Joseph Mallozzi's Blog! (SPOILERS For All SG Shows and Dark Matter)

[NowIWillDestroyAbydos]

Oh, I see now. Thanks. Yeah, those numbers aren't high enough to consider them much of a measurement in my opinion.

Indeed, but at least it gives us a good idea of what the numbers might be.

[prion]

I've noticed that Joe often snips the questions when answering them, especially if they are longish. I don't recall if that is the case with this particular question -- you can find the full posts if you dig around in the "comments" section at Joe's blog.

As for Joe's answer that SG1 took years to build up "history," that made me laugh, because among the SG1 fans I've talked to / read their posts in forums, the general concensus appears to be that it's the early seasons of SG1 that most focused on character and mythology. I don't think it really matters if the show is ten years old or just in its first year -- the focus on its characters is either there or not. Sure, characters who have known each other for ten years will relate very differently to each other than characters who have just met, but a show can focus on the characters regardless, if that's where the writers want their focus to be.

The best character and mythology timeline is in the first few years on Showtime.

[Arctic Goddess]

I'm having disturbing flashbacks from when there was an unmoderated blog on GW over a year ago.

Some people's idiocy never fails to astound me. It's like, "How can I get my point across the most effectively? I know! I'll attack someone I don't even know, and make baseless assumptions about her! That'll show 'em. That'll show 'em all!"

Morons.

Luckily it's another "few" posters who're taking it too far, but I think it's hilarious how everyone uses their real name over there. No one has the cajones to post their screen name.

I don't have cajones because I'm a girl, and quite happy about that. And I use my screen name all the time on Joe's blog. I also sign off using my real name. I happen to think Joe is right on target with a lot of stuff. We don't know his job. We have no idea why some decisions are made the way they are. I do know that Joe didn't get to the position he currently holds without knowing what he is doing. I also think that the internet has made the people who make television and movies, much more available to the fans. Since the internet, is a fairly new phenomenon, in the grand scheme of things, I think that people like Joe have to strike a very difficult balance between providing information and keeping some things secret, to maintain the integrity of the show.

[the dancer of spaz]

I don't have cajones because I'm a girl, and quite happy about that. And I use my screen name all the time on Joe's blog. I also sign off using my real name. I happen to think Joe is right on target with a lot of stuff. We don't know his job. We have no idea why some decisions are made the way they are. I do know that Joe didn't get to the position he currently holds without knowing what he is doing. I also think that the internet has made the people who make television and movies, much more available to the fans. Since the internet, is a fairly new phenomenon, in the grand scheme of things, I think that people like Joe have to strike a very difficult balance between providing information and keeping some things secret, to maintain the integrity of the show.

Yep... But I didn't have a problem with Joe when I posted that.

I disagree with how he handles certain situations when it comes to the fans, and I think he can come off as more than a bit arrogant at times, but I understand his delicate position. I don't think it's logical to demand answers of a business/professional nature from someone simply because he deigns to speak with us, and simply because we want to know everything. That makes no sense to me.

[prion]

Yep... But I didn't have a problem with Joe when I posted that.

I disagree with how he handles certain situations when it comes to the fans, and I think he can come off as more than a bit arrogant at times, but I understand his delicate position. I don't think it's logical to demand answers of a business/professional nature from someone simply because he deigns to speak with us, and simply because we want to know everything. That makes no sense to me.

I can understand some of his position, but remember: he put himself out there. For awhile he just stayed away and now he's back and he does love to talk. I woudln't say he 'deigns' to speak with us. He's been on the net for a long time now making contact with fans

[the dancer of spaz]

I can understand some of his position, but remember: he put himself out there. For awhile he just stayed away and now he's back and he does love to talk. I woudln't say he 'deigns' to speak with us. He's been on the net for a long time now making contact with fans

And of course he likes to stir the pot. Yeah, I know his motives are less than altruistic at times, and that his attitude can be grating. I've been annoyed with him on more than one occasion. But I still think that we all (as a group) have to shoulder at least some of the responsibility for how statements are perceived and how info is disseminated throughout the fandom. It's a combination of his desire to keep people talking, and fandom's desire to get what we want and what we believe to be deserved when we want it.

There are quite a few bits of insight about the show that we otherwise would not have gotten had he not posted. And while I've made no bones about how I feel about TPTB's decisions, I've gotten to the point where I'm not going to demand that he treats us any differently than we treat him at times. Just as we are so open with our disdain, he is open with his. Respect is a two-way street.

[prion]

And of course he likes to stir the pot. Yeah, I know his motives are less than altruistic at times, and that his attitude can be grating. I've been annoyed with him on more than one occasion. But I still think that we all (as a group) have to shoulder at least some of the responsibility for how statements are perceived and how info is disseminated throughout the fandom. It's a combination of his desire to keep people talking, and fandom's desire to get what we want and what we believe to be deserved when we want it.

There are quite a few bits of insight about the show that we otherwise would not have gotten had he not posted. And while I've made no bones about how I feel about TPTB's decisions, I've gotten to the point where I'm not going to demand that he treats us any differently than we treat him at times. Just as we are so open with our disdain, he is open with his. Respect is a two-way street.

He's pretty open with his disdain at times too - I've read his posts since he started posting in SG fandom, and he's been posting since before he joined SG, and those posts can be quite eye-opening

Yes, being a producer he is privy to inside info and he does at times grace fandom with tidbits, but he also has a huge tendency to make vague statements, so I treat most of what he says with a grain (er, shaker) of salt, as his perception of fan reaction can be off the mark more often than not.

[prion]

As has been noted here in this thread, yes, JM does edit the questions quite a bit. I noticed a few where the questions were answered, but not really….

http://josephmallozzi.blogspot.com/2...ch-5-2007.html

March 5th


Peter writes: “If you were to assign one word for each episode in the first half of Season 4 of Atlantis […] what would they be?

Answer: Adrift (desperation), Lifeline (gamble), Reunion (roots), Travelers (rivalry), Missing (missing).


Shawna writes: “What are the odds of ever seeing an actor from the original series on Stargate?”

Answer: At present unlikely, but you never know.


Anonymous #1 writes: “With Atlantis and SG1, do you ever interact with the stage crew and go down to the sets?”

Answer: I do on occasion but I’m usually in the production offices, writing or dealing with production issues. Thankfully, our seasoned directors can handle most any problem that crops up on set.


Arctic Goddess writes: “Were you aware that there is a movement afoot to have Paul McGillion play a young Scottie (James Doohan's character) in a new star trek movie about a young Enterprise crew? If you were writing that movie, who would you choose to take on those roles?”

Answer: I wasn’t aware but I’d love to see it. As for who I would choose - Paul, natch.


Anonymous #2 writes: “Hmmm. I guess we'll know when we see how many episodes Torri's in. I'm still betting that the information certain people have is accurate.”

Answer: Again, with all due respect, the fact that Weir is not a regular would suggest that she will be appearing in fewer episodes in season four. As for any presumed knowledge of the exact number of episodes the character will be appearing in - that’s quite a trick considering we haven’t even sat down to discuss the back half of the season.


Anonymous #3 writes: “Don't you feel like you're selling out the Atlantis fans to make people who watched SG1 happy?” [this was a much longer and involved question - found under March 4th entry]

Answer: Not at all. As I stated in a previous entry, the decision on the Weir character was made BEFORE the decision to bring in Carter. If it hadn’t been Carter, it would have been someone else.


Jenny Robin writes: “Big Joe, how was your day?”

Answer: Pretty good. Joe Flanigan swung by the offices today to give us his thoughts on a couple of scripts. He LOVED Travelers. No surprise there. I worked on breaking down the first part of the mid-season two-parter, then joined Carl, Alan, and Martin in the writers’ room to re-break the last two acts of Martin’s latest script to incorporate Rob’s Lectoresque notion.

[sgeureka]

http://josephmallozzi.blogspot.com/2...ch-5-2007.html

March 5th


Peter writes: “If you were to assign one word for each episode in the first half of Season 4 of Atlantis […] what would they be?

Answer: Adrift (desperation), Lifeline (gamble), Reunion (roots), Travelers (rivalry), Missing (missing).

Just in case someone missed it - JM provided a new ep title: Missing.

That could mean "Doppelganger" or "The Seer" were renamed; Carl Binder's Teyla ep was named; or it's a completely new episode having its first online mention here.

[NowIWillDestroyAbydos]

Just in case someone missed it - JM provided a new ep title: Missing.

That could mean "Doppelganger" or "The Seer" were renamed; Carl Binder's Teyla ep was named; or it's a completely new episode having its first online mention here.

"Doppelganger" and "The Seer" weren't renamed, I believe that they're listed after those four episodes.

[sgeureka]

"Doppelganger" and "The Seer" weren't renamed, I believe that they're listed after those four episodes.

The problem with saying something like that is: Do you know for a fact (the beginning of your sentence)? ATM, Joe is "our" only source, and he has neither confirmed nor denied renamings. Last year, we had "Delicious Fat Guy" and "Irresistable" as two different episodes for a while (weeks? months?). With our being out of the loop, anything is possible, and I didn't want to rule out any possibilies prematurely, no matter how silly or unlikely they seem for now.

[the dancer of spaz]

Would an episode like Doppelganger get renamed this late in the game, considering the actors already have the script for it and it's going into production soon? Or can they rename episodes whenever they want...?

[sgeureka]

Would an episode like Doppelganger get renamed this late in the game, considering the actors already have the script for it and it's going into production soon? Or can they rename episodes whenever they want...?

IIRC, I saw production sketches for CJ's S8 episode "Sacrifices" with the label "My Big Fat Jaffa Wedding" (the working title).

TPTB can rename any episode anytime, maybe even after an episode has been filmed (but I don't have references for that). Seeing that "Missing" will not be one of the first three episodes (per production numbers) and therefore will only be filmed in three weeks at the earliest, anything is possible. Remember, when SG-1 got cancelled, they were shooting 10x16. 10x18 contained several stabs at Scifi/cancellation in the script. TPTB don't need much time to throw everything the fans "know" overboard.

ETA: But I honestly think, IF an episode got renamed, then it's probably NOT going to be "Doppelganger" (just a gut feeling). We will see.

ETA2: Hewlett and Nykl also already said at their respective blogs that they had already started filming "Doppelganger" and also that this episode was supposed to air later in the season. Still doesn't mean anything though. It's just contributing to my gut feeling.

[Almighty_Wookie]

More often than not episodes aren't generally filmed in order either, so there is a chance that this has happened in S4. It all depends on which location they can use/or have built first and if the script is ready.

[Willow'sCat]

Jenny Robin writes: “Big Joe, how was your day?”

Answer: Pretty good. Joe Flanigan swung by the offices today to give us his thoughts on a couple of scripts. He LOVED Travelers. No surprise there. I worked on breaking down the first part of the mid-season two-parter, then joined Carl, Alan, and Martin in the writers’ room to re-break the last two acts of Martin’s latest script to incorporate Rob’s Lectoresque notion.

What does this mean? I am thinking either something to do with cannibals or reading. Or both!