30.Dec.07
Posted in Atlantis, Press Watch at 8:16 am by DeeKayP
A Slice of SciFi has recently interviewed Stargate Atlantis executive producer and co-showrunner Joseph Mallozzi (just before Christmas) about the second half of Season Four and the overall arcs of Season Five. Mallozzi didn’t provide a whole lot of spoilers for specific episodes, but did cover character development, such as that for Sheppard, Ronon, and Teyla, and for recurring characters, including Connor Trinneer’s Michael and Christopher Heyerdahl’s “Todd” (Sheppard’s Wraith “ally”).
Mallozzi was asked about what made Stargate so long-lasting. First, he talked about Stargate SG-1, the longest running sci-fi show in North American television history. “To me it’s always really come down to the characters and I think that the fans would agree. You tell interesting stories about characters that the audience could respond to and that was frankly the case with ‘SG-1′. We had a core of [four] very interesting characters. The core was somewhat shaken in the end but the characters always remained very interesting.”
And then Mallozzi continued by discussing the characters on Atlantis. “As Paul and I sat down with the actors when we took over the show in Season 4 and we said ok this is what we want to do, we want to focus on the characters and their relationships. We still wanted to continue to tell the fun stories we told in the first [three] seasons, but focus more on who these characters are and create maybe a little conflict there as well, maybe explore a relationship that we hadn’t explored in the past. This is all stuff we set out to do and our experience has been successful in Season 4 and what we’d like to continue to do in Season 5.”
Mallozzi said that the cast and crew will be back in late February to start filming Season Five, starting with the premiere “Search and Rescue”. He’s not certain when the Sci Fi Channel will begin to air the new season, but “we’re back at it whether they want to put us on in September or even earlier, we’ll be ready to go.”
Read the rest of the interview at A Slice of SciFi Interview With SGA’s Joe Mallozzi.
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21.Dec.07
Posted in News, Press Watch, SG-1 at 8:54 pm by DeeKayP
The Hollywood Reporter has a new article entitled “MGM resurrects Sci Fi series with pics” in which writer and director Robert C. Cooper discussed the two direct-to-DVD movies scheduled to be released in 2008. Cooper addressed how he closed off some of the loose ends left after the conclusion of the record-breaking ten seasons of the TV show, Stargate SG-1, in his movie, Stargate: The Ark of Truth, scheduled to be released March 11, 2008, in North America, and how Brad Wright’s Stargate: Continuum, tentatively scheduled to be released in July 2008, is “a good old-fashioned ‘SG-1′ stand-alone story.”
Along with covering the differences between shooting these two films versus the television series, including having a larger budget and using film instead of high definition, Cooper discussed how the movies are structured differently than the episodes. “On the show, we had a five-act structure, and we designed the stories around commercial breaks. As such, on average you really ended up with about a seven- or eight-minute climactic sequence in each episode. The DTVs are more structurally like movies, with a beginning, middle and ending — long, sustained action that ramps up to a satisfying conclusion.”
MGM’s official press release, reproduced at TVShowsOnDVD.com, confirmed the March 11, 2008, release of The Ark of Truth, as well as revealed a bit more about the movie’s plot (spoilers!). This article also provided an image that might be the actual cover for the DVD (not what is pictured to the right herein).
DVDActive.com also announced the release of the DVD and listed the extras to be included:
- audio commentary with Writer, Director and Producer Robert C. Cooper, Actor Christopher Judge and Director of Photography, Peter Woeste
- Stargate SG-1: The Road Taken: Prelude to The Ark of Truth featurette
- Ark of Truth: Stargate at Comic-Con featurette
- Uncovering The Ark of Truth featurette
Both movies include the regular cast members from Season Ten of Stargate SG-1: Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black, Beau Bridges, and Michael Shanks.
[Thanks to Prion and Beckmen for the tips!]
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16.Dec.07
Posted in Atlantis, News at 11:35 am by DeeKayP
The SciFi Channel has commenced their promotions for the return of Stargate Atlantis on January 4, 2008. The second half of Season Four will return at 10pm Eastern with “Be All My Sins Remember’d”, picking up where “This Mortal Coil” left off.
The promos have been posted on YouTube (thanks to Integrabyte!). Be warned: there are some major spoilers therein!
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13.Dec.07
Posted in Merchandise, News, SG-1 at 6:56 pm by DeeKayP
The title of an extra to be included on the upcoming DVD release of Robert C. Cooper’s Stargate: The Ark of Truth has been revealed by David Lambert on the TVShowsOnDVD.com website.
Lambert said the extra, entitled Stargate SG-1: The Road Taken: Prelude to The Ark of Truth, “is a featurette which reportedly will examine the ending of the 10-season-long series and the decision to wrap up the ongoing Ori storyline, among other plot threads.”
Fans may pre-order the DVD (to be released on March 11, 2008) at Amazon.com (US) or sign up for an alert for when it becomes available for pre-order in the UK by visiting Amazon.com.uk.
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Posted in Press Watch at 2:45 pm by DeeKayP
Great news from Anthony Pascale at TrekMovie.com! Paul McGillion, known to Stargate fans as Ernest Littlefield and Dr. Carson Beckett, was awarded a role in the upcoming Star Trek feature film. Here’s Pascale’s announcement:
In September TrekMovie.com broke the news that Stargate Atlantis’ Paul McGillion auditioned for the role of Scotty for the new Star Trek film, but of course in the end the role went to Simon Pegg. However it appears that wasn’t the end of the line for McGillion. TrekMovie.com has learned that the McGillion impressed the film makers with his audition and they found a different role for the actor. No details yet on his role, except that it is a small speaking part.
McGillion has actually already finished shooting for the film, which took a few days back in November. It appears he will be in a scene with Chris Pine (Kirk). Since Simon Pegg had not started working yet, there will not be an on screen meeting between two.
After TrekMovie.com first broke the news that McGillion auditioned for the role of Scotty there was a large outpouring of support from the fan community, but it is not known if that factored into the decision to give him a role. A source told TrekMovie.com that JJ Abrams was impressed with McGillion’s audition and even though he picked his MI3 co-star Simon Pegg for Scotty, he still wanted to find a place for Paul.
The film is expected to open on December 25, 2008.
Congratulations, Paul!
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11.Dec.07
Posted in Atlantis, Press Watch at 7:58 am by DeeKayP
Torri Higginson talked with MGM’s Sharon Gosling about the return of Elizabeth Weir in last week’s mid-season finale “This Mortal Coil”. She talked about Weir’s being a clone created by the Replicators and how that might have been difficult for some actors to get a handle on because it’s a hard thing to grasp, but explained, “In television, you can do whatever you want and sci fi definitely opens that up a lot more. There are many leaps of logic that you can jump and have fun with.”
Being cloned does have its advantages, since the Replicators could possibly create as many clones as they want. This idea was not lost on Higginson, who said, “So I think the opportunity is always there – but they haven’t talked to me at all about it, so I have no sense of it whatsoever. But we’ll see.”
According to what has been gathered so far from executive producer Joseph Mallozzi’s personal blog, Higginson will have one more appearance in Season Four, but the name of the episode is shrouded in mystery. Will she be the “real” Elizabeth Weir (after all, viewers didn’t see her actually die), another clone, an alternate reality version, a figment of someone’s imagination, or any other type of sci-fi alter ego? Atlantis will return on January 4, 2008, at 10pm Eastern on the Sci Fi Channel with part two, “Be All My Sins Remember’d”, so maybe we’ll know then … or maybe not, as there are ten episodes to come in 2008.
Season Four will end in a cliffhanger with “The Last Man” and Season Five will pick up right where it leaves off with “Search and Rescue”. Mallozzi teased, “Who’s searching and who’s in need of rescue?” Could it be Elizabeth Weir? “Tune into the season 4 finale to find out.”
And if the opportunity does come for Higginson to return to the sets of Stargate Atlantis for its fifth season? “I wouldn’t go back to do a regular thing,” Higginson replied, “but I’m more than happy to go back to do one or two episodes. As long as Weir had something to do – was there for a reason and was emotionally and intellectually engaged with the story, then it would be a lot of fun. Because it’s great — it’s a great job, it’s great to go to work up there [in Vancouver].”
Read the complete interview at MGM: Close Up: Torri Higginson.
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10.Dec.07
Posted in News at 5:59 pm by michelle
As described by executive producer Joe Mallozzi, Sunday night (December 9) in Stargate land featured a private screening of The Ark of Truth at a rented theater in downtown Vancouver. Many cast and crew appeared, including Beau Bridges, Ben Browder, Michael Shanks, Chris Judge, Tim Guinee, Morena Baccarin, and Lexa Doig. The executive producers and writers were on hand, as well as the visual effects team, and others. A great time was apparently had by all, and oh yeah, the movie was good too! Read Joe’s blog for a complete recap with great pictures. Thanks, Joe!
The Ark of Truth will be released on DVD in North America on March 11, 2008. For pre-ordering information, read this blog entry.
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09.Dec.07
Posted in Merchandise, News, SG-1 at 7:53 am by DeeKayP
Stargate: The Ark of Truth is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com (US). Written and directed by Robert C. Cooper, the 97-minute movie concludes the Ori story arc that was started in Season Nine.
The movie stars the regular cast of Season Ten, as well as several familiar returning guest stars, including Morena Baccarin, Tim Guinee, Julian Sands, and Greg Anderson.
“As SG-1 searches for an Ancient artifact which they hope can defeat the armies of the Ori, they learn more Ori ships are about to be sent through the Supergate to launch a final assault on Earth. Daniel discovers that the artifact, the Ark of Truth, may be in the Ori home galaxy, and SG-1 embarks aboard the Odyssey to find it, and pre-empt the attack. The IOA has a plan of their own, and SG-1 ends up in a distant galaxy fighting two powerful enemies.” (MGM Press Release summary)
The DVD is scheduled for release March 11, 2008, and Amazon has a discounted price of $18.99.
[Thanks to suebsg9 for the tip!]
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07.Dec.07
Posted in Articles & Updates, Atlantis at 10:36 am by DeeKayP
Tonight’s episode of Stargate Atlantis, “This Mortal Coil”, is the mid-season finale. Written by Joseph Mallozzi (and Paul Mullie) and directed by William Waring, the episode also marks the return of Torri Higginson as Elizabeth Weir as the Replicators find Atlantis … or do they?
Mallozzi explains this rather cryptic summary of the episode a bit to TV Zone Magazine (special issue #79, November 2007): “When this episode, which is the first of a two parter, opens, the Atlantis gate has been inoperative for three days and for some reason our people can’t get it working again. An Ancient drone then crashes into the city and they’re like ‘Where did that come from?’ When our heroes start to investigate the drone, they begin to notice that other Atlantis personnel, including Zelenka, Keller and [Lorne], are acting strangely. I don’t want to give too much away, but, again, things aren’t what they seem.”
The mystery is supposed to unfold from there. Those who have viewed the previews given by MGM and the Sci Fi Channel have been able to piece some of that mystery together, and if you’re one of the fans who has seen the incredibly detailed spoilers on another fan website, even more of the pieces are there for the taking. But don’t let what you see and read be too misleading. As a matter of fact, the plot still relies heavily on taking what is known and trying not to misinterpret the clues, just like the team had to do in “The Seer” when given some very intense, seemingly obvious, visions of the future.
“It was a script that required a lot of rethinking, re-ordering, and dialogue massaging to present a complex story in as concise, informative, and entertaining a way as possible. It was hell, but there are some very touching character moments that I thought turned out very nicely,” Mallozzi explained in his personal blog when asked why this episode had been so hard for him to write after he had shared about his agony with his readers during the writing process.
Adding even more to the mystery and the cliffhanger, Mallozzi teased his readers during the production of the episodes with, “No major construction for The Seer, but we will marry some of the exterior scenes from this episode to the This Mortal Coil shoot. James [Robbins, Production Designer] and Tom [Wells, Supervising Art Director] also pitch out how they’d like to pull off the ‘horrific reveal’ at script’s end. I love it!”
Thankfully, fans will not have to wait too long (like last season’s incredibly long hiatus) to find out what the implications of this “horrific reveal” are, since Stargate Atlantis will return to the Sci Fi Channel on Friday, January 4, at 10pm Eastern with “Be All My Sins Remember’d”. Until that time, viewers will have to wait and speculate on how the pieces of the mystery fit together and still keep in mind that “things aren’t what they seem.”
After viewing tonight’s episode, please visit our on-site forum to rate and discuss it.
Spoiler Previews:
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06.Dec.07
Posted in News, SG-1 at 7:28 am by DeeKayP
The Richard Dean Anderson Web Site has posted a photo gallery of the cast and crew as they filmed on location in the Arctic for Brad Wright’s Stargate: Continuum. Photos not only include actors Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, and Ben Browder, but also crew members such as Martin Wood (director), N. John Smith (Producer), Peter Woeste (director of photography), and Ivon Bartok (special features), among others.
Visit the Continuum in the Arctic, March 23-29, 2007 gallery at the site to view the images.
Stargate: Continuum is the first of the stand-alone Stargate SG-1 movies and has been called “classic Stargate” by its writer, Brad Wright. It includes the return of Ba’al and of the Stargate as a key player in the plot. When Ba’al manages to change the timeline so that the Stargate Program doesn’t exist, it’s up to Daniel Jackson, Samantha Carter, and Cameron Mitchell to protect Earth as Ba’al launches an attack, with Qetesh (Vala) and Teal’c at his side in this new version of reality.
The movie is due to be released on DVD in July of 2008.
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