SG-1 Guest Star Cory Monteith Has Died

Cory Montieth in 200
Cory Monteith guest starred in SG-1’s “200” episode in Season 10.
To Stargate SG-1 fans, he was the young Mitchell in the “young, hip SG-1 team” vignette in the iconic episode “200,” but guest star Cory Monteith made his mark as Finn Hudson in the hit musical show Glee. He was 31.

The Hollywood Reporter:

The actor was found at noon Saturday on the hotel’s 21st floor, Vancouver police said in a news conference. He checked into the hotel July 6, and was expected to check out Saturday. When Monteith missed his checkout time at noon, hotel staff went to his room and discovered his body.

Police said Monteith was with other people Friday night. An examination of hotel video footage showed him returning to his room alone early Saturday morning. Police believe he was alone when he died. No cause of death was given and no foul play is suspected, police said. Police are questioning the people he was with Friday night. It was unclear if he was with any Glee castmates or his longtime girlfriend and co-star Lea Michele. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

We at Solutions extend our condolences to Monteith’s family and friends.

Watch Michael Shanks As Gordie Howe This Week!

Mr. Hockey movie poster
Mr. Hockey movie poster

Michael Shanks’s new movie, Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story, is finally premiering in Canada and the US in the coming week! Michael plays the title role in the story of the comeback of one of the greatest hockey players of all time, Gordie Howe.

In Canada, the movie airs on the CBC (channel 13) on Sunday, April 28, at 8 pm.

In the US, the movie airs on the Hallmark Channel on Saturday, May 4 at 9 pm/8 pm central.

The DVD, including Blu-ray, first becomes available at Walmart stores in the US on May 7 and then expands elsewhere on July 9.

Michael has been featured in several fun interviews about the roles:

And some very nice reviews have already come in:

So, show your support for Stargate alum Michael Shanks, and watch the movie!

Joe Mallozzi Speaks Out for Goa’uld Tolerance

JoeMallozziAndLuluThe social networking company NetBase quoted Stargate producer Joe Mallozzi today when it announced support for inter-galactic languages in its products. From the press release:

“The post-Stargate era has been difficult for many of the extra-terrestrial species that appeared on the sci-fi franchise, chiefest among them the Goa’uld.  While other races have found some small measure of success since the series’ end, the going has been tough for these once proud symbiotes,” said Joseph Mallozzi, executive producer of Stargate SG-1/Atlantis/Universe/VP Alien Neighbors Universal Society.

“Having worked on several parasitic alien outreach programs, I can confirm that the problem stems from a general unwillingness to accept and understand them, so this recent announcement is heartening news.  Finally, like so many others, they can enjoy the universal right to have their voices and needs as online consumers heard. That and hilarious online cat photos,” Mallozzi continued.

We salute Joe for his tolerance and courage, on this auspicious 1st day of April, 2013!

STARGATE SG-1 UNLEASHED Gives Fans New Adventures for Original Team

The original SG-1 team is back for another adventure! This time in Stargate SG-1 Unleashed, a tablet game to be released on iOS and Android platforms. “Episode 1” is slated for release this coming March. Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks, and Amanda Tapping have all tweeted about doing voice work for the game (we’re hoping that Christopher Judge recorded for the game, too, so that the original team is reunited once more)!

Embedded below is the teaser. What do you make of it? Will you be playing this adventure game from MGM and Arkalis Interactive? What season do you think is the setting and who is that Goa’uld that is threatening Earth? Make sure to register to leave your comments below (if you’re on LiveJournal, we’ve got a thread going there as well).

Actor and Stargate News

More updates from the past couple of months, in case you missed them elsewhere on the web!

In exciting and mysterious news, both Michael Shanks and Amanda Tapping have tweeted that they’re voicing their SG-1 characters for an SG-1 game or app. Michael tweeted: Rumors are true: voicing new SG1 app game. #stargateUnleashed #epicness#badassery pic.twitter.com/OMOfCTS2 We haven’t found other news about the app, but this would be at least the 3rd attempt at a Stargate game, and we hope it finally comes to pass!

Michael’s show, Saving Hope, has been renewed for 18 episodes for Season 2. It will air in Canada and has been sold to foreign markets, while as of now it hasn’t been picked up by a US network. NBC canceled it just before the end of its first season run, but perhaps another network will pick it up for next summer.

Ming Na has been cast as a lead in Joss Whedon’s upcoming super-hero Avengers’ spin-off series, S.H.I.E.L.D. This is a huge deal, as the show is highly anticipated in the US markets at least. We give Ming our hearty congratulations!

Paul McGillion appeared in an episode of Fringe a few weeks ago. Try to catch it if you missed it — it’s called “The Recordist”. Paul was also recently filming another episode of Once Upon a Time, presumably to reprise his role as the Knave of Hearts. Keep an eye out for that one.

Joe Flanigan recently traveled to Austin, Texas to film a pilot for a possible new series on the Lifetime network called The Secret Lives of Wives. He would play the husband of Reed, who is played by Salli Richardson, who co-starred on Syfy’s Eureka.

Ben Browder will appear in an episode of the hit series Arrow. More details here.

Brian J. Smith tweeted that he’ll be appearing in the Tennessee Williams play The Glass Menagerie with Zachary Quinto and others, in a Boston, MA production. More details here at Playbill. He will also be in one episode of the new Syfy series Defiance.

Louis Ferreira appeared in four episodes of the second season of The L.A. Complex. Fans should look for the show on-line or hopefully soon on DVD.

Finally, Stargate writer-producer Carl Binder will be heading back up to Vancouver, this time to be the show-runner for Hallmark’s new series Cedar Cove, starring Andie MacDowell.

More Actor Updates!

Thanks to @Campylobacter for a few reminders, plus some others things we missed, here are a few more Stargate actor updates!

Richard Dean Anderson is reprising his role as MacGyver in a set of three webisodes to promote the Citan van built by the iconic Mercedes Benz. Early photos and a trailer are available at the official website. RDA is on twitter: @andersonrdean

Claudia Black will guest star in an upcoming two-part episode of Syfy’s series Haven. A few hints about her role are here at Zap2it.

Ben Browder is guest-starring in the next episode of Dr. Who, airing this weekend in the US (BBC America), UK (BBC), and Canada. Ben gave an interview about his experiences to SFX here. Details about the episode (a Western!) and a trailer are here at TV Guide. Check your local listings!

J.R. Bourne (Martouf on SG-1) has won a recurring role on the US ABC hit drama, Revenge. From this article, “Bourne will play Kenny, a wealthy man with “rough edges” who works to conceal his true nature.” J.R. is also a regular in Teen Wolf, which airs on MTV in the US.

And of course, in case anyone didn’t know, Robert Carlyle continues his lead role in the US ABC series Once Upon A Time. Season 2 premieres September 30 in the US. Robert is on twitter as well: @robertcarlyle_

If you’d like to comment or tell us if we’ve missed anything, please register at right, then you’ll be able to post a comment.

 

Stargate Actor Updates

Hey, we’re still here! Here’s a round-up of the various bits of news that have come out recently about our beloved Stargate actors.

In disappointing news, the US network NBC dropped the final two episodes of Saving Hope from its summer schedule. But US fans of Michael Shanks and Erica Durance can watch the episodes on-line at NBC.com’s Saving Hope videos page. Episode 12, “Ride Hard or Go Home” is up now, and we expect the season finale, “The Sleeper Awakes” to be up later this week. The show has been renewed by CTV in Canada for Season 2, to air next summer. We hope the show will be released in the US in some form, if not on a network! It’s a pity that 3 million viewers were not enough to keep it on the air in the states.

Meanwhile Michael Shanks has stayed very busy since Saving Hope Season 1 finished filming. As he has been tweeting (@MichaelShanks), he’s currently in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada filming a bio-pic. He’s playing the lead role of Gordie Howe in the film, called Mr. Hockey. Gordie Howe is a hockey legend, and Michael is clearly thrilled to be playing the iconic role, while using his real hockey skills as well. No word on a US release yet, but we will keep an eye out.

Jewel Staite continues to co-star in The L.A. Complex, which airs on The CW in the US. Martin Gero, a writer and producer on Stargate, is the creator and executive producer of the show, which is set in L.A. and is filmed in both L.A. and Toronto, Canada. There is no word yet on a Season 3. US ratings were low on Tuesdays, but improved when it recently got moved to Mondays. Follow Jewel on twitter here: @JewelStaite

Jason Momoa has been cast as a villain in the upcoming film Wolves, as reported here. He’ll play the evil werewolf patriarch of a town. This project was recently announced, so no word on release date yet. Jason appears in Bullet to the Head with Sylvester Stallone. It’s scheduled for release on 1 February 2013.

Paul McGillion is a new daddy of baby Hugh, born in early August! And he just filmed an episode of Fox’s Fringe. Follow Paul on twitter: @PaulyMcGillion.

Joe Flanigan has a couple of things coming up for release. First is Six Bullets, which he filmed with Jean Claude Van Damme in eastern Europe a while back. The film will be released on DVD in the US this Wednesday September 11 (order from Amazon here). A review of the movie is here, and has this nice thing to say about Joe:

One of the biggest surprises in the movie was Joe Flanigan who was great as the desperate father willing to do anything to get his daughter back. He definitely has the potential to become the next big action star.

Joe’s other role filmed a while back was an episode of Metal Hurlant Chronicles, which appears to be nearing release in France, then possibly in Germany and the UK. There’s no word on a US release yet. You can view a trailer here at Collider.

Many Stargate actors attended DragonCon 2012 in Atlanta last month, including Richard Dean Anderson, Joe Flanigan, Torri Higginson, Cliff Simon, Robert Picardo, Tony Amendola, Peter Kelamis, and probably others we don’t know about! We didn’t hear word of any new projects from the actors, but that could simply be because we’re not watching the right internet spots. Likewise Joe Flanigan, Michael Shanks, Paul McGillion, and others attended the Creation Stargate convention earlier in August, but not much word of new work has gotten out. If you heard of any big news, please let us know!

 

Sanctuary Cancelled after Four Seasons

 

“Sanctuary”, the breakthrough web-series turned cable network show has officially been canceled after four seasons.  The series was noteworthy for its use of green screen technology to give scale to the “everyday” sets of Helen Magnus’s home and “sanctuary” and places around the world (and sometimes under it).    Many Stargate fans were also attracted to the series by its pedigree.  The show was  co-created and co-produced by Amanda Tapping (Samantha Carter of SG-1 and Atlantis), former Stargate SG-1 writer  Damian Kindler and Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis director Martin Wood.  Several other familiar faces from the Stargate family passed by on the screens as either regular or guest stars

Rumors of Sanctuary’s impending cancellation have been brewing for quite a while, since no announcement date for new episodes was forthcoming since the Season 4 finale aired back in December 2011 on SyFy.

Several outlets have reported the President of SyFy, Mark Stern’s statement:

“We’re honored to have been part of this incredible series. In addition to garnering unmatched devotion by fans worldwide, Sanctuary was a bona fide trailblazer, setting new standards with its highly innovative production techniques — including pioneering green screen and RED camera technology — and Emmy-nominated visual effects. It’s been an amazing ride and we look forward to our next project with Amanda Tapping, Martin Wood and Damian Kindler.”

Kindler, Tapping, and Wood also commented in the same statement thanking fans, their studio, and the networks.  They continued by noting:

“From Sanctuary, we also started our charitable foundation Sanctuary for Kids which has raised over $250,000 for children in crisis worldwide. We will be continuing our work with Sanctuary for Kids and are so thankful for the Sanctuary fans and their amazing support and generosity.”

 

 

Stargate Composer Joel Goldsmith Passes Away

The Stargate world was saddened to hear today of the passing of Joel Goldsmith, the music composer of nearly all of the music for all three Stargate series and both DVD movies. As reported here and here, Joel died after a long battle with cancer; he was 54 years old and lived in the Los Angeles area.

Joel was nominated for three Emmy awards for his work on Stargate, which was especially impressive given that he used music synthesizers for the show, rather than a full orchestra, due to budgetary limitations. He was beloved by the producers and cast, who were especially thrilled to watch Joel lead a live orchestra for the DVD movies, as we described here.

On a personal note, I had the opportunity to meet Joel at the Creation Stargate convention in Burbank in 2005. Joel was quietly humble and very kind, and intensely passionate about his music. He took the time to sign autographs for any fans who wanted one for free, and he broke the news about the shortened Stargate Atlantis opening credits that would so anger fans when it really happened.

If you haven’t before now, we highly recommend fans purchase his three Stargate-related CDs:

We join all of Stargate fandom in expressing our condolences to Joel’s family, friends, and colleagues.

Paul McGillion Joins Twitter Too

Paul McGillionJust a day after @MichaelShanks, Stargate Atlantis’s own Paul McGillion has joined twitter as well! Follow him at @PaulyMcGillion. It seems @JewelStaite convinced him to join:

Holy shit guys. Guess what? I finally did it! Follow Paul McGillion on twitter @PaulyMcGillion. I am the puppet master. Thank me later.

After gaining hundreds of followers in just a few hours (he’s got over 1700 as of this post), Paul had this to say:

Holy shit this is crazy!!!!

So give Paul a follow and make him feel welcome!