Stargate fans come from numerous professional backgrounds, but every once in a while one of those backgrounds overlaps with content created by the series. Put the two together, and some surprising things emerge! Deborah J. Bell of Graphic Arts Studio, once decided to create something her Stargate friend group could share amongst themselves and with actors during photo-ops. The result is one of the best Stargate gag items ever — magazine covers!

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Timecodes
00:00 – Opening Credits
00:26 – Welcome and Episode Outline
01:24 – Welcoming Debbie and Magazine Cover Inspiration
04:47 – The Best Reactions
10:34 – Stargate Atlantis Covers
12:13 – Cliff Simon Covers
14:35 – Capturing the Convention Experience
18:50 – The Asgard – Thor
21:45 – Events and Lifelong Friendships
23:19 – Sharing and Creating from a Fan Perspective
27:06 – Creating a Cover
28:29 – Richard Dean Anderson
29:49 – Conventions
34:07 – Wrapping up with Debbie
39:45 – Post interview housekeeping
41:11 – End Credits

***

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TRANSCRIPT
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David Read:
Welcome to Episode 162 of Dial the Gate: The Stargate Oral History Project. My name is David Read. Thank you so much for tuning in. Debbie Bell, who was responsible for our original logo design on Dial the Gate, and a friend of mine that goes back years, she is joining us in this pre-recorded episode. But 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 clicked that like button. It helps the show grow its audience. Please also consider sharing this video with a Stargate friend, and if you wanna get notified about future episodes, click on that subscribe icon. 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 for the live interviews. This is a pre-recorded episode, and as such, the moderators will not be taking any questions from the live audience. Debbie is joining us prerecorded so that I could get the artwork together so you can see what kind of stuff she does. She’s a pretty amazing human being and Stargate fan, so let’s go ahead and bring her in. Debbie Bell of Graphic Arts Studio, the woman responsible for bringing my logo into being as well, and a long-time friend, and a huge Stargate fan. Debbie, I’m so glad that we finally got you on the show. How you doing?

Debbie Bell:
I’m doing fine, David. Thank you. It’s good to see you.

David Read:
Absolutely. One of the things that impressed me back in the day, I wanna dive right into this, was your concept for magazine covers like you’d find at a Barnes & Noble or in a bodega.

Debbie Bell:
Yes.

David Read:
Some real and some imaginary. What was your inspiration for doing this? Have you done other magazine covers before for different things?

Debbie Bell:
Yes. As a graphic designer, I’ve been doing print forever. When a group of us got together who met on GateWorld and we formed our own little group, and we decided to go to our very first convention together in Vancouver, which was I think 2006, everybody was gonna bring things to be signed. And I thought, “Well, that’s really cool.” I don’t really have mementos and stuff and I don’t really need more photos of whatever, but it might be fun if I combined what I do for a living, which I love graphic design, with my love of Stargate. So, I talked to my friends and I came up with a variety of ideas. Some of them I got from my fellow Stargate fans at GateWorld, and some I came up with on my own of these parody magazine covers. Poor Time Magazine got abused a lot, but that incorporated the characters, because I thought it would be fun, it would be interesting, it would be something that would make them happy, that somebody delved into it and did something fun for their character. And I might get a better reaction from them when I was signing them to sign. These people I had never met before, because I had never met any of these actors or producers or directors or anybody, and I thought, “What am I gonna say to these people? I have no clue except I’m a big fan, and I love the show.” So, I started out with some things from our group on GateWorld, and then it just developed into lots of different magazine covers that I stole a lot of things from.

David Read:
Borrowed. Borrowed.

Debbie Bell:
Borrowed a lot of ideas from. I took a GQ Magazine and made it Goa’uld Quarterly and rewrote an actual cover’s headlines specifically for the Goa’uld, and it was a lot of fun turn them into something that was related to Stargate. It was a fun way of interacting with all of the people we were gonna meet at the shows, or at the conventions, because I went to three, four of them, I guess. I can’t remember now. I remember 2006, ’cause that was the first one that I went to, I think.

David Read:
What was your best reaction over the years?

Debbie Bell:
I had a lot of good reactions. I originally started doing these for the girls on GateWorld.

David Read:
For a laugh.

Debbie Bell:
Because of Michael Shanks and Daniel Jackson characters. One of the women had written some fun things about Daniel Jackson, so I put together a Daniel Jackson piece, and he seemed to find that bizarre and fun. He wanted to know who the heck was doing this. And I thought, “It’s fun.”

David Read:
This is the one where he was being tortured?

Debbie Bell:
Yeah, it’s sort of about that.

David Read:
The guide to Whumping Archeologists?

Debbie Bell:
Whumping, I think we called it. Whumping, Guide to Whumping. And it was for fun, and everybody would get a laugh at it. So, he had some pretty good reactions. He always reacted well to everyone. Michael was always very good about interacting with the fans, and looking pleased, whether he was or not. And I have to say, Amanda Tapping was the most gracious. She is the most gracious person, and I did a Time Magazine cover for her where I gave Samantha Carter the Nobel Prize. I thought she deserved it, and it was about wormholes. It was wormholes in the heavens, I think. And that was my most favorite one to do, because not only did I put the most effort into it– I went and actually looked this up for you, David. I researched the episode Upgrades. And she had an equation on her screen in the show, and I took that equation and put it in the background of the magazine cover with a bunch of other things related to wormholes. It was intricate and ridiculous, and she was blown away that I had put so much time and effort into something like this. And I said, “Oh, I just wanted to do something for the character.” But she really loved it. Plus, when they really liked something, I always took two covers with me so I could give one to them.

David Read:
Absolutely. It’s like with the equation. If you’re gonna go out of your way to do something, do it right. Make it accurate.

Debbie Bell:
But back then, I think we had the episodes memorized. So, it was easy to go back and pull things from specific episodes and tie it into some theme, whether it was Sam and wormholes, or the Gary Chalk cover. He had a magazine cover too for Time, which I translated via Google, so very bad translation, into Russian. That was a lot of fun, because I think his said something like greatest Russian hero or something like… I forgot what it was. And Time was written in Russian on the top, and it was a total parody. But he loved it because his wife was Russian. And he said, “This is fabulous.” And I gave him a copy, and he said, “I’m gonna take this home and get my wife to read this to me.” He thought that was fun. So, it was the secondary characters and the guest stars who were really blown away by having something specifically designed for them. Let me think. I have a zillion stories ’cause they were all so wonderful.

David Read:
Bruce Woloshyn are some of my favorite.

Debbie Bell:
That’s ’cause me and special effects. That’s my love.

David Read:
Correct.

Debbie Bell:
So, he got one every year he went to a convention.

David Read:
You made a new one.

Debbie Bell:
I was gonna make him a superstar. He was a hero in my book. In fact, the first one I think I did was the National Enquirer cover, something about Stargate’s not being real or something.

David Read:
Worm hoax.

Debbie Bell:
Worm Hoax. Fake gates found at the studio and stuff. And he said he took that home and put it on his refrigerator, and his family teased him endlessly. About his one fan. Who made such fun of it. He had such a good sense of humor. And the one year… Well, a couple of years, he did this for several different fans, but one year, my friend Jenny Smith and I, he gave us the tour of Rainmaker. He had to have something special because he went out of his way to give four or five of us this-

David Read:
He’s a good guy.

Debbie Bell:
… tour. Let us hold the original Stargate film.

David Read:
The master. Yes.

Debbie Bell:
Master copy.

David Read:
Children of the Gods.

Debbie Bell:
We were totally blown away. It was one of the most wonderful experiences I had in regards to the whole Stargate thing. He was always a hero in my book because of the special effects and because I do graphic design. Now, I don’t do what he does, but I could certainly appreciate it.

David Read:
It’s the same kind of creativity.

Debbie Bell:
It was fun.

David Read:
It’s the same kind of openness in your mind…

Debbie Bell:
Because when we would get together, we could talk about how they did things, and I understood what they were doing. I might not work in that software, but I understood totally what he was talking about, and that was so enjoyable to me. It was an aspect that I think a lot of people take for granted about a TV show, the special effects, the music, all these big things that go into it that they just figure that’s always there, but the rest of us who work in the industry to some degree or another realize the value of. It was always so fascinating to me. He was very kind to all of us, giving us studio tours and just being such a sweetheart, coming to the GateWorld dinners. Went out of his way.

David Read:
The ones that I think are the most meta are the Stargate SG-1 Atlantis covers that you put people on. So, it’s about the show, but it’s people who probably were never gonna get featured on the cover, and you put them on the cover. You put Bruce on the cover, you put Martin Gero on the cover. Who writes this stuff?

Debbie Bell:
They were fun. Martin’s funny. Martin really was funny. That was a great photograph taken by Sarah-

David Read:
I think that was our second dinner.

Debbie Bell:
The amazing things that people said at the GateWorld dinner. Yes, he held it up. That was the book that we had done. He was holding a copy of one of the first things we had done, because apparently it was notorious.

David Read:
It was.

Debbie Bell:
We tried to have fun with it. We all wanted to, I don’t know, be part of the experience in our own little way. ‘Cause we took the set tours. One of my favorite memories was sitting on the Atlantis steps with John Smith. It was really unbelievable to be doing that, to be talking to him, and to be sitting on the set, and to learn so much about sets, which I didn’t know, which took some of the mystery away, I admit, once you actually go and see it. But it was really fun. Meeting Martin was great. There were so many people. I would troll their blogs and get quotes and pull them out and try to put them into the covers and do things that they would recognize to make it more fun for them.

David Read:
One of my favorites, and I know it was his as well, was Cliff. We’ve since lost him.

Debbie Bell:
So sad. It broke my heart.

David Read:
Absolutely. Your GQ cover of… You did a couple of GQs, one with Camulus and definitely one with Ba’al. Pimp Your Ha’tak, and the Greatest Five System Lords of All Time. Looking Evil With Less Effort. It’s clever.

Debbie Bell:
There was a whole series of how-to-do-it books back in the day. Ooh, I should remember the name of it. I took it and did a parody on it. Seshat was my screen name at GateWorld, so I called it Seshat Pres. Then I did a whole bunch of these mock books on how to be the best System Lord and all these things. Pimp Your Ha’tak was… That was pretty funny. I enjoyed that. There were a lot of fun things in there. But my favorite story about Cliff is not one of the ones I shared with you. But I did a whole series of covers just for our group, our little group, where I took a photo of each woman at the event or in front of the gate or whatever, and I put them on Stargate Atlantis Magazine, or Stargate Magazine. And I took one of myself with Cliff and Michael, because they did a double photo shoot. And I remember, this sounds so silly, I always tried to walk up with something to say because I wanted to make them laugh. So, when we did the photo op, I walked up and I looked at each of them and I said, “Oh, good versus evil, what’s a girl to do?” And they laughed and they laughed. And I got in the middle and we did the shoot, three seconds with the stars. And Cliff leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Bad is better.” It was so sweet. He was so funny. And I put that on a Stargate magazine with a good versus evil thing on the front and had them sign it the next year. And it was those silly inside jokes that really added extra fun to the whole thing.

David Read:
You came up with your own way of encapsulating the convention experience and using your creative-

Debbie Bell:
Yes, it wasn’t just the covers. I used to make, what do you call them, tags for people?

David Read:
I have one. I asked you to make one for me… for press pass, and it worked for years. People are like, “Oh, you’re press, go in.”

Debbie Bell:
Isn’t that crazy?

David Read:
It’s crazy.

Debbie Bell:
I made them for all my friends in our little group called The Hussies. And we all had them, and I made them for people who went to conventions I didn’t even go to, but who were my friends. And one year, I remember I had a button maker from, I don’t remember, some client, and I made dozens of buttons based on the covers. I redesigned them as buttons with the favorite character. And I walked around that whole convention and I said, “Who’s your favorite character?” to the other people attending. And then I would reach in the bag and pull out a Jack button or a Carter button or whatever.

David Read:
I have Martin Wood.

Debbie Bell:
Believe it or not, I’m very shy. It was my way of interacting with people. Although I had the friends that we went with, I wanted to meet some of the other fans of all ages who would go to these things. So, it gave them a little memento for nothing, just for being there, and we could share our love for the show. So, that made it a lot of fun. I still have some of those somewhere in a box.

David Read:
I loved Martin Wood with his expression. He always insists on making the silliest face and you went to town with it.

Debbie Bell:
Yes, I tried to. He was so great in person though. His stories… I would love to sit down with him and just talk about anything he’s working on, because it’s so interesting.

David Read:
He doesn’t have… I don’t know if you’ve seen his interviews on Dial the Gate, but it’s all there. The memory on this man has not faded a day. And he’ll… You just have to wind him up and let him go.

Debbie Bell:
I had to go back and check my notes, but Martin would not have to do that. Martin just remembers everything. So, that made it really special to meet the people that we as the fans would think of as behind the scenes, even though they’re the ones actually creating the show. ‘Cause so many people think, “Oh, well, the actors make up the lines as they go along.” No. Somebody has to come up with this idea and write it and produce it, and there’s music and effects and all this other stuff.

David Read:
A lot of elements that go in.

Debbie Bell:
That, to me, was heavenly to be able to meet all of the creatives behind this project, and then when it became Atlantis, and then when it moved on to Universe, it was so much fun to have met these people in person and to feel like you had even the tiniest connection to the things you saw on the screen, that you knew what it was like behind the scenes. At least to me. Initially, of course, we would go to conventions and we’d go, “I wanna meet this actor or this actress,” or, “Ooh, I’m so impressed.” And once you meet them, they’re lovely, but they’re people. And they were all extremely gracious. I never met any of the actors who were not extremely gracious to fans, even when they were really tired. Or, I remember, I think Michael came to one convention, the day after his son was born. Incredible how he could do that. He was exhausted, but he still came and did the whole bit. And I thought, “That’s dedication to keeping the fans happy.” I was impressed by all of them.

David Read:
And he didn’t have to do that. But he wanted to meet us, and he wanted to continue to put food on his table.

Debbie Bell:
Exactly right. And they did it in very gracious ways. There were so many kind outreaches to the fans that I witnessed, from the most shy fan to the most outrageously crazy one. They were kind to everyone, from John Smith all the way down. It was incredible. The one thing I wanted to mention, ’cause I really wanna bring it up ’cause it was one of my very favorite memories, was the work… that I did for Thor, the puppet, the Asgard.

David Read:
Morris Chapdelaine.

Debbie Bell:
Yes. And Jeny Cassady. I had researched before I went, and I had done a cover for Thor… in relation to Sam. But I had never met them. And it turned out Thor came to a convention and did photo ops. So, we did this giant photo op with Thor and all the women who were a part of our little group. We had to wait for everybody to show up in the hallway. And this very sweet girl, to me, ’cause I’m older, was talking to us and keeping us entertained while we were waiting for our whole group to show up. And we had just finished the tour with Bruce at Rainmaker. So, we all had our Hawaiian shirts on in honor of Bruce, because he was the Hawaiian shirt guy. And we were waiting in this photo op line for Thor, which was actually very short compared to the other photo op lines. And this very sweet girl came over and she was talking to us. “What do we think about Thor?” and all this stuff. And I said, “I just love Thor, especially since this season, he’s in more often and he has more expressions in his face. He’s not just this puppet that you see as a puppet. He almost smiles and he raises his eyebrows and has expressions in his eyes and stuff.” And she looked at me just gobsmacked, and she said, “I’m the one who does his eyes.” It was Jeny Cassady, who was one of the puppeteers that did Thor with Morris. I was blown away because I had no idea I was talking to someone who was connected to it. She went and brought Morris over, so that’s how I met Morris. I had them sign a Thor cover I had. And then the next year, when we went to another convention in Vancouver, I had a cover design just for him, the Thor Traveler magazine.

David Read:
Asgard Traveler. Big splash.

Debbie Bell:
Asgard Traveler. Yes. And he saw me in the hallway, and I remember he said, “Oh, here’s the…” I don’t know what… I don’t think he said, “Crazy lady.” I hope not. But he said something along the lines of, “Oh, here’s the lady who does those great covers.” And I said, “This year I have one just for you.” They were so sweet. They really couldn’t believe anybody thought it was worthwhile getting their autographs. And I’m like, “But you’re Thor.”

David Read:
“You’re a part of the process.”

Debbie Bell:
“You are part of the process besides the wonderful puppet. You create what he does, and that’s what I related to when I watched the show, and that’s what I was so impressed by. And that’s what I wanna say thank you for.” I’m still friends with him on Facebook.

David Read:
See, that’s the thing about these events that I love. You create the opportunity for lifelong friendships, coming together and finding people of like minds who appreciate a show for what it is. But we all take away friends. Some people, they just wanna get their autograph and go, “That’s fine.” But for the rest of us, it’s “I will be connected with you people for the rest of my life.”

Debbie Bell:
I’m still friends with every single one of those ladies from our original group. I still talk to them. We email. We’re on Facebook together, talking about our lives. We don’t have any plans to do any more conventions. But they go to the occasional thing here or there or whatever, and I hear about it, and I’m happy for them. It’s just… I met some really wonderful people through GateWorld, actually. We met in a Daniel something thread. It was very cool.

David Read:
Admiration for an actor, and it turns into friendships that you keep up with for decades.

Debbie Bell:
And it turns into… it’s been 17 years or something that we’ve been talking to each other. I met you the first time at one of those conventions.

David Read:
In a line. I think we got to know each other in a line.

Debbie Bell:
We got to know each other in a line. I remember the line.

David Read:
Outside, in the cold.

Debbie Bell:
The one where I had my book. Yes. That was a crazy one.

David Read:
That was great.

Debbie Bell:
I brought my book of covers. People must’ve thought I was insane. But I enjoyed showing the book of covers to people, because they were like, “I can’t believe you did this.” Maybe they all thought I was nuts. I don’t know. But it was so much fun to do. And going back and reading my notes about how I created these was so enjoyable. I had forgotten until you asked me to do this, because it really was a very enjoyable time in my life when I got to be creative and use my design instincts and the fun of the show and tie in all the amusing things I could. I’m no writer, so I was plagiarizing everything and… borrowing everything. But it was a very enjoyable way to be involved with the show and to be a fan without swooning over some actor or whatever. I didn’t want to do that. Once you meet them all and they’re people and you’re like, “You’re nice. You’re like my neighbor next door.” OK. And we like you, and you do a great job. But then, there are all these other people who are involved, and it’s overwhelming to think how many people it takes to put together a show like that. I’ve been watching movies and TV forever, but I really had no idea how much was involved, and being able to go on set tours and talk to the people behind the scenes was a remarkable experience. I was glad I did it.

David Read:
And you give them a little gift as well with the cover.

Debbie Bell:
They loved them.

David Read:
How often, really, think about it, do you get to put together your work and your fandom? How many jobs can you do that with?

Debbie Bell:
Never done anything like that before. I’ve worked for a zillion different clients but nothing was as personal and as fun to do as coming up with ways to pay tribute to the characters they gave life to and to the work that they did with Bruce, or John, or Martin, or whatever. You really could say thank you in a way. Just coming up and saying, “Thank you for the show, we really love it,” is one thing. And that’s great. But this way I did covers for other people, I did things they could give to the people they were meeting at whether it was a photo op or at a table dinner or something. And we had wonderful conversations with folks, simply because it brought a little extra to the table and they were gracious anyway. They saw you made an effort so they made even more of an effort. And you really felt like you got a real experience. Little extra.

David Read:
In those three minutes of communication.

Debbie Bell:
In those three minutes.

David Read:
Exactly. It was something to remember. I always wanted to have you involved in something that I was doing, and when I was working at Stargate Command, we were doing a shakeup of our social media, and I was like, “I think Debbie needs to do a stint.”

Debbie Bell:
That was fun. That was the closest to the covers I ever got to do again. I’ve never done anything like that since, for anything. I do a lot of personalized things for family. In fact, some of the fans I met at the events had me do personalized Time Magazine covers for them. Their family members and things, and I loved it. I never charged anybody. I said, “Give me something from your country that typifies your country to you. A print or something.” So, something that says your country. I wanted to share the experience and learn, and it was, overall, a very good experience. A little intensive.

David Read:
I would suspect so. How long would it take to do a typical cover?

Debbie Bell:
Not long. The hardest part was coming up with how to tie in… I would have to research their character’s storyline and the most recent episodes, and maybe pull a quote or something if there was something that fed into that. I was doing Elizabeth Weir leadership things because leadership was her big thing. So, I was trying to make fun that way, and then trying to find something. But once I had something I knew I could parody and I did some research, it just all flowed together.

David Read:
The Wee Baby Turtles one is probably my favorite. That is so adorable.

Debbie Bell:
That’s my favorite. First one on Reptiles Magazine.

David Read:
‘Cause it’s a specific reference and you brought it to life.

Debbie Bell:
I loved that. I love the ones that you could laugh at.

David Read:
That’s beautiful.

Debbie Bell:
I was so afraid they would think I was being serious when all of these were just humor, folks. I know it sounds weird, but it gives me a chance to express my creativity and show you… it’s not like I believe these things exist. It’s OK.

David Read:
No. It’s a mode of expression.

Debbie Bell:
We had really good times talking to everybody. ‘Cause I think I met everybody who appeared at conventions, obviously. I never got to go to a convention…

David Read:
I don’t think you have one for Rick.

Debbie Bell:
No, I never got to meet Rick. I never did a cover for Rick because I never went to a convention where I was supposed to meet him.

David Read:
Gatecon.

Debbie Bell:
And because of his being so famous… some of them asked me to send them a cover later or something if I met someone and I didn’t have an extra cover, and I would. I would just send it off to their agent or whatever. So, they could have it. But I never wanted to impose upon Rick in any way. I did have a couple of fans go to conventions that I did not attend and they took covers that I made for people I was never gonna be able to meet, and got them signed for me.

David Read:
Good. That’s great.

Debbie Bell:
That’s cool. But I was sorry I never got to meet Rick. RDA was obviously the one to get and he wasn’t doing conventions at that time. And when he started doing them, he was doing some with Amanda in England. He went out to do hers and I couldn’t do that, so there was no way that was gonna happen.

David Read:
So, no conventions ever again? No opportunity? If one comes along. The right one?

Debbie Bell:
I have thought about it, trust me. But it just hasn’t worked out, work-wise, that I’ve been able to go. I would love to go back to Vancouver, it was so beautiful. We went up to Whistler, we went all over. It was so beautiful. I would love to see that again. Been only the twice. And I did the Chicago one and then I did a couple other things. I did a Tampa one, which is, of course, closer to where I am, when some of the characters were appearing at other things. So, I actually went to a Star Trek convention once. So, I could meet a few people who had done crossovers in different sci-fi shows. So, I got to meet people that way. That’s how I met Carmen Argenziano. He gave a wonderful speech. It was a small convention. I sat right up front and got to hear him talk about The Actor’s Studio. It was fascinating. And I had a cover I had done for him. He was so impressed, the way they act impressed. And he was so sweet. He couldn’t believe I’d come just for that, just for this thing. I said, “I love Star Trek, but I’m really a Stargate fan. This is why I came.” And he insisted that another fan take our picture. He was so sweet. I still have that photo.

David Read:
He was a great guy.

Debbie Bell:
I loved him. I really loved him. I miss him as an actor. I really do. He was a great guy. But you meet so many nice people that way, people I’d never have any other way of ever meeting for any reason, except you run into them in a coffee shop somewhere if you live in California, I guess.

David Read:
You may bump into them.

Debbie Bell:
Conventions are fun. They’re a different breed of things, but they’re fun. I just wanted to find a way to make it fun for me and the group of people I was with. That’s how it started out. We just wanted to make it fun for us and give that to the other fans.

David Read:
I am so grateful that you did, and that you put your creativity out there and spent the time to make something truly exceptional and cool, and something that

Debbie Bell:
You’re very kind.

David Read:
the fans, we get the little references. It makes us laugh.

Debbie Bell:
I think anybody who’s seen the show would get it. Or if it’s their favorite character and they read it, they recognize the quotes or the silly jokes that are in it. Even after all these years, it brings back memories. When I went back and looked at them again and I read a cover and I think, “Oh yeah, I remember that episode,” that was fun. That was really cool. And it brings back the joy that we had from the show, and having so many friends together ’cause we would watch the show all over the country. And yet we would get together on GateWorld and talk about it. So, it was a real shared experience, the way a convention is a shared experience with other people. So, that’s what I think everyone was looking for. It’s not everybody’s cup of tea to go to a convention. I never thought about going until that very first one I ever did, that 2006 Fan Con, ’cause I never thought I’d go to a convention.

David Read:
You made friends, and it’s like, “Well, let’s meet them.”

Debbie Bell:
We made friends first, and then I felt comfortable going with these six, seven other women from everywhere in the country and England and New Zealand. And we’d all get together and go. And that was a really joyful time. So, I’ve thought about going again to one. There was one in Chicago not that long ago that I really thought about going to, but it didn’t work out at the time.

David Read:
As long as you keep your options open, something may come along. “You know what? That may work with the schedule.”

Debbie Bell:
Maybe. And I look completely different, so it’s like a whole new person all over again. I know, I’m no longer a brunette.

David Read:
If someone wants to procure your services, how can they get in touch with you? Professionally.

Debbie Bell:
My email is my business name, [email protected]. That’s me. In my real life job, I do a lot of business-to-business stuff. I do work right now for an economic development corporation and it’s fulfilling in its own way. I’ve worked for advertising agencies and all, but most work I’ve done has been my own company, freelance on my own for the last 25 years, 30 years, something like that. It’s been good. It’s been a good ride. I enjoy it.

David Read:
It’s always great to do something that you love and get paid for it.

Debbie Bell:
I know people use that as a cliché, but it’s true. If you love what you do, it’s not work.

David Read:
That’s exactly right.

Debbie Bell:
A lot of other stuff comes with it, like accounting and schmoozing.

David Read:
Taxes.

Debbie Bell:
But the other taxes, we don’t talk about that. But the actual part of what I do that I love, the design, never gets old. Never.

David Read:
And for the dog people in the crowd, can we see Zoe one more time before we go?

Debbie Bell:
She’s sleeping here at my feet.

David Read:
Aw. Hi, Zoe.

Debbie Bell:
Hello. You’re so silly. She’s such a silly. She doesn’t want to come out. Come on. Come on. No.

David Read:
No, she’s not in for it. She’s like, “Ah, I’ll just wag my tail.”

Debbie Bell:
She’s like, “No.”

David Read:
She says, “I’m getting old, Mama.”

Debbie Bell:
“I’m getting old.” “I’m getting old like you. I got gray hair like you.” That’s right.

David Read:
They’re with us for a little bit and then that’s it. It’s the saddest part of it.

Debbie Bell:
I know. Debi, it’s been so nice talking to you.

David Read:
Debi, this has been great.

Debbie Bell:
I was very honored that you wanted to include me with the list of luminaries of all sorts.

David Read:
You are in the credits for every episode. You are responsible for the bones of the show, which is our logo, and I appreciate you for that.

Debbie Bell:
By dragging my body to do it.

David Read:
I wasn’t gonna do this without having some kind of element from you involved.

Debbie Bell:
Thank you. I’m proud to be involved in any way, because as I have said many times, it may not be around, but Stargate was and remains my favorite sci-fi show. It’s very touching to be connected to it, even in a small way. Thank you.

David Read:
My thanks to Debbie Bell for joining me in this episode. It’s wonderful to have her back. And if you have some professional work for her, you can reach out to her at [email protected]. And thanks so much for tuning into the show. If you enjoyed what you saw, please share it with Stargate friends. We have merchandise available to you. We’re brought to you every week for free and we do appreciate you watching. If you wanna support our show, buy yourself some of our themed swag. We’re now offering T-shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts and hoodies for all ages, as well as cups and other accessories in a variety of sizes and colors at dialthegate.com/merch. Checkout is fast and easy. You can use your credit card or PayPal. And thanks so much for your support. I couldn’t do this job without my amazing production team, including Linda “Gate Gabber” Furey, as well as my moderators, Sommer, Tracy, Jeremy, Rhys, and Antony. You guys make the show possible. And big thanks to Frederick Marcoux at ConceptsWeb. He maintains our website. We have new shows that are gonna be coming out. I’m still organizing them right now, but the first information will be posted on dialthegate.com, so keep an eye on that over there. My name is David Read. Thanks again so much to Debbie for joining us, and Adam for joining us earlier. My name is David Read for Dial the Gate, and I’ll see you on the other side.