Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 281

March 1, 2018: Stargate news and revving up for tomorrow’s revive rehearsal!

Hey, speak of the devil!

Former (and future?) Stargate television series co-creator/writer/showrunner Robert C. Cooper casts his upcoming miniseries.  Joining him on Unspeakable, none other than fellow Stargate alum Michael Shanks –

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sarah-wayne-callies-michael-shanks-join-tainted-blood-scandal-miniseries-unspeakable-1089817

Also on board for Unspeakable is former Stargate writer-Executive Producer Carl “The Truth” Binder –

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(Carl Binder – file photo)

Meanwhile, former SGU veteran Brian J. Smith scores yet another gig:

‘L.A. Confidential’: Brian J. Smith To Star In CBS Drama Pilot

Congratulations, all!

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Who’s ready for tomorrow #DriveToRevive rehearsal tweet-storm?  This is a great opportunity for first-timers to get a lay of the land while allowing veteran tweeters an opportunity to shake off the rust.  We’re laying down the hammer at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. pacific.

A rulers refresher:

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Otherwise feel free to bring your friends and wear whatever you like.  There is no dress code!

I’ve already got my outfit picked out…

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“If you could go back in time and change anything about your “Stargate” career, what would you change and why? (Bonus points for detailing your method of time travel.)”  Learn my answer to this question and many more (well, nine more) here:

10 Questions with Joseph Mallozzi

Now, I have a question for fandom: You’re about to blast off on an intergalactic mission and are permitted to bring along 5 episodes from the entire Stargate franchise to kill time between here and BoRG-58.  Which 5 episodes are you choosing and why?

Finally, one of the questions I’m most often asked by Stargate fans is: “What is the message hidden in the cosmic microwave background radiation?  What was the universe trying to tell us?”  Well, okay.  Here it is, but don’t tell Brad I told you…

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February 28, 2018: The Stargate Initiative Gaining Steam and Best Comic Book Covers of the Week!

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Less than 10 days out from our scheduled tweet-storm, the Stargate Initiative is gaining steam!  The @StargateNow twitter account is inching towards 9k followers with a number of familiar faces boarding the drive including: @MichaelShanks, @dhewlett, @martingero, @cpbinder, @Ivonbartok, @redTamsen, @JeffTeravainen, @dopudmike, @Ayisha_Issa, @PatrickGilmore, @mikamckinnon, @marksavela, @PeterKelamis, @MichaelMoreci, @MichaelWelchAct, @SamMaggs, @actualApophis, @ranthonylemke, @SuanneBraun, @cliffsimon, @PaulyMcGillion, @imcorinnemec, @SimoneBaily, @AlexMallariJr.  And we still have over a week to go!

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We’ll be doing a trial run in preparation for next week’s tweet-storm.  Join us Friday, March 2nd (fans in America) and Saturday, March 3rd (international fans) at the above times.   We’ve got you covered!  (Thanks for the assist, Kelli and Irena)

Onto our weekly feature: My favorite comic book covers of the week…

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Actionverse: Stray #6 (cover art by Mitch Ballard, Wilson Ramos Jr.)

Love the use of negative space in this take on the classic “Superhero No More” cover.  Bonus points for working a dog into the walkaway.

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Avengers #682 (cover art by Mark Brooks)

Incredible color  detail, and use of depth in this gorgeous frame worthy art piece.

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Captain Marvel #129 (cover art by Phil Noto)

I’m a sucker for alternate reality stories and this cover leaves me all sorts of intrigued.

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Deadpool #295 (cover art by Mike Hawthorne)

One of the things I love about Deadpool is that he’s so damn over the top – an attitude that often translates to his covers.  Like this one, for instance.

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Gasolina #6 (cover art by Mat Lopes, Niko Walter)

I have no idea what’s going on here – the shoes, the gun, that squid sitting atop the soccer ball – but I love the composition and colors.

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Galaktikon #5 (cover art by Marissa Louise, Steve Mannion)

As a longtime scifi fan, I’m always charmed by these classic SF conceits.

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Glitterbomb vol. 2: The Fame Game (cover art by Djibril Morissette-Phan)

Horrific and brutal but undeniably beautiful.

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Doom Patrol/JLA Special #1 (cover art by Marissa Louise, Clay Mann)

Doom Patrol battles the Justice League in a giant bowl of milk while the Milk Man looks on.  What’s not to love?

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Rich Veitch’s The One #1 (cover art by Rick Veitch)

Love the playfulness of this one as well.

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Saga #49 (cover art by Fiona Staples)

49 issues in and Saga remains one of the most fiercely creative comics out there.  The series covers are equally imaginative.

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Strangers In Paradise XXV #2 (cover art by Terry Moore)

I’ve been a longtime fan of Terry Moore’s work, and this is the latest in a long line of terrific (and, in this case, subtly unnerving) covers.

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Teen Titans #17 (cover art by Dan Mora)

I always enjoy seeing super beings laid low by mundanities or the harsh realities faced by your average (dare I say it?) Joe.  Still, it make you wonder: Are they leaving the furniture?

What do you think?

February 27, 2018: Stargate Tweet-Storm 2018 – The Dress Rehearsal!

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Like The A-Team’s Hannibal Smith, I love it when a plan comes together.  And this one is coming along nicely.  No need to construct gas pump flamethrowers or figure out a way to modify a wood chipper into a cabbage launcher.  All you need to do is head on over to twitter and follow @StargateNow.  Less than two weeks out from our back-to-back Stargate tweet storms and the official twitter home of the #DriveToRevive campaign already has 8500 followers.   Let’s try to make it 10k by this weekend.

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As we ready for the next Friday’s double event, the StargateInitiative is going to do a little dry run.  This Friday, March 2nd at 9 p.m. EST, 6 p.m. EST, we’re going to do a little pre-tweetstorm to show everyone how it’s done.  Swing on by and take part in the run-through.  Connect with fellow fans.  Check out some awesome Stargate-related pics, gifs, videos, and stories!

A refresher on The Rules of the Tweet-Storm:

#1: FOLLOW – Make sure you’re following @StargateNow

#2: CHECK IN – Approximately 15 minutes before the appointed time, @StargateNow will be revealing that night’s unique hashtag.  This hashtag should appear in all of your tweets.

#3: BE PROMPT – Start tweeting at the appointed time, but not before as it diminishes our efforts at trending.

#4: USE THE DEDICATED HASHTAG – Make sure your tweet includes that night’s dedicated hashtag.

#5: ONLY USE THAT ONE HASHTAG – For some reason, tweets with more than one hashtag don’t count toward trending so be sure to only use the hashtag of the night.

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Hey, is it just me or has there been an increase in Stargate articles and interviews over the past week or so?  Click the links to check them out:

The IO9 Guide to Stargate

Brad Wright On Stargate Movies, Origins, And SGU’s Final Moments

Stargate Fans Prepare To Push For Franchise Expansion

Four Ways Stargate Could Return To Long-Form T.V.

Stargate Fans Plan Massive Social Media Campaign to Launch New Series

On Discute De L’Avenir De La Franchise Stargate

Stargate‘s Legacy: “Midway”

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P.S. Thanks to @okdontpanic for the beautiful banners!

February 26, 2018: Save the date Stargate fans!

In less than two weeks, we’ll be blowing up the internet with a good old-fashioned tweet-storm.  Actually, two.

Friday, March 9th at 6:00 p.m. PST/9:00 p.m. EST – for North American fans

Saturday, March 10th at 7:00 p.m. GMT – for International fans.

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Of course (and preferably), you can show up for both events – but I don’t want to impose.

All we need is an hour of your time…but if you want to stick around and make a night of it, let’s do it!

When we orchestrated our last tweet-fest in support of Dark Matter, the turnout was pretty insane.  Here are the stats from that September 15th event:

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Them’s huge numbers – and we did that with a core group of some 7000 Dark Matter fans following the @DarkMatterFTL account.  Today, with 11 days to go, the @StargateNow campaign account already has 8 000 followers.

I have no doubt we will be making one hell of an impression.

We’ll be following the lead of the Dark Matter campaign which followed the lead of the Longmire campaign which followed the lead of the Fringe campaign that demonstrated the power of fandom by channeling their voices on a dedicated platform (twitter) for an appointed time (see above).

A few rules that will help maximize our message:

#1: FOLLOW – Make sure you’re following @StargateNow

#2: CHECK IN – Approximately 15 minutes before the appointed time, @StargateNow will be revealing that night’s unique hashtag.  This hashtag should appear in all of your tweets.  In the case of Dark Matter, for instance, one of the hashtag we used was #RockTheRaza.

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#3: BE PROMPT – Start tweeting at the appointed time, but not before as it diminishes our efforts at trending.

#4: USE THE DEDICATED HASHTAG – Make sure your tweet includes that night’s dedicated hashtag.

#5: ONLY USE THAT ONE HASHTAG – For some reason, tweets with more than one hashtag don’t count toward trending so be sure to only use the hashtag of the night.

Okay, got it?

Annnnnd break!

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I’m off to start going through my hard drives for those behind-the-scene set pics!

As always, thanks to Tom Gardiner (@Thogar) for all the fantastic gifs.

I take my leave of you now, fandom.  Until tomorrow…

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February 25, 2018: SciFi Fandoms United!

Stargate was a fantastic 12-year experience for me.  I learned a lot from showrunners Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, the cast, the crew, and fandom. Among the greatest takeaways from my time on the show is this oft-repeated (by me) nugget: “Fans tune in for the hook, but they stay for the characters”.  To that, I would add the importance of family, something that is at the core of all three Stargates.  On SG-1, it’s team SG-1.  On Atlantis, it’s the Atlantis Expedition. And on Universe, it’s the crew of the Destiny.  They may be very different personalities, have totally different outlooks, and disagree at times, but despite all the challenges they face, they are family – to each other and to fans around the world.  Looking back, it was no coincidence that one of the final scenes I wrote for Stargate was the farewell dinner scene for Stargate: Universe in which Eli toasts his fellow crew while likening them to family members (Rush, of course, drawing comparisons to “the crazy uncle”).  It was also no coincidence that this very concept was at the heart of my show, Dark Matter.  The crew of The Raza are family.  Like SG-1 and the Atlantis Expedition and the Destiny crew, they alway find a way to come together and have each other’s backs.

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This sense of family was ever-present behind-the-scenes on all four productions. And obvious in the support and love these show continue to receive from their many fans.  So when we rallied to fight for Dark Matter following its cancellation by Syfy, that sense of family was evident throughout the campaign with hashtags like #WeCarryEachOther and #DarkMatterFamily.  Stargate fans came out to support Dark Matter fans and I’m heartened to see Dark Matter fans now joining this campaign to support Stargate fans.  [I’m also seeing a lot of Dark Matter fans checking out Stargate for the first time and vice-versa which makes me very happy.  If you’ve yet to cross-sample, might I suggest Dark Matter fans check out Stargate: SG-1 Season 4, Episode 6 “Window of Opportunity” and Stargate fans check out Dark Matter Season 3, Episode 4 “All The Time In The World”.  You’ll love the parallels.].

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Stargate fans, Dark Matter fans, hell, scifi fans in general are family.  We know the difference between a goa’uld and a tok’ra, a ha’tak and a mothership, O’Neill with two L’s as opposed to one.  We know that TWO is Portia is Rebecca, and SIX is Griffin Jones is Kal Varrick, and THREE named his big gun Bubba and his sidearms Lulu and Pip but didn’t name his knife because what do you think he is, psycho? We know to Keep Looking Up, that Crackers Don’t Matter, and that Han Shot First. We have each others backs. #WeCarryEachOther

And we’re about to send one helluva message.

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Trust me, we are closer to a fourth in-canon Stargate series than ever before!

Tomorrow, finally, I’ll give you the details of how we’re going to pull this off – exactly what we’re going to do and when.

In the meantime, if you haven’t already done so, head on over to twitter and follow @StargateNow and yours truly.  If you’re not yet on twitter, fear not.  It’s easy. Just go to the twitter home page, sign up, then come back here and click on the above links to be taken to the aforementioned accounts.  Click the “follow”  button and you’ll be automatically dialed in and updated on the latest developments on the campaign front along with Stargate-related pics, gifs, vids, commentaries, and more than a few surprises.

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February 24, 2018: Here’s the Game Plan, Stargate Fans! StargateNow!

With the release of Stargate: Origins on the Stargate Command platform, MGM has taken the first steps towards exploring fan interest in further Stargate adventures.  However, as the first couple of SG:O episodes rolled out, I wondered if there was another way to gauge fan support for a potential new series.  There are many, MANY international fans who aren’t able to access Stargate Command to show their love.  There are also a lot of North American fans who may not be able to afford a subscription or are simply wary of shelling out this early in the process. I get it.  And, for these reasons, I looked for an alternate means of letting MGM know how much support Stargate still enjoys, not only in North America but internationally as well, not simply among paid subscribers but possible viewers who, for whatever reasons, cannot or choose not to subscribe at the moment. Some way to bring together Stargate fans scattered across the globe and throughout the internet in a focused campaign that gives them a unified voice on a dedicated platform at an appointed time.

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A unified voice speaks loudest of all while a dedicated platform and time allows fandom to make the most noise in a concentrated and quantifiable burst.  Social media has become a crucial component of a show’s success, offering studios accessible and immediate statistics on fan engagement.  Letter writing campaigns are a thing of the past.  Today’s fan campaigns are fought online.  NBC’s Timeless is a good, recent example of online fandom making noise and getting results for their favorite show.  Perhaps the greatest precedent though is what was achieved by fans of Longmire who took to twitter, made plenty of NOISE, got noticed, and secured an additional three seasons of their favorite show.  Longmire fans were smart, disciplined, and spoke in a unified voice on a dedicated platform at dedicated times.  We are going to take a page from their successful campaign (Thanks, Longmire fans, for showing us how it’s done). 

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Two weeks from now, we will gather on twitter at an appointed time, tag MGM, and get Stargate trending.  Big-time.  We’ll have two major events – one for North American fans, another for international fans.  We’re splitting them up in order to maximize participation and ensure we get the largest turnout for both.  All you have to do is show up on twitter at the appointed time, on the appointed day, and interact with us for an hour or so.  Tell us what Stargate means to you, maybe what you’d like to see in a new Brad Wright/Robert Cooper series.  Share your favorite characters, episodes, moments.  @StargateNow, the official voice for the #DriveToRevive, will be posting concept art from all three shows: SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe.  I’ll be offering up behind the scene photos and videos from my time on the franchise.  And who knows what familiar faces may be dropping by to say hi.  It’ll be little effort but a whole lot of fun.

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If this all sounds familiar – yes, it’s very similar to the campaign we waged in support of Dark Matter.  Alas, while the tweetstorms in support of DM were statistically huge (I still have people in the industry remark on our impressive showing), they, unfortunately, failed to convince Syfy.  But there’s a key difference between that campaign and the one we’re about to launch: MGM really does care.

They care about their shows and the people who produce them.

They care about science fiction.

And, most importantly, they care about their fans.

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MGM WANTS to give you a new Stargate series.  They WANT Stargate to succeed. They just need to know you’re out there and willing to support them when the time comes.

Let’s do this!

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P.S. Thanks to @Thogar and co. for the gifs!

February 23, 2018: A call to all Stargate, Dark Matter, and scifi fans!

Where do you get your scifi fix?

Do you read?

Do you check out the latest big screen offerings (I’ve been hearing great things about Annihilation)?

Possibly tune in to traditional broadcast homes like FOX (The X-Files, The Gifted, The Orville) and CW (The 100, Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Black Lightning)?

Perhaps go the cable route with channels like AMC (The Walking Dead, Into the Badlands, Humans), BBC America (Class, Dirk Gently, Dr. Who) or even Freeform (Cloak & Dagger, New Warriors, Misfits)?

Maybe peruse streamers like Netflix (Black Mirror, Dark Matter, Sense 8, Stranger Things, Travelers), Amazon (The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams), and Hulu (The Handmaid’s Tale, Dimension 404, Runaways)?

Well, MGM seemingly has plans to give you one more choice.  With the launch of their streaming platform, Stargatecommand, the studio has sought to give longtime fans a one-stop shop for all their Stargate needs.  But, as evidenced by their reaching out to me on the heels of Dark Matter’s cancellation, their long-term plans extend beyond Stargate to other scifi offerings.  If all goes well, in three years down the line, we could not only have new Stargate on the platform, but several new scifi shows as well.  Perhaps even a Dark Matter miniseries.

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Imagine having a broadcast/streaming home dedicated to scifi?  Unheard of, but believe me, it’s closer than you think.

And this is why I’m asking not only Stargate fans, but Dark Matter fans and fans of science fiction in general, to join our campaign.  Getting Stargate back will only be a first step.  A big one, admittedly, but one we’re closer to taking now than at any time in the franchise’s history.

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Starting today, we have exactly two weeks to marshal our forces, explain the game plan to our army of gaters and allies and, ultimately, convince MGM that it’s time to launch that fourth Brad Wright/Robert Cooper Stargate series.  And, over the course of the next few blog entries, I’m going to break down exactly how we’re going to do that.

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Head on over to twitter and follow @StargateNow for all the latest campaign updates AND a plethora of Stargate-related goodies including, most recently:

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And a selection of gifs (featured in today’s blog entry).

You have a chance to a part of something HUGE.  Don’t miss out!

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February 22, 2018: Spreading the word on the StargateNow front! Those Oscar-Nominated live-action shorts!

Spent a couple of hours today getting this message out to Stargate fandom:

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The point is you don’t have to bother with writing letters or making phone calls or spending money on this or that.  Just hop on over to twitter and join the cause because we WILL be heard.  I guarantee it.

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Hit up about 30 sites this afternoon.  Got another 50 or so to go.  But I’ll save those for tomorrow.  Give me something to look forward to.

In addition to my Stargate Now-related duties, I also completed my revision of that scifi pilot script.  Honestly, what other career requires you to pen an interfaith sermon one day and then choke out a belligerent civilian the next?  Good times, good times.

Also, met up with Ivon Bartok today and took in a matinee of the Oscar-nominated live-action shorts.  They were all great but two really stood out for me.  The Silent Child, written by Rachel Shenton and directed by Chris Overton, is an utterly devastating story of  the challenges facing a young deaf child in a  system incapable of meeting her needs.  The Eleven O’Clock, on the other hand, written by Josh Lawson and directed by Derin Seale, is a very clever, incredibly funny short that focuses on a psychiatrist’s attempts to treat a delusional patient who believes he’s a psychiatrist.  Check them out if you get the chance.

Alright!  Get out there and keep spreading the word.  As this campaign gains strength, we’ll reveal our grand plan for Stargate’s triumphant return (hint: YOU have a lot to do with it!)

February 21, 2018: Stargate Update and the Week’s Best Comic Book Covers!

This morning, Stargate enthusiasts Rita and Rebekah forwarded me a list of some 30 more fan sites to go with the 40 or so sites you’ve all been kind enough to send my way.  These Stargate fan communities boast a combined membership of just under 4 million.  Of course when you account for crossover, attrition, Russian bots, and those who signed up in the mistaken assumption they were joining a fan club for the Norwegian music producers of the same name, you can conservatively place our core army at, roughly, 2 million.  Give or take.

Not bad.

Over the next few days, our job will be to reach out to these various communities worldwide and enlist them in the cause.

Our mission is simple: Let MGM know that Stargate fandom remains strong and eager to support a new series that has its roots in the television franchise Brad Wright and Robert Cooper created.  Convince them that they don’t have to choose between old fans and new viewers.  By green lighting an in-canon fourth series that breaks new ground, introducing new characters, new settings, and new stories, they – and fandom – they can have the best of both worlds.

Coincidentally, I came across this article today: The New Economics of TV’s Reboot Craze.  The title is somewhat inaccurate as the piece focuses on not just reboots but revivals as well (which is what we’re talking about here), but one section really drives home the point I’m trying to make with this campaign:

“How do you break through the clutter when there are 20 places to sell a show? The marketing and promo folks will always tell you, ‘Give me a title. Give me a star. Give me something where I’m not starting from scratch.’ And, in many cases, these series come with built-in, contemporary fan bases through years of original series reruns on both cable and streaming platforms.”

Are you kidding me?  Stargate comes with one of the biggest of built-in, contemporary fan bases, a core audience (to add to all those new viewers who’ll be discovering the gate for the first time) that will not only tune in but help get the word out.  THEY are your ready-to-go marketing campaign!

But first things first.  The biggest challenge this campaign faces is focusing the energies of Stargate fandom.  To do that, we need to target one social media platform with a single monumental event.  And this is why I’m asking you (to ask your fellow fans) to head on over to twitter, join up, and follow @StargateNow. The only thing it will cost you is a little time now and a little more time when Stargate fandom comes together in a massive show of force.

P.S. I see that @StargateNow has already amassed over 3000 followers in the short time it’s been active.  This bodes VERY WELL.

Alright, that’s it for now.  If you enjoyed any of the Stargate shows in the past, be it SG-1, Atlantis, or Universe, mourned the absence of old favorites like Jack and Sam, John and Rodney, or Eli and Rush, yearned to do something, anything, that could open the door to more adventures through the gate – well step up because we’re going to need your support to get this done.

@StargateNow

@StargateNow

@StargateNow

With that said, I return this blog to it’s previously scheduled entry: My Favorite Comic Book Covers of the Week!

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The Amazing Spiderman #796

Cover art by Alex Ross

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Batman #41

Cover art by Mikel Janin

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Doctor Strange: Damnation #1

Cover art by Rod Reis

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Horizon #18

Cover art by Jason Howard

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Quantum and Woody #3

Cover art by Julian Totino Tedesco=

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Sole Survivor #1

Cover art by Daniel Pez Lopez

So, what do you think?

February 20, 2018: Okay, Stargate fans – Let’s do it!!!

Well, this is impressive.  The @StargateNow twitter home of the “#DriveToRevive the Stargate we know and love” has amassed over 1100 followers in less than 24 hours.  If you’re interested in seeing a new in-canon Stargate series created by Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, one that is highly accessible to new viewers yet rewards longtime fans,  then just head on over to twitter and follow as well.  Also, tell your friends.  And family.  Also your co-workers, acquaintances, and approachable strangers who seem like they might enjoy fun character-driven action-adventure sci-fi with a sense of humor and a focus on exploration, discovery, and, occasionally, blowing up suns.

Thank you to everyone who left links to the various Stargate-related sites they frequent.  The Stargate Initiative will be reaching out in the coming days to consolidate the forces of fandom.

All these years of yearning for more, the letter campaigns, the petitions – they all come down to this.  Finally, for this short window, we have the studio’s full attention.  SG-1 has saved the world on countless occasions.  Now it’s time to return the favor by ensuring they, the Atlantis expedition, and the crew of the Destiny are not wiped from existence.  Let’s not allow a full reboot to succeed where Baal’s time machine failed [Incidentally, was anyone keeping track of those clones because I personally lost count and now have the sneaking suspicion Baal could be behind this.].   It’s like Stargate: Continuum all over again except that, this time, YOU’RE the heroes!

We’re only going to have one shot at this so let’s make it count!

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Building Baal’s time machine (photos courtesy of confracto)

Let’s do it!!!