Ask Martin Gero - Spoilers for SGA (S1, S2)

[_Owen_]

Hello and welcome to the thread:

I’m gonna do my best here to answer your questions without getting fired for giving away our deepest, darkest secrets.

So, first question RE: the Asgard and Atlantis. Don’t want to give too much away, but let me say this…the Daedalus is perhaps the most advanced vessel the Air Force has ever built. We sure could use, say: a full time crew member who would ensure we’re using it to its maximum potential…if you get what I mean.

First I would like to thank you for coming to the Gateworld Forum, as I am sure that you probably have much more important things to do. I would also like to compliment you on bending the rules in the post that I quoted, NICE. Anyways, about the crossover, I can tell the way that you put it that there will be cahracters from SG-1 guest staring on Atlantis, would you happen to know if any characters from Atlantis will be guest starring on SG-1?

Just one last quick question, I don't know if you are allowed to go into this but will the Atlantis expidition be coming across any ancient weapons of personal nature in season two? If you can't answer this I understand and thank you anyways.

Owen Macri

[kiwigater]

Martin! Delighted to see you (again) This place is ridiculously addictive *eyes Darren and David*

erm, question to ask....
You know, I only got home from the con a few hours ago, and am still completely sleep deprived (in a GREAT way!), so no SG related questions.

So, just a comment instead, there's a link to both my PM and email in my profile, if you'd like any of the hundreds of photos I took either at the dinner on Fri or the con feel free to drop me a line
*head falls off at prospect of labelling, cropping and red-eye reducing photos* (for some odd reason ALL of Rob Cooper's photos have hideous red eye.....)

ETA: Ooo, yes! Thankies Ship Mum for reminding me! Thank you muchly for an awesome tour of the set. Every time I see the Atlantis gateroom now I'm gonna smell slightly damp wood

[ShadowMaat]

Wow, much coolness, not only do we get an Atlantis-centric Q&A place, but Martin's the one giving A's to the Q's. Some of these may have been answered at the dinner (or on Gateworld), but I've only been awake for an hour and can't be cohesive enough to remember.

1. Did the cast (particularly Torri and David) find any ways to pay you back for dumping tons of gallons of cold water on them in Storm/Eye?

2. Any more multi-part epics coming up in S2 (other than Siege 3) and if so, did you write any of them?

3. Can you tell us anything about your original plans for Childhood's End? I know you said it didn't turn out quite as you'd expected. How so?

I also wanted to add my thanks for coming to the GW dinner and chatting with us and for giving us a most excellent tour of the set. And thanks for answering our questions here, too. It's about time Joe had some competition.

[MartinGero]

Hello, thanks for doing this.

In the Seige Podcast, you mentioned there was a supposed funny line that was cut out, but said it over the ad break. What was it again?

And do you plan to do any DVD commentaries for any of the season 1 episodes?

I’m going to do commentary on all of my episodes for Season One…I’ll tell you what the funny line is on THAT commentary.

[MartinGero]

Hi Martin! First of all thank you for taking the time to come on here and answer our questions. I had the good fortune too meet you at the Gateworld dinner as well as have you as tour guide for the set tour and so I want to say thank you for that as well.

As for my question, I'm a HUGE Ford fan and so I'm wondering if there's any chance that we'll get to see him all throughout the season even though he's now just recurring?

Ford is in at least four episodes this year, maybe more. We're taking Ford in a really interesting new direction, but that means he can't be in every episode. If you're a Ford/Rainbow fan, I think you'll be very pleased with what we've done...I know Rainbow is.

[Uber]

Thank you for stopping by and answering our Q's.

Will we get to see a softer side of Weir? It was nice to see her with Simon (who, btw bears a striking resemblance to a Tollan named Narim ). Obviously with their dire circumstances there hasn't been a real opportunity yet; but will we have a chance to learn more about what makes her tick and perhaps see a less severe, more lighthearted side?

They've met and made alot of enemies since arriving in the Pegasus galaxy (and I'm sure there'll be more); will we have a chance to meet new friends and allies in Season 2?

Is there a really funny scene or episode coming up that has you cracking up and you just have to spill the beans to us?

Finally, give us a little teaser if you could please about some really cool technology that could be debuting in Season 2...

[not so ancient]

Hello Martin!

It's so nice of you to spend a few moments answering our questions. I've been reading your responses and 'hearing' them in your voice, which I heard on the Siege podcasts. [Great idea. Do more! Get the actors in on them, too!]

I was absolutely delighted to hear that Mitch Pileggi had joined the cast of Stargate Atlantis. I have long thought that he would be great in the Stargate universe. If someone wanted to give me a gift, it couldn't be better than my favorite actor getting free of shows that mis-/under-use him (:::cough TheWB! cough::: ) , and joining my new favorite, Atlantis.

So what can you tell us about Col. Steven Caldwell? He commands the big bad Daedalus (can't wait to see pictures of her!), and thus he helps save Atlantis in The Siege, Part 3. Of course, that's a guess, but I don't think Atlantis is going to do a Dallas, and have the whole season be a dream.

What else will be happening to the ship and her captain? Will we see Caldwell on a planet? In interaction with the Atlantis team? What's his background? How do you get to be the commander of Earth's first intergalactic battle cruiser?

Press releases state Col. Caldwell will be in some conflict with Weir and Sheppard. Now we know that Pileggi can play the gruff, by-the-book boss very convincingly. We've seen some of that type of characterization in Sumner, and Everett. Not to take anything away from those actors (especially fabulous Robert Patrick) but Pileggi is capable of giving the character of Caldwell a lot of dimension, if you'll write it for him. I'd like to see Caldwell fleshed out as very three dimensional, multi-layered kind of commander. It's the right kind of writing for Atlantis and for the actor you've got. (That's my humble opinion. Okay, not so much on the 'humble' part. )

I hear Mitch is slated for 5 episodes. Can we get more? Please?

I could ask a million more questions, but I'm sure others will.

Thank you for your time. I wish you and all involved in Atlantis much fun, many creative inspirations, and many blessings.

[MartinGero]

Wow, much coolness, not only do we get an Atlantis-centric Q&A place, but Martin's the one giving A's to the Q's. Some of these may have been answered at the dinner (or on Gateworld), but I've only been awake for an hour and can't be cohesive enough to remember.

1. Did the cast (particularly Torri and David) find any ways to pay you back for dumping tons of gallons of cold water on them in Storm/Eye?

2. Any more multi-part epics coming up in S2 (other than Siege 3) and if so, did you write any of them?

3. Can you tell us anything about your original plans for Childhood's End? I know you said it didn't turn out quite as you'd expected. How so?

I also wanted to add my thanks for coming to the GW dinner and chatting with us and for giving us a most excellent tour of the set. And thanks for answering our questions here, too. It's about time Joe had some competition.

1. They haven’t gotten me back yet…maybe cause they’re afraid I’ll think of something worse than rain to put them in the middle of (i.e putting David in a space suit while he had the flu).

2. Carl Binder and I have just started work on the Atlantis mid-season two-parter…and it will be HUGE! Can’t give you any plot details yet.

3. Lemme put it this way: great directors like Martin, Peter and Andy find amazing ways to make an episode even better than you imagined it…this experience was the extreme opposite.

[MedusA]

Hey Martin, thanks for taking the time to do this for us.

Being an aussie myself I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to see an Australian flag pop up on the screen, even if it's just in the background, any plans for aussies in Atlantis in season 2?

[MartinGero]

Thank you for stopping by and answering our Q's.

Will we get to see a softer side of Weir? It was nice to see her with Simon (who, btw bears a striking resemblance to a Tollan named Narim ). Obviously with their dire circumstances there hasn't been a real opportunity yet; but will we have a chance to learn more about what makes her tick and perhaps see a less severe, more lighthearted side?

They've met and made alot of enemies since arriving in the Pegasus galaxy (and I'm sure there'll be more); will we have a chance to meet new friends and allies in Season 2?

Is there a really funny scene or episode coming up that has you cracking up and you just have to spill the beans to us?

Finally, give us a little teaser if you could please about some really cool technology that could be debuting in Season 2...

Yeah, Tori and the writers would love to explore Weir’s softer side. I think you’ll get what you’re looking for early on in season 2 in an episode called “Intruder” (written by Joe and Paul)

Season 2 will see some great new allies and some GREAT new villains. “Condemned” by Carl Binder has some great bad guys that might be recurring.

“Duet” is possibly the funniest episode we’ve ever done on Atlantis…but I don’t want to spill the beans yet.

As to cool tech...you'll have to wait and see.

[d3u5]

Hello Mr. Gero,

please tell us something about Dr. Zelenka in season 2.

He's favorite Atlantis character for me and other czech fans.

More of Dr. Radek Zelenka and czech in Atlantis! And PLEASE don't let him die
(he's wearing blue shirt not red ) !!!

Sorry for my english and thank you for your possible answer.

[MartinGero]

Hello Martin!

It's so nice of you to spend a few moments answering our questions. I've been reading your responses and 'hearing' them in your voice, which I heard on the Siege podcasts. [Great idea. Do more! Get the actors in on them, too!]

I was absolutely delighted to hear that Mitch Pileggi had joined the cast of Stargate Atlantis. I have long thought that he would be great in the Stargate universe. If someone wanted to give me a gift, it couldn't be better than my favorite actor getting free of shows that mis-/under-use him (:::cough TheWB! cough::: ) , and joining my new favorite, Atlantis.

So what can you tell us about Col. Steven Caldwell? He commands the big bad Daedalus (can't wait to see pictures of her!), and thus he helps save Atlantis in The Siege, Part 3. Of course, that's a guess, but I don't think Atlantis is going to do a Dallas, and have the whole season be a dream.

What else will be happening to the ship and her captain? Will we see Caldwell on a planet? In interaction with the Atlantis team? What's his background? How do you get to be the commander of Earth's first intergalactic battle cruiser?

Press releases state Col. Caldwell will be in some conflict with Weir and Sheppard. Now we know that Pileggi can play the gruff, by-the-book boss very convincingly. We've seen some of that type of characterization in Sumner, and Everett. Not to take anything away from those actors (especially fabulous Robert Patrick) but Pileggi is capable of giving the character of Caldwell a lot of dimension, if you'll write it for him. I'd like to see Caldwell fleshed out as very three dimensional, multi-layered kind of commander. It's the right kind of writing for Atlantis and for the actor you've got. (That's my humble opinion. Okay, not so much on the 'humble' part. )

I hear Mitch is slated for 5 episodes. Can we get more? Please?

I could ask a million more questions, but I'm sure others will.

Thank you for your time. I wish you and all involved in Atlantis much fun, many creative inspirations, and many blessings.

We’re all big X-Files fans so we were ecstatic when Mitch agreed to come on board. He has been GREAT! The regulars love the guy and he seems to be having the most fun he’s had in years…so he’ll be around for a bit.

Yes, Caldwell eventually becomes an antagonist for the team, but we’ve taken special care to make him three dimensional and root his animosity in something very understandable. He has some genuine moments of warmth with the team on many occasions.

The Daedalus will expand the type of stories we can tell over on Atlantis, much like the Prometheus did for SG-1. We’re excited about taking the old girl out around the galaxy, but Caldwell will not be limited to the ships bridge. He is very much a position of influence in season 2.

[MartinGero]

Hello Mr. Gero,

please tell us something about Dr. Zelenka in season 2.

He's favorite Atlantis character for me and other czech fans.

More of Dr. Radek Zelenka and czech in Atlantis! And PLEASE don't let him die
(he's wearing blue shirt not red ) !!!

Sorry for my english and thank you for your possible answer.

So far Zelenka has been in almost every show we’ve shot (we’re up to episode 5 now)…so don’t worry, you’ll get plenty of Zelenka this season.

And I can tell you right now, there are no plans to kill him. We love the guy.

Don’t apologize for your English it’s WAY better than my Czech (did you know: David does all his own translations and frequently slips in more Czech than is scripted for all his Czech fans.)

[Uber]

Thanks for your answers! Can't wait for Duet (feel free to give us any spoilers you just can't contain )

Were the takes that McKay did in Letters from Pegasus really deleted or did Sam get to see him expressing that he's still carrying a torch for her?

Along those same lines, will we have a chance in the near (or distant) future to see Carter/McKay together? Their scenes together are always thoroughly entertaining...as are Sam's expressions of extreme irritation at his grating criticisms of her at work...and it would be really funny if he didn't know that she saw his "confession" of his feelings for her when they met up again...

[Shep'sSocks]

Hi Martin and thanks for taking the trouble to respond to questions.

I've read some spoilers for 206, which I think is called 'Condemned'. The spoiler said that the place where it's set is referred to as 'Botany Bay' as criminals get dumped there. It's an irritating reference because criminals weren't dumped at Botany Bay. Australian settlement from Europe was a colony that also included convicts, plus the colony wasn't even at Botany Bay. They took one look at the place and hightailed it out of there for Sydney Harbour. Is it really referred to as Botany Bay in the episode?

Looking forward to season 2 and like other Australians here, am looking forward to the first Aussie to be introduced. Please use an Australian actor! No one else can do the accent.