Stargate alumni from both sides of the camera recently shot a comedy pilot with a science fiction backdrop. If you want to see the pilot become a TV series, please read this article and heed our suggestions!
Called Captain Starship, the show follows the life of Pauly Sullivan, an actor who stars in a low-budget sci fi show of the same name. With the sci-fi setting, the show’s focus is on Pauly’s personal life with friends and family, who sport names like Dropkick, The Doogle, and The Commodore.
The pilot has many Stargate connections! It stars Paul McGillion as Pauly Sullivan. One of the executive producers is Ivon Bartok, whom Stargate fans will know as the producer of the DVD special features for all three Stargate series. Michael Shanks appears in a guest-starring role in the pilot, in what are reportedly some hilarious scenes with Paul. Brad Wright gave permission for the team to shoot scenes in the Stargate production offices at The Bridge Studios. Lawren Bancroft Wilson, former Stargate script supervisor, was on hand to do still photography during the shoot. And those are just the connections we know about!
The pilot was shot in four days on a shoestring budget of only $12,000, with all the actors and crew agreeing to work for free. That’s a testament to the strength of the script and the the friendships among the cast and crew. Paul’s real-life good friend Michael Northey wrote the pilot with Paul in mind, and plays the role of Pauly’s friend on screen as well. Jesse Miller, another friend, directed the pilot.
You can read much more about the project in this great interview of Ivon Bartok by long-time sci fi reporter Steve Eramo.
Ivon and his colleagues are currently marketing the pilot so they can build enough interest and support for someone to buy it as a full-fledged TV series. If you’d like to help, here are a few things you can do now:
- “Like” Captain Starship on Facebook! Visit the page to see great photos from the pilot.
- Follow Captain Starship on Twitter!
- Watch this very funny interview by SGU actor Patrick Gilmore of Paul McGillion. He answers questions from fans and talks about Captain Starship as well. Note: if the number of views gets to 10,000, Paul will join Twitter!
Ummm, this sounds kind of familiar?