Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 470

February 27, 2013: When was the last time we did a Mailbag?

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these.

Let’s answer some questions…

for the love of Beckett writes: “How did you like “Cabinet of Curiosities?”

Answer: I liked it but not as much as either Still Life With Crows, Relic, or Reliquary.  Pendergast is a terrific character and I wanted to learn more about him, but felt his connection to the case he was investigating too contrived.

Ganymede writes: “BTW, what are Bubba’s “measurements”? ..maybe I can crochet something up..?”

Answer: Very kind of you but, as much as Akemi will deny it, Bubba hates to wear clothing.  He’s more of a free and easy type of pug.

PBMom writes: “Are you replacing the car with a newer model?”

Answer: Nope.  It’s a second car I’ve been meaning to sell for a while now.  Who’s interesting in acquiring a gorgeous 2007 Q7?

archersangel writes: “how many do you read a week? (where do you find the time to read?) and is your to be read pile fairly big?”

Answer: I average 3-4 books a week, but it really depends on how busy I am.  I make time, usually an hour or two before I go to sleep.  And, yes, my to-read pile is insurmountable.  And I’m still buying.

PJR writes: “Do you edit & re-edit in your mind’s eye, tightening & testing and then to fit/cut to page length? Or is it best for you to work primarily, or even in balance, on the page?”

Answer: I generally prefer to outline my work before starting on a script and, this usually results in the finished product being more or less spot on in terms of length.  I never worry about length while I’m writing.  That’s something I’ll address in the rewrite, making the necessary trims to get the script down to proper length if I need to.

PJR also writes: “Separately…an existing SF franchise…Global already or which side of the pond, or N American border?”

Answer: If you’re talking about the series and pilot we’ve developed, it’s an original concept.  If you’re referring to the “established property” that will form the basis for our next pilot, it’s a work of prose fiction by an established SF author.

G-Man writes: “I would have suggested renting out your home AND renting a suitable property, but I see some have already beaten me to it. However, there is a Mortgage expert based out of Chicago…”

Answer: Thanks for the input and the offer.  At the end of the day, if I had to go through the hassle of packing up everything and moving, I’d have no inclination to move back so renting out the house was never an option.

Duptiang writes: “Just curious, with this episode written and directed by Robert Cooper, how much Executive Producing do you get to do?”

Answer: When we were working on Stargate, all of the writer-producers were involved in helping to build stories: spinning, breaking, providing notes on outlines, drafts, cuts and mixes.  But, when it came to hands-on production, everyone essentially ran their own episodes.  In the case of Vegas, I believe Rob outlined the story on his own.  He also had even more influence on the final product as he directed the episode as well.

Duptiang also writes: “I think the big space battle was used earlier and a cost saving (nothing unusual). But, I think a quick view of youtube and that would have helped cast the scene and production. I felt it was cut out for a off the shelf sim program. Was that a production values decision?”

Answer: Sorry, don’t recall.

dasndanger writes: “Nuada is not your typical sociopathic villain, but instead he – for lack of better words – is a sensitive soul.”

Answer: On paper, yes, but the actor portraying Nuada failed to convey this in his performance.  His attempts to elicit sympathy from Hellboy, for instance, felt stock and, at times, silly.  For instance, in the scene with the giant plant creature, he appeals to Hellboy on the grounds that the creature is the last of its kind – yet Nuada had no problem siccing it on them, unleashing it to devastate the city center.  Instead of sympathetic, I found him disappointingly stock and kind of dumb.  It’s frustrating because I felt the base of a great character had been created but, ultimately, undermined by lazy dialogue.

Stitch writes: “Does the name Greg Z. Mean anything to you in the SGU world?  Since his vest is on eBay right now wanted to put face with name?”

Answer: Nope, sorry.  Never heard of him.  Most likely and extra.

Joan001 writes: “I’m enjoying the reruns and keep wondering what the “gang” is up to in the Pegasus Galaxy… Think it’s too late now for a movie?”

Answer: Sadly, yes.  Even if we could convince the entire cast to return (which would be quite a challenge given how Jason’s career has blown up post-SGA), we would have to face the even more daunting task of convincing the studio that an Atlantis movie would be a sound, financial move despite the fact that the show ended some four years ago.

Patricia Stewart-Bertrand writes: “Of all those people, once you get a green light for your next series, will you be recruiting some of them to come and work for you again?”

Answer: Yes, I joke about “getting the band back together” all the time.  Ideally, if we get the green light and do shoot in Vancouver, I’d like to work with as many Stargate vets as possible.

DP writes: “We have reason to believe that in your mind, where the series canon lives, Woolsey is in the Pegasus Galaxy right now. We’ll learn more about how that came about soon?”

Answer: In a future blog entry, I’ll discuss the script, Stargate: Extinction, what we had planned (more or less) for the movie and beyond.

David H writes: “I know it’s unlikely at this point, but was any thought ever given to trying to crowdfund the movies? Something like Kickstarter?”

Answer: If we, the producers, owned the rights to the franchise, then I can assure you we would have found a way to produce the movie.  The rights, alas, reside with the studio, MGM.

Tam Dixon writes: “Does Alex and Sara have room for you, Akemi and the pups?”

Answer: Oh, I’m sure they don’t.  But I’m sure they’d be willing to make room for time we’re there.  Like I said, we’ll only be in town for, at the most, five years.

dasndanger writes: ““Uh…nothing…nothing at all…though…umm, yeah…okay. Is that a squid?”

“Not exactly.””

Answer: Uh, yeah, thanks for that.  I’m having squid tonight for dinner.

Randomness writes: “Oh and Joe if you’re looking for another super long anime series…”

Answer: I much prefer the shorter (13-26 episode) series with a definitive end, like Cowboy Bebop or Now and Then, Here and There.  Any suggestions?

 

 

February 26, 2013: Gearing up? Days of Stargate Atlantis Past continues! Enemy at the Gate!

Look familiar?  Well, it should.  This is the massive VFX Stage at The Bridge Studios that once housed sections of Atlantis, the village set, various hive ships, and the Daedalus/Apollo/Odyssey/Korolev. Yesterday, Paul and I were joined by an old friend, former Stargate Producer/Production Manager John G. Lenic as we took a trip down memory lane, revisiting our old stomping grounds.  Once Upon A Time is now using Stage 4 (that once held the Destiny set), Stage 5 (the SGC gate room, control room, conference room, Hammond’s office, the infirmary, and surrounding corridors as well as the Alpha site corridors, control room, and gate room), and Stage 6 (the Atlantis gate room, control room, conference room, infirmary, and surrounding corridors) but there is plenty of stage space still available including the aforementioned monster VFX Stage.  While walking the grounds, we ran into a bunch of familiar faces – Ron, Graham, former Stargate Construction Coordinator Scott Wellenbrink, the gals in accounting. Earlier in the day, we’d paid a visit to Atmosphere Visual Effects where we spent some time with former Stargate VFX Supervisor Mark Savela and our former script coordinator Lawren Bancroft-Wilson.  Yep, just like old times.  Sort of.

And what, pray tell, were we doing reconnecting with our former colleagues?  Had we become wistful for times of yore and wanted to relive past memories?  Sure.  Let’s say that.  Also, our production partners on the shows we’ve been developing were in town and keen to see what Vancouver had to offer.  Just in case, say, we get that/those pick-ups.

My heart is with Vancouver and, given the choice, I would love to shoot here but, realistically, Toronto may make more financial sense.  At least, I suspect, until the ruling provincial liberal party gets booted from office this May (despite spending 11 million dollars for the rights to host the Indian equivalent of the Golden Globes).  Still, all options are on the table and being explored.  I hear that if we shoot in Germany, we’d get even more bang for our buck.  And there’s the added cost-effective bonus of being able to move in with our former colleagues – and recent newlyweds – Alex and Sarah while we’re there. I’m sure they’d love to host us – for the eight months to five years that the series will run!

Well, since we’re on the subject, what say we (almost) conclude our trips down SGA memory lane with the show’s final episode…

ENEMY AT THE GATE (520)

Five years, 100 episodes, and it all came down to a group farewell from the balcony of the City of Atlantis, overlooking San Francisco Bay. Originally, we had planned to land Atlantis off New York but my writing partner. Paul, vehemently objected on grounds of scale.  So we changed it to a west coast location.  And thus ended the series.  Although, if things had worked out differently, the trip to Earth would have just been a stop on their return journey back to the Pegasus Galaxy.  Oh, what fun we’d planned.  Well, more than planned.  We’d actually written a script.  But more on that in another blog entry.

After five seasons, Atlantis had come to an end but, unlike SG-1, it lacked a true sense of finality.  I mean, sure, that last shot of our heroes, all together, finally back on Earth worked as a series ender but that was never the intent.  By the time we got word of the cancelation, the finale was already in prep.  Still, I had no doubt we’d be given the opportunity to truly wrap things up with a movie that would return our heroes to Pegasus and, like the SG-1 finale, suggest that they were still out there and that their adventures continued.

To be honest, news of the cancellation came as a bit of shock.  I’ve already discussed the specifics in previous entries but, suffice it to say, up to a few days before receiving final word, various sources had informed me we WERE coming back for a sixth (and probably final) season.  The story that was eventually turned into the script, Stargate: Extinction, was originally slated to be the following season’s two-parter opener.  But, of course, things changed.

Paul and I found out, walked down the hall and broke the news to a disappointed Carl Binder, Martin Gero, and Alan McCullough, then headed down to the trailers were we informed the cast.  A sad day.

As for the this final episode, while, in hindsight, there were a few things I’d have done differently (ie. introduce the idea of the wormhole drive earlier in the season.  Ironically, it was it was originally conceived, not as a payoff in this episode, but in the “return journey” storyline) it nevertheless worked well in that it closed a chapter while opening the door to endless possibilities.

Tagged: Atlantis, Days of Stargate Atlantis Past, Enemy at the Gate, film & television, science fiction, scifi television, SF, SF television, SGA, Stargate: Atlantis

February 25, 2013: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews Hellboy II: The Golden Army!

Monster pleasantly surprised by first Hellboy so, of course, me expeckt less of de same from de sekwel becuz, after all, it be a sewkwel. Remember Hangover II?  Blues Brothers 2000?  Citizen Kane II: The Quickening?  But Hellboy II: The Golden Army out-surprise de first Hellboy.  It a movie wit even more heart, even more humor, even more spekatcular visual effekts – but also, at times, even more problems.

Big Red

Movie begin wit old professor telling young Hellboy legend of The Golden Army.  It go someting like dis:  Humans jerks so goblins build mekanical army for King of Elves who use it to kick ass.  Truce called and magik crown dat control army get broken into tree pieces.  Dis piss off young elf Prince Nuada who go into exile to sulk.

High five!

But he not sulk for long.  Mebbe only a few centuries.  And when a piece of de crown show up at auktion, he also show up to claim it – and sic creepy little flying “tooth fairy” creatures on everyone.  He den pay his dad, de King, a visit and kill him to get second piece of crown.  But his twin sister, Princess Nuala, run away wit final piece, spoiling brother’s plans.

It’s de wraith!  I mean de elves!

BPRD (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense) , not to be confused wit BURPED (Bureau for Underwater Paranormal Research and Defense), arrive on scene of auction massakre to investigate, get attacked, and outed.  Now everyone know Hellboy and co. really exist! Cool, no?  How will dis play out in rest of movie?  Oh, it not?  Den never mind.

Government upset, so send in new agent to join Hellboy and co.  DIS guy -

Krauss blow his top.

Johann Krauas be a steampunk German ectoplasmic medium wit attitude.  He be annoying at first but, over course of movie, monster really warm up to him.  In fakt, entire BPRD team – Hellboy, Liz, Abe, Johann, even Tom Manning (played by Jeffrey Tamborine) – be unique, interesting, very likable charakters.  So monster perplexed dat main villain, Prince Nuada, be so dull.  Oh, he very interesting to look at and his fight scenes be great but, at end of de day, he not be partikularly sympathetic or despicable.  He just a little bland.

BPRD visit Troll City where dey find Princess Nuala and bring her back to headquarters.  She flirt wit Abe Sapien who fall head over flippers in love wit her.  Despite being covered in prostetiks, aktor Doug Jones practically steal de movie, delivering terrifik performance as Abe (who could be love child of Fraiser’s Niles Crane and Creature from de Black Lagoon).  In one of movie’s highpoints, Abe and Hellboy bond, booze and brood over deir respektive relationships.  BUT fun time interrupted by Prince Nuada who track down his sister.  Becuz dey be twins, he able to locate her and comes close to finding final piece of magik crown hidden in a book -

When good guys show up.  Prince Nuada fight Hellboy, stick him wit point of magik spear, kidnap his sis and leave.

Broken spear point stuck in Hellboy.  He dying!  Liz, Hellboy and Abe – wit surprize help from Johann – steal plane and go get help.  Dey end up coming across monster who happen to want de spear point and happen to know someone who can get it out (yeah, yeah, me know, me know.  It be a stretch).  Our heroes pay visit to second cousin of creature from Pan’s Labyrinth -

Pan’s Labyrinth?  No.  Dat’s de other guy.

He remove spear point from Hellboy but warn dat, one day, Hellboy will destroy Earth.  But dat’s a story for another time…

Showdown!

Hellboy, Liz, Abe, and Johann track down Prince Nuada and sis.  Abe give up final piece of crown which allow Nuada to awaken Golden Army. Big fight ensue!  Our heroes about to get deir asses kicked when Hellboy challenge Nuada for de crown.  Dey duel.  Hellboy win!  Nuada a sore loser and about to get all stabby-stabby on Hellboy when Princess Nuala stab herself, mortally wounding both her and her brother.  Becuz dat’s what happens when you’re a twin.

Our heroes eskape.  Liz inform Hellboy dat he going to be a dad – of twins!  And Johann Krauss deliver best line of entire movie:

Verdikt: More heart, more humor, more spektacular visual effekts but weak villain and a few contrived moments.  Still, sooper entertaining. Me tink Abe deserve his own spin-off.  Or late night talk show.

Rating: 8 chocolate chippee cookies.

Tagged: BPRD, comic book movies, Comic Books, Comics, Cookie Monster, Cookie Monster movie reviews, Cookie Monster reviews Hellboy II: The Golden Army, film & television, Hellboy, Hellboy II, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, superhero movie reviews, superhero movies, superheroes

February 24, 2013: My review of dinner at Steve and Jodi’s!

Last night, Akemi and I attended a dinner hosted by our friends Steve and Jodi, a home cooked meal inspired by Steve’s Hungarian roots.  So, how did he do?  Here’s my review:

Lookit him go!!!

We arrived to find Steve hard at work, slaving over a hot stove.  There were a number of different dishes in play but he seemed calm and coordinated, moving effortlessly from pot to oven to slow cooker to the various plates lined up beside him.  This, I thought, was a good sign. He was prepared.  And, more importantly, was going to serve dinner at a reasonable hour.  There’s nothing I hate more than attending a dinner party where the meal is served a good one to two hours after the requested arrival time.  Not on this night, however.  I’m pleased to report that we were seated approximately fifteen minutes after our arrival.

The starter was a traditional Hungarian soup containing duck hearts and livers – and, oh yeah, carrots and such.  I’m not a huge soup fan but I was mightily impressed, not only with the tender components (Akemi couldn’t stop talking about the ultra-carroty carrots) and flavorful broth, but the tiny and delightfully toothsome Hungarian noodles.  I would have had a second bowl (a rarity!) but decided to pace myself.  There was a lot of eating ahead.

Our main course was, well, a bit of everything.  Slow-cooked tender beef goulash served over home made spaetzle, topped with sour cream. Tasty breaded, fried chicken livers that proved much more subtle than their calf counterparts.  Peas prepared in a thick roux.  And then rustic paprika-potato mash studded with marvelous smokey Hungarian sausage.  Fantastic.

At this point, we took a break so that Steve could open his belated birthday gift.  We got him a sampler from the Vancouver Olive Oil Company that included two types of olive oil, two flavored olive oils (garlic and harissa), and two balsamics (white peach and dark expresso).  On the box, Akemi had written: “Happy Deleted Birthday!”. Before leaving our place, she’d asked me what to write. I said: “Happy Belated Birthday”.  She started writing, got partway through and asked: “How do you spell delated?”.  ”Not delated,”I said.  ”BElated!”  ”You said delated!”she insisted.  I’m pretty sure I didn’t say delated but, since she’d already written the d and e, I suggested we salvage the message by going with “deleted” instead.

I’m sure it didn’t affect the taste of the olive oil.

Then, it was on to dessert…

An assortment of desserts from the old country compliments of Transylvania Flavour (and Steve who transported them home on his bike).  My favorite was the hazelnut pastry.

Also for dessert, Steve’s belated deleted birthday cake which we picked up from Thomas Haas Patisserie.  Rich!  Decadent!  A thing of beauty!

The post-dinner entertainment was supplied by Steve and Jodi’s three year old daughter, Gemma, who led us all in a marathon session of X-Box Kinect (until I feigned an injury and rode out the rest of the night on the couch).

Iron Chef Steve

Judge Jodi

Excellent food and excellent service.  Free parking available with their visitor parking pass.

Highly recommended.

February 23, 2013: Progress report and news of note!

The first, rough pass of my new pilot is complete.  And, as expected, it’s a  little long, even by cable script standards.  It presently sits at 65 robust pages but I’m sure I can get it down to a respectable 62(ish) by week’s end.  Normally, I just send it my writing partner’s way and have him do his pass, but I’m considering breaking with tradition and sending it to a few other trusted critics as well.  I’ll get their input and address the notes after which I’ll send the script to my agent who will, in turn, set it up somewhere.  We’ll do five seasons of the series, endlessly discuss the possibility of a movie that will never come to fruition, then I’ll retire early to divide time between my Tokyo food trips and running my school for wayward pugs and french bulldogs. Sounds like a plan, no?

It’s been a while.  Let’s get caught up on all the news you need to know:

Hey, look at what hit the shelves earlier this week.  And the rest:

It’s the Rich Horton-edited superhero-themed anthology featuring stories from Kelly Link, Peter S. Beagle, and yours truly.  ”Downfall”, which made it’s debut in the Masked anthology, edited by my buddy Lou Anders, finds second life in this collection.  Order it here: Superheroes.  Early reviews are promising: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/features/superheroes-once-more-feeling/

If alien truly are out there, why haven’t they made contact yet?  Well, here’s why: 5 Insane Theories About Why We Haven’t Discovered Alien Life  I’m going with a variation of #3: We’re just not all that interesting.

Montana TV station issues bogus emergency zombie alert (VIDEO) | The Lookout – Yahoo! News Canada

People actually took it seriously?  Well, you would too if you read this article: 5 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Apocalypse Could Actually Happen

Nielsen Ratings To Add TV Watching Via Broadband  Everyone else welcomes Nielsen to the 21st century.

No!  Not Nintendo Cereal System! http://www.buzzfeed.com/h2/shfke/briangalindo/25-cereals-from-the-80s-you-will-never-eat-again

Ooh, look what’s back:

February 22, 2013: Progress report! Days of Stargate Atlantis Past continues with…Vegas!

Huzzah!  A big 13 page writing day now puts me on P. 51 of my new pilot.  And, potentially, a little too long.  My ballpark breakdown has been pretty spot-on so far and, if my powers of prognostication hold true, the rough first draft is going to clock in at a robust 64 pages.  I think it’s a lot of fun but my colorful supporting character risks overshadowing my protagonist.  That’s something I’m going to have to address on my next pass.

Days of Stargate Atlantis past continues with…

VEGAS (519)

Robert Cooper coined the term “shepisodes” for these John-centered entries, and this is one of my favorites, an oh-so-different AU story that follows detective John Sheppard in his hunt for a serial killing alien.

The working title was CSI: Atlantis and, given its procedural trappings and colorful eye candy Vegas location, it’s no wonder.  Rob does a terrific job writing, directing and producing one of the high points of Atlantis’s fifth and final seasons, with memorable performances by all involved.  Joe Flanigan is perfect as the washed up detective with nothing to lose while David Hewlett delivers a what-might-have-been version of his character who is, at heart, very clearly, very much Rodney.

Great guest-performances led by Neil Jackson as the wraith-out-of-water.  And there’s even a nod to Stark Trek: The Experience compliments of actor Robert Picardo who added the inside gag while shooting.

Everyone on the production who didn’t get to go to Vegas to shoot was, of course, jealous of everyone who did.  I figured everyone had learned their lesson, so I was surprised that the next series, SGU was set on a spaceship flying through some distant galaxy.  I thought we’d all agreed on Stargate: Hawaii!

While we were shooting Atlantis’s final episodes, fans were fighting to save the series.

Sheppard’s sweet ride

It looks better without the bullet holes.

To: Das.  Love: Wraith.  The incredible Neil Jackson

A couple of Sopranos alums guest star: Frank Vincent and Steve Schirripa.  Both were stand up guys.

Also putting in cameos: the late Joel Goldsmith (left) and former MGM Senior Executive VP and huge Stargate supporter Charlie Cohen (middle).

Director Robert Cooper demonstrates sleight of hand, setting up a shot and skimming some poker winnings.

John Sheppard, P.I.

Tagged: Atlantis, Days of Stargate Atlantis Past, film & television, science fiction, scifi television, SF television, SGA, Stargate, Stargate: Atlantis, Vegas

February 21, 2013: Bubba, business, and books!

No wonder Bubba was having trouble chewing.  He went in for his dental today and ended up having seven teeth removed!  Him and Jelly now have roughly a half dozen teeth between them.  I’m going to suggest Akemi start chewing their dog food for them like a mother bird.

Goofballs! Goooofbaaalls!

Well, he’s all hopped up on goofballs and hopefully feeling no pain. And, on the bright side, his appetite appears to be back.  I’ll, of course, be taking it easy on him for the next week or so while he recovers. That means early wake-ups, no long walks, and absolutely no dogsercise classes for him.

Akemi is in a bit of a culinary rut.  She didn’t love the 72 hour sous vide short rib we made the other night.  Then, last night, the oven broke and she couldn’t make her tarte tatin.  Then, tonight, she declared her pork dumplings a disaster, insisting they tasted weird…”like lamb”.  As a result, she’s told me she’ll never cook dinner again.  Which could be a problem because I really do like her mapo tofu.  I told her to relax.  Don’t despair.  Not like this terminally worried-looking little guy we met at the farmer’s market last weekend -

As for me – nope, not worried at all.  Until, of course, those deadlines rear up.  For now, Paul and I await word on the second draft of the urban fantasy series (they’re still talking about shooting the pilot this spring), the first draft of the SF series we’ve set up (this one seems imminent – but who knows?), and the horror script (if it’s a go, we’re going to need to find a director).   That “scifi project based on an existing literary property” has garnered a lot of interest and I expect we’ll be starting work on the pilot very soon.  We’ve also got an early morning conference call scheduled tomorrow to discuss our potential involvement in another miniseries.  I honestly don’t know if we’ll have the time but Paul is optimistic.  Other than that, my cable drama pilot is progressing nicely.  Another seven pages today puts me at the 37 page mark.  Still aiming to have a solid first draft under my belt by next week.

Oh yeah, speaking of literary properties, I happened to be downtown this afternoon and decided to meet up with Akemi after her class.  And what better meeting place than the local bookstore?  I hung around, waited for her, browsed – and, ultimately, couldn’t help myself:

    

I’m in the mood for a little fiction.

February 20, 2013: Seriously? Seriously? Yeah, apparently so!

Well, that’s just fine.  Great.  Just great.  On the one hand, I hit the 26 page mark of my script (At this rate, I should have a solid first draft by next week!).  On the other hand, my oven is broken.  Okay, to be fair, it’s not totally broken.  The clock still works and it certainly beeps whenever I hit “cancel”.  Beyond that, it simply refuses to bake, roast or broil.

As Akemi pointed out, an oven is one of those things you don’t realize how much you need until it’s gone.  Sort of like a students loan or one of those corpse-burying shovels.

Not to worry though.  I contacted Maytag and they’re sending someone over right away.

Next Thursday.

Poor Bubba.  He hasn’t been his usual voracious self at meal time.  We suspect one of two possibilities: 1. He suffering some sort of tooth infection like the one he had this same time last year.  2. He’s depressed because Akemi is making Jelly and Lulu all sorts of stylish outfits while he is left to make do with his natural fur coat.  Apparently, the problem isn’t a matter of Akemi not wanting to make something nice for Bubba but more a case of Bubba being too damn fat for the patterns she found online.  In a bid to cheer him up, she winged it and made him the following outfit:

Which, quite frankly, makes him look like an escaped mental patient.

Just in case though, we’ve booked him for a dental cleaning tomorrow morning.  Send positive thoughts his way, please.  He’s a nervous patient!

Okay.  After lengthy consideration, I’ve decided to hold on to the house for the time being.  Or at least until this summer.  Or until I have to move for work.

ALSO – got my car inspected and am finally going to sell it!

Sometime soon!

February 19, 2013: Days of Stargate Atlantis Past Continues! Identity!

So, while Akemi’s been busy making outfits for the dogs (see above), I’ve been busy working on that female protagonist-driven drama series I mentioned the other week.  My research is almost complete.  I’ve hammered out a solid outline, and I started writing the script yesterday.  So far, so good.  But before I can declare smoooooth sailing, there are some details that still need working out – the type of details that require the proper information – the proper information that, for some reason, isn’t readily available online.  Seriously.  I can find those annoying Harlem Shake videos without even looking for them, yet can’t find specific information pertaining to the inner workings of the Witness Protection Program and the obligations of federal witnesses in the event of a re-trial.  Anybody?  Anybody at all? Or, better yet, anyone happen to be related to, or friends with, a U.S. Federal Marshal?  Hook me up!

Only a handful of episodes left!  Days of Stargate Atlantis Past continues with…

IDENTITY (518)

Keller on the woods and on the run?  This must be a Carl Binder script! A lot of fun in this one with stabbings, planned executions, and even a cameo from Carl himself (as Jennifer’s proud dad in a graduation photo briefly glimpsed).

At this point in the series, it seemed like every episode would engender some sort of controversy whether it was the McKay-Keller relationship (Brain Storm), the Atlantis expedition’s defense of their actions in the Pegasus Galaxy (Inquisition), the bittersweet passing of a colorful antagonist (The Prodigal) or, in the case of this episode, the shooting of a local executioner.  You know the scene: Keller, having been sentenced to death, is trundled off and forced to lay her head down on a tree stump.  The executioner raises his axe to deliver the death blow when – BLAM! – he gets shot and goes down.  Sheppard and co. charge out of the brush and rescue Keller.  There were some fans who were outraged by the seemingly cold-blooded killing of the axe-wielding local.  ”But he was about to decapitate Keller,”I couldn’t help but point out.  ”So what?”was the uniform response.  ”He was just doing his job!” Er, I suppose you COULD look at it that way…

So THAT’S what they’re looking at on those big screens.  And here I thought it was old episodes of Gilligan’s Island.

Get your tickets to the gun show!

Paul McGillion and Dawn Olivieri best of buddies.

Until Dawn feels she’s being upstaged.

Jason Momoa always had a way of making everyone feel welcome on set.

But after a while, the guitar playing can get on your nerves.

And so can complaining about it.

Tagged: Atlantis, Days of Stargate Atlantis Past, Identity, science fiction, SF television scifi television, SGA, Stargate, Stargate: Atlantis

February 18, 2013: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews Hancock!

Monster not professional writer so not in position to offer advice to whoever wrote dis movie, but me can’t help but feel it obviously a bad idea to change direktion and tone of a skript one hour into its 90 minute running time.  Which be de case wit Hancock.

Will Smith channeling Grover for dis performance.

We introduced to our anti-hero, Hancock.  Drunk, dirty, belligerent, and dangerously clumsy, he reminiscent of Grover when he dated Paris Hilton back in summer of 2007.  Hancock try to do good – stopping crime, saving bystanders – but just can’t seem to get it right.  As a result, public consider him a super-nuisance.  Like viral meme spam, alien scabies, and Donald Trump.

Monster recommend car reps for building strong shoulders.

BUT tings change for Hancock when he save Ray, a PR guy, from getting wiped out by train.  Ray decide Hancock need an image makeover and convince him to start taking responsibility for his aktions.  Hancock make public apology, spend some time in prison and, eventually, redeem himself by stopping crazy bank heist and saving cops and hostages.  He even get new leather outfit for aktion purposes (also reminiscent of Grover in summer of 2007).

New and improved Hancock

It all make for fun viewing.  At which point, for some reason, scripwriters decide dey be tired of dis story and want to make whole other movie.  Cue bizarre late twist dat reveal Ray’s wife, Mary, be a superhero too!

Superlover quarrel.

Hancock and Mary fight.  Why?  Uh…becuz dey have bad tempers? Anyway, it all look very cool as dey tear up city and just happen to land outside hubby Ray’s office building so he can (conveniently) find out de truth about his wife.  She and Hancock former lovers but Hancock not remember becuz he have amnesia.  But dey separated becuz if dey stay together, dey lose deir superpowers.  Which beg de qwestion: If dat de case, why Mary living in de same city?  Why not live on other side of world just to be safe?  Monster hear Japan very nice.

Becuz Hancock hanging around Mary, he no longer invulnerable and get shot.  He rushed to hospital.  Despite fakt dat being together make dem weaker, Mary rush to hospital to see him – at which point vengeful bad guys show up and shoot de place up, hitting her.  Hancock fight bad guys while Mary slowly dying – along wit comedic vestiges of first part of movie.  Hancock beat bad guys and flee hospital – which allow Mary to regain her strength, survive, and get her powers back.

Happy ending for everyone!  Except monster and movie-viewing publik.

Verdikt: (First hour = 8 chocolate chippee cookies) + (Last 30 minutes = 4 chocolate chippee cookies) divided by 2 + (2 for great performances by all leads) – (1 for annoying kid charakter) =

Rating: 7 chocolate chippee cookies.

Tagged: Cookie Monster film reviews, Cookie Monster movie reviews, Cookie Monster reviews Hancock, Hancock, superhero movies, superheroes, SuperMovie of the Week Club