Joseph Mallozzi returns for his sixth installment with Dial the Gate! For the month of March we explore Season Eight of Stargate SG-1 and cover episodes such as “New Order,” “Full Alert” and “Moebius.” He also answers your questions LIVE!

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Timecodes
0:00 – Splash Screen
00:25 – Opening Credits
01:00 – Welcome and Episode Outline
01:27 – Call to Action
02:06 – Guest Introduction
04:50 – Season Eight
07:23 – Jessica Steen to Torri Higginson (Dr.Weir)
08:48 – “New Order, Part 1” (SG-1 8×01)
12:16 – “Lockdown” (SG-1 8×03)
16:01 – “Endgame” (SG-1 8×10)
19:02 – “It’s Good to Be King” (SG-1 8×13) and Tom McBeath as Maybourne
22:59 – Was Major Evan Lorne meant to be on Atlantis?
25:40 – Citizen Joe (SG-1 8×15)
27:41 – Communication Stones
31:22 – Earth Scenes in SGU
32:54 – Moebius (SG-1 8×19&20)
38:01 – SG-1 Season Eight and SGA Season One
40:30 – Moving into Season Nine without Richard Dean Anderson
43:09 – Forest Whitaker likes Stargate
44:30 – Harry Maybourne as King
45:37 – Earth technology vs alien technology
48:15 – Area 51
50:30 – SGU Season Three
52:38 – New Stargate
55:37 – Vala Mal Doran (Claudia Black)
57:23 – Was Christopher Judge the one that came up with Jaffa culture?
58:13 – When would you know that you’d get picked up for a new season?
1:03:11 – Resource issues on Atlantis
1:06:34 – Dubs in other languages
1:09:07 – Anubis’s transition to partial ascension
1:10:32 – Aliens on Stargate don’t speak English
1:12:15 – Thank you, Joe!
1:13:40 – Post-Interview Housekeeping
1:27:18 – End Credits

***

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TRANSCRIPT
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David Read:
Welcome to Dial the Gate, everyone. My name is David Read. Thank you so much for joining us on this Sunday. We usually record Sundays. Thank you so much for joining us. I’ve got Joseph Mallozzi waiting, standing by here for some discussion on Season Eight. We are moving on through SG-1. Pretty soon we’ll be hitting Atlantis. Thank you so much for joining us. Before we get started, if you like Stargate and you wanna see more content like this on YouTube, it would mean a great deal if you click the Like button. It really makes a difference with YouTube’s algorithm and will definitely help the show grow its audience. Please also consider sharing this video with a Stargate friend. And if you want to get notified about future episodes, click the Subscribe icon. 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. This is key if you plan on watching live, and clips from this live stream will be released over the course of the next several days on both the Dial the Gate and gateworld.net YouTube channels. Without further ado, let’s bring in Mr. Joseph Mallozzi, writer and executive producer of Stargate SG-1. Welcome again, sir. Thank you so much for being here.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Good to see you again.

David Read:
I wanted to know if you had seen this. This was concept art for the cover of Stargate Worlds, for the box, the box art.

Joseph Mallozzi:
No, I hadn’t seen that. Pretty cool.

David Read:
It’s extremely– It’s one of my few pieces from that time in my life. And I always wondered, did you have any communication with Brad and Rob in terms of where they were going with this project? Because I know that they were consulting on it.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Not really. I feel it’s such a blur now because there were so many– I feel those games that started and stopped and then faded away. So, I remember seeing a bunch of stuff, and I remember Brad and Robert being in those discussions. But after the first few just kind of came and went, I honestly stopped paying attention.

David Read:
No, that’s certainly fair. Almost at a certain point it’s like, “OK, I’ve got to protect myself from abuse, because nothing is happening.” There were some that were– Did you ever play the Stargate SG-1: Unleashed that came out on mobile devices?

Joseph Mallozzi:
I did not.

David Read:
Oh man, it was good. It was well done. It was point-and-tap, and it was full cast voiceovers. It was pretty well done. I was impressed, and it was so disappointing to see the whole thing get shut down.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yeah. It’s too bad. I think one of the reasons why is because it’s always interesting to go on those adventures with SG-1, but I think the real fun for a fan would be to, say, do an adventure in the writers’ room where you break a story for like six hours. And then you spend a half an hour deciding what you’re gonna get for lunch. And then basically, the lunch order comes in, and you’re missing your sushi, and then you gotta send someone back to go get the lunch. It’s just basically you never know. It’s constant curveballs being thrown at you.

David Read:
These are important decisions.

Joseph Mallozzi:
I’ve never seen a game like that.

David Read:
Shows get made. This is what happens. That’s great. Absolutely. Let’s talk about Season Eight.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Great.

David Read:
So, we have another– So, this is the… Six, Seven, Eight. This is the third season on Sci-Fi channel.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes.

David Read:
And once again you guys are thinking that, “You know what? This is probably gonna be it.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yep.

David Read:
Rick, I’m guessing in Season Seven, please correct me if I’m wrong, Rick is saying, “This is probably my last year.” Was that the case? Or–

Joseph Mallozzi:
I think Rick was saying that for a while. And I think he finally made the decision heading into Eight, and so we wrapped things up.

David Read:
I always thought that the show would end on fishing. And it’s interesting that Season Eight does. But not only does it, but it does twice. And it’s– I think it’s a great–

Joseph Mallozzi:
I’m just saying in a way really Season Eight is the end of what some people term classic SG-1. Because I think I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, Brad and Robert had an idea for a spinoff called Stargate Command, which ultimately kind of became SG-1’s ninth and 10th seasons.

David Read:
And it would structurally have basically been the same show but branding it would have– There’s some thought that branding it differently would’ve, would’ve given it a different kind of almost new legs with the network. I don’t know contractually how things would have moved around, but it would have almost have been, as far as the network is concerned, a reset with a new show. Is that fair? Or is that not really the case?

Joseph Mallozzi:
No, that is fair. But on the other hand, I wonder if Atlantis would have come about, for instance, if we would’ve been doing …

David Read:
That’s true.

Joseph Mallozzi:
… Stargate Command.

David Read:
That’s a fair point. Let’s take a look at some of your Season Eight episodes.

Joseph Mallozzi:
All right.

David Read:
So, you open the season going right back to picking up the pieces where we left off in “Lost City.” Jack’s frozen down in Antarctica and we’ve got Elizabeth Weir in charge of the SGC. So, we went from Jessica Steen to Torri Higginson. And I was expecting the story to have something like, “Oh, Dr. Weir, did you change your hair color?” “Oh no, I just went back to the original color. I’ve always been a brunette. The blonde was just a phase.” Some kind of hanging a lantern, acknowledging that there was this change in cast. But you guys were like, “You know what? Let’s just move on with the story.” Was there any conscious thought potentially, “Let’s acknowledge this in some way. Let’s…?” Or Torri always said, “You got a new shirt. Oh, it’s a nice new shirt.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
No, any acknowledgement would have been just that, kind of meta. And we elected not to, although, I mean, there were plenty of times when we did do that for some reason.

David Read:
I was gonna say, when Vala comes through the gate and she says, “I don’t know you. I would remember you.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes.

David Read:
It’s like, “Ben Browder?” That’s a different situation, I think that’s fair, because that’s a sci-fi series that a lot of Stargate fans had watched. In that specific situation, you’re acknowledging a series connection there. Absolutely. “New Order Part 1,” we also– If I’m not mistaken, we also bring back Patrick Curry in the first hour, if I’m remembering correctly. I think that that’s the case. What was it like revisiting that arc from Season Six?

Joseph Mallozzi:
It’s actually one of my favorite Season Six arcs. And I love the character of Fifth. And in general, I really like the episode for its guest stars because I always like the color of the varied System Lords. So, we had Kira Clavell as Amaterasu. We had Steve Bacic, who’s always fantastic, as Camulus. It really felt like we went right back to the roots of the show. Just because SG-1 was always kind of a mix of the show mythology that we’ve grown so used to that had a lot of serialized elements, but on the other hand, a lot of the more standalone, out there episodes that really had no connection to the past. And this one had very much a connection to the past. It was a lot of fun in that respect.

David Read:
“New Order,” in so many respects, is giving birth to new content from gestating pieces over the seasons. You kind of get– It’s almost a “Summit” part two, with bringing in Amaterasu and Camulus. You also evolve the Replicators even further. I know you were in the writers’ room when they were talking about making a Carter villain. Tell us about turning– I know it wasn’t specifically your written by, but, at the same time, that’s a big deal, getting a Replicator Carter.

Joseph Mallozzi:
One of the great things about sci-fi is you can always play with stuff like that, usually through time travel, or the road not taken, or parallel universe stories where you kind of investigate our milieu or our characters through a completely different lens. Kind of the classic bearded evil Spock. It’s always fun to sort of do a twist, a really warped twist on our characters. And I forget who came up with the idea. I’m sure it was either Brad or Robert. But I love it, and I’m sure — I was about to call her Samantha — Amanda loved playing the bad guy.

David Read:
I think that could have gone for another season. I think there could’ve been more mileage out of that.

Joseph Mallozzi:
A great big bad. Absolutely.

David Read:
Give her more insidiousness. Don’t get me wrong, “Gemini’s” a great script. But I always felt, you know what? I wish that they hadn’t knocked her off so quickly. Again, thinking Season Eight, it’s probably gonna be the last season, so you’re not gonna leave fans hanging on this one, which was probably the better call. Exactly. “Lockdown,” the return of Anubis.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes.

David Read:
Which surprised me. Because I was like, “OK, we’re done with this arc.” Then you guys are like, “No, no, we’ve had–”

Joseph Mallozzi:
We’ll have one more kick at the dog.

David Read:
“We’re gonna have another season.” What was the nucleus of “Lockdown?” Was that it?

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yeah. As I mentioned back at the end of Season Four, Paul and I, we were like, “I don’t know how we’re gonna be able to come up with new, original ideas for Season Five,” and then we ultimately discovered that the past, the show’s mythology, episodes we’ve done before, are rich fodder for new stories. I always liked Anubis as a villain. He was actually one of my favorites. So, it was fun, in a way, to bring him back. It’s interesting also that our guest star, Gavin Hood, who plays our General, went on to, I think, win an Oscar for directing– I forget what the– It was a Russian film, and he also went on to direct one of the Marvel movies. I think it was Wolverine or–

David Read:
Exactly. And Ender’s Game, I love, too.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Great.

David Read:
He was great with that. So, yeah, very talented guy for sure. I would have loved to have seen him again in some capacity. But again, it’s one of those situations where, “Nope, this is it based on the needs of the story.” With “Lockdown,” in hindsight, I’m curious to see if you share the thought process on that. Because of where it went with later in the season, him sitting on another throne, I think in hindsight, for me personally, narratively, it would have made sense for him to successfully escape. Because when he ends up on the ice planet, it’s like, “OK, how did he get out of that situation?” That had to have been it. He had to have had some kind of ascended help. That was the only door that he could walk through, as far as I’m concerned.

Joseph Mallozzi:
System Lords have always been a resourceful bunch.

David Read:
Did you know at the end of “Lockdown” that you were bringing him back later on in the season?

Joseph Mallozzi:
No. What was the name of the episode where we brought him back?

David Read:
“Reckoning Part One.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yeah, “Reckoning Part One.” Yeah, no, I think at that point we did not, because I think we usually went off, we would spin the ideas for the following season and usually we’d get up to like seven, maybe eight episodes broken, and then we’d all go off and write and then we’d come back and resume and spin. So, basically at that point, I think “Lockdown,” it was episode three.

David Read:
Yes.

Joseph Mallozzi:
And then I’m not sure, but it was definitely in the back half of the season. I think episode 16 or 17.

David Read:
Before you go away to write the first chunk knowing that the back half is gonna exist, typically on a season would you guys have an idea of the broader beats that you would want to hit by the end of that season firmly placed or relatively globularly placed in your minds so that, “OK, we can’t deal with these things now. We deliberately want to save XYZ later.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes. Usually, we always have a pretty good idea of the overall blueprint for the season and where we want it to end up.

David Read:
That’s pretty legit. Thank you. We have “Endgame.” Which is the final episode for Ronnie Cox.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yeah.

David Read:
I know, and we’re expanding the idea of the Trust. I think this was the episode–if I’m not mistaken, there was one before it–that there was a reversal in terms of the information where Daniel found out that they were called The Trust before that was meant to be revealed. This was one of those where there was some kind of technical information that was accidentally reversed in the episodes, if I’m not mistaken. Correct? Tell us about “Endgame.” More stuff with the Russians, the Goa’uld are on Earth.

Joseph Mallozzi:
More stuff… That was actually quite a fun episode. Like you said, Ronnie Cox, having him back, and Ronnie’s always a delight. I mentioned how I ran into him in L.A. a couple of years ago at a diner, and I was like, “Hey, Ronnie.” And I wanted to say, “I worked with you on Stargate.” And he was so complimentary about his time on Stargate and how sort of the production treated him really well. So, that’s always nice. And really, the idea for “Endgame” came about as a result of, I think it was an idea that Brad had, and it was more the visual of coming down to the Gate room and the Gate not being there. That’s the story. So, we had to figure out a way to get the Gate out.

David Read:
Osiris had a ship in orbit. It’s been orbiting for a little less than a season, a little less than a year at that point. That’s a great nugget: “Well, she had to have come from somewhere.” That’s another one that I wish we had always gone back to, was Sarah Gardner, because Anna-Louise was brilliant.

Joseph Mallozzi:
She was.

David Read:
Was there ever any — side question — consideration for bringing her back? Was it just that the story didn’t come up, or did she say, “You know what, I’m not gonna be available for the next little while.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
No, no. She was a great villain. I think, like you said, you head into the season assuming it’s your last. So, there are things you want to sort of deal with …

David Read:
We resolved her.

Joseph Mallozzi:
… since it’s gonna be your last season.

David Read:
That’s fair.

Joseph Mallozzi:
That was a point of focus, and I would’ve loved to have had her back if we would’ve had a story specific to her character.

David Read:
Absolutely. I think I got it mixed up. I think I mentioned that “Endgame” had the Russians. I don’t think we get the Russians until “Full Alert,” so I’m wrong about that. I apologize. “It’s Good to Be King,” another resolution for one of our favorite guests, Tom McBeath. It’s not so much a resolution as it is … because, in Season Six, he really had one with “Paradise Lost.” But this is one of those where, if we’ve got the time, let’s check in on Harry and see what’s up. So, tell us about “It’s Good to Be King.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
We always kinda liked the funny episodes. And even overall, I think Stargate SG-1 especially was infused with a certain sense of humor throughout all its episodes. But occasionally you would do those episodes that would veer more into the humor, and it was a no-brainer for us because we kinda loved the Jack/Harry relationship that …

David Read:
And Rick did too.

Joseph Mallozzi:
… Brad and Robert. It was a fun episode, and I remember Wayne Brady guest starred.

David Read:
Yes, he did.

Joseph Mallozzi:
And I remember being told about Wayne Brady was in wardrobe, so usually, on my episode, I like to go down and say, “Hey, welcome to Stargate.” And I went down to welcome Wayne Brady to Stargate, and he was trying on his Jaffa uniform, and I was like, “Hey, welcome to Stargate,” but he was so tuned out. He was focused on how cool he looked in his Jaffa uniform. It was great. And he was super nice. He was doing a comedy show in Vancouver around the same time, and he offered the crew tickets, and it was one of those episodes that I think back to fondly on sort of the production, and the performances as well. Tom is always excellent, but he really makes a meal out of this one.

David Read:
Man, that scene. They’re walking up, and he’s got the fruit in his mouth. It’s just so funny. I love the scene when he admits to the town that he’s not a prophet. I think her name was Garan, she’s like, “Our legal code, our aqueduct system or something similar, were these all written on the walls?” He’s like, “No, I came up with them.” And yeah, this guy has come a long way. And they vote him back in anyway. Or they keep him where he is. And SG-1’s like, “Well, we tried.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
A nice little redemption beat for a character.

David Read:
Absolutely. We’re not– Not all the villains are destined for the gutter.

Joseph Mallozzi:
And I don’t know if he was always– He was more a thorn in SG-1’s side rather than, I guess, being an out-and-out villain. I think he started as a villain. And then became a more colorful, I guess, agent of chaos, if you will.

David Read:
That’s fair. Definitely a wild card. He’s SG-1’s version of the Genii. And those kinds of elements. Man, I really mixed these two up, “Full Alert” and “Endgame.” I apologize. But yeah, the “Full Alert,” the Russian elements, another one of the earlier appearances of Mike Dopud as a Russian. What a fantastic actor.

Joseph Mallozzi:
He is.

David Read:
Talk about someone who makes a meal out of characters, this guy, he had played, in some respects, in SG-1 as Odai Ventrell.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes.

David Read:
The perfect person that you would think would get sucked up into the Lucian Alliance. So, when he was Varro for a while there, I thought that that was him. But in some cases–

Joseph Mallozzi:
Who knows? It could very well be. He could be operating under an assumed name.

David Read:
Assumed name. Absolutely. For sure. There are certain circumstances where you guys, Lorne for instance, Kavan Smith was introduced in Season Seven, and then you bring him back in two years later for Atlantis Season Two. What is the process by which you say, “Well, we’re bringing this character–” For Lorne, for example, was Lorne meant to be on Atlantis or was it that Kavan was hired, and then it’s like, you know what? He already played this military guy over here. Depending on who wrote the episode, because there’s, I’m sure, a percentage, because whoever it was created that character gets, I believe, a percentage for bringing them back in. When is it decided when that’s gonna be the case?

Joseph Mallozzi:
Really, honestly, that really has nothing to do with it.

David Read:
It doesn’t?

Joseph Mallozzi:
No. I think, to be honest with you, I forget how exactly it works, but percentages and royalties are never really figured into it. It’s really more comes down to sort of what serves the story and how much we like the character. The perfect example of that is McKay. What David Hewlett did with that performance, and just the fact that we were short a crew member on Atlantis, and then Rob floated the idea of McKay, and then he just–

David Read:
That’s all she wrote, man.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Boom, and it’s the same thing with Robert Picardo’s Woolsey. He was a character who, the pencil-pushing bureaucrat who we loved in his one guest spot, and so we brought him back, and brought him back again. And every time we would bring him back, we’d flesh out his character a little more to the point where basically he becomes a lovable commander of the Atlantis expedition. But his character doesn’t really change. You just get to know him better and so you kind of get where he’s coming from.

David Read:
That was the thing with McKay as well, you never took away that edge that he had in “48 Hours.” And that was the fun of it. And I don’t know if I mentioned this to you or someone else, but I remember thinking to myself when I saw the promotional shots for Atlantis and David Hewlett was there, I remember telling Darren, “This is going to be a disaster. No one’s gonna like this guy.” But that’s not what happened. My expectations were absolutely defied every step of the way for David Hewlett because the fan base was willing to give him a free pass. I don’t know if they would in this day and age. If the character came on now, but then it was, “Let’s just see what he can do.” And he was just magic. So, it’s just ridiculous.

David Read:
“Citizen Joe.” Dan Castellaneta. When did he come into the process for this? Was it just a coup that you guys got him when you did, ’cause it was well down the pipeline, or..?

Joseph Mallozzi:
It was kind of a coup.

David Read:
It was definitely a coup, let me say that.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Now Richard Dean Anderson was obviously a huge Simpsons fan.

David Read:
And he’d already done The Simpsons, so they owed him one.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes. So, no, actually I think it might have been the other way around. He was actually invited to do a script read — I could be wrong — or take part in a script reading. He went in and he met everyone and he loved it. And then we were looking to cast, and we ended up casting Dan ’cause Rick had met him, and he was great in the episode. And then I believe subsequently Dan got a writing assignment on The Simpsons and he repaid us by writing them in. And I could be wrong, but maybe check the date on maybe that, that, you know …

David Read:
“Citizen Joe.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
… how they line up.

David Read:
I’m curious.

Joseph Mallozzi:
So, but that’s what I seem to recall at the time.

David Read:
So, “Citizen Joe,” that’s aired 15th… 18th February 2005.

Joseph Mallozzi:
What was the episode? I remember–

David Read:
Richard Dean Anderson.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Simpsons.

David Read:
Simpsons. Sorry everybody. I’m really curious.

Joseph Mallozzi:
We’ll get to the bottom of this.

David Read:
We are gonna… Kiss Kiss, Bang Bangalore. Came out 9th April 2006.

Joseph Mallozzi:
2006, yeah. There we go.

David Read:
So, isn’t that interesting? I have always had that backwards. Well spank me rosy. All right. A great clip show idea.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes, yes.

David Read:
Holy cow.

Joseph Mallozzi:
A lot of fun, very funny.

David Read:
And it introduces a new concept that, kind of like Richard Woolsey, is almost a one-off, but, later on when you’re moving into content for Season Nine and eventually, I mean, Universe, what a piece of technology. I mean, I’ve got one right here. These things, you wouldn’t think that this would be a cornerstone of Stargate’s sci-fi, but it is. How cool is that? It’s one of those situations where you create a plot device. And you kind of have to massage it into position as you go forward because both of these characters who have the Ancient gene, they touched it and they could kind of see each other’s minds. What they were thinking, what they were experiencing. And then in the next episode where we see them again, it’s one-way communication because the stones are attached. But the other characters on the other side aren’t awake because they don’t have stones attached in the terminal. It’s a situation where you kind of have to evolve the technology as you move forward based on the needs of the story. I imagine you guys did that a lot.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yeah. Let’s be honest, those communication stones, it was a really cool idea, but they were incredibly controversial, especially when you get into Stargate Universe. The reason for doing it, obviously, was to sort of open up the almost claustrophobic feel of Universe where you’re on this ship. We were looking to avoid doing the force like we did in SG-1. We wanted it to be as much an alien, out there as possible. A way of opening things up was using the communication stones to communicate back with Earth. And that created all sorts of complications as well, but some would argue, some in the room would argue, that it made things a little too easy. The communication with Earth. Some didn’t really love the Earth connection because it kind of led to stories that were, I don’t want to say less sci-fi in their conceit, but certainly more grounded in the reality of the here and now, as opposed to sort of the far-flung adventures of a crew in a distant galaxy. So, it was controversial with the fans, and I’ll admit in the writer’s room, some of the writers loved it, some of the writers did not.

David Read:
Where did you fall?

Joseph Mallozzi:
I didn’t like them at all, to be honest with you.

David Read:
You didn’t care for them, OK.

Joseph Mallozzi:
I was of the opinion that I just– I understood why you use them to sort of open up the world, but I just always found them a step back into less interesting explorations. It was went to character, really. In that respect, I can’t say it was a waste of time or anything. I just found those stories less interesting, and kind of the way the apparatus, the communication stones, kind of muddied.

David Read:
So, I’m curious now. Are you saying that you would have not preferred for there to have been Earth-bound stories in Universe, or are you saying that if there were Earth-bound stories, you would’ve preferred them to be in a different way?

Joseph Mallozzi:
I probably would not have done Earth-bound stories.

David Read:
Really? Had them completely cut off and out there?

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yeah.

David Read:
Wow. Yeah, because for Atlantis Season One, they’re cut off. And that was, I think, a major part of the story. In some respects, I think Atlantis would have been served better for being cut off longer. I mean, think of the Wraith coming, and then Earth saving the day is kind of a deus ex machina in the end. They’re coming through with the ZPM, and they got this ship coming and everything else. If they had to fight off the Wraith with all that they had brought with them from Earth in that first go around, I think it would’ve been a more intense story, and a more futile situation as well. But, I mean, Atlantis, it was always trying to achieve this lighter balance too, so it may not have been the show to go that place.

Joseph Mallozzi:
And again, I don’t disagree with you, even though I was the one who came up with the idea of the gate bridge, and then afterwards, in hindsight, I was like, “Ah, maybe–”

David Read:
Then you guys blow it down.

Joseph Mallozzi:
But then again, if we hadn’t done it, we wouldn’t have had episodes like “Midway,” where Teal’c shows up, so.

David Read:
Sometimes you have to build up an idea only to later destroy it and take satisfaction that either we went there and it was great, or we went there and let’s never go there again. Absolutely. “Moebius.” So, was this your brainchild?

Joseph Mallozzi:
What a great time trip. No, the brainchild, any script is always a brainchild of the writers’ room, where you basically all sit down, maybe someone has a kernel of an idea, but I don’t recall who came up with the original notion. But it was just another case where we all sat down and beat out the two-parter over the course of a week. Which is kinda crazy when you think how quickly we beat out stories, because I think most shows that do 10- or 13-episode seasons usually do writers’ room for three months to break stories, whereas we used to do them in maybe two episodes a week. My record was Dark Matter. For the first season of Dark Matter, Paul, Martin Gero and I broke all 13 episodes over the course of two and a half weeks, which is crazy.

David Read:
But also suggests that you guys have got some fairly good ideas in that first batch …

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes, that’s true.

David Read:
… and have a very clear road of where you wanna go.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes. The hard part of the writers’ room is coming up with that initial idea. Once you come up with that initial idea, then everybody starts thinking, and they start coming at it from different angles, and the story begins to take form. So, really, it’s that initial notion, that spark, that really gets everything going.

David Read:
So, what was the spark for “Moebius?” Was it, “We gotta get a fresh ZPM to Atlantis?” What was that?

Joseph Mallozzi:
I think the spark, to be honest with you, was the belief that this was gonna be our last season, and that we were gonna wrap things up and we were gonna say goodbye to classic SG-1 and goodbye to Rick. We wanted to do a story that paid tribute to what had come before. It’s what I mentioned earlier on, the idea that you get to explore our characters in different ways. It’s kind of not only fun for us and kind of a salute to the series, but it’s extra special to the audience as well, and long-time fans who will get the in jokes and the contrasts. I think “Moebius 1 and 2” still ranks as one of the top 20 episodes.

David Read:
It’s up there, it’s up there for sure. And you gotta love Rick’s line, and I’m paraphrasing it, “Let me kill him now so I don’t have to in 10,000 years.” You can’t do that. There are certain things that have to happen. Just by being here, putting footprints in the sand, we’re contaminating the timeline. In hindsight, we now know that SG-1 took part in that rebellion on Earth, that they were there. They played a role.

Joseph Mallozzi:
That’s always kind of fun when you’re able to do time travel in a way that really has our protagonists not only participate but influence in a way that fits into the timeline.

David Read:
And it’s an interesting question, if you remove the Stargate from history, if Ra takes the Stargate with him, what happens, all those thousands of years later, to our characters. Carter becomes a second-rate assistant, and Daniel becomes a third or fourth-rate English teacher. You have to do something with the characters. And I was always, “Well, that’s interesting.” I’m not sure I love it, but that’s an interesting approach.

Joseph Mallozzi:
You wouldn’t have watched that show then, probably, no?

David Read:
I don’t think so. To be perfectly honest.

Joseph Mallozzi:
OK, you’re honest.

David Read:
But you know what? It’s still fun. Who was it that I was talking with when you guys were in production? They said, “We’re in bonus land now.” There’s a certain “pinch yourself, I can’t believe this is happening to me, we’re doing eight seasons of this great sci-fi show. Let’s throw something against the wall here and see if it sticks. If it does, it does. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. “200,” great example of something that was amazing, and it’s so out there. “Moebius” has those elements as well.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Unlike “200” though, I think “Moebius” really is grounded in a real story. And real stakes, and really speaks to, like I said, the mythology of the show.

David Read:
And not only the mythology of the show, but the mythology of the franchise. That’s something that I failed to mention earlier with “It’s Good To Be King.” You introduce an Atlantis asset into the SG-1 universe that you later bring back here.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Jumper.

David Read:
Exactly. I loved, especially with this season–it was certainly done later on as well—but Season Eight of SG-1 and Season One of Atlantis really share a lot of story elements where– In “Before I Sleep,” one of my favorite Carl Binder stories, you introduce Janus and the whole idea that the first time they went to Atlantis, it didn’t work. Everyone drowned. And then at the end of it, there’s a nugget that, “You know what, I’ll…” Janus says to Weir, “I’ll continue my research.” And here it is, proof that he did. And God knows what else he created. I still believe he created Reese. But there’s so many story connections there, and was that something that you were deliberately going into with Season Eight and Season One, of let’s tie some of these elements together? Or while you were going, was it, “You know what, this makes sense to share this here and there, and let’s reward the audience for watching both shows?” Do you hear me?

Joseph Mallozzi:
Sorry, I lost you there. I lost Internet connection.

David Read:
Did my words cut out too?

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes.

David Read:
OK. Let me back up. When you were doing Season Eight of SG-1 and Season One of Atlantis, was there a deliberate approach to share story elements? Or was it, while you guys were going along, it was like, “Well, you know what, this works here and this works here, so let’s reward the audience for watching both by giving them things that only they would know if they watched both shows?”

Joseph Mallozzi:
When did we start Atlantis?

David Read:
That was 2004.

Joseph Mallozzi:
2004, so basically Season Eight and Atlantis Season One premiered at the same time?

David Read:
Yes.

Joseph Mallozzi:
So, in that case we were crazy as it sounds, producing 40 episodes of television the same year. So, we were breaking the stories at the same time. So, definitely, then, the directions, or the stories that we were telling on one show were informing or hopefully setting up elements in the other shows as well.

David Read:
Got it. There’s just certain, I guess it just proves that when you’ve got a good idea over here, if there’s anything that can be used over here, let’s go ahead and share it and make it happen. Pretty successful season, all things considered. When you moved into Season Nine, you had the huge benefit of Ben and Claudia, which we will get into next month. Was it, even though Rick had certainly earned every bit of everything that he had done with his time on the show and saying, “You know what, I’m good now,” and we’re all like, “You know what, this has been amazing, we get it.” Was it still hard to see him go?

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yeah, absolutely. He was a lot of fun to write for. We would always gravitate to the characters that had that sense of humor. So, whether it was– McKay was a great example, Vala was another great example. And obviously Rick, he was the guy, he was the everyman. We would all adventure vicariously through Rick, and his character would always say the stuff you would always think but obviously could never say. That character was a lot of fun to write for. And Season Nine was very different. Not any worse or necessarily any better, it was different. And we did miss the O’Neill character.

David Read:
Was there, conscious or otherwise, spoken or otherwise, and I’ll just ask you to be as candid as you’re willing, concerned that the show might not work without him?

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yeah. We got that ninth season pickup, and we’ll go into that. There was uncertainty as to whether we would get that ninth season. And I think casting Ben Browder was one of the elements that helped get that pickup. The ratings were pretty solid as well, and we were building that Friday night Sci-Fi Friday block.

David Read:
That’s right.

Joseph Mallozzi:
And that was never–

David Read:
That was must-see television.

Joseph Mallozzi:
When the network would always build up and then knock down and then build up and then knock down.

David Read:
It’s so true. My god, what were they doing?

Joseph Mallozzi:
Tune in. Come on, tune in. Support these shows. OK, that’s enough outta you.

David Read:
Wrestling! Wrestling?

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes.

David Read:
And it shows. We’ll talk about this probably a little bit further moving forward into this, but Lou Gossett, Beau Bridges, Ben Browder, Claudia Black, a lot of– And not specifically the ones that I just mentioned, but a lot of talent, from my understanding is, you got these high-caliber people, many of whom were doing it because their families loved the show.

Joseph Mallozzi:
True.

David Read:
Mel Harris is another great example of that. Her son, Byron, loved the show. And you were getting these people who were, what, I mean, absolute superstars who were like, “I can do what I want at this point in my career, and I wanna do things that my family will enjoy.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
Absolutely. I remember actually reading an interview with Forest Whitaker where he mentioned Stargate and Sci-Fi Fridays, and I was like, “Guys, we gotta get Forest Whitaker on the show.” Sadly, we never did, but that would’ve been a dream.

David Read:
Gosh, yeah. You know what? You had a great following there, and that was the years of TV Guide, being on the cover of TV Guide and everything else. So, there was– It was a great era for Stargate for sure, and I think it resonates to this day. Got some fan questions for you, sir.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Oh, yeah, let’s do it.

David Read:
What is the– Goran Andonovski: this is an aside to what we discussed. Maybe we can get into a little bit of it. “Was there a specific story driving King Harry Maybourne, behind putting him as a king?”

Joseph Mallozzi:
Just really the character himself. That’s a dream situation for a character like Harry Maybourne. And obviously, the inspiration was The Man Who Would Be King. But most of our stories would always come about as a result of, “Wouldn’t it be fun if we did this?” And certainly, O’Neill and Harry were always fun, so if you could find a way to create a story for them and put them in an out-there situation, we obviously would, and this was a perfect example of those pieces kind of falling into place.

David Read:
And it worked hilariously. Russell Baldwin: “With Earth having become so technologically advanced by the end of the show …” I’m guessing he means SG-1, maybe the franchise. ” … How would you have reset the balance with any alien threats that Earth would have faced in the future?” That’s assuming you would want to reset the balance at all.

Joseph Mallozzi:
I mean, that’s a tough question in that, obviously we dealt with the Ori knowing that the 10th season would’ve been our last. I don’t know what we would’ve done for Season 11 if we had gotten that Apple deal. Maybe things would’ve changed. But honestly, I don’t know. I mean, there are certain technologies that, again, the writers’ room would always come together for the stories, but there would be healthy debate. I was never a big fan of the beaming technology we had. And I remember Ben Browder especially was not a huge fan. He’d be coming by my office, he’s like, “There’s gotta be a way to get rid of that beaming technology. If something happens, you end up inside a rock or something and they can’t use it.”

David Read:
The only solution that I can even think of is one that you kind of used with the hyperspace windows, is the Attero device in Atlantis. You create something out there in the universe that once it turns on distorts certain frequencies and makes things unusable.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes, but there’s also–

David Read:
What a great idea.

Joseph Mallozzi:
But there’s also what we often did with technologies is we’d just send it to Area 51, and our incompetent, slow-moving bureaucratic government would, yeah, it would just disappear into sort of whatever backlog of things they had to get around to, and you just wouldn’t hear about it again. And it may seem implausible, but really, when you think of how governments work, totally believable.

David Read:
Totally believable.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes.

David Read:
Aside. The Air Force wanted to support Independence Day, Dean and Roland’s Independence Day, if they did not mention Area 51. That’s what Dean Devlin has said. The Air Force clearly supported SG-1. I guess I can’t believe I’ve never asked this question, but I haven’t. Were you ever given any crap for using Area 51 in stories?

Joseph Mallozzi:
No. I was never, and I don’t think Rob and Brad were either because I think they would’ve mentioned it.

David Read:
I’ve always wondered that.

Joseph Mallozzi:
I think– Did we use Area 51 or did we refer to it as Area 52?

David Read:
Area 52 was considered the Stargate program at the end of Season One, I believe. Area 51 was definitely visited. The mimic devices were stored there. McKay was sent there. For sure, Area 51 was a thing.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Well, I guess Area 51, I’m not sure what really the difference would be between the film and the series, but maybe the Air Force had grown accustomed to sort of the way the series worked and kind of the fun aspect of the show …

David Read:
No one’s gonna take that seriously.

Joseph Mallozzi:
… and the accessories. Exactly. It’s plausible deniability.

David Read:
In the words of Hammond in “Wormhole X-Treme!,” “In the event of any future breach, we’ll be able to point to this program.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes. Exactly.

David Read:
And it’s, “There you go.” That’s if it stays on the air. All right, Eva Lipinska: “Rya’c’s last appearance in Stargate was in “Sacrifices.” Was that the planned end of his story? Did you guys have anything else in mind moving forward?” He’s mentioned, he’s referenced as being part of negotiations–

Joseph Mallozzi:
He and a lot of other characters were characters who we would revisit every now and again, and it would always be story dependent. So, you would think that, “OK, well, their story is wrapped up.” But if you ever revisit that world or you have a story that would require them, then you would go back to them. So, I mean, once we’d written “Sacrifices,” there were really no plans to revisit the character in the future. But had we done a Season 11, who knows? Maybe we would have.

David Read:
God, Apple. Not Apple, Sci-Fi Channel.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Not Apple.

David Read:
Jeez, man. TheDragonaf1: “I’d like to know how Joe would make Eli wake the crew up if he had the opportunity to write that story.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
You should check out my blog, because I think shortly after the cancellation, I did a dedicated blog post that actually has turned out to be my most read blog post over 13 years of daily blogging. What possibly could have happened. I can’t really say what could have happened, because we never got the chance to sit down and spin stories for the following year. I remember actually we’d been told that we would maybe get a pickup for a third and final season, and then that went away. And that was that.

David Read:
That, I think I remember that because I loved the alternate human race concept that you guys threw in. And the moment that the time travel stuff happened earlier on in that season, I was like, “Oh, I know we’re gonna go back to those guys.” They didn’t just go nowhere. They went in the past or something equivalent to it. And I remember, I think you indicated that one of the possibilities was that an SG team from that version of humanity was operating in that galaxy. And I was like, “That is cool. Our descendants went and created their own versions of an SG team.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
Again, and it would have explained why some of the planets, for instance, we visited would have human life. ‘Cause that’s sort of another thing, basically: why weren’t we– How were we running into humans all the time. And it made sense within the conceit of the Stargate system established in SG-1. Less so in Atlantis. And in Universe, we stuck to mainly aliens. But this would have been a great explanation for why we could have encountered distant descendants.

David Read:
Jett Ison: “Do you have any influence to help bring Stargate back to glory in a new series, or will you be more of a supportive writer?” Again, that’s all Brad at this point.

Joseph Mallozzi:
In terms of influence, it’s really the fandom. I think obviously it’s Brad, it’s great material, and it’s the fandom. And those three things. I consider myself a facilitator of sorts between all these elements, and anything I can do to help, I’ll be more than happy to. But I’m not gonna get a little ahead of myself. Brad is spearheading the creative efforts to get a new show off the ground, and there was a delay due to the pandemic. And then I think there was a reshuffle at MGM, and I don’t know if that affected things at all.

David Read:
I wouldn’t be surprised.

Joseph Mallozzi:
So, hopefully things will be back on track, or are back on track, and we’ll get–

David Read:
Hashtag SG4.

Joseph Mallozzi:
SG4.

David Read:
I’m all about it. Scotty0709: “Any particular reason why you guys knocked off Jacob and Selmak in Season Eight?” There’s an indication in Season Two when they’re deciding whether or not they’re gonna even like each other that, “I’m gonna spend the next 100 years with you, you know, we have to spend some time together.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
No, again, I think it was tying up elements, assuming the eighth season would be its last. And specifically, with regard to elements of the Goa’uld and the Tok’ra, we were looking for, I guess, closure. And really that’s what drove that particular decision.

David Read:
That’s fair. Shantel Leo: “What’s your opinion of the Pete storyline? I would have liked the character more if he had been introduced as someone on the fringes of the SG program, like, Kerry Johnson with Jack.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
I love David DeLuise as an actor. He was great. The character, I mean, you know.

David Read:
Hindsight’s 20/20, man.

Joseph Mallozzi:
It’s always the way. You want to sort of explore characters and then, like you said, in hindsight, you’re like, “Ah, was that necessarily the best way to do that? Was it the most interesting way to do that? Did he come across as a bit of a creep?” Maybe.

David Read:
But I love that you give him the line in Season Eight, “You know, you didn’t shy away from me when you found out I stalked you. “Those little nods to the fans are perfect. Because they do go hand in hand in so many respects. You’re responding to the actors in terms of developing stories, and you’re watching what the fan community is doing in developing stories. Not so deliberately. But still, hey, if there’s something there. Shelley Johnson: “Vala was introduced in Season Eight. Was she supposed to have a bigger part in that season, or was she definitely a one-off in Season Eight?”

Joseph Mallozzi:
She was definitely a one-off in Season Eight, but we loved her performance so much — and we loved her character — that there were almost immediately after we watched the director’s cut of the episode, we thought for certain that she would be a character we would be bringing back in the near future.

David Read:
Absolutely. And what a coup to have the two of them playing off of each other again. And I know that there was reticence of putting them too closely together because they had obviously been, at the end of Farscape, husband and wife. But I love, I think it’s “Bounty,” the high school reunion plot. It’s so good. “Smile.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
They’re actors who play different characters, and so I was– I found it odd that there was a reticence to cast them both as regulars because the feeling was, “It’s too much like Farscape.” Well, it’s actually nothing like Farscape. I mean, you could argue …

David Read:
Not at all.

Joseph Mallozzi:
… that maybe there’s certain elements of Cam’s character that are really a little bit of John Crichton, but Vala’s character and Aeryn Sun are completely different characters.

David Read:
Totally different.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Totally different, yeah.

David Read:
I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s one of the reasons she was like, “Oh, I’ll jump on extending this role.” Because, I mean, I’m sure she had to have had a good time. Why else move your family clearly on the other side of the world for a couple of years? But, I mean, you have to follow the work too, so there is that. Shelley Johnson: “Chris Judge is listed as a writer on a number of episodes that deal with Jaffa. How did that happen? Was he the one who came up with the Jaffa culture?”

Joseph Mallozzi:
He was not the one who came up with the Jaffa culture. But as obviously the show developed, he had story ideas, and I think that in some instances he actually wrote the teleplay, the script. So, yeah, he did end up having a couple of writing credits on the show.

David Read:
Absolutely, he did. They were good ones. I just rewatched “The Changeling” the other day, and when it gets to that moment of Daniel saying, “I haven’t left your side. I’m not going anywhere,” it’s so good. Uh, I can’t pronounce this name, so I’ll spell it, X-U-I-Q-I-L-A. I’m not even gonna try. “When would you know year over year if you had been picked up for a new season?” It wasn’t consistent?

Joseph Mallozzi:
It was never consistent.

David Read:
And why was that?

Joseph Mallozzi:
Sometimes we– I don’t know. That’s a good question for a Syfy executive. You should have them on Dial the Gate. I’ll have some questions for them too. We would sometimes– We wouldn’t find out till the last minute, and it was very frustrating. We would poke and prod, and they’d be like, “Yeah, yeah, we’re gonna wait till you finish airing,” or, “We’re having our wilderness retreat. We’re packing up the bongos and the peyote, and we’ll convene and let you know next week.” I don’t know.

David Read:
There you go. It must have been– We’ve had this conversation because every waking moment you were– Your brain had to have been at least, not actively creating stories, but scanning for them. A part of your mind would have had to have, for those several years, always been set aside to the possibility of, “OK, I need to be on the lookout for this idea even if I’m having dinner with my wife. I’m not necessarily 100% always there, because this is a problem that’s never going away.” It’s a wonderful problem to have, but you’ve got– you’re a workhorse. You’ve gotta generate stories.

Joseph Mallozzi:
That is exactly it. The pressures that come with being in production are only rivaled by the pressures of being in pre-production, when you have to come up with story ideas. One is actually delivering scripts, and the other is coming up with ideas that you can turn into scripts. So, those two are the most pressure filled. Production is– Sure, there’s a lot of pressure in production, but at that point there’s so many other cogs in the machine that are contributing and helping to put it all together. You’re on a schedule, but when you’re writing those scripts, you’re on a schedule, but you’re on your own; whereas, when you’re trying to come up with an idea, there is no schedule. It’s fast and loose. But sooner is better than later.

David Read:
Absolutely. One of my issues with myself– Is it called imposter syndrome, where — I’m not sure if that’s the definition or not — where I’ve achieved something and it’s like I don’t know if I’m actually entitled to be where I am?

Joseph Mallozzi:
That’s imposter syndrome, and everybody has imposter syndrome. Everybody.

David Read:
Where it’s you’re doing 40 episodes a year, and by Atlantis Season Three, you have done 40 episodes a year for three years. I don’t know if I would always be able to say to myself, “I’m cut out for this. This is totally reasonable.” That’s insane. It’s insane.

Joseph Mallozzi:
But when you’re in the weeds, so to speak, that becomes your reality. And you accomplish it, and so it doesn’t become– To be honest with you, it never struck us, it never struck me as anything amazing, such an amazing feat, until years later, when I look back on it and I consider, as I mentioned, writers’ rooms that take three months to break 10 episodes, and the work that goes into these 10-to-13-episode runs that are the norm now, that we would do 40 episodes of television a year. With frankly half the writing room size than most shows today.

David Read:
That’s just absolutely crazy. When you look at it that way, it’s so amazing to recognize the overall quality of all those shows. At some point or another you would have to say, “Well, one of these is gonna be a dud.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
There were a few.

David Read:
And we’ve had those conversations, especially, you, me, and Darren, and the entire team there. There were a couple of missteps here and there about how we handled how we felt about some of those. But at the same time, it’s the caliber of the quality of what you achieved cannot be understated. It was a job well done. It really was.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Thank you.

David Read:
OK. So, this is kind of a– Are we good on time?

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yeah.

David Read:
OK. We– So, it’s one of those writer issues. Atlantis is always running out of power. It’s like with Walking Dead and the number of bullets they have and everything else like that. They’re keeping track of inventory of resources, and everything else. When you’re watching Atlantis, part of your mind is, “How much power does Atlantis have at this given time?” It’s one of those things that you have to be aware of because it indicates how much Atlantis has the ability to defend itself at any given point throughout the ongoing story. Was it deliberate that ZPM and drone workshops were never found on Atlantis? Because if the city is portable, if it’s a spaceship essentially, it would either have factories on board that would design those …

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes.

David Read:
… or if they would be on the ocean floor in that station where we found it being built down there, so there was a factory somewhere.

Joseph Mallozzi:
In my mind it existed, but I think, obviously Atlantis as an asset, would be something that would just be too dear to give up to an enemy. But even more so would be the power shop, if you will, the power manufacturing shop. So, in my mind there is probably an access point in the city to this manufacturing shop that doesn’t exist necessarily within the reality or the universe in which Atlantis exists. I think there’s a door to either a parallel universe or a pocket of spacetime where this …

David Read:
Where this is going on.

Joseph Mallozzi:
… where this is going on. And I think it’s somewhere in the city, but they just have not found it or did not find it. And they didn’t find it because it would’ve made things, we thought, a little too easy.

David Read:
They would’ve been invincible. They could’ve gone around and pummeled whoever they wanted and they’re, they were overwhelmed by the Wraith’s numbers. And they simply did not have enough power to deal with the situation. I think it’s one of the things that we’ll get into too later on, but I was always– The tower, one of the things that the tower suggests is that there’s more than one Atlantis. In terms of the city. And that was, I think, the one nugget that we took away from that that really needed to be resolved was how many Atlantis-class ships were there. Because if Atlantis is supposed to be the crown jewel of their civilization, having literally withstood several million years of history, without really changing that much, what was going on there? And it’s one of those things that’s, like, “Guys, we’re pounding out 40 stories a year. Give us a break. Please, God.” Be thankful you have a good show to watch. “Next week on Stargate Atlantis, Sheppard watches paint dry.” That’s cool though, that there’s some pocket of reality because there definitely is– ZPMs in particular are not charged in our universe. So, that’s neat. Have you ever– TuneTamasha: “Have you ever watched a foreign dub of Stargate? And if so, which one did you like?”

Joseph Mallozzi:
I never watch anything dubbed. I hate dubbed. I just find them silly. Apologies to people who like dubbed stuff. But I was in Japan– No, sorry. I’m the opposite. I don’t watch– No, no, that’s right. Dubbed in English, I don’t watch anything dubbed in English. Sorry.

David Read:
I don’t blame you. Subtitles all the way.

Joseph Mallozzi:
I watch the original sometimes. I was in Japan and I agreed to do a little panel for — what was that Japanese cable network that was running Stargate at the time? — In any case, they actually showed a clip of Stargate, and Teal’c had the lowest voice I’ve ever heard.

David Read:
In the register?

Joseph Mallozzi:
Yes. Incredibly, incredibly low, and that struck me. It was interesting to hear our character speak Japanese.

David Read:
I would love a reel of Stargate scenes from the different languages. That’s something that I would love to create.

Joseph Mallozzi:
That would be fun, yes. German, French, Japanese.

David Read:
We’ve got 30 countries in this room right now. You all send me a clip– I couldn’t. I don’t know…

Joseph Mallozzi:
You could do a super cut.

David Read:
Could I get away with that on YouTube? OK. We’re gonna table that one.

Joseph Mallozzi:
What you should do is pick one scene, and as you sort of intercut, have them change …

David Read:
That’s exactly right.

Joseph Mallozzi:
… languages.

David Read:
Like “Window of Opportunity” and go for it. That would be great. Adam Strange: “Hello from Ukraine, Mr. Mallozzi. Huge fan of SG. Does Twin Peaks and Stargate share the same universe? The great Don S. Davis is in both.”

Joseph Mallozzi:
I don’t– I would say th–

David Read:
I’ve never seen Twin Peaks.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Oh, you should.

David Read:
I am well aware.

Joseph Mallozzi:
The first season was brilliant. The second season was meh. I didn’t watch the new one. But I would say no because even though they are both military men, Colonel Briggs is Colonel Briggs and General Hammond was General Hammond. So, probably not the same universe.

David Read:
That’s fair. xxHellcatsxx: “Did you ever feel like the introduction of the Ori made Anubis’ transition to partial ascension make less sense?” I don’t think it really muddies it up that much.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Really.

David Read:
The whole point is that there are many planes of existence. And the Ori are just operating on a different wavelength. One of the things that was really interesting about where you guys took it in the show, and it’s implied through the story. But not effectively stated; it’s implied that the Ori and the Ancients occupy specific quadrants of spacetime. That they’re actually ones over here and the others over here, and if they interfere with one another, there is a physical clash, which we witness twice. We witness it at the end of “Threads” and we witness it in Ark of Truth as well, ’cause they’re in their galaxy and the Ancients occupy Pegasus and Milky Way. Otherwise, they would be interfering with one another constantly.

Joseph Mallozzi:
But that’s exactly it. In my mind there are multiple planes of existence.

David Read:
That’s fair too. And last but not least, George Dramesiotis: “Any explanation as to why most aliens speak English?”

Joseph Mallozzi:
As I’ve often said, in my mind, they are not speaking English, but once you pass through the gate, as you’re going through the wormhole, you are implanted with nanites that allow you to translate or understand alien languages as though you were listening to English, and vice versa.

David Read:
That’s fair. And I think that’s one of the successes of Star Trek is that they really built in the UT, the idea of the universal translator, especially in Enterprise. They definitely are able to back sell it and say, “This is something we’ve been working on. It’s in our communicator pins.” If I had the chance to go back to SG-1 Season One and stick my head in that writers’ room when Jon and Brad and Rob were all there, one of the only things that I would have said is, “On the first mission, make a Goa’uld UT that Stargate Command gets its hands on.” And then that explanation is taken care of. It still makes for a great beat in “Wormhole X-Treme!” about, I forget which crew member says, “Why not? They speak English.” There’s certain tropes of sci-fi and sooner or later you just kinda gotta get over it and watch the show.

Joseph Mallozzi:
But it still would be good to give a sort of theoretical reasoning for why this is.

David Read:
The show must go on. It’s as simple as that. Joe, thank you once again for coming.

Joseph Mallozzi:
This was delightful.

David Read:
I always enjoy these.

Joseph Mallozzi:
It’s always a lot of fun.

David Read:
I’m looking forward to future seasons with you. Thank you for providing clarification.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Speaking of which, I’m curious. So, are we gonna go straight through SG-1 and then move onto Atlantis?

David Read:
What would you like to do?

Joseph Mallozzi:
I believe it’s your call. At this point, this is the point where you make the decision whether you’re sort of alternating between Atlantis and SG-1.

David Read:
That’s right.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Or if you wanna finish SG-1 and then move onto Atlantis.

David Read:
Considering that we speak once a month, I think that it’s important for us so that we can say, “Well, last month we…” Because the information from last month is gonna be fresher in our minds and it’ll be helpful if it wasn’t the opposite show.

Joseph Mallozzi:
OK, that makes sense.

David Read:
So, in my opinion, I think we should stick with each show, so that …

Joseph Mallozzi:
Perfect.

David Read:
… as we move along in time here, we’ll be like, “OK, last month I do remember talking about this. It’s clearer to me than two months ago.” But we’ve had that benefit so far and we haven’t really thought about it because it’s only been one show. But, my friend, absolute pleasure to have you as always.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Thank you. Thanks.

David Read:
You take care of that little one there. I hear Suzie.

Joseph Mallozzi:
I will. She’s getting cranky.

David Read:
Exactly. Go do your thing.

Joseph Mallozzi:
It’s dinnertime. All right.

David Read:
Thanks again, my friend.

Joseph Mallozzi:
Thanks. Take it easy, David.

David Read:
I’ll catch you in April.

Joseph Mallozzi:
All right. Bye-bye.

David Read:
Bye-bye. Joseph Mallozzi, writer and executive producer of Stargate SG-1. Questions for me. Jenny Stiven, “Let’s get Craig Engler or Joanna Delgado.” So, I’m guessing that those are Syfy Network people. That would be great. I will look into that. I don’t know if they’ll do it though. We’ll have to see. And if we do it, fans, you cannot chew them up. If they come on the show, then we have to be nice to them. I need to make a concerted effort now because we have just passed 10,000 subscribers. Yay to us. Thank you all so much for making this possible. I need to reach out to Charlie Cohen because he is so critical to the success of Stargate from the MGM side. He was a fan of this show, and I don’t think we will ever truly appreciate how much he had to do with that. We’ve had little insights here and there. There’s a portrait of him at the end of Stargate SG-1: A Celebration of 10 Years, the celebration book, and that’s there for a reason. I’d love to have him on. But Craig Engler, Joanna Delgado, Jenny, help me with that one. So, those higher industry connections. You should have seen me try and get some of the Air Force people. I wanted to have John Jumper on, I wanted to have General Ryan on, ’cause their cameos were terrific. And the Air Force is like, “Sorry, we can’t get in touch with them.” And it’s like, “Oh, come on. I just wanna have them on my show for 10 minutes.” Syllene “We want Christopher Heyerdahl as a guest on Dial the Gate.” Christopher passed on us, so I reached out to him two or three months ago now, and he said, “I appreciate the offer, but I just can’t right now.” So, I will be trying to reach– I’ll be approaching him again in seven or eight months. I don’t wanna badger people. I don’t think that that’s a good idea. If you guys have these people on Twitter, please reach out to them and say, “I would love to see you on Dial the Gate. I would love to have you.” And see if they respond. Because if they say, “Yes, OK,” then send me the screenshot at [email protected], and I’ll reach out to them. Like Lou Diamond Phillips, I’ve tried to reach out to him. I haven’t been able to hear back. I don’t think he’s ignoring me, but I think he’s so busy. Christopher Heyerdahl has said no for the time being. There’s a few others that I’m not going to get into, but let me tell you something. That’s the hardest part about doing this show, is scheduling. That’s hard. I sent out 15 requests last week, and I’ve gotten responses from five of them, which I think is actually pretty good. So, it’s all different for everybody. This is a weird time right now. I reached out to a lot of agents, and they’re like, “We’re not currently representing these people. You have to reach out to their managers.” So, COVID hit everybody hard. There’s a lot of people who are, they’re not necessarily out of work, but they’re suspended from a lot of stuff right now, and not everyone wants to talk. Suanne Braun actually made that point. She was talking with some people who she wanted to have on her show, and they were like, “We’re just, no, not really feeling it right now.” And I can’t say I blame them. Maesh g, “Did you read the books that are supposed to follow on the end of Atlantis? What did you think of them?” I have not read the Legacy series. I have read a few of the SG-1 books, and from what I read, I really enjoyed them. Diana Botsford and I are friends. I have read both of her books. I cannot recommend those enough. I know I’m biased, but I cannot recommend those enough. That’s Four Dragons and The Drift. So, those are definitely, definitely great stories. Let me see here. Question for David sent in via email, Michael B.,”In the first episode where they meet Daniel Jackson and Captain Carter discovers the dialing device, she makes a MacGyver reference, but I’ve seen a different version where she doesn’t make that reference. I’m curious what version was first and who thought of making the MacGyver reference in the first place.” I imagine it’s Brad and Jonathan. It’s probably Jonathan because it’s eliminated from the Final Cut, which suggests that it was a Jonathan idea. But maybe not. So, Brad is the Final Cut, which I love for many reasons because it is the version of the show that you would want, of the pilot that you would want to see knowing the 10 seasons that follow. It recognizes that there are 10 seasons that follow. So, Kawalsky saying, “Colonel, I didn’t even know you had a son.” And they retroactively make him Jack’s best friend by Season Two, so the line about him not having a son is cut. Things like that are the case with Final Cut. And it’s one of my, not an issue with the Final Cut, but a mild concern, is that “Children of the Gods” was basically the brainchild of two people, and the Final Cut is the brainchild of one of those people at the end of the day, making it form-fitting to what SG-1 was. So, I love both versions, but the MacGyver reference was in the original Showtime broadcast version, and then Amanda Tapping did dubbing of her audio. They re-looped a lot of the main actors’ audio for “Children of the Gods: Final Cut.” I know that Peter Williams came back in. They did a new blue screen for him with the helmet so that he could re-dub the Goa’uld words of, “Dial the Chappa’ai.” Because it’s like, “Well, how did they get out of SGC?” So, that device that appears in Continuum is actually how they did it, we just don’t see it on screen. Amanda Tapping’s voice work was changed, especially in the wide shots in Abydonian, the cartouche room. And Christopher Judge’s performance was completely changed, generally for the better, but, as far as I’m concerned, you can tell that it’s dubbed. And I think Michael and Rick did some voice work for Final Cut to change a few things around. So, MacGyver definitely– Long-winded answer to say MacGyver definitely came first. Robert Cooper question for his next interview. Robert, we had him back last week. We will definitely have him for a fourth part. We’re really engaging with some of these creators in a lot of their repeat episodes. This is the original intent of this show, was to have these multi-part, long-form, Joe Rogan-esque interviews, and they’re working. And I wasn’t sure if it would. We can only have someone back so many times before it’s like, “Yep, I’ve said all I had to say about that.” But there’s enough content there that it’s really moving forward, and so now that we’re six months in, as of the 3rd of April, we’ll be six months in, and we’ve had multi-part chapters of the same person coming in, it’s really gratifying to see that, yes, these are working, and there’s enough content there to continue to have them back. And they don’t feel bored. They don’t feel like they’re getting asked the same questions again and again, and that’s partly attributed to you guys asking a lot of the questions that keep them interested in coming back. Because let me tell you something: Rob Cooper, Joseph Mallozzi, as much as they’re chill with me, they would be like, “You know what, David? I’ve already done this. It’s been a great show, truly, best of luck, but I’m good.” And that hasn’t happened yet. So, that’s great. I hugely attribute that to you guys as well. Gary Jones is coming up next. He interviews Jennifer, who is Jennifer Kirby, my production assistant. So, that’s who you’re gonna be meeting. Jennifer was actually one of the ones who submitted a video for the Cliff Simon memorial. She was actually– I think she– Was she the last one? Or one of the last in that video series that we did honoring Cliff. And I do wanna have a part two of that. I haven’t figured out when I’m going to do it, because I had a lot of submissions that I wasn’t able to get to. I work all weekend, and when I found out that we had lost Cliff, I was working 12, 13-hour days in between that time and the time that we aired the memorial episode, and there was only so much that I could build to fit in, because I have to sit at my computer and literally build all these tables. Darren and Linda really, GateGabber, made that happen because there was no time for me to sit down and do that, and that show would not have been possible without them. I think that’s everything, if I’m not mistaken. There was quite the laundry list there. Thanks so much to everyone who submitted questions for Joe. Dial the Gate is brought to you every week for free, and we do appreciate you watching. But if you want to support the show further, buy yourself some of our themed swag. We’re now offering T-shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts, and hoodies for all ages in a variety of sizes and colors at RedBubble, and we currently offer four themed designs and hope to add more in the future. The word cloud designs have both a solid background or transparent background options, so you have some flexibility between choosing a light or dark color. Do keep that in mind when you’re making your selection. Checkout is fast and easy, and you can even use your Amazon or PayPal account. Just visit dialthegate.redbubble.com, and thanks for your support. And Dial the Gate is partnered with 3Dtech.pro, 3D Tech Pro, for the month of March to give you a chance to get your very own Atlantis puddle jumper, as seen there, and BC-303. To enter to win these items, you need to use a desktop or laptop computer and visit dialthegate.com. Scroll down to Submit Trivia Questions. Your trivia may be used in a future episode of Dial the Gate. The submission form does not currently work for mobile devices. There’s three slots for trivia. You only need to fill out one, but if you wanna submit three questions, that’s perfectly fine. Your trivia must be received before April the 1st or the joke’s on you. If you are the lucky winner, I’ll be notifying you via your email to get your address. Be sure to check out our partners’ website for more Stargate-related merchandise at 3Dtech.pro. And that’s all she wrote. When I reach the end of every show, my brain is racking because I know that I’m missing something. I did not pull any Stargate art for this week. I apologize for that, just trying to reorient myself for a lot of things here and move forward with that. We have a great lineup of guests coming. Next week we have Peter DeLuise, director and producer. This man is one of my favorite people on the Earth, and he hasn’t done a lot of interviews lately, and I was like, “You know what? Let’s reach out to him. Let’s see if he’ll be interested,” and he responded to me I think in record time, like five minutes. He FaceTimed me. We talked for nearly an hour, about the goals of the show and even about Dagwood, his role on SeaQuest and everything else, caught up. I haven’t talked to this man in 14 years, and I think you’re gonna love it. I think you’re gonna love having him on. And so he’s going to be on April the 4th at 12:00 PM Pacific Time. You’re not gonna wanna miss that one. Ask him a question, because he is a force. And it is gonna be a lot of laughs. Elyse Levesque, Chloe Armstrong, is going to be joining us at 2:00 PM Pacific Time, two hours after Pete on April the 4th as well. So, come in and have some questions ready for SGU’s Chloe Armstrong. April the 11th, we have Jay Brazeau, Harlan and the Lord Protector from Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis respectively. And then David Hewlett, part two of David Hewlett, will be later that day on April the 11th. April the 25th, Musetta Vander, Shan’auc, will be joining us as well. Really excited about this slate. I’ve got more for you in the works. I’ve organized our giveaway for the month of April. I cannot wait to show you this giveaway. It is so cool. The fan community is really something, and there was a member of the community who reached out and showed me this stuff. He wanted to get some of his product behind me here on the shelf, and I was like, “Well, I wanna give one away.” He’s like, “OK.” So, he’s gonna be our sponsor in April. I’m not gonna announce that until the end of this month. But that’s where we’re at. I think that’s everything I’ve got covered, and I think we’re good to go from there. Gary is going to be taking it away in a moment, half an hour with a fan interview, so you enjoy that. And that’s what we’ve got. I’m David Read for Dial the Gate. Thanks for watching. See you on the other side.