It's that time of the year again...

The time when Alex updates his blog!!!!!!

I've been planning to do this for some time now (almost forgot about it today), but here I am, at last. We're three episodes into the new season, and so far we've had some good fan reactions to the new episodes. I am very eager to see what you all will be thinking about this week's episode, "The Search, Part Two." I just recorded the podcast for it today actually. All I can tell you is that the episode will have some more revelations, an interesting twist toward the end, and a certain maneuver which will most likely go down in the Vorian history books.

Things are going very well here. Recently we've started a new forum, which is designed kind of like an online office, much more organized than our previous development forum. It's proven to work great so far. And we've even been making some progress in the art department. We've got some interesting design in the works, including a really great look for the aliens who will make their first appearance in "Resurfacing."

Speaking of "Resurfacing," Marc has turned in his first draft, which is looking great. You can expect some nice Sivea/Bay'lar moments in this one, as we take a look at their relationship, get some insight into Bay'lar's past, and as they both end up going on this certain mission, which will lead to the encounter with those certain aliens, who will be featured even more in part two.

I'm still working on episode 3.11 (first draft should be done soon) after having done a pass on "Trepidation." Vincent's turned in his outline for 3.14 today. I haven't seen it yet, but am looking forward to. Mike's still got his hands full with the conclusion of the mid-season two parter. But he's already mentioned that he'd be interested in taking on the episode later this season, in which we might get to see more of Christine than ever before, in any previous episode ever. And I mean MORE in a very literal sense.

I've said this before, but it's worth mentioning it again. This year we're definitely way ahead of schedule, and I think the episodes are benefiting from that. We've got the time we need to work out all of the stories, and get them to a point where they're as good as they could possibly be. And other than that it's just great to not have that disturbing feeling of running out of time... uh all the time.

Still working on building my DS9 DVD collection; just on Monday I was lucky enough to find Season Five for a very acceptable price. Great timing, since I'm almost finished watching Season Four on DVD. In fact, I'll be off to watch the season finale after I finish this blog update. I'm kind of working through them out of order; after Season Five I'll be getting six and seven, and then I'll be getting the first three. That's just my non-linear way of doing things.

Speaking of DVDs, Season Five of 24 will be coming out pretty soon: December 5th. Can't wait. Still haven't gotten Season Nine of SG-1, but am planning to do that very soon. Same goes for the first two seasons of Battlestar Galactica. On the movie front, I've picked up Mission Impossible 3 not too long ago. I thought it was great, and I loved the fact that it was more character driven than the first two. Should proof interesting to see what J.J. Abrahams will be doing with Star Trek 11, which I'm highly anticipating.

Now, before I conclude this latest blog of mine, I wanted to share something with you. A couple of days ago I was contacted by someone who's part of the creative team at GCBme.com, named Mark. He asked me to help spread the word regarding a video contest that they're hosting with MGM to help save Stargate SG-1. It's been posted as a news release on GateWorld in the meantime, so chances are you already know about this. However, I'll be posting parts of the original message that Mark sent to me.

Here it is:
My name is Mark and I am part of the creative team at GCBme.com. We are hosting an official video contest with MGM to help save Stargate SG-1 called "Keep the Gate Open" with a grand prize of $1000 and a signed script of SG-1's 200th episode going to the winner (www.gcbme.com/stargate). The goal of the contest is to showcase the fans interest in seeing the show return for an 11th season. The more entries and interest there is, the more meaningful the contest becomes. The contest is up and running and ends on the 20th of November. After that, we will be posting the top 10 videos up for a public vote with the winner walking away with the grand prize.GCBme is a new site devoted to contests like this, and we'll be posting more contests in the future, but Stargate SG-1 is our first and we need your help to make it a success.

So you've heard it. Go check out their site, and see if there's something you can do to help out.

And with that little message, I shall conclude tonight's blogging process. Looking forward to seeing your reactions to "The Search, Part Two." And I'll be talking to you again soon.

Until next time,
Alex