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June 22, 2007

Then End of an Era.

Stargate SG-1 has its final episode tonight, and it's going to be a great… unending? You'll see! So this morning I went around the office and gathered some sound bites from the writers and producers about the end of Stargate SG-1, the television series. Here's what I got…

From Alan McCullough:

"What? Am I the first one? Do you have any examples?…" and then he realized I was writing it all down, so he added. "It's a real shame… I felt like there were still stories left to tell and the characters were really starting to gel."

From Kerry McDowell (Post Coordinator):

"So sad…"

From Paul Mullie:

"In my mind and in my heart the stories will continue." And then he turned to Joe and said "Top that (bitch)!"

From Joe Mallozzi:

"Now where am I going to store my chocolates?" (I personally think Joe is just hiding his emotions with this statement, because later I walked into his office without knocking and, although he tried to play it off by saying there was something in his eye, I think he might have been crying. Or maybe there was just something in his eye).

From Martin Wood:

"It's not done. I just finished the second movie, and I was talking to Brad about the next one." And I shouldn't forget to mention he was wearing a "Stargate Continuum" crew gift tee shirt.

Robert Cooper didn't have any parting words, but he did tell me about the last night of shooting. He was directing, and the day went quite late. He had arranged for the last shot to be a shot of the team going through the gate (see? unending!). It was about 1 a.m. and many of the office staff returned to the studio to be there for that last shot. Apparently it was a very emotional, even tearful moment. Rumour has it Christopher Judge choked up. Rob thought it was a fitting end for the family that SG-1 has become.

So enjoy tonight's SG-1 – I'm sure you die hard fans have already read a lot of the spoilers, so I won't repeat them here… But you'll definitely get to see some of the characters in a way you've never seen them before.

On Atlantis, you'll see "First Strike", written by Martin Gero and directed by Martin Wood. Both Martin's talked about the 90 second visual effects shot planned by Martin Gero. Martin Wood explained that nobody believed it would stay in the show. "Really?", they kept asking. And yet, in each draft, there it was. And it stayed. Martin Gero defies anyone (DEFIES!) to find a longer visual effects shot in the history of television.

"First Strike" also features the introduction of two mainstays: Dr. Jennifer Keller, played by Jewel Staite (formerly of "Firefly") who also played the Wraith child "Ellia" in a season two episode of Atlantis called "Instinct" and Colonel Ellis, played by Michael Beach (formerly of "Third Watch"). These are great actors who are going to make the show even better. Trust me on this one.

And that's it for me, at least until the new season of Atlantis starts up – currently scheduled to air in October. Keep the faith!

ATL

Posted by Alex Levine at June 22, 2007 07:53 PM