Stargate Atlantis Executive Producer Joseph Mallozzi is back to discuss the final season of this landmark television series. Many fans were hoping for a Season Six, but as it turned out, Season Five would be the swan song for Atlantis. We go into great depth on this year with this episode, as well as the Atlantis DVD movie, STARGATE: EXTINCTION, and take your questions LIVE!

Share This Video ► https://youtu.be/o2nGD02TGtQ

Joseph Mallozzi’s Blog ► https://josephmallozzi.com/

Visit DialtheGate ► http://www.dialthegate.com
on Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/dialthegate
on Instagram ► https://instagram.com/dialthegateshow
on Twitter ► https://twitter.com/dial_the_gate

MERCHANDISE!
https://www.dialthegate.com/merch

SUBSCRIBE!
https://youtube.com/dialthegate/

Timecodes
00:00 – Opening Credits
00:37 – Welcome and Episode Outline
02:22 – Introducing Joe
02:50 – Not Knowing Season Five Would Be the Last, Stargate Extinction, and Season Six
12:03 – Reintroducing Robert Picardo as Richard Woolsey
17:14 – “Search and Rescue”
19:15 – “The Seed”
20:04 – “Broken Ties”
24:08 – “The Daedalus Variations”
27:43 – “Ghost in the Machine”
32:52 – “The Shrine”
34:45 – “Whispers”
37:49 – “The Queen”
40:20 – “Tracker”
42:46 – “First Contact” and “The Lost Tribe”
45:40 – “Outsiders”
46:17 – “Inquisition”
47:43 – “The Prodigal”
50:00 – “Remnants”
54:52 – “Brain Storm”
58:20 – “Infection”
59:02 – “Identity”
1:00:00 – “Vegas”
1:03:59 – Fan Questions, Stargate Origins, Joe’s Dog Suji
1:06:44 – Time Travel Script Writing, Hard Scripts to Write and Name
1:09:56 – Dark Matter and Lt. Aiden Ford
1:12:14 – Romance for Woolsey in Season Six, and Jason Momoa
1:13:29 – Mind Battles and More Fan Questions
1:16:06 – Wrapping up with Joe
1:17:36 – Post interview housekeeping
1:24:34 – End credits

***

“Stargate” and all related materials are owned by MGM Studios and MGM Television.

#Stargate
#DialtheGate
#TurtleTimeline

 

TRANSCRIPT
Find an error? Submit it here.

David Read
Welcome, everyone to Episode 120 of Dial the Gate. My name is David Read. Thank you so much for joining us as we explore Stargate Atlantis season five. And to do that I have Stargate Atlantis Executive Producer, and Writer, Joseph Mallozzi standing by here to discuss one of the better seasons of Stargate. As far as I’m concerned this was a diverse and fantastic season of television. We’re going to go into hashtag reasons for that in just a moment here. Before we get started. If you like Stargate, and you want to see more content like this on YouTube, it would mean a great deal if you click that Like button. It really makes a difference with YouTube’s algorithm and will help the show continue to grow. Please also consider sharing this video with a Stargate friend and if you want to get notified about future episodes, click that Subscribe icon. Giving the Bell icon a tap will notify you the moment a new video drops and you’ll get my notifications of any last minute guest changes and clips from this live stream will be released over the course of the next several days on both the Dial the Gate and GateWorld.net YouTube channels but most prominently on GateWorld.net. We will do clips later on as we move into a different phase somewhere around springtime. So with this episode, it is a live show which means that if you’re logged into YouTube and you are watching the show through our Dial the Gate portal, the live chat has our moderating team, they’re asking everyone to submit their questions to Joseph Mallozzi. And the second half of the show we’ll get to those but in the first half Joe and I are going to explore Atlantis season five. It is such a pleasure to welcome back my friend Joseph Mallozzi, Executive Producer of Stargate Atlantis. Hello, sir, it is so good to have you once more. I have to pinch myself every time I have you on because we’re moving through the content.

Joseph Mallozzi
Well, congratulations on the big 1-2-0, I feel very special to have landed as a guest on this most auspicious of episodes.

David Read
I am grateful to have you. The final season of Atlantis, you guys went into that knowing, not knowing that this was going to be the final year.

Joseph Mallozzi
Correct. We actually went in assuming we would probably do a sixth season. In fact, we did plan for sixth season in sort of a kind of a general sense. Only to learn as the production drew to a close that we would not be coming back.

David Read
Were contracts drawn up for a sixth season before season five had started?

Joseph Mallozzi
I mean, there were contracts in place. I mean, just kind of standard contracts were in general, cast and and crew would get bumps with every pickup.

David Read
Okay, now, what moves were being made, like behind the scenes to facilitate a sixth season? Were there just writing like story arcs that were being like, gently molded? Was there anything in place to prepare for a season six that wasn’t being necessarily in place for like a season four or a season five, when the previous year was in operation? Or were you just doing what was normal at that point to set up the following season just in case?

Joseph Mallozzi
We were preparing just as though, just as in any other season. I mean, we didn’t really get that far down the road because to be honest with you we don’t really plan for the next season until that season is done and our season was not done. Having said that, one of the things that we did consider, and this was an idea that executive producer Robert Cooper threw our way, was we had been contracted to write a an Atlantis movie, Stargate Extinction. And Rob suggested we should contact MGM and talk about maybe extending the season by two episodes so that we could shoot that movie within the production engine, that we had established for this fifth season. And in the unlikely event we did not get a sixth season, then we could release the movie as a standalone, which was kind of what was pitched to us. But if we did get a sixth season, then that movie could be the opening two-parter for Atlantis’ sixth season. And so that’s something we pursued that really never gained traction unfortunately. But in hindsight, I wish we kind of really pushed a lot harder, because I remember going down to set and letting the cast know that we weren’t coming back for a fifth season, but it was talking to, sorry sixth season, and I remember talking to Rachel Luttrell plays, sorry, Teyla, and telling her what we had planned for the movie, and that it would be a Teyla-centric story. And sadly that never came to pass. I mean, we wrote the script, but it was never produced.

David Read
And this was, we have to keep in mind, at the point when when DVD sales were all the rage. You guys, I think this year, were looking at the performance of Ark of Truth and Continuum, which my understanding was they did considerably well.

Joseph Mallozzi
They did do considerably well, however, between the time those DVDs were released, or those direct to DVD movies were released, and we sent in our script for Stargate Extinction, the DVD market had died. Essentially the bottom had fallen out and MGM decided to shelve the production on the movie.

David Read
Just absolutely crazy. This is the first time hearing that Extinction was considered to be like a bookend in terms of production for season five. I guess fans would have been none the wiser if season six had gone on and you guys, “Well, hey, we’ve got this thing ready to go. Let’s let’s slot it in.” How would Teyla have been a central theme in season six? If you don’t mind me asking?

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, well, the story for Stargate Extinction, one of the things I should tell the fans is whenever I come in to do these live events, David tells me we’re going to discuss season five and I don’t plan anything. So basically this is just off the top of my head but what I recall from the script, Atlantis is going to make its way back to Pegasus and on route their engines, they end up experiencing engine problems.

David Read
They breakdown.

Joseph Mallozzi
And then they’re stranded between Pegasus and the Milky Way in another galaxy. And they end up detecting a power source coming from a world and they go to the world and ultimately, with the story that unfolds, ended up laying seeds for what would be the Stargate Universe story. Was it with the descendants? What?

David Read
Ah, okay. Yes. So Common Descent and Epilogue.

Joseph Mallozzi
Common Descent, yes, Epilogue.

David Read
Okay. So time travel twist that was used in season two would have been the mechanism in…

Joseph Mallozzi
Yes, yeah. And so it was a lot of fun. And we will be dealing with a descendant of Teyla, so Rachel would have played two roles. And one of the things that really saddened me is it was such a great Todd episode as well, where basically you have the present day Todd, who’s locked up, who encounters a future version of himself who has designs on the planet and designs on Atlantis. And at the end of the episode, the movie, he’s based in a position of power he’s about to kill McKay and Todd, our Todd, steps in and saves him and ends up turning the tables on his future self and saving a lot as far as own ends. And then at the end when they returned to Pegasus, Shepherd essentially rewards him by freeing him and that kind of a part way kind of, not necessarily allies, but having achieved certain understanding.

David Read
Yeah, because he’s imprisoned at the end of the series. That’s pretty sweet man that was, ahhh.

Joseph Mallozzi
Would have been great. Would have been great. And I remember we also had, I had an idea for another sort of time travel jaunt for the mid season two-parter of that would have seen the team come back to Atlantis, but it’s an Atlantis six months in the future, that has been taken over by Michael, who has delivered an attack in the form of toxin that basically turns the Atlantis personnel into hybrids. And so they are hybrids under his control. So we would have had hybrid versions of everyone on Atlantis, with the exception of our team, who basically comes through and discovers Atlantis has been taken over, again that was just a kind of a basic premise. But I think it would have been a blast.

David Read
So how would you have brought Michael back to that?

Joseph Mallozzi
That’s another, yeah…

David Read
He’s dead, so we think. Connor Trinneer never believed it.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yes, yeah,

David Read
Connor’s like, “He’s not that stupid.” He’s not going to check himself, put himself in check by flying into Atlantis with a puddle jumper without having an option elsewhere.

Joseph Mallozzi
There was always a way. I mean, in the back of my mind whenever we killed off characters, for days afterwards I would go through this string of possibilities. And I would have always have a list of, “Okay, this is how we could bring the character back.” And I know I did the same for Michael, and I’m not sure what my list is, but the plan was to pull it out when it came time for discussions.

David Read
Well, in season five has no shortage of those kinds of nods particularly. I’m thinking Robert Davi. So let’s get into, we’ve already discussed the dessert at the end of season five, my favorite part of dinner, so let’s do the meat and potatoes.

Joseph Mallozzi
Okay.

David Read
Thank you for those answers. That’s fascinating. Season five began production in 2008. It featured the departure of Samantha Carter as the base leader of Atlantis to bring in Richard Woolsey. I think that this point, that’s when she was going to do Sanctuary is that?

Joseph Mallozzi
That is correct.

David Read
Okay. Okay. Pretty bold move, bringing in a character that was not universally loved. I mean, not like in a McKay sort of way, it was different. He really is like a, I think regardless everyone loves Robert Picardo, his performance. But this kind of energy you introduced him in season four in The Last Man, as kind of a future what if, and it ends up actually happening. Tell us about bringing Bob in.

Joseph Mallozzi
You know, I always love the Woolsey character. And one of the things I loved about Woolsey was obviously, Bob’s ability to convey a sense of warmth and vulnerability and even likability, despite the initial nature of the character. And he did that through humor. And it was in the writing, but it was also in the performance as well. And like Rodney McKay, Richard Woolsey was a character whose character arc is remarkable in that you start off hating the character and by the end of his run you end up loving the character. And I have to admit, I mean, maybe because I have an affinity for Bob, but I love the character. I love writing for the character. And when Amanda said she couldn’t come back for fifth season, my mind immediately went to Bob, and I thought, how interesting would this be, not only the dynamic, but the opportunity to really continue that rehabilitation for his character. And so we did that by leaning on the humor and you know, you saw little flashes of that where he’s holding Teyla’s son, or he’s setting up his office and he has a framed portrait of his Yorkie.

David Read
That was your idea, wasn’t it?

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, it was, yes. He’s very much a fish out of water. And I remember reaching out to Bob and calling him and saying, “Hey, this is what we’d like to do. We’d like to bring and make him a series regular.” And he was like, “Wow, I mean, I don’t know what to say, can I discuss it, he was married at the time, can I discuss it with my wife and get back to you?” And I was like, “Yep.” And he called back and he’s like, “Yeah, okay, I would love to do it.” And he’s like, “What’s the next step?” And usually I would leave it to Business Affairs at the Studio to handle it and whenever I would do that, it would take, honestly months for deals to close. You know, because they have to go through whatever they do, and I missed your call and you miss my call and what’s going on and no one gets back to each other. So I actually ended up contacting our LA casting director, Paul Weber, and I said, “I want you to reach out to Bob’s team.” And he’s like,”Okay.” And he called back like an hour later is like, “Hey, this is Bob’s rate.” Everyone has a rate. “So that’s fair. Great. Let’s close a deal.” We closed a deal. Bob called me back in an hour and he’s like, “Wow, that is the fastest I have ever closed the deal.” And I was like, “Welcome aboard” and that’s how Bob Picardo ended up as the Commander of the Atlantis Expedition. Actually, Richard Woolsey.

David Read
Absolutely. Bob Picardo. I love how it’s almost like even Atlantis doesn’t really like him there. Because one of the undercurrents of the show is that Atlantis is in some way alive. It’s millions of years old. And it even shuts doors on him. It doesn’t really want him there.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, I mean, that’s something actually, first a little things like I always wondered, “Oh, how do those doors open and close?” I always imagined it was motion sensitive. And so just to bring out the vulnerability in the characters. I mean, I wrote that scene, it’s such a small scene, such a throwaway scene, but it just from the get go, you kind of feel for the character really is a fish out of water and doesn’t know what’s going on and the doors close on him. And he’s like, trying to get, you’re trying to activate them, they don’t activate.

David Read
Are you a Simpsons fan?

Joseph Mallozzi
I am or I was a long time ago I haven’t watched it [inaudible]

David Read
Do you remember when Bart sold his soul to Milhouse?

Joseph Mallozzi
I do not. I’m not familiar with that episode.

David Read
He sold his soul to Milhouse and automatic doors would not open for him because he no longer had a soul. So I was thinking that in the episode. That was funny. Search and Rescue has a kind of 9/11 feel to it because of the rubble and the catastrophe. So the first episode is picking up where the last five minutes of Atlantis season four left off with John Sheppard from the future returning with knowledge. And our present John Sheppard, having gone to the future returning with knowledge gets everyone locked under rubble and Michael is on the way. Tell us about bringing this episode to life.

Joseph Mallozzi
You know, one thing that really stands out for me was that set, that enormous rubble, two or three level set, it was just insane. And shooting there was, Andy Makita directed the episode, and that just honestly blew me away what our production team could do, the art department could put together, every season that would surpass my expectations. And this was a very impressive set although, I mean, it doesn’t look like much just like, whatever destruction, but it really was impressive.

David Read
Well, it has to be engineered. I mean, you can’t just have the actors walking all over these things. Right? It has to be reinforced, so it’s a jigsaw puzzle. And in this episode, we also find out when Continuum is placed on the timeline, because it actually moved Continuum to between Search and Rescue and ostensibly The Seed. We didn’t know when it was that took place after Ark of Truth, but now we know because Carter is sent back to Earth because the last Ba’al clone has been found. I thought that was a very nice nod. In The Seed, you have Jennifer Keller being transformed into the heart of a Wraith ship.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yes.

David Read
I did not see that one coming.

Joseph Mallozzi
I don’t know who pitched that idea. I don’t recall who pitched it. It almost feels like a Rob Cooper type of idea. Although and if it was his, I mean, he would have written it. But yeah, it was one of the more bizarre kind of horrorish episodes. I remember the network hated it, hated it.

David Read
Really?

Joseph Mallozzi
Yes. Yeah. I’m not sure why, but they were not fans of the episode.

David Read
Hmm, well, I liked it. I thought it was kind of cool. Broken Ties. You return one of the great guest stars of the show, Mark Dacascos, Tyre. This is a part two from, I believe season four, where we had a reunion with Ronon’s original comrades having turned to Wraith. What was it like working, having Mark Dacascos on set and working with him alongside, having him working the script along with Jason Momoa as Ronon Dex

Joseph Mallozzi
Mark is another guy, that I, another I’d love to work with, very professional, very, like just a super presence on set. So much so that, his character ends up sacrificing himself at episodes end. And I had crew members coming by going, “Do you have to kill him off? Is there a possibility he’ll come back?”

David Read
This is sci fi.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, exactly. Now, one thing that stands out about this episode was, I recall between seasons, Jason really was the only cast member to always come by and basically pitch me ideas for his character. And he’d be like, “I want Ronon to go dark side.” And so that was kind of the inspiration for this episode. And between seasons, Jason was having issues with his dreadlocks.

David Read
I was gonna bring this up. Good for you.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah. So they were very heavy. And they’re kind of taxing his scalp so he was going to remove them. And I thought this was a great opportunity to lose the dreadlocks and so I talked to him, you know you could cut them off. We actually shoot them, after Ronon turns he cuts off his dreadlocks. He shaving his head, sort of like Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, a very dark moment. And he loved it. And I wrote it into the first draft. And the network was like, “No, no, we can’t have Ronon without his dreadlocks.” And it’s like, “Ah, what a missed opportunity.” And if you look at Jason Momoa right now, he looks pretty fine, I think without the dreadlocks, but…

David Read
We’re used to it now.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yes, yeah. Yeah, then. So they’re like, “No,” he still didn’t want the dreadlocks. And if they were making him uncomfortable, I was not gonna make him keep the dreadlocks. So we compromised and ended up creating a wig out of his actual hair, out of his dreadlocks. And they were, I don’t know if it was, I mean, [inaudible]

David Read
It worked. It works.

Joseph Mallozzi
I guess.

David Read
Was it amazing. No, did it work? Yes. It’s fine.

Joseph Mallozzi
So that’s the strongest memory I have of that episode is Jason coming in, his pitch inspiring the episode, the opportunity to go dark side, the opportunity to write the loss of the dreadlocks into the script, and are being denied, sadly, by the network. And having to make do with the wig.

David Read
The Wraith enzyme was really used over the course of this show as an opportunity to explore habitual, recreational drug abuse. And in this case, it is something that makes you genuinely more powerful. And coming off of it is, it’s not easy. You did this.

Joseph Mallozzi
That was probably the greatest Jason Momoa performance I’ve ever seen, him coming down, just this entire episode. He is fantastic. And he shows a lot of range, and it just shows what he is capable of.

David Read
I agree. The Daedalus Variations. I love these stories that don’t have an explanation for their impetus, where we are just a longer line in a chain of scenarios that we’re just the next one on the list. A Daedalus from somewhere else arrives, and our team goes for the ride, and we discover what’s causing it but we don’t ever discover really, we don’t like get the technology for ourselves. We’re just kind of snatched away on a moving train.

Joseph Mallozzi
A true standalone episode. Yeah, we present a theoretical, a theoretically plausible sci fi idea and we use that as a door in and ultimately a door out. And as you said, it’s one of those episodes where we jump on for the ride and we jump off and, the train keeps rolling without us.

David Read
It’s one of those where it doesn’t have a definitive, necessarily starting point or ending point, except in our own reality. And we have to recognize that in the universe, there are broader consequences that just tick along without us. And I think it’s good for episodes like this, because it reinforces for us to have episodes like this because it reinforces that we really are very small in the universe. And not everything is buttoned up at the end, because it’s a sci fi series written by a bunch of guys and gals in Vancouver on Earth.

Joseph Mallozzi
That’s why, yeah, that’s exactly why that sums up perfectly. I love the episode. All the same. I’m actually surprised by how many fans really love this episode, they really loved the episode, they they really wanted more of the the aliens that we introduced in this episode, they were actually very cool looking aliens. And who knows if we’ve done season six, maybe there might be an opportunity to bring them in at some point. But yeah, I mean, I’m always generally surprised by what episodes land and what episodes don’t.

David Read
The ones that invite you to open your mind, a little bit more beyond what you’re normally comfortable with are the ones that get me. And it’s like, what if, I love that, what if the first time that we went to Atlantis was not actually the first time. What the first time happened we failed, which was an idea you submitted to Carl Binder. And it’s, I think it was. I think Carl said that story nugget came from you, that the time travel twist in Before I Sleep.

Joseph Mallozzi
Oh, it’s possible. I don’t know. To be fair, when we were in that room we would all throw out ideas. And the person who wrote the script was not always the person who came up with the original idea. I mean, even we came up for instance, with the idea with Window of Opportunity, it would have been a very different script, if and probably a lot less successful episode, if we had gone with our first pitch. But Robert Cooper was like, “No, do this, do this, do this, make it a comedy, do our Groundhog Day.” And even though we wrote the script, it was because of Rob’s direction we ended up with a such a beloved episode.

David Read
Ghost in the Machine. I have a, this episode is very double edged for me, because it brings back Michelle Morgan as Fran, well as Weir, wonderful guest star. But also was a missed opportunity in that Torri had an opportunity there and specifically declined. She has gone on to say that at this point in time she wasn’t really sure how she was feeling about certain working relationships, and later came to understand and get her footing and understand that, particularly with appearances on Dark Matter, where things actually were. So a lot of things that didn’t get said at this point in history and at this point in time, a lot of understanding eventually came about that might have changed Ghost in the Machine in terms of casting.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, I mean, it was a missed opportunity but in all fairness, I sympathize with Torri, I mean, it was a difficult situation and when she came back for, what was the last episode she did?

David Read
It was Be All My Sins Remembered.

Joseph Mallozzi
Was it Be All My Sins Remembered.

David Read
It was a great ending.

Joseph Mallozzi
[Inaudible] going down and she was operated on, or…

David Read
Be All My Sins Remembered was her last appearance. Yeah, so the last two that she was in, oh, for heaven’s sakes. Let me go back to the other one.

Joseph Mallozzi
I just recall that I mean, that…

David Read
Mortal Coil.

Joseph Mallozzi
She, was it Mortal Coil? Okay. Yeah.

David Read
I’m sorry. I broke your train of thought.

Joseph Mallozzi
No, no, I just recall that for instance, the episode, I think it was the episode where she was injured, one of her final [episode], latters, maybe beginning season four episodes. She was [on] the operating table or she was having brain surgery.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yes. This was Adrift.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah. And it was difficult for her, and just basically lying there, and it was just a very grueling, production for her. And so so in that respect, I mean, and so I think, that was one of that kind of I think colored unfortunately her feelings towards sort of coming back and like, again, I totally get it, and I do love Torri and which is why I essentially wrote the role for her of Commander Truffault on Dark Matter. Because I knew she would kill it and she did kill it, she was a phenomenal and if I ever do another show again, I will reach out to Torri, and hopefully our professional paths will cross again.

David Read
Absolutely. It’s a sad ending for the character. It is a sacrifice but it is a tragedy as well, because she kind of just floats off into space and just goes to sleep.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yes, yeah.

David Read
Her mission is fulfilled but it’s a sad a conclusion for, when you think of Simon, when you think of this very human character. It is a fitting conclusion to someone who would have sacrificed herself for her team in her mortal form anyway,

Joseph Mallozzi
I agree. And it is a sad conclusion merely because we didn’t get the opportunity to do any more episodes, but in my mind, she was never killed. Oberoth basically tells them, “Well, the Elizabeth Weir that you knew, we got rid of her.” But you’re taking the word of your enemy. And in my mind there’s no way he would have done away with her. He would have wanted to keep her to essentially use her as an information source. So, in my mind, she was alive somewhere, as I put it “on ice.” And I ended up writing that scene for ComiCon a couple of years ago, where they end up, the Atlantis team ends up discovering her in stasis and awakening her and that’s the way I would have brought her back if I have the opportunity.

David Read
And I love that scene because I consider it canon.

Joseph Mallozzi
Thank you. And I would imagine some sort of like a command split, when she returns to Atlantis, and her and Woolsey would have found a way to work together and you know.

David Read
I think so as well. This season, I’m just looking down the list just one after the other was really, in my opinion, just knocking them out of the park. The Shrine, very personal episode for Brad Wright, brought about a terrific round of performances from everyone. Tell us about watching that episode come to life.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, I mean, that episode really came together well and Brad wrote a phenomenal script, a really heartfelt script. And I ended up doing a Stargate like kind of a March Madness setup where 64 of the top episodes faced off and I think The Shrine ended up making it to the top four, if not the top two episodes of the entire franchise. So kudos to Brad and kudos to everyone involved in that episode.

David Read
Wow. Absolutely. Yeah. The scene on the pier between Rodney and John is largely touted as the best scene between those two characters in the story. There are arguments as to who Rodney was closest to, Carson was basically considered to be his best friend because it was spoken on dialogue. At that point, I think after that it was John. I think that those two were, even though they were polar opposites in terms of personality, they had each other’s back. And then John had a special relationship obviously with Ronon, they were brothers. But there was something about the Rodney-Sheppard dynamic that just worked.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, and this episode in that scene certainly cemented it.

David Read
I understand that we’re actually drinking beer.

Joseph Mallozzi
It’s possible.

David Read
It was. Whispers.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yes.

David Read
Oh, man.

Joseph Mallozzi
That was a technically challenging episode. Ultimately, it didn’t really come together as quite like I had hoped. I mean…

David Read
No way. really?

Joseph Mallozzi
I mean, yeah, it was just tough for many number of reasons. I remember, we tried, originally we tried smoking an entire set, and everyone ended up getting headaches. And so we couldn’t do that so we ended up tenting certain areas, and kind of using kind of the smoke machines or the fog machines, and then we would air the place out between between takes. It was just, it was tough for like, a number of reasons, but it was a fun episode. And that we got to do horror. The cast was great. But, I do love me some Paul McGillion, and he was fantastic in this episode, truly fantastic, it was good to have him back.

David Read
I love the guest cast for this episode. You have Nicole de Boer, you have Janina Gavankar, Christina Cox, and Leela Savasta as the all female team. And this is one of those where if we had to season six, that would have been in the top three things for me I would have loved to have seen back because the chemistry and the comedy is gold.

Joseph Mallozzi
It would have been one of the top three things I would have done in season six is bring back that team.

David Read
And Alison Porter, Nicole de Boer’s character a possible…

Joseph Mallozzi
Love interest for her?

David Read
Yeah

Joseph Mallozzi
For Beckett, yeah.

David Read
For Beckett, yeah. I can see it. I think it works.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah. I love Nicole. She’s a great actress. And there was definitely chemistry between these two characters.

David Read
Janina Gavankar we had her on GateWorld after this episode aired, and she sung your guys’s praises where her character Dusty originally had a different name. And then you guys cast her and she was like,”They changed my last name. They made me Indian.” I’m like, “Hey, these people pay attention.” So they want to make the show as believable as possible. And Dusty was just one of my favorites with just her up on the second story balcony ready to take someone out. And she gets out a pack of gum. Just like this is just another afternoon at the office.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, she was, she was a fun, fun character. I loved her character. And Janina was great. And I mean, she’s gone on to do great things. A bunch of network shows. She’s released a few singles as well. She sings. She does it all.

David Read
I’ve been trying to get in touch with her to do this show. I want to have the four of them back for a commentary. Nicole is a board. I’m trying to get the others. So we’ll see. The Queen. So it’s important to remember that Rachel has just had her son. Heavy prosthetics demand. And also, we’ve been in need of of a good Teyla episode for a little bit here. And so this was an opportunity to bring back Todd and introduce a new tier of Wraith type of Queen. And have Atlantis, have Teyla play around a little in the Wraith makeup.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, I mean, this was a great episode for Rachel. For Rachel’s character, maybe not such great episode for Rachel because it was tough for her. I mean, looking back on season five a lot of fans were upset that the Teyla character got short shrift. And to a certain extent, they’re right. I want to say it wasn’t intentional, but it was intentional, because she was taking care of her son. And so we tried to give her as much time as possible and that meant maybe lessening the screen presence of your character. No disrespect her character, but we kind of respected her kind of wishes and wanted sort of find a way to make things work, keep her character alive, but also give Rachel the time she needed. And so, you know, we came up with the idea for this episode and pitched to her, she loved it. But then as you mentioned, all that makeup it did require it was a huge commitment for her and she was, Rachel is wonderful. Like I just heard from her yesterday, the day before yesterday, and she’s just overall terrific. She’s just fantastic in this episode. I just love this episode and with its study of Wraith politics…

David Read
Hierarchy, yeah.

Joseph Mallozzi
The way they get things done.

David Read
There was beginning of peeking in behind the curtain to see like the machinations of that society, and if it had taken like a different turn, it wouldn’t necessarily have worked in my opinion. But this one really, it really plays solid because she and Christopher Heyerdahl make it work, they make it believable. Tracker, we’ve brought back Mike Dopud for Atlantis. Originally he was a Russian, he was the bounty hunter, Odai Ventrell, in an SG-1.

Joseph Mallozzi
And now go on to be…

David Read
Right. Varro but in this he is Kiryk. So and he is another runner, similar to Ronon. Except he is, it’s kind of a lone wolf and cub situation, because he has a younger charge that he is protecting and that’s why he steals Keller.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Again, I mean, you had Mike on the show, I assume?

David Read
Not on this one. But on GateWorld. Yeah.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah. Yeah, just…

David Read
Stand up guy.

Joseph Mallozzi
You were going through also the actors I love to work with and Mike has one. I had him on Dark Matter and again if I get another show, eventually, he’s a guy I would love to work with again. But again, also versatile, but just a very likable person. And that kind of seeps into his performance and the character is very likable as well. This was kind of a fun episode running around in the woods. Remember the art department had a blast coming up with these contraptions. And yeah, I mean, it was another kind of seminal episode. I think it was one of those episodes where, I forget who wrote it, but a freelancer came in to pitch it. And he pitched an idea,

David Read
David Schmidt.

Joseph Mallozzi
Had nothing. Yeah and it had nothing to do with what the episode turned out to be. And so he was talking, talking and talking and then Rob was like, “Hang on.” He goes, “Did you say tracker?” And the guy was like, “No.” He’s like, “I thought you said tracker. And that gave me an idea for another story.” Rob pitched out the story that is Tracker. And it basically was inspired by miss hearing the guy pitching.

David Read
The ways that one comes to story ideas, they’ll they’ll come from anywhere you just keep your ears open. First Contact and the Lost Tribe. Martin Gero talked about the speed at which these two actors, David Hewlett and Michael Shanks, speak, really influencing the number of pages that were written for this episode because they mow through the dialogue very quickly. And this is a great buddy pairing, two-parter because you’ve got Daniel and Rodney working on one front, you’ve got Richard Woolsey, and you’ve got Keller and you’ve got Ronon on this spaceship going to make a potential peace treaty. And a big surprise in the second half of this episode as well. This is a great mid season two-parter.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, I mean, these are the type of episodes that Martin was especially adept at, those the big two-parters the big mythology episodes, especially the big McKay episodes. And this episode had it all. And Martin was good at all that but also funny, Martin’s a very funny guy. And so they’re just great flashes of humor throughout this episode. And the next one.

David Read
This is a great premise as well. Turning on a piece of technology that disrupts or destroys subspace, the Wraith can’t use use their hyperspace frequencies and the Stargates don’t work, they blow up. That’s scary. And it works. It was one of the one of the coolest visual effects sequences where the Atlantis Stargate actually detonates. And the shield has to shrink around it and almost destroys the tower, the central spire. But I have to give tremendous praise to bringing back the Asgard. We lost them a season and a half before and you’ve got the puppet sitting around in his coffin with all of his stuff and this was a great reintroduction. Unfortunately, it was spoiled. out the wazoo by SyFy.

Joseph Mallozzi
As would often happen.

David Read
Whose idea was it to bring him out of storage?

Joseph Mallozzi
I do not recall. It could very well have been a Martin Gero idea.

David Read
Okay. But I loved this because, it suggests a possibility that the personalities inside the Asgard core could have been rejoined with physical bodies from these alternate Asgard Vanir, whatever you want to call them, in the future. Like maybe potentially the Asgard weren’t always gone for good.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah.

David Read
Outsiders, we have Beckett back once again, he’s apparently out in the Pegasus Galaxy doing his thing. There are survivors from the Hoffan plague. So the Hoffans created a plague that would wipe out the Wraith if they attempted to feed on them. And so the Wraith had been systematically eliminating them throughout the Pegasus Galaxy. Alan McCullough wrote this episode. Any thoughts on that one?

Joseph Mallozzi
I don’t even remember this episode.

David Read
All right. Alright, it was not one of the ones that I remember that well as well. Inquisition was an episode where…

Joseph Mallozzi
Alex Levine’s, Alex Levine was our script coordinator and this was his first credited script. And he has actually gone on to write for shows like Orphan Black for which I think he had the CSA, whatever that stands for. It’s Canadian equivalent of the Emmy. And he’s actually done quite well for himself.

David Read
This is a great story idea. And it’s been bantered about in Stargate before but…

Joseph Mallozzi
It had been bantered about because as a result of fans’ criticism about the Atlantis Expedition and the fact that they are responsible for opening up this can of worms that are the Wraith. And so we thought, “Hey, why don’t we write an episode that addresses it?” And it’s a great episode, we get to see Woolsey in action in his element.

David Read
And he at the end of it kind of gets away a little slippery. He has to maneuver some people into letting Atlantis off. So this was an interesting one where it’s like, “Yeah, we are guilty.” Yeah, we kind of do get away with it because of reasons. So it was an interesting ending. And I love the scene of him and Sheppard on the balcony with the cigars like, “Wooh, that was a close one, let’s smoke.” The Prodigal, oh, man, Michael…

Joseph Mallozzi
Another big one.

David Read
His obsession with Teyla goes one step too far. And we never really find out what his specific aspirations were for Torren John Emmagan other than the fact that I think he wanted to hurt Teyla as much as she deceived him. Marvelous episode, man. Yeah, I love this show.

Joseph Mallozzi
And one of the best, I think, fight sequences we’ve ever done on the show.

David Read
On the roof.

Joseph Mallozzi
Throw down between, no actually it’s a one in the room between Ronon and…

David Read
Oh, yes.

Joseph Mallozzi
Especially one of my favorites.

David Read
Yes. And we bring in for that one. I’m trying to remember. We had Sharon Taylor, Amelia Banks.

Joseph Mallozzi
Oh, yes.

David Read
So begins that sort of pairing that was really, really cool. Kickboxing lessons.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah.

David Read
I was surprised. I wasn’t surprised but I was surprised, you have kind of a Batman Joker situation with Michael hanging off the roof of the spire. And now that his chips are down he’s like, “Teyla, please I won’t do it anymore.” John looks at Teyla and he’s like, “Hey, whatever happens next the balls in your court.” And she killed him.

Joseph Mallozzi
He kills him because the life of her son is at stake. She’s not gonna take any chances as a mother.

David Read
Yep. I completely believe it. And it led for one of, it was a great episode from beginning to end. It’s a family episode. It really shows that this team of explorers they’ve really solidified as a group. And they ain’t going to take any crap from any hybrids or anyone else. Remnants, you had a great guest star in the form of, well, you had actually a few different guest stars in this one, but Anna Galvin, who would later return as Chloe’s mother, I believe, in Stargate Universe. She played a British expedition member named Vanessa Conrad.

Joseph Mallozzi
I believe she was Australian.

David Read
Oh, excuse me. Was she Australian?

Joseph Mallozzi
Believe so.

David Read
Australian, you are 100% correct. Spank me rosey. All right. She was a terrific guest appearance. Robert Davi as Kolya brought back once more. Because we don’t know what’s going on here. We know that he’s dead and yet he’s taking hunks off of our heroes.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yes. This is actually one of my favorite episodes. When I look back on the franchise, if I was like name my top five episodes, this is one of my top five just because it has everything I love in an episode I love writing about. I like to juggle different storylines, seemingly unrelated storylines, and find a way to dovetail them at the end. And this episode allows me to do it. And it’s also one of those episodes where you don’t really know what’s going on. And as the episode progresses, things grow increasingly more bizarre to the point where you actually cut off John Sheppard’s hand. And at that point, I mean, it’s not as bad as killing someone, when you kill someone then everybody automatically thinks, “Oh, it’s a time travel or something. But when you just cut off someone’s hand it’s terrible, but in the back of your head you could possibly be thinking, “Holy crap, is John Sheppard, the character not going to have a hand moving forward?”

David Read
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, in shows like Game of Thrones it did in fact stick. But yeah, cuz, he holds up his stump and I’m like, “Ah, man, a fighter, that’s one of his methods of defense.” Almost like a piano player or a doctor.

Joseph Mallozzi
I remember writing the episode, and that was the act out where Kolya just winds up and comes down. Man, I would just love to know what is going through viewers head as they go to commercial and have to wait about a minute and a half to two to find out what the hell happened. One thing I do remember at this episode is Robert Cooper coming into my office and saying, “You’re just torturing Sheppard too much.” Just because he gets beaten. He gets his hand cut off.

David Read
And life sucked out of him, again.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah. And Robert just said, “You know, it’s too gruesome. It’s too much.” Yeah.

David Read
And you just said “I want to do it.” Or did you have to kind of massage it?

Joseph Mallozzi
No, no, I mean, I wrote what I wrote, and…

David Read
Oh, good.Yeah, your executive producer.

Joseph Mallozzi
I mean, at that point, but nine times out of 10, I would always take Rob’s notes, but in this case, I felt pretty strongly about what was happening to John. So in this case, I just kind of kept it as is.

David Read
You take risks, maiming your hero, and, or diminishing them in any kind of real capacity, and it’s one of those situations where I think it paid off in spades. Not because, it’s undone at the end, but we see him, you take chances when you see your character is vulnerable. And also, as an episodic show, they have to kind of somehow reset back to position one at the end of it, but it’s how you play with them when when the chips are down that I think makes it satisfying, and this episode is one of the ones that works. And the sci fi idea of a probe trying to figure every one out and determine what they’re dealing with before it reveals its true nature is a great one. I love the look of the Sekkari as well at the end.

Joseph Mallozzi
We wanted to do something alien. Very alien.

David Read
Right. Says, “You know what, Rodney, let me show you what I really look like.” So it was cool.

Joseph Mallozzi
It probably wouldn’t have worked out then. After all.

David Read
Brainstorm, so this was an episode that my understanding is, there was is a request from, I think the network, for all the shows to do an environmental awareness week. Is that correct? There was something in that vein.

Joseph Mallozzi
That is correct. And we got the request. And I was like, “How are we going to shoehorn a message, a very special PSA message, into into an episode.” And Martin had already kind of an idea for brainstorming in the works and it just turned out to fit perfectly. And so he ended up not only writing but directing the episode. We had some great guest stars. We had Neil deGrasse Tyson, we had…

David Read
Bill Nye.

Joseph Mallozzi
Bill Nye, who you through this episode ended up becoming a very good friend of Martin’s and guest starring on Blind Spot as well, where he actually kind of name checks Rodney McKay at one point. And Kids in the Hall actor…

David Read
Dave Foley.

Joseph Mallozzi
Dave Foley, was the nicest guy and I remember being on set, and I got a call from MGM. And I forget, it was one of the executives and it’s like, “Okay, one of the girls who works for me is a huge Dave Foley fan, could you get him to sign something for her?” And he was standing right there. And I was like, “Oh, would you mind?” And he’s like, “What’s her name?” And I forget what her name was like, Cynthia, and I was like, “Put Cynthia on.” And she got on, and Dave Foley got on, “Hey, Cynthia!” And ended up talking to her and which is very nice of him.

David Read
Yeah, this. How do you secure Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson to play themselves in an episode? This was a coup. This was really cool. The idea of freeze lightning. It’s another one of those sci fi conceits where it’s like, “You know what, if we’re gonna do it now’s the time.” I kind of put it up there with exploding tumors. What are your thoughts?

Joseph Mallozzi
No, I disagree. I disagree. I vehemently disagree. I think actually freeze lightning is kind of cool. Although it could actually, it kind of steers into sort of comical territory, but if you were to kill a main character with feeze lightning, that’s a lot cooler than an exploding tumor.

David Read
Point taken. Okay, very well. And a burgeoning relationship between, I was about to say, David Hewlett and Jewel Staite. No, Doctor Keller and Doctor McKay.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yep. Yep. Yep.

David Read
David Hewlett doesn’t think that it would have lasted. Do you disagree?

Joseph Mallozzi
That is, I like to think you would have lasted.

David Read
Yeah. Yeah. A lot of fans agree with you. He was like, “I just don’t see it happening.” I’m like, “Why? I don’t think you’re gonna have a lot of people in your corner.” But kudos to David for standing up for what he feels. Infection. This was another episode by Alan McCullough. Todd’s hive ship shows up over Atlantis. I think he has also another ZPM in his possession. We see what the Wraith drones look like when they’re being born? That was creepy. Any thoughts on this one?

Joseph Mallozzi
This is another one but I wasn’t expecting to go through every episode.

David Read
I apologize. It’s your fault. You did it in season four. You we’re moving through and I’m like okay.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, I mean, sadly, no, I don’t remember that much about this episode.

David Read
Understood. Identity. Keller is taken over. The communication stones come back for this episode. Dawn Olivieri plays Neeva Casol, a murderer who just starts stabbing people on Atlantis. I remember

Joseph Mallozzi
Zelenka

David Read
Yes. You know, and now Keller’s put in the body of a murderer and what do you do? And I remember the ending of this episode and how it was very nearly Keller who got on the chopping block. Yeah, it’s a fitting, arguably very fitting ending, for such a rag of a human being.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah. And yeah, I remember some of the feedback we got from this episode was outraged that the executioner was killed. Was like well, he’s just some guy trying to do his job and then he gets shot.

David Read
I didn’t hear this. Okay, now Vegas.

Joseph Mallozzi
Vegas. Yeah.

David Read
Oh, man. So this was…

Joseph Mallozzi
another fan favorite.

David Read
Yes. Rob.

Joseph Mallozzi
Robert Cooper joint. Yeah.

David Read
Went to Vegas. Neil Jackson is brought in who was previously Anubis’ son in SG-1. And you guys went on location. Did you end up going to Las Vegas?

Joseph Mallozzi
I did not.

David Read
You didn’t?

Joseph Mallozzi
I did not.

David Read
Okay. What did you think of this episode?

Joseph Mallozzi
I think is one of the best episodes we’ve ever done in the franchise. Very memorable. Very, very different at the same time. I mean, that’s what you want with one of these kind of parallel universe episodes. It just allows you to explore a completely different genre in this case over the police procedural both the sci fi slant.

David Read
[Inaudible] all genres. Embodied with this episode, it works. And it leads into our series finale. Which is…

Joseph Mallozzi
We did not know, yeah, we did not know is going to be our series finale until right at the very end. And yeah, at least we thought that we would have the opportunity to maybe make the movie because we had kind of that script, that Stargate Extinction script, in hand, but alas, it was not to be.

David Read
When the episode was in production did you know at that point, or did the information come later that the show was…

Joseph Mallozzi
No it was in production. I don’t remember the timeline. I don’t remember the episode. But I remember we were in production because I got word and I ended up going down to the cast, and breaking the news to them.

David Read
Okay. This episode has a breakneck speed. There is so much happening inside of it. And it doesn’t let up until the very end when we’re staring at San Francisco Bay. It’s full of action. It’s regularly rated as one of the best episodes of the show. When when the Blu-rays were being put out for the special for Atlantis, Rising and Enemy at the Gate were the two episodes that were put on that disk. And it brings back Todd and allows us to play with the idea of the Wraith finally reaching Earth. Which I think it was something that was teased about for a long time. I’m glad we finally got to see them executing it. I think it was important to do so. And a Hive Ship that was like three or four times the size of a normal one. This thing was buff. Was it a satisfying ending? In your opinion?

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, I mean, as far as endings go, I think it was satisfying in that it kind of plays like a series finale even though that really wasn’t the intent when we were we were writing it. Although it does leave some questions regarding Teyla and Ronon and Todd and if not Atlantis, as a whole city of Atlantis, where would it go from there and those final closing moments. But that final shot of everyone on the balcony is a great one, I think.

David Read
It’s a solid season of episodes and a solid way to finish the first SG-1 spin off, it’s quite the show. And I’m glad that you guys got to do the five seasons that you did, which is I mean, it’s a great run by any standard, especially today.

Joseph Mallozzi
Nowadays, yeah,

David Read
100 episodes.

Joseph Mallozzi
100 episodes, yeah.

David Read
For sure. Let’s go to some viewer questions.

Joseph Mallozzi
Fantastic.

David Read
Gary Jordan wanted to know your thoughts on Stargate Origins and also if it’s possible to see Suji.

Joseph Mallozzi
I never saw Stargate Origins.

David Read
You did not.

Joseph Mallozzi
I did not. So I cannot pass judgment on that and hang on just a sec.

David Read
He’s going to fetch the dog for Gary Jordan. Awww!,

Joseph Mallozzi
She has stopped walking so we got a special new wheelchair. And Akemi gives her this soup that is like heavy Tumeric based. You notice she’s yellow here because she ends up putting half her face in the bowl and it ends up staining her fur.

David Read
How old is she now?

Joseph Mallozzi
She’s going to be 17, May 5.

David Read
Ah, old lady.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yes, yes. I keep on saying I think I want to do one more show. And then I’m going to retire and I’m just going to monetize her and just kind of live off whatever I make off her, she’s gonna be like I think 22 by that time?

David Read
Do a Suji cam.

Joseph Mallozzi
That would [inaudible]

David Read
I love Suji cam. Absolutely.

Joseph Mallozzi
Very exciting.

David Read
I’m coming up for GateCon in September. I would love to meet her.

Joseph Mallozzi
GateCon is in Vancouver?

David Read
Yep.

Joseph Mallozzi
Other side of the country. Sadly, I’m in Toronto.

David Read
Hang on. I knew that. Why am I? Oh, for gosh sakes! I forgot he was in Toronto. Why am I? You’re absolutely right. It’s in September.

Joseph Mallozzi
It’s funny because you can be excused. I remember when some MGM executives came up to visit us in Vancouver and they were like, “Hey, we’re thinking of doing like a short kind of like, spend a night in Toronto and then come back to Vancouver. Do you think we can do that?” And I was like, “Sure. I mean, would you if you were visiting LA would you pop over to New York for a night and come back? I don’t think so. But I mean it’s possible.”

David Read
Yeah, right. Jeez. Teresa MC. “If there had been a season six would Zelenka, Lorne, and Banks have had an episode featuring them?”

Joseph Mallozzi
Um, I’m not sure if there will be an episode featuring them but certainly they would have played a large part in whatever we have planned for season six.

David Read
Judy Wilder, this is interesting, “Please ask why in the final episode when they asked Teyla if she was willing to leave Pegasus why she expressed no regrets about leaving her baby behind?” The baby was in Atlantis wasn’t it?

Joseph Mallozzi
Yes yes. Absolutely.

David Read
Yeah, you wouldn’t just abandon the child.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yes.

David Read
Her and Kanaan was there too? I think

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, yes. In fact, yes, he was.

David Read
All right. Let’s see here, YUKI at HOME, “You love the time travel stuff. Do you ever get confused when writing your own scripts?”

Joseph Mallozzi
I do not because by the time I sit down to write the script, the logic and structure are bulletproof. So we come up with the idea then we discuss it internally, we had someone like Paul, my former writing partner, who would be Mr. Logic and he would go through the logic, every twist and turn, with a fine tooth comb. And then we would write the outline, we would outline the episode, and every one would read it and if there were any holes in the story, or the mechanics of the time travel, someone would punch a hole through them and I would have to find a way to sort of patch up that hole, but very rarely. And then by the time it got time to write the script it was theoretically solid, always say theoretically solid.

David Read
There are always Yeah, I mean you guys are only human so. But it’s one of those logic puzzles where you have to work it backwards just to make sure that’s solid. So it’s one of those where, if you’re going to use time travel I think that those are the stories that you really have to go in bulletproof otherwise they just don’t, that’s one of my issues with Endgame, the Marvel film. There’s an issue with Captain America trying to find, did you see Endgame?

Joseph Mallozzi
I didn’t.

David Read
Okay. The original Captain America comes back to our reality even though he had lived out his life in another reality or something and I was like, “How did that work?” And I went online and there was a video that was a half an hour long explaining. I’m like, “That’s too much. If you have to spend half an hour explaining that, no way.” Oh, gosh. YUKI at HOME also wanted to know, “Which episode in season five was the hardest to name? And was there a process to name episodes?” That’s a question I’ve never asked. That’s a good one.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, no. I mean, the writer of the episode usually came up with the episode title, and some just came easier than others. I personally hated coming up with episode titles. To be honest with you, I think all of the writers hated coming up with episode titles. In terms of season five, off the top of my head, I’m trying to sort of think of the episodes: Search and Rescue, The Seed, Broken Ties, Whispers. I don’t think there was…

David Read
I remember in 48 Hours your original title was Teal’c Interrupted.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yes.

David Read
And you wanted that to stick and they’re like, “No, no, no…”

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, no, no.

David Read
I think it would have been a great title. It isn’t until we get to Atlantis when we have episodes named after characters. Tao of Rodney and McKay and Mrs. Miller. Before that had never been the case.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah.

David Read
Oh, mm, mm, mm. Let me see here. ThatDudeRightThere, “Joe would you have brought back the Sekkari in season six?”

Joseph Mallozzi
Possibly, possibly. I’m not saying I wouldn’t have.

David Read
William Arends, “Why wasn’t a more recurring role found for an actor like Dopud in SG-1 or SGA?” He got his in SGU.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, I mean he was a regular in or semi-regular in Stargate Universe.

David Read
Okay. We’ve asked this question before. I’ll let Joe answer it though. Oliver, I’d like to ask, “Oliver wants to know, plans for Dark Matter since the Netflix pitch was turned down.”

Joseph Mallozzi
Um, you know, it’s in limbo, frankly, I think actually the best bet for me, as strange as it sounds, is to get another show off the ground and use the heat off that show to set up a Dark Matter miniseries. That would take place maybe five or six years after the events of season four finale.

David Read
Sounds good to me. Raj Luthra, “Were there ever any further plans to bring Ford back?” We see him briefly in…

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah,

David Read
…season five, which I think was a great cameo. But was there any consideration further?

Joseph Mallozzi
No, although in my mind, people realize, “Did he die?” In my mind he didn’t die. He’s still somewhere out there. Waiting for his next story.

David Read
Carlos Takeshi, “I’d love to hear about all the cameos in Brainstorm. We’re all these people Stargate fans?”

Joseph Mallozzi
Not that I know of. This will be a question for Martin Gero, which you should have on.

David Read
Absolutely. Raj said, “Were there plans for the last episode, for Enemy at the Gate, to be a two-part story?”

Joseph Mallozzi
No, in fact, one of the things, it’s funny, there’s certain episodes that we’ll do and people will say, “Oh, this should have been a two-parter.” And then there are other episodes they’ll say, “Ah, there’s just this two parter could have been like one, could have been one episode.” And this is one of those episodes with this, as you pointed out a lot going on, but there was never any plans to make it a two-parter.

David Read
William Arends, “Had there been a season six would Woolsey have potentially found companionship?”

Joseph Mallozzi
Ah, it’s possible, I mean, we kind of explored that in Remnants with kind of a fun way.

David Read
Yeah. William brought up with McKay and Keller and Ronon and Banks getting together. With the Sekkari woman it might have been interesting had she, “You know what, it’s kind of working.”

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah.

David Read
I’m a probe but do you mind? You can sit me on your desk. eZzZzZzZzZzA, “Jason Momoa announced during production on season five, he probably would just do one more season of the show. By the end of the show did you have a plan in mind for his out?”

Joseph Mallozzi
We did not.

David Read
Okay. Even though he does…

Joseph Mallozzi
We were never at the point where we would have discussed that scenario, so.

David Read
Got it.

Joseph Mallozzi
We didn’t get a chance to even discuss season six, we were actually canceled even before we wrapped production on season five.

David Read
Acacam​q, “What are your thoughts on the mind battles in Stargate, Daniel facing off against Replicator Carter, Teyla versus a Wraith Queen.” These mind conflicts that are all in the face and actually end up impacting the real world.

Joseph Mallozzi
I always love those types of episodes just because we have such a diverse range of characters and intellect. And just kind of the classic story of the lowly human coming up against the, whether it be the alien mind or the AI mind, it was just fun to explore.

David Read
Dan Ben, “Did you ever make a reference to a Star Trek or Star Wars ship that looked like it’s from there but it had to be removed from the script or episode because it was too close?”

Joseph Mallozzi
No, not that I recall.

David Read
The grey aliens with the red chip in their heads from Daedalus Variations their spacecraft was very Star Destroyer like, but it was cool. I loved them.

Joseph Mallozzi
Okay, I was not aware. I’m not familiar with Star Destroyer.

David Read
Okay, there we go. Um, GateNerd says, “What do you think about how streaming services don’t have access to the commentaries for DVD extras? Is there a legal reason or just something else?”

Joseph Mallozzi
Um, I don’t know. And to be honest with you, I mean, it’d be an interesting option to to offer but I don’t know why they don’t do it.

David Read
It’s just I’ve always looked at it as it’s just another special feature. Like any of the other special features that aren’t offered? And it’s a shame.

Joseph Mallozzi
Yeah, to be honest with you. I never even thought about it. I mean, usually when I think I want to watch a show, I will watch the show. If you want to watch it in Japanese, you can watch it in Japanese or if it isn’t in Japanese listen to it in Korean. But you have the option of having, switching to a commentary is a good one.

David Read
When we were developing the Stargate Command website, there was definite consideration that in a future version was going to add the commentaries for the episodes that were there. And I can say definitively that I am in production for some commentaries on Dial the Gate as well. So…

Joseph Mallozzi
Oh, nice.

David Read
I’m looking forward to having those rollout. Joe, it has as always been a pleasure to have you on. We finished two shows now I have one more to go.

Joseph Mallozzi
Oh fantastic.

David Read
It’s just crazy. The content that you guys produced, and the fact that I get to sit through mining these episodes with you is such a pleasure. And I’m so fortunate to have you.

Joseph Mallozzi
Thank you. I have to say this trip through memory lane for Atlantis has made me very nostalgic and in the back of my mind I’m thinking I never actually sat down to watch the show. And neither SG-1 or Atlantis because I guess we would watch so many iterations of the cuts when we were in production that I never sat down to watch the shows from beginning to end. I did that with Universe because Akemi wanted, my wife Akemi, wanted to check out Stargate Universe, which she absolutely loved. I was actually surprised by how much she loved it. I was like, “We’ll watch the first episode if you’d like it, and every night we would watch.

David Read
She hooked onto it. Well, that’s cool.

Joseph Mallozzi
She was heartbroken that it was canceled. Yeah.

David Read
I’m right there with her. That last 15 minutes of that series, and we’ll get to it when it comes to it. Oh, my gosh, Joel Goldsmith is just ripping my heart out. So. I’m going to let you go. And I appreciate you taking the time and we will set up plans for March. Good, sir.

Joseph Mallozzi
Thank you. Always a pleasure. Happy 120.

David Read
You take care of yourself, Joe.

Joseph Mallozzi
See ya.

David Read
Bye bye. Joseph Mallozzi, Executive Producer Stargate Atlantis. Always a pleasure to have Joe on to discuss each and every season of the series. For the month of March we will have him back to discuss the Universe season one. I do have a couple of, I do have one question that was submitted to me and I wanted to get to that. R Radev, “Please ask David about Sam J. Jones. He was supposed to be one of the first guests what happened?” That is a great question. So originally, Sam, I’ll tell you the story. So I was at Comic Con San Diego, this was 2009-2010. And Sam was walking the floor. And he has his own company and he was there for reasons for that company. And I told him who I was and that I worked for GateWorld at the time, that I would love to have him on to discuss his character. And Aris Boch is arguably one of the cooler, more nostalgic characters from SG-1’s earlier seasons that everyone just talks about. And so he handed me his business card with his phone number and his email address on it. And I ended up putting it away in my fire safe for years. I don’t know why I didn’t have him on on GateWorld. It just didn’t seem right at the time. But when I started doing the show, I was like, “You know, I would love to have him back or have him on the show to discuss Aris Boch and this one off character that he created.” And so I emailed him and he said, “I’m in the middle of X, Y and Z right now. But when that is over with I will come on and I will do the show.” And so when we originally did the the lineup of the initial episode of the initial guests, there were 30 of them. I put him on that list. And I have since tried to reach out to him, I think three separate times. And I’ve gotten some response from him here and there. But I just haven’t been able to make the connection. And it’s one of those that’s really like, I would love to sit down with this guy and talk with him for 45 minutes. But we haven’t been able to make it work yet and I apologize for that because I announced him as a guest and I haven’t been able to follow through with that promise and that is my fault. So it’s on my list. Let me just put it that way. Okay, merchandise. We create T-shirts for Dial the Gate. You can buy yourself some of our themed swag. If you want to support the show further, it’s T-shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts and hoodies for all ages, as well as cups and other accessories in a variety of sizes and colors. What you’re seeing right now are the designs that are available on dialthegate.com/merch. You can turn them into any number of items that are listed for that corresponding design. All you have to do is visit the website, dialthegate.com and click on the merchandise tab and go from there. And thanks so much for your support. That’s me and my artistic the artistic side of me trying out some designs. I need to go in there and make a couple more. I’ve had a few more on the brain. Thank you so much to my Producer Linda “GateGabber” Furey as well as my moderating team Sommer, Tracy, Keith, Jeremy, Rhys, Antony. You guys make the show happen and I could not do it without you. Big thanks to Frederick Marcoux, our web developer for Dial the Gate and Jeremy Heiner, our webmaster who keeps the site up to date. Upcoming episodes, there are a number of them that are in the can or not, well, actually two are in the can for when I go to LA next week. So March the 5th, 12pm Pacific Time we have The Companion on for an exclusive episode we brought in Lawrence Kao to discuss The Companion and their goals for their website and also they’re providing, at least it’s my understanding, about a half an hour of exclusive content from The Companion, including scenes with Richard Dean Anderson and Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Jewel Staite, David Hewlett from their various exclusive events there. They’re bringing that to Dial the Gate for free. I am also working on a, I have my own column with them that’s going to be appearing, if it hasn’t debuted yet already, it’s going to be appearing very shortly on The Companion website dealing with the philosophy of Stargate. So we wanted to dovetail that in with an interview with Lawrence, the the CEO and co-founder of The Companion, so that’s going to be airing on March the 5th at 12pm. That’s a pre-recorded episode. All next week’s episodes are pre-recorded, including at 2pm James Lafazanos the Wraith commander he is joining us for that show. And we talked for well over an hour, was a fantastic hour. GateWorld has a preview of it that’s going to be launching on that website this coming week. So The Companion at 12 noon, on the 5th of March and at 2pm, it’s going to be Pacific Time, James Lafazanos to discuss his various Wraith roles on Stargate Atlantis. Then on the 12th of March I have Suanne Braun returning for part three of her interviews with us on Hathor and her recent goings on. She was recently featured in a video game called Dying Light 2 as one of the main characters. She played about 10 different roles and so we’re going to have her back so you can talk with Suanne then. And then on the 19th of March at 12 noon Pacific Time. Here’s one you might not expect, Britt Irvin, who played Merrin in the season three episode, SG-1 episode Learning Curve, one of my favorite episodes of the show. We reached out to her and she said, “Yes, she’d love to come on.” So it’s one of the things I’m wanting to do now is explore some of the kids of Stargate who had performances when they were younger on the show, and Britt is the first. And also we just got in touch with Jeff Gulka, who played young Charlie in the episode Show and Tell. He also agreed to come on and do Dial the Gate as well. We’re still working on the dates for Jeff, but I’m really excited about this lineup, and I can’t wait to explore those episodes, with you guys, further in depth with having these guests on. Thank you so much for tuning in. Once again, it really means the world to me to be able to do the show and continue to bring you exclusive Stargate content week after week. My name is David Read for Dial the Gate. Thanks so much for watching. I’ll see you on the other side.