Category: SG-1

Includes the 10 seasons of SG-1 and the post-S10 movies.

TV Guide, Mallozzi Give Spoilers for Movies

The US TV GUIDE June 18-24 issue has a feature entitled “STARGATE’s Final Frontier” that includes some spoilers for the show’s finale, “Unending”, airing on Friday, June 22, on the Sci Fi Channel, as well as some consolation to the fans with the news that “the Gate isn’t really closing” by giving away some spoilers, including a picture, for the upcoming direct-to-DVD movies, Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum.

TV GUIDE isn’t the only place where images for the movies can be found. Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi has also been giving out tidbits of information behind the scenes as he publishes pictures from both movies’ sets in his personal blog. His most recent entry includes images of cast and crew as they work on the refrigerated set designed to mimick the conditions experienced by the crew in the Arctic back in March.

The Ark of Truth

TV GUIDE Sneak Peek

The article includes a picture of an Ori warrior holding a staff weapon threateningly with Carter and Teal’c nearby.

The article, written by Ileane Rudolf, has the following about the movie:

“We wanted to end the show without really ending it,” [Robert C.] Cooper says. “We want it to continue, so we decided to make a movie that wraps up a lot of the big loose ends.” “The Ark of Truth,” due on DVD this fall, focuses on the Ori’s threat to Earth and a device that may deprogram its soldiers.

Although the caption for the Sneak Peek image suggests that the DVD for the movie won’t be released until 2008, the article clearly states “this fall,” the same time period that was announced in MGM’s original press release about the movies. [TV Guide’s article also has Carter at the rank of Major, so be aware that the article might not be entirely accurate as well.]

Robert C. Cooper revealed more information about the device, the Ark of Truth itself, in an interview at Gateworld:

I find it a truly fascinating centerpiece. It’s a device that essentially is a — I don’t want to say ‘brain-washing’ — but it can be used to convince you of the truth. One of the Alteran scientists invented this device and said, ‘Look, we can avoid any kind of war by just using this on them and brain-washing them.’ And the rest of the Alterans said, ‘No, that’s just wrong. Philosophically and morally it’s wrong.’

According to Cooper, the device was meant to work against the Ori when they were in advanced human form, before they and the Alterans ascended. SG-1 might be targeting the Priors with this device to convince them to stop the Ori’s army. If they find the device, will it be wrong of them to use it?

Continuum

Stargate: Continuum is due to wrap filming today, June 14, in Vancouver. According to the TV GUIDE article, it won’t be released until Spring 2008. Again, this release date conflicts with that already put forth by MGM that both movies were to be released this fall.

A second DVD, “Continuum,” coming next spring, will feature an alternate-timeline story in which O’Neill, Carter and Mitchell find themselves in the 1939 Arctic battling Nazis — and an old alien enemy — over the newly discovered Gate.

According to Mallozzi’s behind-the-scenes spoilers in his June 13th blog entry, Tapping, Browder, and Shanks were filming scenes in a refrigerated “boat” set. Producer N. John Smith talked about this set at the Vancouver Con in March and reassured fans that even though Shanks didn’t make the Arctic shoot that month, that Daniel’s scenes would be filmed in a refrigerated set in Vancouver. Additionally, Shanks told fans in his farewell video at scifi.com that Brad Wright gave Daniel some character development scenes as a compromise for his missing the Arctic shoot that involved Jack, Carter, and Mitchell on the ice and in the submarine USS Alexandria.

Mallozzi had this to say about their day of filming:

They were shooting a scene from Continuum on stage 2 which had been refrigerated for the occasion. While Michael and Amanda were outside thawing out, Martin was setting up his next shot which required Ben to make his way through the dark and frozen ship with only a flashlight to lead him. I had goosebumps and I could barely keep my teeth from chattering. It was that creepy. And cold.

Minutes later, Martin had his shot and called lunch. As the crew filed out, no doubt headed for warmer climes, Lawren and I hopped aboard and checked out the frosted boat.

Mallozzi included eight pictures from that day’s filming in the frozen boat set, about which director Martin Wood offered, “This is nothing compared to the Arctic.” These pictures show the crated Stargate among the frozen items in the boat. The crate and boat were subjects of Mallozzi’s photo journal in his May 21st entry.

Visit Solutions Stargate Wiki SG-1 Movie guides for more details about the movies, including links to other interviews and articles.

[Thanks to wraithfodder for the tip and to MSOL for the content of the TV GUIDE article.]

Sci Fi Wire: SG-1 Ends, Begins On DVD

SCI FI WIRE has posted an article about the future of Stargate SG-1 as the broadcast of the show’s finale approaches next Friday, June 22. They talked with executive producer Robert C. Cooper about the two direct-to-DVD movies, Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum and how the franchise “begins anew”:

Fans mourning the loss of SG-1 after this season can take comfort that the franchise will live on in other ways. “SG-1 ran for 10 successful seasons,” Cooper said. “We’ve ended that run on SCI FI, and now we’re continuing the story with those characters. Our DVD packages sell so well that, if the movies sell as well as the series sells, it’s going to be a tremendous success. And MGM [which produces the series] will eagerly want more.”

The article also presents some spoilers for Brad Wright’s Stargate: Continuum:

“In some respects, Brad’s idea evolved out of the fact that the Navy had come to us and said, ‘If you ever want to shoot in the Arctic, we’d love to take you up there,'” Cooper said. “‘We have a couple of nuclear submarines you could shoot on.’ So Brad said, ‘Wow, I’m just going to write a movie around that.’ We were the first production ever to shoot that far north. It was a pretty cool experience for everyone that went.” Cooper paused, then added: “A very cold experience.”

Stargate SG-1’s warm relationship with the U.S. military began in season one, when the producers needed permission to use stock shots of the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center, which is the home of Stargate Command in the show’s fictional universe. Eventually, the military vetted scripts for accuracy, and two chiefs of staff had cameo roles as themselves. “As things progressed, we started to say, ‘Hey, send us up a C-130 or a couple of F-18s,'” Cooper said. “There are two F-15s that are parked out at Vancouver airport now that we’re shooting in [for Continuum].”

Visit the link above to read the rest of the article.

For more background information on the two movies, visit the Stargate Solutions Wiki’s Movie Index for links to each of the movie guides.

SG-1 Spoilers: "Continuum": Behind the Scenes

Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi has published more behind-the-scenes pictures of Stargate: Continuum, Brad Wright’s direct-to-DVD movie directed by Martin Wood.

Here’s Mallozzi’s commentary about his pictures in his blog (June 1, 2007):

Speaking of SG-1, I visited the Continuum set today. If you’re interested, check out the pics: Brad Wright and Martin Wood looking forward to that next shot, Golden Boy Teal’c, Brad and Jaffa reminisce about Chulak, Martin Wood and Alex Pappas discuss the next set-up, Ivon shooting VFX Supervisor Michelle Comens, Ivon shooting an insightful producer, Lawren Bancroft Wilson anxiously awaits punishment for screwing up our lunch order, not sure what the hell that is but it would look great by the fireplace, and the used car that was taken out for a test drive from a local dealer and, amusingly, broke down enroute (Salesman to client: “Well, since we’ve got a little time before the tow truck gets here, let’s talk price.”).

Spoilers for the movie have been few and far between, but Mallozzi’s candids that he’s published in his blog have given fuel for fan speculation. Join others at our Solutions On-Site Forum as we discuss the photos and the movie.

Mallozzi also mentioned that Robert C. Cooper is just about finished with his director’s cut of Stargate: The Ark of Truth, which is to conclude the Ori storyline that was started in Season Nine.

SG-1 Spoilers: Wright Talks About "Continuum"

In his “farewell” interview at scifi.com, Brad Wright talks about some of the most memorable times during the ten years of Stargate SG-1 and shares some of his favorite scenes. He also talks about the two direct-to-DVD movies, Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum.

After summarizing Robert C. Cooper’s The Ark of Truth, Wright had this to say about his own movie, Continuum:

My script, Continuum, is a stand-alone movie. It is more ambitious, I think, and a very large story that involves time travel and coming back to an Earth where the SGC no longer exists and trying to rectify that problem. It also revisits one of our best, I think, villains over the years, Ba’al. And it brings back Richard Dean Anderson; to me, he’s a huge part of the franchise and a big part of Stargate and I couldn’t imagine doing a movie without him.

I think the movies are at least going to have that hungry, receptive audience, and if they do very well, [then] there’s absolutely nothing wrong with continuing the franchise by doing a couple of movies a year.

To hear the rest of Wright’s interview, visit the farewell interview page at scifi.com (you’ll need Flash).

SG-1 Spoilers: More "Continuum" Set Photos

Excecutive producer Joseph Mallozzi has published another set of photos for the SG-1 movie Stargate: Continuum, which started principal photography May 22. Included in his selection are Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson) striking various poses for Mallozzi’s camera and the bright and smiling face of Don S. Davis, who is wearing Lt. General George Hammond’s class A uniform.

Mallozzi also mentioned seeing Richard Dean Anderson, but no photo of him is present in the blog entry:

On my way back to the office, I ran into Rick. Yup, that Rick. He’s looking great and very excited to be back. As is always the case when we meet up, we spent a good part of the conversation discussing The Simpsons, and the upcoming movie in particular.

Mallozzi included one photo of director Martin Wood as he stood among playback monitors showing some interesting world maps that appear to be part of a war room.

And finally, Mallozzi unwittingly tried out a gimbaled set in which he managed to take a few photos:

Another short walk over to Stage 2 and I was just in time to watch them test the gimbaled set for Continuum. As they started her up, I took one giant step over and positioned myself facing a corner of the massive structure, assuming that in the unlikely event the sides dropped off, they would collapse to either side of me and I would be able to walk off relatively unscathed. I know, I know. Silly of me. It was all very safe in Wray Douglas’s infinitely capable hands. Nevertheless, I did experience a few seconds of sheer terror when they decided to test the thing – while I was inside. It tilted. It rocked. It shimmied and shook. My life flashed before my eyes. Martin and Paul, meanwhile, were casually spitballing a story which could make use of the magnificent set once Continuum was done with it.

To see these photos, visit Joseph Mallozzi’s May 22 blog entry.

SG-1 Spoilers: "Continuum" Set Photos

Executive Producer Joseph Mallozzi visited the sets for Stargate: Continuum, the second direct-to-DVD movie scheduled to be released this fall, and published some pictures of the tour he took with Atlantis producer and writer Martin Gero.

Stargate: Continuum, written by Brad Wright and directed by Martin Wood, is meant to be a stand-alone story that continues the journey of the members of SG-1. The story involves Ba’al, time travel, the Arctic, a nuclear submarine, and Goa’uld motherships attacking Earth. Included in Mallozzi’s photos is a set that appears to be a very worn yacht. Mallozzi writes:

Marty G. and I toured the up-and-coming sets of the second SG-1 movie: Continuum. Check out what’s in the works (including Martin’s post-Stargate luxury yacht).

In addition to the “boat” pictures is the set piece similar to the Stargate’s storage crate from the Washington, D.C., warehouse where it was stored in the episode “1969”. It wasn’t long after the events of August 1969 that Catherine Langford resumed her studies of the Stargate that led to the eventual formation of Stargate Command. The crate in the image appears to have been damaged by the unstable vortex of the wormhole (the “kawhoosh”).

In the movie, Ba’al is supposed to have stolen the Stargate sometime in Earth’s past to prevent the Stargate Program from ever forming. The Stargate went into storage in Washington, D.C., sometime after Ernest Littlefield’s “accident” in 1945 (when they activated the Stargate and he stepped through — unable to return home until 50 years later when SG-1 retrieved him in “The Torment of Tantalus”). Is it possible that Ba’al stole the Stargate sometime between 1945 and 1969, or is this crate located somewhere else after the Stargate was unburied in Giza in 1928?

Visit Joseph Mallozzi’s May 21 blog to see the images there and share your speculation of what they mean for the story in our on-site forum Stargate: Continuum discussion thread.

SG-1 Spoilers: "Continuum" Resumes Filming May 22

Introduction

The second direct-to-DVD movie to be released after the cancellation of Stargate SG-1 is Stargate: Continuum. This movie, written and produced by Brad Wright and directed by Martin Wood, is considered to be a stand-alone story, but takes advantage of the rich mythology created over the lifetime of the original movie Stargate and the ten-year-old TV series. MGM is aiming for a fall of 2007 release.

Plot Details

From the article “MGM Greenlights New Stargate Movies” published by Business Wire:

While SG-1 attends the execution of Ba’al, the last of the Goa’uld System Lords, Teal’c and Vala inexplicably disappear into thin air. Carter, Daniel and Mitchell race back to a world where history has been changed: the Stargate Program has been erased from the timeline. As they try to convince the authorities what’s happened, a fleet of Goa’uld motherships arrives in orbit, led by Ba’al, his queen, Katesh, (Vala) and his first prime, Teal’c. SG-1 must find the Stargate and set things right before the world is enslaved by the Goa’uld.

Production Details

According to the British Columbia Film Commission, Stargate: Continuum will resume filming in Vancover on May 22 and conclude on June 14:

Stargate SG-1: CONTINUUM
Kawoosh Productions DTV I Inc.
Director: Martin Wood
Exec. Prod: Brad Wright
Prod: N. John Smith
DOP: Peter Woeste
PD: James Robbins
PM: George Horie
PC: Tanya Balic
LM: Lorne Davidson
ALM: Dominic Main
Publicist: Bridgette Prochaska
Casting: Sean Cossey
Extras: Sanddra Couldwell
Sched: May 22/07 – Jun 14/07
TEL: 604-292-8500
FAX: 604-292-8550

All of Season Ten’s main cast will be returning to reprise their roles, as well as Cliff Simon (Ba’al) and Richard Dean Anderson (Jack O’Neill). Concerning Anderson’s return, Brad Wright stated, “We’re thrilled to have Richard join us for Stargate: Continuum. As Gen. Jack O’Neill, Richard brings both a sense of history and familiarity to the continuing adventures of the Stargate team. And we all recognize his value as the much-loved hero among the Stargate fan base.” Wright also hinted that because the story involves time travel, other characters from SG-1’s past might also appear, even if they are currently dead (IMDb has that Steve Bacic will be reprising his role as Camulus).

Referred to in a Reuters press release as “MGM’s $6 million-$7 million extension of the long-running sci-fi series Stargate,” the movie has a higher budget than episodic television, giving composer Joel Goldsmith the opportunity to create a new soundtrack with a live orchestra.

The production team had a unique opportunity in March to film on location in the Arctic where actors Amanda Tapping (Lt. Col. Samantha Carter) and Ben Browder (Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell), along with Anderson, were able to shoot several scenes in this dangerous, yet beautiful, location. Reports from the “field” were filled with excitement and told of some of the dangers that the crew faced, including polar bears and extremely low temperatures. The filming crew had a scare when a cameraman got splashed while filming the submarine U.S.S. Alexandria and had to be rushed away by helicopter to the base camp where he was treated and released, but otherwise, they all seemed to have had an enjoyable adventure that they won’t soon forget.

Concerning these scenes in the Arctic and how the idea came about, Wright explained to StargateAtlantis.com that Barry Campbell, the man who runs the Arctic camp, “invited [executive producer] John Smith to visit the ice camp, then it became John and a few people from the show, and it snowballed from there. When I was conceiving the story, I came up with a reason that SG-1 could end up stranded in the Arctic and get rescued by a submarine — and Jack O’Neill — and Barry has been very accommodating. So has Erik Reynolds, the Navy liaison.” Six scenes were shot in the Arctic from March 23-29, including some onboard the Alexandria, with Campbell having a speaking role and one of the submarine’s crew, Electronics Technician 2nd Class Courtney D. Miler, a longtime fan of Stargate, getting on film as an extra.

There was some concern raised by fans that Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson) wouldn’t appear in the Arctic scenes, even though the storyline implied that he should, because he was filming episodes for the hit FOX TV series 24, but producer N. John Smith reassured the crowd at the Vancouver Con in March that sets were being built that would mimic the Arctic locations and that Shanks would film his scenes in them. However, in his farewell video interview posted at scifi.com this month, Shanks said something that hinted at the possibility that those plans might have been changed: “In the second movie, we get to see a completely different side of the character [Daniel Jackson] — we get to see him vulnerable in a way we’ve never seen before. I won’t give away specifics, but something he’s never had to go through before, but be alive, which is different. It’s kind of neat. I know it was kind of a last-minute thing that Brad [Wright] offered for the character because I wasn’t able to go and shoot scenes in the Arctic. So, it’s one of these compromises that turned into a real neat character thing that’s going to be fun to play.”

According to Stargate Atlantis executive producer Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog, there will be a Stargate: Continuum tease produced by Ivon Bartok included in the Season Ten DVD boxed set (tentatively scheduled for Region 1 release July 24, 2007) that will include footage taken in the Arctic.

For comprehensive production notes and links to articles concerning the movie, please visit Solutions’ Stargate: Continuum movie guide.

SG-1 Spoilers: The Ark of Truth

Introduction

Stargate: The Ark of Truth, the first direct-to-DVD movie scheduled to be released this fall and written and directed by Robert C. Cooper, has wrapped filming in Vancouver. Script Coordinator Alex Levine wrote in his May 11 blog entry at SciFi.com about some of the scenes and sets for the last day of shooting.

The following contains spoilers about some of the action sequences and locations for the movie.

Details

Levine wrote:

I went to go talk to Rob Cooper about tomorrow night’s Stargate SG-1 episode “Bounty”, but he’s on his last day of directing “The Ark of Truth” and they’re out at the Norco set in the Hall of Fire. The Norco set is a bit of a drive from the Studio, and I’m chained to my desk, so I couldn’t really chase down Rob. But I can tell you that, among the exciting plot points to be shot today on “The Ark of Truth” (as detailed on the call sheet), are “Daniel yanked across room” and “Coverage against green screen.” Actually, there were some much more interesting descriptions but they were spoilers so I steered wide clear. Now, I don’t know how many of you saw “Sateda,” but I’ve seen the dailies of “The Ark of Truth”, and it’s going to be another action-packed Rob Cooper extravaganza.

“Sateda” was the fourth episode in Season Three of Stargate Atlantis, also written and directed by Cooper. When the episode first aired on SciFi, Levine wrote enthusiastically about the various film stock and stylized shots Cooper used to create the episode’s unique atmosphere. Levine said the episode was “as action as Stargate gets… this episode is loaded with fight scenes.” These fight scenes were choreographed by James “BamBam” Bamford, stunt coordinator for the show.

Bamford also coordinated fight scenes for The Ark of Truth and wrote in his Gateworld blog, “In addition to attempting to keep up with this demanding shooting schedule, I have also been putting together a lengthy fight sequence for the “Ark of Truth” Movie as well…..with the help of my team, of course…..alot of help!!” If the picture published by executive producer Joseph Mallozzi in his May 9th blog entry is any indication, it appears that Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell had a piece of that action as Ben Browder’s face is covered in “blood” and his nose appears to be broken!

Visit these blogs for more behind-the-scenes tidbits in the production of Season Four of Stargate Atlantis and of the movie Stargate: The Ark of Truth (spoilers):

For a collection of production notes on the movie, visit Solutions’ Stargate: The Ark of Truth movie guide (spoilers).

SG-1 Spoilers: Casting for "Ark of Truth"

Introduction

Stargate: The Ark of Truth is currently filming in Vancouver. The movie will be the first of two to be released this fall directly on DVD, and is written and directed by Robert C. Cooper.

The following contains casting and plot spoilers about the movie.

Details

Vala’s husband Tomin has surrended and wishes to join the team in putting a stop to the Ori’s crusade in the Milky Way. His wife’s friends and co-workers have treated him like a guest … until James Marrick [also has been spelled “Merek”] from the IOA shows up to question him.

Marrick has come to the SGC in Richard Woolsey’s place as Woolsey is busy with the Atlantis Expedition. As soon as he is introduced to Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell, he starts to question Mitchell’s decision to leave Tomin’s warship in orbit over Dakara instead of destroying it. The team managed to eliminate the warship’s Prior, but they didn’t have the technology on hand to pilot it. Tomin also told them that another warship was about to arrive, so they left the area as soon as they could.

Marrick also reminds Landry and Mitchell that the SGC would not be there if not for the IOA and then goes to question Tomin. Not long after this initial encounter, Mitchell communicates through gestures that he thinks that Marrick is a slimeball.

Tomin says that there are more warships on their way through the Supergate and that Earth is a primary target. Marrick wants Tomin to tell him more about this attack and what they can do to defend themselves. During the interrogation, Marrick asks pointed questions, treating him like an enemy. This treatment upsets Vala who is viewing the interrogation with Mitchell and Teal’c nearby.

SG-1 wishes to take the Odyssey to the Ori’s home galaxy to stop this attack, but Marrick might have his own plans.

Currie Graham

Concerning The Ark of Truth, script coordinator Alex Levine writes in his SciFi.com blog:

I did get to meet Currie Graham, who plays Marrick in The Ark of Truth, which was fun because I’m a big Boston Legal fan and he plays a D.A. on that show.

Graham has not only had a recurring role on Boston Legal, but also on Men in Trees, Desperate Housewives, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, House M.D., and NYPD Blue. The role of James Marrick might be similar to that of A.D.A. Frank Ginsberg of Boston Legal as Marrick will be seen as an antagonist just as Ginsberg is sometimes seen as he prosecutes cases against the defense attorneys of Crane, Poole, and Schmidt.

Stargate: The Ark of Truth is scheduled to wrap filming on May 8.