There is no way of knowing whether we’ll be doing another season until the ratings are in. The audience has the final say on that one.”
When asked how high the ratings need to be in order to get renewed, Mallozzi said, “That really depends. When we moved to SciFi Channel, we were hoping for 1.5 – 1.7 average and ended up with slightly higher. After the SciFi Channel expanded its viewer base, we expected those numbers to drop slightly but, instead, they inched higher. Last year, we were hitting 2.0’s, 2.1’s, 2.2’s consistently. If that keeps up, I would think chances are good – but who knows. There are other variables that go into making that sort of decision – chiefest of which is the economic viability of continuing to produce the show. In the end, if it becomes a money-losing proposition, then the plug will be pulled. However, if DVD sales are any indication, the show seems to be doing alright in that respect.”
It may or may not be too early to tell if the show will be renewed based on two weeks’ worth of ratings, but executive producer and show-runner Robert C. Cooper has emphatically stated that they are finished with writing “The End” as if thinking that the current season will be the last season, something that they’ve been doing since Season Five.
Currently, they are producing and prepping episodes which will air in the second half of the season. Through Mallozzi’s Q&A thread and Blog at GateWorld, fans have been kept informed at where things stand as far as episodes go. Currently, we’re aware of 18 of the 20 episodes to air this season. That leaves two episodes which might be reserved for a two-part season finale.
So, how are they going to approach the end of this season? Will it all be wrapped up in a neat package and ended once again like Season Eight?
Attendees at the recent Comic Con held in San Diego (July 14-17) have reported that executive producers Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright say that Season Nine will end in a cliffhanger. When asked to confirm these reports, Joseph Mallozzi stated in his Q&A thread at GateWorld, “We won’t get definite word about a renewal until well after the season finale has been written. Cliffhanger it is.”
Stargate SG-1 Solutions Season Nine Episode Guides
GateWorld
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24.Jul.05
Posted in Articles & Updates at 8:44 am by Alison
It’s All In The Dynamics: Michael Shanks talks about the new direction for Stargate SG-1 Season 9
Marla R. Reed, Stargate SG-1 Solutions, Jul 05
“When asked what effect he thinks adding new characters to the show will have on keeping Stargate SG-1 alive and successful, Michael Shanks has a fairly blunt response. “Bringing in new characters doesn’t do squat for anything. Bringing in dynamics that create drama, chemistry, entertainment, comedy, action and all those things is what we are here for.” The actor says that he thinks Season 9 is going to be entertaining people and that, he feels, is what they are there (on the show) to do. Yet that’s not to say he isn’t excited about what the new characters have brought to Stargate SG-1 in its ninth season.”
Read the rest of this interview at Stargate SG-1 Solutions
Please feel free to forward this announcement to other Stargate sites, forums and lists. Thank you.
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21.Jul.05
Posted in Articles & Updates at 3:30 pm by Alison
As I’m sure many of you are aware, the fans who volunteer as writers and researchers for the Stargate SG-1 Solutions site are building up a truly amazing database of in-depth articles and analysis of all the Stargate episodes through our fully searchable Wiki encyclopaedia.
With 1600 articles, our Stargate wiki has taken a stupendous amount of time, energy, effort and creativity to build. Overwhelming thanks and gratitude go to DeeKay, Michelle, Marcia, Helen and the others of our tiny band who’ve worked so hard to bring you the very best Stargate research on the web.
As you can appreciate, this is a mammoth undertaking and we are truly desperate for new writers and researchers to join us and contribute to the resource we’re building.
Please take a look at the kind of in-depth articles we’re creating:
Wiki – Ancient Language and Writings article
articles we most urgently need.
I am, quite literally, begging for help. If you feel you can contribute even just one of the articles suggested above to this wonderful, SG-1 team-friendly project, please, please get in touch. We have a support group in place to help and…we need you 
Alison Butler: Stargate SG-1 Solutions webmaster
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Posted in SG-1 at 2:49 pm by DeeKayP
9.14 “Stronghold”
Summary
Members of the Jaffa High Council are showing unusual behavior and an old enemy, thought dead, is revealed to be behind it. Meanwhile, one of Mitchell’s old friends is about to die after having saved Mitchell’s life and wishes to know about the top-secret work that Mitchell is doing in order to make his death easier to face.
Details
It was thought that Ba’al was dead (most likely after the events of 9.07 “Ex Deus Machina”), but he is secretly subverting the members of the Jaffa High Council through a program of torture and brainwashing. An elderly member of the Jaffa High Council, Maz’rai, a strong proponent of democracy, uncharacteristically betrays Bra’tac by voting against Bra’tac’s cause. Once Maz’rai realizes that he has been brainwashed, he tries to undo it through the Rite of M’al Sharran which results in his own death.
Gerak is gone, some believing him to be a martyr, after sacrificing himself to save many lives as he stood in defiance of the Ori who killed him. Some believe he had ascended and doubt Bra’tac’s words as he was the only witness to Gerak’s death. (His story arc ended in 9.10-9.11 “The Fourth Horseman”.) Yat’yir, Gerak’s lieutenant, is now pushing his own agenda, leaning toward support of the Ori.
And now, after the brainwashing is revealed, Teal’c has gone missing. Daniel and Carter investigate.
Meanwhile, an old “top gun” pilot friend of Mitchell’s, Maj. Bryce Ferguson, is dying from a wound he suffered four years ago in North Korea saving Mitchell’s life. Knowing that he is about to die, he asks Mitchell to breach his security clearances and tell him about his top-secret work, feeling that knowing about it will make his death easier to face. Mitchell’s cover story about his injuries from the Antarctic battle were that he went down in a test flight, but Ferguson doesn’t buy it. His investigations have led him to the conclusion that Mitchell was flying a human-built alien-hybrid fighter against an alien armada in Antarctica. Ferguson doesn’t buy the story about the bomb that went off in an office building in Seattle (”Ex Deus Machina”), nor the one about the influenza outbreak that swept the globe (”The Fourth Horseman”).
Carter and Mitchell discuss the possibility of disclosure. She tells him about her father and Pete Shanahan. Mitchell tells Ferguson about the Stargate Program, feeling that it would have been Ferguson who would have made it to the F-302 Program and not him if Ferguson had not taken the shrapnel that will eventually kill him (inoperable brain aneurism). Afterwards, Mitchell joins his team to search for Teal’c.
Locations: Dakara, Ba’al’s mothership, Colorado Springs VA Hospital, U’kin’s homeworld
Characters
Guest/mentioned characters include: Maj. Bryce Ferguson, Maz’rai, Ba’al, Bra’tac, Kal’el (Ka’lel), Til’vak, U’kin, Yat’yir, Dr. Kelly
Production Credits
Written by Alan McCullough
Directed by Peter DeLuise
Before cameras 8/5 – 8/15
Note that all spoilers are subject to change before the finished episode is produced.
9.14 “Stronghold” Episode Guide
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Posted in Articles & Updates at 10:59 am by DeeKayP
Find out what we’re doing when it appears nothing is happening on the wiki
The Stargate SG-1 Solutions Wiki (StargateWiki) has been populated with over 1600 articles since it was started just a little over a year ago. The number of articles continues to grow, but perhaps you’ve seen that the pace at which they are being introduced has slowed down some. No worries, it’s just that we’re also updating articles!
Solutions’ main page lists all of the new articles which appear in the wiki with the most recent on top, but you won’t know if an article has been updated. Sometimes, we’ll announce some major changes which we’ll tell you about in the Blog, but, for the most part, the smaller updates will go unnoticed.
But, contrary to what Vala says, size doesn’t matter! It’s the “quality” of the update which might be of interest to you. So, here’s a little hint at how to find out what we’re doing behind the scenes when it appears we aren’t doing anything at all:
Use the “Recent changes” option in the wiki menu. It will show you the most recent change on top of the list and the editor will have made a comment as to what kind of change it is. Sometimes, changes are only for spelling or grammatical errors, but other times, they are for addition of Season Nine SPOILERS! So, if you’re following spoilers, make sure you check the recent changes list to see if we’ve updated an episode guide for one of the episodes which has yet to air. Of course, spoilers aren’t the only reasons why we update articles. Some articles are Works In Progress (WIPs) which might have just been finished.
The “Recent changes” option is the third in the “navigation” menu which appears under the Stargate image on the left-hand side of your screen.
Hopefully, the use of “Recent changes” will help you get more out of your wiki experience and keep you in the loop when we get a scoop.
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Posted in SG-1 at 7:47 am by DeeKayP
Ba’al’ll Be Back!
Cliff Simon keeps in touch with his fans on his Galaxy of Stars Message Board. Recently, he wrote, “Thanks for the compliments and I hope my role gets even bigger.”
Ba’al has become one of the last of the System Lords left alive after their major defeat at the end of Season Eight. In “Ex Deus Machina”, he has hidden himself away on Earth, but his method of hiding is definitely different: he becomes a big-time corporate head! And, he’s got a bomb! It’s a race to find him to not only keep his bomb from going off, but to keep the relations between the Free Jaffa and Tau’ri friendly.
So, how does it end? We’re not sure, but one interesting bit of information was provided by Simon, “Anyway, we have some exciting season 9 eps ahead which I start working on soon, so keep watching.” It sounds like Ba’al makes another successful break for it and remains a thorn in the galaxy’s side.
Simon concludes his note, “It’s up to the fans to keep my character alive…so keep those forum discussions going.”
Discussions can be found on our SG1Solutions Forum
9.07 “Ex Deus Machina” Episode Guide
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20.Jul.05
Posted in SG-1 at 6:55 pm by DeeKayP
Script Coordinator Alex Levine shares his trade secrets in SciFi.com blog
Fire! In an upcoming scene in Avalon Pt. 2, our fearless SG-1 Stunt Coordinator Dan Shea caught on fire! Yep, it’s true. A wider shot selection forced him out of his fire-retardant garb so he could be in the shot and near the ‘burn’ (the fire-stunt). When Dan went to put the ‘bridge’ down over the flames to let the actress out of the ring of fire, the fire was accidentally blown toward him and he caught on fire. Stop, drop and roll! Thankfully he wasn’t hurt.
Factoid: the village from Avalon Pt. 2 is entirely within our Effects stage — it’s not outside at all. There will be a behind the scenes featurette called ‘It Takes a Crew to Raise a Village’ on the DVD’s for season 9, which, among other interesting things, shows the village being built via time-lapse photography.
Oh, speaking of dirt. If you’re thinking the Stargate powers that be don’t pay enough attention to detail, you’ll be amazed to learn that the network took issue with the color of the dirt in the village set. Thankfully, the matter was resolved. The producers and the network settled on brown. Now that’s keeping it real.
Alex Levine’s July 20th Blog Entry: “Keeping it real…” (Atlantis spoilers present as well)
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Posted in Press Watch at 7:24 am by DeeKayP
Interview by Marla R. Reed for About.com
“So I can't say I'm overly excited about one particular episode that Daniel Jackson has been involved in, as I am excited about the overall product we've got at this point. I'm very proud to have people see it and that's the bottom line,” says Michael Shanks in this interview conducted at the recent Creation Burbank Con.
Shanks talks about working with the new cast members, but especially, with Claudia Black and the dynamics of their characters' relationship, likened very much to that of Maddie and David in Moonlighting. “And so her entire time is spent trying to break open that shell he's built around himself,” Shanks adds.
“So I think it's going to be interesting to see where we are going,” Shanks concludes with a smile.
Read the entire interview here
Discuss the interview in our SG1Solutions Fan Forum
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Posted in Press Watch at 6:56 am by DeeKayP
Critic’s Corner: Robert Bianco — What to watch this weekend
“If Battlestar Galactica is the dark side of sci-fi — and Sci Fi — Stargate SG-1 (Friday, 8 ET/PT) is definitely the lighter side,” Bianco opens up his review.
“More space adventure than deep drama, Stargate places no great demands on its audience — unless you’re determined to keep track of its increasingly complicated plot. While it’s not a great series, it can be an entertaining one. And that entertainment quotient jumps immeasurably tonight with the addition of Farscape’s Ben Browder.”
“Even better for Farscape fans, Browder is reunited — for a few episodes, anyway — with former co-star Claudia Black. Throw in Beau Bridges and some new supervillains and you have a show poised for late-run rejuvenation.”
“With Stargate at 8 and Galactica at 10, you might as well stay on Sci Fi for Stargate Atlantis (9 ET/PT). It’s the least of the three, but this way you won’t have to search for the remote.”
Read the rest of the review here.
9.01 “Avalon Part 1″ Episode Guide
9.02 “Avalon Part 2″ Episode Guide (spoilers present)
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