31.Jan.06
Posted in News, Press Watch at 1:36 pm by michelle
As reported by Gateworld, MGM and newly formed Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment have entered into a deal to produce a massively multi-player online role-playing game (“MMO-RPG”) based on Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. The game will be played over the internet with many other people (similarly to World of Warcraft) and will feature ranged combat, alliances, and enemies based on the show. There is no mention that any of the regular characters from either show will be included.
Read the entire story at Gateworld.
It is not clear if this news is related to the demise of MGM’s licensing of the first-person video game nearly completed by Perception Ltd, called Stargate: Alliance.
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Posted in News, Press Watch at 1:19 pm by michelle
From Sci Fi Wire comes the welcome news that David Hewlett did indeed film his own movie script during the Stargate Atlantis haitus. He had mentioned planning to do so during recent interviews. From SCI FI Wire:
Atlantis’ Hewlett Directs His Pals
Stargate Atlantis star David Hewlett, who plays the irascible genius Rodney McKay, told SCI FI Wire that he has enlisted fellow Atlantis stars and crew members to work on his independent feature film, A Dog’s Breakfast, in which he makes his feature writing and directing debut. The movie centers on squabbling siblings Patrick and Marilyn, who are driven over the edge when Marilyn brings home her new TV-star fiancé from the space soap opera Starcrossed. Patrick tries to drive a wedge between the happy couple … then he reaches for sharper instruments.
In addition to Hewlett, the movie features Atlantis co-stars Rachel Luttrell (Teyla) and Paul McGillion (Dr. Beckett), as well as Stargate SG-1 star Christopher Judge (Teal’c). The film’s crew includes Stargate producer John G. Lenic, cinematographer Jim Menard and an amalgamation of the Atlantis and SG-1 shooting crews. The cast also includes Amanda Byram. Hewlett is also working with his real-life partner, producer Jane Loughman, and his sister, actress Kate Hewlett.
Is the film’s storyline a thinly disguised version of Hewlett’s own life? “Let’s just say that it’s based on a true story,” he said in an e-mail interview. “Starcrossed is just an excuse to see Rachel (Luttrell) dressed as a sexy alien again, as it’s been far too long.”
A Dog’s Breakfast is wrapping production, which took place in and around Vancouver, Canada, where the two Stargate series also film. The movie does not have distribution yet. “At the end of February, we should have a cut of the movie together and will start sending it out to festivals and for distribution,” producer Lenic said.
Does A Dog’s Breakfast mean Hewlett really wants to direct? “All I really want right now is a holiday,” he said. Stargate Atlantis airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, immediately after Stargate SG-1.
Gateworld has obtained a synopsis of the movie’s plot and some wonderful production photos. Enjoy those at Gateworld.
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Posted in News, Press Watch at 8:52 am by michelle
The Detroit Free Press is reporting that during this Sunday’s Super Bowl, Master Card will air a commercial in which Richard Dean Anderson will reprise his role as MacGyver to offset later advertising by Visa in the Olympics:
With rival Visa advertising in the Olympics, MasterCard will extend its “Priceless” campaign in a 30-second ad featuring actor Richard Dean Anderson, the star of the ’80s TV series “MacGyver,” in a simulated hostage situation.
The very expensive Super Bowl advertising spots can make or break companies in the eyes of the public, so this commercial is welcome affirmation of RDA and MacGyver’s place in American culture. Visit the link above to read the entire article.
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30.Jan.06
Posted in News at 5:29 pm by DeeKayP
This is a gentle reminder that you must have your request to replace the S8 R1 (North America) Disc 5 containing the shortened version of “Threads” postmarked by January 31, 2006! There’s still time!
The Check My Rebate website has the instructions. The replacement disc comes complete in a case ready to be placed into your boxed set. It contains all the same features as the previous version of the disc, except “Threads” is the longer version originally shown by SciFi in a 90-minute special presentation instead of the 60-minute syndication version which was placed on the old disc.
People who have bought the boxed set recently have said that their sets contain the longer version, but it wouldn’t hurt to check your set just to make sure.
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Posted in SG-1 at 10:52 am by DeeKayP
Prometheus plays Titanic
In TV Zone #67, episode writer Damien Kindler said, “Ethon is a sequel of sorts to Icon. Icon is a script that I’m very proud of. It was a bit of a dark, kind of apocalyptic tale, but Rob Cooper had a great appreciation for the story and that planet, so I pitched an idea about returning to that world with the Prometheus and reuniting Daniel and Jared Kane. As I developed the story further we actually play a bit of the Titanic with the Prometheus because it comes up against a weapon that is far more powerful than it’s crew realises.”
This weapon is being built by the Ori in their effort to gain control of the billions of human lives in the Milky Way — their effort to gain enough power to destroy the Ascended Ancients, or Alterans, who had dared to keep humanity’s existence in this galaxy a secret from them. The war between the Alterans and the Ori started millions of years ago in a far galaxy, and now, it has been refueled in the corporeal plane as humanity in several galaxies attempt to survive the incredible powers of the ascended. If the war escalates into the ascended planes, it could be very bad for everyone in every plane of existence.
This new weapon is in orbit near Jared Kane’s planet and he’s called on the SGC to help stop the Ori. Daniel’s presence on the planet may do more harm than good, since it appears that the Ori also have plans to turn him against his teammates (according to TV Guide: “Following their failure to subdue Earth with a plague, the Ori come up with a fiendish new plan to destroy Stargate SG-1, one that involves turning Daniel against Teal’c, Cameron and Sam.”).
The title “Ethon” is taken from Greek mythology, just as the name “Prometheus”. When Prometheus gave man fire from the gods, he was punished by being chained to Mount Caucasus and a large bird gnawed on his liver. His liver regrew and the bird gnawed on it again. This punishment continued until Prometheus was rescued. The name of the bird? Ethon.
Hints about the probable demise of the Prometheus started in TV Zone #67. According to Joseph Mallozzi, writer of “Ripple Effect”, “There are so many scenes that were shot but didn’t make it into the final cut. There’s a walk and talk aboard the Prometheus with Daniel and the alternate Teal’c, who remarks how weird it feels to be on the Prometheus because in his reality it was destroyed. Remember that as the season continues.”
Mallozzi also reminds us to remember the destruction of the Prometheus in that alternate reality and warns us it might happen in ours in his “In the Making” series for the episode “Ripple Effect”. In this article he stated, “Hated to lose these scenes as they contained a bit of foreshadowing re: a later Season Nine episode.” A portion of this scene included this:
INT. CORRIDOR – PROMETHEUS
Green Daniel and Black Teal’c head down the corridor.
BLACK TEAL’C: In truth, the familiar aspects of this world have proven more disquieting than comforting. This ship in particular.
GREEN #DANIEL: How’s that?
BLACK TEAL’C: In our reality, the Prometheus was recently lost in battle.
And, if all of these hints as to the end of the Prometheus don’t send the message, then SciFi Channel’s preview for the episode certainly does. Opening the teaser are scenes where Earth’s first intergalactic spaceship appears to go out with a big bang.
Tune in Friday, February 3, at 8pm Eastern, to find out if the Prometheus truly does get destroyed and what becomes of her crew.
[Thanks to SueSV, Sandra, and luvtwtid for interview and magazine quotes. — DeeKayP]
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28.Jan.06
Posted in News at 10:01 am by michelle
One last reminder to watch or record Michael Shanks in Swarmed, airing at 9 pm EST/8 pm CST tonight on The Sci Fi Channel. Check out the SciFi.com homepage for a great graphic for the movie. And read About.com for a bit of background on the movie and the casting of Michael.
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24.Jan.06
Posted in News at 9:02 pm by DeeKayP
Seven years of connecting with online fandom ends
Executive Producer and writer Joseph Mallozzi has been keeping fans up-to-date with the behind-the-scenes of the production of both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis for several years (most recently through his blog at Gateworld). Many online fans looked forward to his hints and teasers about upcoming episodes. However, Mallozzi has announced in his January 24th blog that it is his last, but doesn’t give his reasons for closing the doors.
Also included in his withdrawal from online fandom are his “In the Making” articles about deleted scenes and other information about the production process of the current season’s episodes. Mallozzi also stated that he might not be back for a while and apologized to those who have outstanding questions on the forums (both Gateworld and SG1Solutions).
Joe’s presence will undoubtedly be missed, including his visits to Solutions’ own Q&A forum thread.
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Posted in Press Watch, SG-1 at 8:26 am by DeeKayP
SciFi Wire interviews Beau Bridges
SciFi Wire has published a portion of an interview conducted with actor Beau Bridges who was in Pasadena recently. Bridges enthuses over his return to Stargate SG-1 for its record-breaking tenth season as Gen. Hank Landry. No longer the new guy on the set, Bridges looks forward to giving his fellow cast members a “bad time.”
Filming for Season Ten begins with the season premiere, “Flesh and Blood”, on February 20 in Vancouver.
[Thanks to Sueb45 for the tip — DeeKayP]
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21.Jan.06
Posted in News at 9:07 pm by michelle
Rumors are spreading through the internet that the long-awaited Stargate SG-1: The Alliance video game has finally be cancelled, its development halted by Perception Ltd. because MGM refused to approve a contract with a new publisher.
There has been no official confirmation of this rumor. There is a message first posted here at onlinegamer-fr.com, that purports to be from one of the game’s developers:
As many of you know, for the last year and a half I’ve been on the development team at Perception in Sydney, working on the title “Stargate SG-1: The Alliance”. Many of you also know the legal trouble and the falling out we had with ex-publisher JoWood back in August last year. Since then we have been trying to secure a new publisher for the game.
For the last couple of months, we have had several good offers from interested publishers. They only needed one thing – MGM’s approval. Since MGM are the owners of the Stargate license, everything needs to be approved by them, even new publisher contracts. So, when we approached MGM about these contracts…MGM basically sat on their hands and did nothing. They didn’t flat out say no, but they didn’t say yes either. They expressed concerns with areas of the game. We addressed those concerns. Still no publisher approval. We showed them other offers from publishers, and that said publishers were asking for more information on the license. Did MGM provide it? No, even though contractually they were supposed to.
In the end it was pretty obvious MGM wanted the project canned for some reason that eludes everyone except them, but they didn’t want to be the ones to do it. So, they just sat on their hands and did nothing for several months, to the point where Perception could not afford to keep working on the game knowing that they didn’t have MGM’s approval, and will probably never get it. Developers need publishers to fund the creation of a game. Without the publisher, the developer gets no income. Without MGM’s approval, Perception couldn’t sign a publisher. So the equation is pretty simple. There’s only so long a developer can hold on financially without publisher backing.
As of about Friday the 20th of January 2006, at about 1pm Sydney time, the title “Stargate SG-1: The Alliance” was terminated for all SKU’s. This also means the entire development team was “let go”. I am now out of a job. After putting blood, sweat and tears into this thing for the last year and a half, and pulling some ridiculous hours on more occasions I can count, it’s all for nothing.
My experience in game development is now three titles, two of which were never released, and one that was but I wasn’t credited for because I left the company before they finished it. Go me!
We expect MGM to make an official press release about this sometime next week. If they won’t then Perception will probably issue one. In the meantime, I ask you guys to keep this information to yourselves. This is an exclusive scoop for you I know, but until it is “officially” announced in a press release by either MGM or Perception, please don’t spread it around. I’m trusting you guys on this.
Thanks a lot MGM, you bunch of complete prats. Go screw yourselves.
If what is reported by this person is true, it is a shame, not only for fans who have been eagerly awaiting the game, but also for the cast and crew of the show. Peter DeLuise wrote the script for the game, and all of the original cast, including Richard Dean Anderson, read the script for use as the audio.
We hope MGM is forthcoming with an official statement soon.
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Posted in Articles & Updates at 1:00 pm by michelle
Nialla has once again sharpened her pencil and taken to task a landmark Season 8 episode, Reckoning Part 2. Enjoy it here.
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