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January 25, 2008

Now we're cookin'

There is a definite buzz about the office. Some familiar faces rejoined us this week, including our production coordinator extraordinaire, Tanja Balic (the happiest person on planet earth) and our trusty writer/producer's assistant, Lawren Bancroft-Wilson III (rapper name LB-dub). A typical Friday buffet szechuan lunch is being ordered as we speak. The writers have convened in the writer's room to discuss the mid-season two parter. And last but not least, Cory from electrics fixed the track ball so the Golden Tee golf game is in prime condition and waiting for its next virtual foursome.

Down in the art department, James Robbins, our Production Designer, and Chris Beach, one of our Art Directors, are hard at work on the first few episodes. We've seen a number of excellent drawings and Chris is busy designing sets on the computer. It's going to be a busy construction season, so you can look forward to some interesting new sets and "looks". There have been lots of discussions about Ronon's hair, Teyla's child, and the Traveler's set. And the first day of principal photography is rapidly approaching.

But of course you're still enjoying the fourth season, and tonight you get one of my favourite fourth season episodes, Harmony. Martin Gero penned this one based on a concept that was originally put forth by Carl Binder. And I believe the words "Golden Child" were bandied about during that original spin session. The guest star in this episode is played by none other than Jodelle Ferland, who you might recognize from Stargate SG-1 (she played one of the younger Adria's). Her role is so important in tonight's episode that Martin told me they didn't even start writing the episode until they knew Jodelle was available and willing to play the part. That's how difficult it is finding an 11 year old who can really act. In fact, she was such a super pro she typically had all the other character's lines memorized as well!

The show was shot several hours’ drive from our studio, at Widgen Provincial park. It was so far away that for a few days we had to put our cast and crew up in hotels. But the benefits are gorgeous shots of vistas and scenery, the likes of which you've never seen on our show before. Show runner Joe Mallozzi had the privilege of attending the shoot every day, and despite being mostly an indoor cat, he actually embraced it. I'm not sure he enjoyed the 'getting up at 5 am' part of the process, but he had some fun stories, and made friends with many of the teamsters to boot! Joe also took some videos, which you can see if you check out Joe's blog at http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com.

So enjoy tonight's episode and have a great week.

ATL

Posted by Alex Levine at January 25, 2008 05:39 PM