Joseph Mallozzi's Blog, page 538

June 9, 2011: Oatmeal Snowman! Trevor screws up my page count! Stargate: SG-1 season 9! News of note!

Akemi's latest breakfast bento creation: oatmeal snowman!

This morning, we checked out a new place, a cozy little apartment in the ritzy Yorkville district.  Pros: Upscale neighborhood, better oven, located close to gourmet shop Pusateri, and the woman who showed us the suite was gorgeous – but, in all fairness, I failed to inquire if she came with the place.  Cons: Longer drive to work, longer walk to the dog park, more traffic outside, father away from St. Lawrence Market, downtown restaurants, vet, doggy daycare, and Martin Gero.  Tough call but I have a feeling we're staying put.  Akemi doesn't like the cutlery in the new place.

In the words of little Ralphie from A Christmas Story: "Oooh fuuuudge!  Only I didn't say 'fudge"."  After I incorporated all of the notes for the last draft of episode 3 of Transporter: The Series, the script came in at a weighty and wholly uproducable 60+ pages.  Sadly, since I'm prohibited from redirecting funds earmarked for frivolous expenditures (ie. my fellow Exec. Producers' salaries, first aid supplies, etc.) toward overages, I had to make some trims to get the page count down. Following days of careful consideration and judicious cuts, I succeeded in bringing the script down to a much more manageable 52 pages.  Pleased, my work on episode #3 presumably complete for the time being, I redirected focus to my rewrite of episode #6.

Until Trevor, our assistant, noted a problem with my script format – specifically, the fact that my default format settings were incorrect.  Trevor corrected them. And in so doing, my 52 page script (formerly 60+ pages long) ballooned to 57 pages (formerly a hell of a lot longer).  Sigh!  So my first attempt to fix the problem – a.k.a. firing Trevor – while personally satisfying, did little to help address the page count.  In the end, I spent another two hours making the proper trims that brought the script down to 53 glorious pages.

On to production!

And a new assistant!

Thank you to those who pointed out my error in mistaking SG-1 season 9′s Beach Head for season 10′s The Pegasus Project.  I will rectify this oversight in the following weeks by switching it around and mistaking The Pegasus Project for Beach Head.

PROTOTYPE (909)

Alan McCullough scripts his first Stargate episode and, based on his efforts here, is invited to join the writing staff.  He'll spend two seasons on SG-1 and four on Atlantis, working his way up to Supervising Producer, displaying not only good story sense but a real affinity for the editing room as well.  A great guy and much-appreciated member of the raucous writing room of Carl Binder, Marty G., Paul, and myself that produced Atlantis's final two seasons.

This episode also marked the first appearance of actor Neil Jackson who would turn in an equally brilliant performance as the undercover wraith in Stargate: Atlantis's fifth season episode, Vegas.

THE FOURTH HORSEMAN I (910)

When we broke this mid-season two-parter, we fully expected to have actor Sean Patrick Flannery reprise the role of Orlin.  Unfortunately, it turned out he was unavailable for both episodes.  As a result, we were forced to rethink his character's role in the story.  In retrospect, it was different but "good" different, offering up some terrific opportunities for both the Orlin character and Samantha Carter.  The part ended up being played by Cameron Bright who has gone on to play the role of Alec in the Twilight Saga.

It was great to have Don S. Davis back as General George Hammond.  I appreciated the fact that, even though he'd shifted focus to his art and enjoying his retirement, Don still found time to revisit with us.  Like most of my friends, we wound up connecting over our mutual appreciation for food and spent many an evening out on the town, bonding over everything from ribs to foie gras.

THE FOURTH HORSEMAN II (911)

In this episode, Earth officials attempt to contain an alien virus that spreads from Stargate Command to the United States, then North America and, eventually, the rest of the world.  And reporting on the breaking news are – well, news anchors and reporters.  And who better to play news and anchors and reporters then actual anchors and reporters.  Surprisingly, it happens all the time in film and television.  We auditioned a bunch of them and, quite frankly, they were all great, but ended up going with local television personalities Dawn Chubai and Dagmar Midcap.

The part of the Jaffa Aron is played by Chris Judge's brother, Jeff, who I was a long-time regular at Chris's notorious poker nights.

COLLATERAL DAMAGE (912)

I loved this episode and, as much as I'd like to lay some claim to it, this was all Paul, my writing partner (I was busy working on the next episode, Ripple Effect). One of the things I loved about working on Stargate was the freedom it gave us as writers.  We could tell a variety of stories – standalone, arc-driven, Earth-based, set off-world, SF, fantasy, horror, comedic, or dark.  In the case of Collateral Damage – standalone, off-world, SF, and dark, and it does all four incredibly well.

In the original pitch, it's Teal'c who ends up imprisoned on an alien world, charged with a crime he didn't commit despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.  Given Teal'c's existing arc that season, we elected to make it a Mitchell story as it allowed us the opportunity explore his past.

The part of the doomed victim in this episode, Dr. Reya Varrick, is played by the lovely Anna Galvin who is one of a handful of actors who have appeared in all three Stargate series – as the mysterious Vanessa Conrad in one of my fave Atlantis episodes, Remnants, and then as Chloe Armstrong's mother in Stargate: Universe.

How did I miss this?!  Past Book of the Month Club guest author Daryl Gregory is writing a new Planet of the Apes series for BOOM! Studios, one of my favorite new comic book publishers: http://www.darylgregory.com/comics/apes.aspx

Hey, fellow foodies, check it out!  Interview with my friend and fave chef Robert Belcham of Fuel/Refuel fame here: http://vancouverfoodster.com/2011/06/08/chef-robert-belcham/ - in which he makes mention of the unbelievable 30 course dinner he prepared for me before I left Vancouver (March 18, 2011: The Meal To End All Meals!).

Via Io9 – A site that uses facial recognition software to pair you up with the dog of your dreams.  My perfect match is apparently a beagle mix named Olly: http://www.doggelganger.co.nz/

Tagged: Boom Studios, Daryl Gregory, Planet of the Apes, ReFuel, Robert Belcham, SG-1, Stargate, Stargate: SG-1, Transporter: The Series

June 8, 2011: Marty G. rejoins this blog as a series regular! Your herbal top 5! Stargate: SG-1′s ninth season!

Hey!  Look who it is!  No, not Joaquin Phoenix.  It's Martin Gero (Stargate: Atlantis, Bored To Death) who is in Toronto to Executive Produce his new show (which I'm calling Untitled Martin Gero Project or UMGP).  We met up Sunday night for chat, laughs, and this odd cocktail containing pimms, gin, lemonade, ginger beer, and cucumber.  Then, we met up again last night for more chat, laughs, and octopus.  Given the fact that we're both fellow foodies, our dinner conversation tends to be atypical of most guys.  For instance, instead of discussing the NBA finals or Stanley Cup playoffs, the topic of discussion turned to matters of far greater import – specifically, our favorite herbs.

Martin put basil at #1 and, as much as I like basil (it's a solid #3 in my books), nothing comes close to my #1.  And #2 is a bit of a dark horse, admittedly, but I really feel people should give it a try.

My Top 5 Herbs in ascending order:

#5: SAGE

A little strong, granted, but it works really well, fried crisp, with chicken or veal saltimboca.

#4: ROSEMARY

Also possessed of a very pronounced flavor.  A little goes a long way.  But terrific with roasted chicken and potatoes.

#3: BASIL

There's nothing like fresh basil in tomato sauce, on pizza. pasta, or buffalo mozzarella.

#2: TARRAGON

Why doesn't this herb get more love?  Great with chicken and fish, it marries perfectly with butter, imparting it with a delicate sweetness.

#1: THYME

Goes well with everything – chicken, beef, pork, lamb, fish, carrots, potatoes.  I even like it in my chocolate!

Looking back on SG-1′s ninth season, I think it and the proceeding season were the most creatively satisfying years for me on the franchise.  Writing for the combined talents of Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Christopher Judge, Ben Browder, Claudia Black, and Beau Bridges was easily the most fun than I've ever had on a show.  I guess it should come as no surprise that fully half of the episodes that made My Top 10 Favorite Stargate Episodes list came from the show's ninth and tenth seasons: August 15, 2010: MY Top 10 Favorite Stargate Episodes

THE POWERS THAT BE (905)

Martin Gero's first script for Stargate: SG-1 offers a peek at Vala's dark past, her potentially bright future, and her very colorful present.  This episode was actually made up of two different pitches: one about Vala returning to scam a world she once ruled as Qetesh, another involving the healing device and the dilemma it presented.  The latter was a notion I'd pitched out but was going nowhere until we started talking about the first story and realized it made sense to marry the two. As with most every episode, that's the way it worked on Stargate.  Despite the onscreen credit, everyone in the writers' room participated in the creation of each story – discussing the initial pitch, spinning some ideas, beating out the story, structuring the narrative, and providing notes on the outline(s) and various drafts. If we were going to be precious about our individual ideas, then longtime Executive Producer Robert Cooper (the master spinner) could have easily laid a co-story credit claim to fully 90% of all episodes produced.

BEACH HEAD (906)

Although Exec. Producer Brad Wright had his hands full with Atlantis, he took the time out to write this episode of SG-1, a big crossover event that quickly became a fan favorite.  At one point in the episode, Mitchell pulls out a lemon and shows it to McKay in an attempt to keep the high-strung Rodney in check (Actually, now that I think of it, I remember seeing it in dailies but don't recall if it made the final cut).  McKay's citrus allergy was a long-standing in-joke, a reference to a member of the production team early in SG-1′s run who, every time they'd go out to lunch, would insist he was violently allergic to citrus.  "One drop could kill me!".  This despite the fact that, unbeknownst to him, most every salad he ordered at the local restaurant did, in fact, contains citrus.

EX DEUS MACHINA (907)

While we were spinning this story about Baal hiding out on Earth, I suggested he could be working in a garage under an assumed identity, thus giving us the opportunity to title the episode Deus Ex Mechanic.  Paul pointed out that, given the fact Baal was an ex goa'uld "god", an even more appropriate title would be Ex Deus Machina.  Well, when we finished breaking the story, the mechanic idea was out the window, so we settled with Ex Deus Machina.  One of my very favorite titles – made all the greater by those outraged fans who called us out for such an obvious mistake!

This episode also gave us the opportunity see my favorite System Lord, Baal – played to deliciously evil perfection by actor Cliff Simon – take his overlord act to the environs of planet Earth.  And, best of all, dress the part!

BABYLON (908)

Director Peter DeLuise had long lobbied to have actor Tony Todd (Candyman) on the show and, finally, the perfect opportunity/role presented itself in this episode in the form of Haikon, the leader of the Sodan.  Tony's was one of many great performances in this episode, but special mention goes to Ben Browder who went all out, even performing some of his own stunts – with bruising results.  He went all out – so much so that, after watching one alarming set of dailies, the producers made the executive decision to revoke the lionshare of Ben's stunting privileges!

 

Tagged: Stargate, Stargate: SG-1

June 7, 2011: Breakfast! Nightmares! And mailbag!

Today's breakfast, compliments of Akemi.  In my Happy Panda bentox box = a happy panda fashioned out of steelcut Irish oatmeal and nutella.  Also includes various fruit and one of the nutella mini-cupcakes Dede made yesterday -

The other night, she texted me a picture of the above.  I texted her back.  Although I wrote "Oooooo!", for some reason, my iPhone's auto-correct changed by response to "Poopy!" Needless to say, I scrambled to correct the auto-correct.  Reminds me of the time I was supposed to meet Ivon for lunch only to discover our first choice, Chronic Tacos, closed.  So, I suggested Romer's Burger Bar instead:

Hmmmm.  Chronic Tacos is closed.  Timers?

Toners?

Romers?

Ficking auto correct.

Fucking!

Anyway, it wasn't until some twenty minutes after I'd finished my breakfast that I noticed the Happy Panda bento box contained a hidden compartment.

What treasures lie within?

Another nutella cupcake!  And pepto bismol!!

All sorts of weird dog-related dreams of late.  The other night, I dreamt that I was informed I did not, in fact, own my pug, Jelly – that she was actually a dog actor I had mistakenly picked up off some set and now her original trainer wanted her back.  Then, Maximus and Bubba were eaten by sharks.  And finally, last night, I dreamt  I was back in Montreal checking on my neighbor's old, decrepit house.  My walkthrough complete, I hit the remote to close the garage door.  It groaned and squeaked as it slowly came down behind me but, as I turned to head back down the driveway, I heard it groan and squeak again as it slowly rose back up. Curious, I approached to see whether something was interfering with the door – when Jelly raced by me and started barking at something.  As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I spotted it, right next to the garage door opener: a person standing on a chair, perfectly still, his face obscured by the garden pail covering his face. Which is about when I woke up.  Freaky – and a perfect image for my future horror flick!

Mailbag:

Debra writes: "I didn't say all the women, but the strong kick butt woman you wrote was intended to be lesbian."

Answer: Actually, no.  The two kick-butt female members of the team in Whispers – Major Teldy and Dusty – weren't.  Vega may have been, but it was never canon.  SGU's Camile Wray was gay and, I thought, a character with a lot of depth and strength.

Debra also writes: "T.J… puleeeze… she was not strong, screwing a married man, let him force her to return to the ship, etc. I don't see her as strong. She coped, she survived, but she was not what I call strong."

Answer: There are two sides to the coin.  One could argue that Young was just as weak for having the affair.  Also, one of the aspects of the T.J. character I liked a lot were her strength as displayed in episodes like Water and Divided – which is why I enjoyed seeing her demonstrate the resolve and toughness in The Hunt.

Debra also writes: "Carter…Again, after the first few seasons she certainly got strong. But the fawning "sir" crap…and the indecision over men."

Answer: Not sure what the fawning "sir" crap refers to.  As her commanding officer, she would refer to him as "sir".  I saw no fawning.  Indecisive?  Besides the relationship with Pete, I didn't see any other instances.  And even then – so what?  People (men and women) are indecisive.  Given the show ran for ten years, why not explore Sam's personal life?  We did so with Teal'c and Daniel after all.

Debra also writes: "Vala is one of my fave characters, and I enjoy her "out there" ness. But a lot of that is the actress. "

Answer: No, actually – it may surprise you to learn that, while Claudia was fantastic, her character was scripted.  All those funny lines were written, not improvised.

Bryan M. White writes: "What has Rob been up to lately?"

Answer: In addition to his work on Transporter: The Series, Rob Cooper is busy on a host of other exciting projects.  Once he gives me the green light, I'll tell you about them.

Elliott writes: "

Some questions: 1.) Is it still technically a pilot episode if a full season has already been ordered?"

Answer: It was the series pilot prior to the show being ordered so, internally, we're still calling it "The pilot episode".

"2.) Why is "Dark Matter" called "Dark Matter"? What is the significance of the title? It's probably a spoiler… "

Answer: Yep.  Spoiler.  All will be revealed January of 2012.  Well, maybe not all – but a lot.

"3.) How come in "Divided" Rush can transfer control of the ship away from the control interface room remotely, and yet Telford has to do it from the gate room in "Incursion"?"

Answer: To avoid a scenario similar to the one in Divided, Young put safeguards in place to ensure it wouldn't be so easy.  Of course, Rush may have foreseen the implementation of said safeguards and hidden a workaround program in the event the opportunity presented itself.

"4.) What scholarship did Greer apply for, but not get?"

Answer: Sorry, don't recall.

"5.) Why did you pick Greer shooting a spider as the reason for the tunnel collapsing in "Human"? Wouldn't it have been more realistic and a little less… "silly" if the tunnel had already been unstable and it just collapsed on them?"

Answer: But there had to be a reason for the tunnel to collapse otherwise it would have felt contrived for the ceiling to suddenly, and conveniently, come down.

June 6, 2011: Our first Transporter: The Series field trip! Mailbag!

We spent much of today driving around the city, checking potential locations for the pilot episode of Transporter: The Series.  Pictured above is my brilliant solution to the scene in which our hero, Frank, evades the bad guys by blending into the background.  Yes, a closer look at the photo will reveal that only the ballerina is part of the wall mural.  My contribution is a live element!

Anyway, our field trip in pictures…

This spot would've been perfect if not for the incessant hum of the hotel's massive air conditioning unit. It would provided we could shut the AC down for three hours or so in July. I'm sure the hotel guests won't mind.

Production Designer Tim Bider snaps some pics, presumably for HIS blog!

Suite - famous for being trashed by some Hollywood douchebag.

Alexander relaxes in what, a month from now, will be an upscale shop.

Potential getaway sequence location? Alex says yes!

Stairs leading down to the basement of doom.

The legends were true! We discover the ancient bee burial ground.

Tim, a standing member of the Loyal Order of Crocodiles, sports his club hat. A terrific conversation-starter at most bars.

Some of the, uh, interesting stained glass work on display…

That kid in the front is one evil-looking bastard.

Because science and learning is to be feared.

Nordic Hansel and Gretel. Check out Gretel's celebratory fist pump. Ka-ching!

A young Ludwig Von Beethoven goes skiing with his dad.

Clearly, this stained glass work dates as far back as the turn of the century. The 21st century.

We stop for lunch at a little Italian place off Queen Street West called Pizzeria Libretto where we enjoy four different pizzas. Alex, Anna, and I vote the sausage with caramelized onions our Pizza Pick of the Day!

Paul and Alexander - their vivacity is almost infectious!

Tim Owen informs me that, as much as I loved the pizzeria, there are no plans to use it for a future location shoot.

This parkade has a lot of character (a.k.a. I can really see someone being murdered here).

1st AD Tim Singh seconds before being snatched by one of the neighborhood's giant snow owls.

Mailbag:

Bryan M. White writes: "Love the Galaxy Quest reference!!!"

Answer: That was Ben's inspired suggestion.  He ran it by me after reading the script and I loved it!

Randomness writes: "For me, seeing Mitchell prior to Season 9, if only randomly, or in passing would of been better, however budget I would imagine, and a reason for him to be there would of been I guess hard."

Answer: It wasn't so much a budgetary constraint as it was the simple fact that we didn't know who we would be bringing in to replace O'Neill until after season 9 had been shot.

crayonbaby writes: "You'll have to tell us the reasoning behind the 30 bite salad. Do you have to eat them in a certain order to get the full effect? "

Answer: Nope.  Half the fun is in the choosing.

archersangel writes: "i was wondering; did beau bridges went through the usual audition process or what? the same with louis gossett jr. i think of them as "movie actors" & was surprised to see them on tv."

Answer: No.  In the case of both Beau and Lou, they were offered the roles.

Michelle writes: "Do you think it would have been easier for fans to accept Mitchell and Landry if it were clear where Jack was going?"

Answer: Don't know if it would have made much of a difference although, yes, it should have been clear where Jack disappeared to.

Randomness writes: "Did you have a chance to watch Red Faction Origins yet Joe?"

Answer: Nope.

Anaria writes: "Okay, that answers the toilet question about the cargo ships, but what about jumpers? They don't have rings, and sometimes people spend a lot of time in them, for example in 'Midway' after the midway station blows up."

Answer: Oh, that one's easy.  In the case of the jumper, everyone but whoever has to go moves up to the front.  When the person has finished their business, everyone hangs on for dear life and the jumper drops its ramp, exposing the jumper's interior to the vacuum of space, effectively clearing out any refuse (and weak-fingered occupants).

jmanzione writes: "Whoever came up with the Ori did an awesome job."

Answer: Thank you, Robert C. Cooper.

Sov writes: "So I've been wondering, since the stargate was presumably moved to Washington and the focus of the program likely changed more from exploration to research, and since all the bad guys have been done away with, what became of SG1? Carter has a ship, Teal'C is some kind of politician or something, and Daniel hopefully got himself assigned to Atlantis (that seems logical, at least). It seems that there would be no need for a dozen-plus SG teams at this point, so maybe they were whittled down to four or five? Is Cameron Mitchell retired and laying on a beach somewhere? Or maybe he's pushing pencils behind a desk? What fate Cam Mitchell?"

Answer: In my mind, Jack is retired and has settled down with Carter who is head of all off-world-related R&D.  Now that Atlantis has found a home in the Milky Way, Daniel is there, studying its database and exploring hitherto unexplored sections of the Ancient city.  Cam is still leading a team on off-world adventures, a team made up of both Teal'c and Vala who occasionally take time off to oversee the free Jaffa nation and run some off-world scams.

dasNdanger writes: "Speaking of Akemi, Joe, have you ever read David Mack's Kabuki? "

Answer: Have a statue, but haven't read the comic book.

dasNdanger also writes: "Oh! I see in that link that Akemi sounds similar to Alchemy.  Maybe I've answered my own question, but any help you can offer would also be appreciated."

Answer: Yes.  Exactly like "alchemy" without the "l".

maggiemayday writes: "Betcha Akemi has a cute "-chan" nickname. Kemi-chan? Mi-chan?"

Answer: Ake-chan.

dankriss1967 writes: "I think it works out really well as they work as a team and I loved the fact that Carter liked Vala from the start so glad they did not do the 2 women lets have them hate each other routine…phew!"

Answer: I liked the idea of the two being good friends despite their differences, which is why I included a couple of personal little scenes in a couple of episodes (them coming back from an outing in the tease of one episode, them enjoying a glass of wine at the end of another adventure -Family Ties).

Debra writes: "Ever notice when you DO strong women, they are either OUT THERE (like Vala) or lesbians (the all women team… like that is realistic!, and Camile Wray. "

Answer: Why do you assume the all woman team was lesbian?  What about T.J.?  Or Teyla?  Or Carter?  And (re: Vala) what's wrong with a strong woman character being "out there"?

Shiny writes: "How did Akemi make the asparagus? Asparagus is my waterloo; I get beautiful stalks and then end up tossing it in the gravy or just forgetting them in the bottom of the fridge. I've had it made so tasty and zesty, but I don't know how; you steam and then what?"

Answer: I recommend steaming them, then finishing them in a pan with some balsamic vinegar.

June 5, 2011: Akemi's latest masterpiece! Looking back of Stargate: SG-1′s ninth season!

As I said in a previous post, when it comes to preparing a meal, Akemi places as much emphasis on appearance as she does flavor.  Pictured above is one of her latest creations, inspired by the 30 bite salad at Tokyo's Chez Tomo.  Her version is closer to 20 bites but, I'm sure, equally laborious.

On to my memories of Stargate: SG-1′s ninth season…

I was vacationing in Hong Kong when I received an email from Executive Producer Robert Cooper informing me that SciFi was considering picking Stargate: SG-1 up for a ninth season.  The only catch was Richard Dean Anderson's departure left a big hole in the show and the network wanted to know who were planning to bring in to fill it. Well, as far as I was concerned, it was a no-brainer.  "Get Ben Browder,"I emailed back.  I loved Ben Browder's work on Farscape and came away deeply impressed with the guy following our brief meeting at the Saturn awards years earlier.  Turns out Executive Producer Brad Wright and Ben had met at a recent SciFi party and hit it off as well – so the wheels started turning.

By the time I got back from Asia, Ben was all but signed and Robert informed me that they were considering bringing in not one but TWO new characters for the show's ninth season: Ben's character would be joined by Vala Mal Doran played by Claudia Black.  It was going to be a Farscape reunion and I couldn't have been happier.  Unfortunately, the network put the brakes on that idea for exactly the same reason: it was going to be a Farscape reunion.  And so, Ben was signed for that season's full twenty episode run while Claudia was signed for a seven episode arc.  But when those first few episodes delivered, the network quickly changed its mind and requested MORE VALA!  Unfortunately, given the number of scripts already written (or in the process of being written), it wasn't a request we could honor – but we were able to bring her back for two more episodes at season's end.  And, of course, there was always the possibility that in the likely event we got a record-breaking tenth season pick-up (!), she could be back as a regular…

AVALON 1 (901)

One of the things that stood out for me about Ben Browder's first episode was Ben behind the scenes.  While he was great onscreen, he was equally great off-screen as well – passing on R&R in his trailer in favor of staying on set to deliver his off-camera lines.  He was happy to be on the show and eager to help out in any way he could.  The guy was committed.  How committed?  Well, for starters, by the time he'd hit Vancouver, he'd already watched every episode of SG-1 (eight seasons worth!) in preparation.

My only regret with regard to the Cameron Mitchell character was the way he was introduced – specifically, the fact that he was brought in to lead SG-1.  Only problem was SG-1 already had a leader in Samantha Carter.  Well, theoretically she was except that, by the time season nine got underway, SG-1 was no more. With the defeat of the go'auld, the team members had gone their separate ways.  And so, it fell on Mitchell to get the band back together.  My writing partner Paul flagged the potential problem in the writers' room, arguing that giving someone else command of the team (or merely suggesting as much) was disrespectful to the character Carter.  A heated debate ensued and, in the end, a compromise was reached.  Carter and Mitchell would share command team.  Which, in retrospect, did little to quell some of the angry fan response.

AVALON II (902)

Claudia Black demonstrated her talent for comedy in previous episodes, but this one showcases her considerable dramatic range as well.  I remember watching this episode thinking "Damn.  She WOULD make a great series regular!".  And the onscreen chemistry between her and Michael was electric.

A bit of controversy surrounding this episode's fiery death scene.  It was pretty damn horrific – the original edit even more so – and we went back and forth on how much we wanted to show.  In the end, I'm surprised that the network allowed us to show as much as we did.  It was by far the most unsettling scene in my 11+ years on Stargate.

ORIGIN (903)

With Jack O'Neill transferred to Washington, the SGC found itself under the command of General Hank Landry played by veteran actor Beau Bridges.  Beau reminded me a lot of Robert Picardo (Richard Woolsey) – both were very successful, incredibly experienced, and always made it a point to come by our offices to run prospective dialogue changes by us rather than simply surprising us in the dailies.  Like Bob, Beau would always make the time to come up and see us to request even the tiniest of changes.  Both of them were class acts and I have nothing but terrific memories of working with them.

THE TIES THAT BIND (904)

This episode, originally titled "Treasure! Treasure! Treasure!", ran long and, as a result, I had to cut one of my favorite exchanges, part of the scene where an undercover Mitchell encounters alien mercenaries Tenat and Jup:

Tenat eyes Mitchell.

TENAT: Your name?

MITCHELL: Cam Mitchell, bounty hunter.

TENAT: Never heard of you.

MITCHELL: I try to keep a low profile, let my work speak for itself. Don't like to brag, but I've captured some of the most dangerous criminals around.

TENAT: Such as?

MITCHELL: Well … Grabthar the Hammer.

TENAT: Never heard of him.

MITCHELL: The Olsen Twins of Omega 3? Moesha the Vile?

TENAT: No.

MITCHELL: Trebek the Destroyer?

Jup pipes up -

JUP: Him I've heard of.

This was one of my favorite scripts of my 11+ year Stargate run.  I loved the opportunity to write an all-out comic episode – and greatly appreciated the fact that I was supported by actors who could deliver the funny.  From our series regulars to this episode's guest stars, all did a terrific job on The Ties That Bind.

Another scene that I had to cut at the script stage sought to answer the question many curious fans had been asking for years: "What happens if you need to go to the bathroom on a cargo ship?".  In the scene, Jup is at the ship's controls when the door behind him slides open and Tenat enters, pulling up his pants.  Tenat "flushes" by initiating the rings that transport away whatever he just left behind in the back.  Question answered.  And then my fellow producers made me cut it.

One of the many amusing memories of this episode concerns guest star Wallace Shawn (Vizzini in The Princess Bride.  Inconceivable!). Prior to his arrival, I was told he was very excited to be working on the show because he was, in fact, a huge fan of SG-1.  So, on the day of his costume fitting, I went downstairs to say hello and welcome him to Stargate.  "So, you're familiar with the show,"I said.  "Oh, no, I've never seen it,"he informed me.  "I don't even own a t.v.".

Tagged: Beau Bridges, Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Robert Picardo, Stargate, Stargate: SG-1

June 4, 2011: A sneak peek at the standing sets for Transporter: The Series! They eyes (don't) have it! The Stargate: SG-1 season 8 wrap-up!

Yesterday, we took walk through the preliminary standing sets for Transporter: The Series.

Granted, they still need a little work (and Paul, Alexander and I did have a few suggestions) but here's a sneak peek at what we've got so far…

Frank's garage

House access from the garage

Kitchen and living room

Alexander takes a dip in the pool

Widen the pool, lengthen the back patio, a few tweaks here and there, and we're ready to roll!

Yesterday, I went to see the optometrist to get my eyes checked (Why else?  Did you actually think I was going there for an oil change?).  After a number of tests that culminated in her giving me some eye drops that almost instantly had me resembling an anime character -

Actual photo of me taken yesterday.

- I was informed I had a slight astigmatism and racy optical nerves.  I assumed the latter was a compliment (my optic nerves are notoriously sexy and vivacious) but, sadly, it turned out to be a red flag for high blood pressure and other unpleasantness.  Fortunately, I remember having a full physical only recently that included passing grades on my full blood panel, blood pressure, and cholesterol tests (although I did lose marks mispronunciation of the word "awry" that I pronounced "awwwreee").  I don't remember how recent but I'm sure a quick check of the blog will turn up an approximate date that ends with 2011.  Of course that was back in Vancouver but I can't think of anything that may have caused me undue stress over the last, oh, three months.

Anyway, the optometrist suggested I was Libra on the cusp of Scorpio needing reading glasses but suggested I could wait and see.  Unfortunately, that's the problem.  I can't see – especially when I'm reading in a dimly lit room after a day of computer work.  So I ordered a pair of reading glasses.  I lucked out and took advantage of a sale to score a very cool pair complete with horn rims, rhinestones, and a beaded aquamarine chain to keep from losing them.   And they came with a free cardigan!

So, where was I when I last left off my SG-1 reminiscences?  Oh, yeah!  The end of season eight…

Well, it was a bittersweet conclusion to the season – although, yet again, we were heading into those last few episodes assuming they would be SG-1′s last.  The plan was to pass the torch to young upstart spinoff Atlantis and transition SG-1 from the small screen to occasional dvd adventures.  Of course, plans change and, as a result, after a grueling year of producing 40 episodes of television, we were looking forward to another 40 episode year.

RECKONING II (817)

Baal, Anubis, the tok'ra, the Jaffa, the replicators, uneasy alliances, surprises, death and destruct – this episode has it all, concluding a multitude of outstanding stories in grand style.   For all the inter-galactic splendor and ship to ship battles, my favorite moments comes when O'Neill and co. blow the door to free Siler and others trapped inside.  Seconds after the explosion, Siler pokes his head up out from behind the table he is hiding behind – and discovers an enormous piece of shrapnel embedded in the tabletop only inches from his head.  The part of Siler was played by longtime SG-1 stunt coordinate Dan Shea who parlayed the occasional background role to an actual speaking part on the show.  To this day, he's still doing the con circuit, traveling the world to meet his many, many fans.

THREADS  (818)

And almost every story thread that wasn't wrapped up in the previous episode gets wrapped up here: Anubis, Oma Desala, the Jaffa quest for freedom, Jacob/Selmak, stalker Pete, and Jack and Sam.  Well, sort of in the case of the latter.  We know both Jack and Sam end their standing relationships for. presumably, each other – but it's not all that overt which, on the one hand, leaves the door open for future will they/won't they but, on the other hand, is somewhat disappointing given that if there was ever an episode in which to get them together, this would have been it.  That aside, it was a terrific episode and Exec. Producer Robert Cooper packed so much into the script that the usual 42 minute running time wasn't able to contain it.  As a result, a special 90 minute version was released (and later mistakenly omitted when the season 8 dvd was released, much to the displeasure of most fans).

MOEBIUS I (819)

What ever happened to all that cool tech SG-1 amassed over the course of their many adventures: the sarcophagus, the healing device, that time-traveling puddle jumper from It's Good To Be King?  Well, glad you asked because the jumper makes a return appearance in this episode – before heading back for continued R&D (or, in our timeline, just staying right where it is).

Sabrina Gosling, Catherine Langford's niece, is named after Sharon Gosling – author, editor, and freelance writer – who interviewed the cast and crew on numerous occasions over the course of SG-1′s lengthy run.

Alt. Carter's "Now, just because my reproductive organs are on the inside instead of the outside doesn't …" is a callback to the SG-1′s opener, Children of the Gods, and what has long been considered one of the most cringeworthy lines in the history of the franchise.

MOEBIUS II (820)

The end of an era!  Although the series continued, it did so in radically different fashion.  As far as finales go, this one ranks as one of my very favorites.  Given that it was a time travel story, there were plenty of arguments in the writers' room on exactly what could and couldn't work within the two-parter's SF constraints but, in the end, we managed to get it all worked out and my writing partner, Paul, avoided a nervous breakdown.

Tagged: SG-1, Stargate, Stargate: SG-1, Transporter: The Series

June 3, 2011: On crabs and masks! Chiado restaurant! Friendly comedians! And Transporter: The Series rolls toward production!

The other day, Akemi went to the St. Lawrence Market.  There, she engaged one of the seafood purveyors in conversation.  The conversation went something like this:

"Do you have social crab?"asked Akemi.

"What?"asked the woman at the counter.

"Do you have social crab?"

"Social crab?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Oh."

"Do you mean soft-shelled crab?"

"Yes!"

"No."

When she returned home, a bewildered Akemi asked me to confirm the correct pronunciation.

"Soft-shelled crab,"I enunciated for her.

"Not social crab?"she asked, clearly disappointed.

"No.  Not social crab."

She now claims the fault lies with me for having referred to it as "social crab" in the first place.

I chalk up this misunderstanding to the fact that she is suffering from hay fever that has affected her eyes, nose, and, apparently, her ears. Also, the fact that she's Japanese.  To combat the hay fever symptoms, she is thinking of wearing one of those wacky surgical masks you see half the population of Tokyo sporting on any given day.

Whenever I see them, I'm reminded of the King of the Hill episode where Hank Hill finds himself in Tokyo, trying to flag down passersby for directions: "Hello? Pardon me.  Excuse me, doctor.".  Akemi argues that everyone in Japan wears them to keep from passing along their colds to co-workers and fellow citizens.  It's common sense!  I told her that while the reasoning was certainly logical, the wearing of face masks wasn't the norm in North America and would look, well, kind of weird.  She suggested that, maybe, a stylish designer model would be the way to go.  Something like this -

Or this -

Though, given the choice, I'd probably opt for something that would provide the fullest protection.  Probably something like this -

While the cultural divide puts us on opposing ends of the face mask debate, one thing we can both agree on is our love of fish.  Which is why were both so looking forward to dinner last night.

We ended up going to Chiado, a charming little restaurant specializing in "Progressive Portugese" cuisine.  In addition to the fresh local catches, Chiado offers up a selection of fresh fish flown in daily from the Azores.

Following an amuse-bouche comprised of a delicate cow's milk cheese served with a streak of aged balsamic and a dot of intense rosemary-honey, we were served our appetizers – a salad of arrugula, fresh pear, melted Lourais cheese, lemon, and extra virgin olive oil for her, and the grilled tiger prawn spiced with piri piri, roasted jalapenos and banana peppers for me.  Both wonderful, but not match for our third (shared) appie -

Sardines marinated with lemon, parsley and extra virgin olive oil.  We had a choice between raw or grilled and went with the former.  And, boy, that was the right choice.  Simply prepared but packed with flavor – not fishy (as I feared) but rich and somewhat sweet.  Excellent.

We selected our main course from the day's fish platter -

Hmmmmm. Decisions, decisions.

I was going to have one of the filets, but Akemi beat me to it, so I opted to go whole fish -

The dorado was grilled, then finished in the oven.  Crisp and smokey-charred on the outside but plump and moist on the inside, it was, again, simple and simply delicious.  I passed on my server's offer to filet the fish for me and attempted to do it on my own.  I managed one vertical cut before Akemi shooed me away and dud the honors herself, executing a long horizontal cut along the backbone, flipping over the meat on both sides, then hooking her fork just below the pectoral girdle and lifting the entire skeleton free.  Her only complaint was that the only way to properly eat a whole fish is with chopsticks – an opinion I happen to share.

Akemi went with a fish she instantly recognized from back home.  The Japanese call it Tachiuo (I believe it's known as Black Scabbard or beltfish here) and prepare it a variety of ways although I hear that aburi-style and grilled are the most popular.  Chiado's version was lightly dusted with flour before preparation, then served on a bed of saffron risotto.  It was unbelievably good.

We shared three desserts to conclude our meal.  My favorite (surprise surprise) was the  chocolate mousse.  Although I wasn't quite as enthusiastic about the pear tart, Akemi's Molotof (an airy meringue of egg whites with vanilla cream sauce) was surprisingly good.

Our dinner at Chiado Restaurant was one of those meals that left me satisfied, impressed, and already planning our return visit.  It wasn't cheap ($40-$45 per entree) but it was spectacular.

We returned home and took Bubba and Lulu out for an extra-long walk. As we were heading back, we happened across an adorable blond whose eyes lit up at the sight of the doggies.  Lulu actually spotted her first and made a bee-line for her, promptly presenting herself for petting and general attention grabbing.  The doggy admirer handed  us a flyer for her comedy show at the local Grindhouse Burger.  Anyway, she (Julia Hladkowicz) was kind enough to say hello to the dogs so I figured the least I could do was give her a shout-out on the blog: Julia Comedy Dot Com

Principal photography on Transporter: The Series starts next week in Berlin.  Paul and I are finishing up the rewrites on our first scripts, getting them ready for the start of production (July) here in Toronto, after which we'll be switching gears to tackle the rewrites on our next two scripts.  Two weeks from now, we'll gather to spin the final three episodes and then, it'll be smoooooooooooooooth sailing!

Tagged: Chiado Restaurant, Julia Hladkowicz

June 2, 2011: Ultron and mutants merely misunderstood? Foodly update! Stargate: SG-1 season 8!

So I've finally started to personalize my office.  Rather than hire an interior decorator, I decided to stick with the supervillain motif that made my Stargate workspace so inspirational and the high point of any high school tour.  Today, Ultron went up on the shelf.  Surprisingly, no one knew who the hell he was.  As I was running through his backstory for the edutainment of my fellow co-workers, it suddenly dawned on me that his origin didn't make a whole lot of sense.  He was created by Henry Pym (aka Giant-Man, aka Goliath, aka Yellowjacket, aka Wife Beater) but eventually rebelled against his master, demonstrating a shocking and unexpected ego and ruthlessness.  Of course, had I been working on the Ultron project, I probably would have suspected the robot may have been predisposed to evil considering he was designed to resemble a FREAKIN' SCARY-ASS LUNATIC! (see above)

Which brings up another question.  Way back when he was battling the original X-Men, Magneto ran an outfit called The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.  Then, years later, the buy is all upset because, instead of giving mutants the benefit of the doubt, humanity views them with suspicion and fear.  Okay, granted, while The Brotherhood of Misunderstood Mutants wouldn't have had quite the same ring, it certainly would've done a better job of helping the cause, no?

Okay, I've decided I'm going to be starting a rigorous diet and exercise regimen.  Just as soon as I clear a few items out of my fridge…

Desserts aside, I've been eating fairly healthy.  Akemi is a big fan of fish and prefers the simply preparations common in Japanese society.

However, she prefers the not-so-simple preparations when it comes to baking…

From left to right: Lulu, Maximus, Bubba, and, of course, Jelly with the hanging tongue.

…and breakfast.  These are a couple of the creations that have graced my Happy Panda bento box the last few days…

Steel cut Irish Oatmeal, cherries, raspberries, blueberries, and figs. The oatmeal ball actually conceals a hidden treasure of organic peanut butter.

Similar but the eyes, nose and mouths are fashioned from Nutella chips. Clever, no?

Not helping matters on the work front is Alexander who came in today with these -

- no doubt intended to bribe us in advance of the notes session on his script.

Reflecting back on SG-1′s eight season…

IT'S GOOD TO BE KING  (813)

I always enjoyed writing the funny episodes and this one was no different.  It gave us the opportunity to bring back Harry Mayborne, one of my favorite recurring characters.  This episode ran long and, as a result, I had to cut a scene in which Mayborne displays Solomon-like wisdom in a dispute over a duck.  When the complainants cannot agree on ownership, Mayborne demands a knife be brought forth so he can cut the duck in half and offer an equal share to each.  The men standing before him are shocked at the suggestion and thus, King Mayborne makes his ruling, declaring that neither men are deserving.  As the two men head off, Mayborne turns and hands off the duck to one of his assistant with a: "Cook it up.  I'll have it for lunch."

FULL ALERT (814)

There's a point in the episode where Kinsey meets up with three suspicious characters who use the pseudonyms Mr. Kent, Mr. Wayne, and Mr. Parker (the references should be pretty obvious).  The scene was shot in an old mansion in Vancouver, presumably the estate of a former game hunter because one of the rooms was bedecked with animal trophies.  This, apparently, didn't sit well with some of the crew, but especially Exec. Producer Michael Greenburg, an animal lover, who didn't like being surrounded by the stuffed heads.

CITIZEN JOE (815)

Richard Dean Anderson's love for The Simpsons resulted in him being invited a table reading of the show – which result in him befriending Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson on the show – which resulted in Dan doing a brilliant guest spot for us in this episode – which resulted in Stargate getting a big shout-out in a later episode of The Simpsons guest-starring Richard Dean Anderson.

I remember meeting Dan Castellaneta for the first time.  I was in the lunch line, standing behind a casually-attired fellow in a baseball cap who seemed distracted by something when it came his turn to order.  "You're up!"I offered helpfully, assuming he was a new crew member.  "Joe,"said Robert Cooper, standing to my other side, "have you met Dan?".  Oh.

RECKONING I (816)

This big two-parter was the climax of 7+ terrific seasons of SG-1.  We've got SG-1, the tok'ra, the jaffa, the goa'uld, Anubis, and the replicators all involved in the galactic throwdown to end all galactic throwdowns.  Although there were three more episodes to go before the season wrapped, Reckoning I and II brought things to a head, addressed the major arcs and issues, and tied up most of the loose ends.  Of course, there were a few dangling plot threads – which were taken care of in, appropriately enough, an episode titled Threads.

The late Isaac Hayes makes a guest appearance as the jaffa Tolok.  He was a apparently a huge fan of the show and an utter delight on set – kind and surprisingly soft-spoken.

The free Jaffa world was originally called Bakara, but I didn't like the name because it reminded me of both baccarat, the card game, and bakana, the Japanese word for stupid or silly.  So I changed to it Dakara – which reminded me of daquiri.  But that was okay.

June 1, 2011: Off to the (pugs) races! Beware broadcasters bearing gifts! The summit is a wrap! Mailbag!

Although she suffers from hip dysplasia and arthritic elbows and shoulders that make getting around tough, my pug Jelly does haver her good days.  Yesterday was one.  Look at her go!

Our big two-day broadcaster summit for Transporter: The Series has come to an end.  Yesterday, the producers gathered with HBO/Cinemax, HBO Canada, RTL, and M6 to discuss production: cars, casting, stunts, scheduling, post-production, media relations, digital content and, most important of all, chocolate…

Julien and Alexandra from M6 surprised me with chocolates from my favorite Parisian chocolatier: Patrick Roger. They brought a huge box for the meeting and gifted me a separate box of my own. Guess this means I'm going to have to do all their notes.

We had our own chocolate party.

Not be outdone, Julia from RTL presents a German assortment! Guess I'm doing their script notes as well.

Hey, did I mention that Julien is a huge Stargate fan? Here he is recording a kino warning for future versions of himself that may stumble into the Transporter production time loop.

Day One went quite well.  Among that afternoon's greatest accomplishments was the decision on the opening credit sequence.  Naturally, I was assigned the task of composing lyrics for the show's theme song.  This is what I've got so far:

Transporter!  

He's really quite cool -

'Cause he follows his rules.

And when a job's done,

He'll go jump in his pool!  

Transporter!

The bad guys he'll fight -

And his driving is tight.

He'll impress the girls -

Then turn in for the nigh!

Transporter!

It's a work in progress.  Given its obvious importance, I've set aside all script work for the time being to concentrate on this.

After our meeting, I headed back to my place, updated the blog, then headed downstairs to the lobby where I met -

Julien - always styling.

The ever animated Alexandra.

Julia and Ulrike ready to party.

As the designated driver, it fell on me to ensure everyone arrived at the dessert tray safe and sound and on time….

I much prefer the stand and chat get-togethers over the formal sit-downs that take forever and always end up with me having to fake a call from my mother admonishing me for being out too late before excusing myself and heading home!

The finger food was tasty. And freakin' hot - as Aubie from HBO Canada discovered when he tried to take a bite of this scorching canape.

The beautiful Rachel Skarsten (Delia) and the equally beautiful Alexander M. Ruemelin (Sunshine).

Jocelyn and fire-lips Aubie from HBO Canada. Jocelyn and I go way back. I worked for her when she was a VP at Nelvana. Hell, even further back - I went to high school with her.

High points of the evening included meeting Rachel, the chocolate dessert, and winning a bet with Jocelyn that saw her backing the poodle as the world's smartest dog only to lose out to my candidate, the border collie (as confirmed by two separate Top Ten Smartest Dogs sites).  I had an unfair advantage.  My accountant is a border collie.

Today, it was back in the big boardroom for an in-depth discussion of our twelve scripts.  The best/most exciting note came from Klaus via actor Francois Berléand who requested we play up his character's affinity for fine food and cooking as evidenced in Transporter 2.  As a gourmand, I have a feeling I'll be channeling Inspector Tarconi through most of this season.  One of my first orders of business once the meeting wrapped was to head down to my office and look up merguez and couscous recipes before rewriting the Tarconi scene in my first script.

Mailbag:

Randomness writes: "Joe, what do you think of this interview with Patrick Gilmore?

http://www.mediablvd.com/magazine/the_news/celebrity/patrick_gilmore_on_%27the_killing%27_and_the_end_of_%27stargate_universe%27_201105232512.html

I'm usually supportive of peoples opinions but I disagree with his comments that some fans hated the show because it wasn't Stargate Atlantis.

Hater websites aside, I've always got the general vibe that people just didn't like the show because of the direction it took, basically it didn't appeal to them."

Answer: Actually, Patrick is absolutely right.  "SOME" fans certainly did hate the show because it wasn't Stargate Atlantis.  They essentially said as much, lobbying for the show's cancellation in the foolish belief that it would bring back Atlantis.  And, when just the opposite happened and the cancellation pretty much killed any hopes of a continuation of the Atlantis storyline, they were left standing around like a bunch of dazed dorks wondering "Wha – happened?". Watching them scramble to retroactively put a positive spin on their moronic logic ("Oh, uh, we WANTED that to happen!) was an awesome silver lining to the whole affair.

Chad writes: "Just out of curiosity, why was the SGU episode "Epilogue" originally titled "Radio"?"

Answer: The original pitch involved Destiny picking up messages (in the form of radio waves) from a distant civilization.

Brain writes: "By season 8 did the writers consider the tok'ra all but extinct? It seemed to be what was being inferred in season 7."

Answer: Nope.  Although they were touched upon, their presence decreased considerably as the threat of the goa'uld was finally dealt with.

Scarym writes: "So do you think Daniel & Vala are living happily ever after together?"

Answer: In my mid, they're together and as happy as could be expected given Vala's volatile personality.  But you know – opposites attract.

May 31, 2011: News of Note! Stargate: SG-1 Season 8 Memories!

Horrifying accident at Sony Pictures results in the release of 34 Katherine Heigl films.  Be careful out there -

Compliments of the gang at Cracked.com, here's The Science Behind Stupidly Hot Peppers Chart (The Science Behind Stupidly Hot Peppers [CHART]):

Fark.com puts it best: Photo collection of modern North Korea, or 1960s anywhere else

Meetings today followed by business dinner no doubt followed by a sleepless night so it's an early blog entry.

More SG-1 eight season reminiscences…

SACRIFICES (809)

What actor and, in this case, writer Christopher Judge planned as a raucous episode (tentatively titled My Big Fat Jaffa Wedding) ended up being a fairly serious and touching affair.  Onscreen anyway.  Behind the scenes, we were busy regretting the decision to write horses into this script.  I mean, it looked like a good idea on paper with the potential for plenty of humor, but we forgot to take one thing into account.  Horse shit.  Turns out nothing kills comedy like one of your four-legged guest stars dropping a steaming pile in the middle of your gate room.

Lesson learned!

ENDGAME (810)

My writing partner Paul had an idea: the Stargate is heisted from the heart of Stargate Command.  That was the easy part.  The challenge was coming up with a story that explained who took, why, and, most importantly, how?  Well, worked out a nice little Trust/N.I.D./rogue elements of the N.I.D. angle that worked very well.  A fun episode all around although the one thing I remember about it was the reaction of some fans to the scene in which O'Neill leads the rescue team into the warehouse.  He finds both Daniel and Carter bound to chairs and goes to Sam – which outraged some Daniel supporters because they felt it showed a lack of compassion for DJ.  I'd argue he went to Carter first because she was the first one to stir and, besides, if he went to Daniel first would it have necessarily meant a lack of compassion on his part for Sam?

GEMINI (811)

Amanda gives a doubly delicious performance as both Sam Carter and her evil twin in this episode that sees the return of Replicator Carter.  It was a very satisfying episode, especially for Amanda who imbued her dual performance with subtle nuances that really set the two characters apart.  It was a grueling shoot but, as always, she was a total professional, never once complaining.  It's episodes like this one that remind me how terrific Amanda was to work with.

PROMETHEUS UNBOUND  (812)

We finally got the opportunity to cast Claudia Black, and it was in a role that she seemed born to play.  Robert Cooper took Damian's solid first draft and injected it with a humorous spin that essentially formed the basis of the Vala character we would come to know and love.  To be honest, I wasn't convinced at the script stage as I thought the humor might have been too broad, but all doubt dissolved the moment those dailies started coming in.  Wow!  As far as eighth season episodes went, this one was probably my favorite for its comic elements and the terrific onscreen chemistry between Claudia and Michael.

Tagged: SG-1, Stargate, Stargate: SG-1