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.