http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/2008/01/06/january-6-2008-guest-starring-martin-gero/
(Please follow the link for the complete blog update.)
January 6, 2008: Guest-starring Martin Gero!
Well, today is the day many of you have been impatiently awaiting. Yes, the day that wunderkind Martin Gero steps into the spotlight to field your comments and queries on his episode, Be All My Sins Remember'd. Is Weir alive? Where are Teyla`s people? Is there a replicator connection to Carson Beckett`s rumored return? These are just some of the questions he won't be answering in today's blog installment. However, he has taken the time to respond to plenty of other questions.
And so, with out further ado, I turn this blog over to Marty G. -
Martin: First let me just say thanks to Joe for giving me the opportunity to blog crash here. Many people ask me why I don't blog…well, no one can do it better than this man, so why bother.
Also, I am glad that we were able to keep the major twist at the end of the episode a secret… Now, look, I used to be a spoiler hound like many of you are. And then I realized I was starting to not love movies and TV like a I used to. I like to be surprised…and it's next to impossible (for me) to get excited about a show I know too much about.
I go see Shakespeare even though I know the story, but most movies and TV ain't Shakespeare (Stargate included). A lot of the excitement comes from the unexpected twists. So, I'm not saying I hate people who read spoilers or I wish the internet would stop giving everything away. I just want to point out how awesome it is not knowing something, being surprised, and would put forth that many of you would
like the show more if you didn't read spoilers. Just a humble opinion from a one time spoiler lover. Ignore it if you wish.
**snippage**
promogirl writes: "Two questions. 1) Were there any character developing scenes that you had to cut for time? The episode was jammed with so much stuff I imagine something had to go. 2) Will we see a resolution (or continuation) to the Weir storyline in season 5?"
Martin: Hey promogirl…nope…as I recall, we didn't cut any full scenes for time. I always make inner scene trims here and there to keep the pace going., but we were lucky enough not to cut full scenes. Weir's storyline will be revisited in season 5.
**snippage**
Jmills writes: "The spacebattle scene, how long did that take to make? Also, when the vfx guys are doing that, what sort of direction (eg. The Apollo needs to kill 5 replicator ships, a traveler ship needs to die, and in the end the good guys win)?"
Martin: That space battle scene took close to four months of work to finish. HUNDREDS of people slaved away to make that happen. As far as direction - in the script I usually lay it out shot by shot. Mark Savela and his team come up with a budget based on my descriptions of those shots, we land on a number (this one was expensive, as I'm sure you can imagine) and shoot the show. (This show had a bunch of effects houses working on the shots. Image Engine, Atmosphere, Rainmaker, and more…)
(This answer continues for several more paragraphs. Please follow the link for the complete response.)
**snippage**
Chris C writes: "In this episode, we saw McKay argue for a very narrow view of consciousness. He told us not to be concerned about the ethics of sacrificing Fran because she was only "zeros and ones", a view Carter quickly agreed with. Was much thought put into this?
I'm mildly surprised McKay doesn't have a more liberal view of how we can determine whether something is intelligent or conscious or alive. He seems to be saying that anything which resembles a machine can never be an intelligent being worthy of the existential ethical considerations humans merit, by its very nature."
Martin: I think his view, as is mine, is that a digital consciousness can't technically die. Fran is a physical manifestation of a computer program. That program could conceivably continue existing even after its physical embodiment is destroyed. I think his feeling early in the ep was: "Look, she's a program. If we want, we can make her another body once we destroy the one she had. She'll never know the
difference." A hard line that I think softened once he got to know her. Will he actually do that? We'll see…
**snippage**
Leliana writes: "Are we going to see the replicators again in season four or do we have to wait for season five? Was this Torri's last episode of the season? Will we see Fran again? Why the leather on Elizabeth? That didn't look very replicatorish…
Congrats again!
Martin: "1. There is one more "replicator" story, but it doesn't involve a "replicator". 2. Yes. 3. Hopefully 4. I personally am not a fan of how the Replicators look. I wanted something different for Weir. Torri loved the jacket.
**snippage**
susiekew writes: "Hi Joe - I hope it's not too late to put in a question for BAMSR. Anyway, here it is. We all know the story was written by Martin Gero, but the opening credits also showed "Excerpt Written By: Alan McCullough". What does this mean?"
Martin: "It's a dumb legal thing. The scene that cuts inside the Wraith ship during the battle is actually a "pre-use" from "Spoils of War", a script that Alan wrote, so our union says he gets a credit. I'll have the same one in Spoils, as they use a scene or two from "Sins".
**snippage**
Okay, that's all for now guys. Thanks for the questions but I need to get back to "Search and Rescue" our season 5 premiere. It's due Monday and I still have a scene or two to write. Glad you liked the show. Hope you enjoy the rest of the season.
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