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News, spoilers and updates in the Stargate world
Tonight, April 30, at 9pm Eastern, is the premiere of Michael Shanks as Mark Bishop on the FOX TV hit 24. Shanks has a three-episode arc that starts with Episode #20, “Day 6: 1:00am – 2:00am”. There has been quite a bit of press both online and in print about Shanks’s move to 24 following his many years on Stargate SG-1.
Viewers in the UK will see Shanks’s first episode on Sunday, May 13, at 9pm on Sky One.
After a few months of “beta” testing, the Stargate trading card game is now live. The game has an on-line aspect that you can download and play, as well as real trading cards, with the ability to turn in on-line cards for real, physical ones. Beyond that we really don’t understand how it works, but it looks very cool! Click on the image at right to see a screen shot.
The following article contains spoilers for the Season Four episode “The Seer”. The episode’s airing order is currently not known, but it will be in the first half of the season, placed in sixth, seventh, or eighth position.
Richard Woolsey is in the city and is included in a discussion with Carter and McKay. Somehow McKay reactivated the virus for which the Replicators were originally created — to attack the Wraith. But now there is the problem of shutting down this virus. There is a Wraith who claims to have the original shut-down virus, and now the Expedition must decide if they can work with this Wraith.
In the meantime, the City of the Ancestors has a guest — Davos.
Davos has the ability to see things that will take place in the future. He shares his visions with others by “showing” them to them, including McKay and Col. Carter. Davos claims to have never been wrong in what his visions show. The problem with his visions is that those with whom he shares them could possibly interpret them incorrectly. According to Davos, the events that McKay saw actually happened, but McKay’s interpretation and conclusions drawn from the vision were incorrect. Davos has shared a vision with Carter and she must deal with the possibility of what this vision has revealed. She admits that it was pretty hard to misinterpret — the future of the galaxy rests on the actions of but a few — the people of Atlantis. And she is the one who must decide on what actions to take at the “crossroad”.
Davos spends time getting to know the people of the city, especially Teyla. The Expedition met Davos on a planet while they were seeking the fate of her people, and he tells her that they are still alive, but warns her that she may not like what she finds. He also knows that Teyla is pregnant and that she has kept her condition a secret because it is a complicated issue.
Davos is ill. He knows he doesn’t have long. Dr. Keller is treating him, but his condition grows worse. She gives him morphine for the pain, but it clouds his mind, preventing him from helping the Expedition know what awaits.
While Davos is under Dr. Keller’s care, Sheppard reports that a second hive ship will arrive soon. Carter sends him to the chair room to prepare for its arrival.
Episode spoilers are subject to change as the season is in production.
by: Marise Strauss
Apr 23, 2007
(Playback Daily)
Stargate SG-1 co-creator Brad Wright won the inaugural showrunner prize at the Canadian Screenwriting Awards on Monday night at a downtown Toronto nightspot, in recognition of his “outstanding creative vision” on the long-running, since-cancelled sci-fi series.
“I don’t know if it’s an important award, but in our industry we celebrate things, and I love the fact that we’re celebrating the showrunner because it’s such a little understood job in our business,” Wright told Playback Daily. He is currently writing and producing a series of Stargate movies for MGM, and is co-developing a third series for the sci-fi franchise, which also includes the spin-off Stargate: Atlantis.
The ceremony was hosted by Gavin Crawford of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, who joked about the ACTRA strike, noting “I didn’t know there was a strike, I was working.” The awards are presented by the Writers Guild of Canada.
Visit Playback Daily Magazine for the complete article.
[Thanks to morjana for the tip.]
The following includes casting spoilers for Season Four’s episode, “Tabula Rasa”, written by Alan McCullough.
Executive Producer and co-showrunner Joseph Mallozzi has been writing about the various stages of production for Season Four of Stargate Atlantis in his personal blog. Once in a while, he’ll drop hints about each of the episodes, such as working title, casting, or set design. He also provides pictures from his visits to the set and other departments. In his April 23 entry, he mentioned casting for “Tabula Rasa”.
Not much is currently known about “Tabula Rasa”. The title is Latin for “scraped tablet” (which has also been translated to mean “clean slate” or “blank slate”). Writer McCullough finished up his final draft around March 21 and they are now shooting scenes. As far as plot is concerned, Mallozzi hinted on March 22, “We discuss Alan’s Tabula Rasa rewrite. How could Lorne top his barefoot scene in Doppelganger? Well how about this meaty role? Oh, and poor Katie.”
As far as casting is concerned, Mallozzi talked about finding the actor for “Scientist #2″:
Zach Selwyn was on the lot today. For those of you not familiar with the larger-than-life host of G4’s Attack of the Show, he is the star of a SGA rap video that took youtube by storm. In fact, Zach rapped and danced his way into a guest-starring role as episode linchpin Scientist #2 in season four’s Tabula Rasa. His big scene is tomorrow, first up! I wished him luck and assured him that, as much as I would love to watch his early morning performance, I’m the victim of a rare medical condition that necessitates my sleeping in past 7:30 a.m. every morning. Despite the fact that he was celebrating his birthday, he did come in to interview cast members for his show and, God knows why, thought it might be a good idea to interview me as well (a decision, I’m certain, he now deeply regrets). Still, since we were shooting the interview on Stage 3, I did manage to snap some pics of the Daedalus.
Zach Selwyn was born April 23, 1975 in Tucson, Arizona. Some of his previous television acting appearances include Chicago Hope, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and Dragnet. He is not only an actor, but also a composer, screenwriter, and a country-rock musician in Los Angeles with his band “Zachariah and the Lobos Riders”.
To view Selwyn’s role-winning video, visit YouTube and leave your comments.
The following includes casting spoilers for Season Four’s third episode, “Reunion”, written by Joseph Mallozzi (and Paul Mullie) and directed by William Waring.
In the episode “Reunion”, Ronon is reunited with some of his fellow Satedans who are among the few hundred survivors of the Wraith attack that occurred approximately eight years ago and that left the world desolate. These Satedans explain how they were caught inside a system of caves when the opening collapsed. After spending three days digging themselves out, they found that the Wraith had conquered their world.
Among Ronon’s friends is Tyre who, along with Ara, wants Ronon to rejoin them. Ronon is torn between his loyalty to the Atlantis Expedition and to his homeworld’s last survivors. But, Ronon discovers that his friends’ new lifestyle is not as inviting as originally perceived.
The role of Tyre required an actor who could expertly portray fight scenes. They found their man in Mark Dacascos who has both acting and martial arts experience. Executive producer and showrunner Joseph Mallozzi chronicled his day (April 18) with the following entry about the casting of Dacascos as Tyre:
9:00 a.m.: While Paul is sequestered in his office doing a pass on Seer, I’m in the conference room for the Reunion concept meeting. 1st AD Gordie Mac runs us through the script while director Will Warring presides. As things move along, Bam Bam, our stunt coordinator, grows increasingly anxious about the casting as he has fight scenes to choreograph. Producer John Lenic informs us that all is good because Mark Dacascos has signed on to play the role of Tyre. Mark was terrific in Brotherhood of the Wolf (and his stint as the host of Iron Chef America – hmmm, wonder if he can get me on as a guest judge), and is apparently a very, very sweet guy according to Bam Bam who worked with him on The Crow. When the meeting eventually wraps up, Executive Producer John Smith sounds the alarm: “This episode is going to be big!”.
Mark Dacascos, like Jason Momoa, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He started acting when he was literally approached off the street, but has studied the art ever since that first experience, which he said all ended up on the cutting room floor. Dacascos also says at his official website that martial arts has “always been a part of my life, and I’ll work hard to keep it that way.” His parents have influenced his career in the martial arts and he is now a world renowned martial artist. He has appeared in both television and film as both an actor and as a stunt professional.
Stargate Atlantis executive producer and co-showrunner Joseph Mallozzi has published photos taken on the set of Stargate: The Ark of Truth, written and directed by Robert C. Cooper, in his personal blog. Mallozzi writes:
Production has begun on SG-1 movie #1: The Ark of Truth with writer-director-producer Robert C. Cooper at the helm (looking particularly fearsome and fiery-eyed in his “Get the f*** [*beep*] off my set!” gangsta pose). Check out the man in action, working with DOP Pete Woeste, the Ori warriors winding down, Ori warrior Jason Calder, Ivon Bartok shooting me shooting him, and, of course, the set.
Filming began on April 17 and is due to wrap May 8.
Sci Fi Wire has published a list of science fiction films for DVD being produced by MGM, featuring Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum. The article doesn’t mention dates for the release of these DVDs, but does mention production dates:
MGM announced an ambitious development slate of new films for DVD, including science fiction titles aimed at young men and women, as well as two telemovies based on SCI FI Channel’s Stargate SG-1: Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum.
The Ark of Truth begins production on April 15 [filming began April 17], while Continuum, which will feature epic ice-camp scenes shot on location in the Arctic, will resume filming on May 15 [previous reports have May 22]. The films will feature SG-1 stars Richard Dean Anderson, Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black and Michael Shanks.
MGM has plans to release 12 or more projects per year, primarily based on popular film and television franchises with wide appeal to young-adult entertainment consumers.
Visit Sci Fi Wire for a list of other SF&F MGM DVD titles under development, including a film based on another popular TV series, Dead Like Me.
Joe Mallozzi has revealed the US Nielsen ratings for Friday’s second-half premieres of SG-1 and Atlantis in his blog entry today:
The ratings are in for our back half premieres. When all is said and done, SG-1 did a 1.5 and Atlantis a 1.4 – not bad given the six month sabbatical and the fact that the episodes have already aired, oh, everywhere else in the world and online. And especially not bad when one compares them with the numbers for the first run, first time anywhere season premieres.
Joe is referring to the ratings for last summer’s Season 10 and Season 3 premieres, which were 1.4 and 1.5, respectively.
Sci Fi promoted the second-half premieres heavily on its own channel, but not extensively elsewhere that fans could notice.
Kate O’Hare of Zap2It.com has interviewed Michael Shanks about his upcoming role on the FOX TV hit 24. Shanks talks about revealing spoilers and filming the show’s rarely shown sex scenes, as well as seeing familiar faces on the set. The article has a spoiler warning just in case you don’t want to know more about Shanks’s character and his love life before watching his episodes starting April 30 (the article says the 23rd, but this article appears to have been written before Shanks’s scenes were changed as recently announced by his publicist through MSOL).
[Thanks to Prion for the tip.]
