You can count on one hand the number of NID agents trusted by Stargate Command. The gem of the bunch, Agent Malcolm Barrett, was played by Peter Flemming. He joins us to share stories from the show and his career!

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Timecodes
0:00 – Splash Screen
0:32 – Opening Credits
0:57 – Welcome
1:16 – Guest Introduction
1:47 – Voice-Over
2:22 – Getting Back into Film
5:59 – The Love of Voice Work
7:20 – Auditioning for Malcolm Barrett
10:50 – Agent Barrett Is Proof Wormhole X-Treme Happened
12:00 – Unfilmed Barrett/Carter Series?
17:06 – The Character Worked
18:12 – Energy Between Barrett and Carter
21:20 – Amanda Tapping
23:30 – Great Director Energy
24:21 – Director Peter Flemming?
26:22 – Industry People Die Sooner
30:09 – “Ex Deus Machina”
30:45 – Cliff Simon
34:12 – Beau Bridges
38:08 – Meeting Fans
43:10 – Stargate’s Production Quality
43:42 – What’s Barrett Doing Now?
44:27 – Australia Convention
45:35 – The Atomic Train with Don S. Davis
46:38 – Thank You, Peter!
48:24 – Post-Interview Housekeeping
50:26 – Question for David
54:20 – End Credits

***

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

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TRANSCRIPT
Find an error? Submit it here.

David Read:
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Episode 257 of Dial the Gate – The Stargate Oral History Project. My name is David Read. I appreciate you being here for this one. It’s a little later than we usually do, but it’s nice to have an evening one every once in a while. I think I look better in this lighting, for instance, with the sun not blaring through the window. Peter Flemming, Agent Malcolm Barrett, Stargate SG-1, and Stargate Atlantis as well. Welcome to my show, sir. How are you doing?

Peter Flemming:
David, sir, I’m doing really good. Thank you.

David Read:
It’s been a while.

Peter Flemming:
It seems like another life, actually, to be honest with you. But a life that I had a lot of fun with.

David Read:
What’s been keeping you busy lately? You steeped in projects? How’s the industry going up there?

Peter Flemming:
Well, you know, it’s funny you caught me at this time, David, because I haven’t been acting.

David Read:
Oh, really?

Yes. I built a voiceover studio in my house, and I just wake up and work in my underwear, and I love it. I don’t have to travel. I don’t, you know, just blah, blah, blah. And I’m done, and I can go walk and drink my coffee and shoot the shit with my boys, and I’m good. But I’m doing a movie next week. First time in some years. Yeah.

David Read:
Can you talk about it a little bit? Are you allowed to?

Peter Flemming:
I think. Well, it’s kind of a fun story.

David Read:
OK.

Peter Flemming:
So I’ve been in Vancouver for 30 years, off and on in L.A., of course. but the first lead that I had in a film in Vancouver was 30 years ago. And so out of the blue, I get a call from the director of that movie that I did 30 years ago last year. And he says, “You know, Peter, I might sound crazy, but I’m thinking of doing a sequel to “Love Four.” But I’m only going to do it if you are in it. I’m trying to track down everybody.” So I said, well, I kind of gave it up. I mean, for now. I mean, I’m sure I’ll be an actor again at some point, but I’m like, “You know what? Out of principle, yeah, let’s do it. I’m going to do it. I’m going to do it.” So it’s a good script. I actually like the character. I just hope I can remember the freaking lines, you know, because there’s a lot of lines.

David Read:
Well, I’ve heard that when you get back into it, it’s like riding a bike for some people, although it takes a few days to really, you know, you’re not necessarily going to be the sponge that you once were. But this is a character that you’re familiar with, I’m guessing, since you started with him 30 years ago.

Peter Flemming:
Familiar in one way, but 30 years is a long time. So it’s kind of like, I guess, familiar. But 30 years is 30 years. But the character – he’s a pretty good writer too. Actually, I’m like, I thought it was going to be like, “Nah, OK, yeah, I’ll do it.” But the more that I read it, I’m like, “Oh, I might get into this a little bit. I think I like this dude. I like this character.” So we’ll see, man. If I can pull this off, I mean, fuck, good for me.

David Read:
No, absolutely. For sure. So the original film was called “Love Four”?

Peter Flemming:
And this is…

David Read:
“Love Five”?

Peter Flemming:
No, Love – what is it? Love – shit, I should know it, right? “Love 4.5”? I don’t know. Something like that. If you follow me on Instagram, I’m sure it’s around there somewhere.

David Read:
Peter Flemming as Ron, ‘Love 2.’ So it’s like a designation?

Peter Flemming:
‘Love 2,’ exactly. Yes. So this is – yeah, so it’s a rom-com. And it’s four sections of people experiencing their romance in their own personal matrix, right? So, yeah.

David Read:
Are they electronic people?

Peter Flemming:
No, “matrix” just sort of being an analogy of life.

David Read:
Can you do me a favor? Can you try and tilt up that funky, wobbly camera for me just a little bit? I’m losing your head, but I don’t want it to fall on you again.

Peter Flemming:
We don’t like that. Is that OK?

David Read:
That’s actually better. Yeah, that works too.

Peter Flemming:
OK.

David Read:
As long as it stays…

Peter Flemming:
I feel like I have to [gestures up and down]

David Read:
Well, you can tilt it a little bit down. But, [for] everyone listening, just before we were having difficulty keeping it in place, so there we go.

Peter Flemming:
I’m not [a] technically savvy guy. I should have lighting and a nice thing, but yeah.

David Read:
Well, you haven’t been acting, you’ve been voicing.

Peter Flemming:
I know, right? I don’t need any of that stuff.

David Read:
I’ve been talking a few weeks ago with Gildart Jackson, who has – are you familiar with him?

Peter Flemming:
I’m not. I don’t know him, but I’m familiar.

David Read:
Right. He’s been doing a lot of voiceover work and recording of audiobooks, and he loves it. There’s something, like you say, about being in your own environment, going at your own pace, you know, getting a chance to perfect something.

Peter Flemming:
well, audiobooks – no way. The less lines… I mean, they pay me big money to say a few words, right? That’s where I like to be. I ain’t fucking… can I F-bomb on this?

David Read:
I guess so.

Peter Flemming:
No, there’s no way. I’m reading 150,000 words for five or 10 grand or whatever. No, no, no. That’s a real job. That’s a real job. No, I like the 10 words. I’m like, “One in the morning. Pelting rain. Day straight out of Apocalypse Now. Part-time job turned into full-time migraine. Cut. There’s your check. Thank you.”

David Read:
“Part-time job, full-time migraine.” Is that an Advil commercial?

Peter Flemming:
That’s just one of – I don’t even know what it was. It was just one of the voiceover ads I did, I think for – what was it for? Drinking and driving.

David Read:
Oh, good. Very good one. Absolutely. Good excuse.

Peter Flemming:
Yes.

David Read:
Tell me about auditioning for this role. This character…

Peter Flemming:
Which role?

David Read:
There’s this one guy that I’ve heard of by the name of Agent Malcolm Barrett.

Peter Flemming:
Ah!

David Read:
You may be familiar with him. He appeared in the 100th – believe this: 100 episodes of a TV show called Stargate SG-1 – ninety-nine had come before without this guy.

Peter Flemming:
I know. I remember.

David Read:
This must be like bonus territory at this point for a show that gets to last so long. Tell me about that time.

Peter Flemming:
Well, David, it’s a pretty funny story when I think back about it. Right? Because, I mean, you know all the conventions I’ve been on, all the interviews. I mean, you guys know how much I enjoyed the show, how much I loved working with Amanda [Tapping] and, you know, being Barrett. I mean, I just loved every bit of it. It was a great character, it was a great crew. It was just fun to go to work, and it was just a blast. But, the story. So, at that time, I was starting to do more guest stars and leads, right? My agent, I remember – Richard Lucas at the time – he’s like, “Well, Peter, they want you in for ‘Stargate.’ There’s no name; it just says ‘Man in Black.’ I don’t know. It said possibly recurring. I mean, it’s only, you know, a few lines. And, you know, I think because of the possibly recurring, we should go in. We should…” – you know, because when agents and actors talk with each other, they speak of ‘we,’ right? – “So we should – I think we should do this. I think we should go in and do this.” And, of course, I was a little younger then and probably had more attitude. I was like, “Eh, I’m like, all right, fine, whatever. I’ll go in.” And that’s the day that I met Peter DeLuise.

David Read:
Oh!

Peter Flemming:
Because he was directing the session. And I remember it was like two or three lines. I can’t even remember what it was, you know. But I remember locking eyes with Pete behind this little cubicle there, and I just knew he was going to cast me. Just by that little smirk he had, and I had the same smirk. I was like, “All right, we’re working together. Nice. I like it.” And I remember doing that episode. And then, you know, I ended up working with DeLuise, what, like 10 other times or something? And they made… not only did they make Barrett a good character in the show, but they really… the episodes that Agent Barrett was in, he was in front to back. Like, he was… I mean, when they came to Earth, he was the guy. He was in almost every…

David Read:
He’s facilitating.

Peter Flemming:
Right – every scene. I mean, this guy was, you know… as I look back, he was a big part of that show when they came to Earth. But yeah, to answer your question; ‘Man in Black’ was the audition that I had. And there were four or five lines. And look what happens, right? So, ego schmego, right? You know, like, take your opportunities when you can get them. And I learned from that, and I did.

David Read:
You never know. I love pointing at your character because, in the Stargate circles, there are arguments about what is real and what is not real. And the 200th episode returned the theme of “Wormhole X-Treme.” But it is pretty concretely determined to be not a real show. It’s kind of like, “This one is one for the fans. It has nothing to do with continuity at all.”

Peter Flemming:
Yeah.

David Read:
And so the argument has always been made: then ‘Wormhole X-Treme’ isn’t either because of all the wacky stuff going on. And it’s like, “Uh-uh, there’s a character that’s introduced in this episode – by name – who continues to recur through pretty much the rest of the franchise.” And that was you.

Peter Flemming:
Yes.

David Read:
And it’s like, this one is a real show.

Peter Flemming:
So “Wormhole [X-Treme]” was the next time I appeared after the 100th episode?

David Read:
The 100th episode was “Wormhole X-Treme!”

Peter Flemming:
That’s what I thought.

David Read:
Yeah.

Peter Flemming:
That’s right. I was like, “well, wait a sec.” Yeah. But then after that. Yeah. So it was then I did… and I guess… and I’m… not to off track what you’re saying, but.

David Read:
No, what I’m saying is irrelevant. Go ahead.

Peter Flemming:
What I really appreciated, especially about Peter, was his belief in me and the character and writing Agent Barrett, you know, more and more scenes and giving him a much more well-rounded character. A character that the viewing audience can start to enjoy. And for him I thought that was great. This just clicked to me. I’m going to tell you… I could tell it to you now – it’s a Peter DeLuise.

David Read:
Let’s hear it. Peter is one of my favorite people.

Peter Flemming:
So, I think whoever is watching this, all the fans that are watching this, will really – whether you agreed with it or not – but it’s a really interesting story. And I can say this now. I don’t think I could have said this back then. So, in Vancouver, it’s a pretty close-knit community anyway. So I’m walking down in Kits on Fourth Avenue, and who comes across the street? DeLuise. And I had already done maybe four or five episodes, I think. Anyway, it was right around the time before they launched Atlantis. Now, you may not even know this. I don’t even think… what I’m about to say – probably only maybe the producers and DeLuise knew. [“Charge” fanfare]

David Read:
Charge!

Peter Flemming:
And correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is the story: they were coming up with different ideas for a new Stargate show. I think SG-1 had run – I don’t know how many seasons it had run up until that point before Atlantis started.

David Read:
Seven.

Peter Flemming:
Seven. Thank you. So, in around the fifth and sixth years, they were starting to think, “Oh, what can we piggyback off this?” You know, and their developmental ideas and writing, and some of that. So, it turns out that myself and Amanda Tapping were in the frontline with Atlantis to have our own spinoff – not spinoff, piggyback show – of Stargate. So, of course, Atlantis won. We all know Atlantis won. It turns out to be a fantastic show. But their competition/rivals at that time, without a name attached to it, was Barrett and Carter.

David Read:
Because SG-1 was going off the air after Season Seven, there wasn’t going to be any more. Something was going to take over. The SG-1 Season Seven finale had the idea of the movie that they were going to pitch, and then they were going to do something else. But they were trying to figure out what that [was]. Ah, wow! That’s really cool. The Stargate adventures of Agent Barrett and Samantha Carter.

Peter Flemming:
Right? I think it’s a great tidbit, you know, for everybody to kind of chew on a little bit. Like anybody that really liked that relationship between Barrett and Carter – who knows if it would have had legs? Who knows, you know, what would have happened? But, you know, as I watched a few of the episodes with Amanda and I, you know, there’s definitely a fun little chemistry there that could have gone a lot of different ways.

David Read:
If nothing else, on the professional side, it could have been a Scully-Mulder relationship. Maybe personal after a few years. But I definitely saw that.

Peter Flemming:
Exactly. And I think – you know, I was going to say that if you did – but that’s the template, I think, that they were sort of riffing off of, right? Yeah. Which I totally forgot about until now.
Yeah. I’ll never forget. And DeLuise, right? He’s like, “You didn’t hear, you know, you didn’t hear from me.”

David Read:
So, this in Kits, this conversation happened?

Peter Flemming:
Yeah. Yeah. In Kits. And Peter will remember it. Of course he’ll remember.

David Read:
He’s coming on in two weeks. I’ll ask him.

Peter Flemming:
Of course, I’ll remember. So, it was on the corner – he’ll know – it was right by the Whole Foods. It was on the corner of – not Yew – whatever the next one is. Yew and Fourth. Around whatever the next one is, where the Safeway is. It was right on that corner. Yeah, by the Safeway on Fourth and Balsam or Yew or whatever it is.

David Read:
Okay, I’m gonna make him go there, and we’re going to reenact it.

Peter Flemming:
Yeah.

David Read:
That’s cool, man.

Peter Flemming:
I’m sure I can’t get in trouble for it now. Of course, after he left, he goes, “Dude,” – he goes, “please don’t, don’t, don’t. You can’t, you can’t say anything.” “No, I’m good, Peter. I already forgot it before you…” But after he left, I was just like [fist pumping]. But, of course, it never happened.

David Read:
Well, the fact of the matter is they continued to bring you back because the character had legs. Your role was instrumental in that; everyone that we had seen from NID headquarters was a chump, you know. They all had their own agenda and were trying to get after something politically, and this guy was a straight arrow. He was interested in nothing but the truth and protecting the folks who were going through that damn thing every week. And it was such a nice [refresh]… because that was like – in Season Six, there were a couple of episodes where even Sam was like, “I think I can trust this guy, but I’m not sure.” And it’s like, is he going to betray us? Is he going to do his own thing? Or is he going to help us out? And the character did, and that’s really cool.

Peter Flemming:
But that’s cool, too. Like you said, they were all chumps, so it adds to that subplot of it all. It’s like, “Oh, we can’t, you know.” So it gives everybody time to sort of [figure out], “Oh, yeah, he’s good. He’s good. Yeah, he’s good.”

David Read:
Yeah. Washington, a cesspit? No one’s ever thought of that before. So, geez. Wow, I did not know that.

Peter Flemming:
What I really – what I really, you know, thinking back – what I really liked about Barrett and Carter was just… I don’t know if you remember, but just some of those episodes where it’s like, you know – like, I’ve talked to, you know, some fans that follow me or wrote to me or whatever. “Oh, I just wanted you and Amanda, like, so bad, to get together.” And we always had thar… like we’d walk away from a scene, and you’d see me tap her back. Or like, that scene was like, “I don’t know. I just thought if you weren’t doing anything, you know, maybe we could, you know, go out sometime.”

David Read:
“How’s Pete?”

Peter Flemming:
Just all those fun little pieces. she’s like, “What? No, no, no.” But, you know, if that had time, right?

David Read:
Correct?

Peter Flemming:
We might have turned those “no, no, no” into “okay, let’s go.”

David Read:
“Let’s have coffee.”

Peter Flemming:
Right?

David Read:
And certainly, I’ve got stuff to talk about, and there’s not a lot of people that she can talk about with work, you know?

Peter Flemming:
Exactly.

David Read:
So that’s a big deal for people – to be able to confide in someone about this top-secret stuff that most people can’t… when they go home, they can’t even tell their families. “What happened today, sweetie?” “Oh, an alien race invaded the base.” “What?” “I gotta kill you now!” I do believe, had they had more time together and had Jack not been a part of the equation, I do believe…

Peter Flemming:
Well, Jack’s a big part of the equation.

David Read:
Right? Absolutely. I do think that there could have been something long-term. And Malcolm was always checking in with her. “How’s Pete? How you doing?” “Oh, we’re not really with each other.” “Oh, really? Everything okay?” “Yes, everything’s fine. I’m taking a break from everything.” He cared about her, you know?

Peter Flemming:
Yeah.

David Read:
And you made it realistic.

Peter Flemming:
And, of course, we don’t have real time in the movie world to let those things develop. But if there had been time, I mean, it would be a perfect mirror of real life – where the guy just comes in as a friend or a coworker, and then after a couple of years, it’s like, “Hey, do we… we kind of like each other? I mean, I don’t know. I’m just saying.”

David Read:
A spark is not always immediate.

Peter Flemming:
Right. Exactly, exactly. Or it might be for somebody, and then they have to have patience. Which is probably, I think, a little bit more on Malcolm [side] as far as Stargate goes

David Read:
He doesn’t strike me as a guy who was out after one-night stands.

Peter Flemming:
Definitely not.

David Read:
He struck me more as a Kevin Costner “Bodyguard” type of guy. He’s going home, making himself a screwdriver or something else, and just kind of chilling after work. Putting his sidearm down, goes to bed. Next day, he gets up and does the same thing again.

Peter Flemming:
Yeah, that’s true. Did I send you my side notes? Because that’s what I had: Kevin Costner, screwdriver.

David Read:
Hey, you know…

Peter Flemming:
I agree.

David Read:
Tell me about Amanda Tapping. What is she like? Have you been directed by her yet? I think you were. I think you were in…

Peter Flemming:
Oh! Yes!

David Read:
…her first directing at the end of Season Seven.

Peter Flemming:
So I did. What was the… I should go get it because on my Instagram, I had some…

David Read:
“Resurrection.”

Peter Flemming:
I had a script… “Resurrection,” right?

David Read:
Yeah.

Peter Flemming:
I had a script to resurrect… and this was the only episode where it was written by a main cast member and directed by a main cast member – hence, Michael Shanks being the writer and Amanda being the director. So it is one of a kind.

David Read:
Absolutely correct.

Peter Flemming:
And boy, like… you know, again, it’s been a while, but my memories of Amanda is like, she’s a fucking machine. Not only is she a machine, but she just does it all so well. I would just get tired watching her sometimes. And then, when she wore the role of director and still – I mean, you know her dialogue, right?

David Read:
There’s a lot of hats you’re asking someone to wear for six or seven days of photography.

Peter Flemming:
Yeah, on a show that’s quite large. And she just took it on like a pro, man. I was amazed just watching it all.

David Read:
My understanding was that, very similar to Jonathan Frakes, that first day she walked on set for “Revisions,” [sic] she walked on set a director. And she’s still doing it now – 20 years and change later. Something was working.

Peter Flemming:
And not a lot of people have that ability. Not a lot of people have that energy. She reminds me of one of my best buddies, Tom Cavanagh, who is an actor. I don’t know if… I’m sure quite a successful fella – but he had gone on and directed. He was in “The Flash” and went on and directed episodes of “The Flash.” And now he directs big blockbuster shows, but he still acts. And I mean, just the energy he has – it’s like Amanda, right? They’re both male and female versions of each other. They have enough energy for a whole community, you know? My buddies and I just watched Cavanagh and were like, “Man, I don’t know.” But it’s the same… I think I’ve often – not often, but maybe a few times – if I was talking about either one of them, said that’s the male or female version of each other. They both have that ability to just not sleep and get it done.

David Read:
Do you think that you couldn’t pull it off if you were to rise to the challenge or be invited to rise to the challenge? Do you really think it’s just a “them” kind of thing? Or do you think that we all have it in us to exhaust ourselves in that way? Or is it, in some cases, pure talent? Like, that is a very specific set of skills in one person.

Peter Flemming:
It’s a great question. I’m going to be as humble as I can when I say this, but I know that I could do it – and do it well. I just require more sleep.

David Read:
Absolutely!

Peter Flemming:
And as you know, being a director is like being a genny op, right? You don’t sleep.

David Read:
No, you don’t rest.

Peter Flemming:
So I think.. it is talent, of course, but it’s all the composition. It’s all your makeup as a human as well. All those factors play a big part in it.

David Read:
You’re not just running a group of 100, 150 people. You’re pursuing a vision. You’re hoping that everyone is going to be in line with that vision, and stuff happens that you’ve got to be prepared for, because wrenches are going to be thrown at you. And how you handle those challenges are a description of your character.

Peter Flemming:
Yeah.

David Read:
Absolutely.

Peter Flemming:
And that’s a great point too. All of the things in a day on set that are coming your way that need to be changed, want to be changed, you have to make decisions, you collaborate with… there’s just so many hats you have to wear. I’m just like, “wow.”

David Read:
How some people do it and with, like, four or five hours of sleep day-in and day-out.

Peter Flemming:
Well, I’m sure Amanda’s the same, but Tom’s like, “I need four hours. Four hours is good.” Four hours is just a start for me.

David Read:
I was talking with N. John Smith a couple of months ago – Executive Producer on SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe.

Peter Flemming:
Smithy!

David Read:
He’s a good guy.

Peter Flemming:
I love Smithy!

David Read:
He’s a great guy. And he talked about how you really are, for a lot of people, burning the candle at both ends. And people behind the lines, in some cases, die much earlier because if you look back on their body of work, the work has just exhausted them. The exhaustion accumulates. Your body can’t handle it.

Peter Flemming:
And it’s a great point, right? Sometimes we get caught in the formula of life. Let’s say I’m filming TV, and forget about ourselves, right? Ourselves don’t even matter. The merit and the work and what we do – regardless if I don’t sleep or don’t live past 50 or 60 – that’s irrelevant. I’m in the machine. I’m focused, I’m in the machine.

David Read:
There’s a high in the work. There’s a natural high that you get out of…

Peter Flemming:
Huge.

David Read:
…out of making an end product that everyone loves to collaborate on – even if they don’t watch it in the end. A lot of talent don’t watch their work. It’s, “What’s the next thing? I’m over here, I’m ready to go. Now what, coach?”

Peter Flemming:
Speaking of John Smith, I always used to… I’ve had a few good conversations with John, but when you’re an actor, and especially if you’re in the last shot of the day and you’re running behind, and the exec shows up on set, it’s never a good feeling, right? It’s like, “Oh, shit. Smitty’s here. I still got fucking 10 pages of dialogue. We’re three hours over.”

David Read:
Tic toc.

Peter Flemming:
I mean, “there’s already enough heat on me, John, can you just go over here? Just leave, will you?” But, anyway, John, [he’s] one of my favourites – he’s a great guy. But he owns a seafood… oyster shop over in Gibsons – which is on an island off the mainland here in Vancouver – with my buddy Stafford. They have a really good oyster shop where an old show called The “Beachcombers” used to air. You’re probably too young for that one.

David Read:
Along with his boat – the bad guy’s boat. He was in charge of it. He told me that whole story.

Peter Flemming:
OK. Then I’ll leave it alone.

David Read:
The man was born on the water. I don’t know if technically, but yes, very much so. You fall in love with certain things. And especially someone like John – you look for people who can remain cool under pressure. Because, like you say, at the end of the day, you still have 10 pages to go. But I would imagine with Stargate, that didn’t happen often.

Peter Flemming:
No, it didn’t because it was such a well-oiled machine. I mean, everybody – from the genny op to hair to makeup to the grips to the camera – everybody was there and enjoyed what they were doing. It was just one of those sets where you went to and just knew it was super professional and fun. That doesn’t happen a lot, right? And I guess, with chemistry, maybe that wasn’t in the first year, or maybe it developed over time. A lot of shows don’t get to develop over time like that. But even shows I’ve been on that have been around for a while – this was even more special. You could just tell everybody cared. It’s that energy, right?

David Read:
Everybody loved what they were doing.

Peter Flemming:
Yeah, that’s true.

David Read:
Is this the same episode that I’m thinking of? Yeah. You were in an episode called “Ex Deus Machina.” And you may… you know, what, you were on set the same day I was – I remember this now: you had a – wow, just opening doors in my mind – you had a scene with Beau Bridges upstairs, in the briefing room.

Peter Flemming:
I loved working with Beau. Beau’s awesome.

David Read:
And I’m downstairs in the control room listening to you guys upstairs, and I hear “cut” and the bell rings. And it’s like those moments as a fan really stick with me.

David Read:
I bet. Yeah.

Peter Flemming:
But later on… we went to Norco, and then we came back and it started raining. And you can hear… it’s probably one of my most vivid memories of being on the set of a production. And I think that you were there interrogating Cliff Simon, and the rain starts coming down on the set… the what now?

Peter Flemming:
God rest his soul.

David Read:
Absolutely, 100%.

Peter Flemming:
Cliff and I used to enjoy the conventions together. And anyway, I don’t want to sidetrack too much, but what a special man.

David Read:
No, I mean, tell me about working with him. And doing the conventions with him. Everyone loved Cliff.

Peter Flemming:
I want to talk a little bit about my relationship with Beau as well. But, Cliff. God, what can I say about Cliff?

David Read:
Another guy who loved the water.

Peter Flemming:
Like myself… no, he’s even way better than me. We were always the guys at the conventions that would just sort of find each other, sit in a corner, and just be. Just be simple with each other. Just really enjoy each other. It didn’t matter what we talked about. And all the hype was going on; “Oh, you got to be there!” But when we found each other, just like, “Hey, man.” It was just a real simple way of being with Cliff. Cliff had a real honest, deeper character about himself, that if you got, if you were connected to that, it was just really fun to be around him. Whatever the opposite of a showboat way is, if you could sit with him in his presence and just enjoy the simplicity of conversation, boy, he was powerful that way.

David Read:
There was something very worldly about him, and I cannot recommend enough his book. I have the version on Audible, “Paris Nights: My Year At The Moulin Rouge.” I’m so glad he did that because he’s gone now. There was something about him that really connected with what it is to be a good, decent human being and a firm distinction of knowing right from wrong, that I rarely see in other humans.

Peter Flemming:
That’s… however, you just summed that up, that is, yeah, that’s on his headstone somewhere, but yeah, that’s that’s him, that’s him. To distinguish between right and wrong, and not just from a conceptual intellectual place, but from a place of depth – from really understanding those words in his character. I mean, I know he had fun – he’s a great actor – but he didn’t seem to really need it, you know, in a way. I don’t want to undermine his ability in any way, shape or form, but he just… he had a real contentment, a deeper contentment about him that he was able to enjoy the film and TV world, but… But yeah, he was quite settled in a very content, fun way.

David Read:
I definitely agree. You got the impression that he was doing it first and foremost because he enjoyed it.

Peter Flemming:
Yes. Definitely.

David Read:
Absolutely.

Peter Flemming:
Definitely. I’ll just segue to Beau quickly.

David Read:
Yes. A tour de force. What a force to be reckoned with. When he’s on stage, he knows what he’s doing.

Peter Flemming:
He’s just classic, man. I just… you know, wisdom, wisdom, wisdom. I was having… and I think… God, was this, I forget which episode it was. You may know. I think it was when John came to set. And I had… yeah, because I was saying earlier that I had these 10 pages or something, and it was with Beau. So, to make it worse, we had to do… we were around this corner or around, we had to do a walk-and-talk, right? A one-er, right? A one-er on the walk-and-talk. I forget how many pages, but it was long. It was a long one-er, right? I was having trouble with my dialogue. I was a little bit nervous. I was speedy and I couldn’t get it. There was a lot of tough words there. And I just, I’d fuck up on one. And then the thing with the one-er is that, you know, when you fuck up, you’re going to go back to ones again, right? You can’t… you’re not like stopping and starting halfway, you know? So, every time I get close to the end, “Oh fuck. Back to ones, back to ones.” And Beau, Beau just said, “Hold up, stop, stop. Pete, come here.” He said, “Listen. When we do this scene, you don’t have to walk fast, you know. You can say the dialogue as fast as you want, but you can just walk slow, my friend. You just walk, you walk slow through this, right? You don’t, you don’t have to walk fast. You don’t have to talk fast. You take your time. Just because you’re moving doesn’t mean everything has to move with you. Slow down, man. Have fun, take your time, right?” And just… Beau, I mean, that’s a bad [impression], but just his calmness and wisdom. And I think the next take, we nailed it. And he just, gave each other the high five or whatever. But yeah, I’ll never forget it. Like, I was on take 10 or take 11. And I think John was there and we were well over time. And he just settled me down and nailed the next take. I remember that.

David Read:
This had to have been that same week. I doubt it was the same day.

Peter Flemming:
Maybe it was.

David Read:
When we got back from Norco and the rain is hitting the roof and we’re in one of the labs outside of it waiting for – Darren and I from GateWorld – waiting for an opportunity to interview one of the principals, pretty much all of them were there. And the publicist, Brigitte Prochaska or Carole Appleby, one of them, came over to us and they said, “We’re probably not going to interview so-and-so. So-and-so’s having a really hard time with their lines tonight.” And it was getting later into the evening. And you’re sitting there saying, “You know, if we get it, we get it. If not, we don’t.” And it was one of those situations where we just, well, this is not going to happen. But the crew rallied around them. It was a lot of dialogue which frequently happened, one of the caterers brought in this huge metal vat of soup, and Vancouver; it’s raining all the time; it was perfect, you know? It’s one of my favorite memories from the show. And they got their day, they got it done. And we didn’t get our interview but that was okay. We got to watch them work. We got to watch them rally around one another – the whole crew – to make sure that that actor got the dialogue out and they got through it.

Peter Flemming:
Yeah. Lovely. Yeah. Yeah.

David Read:
Tell me about meeting fans at these conventions.

Peter Flemming:
I love it.

David Read:
You’ve had the pleasure of doing GateCon a few times. That’s my favorite.

Peter Flemming:
I love it. I mean, I’ve been over to Europe a few times. I’ve been… I should have – if I had have got on it earlier, I could have done many more. I was just, no pun intended, late to the gate. But, yeah, but I did enough, you know, where I had a lot of fun. You know, a lot of my buddies, like [Paul] McGillian and I did a few together and we’ve been on stage together a few times and doing some panels. And man… one thing I realized when I was in Germany, a lot of the German fans that I met – the most of them – their vocabulary in English they only knew because of watching Stargate.

David Read:
That’s right.

Peter Flemming:
I didn’t know that. So they joke about it with themselves that a lot of the dialogue they don’t use in everyday life. But, they know it. And so, I was impressed with that. And some of their English was quite good. But all of it learned from watching episode after episode after episode of their favorite show in the universe.

David Read:
I am amazed at the penetration that Stargate has had in Europe and broader as well. The number of people who, fans I’ve talked to, who part of the reason that they know the English that they know, it’s because of Stargate. They turned off the dub and watched it in English.

Peter Flemming:
Which I was going to get [to]. But yeah, that in itself, right? I mean, it’s fandom times 100. I mean, that’s like… so taking my level of thinking to that place that; yeah, they turned off the dubbing of their own language to watch it in its pure form. Wow.

David Read:
Apparently, some of them really suck.

Peter Flemming:
And they learned the language!

David Read:
Yeah. Not an easy one to get.

Peter Flemming:
No. When you think about it, it’s not. It’s quite remarkable.

David Read:
My understanding is… I want to so badly do an episode on Stargate dubs for the different… take one big scene and listen to the different [languages]. Because apparently, not all dubs are created equal.

Peter Flemming:
Ain’t that the truth.

David Read:
Oh, jeez.

Peter Flemming:
I mean, I’ve met so many wonderful, crazy fans. I’ve met a lot of people that got married from conventions.

David Read:
Yeah.

Peter Flemming:
Yeah. Not one, not two, like probably 10 couples over the years that [got married]. And they plan their vacations around conventions. And just the… I’ll be honest, their type of personalities collectively is a little bit different than mine, but I’m not a judging person. I’m always going into each situation with an open mind and just enjoying whatever’s happening around me. So I learned a lot from the fans that helped me be an even better person. To learn and appreciate the joy that so many people got from the show. I can’t even… I’ve talked to so many fans over the years and it’s been so nice.

David Read:
They’re from so many different places around the world. And Stargate has been the thing that’s brought them all together. But they’re still their own unique individuals from their own cultures. And that in itself is cool because it’s like, “Oh, what are you doing?” “Oh, I’m eating this.” [or] “We do this and this.” And it’s like, “Really? Where does that come from?” Or I Wikipedia it later. I’m like, “Oh, there’s a whole thing to this part of their culture that it doesn’t even occur to me to ask or for them to tell. They just do.” So it’s kind of wild.

Peter Flemming:
How cool is that – that they actually take action on that too? Because we all have our unique characteristics, hobbies, whatever they may be, that we share by ourselves or maybe with a small community or whatever. But to have a global village of that, where you can meet and just have that nugget in common and forget about all your other stuff and just share that joy of whatever that piece is, in this case Stargate, like that’s frigging awesome, right? And you can feel the camaraderie and the love and the joy and the craziness and just, you know, everybody’s a kid at a convention, right? And it’s, yeah, it’s fun, man. I enjoyed every one of them.

David Read:
Do you have five more minutes?

Peter Flemming:
Yeah.

David Read:
I have a few fan questions for you. I’ll be quick. Lockwatcher [asks], what was the production quality like on Stargate compared to some of the other shows that you’ve done?

Peter Flemming:
It was top-notch. I mean, yeah. It was… definitely. I mean, as time went on, as technology went on… but if you’re talking about production quality on the screen, on TV, yeah, it was an A-plus show. I mean, they had all the best people working on it, right?

David Read:
Absolutely. Meepmeep189 [asks], what do you think Malcolm, Agent Barrett, is up to all these years later? Do you think he’s still with the force? Do you think he’s chilled out?

Peter Flemming:
No, he’s chilled out.

David Read:
Yeah?

Peter Flemming:
Yeah, he’s got a coconut drink under a tree somewhere. And I’m sure his girlfriend is reminding him in some way, shape, or form of Carter. Because he has a type. But he’s enjoying himself. That chill aspect that you saw of Barrett, I think he lives that quite fully now.

David Read:
Absolutely. Kerry Fiske [asks], what do we have to do to get you to come to Australia for Oz Comic-Con? I’ve not heard of this convention, but Australia sounds good.

Peter Flemming:
I know Kerry. What do you have to do? I don’t know. Somebody invite me. I mean, I’m not in that world anymore, but if I get a phone call from one of my agents – I’m easy to track down, for those of you… I mean, I have a lot of Stargate followers on my Instagram, but it’s ‘Peter B. Flemming’, F-L-E-M-M-I-N-G. You know, start the conversation there. You know, talk to your local convention people.

David Read:
Yeah.

Peter Flemming:
I think I still have agents for that. I don’t even know.

David Read:
There’s contact information for those who are…

Peter Flemming:
For somebody who wants Barrett’s in their hometown, then, yeah, I’m sure we can make it happen. Definitely.

David Read:
Absolutely. Marcia [asks], you had a couple of scenes in the miniseries “The Atomic Train,” and Don S. Davis was also in that series. Did you ever cross paths with Don, or were you on set together? And was that the first time that you had worked with him? [I] miss Don.

Peter Flemming:
Don Davis?

David Read:
Yeah. Don Davis.

Peter Flemming:
Yeah. I think we did have one scene together… wow. That was a while ago, “Atomic Train.” I remember flying in a helicopter on that. That was pretty cool. A military helicopter. We had one small scene. I’d have to… I don’t watch my stuff. Sorry, I don’t watch a lot of my stuff.

David Read:
It’s OK.

Peter Flemming:
I’m sorry – whoever asked that question, I can’t remember, but I do remember speaking with Don, and I think we had a small scene together. Yeah, yeah. I’m sure a lot of the Gaters miss him. I know he was a really nice guy.

David Read:
Another force. So, absolutely. Peter, this has been really cool to catch up with you. I’m glad we finally made this happen. For everyone out there, I’ve been chasing him since before the show started.

Peter Flemming:
I’m sorry. I’m not the easiest guy to interview. I say no sometimes. So I do appreciate you asking me again because I really enjoyed this. And any Stargate fans out there; I’m happy to have a conversation with you if you connect with me on Instagram. Come say hi. There’s many, many Gaters out there that follow me, and there’s lots of great photos up there and memories and stuff. So yeah, please come on ‘Peter B. Flemming’ on Instagram and say hi.

David Read:
Gotcha.

Peter Flemming:
You’re a rock star. Thank you so much. You’re so good at what you do. I really… 45 minutes went by like.

David Read:
Sir, you’ve always been a tremendous pleasure and one of my favorites to sit down and talk with. So I appreciate you taking the time, truly, and hope to see you not too long from now.

Peter Flemming:
You bet. Thanks again, David.

David Read:
Be well, Peter.

Peter Flemming:
Bye, everybody.

David Read:
Bye-bye, man.

Peter Flemming:
Thank you.

David Read:
Peter Fleming, Agent Malcolm Barrett, Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis. Yeah, we go way back during the production of the show and met up at a convention a few years ago and had a chance to catch up. And when I started working on Dial the Gate, he was one of the first ones I reached out to. And, you know, it just takes a little while to make the schedule work. But let me tell you something: you never give up, because eventually, people who care about you make the time. So we appreciate you tuning in. I’ve got a number of episodes heading your way very shortly here this weekend. This is going to be a big one. Torri Higginson and Rachel Luttrell are joining us live Saturday, June 8, at 11AM Pacific time, 2PM Eastern. Elizabeth Weir and Teya Emmagan. They’re going to sit down with us here at Dial the Gate and catch up. I haven’t had Torri since the 100th episode of the show, so I’m really excited to have her back and sit down with her. There’s a couple of things I want to clear up with Torri about certain fan questions that continue to… like, arise to the surface. Particularly, for whatever reason, people think that she wasn’t in the old Weir makeup for “Before I Sleep,” because they see that there was an IMDb profile for the old Weir character. So we’re going to do a little bit of clearing up of that because “Before I Sleep” is one of my favorite episodes. We just had Gildart Jackson on to discuss that. So that’s going to be Saturday, June 8. Stargate Timekeepers Episode One, hosted by Jeff Gulka, that’s going to be live Sunday, June 9, at 11AM Pacific time. And then the following Saturday, June 15, Ann Marie [Loder] DeLuise and Peter DeLuise are going to be joining us to sit down and catch up. So I’ve always just had tremendous respect for Ann Marie, and she’s another one that – you keep on asking. If you truly want to have a conversation with someone and you’re sincere, sometimes you can just make it happen. So, really looking forward to having Ann Marie and Peter on. Dial the Gate… let me back up… I do have a question here submitted to me real quick. Let me see before I let you all go. Yuki at Home [asks], has anyone interviewed David Read yet? I feel like there are probably lots of stories that need to be part of this project. Well, I mean, like I’ve demonstrated in this episode, I try to work in a story that I have once or twice in an [episode]. This episode was particularly a longer story in terms of being on set for “Ex Deus Machina.” But the episodes that really do feature me heavily here… let me pull this up. So, dialthegate.com. You know, I’m here. I might as well say it. People are like, “I’m missing some interviews on YouTube.” And it’s like, “Well, depending on which column you’re looking at, you’re not going to see them all.” So by going to dialthegate.com, this is the way that I really recommend it. Over here to “DTG Episodes” and “All Interviews.” And this organizes them in reverse all the way back, except for like one interview, which for whatever reason has gotten stuck and doesn’t display here. But they’re all featured here. All the pretty artwork all the way down. So this is one of my favorite resources for when I am researching stuff and trying to figure out who I’ve talked to on what project. But if you keep on going down here… if you go to 65 and 66, “Highlights From Our First Six Months,”, part one and two. “WonderCon [2021] AMA Special,” Episode 067. Jenny Stiven of Clio Consulting interviews me. So if you’re looking for that one, that’s probably where most of my story is, along with this one… there’s Cliff right there… this one right down here. The premiere episode. And it’s three hours long, the first conversation that I had with Darren Sumner of GateWorld. “GateWorld’s Turning 25 This Year,” and that’s on our dashboard as well for an episode because we’re going to celebrate GateWorld’s turning 25. But those are the two episodes that if you want to hear more of my story, that’s where they really are. And there is some overlap in terms of those conversations as well. I really appreciate you guys tuning in. If you want to see more Stargate like this, please click the like button. It makes a difference with YouTube and will continue to help the show grow its audience. Please also consider sharing this video with a Stargate friend, and if you want to get notified about future episodes, click subscribe. And giving the bell icon a click will notify you the moment a new video drops, and you’ll get my notifications of any last-minute guest changes – [it’s] particularly key if you plan on watching live because things do change in terms of dates and times. And clips from this live stream will be released over the course of the next few weeks on both the Dial the Gate and GateWorld.net YouTube channels. My tremendous thanks to Tracy, Antony, Jeremy, Marcia, Sommer – my mods, my personal rock stars. Can’t thank you guys enough. My producer, Linda “GateGabber” Furey, Frederick Marcoux at ConceptsWeb, who keeps DialtheGate.com up and running. Brice, Matt, my graphics guys. Can’t think that… I can’t do any of that – amazing work that they’ve been continuing to do. A lot of new shows are heading your way throughout Season Four here, and they’re all listed on DialtheGate.com for the dates and times. That’s the best place to be up to date on all of them. Hope you enjoyed our earlier episode today, cracking open the unfilmed and unaired episodes of what would have been Stargate Atlantis Season Six. That’s available in the catalog now. My name is David Read for Dial the Gate, and I’ll see you on the other side.