As fandom works to restore Stargate to prominence at Amazon/MGM, we are privileged to be joined by Nerd Cookies to explore her love of the franchise and what she would like to see from a new show!

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Timecodes
0:00 – Splash Screen
1:23 – Opening Credits
1:51 – Guest Introduction
2:22 – Thoughts on Dune: Part Three
5:17 – Elaine’s Stargate Story
6:27 – Apple TV’s Strong Sci-Fi Lineup (Severance & Pluribus)
7:14 – MGM’s From Is the Truest Successor to LOST So Far
8:22 – What Makes Horror Work? (The Backrooms)
11:35 – Elaine’s Favorite Things About Stargate SG-1
14:18 – Elaine’s Love for Stargate Atlantis
15:12 – How RDA & Michael Shanks Developed Their Characters
17:47 – SG-1’s Alchemy Was Great
20:25 – McKay’s Journey from SG-1 to Atlantis
22:55 – Why McKay’s Transformation Is So Relatable
24:53 – Characters We Root Are Flawed But Redeemable
27:05 – Robert C. Cooper’s Inner McKay
28:06 – Elaine’s Thoughts on Stargate Universe
30:18 – SGU’s Serialized Storytelling Was Ahead of Its Time
32:01 – Elaine’s Reaction to Martin Gero’s Stargate Announcement
33:25 – What Could New Stargate Have Been? (Project Hail Mary)
35:12 – What Does Amazon Want from the Stargate IP?
36:44 – Appealing to Modern Audiences
38:25 – How to Create a New Stargate That Works
39:50 – How Fandom Reacted to Stargate’s Cancellation
42:02 – Amazon’s Track Record with Major IPs (Fallout & The Rings of Power)
43:22 – How Amazon Rebooting Stargate Could Divide Fans
45:37 – Amazon’s Biggest IP (James Bond)
46:08 – Picard Season Three
48:53 – Wiping the Slate Clean VS Respecting History
51:13 – It’s All Prequels, Reboots & Remakes These Days (RoboCop)
53:08 – The Sense of Ownership Among Fans
54:41 – People Just Want Good Stories
56:47 – Why Stargate Fans Are So Loyal
58:05 – TRON is a Very Niche IP
59:22 – Why Studios Should Listen to Fan Feedback
1:00:24 – When Listening to Fans Pays Off (Sonic the Hedgehog)
1:02:38 – “What Star Trek: Voyager Lost, Battlestar Galactica Gained”
1:04:44 – A New Stargate Must Respect What Came Before
1:06:28 – Why the Fallout TV Series Works
1:08:13 – Audiences Are Hungry for Hope & Optimism
1:09:46 – The Future of Stargate on the Big Screen
1:12:11 – How Jonas Quinn Found His Place in SG-1
1:13:35 – David Feels Disappointed, Not Betrayed, by Amazon
1:16:00 – Why Elaine Never Attended a Comic-Con
1:17:39 – Elaine’s Hopes for Martin Gero’s Canceled Stargate
1:20:11 – Elaine’s Reading List
1:21:40 – Why Elaine & David Started Their YouTube Channels
1:23:46 – Thank You, Elaine
1:25:15 – Post-Interview Housekeeping
1:27:54 – End Credits

***
“Stargate,” “Stargate SG-1,” “Stargate Atlantis,” “Stargate Universe,” and all related materials are owned by Amazon MGM Studios.

#SaveStargate
#Stargate
#DialtheGate
#turtletimeline
#wxtremists

TRANSCRIPT
Find an error? Submit it here.

David Read:
Welcome everyone to Dial the Gate: The Stargate Oral History Project. Podcast? Project? It’s a podcast. It’s a little of everything. My name is David Read, I appreciate you being with me here. If you are on YouTube and you are in the sci-fi community, sooner or later you will have come across Nerd Cookies. Elaine with Nerd Cookies is joining us for this episode. Elaine, how are you?

Elaine:
I’m great. I’m so excited to be here.

David Read:
I’m thrilled to have you. I gather you are a Dune fan.

Elaine:
How could you tell?

David Read:
I’m not sure. It’s the glowing eyes. There’s something a little Goa’uldish going on here, but similar. A couple universes over. Are you looking forward to the third one?

Elaine:
Yeah. Nervous, excited, but very excited. Always equal parts nervousness and excitement.

David Read:
Have you read Messiah?

Elaine:
Yeah. I’m super excited to see this film adaptation. I love the Syfy Channel miniseries version.

David Read:
Same. I’m a big fan of the Alec Newman series on the Sci-Fi Channel. I didn’t really love the fact that they combined Messiah and Children of Dune. I’m looking forward to a more fleshed-out version of Messiah. My concern is who’s gonna pick up Denis’ work on Children and then God Emperor. I really hope that they don’t quit here.

Elaine:
The Children are making an appearance, if you’ve seen the latest trailer. So, I don’t know.

David Read:
Stay away from them. So Leto and Ghanima are gonna appear?

Elaine:
I’m sorry. Looks like it.

David Read:
Interesting.

Elaine:
The teenage twins have been cast, so it looks like we may get some Children of Dune-esque elements in there. I don’t know.

David Read:
So, they’re doing basically the same thing. I understand now, OK. So, they’re doing a lot of what they did with Anya Taylor-Joy then.

Elaine:
Maybe. I have no idea.

David Read:
Casting what they would have done for the next one. I’m thrilled with it. I think it’s some of the more high-concept sci-fi that we’ve been getting lately in terms of visuals. I think they’ve largely been hitting the nail on the head about 93, 94% of the time.

Elaine:
They’ve done a lot. Denis Villeneuve’s done a great job, especially when it comes to Paul Atreides’ story. I think Timothee Chalamet has been fantastic, and with Duncan Idaho as well. He’s one of my favorite characters, so in that respect, I’m super excited to see.

David Read:
Can’t get enough of Duncan, that’s for sure. That character, for those who don’t know, is the anchor for the entire franchise more or less. He’s in pretty much every book. I forget the number of books that he’s in, but he’s regularly throughout the mythology.

Elaine:
He’s the secret hero of Dune, I guess.

David Read:
Absolutely. How long have you been a Stargate fan?

Elaine:
Since I was a kid. I was very little. My parents took me to see Stargate in theaters. I didn’t really register it. I was still pretty young at that time as far as really understanding the nuances and everything. I remember the visuals, the concepts, and the characters really stood out. Similar with Jurassic Park. I saw that when I was really little too.

David Read:
OK.

Elaine:
I was scared of the dinosaurs, but I loved the music, the characters and the excitement, that vibe. I literally grew up with Stargate in my life and followed the show as it was premiering from that young age and when it was eventually canceled, it was Stargate Universe – I really felt this giant void in my life, ’cause it was always been a part of my life before, having new Stargate stories.

David Read:
So, you really followed it all the way through.

Elaine:
Yeah. I loved it. Sci-Fi Fridays were my jam.

David Read:
That was the thing for years. SG-1, SGA and Galactica.

Elaine:
Primo television.

David Read:
That alchemy was not ever really repeated.

Elaine:
I don’t think so.

David Read:
I really miss it.

Elaine:
Maybe now something similar is going on with Apple TV, their streaming service. They have a lot of really good science fiction. I love Severance. Pluribus was interesting. I don’t know if you’ve heard of that.

David Read:
I’m talking about appointment television on Friday nights.

Elaine:
They don’t have that anymore.

David Read:
I agree that if I had to pick one, the Apple TV lineup would be a clear winner. Severance and Pluribus are my top sci-fi shows right now, along with From, which I inhaled last month. Lost is my favorite TV show of all time.

Elaine:
I haven’t seen that.

David Read:
You haven’t seen Lost?

Elaine:
No.

David Read:
From?

Elaine:
From.

David Read:
It is, I think, the truest so far successor to Lost. There are shows like Manifest and a couple of others have tried it, but From, I’m very pleased with how tight it is. Four seasons of five have aired and they air about every 13, 14 months, so they’re really consistent year after year. The last 10 episodes are coming out next year and I’m very pleased with how tight they are with adhering to their mythology. When they set up stuff, they really so far have pretty much been batting 1,000 in terms of paying stuff off. So, I’m very pleased.

Elaine:
That’s awesome. I gotta check that out.

David Read:
If you don’t mind horror.

Elaine:
No, I love Alien, the Alien franchise.

David Read:
So, she can handle horror.

Elaine:
A little bit. I love cosmic horror, actually, especially is my jam.

David Read:
So, Lovecraftian.

Elaine:
Yeah. Backrooms, I would classify that as horror and I loved that one.

David Read:
For sure. That’s existential. Backrooms was a treat. I’d followed it a little bit online for a while, but not enough that the movie gave away a lot of things that had been progressing that I wasn’t aware of. In terms of internal mythology by the original guy who got to adapt his version, I’m very pleased with this resurgence of… how do I wanna put this? Less franchise-y stuff in terms of cinema. More original or based on something that was original, like Backrooms. Who would’ve known that this empty building in, I think, Michigan would have spawned, a photograph from it, would have spawned a series? That’s wild to me.

Elaine:
It really taps into something that I think we all have experienced. It’s almost dreamlike; we’ve had dreams similar to that. Being in this endless maze and something that looks so ordinary, but there’s something off.

David Read:
Turtles all the way down. I had an interesting conversation with, I think it was Jakub, one of my producers, and we were talking about what is so eerie about it is that for some people it’s the possibility of being watched and being hunted. For other people, it’s the fear of the abyss of nothingness. And Backrooms resonates with both of those kinds of people because one way or another, it’s existential dread.

Elaine:
It actually reminded me a lot of Jaws and the first Alien film, of how your imagination is really what terrifies you the most. Because for a long time you don’t see the alien, or you don’t see the shark and your imagination, your own fear and dread is kinda causing that, making that horror.

David Read:
You fill in the missing pieces with your own imagination.

Elaine:
Exactly. Oftentimes what we can imagine is probably scarier than when they fully reveal something. Oftentimes we’re scared by what we don’t see or know. It’s nice that it’s not a lost art, that kind of storytelling.

David Read:
Which of the shows, I asked this beforehand, but I wanna get this on the record. Which of the shows, of the three, are you closest to? You said that you went into the feature at the theater. You didn’t see it later. Which of these are you most attached to and which of the characters is really home to you, the relationships?

Elaine:
That’s a great question. Stargate SG-1, I feel, is probably my favorite show. All of this really dove into the universe. I think the film did such a great job of presenting this fascinating concept. One of the reasons why I love Stargate is because it’s so unique in that, unlike Star Wars, where it takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, or Star Trek, which is our own distant future, this optimistic, hopeful view and getting to explore the universe that way. This was happening now, our present time, we are able to experience traveling to other worlds and the wonders and dangers that that could present. I love that they presented that as a concept, had a very contained story and I instantly loved the dynamic between Jack O’Neill, Colonel Jack O’Neill, and Dr. Daniel Jackson. Especially Daniel Jackson. He was so instantly likable. I loved his humor and their dynamic was so delicious. I loved it. They were all so different, but the chemistry worked so well. That’s what continued with Stargate SG-1 and continuing those relationships, that chemistry of these different personalities traveling together or exploring the galaxy together and having all of those challenges and wonders and different things come up; these moral dilemmas and how they would face these things together in our modern era. How we would handle experiencing alien technology or alien threats. I thought that was so cool. I love the way that the show was able to expand upon that, really dive into the richness that this concept was capable of. And yes, I love the dynamic between Jackson and O’Neill. Probably McKay is who I relate to the most.

David Read:
Rodney.

Elaine:
That’s me. I don’t know, as far as my personality, he’s probably…

David Read:
My point is, your point is pointless. Ugh.

Elaine:
I feel probably most at home with him and his dynamic with the team. I love Atlantis. I love how they continue to expand upon this universe with the different personalities. Ah, so great, and I want more.

David Read:
I know. Don’t we all?

Elaine:
Of that.

David Read:
Exactly. That specifically. If you have any questions for Nerd Cookies or myself, for those who are in the YouTube live chat, go ahead and get those over to my mods. My team is joining us today for that. What did you think of RDA and Shanks’ adaptations of those characters from the feature? I watched “Children of the Gods” first and then saw Stargate the next night. It took me a couple of minutes to recognize that Shanks was not Spader, ’cause I didn’t know who Spader was yet.

Elaine:
He really embodies that. I love how Richard Dean Anderson wanted to do a different take on the character, but I thought it was so seamless in how it worked. Even in the film, where Jack O’Neil is at that time, it makes sense for him to be very serious and in the throes of grief and ready to end it. So, of course, it makes sense that he was more serious. At the end of the movie, his dynamic with Daniel Jackson did evolve and have that more light-hearted dynamic. He had the “Give my regards to King Tut” line. It did seem like he was paving the way very well for Richard Dean Anderson to come in and I thought he did it very well, too. He wasn’t all jokes from the very beginning. He developed the character very well from that point in time. As the characters’ relationships progressed, as their journeys progressed through these different stories and together, their own dynamic was forming with the team. It was very well done. I applaud Richard Dean Anderson from going off of what Kurt Russell gave him and paying respect for what he did with the character and then making it his own, but in an organic way, one that felt natural to the character to develop in that way.

David Read:
It was pretty seamless. Rick said, “I can’t do that hair,” for one thing. Brad Wright told me years later; there was no way that Rick could be Duar.

Elaine:
Can anyone? I don’t know. Kurt Russell barely.

David Read:
I know a couple of people who can pull it off, but otherwise…

Elaine:
Very Van Damme.

David Read:
No, there’s something about that alchemy, especially with that original team, that I don’t think even Atlantis was ever really able to reproduce. It had its own energy and vibe, but those four originals for the first five seasons, there was something about that particular… They filled different quadrants so well in terms of their personalities. Everyone had a place to go. The other shows, as far as I am concerned, did not reach as thoroughly. Also, having said that, Atlantis was only on for five and Universe was on for two. By the third and fourth season of SG-1 and even largely into the back half of SG-1, those characters are fully formed. It happened fairly quickly.

Elaine:
With any new show, I still would have been lamenting the fact that back then we had 20-plus episodes that filled up a season. A lot of them were bottle episodes and there was that through line of the grander story that would carry over. That was such a great format for characters to grow and get to know each other and develop that camaraderie that only comes with time and facing all of these different situations together. I feel the audience, too, is on that same ride, that same journey with them, and we can’t help but also form those relationships to these characters that are so likable, with their different personalities and what they bring to the table. All of the teams have such different talents and personalities.

David Read:
Different flavors.

Elaine:
The way they mesh together. Different flavors. The original team was so good. You had Daniel Jackson and O’Neill, but to throw Teal’c in the mix and Samantha Carter was superb. It added this great mix of flavors in there and worked so well. I love how Atlantis continued that. Very different. I love that they brought McKay back; he was so good to have. I loved him when I first saw him, even though he’s annoying.

David Read:
Even in “48 Hours,” you were sold on him?

Elaine:
Yes, I did. His chemistry with Carter was so good that you couldn’t help but at least like their interactions, even if he was annoying.

David Read:
I can’t help but wonder if Rodney would have been suitable for Atlantis had “Redemption Part One” and “Part Two” not been in the mix, had it only been “48 Hours.” I remember the original announcement coming out, the original photograph with the four or five in the shot, and remember seeing McKay for the first time and thinking to myself, “Oh my God, I don’t know if this is gonna work.” ‘Cause there was a chance that it wasn’t. He turned out to be, like Spock, the exterior observer of the group. He’s human, but he is neurodivergent and can definitely comment on a lot of those little quirks of humanity, as he is not fully embracing those characteristics.

Elaine:
I love the balance that they did for him. I do agree that the other episodes that he was in before he got signed on to Atlantis, he had his own little arc there. I can’t remember the name of the episode, but Anubis was attacking the gate and I think he came back for that.

David Read:
Yes, that’s “Redemption Part One” and “Part Two.”

Elaine:
I loved that. Again, there was a little arc there. It kind of smoothed out some of those edges and we got to know more of him as a character. I love a little bit of those flaws that are relatable and there are still traits there that you admire. It’s a very delicate balance, though, to write a character like that and I think that they did it well. It can pay off if there’s enough there that offers that great chemistry. Like I said, the chemistry between them, even though they were butting heads and he was saying things that were very inappropriate. The way they interacted was so good. You couldn’t help but root for him to learn more about the galaxy. When he did, that did change him, and again offered a really delicious arc to watch as he interacted with other people, a part of a team himself. Being in situations like these that he was looking at from a distance and so far removed from that. But now he’s in it, and how that affected him, I really liked the journey that he went on, especially when he got to be part of the team himself in Atlantis. I thought that was great; great part for him to do. I love the different personalities, man, and sometimes there are ones that are gonna be a little… What’s the word? Brusque. I dunno. A little something to work on.

David Read:
I have a friend, Sonia. She is one of the most staunch feminists that I know and McKay is her favorite character. I asked her a few years ago, I was like, “How is that possible?” It’s similar to the pedestal that we put Vader on after he has redeemed himself through destroying the Emperor. We set aside the fact that he is directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of perhaps hundreds of millions or even billions of beings across the Star Wars galaxy. “It’s all OK in the end. He’s a good guy. He gets to go to Jedi heaven.”

Elaine:
A little like a Tony Stark.

David Read:
Exactly. Very much so. Playboy through and through. Sonia’s answer was, “We know him. We know Rodney because we’ve seen that transformation.” I think that that’s a definitive answer where if you really have an issue with someone along the lines of a Rodney in your life, how well do you know them? I think that says a lot to being open to discovering people and who they really are, if you find a way or if they allow you to be let in.

Elaine:
That’s a really good observation. I think it’s how he was written, and again, that invokes things that we still like about a similar arc, like Tony Stark or Sherlock Holmes, that have those character flaws, but they have other traits to counterbalance that, that you still root for, that you still like. Unfortunately, I feel like it’s a trope now in other shows that don’t handle it with as much finesse. They think that starting off the character as unlikable with no redeeming qualities and put that as the hero, I feel like it’s a bit forced. They’re forcing you to root for this person.

David Read:
Or the character is perfect. They have no flaws whatsoever. It’s the same knife edge.

Elaine:
That’s a great point. That’s why I applaud the writers for writing something like that that’s more in depth and relatable because we’re not all the same. We all have our own quirks and issues, but there’s redeeming things in there also. Having that go against other characters, other people that you are with, can have that impact on you, positive, negative. That’s great writing and I think that’s what people really respond to, especially with a Rodney. That really, really worked for this setting and how he worked with Sheppard and the others. It’s a great journey that I loved following. While SG-1’s my favorite, he’s probably my favorite character.

David Read:
Last note on Rodney. Everyone said that Rodney was based on Rob Cooper, Cooper wrote “48 Hours.” I’m like, “There’s no way.” I’d done interviews and interviews with Coop for the longest time until a few years ago where we were sitting down and talking. I don’t think this was something that went to air. I said something and I got an eye roll. I forget what the trigger was and I was like, “There it is. That’s what they were talking about. That’s Rodney.” I was like, “OK, it’s true.” You push someone a certain way far enough, eventually they will respond. I finally saw Rodney out of Robert C. But for a long time, I was like, “No, you guys are all nuts.” That was fun to finally see that unveiling. I’ve got a few questions for us. Before I do that, anything about Universe that we wanna touch on before we move on to the show that was gonna be and then was suddenly not?

Elaine:
I love Eli.

David Read:
This is my favorite of the three.

Elaine:
I know a lot of people whose that’s their favorite. I think I love it. I think it has more flaws than I find in the other shows, mostly about the interpersonal drama that was a bit too much for me at times, which usually revolved around the communication stones. I wanted them to be separate from Earth. I wanted them to be completely cut off.

David Read:
Wow.

Elaine:
It’s my personal taste in that. I loved it when they were on the ship and facing its dangers. The bottle episodes were so good. I love when they were traveling, when they were exploring that strange universe in the strange ship. I think the melodrama, I should say, got a little bit too much for me. I love the science of it, the adventure of it, and that’s more what Atlantis and SG-1 embodied. Universe has such great characters and great stories in there and it was really coming into its own.

David Read:
The last 10 episodes are some of the strongest sci-fi that exists.

Elaine:
The Destiny is probably up there as one of my favorite ships. The design is gorgeous. The sequences when the ship powers up through the star for the first time, it’s so epic.

David Read:
That was cool.

Elaine:
So good. Every time it gives me chills. I love Eli. I love Rush. They were the biggest highlights for me of that show. I miss Eli. I still think about him. I still think about what could be. Universe is a really good formula to look at. That’s probably the closest thing that a streaming platform would do for a show, in that it had mostly that serialized storytelling formula.

David Read:
I think the pacing would be a little tighter now. But other than that, largely more gritty and realistic.

Elaine:
I think that would probably be the closest that a streaming show, if it was gonna be on a streaming platform, would look like. A serialized format with maybe a couple bottle episodes. Tighter and, I don’t know, limited to maybe 10 episodes, if we even get that. I think it did a very good job at handling both serial and episodic. I think it was more of a balanced way in that. I think that’s why people liked it more. I think the fans of it like that through-line story. I think the premise itself set that up well because they are out there. Their lives are hanging by a thread on this derelict ship and who knows what’s gonna happen? Their fight for survival is the main premise of the show and I think that works very well.

David Read:
They don’t even have a certainty of oxygen.

Elaine:
I think that works very well for that serial storytelling formula. It was a great way to go into the future for whatever was gonna happen.

David Read:
Agreed. My heart is still very much with Destiny. November 19th, 2025, we posted the announcement. Where were you and what was your initial reaction?

Elaine:
My goodness. I almost couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it and I was over the moon because it was what we wanted. That’s what it was. The way the announcement happened, of them reaching out to you and the folks at GateWorld, Dial the Gate, that kind of marriage, and with who we wanted with it, Brad Wright, Joseph Mallozzi, Martin Gero. I think, wasn’t your first question, “Is it gonna be a reboot?”

David Read:
Yeah, that was the one that was designated for me to ask. It was, “It is not a reboot.”

Elaine:
That is what my first question would be.

David Read:
“Its own self-contained story.”

Elaine:
You asked that question. It was everything that I’d wanted, I’d asked for and to have that be the thing was incredible. I thought that we were turning a page for IPs or adaptation and how they’re handled. I was really excited and excited for the future.

David Read:
When I went and saw Project Hail Mary with my buddies earlier this year, this was before the cancellation. It was an MGM Amazon product. I was like, “This is the cloth that the new Stargate will be cut from.” This kind of whimsy, this little bit harder science perhaps. The expenses not spared on visual effects and on casting and production. All of it was gonna come together. Then to be completely blindsided on 2nd of June with the information that came about was devastating.

Elaine:
It’s funny you mention Project Hail Mary. I was following its production shortly after its announcement.

David Read:
Are you a fan of the book?

Elaine:
Yes. I read the book shortly after the film adaptation was announced, ’cause the concept sounded awesome. I love The Martian. So, when I knew that it was his book, Andy Weir, I was closely following it, loved it. My review was talking about how this reminds me of old-school Star Trek, what we loved about the hopeful optimism and the hopeful optimistic look of the future, of hard science mixed with heart and humor and adventure and exploration of the wonders of the universe. With Stargate, a new Stargate series poised to start, or it was in writing or in pre-production. It seemed like we were in a great place. What could have been and what still could be!

David Read:
It’s true. They want to do something with the property. Frequently people are asking me, “Can’t someone else buy it?” They don’t want to sell They want to do their own thing with it. They’re taking other pitches, to my knowledge. Either actively or passively.

Elaine:
It breaks my heart actually.

David Read:
That’s it.

Elaine:
Because of how they did it and of how Amazon reached out to you. They used your platform, the meeting that you had with Mallozzi and Martin Gero and them. That’s what the fans would have responded to and on their official accounts they said, “Stargate fans, this is for you. An extraordinary new journey is about to begin.” A few months later, no word from them officially, but others, insider sources saying that, “It didn’t look like it was gonna have broad appeal beyond the passionate, dedicated fan base.”

David Read:
Beyond the existing fan base. That was such a dunk.

Elaine:
What are we supposed to take from that as Stargate fans, that we aren’t good enough?

David Read:
That we’re not sufficient.

Elaine:
It’s unfortunate because we’ve seen this, I think, in beloved franchises where they think that rebooting or remaking something to try to appeal to other demographics, other, I don’t know, age groups or young adults or women or other things. You have no guarantee of getting that audience, you don’t. We’ve seen it time and time again with very prominent IPs that are failing at the box office. The fact that Mandalorian and Grogu, a Star Wars film, can fail at the box office is crazy to even think about.

David Read:
Backrooms ate its lunch.

Elaine:
That’s the thing. Modern audiences or this generation now, they are loving what they grew up with. Stargate is something I grew up with and am passionate about. Other fans, they have their own stories and IPs that they’re growing up with, like Minecraft and Backrooms and they are responding to that. You don’t have a guarantee that they’re gonna suddenly jump onto the bandwagon of a famous IP. It’s not famous to them. They have no relationship or connection to it, we do. That’s the thing, they’re trying to appeal to someone that’s a thought, a concept. It doesn’t exist and you have no guarantee of them jumping on to it. You do have a guarantee, however, of appealing to Stargate fans, fans that already exist, which is why they spent $8.5 billion. That’s why it was worth so much to begin with.

David Read:
It was one of the jewels in that crown that Amazon picked up for a reason.

Elaine:
We’re the ones that made MGM so valuable. Unfortunately, I think, they don’t view us like that. They view canon, those who like canon, as an obstacle to overcome. “It’s too much work. We’re gonna start over.” We don’t want that; we want to continue. It’s not like you have to do a Stargate Universe sequel series. You can take a small corner of this IP. The possibilities are endless; your only limit is your imagination. You have certain boundaries when it comes to lore and canon, but apart from that, you can pick a small corner of the universe and tell an amazing Stargate show if it adheres to the heart, the humor, the adventure, things that made Stargate so special. It’s a simple formula. We’re here. We are here. We will give you our money if you give us what we want.

David Read:
That’s right. Looking at Facebook and X and these other social platforms in terms of the response that has been happening now for almost two months as of tomorrow, response is the word. What has been your reaction to this, how this is not ebbing? It’s wild.

Elaine:
I can speak for myself when I say that I will not forgive Amazon for what they’ve done.

David Read:
It’s almost treacherous.

Elaine:
When Syfy rebranded to Syfy with a Y and they were clearly pivoting away from science fiction and canceling one by one all the Stargate shows and prioritizing cheaper reality show and WWE stuff and ghost hunting shows, cheap content. They didn’t care about science fiction anymore. We didn’t have our Syfy Fridays anymore. That really stayed with me for a long time. I stopped watching the Syfy Channel altogether ’cause I was so burned. I feel exactly the same. You reached out to us specifically with this, and to you guys, and then six months later, literally snap it from our hands. I will not forget and I will never forgive.

David Read:
This can be fixed, but that window is rapidly closing and I don’t see it happening.

Elaine:
They’ve created an obstacle for themselves now with the fan base.

David Read:
You’re darn right. They certainly have.

Elaine:
That’s now a challenge you have to overcome. It was amazing to see the response initially because I think primarily most of the fan base was optimistic. At worst, cautiously optimistic, and rightfully so because Amazon does have this… What’s the word? Fragile, or the state of IPs that they’ve themselves handled is either really bad, really good when it comes to Fallout.

David Read:
They have a tendency to imbue them with their own perspectives on things that are not aligned with what they were created from.

Elaine:
Fallout is great. I love Fallout. I love what they did with that.

David Read:
Was Season Two strong as well?

Elaine:
Yes. I enjoyed it more than Season One.

David Read:
I’ve seen the pilot.

Elaine:
Kyle MacLachlan, I’m a Kyle MacLachlan fan.

David Read:
God, he’s so good. I love Twin Peaks.

Elaine:
He was more in it in the second season and this great expansion of it. So, they have that, but then they also have Rings of Power which is a complete bastardization of what Tolkien wrote and they are moving on with that. You already have this treacherous relationship with fans and we were already poised to be pessimistic; for fans of these beloved IPs, ones that we’ve seen mistreated and that are essentially on life support at best. Now they have put themselves in that place where I am not optimistic at all. I’m pessimistic at best. Whatever they announce, I’m not on board. You announced what I wanted and that’s what I was gonna support. Now that they’ve done this, I am immediately in that position where I’m not optimistic. I’m not hopeful. You have to make it up to fans somehow and I don’t think they’re capable unless you take it back. You can still do that, Amazon. You can still take it back.

David Read:
They sure still could. The thought that I keep on coming back to, and I haven’t articulated this too much on air, is that I was around promoting the shows between Atlantis and into Universe. The hellscape that that was in terms of fan expectation and what they got with the new show, what the true Atlantis diehards got with Universe and how they did not like it. The pushback and the pushback and the pushback and the vocal group that refused to be silenced, that felt that Atlantis was ripped from them. There are reasons for that that will never be public, that would explain a few things, that the fandom, broader fandom, doesn’t need to know because it scrubs off so much of the magic. All I can keep on thinking of, and this is the part that I was getting around to, was I don’t wanna go through that again. If they introduce a new piece of this IP within the next three or four years, we’re gonna go through that again. I’m not sure I can. That really sucked; fighting with your own fan base.

Elaine:
Their biggest IP under MGM is probably James Bond. What are they doing with that? Before, it was pretty much concluded with Daniel Craig’s era, but now it’s ripe to start over and they have new producers or those who are owners of the IP itself. It’s gonna be a brand-new era for that, new James Bond – and that’s always been the thing with James Bond. But in other areas, as far as science fiction IPs, it’s always been the tendency to remake something, reboot something. It, more often than not, doesn’t have the same magic. I was hoping for something like Picard Season Three, ideally, as the formula for a new show, a Stargate show would be. It’s serial.

David Read:
New with the old.

Elaine:
Picard Season Three was very much its own show. It was like a season of a new show within a show.

David Read:
Thank God for Terry Matalas.

Elaine:
Terry Matalas did an amazing job of honoring the legacy characters; providing what fans wanted to see. It was basically a TNG movie or a miniseries. But it also paved the way for new stories and I was excited to see the new story, continuing adventures of the Enterprise with Jack Crusher and Captain Seven of Nine and Q’s return at the end. It was all there. Terry Matalas did an incredible job of honoring what came before, respecting the canon, and using his imagination wherever it was required, as far as handling the ages of the actors when it came to Data, Brent Spiner.

David Read:
That’s right, finding ways to make it work. Making the actors comfortable with their own skin and with makeup and everything else.

Elaine:
In science fiction, really, you can do whatever. I was so happy that Data was brought back because that’s what the fans wanted, but they also made it meaningful. That’s the thing, too. I don’t want meaningless member berries or nostalgia bait. They provided a wonderful story, compelling story that felt believable and organic to the original characters, the legacy characters, gave them something significant to do while introducing new characters and a new premise to start a new show on. Again, I feel a similar thing happened, that the ones in charge of the IP didn’t care about its fans and the show itself, even though Picard Season Three did amazing numbers. Critically, it did great and got numerous awards and record viewership numbers. They were poised to do that. They had all the reasons financially and had the fan base on board and new audiences were on board as well. That’s the thing that they want. This is the formula that, more often than not, Hollywood doesn’t wanna do. They wanna wipe the slate clean, start over and that’s what I fear is ahead for us. I don’t want a new Dr. Daniel Jackson. I don’t want a new Colonel Jack O’Neill. We have those characters, we have those journeys, we love them. I wanted to go somewhere new; new characters while honoring what came before. You can do that. You can respect what came before and still have new stories, have new characters and move forward. I don’t understand why this is continuing to be a thing when it’s such an easy layup to do.

David Read:
It’s hubris.

Elaine:
Get people that are passionate. Like a Terry Matalas, we had Martin Gero. We had Brad Wright and Joseph Mallozzi. We had them: knowledgeable, passionate and cared about the fans. It was all there. I wish we could have gotten a shot to see. Especially what is being green-lit by Amazon, there’s numerous shows that they at least give a chance to see the numbers and perform.

David Read:
That’s the thing. That’s the argument that was so hard for me to swallow. You are one month and a half, two months, two and a half months away from principal photography. I’m not gonna quote the amount per episode, it’s a lotta money. Just do it. Film it. Go ahead. You’ve started this process. You’ve got so many people hired. There were stunt people that were already hired in the UK that lost their jobs. They found out a week before the rest of us did. Shoot the darn thing and then pull the plug on it. Watch the chips fall where they’re going to fall and then you can vindicate. But they wanted to retain that money and put it towards something else and it’s a shame. You and I can harp all night on this.

Elaine:
I know.

David Read:
That’s where we are with it and that’s the reality.

Elaine:
Look what they’re doing with Robocop now. They’re doing with Robocop now another remake. A movie was already made and that wasn’t commercially…

David Read:
I liked that one from the 2010s. I enjoyed it; it was far more sci-fi than the previous ones were.

Elaine:
I would say that Stargate has a much bigger fan base than Robocop. I don’t know. Maybe I’m biased.

David Read:
I think so.

Elaine:
But I think so.

David Read:
I think you’re right.

Elaine:
Yet that one’s getting another remake. It proved itself that even in the television format that it wasn’t commercially successful. I don’t know how well that’s gonna translate by doing it in a show. Again, the same old story. Different executives, same hubris. It’s always prequels, it’s always remakes, it’s always reboots. We want it to move forward. With Star Trek, they were stuck in new shows being in the past. I wanna take the series forward, which is why Picard Season Three was so great, and that’s what I wanted to see from a new Stargate show. Move forward, go to new places, experiment, do something extraordinary. The possibilities were endless; they needed to care. I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. I’ve seen this from the outside numerous times before. I think fans are stuck in that perspective now; we’ve seen this story before; we’ve seen this play out before. We’re in a place that’s not hopeful at all right now. They’re gonna need us, though, whether they like it or not.

David Read:
I think so too. The devil’s advocate for a moment. With the modern era, especially with all of us congregating online. You can say this probably chiefly Star Wars more than anything else: there is a sense of ownership among fandom that this is our IP at least as much, if not more, than the IP holders. “It belongs to us. We breathe as one,” the IP and the fandom. “You cross us at your peril,” a lot of us think and a lot of us feel. You’ve got the likes of Hollywood now, which is very much the mindset that “if we build it, they will show up.” That’s not always the case. The James Gunn universe may be a house built on sand. We’re gonna have to see. You can’t throw anything out there and expect people to grab it. That’s not how it works.

Elaine:
The opposite is true. We see Spider-Man doing incredibly well.

David Read:
Is it now?

Elaine:
Yeah.

David Read:
I haven’t looked at the numbers for it yet.

Elaine:
It’s gonna pass Endgame numbers.

David Read:
Pass Endgame numbers?

Elaine:
Yeah. It’s broken records already. I don’t know when adjusted for inflation, I don’t know. But it’s doing very well.

David Read:
So, it’s gonna clear a billion easily very quickly. OK.

Elaine:
Yeah. Spider-Man always does well because they’ve always tried their best. They’ve had some hiccups before, but primarily people have come to expect a good story, a good treatment of the character. I recently saw it, it was amazing. So, we will support the things that we love if you continue to shepherd it and respect it. From a commercial standpoint, it’s so easy. It’s such an easy layup to write something compelling and that the fans would love and embrace. Because you write something good, other people can join in too. That’s the thing, when you write something well, not just the fan base will enjoy it. Others will come along as well and that’s why it continues to be… Spider-Man has crossed generations because it’s primarily been really good writing, really good treatment of the character. That’s all that we have come to want. Yes, we do expect it because this is something we care about, that we’ve supported throughout our lives and it means so much to us. We will come; we will support it. You have to do your job and give us something to support that we will love and embrace and we will be there. We will happily give you our money and support it and subscriptions. Too many times, it feels like it’s a contentious relationship when the studios should be embracing the fans. Oftentimes it feels like we’re seen as an obstacle to get rid of so they can chase another audience and that’s the vibe that I’m getting now with this, that we weren’t good enough. I’m familiar with lot of different IPs, I have lots of stories that I love. Stargate in particular is, I would say, one of the most loyal, dedicated fan bases. It’s something that even Variety commented on in their coverage. So, even the mainstream media knew.

David Read:
That’s right. Someone at the San Diego Comic-Con party that we had, the previous episode, I can’t remember which one of my guests said, but there are very few middle-of-the-road Stargate fans who are casual Stargate fans. Most of them are very dedicated to it. You’re either on it or are not interested in it at all. I was like, “that’s a good point.” More than a lot of franchises. There’s not a lot of folks who are sitting on the fence.

Elaine:
I was on top of any snippet of information about a new show. I continually watch your coverage for any news. Recently I was the same way with Tron, a Tron 3 movie. I followed that from the very beginning, when Tron 3 was initially canceled.

David Read:
Wow, OK.

Elaine:
Joseph Kosinski’s original Tron 3, I’ve been following that and its progress. Look what happened. They completely distorted the story. We didn’t see Tron. We didn’t see Bruce Boxleitner return or any of the legacy characters that we were hoping to see. It was such an easy layup for them to do; they had the script; they had everything in place. They had Nine Inch Nails; they had great music.

David Read:
Wow. They went that far.

Elaine:
But it was completely not what we had wanted. I was very vocal about what I was looking forward to. I, of course, wanted it to be good, but it ended up being one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. It was so unfortunate because it was a very niche IP. Tron is very niche and I feel it’s always been left on the shelf, mistreated at worst and ignored at best. I’ve experienced this so many times. We’re telling you what we want. This is valuable feedback, valuable data. Normally, in other areas of customer-based business, you wanna know what we want. You want to provide the product that we will support and buy. Oftentimes, they were ignored. You think that you’re gonna slap the name Tron on it or slap the name Stargate on it? It is not good enough anymore. If Star Wars can fail…

David Read:
Not for the first weekend, no.

Elaine:
If MCU movies can fail, if DC films can fail, it’s not enough to slap a name on something. You have to care for it and we, as the fans, need to know that you’re doing that; you’re servicing us, you’re servicing the IP. If you do it well, other fans will join. It’s a simple formula. It’s worked in the past. When you don’t do that, we’ve seen that as well, what happens.

David Read:
I think the primo example in terms of my recent memory is Sonic. Remember the first trailer came out?

Elaine:
Yeah.

David Read:
He was hideous.

Elaine:
That nightmare fuel.

David Read:
Nightmare fuel. How much money did they spend on, to say nothing of the focus groups, redesigning him based on the feedback that they got? What a home run that continues to be, to the point where Nintendo followed suit and they’re like, “If the blue hedgehog can do it, we can certainly do it with our IP.” Sonic set the standard. I played those games when I was a kid. I have yet to see the third film, but I’m looking forward to spending time to sit down and do it, ’cause they’re good. They’re fun. Paramount proved that it can be done.

Elaine:
That’s a great point. I was there and I definitely balked at that design. I don’t know why they didn’t do it from the start.

David Read:
Hubris.

Elaine:
They heard the feedback and changed it and now it’s a billion-dollar franchise, continuing to produce new movies that are incredibly successful. It’s a simple formula, but egos need to be pushed to the side. We’re here. We wanna support it. We want a new Stargate show, but you have to understand what that means. We need to feel that you will respect it. I’m all for a new story. Like I said before, my expectation wasn’t for them to pick up right where Eli left off.

David Read:
If this one was successful, they could go back and do that. Whatever this thing is that is next, it must have great characters and a great story. It has to have those things. I think the rest would fall into place. Look at what Ron Moore did for Battlestar Galactica.

Elaine:
That’s a great example.

David Read:
That fan base was really skeptical. But it’s Ron Moore. Star Trek: The Next Generation. The things that he couldn’t do with Star Trek: Voyager when he was working with Brannon Braga, he brought into Battlestar Galactica. What Voyager lost, Battlestar gained in tremendous quality.

Elaine:
That’s a great example. It’s not like he didn’t take risks. I cite it all the time – I think it was the miniseries that premiered first, those three episodes. Right away you could tell the respect was there for the IP itself. It looked and felt like Battlestar Galactica, even with the changes with the Cylons. Again, I feel like it pushed it forward; it wasn’t trying to redo the original series. It kept what made it Battlestar Galactica, which is the important thing.

David Read:
And it made it more relevant.

Elaine:
But even then, it’s timeless. I would say that those stories continue to resonate because it was done with creative drive. Starbuck wasn’t a made woman because we need more female demographics or to appeal to women. I feel like how she’s written still feels like it’s Starbuck.

David Read:
It added to the substance of the show.

Elaine:
It was done with such artistic integrity. I could feel like it wasn’t to check a box or to try to do this for demographics’ sake. It was incredibly well-written and worked. When the storytelling is compelling and interesting, that’s what’s most important. What’s equally important is respect for what came before. I always felt that respect for these characters, respect for the IP itself, was so apparent. I need to feel that. Right now, I don’t know. I’m not gonna be in that position if Amazon announces something new. I’m not hopeful. They’ve put themselves in a very contentious relationship with us now. What I want from any new show is respect what came before. You can experiment. I wanted to expand the world; I always wanted that. If you’re gonna have a new show, have it be meaningful, have it mean something. Enrich it as you expand. I don’t feel like that’s a huge expectation to have when we’ve seen it done before, we’ve seen it done incredibly well before. I feel like the fans would have been on board if the respect was there for what makes Stargate so special. Respect the canon as far as don’t tread and don’t bastardize what came before. Don’t ruin what came before; move forward and develop your own characters and new journeys. If they’re compelling and it feels like Stargate, we’ll love it, and new fans will love it too if it’s well-written and interesting.

David Read:
We’ll find room for it.

Elaine:
Fallout is doing very well.

David Read:
Fallout’s an interesting case.

Elaine:
Fans can love it.

David Read:
That’s a big enough universe where you can tell stories inside that universe that don’t step on other things. It’s not like the Stargate where only one of those things really basically to a star system.

Elaine:
There are rules. If writers or creators don’t like rules, or they view it as an obstacle or challenge to get rid of and overcome, but honestly, that’s what makes these worlds so fascinating. I think with Fallout, as long as they adhere to the basics of the world setting and what makes it feel like Fallout, a Fallout story, then they’ll respond to it, and they have responded. New fans have joined too. So, you also have your own precedent in house where that can succeed. They had Todd Howard as executive producer and Jonathan Nolan, who’s the creator. He’s a huge fan. I thought that that also would be what we were gonna get with Stargate in this; how they announced it and what they intended to do with it. I wish we could be discussing over a new Stargate show and its possibilities. Instead, it’s really depressing.

David Read:
Here we go again!

Elaine:
Here we go again.

David Read:
I’ve got some fan questions for us both. Or some viewer questions.

Elaine:
Let’s do it.

David Read:
Are you good on time? You good a few more minutes?

Elaine:
Sure.

David Read:
Matthew Hammond, “Do you think executives have problems with Stargate because it has a sense of positivity and not the existential dread with no redemption found in modern television?” Depends on which version of Stargate we’re talking about, but yeah.

Elaine:
I don’t know. I think Project Hail Mary – the way people responded to that. I know that initially people were wondering the question of the box office of theaters. Are theaters dying? The film itself, it wasn’t attached to an IP, a big legacy IP. There was that question of something like this: will normies respond? Will general audiences respond? They did. I think audiences are hungry for something that is hopeful and optimistic.

David Read:
That’s right

Elaine:
With incredible character work that people will latch onto and gravitate to and resonate with. So, we’ve had this example recently where I think the world is ready. I said it at the time too, before it even came out, that this is what the world needs. This is an incredible story that isn’t dark, that isn’t gritty and gives you a great feeling when you’re done, when it’s concluded. The fact that it resonated so deeply with audiences, I feel that audience is there, and hopefully will be served with something like Stargate.

David Read:
I agree. Gate Travelers wants to know, were they to continue with what came before, with what Martin was doing, would you have had room in your heart for theatrical adaptations as well? Or would you have wanted it to be TV?

Elaine:
That’s a good question. I guess it depends on…

David Read:
I loved “The Ark of Truth” and “Continuum.” It proves that the two-hour format works.

Elaine:
There have been those TV movies. But if it’s gonna be theatrical, if it’s connected to the show, I don’t know if it would succeed as well anymore because I think the story or whatever should live or establish itself very well first before jumping on to a completely different format. Only because we’ve seen what’s happened with Disney+ shows, numerous Star Wars shows and numerous Marvel shows. When they’ve tried to then jump back into their theatrical format, it didn’t work because those audiences didn’t cross over into theatrical. I guess it depends on what you would plan to do with it. I know with Battlestar Galactica, years ago, they wanted to do a new show and a new film. I think if they’re separate, that could work better. If they’re connected very deeply, especially if it’s on streaming and jump pretty quickly onto theatrical, it may not translate as well anymore. You’d really need to long establish the show first before going on. I think a Stargate film, I don’t know what they would do with it. After all that we’ve done so far…

David Read:
Where would it fit and how?

Elaine:
It’s lived on television so long that I don’t know.

David Read:
It’s hard to pin down, for sure. I would be open to it, but I would be skeptical. Harris McGradedo, hey buddy. He’s over at SciTrek. “Did y’all enjoy Jonas Quinn and his arc? Would you have liked to have seen him folded into the crew like Cam and Vala were later on?”

Elaine:
I loved Jonas.

David Read:
You have a hot take for me?

Elaine:
Yeah, I did.

David Read:
I loved Corin, but Daniel was always my favorite character. That was the same quadrant overlap.

Elaine:
What an incredible time for television. Even though I was incredibly devastated with “Meridian ” and what happened with Daniel. I love the way they handled it though, that still leaving the door open. That season actually as a whole is incredible. Jonas, his dynamic and incorporated in the team that is in mourning and in grief, worked surprisingly well. There are some great stories in there and I think Jonas fit in quite nicely. I would have loved to have seen him again. I loved his personality. He was unique and really came into his own in that character, in such an emotional time.

David Read:
Tumwater Troy wants to know, “Does David feel betrayed by Amazon for asking him to be involved in the announcement?” And then, I guess, it getting taken away. I don’t feel betrayed, ’cause one VP authorized Stargate 4 and then another VP came in and took it away. Disappointed is the word, for sure. It was so cool to be part of that. I told this to a buddy of mine. I appreciated being part of it, but I didn’t appreciate it as much as I did when it was no longer happening. That’s frustrating because then it was like, “OK.” It was like a couple of percentage points more than I did before it got canceled. It wasn’t a lot, but it was very much like, “Crap.”

Elaine:
I feel betrayed. That’s just me. I think it’s because you do such an amazing work. I feel betrayed on your behalf, maybe, almost.

David Read:
I can understand that. Sympathetic betrayal.

Elaine:
Because your video, that was how the news was delivered.

David Read:
That’s true.

Elaine:
I think I’m feeling that for you. As a part of this fandom, that video is what gave me such optimism about the new project, because of the outreach to the fans. Maybe it’s post-decision as well, that the betrayal feels more potent to me. We haven’t gotten any official statement from Amazon. It’s been silence.

David Read:
That’s true. That’s a separate issue.

Elaine:
I think that’s feeding the flames of that.

David Read:
Boy, that’s the truth. That is absolutely the case. Lockwatcher wants to know, “Have you ever attended any cons? Any interesting stories?”

Elaine:
I haven’t. I’m not a big crowds person.

David Read:
You’re a homebody. I get that.

Elaine:
Man, San Diego Comic-Con… Hey, I saw you there through Film Threat’s coverage. I was watching them. So many people…I was like, “I can’t do it.”

David Read:
Did I appear on Film Threat?

Elaine:
I go on their Versus panel on Mondays.

David Read:
Did I appear on Film Threat?

Elaine:
I thought he was live streaming through the hall.

David Read:
He said that he wasn’t filming live then, but I did pass Chris Gore while he was, I think, at the Marvel booth. I’m gonna have to go and check then, ’cause I didn’t think that I got on camera.

Elaine:
It was very brief. He was going through and he said, “Hey.”

David Read:
I’m gonna have to go and check that out. So, they used that footage then. Very good. That’s really cool. Awesome.

Elaine:
Very brief. I’m like, “Hey, I think that’s David.”

David Read:
I don’t know about San Diego Comic-Con. There are a couple of Stargate events that are coming up that are very small that I would definitely recommend.

Elaine:
That’d be more my speed.

David Read:
There’s one that’s going to be in the UK next year called Follow the Yellow Gate Road and it caps off at 150 people. It’s very small. There are some nice names that are going to be announced fairly soon.

Elaine:
That’s awesome. Maybe one day.

David Read:
A couple more and then we’re gonna let you go. Raj wanted to know, “What specifically were you hoping to see in Martin’s Stargate series?” If you had to pluck something down, what was something that you were really hoping would happen? How to beat this horse dead.

Elaine:
New team, I’d say. I wanted to explore maybe a different portion of the galaxy. New villains, new threats, new technology. Eventually, I wanted it to hopefully reference or incorporate into the story Eli and the Destiny, to find out their fate. “We don’t leave our people behind.” It’s a big deal on Stargate. I think that would be cool if it would have eventually incorporated into the lore gradually for something like that. That would have led to a really cool arc having to do with the Destiny, Eli, and the crew. For the first season, maybe I was thinking something that’s really well establishing the new team, a new threat. Hopefully we’ll see if there’s a dynamic of letting Earth at large know, ’cause I don’t know how you could keep that a secret with Atlantis.

David Read:
You’re talking disclosure.

Elaine:
Disclosure.

David Read:
Sooner or later, disclosure is going to have to unfold.

Elaine:
I think that would have been very cool.

David Read:
Brad Wright said, “You can only tell that story once in the same universe.”

Elaine:
I think that would’ve been a really cool prospect to discover. At the end of the day, what makes Stargate Stargate is a team, different personalities and incredible chemistry, exploring the galaxy, exploring new planets, new threats, new aliens. That’s what I was hoping for. Then to eventually have this really cool arc with the Destiny, that was my hope.

David Read:
Absolutely. The last question here, Stargate Seed. Elaine, have you read Captive’s War: The Mercy of Gods, great sci-fi to be adapted into television?

Elaine:
I have not, but that is on my reading list. That’s the new book series from James S.A. Corey. I haven’t finished The Expanse series yet; I’m in the middle of that. I think the third book in that series.

David Read:
Have you watched The Expanse?

Elaine:
I have, but I haven’t finished it. It actually took me a while to get through the first season. I had actually started and wasn’t really into it.

David Read:
Put it down? I’ve not seen it yet.

Elaine:
The book is so good. That first book is so incredible and I do think it helped me to jump back into the show because I know about how rich the universe is.

David Read:
Like Dune.

Elaine:
I was surprised that the show ended up being slower paced and interesting choices that they made.

David Read:
Really?

Elaine:
The book was more action-packed and dynamic and compelling. I still haven’t finished it yet; I’m still on my Expanse journey. It’s definitely on my reading list for the Captive War series.

David Read:
I’m not familiar with it. I’m gonna have to go and check it out. I’m so behind on so much television right now. It’s kinda wild. This has been fantastic. I know I asked an hour from you and we’ve gone over. It’s been a delight to have you. I’ve enjoyed watching your content for years now.

Elaine:
Aw

David Read:
Being a YouTuber can be very solitary work and really chasing those numbers and talking about things that you can be passionate about and not just chasing the views. I think that you’ve managed to create a very optimal space where you can share your fandoms and be delighted in them and communicate those to your audience. I look at your channel as something that I hope that I will one day be able to obtain in terms of an audience. I think ours is a little bit more niche in terms of Stargate. You’ve really struck a balance and I applaud you for it. Keep producing.

Elaine:
I’m blushing. That means so much to me coming from you. I’ve enjoyed your content as well, your coverage, and it will continue to follow. I’m passionate about the IPs and stories that I’m passionate about and I wanna be myself. That’s what I wanna create for other fans; to come together and enjoy as well and nerd out together about all these different things. I have a Dune book club that I’m doing right now. We had a live book club discussion yesterday and those are so much fun. I love getting to nerd out with other fans. Whether we’re going through our ups and our downs, sharing our honest opinions and nerding out together in that way has been incredibly rewarding. I’ve enjoyed this so much, chatting with you, David, and nerding out with you has been such a delight as well. Thank you again for inviting me.

David Read:
This has been great. Thank you. You are on YouTube under Nerd Cookies and you are on X?

Elaine:
Yes, at Nerd_Cookies as well.

David Read:
At Nerd_Cookies. Those links are in the description below. Thank you so much, Elaine. This has been a treat.

Elaine:
Aw, thank you so much, David.

David Read:
What’s your favorite flavor of cookie?

Elaine:
Oatmeal chocolate raisin, probably.

David Read:
Whoa. Wow. OK. Awesome. Very good.

Elaine:
I don’t have cookies that often, actually. I don’t know. But when I do, that’s what that is.

David Read:
Where did the inspiration for the handle come from?

Elaine:
It came to me. That’s the vibe I wanted to create, was something that was a pleasant vibe to hopefully watch and listen to, and cookies came to my mind.

David Read:
It’s something that’s positive and sweet and sometimes a little bad for you. Something to look forward to. It’s a great title. Thank you for coming on, Elaine. This has meant a lot to have you.

Elaine:
Thank you so much.

David Read:
I’m gonna go ahead and wrap up the show on this side, but I will be in touch. You take care of yourself. Bye-bye.

Elaine:
There we go. Bye.

David Read:
That is Elaine over at Nerd Cookies. My name is David. You’re watching the Stargate Oral History Project. If you enjoy this franchise and you wanna continue to see more content like this produced, please give us a Like. It does help with the show. If you enjoyed what you saw or you have something to say about what you saw, commenting really does help. The more that folks comment, the more that the show continues to carry itself forward. It means a lot to me that you would consider doing so. My Patreons, I have been so humbled this year by my Patreons who have continued to support me over the past several months since I initially reached out this past spring asking for help. It was not my intent to create a show that was financially supported by my audience, but it came down to that. I was so thankful to see the response from so many fans who have really made me buoyant again and have enabled me to carry out the work that Dial the Gate and Stargate fans deserve, but that Dial the Gate was intended for. We’ve got a lot heading your way, and not just on the Michael Shanks front with that podcast that’s in development. That’s certainly exciting and we’ll be talking more about that as we go further along into the year with Michael to create that companion YouTube series. Raj, Lockwatcher, Marcia and Antony, my mods, thank you guys so much for helping to make this episode possible. This is a show that cannot be done alone. I’m so thankful for all of you guys. Thanks to Matt “Eagle SG” Wilson for his credit sequences, along with Venture Pictures and Brice Ors, Frederick Marcoux at ConceptsWeb who keeps dialthegate.com up and running and my whole team. Thank you, guys, so much for making this possible week after week. My name is David Read for Dial the Gate. I appreciate you tuning in and I will see you on the other side.