That new main character...

Well, after all the speculations, and the different possibilities that might have been considered by the fans, it has finally been announced today: the name, position, and background of our new main character, DC, or as we can call him from now on: De'van Callen.

We're about six and a half weeks away from the premiere, and I'm anticipating it just as much as you are, simply just because I'm looking forward to seeing the reactions to the new episodes. We've left on a high note, if I dare say so myself. I was very happy with how the season one finale turned out, and I'm quite proud of the seven episode arc that we've done. That, naturally, made it challenging, since we want to maintain that high note in any case, or ideally even improve. Now, without sounding incredibly vain, I personally think we have improved. Adding a new main character to the mix is certainly one of the improvements. From what we have written so far, Callen is just turning out to be a wonderful addition to an already wonderful group of characters.

As I've mentioned over at our forums, we decided to go for a more classic Stargate setting this season. This means having one character as base/station commander, and having another character as the team leader. Both Grant and Callen will be faced with many challenges in their new positions. Grant is more the action-guy anyway, which is why his character now will finally receive the chance to go out into the adventure, and have some fun, without having tons of paperwork waiting for him on his desk. When the season kicks off, there will be a dangerous development which will shake Vorian space up to quite some extent; this major development has been mentioned several times, and trust me, it will be big. It will have an impact on the entire season, and it will be a recurring theme as the season progresses. It was this development which became the crucial factor for why this specific man, De'van Callen, would be chosen to become the new commanding officer of Horizon. Callen's background, his famous name, and his strong leadership skills are of course the additional reasons.

Looking at our virtual cast, Dennis Haysbert is just perfect for this character in so many ways. I will admit, I had considered him very, very early on because he just never ceases to impress me on 24. He's simply a great actor. I realized he'd be a wonderful choice for the Horizon equivalent to General Landry on SG-1, and Dr. Weir on Atlantis. So, when actually fleshing out the character of De'van Callen, I did have Dennis in mind, which turned out very beneficial. But just as Colonel Grant is not Jack Bauer, or David is not Tony Almeida, Callen is not David Palmer. These aren't the same characters as on 24; they're just envisioned to be played by the same actors, which has nothing to do with the fact that they're on 24, but more with the fact that I saw them there, and thought they'd be great choices for these specific characters. This goes for our entire cast, by the way. Each of them have played some very different types of characters at one point or another. So you see, even if it's virtually, we don't type-cast actors. We write new and original characters, and then go out and look for talented actors who we'd want to play the characters if we were on television. And what a great group of people we've found. Once I end up working in the business, and will have the opportunity to meet one or the other in person, I'll have to let them know about the virtual television show I cast them on. Yup.

Speaking of television shows (what a great transition), last night I finished re-watching Season Four of 24. I sat down with some delicious Diet Coke and some popcorn to watch the final two episodes. Great show. Incredible season finale. When I saw it the first time, I was surprised by how it had ended. A wonderful way to end the season, and to go into Season Five. And I do have a bit of an idea of what happens early on in Season Five, because there's this website and forum I frequent, and they post the latest info. The new season just started shooting two weeks ago actually. There aren't any too big spoilers as of yet, and even if there will be, I will stay away from them. But from what I do know...can't wait until January comes around!!! Can't wait for Season Four on DVD in December!!!

Last year they had this really great special DVD feature: it was a prequel, which was actually a short film, which depicted the events that had taken place between Seasons Three and Four, and which lead right into the season premiere. From what I hear, there will be another feature like that included into the Season Four DVD set; however, this prequel will be 24 minutes long, that's if what I've read is correct. The former prequel was about 6 minutes in length. Well, can't wait. I'll now start re-watching Season One very soon, followed by Season Two. I'll keep you posted, as usual.

By the way, I did go out and buy some Diet Coke after my last entry. I realized that particular store does sell Pepsi after all, but I didn't find any Diet Pepsi. Now, one could wonder why always diet? Diet Coke? Diet Pepsi? Diet Pepsi Lime? Is it because I'm obsessed with maintaining my wonderful, attractive, and girlish figure? Yup. Considering the amounts I consume, I just couldn't do that with the non-diet versions. I actually used to work out on a regular basis, before I kind of stopped doing it on a regular basis. It's a shame, I know. But I'm planning to get back to the gym at some point this year, though. I'll let you know once I do. But either way I just enjoy Diet Pepsi and Diet Coke. I know some people who don't; they prefer the "real thing", but I love it. Tomorrow I'm headed to do some more shopping, and it's time for fill up the supplies of Diet Pepsi and Diet Coke. In case you were wondering, you'll always find one or the other in the refrigerator around here.

Yesterday I've started working on the script for "Disconnected". It might seem that I'll write the whole script after all because of time reasons. We want to have at least a first draft of it done before getting to the script for "Troika", since the first four episodes of the season are really quite closely connected. They kind of introduce the new season, while "Providence" is the first regular Season Two episode. So, since I ended up having a bit more time available than Joe this week, I've already gotten started on it. I wrote and revised the teaser yesterday. Today I started act one, and finished it. Then I started revising it. Now, I'll be going through the whole thing, the teaser, and act one, and again do some revisions, before moving on to act two tomorrow. Writing is rewriting is an old saying, and that's how my writing style works. Can't wait to finally do this for a living, as you might imagine.

Well, work on this script is going very well so far. There's this one big scene in act one, which really sets up the whole deal, and explains what exactly we will be doing later in the episode. It's quite technical, but it ended up going more smoothly than I expected. I've been having fun with some new scientist characters, that make their first appearance in this episode. The whole scene ended up a bit longer than I expected, which means I'll be deviating a bit from the outline, and I'll be moving what was actually meant to be the final scene of act one up to become the first scene of act two. At least two scenes from the outline will have to be cut from the actual script. That's pretty much how it goes a lot of times when working on the various episodes. I'll keep you updated on how things will progress. It's very, very likely now that the title will change after all, by the way, since "Disconnected" doesn't seem to fit all to well when looking at the final version of the story.

Right now I wondering if I should start watching Season One of 24. Yeah, I can't be without it for too long. But maybe I'll rewatch the new episodes of SG-1 and Atlantis tonight. Again, some great episodes last Friday. I say that, as usual, without spoilers. So I'll just give you a great. I seem to be using that word a lot during this entry, but hey, what should I say? The things I call great are great in my opinion. I also thought that BSG was great. In fact, I think that this was the best episode of the second season so far. I've heard some other opinions, and interestingly they were the same as my own. Wont' be giving away spoilers, but I like where the storylines seem to be headed from this point forward. I just have to decide now what I'll be watching tonight. I'll let you know in my next entry what I ended up doing.

I'll talk to you later.

Alex