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From TV IN Focus: page 14
SANCTUARY
As the Season 2 continues 'you're going to see a lot of changes in terms of the interpersonal relationships," says executive producer/actress/director Amanda Tapping. We're also going to see Tapping, who's wearing three hats these days, direct an episode called 'Veritas.' [NOTE: Airs this Friday at 10pm on SyFy [US].)
She chose that specific episode because "I was directing and very stressed out. There was very little acting required for that which was good. So it was in some ways easier, but it is very much a Will story. It is a 'who done it' essentially. Magnus is accused of murder and it's Will's job to try to prove her innocent," says Tapping.
"It was me working with Robin and I'm really proud of it. I don't usually toot my own horn very loudly because I can always find fault, but this episode looks really cool. There's some great shots and the performances are wonderful and it's a really interesting, succinct little story. Alan McCullough wrote it and it's a nice little bottle show. It's a really great story."
After that there's an episode she compares to last season's powerful submarine episode, 'Requiem.' "'Next Tuesday' is an episode that's all about Will and Magnus. It's a Damian [Kindler] and Martin [Wood] figure out how to torture Robin and Amanda episode. We end up in the bore well of an abandoned oil rig in a helicopter that's crashed and that's how it starts."
According to Tapping, director Wood "shoots stuff like that as a play. He shoots the scenes in sequence and so from an acting perspective, it's a physical challenge, but also the emotional challenge of doing 12 pages of play every day. As hard as it is, it's also one of the most rewarding. So I think 'Next Tuesday' stands out just as an amazing challenge.
And in December, in 'Penance,' a familiar face will pop up. Michael Shanks, who co-starred with Tapping for 10 years in Stargate SG-1 as Daniel Jackson, will take on the role of character named Jimmy.
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TV IN FOCUS: PAGE 18
SGU: STARGATE UNIVERSE
"It really is more realistic show. As soon as you abandon things like aliens that look like humans and speak English, you can into darker places and more character-driver stories," says executive producer Brad Wright.
With Universe headed for a big hiatus, there will be a big cliffhanger to keep us warm and cozy until its return in spring.
Episode 9 is called 'Life,' and it's exactly that," says Wright. "It is what life is like on Destiny and it's written by Carl Binder. It is a wonderful character piece that looks in to the lives of lots of our characters. Scott brings them all together, brings the stories together, to portray the shared experience of life aboard Destiny. It's really, really quite moving and touches a lot of the characters on the show. One of my favorite episodes of the first 10. In fact, I love the first 10 episodes (laughs)."
The 10th episode, 'Justice,' offers that big cliffhanger. "Something happens aboard the Destiny that puts Young's leadership in question," he says. "We just saw the final mix on that episode. It's so good ... There's some pretty big events in that episode that makes you go, 'Oh, my God' What the hell are they going to do?' I think where we go with it is also very intriguing. We're also coming to some big episodes in the spring."
Wrights says we'll see some familiar faces in Universe's future. "Richard Dean Anderson will return, Michael Shanks will return, Amanda Tapping returns. We want to remind the audience that this is still Stargate and they're all still part of the Stargate universe. There is an SG=1 out there doing their thing and Jack O'Neill is still in charge of Home World Command even though the series is not on anymore."
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TV ON DVD - page 22
STARGATE ATLANTIS - FANS CHOICE BLU-RAY DISC B
The latest in a flurry of recent Stargate releases, this Blu-ray disc contains the episodes chosen by fans for this particular release. Fans also helped design and choose the cover art. The featured episodes are the start of the five-year journey (in the form of a feature-length pilot), and the version of series finale, 'Enemy at the Gate.' Never mind the poetic convenience of having the first and last episodes of Atlantis in once place, MGM says that this is the only Stargate Atlantis release for Blu-ray, which means this will be the only to get Atlantis with high-def picture and sound. (MGM Home Entertainment, $29.99)
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Plus articles on:
James Cameron's 'Avatar'
Peter Jackson's 'The Lovely Bones'
Denzel Washington in 'The Book of Eli'
'Flash Forward'
brief 'V' cast interviews - Joel Gretsch, Morena Baccarin, Scott Wolf, Morris Chestnut, Laura Vandervoort
Mark Strong interview (appearing in Guy Ritchie's 'Sherlock Holmes' and Ridley Scott's 'Robin Hood')
Set visit to 'Legion'
Mark Valley 'Human Target' interview
Eliza Dushku 'Dollhouse' interview
Allesandra Torresani 'Caprica' interview
And beginning on page 64, a two page interview with Sanctuary's Amanda Tapping and Robin Dunne.
