Ona Grauer and Corin Nemec, “Ayiana” and “Jonas Quinn” in Stargate SG-1 (Interview)
Ona Grauer and Corin Nemec, "Ayiana" and "Jonas Quinn" in Stargate SG-1 (Interview)
We are reuniting one of our favorite character parings from all of Stargate SG-1, Ona Grauer and Corin Nemec from the pivotal Ancient episode, “Frozen!”
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TRANSCRIPT
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David Read:
Welcome everyone to Episode 351 of Dial the Gate. The Stargate Oral History Project. My name is David Read. I really appreciate you being with me here for this [episode]. I feel like a news anchor for this episode. It’s my papers. I’m studying. Ona Grauer. Ayiana.
Ona Grauer:
Hi.
David Read:
Welcome to Dial the Gate.
Ona Grauer:
Thank you.
David Read:
Mr. Corin Nemec. Jonas Quinn.
Corin Nemec:
Yes, sir.
David Read:
Welcome back, sir. I am thrilled…
Corin Nemec:
Wonderful to be here.
David Read:
…to have you both. How are you guys doing?
Ona Grauer:
Well.
David Read:
Doing good.
Corin Nemec:
Yes, same here. Busy as a beaver.
David Read:
This is good. Especially these days. Folks, this is a live stream on YouTube currently. If you are in the YouTube chat, then go ahead and submit your questions to my moderators. They are gonna get those questions over to me. We have them for a good 40-45 minutes. We’ll see how things go. But it is a privilege to have you both. Frozen is one of my favorite episodes from the franchise. It was pivotal in terms of the mythology for the series and everything that came after, including Atlantis, which Ona — You’re the first person on screen for crying out loud — So much of this was birthed in this episode. But I really just wanna catch up with you both real quick. How is life treating you? How are you guys doing? What’s going on in your world, Ona?
Ona Grauer:
Things are fantastic. I, about five years ago, took a turn from acting. Kind of semi-retired. And I started coaching the young actors on set. So, I’ll go on and do the entire series with the younger kids. And it’s been — Honestly, it’s my favorite. Making the connections with the kids and with the families and being able to walk them through… Some of them are very new to the industry… And being able to walk them through the process and give them support, figure out a relationship so they really trust me. And to see it happen in real time, it’s honestly been most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.
David Read:
What brought this on?
Ona Grauer:
Oddly enough, I did a show with my daughter. When she was about seven, I had convinced her to do this audition for a Steven Spielberg series called The Whispers that was here. And she didn’t have any… And an agent wasn’t interested in it. And then my agent was like — There’s this weird — Maeve’s very original looking. So, I guess there was something that said, “We just need a very original looking child.” And I said, “Maeve, do you wanna do this thing?” I said, “There’s no lines. You just point down the road. Could be cool.” That turned into a call back. That turned into five episodes. And she was, like, “Mom, you said there was no lines.” And I’m, like, “Things move fast in this business.” I don’t know.
David Read:
“Do you wanna say no? Do you wanna say no, Maeve?”
Ona Grauer:
So, we ended up doing it and I think it was for ABC. And I had worked for ABC a bunch. So, they were, like, “We’ve hired this original looking kid. Now we gotta try to find her a mom.” And they just went, “Ona Grauer is her mom.” And they just went, “Ona?” Because we have different last names. They’re, like, “Ona Grauer is Maeve’s mom? Hire her.” So, Maeve, in turn, got me a job.
Corin Nemec:
You got her the job, and she got you the job so it’s perfect.
Ona Grauer:
But I was working — I was acting on it, but I was working really closely with the kids and the families, and they all gravitated towards me because I was an actor and a mom. So, they would ask me a lot of stuff. And after that experience, I just said I wanted to do this. I felt really good. It felt really good to be of service instead of focusing on yourself, I guess.
David Read:
There is nothing more important than teaching. And in an industry — There are few jobs more important than teaching as far as I’m concerned. In an industry like this, where the kids are chewed up and spat out — It’s a professional meat grinder.
Ona Grauer:
That’s a good…
David Read:
The more attention that can be paid towards helping them figure out what this is, the better. Corin, how do you — With your son, with your daughter, what’s your perspective on this?
Corin Nemec:
Well, I started acting professionally when I was 12 years old.
Ona Grauer:
That’s right.
Corin Nemec:
I totally understand that the whole child actor phenomenon and all of that, and longevity for youthful actors. It’s very questionable. You just really don’t ever know. I attribute my longevity really to the fact that I continued in acting classes. And, like Ona was saying, having a mentor at a young age is probably a very important part of the whole process. And also, being grounded in what it is to be an artist as an actor, and not being caught up in, “Oh, I have to be famous. I have to be on a show. I have to be known. I have to be on a red carpet. I have to…” And so on and so on. If you’re into acting and you love acting, then if you’re acting, you’re happy, whether that’s on a stage or during a rehearsal process, or while you’re actually shooting something or performing something. And that’s what it boiled down to for me, is, like, again, then continuing in acting classes from age 11 all the way until I was in my mid to late 30s. That was a big factor in the surviving of being a young actor, especially one that was somewhat well known in the teen magazines, Emmy nominated at 15 and other things that were phenomenal.
David Read:
A lot of exposure.
Corin Nemec:
Yes. So, it was — And then having — Even though I was already 18 at the time, but the Parker Lewis series, obviously, if you’re headlining…
Ona Grauer:
I love that show by the way. I absolutely love that show.
Corin Nemec:
It was so much fun. It was great. So, headlining your own show, especially a comedy, that can be a death sentence in the long run at a young age, oddly enough.
David Read:
Really?
Corin Nemec:
You can find yourself — It can be, yeah. Because then what else are you seen as? Especially the younger you get. It’s tough. And you see a lot of the headliners in shows — Soleil Moon Frye. She’s done very well in life. She was a good friend of mine growing up. And that was tough to get out of. That was very tough to get out of the Punky Brewster personality and all that for the masses and everything. And obviously my good friend David Faustino– Fortunately, we had a production company together. We did a lot of film projects together. He was Bud Bundy on Married…with Children. And that was really tough for him to break that mold of, “Look, I’m an actor. I just played that character. I can do a lot of different things…”
David Read:
So damn iconic.
Corin Nemec:
“…as an actor.” It can be… It’s a blessing and a curse. So, I was just very fortunate to maintain being in acting classes and it changed my attitude towards the industry, and my willingness to audition. And it was my willingness to audition that really kept me working because that broke the mold of what people thought of me in their perception once I was in the room. And as Ona knows, you don’t ever really get to audition in rooms anymore.
Ona Grauer:
No.
David Read:
And the right attention.
Corin Nemec:
It’s all like this. Right here.
David Read:
And having a mentor.
Corin Nemec:
The fact that you’re teaching is great. That’s so cool. I think that’s really rad. I’ve been wanting to do that myself for quite a long time. I applaud you for that. It’s a great…
Ona Grauer:
The coaching?
Corin Nemec:
Yeah, it’s great that you’re doing that.
Ona Grauer:
I think it’s funny because sometimes when I interview for jobs, some of the directors or the producers will say, like, “What do you think your greatest strength is working with the kids and family?” And I always say, “The ability to gain trust really quickly. I’m pretty personable.”
Corin Nemec:
Yeah, totally.
Ona Grauer:
And so, to be able — Because it takes an immense amount of trust for the families, too. For the parents coming up and they’re on location with their kids. Everybody’s little out of water. And parents — As a dad, too, when you feel like you’re not confident in a situation but you’re there to provide support for your child, it’s a really unnerving experience. So, for me to be able to work really closely with the parents as well and just establish, like, “You can trust me. I’m here.”
Corin Nemec:
Yes.
Ona Grauer:
“I’m here for your kids for the acting side but I’m here for you for the experience as well.” And just to be supportive and to create this bond with all of us, it’s been…
Corin Nemec:
That’s great.
Ona Grauer:
…That’s the rewarding part.
Corin Nemec:
Did your daughter continue acting after that?
Ona Grauer:
No.
Corin Nemec:
No? That was it?
Ona Grauer:
I have ruined her.
Corin Nemec:
That’s funny. My daughter did a small part…
Ona Grauer:
That was enough.
Corin Nemec:
I dig it. My daughter, when she was pretty young, might have only been six or seven, or whatever, but she did a small role in a film playing my daughter in a film. And she could have cared less. She had zero — She was, like, “Nah, whatever.” She knew that I was an actor, but she never tried to pursue it. She [was never] excited about being on set after that or desiring it. My son, he had kind of mentioned maybe some leanings toward that in his teen years but now he wants to be a Buddhist monk and go live in an ashram in India. So, I’m, like, “That’s cool, too.”
Ona Grauer:
Yes, do that.
David Read:
And things change as we progress throughout our lives. I myself — My father was a flight instructor for a long time and flown 40-47 years. Sorry, dad. He’s watching. And then in my 30s I discovered coaching, mentorship, and it’s, like, “Oh my God. I wanna do a version of this in whatever it is that I do for the rest of my life.” So, I get it. I’d like to take you guys back to frozen. 2003. SG-1 was…
Ona Grauer:
That was a trip when you sent the episode by the way because I hadn’t watched it forever. And I was on set for a different show that I was doing anyway. So, I watched it in the trailer at lunch.
David Read:
Well, I’m thrilled that you saw it again. This is, like I said before, a pivotal episode. SG-1 is in its sixth season. It’s like a bonus season for Sci-Fi picking it up. It was not supposed to go on any further. They’re setting up the movie at this stage. And this episode comes along that is setting up the Ancients. Ona, I’d like to start with you in terms of what you remember about production. This character — I remember you saying to me, “She’s got no dialogue. This is gonna be easy.” And it wasn’t. Because she’s comprehending. Tell us about Ayiana.
Ona Grauer:
It was one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had, and I did go in incredibly naïve thinking that — First of all, it was the first job back after my son. My son was five months old. So, I was a little bit rattled anyways to get back into it, and I thought, “Whatever. I don’t have lines to learn. This will be easy.” And honestly, it was really difficult. And Corin, I cannot express how much you really just calmed me down or something. I don’t know. We had a strange dynamic on the show. In a good way. You could talk to me, but I couldn’t really talk to you. It was a way more stressful — I don’t get super stressed out, but I remember thinking, “Oh, I thought this was gonna be different.” And then when I was on set, I had some nerves about it. And you were there, and you really helped me feel…
Corin Nemec:
Thank you.
Ona Grauer:
…Really comfortable about it all.
Corin Nemec:
Excellent. I’m pretty relaxed. Even if it’s freezing cold on the set. Unnervingly cold. That episode — I was always blow away by the production design on Stargate. All the episodes. Just how much time and money that they spent on creating these sets that were as vivid and real to life as possible. And on this particular one, they had to do an exterior in Antarctica and then a bit of an interior set that were connected. And they brought in all these gigantic air conditioners. They were crazy. And the blasted — It got so cold you could see your breath in there at times. And then eventually the air conditioners somehow stopped working and it ruined that part of it. Or didn’t work as well as expected. But it was still — What a cool idea to try and make the environment even that much more real.
David Read:
This is the second time they’ve done it.
Corin Nemec:
And it was pretty…
David Read:
Second time they visited Antarctica.
Corin Nemec:
It was pretty warm out there and it was pretty warm that day. So, you’d be like — Normally, if you’re on a set, you’re hot on set, you walk outside and you put a parka on. But in this case, you walk outside, you take your parka off and put it on when you go to set. But it was amazing. It was a great time. And working with you was wonderful. Well, it’s actually one of my favorite episodes. That one and an episode called Sleepwalker [sic!] are my two favorites…
David Read:
Nightwalkers.
Corin Nemec:
…That I worked [on]. Nightwalker, yeah. Sleepwalker[s] was a Stephen King movie that I auditioned for.
David Read:
Ona, Corin was brand new as well. He had only just been there for a couple of months. So, he’s still getting his feet wet with this character, too. So, two people who are carrying really heavy pieces of this puzzle just coming together on screen and making it work. With the right actors, magic can happen. And with the wrong ones, click the channel. There is something about this show that continues to resonate. What do you guys think it is? This specific episode.
Corin Nemec:
This one? Again, obviously…
Ona Grauer:
Well, I was the first Ancient, right?
Corin Nemec:
Yeah.
Ona Grauer:
Ayiana was the first Ancient ever on Frozen and like you said before, narratively it’s a big key to the series.
David Read:
Yeah, absolutely. There is a lot happening here.
Corin Nemec:
And she was phenomenal in the episode. I would have never guessed in a million years that you had any kind of nervousness whatsoever. You seemed very relaxed.
Ona Grauer:
Do you know why? Because our director was…
David Read:
Martin Wood.
Ona Grauer:
Martin Wood. And I remember whatever I did in the audition. And then you get the job, and then you’re, like, “OK. Cool. This is what I did in the audition. I’m gonna do it.” And I remember he came to me, and he said, “Everything you did in the audition, we don’t want. We don’t want any of that.” And so, I went, “What do you want?”
David Read:
“Why they get hired?”
Ona Grauer:
How do you ask somebody to pivot like that? As an actor, you go, “Oh, good. They must have loved what I’ve done.” And then the director comes to you and says, “We didn’t like any of that, but we believe in you.” And so, you’re going…
David Read:
“I guess I’ll just try stuff out, and be like, ‘Oh no, not that.’ Well, then I’ll go this way. I’ll show you my ability to pivot.
Ona Grauer:
And then they explained what they wanted or whatever, but it was — Like I said, when I thought it was gonna be easier not having dialogue and then whatever I did in the audition, and then they went, “No, we don’t want that. We want you to do this.” It was just how to pivot on the spot in the moment, which, I guess…
David Read:
Absolutely.
Ona Grauer:
But it was funny that you were talking about the stages because that big block of ice that I was in, it was just plastic or something but the inside that I was laying on, they kept saying, “Anna, we’ve made it as ergonomically comfortable as possible. So, we think you’ll be comfy in there.” And I fell asleep a couple of times. It was, like, “You guys did a great job.” It really was all smooth for my body there. It was nice and cozy.
Corin Nemec:
Far out.
Ona Grauer:
People always ask, “What was the block like?” And I’m, like, “It was comfy.”
David Read:
Opposite of the block.
Corin Nemec:
I should have tried it. I could have kept it and put it in my dressing room.
David Read:
And the wardrobe as well. We see it just for a brief second and then it’s gone. And then next time we see you, it’s completely different, which I guess it’s technically a non sequitur. But they didn’t know what they had yet in terms of this — Because when you come back in Atlantis…
Ona Grauer:
In Atlantis?
David Read:
…You were in this beautiful gown-like chamber robes. And the juxtaposition there, God knows what she was left with down there but certainly a needle and a thread.
Ona Grauer:
Do you know the guy that’s in the scene with me in Atlantis?
David Read:
Your partner.
Ona Grauer:
Yeah, that was Aaron. That was my ex-husband, which is funny because the kids get to see it.
Corin Nemec:
Far out.
David Read:
Was it just a coincidence?
Ona Grauer:
No. He booked it, but I think that a lot of people did know that we were together, so they thought it was an interesting dynamic, too. And Aaron’s a pretty original looking person as well.
David Read:
Absolutely.
Corin Nemec:
I remember him. He’s a really handsome dude.
David Read:
I could go down the rabbit hole of the subtext between just that one look before he departs. At some point I’d love to talk to you about that.
Ona Grauer:
I don’t remember it.
David Read:
She’s a plague carrier. That’s where that’s coming from. So, she’s done some bad things or is a bad thing. We don’t know. And that’s the brilliant thing about this episode because she’s a completely blank slate. She clearly recalls whatever her version of ABC’s is because she can understand and communicate a little bit. But her memory is gone. And so, Fraser says it — Teryl’s character is, like, “Look, she’s been down there for potentially fifty million years. God knows what’s left” But what it boiled down to was a willingness to help and a desire to do everything you can for someone else, even if it’s to your dying breath. I love that message with this character. She appears to recognize that she’s responsible in some way, shape or form. And either it’s that or it’s just a pure willingness to use the tools that she has in her previous iteration of humanity body to just purely help others. And I love that message about this character. It’s, like, “Even if it takes my life, I’m gonna do what I can to undo some damage.”
Ona Grauer:
And you know what I always wondered? And it was interesting watching the episode again because it brought up some stuff. And I always wondered if that was purely an Ayiana thing, or if that was her people’s thing. Because there are, even historically, some of the ancient civilizations that we know of. I was talking about the Mayans last night, and how their belief in their gods and everything, and you go, Oh, wow. This was a really intellectually elevated people or something.” But then you think about it, and all they did was chop heads all day long.
David Read:
Child sacrifices and all kinds of things.
Ona Grauer:
So, that’s why I was, like, “Is this purely an Ayiana thing? Is this her people’s willingness to wanna help and to wanna…?” I remember thinking that a lot, wondering if this was a personal thing or if it’s part of her people’s.
David Read:
I have the answer for it.
Ona Grauer:
Obviously, a little bit of both.
David Read:
It was her. There was probably a little bit of both but in terms of the standard that was set, in terms of what we knew about this species, no. They leave their crap around everywhere. We’re constantly picking up after them. Corin knows this. And instinct to help is definitely among them but she was special. That was unique about that character more than anything.
P:
I really cared. I did. I really cared.
David Read:
You came through.
Ona Grauer:
I did.
David Read:
Corin, do you remember any notes from Martin Wood on this? Do you remember the scenes of trying to communicate and get that across? Your first chance to eat in several million years. “Here’s some hospital food. Enjoy.”
Ona Grauer:
I know. Can’t believe she chowed down on it, too. She was like…
Corin Nemec:
I can’t remember exactly what they actually served but I know my character. I brought that element into it of really being into Earth food because I just mocked it up in my mind that my home planet didn’t have the best cooks. Maybe not the best kind of food. When I get to Earth, there’s ice cream, onion rings, there’s milkshakes and this and there’s all this peanut butter jelly sandwiches and all kinds of stuff. So, I would try and introduce that into different scenes as I was allowed to. I just know that in this particular episode — I feel like it was one of my heavier episodes. It was a little — They were a little more focused on Jonas in that episode, and that was exciting for me as well. Obviously, I had hopes that that character was gonna go on for quite some time in the Stargate universe. So, it was one of those moments where I really knew that it was important to not phone anything in and to do as best job as I can, stay focused, and of course enjoy myself being able to do what I love to do. And in such a great environment with such a great group of talented filmmakers. We had an incredible crew on that show. What we would be able to get done in a 12-hour period was nuts. I’ve worked on other shows and you’re usually going over the 12 hours and you got overtime. I don’t think the entire time I was on Stargate we went past 12 hours. So, that was also a blessing.
Ona Grauer:
Yeah. It’s huge.
Corin Nemec:
Twelve hours for the average person, it’s, like, “Wow, that’s a long workday,” because most people are doing eight hours a day or whatever but in the film business, 12 hours on set is average. Unless you’re under eight.
Ona Grauer:
It’s wild. It’s a wild concept that 12 hours could be, for us, a pretty reasonable day.
David Read:
That’s right.
Corin Nemec:
Totally.
David Read:
They were conscious of families. That was very important to them, to not do too many night shifts, like Nightwalkers. Speaking of crew, I am delighted to welcome to the group, if I can get my buttons right here, Mr. Martin Wood.
Ona Grauer:
What?
Corin Nemec:
No way.
David Read:
Welcome Martin. Thank you for coming back.
Martin Wood:
Thank you for inviting me.
David Read:
Oh my gosh. This is just terrific to have all of you together. Martin, this was your second time, to my knowledge, freezing the set. You’re going back to Antarctica and recreating so much. What was it like to do this episode?
Martin Wood:
Wow. It was one of those things where the set that they built for us was absolutely spectacular. And we just got to play in this thing with the snowmobiles and with everything like that. And it was all at the Norco stage, I think. Everything was at Norco for this, I think. And Ona, I remember when we started this, we had to do the whole face thing for you, and I had to stand holding your hand while they put straws in your nose so that you could pour the mold over the top of your face so that we could put you in that block of ice. This was an amazing thing. And for me, this was one of the most memorable episodes I ever did. I don’t know if you guys remember or not, but my mom died in the middle of this episode.
David Read:
Oh my God.
Ona Grauer:
I remember that.
Martin Wood:
And I had to — I remember what scene we were in, too. Ona, you were just — You had your hand above your head, and you were frozen in the ice, and we just been talking about how long you had to be there. And I think Corin, you were in the control room watching this as all the stuff was being taken off your face. And I remember in the middle of shooting that, one specific scene where I think it was Teryl that took the burlap off your face.
Ona Grauer:
The reveal.
Martin Wood:
Yeah, the reveal. And you were in that thing with your arm above your head for so long. That whole day was you sitting in that frozen ice block like this. And everybody else got to wander around. And I remember in the middle of that, just as we were doing that scene, I got a phone call from my brother in Ontario. He said, “Come home now.” And I literally, in the middle of that scene, I went, “Oh no,” and I turned to Andy Mikita who was one of the producers in the show and I handed him my binder and my computer and I said, “Andy, I’m sorry. I have to go.” And Stargate — John Smith booked a flight that I could get on right away. And I don’t know how much I told you guys about this. When I got back — I flew home. I had to drive from Toronto to Chesley, which is where the hospital that my mom was in, and I got there, I said goodbye to her, and two hours later she died. And then I went, “Oh. I’m in the middle of a TV show that I should be directing.” And I think Andy did three days for me because it was on a Thursday or Friday. And then I think he did the rest of that Thursday, the Friday, and then I had two days of a weekend, and I came back on the Monday. And I remember the scene we came back into was you eating. Corin comes in with a tray and he starts eating it with his fingers. I’m, like, “Oh, he just touched it with his fingers and you’re gonna touch it?” And then you had to do — Do you remember that Corin, that you had to show her what food was?
Corin Nemec:
I had very clean hands.
Martin Wood:
And that was the scene I came back to after all that happened. And you guys were so amazing with me. Just the fact that I had to take off like that and that I came back and Andy had done such a great job. And you can tell. If I watched the show again, I’d be able to tell where Andy took over. Because Andy does inserts that I don’t do. He does, like, everything is inserted and everything’s — You see everything and the rest of it is me running around with a camera and doing a lot of running around shots. And Andy’s much more technical with inserts. So, in the middle of one of my episodes, there’s all these inserts.
Ona Grauer:
And you’re like, “That one’s Andy’s scene!”
Martin Wood:
That’s Andy’s scene, That’s Andy’s scene.
Ona Grauer:
That’s’ cool.
Martin Wood:
That was pretty wild.
Ona Grauer:
That’s an interesting way to think about it. Recognizing where he was in your episodes.
David Read:
And as an audience, it’s seamless because we’re not seeing that on our side.
Martin Wood:
No.
David Read:
So, we never would have known. Wow, Martin. You never shared that with us.
Corin Nemec:
And again, it’s one of my all-time favorite episodes that I got the pleasure of working on. And I do recall your mom passing away. And that was actually really rough. The couple of days working without you there, it was a little tough, man. Because we all had mothers. And I know that that’s just something that’s nobody wants to have to go through with that. And I really wasn’t expecting you back for the episode and I was amazed at how well composed you were when you arrived back. That must have been extremely challenging. But I also know the plight of the artist is, like, “You gotta finish what you started.”
Martin Wood:
It was either I could stay at home with everybody else and just start the grieving process for that or I could come back. And I remember Corin, you actually took me aside when I first got back. I think Rick was the first one to see me and then you saw me, and I think you came over and just gave me this giant hug. And it was just this feeling coming back into this family that I loved so much. It was really wild just having that embrace by everybody in professional senses and in a physical sense when I first got back. This was Season…
David Read:
Season Six.
Martin Wood:
…Five or…? Season Six. And we’d been — Corin, this was your second season?
Corin Nemec:
First.
Martin Wood:
This is your first or second…? First season.
Corin Nemec:
Well, I was in the very end, the last episode of Season Five. So, technically you’d say it was second season.
Martin Wood:
When did we do…? Which episode was the digger?
David Read:
That was Season Seven. That was next year.
Corin Nemec:
That was Season Seven. That was my last.
Martin Wood:
Because that was another one. That was another very emotional one where you had an awful lot to do in that one, Corin. And I remember, for some reason, it brought back memories of Frozen for me. There was something that you and I were doing that brought me back to memories of Frozen. I know that you and I probably talked about it at that point. I was remembering that.
Corin Nemec:
It was a great set, that episode, man. They did — That set — Just the sets are absolutely mind-blowing on Stargate. My father’s a production designer so production design to me is something that I always pay attention to. And some of the sets that I walked on when we were shooting Stargate — There was one episode. I forget the name of it, but it was an Egyptian temple one, and there’s like — It’s supposed to be under the sand, and so they had the big sand dune that went all they way up to the top of the roof of the interior.
David Read:
Abydos, probably.
Corin Nemec:
And I just could not believe it. My mind was blown. It was a very smart use of any kind of green screen work or special effects because they limited it to only what was really necessary. We had that — We did another episode where we’re shooting by a lake or something up in the mountains, and they had a sunken spaceship in the water.
Martin Wood:
The one where we were standing on this…?
Corin Nemec:
Yeah. They literally built…
David Read:
Forsaken.
Corin Nemec:
…Half of a freaking spaceship and put it in the water in this lake. And I’m just like — There could have been another way around that that wouldn’t be so costly, that wouldn’t have cost so much. But if they didn’t do it that way, it just wouldn’t have been the show that it was. So, just incredible stuff. Incredible working on those sets. Just incredible.
David Read:
Ona, I would hope that you’d be willing to reshare the note that you note earlier from Martin because I’d really like to get a comment from Major Wood here regarding the…
Ona Grauer:
Yeah, Martin. I’ve got some questions for this man!
David Read:
…The approach to a character. Go ahead, Anna.
Ona Grauer:
Do you remember putting me aside when I got the job and saying, “Everything you did in the audition is not what we want?”
Martin Wood:
I don’t remember that. I think it’s that you’re not the first person that happened to. But you’re one of the people that we had to start from scratch with. It was the whole thing with — What’s the character’s name?
David Read:
Ayiana.
Martin Wood:
Ayiana, yes. Although I think you started calling yourself Jonas at one point, didn’t you? Didn’t you think you were Jo[nas]? Or he was teaching you about names. I think you called yourself Jonas at some point.
David Read:
That may have been cut.
Ona Grauer:
I think what I did was, I think you said your name and then I must have mimicked you.
Martin Wood:
And then, I remember, he goes, “No, I’m Jonas.”
Ona Grauer:
“I’m Jonas. What is your name?”
Martin Wood:
That’s true because your character was a blank slate at the beginning. And there was all this stuff — I don’t remember the audition, but I remember thinking…
Ona Grauer:
I do.
Martin Wood:
…As you came in. Really? Tell me what happened.
David Read:
I wanna know, too.
Ona Grauer:
I think what it was, the description written on the page mirrored — It sounded to me like it mirrored Milla Jovovich in…
David Read:
Fifth Element.
Ona Grauer:
In The Fifth Element. I think there was something like that in the audition so when I booked it, and then you came to me and you said, “That is absolutely not what we’re looking for.” That’s a very distinct memory for me going, like, “We didn’t want anything that you’ve done.”
Corin Nemec:
“Congratulations. You’re hired.”
Ona Grauer:
“You’re hired.”
Martin Wood:
You did such a great job. We could see how malleable you are that we…
Ona Grauer:
This is what you sort of said. You said, “We believe that we can work through this with you but let’s leave all that out.” And I was, like, “Hmm.”
Martin Wood:
It’s a tough character. It’s a seriously tough character whenever you have to start with, “Does she recognize anything here?” The fact is that you’re like a billion years old or something and suddenly there are these lights and things. There’s the set. And I do remember when you and I walked in the first time into the set, you commenting on, “Oh, man, look at how much stuff is in here.” And I’m, like, “Remember that. Remember that feeling you have right now because that’s what it’s gonna be like when you wake up. And you’re, like, “I know, but this is pretty cool.” I’m, like, “Just make it not cool. Make it scary and make it like it’s something that your character’s never seen before.”
Ona Grauer:
And that was a strange balance to have to play because doesn’t — She has a moment where she freaks out, but she settles in pretty quickly and obviously this is for television timeline. But I remember that being a little bit difficult to play because how did she wake up in this whole new world? There’s other human beings that physically look like human beings, but they’re dressed totally different. My environment is totally different. But we didn’t take a lot of time to play that. We took a moment of it and then we moved with the story line.
David Read:
I have — Go ahead.
Martin Wood:
It’s, like, within five seconds of walking into the lab, Jonas is taking his mask off. It’s, like, “Should you be doing that? It’s not protocol.” Everybody should really be in hazmats and we’re walking around with masks on. I remember at one point Corin, you’re holding the mask up like this and it’s, like, “That’s not doing anything.” You’re walking around talking and very time you talk — Because you wanna show her your face. Do you remember that?
Ona Grauer:
Yeah, because he took the mask off because he thought it scared me or that he couldn’t…
Martin Wood:
That’s why. That’s right. Because he was the one that interpreted…
Ona Grauer:
“Because is it this? I can take it off.”
Martin Wood:
“Are you scared of us because we have…?” I forgot about that.
David Read:
I just love the impact, though, post-COVID, when I rewatched this episode for the first time since then, it’s, like, “She’s fifty million years old. They’re all 20s, 30s and 40s. I’m not surprised they got sick because it makes sense that that would happen, that she would carry, even just innocuously, stuff that was normal from her world.” That would happen. This would happen every time we did something like this.
Corin Nemec:
Or the opposite, possibly.
David Read:
That’s true, too.
Martin Wood:
Absolutely.
David Read:
Martin, did you know at the time — I would imagine that you did. How big a deal this was that this is an Ancient and, if Brad and Rob have their say, this is going places, at least in a movie, how do you — How much do you communicate this to Ona? If that’s the case, I’m assuming you wouldn’t wanna burden her with the impact of what this is to get in the way of the performance.
Martin Wood:
The thing is, it wouldn’t change anything for her because she has to start from scratch with it. I think there’s a moment, and I can’t remember how we discovered it — I think it was Fraser or was it Carter, that was comparing things to when O’Neill had the face hugger on. Was that what…
David Read:
That’s correct.
Martin Wood:
…She was comparing it to?
David Read:
Earlier evolutions of advanced forms of humanity. And Cassandra.
Martin Wood:
So, that’s how — Oh, I forgot about Cassandra. So, that’s how we figured it out. But the fact is that it wouldn’t affect Ayiana at that point because she didn’t have textual memory of that.
David Read:
Yeah, it’s gone. It’s all gone.
Martin Wood:
So, for me to say to, “Ona, you’re an Ancient,” would be like saying, “You’re from Surrey.” It’s not gonna change a lot of what she’s gonna do.
David Read:
That’s a good point. I guess it’s just an intimidation factor. It’s, like, “OK. You know that thing on the show? You built that.”
Martin Wood:
But there was a point, I think, when Corin, you were trying talk to her about the Stargate or you were trying to say something about the Stargate and then Carter tried to do the same thing where they were trying to — I can’t remember what they were — This was before we understood about power sources and things like that. And I think that you guys were trying to talk to her and there couldn’t be any recognition from it. It’s not, like, “I did that last Saturday.” See, the stuff or the filigree? That was my touch. I put that in there.
David Read:
I think that it’s one of the magical elements of this episode because on that cognitive level, no one’s home. It’s all died in there. A lot of secrets, probably good and bad secrets. This episode is just about the human connection and people finding a way to communicate. And there’s only one objective, “Heal these people who are now being harmed because of her presence.” And that’s all she does. That’s instinctually what she does, which is a far cry from the model of the what the Ancients that we later met would have done.
Martin Wood:
Right. And I think that part of it is that I don’t think Brad and Rob had figured out that far into it what the Ancients — We always had said the Ancients built all this stuff. Everything the we came across was something that the Ancients had started into… Had put into practice. But I don’t think the Ancient themselves, we had that much connection with them at that point, to be able to say, “OK. So, here’s what her civilization was.” I don’t think they knew any more than Ayiana did at that point, what her background was.
David Read:
That’s gotta be freeing. You’re writing this as you go then.
Martin Wood:
Yeah, and I think if anything, Corin’s character would have more of… Would understand more of what was going on. Just because of his… Where he came from. They understood more about the Ancients, I think, didn’t they?
David Read:
Yes. In some degrees.
Martin Wood:
I think I looked at the cast. Dorian was in this, right? His character was Thoran. Dorian Harewood.
David Read:
That was — So, that’s Abyss. Oh, yes, yes. At the very end. That’s correct. He is. I didn’t get to the last five minutes of the show today. Sorry, guys.
Martin Wood:
I looked at the cast list to see who else was in this.
David Read:
Yes, that’s correct.
Martin Wood:
Dorian was. So, we actually brought — Is Thoran his character?
David Read:
Yes, that’s correct.
Martin Wood:
We brought him back in at that point. And so, I think that Corin, your connection with that probably would have given us a little bit more background than certainly Carter would have had at that point.
David Read:
I promised you 45 minutes. Do you have to get going?
Ona Grauer:
I’m good.
Corin Nemec:
I can give you another five.
David Read:
Can I ask…?
Corin Nemec:
I do have a lunch I have to get to.
Ona Grauer:
Can I show you what I brought? Oh, sorry.
David Read:
Yes, please, go ahead.
Corin Nemec:
Yeah, let’s see it.
Martin Wood:
Oh, Pegasus medal. Nice.
Corin Nemec:
That’s rad.
David Read:
Where did you get that? I’ve never seen one.
Ona Grauer:
I know. I was going through my passport box, and it’s got some memorabilia stuff in it, and this was just in there. And I went, “That’s crazy. I still have this.” I think — I don’t know. Didn’t I sign some trading cards?
David Read:
Probably yes. Yes, that is true.
Ona Grauer:
A bunch of trading cards. And maybe I got it for that. I don’t know why I still have that.
Martin Wood:
So, do you know the significance of the coins?
Ona Grauer:
What is it?
David Read:
I’ve not seen one of those.
Martin Wood:
Because we were as Air Force show, Air Force — Every base, every department, every command has their own coins. And whenever you go from base to base, you trade coins. And it’s usually, if in a bar, it will mean somebody will buy you a beer and thing is the bigger the personages on the coin, depending on where you’re from — I [got] them when I was at NORAD. I got coins from them. But I also got Secretary of Defense. I got his coin. And that was a big deal. And so, I would carry it whenever I went. And when I did the Netflix movie Operation Christmas Drop, I took it with me. And at that point, his name was still known as the Secretary of Defense So, it was one of those coins. When we went to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, I’m, like — So, you’ve have a Pegasus one, which was obviously — I think it was probably…
David Read:
Atlantis.
Martin Wood:
Atlantis, yeah.
David Read:
She was the first one. Her and her partner were on screen together for your introductory episode. What a beauty.
Martin Wood:
That’s it.
Ona Grauer:
I’m so glad I found it in time. I’d have been really bummed if we did this interview and then I found it a week later. I’d been, like, “No!”
Corin Nemec:
I have my grandfather’s coin. He was in the Air Force. He was in a lot of other areas of the military, but he was in the Air Force during World War II and then was in the counterintelligence corps during the Cold War, and then was the head of [Strategic Air Command] in Arkansas.
Martin Wood:
Oh, wow.
Corin Nemec:
For the rest of his career. So, I have one of these coins that I cherish as well.
David Read:
Corin, I’m gonna go ahead and finish up the last few minutes here with Ona and Martin if that’s OK with you.
Corin Nemec:
Yes, sir.
David Read:
Thank you so much.
Corin Nemec:
I hate to say it.
David Read:
No, it’s OK.
Corin Nemec:
I got a family lunch I gotta get to.
David Read:
Absolutely.
Corin Nemec:
And they’re always…
David Read:
I really appreciate you coming by and making this such a special experience for all of us.
Martin Wood:
It’s so good to see you, brother. It really is.
Corin Nemec:
You too, man. Absolutely. You look great, Martin. Everybody looks great.
Martin Wood:
Thanks.
Corin Nemec:
And it’s glad to see that we haven’t all shriveled up and started to prune. Wonderful. Good time. God bless you all. Much love and I hope to see you all down the road in person sometimes. That’d be great.
Ona Grauer:
Would be amazing.
Martin Wood:
Take care of yourself, my friend.
David Read:
Thank you, Corin.
Corin Nemec:
Cheers. You bet.
David Read:
Alright, let me go ahead and just a few more minutes with you guys. Let me set this thing back up over here. I’ve got some fan questions for you, Ona. Let me see here. And Martin may be able to contribute. Let me switch this back here. OK. So, alright. So, Martin’s gonna be Jonas for a minute here.
Martin Wood:
I get to be Jonas Quinn.
David Read:
You’re gonna be Jonas Quinn. Ona, so, Kevin Weaver wanted to know about a fun beat from Archer, which I just watched…
Ona Grauer:
Oh, my goodness.
David Read:
…Last night and oh my God, do I have thoughts on this thing. But I love this character. She’s here and then what? She’s taken out like that. So, Martin, Ona plays Russian spy, former KGB…
Ona Grauer:
Former KGB.
David Read:
Oh, God, that voice… In Archer. Have you seen Archer, Martin?
Martin Wood:
No.
David Read:
It is unique taste. Da.
Ona Grauer:
It’s an animated series, Martin.
Martin Wood:
I do know the series. I think I may have watched an episode, but I don’t know it very well.
Ona Grauer:
Yeah.
David Read:
Any highlights from that, Ona?
Ona Grauer:
That show was insane because, as you know, some of the things that they say — So, I’d be in the recording booth and would go to say her lines, and I would just stop and go, “I can’t say this.”
David Read:
It’s really crass and humor is very sophisticated at the same time so it’s a weird juxtaposition. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Ona Grauer:
Yeah, exactly. So, recording it sometimes when you’d hear — Because I recorded it in Vancouver and then they mostly recorded it out of Atlanta. So, they would fill in for some of the dialogue. But we had to stop and laugh so many times. I ruined so many takes because I was, like, “This is…” I was, like, “You can’t say this out loud you guys.”
David Read:
“It’s being broadcast to everyone. That’s this gonna do? Don’t show this to my kids.”
Ona Grauer:
Oh, my kids watch it. They love it.
David Read:
Oh my God. So, a friend of mine Bernd Backhaus sent me a message that he wanted to ask you but coincidentally enough, just after he did, he sent me this real quick. I hope you guys can see this addendum. “I just turned on my TV for dinner entertainment and look who appeared on exactly in that moment. I swear I did not know that Seattle Superstorm would be on cable.”
Ona Grauer:
No way.
David Read:
So, isn’t that just wild?
Ona Grauer:
That is wild.
Martin Wood:
Oh, and Matty Finochio.
Ona Grauer:
Aww, Matty Finochio. “Finokes!”
David Read:
He asks, “Ona, is it true you got into acting through your mother who was a caterer for MacGyver?”
Ona Grauer:
She was a caterer on MacGyver briefly but that’s not how I got into acting.
David Read:
That’s not how? OK. Krisztina Harmatí, “Was there anything unique about acting on Stargate or about your experience with the Stargate production?” Because you are one of eight or some odd… I’m gonna have to get exact number… Who have done… Speaking actors, who have done all three. Anything unique or interesting about that production.
Ona Grauer:
That’s my crass joke when I’m at conventions. I say I’m the Stargate slut because I’ve done them all. People do ask. They’re, like, “You’ve been in all three.” All three franchises. I guess franchises. Like I said earlier, the Frozen episode to me is really significant personally because I had just had a baby. It was my first job back and I do remember production just being so cognizant that that was happening, that I was still breastfeeding, that my mom was there with me. So, even when I had lay in the mold for a very long time, I remember we had to discuss when am I gonna…
Martin Wood:
How am I gonna get out?
Ona Grauer:
“How long it’s gonna be before I can go and breastfeed?”
David Read:
And you’re hearing — I remember you telling me you were hearing your baby crying and that produces a physiological response and it’s, like, “Wow.”
Ona Grauer:
Yes.
David Read:
And Martin, you guys accommodated.
Ona Grauer:
And I was young. 26 or something. 26-27. Certainly, I was a new mom. The whole thing was such a new experience for me and then I was very excited to be back into acting but I do remember just how absolutely wonderful everybody was with me, and I just appreciated it so much.
David Read:
Martin, you directed Rising.
Martin Wood:
Yes.
David Read:
I’ve always wanted to ask this, so this is perfect. Was it always, as far as you were aware, Brad and Rob’s intent to put Anna in the opening scene or was it an afterthought? Where it’s, like, “Maybe we could do this. Let’s check her availability.” What was the thought process?
Martin Wood:
I don’t remember whose idea it was, but I remember it was very early on in the process when we were talking about these two people escape. And I think it was — I’m sure it was either Brad or Rob that came up with the idea that, “Hey, we have established Ancients that we could do this with.”
David Read:
And leave it ambiguous.
Martin Wood:
Yeah.
David Read:
I always hoped that we would go back to them in some way like they did in Before I Sleep with the council. It’s, like, “What was going on there?” Because they never explored the plague at all, and it just devasted our galaxy.
Martin Wood:
I think there was — This may be a false memory, but I remember thinking when we were doing 200 that we were — It was something to do with…
David Read:
It’s OK.
Martin Wood:
Honestly, I don’t remember well enough, but I think we talked about something on the 200th about bringing back the two plague Ancients.
David Read:
So, he was a carrier, too?
Martin Wood:
I assumed that that was the case, that we knew that there was something going on with that, that they had no idea that they had this.
David Read:
I always thought he boarded the ship and took off. I never thought of it that way. Poor girl. You were left — The guy did — Not only was he still around but he split. “You go that way. I’ll take that sheet of ice. I’ll go that way.”
Martin Wood:
We didn’t give any way for them to have cured themselves from it. And because she wasn’t reactive to it…
David Read:
Patient Zero. I thought that.
Martin Wood:
Yeah, interesting. I don’t remember that enough. I do remember thinking at one point, when we were talking about, “Should we go to these planets and watch their planets explode” and this kind of stuff. And all the things that we were playing around with that. There was one thing that we talked about with Ancients coming back, whether be like, “Oh, this is the wrong place for us to be.” But the 200th was so hilarious because it was all the writers putting in their ideas, and then there was all this stuff they just cull to get to what we ended up with 200. And all of it was crazy.
David Read:
Ona, Urius Tosh wanted to know, “Did you have experience of doing non-verbal acting prior to Ayiana? And how difficult really was it to find your feet in that?” I know we talked a little bit about it before. Hope you can lean into it a bit more.
Ona Grauer:
No, I had never been asked to not speak before. I think… I don’t know Martin if you remember, too… I think we were all discovering it together. I think that you had a sense of what you wanted but until you see what works and what doesn’t — And I feel like we got there, and we were discovering the levels of it together.
Martin Wood:
Absolutely. I think the one conversation that I remember you and I had very distinctly about it was, she can’t — She’s so far ahead of them in terms of intelligence that it can’t happen the way it would happen for you or me if we got bumped in the head. “Oh, I don’t know where I am. Where am I?” It’s not gonna be that kind of thing. It’s gonna be… Everything is seen. Everything is absorbed. Everything is taken in. Everything is — So, that even when you’re experimenting with language, it’s not just, “I’m gonna repeat this word.” It’s, “I understand how this word was used in your expression on your face,” when you said, and I don’t remember the word was, like, “Wonderful,” or something like that. It was, like, “That’s just wonderful. Amazing. Amazing.” And you said — You just kept repeating, “Amazing.” It’s not that you learned to parrot the word back. It’s that you saw the expression on his face and you took that in. And when you’re that much smarter than everybody else, you can go, “OK. This word elicits this. This does this.” And when you had cured one of the guys. I don’t remember which ones of them was down. The first time when we saw you cure them and they were on the operating table, and I remember just saying to you, “It’s not like you’re walking in and going, ‘What’s going on?’ It’s, ‘I understand what’s going on. I’m looking for an opening. I know what I can do. I’m looking for an opening.’” And I think that that was part of it for the character in here is… Imagine that you’re the smartest person in the room but you can’t speak. And you can still do all of that discovery without having to do — It’s not child learning. It’s not, “CAT is cat.” It’s point to it and say, “Cat.” And it’s, like, “OK. I get it. Now, if I understand how the words are — How those letters work. I can also understand the alphabet, and I can also understand this, and I can also understand…” You’re able to extrapolate way faster than any of us ever could.
David Read:
But she also doesn’t have time to allow them to figure it out. People are dropping like flies and at a certain point she just goes in and says, “I gotta do this,” and gives her life for it. I think it’s one of the most beautiful episodes that you guys did. And it’s a gem among diamonds, whichever is more precious, in the franchise. Martin, thank you for being so open with that. Yes, Jonas. Martin Wood. Corin Nemec. Thank you for being so open with your stories, and that’s — You guys really had a family going. I know it’s a cliché but it’s the truth with this cast and crew. And Ona, I’m privileged to finally have you on the show. It means so much to me to have you here. I would love to have you back next year and to talk more about your larger career but specifically what it is that you’re doing now because I have a lot of folks who come on, who watch the show with their kids. And I’ve been emailed repeatedly saying, “I think my kids are interested in that.” I would love to hear your perspective more in depth on what it is that you do and the traffic cones that you put out to give the parents and young adults early warning about what’s to come for them. But also, the joys that come with this process as well. And the work ethics that gets built in, as I’m sure Martin can speak to, with especially…
Ona Grauer:
Yeah. And it’s a good balance. I’m pretty real with the families. Supportive but real. And if I get a sense that somebody is just in it for fame, I can make some adjustments, I think, for them.
David Read:
Martin, do you have — Ona is coaching young actors now, along with the parents. What is it that you look for in…
Martin Wood:
As it should be.
David Read:
What is it that you look for when you are auditioning kids?
Martin Wood:
Not complacency. If somebody comes in and they do the scene, they’re, like, “There it is.” It’s, like, “I want them to be curious about it. I want them to be — I want them to wonder what this character is. I want them…” Because what happens is, you have to — As a director, you’re constantly looking for the failing of, “This is what the parent taught you to do, and there is nothing beyond that.” So, if you have to change something or anything has to happen, or if you don’t like what the parent did in terms of… They taught you to say it like this and you can’t say it like that. So, you need to say it like this. It’s, like, “I can’t. I only know hot to say it like this.” And that’s for me is the fear of having, especially young children doing it, is they’ll come in and mimic what the parents have given them, but they don’t have a sense beyond that. I think the best kid actors that I know come in and go, “Hey, I wanna play around with this a little bit. I wanna do something more with it. I wanna try something different.” Without being too clever with it and things like that. And I think that comes with when you get kids that have been on set for a long time. If they grow up in it, they know that a little bit more, but they also sometimes have this attitude at that point. It’s interesting. I’m working on a show right now where I’ve got a whole bunch of kids that I’ve known for 13 seasons now. Some of them I cast originally and some of them have come in over this time.
Ona Grauer:
Which show you’re working on?
Martin Wood:
And you can see — Right now I’m just doing When Calls the Heart.
Ona Grauer:
Yes, yes, yes.
Martin Wood:
And there’s some of them that started, and I was there for their first day on set, and now I watch them and some of them are bored with being at it, and some of them are — There’s a couple that are so locked in and so engaged, and you go, “You’re gonna go far with this.” So, it’s tough because you know that you’re always looking for that. As a director you’re always looking for kids that can do something other than just parrot how they’ve been trained to say a line.
David Read:
You expect so much more out of them now than just a few decades ago even. The level of sophistication. The programming. I can see Ona where this would be such a calling for you. Guys, this has been tremendous.
Martin Wood:
And very necessary to our industry by the way. Thank you so much for doing it, Ona. Because you see it all the time. You just need actors telling them, “Guys, this is what it’s all about. Make yourself comfortable with this. Understand what’s going on. This is the process. Understand the process. It’s really quick. Now, learn to act inside that.”
Ona Grauer:
Yes.
Martin Wood:
“Rather than just saying the script.” Good for you. I think that’s fantastic.
Ona Grauer:
I’m loving it.
David Read:
Folks, this was so wonderful. I appreciate you, Ona, taking a little bit more extra time. I know we went over. Martin, always a treat to have you on, sir.
Martin Wood:
Thank you, my friend. I will do it as much as I can. You know that.
David Read:
I am so thankful. Ona, thank you again for coming to the show.
Ona Grauer:
Thank you so much. And Martin, it was so nice to see you. I haven’t seen you in years.
Martin Wood:
You too. You haven’t? I think I had an audition from you at one point, and I went, “Oh my God, she’s still gorgeous.” And it’s been so many years since we’ve seen each other. So, it was fantastic.
Ona Grauer:
I’ll see you soon, I hope.
Martin Wood:
Yeah.
Ona Grauer:
Somewhere. Somewhere in this…
Martin Wood:
Somewhere in the milieu that we move around in.
David Read:
It’s a big industry up there. Guys, I’m gonna go ahead and wrap up the show on this side. If you gotta split, I understand, but thank you both so much.
Ona Grauer:
OK. David, thank you so much.
Martin Wood:
Thank you.
Ona Grauer:
Thank you.
Martin Wood:
Thanks.
Ona Grauer:
Bye guys.
Martin Wood:
We’ll talk soon, Ona.
Ona Grauer:
Bye.
David Read:
Absolutely.
David Read:
That is Ona Grauer. Ayiana in Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis. And also, she played Emily Young in Stargate Universe. Corin Nemec played Jonas Quinn. And Martin Wood. Director. Producer. You’re watching Stargate — You’re watching the Stargate Oral History Project, Dial the Gate. I have been blessed to do this show now for five and a half seasons and this one was one that I hoped that we would do early on. Wasn’t entirely sure if we were gonna make it happen but we did today. And thankfully, everyone was able to make this work, and Martin surprised them. The man pulls rabbits out of hats. He is an awesome guy. I’ve got a couple of archived questions here from previous episodes. One certainly applies to a previous episode. Wodclerc, “Can’t you collect everything that doesn’t get shown in the Remembering Don S. Davis on a dedicated page on the website? People can then browse them at their own time afterwards.” It’s not a bad idea. I would wanna — Let me noodle that. But that’s the next iteration of the site, for sure. Jedted, “Any chance of getting the Dial the Gate fan interviews coming back?” I could ask Gary Jones if he’d be down. I think he probably would but a lot of that ran its course in terms of the topics that we wanted to cover. I would have to have a concise group of fans who wanna share some different stories than we heard before. We’ve certainly covered the type of fans who, “I was down, and Stargate lifted me up,” and the cosplay and a few other things. But there’s probably avenues there to continue to mine. So, I’ll keep that in mind. We’ve got a number of episodes still heading your way through the year, planning on going until around November. Hopefully not December but it’s probably gonna happen. But it shouldn’t be because I’m gonna be pretty busy by then. But at least through October and a little bit of November. I really appreciate you tuning in. My tremendous thanks to my moderating team. These guys pull this thing off week after week. Antony, Jeremy, Kevin, Lockwatcher, Marcia, Raj and Jakub. I cannot do the show without you guys. And we bring you this series for free. It’s important to me that we do it this way. And if you could be gracious enough to click the Like button if you enjoyed the episode, it does make a difference with YouTube and will continue to help us grow the audience. Please also consider sharing the video with a Stargate friend. And if you wanna get notified about future episodes, click Subscribe. And giving the bell icon a click will notify you the moment a new video drops and you’ll get my notifications of any last-minute guest changes. And clips from this live stream will be released over the course of next few weeks on both the Dial the Gate and GateWorld.net YouTube channels. Wormhole X-Tremists! is coming up to you at the top of the hour about 49 minutes away. In this episode, we are going back to SG-1 and Atlantis. This time we are covering Season Eight’s Icon and Season One’s Suspicion. So, we’ve been away for a little bit but we’re gonna get this rolling again. That’s what we’ve got going on for you today. Stay tuned to dialthegate.com for upcoming episodes and the schedule. As soon as something is nailed down, we’ll get it moving on. A lot of different moving parts right now. And it’s frankly been nice to sit back and slow down on the live streams for a little bit. Did really heavy in the first half of the season but let’s see where things go. Maybe time to jump in the saddle and do a couple more in terms of volume again. But a lot of irons in my fire, in my personal life right now. And it’s been great to have the best of both worlds. Appreciate you tuning in. My name is David Read for Dial the Gate and I will see you on the other side.