Stargate Universe - GateWorld: Elyse Levesque Audio Interview

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DAUGHTER OF DESTINY

by Chad Colvin



It’s a crazy time for some of the stars of Stargate Universe. Many of them are just beginning to meet fans of the new series face to face and realize the immensity and dedication there is to the entire Stargate franchise. One for whom this is especially true is the actress playing SGU’s Chloe Armstrong, Elyse Levesque.

GateWorld caught up with Elyse at Creation Entertainment’s annual Vancouver Stargate convention last month, and we were blown away by both her enthusiasm and her energy for the series. In our discussion Elyse talks about her introduction to the industry, how she and Chloe are both similar and different, the Eli-Matt-Chloe triangle, and much much more.

GateWorld’s interview with Elyse Levesque runs over 12 minutes, and is available in audio. It’s also transcribed [at the link above]!



A brief excerpt:

GateWorld: Are there any parts of your personality that you bring to her?

EL: Gosh! I think … I think there’s just some stuff that I relate to. The upbringing. An only child. Very close to her parents and her family. I’m super, super close to my parents. I’m a total daddy’s girl. She’s got a much more difficult relationship with her mother than I do with mine. I’m very close to my mom. And I guess, in a way, a sheltered upbringing. I can relate to that. A small city. A lot of love. A lot of protection.

In ways I differ — I think I’m a lot goofier then she is. A lot weirder, probably. You could say that about me. I think she takes herself a little more seriously than I do. But I used to! I used to take myself a lot more seriously. And then I said, “You know what? I’m weird! Go with it!” So I guess the essence of me is similar to her, but maybe it’s a dialed-down me.

Stargate SG-1 - GateWorld: EricK Avari (Kasuf) Audio Interview

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THE ARCHAEOLOGIST

GateWorld Talks With Erick Avari

For some actors, what they do is strictly a job. They may be great at that job, but at the end of the day, it is still just a way to collect a paycheck. For others, acting is a way of life -- an art form. One that they continue to finesse, fine-tune, and strive to perfect. Actor Erick Avari falls into the latter category -- with roots in the Stargate franchise that date back to the original film fifteen years ago.

Avari was gracious enough to speak at length with us about his body of acting work. In the interview, he discusses how he ended up in the industry, how he landed the role of "Kasuf" in the Stargate feature film, reprising that role for SG-1, his feelings on conventions and the fans who attend them, his personal obligations and beliefs as an actor, and much more!

This interview runs over 45 minutes and is available in audio. It's also transcribed [at the link above]!

Stargate Universe/ SG-1 - GateWorld: Michael Shanks Video/Audio Interview

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SPREADING WINGS

GateWorld talks with Michael Shanks

It's a brand new year, and for Michael Shanks 2009 is a time of transition. Stargate fans will see him again in the role of Daniel Jackson later this year during an appearance on Stargate Universe, and he will reprise the role again for the upcoming third SG-1 film. But with time, all things change. And Shanks' life is no exception.

GateWorld took time to sit down with the actor during Creation Entertainment's Annual Vancouver Stargate Convention in April. In this interview, Michael discusses life away from Vancouver, his two-part Atlantis episodes (beware SPOILERS), the third SG-1 movie and his involvement in Stargate audio stories produced by Big Finish.

He also takes time to discuss his involvement with USA series Burn Notice, some other upcoming projects, what it's like to play roles other than Daniel, and more!

Our interview with Michael runs more than 17 minutes, and is available in video, audio, and transcript form! The video version is available in Flash format at GateWorld Play.


For the audio version you can listen online at your leisure, or download it to your MP3 player.

Stargate Atlantis - GateWorld: Paul McGillion Video & Audio Interview

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SECOND CHANCES

GateWorld talks with Paul McGillion

GateWorld hasn't spoken with Paul McGillion since his surprising return to Atlantis in Season Four's "The Kindred, Part 1." Since that time, the series has been canceled and a new show is in production. Needless to say there is much to discuss!

Paul updates us on his current projects, from his cameo in the new "Star Trek" movie to a developing indie film with a friend. We chart our way back through the last two and a half seasons, starting with "Sunday," all the way through to "Enemy at the Gate" (Beware minor SPOILERS for this episode!) and the fall and rebirth of Atlantis's cowardly lion.

The interview runs 31 minutes, and is available in video, audio, and transcript form! The video version is available in Flash format at GateWorld Play.

For the audio version you can listen online at your leisure, or download it to your MP3 player.

Stargate Atlantis - GateWorld: Robert Picardo Video/Audio Interview

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MAN IN A SUIT

GateWorld talks with Robert Picardo

Has it really been almost six years since Robert Picardo walked on to the scenes as NID Agent Richard Woolsey? A familiar face in the science fiction world, Picardo's character introduced a friction between Stargate Command and Washington initially, but eventually would grow to become a great advocate for the Stargate programs.

GateWorld talks with Picardo about his fifth season stint as commander of Atlantis base and whether or not this made sense for the character. He also introduces his family of pets. We talk about the legacy of both Stargate and Star Trek, and his current projects both on screen and with the Planetary Society.

GateWorld's interview with Bob runs almost 49 minutes, and is available in video, audio, and transcript form! The video version below requires QuickTime, but it is is also available in Flash format at GateWorld Play.

For the audio version you can listen online at your leisure, or download it to your MP3 player.



A brief excerpt:

GW: Do you think it was good that Atlantis ended its series run and is now doing DVD movies or do you think it's too early to speculate on that?

RP: It's too early to say. I am confident they will make the first movie. They've made the announcement. They haven't picked a time yet. None of the actors have been contacted yet, but I believe that they intend to do it. And I believe even the SCI FI Channel has made some sort of ...

GW: I think they're going to run it.

RP: I do believe it will happen. I hope it's a great success. It would be wonderful if, once or twice a year, you could be a Stargate fan watching Stargate Universe and get your weekly fix of new Stargate, but you could still keep abreast of the other Stargate branches with yearly installments.

The SG-1 movies have been wildly successful, way beyond the studio expectations. I hope that that bodes well for Atlantis.

Stargate Atlantis / SG1 - GateWorld: Andy Mikita Audio Interview Part 2

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PICTURE MOVER

GateWorld talks with Andy Mikita

In the second half of GateWorld's interview with Andy Mikita, we focus on the director's episodes from the fifth season, including "The Daedalus Variations," "The Shrine" and "Enemy at the Gate." We talk about the challenges of shooting out-of-doors, the character of the Stargate team, and the ongoing quality of the franchise!

Part Two of GateWorld's interview with Andy runs over 20 minutes. Listen online at your leisure, download it to your MP3 player, or subscribe now to the iTunes podcast. The interview is also transcribed [at the link above]!

View Part One here!


A brief excerpt:

GW: You directed the finale for the show. What can you tell us about how you directed that differently or how you approached that from while it was in production?

AM: First of all I was thrilled to be given the opportunity. It was pretty cool to be given the assignment of the final episode. I was very honored. When I read the script I didn't know what to expect, quite frankly. I didn't know if it was going to be the tongue-in-cheek like the SG-1 milestone episodes were. I didn't think it was going to be but I wasn't quite sure.

I was pleasantly surprised, I have to say, that it was a good, classic team episode that had a lot of large components to it. We had Amanda Tapping back on the show which was fantastic. Colin Cunningham was back. Great having those guys, obviously.

It was a big-scale show which was really cool. That was what I was hoping that it would be. Mind you, at the same time Rob [Cooper] was shooting another huge-scale show with "Vegas" and there was some overlapping going on. There was a little bit of sharing of the resources, as it were, on everybody's part.

Again that was part and parcel of the whole year where we were shooting multiple shows. That continued right through to the end. Not that attention was diverted from it but that was something that we had to be conscious of. We were still dealing with two very, very big episodes to finish the year and we had to pay attention to each of them equally. But it was a fantastic experience.

It was a wonderful, bittersweet episode for me to be a part of, obviously. We were saying our goodbyes in the middle of it all when David was wrapped for the season and when Rachel and Jason -- everyone was wrapped out at a different time. We were having these big goodbyes throughout the course of shooting.

Of course we all knew the show was cancelled. There was that feeling of not throwing in the towel, I won't say that, because we'd already come to terms that it's all over now anyway.

Stargate SG-1 - GateWorld: Video/Audio: Cliff Simon Interview

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END OF A REIGN

GateWorld talks with Cliff Simon

Cliff Simon has had an incredible journey as the Goa'uld System Lord Baal. Introduced as one of many System Lords in the SG-1 Season Five two-parter, "Summit" and "Last Stand," he stood out above the rest and returned the following season to repeatedly torture Jack O'Neill to death.

After six seasons and one DVD movie, it appears the journey may be over. But who knows what the future holds! Cliff talks with GateWorld about Baal's journey, the quality of the Stargate: Continuum script, his future projects and charity work.

GateWorld's interview with Cliff runs almost 28 minutes, and is available in video, audio, and transcript form! The video version below requires QuickTime, but it is is also available in Flash format at GateWorld Play.

For the audio version you can listen online at your leisure, or download it to your MP3 player.

A brief excerpt:

GW: For Continuum, was the shooting more straining? Was it tighter than the TV show? Was it a little bit looser? Were there more opportunities for you to perfect and tweak? How was it compared to the series?

CS: Because the show was bigger and sets were bigger, it took a long time to shoot. Because Brad [Wright] was on set every day, he wanted it a certain way. So when you've got the producer sitting on set, and the writer sitting on set, they want it a certain way. Whereas in the episodes it was more about, "Let’s get these scenes shot. Let’s get it done. We’ve got to get it out."

So they paid a lot more attention, so it took a lot longer to do. But as far as pressure, no. There wasn’t more pressure on me. I put pressure on myself to do as good as I can when I’m filming, so I kind of felt the same. But there was a lot more opportunities for me to do what I wanted to do. Because it took more time so we did more takes, so it gave me more opportunity to, "OK, I’m going to try it this way. I’m going to try it that way."

Stargate: Universe - GateWorld: Brian J. Smith Audio Interview

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FUTURE FACE

GateWorld talks with Brian J. Smith

This past January saw the announcement of numerous cast members who will feature in Stargate Universe, the third television series based on the 1994 hit film! Among the names was 27-year-old Brian J. Smith, slated to play Lieutenant Matthew Scott in the new show.

GateWorld's David Read got on the telephone with Brian for a unique interview. Our mission was not to get any insider scoop on the upcoming TV series, but to get to know the actor before he gets to know his character. The result is an interesting insight into one of Stargate's future faces.

Brian tells us about growing up in Texas, living in the Big Apple, and the excitement of getting cast in Universe. We also discuss fans loyal to Stargate Atlantis, and get his feelings about working with the likes of Robert Carlyle.

GateWorld's interview with Brian J. Smith runs about 35 minutes. Listen online at your leisure, download it to your MP3 player, or subscribe now to the iTunes podcast! The full interview is also transcribed below.

A brief excerpt:

GW: How did this audition process come about? You told me some of it beforehand but let's hear it again. Did you send in a tape? Were you in front of a casting director? How did this come about?

BS: My agent and my manager both have a really good relationship with this guy, Paul Weber, I'm pretty sure he was responsible for helping find the series regulars. They have a really good relationship with him. They got a cast breakdown and decided "Hey, let's put Brian on tape. He might be good for," at the time, I believe the character was Nash.

So we put him on tape, and I think there's even some sides form a Stargate Atlantis script because they didn't have the complete script yet. I don't even know what characters they were. But they had us read a scene from there. I'm going about my business.

I think at that point I had just finished a show here in New York called "Three Changes." It was a Nicky Silver play which was such a trip. He's, like, my favorite writer. And at this time I was bartending. I was like, "Oh, jeez, what's coming up next? There's nothing on the horizon." And we started getting some nibbles from Paul. Paul was like, "He's right for this role. He's great." So he'd send me more scenes. We'd put those on tape, and send it back.

The producers were "Wow, cool." And then before you knew it I was on a plane my way out to LA for the screen test, and the rest is history! [Laughter]

Stargate SG1 / Atlantis - GateWorld: Author Sally Malcolm Audio Interview

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STORIED SUCCESS

GateWorld talks with Sally Malcolm

Since June of 2004, U.K.-based Fandemonium has regularly published full length, original Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis novels, including Elizabeth Christensen's 2008 Scribe Award winner, "Stargate Atlantis: Casualties of War."

Sally Malcolm is the joint-owner of Fandemonium, along with her husband, Tom, and she is the publisher's Chief Editor. She recently joined GateWorld for a discussion of Fandemonium's history, their process in working with MGM, and their future goals as a company. Sally also talks about writing her own Stargate novels and watching Michael Shanks perform "Gift of the Gods," the script Sally wrote for audio book publisher Big Finish.

You can learn more about the many novels Fandemonium has published in GateWorld's Books section, and visit their Web site at StargateNovels.com!

GateWorld's interview with Sally Malcolm runs about 25 minutes. Listen online at your leisure, download it to your MP3 player, or subscribe now to the iTunes podcast! The full interview is also transcribed [at the link above].


A brief excerpt:

GW: You mentioned that you work closely with MGM. Can you talk to us about what the normal process is like in submitting a book to MGM, and then how you work with them as the book is being written and is ready to be published?

SM: Sure. The first thing we get [from the author] is a one-page outline that comes to me, and if I like it and think we haven't got a book too similar, I'll ask for a 4,000-word outline of the story, which goes to MGM. They look at that and make sure it ties in with the feel of the show, and hopefully there's not too much of an overlap with upcoming episodes. Although, we have recently had a problem with a book that is going to be published soon by James Swallow -- and it's an excellent book, and we are publishing it and it's a wonderful book -- I'm not going to say what, but there's an element to it which has recently appeared in an episode.

Stargate Atlantis - GateWorld: Connor Trinneer Video & Audio Interview

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CHECKMATE

GateWorld talks with Connor Trinneer

For the time being it appears that the hybrid Michael is out of the picture. But Connor Trinneer is still very much in the game, playing daddy to his three year old son and going out for gigs in LA.

GateWorld sat down with Connor just before Christmas to talk about the latest -- and perhaps last -- developments for his character in Season Five's "The Prodigal," to discuss what worked and what didn't, and the subtext behind Michael's motivations.

GateWorld's interview with Connor runs 27 minutes, and is available in video, audio, and transcript form! The video version below requires QuickTime, but it is is also available in Flash format at GateWorld Play.

For the audio version you can listen online at your leisure, or download it to your MP3 player.

A brief excerpt:

GW: Either that or he's just shifting priorities. He's not exactly sure what he wants. Which I think is the case with this character. Once we meddled with him I don't think he knew what he wanted after that.

CT: He was. He was a man without a home. I think that that did play into everything that happened. He was grasping with straws, all of them. There was a time when he was working with [Atlantis]. It was for his own benefit. He was somebody who just didn't have a lot of grounding. It was a hell of a lot of fun to play.

Stargate SG1 - GateWorld: Video AND Audio Interview: Ben Browder

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LUCKY MAN

GateWorld talks with Ben Browder

Ben Browder counts himself a lucky man. While his work has afforded him opportunities most people won't get in their lifetimes -- such as traveling to the Arctic -- Ben has found himself in a position where he can still go home every night to be with those he loves. GateWorld got the chance to sit down once again with the actor behind Colonel Cameron Mitchell to hear about what's currently going on in his world.

In addition to Stargate, Ben updates us on Going Homer, his story recently bought by the SCI FI Channel, as well as the status of the Farscape webisodes. We discuss filming in the Arctic for Continuum, his personal journey as an actor, and growing older.

GateWorld's interview with Ben runs approximately 41 minutes, and is available in video, audio, and transcript form [six pages at the link above]! The video version requires QuickTime 7.0 or higher, and is also available in Flash format at GateWorld Play.

For the audio version you can listen online at your leisure, or download it to your MP3 player.

Ben Browder Interview Photo Gallery:

A brief excerpt:

GW: You're a writer. You're not just an actor. Do you find yourself frustrated with this business? Or do you actually enjoy all the hoops that you have to go through in order to get a product on air?

BB: I couldn't say that I enjoy all the hoops. But it is what it is. You make peace with that as you go through. To be frustrated by it is silly, because you would drive yourself to despair. I don't have to be happy with it on a day-to-day basis. There are certainly days which are frustrating. But everybody has those frustrations.

It doesn't matter what job you're in. Most people don't have this incredible linear journey which is on an upward slope for their whole life. The economy does it. Life does it. It's just part of it. But I don't know that I would choose anything else.

Stargate SG-1 / Atlantis - GateWorld: Peter Flemming Video Interview

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AGENT OF HONOR

GateWorld talks with Peter Flemming

Whenever there was a corrupt government body that needed wringing or an impostor posing as a member of Stargate Command, one honest soul from within the NID could always be phoned to help set the record straight: Malcolm Barrett.

Actor Peter Flemming played this agent of accountability from Season Five to Ten of Stargate SG-1, along with two episodes of Stargate Atlantis. GateWorld is proud to publish our first interview with the actor who helped set the corrupt NID straight.

Peter talks about the casting for the part in Season Five's "Wormhole X-Treme!", nearly shying away from the role, Barrett's relationship with Samantha Carter, and much more!

GateWorld's video interview with Peter runs approximately 23 minutes, and requires QuickTime 7.0 or higher. Interview transcript at the link above. The interview is also available at GateWorld Play!


A brief excerpt:

GW: What do you think is in store for this character's future? Have they contacted you about Season Five yet for Atlantis?

PF: No. No, I thought maybe you guys might have some inside scoop on Barrett in Season Five. But we're really hoping that he gets back. Because I think it's always a good fit when Agent Barrett comes in and does a little bit when they come to Earth. It's good. Bring him back.

GW: Do you ever think he's perceived as, "Uh-oh, here comes Agent Barrett, what's wrong now?" Do you think he's perceived as a bad-news kind of guy?

PF: Yes and no. I mean there's times when he does have to present bad news, but I think he's a good go-to guy. I think he's a good middle man that gives information that Stargate [Command] needs. I think that's what I like about the character where he stays fairly neutral.

Being the guy that offers information and can also be involved in the activity as well. I mean you're there to support. And when you're there, you're playing a supporting role. It's good to have that neutrality about him but also engaging, of course. And I think that's what Barrett's all about. And I think he does a damn good job at it. [Laughter]

Sanctuary - Sanctuaryfans Interview with Ryan Robbins (Audio)

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Ryan Robbins Audio Interview

Text transcript available here:

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Stargate SG1 - GateWorld: Michael Greenburg Video Interview

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MAN AT THE GATE

GateWorld talks with Michael Greenburg

GateWorld's interview with Michael Greenburg, one of the architects of the franchise, has been a long time coming. Co-founder of Gekko Film Corp with Richard Dean Anderson, Greenburg helped develop the short-lived television series Legend, as well as working on MacGyver, where he and Rick met and began their partnership.

We caught up with Greenburg at Gatecon 2008 in Vancouver. In this interview, Michael takes us back to the very beginning of his work in the industry from the Olympic love story The Golden Moment, through his years on MacGyver and Stargate, and back to his current life in sports. He talks about the stimulating atmosphere of SG-1 and dabbles on his upcoming 2009 TV movie, Game of Shadows.

GateWorld's video interview with Michael Greenburg runs approximately 13 minutes, and requires QuickTime 7.0 or higher. The interview transcript is available at the link above.

The interview is also available at GateWorld Play!

A brief excerpt:

GW: Alright. And what happened after Stargate? Where did you move onto next?

MG: After Stargate I started developing stuff on my own. I got the rights with my brother to the New York Times Bestselling book "Game of Shadows", which is about Barry Bonds, BALCO, Marion Jones and the whole steroids scandal, that sort of rocked track and field, and baseball, at a time that baseball was just coming back into popularity and financial success.

Everyone knows that this is the "steroid era" in sports, and it cast a gray cloud over everything. All the Olympics, not so much this Olympics, but of course the testing hasn't come back yet. They all get tested after the event and two weeks later we hear the bombshells.

Stargate SG-1 - GateWorld: Tony Amendola Audio Interview

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NOBLE WARRIOR

GateWorld talks with Tony Amendola

During our visit to Chicago earlier this summer for Creation's official Stargate convention, GateWorld had a chance to sit down for the first time in over three years with Tony Amendola, the man who made Bra'tac his own.

Life continues to be busy for Amendola after SG-1's end. Having a recurring role on the series left him free to pursue other projects simultaneously during the show's ten year run -- a trend that continues to this day.

In our interview, Amendola discusses the character development of Bra'tac during the final two years of the series, the Ori story arc, areas of the character's life that he would have liked to have seen explored, as well as his current projects. He also discusses his thoughts on the passing of Don S. Davis -- as Tony graciously filled in at the convention as a replacement for, and as a tribute to, Davis, who was to have been a guest at that specific event.

GateWorld's interview with Tony Amendola runs nearly 11 minutes. Listen online at your leisure, download it to your MP3 player, or subscribe now to the iTunes podcast! The full interview is also transcribed [at the link above]!


A brief excerpt:

GW: It's been three years since we last talked with you, back just prior to the premiere of Season Nine of SG-1. And since then, obviously, SG-1 concluded its run. Were you aware of how long and full of a run the character of Bra'tac was going to have?

TA: Not at all. I thought going in it was just a "one and out." As all good things are surprises, they seem to be. And this was a major surprise because you're told so often "Oh, this is going to be this or that." And they just kept coming, and I never took them for granted. The second one was great fun, and then the third one. I tended to do one a season for maybe the first three or four years. And then, two and three. And by the end, it was four or five a year. And it was a real treat.

Supernatural - Buddy TV: Exclusive Audio Interview: Mitch Pileggi

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Exclusive Interview: Mitch Pileggi of 'Supernatural'

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

I was lucky enough to attend the San Diego Comic-Con this year, where Supernatural creator Eric Kripke announced that actor Mitch Pileggi would play Mary Winchester's father on an upcoming episode of the series. Many of the geeks in the room, myself included, reached nerd nirvana when the news was announced. The man who so perfectly embodied the bad-ass Walter Skinner on The X-Files is an amazing choice to play Sam and Dean's grandfather. Viewers will get a chance to see Pileggi in the role on tomorrow night's Supernatural episode, entitled "In the Beginning."

I recently had a chance to sit down with Pileggi to discuss his role on the CW series, as well as his stints on Brothers & Sisters and Sons of Anarchy.

A brief excerpt:

What can you tell us about your character on Supernatural? I know you can't reveal too much.

"Well, I'm playing their grandfather. Castiel sends Dean back in time to -- why he sends him back in time is revealed later on at the end of the episode, but he's back in Lawrence, Kansas in 1973, and because of that he runs into his father, and his mother, and his grandparents on his mother's side. There's a lot that happens as a result of that."

Is there something in particular that keeps you coming back to the sci-fi and horror genres?

"I've always been a big fan of sci-fi and horror, and I've been a big fan of novels that are sci-fi and horror. It's what I like. It's not necessarily all I want to do, but I think because I have pretty substantial exposure in it that's why they keep thinking, let's bring Mitch into this. He's a sci-fi guy! It's all fun. In Stargate: Atlantis I get to be Captain Kirk. It's stuff I really enjoy doing..."

Podcast Link

Stargate SG-1 / Atlantis - GateWorld: Gary Jones Video Interview

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JONESY ENCODED

GateWorld talks with Gary Jones


GateWorld's first interview with Gary Jones, Gate Technician Walter Harriman, has been a long time coming! We're proud to bring our first piece with him in video form.

While at Gatecon 2008 we sat down the the 10-year veteran of Stargate to look back on the impact the show has made both to the industry, the fans and his own career. Gary, or "Jonesy" as his friends know him, remembers the late Don S. Davis, with whom he shared most of his scenes. He also reveals upcoming appearances in Season Five of Stargate Atlantis, and tells us about a manuscript he is hoping to publish into a book in the near future.

GateWorld's video interview with Gary Jones runs almost 22 minutes, and requires QuickTime 7.0 or higher. The interview is also transcribed [at the link above].

The interview is also available at GateWorld Play!

Stargate Atlantis - GateWorld: Janina Gavankar Audio Interview

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Team Protector

GateWorld talks with Janina Gavankar

Beware SPOILERS for the Stargate Atlantis episode "Whispers" in the interview below!

Some know her as Ms. Dewey. Others recognize her as Papi in The L Word. But in the Stargate neck of the woods, Janina Gavankar is gung-ho hothead Dusty Mehra, part of an elite all-female unit stationed in the Pegasus Galaxy.

In our exclusive interview, Janina fills GateWorld in on the details of shooting her first episode, "Whispers," reveals her love for her character's teammates, and goes in depth into the psychology of Dusty. She also tells us about other recent projects, particularly Ms. Dewey and her music background.

GateWorld's interview with Janina is almost 28 minutes long. Listen online at your leisure, download it to your MP3 player, or subscribe now to the iTunes podcast! The full interview is also transcribed [at the link above].



Sgt. Dusty Mehra (Janina Gavankar) from Whispers

A brief excerpt:

GW: Alright, so you were recently, like, down on, like, Atlantis. [Laughter] I'm terrible.

JG: You know the best part about being on Stargate? I really realize how important the fans were even before I got there. So I book the gig, I just find out, and I swear the fans knew before I knew. So I go to the forums, of course because I'm nerdy. I'm hanging out in the forums, seeing the people trash-talk. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe they're going to have an all female team. That's so lame. Because girls can't kill aliens." I don't know. Whatever their stupid reasons for hating us before they'd even seen us.

Yeah, that's right, I read you. If that was you, and you wrote that on GateWorld, I read you. Yeah, and I sneered at you. Ha. Ha-ha!

GW: That wasn't me! Oh you're talking about them.

JG: The proverbial person listening who wrote that smack talk. Yeah, I read it. And I laughed at you. Ha-ha-ha! Ha. Ha. Anyway.

Originally I auditioned for this role and on the paper it was Sergeant Dusty Wells. Just [a] nondescript name. Then I'm hanging out in the forums and I see Sergeant Dusty Mehra. And I was like, "They made me Indian. They made me Indian because I'm Indian!" And I found out through the fans. How cool is that?

Photo of Janina courtesy of Joseph Mallozzi's blog

Stargate Atlantis - iO9: Robert Picardo Video Interview

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Robert Picardo Tells io9 About Replacing Trek's Data And Stargate's Tapping

We were lucky enough to catch up with Robert Picardo, who's joined the cast of Atlantis full-time as the obnoxious Richard Woolsey. He told us what it's like to take over command from Amanda Tapping's Samantha Carter. We also talked to Picardo about working with notorious comedian Andy Dick on Star Trek: Voyager, plus the differences between his holographic Trek character and Data the android.

Stargate Atlantis - GateWorld: Michelle Morgan (Fran) Audio Interview

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Soul of the Machine

GateWorld talks with Michelle Morgan

The fourth season of Stargate Atlantis capped off a major story arc with "Be All My Sins Remember'd," an episode full of drama, villains, and fantastic space battles. But it also had something fans never saw coming: a captivating (if short-lived) new character, Fran. Actress Michelle Morgan helped to make that character compelling and memorable. Now, she returns to Atlantis for "Ghost In the Machine."

GateWorld caught up with Michelle on the set of the episode! In our interview, she talks about the role she was originally cast for (but had to back out), her introduction to Fran and the mythology of the Replicators, and the very unique challenges of playing Elizabeth Weir in this episode. She also answers the question, "Does Fran have a soul?"

GateWorld's interview with Michelle runs about 16 minutes. Listen online at your leisure, download it to your MP3 player, or subscribe to the iTunes podcast! The full interview is also transcribed {at the site].