Some pictures from the pilot of ABC’s new fall show Once Upon a Time have surfaced, and Stargate star Robert Carlyle is in them!
In this new drama, which will air on Sundays at 8 PM ET, there is a mixture of “real life” and “fairy tale land,” and in addition to appearing as the normal-looking fella Mr. Gold (without the Dr. Nicholas Rush beard), Carlyle dons the makeup of the fairy tale character Rumplestiltskin … and he’s very creepy, and according to Carlyle himself, very insane.
SFX has images of Carlyle in both his personas, and the show’s homepage at ABC.com has a feature trailer, so make sure to visit both sites!
ABC’s description:
From the inventive minds of Lost executive producers Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis comes a bold new imagining of the world, where fairy tales and the modern-day are about to collide.
And they all lived happily ever after – or so everyone was led to believe. Emma Swan knows how to take care of herself. She’s a 28-year-old bail bonds collector who’s been on her own ever since she was abandoned as a baby. But when the son she gave up years ago finds her, everything starts to change. Henry is now 10 years old and in desperate need of Emma’s help. He believes that Emma actually comes from an alternate world and is Snow White and Prince Charming’s missing daughter. According to his book of fairytales, they sent her away to protect her from the Evil Queen’s curse, which trapped the fairytale world forever, frozen in time, and brought them into our modern world. Of course Emma doesn’t believe a word, but when she brings Henry back to Storybrooke, she finds herself drawn to this unusual boy and his strange New England town. Concerned for Henry, she decides to stay for a while, but she soon suspects that Storybrooke is more than it seems. It’s a place where magic has been forgotten, but is still powerfully close… where fairytale characters are alive, even though they don’t remember who they once were. The epic battle for the future of all worlds is beginning, but for good to win, Emma will have to accept her destiny and fight like hell.
Staite and Hewlett together again?Stargate star Jewel Staite has posted her latest entry on Blastr, giving her thoughts on the end of the Stargate franchise:
Honestly, I can’t really believe it’s actually over. I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of a lot of cast and crews over the years, but I can truly say I’ll always look back on my time on SG:A with a special kind of fondness. That show was a total dream job for me—shooting in my hometown, sleeping in my own bed every night, working with a fabulous and hilarious cast and crew who made me laugh on an hourly basis, being handcuffed and kidnapped in the woods … Well, maybe not so much on that last part. Truthfully, I was accepted with open arms into that family, and I will always be so incredibly grateful and proud to be a part of it. And I hope the fans are proud, too, of all of those seasons of television they helped get produced. Without them, it wouldn’t have gone on as long as it did, and I really hope they know that. It’s their show more than it was ever ours, and I’m just so thankful I got to be along for the ride.
Just because the Stargate days are over, doesn’t mean that Jewel hasn’t had the opportunity to work with her former castmates. Staite let her fans in on a little secret that she and fellow Blastr blogger David Hewlett have been working together on a special project:
Lucky for me, and unlucky for him, David Hewlett was just as bored to tears as I was. So we decided to embark on a little super secret project of our own. I can’t tell you much about it, except that you may quite possibly love it. Or you may hate it, in which case, I’m going to go and join that tumbleweed in the middle of the road. Or move to England to be closer to Kate, whichever. Regardless, wish us luck, will you? And hopefully we’ll be able to show you something soon!
Staite has a busy convention appearance ahead of her next month, including Contagion in Omaha, Nebraska, from June 10-12, and Tulsa Trek in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from June 24-26 (Christopher Judge and Armin Shimerman also plan to be there).
As far as her wishlist of projects, Staite hopes she will work again with Amanda Tapping, perhaps making a guest appearance on Sanctuary, as well as with former Firefly co-star Morena Baccarin on V. At least the Sanctuary guest spot has potential, but unfortunately, ABC recently cancelled V at the end of its second season.
We’ll update this article if something comes to our attention during the week. Also, if you’ve got more to add, please don’t hesitate to announce them in the comment section below.
Calendar
Monday, May 16
STARGATE UNIVERSE on Sky One at 8 PM with “The Hunt”: Alarm bells ring during an off-world expedition when Lt Johansen and Corp Reynolds are snatched by an alien creature. New Ancient technology comes to light too.
AMANDA TAPPING‘sSanctuary continues on Syfy at 10 PM ET with 3.16 “Awakening.”
Tuesday, May 17
Today is ABC’s upfront. We may learn when ROBERT CARLYLE‘s newly picked-up show Once Upon a Time will make its premiere (fall or mid-season). Zap2It announced the pick-up of this “fantasy drama starring Jennifer Morrison as a woman who is drawn into a town where fairy tales might be real. Ginnifer Goodwin co-stars as Snow White and Josh Dallas plays Prince Charming.” Carlyle plays Rumpelstiltskin, but in this modern retelling, he’s “an expert in black magic who agrees to help Snow White and Prince Charming counteract the Evil Queen’s [Lana Parrilla] spells … for a price,” according to Comic Book Resources. Carlyle has described his character as “absolutely, totally insane,” who was placed in a jail that was built solely for him in this land of fairy tales. (See Carlyle in a video interview in which he discusses his role at With Kids.)
Wednesday, May 18
LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS guest stars as himself in tonight’s episode of Cougar Town on ABC at 9:31 PM ET in the episode “Free Fallin’.” TV Guide Synopsis: Jules decides that Travis’ downward spiral in the aftermath of his traumatic breakup has gone on long enough. Meanwhile, Bobby and Laurie get business advice from Andy and Lou Diamond Phillips; and Ellie and Grayson have a run-in with occult kids.
Thursday, May 19
Friday, May 20
LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS hosts the next installment of the Military Channel’s An Officer and a Movie: Play Dirty. Check out the production’s homepage for more information.
ROBERT PICARDO is a last-minute media guest of MOBICON XIV in Mobile, Alabama, this weekend (May 20-22). This announcement was made at the con’s website: “Ethan Phillips, our media guest, as of this week, has had to cancel his appearance at our convention due to a family emergency. He apologizes and feels bad for having to cancel an obligation, especially this close to the show. However, he has agreed to be a guest at MOBICON XV, 2012. Now for the good news: As a favor to his friend Mr Phillips, Robert Picardo has agreed to take Ethan Phillips spot as our headline Media Guest for MOBICON XIV. He played Richard Woolsey on all three of the Stargate franchise’s shows (SG1, Atlantis, and SGU) and Dr Lewis Zimmerman on Star Trek: Voyager among many other roles. He has already announced that his autographs will be $20 in the merchant room. Please go by and pick up your personal autograph and take some time to make him feel welcome.” Make sure to visit the website for more information about this charity event that is being held on behalf of the Bay Area Food Bank.
Saturday, May 21
Sunday, May 22
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, Atlantis, and Universe (SGU actors are currently being added).
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.
"I think somebody is going to bring the show back." — Brad WrightBrad Wright was interviewed in Marsha Lederman’s article for The Globe and Mail about the impact that the “end of an era” of the Stargate franchise has had on the Vancouver film industry.
The article, entitled “Hollywood North wraps in Vancouver,” seems to indicate that much harder times now await now that both Stargate and Smallville have ended their productions. That’s not to say that the whole industry is shutting down, but their absence definitely will be felt.
There are several quotes from various interviewees concerning the Stargate franchise in addition to Wright’s. They’re highlighted below, but make sure to visit The Globe and Mail for the complete article:
On Stargate’s Importance to the Industry
“In one sense, they’re just another series, and we typically do 15 to 20 a year,” says Pete Mitchell, president and COO of Vancouver Film Studios, a 13-sound stage facility which has been home to Battlestar Galactica and more recently Caprica and Hellcats. “At the same time, Stargate spawned so many spinoffs and other shows that came along with it, that it was, I would say, particularly important. And Smallville, if you were to add up the number of man hours it employed people, it was tremendous.”
On Brad Wright’s Frustration after Cancellation
For some, the loss is more personal. Brad Wright, Stargate’s co-creator and executive producer, is still smarting months after the announcement of SGU’s cancellation – after two seasons – with a renewed sense of outrage this week, as the final episode aired.
“It was a good show, and that’s the kicker,” he says. “When you do something that you’re really proud of and you think everybody should be watching and you get cancelled, it’s kind of frustrating.”
On Stargate’s Impact on the Acting Community
“Every single actor I know did a gig on Stargate,” says Bill Marchant, who about a decade ago landed his first recurring role: a billionaire with an incurable disease on SG-1.
Marchant, now head of acting at Vancouver Film School, notes that such a thing didn’t exist for actors back when he was learning the craft. “Those cheesy sci-fi shows were my education. It was a brilliant place to learn the lessons that the Americans knew by rote. If you look at the early Jump Street and X-Files, you can see how Canadian acting styles have shifted toward a more naturalistic and filmic approach. It’s quite a leap.”
On Stargate’s Economic Impact
All that science fiction work has played a leading role in Vancouver’s development as a production centre. Wright says Stargate alone (in its various forms) spent close to a billion dollars, employing thousands of people over the years.
On the Future of Both Vancouver’s Film Industry and Stargate
As for the importance of Stargate, [Marianne O’Reilly, a visual-effects producer whose credits include SG-1, Night at the Museum and Vantage Point,] says, “so many people’s careers, lifestyles, livelihoods really point to that show. … Any time a show ends, you just hope that there’s another show everyone can move onto.”
B.C. is losing both shows at a precarious time: The Canadian dollar is high (making it harder to attract productions north of the border) and the future of the HST (a tax the industry likes) is uncertain.
The state of the local industry will be clearer next week, when the rest of the networks announce their fall line-ups. […]
Wright has hopes of his own; that (spoiler alert) stasis doesn’t mean finished.
“My feeling is that … the concept of Stargate is too big to just let go. Somebody at MGM is going to say ‘hey we’ve got this show; let’s do something with it,’” he says. “I don’t think it’ll happen really quickly, but I think somebody is going to bring the show back.”
“Just got the live+7 numbers for Intervention, the season 2 premiere. Wow. We jumped 78% from the live number, about 40% from the liv+SD. That’s a lot of eyeballs. Of course that isn’t even counting those who are viewing the show through alternate platforms (ie. netflix, iTunes, and other download options).” — Joseph Mallozzi, October 19, 2010.
“The ratings of the back half of season 2 will have absolutely no bearing on whether or not Brad and co. proceed with movies.” — Joseph Mallozzi, March 5, 2011.
In this episode, Park was taken hostage by the Lucian Alliance soldier Simeon as a way to get off of Destiny. He wished to be reunited with his fellow clansmen who were placed on a habitable world along Destiny‘s path through the universe. Simeon was a dangerous man, and to prove how heartless he could be, he strapped a bomb to Park’s back and placed her alone in front of the Stargate. Even under this stressful situation, Park thought of others before herself and asked that no one approach her. Fortunately, Dr. Nicholas Rush didn’t listen to her and was able to unstrap the bomb from her back, and eventually, he tracked down and killed Simeon.
Her performance in “Malice” isn’t the only noteworthy performance that Spence has delivered this season, so hopefully she’ll be nominated again when the second half of SGU’s second and final season are considered in the 2012 nominations. These 2011 nominations cover those programs aired between January 1 and December 31, 2010.
Spence’s was the only nomination for Universe this year. We congratulate her and wish her well.
A host of other Stargate stars and guest stars have been nominated, including Amanda Tapping for Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series for the Sanctuary episode “Breach” (this show has received 17 nominations this year). Make sure to visit the nominees page at the Leo Awards website.
The Gala Awards Ceremony will be held at the Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver, on Saturday, June 11, with the Red Carpet/Reception at 4 PM, the Dinner at 6 PM, and the Awards Show at 8 PM (all times Pacific).
More Command Ships and their Drones await 'Destiny' in GAUNTLET (MGM)The third and final series finale of the Stargate franchise (“as we know it”) comes to our television screens this week: first on Syfy tonight at 9 PM ET, then later this week on Canada’s Space (Tuesday, 10 PM ET) and Australia’s SciFi (Friday, 8:30 PM).
When “Gauntlet” was written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, it was thought that the show would be getting a third season. It was already too late to change the outcome of the episode once Syfy’s cancellation announcement was made.
So, in true Stargate tradition, “Gauntlet” will be in the format of a season-ending cliffhanger. Mallozzi put it in the same class of cliffhangers as SG-1’s “Camelot,” SGA’s “The Siege II,” and SGU’s previous season-ending cliffhanger “Incursion II.” He wanted to give viewers “fair warning” that this means that we’ll have no idea how the Destiny comes through her ordeal, nor how the crew members themselves endure it. “Gauntlet, in particular, is very touching and its conclusion will no doubt leave you…among many other things…frustrated, incredulous, outraged, offended, annoyed, vexed, saddened, distressed, bitter, aghast, irritated, unsatisfied, pissed-off, melancholy, miserable, confused, furious, dejected, riled, shocked, heartsick, angry, surprised, exasperated, indignant, enraged, despondent, bewildered, dismayed, incensed, stunned, and grief-stricken.”
What we’re left with are several unanswered questions and dangling threads. Will the Destiny crew make it out of the Command Ship and Drone attack? Will all of the crew members survive? Will they finally find the intelligence from the beginning of time as was Destiny‘s original mission, or will simply getting home be sufficient? Will they discover, as the Camile Wray of the Ancestors of Novus said, that “our mission is and always will be the journey itself”?
As with the entire Stargate franchise in general and SGU in particular, Mallozzi said that after watching “Gauntlet,” “[F]ans will be thrilled, touched, heartbroken – and left to wonder what could have been.” When asked if there would be a release of details as to how SGU was going to end (they had planned for a five-year run), Mallozzi responded, “Since Brad [Wright] and Robert [Cooper] were the ones who came up with the endgame, it’s only fair that I allow them to reveal it to you if and when they so desire.”
Stargate Atlantis Fans Will Get Some Closure
Atlantis returned to Earth in ENEMY AT THE GATE (MGM)Mallozzi has already promisedStargate Atlantis fans some insight into his and Mullie’s Stargate: Extinction, which was to pick up where “Enemy at the Gate” ended, where the city-ship Atlantis had returned to Earth, but the Wraith threat still existed in the Pegasus galaxy.
He wrote, “I’ll offer a little insight into the [SGA movie], detailing the basic premise of the story and some of the interesting developments we had in store for the characters and, of course, the city of Atlantis itself.” But when it comes to the SG-1 movie, Stargate: Revolution, Mallozzi stated, “[S]ince Carl [Binder] and Brad [Wright] were working on Revolution, I defer to them on providing details on the SG-1 movie.”
MGM Controls the Stargate Brand’s Future
Stargate, the original 1994 movie, ended with the idea that Jack and Daniel would be reunited and perhaps continue their Stargate journeys together (MGM)Unless Wright, Binder, Cooper, and MGM decide to reveal their plans, fans of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Universe won’t be getting the type of closure that Atlantis fans will get with Mallozzi’s discussion of his movie script in his weblog.
The former executive producer also pointed out another option that MGM has with their control of the Stargate brand: Instead of continuing the franchise based on the mythology developed in the three shows, he thinks that MGM will take the brand in a totally different direction. “This chapter of the Stargate franchise (SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe) has apparently been closed and, if we see something in the (hopefully) not too distant future, I imagine it would be more something along the lines of a re-imagining of the brand.”
“For now the franchise is in MGM’s hands,” Brad Wright was reported as announcing to the fans gathered at the Vancouver convention on April 17, 2011. He seemed to put forth the sentiment that MGM will recognize the value of the Stargate brand, started by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich in their 1994 movie Stargate, and continue it in some way (Devlin had originally envisioned a trilogy).
But as fans of this Stargate franchise, we can only hope that they continue the journeys of our heroes that we’ve grown to love since 1997 when Stargate SG-1 opened the ‘gate, even if Wright, Cooper, Mallozzi, Mullie, and Binder are no longer executive producers and show-runners.
After Viewing the End of an Era
After viewing the end of an era, make sure to rejoin us here for our episode poll on the front page.
Additionally, you may wish to visit Joseph Mallozzi’s Weblog since he has promised, “Once that final episode airs, I’ll take to this blog to answer any and all questions you may have and dedicate at least one entry to discussing aspects of the franchise I’m sure you’re all curious about. ‘Given the show’s ratings, why didn’t you wrap up the series in the event you WERE cancelled?’, ‘What stories did you have planned for the show’s third season?’, and ‘Tell us all about Stargate: Extinction’. Okay. Will field these queries and many more once ‘Gauntlet’ airs.”
With this promise, we might find out how Season Three was to begin, but won’t know how SGU as a series was to end.
[spoiler intro=”Episode Synopsis from SPACE (Spoilers)”]
Blocked by Command Ships at every star and unable to ‘gate for supplies without alerting the drones, Destiny must take a stand or be left adrift.[/spoiler]
We’ll update this article if something comes to our attention during the week. Also, if you’ve got more to add, please don’t hesitate to announce them in the comment section below.
Syfy will be showing a marathon of SGU episodes today, leading into the series finale. Starting at 9 AM ET, you’ll see “Deliverance,” then each Season Two episode that follows until last week’s “Blockade” at 5 PM ET. “Blockade” will show again at 8 PM ET, which effectively gives viewers a two-hour send-off with the last hour of SGU following at 9 PM ET.
SERIES FINALE! Stargate Universe on Australia’s SciFi at 8:30 PM with “Gauntlet.”
LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS will be honored tonight by the GI Film Festival with the annual Spirit Award for his commitment to veterans, “reflected in visits to Veterans Affairs hospitals, public service announcements for the United Service Organizations, and trips to Capitol Hill. … The Spirit Award is given annually to ‘an actor who embodies the spirit of an American GI in their creative and philanthropic work.'” Congratulations! (More info: Washington Examiner: GIFF to honor Lou Diamond Phillips)
LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS hosts the next installment of the Military Channel’s An Officer and a Movie: The Great Santini. Check out the production’s homepage for more information.
Saturday, May 14
JAMIL WALKER SMITH‘s independent film Make a Movie Like Spike will be showing in Washington, D.C., today. The SGU actor will also be at the screening afterwards for a Q&A session. Details can be found at the movie’s Facebook page.
Sunday, May 15
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, Atlantis, and Universe (SGU actors are currently being added).
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.
Executive producer Joseph Mallozzi just posted in his weblog, “…I hung around to do a quickie interview for Canada’s Space which will follow up Tuesday night’s series finale, Gauntlet, with a special Stargate-laden installment of Innerspace. From what I hear, they got A LOT of interviews with Stargate personalities – David Blue, David Hewlett, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Louis Ferreira, Alaina Huffman, Brian J. Smith, and Jewel Staite (to name a few) – who’ll be talking about the franchise and its fans. Don’t miss it!”
Canada’s Spacecast airs Stargate Universe (their SGU page) at 10 PM ET and InnerSPACE follows directly at 11 PM ET (their InnerSPACE page). All of the Stargate shows have enjoyed impressive viewer numbers, and currently, SGU is Space’s “most-watched series.”
“Gauntlet” will be a cliffhanger, unfortunately, which Mallozzi described as being in the same category of cliffhanger as SG-1’s “Camelot,” SGA’s “The Siege II,” and SGU’s “Incursion II,” and gave this “fair warning” about the conclusion of the Stargate franchise “as we know it”: “Gauntlet, in particular, is very touching and its conclusion will no doubt you leave you…among many other things…frustrated, incredulous, outraged, offended, annoyed, vexed, saddened, distressed, bitter, aghast, irritated, unsatisfied, pissed-off, melancholy, miserable, confused, furious, dejected, riled, shocked, heartsick, angry, surprised, exasperated, indignant, enraged, despondent, bewildered, dismayed, incensed, stunned, and grief-stricken.”
Hopefully, seeing the Stargate stars from all three shows afterwards will help ease the Canadian fans’ pain.
Some pictures from the pilot of ABC’s new fall show Once Upon a Time have surfaced, and Stargate star Robert Carlyle is in them!
