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September 27, 2007

Now, where were we?

Oh yes, I remember. Stargate SG-1 aired its episodic finale, and on Stargate Atlantis you were left high and dry wondering about the fate of our fearless intergalactic explorers after a death-defying escape from the formidable power of the Replicators. Sorry, had to jog my addled memory, as so much time has passed since I last spilled the beans to you about our goings on here in Burnaby, BC. Well, rest assured, the Stargate machine keeps churning, and as long as you keep watching, it will continue to do so.

And today is a good day to bring back the blog. The production office is humming. I just saw Will Waring prepping, and chatted with Andy Mikita (who was boasting about the bottle of scotch Joe Flanigan gave him for zooming through a 10 page day). Earlier today I was in Rob Cooper’s office with all the other writers talking about all the new network premieres. So, here we are. And we’re actually in the tail end of our production season. “Outcast”, the second last episode of the 4th season of Atlantis, is now shooting. On deck is our finale, entitled “The Last Man”.

But what you really want to know about is the first episode of season 4, which airs tomorrow night, entitled “Adrift.” Don’t you? I see. Not all of you want spoilers on that one, because, well, because SOME OF YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN IT! Yes, it’s true. A nearly finished version was leaked. Which brings up another point. It turns out our techno-savvy audience is leading the pack for DVR (digital video recording), which is further impacting our ratings. According to studies done by MGM, DVR usage among males 18-34 may be impacting our ratings as much as 14 to 22%. But I digress.

I watched the final mix of “Adrift” with the writers, and I’m saying (so they don’t have to) that this could be the most exciting episode of Stargate Atlantis ever. See, they’re trying to be polite because they don’t want anyone to feel bad about previous efforts. In fact, when I spoke with Martin Gero, who wrote it, and told him I thought it was the best ever, he said “Don’t say that.” But I’m entitled to my opinion, Mr. Gero! You can’t stop me!

Martin did say it was one of the most expensive episodes ever. He said there were two notable VFX milestones. Firstly, there are no stock explosions; rather, all the explosions were rendered in 3D (often they are simply 2D and matted overtop). Also, there seems to be some agreement that a VFX shot in this episode is the producers’ all time favourite shot. How’s that for superlatives. I’ll let you try and guess which one, and tell you next week.

Martin also explained that this episode will give the viewers an opportunity to really get to know Dr. Jennifer Keller, from Wichita Falls, Wisconsin, played by Jewel Staite. Having seen most of the season at some stage in post, I can say she is a truly talented actress and a great addition to the show. But most importantly, this episode really is non-stop action. Perhaps that’s because it continues where last season ended in mid-stride, and continues into the next episode, “Lifeline.” So there really is no downtime. As Martin said, it’s kind of like “Empire Strikes Back” in the sense that it is sandwiched between two other episodes, and it never lets up.

Okay, enough rambling, except to say that, in season 4, we also welcome Alan McCullough to the Stargate Atlantis writing staff. Alan was previously on staff on Stargate SG-1 and moved over this season. So, welcome Alan. We’ll be hearing more from him when his first episode, “Tabula Rasa,” airs.

And last but not least, let me remind you that this season, Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie are the showrunners. Brad Wright stepped aside to pen one of the SG-1 movies and to plan the third Stargate series with partner and former SG-1 showrunner, Rob Cooper. That being said, Rob and Brad were still very involved in the stories and direction of the show (after all, they created it). But if the show feels a little different to you, you know where to send your kudos and kvetches.

ATL

Posted by Alex Levine at 10:18 PM