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January 06, 2006

Where were we?

Welcome back, sci-fi fans. If you feel anything like I do, you just blinked and all of the sudden it’s 2006. That’s a good thing, because the second half of the season of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis kicks off tonight.

Things at the office are gearing up. So far it’s just the writers, the producers and the art department that’s back in full effect. But hey, those VFX types and the Post department… well they never left. I went down there the other day and the air had that “we never left” feel to it. I felt the urge to run.

So let’s play a game. It’s called “who’s the biggest writing machine?” Okay, think of your odds-on-favourite. Focus. Okay, you’ve got a name in mind, do you? Well… SURPRISE! It’s not whiz-kid Martin “Gero-worship” Gero, although he always pulls his weight. And nope, even though Paul “Long Drive” Mullie has the wherewithal to pull off a script in a weekend, he really needs a backbreaking deadline to make that happen. Rob Cooper you say? Ah, so close, but you know, he’s directing again this year and has other stuff to think about.

So….. (drum roll)… It’s Joe Mallozzi everybody! Take a bow, Joe. Joe pulled off three scripts this off-season. He gets the golden typewriter award and a year’s free Rolfing. Rolfing, for those of you who don’t know, is a very painful massage technique that frees fascial adhesions (unhealthy binding of tissues), allowing the muscles and bones to return to balanced relationships. Following Rolfing, people have reported reduced chronic pain, greater range of motion, improved coordination, a feeling of rejuvenation, and an increased sense of well-being.

Oh, Joe – just wait until those positive benefits begin!

So tonight you get to watch the exciting conclusion of The Fourth Horseman and also the second of a two-parter Atlantis called The Hive. I asked Joe if he could remember any wild and crazy behind the scenes anecdotes about The Fourth Horseman, but he looked up from his computer a little confused and said, “who are you and what are you doing in my office?” So we’re going to give Joe’s brain a little while to re-acclimate.

Carl Binder was more forthcoming about The Hive. He said it was the first episode he’d written with a space battle, and was thrilled to watch the effects come together. Also, David Hewlett’s character Rodney McKay gets all hepped up on Wraith enzyme. The director and producers didn’t know exactly how it would play, so they had David perform a bunch of different ways, even some that were way over the top. The results are hilarious. David’s such a great actor he can really carry a scene by himself. Also in The Hive is the single greatest clown joke ever uttered in sci-fi television. Gonna have to call Guiness Book of World Records again, I’m sure.

Enjoy!

ATL

Posted by Alex Levine at January 6, 2006 10:54 PM