The Finale!

I'm not talking about the Stargate: Horizon season finale. In fact, I'm not talking about any television or virtual television finale in general. I'm talking about THIS BLOG!

That's right. After some serious thinking I've come to a decision to finally wrap it up, and let the blog go out with sort of a bang, rather than to just have it quietly fall into the realm of oblivion.

So before I sign off, let me give you a couple of updates on Season Four. As mentioned elsewhere, the season will kick off with a feature length premiere. And I'm not just talking about a little extended episode, it'll be almost like a little movie in the middle of the series. It'll count as two episodes (it would air as a two parter in syndication), but it'll definitely be a movie premiere. You could also look at it as a pilot. And as pilots so often do, it'll introduce a couple of new things that will become crucial to the season.

The biggest new thing would have to a NEW CAST MEMBER!

Regular or re-curring, we're not sure yet actually. This character will definitely not be in all 24 episodes, but as shown by Amanda Tapping and Season Four of Atlantis, you don't have to be in ALL episodes of the season to be a regular. Regular would just mean that this new guy would pop up in the opening credits.
And here's the twist. It's not really a new guy. Well, he'll be new to Horizon, but he's spent some time being a regular cast member on SG-1.

I know what you're thinking: Wait? What did he just say? What the heck are they doing?

Let me just say, we've spent A LOT of time thinking about this (for the past several months), and we've come to the decision that this character will fit into the Horizon universe perfectly. He's already got some great, great dynamics with one of our other regular characters. So this is our way of shaking things up a little, and following the trend of adding a new cast member at the start of Season Four (as DS9, Voyager and Atlantis have done so nicely before us).

Oh yeah, and I've also got the current title for the two hour season premiere: "The Gateway of the Gods" It'll be followed by "Usurpers," which has been renamed to "Eden." And that will be followed by "The Bunker." I have a story that I've been talking about, but haven't officially pitched yet. It's called "Tomorrow's Son," and it's a time travel story.

Well, and with that it's time for me to sign off. It's amazing to see that this blog has been going on (on and off) since June of 2005; almost exactly two years ago. It was quite a ride, but what's the saying? All good things must come to an end.

So with that, thanks for reading this blog and occasionally posting a comment. Thanks for sticking with the show. Hope you'll stay with us.

Aaaaaaaaaaannnnnnd.... that's a wrap!

Thanks again. Good night and good luck!

See you around,
Alex

April 10, 2007

The final seven episodes of Season Three will start hitting the screens this Thursday. And in many ways these episodes will also be concluding a chapter of the series. With all outlines done, and work on episode 23 in progress, I have to say when it's all said and done, it really does feel like an ending. To the extent of had this been the show's final season, I think these episodes would have made for a satisfying conclusion. However, since this is not the final season (far from it), this arc will be leading us into a Season Four, where we'll be doing some very interesting things. Not that what we've been doing so far hasn't been interesting. But it's safe to say, that there'll be a couple of surprises headed your way.

But to talk a little more about the seven episode arc, surprises is a good way of describing it. There's so many twists and turns that occur over the course of these seven episodes that we have to be careful to ensure things don't get a little confusing. Basically you think the story is headed in one direction, and suddenly something happens, and it's going in a completely different direction. One of these interesting turning points will bring about the return of some characters we haven't seen since Season One (now there's something to speculate about). We'll be picking up on a couple of things that haven't been really dealt with since the show's first season. And of course you could think we've forgotten about then, however... you'd be mistaken.

So, things will start off with "Omen." And a lot of the things that we learn in "Omen" about a potentially very dark future will basically be overshadowing all of the following episodes. It'll become about trying to prevent that future from ever becoming a reality. Will that mean that we'll finally find the Book of Nosah'trah? Could it mean that the Vorian/Kih'Andari war will come to an end? And what about the Enoly being after the Book? It's very much possible that we'll have answers to all of those questions at some point over the course of the next six weeks.

And in the midst of all these epic events, we'll also be dealing some more with our characters -- some of which will find themselves going through some rather dark and trying times. It's also very much possible that we'll see the return of Bay'lar (at some point between "Omen" and episode 24). In fact, there's tons of great guest characters that will pop up at one point or another. Oh yeah, and then there's that rumor that we may be loosing a regular cast member before the season ends. Hmmm. Can't really go into that at the moment.

Well, now that I may have given you something to speculate and/or discuss or perhaps look forward to, I'll talk a little about what exactly we're working on right now. Complete drafts are done up to "As The Storm Rises..." (the title couldn't be more fitting); "So Near the Darkness and the Night" should be done pretty soon. And I've started working on the first draft of episode 23 today.

And I'm happy to say that for the first time ever we're on such a great schedule that we'll have an actual production hiatus between the seasons. So I'm looking forward to taking a short break, recharging, finally getting started on a movie script I've been wanting to write, and then... we've got 24 all new episodes to come up with. And I think it's safe to say that we're all pretty excited about what we have planned for Season Four so far.

At the moment I'm sorry to say that we haven't got any designers on board. Unofficially, I guess we do, but it's been so long since we've heard from any of them that you could really say that they're not actually involved in the series. I'm still hoping to hear from at least one of them again, so who knows. But in any event, once this season wraps by the end of the month, I'll be putting some more time and effort into trying to get some active designers onto the team. The plan is to finally have an official design for Horizon by the time Season Four premieres. It's been almost three years now, after all.

I don't think too many people believe that we'll really be seeing any progress in the designing area, and I can't blame them (we've been promising it for years now). It's a little like a curse. There always seem to be a lot of people who are interested, but then they come to realize that this will actually require them to invenst some time into the project. And once they realize that, they all run like hell. At least, that's what it feels like. Of course, everyone has other things that require their attention. But my belief is that if you really want to do this, and if you enjoy working on a project like this, you'll be able to find at least some time for it.

Anyway. That's the current status on that. In the realm of DVD watchings, I've finished watching Season Four of Seinfeld, and I'll be picking up Season Five shortly. Currently working my way through Season One of The King of Queens, re-watching Season Nine of SG-1 (finally I'll get to see that one episode that I missed when it aired on TV), and am eagerly awaiting the return of SG-1 and Atlantis this Friday. I'm also greatly enjoying 24 this season (great as always), am planning to pick up Atlantis Season Two soon, which means I'll also finally get to see that one episode that I missed when it aired (it's the one that aired at the same night as that one SG-1 episode I haven't seen yet). And I was also happy to see that what I consider one of the great classic TV shows is finally finding it's way to DVD: Hawaii Five-0. I'm planning to pick up the first season soon. I haven't seen that show in ages, but I remember that I used to love it. So I'm looking forward to seeing it again soon. Interestingly just when I started thinking about it, it came out on DVD.

Well, now before I head off, here's a little something to take in:

I'll try and do podcasts for all episodes of the finale arc, starting with "Omen." I know, it's hard to believe. But rest assured, I will definitely try. And eventually... it'll happen. Eventually. But hopefully soon. Maybe this week. Maybe. We'll have to see. So stay tuned.

And now I'll conclude this blog with the revelation of the final two episode titles of Season Three. You gotta wonder, what will the title of the final episode be? And once you know, you gotta wonder what it's about. At least, you could wonder... if you choose to.

"A Matter of Faith" & "Rapture"

May the speculations begin!

Goodnight and good luck,
Alex

March 15, 2007

So I'm sitting here, trying to gather some kind of inspiration and motivation for starting this blog -- and it's pretty difficult. The question immediately comes to mind: why? I think the reason is a simple one. Whenever you put time into trying to put together a blog entry with some assumingly interesting info on upcoming episodes, you'll end up getting no reaction or response whatsover. Leaving me only with one conclusion -- people couldn't care less about this blog. So I've been thinking about just giving it one final entry, sort of a grand finale, and then just call it a wrap. Why let a blog slowly die, if you it can go out with some honor, and with a bang? But then again, what if I get the urge to blog again at some point in the future. Do I start a new blog? So the decision was an easy one: the blog must go on! Regardless of whether or not anyone gives a damn about it. It ain't going anywhere. Eventually, probably, it will. But not yet.

Of course, one has to wonder what the reasons could be for the lack of responses. Not only talking about this blog, but about everything in general. The funny thing is we're not actually asking people to talk to us, as in the team behind Stargate: Horizon. The forum is also there so that the fans can discuss their series amongst each other. But alas, there seems to be no motivation to do that. Everything is silent. People are either loving or hating the show. But one thing's for sure -- if they love it, they won't actually tell us.

So feel free to bring up your own suggestions for how to get some more activity going on the forum -- that is if that's something you'd like to see.

Anyway. Might as well through in some updates on what's currently going on here around the production offices. We're about a month away from wrapping any major work on writing the season. Outlines are done up to episode 22. 23 and 24 are in outline development.

And once more there's been changes with regard to some episode titles. What used to be known as "Conspiracy" has been renamed into "Hidden Agendas," because it's really not a conspiracy. After some uncertainty over wether "The Guardians" is a better title for episode 20 or "The Higher Plane," we're currently sticking to the latter. Don't be surprised if it changes again, but as of right now that's unlikely.

We're still struggling with the right title for episode 21. Originally it was called "Vendetta." When working out the final outline, I realized that "Shades of Grey" would make an interesting title, because of all the shades of grey that happen in this episode. But then Mike kindly informed me that "Shades of Grey" is a title already used on Stargate -- on Stargate SG-1 to be precise. "Bad Blood" was then suggested as another title. And while the outline still refers to the episode as "Shades of Grey," one thing's for sure -- that will still change in one way or another. Perhaps we'll just go with "Shades of Yellow" instead, even though some seem to prefer "Shades of Blue." Also in the race: "Shades of Green," because we do actually see chevrons in this episode, and "Shades of Pink," for no reason whatsoever. But my current favorite on the list of potential titles would have to be "Shades of Goldenrod."

While we're still deciding on 21, we've got a great and very unique title for episode 22: "So Near The Darkness And The Night." That, of course, is just a more creative and poetic way of saying: "Impending Doom."

As for the writing of the scripts, I'm working my way through "The Higher Plane." Marc's taking on "Shades of Whatever-Color-You-Prefer," and Mike's working on "So Near The Darkness And The Night."

Overall I couldn't be happier with this seven episode arc. In fact, I'll even compare it the the ending of Season One, where a lot of fans seem to believe that with "The Enoly" the series took a huge leap in terms of quality. Well, naturally that's up for our silent fans to decide for themselves, but I think that with the ending of Season Three, the series is about to take another leap like that, setting the bar very high come Season Four. One surprise twist follows the other during these final seven episodes. Add one or two shocks along the way, and voila: it's 24 in space, but without the real time, and with space ships and aliens.

And I guarantee you that at the ending of episode 22, you won't be able to tell just what will happen in the two part finale. All bets are off. And as of right now... not even we know what will happen. We've discussed ideas, but at this point we're taking it scene by scene. Should be interesting.

I should also talk briefly about the upcoming episode "Together We Stand." It was highly anticepated a couple of weeks ago, and while everyone seems to have gotten quiet about it lately, I do hope that the anticepation is still there. We all consider this episode as one of the best we've ever done, and I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we're very proud of it, and how it deals with a very compelling issue.

Let me put it this way: this is our version of "Saving Private Ryan." It's a drama about a group of people, who end up facing the brutality of war as no one would ever want to. Things get very powerful, intense and brutal. And at it's core, it's a story that sends a message out there, reminding people of something that no one should ever forget about.

And with that, I'll sign off, wondering if anyone will ever read this blog. Either way, they won't say anything. That gives me an idea actually: perhaps in my next blog, I could post all spoilers from next week's episode up to the what we're currently working on, and see what happens.

I might do that. But until then, good night and good luck!

Alex

January 24, 2007

So here we are again. I know what you're thinking -- "he only updated his blog yesterday, and now he's back already?! This wasn't supposed to happen for at least five weeks!!!" But what can I say? I like to be unpredictable, so here I am. I believe this is the first time I'm blogging two days in a row. And I must say I'm very proud of this achievement.

Today's pictures give you a look at my regular trip to work, as well as my kitchen (giving you some more insight into things). The lack of reactions to the previous blog only leads me to believe that many of you haven't even seen it yet. But that in no way prevents me from blogging yet again; you don't know what you're missing -- not just talking about pictures.

Let's start with a report of what we did yesterday. After I had posted yesterday's blog, I went on to work on "Together We Stand." I was realizing that the script was getting way too long, so I had to cut some scenes from the teaser, which is now down to seven pages. It used to be eleven pages long. I haven't finished the first draft yet, but will be doing that today. I know there've been a lot of talks about this episode, and I think once it airs it'll become more clear why that's the case. It's just a very powerful and dramatic story, which at its core is about exploring how war can change a character. Meaning we get to see how some characters learn to deal with war. We have three great guest characters in this episode, but we also get a look at how some of our regular characters deal with the situations they face in the episode, and how that might have an impact on their behaviours. Some great Callen moments. I'm loving the Lenori bonds with this-other-particular-character beats. And here's a surprise for ya: this will also be a very big episode for Zach Hoffmann.

When it was getting close to one o'clock, I decided that it would be a good time to eat something. So I rose from my chair to move over to the refrigerator (in the back on the left hand side of the third picture), grabbed a TV dinner, placed it in the microwave (on the right hand side of the same picture), turned on the microwave, and waited patiently until the TV dinner was done. I then moved over to the nearby table (from where the picture in question was taken), and as I was eating my lunch (with a Diet Pepsi), I listened to the latest GateWorld interview with Amada Tapping.

Eventually I decided it was time to get back to work, so I did. Worked some more on "Together We Stand," while contemplating whether or not to drive to a nearby store to finally purchase Season Nine of SG-1. Tried to do that last Saturday actually, but shockingly they were sold out.

Eventually, I made the decision. After having written several scenes featuring various interesting little character interactions, I once more rose from my chair, quickly got ready, and proceeded to my car. And despite the bad weather (raining), I drove to the store only to realize that they still hadn't gotten Season Nine in again. But I was determined not to return home empty-handed; I knew I hadn't gone through all that bad weather in vain -- that was something I was not willing to accept.

So I proceeded to a nearby shopping mall, commonly referred to as the Galleria (also happens to be where my "other job" is located). Once I arrived there, I immediately headed to another store, and was pleased to find a shining little Season Nine DVD boxset. I reacted accordingly, and quickly grabbed it. Part of me knew I had to proceed to the register and check out quickly before the temptations would overwhelm me; however, it was too late already. As usually when in a store which is filled with an endless amount of DVDs and CDs, I couldn't help but have a look around, and suddenly my eyes fell on some Seinfeld DVD sets. Or to be precise, it caught my attention that they were selling them for merely $24.99. After a few brief moments of contemplating my next steps, I decided to act instead of thinking about it too much longer. And I picked up Volume One, which contains Seasons One and Two of Seinfeld.

I checked out, and made my way back to the parking garage to conclude what I considered a successful mission. And then the voyage home began. As so often I hadn't taken into consideration that it was around five fifteen -- the time where traffic on the roads is so heavy that it makes you wonder if all people living in the area decided purposely to get together for a nice and cozy little standing around idle on the freeway, and every so often actually moving along at a snail's pace. But anyway, I accepted this, knowing deep down that having purchased these DVD sets was worth the effort. As I was in danger of becoming frustrated by the heavy traffic, I reminded myself of how much fun it would be to not only enjoy some great moments of TV on DVD, my mind also was on the fantastic special features that really make buying a DVD worth it -- at least for me.

When I finally arrived back home, I was back at the computer. Did some more work, but nothing too heavy. My dad stopped by to borrow the tape that contains the latest episode of 24. When handing it to him, I was careful not to reveal any of the latest surprises and twists that had occurred on that wonderful show. I then spent the early evening doing some revising of the scenes I had written that day, I listened in when the president gave his state of the union address, and I talked to Mike on MSN.

As it was about eleven o'clock, I called it a night, and proceeded to enjoy some of the DVDs that I had purchased earlier in the day. I watched parts of a Seinfeld audio commentary, but decided to watch the actual episodes first. I then took some SG-1 DVDs, and listened to the insightful audio commentaries for "Avalon, Parts One and Two," and watched two additional special features. A profile on Brad Wright, and an installment of the SG-1 director's series: "Crusade" with Robert C. Cooper. All features were insightful as well as entertaining.

When I realized that it was two a.m., I thought about grabbing a couple of hours of sleep before getting back to work -- and I did. I wish I could remember what I dreamed, but I can't unfortunately. I always like remembering dreams actually, but I find that I only do remember them occasionally. I tend to remember the exceptionally weird ones.

I got up at eight a.m. Proceeded to grab some breakfast. I forgot to buy coffee yesterday, but I'm enjoying some more Red Bull. And before getting to work I decided to blog yet again, and inform those of you who are reading this of my latest adventures. And with that... the circle is complete.

Stay tuned, as I will return shortly with a report on day four of the vacation week!

Until then,
Alex

January 23, 2007

Who's the guy on the pictures, may be the first question that comes to mind. Is he a new actor we've cast to play the part of that new hansom, and charming recurring character we're introducing in the back half of this season? Is he just some random guy, of whom I thought it could be fun if I kicked off my first blog in over a month with a couple of pictures of him? Or are there not really any pictures and it's all just a figment of your imagination? Or... could it really be? Is it possible that? Could it have happened that you've finally learned what one of the guys behind the scenes on Stargate: Horizon actually looks like? AFTER OVER TWO YEARS!!!

I won't give away the answer to that question, but am eagerly awaiting your suggestions. Well then, with that said, shall we move on to business?

I have to say I had realized that it's been a while since my last blog, but I wasn't really aware that it's been THAT long. December 12th. Go figure. But anyway, I've been wanting to get back to blogging for a while now, and here I am - once more. And Happy New Year to all of you!

This week I'm on vacation from my other job. Other as in not the job that is writing and producing Stargate: Horizon, which involves all sorts of things aside from writing actually. You have story meetings, you need to make sure everyone's up to date on what's going on, you work on recruiting concept artists, occasionally you'll give notes on scrips or even work on rewrites. And sometimes I even get quite caught up in actually writing an episode. But I'm sure you're aware of all of this anyway, so I won't go on boring you with the details.

But anyway, where were we? Ah, yes. Vacation. Not that I don't absolutely love this other job of mine. Okay, who am I fooling? I don't love this other job of mine. In fact, I love it so little that part of my vacation will be dedicated to sending out various applications in an effort to try and get a new job in the near future. Most likely something in an office, and most definitely something that will pay better, and contribute to getting good ol' Alex finally to where he needs to be -- to good ol' Los Angeles, or shall we say Hollywood?

Aside from that, the week will be dedicated mainly to what I consider my REAL job, which would be the one where I work on Horizon. And there's lots of things to do, as we're already gearing up towards the end of the season. I realize that you've actually only got to see the first nine episodes so far, but rest assured that we here beyond the Horizon are hard at work on episodes all the way up to episode twenty, for which I'm currently working on the outline. I can't really say much about it, other than that it starts with a surprise and VERY familiar face stepping through the Stargate with some pretty crazy news. Then, as the story builds up, we head off to this planet, where go into this crazy building. And then those bad guys show up, and all sorts of... uh, crazy things will happen. In short: it's crazy. In a good way. Just need to get the outline done, which in my case is often the most difficult part when working on an episode. Once you've got those beats worked out, it's all about translating this elaborate beat sheet/outline into a script.

Mike turned in his first draft of "Mediation" yesterday, and let me just tell you: this will be one of our best two parters yet. And I'm not trying to hype things, I'm just speaking as a fan of the show, because I am definitely a fan as well. We've got some great stuff coming up. I believe we're all pretty excited about how this season will unfold over the course of its second half. I turned in my first draft for "Adrift" the other day. An episode I'm pretty happy with. In particular the Sivea/Christine moments turned out quite powerful. In many ways the episode is similar in style to SG-1's "Tangent," in that a failed test of a certain new technological achievement places the lives of some of our characters in serious jeopardy. So even though someone on the boards suggested that perhaps this episode could be a "Grace group therapy episode," I actually like to think of it as a "Tangent for five" episode.

We haven't talked much about "The Inner Voice," have we? And actually we should probably keep it that way, at least until we get a little closer to the release date. All I can really say, or much rather confirm is that Arina will be in that episode. And it's an episode that will shed a lot of light into Chase's backstory. I think it's a fun episode. No comedy episode, but a couple of entertaining exchanges between Chase and Arina. And it starts off with a situation which could be described as bizarre.

Well, what else is new? Except for the new year, of course. Yup. You've guessed it: a new season of 24 has started airing last week. I can't really say too much without either giving away spoilers or just repeating what I say all the time (that it's a great show!); so I'll just say... uh... it's a GREAT show! For those one or two of you who haven't seen it, seems you have some catching up to do.

With that said, let the day begin! Just finishing breakfast actually. Forgot to buy coffee the other day, but my Red Bull drink is making up for it. You have to keep that energy and concentration going if you're going to be writing like crazy today.

I'll be blogging a little more in the near future. For now I'm off to finish the first draft of "Together We Stand." Oh, and expect the podcast for "Resurfacing" to appear soon. I might squeeze recording that into today's schedule as well.

Alex

Alright, folks. Things have been a little quiet around here lately, but starting with today that shall change. There haven't been too many comment on the message boards, which might have to do with the little fact that not too much info has been unveiled lately. So brace yourselves; I'm back with a new blog, and tons of information. Or shall we say some minor spoilers.

Initially I was planning on posting this blog last night, but I ended up just being too tired. So here I am today, sitting here with a cup of coffee (black), and typing away the latest info on things happening beyond the horizon. Seeing as I'm off today from my other job, it'll be a busy day here. We only have about five weeks to get episode 3.10 ready, so my main focus today will be on that one. And after having considered various titles for it, the latest one is definitely my favorite. We've been keeping it in the dark for some time now, but I think now is a good time to let you in. The continuation of "Resurfacing" shall be called... "...Shall We Not Revenge?" And I must say, this is one of my favorite episode titles so far. Work on this one is a little crazy, because it was tricky to work out. So I'm still finishing up the outline, while I actually already wrote the teaser and act one of the script. Not the way you normally do it, but hey, whatever works.

Another priority today will be to finally get that first draft of "Countdown" ready and turned in, that being episode 3.11. This one was also difficult to work out, mainly because it needs to balance the Zach/Jerry storyline with the David/Tom/Barrett plot. And because of time constraints I was forced to drop an entire subplot, which I had initially considered for this episode. But come to think of it, it works better this way anyway.

Well, those are episodes ten and eleven. But why don't we venture a little further ahead? As it happens, I've already finished the first draft for 3.15 last week, and it's called "The Inner Voice." I think it's a great episode for Chase, in which we finally get some insight into his background, and in which an old friend makes a second appearance this season. At least... sort of.

We have an outline for 3.14, and Vincent will be writing the script for this one. This will be a nice team episode, focusing on Grant's character. But I also particularly like the Sivea/Christine and Tom/Yusuf moments. The original title for this one was "Death's Chariot," which was revealed some time ago. But since then we've changed it to "Adrift."

This coming weekend I'll be getting started on the script for 3.16. The outline's done, and we're all very happy with it. I will say this: this will not be a typical episode. It's about a rescue mission behind enemy lines, characters in a hopeless situation, and all the other horrors of war. And since we're giving away titles today... this one is called "Together We Stand." And dare I say, it's looking to be quite a memorable episode.

We're also working on outlines for 3.17 and 3.18. 3.17 being a Tom episode, for which - if we were shooting the show - a great deal of scenes would be shot on the Atlantis sets. 3.18 will be our very first time travel episode that doesn't involve direct time travel; it's also a great episode for Christine. It came out of a story concept that Joe Hodkiss pitched last season. The current story doesn't have too much to do with that anymore, but it still keeps one basic element, which I really couldn't give away just yet. But let's just say we'll be seeing A LOT of Christine in this episode. Really more than ever before.

And 3.19 only exists in form of a story document so far, but it'll be another great episode, which Mike will be writing once he finishes the mid season two parter. This one will be a Lenori episode. And we've been discussing bringing back a character, whom we haven't seen since the first half of Season Two.

Well, there you have it. Just look at all the information I've been giving away here. Perhaps I should be doing all of these blogs in the mornings from now on; I seem to be more generous at this time of day.

Some other things on the agenda for today would be for me to get back to some of our potential new concept artists. There's three of them, of which I'm pretty sure they'll b joining the team. And this time I've got a good feeling, meaning we might actually get something done in that area this time around. I should also get back with Justin, a composer we've been talking to about doing a main title theme for us.

But now, FINALLY, let me get to the question, which I'm sure all of you are wondering about. And the answer that is... not yet. But I will on Friday. The question obviously being: have I already picked up Season Five of 24 on DVD. So that I'll do on Friday, and I can't wait. Currently I'm still in the midst of DS9 Season Five, just watched what's perhaps one of the best two parters of all times last night.

Oh, and I'm not sure what's more shocking. The fact that I forgot to post a question for the Get In The Gate Contest last week, or the fact that no one mentioned anything. But either way, I'll be posting two questions later today. And, of course, I'll be doing the podast for "My Enemy's Enemy" at that latest tomorrow. Speaking of which, I'm getting the feeling that some of you aren't listening to them, because you think they're just as horrible as the ones for "Path of Revelation." Well, let me just tell you: you don't know what you're missing. The problem with the "Path of Revelation" commentaries was that they went on for too long, and I think they were a little repetitive. Also, I wasn't an experienced podcaster as I am now. These latest podcasts contain some interesting facts, concerning the creation of the story. I think especially for those of you working on your own virtual series, it could be interesting to get some insight into this, to see how we do things over here. But it's up to you, of course. One thing's for sure, the podcasts ain't going anywhere. Whether you choose to listen to them, or if you prefer to ignore them.

Well, I think that covers just about everything for now. Definitely looking forward to seeing what you think of "My Enemy's Enemy," which is one of my favorite episodes of this season actually. I think this is one of Mike's best episodes yet; from the day we first started talking about the story, I loved it. It's got some great character moments (Sivea/Sonak as well as one of my favorite Grant/Sivea scenes), some unexpected twists, more shades of gray than ever, and some nice action sequences.

And with that said, I'll talk to you later!
Alex

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