Cooper And Wright Talk About Universe

[DWF]

http://stargate-sg1-solutions.com/blog/2009/04/wright-and-cooper-spill-on-stargate/

While the teasers that have been aired so far for Stargate Universe (SGU) have been very dark (see “Frantic” and “Philosophical”), there will definitely be humor in the series. The teasers, created by Sci Fi Channel, are meant to set a mood and an energy, but the characters will have innate humor. The show is set in the here and now, and even in bad situations, people make jokes.

SGU will have touchstones from SGA and SG-1. The show takes place in the same time period, and there will be visitors from those shows. There will also be a lot of back reference. While wanting to bring in new fans, they also want to reward long-time fans.

SGU will have new mythologies, some related to the Ancients and others brand new. Since the ship will be exploring the universe, there won’t need to be a basis in Earth mythology.

The aliens on SGU will be very alien. They won’t be humanoids with prosthetics, and they won’t speak English. They will be as alien as you’d hope to find in the far reaches of the universe.

There will be a component on SGU that allows the characters to relate back to Earth and to people on Earth. It will enable stories of the trapped crew interacting with their loved ones. It will allow the writers to tell “Earth” stories. [This is likely a reference to the Ancient communication terminal that will allow body-swapping similar to what was done on SG-1.]

The show will shoot in New Mexico in a couple of weeks. Those will be scenes from “Air Part 3″. They’re really looking to find new ways to have episodes that aren’t set in trees.

Cooper believes the SGU gate is the coolest ever. And there will be a shot of the Earth gate in which viewers will see a chevron lock that’s never been seen locked before. He would not confirm that it’s the ninth chevron.

Space Network in Canada will air SGU at the same time as it’s aired on Syfy in the US. They expect the UK to air it too, as there is lots of interest in the show due to Scottish actor Robert Carlyle being in it. [There's confirmation of Sky One from Variety today.]

On the involvement of sci fi author John Scalzi with SGU, Wright said Scalzi has been reading every script and giving notes. He’s been especially helpful in rooting the science of the show a bit more in reality. He might write an episode if he gets time at some point. Wright is a big fan of his fiction, as is Joe Mallozzi, and Scalzi’s sensibility and humor they felt would benefit the show.

The style of SGU is different from the past. Cooper doesn’t believe they are emulating Battlestar Galactica. But, they want to shoot the show more like how a documentary crew would shoot on the ship if they were there documenting it. So cameras will be in non-standard places. The sets will be lit naturally, such that the actors can move around as if they’re on a stage, rather than having to be in one place for lighting reasons. Already as a result they are getting far more “real” performances from the cast. Viewers will feel as though they are there. It will feel less staged and less unrealistic. They hope this will help viewers connect with the characters very closely. One show they did look at as an example to draw from was Firefly. It was shot with hand-held cameras or non-traditional camera placements. So Firefly and other dramatic shows were somewhat an inspiration.

There will be two gay characters on SGU. Cooper started to say there would be one at least, and Wright clarified that there will be two. Cooper and Wright want the crew to represent our society, with all its complexity and realism. They want it to be identifiable to as many people as they can. Not for ratings, but to portray humanity.

Sounds good to me so far.

 

[sidious618]

Gay characters? That's interesting of them to do. It's something we haven't seen before in Stargate and that does tell me that they've got some balls. I'm not all that optimistic about it but I'll still be tuning in to see what happens.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

It'ssounding like Universe isn't going to be same old same old.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

They’re really looking to find new ways to have episodes that aren’t set in trees.

I hereby rescind all my bitching about this show.

Shoot the whole thing in New Mexico. It doesn't quite have the varied topography of California, but it's pretty good - desert, mountains, really weird-ass looking rock formations, and yes trees.

On the involvement of sci fi author John Scalzi with SGU, Wright said Scalzi has been reading every script and giving notes. He’s been especially helpful in rooting the science of the show a bit more in reality.

This sounds hopeful. I'm not so much interested in a good writer pinch-hitting every so often as I am in seeing someone who can oversee all the episodes and make sure they aren't just the same old tired garbage.

There will be two gay characters on SGU.

If they make at least one of them male and aren't scared of romance scenes, then I will be suitably impressed.

 

[Kelso]

Can anyone explain the difference between the BSG and Firefly filming techniques?


They look the same to my untrained eyes.

 

[cylkoth]

Can anyone explain the difference between the BSG and Firefly filming techniques?


They look the same to my untrained eyes.

Mentioning Firefly allows them to deflect all the 'they're aping BSG' comments that have been flung around....

Of course, those syfy promos don't exactly help dissuade one from the knee jerk reaction that they are emulating Galactica...

 

[Harvey]

There are some very interesting things here (non-humanoid aliens, no English speaking aliens, location shooting in New Mexico, two homosexual characters), but there's a real sense of damage control, too, so, as I've said over and over again...we'll see.

 

[Kpnuts]

If they make at least one of them male and aren't scared of romance scenes, then I will be suitably impressed.

Agreed. I'm not holding my breath though

 

[JoeZhang]

The aliens on SGU will be very alien. They won’t be humanoids with prosthetics, and they won’t speak English. They will be as alien as you’d hope to find in the far reaches of the universe.

This will last for about three episodes and then they will find a universal transporter. What, every episode is going to feature aliens they can't communicate with? Same with the aliens, there is no way a show with this budget is going to be able to use non-humanoids every week - unless they are made out of old shoeboxes...

If they aren't standing around in the craft village talking to people with chicken mcnuggets stuck to their head by ten episodes, I'll eat my hat.

 

[Samurai8472]

I'm thinking that with the cameras and lighting they're going for an "E.R" look

 

[Starbreaker]

Cool. I'll be tuning in and watching all three SG shows simultaneously. Should be fun!

 

[Gertch]

Crap. Really sounded great for the first 90% of that. Wonder what other new shows are coming out.

 

[Harvey]

Crap. Really sounded great for the first 90% of that. Wonder what other new shows are coming out.

You're getting into a tizzy over...gay characters? Really?

 

[Gertch]

Crap. Really sounded great for the first 90% of that. Wonder what other new shows are coming out.

You're getting into a tizzy over...gay characters? Really?

Happy characters are fine but I don't think that's what they mean. But yeah, I don't care for it. Enjoy.

 

[Harvey]

Crap. Really sounded great for the first 90% of that. Wonder what other new shows are coming out.

You're getting into a tizzy over...gay characters? Really?

Happy characters are fine but I don't think that's what they mean. But yeah, I don't care for it. Enjoy.

Your wit is overwhelming, but, in the end, fair enough. Since none of us are Nielsen viewers anyway, it's not like it matters one way or another if we watch. And I'll have to see a pretty successful pilot episode to be sold on this series.

 

[Brent]

These parts give me hope for the series:

The aliens on SGU will be very alien. They won’t be humanoids with prosthetics, and they won’t speak English. They will be as alien as you’d hope to find in the far reaches of the universe.

The show will shoot in New Mexico in a couple of weeks. Those will be scenes from “Air Part 3″. They’re really looking to find new ways to have episodes that aren’t set in trees.

On the involvement of sci fi author John Scalzi with SGU, Wright said Scalzi has been reading every script and giving notes. He’s been especially helpful in rooting the science of the show a bit more in reality.

But, they want to shoot the show more like how a documentary crew would shoot on the ship if they were there documenting it. So cameras will be in non-standard places. The sets will be lit naturally, such that the actors can move around as if they’re on a stage, rather than having to be in one place for lighting reasons. Already as a result they are getting far more “real” performances from the cast.

 

[starburst]

As long as they tackle it in a serious way, ie not way over the top as Torchwood did (especially Jack Harkness).

I was thinking about the issues of writing in gay characters earlier, for the writers producers it must be a more daunting a task than with a straight one or a character with no specific orientation written in. If they do it wrong they will come under critism and theres obviously the fact that portions of the viewer base may be against 'that sort of thing' (some of the more devout Christians for one).

My worry though would be wandering into a cliche with the best of intentions, choose one of the girls and then get accused of trying to go with the 'sexy lebien', and the guys its just as bad (gay solidiers, nerdy scientists etc)

Will have to wait and see what they come up with

 

[Mr. Adventure]

So does this confirm that everyone on Stargate was indeed speaking English?

Interesting details, but press releases always sound promising, I'll give it a fair shake though, I'd like to be pleasantly surprised but I won't cry in my beer if it's more of the same.

 

[bigdaddy]

It'ssounding like Universe isn't going to be same old same old.

And yet somehow it will turn out to be the same old shit.

Atlantis sounded great before it was released too, and after 5 years of the show there is very little to show for it.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Here's how to do the gay character: Have the main young white guy (Matthew Scott) be gay. He's the one we'll all think of as the "lead character" who is "not allowed" to be gay.

And then make no big deal out of it. It's not like sex is going to be the top of anyone's minds, considering that they are trying to survive. A more mature show could delve into some of the issues of these people all being crammed together indefinitely, but maybe they should just leave that alone.