Club Jade

And lo,  io9 got to see the first three hours of Stargate Universe.  And it was good.  They even managed to write a spoiler-free review about it.

In a nutshell, it’s not your regular Stargate, but it still has it as its core.  And they ask you to give it at least until the end of the third hour until you decide for yourself.  Plenty of stuff for “Gaters” to get riled about; which “Gaters” love to do.  (Can I be not a fan of the whole “Gaters” designation, though?)

At Dragon*Con, I got the chance to speak briefly with Gary Jones (aka Walter “Chevron Counting Guy” Harriman) who has been there during production and even saw some preliminary cuts.  He thinks we’re going to love it if we give it a chance.

We interrupt my real life in the H1N1 response to bring some sad news to the Stargate family.  Dom DeLuise, talented comedian and the creator of the much-beloved character Urgo, has died at the age of 75.

Mr. DeLuise was also father to long-time Stargate director/writer Peter DeLuise and actors Michael (Colonel Danning from Wormhole Extreme) and  David (Sam’s boyfriend Pete Shanahan). 

Urgo once said, “I wanna live! I wanna experience the universe! And I wanna eat pie!”  Hopefully you’re now getting to do so.

I really need to do these more often.  Lots of news flying, these days.

Prepare to be astounded.  Stargate Universe is going to feature an openly gay character for the first time; in addition to being “dark and edgy.”  (The cast does not appear to be as dark and edgy, though.  If you’re not already following them, cast members David Blue and Brian Jacob Smith have been Twittering up a storm and seem like a lot of fun.)

So this gay thing is not entirely new.  It has already been said that at least one of the Atlantis characters was gay, but they never put it on screen.  And there may be others.

Maybe they’ll do that in the “some day soon” version of the Atlantis movie?  (Joe Mallozzi has been working on the script.)  But apparently MGM is being a bit wishy-washy about the timing for this and the next SG1 project.

In spend-some-money news, there is a preview of the Teal’c animated maquette on i09 that is entirely too cute.  (Words rarely associated with Teal’c.)

You can also spend your money to have lunch with Richard Dean Anderson to benefit the Waterkeeper Alliance.

And in yet still unrelated news, big, um, congrats to the incredibly talented Christopher Hyerdahl for being cast in the next Twilight movie.  May you not be overrun by Twihards.

A set of four Stargate coasters could be yours for $29.95 next month. I don’t even know what to say. (They look slippery?) Paula? I’ll just be over there looking at the BSG propaganda or the Blue Sun travel posters. Ohh, a Cylon! (via)

(via) Finally…we find out about the ladies of Stargate Universe (and another guy, for good measure).  Universe started production last week, so it’s nice to get this clarified.  Michael Ausiello and the Hollywood Reporter got the exclusive announcement rights (even before the MGM website).

And the ladies are:

• Ming-Na – Formerly of ER fame and now playing Camille Wray, “an HR bigwig and highest ranking survivor.”
• Elyse Levesque – Best known to genre fans for her work on Smallville and playing, “Chloe Armstrong, the wild and immature daughter of a U.S. Senator.”
• Alaina Huffman (who has another name on IMDB) – Another Smallville alum who will be playing MSgt. Tamara Johansen, a field medic assigned to treat the seriously wounded.  (Given Stargate’s history, this does not bode well for her ultimate survival, but we can only wish her the best.)

A bit of a surprise announcement (to me, at least) is Lou Diamond Phillips (La Bamba) who has joined the cast as Col. Telford, “a lifelong military man and the chosen leader of the ill-fated expedition.”  (Confused.  I thought that was Robert Carlyle’s role?  Is Telford not long for the Universe?  Or am I perpetually confused?)

Either way, I’m liking how this cast is shaping up.  Here’s hoping they pull off a good show!

Now, everyone giving Stargate Universe a hard time should stop and appreciate the enthusiasm coming into this project (well, if Brian J. Smith is any indication).  The brave man takes his first step into fandom by granting an interview with GateWorld.  He can’t be all bad, though.  He admits to being a “Trekkie.” <sic>

In related news, writer Joseph Mallozzi shares that Robert Carlyle will get to keep that lovely accent for the show.  (Ahh…Scottish accents on Stargate.)

Those still mourning Atlantis and worrying about the fate of her actors will be happy to know that David Hewlett appears to be making progress on his sci-fi comedy Starcrossed first featured in his movie A Dog’s Breakfast.  Keep your fingers crossed it makes it out of Development Hell.  We don’t need any more ghost shows on SciFi.

It looks like we’re going to be seeing Daniel Jackson in the premiere of Stargate Universe.  Michael Shanks told SciFi Wire that he’s been approached to do the cameo thing. 

Speaking of SGU, a good way to start accepting the new SGU gang will be to catch actor Brian J. Smith (Lt. Matthew Scott) during his guest stint on Law & Order on February 11th.

And, in spite of the rumors going through the worried internet denizens, Michael Shanks is talking about the movies coming up.  (More RDA!  More RDA!) Can we all stop worrying about not seeing our SG1 or SGA faves again?  Those actor contracts will come along soon enough.

In other Stargate news, GateWorld interviews Connor Trinneer.  (Don’t look if you haven’t seen Prodigal, yet!)

Continuing on with the Stargate 90210 theme, the new additions to the Stargate Universe cast (joining Robert Carlyle) are certainly not totally lacking the looks department.  (I can totally get behind a little eye candy, if the stories are also good.)

• Justin Louis – Will be Colonel Everett Young.  And he’s actually ::gasp:: married!  (In a Stargate show?!  No one gets married and lives.)
• David Blue – Who I loved, loved, loved in Ugly Betty, will play Eli Wallace.  He’s a total slacker who is your basic genius.  (I wonder if the threat of citrus works on him?)
• Jamil Walker Smith - Sr. Sgt. Ronald Greer, “a Marine with a temper you don’t want to mess with.”  The edgy, mysterious one.  TV Guide has a picture.
• Brian J. Smith – Lt Matthew Scott; the inexperienced one who is thrust into leadership before his time.

Now, if MGM and SciFi would just learn that they’re annoying the established fans with this whole “edgier and younger in tone” crap, they might bring along more old fans to the new show.

Joe Mallozzi has announced that author John Scalzi (Old Man’s War, The Android’s Dream) will now be a creative consultant to the new Stargate Universe series.  (Plus, the announcement includes a really delicious-looking trip to Vancouver restaurant Fuel… except for that foie gras… yuck.)

If you have read his books (and if you haven’t, why not?), this certainly hints at an interesting direction for the show.

Which will you choose?

• There’s a Fan’s Choice poll to choose the favorite Atlantis episodes to go onto a BluRay Fan Favorites compilation. (via)
• There’s a video of all the handsome guys at the wrap party held after the last episode was done.  (Which, by the way, scored great ratings.)
• Or if you prefer to go the SG1 route, there’s a very philosophical interview with Ben Browder about Stargate, Farscape and his general outlook on life.