Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 496

June 7, 2012: Day of Stargate Past – Atlantis, Rising I and II

Whew!  Done!  For now anyway.  Today, Paul and I delivered the first draft of our SF miniseries.  The robust 204 page script is now with the studio – and, more importantly, in the hands of director Steve Barron who will be working his magic sometime in July.  Despite its four hour event status, it moves along at a mighty brisk pace.  Edge-of-your-seat stuff.  Will hopefully be able to tell you more about it in the coming weeks.

So, where we?  Ah, yes.  Continuing our stroll down SGA memory lane…

In the two part series premiere, Brad Wright and Robert Cooper deliver an opener that captures the spirit of the original series, SG-1, while simultaneously breaking new ground.  In those two hours, a new world and new characters are established, setting the foundation of a show that would run five glorious years before it’s far-too-soon conclusion.

RISING I (101)

Do you remember the first time you met your significant other?  What they were wearing?  The conversation you had?  The thoughts running through your head at the time?  Hardly?  That’s okay.  People rarely do.  However, I’m willing to bet that fans of Stargate: Atlantis remember that first hour: the introduction of the Atlantis expedition, the wondrous step through the gate to the city of the Ancients, that first meeting with the Athosians and the subsequent encounter with the wraith.  Yeah, I figured.

Actors Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks guest star, helping to pass the torch – although it’d be two terrific years before they’d actually let go of it.  If there was any candidate better suited than Daniel Jackson to join Dr. Weir’s hand-picked team through the gate, I can’t think of one but, of course, we Jack needed him on SG-1.  Or, depending what fandom camp you’re in, he simply couldn’t bear the thought of Daniel being journeying so far away.

The part of Lieutenant Ford was played by former VJ Rainbow Sun Francks.  He won the role on the strength of a great audition, preceded by an equally great audition with a funny hat.  Here’s some advice for all you aspiring actors.  When it comes time to audition, know your lines, keep your hand movements to a minimum, and don’t wear a silly hat because, no matter how good you are, when other people screen your audition, all they’ll notice will be that damn hat.  Fortunately for Rainbow, we were the first ones to see the audition, recognized the talent – and also the probability that, somewhere down the lines, somebody would dismiss him  on account of his headgear – and had him re-read WITHOUT the hat.  He did – and got the part.

One of my favorite moments in Rising I comes when the Atlantis expedition steps through the gate into the City of the Ancients which has stood abandoned for millions of years – yet has an albeit dead potted plant sitting at the foot of the steps leading to the gate room.

The Atlantis gate was, theoretically anyway, an improvement on the Earth gate.  Like I said, theoretically.  While the force shield certainly trumped the Cheyenne Mountain iris, the look of the new gate always struck me as a little glitzy Vegas in comparison to the cooler, staid gate at Stargate Command.  I mean, just compare them…

The SG-1 gate

And the Atlantis gate.

See what I mean?  It’s a little…oh, that’s not right.  Hang on a sec.

Ah. Better.

The Atlantis gate also had the disadvantage of not actually being a working gate.  Before you conspiracy theorists race off to your respective forums to reprint my words as confirmation that the Stargate program does, in fact, exist (and, for the record, I neither confirm or deny its existence), by “operational”, I mean the ability to actually spin.  The gate at the SGC actually spun.  The Atlantis gate’s spin was all CG.

When the team first meets the Athosians, Teyla is introduced as “daughter of Turghan”.  But, later in the series, she names her first born Torren after her father.  So, what’s the deal?  Well, the fact that Teyla is leader of her people could suggest that the Athosians are a matriarchal society and that Turghan is, in fact, her mother’s name.  A lovely name for a young woman.

Also, gate travel implants travelers with translator nanites.  That’s why most everyone seems to speak English.

Eagle-eyed viewers will note that Elizabeth Weir’s boyfriend, Simon (Gavin Sanford), bears a striking resemblance to the late, to the late Tollan Narim, last seen getting blown up in SG-1′s fifth season episode Between Two Fires.  Teyla’s fellow Athosian, Halling (Christopher Heyerdahl), looks a lot like Pallan, that guy who lost his wife and got his mind wiped in SG-1′s seventh season episode Revisions, but looks nothing like the wraith, Todd, who would go on to play such a key role later in the series.

 

 RISING II (102)

Part 1 is the wind up and the pitch while Part 2 is the base-clearing grand slam that hits it out of the park.  The sequence of the city of Atlantis rising from ocean’s depths is one of the most stirring moments in all of Stargate.  Hmmm.  That sounds like a great idea for a future post: Top 10 Moments in Stargate History.  Well, in my books, Atlantis’s resurfacing would rank right up there.

Ah, the puddle jumpers.  Brad had been pitching the idea of these compact hips capable of gate-travel as far back as SG-1′s seventh season.  And the new show was the perfect opportunity to introduce them.  As much as I thought the SG-1 gate superior to its Atlantis counterpart, SGA jumpers beat the hell out of both the F-302′s  and those clunky cargo ships.

Ah, Jinto.  We hardly knew you.  As often happens in television, certain characters pop and are developed (ie. Where’d that Zelenka guy come from?) while others eventually fade into obscurity.  The character of Jinto has the distinction of falling into the latter category for no other reason than: 1. He was a kid and 2. He was Athosian.  While interesting, Teyla’s people became a less important part of the narrative as the series developed and so, they eventually left Atlantis to make their homes on the mainland and, later, off-world.  As for Jinto, not much is known about following the events of those early episodes. I like to think that he became a productive member of Athosian society, settling down with his long-time sweetheart and eventually fathering two boys, Torren (named after Teyla’s fathter) and Toran (named after the Athosian who the wraith queen feasts upon in this episode). Alternately, I like to imagine he spent his years deep in the bowels of Atlantis, playing an protracted game of Hide and Seek following the episode of the same name, convinced he had the best hiding place ever – until his skeletal remains were discovered by an exploratory crew sometime in season four.

Speaking of evolving elements, two particular wraith attributes are in full display in this episode but appear to fade as the series progresses. 1. When our heroes are being harassed by wraith darts, they begin to glimpse ghostly images.  We learn that these images are hallucinations being created by the wraith to confuse them.  They’re, it turns out, a weaker manifestation of the queen’s mind controlling abilities.  The reason we eventually lost this ability was because it was, essentially, a mind trick – and once it stood revealed as such, there wasn’t much traction to be gained by going back to it either for the wraith (as an effective tool to be used against us) or the writers (as a dramatic element).  2. The wraith are damn hard to kill!  It takes multiple rounds to put them down for the count.  And yet, in subsequent episodes, a couple of shots will do the trick.  What gives?  The answer: switching to more devastating armor-piercing rounds.

Tagged: Atlantis, SGA, Stargate, Stargate: Atlantis

June 6, 2012: Days of Stargate Past…Atlantis

Last year, I took us all on a trip down memory lane as I reflected back (and attempted to recall what details I could of) my seven seasons on Stargate: SG-1.  Our journey began here (April 24, 2011: Days of Stargate Past – SG-1 Season Four!) and ended here (November 9, 2011: Ending my SG-1 trip down memory lane with Unending!).  Along the way, we reminisced on the shipper controversy, Daniel Jackson’s untimely demise and fortuitous resurrection, and even offered some insight into ideas and scenes that never made the final cut.  If you missed anything, just use this blog’s handy search function for the terms “memory lane”, “Days of Stargate past”, or “SG-1″ and they should lead you to the appropriate entries between April 24 and November 9 of 2011.

While SG-1 was my first love (We were together for seven years!), my time on Atlantis proved equally memorable.  The show was possessed of a similar tone in its mix of high adventure and humor, yet proved distinct in its exploration of Ancient mythology and an unfamiliar galaxy as seen through the eyes of a new set of heroes.  Atlantis offered a sense of wonder and camaraderie born of isolation and constant danger. Whereas SG-1 could always go home at the conclusion of their adventures, the members of the Atlantis expedition (at least for those first few seasons) could only draw comfort from the city of Atlantis itself – and, of course, each other.  It was unique and compelling yet, at the same time, comfortingly familiar.  Nowhere is this more evident than in opening theme, composed by the late Joel Goldsmith, which is, at turns fresh, haunting, stirring and, throughout, discernibly Stargate.

Stargate: Atlantis wasn’t envisioned as a companion to Stargate: SG-1. It was intended to replace the long-running series.  The only problem was, with eight seasons under belt, SG-1 wasn’t quite done yet.  And fans (and the network) weren’t done with it either.  And so, instead of passing the torch and seguing to a new Stargate series, we ended up producing both.  In retrospect, it was quite a feat: 40 hours of television!  Lesser productions can barely manage a third that output, but Stargates SG-1 and Atlantis delivered two fantastic 40 episode seasons before SG-1 took it’s final bow.  It wasn’t easy, but it was certainly made easier by all of the enormously talented individuals who made it happen, from the office staff and crew to the cast and my fellow writer/producers.

That first season of Atlantis was special for a lot of reasons.  Not only did it introduce viewers to an exciting new world, but it also introduced them to two equally exciting new writer-producers in Martin Gero and Carl Binder who would both make their debut’s in the show’s first year (with Childhood’s End and Before I Sleep respectively) before joining the staff and eventually leaving their notable marks on the 5-year production.

As for me – well, while our burgeoning writing staff (made up of series creators Brad Wright and Robert Cooper, my writing partner Paul Mullie, Damian Kindler, Alan McCullough, Peter DeLuise, Martin Gero, and Carl Binder) straddled both shows, spinning ideas and helping to break stories, there was a wavering demarcation between the two productions.  While Paul and I wrote three episodes for SGA’s first season (Suspicion, Home, and Siege II), we were, for the most part, on Team SG-1, writing six episodes and (more importantly) producing more than half the show’s eight season episodes.

Still, as I said, the entire writing department was involved in all things Stargate.  And, prior to the commencement of principal photography on the SGA series opener, Rising I and II, we were privy to exhilarating/frustrating/surprising/ultimately satisfying road to putting together the pieces of the puzzle.

And, one of the most challenging of these puzzle pieces was the casting.  It may surprise you to know that, when it comes to producing a show, not everybody cares about costumes or set design or whether the script’s fifth act denouement is emotionally satisfying, but everybody  - and I do mean EVERYBODY – has an opinion on casting. Studio and network execs, producers, hell, even your significant other peering over your shoulder as you screen the auditions on your home computer will want to weigh in.  Of course, the more voices in the mix the more likely there will be disagreements.  So it is with every production and Atlantis was no different.  Different individuals envisioned these characters in very different ways and, as a result, consensus was only achieved after many auditions, calls-backs, heated discussions, and not-so-gentle reminders that our start date was drawing closer and we really needed someone to say the lines on camera.

To be honest, I don’t remember a whole lot about that whirlwind casting process, but I do recall:

The part of Carson Beckett was one of the first ones cast.  The other producers were in Rob’s office, screening the first batch of local auditions when Brad called me in and told me to check out the guy onscreen.  I hadn’t imagined Beckett with a Scottish accent but, after watching Paul McGillion in the role, I couldn’t imagine him without one. He’d brought something unexpected to the part and we all responded to it.

Elizabeth Weir was not an easy character to pull off.  She had to be smart, confident and strong yet needed to exude a certain warmth and empathy we were looking for in the civilian leader of the expedition. When it came time to (re)casting the role, several established names were considered (one had her own hit show back in the day while another went on to break out on a hit show soon after), but it was Torri Higginson who managed to strike just the right balance and vault her to the top of the list.

The role of Teyla Emmagan was a tough one to cast.  Like Weir, she needed to be a strong, empathetic leader. But she also required something even more important – quite literally, an other-worldly quality that made her unique.  Although she may have looked human, Teyla was an alien and, as a result, we needed someone who could make use buy into her character, convince us and never make us doubt.  Some equally excellent actresses auditioned for the role but, as good as they were, they were never quite able to achieve that gravitas Rachel pulled off with such seeming ease.

The role of John Sheppard was the second to last one cast.  It came right down to the wire and there were several candidates in play.  The character was originally envisioned as a good ole southern boy, so it only made sense that Ben Browder’s name was bandied about early. However, he was busy shooting Peacekeeper Wars.  A number of other actors were  considered (one went on to play the lead in a hugely popular show the following year while another made his mark as a handsome heart throb on another hugely popular series still on the air) but it was Joe Flanigan who won the part based on his ability to pull off the devil-may-care attitude Brad and Robert were looking for.

We come to the final role cast, a character who, in many ways, embodied everything Atlantis was about: exploration, discovery, fun, humor, and seat-of-your-pants-Holy-Sh&%-how-the-hell-am-I-going-to-get-out-of-this-adventure.  And he almost didn’t make the trip to Pegasus.  Originally, the casting call went out for a completely different character, an earnest young doctor who would lend the team much-needed medical support on their off-world ventures.  Unfortunately, no one could agree on who that actor should be.  If the casting of Sheppard went down to the wire, then the casting of this final role went a step past it.  Finally, days away from production, Robert Cooper had an idea: Forget the doctor character.  Why not use an established character from SG-1?  How about Rodney McKay?  We all loved the thought of McKay being part of the expedition but others weren’t sold. They found him annoying!  Hell yeah, but he’d be sooo much fun to write for.  Rob got on the phone and pointed out that the character had come a long way since first being introduced way back in SG-1′s 48 Hours.  He’d evolved, going from annoying jerk to endearingly irritating.  To this day, I’m convinced that they weren’t totally convinced but, with production poised to commence, relented, I suppose figuring they could just replace the character somewhere down the line.  No one, even those of us who loved the idea of having the endearingly irritating Rodney McKay on board couldn’t have predicted how hugely popular the character would become.

Whew!  Didn’t expect the intro to be this long.  In the next few days, we’ll start getting into the actual production as I offer hazy reminiscences and insight into the individual episodes.  So, buckle up and keep your arms and legs inside the ride as we begin our journey down Atlantis memory lane…

I’m finalizing my Comic Con plans.  I will be there, of course, in support of my SF comic book series, Dark Matter, but would be happy to chat macarons, pugs, french bulldogs, oh, and Stargate while I’m there.  I’ve already heard from some fans who’ll be there.  Anyone else?

Tagged: Atlantis, SGA, Stargate, Stargate: Atlantis, television

June 5, 2012: Bad dining karma!

I believe the food gods are trying to tell me something.  Lately, my dinner outings have varied from middling to highly disappointing. Several of my formerly dependable favorites have failed me.  Still, I held out hope that some of my old standbys would come through and deliver the positive dining experience I desperately needed.  And so, yesterday, after dropping Akemi off at her class, I decided to venture out for a solo lunch.  The service was terrific.  The food…fantastic.  I enjoyed a platter of lamb ribs.  Lamb ribs!  Hell, the last time I sat down to lamb ribs was years ago when the Memphis Barbecue House used to prepare them on the rare occasion – so rare, in fact, that, back then, I was on what I called “the lamb rib hotline”.  Whenever I got the call, I would drop whatever I was doing to drive down and pick up a rack before they sold out.  They were delicious.  And, yesterday’s platter was equally great.  As I sat back, satisfied, I eyed the lone rib sitting on my plate.  It seemed a shame to let it go to waste.  I picked it up, stripped it clean and, as I was finishing up the last bite – CRUNCH!  Lamb bone met tooth – and lamb bone won.

I went to the bathroom to check and, sure enough, one of my teeth was broken.  Fortunately, it was a molar and not one of the front teeth, the loss of which would have seen me walking around town sporting a gap-tooth hillbilly grin.  And, fortunately, my dentist had an opening that afternoon.

Yes, I think the food gods are clearly trying to tell me something: “Eat at home!”  Which is what I plan to do – after tonight because I already have dinner reservations.   My recent outings have graduated from bad food to bad service to injury.  What’s next?  Am I going to eat a toxic mushroom?  Bleed out on account of a mussel shard?  Choke on a fazzoletti?   I don’t mind telling you that I’m VERY nervous.

I should just go back to the days when Akemi used to cook for me, preparing those adorable bento boxes with the peanut butter bears and egg yolk chicks.  Though, given my luck of late, the bento boxes would more than likely run along the lines of something like this:

Or maybe I should just stick to chocolate.  My new fave chocolate shop, Beta 5 (http://shop.beta5chocolates.com/), has been pretty damn consistent in its sweet, sweet offerings.  The other day, Akemi and I dropped by and picked up a new-for-June banana split chocolate bar (containing chocolate, banana, and cherries), and a “box of rocks” -

A collection of aerated chocolate rocks in 45% milk and 72% dark chocolate.

I figured we’d start with a box and come back for more next week when we were done.  As it turns out, we were done by the time I pulled into my garage.

Finally – received a text message from my buddy, Ivon, the other day. “Perogie food truck,”he wrote.  ”1o different kinds like “Thai curry” and “classic”.  That’s a money maker!”  and “It would rule the food truck wars.”  ”Holy Perogy,”I texted back.  ”Love the name,”he replied. “No,”I texted back.  ”That’s the name of the Perogie food truck in Vancouver. It exists.”

Hey! They used a time machine to go forward in time and steal Ivon’s food truck idea!

Oh well.

Tagged: Beta 5, Chocolate, Vancouver chocolate shops

June 4, 2012: The Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes! Cookie Monster reviews The Shadow!

Who knows what evil lurk in de hearts of men?  De Shadow knows!

How he know?  Search monster.  Me having hard enough time trying to make sense of dis movie.

De Shadow remind monster of De Rocketeer.  Both great-looking period movies with terrifik costumes and set dezign.  But while Rocketeer skript flat and simple , dis skript a little too out dere for it’s own good.  It full of weird magic,  mind control and mind reading, esoterik concepts dat don’t seem to follow any internal logik and just make whole movie feel so unreal it very diffikult to connect wit charakters on any level.

Movie start in China where audience find Jack from Turdy Rock doing great imitation of Trent Reznor.  He a very bad man.  But he get kidnapped by monk, shamed by crazy magik flying dagger, and told he going to be good now.  Seven years later, we in New York where some gangsters about to kill a witness.  Suddenly, a disembodied voice stops dem.  A shadow – literally!  A shadow! – appear and disappear, scare away gangster and save witness.  Turn out dis shadow is…DE SHADOW!  Yeah.  Not to be confused wit other lesser Shadows.

Lamont’s alter-ego, de Shadow, look a lot like Billy Baldwin.

BUT it turn out De Shadow have alter-ego.  By night he be De Shadow but, by day, he a wealthy playboy…just like Bruce Wayne.  Hmmm.

By night, he be de Shadow, but by day he be millionaire playboy Bruce Way-, uh, monster mean Lamont Cranston.

And he live in a city dat look an awful lot like Gotham City.  Becuz it is! Aka New York in de 30′s.

The streets of Gotham. No, not DAT Gotham. New York City.

His real name Lamont Cranston and not only he be rich and handsum, but he have power of mind control.  One night, at de Cobalt Club, he spot a sexy woman at de next table.  He charm her.  But it turn out…she have powers too.  She can read minds!!!

She smart and pretty. Oh, and she reads minds. Did I mention dat?

Why dis woman can read minds?  Did some other monk give her dese powers?  Is dis really necessary?

MEANWHILE, museum receive strange shipment: silver coffin belonging too…GENGHIS KHAN.  Coffin open up and out steps…GENGHIS KHA-  No.  It be Khan Jr., last descendent of great, great, great grandpa Genghis!

KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

And he have powers of mind control too!  Wow!  Only ting dis movie missing be magical sorting hat!

Mindreading love interest, Margo, have father/scientist (and, monster suspekt, part-time wizard) who work for War Department.  Khan Jr. use his crazy mind control powers to kidnap father and make him build…pre-atomic bomb atomic bomb!  But Lamont figure dis out by analyzing coin Khan Jr. use to pay him for glass of bourbon.

Whoa, waitaminute.  Why Khan Jr. paying for bourbon wit special coin? Why he so stoopid?

MEANWHILE, Lamont worried dat Margo going to use mind reading power to figure out he De Shadow, so HE use mind control power to make her forget but it not work on her.  But Khan Jr. kidnap Margo and use mind control and it DOES work on her.  She sent to kill de Shadow and almost kill Lamont before spell broken and she realize…he De Shadow!

Scientist-dad’s boss, Tim Curry, lock Shadow in chamber and fill it wit water.  Lamont have to use his mind powers to call Margo to unlock door and save him.  De Shadow realize Khan Jr. going to blow up New York.  Have to stop him!

Da bomb!

He track him down.  Tim Curry try to shoot at shadow on de wall, but de real Shadow not hurt.  Which be kind of strange since, in earlier scene, Shadow gets pinned to wall wit crossbow bolts.  Why crossbow bolts effekt him but bullets don’t?

MEANWHILE, Shadow face off wit Khan Jr.  Margo’s dad snap out of mind control.  He and Margo chase rolling bomb through building in very funny scene.  Father try to defuze bomb but Margo save day by pulling green wire.

Tim Curry just de spice dis movie need.

Meanwhile, Shadow and Khan Jr. still fighting.  Crazy flying magik dagger make another appearance.  It being controlled by Khan Jr. but Shadow use his powerz and gain control of it and kill Khan Jr.  Which leave monster scratching his head.  If Shadow able to take control of dagger, dat mean HIS mind control stronger den Khan Jr.’s.  BUT earlier in movie, Shadow not able to control Margo’s mind but Khan Jr. able to do so no problem.  Dis not make sense.  Why?

MEANWHILE, roll creditz.  DE END.

Verdikt: Movie pull off fantastik magic trick.  It make logik – poof! – disappear!

Rating: 5 out of 10 chocolate chippee cookies.  +1 for sense of humor = 6 out of 10 chocolate chippee cookies.

Pleaze diskuss.

Monster would like to remind everyone dat dey can read past monster supermovie reviewz here: Film reviews by resident film criti…

Next week’s movie be Batman Forever featuring the alwayz understated Jim Carey as…De Riddler:

Tagged: Cookie Monster, Cookie Monster reviews The Shadow, superhero movie of the week club, SuperMovie of the Week Club, The Shadow

June 3, 2012: News of note!

Had dinner last night with Steve Barron who is in town to direct the miniseries Paul and I are writing.  Among the projects Steve has in the works is this intriguing hopefully-soon-to-be-series called Slingers:

Thoughts?

Some news of note:

Enjoy your swim!  Swimming Pools Are Public Toilet Bowls for Many: Survey | Healthy …

The medical term is Acute Trumashowitis: ILLNESS: People believe they’re stars of own reality TV programs…

14 Photographs That Shatter Your Image of Famous People.  This one’s my fave:

Eminem loves Alf. And birthday cake!

Would you like some wood pulp with that pancake?  No?  Too bad.  The 6 Most Horrifying Lies The Food Industry is Feeding You

Tough love! Man abandons daughter over bad grades

Remember to finish up watching The Shadow.  Tomorrow, guest reviewer, Cookie Monster, weighs in with his thoughts when our Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes!  You can brush up on past reviews here: Film reviews by resident film criti…

June 2, 2012: Lifely Updates! The miniseries, the horror script, travel plans torpedoed, selling my car, Akemi’s corn soup, Jelly, and The Shadow!

Having finished a rough first draft of our four hour, sixteen act near-future miniseries, I’ve moved on to reading and reviewing Paul’s work on Part I (a robust 108 pages.  I have to admit, he’s done a might fine job on the rewrite, pulling everything together into a nice, tight, suspense-filled seat-of-your-pants narrative.  I have all of four notes concerning 1. His use of the term “raw deal” in relation to one character’s backstory, 2) Use of the term “flying” in a subsequent scene, 3) Some necessary elaboration on the accessing of information available online, and 4) I’m not so sure about Pokemon.  Aside from that, it’s great.  I’ll set it aside for a couple of days, and then go over it one more time with an eye to punching up the dialogue.  Tonight, we take a break to have dinner with the director who has flown in to Vancouver to begin prep on the miniseries which shoots sometime in July.

Once our work is done on the miniseries (in a couple of weeks), I guess I’ll be shifting gears to that rewrite of my horror script.  I’ve been asked to compress some of the build-up in the first 65 pages and get to the All-Hell-Breaks-Loose twist a little sooner.  A little more stalk and suspense in the late second act and through the third act is what a couple of readers have requested.

There’s also a comedy pilot I’ve been meaning to finish up work on, but I’m not sure where that will fill in my up-in-the-air schedule.  I was hoping to go away in June (Hawaii!), and then visit Montreal and San Diego (Comic Con) in July, but my dog-sitter’s availability may deep-six those plans.  I may be able to squeeze in a Vegas getaway at the end of July, but another trip to Europe to attend the wedding of some dear friends (Berlin, Paris, and Madrid) may also have to be scuttled.  On the bright side, Vancouver IS beautiful in the summer.

With a break in my schedule, I finally got around to asking my vet to write me a letter of reference for the Seattle Pug Rescue.  I’m considering adopting an elderly pug (or two) and they, evidently, want to make certain I’ll be able to provide the pooches with a good home. Anyway, my vet wrote a terrific letter that ended with: “His care is so fantastic that I hope to be reincarnated as one of his pets!”.  Stellar.

I’ve got to get around to selling my car.  Ivon suggests craigslist and I suppose that’s the way I’ll end up going but, to be honest, it just seems like such a pain in the ass.  How many kooks (or worse) am I going to have to wade through before making the sale?

As we head into the summer season, various farmer’s markets start popping up around the city offering the sort of fresh fruit and vegetables you’ll be hard-pressed to find at your local supermarket. The other day, we picked up some fresh corn and Akemi made a wonderful soup.

Boil the corn in salted water. Puree with some of the boiling water. Chill. Strain.

And serve! Dollop of foamed milk and sprinkle of paprika optional.

Dense, sweet, and delicious.  It made me nostalgic for the fantastic corn soup Chef Belcham used to make at Fuel/Refuel.

For some reason, the usually spry Bubba has slowed down in the last couple of weeks.  Jelly, meanwhile, keeps chugging along -

Cookie Monster asked me to remind everyone that the Supermovie of the Week Club reconvenes this Monday.  Up for discussion and review: The Shadow (1994).  The trailer looks promising:

June 1, 2012: We hit EAT! Vancouver! And then Eat! Vancouver hits us back and takes my wallet.

Today, Akemi and I met up with our friend Sheryl (and her boyfriend West) to check out the first day of the EAT! Vancouver festival, described as “the only consumer food, beverage and cooking festival in Vancouver” and “the ultimate Food Expo”.  These two facts together make me very, very sad.  I’m not saying it was a total waste of time, but I am suggesting your $16 entrance fee could be better spent on lottery tickets.

There were plenty of exhibitors offering free samples of everything from Greek yogurt and olive oil to chocolate and smoothies.  Ultimately, there was nothing there you couldn’t find at most high-end grocers but I suppose it’s an opportunity to get the word out about their respect products.  In addition to food, there were other retailers selling dog treats, kitchen products, and information on travel to Louisiana, Mexico, and the Philippines. There was also a separate booze section that was a little more interesting.

In terms of entertainment, we were treated to some sort of Chef Off on the big stage featuring some Food Network personalities, and a barista competition that was difficult to watch given the angle of the seating and the fact that most of the baristas worked with their backs to the audience.  A big screen offered a live feed of the action but, unfortunately, the bright lights pretty much blew out the picture so it was near impossible to make out what was going on.

As for the food – the main draw – there were some two dozen food stands, mainly local restaurants, selling 2-3 bite-sized portions of fairly unremarkable plates: quite a few mini burgers, some tacos, desserts.

Akemi in happier times (aka before we forked over our $32 to gain entrance to EAT! Vancouver).

We lose Sheryl and West at the cheese seminar. Apparently, they failed their finals.

The high point of the afternoon was meeting blog regular, JYS, who recognized me (I actually think it was Akemi he recognized) and stopped to chat. He gave me a tip on some great macarons and I thanked him by promising to visit the restaurant where he works and being hyper-critical about my meal.

While we were talking, an elderly woman stumbled over a pocket of cables and took a tumble right behind us.  Then, seconds later, another elderly woman tripped but managed to steady herself before eating carpet.  I suggested we step aside or risk being taken out at the knees.

Even the chocolate-peanut butter mousse was a disappointment. I mean, come on! The chocolate-peanut butter mousse!

On the way out, I stopped to snap some photos of the melon art at one of the Thai restaurant booths:

Too pretty to eat.  At least that’s what they said when I tried to eat it.

As it turned out, EAT! Vancouver wasn’t a total waste of my time.  I ended up buying two bottles of some lovely flavored oils:

Once you factor in their purchase price, the entrance fee, and the cost of parking, they came out to roughly $35 a bottle.

I’ll have to be sure to use them sparingly.

Mailbag:

Yates writes: “I’ll be at SDCC selling my wares – booth 1335, look for the guy with all the colorful puzzles – It would be great to say hello!”

Answer: I’ll track you down!

DP writes: “Here you go: the list of words to avoid to supposedly keep the Department of Homeland Security from cyber-stalking you.”

Answer: Yep, pretty much covered all of them while researching this miniseries.

Tam Dixon writes: “I thought prawns were just big shrimp? I’ve never seen them prepared like that.”

Answer: Went out for sushi last night.  Look at what they served us with our spot prawn aburi…

KEK writes: “The stuff done on BSG was groundbreaking, not even surpassed in SGU. The stuff we’ve seen on Stargate is relatively generic by comparison, with nothing really setting it apart too much from Trek or even Dr Who.”

Answer: The second sentence receives a huge ?????!!!! from me.  As for the first part  - yes, BSG did amazing things with, as you pointed out, a significantly bigger budget, but the aliens our VFX team created for episodes like Space and Awakening were second to none.

Debra writes: “Speaking of your guys, did I miss an update on the older adoption pair you wanted?”

Answer: Nope.  I’ve been busy working on this miniseries and wanted to go away for a little vacation before adopting.

Line Noise writes: “I’m curious about the origins of this mini series.  Was it an idea that you and Paul had on the shelf that your agent was shopping around? Or were you approached out of the blue by the producers?”

Answer: The latter.

Line Noise also writes: “If the latter, how much of the story was already decided by the producers before you started writing? Were you tightly constrained by certain elements or did you have free reign?”

Answer: They came to us with several concepts and there was one that particularly appealed to us.  They had some suggestions for the opening and potential dramatic developments but we were otherwise given free rein in building the story.  We broke the 16 act narrative over the course of a week, received notes on the outline, and started work on the script soon after.

Line Noise also writes: “How much interaction do you have with the producers during the writing process? Are you sending them regular drafts and receiving notes?”

Answer: As I said, we received notes at the outline stage.  We’ll receive our next round of notes after delivery of the first draft.  And then, depending on how tight the prep schedule, probably one last set of notes on the second draft.

Line Noise also writes: “I’m just intrigued because if cameras roll in July the producers must be pretty confident they’re going to get what they want from you.”

Answer: The outline was fairly detailed, breaking down every scene and beat in each act of the four hour event, so there won’t be any surprises at the script stage.  There will no doubt be notes, but they won’t be of the “I think the end of act 4 should be the end of act 2″ variety.

Ponytail writes: “I’m wondering if when you reflect back on your Stargate days, if the problems you had with production or people involved don’t seem so bad anymore, and you recognize it was all just a part of the process?”

Answer: Stargate was such a well-oiled machine that there were few if any big problems to deal with.  Sure, there were some minor hiccups along the way typical of any production – scheduling conflicts, disagreements on creative or other matters – but those were issues quickly addressed and just as quickly forgotten.  We had a show to produce!

mike mcginnis writes: “Two quick questions
1. can please do an SGA trip down memory lane?
2. if you get shanks to answer questions, could you also ask hewlett to stop by at one point and maybe flanigan?”

Answer: 1. Yes, eventually.  2. David’s web presence is bigger than mine and has made himself very accessible to fandom!  Having him do a Q&A here would be redundant.

May 31, 2012: My fried crispy prawn head recipe!

Done and done.  Sort of.  I finally finished the first rough draft of the miniseries.  Now, I switch off and go over the first part which Paul has been revising and rewriting.  I think it’s coming along quite nicely – a suspenseful, near-future four hour television event.  They’re looking to go to camera in July which, on the one hand, means the turnaround on the rewrite is also going to be tight, but on the other hand means that our work will be complete by July.  As much as I enjoy producing, I like the fact that we were basically hired guns on this one.  We write the script and then go on our merry way.  I was hoping “all the way to Hawaii” but it looks like our dog-sitter is fully booked so I’m going to have to hold off on any trips until July’s Comic Con in San Diego.  Well, that’s the plan anyway.  Anyone else going?  I will, of course, be there to talk Dark Matter in advance of the trade paperback release collecting the first four issues of my comic book series, but if you’d like to chat Stargate, scifi, or my Snow Monkeys’ chances heading into this next fantasy football season, then by all means let’s chat.

I picked up about a dozen fresh spot prawn the other day and, while we were cleaning them, Akemi asked whether I wanted to prepare them head on or head off.  She’s squeamish about certain things (ie. eating a face with beady black eyeballs) and leaned toward tossing the heads which I found altogether unJapanese.  Why, I recall that one of my favorite menu items at a tempura joint in Ginza was its deep-fried prawn heads.  And so, I decided “Why not have the best of both worlds?”.  We decapitated the prawn and I prepared the heads as a side dish.  Like so:

After washing the prawn heads and patting them dry, toss them in flour. You can add some salt, pepper, maybe garlic powder or paprika as well but I’d avoid any herbs or minced garlic that could overcook and turn bitter in the extended frying process.  I was considering using egg or even some soda water, but Akemi advised against it.

Heat some canola oil in a wok (or deep-fryer of your choice) and heat the oil to somewhere between hot and really hot (380 degrees, let’s say?). Pop your prawn in and cook ’til crispy, about five minutes.

Sprinkle with salt and serve.

They were quite good but, of course, nowhere near as good as the ones I enjoyed in Tokyo.  In retrospect, maybe I should’ve gone with the egg and soda water.

Mailbag:

Ponytail writes: “I can’t think of any 70′s show that might have had a “bible”. Can you? Each week was basically anew again.”

Answer: I’m quite certain that whether or not they had a series bible had nothing do with its serialized or stand-alone structure.  SGU, for instance, was somewhat serialized – we knew where we were going – but we were never working off an official “bible”.  We had a series overview and character breakdowns to get us started in addition to the plan creators Brad Wright and Robert Cooper had in mind, but there was never a detailed blueprint for the show that a “series bible” implies.

Michael Carney writes: “Joe: how fleshed-out are series bibles typically before a series begins?”

Answer: It really depends on the show.  Some productions prefer to have a highly detailed bible in place before moving forward on a show while others prefer a less-detailed series overview.  I personally prefer the latter because the more detailed your game plan in the beginning, the more difficult it will be to make changes as a series progresses – and there are always changes.  Somethings work out better than expected while other things don’t work out at all.  Opportunities suddenly present themselves and it’s nice to have the ability to respond in stride and allow the creative to evolve rather than paint yourself into a corner from the get-go.

Michael Carney also writes: “And, in a related question, does a network being pitched a series like SGU or Fringe need details of the story arc and its eventual conclusion before giving the green light?”

Answer: A network will certainly want to know where the show is headed, and see proof of concept in the form of a pilot script, but it won’t need to know the conclusion in order to green light a show.

Ponytail also writes: “Joe those two elder pugs you’re trying to adopt aren’t getting any younger. What is the problem with that organization? They are starting to make me really mad!”

Answer: I’m to blame for the delay.  I’ve been busy working on this miniseries and haven’t had time to gather all the necessary documentation.  I just got a letter reference from my vet and will be forwarding that tomorrow.

Cyn writes: “Do you look back, Joe? Do you look at SGA or SG-1 and say nobody did that like us or we did a hell of a thing? Do you miss it? Will Stargate ever come back, you think?”

Answer: I do reflect back fondly on my Stargate days.  I worked with a great group of people – generous and immensely talented – and really miss the camaraderie and the incredible results of all of our hard work. Nobody did do it like us, especially with regard to our visual effects. Our VFX team, led by the great Mark Savela, was continuously producing viz effects at least a step or two ahead of anything else being done on television at the time.  It’s a damn shame they didn’t receive the recognition they deserved. As for Stargate’s future – I don’t know. It’s a valuable franchise that, someday, will be reborn, probably in the form of a feature.  Whether or not it builds on the mythology and characters developed in its television incarnation is the big question.

JeffW writes: “Any other “must try” restaurants in Gastown? Macarons?”

Answer: Boneta is also a nice restaurant.  Cobre is terrific but, alas, closed until September.  Cartem Donuterie is within walking distance.

May 30, 2012: Checking out the new kid on the block – Fable Restaurant!

Over on 4th, in the spot once occupied by one of my favorite Vancouver restaurants, Refuel (and my absolute favorite Vancouver restaurant, Fuel, before that), a new restaurant has opened its doors. Almost.  The official opening is apparently a couple of weeks off, but lunches and dinners are being served as part of Fable’s soft opening.  Given my disdain for waiting, I decided to go ahead and check it out last night, ever-mindful that the place was probablyy still in the process of working out a few kinks.  Sure enough, there were a few hiccups over the course of our meal but, overall, Fable shows great promise.

The restaurant is the brainchild of Trevor Bird, one of the three remaining chefs competing in this season’s Top Chef Canada finale.  Its farm to table concept (Farm + Table = Fable.  Get it?) is reflected in a menu highlighting local, seasonal ingredients.  Joining Trevor in kitchen is fellow Top Chef competitor Curtis Luk, the master of the macaron, an avowed Stargate fan who dropped by this blog last month to set the record straight (April 22, 2012: Beta 5! A Top Chef contestant checks in! Switching over from horror to mini-series mode!).

Come on in!  It’s (almost officially) open!

The room has been transformed but there are still recognizable elements that made me nostalgic for Refuel.  The wait and kitchen staff, however, are all new.

We walked in and were promptly greeted by Trevor who was overseeing the action (and, on this night, the kitchen would see a lot of it).  After perusing the menu, we elected to leave our respective foodie fates in the hands of the head chef by going with the seven course Chef’s Tasting Menu.  Trevor swung by the table to discuss any food issues we might have  (allergies, vegetarianism, and other similar illnesses).  We informed him he had carte blanche – with one request. We had to try Curtis’s famed macarons for dessert.

Our server was pleasant and informative, checking in on us throughout the meal without being intrusive.  That said, there were a couple of – well, I hesitate to call them snafus.  They were more odd choices. For instance, we ordered bottle water for the table and received two – one for each of us.

Hope you’re thirsty!

Ultimately, not a big deal because Akemi and I like to stay hydrated through our dinners, but certainly unexpected.

On to the meal:

Local and sustainable Sawmill Bay oysters with citrus and vodka mignonette.  Akemi is a huge fan of oysters and loved this little bite.  They’re tiny so, next time, we might consider starting with a dozen. 

Chickpea fritters with curry mayo, pickled red onions and pea shoots.  The combination of the ingredients really made this dish.  The pickled red onions were a genius element.

Canned Tuna.  No, really.  The tuna is poached, then served up – canned – with a pinch of maldon salt and toast.  Sprinkle the salt on top of the tuna, mix, and – bon appetit.  Actually, it was better then bon.  It was one of the best dishes of the night.  As someone who has always considered cooked tuna inferior to raw, I was pleasantly surprised.  Very tasty with a texture akin to a fine pate.

Akemi goes wild over the canned tuna.

Crispy chorizo-topped halibut on clam chowder.  This one had a nice smoky kick compliments of the chorizo, and the halibut (my least favorite fish) was moist and perfectly prepared.  

Pemberton Farms flat iron steak with brocollini, potato fondant, and black pepper jam.  I’m not a big fan of the flat iron cut, preferring the marbling of a good ribeye, but this admittedly tender meat was greatly elevated by the sweet and spicy black pepper jam that accompanied it.  Wow.  That jam was another highlight of the night.  The potato fondant was overseasoned, a little too salty, but that didn’t stop Akemi from finishing mine.   

I asked the waiter about dessert and he told me we would be having the bread pudding along with the macarons (as per our request).  After confirming that we would be served two dishes (a bread pudding and a macaron plate), I went ahead and ordered two extra desserts I’d been eyeing: the lemon pot de creme and the flourless chocolate cake. Moments later, our next course arrived: TWO servings of bread puddings.  Fortunately, I’m a professional when it comes to eating desserts…

The bread pudding with vanilla and rhubarb ice cream.  The bread pudding was unlike any bread pudding I’ve tried before, both in presentation and taste.  It was actually very good!  The rhubarb component offered a tart contrast to the sweetness of the pudding – if you like that sort of thing.  

The lemon pot de creme was excellent.  I was kind of hoping Akemi would have been full by this point, but she had no trouble polishing it off.  Betsu bara as they say in Japan.

The flourless chocolate cake with rhubarb cream.  The only misstep of the night.  I was looking forward to the rich denseness of a true flourless cake but was disappointed by the   alternating layers of white chocolate ganache that reminded me of a buttercream birthday cake. 

And the macarons: lime on the left and dulce de leche on the right.  The former was a little chewy and could have used some tarting up with more of a lime kick but the latter was perfect in flavor and texture.

Akemi and her macaron-burger.

As I said, Fable is still a week or two away from its official opening so I’m sure that it’s still in the process of testing, refining, and perfecting. If I was in charge of fine-tuning, I’d double-check the seasoning, swap out the flat iron cut for a sexier cut, lose that white chocolate ganache and, in the unfortunate event one of my servers broke a glass, I’d make sure he apologized to the neighboring table (not us on this night).

Overall though, this restaurant holds a lot of promise.  I look forward to checking out its lunch offerings sometime next week.  After Trevor, no doubt, wins the Top Chef title.

Tagged: Curtis Luk, Fable, Fable Restaurant, Top Chef Canada, Trevor Bird, Vancouver Restaurants

May 29, 2012: The Bullshititude of Creative Writing Classes!

I know, I know.  It’s not what you want to hear.  Eager young writers would love to know that there’s somewhere they can go, someone they can pay money, to become a better writer.  Well, the sad truth is that no one but you can make you a better writer.  Actually, hang on.  Back up a step.  Let’s start with the basics: You’re either a good writer or you’re not.  No course, seminar, or meaningful input will change that.

Talent aint learned.  Hell, it aint even earned.  It’s innate and develops from passion and a commitment to the craft.  Sure, there are ways to disguise a lack of talent, tart it up like some average-looking porn star transformed into an object of lofty desire by the magic of too much make-up and good lighting.  That’s why so many movies and t.v. shows are utter shit.  Blame the perfect storm of: a) untalented hacks who have managed to charm their way onto a writing gig, b) the inability of the people hiring them to differentiate between a good script and a bad one, and c) an audience’s willingness to settle for crap.  99% of any production’s problems can be addressed at the script stage.  It’s just a matter of finding a scriptwriter able to do the job – and the people willing to let him/her do it.

Where was I?  Oh, yeah: creative writing classes.  When I call them bullshit, I’m not saying they’re a complete waste of time.  If nothing else, they force you to write and, after all, it’s the act of writing that makes you a better writer.  Of course, one could argue that a writer who can’t motivate him or herself to write has no business being a writer, but I’ll admit that there have been times when I’ve felt unmotivated.  It usually happens when I’m distracted by something I’d much rather be doing like reading a book, napping, or picking the dog crap off my back lawn.  Writing can be hard.  It can be frustrating.  But so are most jobs.  I bet that a lot of office workers would, all things being equal, prefer an extra half hour of lunch to photocopying and collating Herb’s fucking presentation.  So, in that respect, creative writing classes can be worthwhile.  Especially if you’re very lazy.

Now that I think of it, creative writing classes can also help by providing a venue in which to receive  honest feedback on your work – as opposed to the sugarcoated lies your friends or family will feed you. I don’t care if Aunt Mildred loved it, your third act twist is forced and contrived.  And the jaguar attack in the second act is fucking stupid. You need someone to tell you these things.  You need the unvarnished critique that only a disinterested stranger can truly provide.

So, I stand corrected.  They’re not total bullshit.  If you’re lazy and are surrounded by dishonest friends and family members, then you may derive some benefit from a creative writing course.

Seminars, on the other hand – now THEY are total bullshit!