« Haunted by Morjana... and the Googlions | Main | The Last Man and The Last Blog (for a while) »

February 29, 2008

Loose lips sink ships

So I made friends with Morjana. She emailed me and let me off the hook for my terrible spoiler, which I appreciated. This blogging thing can really take on a life of its own. I'm going to be extra vigilant from now on. Actually, Joe Mallozzi said I once again have to let him vet this blog before it's posted, so I don't really have a choice in the matter. And he's right. After all, loose lips sink ships.

So I hope you all enjoyed The Kindred Pt. 1. That reminds of a funny story about this two-parter. Ivon Bartok did a behind the scenes piece about Season 4, basically a general overview, and showed it to the producers a couple of weeks ago. It's a great piece, but the funniest part for us was Alan McCullough's interview, during which he unwittingly suggested that The Kindred Pt. 1 was basically all set up for The Kindred Pt. 2 -- which, of course, Alan wrote. It was pretty funny, because Alan is the nicest guy in the room, so he didn't mean to say anything that might be construed that way, but that's how it came out, and he got roasted over it. All in good fun though.

So did you all see the return of the beloved Dr. Carson Beckett? Joe Mallozzi noted that, these days, you can't say Dr. Beckett without using the adjective "beloved". I think he might be right! Another of Ivon's behind the scenes featurettes covers the "Save Carson Beckett" campaign and the protest which occurred outside the Bridge Studios gates last year. Good stuff.

Meanwhile, we're in full swing here, once again. Jason Momoa came by my office yesterday to get a couple of computer tips. I think this guy is the nicest, most down to Earth actor I know. I don't think fame or success has changed him one iota. And that is awesome to see. Paul McGillion also made an appearance this week - he's a friend and I'm personally excited he's back for an arc this season. And David Nykl stopped in and gave the producers chocolates. There have also been some new characters cast in the last couple of weeks, but I'm not going to spill the beans on that stuff. I know which side my bread gets buttered on. And, another general note - I have to say I'm really enjoying the Season 5 scripts I've read so far.

I spoke with Alan about The Kindred, Pt. 2, just now. First, he gave me all the platitudes: fun episode, lots of emotional scenes, McGillion was great. Then he got down to brass tacks. He said the location we used - Terminal City - in his opinion, gave us the creepiest Michael lair yet. I personally think it's a toss-up between Terminal City and Riverview Mental Hospital (used in Vengeance). He also reminded me that this was Rachel Luttrell's last full episode before she had the baby, so she was very pregnant for this shoot, which is always a challenge. And he let me in on a couple of other great behind the scenes tidbits. Look for the two boys in the scene with the Athosians - those are Joe Flanigan's kids. And also, the Wraith style ultrasound images were adapted from real ultrasound images from one of the Stargate babies. Unfortunately, I don't know which - there were so many babies born last year we've lost track!

Enjoy the episode tonight.

ATL

Posted by Alex Levine at February 29, 2008 05:18 PM