Monday, September 10, 2007

Stargate - Sanctuary - Movies Online: Producers of Web Series Sanctuary Challenge Fans

From Movies Online:

http://www.moviesonline.ca/movienews_12916.html

(Please follow the link for the complete article.)

Producers of Web Series Sanctuary Challenge Fans



Posted By: Michael J Simpson

Sanctuary, the online science fiction series starring Stargate's Amanda Tapping, recently completed its first 'season' of eight webisodes and left fans eager for more. The show ended on a cliffhanger that saw the titular institution overrun by Keepers of the Dead and at least two of the lead characters possibly dead. Production on new webisodes is scheduled to begin later this year. Fans wont have to wait to see how the writers resolve things, though. The series producers have challenged viewers to do that.

**snippage**

Stargate Atlantis - GateWorld: Binder gives life to Dr. Keller

From GateWorld:

http://www.gateworld.net/news/2007/09/binder_gives_life_to_dr._keller.shtml

(Please follow the link for the complete GateWorld article.)

Binder gives life to Dr. Keller

Monday - September 10, 2007 | by Darren Sumner

Beware of minor SPOILERS below for the upcoming fourth season of Stargate Atlantis.



Renowned actress Jewel Staite joins the cast of Stargate Atlantis this season as Dr. Jennifer Keller, the expedition's new chief medical officer. But who is Jennifer? GateWorld recently sat down with writer-producer Carl Binder, who had the opportunity to flesh out the new character in the Season Four episode "Missing."

**snippage**

Stargate Atlantis - SGA - Multichannel News: Another Weir Rides the Bus

From Multichannel News:

http://www.multichannel.com/blogger/2805.html

(Please follow the link for the complete blog article.)

KENT GIBBONS blog

Another Weir Rides the Bus

September 10, 2007

Stargate Atlantis has the Stargate spotlight all to itself on Sci Fi Fridays, so no more comparisons from reviewers like moi privy to the first two episodes of season four.

But the new setup isn’t all good for all cast members, as fans of the Sci Fi Channel drama already know – and as has been nagging at me since seeing the review disk. Torri Higginson’s character, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, the civilian leader of a key U.S. Air Force installation in another galaxy in the ancient city of Atlantis, has been reduced to a “recurring” role.

Taking Weir’s place in the star firmament of Atlantis is Amanda Tapping, who was the female lead in Stargate SG-1, the MGM show originally starring Richard Dean Anderson that premiered on Showtime in 1997 and spent its last five seasons on Sci Fi Channel. Sci Fi didn’t renew SG-1 for season 11, so MGM is producing SG-1 movies for DVD instead.

Sci Fi tried to promote Higginson, showing off her humor in interviews and behind-scenes videos and showing off her figure a little more in costume on the show. Tapping remains a bigger star, though, even after taking maternity leave in 2005.

My opinion: Tapping’s character of Samantha Carter, the brainy and weapons-trained astrophysicist and Air Force officer, deserves her continued service on Sci Fi in Atlantis’s Pegasus galaxy. Carter’s been tough, brilliant and gorgeous in Stargate roles longer than Weir, and has a big following.

But it would seem there ought to be room for both Carter and Weir, who was badly injured in an explosion during last season’s cliff-hanger ending.

**snippage**

Higginson is expected to return for Atlantis’s midseason finale on Dec. 7.

©2007 Reed Business Information

Stargate Atlantis - SciFi Weekly: Interviews with Flanigan, Tapping, Hewlett and Luttrell

From SciFi Weekly:

http://www.scifi.com/sfw/interviews/sfw16933.html

(Please follow the link for the complete interviews. There are photos at the site.)



September 10, 2007

The cast of Stargate Atlantis contends with casting changes as they open the iris on season four

By Melissa Perenson

Change is afoot at Stargate Atlantis as the series enters its fourth season. For starters, the cast gets an infusion of new blood, with Stargate SG-1's Amanda Tapping and Firefly's Jewel Staite joining the lineup. And the stories will take some new directions in what has been described by many cast and crew as a shakeup of the status quo and a "soft reset" of the series. No surprise that Stargate Atlantis would be shaking things up a bit—after all, the stakes are higher now that companion series SG-1 is no longer on the air.

Let's listen in on what cast members David Hewlett (Rodney McKay), Amanda Tapping (Col. Samantha Carter), Rachel Luttrell (Teyla Emmagan) and Joe Flannigan (Lt. Col. John Sheppard) have to say about the upcoming season. Stargate Atlantis season four begins on Sept. 28 on SCI FI; season three comes out on DVD on Sept. 18.

David Hewlett, last year the unexpected demise of Dr. Carson Beckett [Paul McGillion] left a gap in Atlantis' core ensemble. How did you feel about that?

Hewlett: For me, there was a big hole there, because Paul, my friend, was no longer on set with me all the time. As it turns out, in sci-fi nobody dies—we've actually had him on set again recently, which was kind of fun. And I hope that we'll be seeing more of him. Well, that's just my hope. I wouldn't be surprised.

**snippage**



Amanda Tapping, you get to bring Carter to a whole new level in Atlantis. What's different about your character in Atlantis as opposed to Stargate SG-1?

Tapping: She now has to prove herself as a leader of an entire base and, of course, her style is that she doesn't want to piss anyone off. She's coming into a situation on Atlantis where there's a lot of heartache. They've lost one of their very dear leaders, and I think they're reluctant to welcome someone new at first. And then of course it turns out to be Sam Carter, which is good for some people and not so good for others. So she has to tread lightly, but I think part of her command, at least the way that I've chosen to play it, is that she relies entirely on the strength of the people who are around her.

She understands Shepherd's military expertise, and even though she may have the same amount of military expertise, it's not in this galaxy. She's never fought the Wraith before, so she defers to him a lot. She defers to McKay and his scientific expertise in the Pegasus galaxy. There's not as much head-butting with McKay as you might think — partly because she's in command and she has to show a certain modicum of respect even though he drives her crazy. And then Teyla and Ronon are complete unknowns to her, so she really has to make her way with them. So it's a lot different. It feels a lot different. The relationships are very new and fresh. Jewel Staite's on the show now as the doctor, and she's awesome—there's a neat friendship burgeoning there between our two characters.

**snippage**

Rachel Luttrell, the fourth season is taking things in a different direction—a soft reset, so to speak.

Luttrell: Yeah, in many ways it kind of has to be. First of all, the reins of the show have been passed on. Now Brad and Rob are taking much more of a back seat, and they've passed it on to Paul Mullie and Joe Mallozzi, our show runners. They're our go-to guys, and it's their vision that's being impressed on the show. Not only that, but season three was quite a big season, because we lost some very pivotal characters. Paul McGillion, Dr. Beckett, we lost him halfway through the season last year. And Dr. Elizabeth Weir, her character is taking on a completely different persona and going in an entirely new direction, and her involvement in the team is not as broad as it was in the past. That in itself has completely changed the face of the show. Having said that, there are still the key elements that make SGA what it is. But yes, it is different. We now have Amanda Tapping as part of our show—and they're working her to the bone [laughs]. And Jewel Staite has joined us.

**snippage**



Joe Flannigan, how has the interpersonal dynamic on the show changed in season four?

Flannigan: We've lost Paul McGillion, who was a valued member of our team, personally and professionally. So we miss him. We have lost Torri Higginson—my God, this sounds like a funeral—who was also a really valued member of our group. And we've also gained a really valuable member of our group, Amanda. She's a real veteran, a real professional, she knows the genre, and she can tackle the gobbledygook of science-fiction dialogue, perhaps even better than David, which is hard to do.

The dynamic that's developed by having Amanda in the show is that she and David Hewlett have a pre-existing relationship, so that's a very funny and entertaining thing to watch. My character now, I'm just listening, trying to keep up with the science of it. You find me listening a lot more. Or trying to listen.

**snippage**

© 2007, SCI FI. All rights reserved.