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

[SallyLizzie]

Sure thing, sgeureka! The traffic thing hadn't even crossed my mind.

[Hatusu]

Anonymous #4: "I think having diversity on a writing staff is important, and that the only way to breed diversity is to have at least one female writer."

Answer: Before Paul and I joined the show, the production auditioned a variety of different writers, a practice that has continued over the past few years. It isn't as easy as saying we want this type of writer and then hiring them. The individual we hire not only has to be a capable writer, but capable of writing Stargate - which isn't as easy as it may look. The show's mythology can prove very daunting for first-timers. Finally, because we are only producing one show this year, this will be the first season we won't be going out to freelancers.

Why oh why does he not see that this kind of comment is insulting to women and early Stargate writers such as Katharyn Powers? It's obvious to everyone here that women CAN write in the Stargate universe. Yes, screenwriting is a different skill, but a skill that is not limited to men either.

I love the people that work on Stargate, but it is obvious to me that other then a few actors, make-up people and administrative staff, it's an all male environment. In this day and age, that they don't see how unnatural that is, and how discriminatory astounds me.

And yes, dear Joe, it has changed how women are portrayed on the show! Look at Dr. Lam, Vala and season 8, 9 and 10 Carter. Arrggggh!!!!!

[sgeureka]

Anonymous #4: "I think having diversity on a writing staff is important, and that the only way to breed diversity is to have at least one female writer."

Answer: Before Paul and I joined the show, the production auditioned a variety of different writers, a practice that has continued over the past few years. It isn't as easy as saying we want this type of writer and then hiring them. The individual we hire not only has to be a capable writer, but capable of writing Stargate - which isn't as easy as it may look. The show's mythology can prove very daunting for first-timers. Finally, because we are only producing one show this year, this will be the first season we won't be going out to freelancers.

Why oh why does he not see that this kind of comment is insulting to women? It's obvious to everyone here that women CAN write in the Stargate universe. Yes, screenwriting is a different skill, but a skill that is not limited to men either.

I love the people that work on Stargate, but it is obvious to me that other then a few actors, make-up people and administrative staff, it's an all male environment. In this day and age, that they don't see how unnatural that is, and how discriminatory astounds me.

And yes, dear Joe, it has changed how women are portrayed on the show! Look at Dr. Lam, Vala and season 8, 9 and 10 Carter. Arrggggh!!!!!

Where does he say that women are incapable of writing [Stargate]? He just said that writing is hard [for everybody], especially for newbies. And since they're already enough writers, they weren't looking for freelancers, i.e. women and men.

I didn't read his answer as for why there weren't any women on the writing team but why there won't be any new writers at all, including woman.

[Hatusu]

Where does he say that women are incapable of writing [Stargate]? He just said that writing is hard [for everybody], especially for newbies. And since they're already enough writers, they weren't looking for freelancers, i.e. women and men.

They haven't hired female writers for several years now, so I believe that it's been a long term issue. Women make up more than 50% of the population. That fact alone makes supports the need to hire more female writers, both on a creative and non-discriminatory level unless one supports the belief that women can't write as well as men.

It also begs the question, "Can male writers write female characters accurately?" Some do very well. Several don't.

[Willow'sCat]

Why oh why does he not see that this kind of comment is insulting to women and early Stargate writers such as Katharyn Powers? It's obvious to everyone here that women CAN write in the Stargate universe. Yes, screenwriting is a different skill, but a skill that is not limited to men either.

I love the people that work on Stargate, but it is obvious to me that other then a few actors, make-up people and administrative staff, it's an all male environment. In this day and age, that they don't see how unnatural that is, and how discriminatory astounds me.

And yes, dear Joe, it has changed how women are portrayed on the show! Look at Dr. Lam, Vala and season 8, 9 and 10 Carter. Arrggggh!!!!!

I didn't see his comments as a reference to females not being able to write in the Stargate verse, more a sweeping generalisation that Joe believes it is not easy to write in the Stargate verse full-stop, I don't agree with him on that, I think there are many writers who could do it, and use "canon" in Stargate better then tptb do!

I think though he made it clear that the writers are going to pretty much be Joe/Paul/Martin/Carl and maybe Robert. Think they may have a budget problem. I don't know but I do think SGA will be run on a very tight string this season so even taking time (=money) to test out new writers is probably not something they could do even if they wanted.

Or that is what I read when I read between the lines.

Of course they have had over ten years with SG-1 to nurture female writers in this verse they just seem to have not bothered.

I count at least 4 female writers for Doctor Who, Torchwood.

[Hatusu]

I didn't see his comments as a reference to females not being able to write in the Stargate verse, more a sweeping generalisation that Joe believes it is not easy to write in the Stargate verse full-stop, I don't agree with him on that, I think there are many writers who could do it, and use "canon" in Stargate better then tptb do!

I think though he made it clear that the writers are going to pretty much be Joe/Paul/Martin/Carl and maybe Robert. Think they may have a budget problem. I don't know but I do think SGA will be run on a very tight string this season so even taking time (=money) to test out new writers is probably not something they could do even if they wanted.

Or that is what I read when I read between the lines.

Of course they have had over ten years with SG-1 to nurture female writers in this verse they just seem to have not bothered.

I count at least 4 female writers for Doctor Who, Torchwood.

I don't know why it changed, but they had several female writers in the first few seasons. I mentioned Katharyn Powers because she wrote quite a few epiodes. I don't blame Joe for not hiring women writers. That's not his job. I do find his comments insulting.

[sgeureka]

They haven't hired female writers for several years now, so I believe that it's been a long term issue.

SGA "Instinct" - WRITTEN BY - Treena Hancock & Melissa R. Byer (the only freelance writers I might add, as far as I can tell)

Women make up more than 50% of the population. That fact alone makes supports the need to hire more female writers, both on a creative and non-discriminatory level unless one supports the belief that women can't write as well as men.

It also begs the question, "Can male writers write female characters accurately?" Some do very well. Several don't.

If you really want to talk about statistics , I'll

1. point to the stay-at-home-mom percentage that doesn't work
2. ask you why only 6 out of the 24 writers of 7th Heaven's S8 were male (I just picked this show and the season arbitrarily)? Surely that must mean that that show's PTB are misandric, or at least believe that men cannot write drama? Can we really say that female writers write male characters accurately, especially since that show had more sons than daughters in it?

All in all, it's IMO not surprising that a demographically very male oriented show is more likely than not written and produced by males. So I think you're interpreting way too much into this. (And I do believe that 7th Heaven isn't a very good show, just to make this clear.)

[NowIWillDestroyAbydos]

You know what, lets change the subject to female directors. During SG-1's 10 year run, there was only one female director, Amanda Tapping directed Resurrection (which was written by Shanks).

I forget, how many SGA episodes were directed by women?

[prion]

I didn't see his comments as a reference to females not being able to write in the Stargate verse, more a sweeping generalisation that Joe believes it is not easy to write in the Stargate verse full-stop, I don't agree with him on that, I think there are many writers who could do it, and use "canon" in Stargate better then tptb do!

I think though he made it clear that the writers are going to pretty much be Joe/Paul/Martin/Carl and maybe Robert. Think they may have a budget problem. I don't know but I do think SGA will be run on a very tight string this season so even taking time (=money) to test out new writers is probably not something they could do even if they wanted.

Or that is what I read when I read between the lines.

Of course they have had over ten years with SG-1 to nurture female writers in this verse they just seem to have not bothered.

I count at least 4 female writers for Doctor Who, Torchwood.

Oddly enough, the most successful TV series on the air are run by women - the CSI franchise. Maybe the SG writers could take a page from that book.

Most TV shows are pretty much closed writing stables which don't like to let in outsiders, and women do get the short shrif. Personally I think that some of the freelance writers bring along some of the more inventive ideas. I mean, we've seen Joe copy his SG1 scripts and turn them into SGA scripts. So, we need new blood.

[Hatusu]

SGA "Instinct" - WRITTEN BY - Treena Hancock & Melissa R. Byer (the only freelance writers I might add, as far as I can tell)

If you really want to talk about statistics , I'll

1. point to the stay-at-home-mom percentage that doesn't work
2. ask you why only 6 out of the 24 writers of 7th Heaven's S8 were male (I just picked this show and the season arbitrarily)? Surely that must mean that that show's PTB are misandric, or at least believe that men cannot write drama? Can we really say that female writers write male characters accurately, especially since that show had more sons than daughters in it?

All in all, it's IMO not surprising that a demographically very male oriented show is more likely than not written and produced by males. So I think you're interpreting way too much into this. (And I do believe that 7th Heaven isn't a very good show, just to make this clear.)

Yea! I'm so glad about Ms. Byer and Hancock. I admit that I missed that they were hired because I was concentrating on SG1. Still that is for only one episode in several years on two shows.

The "stay at home Mom" comment doesn't fly because nowadays most Moms only stay at home temporarily and many women never become "stay at home Moms" at all. Even if they did, many writers work from home, even the men.

As for "Seventh Heaven" hiring a large percentage of female writers..Touche! At least some female writers are getting hired, but I was talking about Stargate. Personally, and I know I'm not the only one, I would like more female writers because:

1. I'm uncomfortable with the way the female characters are being written lately.

2. I'd like more female character centered episodes. Yes, Atlantis has had a few good ones, but I'd like more.

3. More freelance writers would lead to more original ideas on the show, whether the writer is male or female.

3. It's the right thing to do.

Finally, by male oriented, do you mean military? Look at the military today. There are women everywhere, and they are even Generals.

I do think that men can write drama. I also think that women can write drama just as well. They can write good science fiction, too. Look at D.C. Fontana and "Star Trek". I'm not asking that women writers take over writing for the Stargate franchise. I just think they should get a fair chance at it, and I'm not falling for the "We just couldn't find any good female writers." comment which Joe implied if he did not say it straight out.

Brad Wright is my favorite writer on the shows and Martin Gero is my second favorite writer. For the most part, they write well for women, too. If they hire more female writers, they will probably continue to stay my favorite writers. That doesn't mean that the show couldn't use the female viewpoint. One of those writers that was never hired could have contributed wonderful stories, but we'll probably never know.

[sgeureka]

You know what, lets change the subject to female directors. During SG-1's 10 year run, there was only one female director, Amanda Tapping directed Resurrection (which was written by Shanks).

I forget, how many SGA episodes were directed by women?

Zero. ETA: No, wait, there was a Holly Dale in S1.

And on Farscape? Four times (two ladies) out of 88.
And on Lost? Two + one (if Marita is a female name) out of 58 so far.

In another [more female] genre:

On 7th Heaven S8 (I'm too lazy to count all the seasons)? One out of 22.
On Gilmore Girls S4? Five (three of those were the female creator/producer) out of 22.

Do YOU see a pattern here? This very topic is not even worth discussing. (It's also kind of going off-topic fast.) Maybe there isn't even one single female director with Green Screen experience in Vancouver.

1. I'm uncomfortable with the way the female characters are being written lately.

I'm sometimes unhappy with the way some males are written on the show. Doesn't mean we should trade our male writers for females.

2. I'd like more female character centered episodes. Yes, Atlantis has had a few good ones, but I'd like more.

You mean like for talking about nail polish and how cute that one guy was? Blech! (I'm just saying this because I recently saw a post on this board from someone who wished Vala and Carter would finally talk about female things like *see above*, and I just had to cringe. I'm female and I hate these IMO completely irrelevant topics. ) On the other hand, we already had "The Real Weir", "Memento Mori" and "The Road Not Taken", which were very much centered around our female characters, just like there were some episodes for the male characters. (Only McKay got more than he deserved. )

Being female does not automatically mean that females act differently (i.e. "female-ish") than males. Although I get that you wished the male writers were more sensible for certain "female" reactions, and that sometimes female writers would be more suited to achieve this. But would that be a guarantee? I wouldn't be too sure about that. ETA: I think Amanda Tapping's input on the show helped to secure a rather female tone to her character, and I'd say the same for Torri Higginson. I admit that the characters of Teyla and Vala are sometimes overkill, but Vala has been my fave since when she first appeared on the show. Just let's not forget that this is (science!) fiction, and that our interpretation of the characters is not always the same with that of the writers, other fans, and/or what the story needs.

3. More freelance writers would lead to more original ideas on the show, whether the writer is male or female.

And this would also lead to an incredible amount of rewrite from the current producers because new writers are more likely to not get the characters' voices. Also, don't forget about the "we already had this but you wouldn't know because you missed the first 250+ episodes" situation. From what I can tell, when the producers were still accepting freelance writers, there weren't that many (any?) ideas that I would consider great. Obviously, no-one of us is in the Stargate business to prove you or me right/wrong.

Finally, by male oriented, do you mean military? Look at the military today. There are women everywhere, and they are even Generals.

By male oriented I mean the audience that Scifi wishes to reach. Just like TheWB tried to go for a more female audience. (I hardly ever watched TheWB but at least that was the impression I got from them.)

I'm not asking that women writers take over writing for the Stargate franchise. I just think they should get a fair chance at it, and I'm not falling for the "We just couldn't find any good female writers." comment which Joe implied if he did not say it straight out.

At the same time, Joe implied that they couldn't find any good male writers, so TPTB are also not giving males a chance. Sounds fair and even to me. (And that's not supposed to sound childish. )

[Pitry]

3. More freelance writers would lead to more original ideas on the show, whether the writer is male or female.

In addition to sgeureka's whole post, which I agree with wholeheartedly, one more point about this. Freelancers does not necessarily mean more original ideas. Good freelancers, much like good regular writers, might mean more original ideas. In SG1's 10 years, some of the most horrid episodes - ever - were written by freelancers - well, IMO , of course. There are those of us who actualy enjoy The Light .
The key is, much like with female writers, not to hire someone because they're new and fresh" or because they're female, but because they're good enough. I'm female and I cannot stress how insuletd I would be if I discovered I got a job I wanted just because of my gender, just like I would get insulted to find out I didn't because I'm female. I'd like to know I got it because I was the best candidate - and this is what I got from JM's blog point, BTW. That the new writers they hired were hired because they weer the best they've seen, not because they were male (for the record, memoryt ells me that they asked the writers of Instinct to come full time for SGA but the wrtiers declined due to other commitments or some such.)

There's enough descrimination in the world without inventing some more.

[Willow'sCat]

I don't know why it changed, but they had several female writers in the first few seasons. I mentioned Katharyn Powers because she wrote quite a few epiodes. I don't blame Joe for not hiring women writers. That's not his job. I do find his comments insulting.

What was insulting? He did not use the word women or female at all in his reply. He said first timers; I understand you reading things into his comments, sometimes it is the only way to get an answer from the man but really here I see nothing insulting to females.

I find the way the episodes Joe has written for SGA seem to involve stereotypical "wench" style females insulting but that is a whole other discussion.

SGA has had two female writers, yes they were for the same episode but I don't think anyone sat back and said wow that was a really female episode.

It wouldn't surprise me if tptb or SciFi think the only reason we women watch is to look at Sheppard and given the way the promos always seem to pretty up John not militarise him, I think I am right in my thinking.

So action for the guys and teh pretty for the gals.... stereotypical TV from the US. Shock, horror!

Doctor Who has a few female directors as well.

[the dancer of spaz]

The fact of the matter is, Joe's response to my question was... well, it didn't really answer the question. Though I guess I didn't ask one... did I? Can't remember.

Anywho, he was being nice there, but really, between his comments in the past and some of things RCC has said, I got the impression that they didn't really have a value for Kathryn Powers' work, or the work of the other female who was involved. This bothers me because the snide comments they've made about them seem to surpass any amount of gentle criticism they've made about their friends in public. I don't expect them to pinpoint all of their friends/colleagues' flaws, but sometimes they seem to fall all over themselves to protect the other from fans' ire, whereas they've had no problem openly criticizing Emancipation...

Add to that the actual numbers of women who've contributed to the series in a producing/directing/writing capacity, and it adds to at least the idea that they liked things the way they were, and didn't go out of there way to find others.

That said, I have to admit that there are few women in the industry producing/directing/writing to begin with, so it's probably difficult for them to find them... Probably. I know that in nearly every film-oriented course I've taken, the men outnumber the women 3:1. So... maybe it's not entirely their fault. But I'm not willing to let them completely off the hook.

[sgeureka]

Anywho, he was being nice there, but really, between his comments in the past and some of things RCC has said, I got the impression that they didn't really have a value for Kathryn Powers' work, or the work of the other female who was involved. This bothers me because the snide comments they've made about them seem to surpass any amount of gentle criticism they've made about their friends in public. I don't expect them to pinpoint all of their friends/colleagues' flaws, but sometimes they seem to fall all over themselves to protect the other from fans' ire, whereas they've had no problem openly criticizing Emancipation...

Well, I read through imdb's list of Powers' episodes, and I noticed that two out of my Top 3 Worst SG episodes every written were written by her. Except for the two Thor episodes (which were alright), I would rank her other episodes pretty low as well. And the Best/Worst episode tournaments on this forum showed that two of her few episodes ranked the worst. If the majority of fans think so on an episode to episode basis, why aren't TPTB aren't allowed to agree (if they in fact believe so)?

Also, I've heard several PTB (at least MW and Joe) admit recently that "Irresponsible" weren't their finest hours. It's not like they only put down Powers' work (and I've yet to come across a public statement of TPTB where they actually attack her and her skills - I've also never read a statement saying that they think females can't write). According to IMDB, Katharyn Powers also no longer writes for TV shows, so I think it would be a moot point to link her not being on SG-1 to TPTB disliking female writers.