SpaceGypsies

For years Stargate fans have known and loved his work. Without him, Stargate may never have become the memorable franchise that it is. Now the man who took the amazing and helped elevate it to the astounding is gone. Composer Joel Goldsmith died yesterday, April 29th, at the age of 54.

Joel composed the music for all 334 episodes of the three series of the Stargate franchise, plus the two SG-1 DVD movies. Joel was the one to take the original Stargate theme by David Arnold and adapt it into the SG-1 theme we all love. He collaborated with his famous father Jerry Goldsmith to create the score for Star Trek: First Contact in 1996. He was nominated for two other Emmy Awards, including his music for the SG-1 Season One episode “The Nox” and the Atlantis Season Two episode “Grace Under Pressure.”

When I saw the news yesterday I was indescribably sad. I never had the opportunity to meet him. I suspect very few fans ever got that chance. The closest I ever came was by ordering a copy of the Stargate Continuum soundtrack from his website, and for a few extra dollars he signed the CD booklet. It has always had a special spot in my collection of memorabilia.

Joel’s work has had an effect on so many fans. How many of us have scrambled to get to the TV as soon as we hear our favorite title theme? How many of us proud geeks can identify each theme that Joel created, from the Goa’uld’s chanting theme to the airy chords of the Ancient’s theme? In the years since Stargate Continuum was released I have often seen fans commenting on how well the first piece, ‘A Day in the SGC’, captures the very essence of the series. If anything more ever comes out of the Stargate franchise, the composer will have a very high standard to strive for.

The 18th book in Fandemonium’s arsenal of Stargate SG-1 novels is out. Written by Sabine C. Bauer, Transitions falls shockingly short.

Sabine Bauer is not a newbie to the Stargate franchise. Her first novel, Trail by Fire, was the first Stargate book Fandemonium ever published, and I decided right then and there that I really liked her work. Later she wrote Survival of the Fittest, another fantastic SG-1 story, and then she took on Atlantis with Mirror Mirror. Trial by Fire was very accurate as far as the franchise canon goes. It is set in season seven and does very well at playing into Daniel’s return from Ascension and Jack’s previous encounter with our friend Baal. After having endured the work of American authors who didn’t know their Jaffa from their Tok’ra, I adored Bauer’s well researched and original story, and my favorite original character of all time. It is truly worthy of it’s own review, which I promise I will get to.

Mirror Mirror was a little different from Trial by Fire as far as plot style. It is in some ways psychological test of the characters. The characters encounter a device that fractures time, spitting each character off though all the potenial forks in the road that they could have taken. For instance, we see what could have happened to Elizabeth Weir if, after waking to rotate the ZPMs, the statis chamber wouldn’t work again and she is left alone in a sleeping city as seen in ‘Before I Sleep’. While it is a season two story and I am not as well trained in Atlantis canon as some fans I know, I didn’t find any obvious errors and I really enjoyed the book.

Survival of the Fittest is definitely the meatiest of Bauer’s first three books. I really enjoyed the depth of the story, and it is still among my favorite books of the novel series. However, it has a canyon-sized plot hole. According to events that the characters mention, the main antagonist, the ever annoying Colonel Simons, should have been in jail along side his pet Goa’uld. Try as I might, I couldn’t find a way for Bauer to have sidestepped this gaping hole and still keep all of her puzzle pieces. It was a real shame but I forgave her and I highly recommend the book.

Transitions, however . . . . I think that Bauer bit off much more than she could chew. Transitions is an SG-1/Atlantis crossover novel, and it is the first of its kind. Sonny Whitelaw and Elizabeth Christensen wrote Blood Ties, which is basically an Atlantis novel that includes Daniel Jackson. (I highly recommend it!) Transitions however is a true two full cast crossover. This made reading fun but not in a good way. Every time something huge happened on Earth with SG-1, the next chapter would send you to Atlantis until another cliffhanger chapter sent you back. In most stories this works really well, but in Transitions, the related events taking place between Earth and Atlantis took much too long to come together despite the prologue that attempted to provide the trigger event for the whole book.

I was so excited about this book when I first started hearing about it because it is the first book to bring back Cassandra Fraiser, the adopted daughter of the late lamented Dr. Janet Fraiser. Fans only saw Cassie three times during the course of the series, but it is a widely held belief that she is an integral part of SG-1′s life outside of Cheyanne Mountain. I became a lot more skeptical when I realized that the book would also be a crossover. I mean, that’s a lot to cram into 341 pages. It is a truly daunting task, which is no doubt why no one has tried it before! Plus, I really feel that Cassie should have been on the cover of this book!

Sometimes the devil is in the details, but for Transitions the devil is in the timing. The story is set right after SG-1′s season 8 concluded. The Goa’uld are decimated and declawed, the Replicators have been destroyed, Brigadier General Jack O’Neill has been offered another promotion and a position in Washington, Daniel Jackson is packing to go to Atlantis, Teal’c is on Dakara helping to establish the new Jaffa nation, and Sam Carter is trying to figure out what she is going to do next without her team. This is a perfectly fertile place for this novel, and it does a really good job of filling in that gap of time before season nine when the show returned and for fans, it was a nightmare without explanation. Not only does it show how we got there, but it also goes a long way to explain why Sam chose to lead R&D because Cassie was going through a “tough time.” Unfortunately filling in that gap is the only thing this story does well. Read the rest of this entry »

The third book in the Stargate Atlantis Legacy series has arrived from Fandemonium! Authored by Melissa Scott and Amy Griswold, the book series is a continuation of the Stargate spin-off that ended before its time. It picks up right where the series left off with the first novel, Homecoming, and begins a whole new saga that is truly worthy of the franchise. Homecoming was followed by The Lost, and now Allegiance is the latest in the planned series of six books.

WARNING: This review assumes that you have read both Homecoming and The Lost! If you have not checked out this series yet, – where the heck have you been!? – go back and check out my review of Homecoming to learn why you really should!

The longer a series goes on, the more complicated things can get. This is maybe more true of a book series that is published one book at a time over a protracted period than it is for a TV series. There is a reason why I spent the weeks leading up to the newest Harry Potter book release re-reading all the other books to refresh my memory. You never knew when some seemingly trivial detail that you easily forgot about was going to come back and bite everyone in the butt. When I ordered my copy of Allegiance I was a bit concerned that I would need to re-read the previous books to really keep pace with the story, but when I got my copy I found a pleasant surprise. A prologue was included, perfect for refreshing my memory of the events of the series. I could kiss the authors for that, and I hope they keep including them because there are three more books to go!

The book starts out with everyone sitting around the conference table, trying to get their heads wrapped around what just happened. They finally know what the readers have known for quite some time: Rodney McKay has been changed into a Wraith, and the process whipped his memory clean. He believes he has always been a Wraith, so when his friends came to his rescue he fought them and stunned John Sheppard before the team was beamed to safety, leaving Rodney the Wraith behind. Read the rest of this entry »

Paul Spragg, Big Finish’s Stargate Producer, was kind enough to answer a few questions for the SpaceGypsies.

Visit Big Finish on Twitter:  @bigfinish Online and where you can pre-order the Stargate Series: bigfinish.com 

How long have you been a Producer for Big Finish?

Not very long; a couple of years. My first producing credit was Highlander season two, which I enjoyed putting together immensely. The rest of the time I’m employed in the Big Finish offices as Producers’ Assistant to do all manner of bits and pieces ranging from appearing in podcasts to posting out competition prizes and scripts and putting together CD inlays.

Besides Stargate, what are you involved in producing for Big Finish?

At the moment, nothing. I’d love to do more Highlander, but sales weren’t really strong enough to warrant pursuing it.

You’ve mentioned that your dream would be to do a Farscape audio drama. What are some of the roadblocks to doing that?  Any possibilities on the horizon?

We looked into it a while ago but nothing came of it. Licensing shows is expensive, but licensing American shows is very expensive, so we have to establish if it’s worth pursuing or not. I’d still love to do it; it was one of my favourite shows and I’ve met most of the cast, who were a joy, but it seems unlikely at the moment. The comic books that continued the show were superb, though. I recommend those…

Is there some personal or professional story in your history with Big Finish that makes you laugh or cringe when you think about it?

I can’t think of anything cringeworthy from the last three years. There are a lot of laughs here though; most of them you can probably hear on the podcasts. It does amuse me that I’ve somehow acquired a small degree of fame just by talking rubbish on those.

 What’s the one thing you’d like to see happen in an audio drama that hasn’t happened yet?

I would love to see a full cast Stargate audio with all of SG-1. But I suspect we would bankrupt ourselves trying to finance it!

 Here at Spacegypsies.com we are very excited about the upcoming Stargate SG1, Daniel and Vala two-part audio dramas being released in May and August. Is there a snippet, line, or scene you can share with us?

Hmmm… well, I enjoy Daniel and Vala’s faltering attempts to go undercover in one story, there are some powerful emotional moments for Daniel that sounded incredible in the studio, and we do a lot of playing with the ‘will they won’t they’ nature of Daniel and Vala’s relationship; they have some tough times together. Plus: Ba’al and the Asgard! Who doesn’t want to hear those guys again?

Will there be an actual audio trailer on the Big Finish site? And if so, when?

There will; the first story is being sound designed at the moment, so once we have some nifty sound effects, we’ll be able to bring you something. I’m hoping sometime in March there will be a trailer.

Can you share some story from Claudia Black’s sessions?

I’m afraid I can’t as I wasn’t there! It was all directed in Los Angeles and I couldn’t convince the head of the company to fly me out just to sit and enjoy listening to it all…

We’ve read that Michael Shanks had good chemistry with John Schwab who read Vala’s part while Michael was doing Daniel’s. Would you mind giving us some more details on this?

Ah, slight misunderstanding there. It was John Banks. John’s my go-to actor for a variety of voices, and he plays several roles in the upcoming series. He’s great to have on hand as a ‘read-in’ actor as his range enables him to play multiple parts. His Vala was surprisingly good, and by the time of the third day of recording with Michael, their rapport was oddly convincing. He picked up on the flirtatious and cheeky nature of their relationship and was really playing up to it!

Do you have any plans for U.S. conventions?  (We’d love to see you at Dragon*Con this year).

At the moment, no. It all depends on costs and availability. I’d love to come out and do more, though. I’ve been Stateside before for Big Finish, so I’m sure we’ll be back at some stage soon with the new box sets.

Xena vs. Magnus, who would win in a fight?

Hmmm, tricky. Magnus has got the smarts and centuries of knowledge to help her, but Xena’s fought the God of War to a standstill, so I’d choose her. Unless, of course, you’re talking about Ultra Magnus the Transformer, in which case him. He’s much bigger than Xena and could just squash her.

I’ve been going to Dragon*Con for three years now, and I still can’t thank GreenEggsNSamm enough for talking me into the first one! Every year is a little different. You never know who you will meet, what you will see, and what memories are going to stick with you for the rest of your life, but you can be sure that it will be unforgettable.

This year I probably got around to more events than before, and I would have done more if I wasn’t already dead on my feet by the end of the day. There was so much going on and so much I wanted to do, it was impossible to see it all but I gave it my best shot.

My favorite panel? It’s so hard to pick! I went to two panels for Sylvester McCoy. Growing up I probably saw more of his Doctor Who episodes than any other Doctor, so it was a real treat to meet him and hear his stories from the show. I came home with a personalized signed Remembrance of the Daleks DVD that now has a place of honor right next to my Tomb of the Cybermen DVD signed by Frazer Hines!

I managed to get to three Stargate panels this year, and I’m so glad I got to see all the guests! Although they are understandably disappointed that their show is canceled and there’s still no future to speak of, SGU cast members David Blue, Julia McNiven, Patrick Gilmore, and Louis Ferreria were upbeat and happy to be at Dragon*Con for the first time. They were greeted very warmly by fans who made longer than expected lines to get in to the ballroom to see them. David Nykl, Beau Bridges, and Christopher Heyerdahl also drew huge crowds, but the top guest to meet out of this fantastic bunch was Amanda Tapping. If you haven’t met her yet I just want to tell you that if you have to move a mountain to get to where she’s going to be appearing, it is absolutely worth it! Her panel with Chris and David Nykl was fantastic simply because it was all controlled chaos and hijinks, and all in all so totally them! If you’re going to make me pick a favorite panel, that would have to be it!

Evenings at Dragon*Con are like one huge masquerade of epic proportions. There are costumes everywhere, anyone not in costume or wearing something unusual sticks out like a sore thumb, and it can be a real sensory overload. Lucky for me I’m starting to get used to it! What I will never get used to is being a part of the posse with one of the most popular costumes of the convention! For two times during the course of the weekend, I dressed in my SpaceGypsy costume and followed GreenEggsNSamm and WhiteRabite around in their fantastic Snowth costumes, sometimes acting as a handler to prevent collisions or a lost Snowth. After a while I found myself thinking, “This is what it must be like to be friends with a celebrity!” We would walk a ways, pause for pictures for a couple minutes, pause again to be blinded by flashes, and then go on. Everyone wanted a picture of the Snowths, and lots of people, kids and adults alike had a picture taken with the two friendly Muppets! A couple of times we decided to park ourselves out of the way of the traffic and let the fans come to us!

As crowded and crazy as it was, I was never really afraid of losing the group. If I ever did lose track of my bright pink friends all I would have to do listen for someone to sing out, “Manah Manah!”, followed by the Snowth’s reply, and I would know right where to look! The song followed us around all evening. Some guys even tried singing the improve part of the tune as the Snowths silently shook their heads at them. It was so funny!

It wasn’t just the attendees that loved the Snowths! I fully admit I squealed. I mean wouldn’t you squeal if you saw David Blue chasing down your friends because he wanted a picture with them? Louis Ferreira was so inspired when he saw the Snowths that he sang and danced with them! What I would give for a picture or video of that, but the memory will forever be in my mind.

I had a celebrity encounter of my own! After getting several kicks in the rump from my fellow SpaceGypsies, I requested an interview with Sanctuary’s Robin Dunne, and I got it! We spent weeks prepping my questions, and I spent days trying to prepare myself mentally. By the time I saw Robin coming to meet me at the interview room I has psyched myself up enough that I didn’t just keel over on the spot! He was very friendly and I immediately felt less nervous. Set up went well, and I thought I had tackled my remaining butterflies. However something must have made Robin think that I was still nervous, and he just started to tease and poke at me and off we went! GreenEggsNSamm was falling over in a silent fit of laughter while I feind exasperation with Robin’s antics.  It was a fantastic interview that left us wondering how they get anything done on set with Robin around! I couldn’t have asked for a better first interview experience, and I feel like I could take on just about anyone now!

It’s one thing to admire and respect a celebrity from afar, but when you find out first hand that you have something in common, it’s really amazing. For years I have been dying to know if Amanda Tapping really cantered a horse bareback in a silky dress and slipped off when the horse reared in SG-1′s ‘Emancipation’, or if it was all a stunt double. During Amanda’s press conference GreenEggsNSamm asked her about it and I was pleased to hear that though that particular trick was done by a double, Amanda loves to ride horses. Furthermore, she has worked with disabled children learning horseback riding for physical therapy. After we wrapped the conference Amanda went back to that topic a bit, and what really got to me is how she described the transformation that those kids would go from being scared and unable to sit properly to being thrilled at what they can do. I have never worked with physically disabled kids, but I have taught many a terrified crying child who after an hour is suddenly smiling and telling me they don’t want to get off anymore! I knew exactly what Amanda was talking about and I find it just amazing and inspiring that she and I have that in common.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge Stargate trivia buff, so when I got the opportunity to go to a trivia contest, I jumped on it. Compared to the Creation trivia panels I am used to, this was much more fun, less stressful, and by far more reasonable. The track coordinators came up with good challenging questions that weren’t impossible, and a fair and fun point system. I joined up with a friendly group of savvy fans to create a team we called “The Jackson Six”. We had the other five teams whipped, quite literally, simply because we got every question right. That is until the very last question which involved placing five events in backward chronological canon order. The catch was that two of the events involved time travel that drastically changed the order. Oh you people and your trick questions! We had a good lead, but the confusing question lost us just enough points that the second team edged us out for the win. Next year, just you wait!

This year I finally made it to a fan run panel for the first time. Naturally it was for Stargate. GreenEggsNSamm had warned me in the past that while the fan run panels may sound interesting, they are a big gamble because the fans leading the discussion really have to know their stuff. I expected a lot from the panel largely because I know a lot about the franchise, and my knowledge comes from sources that everyone has access too, so I expected the panelists to be as up to speed as I am, if not more. I was sadly disappointed. The discussion centered on the future of the Stargate franchise now that SGU has been canceled. I expected a campaign pitch and I got it, but it wasn’t what I expected because the panelists hadn’t checked their Stargate news for quite some time. For instance, they were still under the impression that MGM is still in bankruptcy and therefore can’t produce any Stargate even if they want to. This is not true. As GateWorld reported last December, MGM is out of bankruptcy and in May they started funding new productions including a Viking series. The problem now is that MGM’s new bosses from Spyglass don’t see the value of the Stargate franchise so they have effectively left it to rot.

I completely understand that it can be hard to keep up with the developments, and I often have to go back and re-read things just to make sure I have my facts in a row, so I was sympathetic. The panel was definitely intended to be a group discussion with the panelists leading, but how you managed to actually contribute to the discussion, I couldn’t tell you. When I saw that folks were about eight months behind on their news I wanted to help out. Unable to get a word in edgewise I tried standing up. I was about halfway back in the small meeting room, and there’s no way that the panelists could have gone without seeing me, especially when I kept trying to catch their eye. It just wasn’t happening though. I don’t know if I was out of line trying to get in on the conversation, but being ignored irked me more than the lack of up to date news being discussed. I stayed for the rest of the panel, as much as it pained me to see my fellow fans so ill informed. If I hadn’t needed to bolt out of there I would have tried to comment on the situation to the panelists.