As the saga begins...

Hello and welcome to this new, very special place on the world wide web (sounds good for the first line, doesn't it?). Now, I've tried very hard to come up with a really great name for this new blog, and I've considered various possibilities; some of which sounded good, others...well, let's not talk about them. Anyway, eventually I realized this is one of the occasions where I could include one of those little Star Trek references. You know, after all if you're one of those people who grew up with Star Trek... Me growing up with Star Trek is really a whole other subject. I honestly can't remember a time when I wasn't watching it in one form or another. The very first movie I ever saw at a theater was Star Trek 4 - The Voyage Home. I must have been around five or six years old. Well, Star Trek is where this blog name originated from. It's a personal log (as in Captain's Personal Log). Now, how creative is that?

Well, as the title pretty much gives away, this blog will feature various topics, one of which will of course be Stargate:Horizon, which can be found at http://www.stargatehorizon.com. And while you can check out http://stargatehorizon.blogspot.com for updates specifically about this series, the entries of this personal blog will also contain one or two other topics every now and then, which will either be keeping you on the edge of your seats or which will be boring you to the point where you just can't take it any longer. Since I'm generally very optimistic, I think the first option will be the more likely one...hey, it's all interesting already, isn't it?

Now, the question I've been asking myself is: how do you start something which should eventually become a saga with incredible magnitude? Of course I could start with something really random. I could tell you about the weather. And the weather in this part of the world is...hot, as usual. Without air conditioning you'd be lost! Well, but maybe I should start off with talking about the job for which I don't get paid (at least not in terms of money). That job would be of course producing Stargate:Horizon.

This last week was the first official production week on Season Two. I spent most of the time working on the script for the first part of the two-part season premiere, which has been given the interesting title "A Time To Rise". I've also been spending some time working on the Season Two Writer's Guide, which will feature detailed character biographies, background information, and some general ideas about where the season might eventually go. A Writer's Guide is something common for every television show, and it's also very helpful for a virtual series. It will be helpful for the writers, especially writers who might not be familiar with all of our previous episodes. The purpose of the Writer's Guide is basically to ensure that everyone working on the show has the same understanding of the characters and their backgrounds. It's purpose is really to provide every writer with what he or she needs to know for writing for the show, and on television the Writer's Guild actually requires producers to have an up to date Writer's Guide for the current season of their shows. So on television you don't have a choice; it has to be done. Well, and here it has to be done as well. Putting a Writer's Guide together is a tone of work, I'll tell you that. And I'n not quite done with it yet. I should probably stop procrastinating.

Well, writing the script for "A Time To Rise" is a lot more fun. What I can tell fans is that if you've liked Season One, you should (I hope) love Season Two, because I think we'll be adding quite some improvements to the show. In many ways I look at Season One as our test run. We've spent some time finding out what works, we've learned what needs to be changed, and we've established quite some backgrounds for each of our characters. Season Two will benefit from all of that, and we'll kick off the season with a major development. I can't and don't really want to give away what that development will be just yet, but I can tell you that we (the writers) are looking forward to playing with the options that this development will provide us with. Another little piece of information that I can share with you is that this development has something to do with, you've guessed it, our new main character who will be joining the cast. This new character, who's initials are D.C., will be a great addition to an already wonderful cast of characters. His arrival will introduce some great new dynamics which should be fun to explore. So, my week on Horizon was filled with writing scenes (I truly love writing our characters), working on the Writer's Guide, and discussing upcoming episode concepts during our regular online story meeting. We're early in the season, and we're definitely benefiting from having a lot of time to work out ideas, and shape them to perfection.

What was my week outside of Horizon all about? Something outside Horizon? Is there such a thing? I honestly couldn't say for sure... However, on Wednesday I went to the theater and saw Batman Begins, which I thought was just a great movie. I thought it was very well done (written, acted, directed, etc.), and more than any other of the Batman movies it gives you an idea of who Bruce Wayne is. You get great insight into his character, and you learn what drives him to do what he does. You witness his past, and you witness his fears. I won't be giving anything away, but I'd recommend to everyone to go see this movie. The music score is great too, and I'll have to add it to my soundtrack collection. You should know, I've always been a fan of music scores. In fact, there was a time when I was interested in becoming a composer for motion pictures. But eventually I got more into writing stories than music. Interestingly the very first thing I ever wrote (must have been nearly ten years ago) was Batman short stories.

Well, as I said, that soundtrack is on my list for "things I need to buy". Hans Zimmer is one of the best composers for film, in my opinion. Now, add James Newton Howard (another very talented composer) and you have this wonderful new score for Batman Begins. The latest soundtrack that was added to my collection was John Williams' incredible score for Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith.

Other activities this past week included buying the Stargate:Atlantis pilot episode "Rising" on DVD, enjoying Diet Pepsi (I alternate between Diet Pepsi and Diet Coke), cutting the grass (it grows way too fast), realizing it was time to get a hair cut (which I did), and reading some of my screenwriting books. I'd recommend "Story" by Robert McKee to everyone who's interested in professional screenwriting; I haven't finished it yet, but from what I've read so far, it gives you a great insight in the wonders of story creation, and the principles and the craft of screenwriting. I personally read a lot of books on the subject. Syd Field's books I'd also recommend to people interested in learning more about the world of screenwriting. I follow the belief that becoming successful in this line of work doesn't depend on how many years of writing classes you've attended, it much rather depends on whether or not you have the talent, if you enjoy doing what you do, and if you're willing to work hard. And some good books might just take your writing ability to the next level.

Well, today's Saturday, and it's been one of those really relaxing days (don't we all need them every now and then?). And in fact, tonight I'll be grabbing another Diet Pepsi (Diet Pepsi Lime is pretty good too; just recently tried it), and I'll be watching "Rising" on DVD. I've already seen all of the special features, but I'm saving the audio commentary for after watching it again. Speaking of audio commentaries, next week I'll definitely have to make some time to record some more podcasts for the final three season one episodes of Stargate:Horizon. Yes, and I'll have to finish the Writer's Guide, which I will... I'll let you know how it turns out.

And that should conclude this inaugural entry into this shiny new blog. I will be updating it on a regular basis; a bit more often than maybe every other month. I promise!

That's it for tonight. I'll be back soon.

Alex