How far can the storylines go? Is it an
endless galaxy from a creative viewpoint?
Brad Wright:
I think it is. I think our stories could go for as many
seasons as they'll let us go on the air.
How did you decide on actors for SG-1?
Brad Wright:
That was a tough process. Of course, John Synes
suggested Richard Dean Anderson to Jonathan and me when we were first
conceiving the series.
And we both thought, that's our O'Neill. As far as the other characters
were concerned, we held auditions in Toronto, Vancouver, New York
and LA. But speaking for Jonathan and myself, the moment we saw Amanda
Tapping, Michael Shanks, and Christopher Judge we knew we had our SG
team. And also when we were writing the character of General Hammond, we
were already writing it for Don Davis.
Is there any real science involved in the
making of Stargate?
Brad Wright:
We hope to think so! But let's face it, the Stargate
itself is a concept that is way beyond any science we know. We try!
How long does it take you to write one
episode?
Brad Wright:
That depends. I've taken a month to write an episode.
I've written episodes in as little as a week. Sometimes those are the
ones I like the most.
But I suppose with most of our writers, from concept to finished
screenplay it's three to six weeks.
I love the balance of character/story/action.
Will you be holding
it that way for the new season?
Brad Wright:
I'll speak to season two. For season two, we hope to achieve
exactly
that balance. Often it comes as a function of budget. When we do a very
big action story it means naturally that we have to follow it with
a smaller, more character-based story. But those ones are my favorite to
write.
What do you consider your weakest and
strongest shows to date?
Brad Wright:
Hmmm. On the weaker side, I have to include some of our
earlier episodes of season one. Perhaps First Commandment,
Emancipation. These are examples of shows where the concept was
simply larger than
we could achieve on a small screen. My favorites include Enemy
Within, Singularity, There But For the Grace of God.
Tin Man, as well. Obviously, I seem to have more favorites than
those I consider poor episodes.
Your characters are so rich and real and all
have
such well developed voices. How do you plan to have them grow?
Brad Wright:
Jonathan and I, Robert and Tor feel that the actors
playing the roles are playing as much a part in the character growth as
we are. Every one of them is concerned and cares about where his or her
character is in
the series, and we try to make sure we're all on the same page. But
thank you, we try.
Which character is the hardest to write
for?
Brad Wright:
Good question. Teal'c, for me. He speaks with a
formality that is difficult to make sound natural. When he speaks at
all. Having said that, I love
writing for the character, because he is one of the most intriguing to
me. He is, after all, our alien and therefore the most science
fiction-oriented character in the series.
Will we see more of the other SG teams in
future episodes?
Brad Wright:
I think we're going to see them in episode one of season
three. We tried to include as many of the SG teams as we could to create
the impression that this is a larger organization than SG-1. However,
SG-1 is the equivalent of our flagship. They are our Enterprise.
Do you plan on having some of the minor
characters,
such as Dr. Fraiser, be integrated more into the group? As of now, she
is a sort of sidebar.
Brad Wright:
We try to include Teryl as often as we can. Since she is a
recurring
character and not really a series regular, she is not always available
to us. But she has certainly become part of our family. As far as
Apophis
is concerned, his legacy will go on into season three no matter what you
see in season two.
How much say do the actors have in the
changing of the script for their characters, and how much ad lib goes
on?
Brad Wright:
I would say a great deal. Certainly Rick (Richard Dean
Anderson) as executive producer will often ad lib or change dialogue to
suit
the scene. But we almost always agree with those changes, and I, for
one, think the actors make our scripts better. We have read-throughs
with every episode so
that we may discuss every scene and make the script as good as possible
before we begin shooting. All of our actors take their characters very
seriously so that when they have concerns we listen.
Hi! I'd like to know if all of the episodes
will be
available on video sometime in the future?
Brad Wright:
Yes. The two-hour pilot is already available.
How do you come up with these great names for
the characters?
Brad Wright:
We bounce them back and forth until we both agree on one.
What was the most intense episode to shoot?
Brad Wright:
That depends on what you call intense. For The Nox,
it rained so hard we were actually rained out of our location. I
remember being
on the phone with Michael Greenburg, looking out my office window, and
telling him to get
the crew to shelter because I could see the lightning hits on the
mountains. For me that was intense. For sheer difficulty of production,
I
could include our season two opener, The Serpent's Lair, as well
as There But For the Grace of God and Solitudes, where we
actually built a glacier
crevasse, and refrigerated the studio. Poor Rick and Amanda were really
freezing onscreen.
How much filming do you do on location, and
how much is on soundstage?
Brad Wright:
That depends on the requirements of the script. If we
feel we can do it in the studio we would prefer to do it that way. But
sometimes
the scope of the action, such as explosions or large matte paintings,
requires that we go on location.
Who is responsible for the mythology research
that goes into the show?
Brad Wright:
While we each do a little of our own, the lion's share
of our mythology research goes to Katherine Powers, who is very
knowledgeable about ancient gods and civilizations.
I'd like to see more of the characters' lives
outside of the SGC complex. Any chance of that in future episodes?
Brad Wright:
Absolutely. We would like to see that too, and have explored
some of each of our characters' lives in season two. On the other hand,
the show is called Stargate, and most of our audience, we feel,
wants us to go through the Stargate.
Are we going to have any chance today of
getting some inside tips on next season?
Brad Wright:
No, sorry, you'll have to watch!
Do you have a favorite special effect?
Brad Wright:
Let me think, I have lots of them. I loved the crystal
entity in Cold Lazarus from season one. All of the visual effects
in our
cliffhanger were spectacular. I think we have the best visual effects in
science fiction television right now.
Do you ever check out the SG-1 sites on the
Internet?
Jonathan Glassner:
Yes, we do. We check out quite a few of
them; we kind of split them up between Brad, myself and some other
people on the show.
Is it expensive to create the wormhole
effect?
Jonathan Glassner:
Well, that's multi-part effect. The Kawoosh, that is
rather costly, which is why you don't see it every single time it
happens. The
puddles are what we call the surface of the gate when it's settled, and
those are also expensive,
especially when someone walks through them. But the wormhole
itself is inexpensive because we've already built several versions and
we reuse them.
How many people are on the set crew on an
average day of shooting?
Brad Wright:
Between 60 and 80 in the shooting crew, including second
unit.
What is it like to work with Rick?
Jonathan Glassner:
Great! He's a pleasure, he doesn't have any "star" airs
about him, he's a regular guy.
Brad Wright:
He's also very creative. And his suggestions are very
constructive for the series.
Who is your favorite character on the show?
Jonathan Glassner:
That's not fair! I like each of them for different
reasons. The easiest for me to write is probably Daniel.
What was the most expensive episode?
Brad Wright:
Aside from the pilot, our two-part cliffhanger that
began with the episode Within The Serpent's Grasp at the end of
season one. And ended with our season two premiere.
Sam Carter is such a well written female
character.
Do you ask a woman to critique your work when you write dialogue for
female characters?
Jonathan Glassner:
No, although sometimes Amanda Tapping will comment on
it herself. And her comments are usually very constructive.
How much do you contribute to the art design
and set construction?
Brad Wright:
All four of us, Jonathan, Brad, Michael and Richard,
make suggestions to our production designers. But their vision is
generally something we want to embrace.
Any good bloopers?
Jonathan Glassner:
There was one very good one, but I don't know if
you'd call it a blooper, it's more of a practical joke. During the
episode
Solitudes, there was a scene when O'Neill was asking Carter if
she could figure out
what their problem was. To which Amanda Tapping replied, "What's more
Mr. MacGyver, you can't figure it out." And proceeded into a
five-minute rant about how Mr. MacGyver can do anything with bubble gum
and a rubber
band, but he can't figure out how to get the Stargate to work.
Brad Wright:
Our hope is that Richard Dean Anderson will become
known as that guy who played Jack O'Neill, not MacGyver.
Do you have a preconceived idea of how the
shows will go until the end of the fourth season?
Brad Wright:
Yes, we hope they will go well!
Jonathan Glassner:
The truthful serious answer is that we know how some
arcs will go, but others will hopefully organically find themselves.
Brad Wright:
We have set up some stories that beg to be continued. And
we'll see where that takes us.
What is the cast like together off screen?
Brad Wright:
We have the nicest, most accessible cast on or off screen
that I've ever worked with.
Jonathan Glassner:
Me, too.
Brad Wright:
Jonathan and I consider ourselves the luckiest producers in
the world.
Not asking for details, but will the
reporter's death in Secrets ever be resolved?
Brad Wright:
It was an accident. That's our official answer until next
time!
Who do you think is most like their
character?
Brad Wright:
Rick. There is a lot of Richard Dean Anderson in Jack
O'Neill.
What episode are you filming at the moment?
Jonathan Glassner:
It's called The Fifth Race.
Brad Wright:
I think it's 15 of this season.
Do you ever watch your own shows?
Jonathan Glassner:
Over and over and over!
Brad Wright:
Remember Jonathan and I also spend a great deal of time in
the editing room.
Jonathan Glassner:
And in music spotting, visual effects spotting, etc.
Is there anything about any of the main
characters that you've based on personal experience?
Jonathan Glassner:
No, neither of us have been through a Stargate,
though we'd love to.
Any more "behind-the-scenes" shows planned for
the Fox outlet?
Jonathan Glassner:
That's up to Showtime, but none that we've been informed
of.
Brad Wright:
Although we thought the behind the scenes that Showtime
did was very entertaining, and that our Christopher Judge did a good job
hosting it.
Jonathan Glassner:
We'd like to thank everyone for watching the show, and we
hope you keep enjoying it!
Brad Wright:
Jonathan and I love to watch our fan following online
through all the fan sites, and feel it's a great way of communicating
with our audience.
Both:
Thanks!
TVgen/Yahoo! Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner
Chat
September 9, 1998
