Tag: Claudia Black

Catch Nemec, Black in Guest Roles

Stargate SG-1 stars Corin Nemec and Claudia Black are making guest appearances on other TV shows in the upcoming weeks.

Nemec plays Paul Eastman in CBS’s Ghost Whisperer in the episode “Stranglehold”. Look for this appearance on Friday, May 9, at 8:00 PM ET/PT. The storyline: “Melinda looks into a 1979 murder trial prosecuted by her father, hoping to find a connection to his disappearance.”

Black will appear in the first season finale of Moonlight as the character “The Cleaner”. In the episode “Sonata”, “Mick and Beth face the ultimate consequence of a relationship between mortal and immortal when a vampire kills a human in the heat of passion. But when the murder investigation threatens to expose vampire identities, Mick and Josef take action.” Watch the episode on CBS on Friday, May 16, at 9:00 PM ET/PT.

Visit TV Guide for listings:

Claudia Black on Filming and Motherhood

Claudia Black as Vala (SciFi 3)Claudia Black was recently interviewed by Steve Eramo for TV Zone Magazine, Issue 226 (available for purchase here). Among many things, she speaks about her experiences filming Stargate SG-1’s Season 10 as a new mom, and filming the movies while pregnant with her second son. From the interview,

“On the personal side, I thought I could do what Amanda Tapping had done the prior season and have a baby,” she says. “Nurse the baby on set, which production was willing to accommodate (amazingly rare in the workplace) and do a decent job. I was wrong and I failed. While everyone else was celebrating 200 episodes — a milestone in Science Fiction television — I was experiencing in stark contrast, a personal and professional low. We had relocated from Australia to Vancouver with a newborn who was ill and no family or friends around to help. My hours were hell, the workload more than sizeable, and when my poor husband got pneumonia and I got postnatal hyperthyroidism, our family and household crashed.

“When I finally admitted defeat — personal, first, then professional — and went to Rob Cooper,” Stargate SG-1’s executive producer, “to ask for help, there was little he could do. I was used to the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants production that was Farscape, where the scripts were delivered on the day if you were lucky and production got used to being very flexible. These guys in Vancouver, however, are extremely organized; the scripts had been written well in advance and were wall-to-wall Va-la-la! So Rob asked me if I could hold off having a ‘breakdown’ until the upcoming hiatus, and I obliged to the best of my ability.”

Regarding filming the movies, she said, “Vala was low-ish maintenance in Continuum,”… “I was on strict doctor’s orders to work limited hours with Continuum due to a miscarriage scare during the first movie, so that put a lot of pressure on production to get me out every day on time… On both movies I struggled monumentally with shocking morning sickness. If anyone mentioned food I started to cry, and then dug my knuckles into my palms until they were close to drawing blood… Cliff [Simon] was incredibly sweet and careful about what he consumed around me, but one day I caught a whiff of something and gagged through my lines ’til I heard Martin Wood yell, ‘Cut!’ and then raced to a trashcan just next to set. I hope Cliff didn’t take it personally.”

To read more of this interesting interview, purchase Issue 226 of TV Zone!

Unreality SF Covers Upcoming Stargate Audio Dramas

Vala Mal Doran

Unreality SF interviewed James Swallow, one of the authors for Big Finish Production’s Stargate audio dramas. Each season of the series includes three stories each from Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. “They’re kind of a halfway house between a talking book and a full-cast audio drama,” Swallow explained, “similar in format of Big Finish’s Doctor Who: Companion Chronicles discs. Basically, we have two actors – one lead voice, one supporting voice – and the story is ‘told’ to you by the lead.”

Swallow has written other audio dramas, including those for Doctor Who, Blake’s 7, and Star Trek, among others. In the interview, he talked about his latest efforts in some of these “universes”.

For Stargate, Swallow revealed the plots for his upcoming season one dramas. “Shell Game is set in season ten of Stargate SG-1; it’s a Vala Mal Doran story, featuring Daniel Jackson. The plot involves Vala’s past coming back to bite her in the backside, when a crime she once committed is revealed to have a very serious consequence.

Dr. Radek Zelenka

“Zero Point is set during season four of Stargate Atlantis; it’s a Radek Zelenka story, featuring a new character in the supporting role. The plot for this one has an alien force threatening to destroy everyone on Atlantis, and only Zelenka and the crew of the starship Apollo can stop it.

“Shell Game stars Claudia Black and Michael Shanks, while Zero Point stars David Nykl. Also reprising their roles from SG-1 and Atlantis are Christopher Judge, Paul McGillion, Torri Higginson and Teryl Rothery. We’re prepping the next ‘season’ of stories now, and we hope to have more Stargate actors for those.”

Swallow also indicated that he’s already working on his next script, an SG-1 story called First Prime. “You can probably guess who’s going to be the lead character in that…”

Visit Unreality SF for the complete interview. Visit Big Finish Production’s Stargate homepage for more information about the audio plays for season one that are currently available for pre-order.

Stargate Talent Shines

While we wait for the release of Stargate: The Ark of Truth and for the cast and crew to resume filming Stargate Atlantis, many of the talent behind bringing the stories to life have been busy with various types of projects. It’s also a time for some award nominations (and wins, such as the People’s Choice Awards) and follow-ups on older stories worth revisiting:

Visual Effects Team Nominated for VES Award

Stargate Atlantis visual effects team of Mark Savela, Shannon Gurney, Erica Henderson, and Jamie Yukio Kawano have been nominated in the Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series category for their work in Season Four’s premiere, “Adrift”. This is the sixth annual Visual Effects Society awards, which will be presented on Sunday, February 10, at the Kodak Theatre Grand Ballroom in Hollywood. This year’s lifetime achievement honoree is Steven Spielberg. For a complete run-down of the nominees, visit Variety: VES sailing with ‘Pirates’.

Extra! Features Stargate Atlantis

Extra! correspondent Jerry Penacoli produced a segment about his time as “Genii Jerry” on location of “Harmony”, complete with fun behind-the-scenes acting tips provided by Amanda Tapping, Jason Momoa, Joe Flanigan, and David Hewlett. Meant to be shown the same night as the premiere of the episode, the segment was pre-empted (see first story) and moved to the weekend edition of the television entertainment magazine. A fan has put the short segment on YouTube for all to enjoy.

Big Finish Audio Dramas

Big Finish Productions has plans to produce several Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis hour-long audio dramas, plays written for audio performances and narrated by one or two actors. James Swallow, one of the writers, has visited some of the Stargate fan forums and also has his own online presence in the form of a LiveJournal blog. He recently stated, “Regarding extra content, I’ve now been told that Big Finish intend to include an exclusive interview on each disc. There may be out-takes too, depending on permissions from the actors.” Fans will also be able to download the programs directly from the studio’s website.

CD Release Schedule:

  • April 30: SG-1 Gift of the Gods by Sally Malcolm. Read by Michael Shanks. (Amazon.uk pre-order)
  • May 30: SGA Necessary Evil by Sharon Gosling. Read by Torri Higginson. (Amazon.uk pre-order)
  • June 30: SG-1 Shell Game by James Swallow. Read by Claudia Black and Michael Shanks.
  • July 30: SGA Perchance to Dream by Sally Malcolm. Read by Paul McGillion.
  • August 30: SG-1 Pathogen by Sharon Gosling. Read by Teryl Rothery.
  • September 20: SGA Zero Point by James Swallow. Read by David Nykl.

Swallow also said that the studio is “already moving forward with our next set of six releases…”

Christopher Judge and Turok

Christopher Judge provided the voice for one of the characters in Turok (see first story), an SF first-person-shooter video game slated for release on February 5 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. A featurette, slightly under five minutes long, has been posted at GameVideos.com: Turok: Awakening the Giants and includes information about the story, graphics, and voice talent behind the game (Judge is interviewed and is also shown in the recording studio).

Tapping’s Sanctuary Greenlit for SCI FI

Amanda Tapping, Damian Kindler, and Martin Wood (all Stargate veterans) have sold SCI FI Channel a 13-episode season of Sanctuary, “which originated online as the first high-definition sci-fi Web series,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. They’ll use most of the footage from the web series, which includes 90% CGI, but make some enhancements to the visual effects and background to show better on a TV screen.

Sanctuary will begin production in March (this might affect Tapping’s and Wood’s participation in Season Five of Stargate Atlantis; an official announcement is coming this Monday, according to executive producer and co-showrunner Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog).

TV Guide Updates Fans on Browder and Black

In a recent news article, TV GUIDE updates fans of Farscape actors Ben Browder and Claudia Black (although, we know them as Stargate SG-1 actors).

Not only is Browder writing, producing, and starring in the SCI FI miniseries Going Homer, but he has also sold a script to MGM for a movie, Black Mountain, in which he’ll star as an investigator “trying to solve horrific murders in a small town.” According to TV GUIDE, shooting for this movie will be starting this fall.

Fans have seen Claudia Black in previews for the premiere of the new NBC series Life, but according to the TV GUIDE article, she had to turn down the role as the lead character’s former wife because of scheduling conflicts. The article also mentions that Black is expecting her second child in November. Life will premiere Wednesday, September 26, at 10pm Eastern.

There is no news yet on whether either of the two will reprise their Farscape roles in the recently-announced webisodes for SCI FI.

To read the full article, visit TV GUIDE: Farscape Stars Browder and Black Keeping Busy.

SG-1 Spoilers: Black on Vala in the Movies

SLICE OF SCIFI conducted an interview recently with Claudia Black in which she talks about Vala’s role in the two direct-to-DVD movies, Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum.

Spoilers follow.

Stargate: The Ark of Truth

Robert C. Cooper wrote, directed, and produced this story that concludes the Ori storyarc started in Season Nine of Stargate SG-1. Vala is reunited with her husband Tomin and her daughter Adria, and Black states, “In general the loose ends which we tie up seemed to be in keeping with the style/tone of the series: things wrap up as they need to in order to restore order.”

Concerning her scenes with Tim Guinee who plays Tomin, she said, “There are some nice little details that Tim Guinee and I were able to explore in the Vala – Tomin arc. I liked how that wrapped up. Or at least how it did on the day. Not sure what made the cut!”

And, of course, Vala must deal with her daughter Adria, now an Ascended Being. “…I think the writing was probably on the wall where Adria and Vala were concerned. No room for a grey area. So there are two ways things could go for them at story’s end; Happy families or see ya later…”

Black said that the filming schedule was much more demanding than it had been during the TV show’s run. “Ark of Truth as good as killed me. We did way more overtime than I ever have on the show before.”

Stargate: Continuum

Brad Wright’s stand-alone story Stargate: Continuum sees the return of the Goa’uld Ba’al as he tries to gain galactic domination through the use of time travel, preventing the Stargate Program from ever forming. Included in his manipulations are having Vala remain as the host to Qetesh and as his queen, and having Teal’c as his First Prime.

Black commented on the lesser screen-time she had in this movie as compared with The Ark of Truth: “Continuum is not a Vala-centric piece so both I and the Vala haters sigh with relief on that one. She is a high energy character to say the least and as much as I love to work and play her, it is great to sometimes add a flash of colour and go home. I also play another character in Continuum which was great fun. Short but also sweet. I loved Brad’s script and what he gave me to do. […] Continuum, I was outta there in just over a week.”

Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum will be released on DVD in 2008.

To read the full transcript of the interview, visit SLICE OF SCIFI.

SG-1 Cast: What They're Doing Now

S10 Cast of Stargate SG-1
Cast of Stargate SG-1 from Season Ten and the two direct-to-DVD movies.

Solutions has gathered together a few pieces of information from around the web concerning what the cast members of Stargate SG-1 are doing to further their careers and family lives now that the filming of the two direct-to-DVD movies has completed.

Ben Browder

Ben Browder did an interview at The Scifi World and talked about what he enjoys doing in his spare time:

Right now… and my interests do change over time… I’m into coaching youth football. Next year I hope to coach the polevaulters at the high school. I suppose it falls into the I like working with young people category. Teaching kids, helping them meet and exceed expectations, watching them grow in the process is infinitely fascinating. And as a parent, I believe that we have a duty to whole of the next generation, not just our own progeny.

He’s also been mentioned as starting up a project for the Sci Fi Channel in a Variety article about NBC Universal’s cable networks:

Sci Fi is developing the six-hour miniseries “Going Homer,” from “Farscape” alum Ben Browder and Andrew Prowse. Taken from the Odyssey, project will revolve around a 12-year-old, Homer Ulysses Jones, who sets off on a journey from L.A. to New York in order to escape a custody battle. Homer is able to see what others can’t: Greek and Roman gods are here on earth, walking among mortals. Some gods will aid his journey, while others will seek to kill him in order to prevent him from getting home.

Look for Ben to appear at the Comic Con in San Diego on the Stargate: The Ark of Truth panel on Friday, July 27.

Amanda Tapping

Amanda Tapping has not left the Stargate franchise as she has moved over to star in Stargate Atlantis in its fourth season, currently in production in Vancouver. Filming for the series will be resuming Monday after the cast’s “shooting hiatus”. Amanda is scheduled to appear in 14 out of the 20 episodes for the season as Col. Samantha Carter, the new commander of the Atlantis Base. Her first appearance in the show will be in its premiere, “Adrift” (spoilers), which will be shown for the first time in the world on the Sci Fi Channel on Friday, September 28, 2007.

Following the end of filming for the fourth season, Amanda will be working on her new on-line serial Sanctuary. She told The Scifi World that she hopes they’ll produce ten more hours starting in October. These ten hours, if produced, will translate into 40 new webisodes.

Look for Amanda to appear in both the Stargate panels at the Comic Con in San Diego on Friday, July 27.

Christopher Judge

Christopher Judge wrote a few episodes for Stargate SG-1 and appeared in the most episodes of any regular cast member during its 10-year run. He hasn’t left the franchise completely either, as he will make an appearance in the Stargate Atlantis fourth season episode, “Reunion” (spoilers). There’s also another cross-over episode coming up in the second half of the season that might give Christopher the opportunity to appear again, but the specific actor crossing over has not yet been identified by executive producer Joseph Mallozzi in his personal blog (spoilers galore).

As far as his own projects, in his farewell interview at the scifi.com website, Christopher stated this about his pilot, Rage of Angels, which was picked up for production by MGM:

I play Gabriel and Shanks plays Lucifer. We’re going a bit against type, I would think. [He smiles.] I wrote the pilot for it. It’s a very dark, sexy, violent show, and I think that’s probably what we’ll be doing next.

Additionally, fellow Stargate actor and writer David Hewlett mentioned Christopher in his blog recently:

Speaking of Judge, I’ve got to get the nerve up to ask him about the latest film role I’ve started writing for him…it’s a pretty different kind of thing for him, but I think he’d be amazing at it and really chew up the scenery…hoping he goes for it… rather than turning on me violently, squashing me like a bug and leaving my crumpled form in the gutter beside some lonely road…happy thoughts, happy thoughts…

This film might be Hewlett’s script Design of the Dead.

Look for Christopher to appear at the Comic Con in San Diego on the Stargate: The Ark of Truth panel on Friday, July 27.

Claudia Black

According to John Stone’s Blog at TVGuide.com, Claudia Black will be appearing in the premiere of NBC’s new dramatic series Life as Jennifer Conover, the remarried ex-wife of the show’s main character, Charlie Crews, played by Damian Lewis. NBC’s description of the show:

Meet Detective Charlie Crews. Behind him sit tough years of hard prison time for a crime he didn’t commit. Ahead of him lie the challenges of a world that’s moved on without him. Now it’s time to walk through the painful cobwebs of his past and re-enter the scorn-filled halls of a job he loves. It’s no easy task, especially when his reluctant new partner is as jaded as Dani Reese. Charlie’s appreciation for life’s details not only offers up unique insights into each crime, it reminds us of all the little things we take for granted.

Claudia is not mentioned as part of the regular cast, and according to The Futon Critic, her appearance in the first episode is incredibly brief, but there’s always a possibility that she’ll be playing a recurring character on the new show. Life is scheduled to premiere Wednesday, September 26, at 10pm Eastern on NBC (see NBC’s Fall Preview webpage for more information).

Beau Bridges

Beau Bridges filmed a pilot for FOX entitled Two Families, but the half-hour comedy was not picked up for the fall schedule. Beau plays a recurring role in the half-hour comedy, My Name Is Earl, which is shown on Thursdays at 8pm Eastern on NBC. In the upcoming season, Beau has been contacted to reappear as Earl’s father, as he mentioned along with his other project recently in an interview with The Scifi World (Stargate spoilers therein):

Well, I’ve done a number of these “My Name is Earl” shows. I play Earl’s father. It’s a half-hour comedy. And I’ll be doing some more of those. I have a movie coming out that I did with Misha Barton, called Don’t Fade Away. It’s about a father who is dying and his relationship with his son. And Misha plays my son’s girlfriend.

Beau can also be seen in the George Clooney movie The Good German.

Michael Shanks

Michael Shanks closed out his TVGuide.com Blog on June 21 as Stargate SG-1 ended its TV run on the Sci Fi Channel on June 22. Since that time, he’s been mentioned in various press articles and has been the subject of interviews in recent sci-fi magazines.

Look for his picture on the cover of Cult Times #142 (July 2007), as well as for an excerpt from his interview entitled “So Long and Shanks” at the magazine’s website. Included in the interview not published in the excerpt, Michael talks about his Sci Fi Channel movie Mega Snake, currently scheduled for its premiere on Saturday, August 25, at 9pm Eastern.

“Oddly enough, it is about a large snake,” he chuckles. “It could be a porn film. I need to clarify that every now and again. Apparently they’ve lost their imagination when it comes to titles; I always hoped that was a working title. It is about a giant snake and I play a paramedic in an Appalachian town who is forced to deal with this large snake running amuck.”

In Issue 17 of the Official Magazine (SG-1 Yearbook), Michael talks about taking time to be with his family, “I’m going to get to know the little pint sized things that live in my house, that I haven’t got to know — I’m going to be a dad for a while! I’m so ready for some family time and some ‘me’ time.”

Michael also is working with Christopher Judge in producing and starring in the pilot Rage of Angels, but there’s been no more new information about how that is going. And their production company’s “The Men of Sci Fi Calendar” appears to be on hold, awaiting their availability.

Look for Michael to appear at the Comic Con in San Diego on the Stargate: The Ark of Truth panel on Friday, July 27.

Black to Appear in "The Dresden Files"

A recent press release from NBC Universal has announced that SG-1‘s Claudia Black will be making a guest appearance on SciFi Channel’s The Dresden Files on March 25.

In other casting news, Claudia Black (Stargate SG-1, Farscape) has recently completed filming a guest-starring role on SCI FI’s new original series The Dresden Files. In the episode, entitled “The Other Dick,” Black plays Liz Fontaine, an Erin Brockovich-style private eye with a checkered past. Fontaine will give Harry Dresden (Paul Blackthorne) a run for his money, igniting sparks and tensions as they try to investigate the same murder case. The episode will air on Sunday, March 25 @ 9pm.

This announcement also included the news about Amanda Tapping and Jewel Staite reprising their respective roles in Season Four of Stargate Atlantis (see previous blog article for more information or visit NBC Universal: Amanda Tapping Dives Into ‘Atlantis’).

Big Update to Interviews Pages

Here’s a big update to our interviews pages, with excerpts of recent magazine interviews.

Richard Dean Anderson

Claudia Black

Beau Bridges

Ben Browder

Chris Judge

Michael Shanks

Amanda Tapping

We’ve also added some links to external on-line interviews to the respective interview main pages.

Cast Reacts to Cancellation News on HypaSpace

Canada’s HypaSpace program on Space Channel aired a nice segment on the cast and crew’s reaction to SG-1 not being renewed by Sci Fi for an 11th season. Interviewed are Michael Shanks, Chris Judge, Ben Browder, Claudia Black, and Peter DeLuise. Interspersed with the interviews are scenes from filming a Season 10 episode that are quite amusing. BenBrowderPortal.com has the video up for downloading (it’s 32MB) — download Hypaspace video here.

Here is a transcript of the interview portions, courtesy of Biblio on AlphaGate:

HypaSpace host:

And speaking of sucking, it really sucked this week for Stargate SG-1 fans when the SciFi Channel announced that there wouldn’t be an eleventh season, and that the episodes currently shooting in Vancouver would be the last. Our HypaSpace crew were on the set this week for the 10th Anniversary celebration and talked to the cast and crew about the decision to pull the plug.

Michael Shanks [Daniel Jackson]

We found out a little bit earlier than the public did, obviously, that the show had been cancelled, and it’s hard to be really terribly upset. You know, cancelled is a really weird word, it’s not – we haven’t been cancelled, that kinda means ‘pull the plug and go home’. This this means we’re not getting renewed and it’s been one of those things that’s been on everybody’s mind for years and years and it’s…the fact it’s reality is just something we have to deal with, and I think we’ve really had a wonderful run, so it’s hard to be terribly sad and upset about it.”

Chris Judge [Teal’c]

What recent announcement? Ohhh, that one? You mean the one that has the internet? You mean the announcement that has the internet all a-buzz. You know it. I believe that the ending of our relationship with the SciFi Network, I think is just that. It’s the ending of doing original episodes for SciFi. We are fortunate that we do have a person at the studio – Charlie Cohen – who is a very innovative thinker, a progressive thinker, so between he, Brad [Wright] and Rob [Cooper] I am confident that they have other machinations of SG-1 in the works, and the Stargate franchise as a whole. So just because our relationship has ended with SciFi, that’s not necessarily the end for SG-1 and I know it’s not the end of the Stargate franchise. So, you know, don’t fret, you may be forced to watch us for more years to come.

Claudia Black [Vala Mal Doran]

I’m not surprised, I think personally that ten years is an extraordinary achievement. I don’t know how the writers, apart from bringing in new characters, I don’t know how you can continue to tell new stories in the same environment with the same people. People’s lives don’t change unless you go through a massive sea change, so I think as a show it would have had to have undergone some kind of major change eventually, and maybe it was occurring with me and Ben and Beau arriving on the show. And it always comes down to economics. I understand. I’ve been down that road before. I was on another little show called Farscape and it’s, you know, 90% business, 10% show.

Ben Browder [Cameron Mitchell]

The immediate thing is, when a show is cancelled, is the disappointment, the fact that you’re not going to be seeing these people you’ve enjoyed being with for all those years. You’re not going to see them on a daily basis, and you have to go out and look for work and… But, you know, given the fact that SG-1 went for ten years and is record-setting in that regard, I think you have to walk away when you’ve been cancelled with great dignity and say “we had a great run”. All the people who did this had a great run. So with class, dignity and grace, you take your bow. All good things come to an end and… this is one of them.

Peter DeLuise [Writer, director, producer, actor]

I’ve directed about sixty episodes, or so… I think maybe even slightly more than that. I’ve kind of lost track. But, I’ve learned so much about directing and visual effects, and diplomacy, and writing and producing that I really do feel blessed. I feel like I’ve been paid to learn, and some of the people that have been on the show since the beginning, even more than me, they have this decade of memories and friendships that they’ve made. I’m pretty sure that all the people I hang on the weekends with are all of the people I hang out with week days, which is strange because I don’t really have a life outside Stargate, so now that it’s coming to a close, I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself. I sound really depressing.

Claudia Black [Vala Mal Doran]

I would like to say to the fans of the show that were it not for you the show would not have gone for ten years. And I know right now that you’re probably sad to hear that Season Ten will be, at this stage, the last season. You should be really proud that you’ve been part of it, and a major reason why you’ve had this show for so long.

Chris Judge [Teal’c]

I really would like to thank the fans for, in all sincerity, for ten years of a wonderful, outrageous, rabid support and with the announcement that I’m sure you all heard very recently, that outpouring of love and support continues, and it’s not taken for granted. It’s taken very seriously, it’s taken to heart, and we feed on it, and it strengthens us and I truly, truly, truly would like to say thank you.