Syfy

Honestly.  What the hell was I thinking choosing a Blackberry over an iPhone?  Why didn’t anybody tell me what I was missing out on?  If anyone out there is faced with a similar decision – Blackberry or iPhone – allow me to break it down for you: GET – THE – iPHONE!  Seriously.  I feel like someone has just introduced me to HD television after about a year and a half of entertaining myself with radio.  Following the suggestions kindly given me, I synced my MacBook with my iPhone and now I’m surfing the net and getting my emails on both.  Not only that, but I was up past midnight last night downloading apps in preparation for my upcoming Tokyo trip.  Forget my Garmin GPS, English-Japanese dictionary, guide books, hard copies of my schedule, and subway maps.  Nowe, they’re all in one handy, portable device.  Yes, my conversion is complete.  All hail, Apple!

Oh, hey, prior to heading off on hiatus, I told several cast members that I’d like them to swing by the blog and do a Q&A now that the show has finally started airing (David Blue and Brian J. Smith did one prior to the premiere and I aim to get them back for another go now that you’re all familiar with their characters).  Anyway, Peter Kelamis, who plays Adam Brody on SGU, checked in with me the other day, dropping me an email on an unrelated topic – and has found himself officially corralled.  SO, if you’ve got questions for actor/comedian/pet psychic/t.v. scientist, start posting.  I’ll be gathering them up through Monday.  What was it like working on the first year of Stargate: Universe?  Where would he like to see his character go (provided we haven’t killed him off yet) next year?  Which is his favorite sandwich off crafts service and why do they serve up those little baby carrots?  I mean, come on.  It’s not as if anybody actually eats them!

Also, while perusing my backlog of photos, I came across a batch I snapped during the Time shoot.  As you know, the creatures used are underwater denizens from the deep, deep depths of the Pacific Ocean and, while deadly, can be docile given the right conditions: while sleeping, drugged, or dead.  So our resident monster wrangler, Evil Kenny Gibbs showed up with one for a little show-and-tell and, well, things got a little out of hand…

Pleased to see that the response to Time has been overwhelmingly positive.  I’ll weigh in with further thoughts after the episode airs in the U.K.

Off to peruse the App Store.  Hey!  Holographic Audio Thunder and Bird Songs!  I ask you, how did I live without it?!

Tagged: Adam Brody, Peter Kelamis, Stargate, Stargate Universe

I finally did it.  After weeks of considering my options and weighing the advice of friends, co-workers, and many of you here on this blog, I went out and bought myself a laptop.  It was a tough call but, in the end, I decided to go with the MacBook Pro.  The reason?  Well, pretty much the same reason upon which I base most of my life decisions: a desire to punish someone.  In this case, Microsoft for that horrendous Jerry Seinfeld ad campaign.  Discount shoes?!  Fancy mustard?  Bill Gates adjusting his shorts AND doing a truly lame a robot?!  WTF?!!  As a PC owner, those commercials made me feel awkward, ashamed and even a little frightened so, well, somebody had to pay.

That being said, I will be in the market for a home computer soon enough and THAT decision will be based on how much I like my new Mac.  Well, that and my thirst for vengeance.

So, hey, it’s nice to see that those high-risk groups have been the first to receive the H1N1 vaccine here in Canada.  And, by high-risk groups, I mean: children under five, pregnant women, health-care workers, hockey players, and, of course, board members and major donors to several hospitals.  What’s that you say?  Why are hockey players, hospital board members, and deep-pocket donors being given priority?  I dunno.  Here’s an even better question: Why are hockey players, hospital board members, and deep-pocket donors being given priority over daycare workers?  The answer: Beats me!  Apparently, here in Canada, those charged with the task of taking care of a segment of the population at the highest risk of contracting the disease are not considered a priority.  Sorry, daycare workers!  The fault clearly lies with you and, more specifically, your career choice.  Had you elected to pursue any of the following professions instead – firefighter, police, homecare worker, or CONVICT – you’d be jumping to the front of the line right about now.

Hey, guess where else I went today?  If you guessed bowling or to an exhibition showcasing Executive Producer Robert Cooper’s original claypot creations, you’d have guessed wrong.  No, I was at Vancouver’s Ganache Patisserie checking out the four new Fall additions to their line-up.  http://www.ganacheyaletown.com/

And I wasn’t alone.  Joining me for this afternoon tasting was none other SGU Script Coordinator Lawren Bancroft-Wilson. 

We sampled the four new items: the Pur Chocolat (flourless chocolate espresso cake, housemade chocolate biscotti crust, bittersweet chocolate cake, and dark chocolate caramel mousse), the Poire et Chocolat Epicé (milk chocolate gingerbread mousse, spicy cinnamon parfait,  port-poached pears and walnut cake), the Concorde Praliné (hazelnut cocoa meringue layers, layers of chocolate guimauve, a dark chocolate praline mousse and chocolate chantilly cream), and the Marron Cubique (chestnut mousseline, chestnut whisky ganache, coffee butter cake layers and chestnut buttercream frosting).  All terrific. 

Following the sampling, we sat down to a more thorough tasting of three creations, compliments of Lawren (That’s it!  I don’t care what everybody else says.  We are NOT firing him!): that Pur Chocolat (his favorite), a Chocolat Malté
(malted dark chocolate mousse, malted chocolate ganache, white chocolate blondie), and a light but no less delicious
Tiramisu-Chocolat (tiramisu cream, 70% dark chocolate mousse).  We followed this up with a short walk into Yaletown where I was prepared to treat Lawren to phase two of our little dessert adventure, only to discover that my favorite chocolate ship, Chocoatl, appears to be no more.  I know that someone one this board (was it you, Nadine?) hinted that this was coming but it was nevertheless a very sad sight.  Owner Themis Velgis is, without a doubt, the best chocolatier in the city, his chocolate creations second to none, and it’s sad to see that little shop, his labor of love, sitting empty on a Saturday afternoon.  Here’s hoping he’s back on his feet in no time.

Today’s entry is dedicated to blog regular Hayloh who is dealing with the loss of a family member. 

As promised, the return of the mailbag:

 Arlan writes: “If Telford is doing what I think he’s doing in the last scene of “Earth” – “

Answer: Yep, standing outside Young’s wife’s front door.

Arlan also writes: “- please tell me Young get’s the chance to knock Telford’s lights out.”

Answer: Whoa, whoa.  Don’t be so quick to jump to conclusions.  Did you stop to consider that he may just be going door to door selling magazine subscriptions?

DasNdanger also writes: “And Chloe’s upset over her boyfriend finding someone else when she was whooping it up with Scott?”

Answer: I think she was more upset at losing her friend than her boyfriend.

DasNdanger also writes: “Joe…I’m sorry. I really wanted this to work for me. I will probably give it until the season break, but if the relationships continue to take center stage (as they did in this ep), I’m not sticking around.”

Answer: Fair enough.  The next three episodes that take us to that break are, in my humble opinion, the best of the first ten.  I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts.

Jeff writes: “Any chance the stories you are spinning for season 2 involve finding the main engineering room or the bridge???”

Answer: Very possible.  But it would mean our crew discovering these locations between now and then.

BurningIce writes: “Is Brody now on Rush’s side after the events of Earth?”

Answer: How does the saying go?  The enemy of my enemy is my friend?

Gilder writes: “BTW, will we see a male/female swap at some point?”

Answer: We’re keeping it sex-specific.  That said, I wanted to do a story where one of our crew switches with a German Shepherd who ends up helping a detective solve crimes.  Meanwhile, back on Destiny, Eli lies around and begs for food.

ZeroPointBatteries writes: “on another note, has anyone noticed all the stargate stuff (props, sounds, etc…) that are being used in sanctuary.”

Answer: No.  Do tell.

Matt Boesch writes: “my question is this “what is your favorite episode from SGU so far?”

Answer: Right now, it’s a three-way tie between Time, Life, and Divided.

curiositykitty writes: “the first scene in earth with young- dream, memory, fantasy, or some mix of all?”

Answer: Good question.  ‘twould seem there’s something there…

Cherluvya writes: “Loved the picture. Who’s job was it to write on the board? Yours?”

Answer: If it’s your story, you’re up at the board.

IJH writes: “What about what Young and his wife did to Telford? They used his body for sex without his consent.”

Answer: You assume it was without his consent.  Although nothing was said either way, it seems most unlikely that someone who was giving up their body for a conjugal visit wouldn’t consider this to be a possibility.

Elenmai writes: “Awesome episode, but when do we see more of Camille?”

Answer: We finally get to know Camile in Life.

Gatelady writes: “Having sex while using someone else’s body is wrong. What about STD’s? What about pregnancy?”

Answer: As Brad once said “They know what causes that now.”  And there are precautions that can be taken to prevent both.

Kabra writes: “Let me just clarify about the Telford/Young scene – since it is a sensitive subject. I wasn’t laughing at the scene itself, it was more of the fact there were others thinking the same thing I was about the stones or I was thinking the same thing someone else was… Who wrote that by the way?”

Answer: The script was routine by Golden Boy Martin Gero, but the idea for the switch came in the writers’ room while we were spinning the story.

Phil writes: ““My name is Philip Fry”. WIN.  Who wrote that line?”

Answer: That was all Golden Boy Gero.

Phil writes: “On a side note do you know where my comment (which followed your ‘rant’) went? Did you not approve it or did it just get lost?”

Answer: Not sure.  I definitely didn’t delete it so either it’s somewhere amidst those 500+ comments or lost in cyberspace.

DP writes: “You already know I’m clawing my eyes out of my skull. I’m going to assume Telford and Young had an understanding or the show falls apart for me.”

Answer: As I said, although there is no indication given, logic dictates that Telford would know something like that could happen (since Young IS returning for a conjugal visit) so it’s fair to assume he signed off permission.

JES writes: “What’s to prevent these characters from using the bodies to commit other antisocial and illegal acts? Where’s the limit?”

Answer: Great question.  And it’s one Exec. Producer Carl may be positing in season two.

J writes: “Speaking of relationships, I understand that the likelyhood of this is low, but if Teyla and John ever are together, then it couldn’t happen instantly.”

Answer: Nope.  Both Teyla and John would have to observe a suitable period of mourning for Kanaan.  After John offs him.

Debra writes: “It is very telling the people wigging out about Young having sex with his wife in Telford’s body had nothing to say about Chloe getting fall down drunk… far more abusive to her “host”.”

Answer: Ah, excellent point.  While the individual giving up their body could sign off on a host of activities, getting fall-down drunk would seem to be pushing it.

ltcolshepjumper writes: “1) I still didn’t understand why neither Carter nor Mckay have been brought on yet to deal with the situation.
2) What is the status of the Trust? Last we saw, they were being led by a Goauld, still on Earth. What are they up to now,and will we see them again in the future?
3) will we see the IOA mroe in the future?”

Anwers: 1) Given the timeline of events for the movies, both would have been initially too busy dealing with equal/greater concerns.  After Earth, Young makes it clear that he is going to be very particular about who he allows on board. 2) That remains a mystery.  3) Wray is IOA so, yes.

TBA writes: “Are there going to be any more Earth-focused episodes?”

Answer: Life, coming your way in a couple of weeks.

TBA also writes: “What happened to Riley? Is he dead?”

Answer: Fortunately, he was only mostly dead.  He’s recovering, but it’s touch and go.  Fingers crossed!

Sparrow_hawk writes: “

After reading everyone’s comments about Eli and Chloe’s “kiss”: did I miss something? I thought that the kiss was something that Eli imagined (hoped would happen) but what *really* happened was that Chloe gave him the “you’re such a good friend” line and burst his bubble again.   Could you clarify Joe?”

Answer: You’re correct.  Eli only imagined the kiss.  Sad.  He needs a better imagination.

Wahlyn writes: “In Water(?) when Young is walking away from the three people trying to all talk to him about something, one of the men says that he was scheduled to use the stones that day. So, obviously, other people have been using the stones to see heir family.”

Answer: Also correct.  Crewmembers have been rotating visits back to Earth using the stones.

Paddy writes: “Are we gonna see RDA again, maybe towards the end of season one??”

Answer: Maybe.

archersangel writes: “speaking of your toyko trip; my brother has asked me to remind you to find cucumber pepsi & green tea coke for the weird food purchase.”

Answer: Will do!

patsfifi writes: “Have you( or the other writers) ever seen the brittish show Red Dwarf?”

Answer: I haven’t, but I’ve heard good things.

AnneTeldy writes: “Convenient, wasn’t it, that multiple people put their stones on the device at the same time and they all ended up in the bodies they were meant to have. Young should have gone first and told the Earthsiders who was coming next.”

Answer: There are corresponding stones on either end.

Jim of WVA writes: “Is Telford’s first name James (holds the heel or he supplanted) or a cognate thereof?”

Answer: David.  Close.

Kuro-sama writes: “just wondering, do watch Doctor Who?”

Answer: Nope.

HBMC writes: “Oh, one other thing Joe – is there going to be a 2-6 month break between Ep 10 and Ep 11, or is the channel that is afraid of vowels (SyFy) going to play it right through to the end?”

Answer: There will be a break.  I’m not sure how long the mid-season hiatus will last.  Hopefully not too long.

charles zuri writes: “If you was not making stargate where would you be or what would you be doing?”

Answer: I’d probably be a secret agent.  Or a chef.  Or a chef who was really a secret agent. 

Ravenfur writes: “Have you ever seen an episode of a TV show where the episode’s title ruined the plot for you?”

Answer: No, but I understand that the German title for the SG-1 episode “Forever In A Day” was “Sha’re Is Dead”.

Tagged: Ganache Patisserie, H1N1 vaccination, Stargate, Stargate Universe