Tag: Brian J Smith

Stargate Planner: Week of July 12-18

You might be interested in these news tidbits and announcements that have been noted on this editor’s calendar and notebook for this week. If you’ve got more to add, please don’t hesitate to announce them in the comment section below. We’ll update this article if something comes to our attention during the week.

Calendar

Monday,   July 12
Tuesday,   July 13 Jewel Staite’s Warehouse 13 episode “Mild Mannered” premieres tonight on Syfy at 9 PM ET.
Wednesday, July 14 Encore: Stargate Universe “Time” on New Zealand’s Prime TV at 10:30 PM.
Thursday,   July 15 Stargate Universe “Life” on New Zealand’s Prime TV at 8:30 PM.
Friday,   July 16 Polaris 24 begins in Toronto today and ends Sunday, July 18. SGU’s Alaina Huffman is scheduled to attend. Canada’s Constellation Awards will be given out at this event as well. SGU has a few nominations, as well as Amanda Tapping for her new series Sanctuary. Make sure to visit the website for the complete schedule.
Saturday, July 17 The London Film and Comic Con is scheduled for today and tomorrow, and Stargate’s Ben Browder and David Nykl are on the guest list.
Sunday, July 18

News Notes

Stargate Universe press:

It should be noted that whenever spoilers come out for SGU, they are placed in the episode guides in the Stargate Wiki without much fanfare here in the News Blog. To keep on top of such updates, visit the main page of the Stargate Wiki to see the “Recent Updates” list of links.

Our News Blog posts since the last Stargate Planner (most recent listed first):

Last week, we posted a few background articles in our LJ Companion that you might be interested in. The articles listed in this section don’t have a companion piece in our News Blog here:

Reminders

For news as it happens, make sure to visit the Stargate Twitter Superfeed for tidbits directly from the Stargate stars and production crew. And don’t forget our new feature Beyond the Event Horizon, which consists of “home pages” with dynamic feeds from our LJ and Blog for the stars of SG-1 and Atlantis.

Our LJ Companion has news bites, polls, and glimpses into the lives of the actors that we don’t necessarily cover here in our more formal news blog. Make sure to visit the LJ’s feed on our front page or visit the site directly to see its mostly fun little tidbits.

For the latest in convention appearances, which are subject to change, make sure to visit Stargate Actor Appearances.

Chicago Now: Brian J. Smith of SGU 'gates to "Orient Express"

Brian J. Smith in MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (PBS Photos)
Brian J. Smith in MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (PBS Photos)
Stargate Universe star Brian J. Smith (Lt. Matthew Scott) went to London last year to film in the PBS Hercule Poirot series as the young American Hector MacQueen in the story Murder on the Orient Express. Chicago Now’s Curt Wagner got to talk with him about how he got the role and what it was like to work with David Suchet, the veteran actor who brings Poirot to life.

Here are a few highlights:

No audition. That’s the kind of cool thing about where I’m getting to right now; I’m starting to get a kind of a body of work. And you put scenes from films you’ve done, and of course there’s some stuff on there from “Stargate.” Sometimes that won’t book you a job, but it can at least get your feet in the door and give a director of an idea of what you look like on a set under lights as opposed to in an audition room, which is usually an office with florescent lighting.

I think what they wanted to do with this version of “Murder on the Orient Express” is to tell the story that Agatha Christie wrote; and not just that, but to really get into the darkness of it. It’s a very dark, dark story … And just to really explore the psychology of that kind of a person.

I know one line of French. And it’s funny, no one can really tell me exactly what that translated into either because I have a vague idea that it meant something like, “No, it’s OK, there’s nothing here.” Or, “Everything’s fine,” something like that. But it was a little bit scary because there were a lot of French guys in the cast and they’d hear me say the line and they’d say, “Brian, no. This is how you say it.” So I was kind of nervous about it.

You know with Scott though, he’s so strictly working class and so strictly defined by the absence of family … In MacQueen’s case, you have a guy who grew up with everything, who had every single advantage and got to travel and could speak many languages and he’s a lot more eloquent than Scott is, but then he lost it all. And I think Scott is driven more by a need to find redemption and MacQueen is much more driven by a need for revenge.

Make sure to visit the complete interview at Chicago Now.

Murder on the Orient Express premieres Sunday, July 11, at 9 PM ET on most PBS stations across the US. Check your local listings for dates and times in your area.

Stargate Planner: Week of July 5-11

You might be interested in these news tidbits and announcements that have been noted on this editor’s calendar and notebook for this week. If you’ve got more to add, please don’t hesitate to announce them in the comment section below. We’ll update this article if something comes to our attention during the week.

Calendar

Monday,   July 5
Tuesday,   July 6
Wednesday, July 7 Encore: Stargate Universe “Earth” on New Zealand’s Prime TV at 10:30 PM.
Thursday,   July 8 Stargate Universe “Time” on New Zealand’s Prime TV at 8:30 PM.

Gatecon 2010 begins today and runs until Sunday, July 11. The list of guests includes Paul McGillion and Corin Nemec from the main casts of SG-1 and SGA. There are also several supporting actors making appearances, so check the website for the complete list.

Friday,   July 9 Shore Leave 32 begins today and runs until Sunday, July 11. Torri Higginson will be there. Check the website for the latest schedule.

Word is that principal photography of Season Two of Stargate Universe will end today so that the actors and crew can take their annual summer filming hiatus. Word also is that they’ll return from their month-long vacations the week of August 9.
Saturday, July 10
Sunday, July 11 Brian J. Smith appears in the PBS Poirot movie Murder on the Orient Express tonight at 9 PM ET. Check your local listings for times and dates in your area.

News Notes

Stargate Universe press:

It should be noted that whenever spoilers come out for SGU, they are placed in the episode guides in the Stargate Wiki without much fanfare here in the News Blog. To keep on top of such updates, visit the main page of the Stargate Wiki to see the “Recent Updates” list of links.

Our News Blog posts since the last Stargate Planner (most recent listed first):

Last week, we posted a few background articles in our LJ Companion that you might be interested in. The articles listed in this section don’t have a companion piece in our News Blog here:

Reminders

For news as it happens, make sure to visit the Stargate Twitter Superfeed for tidbits directly from the Stargate stars and production crew. And don’t forget our new feature Beyond the Event Horizon, which consists of “home pages” with dynamic feeds from our LJ and Blog for the stars of SG-1 and Atlantis.

Our LJ Companion has news bites, polls, and glimpses into the lives of the actors that we don’t necessarily cover here in our more formal news blog. Make sure to visit the LJ’s feed on our front page or visit the site directly to see its mostly fun little tidbits.

For the latest in convention appearances, which are subject to change, make sure to visit Stargate Actor Appearances.

Brian J. Smith's "Poirot" Movie Premieres July 11

Back in November, we got word that Stargate Universe star Brian J. Smith landed the role of Hector MacQueen in Murder on the Orient Express, part of the Hercule Poirot series filmed in London. Now, through some tweets and re-tweets, we’re informed that the movie will premiere on PBS (USA) on Sunday, July 11, at 9 PM (ET).

If you visit the PBS.org webpage for the Masterpiece Mystery! Hercule Poirot Series X selections, you’ll get to play a 30-second Flash video that previews the movie.

Here’s the description from the website:

EPISODES OF HERCULE POIROT: SERIES X
July 11, 2010 at 9pm

Murder on the Orient Express

Hercule Poirot solves the greatest case of his career aboard the world’s most glamorous train, the Orient Express. Star David Suchet is joined by a first-class rail car full of great actors, including Eileen Atkins, Barbara Hershey, Hugh Bonneville, Toby Jones and David Morrissey.

The PBS.org website has a link for you to “check local listings” (right under the Hercule Poirot Series X heading) for the exact date and time for the premiere in your area.

Stargate Planner: Week of June 7-13

You might be interested in these news tidbits and announcements that have been noted on this editor’s calendar and notebook for this week. If you’ve got more to add, please don’t hesitate to announce them in the comment section below. We’ll update this article if something comes to our attention during the week.

Calendar

Monday, June 7 NBC’s Persons Unknown premieres at 10 PM ET. Current SGU writers/producers Remi Aubuchon and Linda McGibney contributed to the 13-episode show, and actor Robert Picardo is due to make an appearance in the show’s first season finale.

Robert Picardo is participating in the industry presentation of Rocket Boys in New York City at 2 PM and 7 PM.
Tuesday, June 8 Today is Lexa Doig‘s birthday! Follow her on Twitter.

Stargate Universe “Incursion Part 1” on the UK’s Sky One at 8:00 PM. Richard Dean Anderson and Amanda Tapping guest star!

Richard Dean Anderson can be seen as the ever resourceful Angus MacGyver in the release of a two-movie DVD in Region 1 today! MacGyver: The TV Movies comes with MacGyver: The Lost Treasure of Atlantis and MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday. More information about the release can be found at TV Shows on DVD.
Wednesday, June 9
Thursday,
June 10		 Stargate Universe “Darkness” on New Zealand’s Prime TV at 8:30 PM.

Lou Diamond Phillips will be participating in the Osoyoos Wine Festival, which starts today and ends June 12. More details can be found at the Vancouver Sun.
Friday,
June 11		 Stargate Universe “Incursion Part 1” on Australia’s Sci Fi Channel at 8:30 PM. Richard Dean Anderson and Amanda Tapping guest star!

Stargate Universe “Incursion Part 2” on Syfy at 9 PM ET and on Canada’s Space at 10 PM ET. This is the season finale!

  • In preparation for the big event, Syfy will be showing an SGU marathon starting at 8 AM ET! Check their schedule for details.
  • Space will have a live chat with David Blue following the episode’s airing at 11 PM during their InnerSPACE program.
Saturday, June 12 The Official Stargate Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, will begin today and end tomorrow, June 13. Guests include Joe Flanigan, David Hewlett, Brian J. Smith, Alaina Huffman, Dan Shea, and Gary Jones. Check the website for schedule details.

Torri Higginson can be seen tonight on Syfy in the movie Stonehenge Apocalypse at 9 PM ET! Peter Wingfield also stars, along with a whole host of other Stargate veterans (check out the movie’s IMDb profile for the cast list).
Sunday, June 13 Michael Shanks is wrapping principal photography in Winnipeg, Canada, for the movie Faces in the Crowd. Director/writer Julien Magnat has been posting production updates on his Twitter/Facebook, including a few behind-the-scenes photos (none include Shanks to-date, though). Shanks will begin filming his next movie project Red Riding Hood in Vancouver starting July 22.

News Notes

Last week, we posted a few background articles in our LJ Companion that you might be interested in. These articles don’t have a companion piece in our News Blog here:

Reminders

For news as it happens, make sure to visit the Stargate Twitter Superfeed for tidbits directly from the Stargate stars and production crew. And don’t forget our new feature Beyond the Event Horizon, which consists of “home pages” with dynamic feeds from our LJ and Blog for the stars of SG-1 and Atlantis.

Our LJ Companion has news bites, polls, and glimpses into the lives of the actors that we don’t necessarily cover here in our more formal news blog. Make sure to visit the LJ’s feed on our front page or visit the site directly to see its mostly fun little tidbits.

For the latest in convention appearances, which are subject to change, make sure to visit Stargate Actor Appearances.

Stargate Planner: Week of May 31-June 6

You might be interested in these news tidbits and announcements that have been noted on this editor’s calendar and notebook for this week. If you’ve got more to add, please don’t hesitate to announce them in the comment section below. We’ll update this article if something comes to our attention during the week.

Calendar

Monday, May 31 Memorial Day in the United States (observed)
Tuesday, June 1 Stargate Universe “Subversion” on the UK’s Sky One at 8:00 PM. Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks guest star!

We’ll find out tonight if Amanda Tapping has won Vancouver YWCA’s Connecting the Community Award.
Wednesday, June 2 Today is Jewel Staite’s birthday!

David Hewlett will be attending the red carpet screening of Splice in Los Angeles. The movie will have special midnight screenings on June 3 and open “everywhere” on Friday, June 4.

Tonight and tomorrow night, Robert Picardo and John de Lancie will be hosting the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony’s presentation of Star Trek: The Music. There will be an After Party at which fans can obtain autographs, and those attending are encouraged to wear costumes!

Thursday,
June 3		 Stargate Universe “Air Part 3” on New Zealand’s Prime TV at 8:30 PM.
Friday,
June 4		 Stargate Universe “Incursion Part 1” on Syfy at 9 PM ET and on Canada’s Space at 10 PM ET. Richard Dean Anderson and Amanda Tapping guest star!

David Hewlett is in the sci-fi movie Splice, which opens tonight.

Tonight is the Celebration Awards Ceremony in Vancouver for the 2010 Leo Awards.
Saturday, June 5 Tonight is the Gala Awards Ceremony in Vancouver for the 2010 Leo Awards. Stargate Universe and Sanctuary have several nominations.
Sunday, June 6

News Notes

Recent Stargate Universe interviews (some may contain spoilers for the Season One finale and the beginning portions of Season Two, so beware):

Last week, we posted a few background articles in our LJ Companion that you might be interested in. These articles don’t have a companion piece in our News Blog here:

Reminders

For news as it happens, make sure to visit the Stargate Twitter Superfeed for tidbits directly from the Stargate stars and production crew. And don’t forget our new feature Beyond the Event Horizon, which consists of “home pages” with dynamic feeds from our LJ and Blog for the stars of SG-1 and Atlantis.

Our LJ Companion has news bites, polls, and glimpses into the lives of the actors that we don’t necessarily cover here in our more formal news blog. Make sure to visit the LJ’s feed on our front page or visit the site directly to see its mostly fun little tidbits.

For the latest in convention appearances, which are subject to change, make sure to visit Stargate Actor Appearances.

Stargate Planner: Week of April 12-18

There are some news tidbits and announcements that have been noted on this editor’s calendar and notebook that maybe you’d be interested in for this week. If you’ve got more to add, please don’t hesitate to announce them in the comment section below.

Calendar

Monday, April 12
Tuesday, April 13 Stargate Universe returns to the UK’s Sky One at 8:00 PM with “Space”.
Wednesday, April 14 Today is Robert Carlyle‘s birthday!
Thursday, April 15 The Official Stargate Convention in Vancouver kicks off today and lasts until Sunday, April 18. Make sure to visit Creation Entertainment for the latest in the schedule, which includes appearances by Michael Shanks, Joe Flanigan, David Hewlett, Rachel Luttrell, Brian J. Smith, Elyse Levesque, David Blue, Mark Burgess, Peter Williams, N. John Smith, Cliff Simon, Colin Cunningham, Christopher Heyerdahl, Dan Payne, Dan Shea, James Bamford, and Andee Frizzell.
Friday, April 16 Stargate Universe “Divided” on Australia’s Sci Fi Channel at 8:30 PM.

Stargate Universe “Faith” on Syfy at 9 PM ET and on Space at 10 PM ET.

Lou Diamond Phillips will be attending the Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF) for the first screening of his movie Transparency at 10:30 PM.

Jewel Staite will be appearing at the Anaheim Comic Con, which starts today and ends on April 18. Several actors who appeared in supporting roles will also be in attendance.
Saturday, April 17 Today is Alaina Huffman‘s birthday!
Sunday, April 18 Today is David Hewlett‘s birthday!

News Notes

Unfortunately, Corin Nemec‘s web series Star-ving did not win the Audience Choice Award for which it had been nominated in the Second Annual Streamy Awards. The award went to Agents of Cracked. You can see a list of all of the nominees and winners at Mashable.com.

Stargate SG-1 character-focused comic books are being developed by Dynamite. Stargate: Vala Mal Doran is written by Brandon Jerwa and involves Vala in an “Ocean’s Eleven” type heist. It’s supposed to be released in May. Stargate: Daniel Jackson, written by Doug Murray, focuses on Jackson’s “voice of reason” and intellect while going on a classic SG-1 adventure.

On our Twitter, we provided a link to Chicago Tribune‘s Maureen Ryan’s review of the Supernatural episode in which Michael Shanks briefly appeared. Do you agree with those among Ryan’s readers that his role was way too small (although he did warn us that it would be so)?

Reminders

For news as it happens, make sure to visit the Stargate Twitter Superfeed for tidbits directly from the Stargate stars and production crew. And don’t forget our new feature Beyond the Event Horizon, which consists of “home pages” with dynamic feeds from our LJ and Blog for the stars of SG-1 and Atlantis.

Our LJ Companion has news bites, polls, and glimpses into the lives of the actors that we don’t necessarily cover here in our more formal news blog. Make sure to visit the LJ’s feed on our front page or visit the site directly to see its mostly fun little tidbits.

For the latest in convention appearances, which are subject to change, make sure to visit Stargate Actor Appearances.

13-4-13: Stargate Universe 1.0, Feature Wrap-Up

SGU Season One Cast

It’s hard to believe, but that time has arrived! We’ve reached the final installment of our Thirteen Weeks for Thirteen Years (13-4-13) series. You know what that means? That means that new episodes of Stargate Universe resume next week on Friday, April 2, at 9 PM ET/PT on Syfy! Canadians watching Space will also see it on April 2 at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT. Australians getting Sci Fi will see it April 9, and UKers getting Sky One, April 13! (For more information on these schedules, visit the Stargate Universe main page in our Stargate Wiki.)

In the meantime, let’s look back at the beginning of the third series in the Stargate franchise. Premise-wise, Stargate Universe had been in the making for several years, first as a stand-alone Stargate movie, then as a series. Brad Wright told The Official Magazine, “The germ of Stargate Universe began as a movie by Robert Cooper [series co-creator/executive producer], as do many of our ideas. We always come up with a movie, pitch it to MGM, and they say, ‘Terrific, let’s make it a TV show.’ When we were spinning the film idea, we knew deep down that Universe was really a series because it had so much scope.

“Oddly enough we pitched Universe a couple of years before we actually thought we were going to end up doing it. We went to the Syfy Channel with the idea and it appeared to be really well-received, but then a very long time went by without us hearing anything more. At one point we thought, ‘Oh, well, it looks like it’s not going to happen,’ and then we received the series order. It came as a little bit of a surprise. Honestly, I expected Atlantis to go another year, and then we’d either have another year before Universe started up, or we would just wind up doing a couple more direct-to-DVD Stargate movies. Now, however, we’re doing Universe, which, believe me, is great.”

Getting down to the driving force behind the change in Stargate‘s proven 15-season signature of maintaining a sense of humor while not taking themselves too seriously, co-creator Robert C. Cooper explained to the Canadian Screenwriter Magazine, “What I really wanted to do was to shake up the approach to the show. I wanted us to move stylistically in a very different direction. We had made a plot-driven, action adventure show previously. The characters were fun and interesting, and one of the key reasons people liked the shows was because of the characters, but when people tuned in they knew what to expect: the crew would get into some trouble, go through the gate, have an adventure and then come home after saving the world. I don’t mean it in a derogatory sense, but it was a comic-book adventure, with larger-than-life bad guys, all about bad vs. good—very broad, primary colours. I felt like we had done as much of that as we could possibly do.

“I pitched the idea of doing something slightly more real as a character drama. It’s a sci-fi show: you’re still dealing with space ships. But I wanted the characters to feel real.”

Reaction to this change in format has been mixed, but ultimately, the first season of Stargate Universe has been deemed successful enough that a 20-episode second season was ordered (and is currently filming). Stargate Universe indeed is quite different in style, but still at the heart of it is the foundation laid in the previous twelve years’ worth of work done for both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.

Universe Season 1.0

If you haven’t had a chance to watch SGU 1.0, there’s going to be a marathon on Syfy to lead into the new episodes on Friday, April 2, starting at 11:00 AM ET!

The SGU Ensemble Cast

Cast interviews have been aplenty for the newest Stargate! Here at Solutions, we’ve reported on several, both here in the Solutions Blog and at our less-formal LJ Companion. Recently, we’ve added tags to both places that will lead you directly to the reports. We’ve also started actor and character biographies in the Stargate Wiki. Click on the following links to get you to your favorite’s entries (clicking on the image will get you to our Gallery’s larger version):

Robert Carlyle as Dr. Nicholas Rush

Robert Carlyle
(Dr. Nicholas Rush)
 Louis Ferreira as Col. Everett Young

Louis Ferreira
(Col. Everett Young)
 Brian J. Smith as Lt. Matthew Scott

Brian J. Smith
(Lt. Matthew Scott)
Elyse Levesque as Chloe Armstrong

Elyse Levesque
(Chloe Armstrong)
 David Blue as Eli Wallace

David Blue
(Eli Wallace)
 Alaina Huffman as Lt. Tamara Johansen

Alaina Huffman
(Lt. Tamara Johansen)
Jamil Walker Smith as MSgt. Ronald Greer

Jamil Walker Smith
(MSgt. Ronald Greer)
 Ming-Na as Camile Wray

Ming-Na
(Camile Wray)
 Lou Diamond Phillips as Col. David Telford

Lou Diamond Phillips
(Col. David Telford)

Solutions

Did you enjoy our journey through the years of Stargate in this Thirteen Weeks for Thirteen Years series? Would you like to see more series of this type in the future? If so, what would you like to see? Let us hear from you in the comment section below, or contact us through our e-mail address. Thanks. 🙂

Sci Fi Wire: Brian J. Smith Video Interview

Stargate Universe star Brian J. Smith sat down for a brief video interview with the folks at Syfy. He talks about his reactions to reading the scripts and how he anxiously awaited the resolution of the mid-season cliffhanger in which Dr. Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle) was stranded on a planet—just like we’re doing now awaiting the show’s April return.

As far as the season finale is concerned in its cliffhanger, well, he got upset about that one, and teases us that we’ll see why he describes something that happens in it as “cruel” and “wrong” when we see the episode.

The video is embedded below. Sorry, it’s only available right now from Syfy, so it has an advertisement to start and most likely cannot be viewed outside the United States:

Season One of Stargate Universe returns to Syfy on Friday, April 2, at 9 PM ET/PT. Other dates and times for the international community are also included at the show’s main page in our Stargate Wiki.

Chicago Now: Q&A with Brian J. Smith

Curt Wagner with Chicago Now conducted a Q&A with Stargate Universe star Brian J. Smith and posted the results in his article, which opens with the statement, “Lt. Matthew Scott is not—repeat not—a horn dog.”

More than Lt. Matthew Scott’s sex life is covered in this extensive interview. Smith also talks about Scott’s beginnings and details how he’s seen his character’s arc progress over the first season. In addition to the Q&A transcript, Wagner also embedded a video in which the actor addresses fans’ questions—including one from his mother—from Twitter.

In the Q&A, Wagner gives Smith the chance to address some of the negative comments directed toward the newest leg of the Stargate franchise. Even though Smith covers each of these points with Wagner, he emphasizes that, overall, the fan response has been positive. “I’ve gotten so many responses from people who have never seen Stargate before and they’re excited to be excited about sci-fi again. I’m glad that we’ve gotten to reach those kinds of people—people like me who watch shows like The Shield or Friday Night Lights and want to see programming that transcends genres. But even more than that, I’m really happy to see the support we’re getting from the more open-minded Stargate fans. And this support isn’t coerced. They watch the show each week and … just go with the flow and like the show for the unique thing it is, as opposed to watching ‘the show that isn’t like Atlantis.'”

Be sure to visit Chicago Now for this revealing and in-depth interview. Stargate Universe returns to Syfy on April 2 with episode 11, “Space.”