Another sleepless night leaves me with nothing to do but catch up on my favorite TV offerings. The rest of the night/early morning is reserved for the “Gates” as fans like to call them (Stargate SG1/Stargate Atlantis for the uninitiated). Initially my interest was purely in the stories they told, but gradually with the inclusion of producer blogs I have become hooked on all the behind the scenes events and production issues of bringing the shows to the small/big screen. Stargate SG1 just ended it’s initial TV run and the cast crew have already made a few movies (it’s been in syndication since season 3 or 4 I think). Sci-Fi fans of SG1 cast members Ben Browder and Claudia Black may remember their show Farscape did something similar after they stopped producing television episodes.
Currently I’ve just made it through disc 1 of season 4. Fans will remember this season because it brought the episode “Window of Opportunity” which was voted the all-time fan favorite episode from their 10 year run. For those who haven’t seen it, it’s mostly a humorous sci-fi homage to Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day”. Most memorable is the “groundhog montage” wherein the characters discover they can do anything they want because the day keeps resetting.
For those fellow blog enthusiasts, one of the more active writer/producers from the show in the blogging department is Joseph Mallozzi who came to the show during season 4 and is now an executive producer with Stargate Atlantis (also still writing episodes as well). He also has a fairly extensive blogging history about the show, and a personal one as well. If you enjoy that type of stuff his personal one is also on this website, just do a name search with his name and you should find it. He will occasionally post pics from production of Atlantis. It’s pretty cool to see the cast/crew just hanging out during filming or just sitting around like regular people.
Since it’s still a few hours before I can justifiably begin cooking breakfast I think I’ll return to the episodes for a little while. The planned menu for this morning includes whole wheat pancakes made with egg whites, breakfast sausages, orange juice, and the customary cup of coffee. Although the chef might decide to change things around in the interim…
The pics: These are a few behind the scenes photos of Atlantis and some snaps from this summer’s San Diego Comic Con.
