Saturday, November 8, 2008

Stargate Atlantis - NEW Behind the Scenes Photos & Notes from 'The Prodigal'

From Joseph Mallozzi's blog update for November 8, 2008:

(Please follow the link for the complete blog update and to view the new behind-the-scenes photos from the production of Stargate Atlantis' 'The Prodigal,' in their original format.)



Carl Binder

November 8, 2008: Doggy Delight and Some Prodigal Notes

**snippage**

Hey, I’m pleased to see many of you enjoyed The Prodigal. Carl Binder - the Sultan of Scripts, the Duke of Dialogue, the Baron of Bottle Shows - works his magic once again, weaving a tale fraught with action, suspense, humor, and a spectacular climactic visual effects sequence that made co-show runner Paul Mullie, as my father was fond of saying “bats in the belfry”. A few of notes of interest concerning this episode:

1. When first outlined, this story was a cross between Carl’s earlier Red Shirt Diaries pitch and the finished product you saw. In this early version, we follow a team of unsung characters as they mount a resistance to Michael and ultimately help our team save the city. However, after some discussion, it was decided that the significance of the story demanded that our team be front and center.

2. After much back and forth, it was decided that this episode would mark Atlantis’s final confrontation with Michael. His ultimate power play was undermined in Kindred I and II (last season) and he’s been on the run ever since. His forces compromised, his resources dwindling, he stages one last desperate gamble to turn the tables and regain the upper hand.



Artwork for the circular stairs

3. It can be argued (as Michael so succinctly does in this episode) that Michael has every right to be angry and seek revenge on Atlantis for having created him in the first place - but it shouldn’t be forgotten that, originally, Michael was a wraith and, thus, their enemy. Sure, from a big picture standpoint you can draw parallels between their feeding on humans and our feeding on animals but, when it comes right down to it, if some thing is about to devour you or your loved ones, you will fight back - and you’ll do everything within your power to ensure they never threaten them again. Which brings us to…



4. Teyla’s delivering the coup de grace at episode’s end. Now some have complained that this was pretty ruthless of her and my response to that would be - yep, it was. But why so surprised? We’ve seen this side of Teyla before, most notably in Missing where her warrior side took over in cruel yet effective fashion. Add to that the fact that she now has a child to protect, a son who has been threatened Michael on two separate occasions. Rather than risk a third attempt, she ended the threat.

5. I was down on set talking to actress Sharon Taylor while this episode was being written, and she mentioned that she was a kickboxing instructor. Intrigued, I mentioned it to Carl who happily incorporated these ass-kicking abilities into the second draft of the script. Sharon’s performance garnered accolades from all around, but especially from stunt coordinator James Bamford and fellow actor Jason Momoa.



6. Running gag #1: Whenever we screened this episode in the writers’ room and we got to the scene where Michael gets on the P.A. and promises to turn off the self-destruct and save the city in exchange for her son, one of us would pipe up: “Teyla, it’s Chuck! Give him the baby!”

7. Running gag #2: Whenever Michael would drop off the ledge and plummet down into the darkness, we would imagine Chuck stepping out onto one of the lower balconies for a smoke - only to get creamed by Michael who, fall broken, would hop up none the worse for wear and make good his escape.

8. While they were shooting the climactic tower fight sequence, there was one take in which Connor [Trinneer] flipped the Sheppard stunt actor who was supposed to roll and save himself by grabbing hold of a part of the structure - only the stuntman missed and went right over, landing amidst the safety mats below. Connor immediately threw his arms up in triumph and shouted: “I WIN!!!”, much to the crew’s delight.

It’s episodes like this that really make me sad the show has ended. Only six original episodes left. As my father was fond of saying: “Wouldn’t that jar your preserves.”

Stargate Atlantis - SciFi Channel's Complete December Schedule

SciFi.com has uploaded their complete December 2008 schedule:



STARGATE ATLANTIS - New Episodes

12/05/2008 9:00P INFECTION
12/05/2008 11:00P INFECTION



12/12/2008 9:00P IDENTITY
12/12/2008 11:00P IDENTITY




STARGATE ATLANTIS - SEASON 5 REPEATS

12/05/2008 8:00P BRAIN STORM
12/12/2008 8:00P INFECTION
12/19/2008 11:00P IDENTITY



STARGATE ATLANTIS - Season Two Marathon

12/12/2008 08:00A INSTINCT
12/12/2008 09:00A CONVERSION
12/12/2008 10:00A AURORA
12/12/2008 11:00A GRACE UNDER PRESSURE - Guest starring Amanda Tapping
12/12/2008 12:00P THE TOWER
12/12/2008 1:00P THE LONG GOODBYE
12/12/2008 2:00P COUP D'ETAT
12/12/2008 3:00P MICHAEL - Guest starring Connor Trinneer

Sanctuary - SciFi Channel's December '08 Schedule

SciFi.com has uploaded their complete December 2008 schedule:




SANCTUARY - New Episodes


12/05/2008 10:00P REQUIEM
12/06/2008 12:00A REQUIEM

12/12/2008 10:00P WARRIORS
12/13/2008 12:00A WARRIORS

12/19/2008 10:00P INSTINCT
12/20/2008 12:00A INSTINCT



SANCTUARY - MARATHON

12/19/2008 7:00P EDWARD
12/19/2008 8:00P REQUIEM
12/19/2008 9:00P WARRIORS

Stargate Atlantis - MGM Stargate: Video - Jewel Staite Talks About Season 5

At MGM Stargate:

(Please follow the link to view the video in its original format.)



Jewel Staite Talks About Season 5

4:54 16.7MB

Jewel Staite gives an inside look at Dr. Keller's role in season 5!

Tom Cruise - Video: 'Valkyrie' Movie Trailer

'Valkyrie' opens December 26, 2008, starring Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Carice van Houten, Thomas Kretschmann, Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard, Jamie Parker and Christian Berkel.

Courtesy of TV Guide's Hollywood 411 and HULU:

TV Guide Specials - Valkyrie Trailer


Special |02:46 |

The full length trailer for Tom Cruise's new movie VALKYRIE is featured here! Other Cruise news, Charlize Theron lands a role in THE TOURIST with Tom in 2010.

Battlestar Galactica - Toronto Star: Grace Park's done being a dirty girl

At the Toronto Star (Toronto, ON, Canada):

(Please follow the link for the complete article.)



SERIAL VIXEN

Television

Grace Park's done being a dirty girl

No more blood and guts for Battlestar Galactica star as she moves to The Border

Nov 08, 2008 04:30 AM

ROB SALEM
TV CRITIC

Grace Park is thrilled to be back on Earth ... and not the other way around.

"It is nice for a change to not be covered with dirt," laughs the stunning Vancouver actor, who spent much of the last five years on Battlestar Galactica knee-deep in more than her share of mud, blood and crud.

Make that way more than her share, having been revealed early on as a covert alien android infiltrator – indeed, several covert alien android infiltrators, mass-produced with hidden agendas and often not even aware of themselves ...

You won't necessarily understand any of that last paragraph. Suffice it to say that this is science fiction. And Park, as Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii, has endured enough extreme trauma and drama to last several lifetimes.
"Crying, dying, losing babies, rebirthing in goo, all that stuff," she recalls with a slight shudder. "I mean, it was fun ... "

But so are makeup and heels. Park is in Toronto now, looking coiffed and kempt and in control as the latest addition to the ensemble cast of the Gemini-nominated immigration enforcement drama The Border (her first episode airs Monday night on CBC).



... Vancouver has long been action-central for imported American genre shows. Park made episodic appearances on almost all of them: The Immortal, The Outer Limits, Dark Angel, Andromeda, The Dead Zone, Stargate SG-1 [Proving Ground], Jake 2.0 ...

... But life – terrestrial and otherwise – goes on. "Battlestar overlapped with The Cleaner, and then Cleaner just barely overlapped with The Border, and then Border overlapped with Battlestar again ... so we just did this big circle.
"Going back, finally, I kind of didn't want to get back into all that heavy, dramatic, dark, raw stuff again. I had already realized how much of a departure it's been, to go to these comparatively much lighter shows."

Lighter, and a lot less dirty.

Robert David Hall - CSI: Video: Interview

Courtesy of TV Guide's Hollywood 411 and HULU:

Celebrity Interviews - CSI: Robert David Hall

Interview |04:05 |

Robert David Hall, Dr. Al Robbins from CSI, sings in surgery and in studio. He talks to Chris Harrison about his involvement with Barack Obama's disability policy and likens this time to JFK's election.


Sanctuary - SciFi.com Updates for Nubbins/The Five

From the SciFi Channel's Sanctuary site, updates for November 7, 2008:

Nubbins

* Episode Synopsis

* Episode Photos


WATCH Nubbins online at SciFi.com: PENDING

At HULU: PENDING



NEXT new episode: The Five airs Friday November 14 at 10pm on the SciFi Channel (US).

Circumstances and enemies separate Magnus, Ashley and Will. Now they must each decide whom to trust, and whom to flee.

Trailer for The Five at SciFi.com:



NEW Quiz!

Kush

NEW Videos: PENDING

Stargate Atlantis - SciFi.com Updates for The Prodigal/Remnants

From the SciFi Channel's Stargate Atlantis site, updates for November 7, 2008:

The Prodigal

* Episode Synopsis

* Episode Photos

NEW Alex Levine blog update for The Prodigal



NEXT new episode: Remnants airs Friday November 14 at its NEW time -- 9pm -- on the SciFi Channel (US).

It's a tough time for Woolsey, who's being re-assigned to Earth--just as Atlantis is again threatened.

Trailer for Remnants at SciFi.com



NEW Season 5 Quiz!

Teyla - Easy

Stargate Atlantis - Video: Episode Trailer for 'Remnants'

Courtesy of the SciFi Channel:

(Please follow the link to view the trailer in its original format.)



Stargate Atlantis' 'Remnants' airs Friday, November 14, 2008 at 9pm on the SciFi Channel (US). Guest-stars Robert Davi (Acastus Kolya), Anna Galvin (Vanessa Conrad) and Tamlyn Tomita (Shen Xiaoyi).