Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 201

April 15, 2020: Dark Matter rewatch! No puppet show! Gardening! And Dalgona coffee!

Miss Dark Matter?  Looking to interact with fans, cast, and crew of the show? Well maybe the upcoming Dark Matter rewatches are for you.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, April 16th) at 3 pm ET/noon PT (check your local times!) actress Melanie Liburd leads a rewatch of her chosen episode, We Should Have Seen This Coming (Episode 206).  Join us for our communal rewatch and live tweet.  And then, once the episode ends, head on over to Melanie’s instagram for a live Q&A with Melanie and Melissa O’Neil.

Melanie Liburd on twitter: @melanieliburd

Melissa O’Neil on twitter: @Mel13Oneil

Melanie Liburd on instagram: @melanieliburd

Melissa O’Neil on instagram: @missoneil

Then, on Friday April 17th at 3 pm ET/noon PT (check your local listings), Melissa O’Neil leads our rewatch of the explosive season 2 finale, But First We Save The Galaxy, with director Ron Murphy.

Ron Murphy on twitter: @centralfiction1

Ron Murphy on instagram: @fakeronmurphy

Ready?!

Came across this throwback pic of our very first date at Tokyo’s Michel Troisgros (pictured with Chef Lionel Beccat, now at the helm of his own tremendous restaurant, Esquisse).  How happy she looked!

Akemi claims she was probably disappointed because she was expecting the promised puppet show that never materialized.  Apparently, back then, I had – in my broken Japanese – asked her out for dinner and informed her we had reservations for 6:30.  But rather than using the term “yoyaku” (reservations) I’d said “yokyo” (stage show/pre-party).  When I’d first used the term, Akemi had asked her mother what the hell I was referring to and her mother, quite impressed, informed her that many of the high-end restaurants put on these special pre-dinner performances for their guests.

Sadly, in the end, there was no performance.  No puppet show.  Just dinner with me.

Akemi’s burgeoning herb garden.

The planter she ordered and spent the morning assembling on our balcony.

The first sprout from Akemi’s tomato seed!  She’s named him Freedo!

Hey, check it out!  Akemi made Dalgona coffeee today, that Korean-style coffee that has been all over the internet lately.  It’s milk topped with whipped instant coffee, sugar, and hot water.

So, what was the verdict?

 

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The Forgotten Dark Matter Spinoff!

Well, forgotten by me until this morning when I recalled –

That halfway through Dark Matter’s second season, I was asked to come up with an idea for a potential spinoff.  And although it, sadly, didn’t get past that initial pitch stage, at the time I’d imagined a scenario where we would start prep as season 2 was winding down, then roll right into production on the spinoff right after Dark Matter wrapped.

Alas, it was not to be, but for a while there, I was very excited at the prospect of working on two productions in the same franchise – sort of like the old days of Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate: Atlantis.

Anyway, this was the preliminary pitch…

How do you track and take down the most infamous mercenaries in the galaxy?

By hiring a team of even more infamous mercenaries for the job.

After the crew of the Raza heist the Blink Drive, key to victory in a long-disputed interplanetary war, Emperor Ryo Ishida assembles a crew of the galaxy’s toughest mercs to get it back – and exact a little revenge.

Led by the fearsome, sword-wielding Misaki Han, Commander of the Ishida Royal Guard, the new team is made up of some familiar faces, fugitives from a parallel reality:

Portia Lin – TWO’s deadly alter-ego.

Marcus Boone – THREE’s renegade counterpart.

Wexler – The smarmy, freewheeling opportunist.

Tash – A kick-ass pirate, pilot, and brutal persuader.

Havelock – The youngest member of the crew but the most dangerous, his mind and body a mix of bio-mass and cyber-tech.

Over the course of Dark Matter’s second season, this team of darkside bounty hunters will pursue the Raza and, eventually catching up with our anti-heroes in the second season finale.  They’ll succeed in taking the Blink Drive and uplinking it to their own ship.  But, in the ensuing clash, their drive is damaged and an attempt to use it results in disastrous consequences.

The Blink Drive punches a hole through spacetime, and the crew is transported to an alternate universe where Earth and its colonies have been enslaved by a race of militaristic aliens.

Two young rebels cross paths with our crew, hitching a ride and guiding them, despite their initial reluctance, on a road to redemption.

Now, humanity’s last hope rests with a team of deadly mercenaries.

They’re fierce, destructive and completely ruthless.

Exactly what humanity needs.

***
A reminder that we have not one but TWO Dark Matter rewatches this week!
Thursday, we’ll be joined by Melanie Liburd and Melissa O’Neil for a rewatch of Episode 206, We Should Have Seen This Coming.
And Friday, Melissa O’Neil and director Ron Murphy will be on hand for a rewatch of Episode 301, Being Better Is So Much Harder OR Episode 213, But First We Save The Galaxy.

The post The Forgotten Dark Matter Spinoff! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.

April 13, 2020: Two more Dark Matter rewatch announcements! And mom’s taralli recipe!

Another week brings another round of Dark Matter rewatches!

Thursday, April 16th, actress Melanie Liburd (NYX) will be leading our rewatch of Dark Matter Episode 206, We Should Have Seen This Coming, starting at 3 p.m. ET, noon PT (Please check the times in your area).  Following our live tweet, we’ll be heading over to Instagram for a Live Q&A with Melanie as well as actress Melissa O’Neil (TWO/Portia).

Then on Friday, April 17th, at 3 p.m. ET, noon PT (check your local times!) Melissa O’Neil returns to lead our rewatch of Dark Matter Episode 301, Being Better Is So Much Harder.  After the live tweet, we’ll be hiding over to Instagram where Melissa will be fielding your questions, along with special guest – director Ron Murphy.

Today, I leave you with mom’s taralli recipe:

The post April 13, 2020: Two more Dark Matter rewatch announcements! And mom’s taralli recipe! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.

April 12, 2020: Suji Sunday!

Brace for impact!

That after-nap snack.

Wait!  Did I leave the stove on?

Settling down for the first of several afternoon power naps.

Apple snack time with Suji…

The post April 12, 2020: Suji Sunday! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.

April 11, 2020: Your Time Loop Episode Reference List

Since several of you asked, this is a list of the time loop-themed television episodes (or time travel episodes that play with a similar theme) that I watched in preparation for writing Dark Matter’s All the Time in the World:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Life Serial

Star Trek: The Next Generation – Cause and Effect

Stargate: SG-1 – Window of Opportunity

The X-Files – Monday

Angel – Time Bomb

Lois and Clark – Twas the Night Before Christmas

Smallville – Reckoning

Lost – Flashes Before Your Eyes

Dr. Who – Father’s Day, Meglos, Heaven Sent, Carnival of Monsters, Image of Fendahl, Invasion of Time, The Armageddon Factor, The Claws of Axos

Person of Interest – If Then Else

Vampire Diaries – Hell Is Other People

Sealab 2021 – Lost in Time

The Twilight Zone – Death Ship, Shadow Play

Eureka – I Do Over

Sapphire & Steel – The Trap

Supernatural – Mystery Spot

Blood Ties – 5:55

The Outer Limits – Deja Vu, The Refuge

Red Dwarf – White Hole

South Park – Cancelled, Go God Go XII

Fringe – White Tulip

Stargate: Universe – Time

Charmed – Deja Vu All Over Again

Andromeda – What Goes Around

Dead Zone – Deja Voodoo

Farscape – Back and Back and Back to the Future

Painkiller Jane – Playback

Star Trek: Enterprise – Future Tense

Futurama – Meanwhile, The Late Philip J. Fry

Xena – Been There, Done That

Star Trek: Voyager – Coda

How many of the afore-mentioned 44 have you seen and which were your favorites?

The post April 11, 2020: Your Time Loop Episode Reference List appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.

Welcome to my Time Loop Episode MasterClass

I’ve always been a huge fan of time travel, and especially time loop stories.  One of the very first episodes I wrote for Stargate, with my former writing partner Paul Mullie, was Window of Opportunity, a time loop episode that consistently ranks as Stargate fandom’s all-time favorite episode (a huge achievement when you consider the franchise produced close to 350 episodes of television).  Almost two decades later, in the final season of Dark Matter, I wrote a time loop episode that now  ranks as that fandom’s favorite Dark Matter episode of all time.  



I believe that the huge appeal of the time loop story is the notion of cyclical familiarity – and the ways these familiar elements can be altered or reset.  In a macro sense, this parallels the successfully formula of most procedurals.  Take House, for example.  Every episode,  the team is presented with a mysterious ailment.  As the various story and character elements play out over the course of the episode, the medical issue is investigated and various potential treatments proposed.  Inevitably, late in the episode, the team has a breakthrough and the actual solution to the problem becomes evident.  Except – they’re wrong.  And this is something House realizes late in the final act, coming up with the REAL actual solution in the show’s closing minutes, saving the day.  A lot of other shit happens over the course of the episode of course, much of it unrelated to that medical issue, but that medical issue forms the foundational structure of the narrative.  It’s what everything else hangs off of.
 
So, for starters, let’s look at structure.  What is the issue at the heart of the story that can be explored?  In Run Lola Run, one of the greatest time loop movies, the issue is her attempt to reach her boyfriend before he gets himself killed in a robbery.  In the X-Files time loop episode, Monday, it’s Mulder’s attempt to thwart a bank robber from setting off a bomb, killing him and Scully in the process.  In Star Trek: Next Gen’s Cause and Effect, it’s the crew’s attempts to avoid a deadly encounter that results in a core shutdown and the destruction of the Enterprise.  The stakes are BIG and in order to sustain a time loop episode through its 45(ish) minute runtime (to say nothing of  a multi-episode season), you’re going to need BIG STAKES.


 
There’s always a mystery at the heart of the loop.  Ultimately, by discovering the reason for or means to the time loop, one is able to send the action spiraling off in a delightfully unexpected direction.  In Supernatural’s Mystery Spot, the Winchester brothers are caught in a time loop and, after numerous attempts, eventually discover that a trickster is behind their predicament.  This realization, and the ensuing conflict, sends the story off in a totally different direction.  In Dark Matter, the crew discovers the device responsible for the loop but, in attempting to end the loop, the Android is propelled through time and experiences glimpses of potential futures.  My point is you want to seed a mystery related to the time loop early, spend the bulk of your episode developing that mystery and progressing an investigation, then pay off the eventual revelation in satisfactory time-themed fashion.  


 
The time loop-themed series Day Break focused on a detective who is framed for murder.  He exploits the time loop to uncover the identity of the real murderer and find out why someone set him up.  More recently, in Russian Doll, our protagonist is caught in a time loop that always ends in her death.  She uses the loop to figure out what the hell is going on.  I think that, in a perfect world (and episode) you want to exploit both – the BIG STAKES issue as well as the BIG MYSTERY related to the loop.  When done right, those two seemingly unconnected tracks will intersect multiple times before ultimately dovetailing at the end of hour story.


 
One of the reasons time loop episodes are the most popular of most genre shows is their inherent potential for humor.  Even amidst the continuous death, there’s that undercurrent of dark humor that permeates the whole (Happy Death Day is a good example in the feature world).  While I’m not saying it should be a comedy like Groundhog Day, there should be opportunities for humor.


 
One of the first BIG episodes of one hour live action television I ever wrote was that Stargate time loop episode.  Some 17 years later, when it came time to write the Dark Matter time loop episode, I prepared myself by watching two dozen time loop episodes of various t.v. shows, a half dozen time loop movies, and assorted time loop stories and books.  The aim was to distill the formula but, in so doing, come up with a unique spin on what has become a beloved sci-fi chestnut.  You have to ask yourself:   What makes THIS time loop episode unique?  



In distilling the formula of a time loop story, you can readily identify key elements that appear in almost every version, tropes that can – in some instances – be subverted to the delight of most genre-savvy viewers :
 
In television, the opening tease always concludes with a colossal Holy Shit moment (the Enterprise is destroyed, Mulder and Scully are shot and killed) or the completion of an initial loop, establishing the story conceit from the get-go.
 
Our protagonist lives the loops long enough to realize what is happening (while establishing a string of repetitive beats for the viewer which can be twisted and turned in future loops).  
 
Our protagonist must attempt to convince others what is happening to them (as they are ALL caught in the loop but, for some reason, only our protagonist is aware).  These attempts at an explanation build, as does our protagonist’s frustration with his inability to convince the others until – by some some stroke of unexpected brilliance – the solution presents itself.
 
Inevitably, multiple characters become cognizant of the fact that they are trapped in the loop.
 
The means by which the loop is initiated should never feel cumbersome.  Ideally, the device (and I don’t necessarily mean a literal device or instrument) that initiates the loop shouldn’t be readily obvious or, if it is, should be hidden in plain sight.  Don’t front load exposition.  Make the discovery a natural progression of the story, part of the investigative pursuit that sees our characters putting the pieces together with each subsequent loop.  It’s always more rewarding for viewers to be on the journey with our characters rather than one or two steps ahead, waiting for them to catch up.  



A fairly obvious rule but if you characters loop, they go back to Step 1, Day 1. They may have the memories of their experience, but they wouldn’t carry over any physical consequences of their actions because they are, in essence, rebooting. This is a fundamental law of theoretical time looping.    I remember having someone pitch me an idea for a time loop series that involved our protagonist ending one loop by shooting himself in the head.  He awakens at the start of yet another loop, but his mind has been damaged by the bullet that killed him in the previous loop.  “What bullet?”I asked.  “The bullet from before,”I was told.  I explained the theoretical impossibility given that time had reset and that when time resets, EVERYTHING resets, including your physical form.  There would be no residual damage from a bullet wound that never happened.  To which he replied: “I always felt rules were meant to be broken.”
 
In most time loop stories, time – “in general” – loops.  At the end of Groundhog Day, our characters leave and return to the big city where they presumably pick up their lives, uninterrupted, because the rest of the world was caught in the loop as well.  But there are rare exceptions where the time loops within a temporal bubble (ie Stargate’s Window of Opportunity is an example).




Progression is made on various levels.  In a practical sense, this could be a skill. In Groundhog Day, Bill Murray’s character learns to play the piano.  In Dark Matter, THREE learns to speak French (which becomes his means of convincing the others that what he is telling them about the time loop is true).  In Stargate, O’Neil and Teal’c learn science in order to solve the loop.  In a best case scenario, whatever skill your trapped protagonist learns pays off in some (preferably unexpected) way.  In a more emotional sense, this progression could be related to character and relationship.  Again, back to Groundhog Day, Bill Murray’s character finds a way to make Andie McDowell’s character fall in love with him, first by exploiting the time loop, but ultimately coming to a personal revelation about himself which culminates in the establishment of a sincere bond between the two characters.  This emotional epiphany is at the heart of most any well-executed time loop episode.  The beauty of the time loop is that, on the surface, it may seem like endless repetition but, in reality, it offers our characters the means by which to grow, personally and in their relationships.


 
So concludes my Time Loop Episode Masterclass.  Thanks for attending.

The post Welcome to my Time Loop Episode MasterClass appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.

April 9, 2020: Today’s Dark Matter rewatch is Episode 10! With special guest stars Marc Bendavid and director John Stead!

Alright, Dark Matter fans, here we go again!

Join fans around the world as we watch and live tweet Dark Matter Episode 10 with actor Marc Bendavid, John Stead, and yours truly.  We’ll be kicking things off at 3 ET! Please double check the time in your area.

So, here’s a detailed breakdown of how it’s going to work.  Everything you need to know about how to take part.

STEP #1: Sign up for a twitter account and make sure to follow me @BaronDestructo, @marcbendavid, and @SouthCampFilms.

STEP #2: Sign up for an instagram account and make sure to follow @marcbendavid  and @southcampfilms.  [Note: If you’re using a desktop/laptop version of Chrome, you’ll need to download the Instagram Story extension.  – Thanks to Don R. Bell for this tip]

STEP #3: Cue up Dark Matter Episode 10, whether you’re watching it on dvd, Netflix, Amazon Prime, or other means.

STEP #4: Make sure you’re following me on twitter.  Keep an eye out because at the appointed time (3:00 p.m. ET) I’ll tweet GO! which is your signal to press play.

STEP #5: Watch and tweet, engage with Marc, John, me, and Dark Matter fans around the world.  For first time tweeters, just hit this icon at the bottom left of your screen –

And then write a message in the pop-up box (making sure not to go over the 240 character limit).  Hit SEND and you’re done!

Please include the hashtag #DarkMatter in all of your messages so we can find your tweets.

STEP #6: Once the episode is over, head on over to Marc Bendavid’s instagram page. Once you see his icon on the left hand top of the page indicate he has gone live (you’ll see the word LIVE) OR if you see an icon indicating he has gone live (you’ll see the word LIVE) just click on his face and you’ll be transported to a live videostream of Marc and John.  They’ll be answering your questions for about 30-45 minutes.

STEP #7: There is no step 7.  We’re done.  But prepare to do it all over again next when I have a few more Dark Matter guests lined up for a rewatch or two!

The post April 9, 2020: Today’s Dark Matter rewatch is Episode 10! With special guest stars Marc Bendavid and director John Stead! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.

April 8, 2020: Tomorrow’s rewatch! Today’s comfort foods!

Alright, Dark Matter fans – ready for another rewatch?

Tomorrow at 3 pm ET (check your local times!), join actor Marc Bendavid (ONE/Derrick Moss), director John Stead, and yours truly for a rewatch of Dark Matter Episode 10.  Allow me to jog your memory…

One of my very favorites.

We’ll follow up our rewatch and live tweet with an InstaLive Q&A with Marc and John.  So save the date!

Came across this video today on comfort foods from around the world…

I’ve had 15 of 20, and have enjoyed almost all (still on the fence about marmite).

So, what’s YOUR favorite comfort food?

Someone asked me online and I had a hard time answering.  Chocolate is, of course, top of the list, but you can’t really make a meal of chocolate.  For any extended period of time.  I do love pizza and sushi, but fried chicken is my guilty pleasure.  So let’s go with that.  For now.

Hey, gardeners, Akemi and I will be starting our own modest balcony gardens soon.  What do you recommend growing?

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April 7, 2020: More Dark Matter fun! Pizza Party! And, yes, pants!

Those of you who caught yesterday’s Dark Matter rewatch, live tweet, and Insta Live session were treated to a terrific Q&A with actress Zoie Palmer and Co-Executive Producer Ivon Bartok who offered some wonderful insight into their days on the show.

Thursday, we get to do it all over again when we’ll be joined by actor Marc Bendavid (ONE) and director John Stead for a rewatch of Dark Matter Episode 10. You know, the one with the heist, that other merc, and that WTF ending?  We convene at 3 pm ET. (check your local times). Clear your schedules!

So, how are you all doing?  How are you spending your days?  I’m sure I’m spending them in similar fashion – staying indoors, watching old episodes of 30 Rock, and eating enough supplements that they can, in their daily entirety, be considered a full other meal.  And, of course, working.  Ish.  I have notes on implement on a couple of projects.  A new project to totally restructure.  And a zoom call tonight to discuss that small town mystery pilot.  And, yes, before you ask, I WILL be wearing pants.

Akemi has been all sorts of inspired since the lockdown.  Today, she made pizza!

Curiously, this is the second time she’s made pizza.  And on both days she made pizza, coincidentally, back in Montreal, mom made pizza –

What are the chances?

So, what inspired culinary creations have you served up over the last few weeks?

Do tell.

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April 6, 2020: Today, we rewatch Episode 205, We Voted Not To Space You, with actress Zoie Palmer and Co-Executive Ivon Bartok!

Today’s the day!  Join fans around the world as we watch and live tweet Dark Matter Episode 205, “We Voted Not To Space You” with actress Zoie Palmer, Co-Executive Ivon Bartok, and yours truly.  We’ll be kicking things off at 3 ET! Please double check the time in your area.

So, here’s a detailed breakdown of how it’s going to work.  Everything you need to know about how to take part.

STEP #1: Sign up for a twitter account and make sure to follow me @BaronDestructo, @ZoiePalmer, and Ivon Bartok.

STEP #2: Sign up for an instagram account and make sure to follow @zoiepalmerzeeeps  and @ivonbtok.  [Note: If you’re using a desktop/laptop version of Chrome, you’ll need to download the Instagram Story extension.  – Thanks to Don R. Bell for this tip]

STEP #3: Cue up Dark Matter Episode 205, We Voted Not To Space You, whether you’re watching it on dvd, Netflix, Amazon Prime, or other means.

STEP #4: Make sure you’re following me on twitter.  Keep an eye out because at the appointed time (3:00 p.m. ET) I’ll tweet GO! which is your signal to press play.

STEP #5: Watch and tweet, engage with Zoie, Ivon, me, and Dark Matter fans around the world.  For first time tweeters, just hit this icon at the bottom left of your screen –

And then write a message in the pop-up box (making sure not to go over the 240 character limit).  Hit SEND and you’re done!

Please include the hashtag #DarkMatter in all of your messages so we can find your tweets.

STEP #6: Once the episode is over, head on over to Zoie Palmer’s instagram page.  Once you see her icon on the left hand top of the page indicate she has gone live (you’ll see the word LIVE) OR if you see an icon indicating she has gone live (you’ll see the word LIVE) just click her face and you’ll be transported to a live videostream of Zoie and Ivon (hopefully, if this works).  They’ll be answering your questions for about 30-45 minutes.

STEP #7: There is no step 7.  We’re done.  But prepare to do it all over again Thursday with actor Marc Bendavid and Director John Stead when we rewatch Episode 10!

[Thanks to Tom Gardiner for the movie poster and gif.  And thanks to @TeamRazaEurope for the graphic]

The post April 6, 2020: Today, we rewatch Episode 205, We Voted Not To Space You, with actress Zoie Palmer and Co-Executive Ivon Bartok! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.