30.Aug.08
Posted in Merchandise, News, Press Watch at 6:15 am by DeeKayP
The Official Stargate Magazine has a brief story in the current issue (#24, September/October 2008) dedicated to Don S. Davis who passed away June 29. The article provides a brief biography and editor’s note: “The Official Magazine had the pleasure of interviewing Don Davis earlier in the year and found him to be a charming and friendly man, eager to talk about his newfound lease of life, his art, and his love of acting and of Stargate. He will be sorely missed by all those who had the pleasure of meeting and working with him.”
The Magazine is planning on publishing a full memorial in the next issue and closes with the following request: “If you’d like to share your experiences of Don with us, email us at the usual address.” That’s stargate_sg1@titanemail.com.
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27.Aug.08
Posted in Atlantis, News at 3:20 am by DeeKayP
Stargate Atlantis has been nominated for four trophies in the 23rd Annual Gemini Awards.
The press release from the Awards’ website:
Toronto, ON (August 26, 2008) – The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is pleased to announce the nominations for the 23rd Annual Gemini Awards, recognizing the year’s best in Canadian English-language television. The Gemini Awards Broadcast Gala will be presented in Toronto, ON at the John Bassett Theatre on Friday, November 28, 2008. Canwest Broadcasting joins the Academy in celebrating this year’s exceptional achievements, airing the Gemini Awards Broadcast Gala on E! Network and Showcase at 9 pm ET.
“This was a banner year for Canadian television,” said Sara Morton, CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. “The nominees announced today truly exemplify the depth and breadth of our country’s talent, both in front of and behind the camera. Featuring newcomers and returning favourites, this year’s field of nominees has engaged and entertained audiences in Canada and beyond.”
The nominations for Atlantis are for Season Four:
- Best Writing in a Dramatic Series: Alan McCullough for “Tabula Rasa”
- Best Achievement in Make-Up: Todd Masters, Leah Ehman for “The Last Man”
- Best Visual Effects: Mark Savela, Marco Checa Garcia, Sebastian Greece, Shannon Gurney, Paul Hegg, Brandon Hines, Jesus Lavin, Nikolas Slotiuk, Toby Taplin, Ray Van Steenwyk for “Adrift”
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role: Jewel Staite for “Missing”
Congratulations to all the nominees! To read more about the Awards, visit 23rd Annual Gemini Awards.
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26.Aug.08
Posted in Articles & Updates, Atlantis, News at 5:03 pm by michelle
Today Paul McGillion (Dr. Carson Beckett) and Rachel Luttrell (Teyla Emmagan) were kind enough to take a few minutes between filming scenes to chat with Solutions about the cancellation of their show, Stargate Atlantis, as a regular series. They had some very interesting insights as to how the news struck them, and about moving on.
Rachel and Paul chatted with us from their location at the forest of Stokes Pit in Surrey, where they are filming scenes from Season 5’s “Identity“.
Rachel learned of the cancellation last week, not long before we did. She said, “Paul Mullie and Joe Mallozzi came into my trailer last week, and they broke the news to me. They came in, and their faces kind of said it all. I think, truthfully, we were all very shocked by the news. We all kind of figured that we’d be going for at least another season. You know, we’ve been here for five years, and have become like a family now. So it’s sad that we’re moving on, but, you know, onwards and upwards I guess. One has to be positive.”
Paul was not in Vancouver when the decision came down. “Martin Gero gave me a call because I wasn’t on set. He called me up and broke the news to me. From all indications, I’d thought we were going to go a sixth season, but like Rachel said, five years is a great run of a show. Hopefully we entertained the fans with that. And apparently there may be some movies in the future, but we’ll see what happens with everybody. You move on from something, and hopefully you leave a bit of a legacy.”
Agreeing that fans were shocked too, in spite of show-runner Joe Mallozzi’s public worrying, Rachel noted, “We started the year winning the People’s Choice Award and the ratings were fabulous, and the stories were great this year. You know, all of this. I think I speak for the entire cast when I say we were all quite surprised by the news. But we’re actors, and we jump from role to role. It’s par for the course, but it is sad.”
Paul expressed his gratitude for being able to play great characters for five seasons, and amazement that his character died and come back as a clone. “You kind of grow into these characters and they become part of you. It’s sad to see them go, but like Rachel said, you move on and look forward to the next challenge.”
But even so, it’s not so easy to leave their Atlantis family behind. “We’ve become a family. We’ve been here for so long, and the cast are really good friends, and the cast and the crew care about each other. Most of the crew have been with us from the get-go,” said Rachel.
In spite of all that, the cast and crew are having some good laughs on set for these final weeks of filming. Apparently Rachel is having a “fabulous” song sung to her all day, but she and Paul didn’t share more about it. At the same time, they want to finish strongly. “We want to make sure we honor the franchise on the way out,” Paul noted.
Both Paul and Rachel expressed extreme gratitude for the fans, Paul saying, “The fans have been so great to us. I’ve never been part of a genre like this before, where they have such a great fan base and such loyal fans. It’s certainly been a real eye-opener for me and something I’ll never forget.”
Rachel agreed completely, adding, “It’s been a wonderful experience. We’re having a great time and honoring our characters for these last few episodes.
Asked how they felt about Atantis fans’ anger at the cancellation of the show and the announcement of Stargate Universe right afterward Rachel said, “It’s wonderful that the fans are loyal. That’s terrific. We have no idea what Universe is going to be like, so I can’t put it down. I have no idea how the decisions came about. First and foremost, thank you so much to all of our fans for being as supportive as you are.”
Paul added, “It’s so great to have a fan base and to know that over five years you’ve established a fan base that becomes that upset over the show being canceled. We’re honored by that. And all we can say is thank you so much for being so supportive of our careers and the show. The fans are just awesome. I’ve never seen fans like this in my life!”
As to whether they would accept an offer to guest appear on Universe, Paul said, “We’ll see what happens. Obviously when something like this happens, you pursue other avenues. If opportunities come available to reprise the roles and we’re available, and they’d like to have us, I’d come over and do something.”
Asked what they won’t miss after the show ends, Paul and Rachel playfully named each other. Rachel won’t miss those very, very early mornings, but aside from that, there’s not much they won’t miss. As Paul said, “As actors, you can never take anything for granted. These things are always fleeting. But when you look back, you are going to miss it. It’s steady work, it’s a fun job. I always kind of compare it to playing cops and robbers in space. We’re adults playing kids’ roles, and it’s a lot of fun. At the same time, you look forward to new challenges in your career. That’s the great thing about acting.”
Rachel noted how well her pregnancy was used for the storyline of the show, saying, “It gave me more colors to portray for Teyla, and I think she became a richer character because of it. And I’ve grown so much through this process.”
As to how they’ll keep in touch with their friends on the cast and crew, Paul joked that he has a restraining order against David Hewlett. They’ll get together for dinner, Paul said, noting Rachel is busy with her son and calling her the “yummy mummy” for how lovely she is. Rachel added, “It is sad that we’re saying goodbye to each other and to seeing each other on a regular basis. But we are friends, we truly are, and so we’ll be seeing each other, going to each others’ places, hanging out in California or here. Gosh, it’s an emotional time.”
Paul added, “Rachel was just saying yesterday, it’s kind of bittersweet. You’re moving on to something, but it is sort of sad. You see all the crew, and it’s truly the crew who are a big part of the family. You’re so consistently working with the entire crew. They’re so great on this set. And like Rachel said, it might sound cliched, but it is like a big family and you get to know everybody really well. I think the cast will see each other quite a bit, because we’ve all remained pretty close friends.”
As far as future work, Paul is reading for pilots (new shows) that interest him, and he and Rachel are looking at different projects that they’ll be available for once shooting finishes in late September. Paul will head back to California to look for work in Hollywood. He’s also involved in an independent film project that may film in the Fall or early in 2009. It would be more of a comedy than his previous indy film, See Grace Fly. For now Rachel is focused on finishing Season 5, but then will seek other projects.
As for last words for the fans, Rachel said, “I just want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support. You’ve been fantastic throughout this entire journey. I don’t think any of us knew how loyal and how wonderful the fan base was, and it’s been terrific. All I can say is thank you, and we really, really do appreciate it. You’ve made this journey even more rich than it would have been. So thank you, we’ve had a blast and we really appreciate you guys.”
Paul added, in the voice of Carson Beckett, “Dr, Carson Beckett loves you guys, and so does Paul McGillion.”
Solutions would like to thank Paul and Rachel for taking the time to chat with us, showing the grace and kindness for which we love them!
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25.Aug.08
Posted in Press Watch at 7:42 pm by DeeKayP
Stargate’s Beau Bridges will be starring in a new sitcom Single with Parents on ABC, according to Variety. The show also stars Allysa Milano “as a woman juggling her family, friends and career,” Annie Potts, and Amanda Detmer. Bridges plays Milano’s character’s father.
The premiere date isn’t known, but Varlety reports that it will debut during mid-season, which means it could start any time between late December to early May (date range according to TV Tropes’s definition of “mid-season”).
Congratulations to Bridges on his new project!
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23.Aug.08
Posted in Atlantis, News, Press Watch, Universe at 8:07 am by DeeKayP
Sci Fi Channel’s Dave Howe has recently been flooded with “Save Stargate Atlantis” communications from fans who are reeling from the announcement that their show, after only five seasons, has been cancelled. Adding insult to the injury to many fans was the on-the-heels-of-cancellation announcement that Stargate Universe was greenlit.
“It’s kind of hard to cancel one, but it’s good news to announce a new one,” Howe told Multichannel News on Friday. Apparently, several Atlantis fans would not necessarily agree, as evidenced by an on-line petition to save the show. “There’s no sign of a letup in my e-mail inbox, I can tell you.”
Stargate Atlantis still has 14 episodes of the current fifth season to air, and then the two-hour movie will be shown in 2009. Stargate Universe will have 20 episodes, the first two being the show’s two-hour pilot, and the show will begin to air in the summer of 2009. Universe, as its predecessors, will be produced in Vancouver.
Howe went on to say, “There’s obviously a passionate audience for Atlantis and the characters of Atlantis. And yes, they’re absolutely going to continue in the movie franchise. But people need to mourn for a while and come to terms with it. I don’t anticipate that that will subside quickly. But once Universe is on air and they have kind of their next fix of the Stargate franchise, I think hopefully people will realize that it’s in safe hands at Sci Fi, that we really value this franchise and it’s in our interest and the fans’ interest to let us continue the story and figure out how to retell it for a new audience every few years.”
To read the rest of the article, visit ‘Stargate’ Opens Floodgates. (This is the original article in which the author assumes Amanda Tapping is “a certain gaunt and pallid flowing-locked guest star” for the Atlantis movie, and where fans of the show are quick to correct that assumption as to the guest star’s true identity in the article’s comment section.)
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Posted in News, Press Watch, Universe at 7:27 am by DeeKayP
More news reports are surfacing concerning the newest addition to the Stargate franchise: Stargate Universe. This one, from Multichannel News, has some quotes from Sci Fi Channel’s Dave Howe that might help fans understand the direction in which SGU will be going to satisfy the tastes of the coveted young (male) demographic:
Sci Fi also is losing space opera Battlestar Galactica after the current season and wants to keep that genre an important part of the network, Sci Fi Channel president Dave Howe said.
“The intention here is to make this one skew young and give it a contemporary vibe,” Howe told Multichannel News Friday.
He said the new series presents a chance to take some new creative turns with the franchise. “As a network, obviously we look at Battlestar Galactica, that’s set the standard in terms of tense character drama. Stargate does not have the intensity of a Battlestar Galactica. But it may well be somewhere in between. Brad and Robert are very eager to keep the action and adventure and the sense of humor [in Stargate Universe]. But I think there’s an opportunity to maybe inject a bit more dramatic intensity into the series. But that’s obviously a conversation for them as they start to script and move into development.”
The plan is to start shooting early next year, so casting and scripting will start soon, Howe said.
As has been described, Stargate Universe involves the discovery of an ancient vessel — reached by the space-travel portal called the stargate — that was intended to explore different galaxies where stargates have been placed and see how civilizations there have progressed.
“What’s unique about this chapter is it’s going to be set entirely in space,” Howe said. “They’re on a ship, the Destiny. That’s also an opportunity for us because as Battlestar Galactica reaches a conclusion it’s nice for us to have within the mix of programming a space opera that serves the audience that’s really into in space operas.”
To read the rest of the article (in which the author makes a very bad and insulting assumption as to the casting for the upcoming Atlantis movie), visit Sci Fi Channel Greenlights ‘Stargate Universe’.
[SGU Logo from MGM Official Stargate website.]
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22.Aug.08
Posted in Atlantis at 10:18 am by DeeKayP
Script coordinator Alex Levine told of the beginnings of tonight’s episode, Brad Wright’s “The Shrine”, in his scifi.com blog: “Brad came up with the concept while all the writers were in the room spinning ideas. He wanted to do a ‘reverse Flowers for Algernon’ where McKay starts to lose his mind. In fact, the working title for the episode for a long time was ‘Flowers for McKay’. And at the start, Brad only had a couple of beats – the one I just mentioned, and the realization that Teyla or Ronon, being native to the Pegasus galaxy, might have a non-scientific remedy for McKay’s ailment.
“Okay, that’s all I’m going to tell you about the episode (because that’s all that Brad told me). Except that just before shooting, I ran into director Andy Mikita in the lunch room and he told me the cast was really excited about the episode, especially David Hewlett, who gets to flex his acting muscles in this one.”
“The Shrine” has been described as a tour de force for actor David Hewlett, allowing him to go from obnoxious to innocent in a single episode as McKay slowly loses himself to his affliction. McKay’s sister Jeanie Miller (played by Hewlett’s real-life sister Kate) is called in to say her goodbyes.
Joe Flanigan said in a recent Cinema Spy interview, “It’s a very good episode. It’s nice to do character pieces with some character development. If you watch the show you’ll realise that a lot of times we’re engaged with some exterior problem on a level where you’re constantly engaged with something and you don’t have time for character development. So when you do get a script that has that it’s kind of nice. And I think everybody did a really amazing job. Everybody has really great moments in that episode.”
Rumor has it that the script made Jewel Staite cry. Watch tonight, 10pm ET on the Sci Fi Channel, and see if you aren’t affected the same way.
Preview Videos – Beware of Spoilers! -
Solutions Coverage –
[Image from MGM Official Stargate website.]
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Posted in News, Press Watch, Universe at 10:17 am by michelle
From SciFiWire comes the official announcement of Stargate Universe, with a bit more detail on the concept:
Stargate Universe Coming
SCI FI Channel announced that it has given a green light to produce Stargate Universe, the third series in the long-running SF franchise, with production on the MGM Television Entertainment show set to begin in early 2009.
Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, co-creators of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, will serve as executive producers and writers on the new show. (Atlantis ends its five seasons next year but will continue in a two-hour telefilm.)
“SCI FI has enjoyed tremendous success with Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, and we’re proud to be the home of the new Stargate Universe,” Mark Stern, executive vice president, original programming for SCI FI, said in a statement. “Universe will continue the Stargate legacy of vibrant storylines and compelling adventures, but will re-invent the format in a whole new way.”
After unlocking the mystery of the Stargate’s ninth chevron, a team of explorers travels to an unmanned starship called the Destiny, launched by the Ancients at the height of their civilization as a grand experiment set in motion but never completed.
What starts as a simple reconnaissance turns into a never-ending mission as the Stargate Universe crew discovers that the ship is unable to return to Earth and that they must now fend for themselves aboard the Destiny.
The crew will travel to the far reaches of the universe, connecting with each of the previously launched Stargates, thus fulfilling the Destiny’s original mission.
Stargate Universe will debut as a two-hour movie event on SCI FI. Following its premiere, Universe will assume a regular hourly slot in the summer of 2009.
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21.Aug.08
Posted in News, Press Watch, Universe at 11:34 pm by michelle
The Hollywood Reporter has a story confirming that Stargate Universe will be the third live-action Stargate series, and will air on Sci Fi Channel:
“Universe” will premiere as a two-hour movie early next year and will assume a regular hourly slot in the summer. Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, co-creators of “Stargate: SG-1″ and “Atlantis,” will serve as executive producers and writers on the new series.
The series will take place on an Ancient ship far from Earth:
“Universe” introduces a team of explorers who find an ancient unmanned ship called the Destiny. Unable to return to Earth, the crew must fend for themselves aboard the ship, which has a preprogrammed mission taking them to the far reaches of the universe.
The series will employ a new cast of characters, with the network seeking a known performer for one lead role and fresh faces to play the rest of the ship’s crew. Appearances by former cast members from “SG-1″ and “Atlantis” are very possible.
The article goes on to say that the show will be aimed at a younger demographic than previous Stargate series. Also, creators Wright and Cooper plan to “break new ground in the relationships between mostly young and desperate explorers, thrust together and far from home.”
Sci Fi Channel says they are looking for a space opera to fill some of the void left by the cancellation of Battlestar Galactica.
An official press release is expected later today. Read the entire story at Hollywood Reporter.
Discuss the new series here on our forum!
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Posted in Atlantis, News, Press Watch, Universe at 9:28 pm by michelle
In an extensive new interview at Gateworld, Brad Wright makes it clear that having Stargate Atlantis join Stargate: SG-1 in the world of DVD movies is a very positive thing from his viewpoint. From the interview:
We have been in discussions with MGM and SCI FI about “Where to next?” and we decided basically to pull the trigger on movies sooner rather than later, while Atlantis was still doing well. It was a mutual thing. I honestly have neither the desire nor the inclination to blame anybody, because this is a wonderful thing to be able to continue.
[...]
It’s not like there was any — like you said, the show was doing well. But you don’t wait until the show isn’t doing well before you try to launch movies. If you are going to go do movies when the show has still got life left in it, that’s a good time!
As to whether Atlantis was canceled to make room for Stargate Universe, Wright had this to say:
It’s not the case. It’s not the case that anything is being pushed aside, any more than SG-1 is pushed aside. Shows have a life, and they live their life … SG-1 went five years on SCI FI. Atlantis went five years on SCI FI. I’m proud of that, and there are always going to be people — there were people who were upset after 10 years! As many, I’m sure, as who were upset after the five years of Atlantis. There will always be a point where those people are disappointed.
This is a way of preserving Atlantis going forward in a very strong way.
Wright also predicts there could only be one SG-1 and one Atlantis movie per year, or perhaps 3 total, with the possibility of cross-overs. This would go on indefinitely. The remainder of the franchise will be filled out by the on-line game Stargate Worlds and Stargate Universe, which he describes as on the cusp of being green-lighted. Based on Wright’s references to Sci Fi Network’s support of Stargate, Stargate Universe might air on Sci Fi and not on MGM’s own channel, as has been speculated by fans.
Read or listen to the entire interview here at Gateworld.
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