January 2, 2007

People who know me rarely take me seriously. This, I suppose, because I’m rarely serious. Fair enough, but it does present a problem on occasions when I want to be taken seriously like, say, if my shoes happen to be on fire or I need to convince someone of something in order to pull off a practical joke. In the case of the former, I’ve found screaming, waving my arms, and running in circles helps. In the case of the latter, I look for alternate means of conveying that semblance of credibility. The official note or letter is perhaps my favorite way to go - neatly type-written and seemingly signed by someone important, photocopied to give it that authentic hot-off-the-fax appearance before being dropped off on my mark’s desk: “Alex, why haven’t you read me my horoscope yet? Impatiently waiting, Brad”, or “Lawren, please make sure to drain my dog’s anal glands before lunch. Thanks, John Smith”.

A couple of seasons ago, our publicity department arranged for the Atlantis cast to do some promos for the various broadcast affiliates (ie. Sheppard ”Have a gate old time watching Atlantis on Channel 12!”). Well, a request came in that the promos also include a thank you to the gang at Fox for all of their hard work on the show. No problem at all and, ultimately, really a small gesture to recognize their much-appreciated contributions. Brad, who was running the show at the time, was only too happy to oblige. And I saw a golden opportunity. I went back to my office, composed a follow-up request from someone at MGM, just a few additional spots to be recorded at the production’s convenience, and slipped it onto Brad’s desk when he was out of the office. It read:

“Hey Brad,

Good news! Here is a list of the greetings we’d like you and the gang to do. Again, if you could get a package to us by Tuesday at the latest, it would be much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Theo

1. Congratulations to everyone at Fox from everyone here at Stargate.

2. Thanks to everyone at Fox for your support. Keep up the good work!

3. Happy birthday Ted.

4. Hello from the Pegasus Galaxy! Thanks for your support!

5. Congratulations to Gladys on the birth of the twins.

6. Great job to everyone at Fox!

7. Good luck on your hysterectomy, Hazel.

8. The Fox team is OUT OF THIS WORLD!

9. Victor Robbins, thank you for your may years of dedicated service but the company is headed in a new direction and I’m afraid we’re going to have to let you go. Please consider this your two weeks notice.

10. Eatin’ good in the neighborhood - at Applebees!”

Well, Brad didn’t buy it but a few people did. And, at the end of the day, if I can horrify or panic just one person, I can sleep soundly knowing I’ve made a difference in someone’s life.

Last night, Fondy and I took my mother to her new favorite Vancouver restaurant: Sun Sui Wah on Main Street. She enjoyed hot and sour soup, squab, crispy fried geoduck, lobster with ginger and green onions, deep fried crab, and, of course, her staple yang chow fried rice. The service was typically friendly and first-rate. Mom is already looking forward to a return visit.

Finally, a little advice to those who have submitted comments but have yet to see them approved or addressed -

1. If some spoiler regarding one of the upcoming movies has upset you enough that you feel the need to fire off a childish and insulting response, please do yourself a favor. Change computers before sending me another, politer missive on the topic from your alternate email account. Wordpress gives me the power to block offending IP addresses.

2. If, in the past, I have been polite enough to respond to you (either on my blog or through any of my yahoo accounts), and you have, in turn, rejoined in a childish or insulting manner (either on my blog, through my yahoo accounts, or on some other forum), please don’t expect me to now engage you in any sort of dialogue.

3. Do not expect me to edit your comments for you (ie. “Hey, check it out! My social insurance number spells out a funny message. P.S. Please edit my social insurance number out of this message before posting, thanks.”). Bottom line: I don’t know how and it’s just a heck of a lot easier for me to simply delete the entire message.

4. Feel free to leave a comment on my back-up blogger site - UNLESS you want me to actually respond, in which case you’re better off leaving your comment here on wordpress.

I know. We can’t all be Annie from Freemantle’s, effortlessly getting all sorts of posts approved willy nilly. Even the best of us can be tripped up by such simple mistakes. I’m sure I’ll have occasion to post further advice as time goes on so stay tuned and take note!

Today’s blog is dedicated to Libkat on the mend and all of the brilliant poets who’ve posted.

Today’s pics: Mom enjoys her lobster, squab, the lobster mom enjoyed, mom complains about the teeny-tiny portions served at other restaurants.

The mailbag -

Jenny Robin writes: “Do you remember where I left my copy of Princess Bride?”

Answer: It’s on your nightstand, sitting hidden beneath The Time Traveler’s Wife. Or it could be in the basement laundry room where it has fallen behind the dryer.

Cat4444 writes: “If the tumor no longer had access to the raw materials needed to complete the process, how could it have reached critical mass and exploded?”

Answer: I could argue that when the tumor reaches critical mass, it becomes highly unstable and can be set off by any number of things including sudden movements. But I won’t. I defer all exploding tumor questions to writer Martin Gero who will, coincidentally, be swinging by here to collect his questions after Friday night’s show.

Farscape Fan writes: “when Vala lost her mother?”

Answer: I don’t believe we ever said she was dead.

Lori K. writes: “I was curious if there was any truth behind this “rumor” that if the Screen Actors Guild goes on strike that it’ll affect Joe Flanigan and Jason Momoa finishing off the fifth season?”

Answer: If SAG strikes, it will certainly affect Joe and Jason who are SAG members.

Squall78 writes: “Based on how the show is doing success wise now and if the trend continues, do you see the show going past 5 seasons?”

Answer: 10 seasons may be too much to hope for, but certainly a healthy 7 or so isn’t outside the realm of possibility.

nodakskip writes: “ Is it hard to reset up the SGC sets like the Gateroom/control room for an Atlantis ep now that SG1 is done?”

Answer: There is nothing to reset up. The sets are still standing.

Narellefromaus writes: “When watching the Sci Fi channel there tend to be the same actors going from one show to the other. Is this intentional?”

Answer: I think it has more to do with the fact that shows like Stargate, Flash Gordon, Eureka, and BSG are all shot in Vancouver and productions are more likely to draw from the local talent pool when casting guest stars.

Loren writes: “Anyways, when you were in school, did you find youself really interested in TV shows? Or… the idea of working in that kind of business in general?”

Answer: Not really. I was more interested in the feature world.

Lt. Col. Errandboy writes: “Do you have any good Italian patisseries in Vancouver?”

Answer: None come to mind.

Nathaniel writes: “Will you be attending the peoples choice awards to pick up Atlantis’ prize?”

Answer: Because of the writer’s strike, the award show won’t be live but made up taped segments. If we win, I’m sure the actors will be only to happy to accept on the production’s behalf.

Doci21787 writes: “1. Will we ever see any ori in stargate atlantis? 2. Is Baal ever going to atlantis? 3. Is Oma gone for good?”

Answers: 1. Unlikely. 2. No plans for Baal in SGA at present. 3. That’s a question for Robert Cooper.

Thunder writes: “Are the dogs well behaved around the Christmas tree?”

Answer: Hell, no. I’ve caught Lulu several times chewing on some of the items she has pulled off tree (ie. decorations, tinsel, tiny colored lights).

Chris writes: “ Do you happen to know if Scifi will be broadcasting the back-half of Season 4 in HD?”

Answer: I can’t say for sure, but I would assume they would be.

Majorsal writes: “what happened to the deleted scene where sam and keller were talking and sam mentioned a not-so-subtle hint about ‘that guy in washington’ (jack)? you said you’d either a- put it (deleted scene) in the s4 dvd package, or b- put the same sentiments in an s5 ep. or you’d do both maybe”

Answer: Martin chose the deleted scenes from his episodes. I’m not sure if this one was among them.

Female wraith writes: “Have ever tried Bulgarian cuisine? Musaka, tarator, banitza or something else?”

Answer: I haven’t. I’d love to though.

Jimbo writes: “Towards the end of Stargate:SG1’s run it seemed like Tealc was carrying and using earth based weaponry instead of his staff weapon or Zaat. Was this done to save FX costs and if not why?”

Answer: It was felt that Teal’c had adapted to battling with Earth-based weaponry over the years and that said weaponry was more efficient than the unwieldy staff weapon. Also, Chris preferred the earth tech.

Emily writes: “When you and Paul are sitting around together typing a script, who usually does most of the typing?”

Answer: Paul and I write our scripts separately.

Emily also writes: “ Oh, I’ve also noticed the significant drop-off of the “Bring Back [Character Name Here]!!” and “You Suck, I Hate You, I No Longer Watch The Show!” posts. Is this due to you practicing your New Year’s resolution #3? Or do you think that “those people” aren’t able to find your new home and/or are turned off by the inability to comment anonymously?”

Answer: All of the above.

Catriona writes: “The original version mentioned Weir. The revised version did not. Obviously Weir was mentioned, but you didn’t seem to want to have what was said about her in print.”

Answer: I didn’t edit the article and I didn’t ask that any references be removed, only clarified. I believe the reason the sentence didn’t appear in the revised version was because it was hard to make out what it was I had actually said (as I mentioned in a previous post, a problem in these phone interviews). As to what it was I said: don’t recall. But, given the context, it no doubt had something to do with the fact that some Weir fans were upset with the creative decisions made.

Malhoney writes: “How do difficult characters become fleshed out (if they do)? My guess would be that it would be a sort of group effort, with writers, producers, actors, directors maybe contributing, but, then again, maybe not.”

Answer: It’s always a group effort.

Kristen writes: “ 1.Have you ever read “House of Leaves” by Mark Danielewski? 2.Did you catch the bowl games? I hated the ‘traditional’ match ups. Would have preferred to see Ga vs. USC. 3.Does Carson’s return have anything to do with events from “Misbegotten”? 4.For Sheppard fans, besides “Outcast” any angsty character moments of emotional ones to look forward to? What about whump? Sorry had to ask.”

Answers: I haven’t. Recommended? 2. Some. Yeah, a Trogans-Bulldogs match-up would have been fun. 3. Carson’s return? He’s coming back? 4. Possibly Last Man.

Inkiya writes: “I wondered how did you came up with an idea to start bloging in the first place? What reasons did lead you to that decision and what keeps you bloging so constantly now?”

Answer: I started blogging at Gateworld on the invitation of Darren Summnr, then eventually started my own personal blog back in late 2006 as a means of documenting my trip through Asia. When I returned to North America, I elected to continue blogging and haven’t missed a day. The reason? As a writer, I think it’s a great exercise.

Shawna writes: “I certainly didn’t expect you to actually respond to any of thge interpretations of the poem, but I do hope you address the issue after each episode airs, so we can be sure to eliminate the appropriate line from further pondering.”

Answer: That I will. First up - Be All My Sins Remember’d.