Feb 03 2010
Torri Higginson talks Stargate Universe with Sky One’s super fan in this latest video featurette to be added to the sites media collection.
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Loading ...Aug 19 2008
Ghost in the Machine” sees the return of guest actress Michelle Morgan, who first appeared as F.R.A.N in season four’s “Be All My Sins Remember’d”. The story goes that as soon as the producers saw the dailies of Morgan’s performance, they wished they hadn’t had the character destroy herself at the end of that episode. But, as the old adage goes, no one ever really dies in sci fi – particularly if the victim is a high-functioning machine.
In fact, “Ghost in the Machine” proves that saying twice over, as viewers also got to see what really happened to Dr. Elizabeth Weir following the events of “Lifeline”. Actress Torri Higginson declined to reprise her role as the Atlantis expedition’s first commander, but the hole left by her absence was perfectly filled by Morgan’s return.
Viewers may be surprised to learn, however, that even before “Be All My Sins Remember’d”, Morgan was due to be introduced to the Stargate universe, though in a very different role.
“I spent some time in Vancouver, where they shoot the show,” she explains, from the lunch tent of TV show Heartland, in which she stars as Samantha Louise Fleming. “I had been brought in [for auditions] a couple of times, and I was actually cast in an episode called “The Seer” last season, to play the Seer’s daughter. But I was involved in a film called Diary of the Dead, which had scheduled re-shoots, and the dates conflicted, so I couldn’t do it. I was quite upset because I really wanted to be on Stargate! But then they brought me in again and I managed to land the role of F.R.A.N, so that was good – it made up for losing that other part.”
Even at the conclusion of filming “Be All My Sins Remember’d”, the actress had an idea that she might see the character again.
“They had said, ‘Well, we can always create her again!’ So I thought that could be a good thing. And then my agent called me, just to give me a heads up that they might want to bring F.R.A.N back, and I was thrilled. And obviously, in this episode F.R.A.N plays a much larger part than I did last season. Although I have to say, I missed playing F.R.A.N – because this time I don’t play her, I play Weir.”
Morgan reports that she didn’t know that this new emergence of F.R.A.N would require emulating another character until she received the script.
“I wasn’t even sure how large a part I would be playing, or what would happen until I read the script a couple of weeks beforehand,” she recalls. “Then I had a couple of weeks to prepare to play the ‘resurrection’ of Weir. I had already seen some old episodes, but not all of them. So I watched the ones more specific to when the Replicators took Weir, and just tried to watch her mannerisms and her way of speaking, to try to understand her. But I also took into account that she’s a completely different person, a different being, now. The way that I thought about it is she’s transcended her body and she’s been through hell, and now she’s reanimated in another body. But she must be a completely different person – once she’s gone through that she must be different, she can’t be the same. I thought it was an interesting challenge for an actor.”
The events of “Ghost in the Machine” also allowed the actress to work with the wider cast – “Be All My Sins Remember’d” had mainly meant working with David Hewlett as Rodney McKay.
“I loved the idea of being with the other characters in the script and them trying to figure out whether it is Weir or not. I also liked the idea that she sort of double-crosses them, in a way. She tricks them, so that was an interesting challenge, because she convinces them that she’s split off from the other Replicators – and she hasn’t.”
While she enjoyed playing F.R.A.N as Weir, the actress freely admits that she’d love the chance to play her original part again. And obviously, we’ve seen Replicators re-animated from their deep space slumbers before, so there’s every chance that Morgan will get another call to reprise the role.
“I hope so! I definitely hope so,” she exclaims. “And the thing is that even if that version of F.R.A.N is dead, or gone, they can always just recreate F.R.A.N, because the template is there in the machine. So whenever they need to recreate a Replicator, F.R.A.N is ready and waiting. And I would love to play F.R.A.N again, because I loved the idea of playing someone who is a clean slate. She’s very childlike, in a sense. In the face of danger and tragedy she’s disconnected – she doesn’t understand. Whatever we get so worked up about, she just has this childlike joy about things, which was really fun to play.”
Interview courtesy of the official Stargate Website
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Jul 05 2008
Robert Picardo and the show’s executive producer Joseph Mollozzi, recently sat down with the press to answer questions regarding the new base commander in season five, and the shows up and coming 100th episode.
Please be warned the following article contains minor spoilers.
The outlook for season 5: Now that the Wraith are weakened, season five is looking at the bigger picture that is the Pegasus galaxy. According to Mallozzi, a couple of new races will be introduced. They will be taking power in a big way as they begin to form into a galaxy-wide version of the United Nations and take Atlantis to task for all the trouble that they have caused. Mallozzi hopes to build on the momentum that season four had with the events that will take place in season five.
Episode specifics: The season premiere, “Search and Rescue”, starts off where the season four finale left off. By the end of the episode Colonel Carter will be out and Richard Woolsey will be in. By the second episode Woolsey will learn that he can’t always use the rule book to solve issues. It is a very dramatic role for Woolsey, said Picardo. In the third episode, “Broken Ties”, Woolsey will learn a bit about the technology of Atlantis, which will lead to some unfortunate circumstances.
In addition to episodes focusing on Woolsey, Mallozzi said there will be a two-part, mid-season episode featuring Stargate SG-1 fan favorite Daniel Jackson in a team-up with Atlantis’ own Rodney McKay. Joseph says that fans of both series should enjoy this two-parter because it features two of the fastest talkers of the Stargate universe. Another episode, “Whispers”, will be a horror-based entry featuring Sheppard, Carson Beckett (who returns this season for several episodes) and an all-female expedition team. Mallozzi mentioned that this was the first horror-based show written for Atlantis.
Why an all-female team: Mallozzi wanted an all-female team added to the cast of Atlantis in order to balance out the cast after the loss of Amanda Tapping (Samantha Carter). That, and they wanted a new set of characters for fans to invest in.
Picardo on Woolsey: The producers (of Stargate) have a tradition of using actors from the other franchise that “should remain nameless” (Star Trek) as stunt casting. They normally last from one to four episodes. Picardo managed to outlast them all, and it has been fun working with both casts.
They have really built the character from an officious blamer to someone who is developing leadership skills. Picardo said that there is something inherently interesting in seeing how Woolsey, who has second-guessed other leaders decisions, is now in the main seat. There will even be an episode where the person who replaced Woolsey in the IOA will be evaluating his skills as a leader. Picardo is interested in seeing how die-hard fans accept the new leader, “who isn’t nearly as cute as the other two.”
Concerns about filling the leadership shoes of Colonel Carter: Of course he’s concerned about filling her shoes, both the actor and the character. Picardo said that it was very similar to his feelings when he was cast as The Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager. At that time he was concerned that fans were going to measure him against Brent Spiner’s character of Data. Luckily, he was defined as differently as he could be from Data. Although it’s daunting to replace such a popular character, Picardo’s hoping the audience will eventually accept the character. He’s also hoping to bring what Star Trek fans that haven’t watched Stargate yet to come over and sample the show because it’s a great time to come into the series since his character is starting out as the leader.
Bringing in new fans to the show: According to Mallozzi, it isn’t as hard to bring new fans into the Stargate universe as people may think. Despite its mythology, Stargate isn’t really a serial. There may be small connections to the past, but it’s not a show that you have to watch previous seasons to know what is going on.
Stargate versus Star Trek: According to Picardo, Star Trek does some things well, but it doesn’t have the successful formula that Stargate has. Stargate does action very well and also does humor well. Star Trek has to take itself very seriously, while Stargate has the ability let the audience in on the good humor that we know we’re going to save the world every week. It’s the combination of action and humor that makes Stargate so much fun.
Picardo’s initial feelings on Woolsey: Early on, Robert thought of Woolsey as a bit of a jerk. But, by his second appearance, even though he rubbed people the wrong way, at least he was driven by a personal passion that was quite positive and ethical in order to prevent a rouge element from obtaining the Stargate technology. He meant well, and in subsequent appearances the writers gave the character a weird charm that, Picardo hopes, will continue during season five.
Woolsey’s relationships with the crew of the Atlantis: Picardo said the relationships between Woolsey and the rest of the crew is what will make it interesting for the viewers. When he arrives he is unintentionally cold to Teyla; yet, her character is the first to reach out and be kind to him, which disarms Woolsey a bit. He then makes a connection with Sheppard as Woolsey wonders if he is going to be right as Atlantis leader. There has not been a breakthrough moment with McKay, but there is an episode where Woolsey catches Dr. McKay’s attention with his actions.
A potential Screen Actors Guild strike: If a SAG strike occurs Mallozzi said it will definitely hurt the show since most of their players are members of the union. They are currently working on the back five episodes right now. There were no special considerations to film a bunch of episodes ahead of time. According to Mallozzi, with the tight filming schedule they had, they did the best they could getting 14 episodes in the can.
On Torri Higginson (Dr. Elizabeth Weir): It is highly unlikely that Tori Higginson will be back on the show, said Mallozzi. While Higginson was excited about coming back on the Replicator storyline she wanted some closure for the character while the producers did not. Ultimately, she passed on the script that the writers prepared. “She’s kind of move beyond this show and is looking elsewhere,” said Mallozzi.
Prospects for the show’s 100th episode: As much as the temptation is there to make the 100th episode of Atlantis as off the wall as the 200th episode of SG-1 was, it probably won’t happen. The episode is going to fall on the season finale and they want to take it more seriously…more on the lines of last season’s finale. Not so funny, but something that the fans will really enjoy. In addition, said Mallozzi, there are no plans to film an alternate ending just in case the series is canceled.
On the passing of Don S. Davis: “Don had a bigger heart and was even nicer than the role he played on SG-1“, said Mallozzi. When he came to Stargate during season four, Davis warmly welcomed Joe to the set. Mallozzi added that he is proud to call Davis a true friend. and he will be missed by fans and anyone who worked with him.
Finally…
How Picardo looks in the command uniform: Picardo said wearing the command uniform is a bit of a change for a character who has worn a business suit for the last 30 years. Saying that, he looks okay in the uniform. “It’s good to have a trim butt in science fiction.”
News article courtesy of Tvsquad
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Jun 15 2008
Ten years of a record-breaking series are over, and yet “Stargate SG-1″ is still very much alive and kicking. The first six months of 2008 have already seen the release of one of two (so far) made-for-DVD movies – “Stargate: The Ark of Truth” – and its accompanying CD soundtrack, two audio dramas from Big Finish Productions – “Gift of The Gods” and “Shell Game” – performed by series stars Michael Shanks and Claudia Black, and additional authorised novels set in the SG-1 universe from Fandemonium Books.
With the release of the second DVD movie – “Stargate Continuum” – imminent, Michael Shanks Online, the official website for actor Michael Shanks is launching their fourth annual online auction, the proceeds of which will be donated to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, the charity supported by SG-1 actors Michael Shanks and his wife, Lexa Doig.
With a collection of memorabilia to attract even the mildest of “SG-1″ fans – including some of Shanks’ own scripts from the series – the auction will also appeal to a broad range of science fiction afficionados, featuring items from past and current popular series such as “Battlestar Galactica”, “Supernatural”, “The X-Files”, “Andromeda”, “Farscape”, and the “SG-1″ spin-off, “Stargate Atlantis.”
Included among the many items available for auction:
* Michael Shanks’ signed, personal “SG-1″ scripts (with hand-written notations), plus scripts and call sheets from his appearances on the Fox Network series “24″ and the Sci-Fi channel series “Eureka”.
* Stargate DVDs signed by the original movie’s stars, Kurt Russell, Mili Avatal, Erick Avari and Alexis Cruz.
* Photos, posters, DVDs and action figures signed by – among others – Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles (“Supernatural”), Jamie Bamber and Katee Sackhoff (“Battlestar Galactica”), Torri Higginson, Joe Flanigan, Paul McGillion and Rainbow Sun Francks (“Stargate Atlantis”), Richard Burgi and Garett Maggart (“The Sentinel”).
* “SG-1″ team and individual photos, DVDs, and more, signed by Michael Shanks, Christopher Judge, Amanda Tapping, Ben Browder, Claudia Black and Beau Bridges.
In the last three years, the Michael Shanks Online auctions have raised just over $43,000 U.S. for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. This year’s auction, which includes items donated and/or signed for the auction by Michael Shanks, Lexa Doig, Kurt Russell, Beau Bridges, Christopher Judge, Amanda Tapping, Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Richard Burgi, Scott Bakula and Connor Trinneer – among many others – promises to be even more exciting than the last. The auction will also include items donated by such organizations as the University of British Columbia, Legends Memorabilia, Insight Film Studios, American Cinema International and Creation Entertainment.
The first 20 of approximately 200 items will be launched on Monday, 16 June 2008, with additional items added each day. For further details, and for links to the auction items from 16 June, check the Michael Shanks Online website
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Apr 18 2008
Charitybuzz.com is currently hosting an online auction to support the Water Keeper Alliance for ‘Earth Day 2008’. As part of this auction your favourite Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis actors and actresses are offering themselves up for auction.
Visit the Set of Stargate Atlantis and Enjoy a Lunch with Joe Flanigan
Includes: a set visit to the set of Stargate Atlantis and lunch with Joe Flanigan. Valid for two people for one year, based on availability. Show tapes in Vancouver.
Here is your chance to visit the set of the distant Pegasus galaxy and the city of Atlantis, a treasure trove of strange and wondrous technology. Then you will have the opportunity to enjoy lunch with Joe Flanigan.
Lunch with Jewel Staite on the Set of Stargate Atlantis
Includes: Lunch with Jewel Staite on the set of Stargate Atlantis. Valid for 2 people, for one year, based on availability.
Start bidding for your chance to have lunch with Jewel Staite on the Set of Stargate Atlantis
Paddle your kayak with the casts of Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis.
Includes: Signed Double Kayak Paddle from the Cast of Stargate SG1 and the Cast of Stargate Atlantis. In condition as donated. May not be returned or exchanged.
This most unique collector’s item for any true fan of the shows of Stargate universe is a beautifully hand crafted wood double kayak paddle with that rarest of collections of autographs from both of the casts of Stargate SG1 AND Stargate Atlantis. The autographs include from Stargate SG1: Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Christopher Judge, Ben Browder, Beau Bridges and from Stargate Atlantis: Joe Flanigan, Torri Higginson, David Hewlett, Paul McGillion, Rachel Lutrell, Mitch Pileggi and Jason Momoa. This paddle is signed by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr – Chairman of Waterkeeper Alliance which truly makes this a one of a kind.
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