THIS is how you do time travel

I can’t believe this.

After all my negative reviews and all the trashing followed by a slow, steady improvement that showed that either the producers were actually listening to fans or they were leading up to something in the first place — it’s all going to be over soon.

To say that “Stargate Universe” started out slowly is an understatement. It started out horribly.

The actors took a long time to get their cadence built up, and the “we’re gonna die every episode” mentality got old really quickly.

So SyFy did what SyFy does — they cancelled the show without asking too many questions.

And here’s the kicker: Season 2 has been excellent, particularly at the end.

The episodes Common Descent and Epilogue stack up with anything else on SyFy and did the “time travel” angle better than “SG-1″ and “Atlantis” ever did. The two-parter was moving, gripping and human, and the actors did a good job putting it all out there.

The episodes revolved around the Destiny accidentally going back in time 2,000 years before being destroyed, but not before most of the crew went to a nearby planet. Over the next 2,000 years, they spawned their own civilization.

In some weird loop of time, a copy of the Destiny arrived later and found “their people.” The resulting interaction was the best piece of television the “Stargate” franchise has ever put out.

And after the action-packed Blockade episode, that left one crew member blind in another emotional performance, there’s only one left before “Universe” goes away for good.

That, is a shame. Because I was wrong about “Stargate: Universe.” Dare I say, it’s good. It has a lot of the components that the other two shows lacked, and its serious tone is starting to sell the human drama element that is so critical in a science fiction show.

Maybe if the first two seasons were packed together into one. Maybe if the producers forced a little more team building before taping the show. Maybe it’s not too late. I don’t know what the exact solution is, but certainly even the suits at SyFy must have felt that “Universe” had a chance when it was discussed at Comic-Con in San Diego in 2009.

Unfortunately, it all happened too slowly, even for cable’s standards.

The SyFy channel’s latest iteration of the wormhole franchise will get a second season. “Stargate Universe” will begin filming a 20-episode season two in early 2010.

The first season had its fall premiere last week and will return to finish out the season in April.

The show has averaged 2.6 million viewers, including DVR recordings, per episode.

“Universe” is the second highest-rated show on SyFy, after “Ghost Hunters.”

In other SyFy news, “Sanctuary” will be renewed for a third season.

When Blast interviewed Michael Shanks last month, we learned that the new, anticipated “Stargate SG-1″ straight-to-DVD movie does not exist yet. That is, it’s not under production as of now. MGM is out of money and for sale, and they own all the rights to Stargate.

Nonetheless, we believe the movie will get made eventually. Stargate remains a popular and potentially profitable franchise.

If a new SG-1 movie is to be, the producers and writers have a high bar set for them. It would likely be the last we ever see of SG-1, and with the uncertainties raised by “Stargate Universe,” and the cancellation of “Atlantis,” this untitled DVD movie might be the last gasp of Stargate as its original fans know it.

Here is what we think the producers should do to make it a success — and a proper sendoff.

1. Create a funeral ceremony for General Hammond. Actor Don S. Davis gave his last media interview to Blast in March 2008, a few months before his death. In the Stargate world, they named a new ship, under the command of Col. Carter, after their beloved General Hammond and acknowledged that he died of a heart attack in the first episode of “Universe.” But Stargate never did anything to remember or commemorate him and the amazing actor who played General George Hammond. The new movie should begin with or feature early on some sort of ceremony, and feature Bra’tac in some way.
2. No time travel or alternate universes. The “SG-1″ episode called “1969″ was the only good time travel story the franchise ever created. Don’t get us started on “Stargate: Continuum.” The new movie should stick to the troubles of modern Earth and the SGC.
3. No religious bad guys. There are ways we could go with a new movie that don’t involve more fake religions. The Lucian Alliance is obviously still a problem.
4. No replicators.
5. Fix the Asgard core. Obviously the Stargate world has only had the gifts of the Asgard for one episode and two movies, and they haven’t done much good with this power and knowledge yet.
6. It’s time to disclose. It’s time to tell everyone about the Stargate. This would be the perfect arc to develop a movie. The people of Earth have been blind to the true nature of the universe for too long, and it’s time to open their eyes. We’re anxious to see how this would play out.
7. Let there be a genuine human conflict. There are a lot of humans in the galaxy. Now that the Goa’uld are wiped out and the Ori are defeated, the humans of the galaxy are going to rebuild. Maybe some “United Nations” style coalition will develop among dozens or even hundreds of worlds. Stargate’s biggest strength was always in its ability to be a “human” drama.
8. Make the movie at least two hours. This 1:40 crap has to go. If you’re going to make a movie, make a feature-length movie. Stargate fans would watch a 2-hour or 2:30 film — and we would watch it over, and over, and over again.
9. Pax Tau’ri. The Tau’ri — Earth — has once again saved the galaxy. This should usher in a Golden Age of sorts. It’s even possible that the new movie could easily be set 10 years in the “future,” which isn’t too hard since SG-1 ended three years ago. Earth can change. We can open with some kind of montage with Hammond’s funeral, and a glance at the team’s victories over the years. Then the people of Earth are told about the Stargate. We spend a few minutes dwelling on that and setting the stage. There will be some panic. Some riots. Then people will calm down. (It’s kinda like when the Red Sox won the World Series in 04). Then we show “Pax Tau’ri,” the period of relative calm. Time goes by. Then we formally start the movie. Get it? It’s opening the door for a clean slate.

What do you think?

Sex and affairs. Sex and affairs. I have a few aunts back home who would love this show.

We are so close. I’m mixed on this episode. I like the dark character twists. I don’t like the love triangles so much. Cheating and affairs and all that shit … I just don’t know.

I liked “Time.” Poof. It was gone. Not on television. They even wrapped up the interesting “Time” storyline online. I guess, there wasn’t enough time to finish “Time.”

Enter “Life.” With an initial impression that screams: “Days of Our Lives.”

Here’s a sci-fi question: They have no fresh food. They’re rationing what they have. Why are they all doing heavy calisthenics and burning all their calories? You lose weight when you starve to death too.

The interesting thing in this episode was the discovery of an Ancient chair that might hold the knowledge the crew needs to use the ship or maybe even get home.

There’s a lesbian story arc with Ming-Na’s (E.R.) character. I like it. It’s well done. It’s romantic instead of pornographic like most shows show lesbians. It adds value to the story and the character, which is always a struggle in Stargate with International Oversight Committee members. I just loved it. It is the only relationship that feels real so far. Ming-Na, a guest, supporting character, has shown the most talent.

And that’s just interesting. Homosexuality is lampooned on television. It’s debated in most of the country. And on this show, this show that I’ve trashed all fall, there’s a homosexual relationship that’s portrayed as real is real life is.

Also, Lt. Scott has a kid. We saw that coming.

What I also like is the intrigue being shown by Rush and the conflict between Col. Young and Dr. Rush. We actually have some interaction between the characters that’s meaningful.

Let’s go back to an argument I’ve made for three weeks now: If we were in week four or week five, we’d be on the right track. We’re still behind. We’re through 10 episodes with five episodes of story.

Yes, I’ve decided it: I liked “Life.” It sets a stage. Even a seed sprouts in the end, a sign of hope.

Cause, maybe, just maybe, they’re not doomed every week.

If you need more proof that the new “Stargate SG-1″ DVD is never going to get made, here it is: MGM Studios is seeking a buyer. The cash-strapped studio got permission from lenders to skip interest payments on loans through January as it seeks a merger or acquisition, possibly with Fox/News Corp., Time Warner, or Viacom. Rumors about a private equity fund also cropped up, but most reports have it that Lionsgate will come out ahead of a possibly bidding war. The New York Times values MGM at between $1.5 and $3 billion, down from the $5 billion that Comcast, Sony, and venture capitalists spent taking MGM private in 2004.

TBS’s new “The Very Funny Show” will debut November 19 at midnight, featuring stand-up comics talking about life on tour. The show will follow “Lopez Tonight.”

The CW is developing a medical school drama called “HMS.” Word is that Hayden Panettiere will executive produce it.

That’s it today. A worthless Browns/Ravens game is on “Monday Night Football” tonight. Enjoy.

Well … FINALLY.

This week the team of flirty, dramatic lost wanderers finds themselves on a jungle planet with weird food, and suddenly people start getting sick. The race is on to figure out what’s making everyone sick and how to fix it before time runs out.

It’s an episode! Get it? Well, almost. Because it’s another multi-part episode.

But it’s progress. We’ve well established that they’re stranded on a ship in outer space with no chance of getting home. That doesn’t mean they can’t have a little off-world fun, does it?

There’s drama, jungle, disease, rain, but oh no wait, it’s all just a flashback from an alternate reality that they now need to work to prevent. Perhaps even two alternate realities.

Finally, it almost feels like we’re watching Stargate again.

Character development: We learn about these people. We learn their human stories; where they come from; what their burdens are. We learn what makes them tick, and it makes is relate to the characters. How many people gasped when they learned *spoiler* that Eli’s mom’s mystery sickness is that she was a nurse who got HIV from a junkie who stabbed her in a hospital.

These are the kinds of things that add value to the show. The soldier and the scientist working together, helping each other.

In the episode, a team from the Destiny arrives on a jungle world and finds one of their floating recording devices already on the planet with a full recording file. They return immediately and see that the video is actually of them. The team on the tape arrives, comes down with a horrible disease, and they can’t risk going home. But at night, horrible lizard-like creatives emerge and attack, laying waste to the team. Lt. Scott gets bit and goes into a coma. He wakes up to find he’s the only one alive. The alien snake’s venom cured the disease. An unstable wormhole meant that when Scott tried to return to Destiny, it sent him back in time, and that’s how the “real” team found the recording device.

Back to the present, the disease isn’t from the planet, it’s from the water the team brought back two episodes ago. Now the team has to go back to the awful snake planet to capture one of them and extract its venom to cure everyone else.

Things don’t go well, but that’s all the time we have for today. Tune in next week for the dramatic conclusion.

I don’t like all of these multi-part episodes, but it’s progress. It’s already late in the season, but I can sense that we’re getting closer to “good” here in SGU.

As I’ve said before, if we were at this point a month ago, things would be a lot cheerier in the SGU world, especially among fans of SG-1 and Atlantis. If the setup wasn’t so awful leading up to this, I don’t think I’d have said a negative word about the show so far.

Good TV night on Sunday coming up with premieres of AMC’s “The Prisoner” at 8 p.m., “Drive-Thru” on Fuel at 8:30 p.m., “Tough Love” on VH1 at 9 p.m., and a great feature called “WWII IN HD” on History also at 9. Blast has seen “WWII in HD” and we approve, especially for military history buffs.

In news news, CNN quickly replaced Lou Dobbs with the king of the touchscreen, John King. King will host a weeknight political show at 7 p.m.

Spike has a new cars show called “Unique Autosports: Miami,” starting February 28 at 10:30 a.m. There will be eight half hour episodes combining cars, celebrities and beautiful Miami. Guests will include LeBron James, Diddy, and players from the Yankees.

A bunch of news out of SyFy today. The network formerly known as Sci-Fi has a comedy series coming out called “Outer Space Astronauts” starting December 8 at 9:30 p.m. The show is about eight quirky soldiers who travel the stars looking for adventures. It’s basically making fun of Stargate, and it shows how much the network has changed in 10 years.

SyFy got good ratings on the premiere “Ghost Hunters Academy” on Wednesday, drawing 2 million total viewers, the best ratings for a reality series on SyFy since January 2008′s “Ghost Hunters International.”

Famed author Ray Bradbury will executive produce a six-episode miniseries about six of his short stories. “The Bradbury Chronicles” hasn’t been picked up by a network yet.

Ch-ch-ch-changes.

The inclusion of Richard Dean Anderson in this episode of “Stargate Universe” was a happy anecdote. He’s now a 3-star general.

Totally changed is the senator’s wife, role from a raging alcoholic who’s emotionally out of control to this oddly grounded matron who has to comfort and reassure her daughter. I guess grief is a process.

Oh wait … HEY! A sex scene! Col. Young, (Justin Louis) millions of light years away, used one of the ancient communications stone devices to take over a soldier’s body on Earth to communicate with everyone back home. And he has sex — in that soldier’s body — with his wife. I’ll leave that one out there for you to comment on. We also learned that Young had an affair with Johansen (Alaina Huffman) before any of this all happened. It might has also been the reason she has decided to leave the Stargate/Icarus program shortly before the attack that forced them to evacuate through the Ninth Chevron.

And then, two of the other characters, in two other people’s bodies, get drunk and go clubbing. Elyse Levesque plays a decent drunk. Not great, but decent.

We do learn more about these characters. The senator’s daughter role (Levesque) gets a back story that’s not too surprising. She was a shallow, rich, bitch, whose boyfriend is dating her best friend now. She didn’t have real friends, and she’s beginning to learn that her happy little life wasn’t so great. This is all good stuff. This is character development. There remains much work to do on the three fronts of character development, writing dialog, and acting it out.

The Eli character (David Blue) was also improved. We knew he was an underachieving misfit with a sick mom, but we saw more of his inner monologue. We gets to take over the body of an attractive, fit man and gets to be popular with the ladies for once.

Improvement was made in this episode, but I still can’t help but wonder if this much progress could have been made in three episodes instead of seven. We are also having all of these “good” moments on Earth, instead of on the ship the show is set in.

We learned in previous episodes that the ship, “Destiny” recharges its power by flying through a sun, but each pass doesn’t recharge the batteries to 100 percent. Earth has a master plan to fire the ship’s weapons, to lower the ship’s power, to force the ship to further recharge its batteries entirely by flying through another star, hopefully giving the ship enough power to dial the Stargate back to Earth. We know this fails, because that would essentially end the show. A nice twist is the fact the plan might have worked — or it might have blown up the ship — if Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) hadn’t staged the whole thing to fail.

Rush showed me something in this episode. He’s spiteful and arrogant, but we’re finally seeing clearly that his goal is to study the ship and learn more about the universe. The ship might be very well able to get everyone back home, but Rush’s experiment is ongoing.

On a side note, it’s so refreshing to continuously see the talent that Carlo Rota brings to the table every time. The man who played Morris O’Brianon in “24″ added something to “Stargate Universe” in his brief appearance as a member of the International Oversight Committee.

This was the best episode of “Universe” yet, but it came six weeks and seven episodes later. You get the feeling we’re an an impasse here. They’re stranded. Earth tried to intervene/interfere and failed, and now they have to figure things out for themselves. If this were week four, I think people would be more drawn in to the suspense.

Michael Shanks is an actor, and while it’s easy to get lost in the character he has played on, off and on again for a dozen years, there’s a lot under the surface.

Born in Vancouver and raised in small town British Columbia, Shanks began his acting career playing Charlie Brown in the fourth grade play. He witnessed his first television production in college while taking a beach break from trying out for a play. Ironically, it was “MacGyver” that Shanks saw being filmed, not knowing of course that he would one day star beside Richard Dean Anderson in “SG-1.”

He made his television debut in a 1993 episode of “The Commish,” a popular ABC crime drama. He landed a lot of minor roles before getting his big break on “Stargate SG-1″ in 1997, staring in 196 episodes in the series as an adventurous archeologist named Dr. Daniel Jackson. Since the end of “Stargate SG-1″ in 2007, Shanks, 38, has been trying to remake himself as an actor

“Well its a double-edged sword, I will say this,” Shanks said in his interview with Blast. “The things that come down the pipe, career-wise, that are offers to pay the bills are sort of sci-fi related projects.”

But, humbly, Shanks admits that all he can do is keep trying to land roles — hopefully roles that aren’t nerdy archeologists. “You just have to get back in a line as if you’re starting all over again,” he said.

We saw some of this. Shanks left “SG-1″ after season 5 and landed a few small roles, including two episodes of “Andromeda,” where he met his wife. It’s possible we may never have seen Daniel Jackson again if Shanks was offered another starring role (pure speculation). But Daniel’s was a popular role, and Shanks returned to “Stargate,” first as a guest, and then in his everyday role.

After “Stargate,” Shanks got to show some range by playing a pseudo-villain in the popular USA series “Burn Notice.” He played Victor, a rogue secret agent taking revenge on the shadowy intelligence agency that killed his family. He also recently landed a role that could bring him more into the mainstream by appearing in The CW’s “Smallville,” as comic book hero Hawkman. It’s still in the realm of sci-fi/fantasy, but the show has a wider following.

Still though, we can’t forget what Shanks and the “SG-1″ crew did in making the Sci-Fi/SyFy channel what it is today. A new Stargate show, “Stargate Universe” began this year, even as a rumored “SG-1″ straight-to-DVD movie is on the shelf.

“Stargate Universe” is a much younger, more melodramatic, almost juvenile take on the franchise, and fans are conflicted. Shanks is too, even though he’s slated to appear in at least four episodes this season.

“It is really slick and pretty,” Shanks said. “[But] from what I’ve seen I’m not on board. … I’m not hooked in.”

Shanks said the drama and conflict seems forced. “They’re creating tension, pathos and angst,” he said. “The conflict with the characters seems a bit forced.”

One thing I did not dig deeply into was Shanks’ relationship with Christopher Judge. At the San Diego Comic-Con International in 2008, Judge boasted that he and Shanks started their own production company. We later heard about a production about the archangel Michael. But Shanks said the production company was off. He didn’t discuss his relationship with Judge, and I didn’t press him any further on the matter.

BLAST: So you and Christopher Judge are best buds. You have a production company you’re putting together? What’s happening with you guys?

MICHAEL SHANKS: Yeah. Let’s just say the production company’s not happening anymore, and I’d rather not go down that road and talk about Christopher Judge at this particular junction.

Shanks lives in Vancouver with his wife, the beautiful British-Filipina-Canadian actress Lexa Doig (Jason X), whom he got to work with when she played a doctor in 11 episodes at the end of “SG-1′s” run. She is also known for her sci-fi/fantasy work. The couple has two children, and Shanks has an 11-year-old Daughter, Tatiana, born in 1998 to then girlfriend Vaitiare Bandera, who played Daniel Jackson’s wife, Sha’re on “SG-1.” Shanks also said he’s been known to enjoy a good game of Hockey — like any true Canadian.

Editor’s note: After readers called out Blast — and called us liars — for not including the audio of the Christopher Judge portion of the Michael Shanks interview, we are posting it in the interest in full disclosure. We wouldn’t lie about or improperly quote an actor who agreed to give an interview to Blast.

Wow … more sex drama. Ooo … Scott got caught with the senator’s daughter by his former lover. Why exactly did he stop banging the first girl anyway?

“General Hospital” is on Wednesdays at 3 p.m. on ABC, but that’s not what we’re talking about.

I’ve been holding back so far in my “Stargate Universe” episode reviews. I’m a fan. I keep hoping they’re going to bust out with “the big one,” and everyone is going to be happy.

We noticed later on in the “Stargate SG-1″ and “Atlantis” runnings that the powers that be would put together a fantastic opening plot, fraught with unimaginable danger and peril, only to hastily wrap it up when they ran out of time. We saw this when SG-1 “fought” Ares. How about “Red Alert?” That’s what’s happening so far in “Universe,” only it’s happening at the beginning of the series. And it’s happening on two fronts. The makers are building up this fantastical plot in every episode, complete with certain death. Only each episode spends 40 minutes building up a 5 minute plot. And each episode is building up to what we assume is going to be something, but we’re deeply into the season without any hint of the endgame.

In this episode, “Water,” Lt. Smith (Brian J. Young) nearly dies on an ice planet only to not die. This is maybe the third time this has happened to him.

Oh and an alien bug that may or may not be benevolent was flushed out of the ship via the Stargate. I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of that.

And that’s it. That’s all that happened on this week’s episode of “Stargate Universe.” It was 43 minutes of “oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, what are we gonna do?” and no substance. We know little more about the characters, and, frankly, I am starting to care less and less about each one to the point where I’d like to see someone killed off just to make things interesting. Do the producers forget what happened when Daniel Jackson died/ascended to a higher plane of existence on “SG-1?” People went nuts. People created “Save Daniel” websites. People were truly in love with these characters. To a slightly smaller extent, the same applied to the now-abandoned characters on “Atlantis.”

“Universe?” No one gives a shit about these people. Even Ben Browder has a proper introduction to “SG-1″ that made us care about him. And he’s a better actor than anyone on this new show. Even Robert Carlyle is beginning to let down (though, to his credit, it’s mostly the writing that’s making him look bad).

The producers are acting like they have a three-season order in place already from SyFy. All seven episodes have been garbage so far. They have done nothing to build a community feeling for the viewers. In the past two shows — and on any good sci-fi show — the audience is naturally brought in somehow. They feel included. In “Universe” we feel like the outsiders. We’re the nerdy kids watching the high school football game. There are aspects of a good sci-fi series that make people go apeshit and dress up in full-on cosplay costumes — that they make themselves, spending sometimes thousands of dollars on — to attend conventions.

What you never saw, was someone dressing up as their favorite Gilmore Girl. It’s a different fanbase, people.

Sadly, “Universe” fails both as a sci-fi show and a teenage melodrama, because the elements that attract sci-fi fans religiously aren’t there and the writing just sucks.

So we’ll see what happens next week.

Blast will be running a feature-length podcast interview with Michael Shanks. Our readers will recognize Shanks as Daniel Jackson in all those years of “Stargate SG-1.” The interview will be up next week, but we wanted to confirm his appearance on The CW’s “Smallville.”

Shanks will play Hawkman in two episodes, “Society” and “Legends” which he told Blast are due to air in early 2010, possibly January.

The Canadian actor is working on a few other projects, but it wasn’t all good news. Shanks said that the next — and currently untitled — “Stargate SG-1″ movie is “not coming any time soon,” as the DVD market is down and financial issues aren’t making things easy for MGM to green light another Stargate film.

Make sure you read Blast in November. Did we mention we’re doing a Stargate-themed giveaway? Make sure you register an account to be eligible.

We’ve been talking so much about Stargate lately.

Between Universe and the recent news about Jason Momoa, you’d think we’d have covered it all by now, right?

Wrong.

“Stargate Atlantis” alumnus David Hewlett, who’s appearing in the forthcoming straight-to-video movies that will wrap up the “Atlantis” story, was recently cast in an indie film called “The Whistleblower,” GateWorld reported.

The movie films in Romania and is about the true story of a Nebraskan police officer who outs the United Nations for covering up sex trafficking.

Hewlett plays an American U.N. peacekeeper who’s suspected of being involved in the elicit sex trade. It’s a far ways away from his nerdy scientist character in Stargate.

“The Whistleblower” also stars Rachel Weisz, Vanessa Redgrave, David Strathairn and Monica Bellucci, so it’s the real deal.

GateWorld also said that MGM gave Hewlett a green light on a script he’s working on. No details about that just yet.

Momoa is said to have a nude sex scene in his new show

“Stargate Atlantis” co-star Jason Momoa has landed a role in the pilot for a possible HBO fantasy drama called “Game of Thrones,” according to GateWorld.

GateWorld reported that Momoa told fans at the Armageddon Expo in Australia that he got the role, and the Chicago Tribune later confirmed it.

The HBO series is based on the “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels by George R. R. Martin. The book is a planned seven-part series, with four of the books published so far.

In the pilot, Momoa will play Khal Drogo, a wealthy and powerful warrior and horse lord.

The show will also star lena Headey, (“Sarah Connor Chronicles”) Sean Bean, and “New Moon” actress Jamie Campbell Bower (Caius in “New Moon”).

GateWorld also says that Momoa will have a nude sex scene in the show, which female fans will be sure to appreciate.

The series is expected to premiere sometime in the next two years.

This isn’t your older brother’s Stargate.

And for people who have been loyal to Stargate and Sci-Fi Channel and now SyFy, this isn’t our Stargate either.

What’s left is for us to decide if that’s a bad thing or not.

Through the first four episodes? Yeah. It’s a bad thing.

Now we get to the fifth episode of the series. Once again, the crew is facing imminent demise.

Only 15 people will fit aboard a shuttle that can leave the “Destiny” for another planet. The melodrama unfolds but becomes difficult — actually impossible — to believe when half of the main cast of the show is not picked in a lottery to decide those 15 shuttle-mates.

Oh my god, MacGyver, how can you possibly get out of this one??

Of course, they do. Everyone lives to die another day.

The ship was on a collision course with a sun. What happens? Instead of crashing into the sun and dying, the ship’s tiny remaining shield power protects it while the ship flies directly into the sun, which recharges the ship’s power. All is well.

Yay.

This whole experience — after more than a month of episodes — unites this crew of misfits. Now they’re all friends. Or are they? Another cliff hanger at the end of Episode 5: “Light.”

This month has taught us definitively that “Stargate Universe” is absolutely not “Stargate SG-1.” In the second episode of SG-1, the crew was already out visiting new planets and encountering new civilizations. SG-1 and Atlantis were shows about societies and groups of people. Universe is a show about a few people. The main problem so far is that I don’t give a damn about these people. There’s no depth to them, except maybe Dr. Rush (Robert Carlyle) who is easy to single out as the bad guy or just a pure Machiavellian.

But there’s too much build up and anticipation and not enough performance. Every episode of “Stargate Universe” is prom night with chevrons.

Thinking outside the box here, maybe they should have brought back Ben Browder for this one? Or Joe Flanigan? There’s a lot of inexperience on this show. It’s already written like The CW’s version of Stargate

I’m not saying that we need a new episodic adventure every week. SGU is obviously tied into this main story for survival far from Earth. I get it. All I’m saying is we don’t need an hour to realize that the crew isn’t going to die for the fifth time. Let’s explore a bit. Let’s have some adventures.

The show has two elements that can be used to make a few interspersed episodic adventures work: When the ship stops in a solar system, there’s a ticking clock until it will jump back into “faster than light speed.” The crew can disembark on an adventure. You can leave the ticking clock at the bottom of the screen and let then get into all sorts of mischief, trying to make sure they can get back in time.

You also have a love triangle emerging with Chloe (Elyse Levesque) and the muscular hero Matthew Scott and the lovable nerdy genius Eli. The Stargate overlords skirted (totally ignored) the love triangle in “Stargate Atlantis,” but now you can use it. There are more ways to make drama than “death at every possible turn.”

The show is still getting better ratings than “Dollhouse” though.

Will you please just get on with it already?

We get it. They’re in space. It’s dark. It’s a big freaking void.

But I’m so sick of the “Stargate Universe” crew facing imminent death at every foreseeable turn.

Can we start watching the show now? Please?

We’re three weeks and four episodes in, and they’re already recording the “Dear Home, If we die out there…” messages. They didn’t get to that until the end of the first season of “Atlantis.” Although we knew they would go there, because Brad Wright and company stopped writing new show ideas sometime around 2001.

I don’t mean to be bitter. I’m still glad that some semblance of Stargate is back on the air, even if it is just a semblance.

This week’s episode, “Darkness” felt too similar to the first three episodes. Maybe frustration is a good thing? I admit that I’m really looking forward to whatever enemy or actual plot will start to develop.

There’s also just — I never thought I’d actually say this — there’s too much sexual tension. It seems like any 10 characters are just going to drop down and bang at any given moment. Stargate Orgy, anyone?

We do have a genuine McKay/Zelenka between Rush and Volker.

Nothing else happened in this episode. They were dying before “Darkness,” and they’re still dying. They found some new planets, but now they might crash into the sun. They’re out of power. Etc.

“Darkness” could have been a 10 minute intro to a real episode.

Kinda waiting on one of those…

Tonight is another big cable night. “DeGrassi: The Next Generation” wil fulfill all your melodrama fantasies on TeenNick at 8 p.m.

SyFy jumps in at 10 with the season premiere of “Sanctuary,” the Amanda Tapping post-Stargate project. DIY Network premieres “Kitchen Impossible” at 10, and we can’t forget “Dog Whisperer” at 9 p.m. on NatGeo.

The only big finale this weekend is MTV’s “Making His Band” at 9 p.m.

On Monday, you can expect premieres of “Little People, Big World,” on TLC at 8 p.m., “100 Mile Challenge” on Planet Green at 9 p.m., and “Gone Too Far” on MTV at 10.

Southland is D E D dead, even though it never was officially alive. NBC pulled the plug on the drama before its anticipated season debut on October 23. No reason has been given, and six episodes were already finished and ready to air.

Southland was going to be aired on Fridays at 9 p.m., which has been a dead zone for television lately, with Dollhouse dying there.

ABC has ordered the full seasons of “Modern Family,” “Cougar Town” and “The Middle.”

The three shows have done well in the ratings, but no news has been announced on the Kelsey Grammer comeback “Hank” or the new show “Eastwick.”

Showtime announced a new webisode about Dexter called “Dexter: Early Cuts.” The series will premiere on October 25 on sho.com.

CBS may be bringing back “Hawaii Five-O” with a plot commitment for a revival of the series, written by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and CSI: New York executive producer Peter Lenkov. The original ran from 1968-1990.

Finally, Ellen Page is working with HBO to both write and produce a new comedy series called “Stich N’ Bitch” about two cool girls who move from New York to Los Angeles to try and become artists — and kind of artists. Page is working with actresses Alia Shawkat and Sean Tillmann, both of whom stared with her in “Whip It.”

The show opened with chaos and questions.

Then there was a flashback, followed by an old 80s movie plot line where a young, ingenious nerd beats a video game that the government set up.

Then Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) shows up to beam the nerd aboard a spaceship. Then there’s a appearance by Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks). The first reaction was simple: I really miss Stargate. I miss the characters I’ve become familiar with and watched struggle through every imaginable enemy

That comes to an apex when our young teen (David Blue) is beamed to a space ship called the “George Hammond” named for the late commander of the Stargate program, General George Hammond, played by the late, great Don S. Davis, who gave his last media interview to Blast before his death in 2008.

Even Gary Jones, an SG-1 series regular, makes an appearance on the two-hour opener of “Stargate Universe.” It’s a reminder that Stargate is back, but not in the way fans have known for the past decade. This is a new Stargate. It’s younger, edgier. There’s even a sex scene, which we don’t think we’ve seen in either of the previous shows or the movies.

Robert Carlyle plays a brilliant yet frustrated scientist trying to solve the mystery of the Stargate’s “ninth and final” chevron. A secret off-world military base has a special stargate on it that is tapped into the planet’s core for power. It’s purpose is to dial that ninth chevron. His character, Dr. Nicholas Rush, the scientist who has endeavored for years to solve the riddle of the last Ancient stargate secret. He’s got some work to do. I’m still seeing Renard from “The World is Not Enough” at times.

When the base comes under attack by an old enemy, the Lucian Alliance, the base is forced to evacuate through the ninth chevron address, which lands them on a massive ship built by The Ancients, the old and advanced race that built the Stargate System. The ship has been traveling faster than light for hundreds of thousands of years. It’s several billion light years from Earth.

Nerd moment: There’s a little plot hole that old Stargate fans will catch. When the base is attacked, its only real defense is The Hammond, a brand new Earth ship with all kinds of amazing gear and weapons. It’s attacked by three “motherships,” an antiquated enemy vessel that the Hammond could dispatch easily with a single blast from its Asgard weaponry. But that moment is not important to the rest of the show.

The ninth chevron leads to the ancient ship, which can travel faster than light without using hyperspace technology. The life support is failing and people are injured and dying.

That completes the first hour of this two-part episode.

In the second part, the team is floating along on the ship trying to get things in order, doing the usual sci-fi stuff.

David Blue plays the math whiz, Eli Wallace, and he sells his part well like a television Jonah Hill.

The producers know that they have to do a lot to make us fall in love with these brand new characters, and halfway through the second part, they come as close as I would have thought possible. A gut-wrenching scene of self-sacrifice involving one of the main character’s fathers draws the viewer into the show.

There’s conflict. Much like the first few episodes of Stargate Atlantis, there are scientists and soldiers and even some politicians jockeying for position, trying to figure out who knows best. Meanwhile, the ship is dangerously high on carbon dioxide.

The show has all the elements to get us interested and leave us wanting more. There’s even a mini cliffhanger ending where we learn that the ship’s autopilot brings it to a planet every so often.

But the 80 minutes of footage in the first two parts of the opening episode was either poorly edited or made to purposefully leave plot holes. At some point, Dr. Rush uses an ancient (and reusable) communications device to contact Earth, but no footage of his contact with Earth is shown, and the team inexplicably never uses the device again. I guess they have to be able to contact Earth sometimes, and that does leave open the possibility of cameos from old SG-1 and Atlantis characters, but it’s a bit gaping. We’re pretty sure this gets closed up in the third part of “Air” which airs next Friday.

The big issue is that one or two of the characters need to separate themselves. They need to stand out in the way Sheppard and McKay did on Atlantis. I didn’t quite get a feeling for who would take the lead here, though it’s possible that Blue will stand out, while Brian J. Smith, who plays the number two military guy, Lt. Scott, has potential. But Sheppard and McKay stuck out from the first few minutes of “Atlantis.” Not so in “Universe.”

Next week will be big in terms of the show’s success or failure. The season is tentatively scheduled for 20 episodes, and we’ll have to see what happens. Right now I’m left wanting more, but I’m not sure why.

It was admittedly a challenge for Jody Thompson to play the character Lana in R.W. Goodwin’s “Alien Trespass,” a faithful retelling of a 1950s B movie.

Playing a 50s housewife in the film, Thompson, 32, has gained critical acclaim with praise from the New York Times as well as a Leo Award for Best Supporting Performance by a female in a Feature Length Drama. Not too shabby for a girl who, in high school, thought actors were “losers and not very smart.” She went on to later catch the “acting bug” after appearing in several TV commercials, and the rest is history.

Set to release on DVD August 8, “Alien Trespass” also stars Eric McCormack as Thompson’s husband. He is a witty scientist who has his body taken over by an alien from a crashed UFO in the Mojave Desert. “Urp” this alien, needs to stop the hideous, extra-terrestrial “Ghota” from destroying humankind with his voracious appetite. The story ensues as Dr. Lewis (McCormack) continues on his quest to be a hero and capture Ghota.

Speaking with Thompson, it’s obvious she’s smart. She is the kind of person you could sit and stare at all day, in sheer amazement at her energy level and motivation. Seemingly superhuman, like her blood runs a mix of Red Bull and espresso, she is a self-described Type A”¦but in a good way. She even managed to fit in a bit of woman-to-woman advice during the course of our interview. Without divulging all the details, let’s just say it’s now clear what kind of bra to wear when I’m headed out for a run with my baby in a jog-stroller.

“When I’m not busy I don’t feel fulfilled. It keeps my brain from turning to potatoes,” Thompson said. “Relaxing in the shade with a glass of wine would be nice, but it’s not my first choice.” Again — the motivation thing (as I sit typing away and drinking a glass of red)

With television credits including a recurring role on USA’s “The 4400″ and appearances in “Stargate SG-1″ and “Stargate: Atlantis.” Her sci-fi trending is an accidental pattern. While Thompson is no stranger to the genre, playing Lana in Alien Trespass, however, was an entirely new and demanding experience. Describing it as “frightening” Thompson says she struggled with trying not to overact the part. Corsets and other wardrobe accouterments, including a new Julia Child-esque haircut, helped her get into character. “It took a lot of research and physical adjustments,” she said. “It changes your attitude just by putting the wardrobe on.”

Thompson said it was a pleasure working with McCormack, best known for his part as the hilariously gay Will, in the sitcom Will and Grace. “He was like so cool. He like didn’t have any Hollywood stuff,” she said. “He was just funny the whole time.”

Doubly fortunate to have also worked with R.W. Goodwin, producer of the X-Files series, in this film, Thompson says she just really trusted him from the beginning. “He was so great,” she said. “He knows the genre inside and out.”

The film has done very well and was a big hit at this summer’s Comic Con International in San Diego. Goodwin and McCormack hosted the Alien Trespass panel, introducing it to viewers with a featurette about its origination in the 1950s and recent uncovering by construction workers.

So, is there any truth to the story? “I don’t think I will be in trouble for saying that’s part of the drama. It puts the viewer in the right frame of mind for approaching the work,” Thompson grinned.

An actress, mother and dog-trainer (yes she does that too), Thompson wears many hats. She is also a filmmaker and president of the International Filmmakers Institute. Her debut film, “Montana de Luz,” documents the stories of children in an orphanage in Honduras living with HIV. “If they can get through each day with positive attitude, there really isn’t any excuse for us” she said.

Claiming to have had a difficult time playing the typical 195os housewife in “Alien Trespass,” its evident Thompson is deep down a caretaker. Whether it’s jogging with her 14-month-old son in the stroller, caring for her Alzheimer’s stricken mother, training her German Shepherds or making movies about disease-ridden children, Thompson is probably not an alien, but she probably has some superpowers.

SAN DIEGO — One of the most anticipated presentations of San Diego Comic-Con International was the “Stargate Universe” panel, complete with creators Brad Wright and Robert Cooper and the “Comic-Con virgin” cast.

“Universe” is the third television series in the “Stargate” franchise, and it centers on a melange of characters thrown together on a ship and forced to survive while at the same time embarking on the adventures that fans have come to expect from this particular science-fiction establishment.

The cast is comprised of all new faces to the series, a fact highlighted when a group of the actors, laughing, told the story of when they dropped by the “Stargate” booth in the Exhibition Hall. Not only were they not recognized by the booth worker, they were even asked if they were interested in entering a draw to win a guest spot on the show.

Blast spoke to two of the show’s female stars, Alaina Huffman (familiar as the Black Canary to fans of “Smallville”), who plays medic Tamara Johansen, and Elyse Levesque, who plays the character Chloe Armstrong. The conversation ranged from their thoughts on their characters, to “Battlestar Galactica,” to the oh-so-dreamy Robert Pattinson, and of course, geek culture.

The funny story of their trip to the “Stargate” booth was fresh in their minds when asked about their experience at the convention thus far. “That poor girl,” Levesque said. “We just didn’t have the heart to tell her, to set her straight. So we just kinda went along with it.”

Sympathetic, Huffman defended her. “Why would she know? Well…”

BLAST: Well she’s just working the “Stargate” panel, I dunno. You would have thought that standing in front of the “Stargate” would have jogged some memory.

Levesque: You’d think but no, no…

BLAST: Well how has your experience been so far? You’ve done the panel, you’ve done the Exhibition Floor…

Levesque: It’s unreal. It’s been such a trip! I didn’t really know “" I don’t know if any of us knew the enormity of this, how big this actually is. One thing that’s been so surprising is how instantaneous the information is. Like, words-you’re-saying-words, and they’re already on the Internet. People are finishing your thoughts for you somewhere online. It’s just so massive. It’s really impressive to see all the people, all the fans and they’re so committed and they’re standing in line for hours and hours at the crack of dawn to meet you… It’s just surreal, for me.

Huffman: I found wonderful reception at the panel yesterday, and also at the autograph signing on the floor. I mean, it was a big room full of people. The energy was wonderful.

Levesque: Really positive.

Huffman: Yes, it was really positive. Like Brad said, we were all comic-con virgins, despite, you know, some of our science-fiction backgrounds. I thought I was going to be very, very nervous, and then I was kind of nervous, and then Brad and Robert got up there and just did what they do and I was like, I’m fine.

Levesque: It was that initial open the mouth and hope that a sound comes out. Yeah, once you kind of get over that hurdle it’s smooth sailing.

BLAST: Well I imagine going into a show like “Stargate Universe,” with two previous shows, you have an inbuilt fan base. Is that intimidating? Does that make you more excited to join the project, knowing at least you got those people somewhat in the bag?

Levesque: I think we’re actually lucky. So lucky to have such a loyal fan following.

Huffman: You can thank Brad and Robert and SyFy and MGM for that. They’ve really put in the work and written over 300 episodes.

Levesque: I don’t know how they keep coming up with new stuff!

Huffman: Not only do they keep up with it, but they keep coming up with it in way that attracts more fans and keeps the fan base. And it’s very impressive to me, I mean hats off to them. I think some of the reception, or some of the fanbase “" you know there’s a population of them that are kind of like, “Oh, this new one, why is it dark, why is it different?”

Levesque: Um, 90210.

Huffman: Yeah, remember that horrible question about criteria, like, “You used to cast strong, intelligent women?”

(During the Q&A portion of the “SGU” panel, a fan asked this question, essentially wondering if these new cast members were up to the precedent set by actresses like Amanda Tapping)

Levesque: You know what’s funny is that it didn’t even really hit me at first, I was just like, tra-la-la and then I realized and went, “Aww.”

Huffman: But I think he just needs to watch the show and that population of people needs to watch the show. They’re the same guys. They know what they’re doing. They know how to develop great, deep women. These aren’t shallow female characters “" my character is a first lieutenant, she’s a medic, she’s very confident and capable in what’s she doing. She’s put in, we all are, we’re put in a very extreme circumstance. We’re literally thrown aboard this ship unprepared. And we are along for the journey to discover the ninth chevron, and this is what the “Stargate” fan wants… and along with it will come the circumstances that we’re all put under and the pressures and the stresses and survival and what we have to endure. And you learn a lot about these characters and the bonds they make and the enemies they make.

Blast took a moment to talk to actor Corin Nemec about his role in the chilling “Bundy,” playing the title character of serial killer Ted Bundy. We also asked Nemec what inspires him, like … “The Goonies?”

BLAST: So “Bundy” is coming out on DVD soon, and we have to ask: How did you prepare for playing a character like that?

CORIN NEMEC: Well, you know, really it’s about research. The thing that helped me out most was watching certain videos that he did. Namely the big interviews that he had “" he did several of them. What caught me most was in some of the video footage of him by news teams when they were filming them, and he was not necessarily aware that he was being filmed. He would get these looks on his face. These really jarred, sardonic looks … He would kind of break character as I call it. He would go from his social Ted Bundy to whatever is going on inside. That was kind of my peep hole … and I’d think, “this guys has got a serious dark side.”

Not that it wasn’t obvious in the first place, but that’s what was helpful to me. His motivation “" and this I can’t confirm “" it’s what I discovered in my research and what Mike Feifer had discovered in writing this script “" though we don’t address it in the film “" when he realized that he was an illegitimate child, but his father still claimed to be his father. What dawned on me was him possibly being a child of incest. And this was a discovery he’d made after college. And so that to me was the catalyst for his so-called insanity. I thought it was that point that he just completely lost it and went over the edge and really embraced all the dark fantasies that he had.

BLAST: And what attracted you to the script and the character for this role?

CN: Well, Mike Feifer and I worked on “Chicago Massacre,” where I played Richard Speck, and I had a great time working with him as a director, and I think we really gelled and work well together.

I hope to work with him again in the future. He also worked on “Boston Strangler,” and I played a small role in that, the Boston Strangler’s lawyer. And when Ted Bundy came up, and we got the green light on that and he asked me I jumped at that chance because I had the opportunity to work with Mike Feifer.

BLAST: Did you ever find it difficult or chilling to get into the mindset of the character?

CN: You know, not necessarily, but I definitely found moments; about halfway through it “" which is rare for me, because I’m not a method actor and I don’t take things home with me “" where I really felt nauseated by the guy. It wasn’t when it was necessary for me to be the character but those in between moments. I was like, “Wow. I just feel so creepy.”

BLAST: Speaking of acting and technique, we heard you were very much influenced by “The Goonies.” Is this true?

CN: Well yes, in many ways. My father was the art director in that movie and when it came out “" although the characters were about two years older than I am “" when it came out I was about the same age. My father told me it was something I would really love. I came from an artistic family … so I had been around theater and music and then film and TV. So I knew that film and TV, there was a process that went into making it. And I understood that these people were acting and that they were on sets and all this stuff and then at the end they would put it all together and these people would have this life outside of it … and I was such an imaginative kid, and I realized that, you know, it was an opportunity to do that same thing but on a much more dynamic level. And be able to watch it back. That was what blew me away the most. I can go pretend to be someone else in a real setting, someone will film that, and put it together. And then you can watch the experience that you had back, in the order its supposed to be in! And I was just ten or eleven years old and thought, “Wow! This is incredible.”

And that’s what struck me about it and inspired me to become an actor.

BLAST: So what genres attract you the most? Adventure? Sci-fi? Horror?

CN: No, I’m not really specific with what I look for in a project. Is there something I can bring to the character? Is there an arc? Do I think I can bring something to the project that is going to possibly make it better than what it already is? And if I can answer yes to those questions, then … its really about what character am I playing.

BLAST: But you have worked in sci-fi before, correct?

CN: Oh yeah, I did “Stargate SG-1,” the series. And then have done numerous of these sci-fi oriented movies for the SyFy Channel but, outside of that, my previous work before that was drama and comedy. The first time I got to do anything outside of the box was “The Stand,” playing Harold Lauder, which was my first step into that sci-fi horror kind of world.

BLAST: What character would you love to portray in a film?

CN: Well again, I don’t know what I’m looking for in a character until I read it. Its not like I’m pursuing a type of character out there that I’d like to play. If the character is something exciting for me to play that I can bring something to,then I would go for it.

BLAST: So, what are your aspirations for the future?

CN: Well, I have a production company with David Faustino. We’ve had a production company for a few years now. It’s opened up a lot of doors. We’ve been working on some reality shows and fully scripted shows and feature films. We have a lot of things in development and in the meantime I pursue my other acting projects on the side. But that’s what is exciting to me right now with the production company; it gives us the ability to write our own stories … instead of being at the whims of Hollywood.

BLAST: What is the series that your production company worked on?

CN: Star-Ving. (The series was released in January 2009)

Nemec will star in “House of Bones,” set to be released later this year, along with Charisma Carpenter (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel”). “Bundy” comes to DVD July 21.

It is that time of the year again, people. In one week, the San Diego Convention Center will open its doors to fans and nerds from around the globe to begin this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Blast will be reporting live from the scene, giving you your daily dose of film, television, gaming, and comic news. Here is the first taste of the coverage: an exclusive look at the ladies of “Stargate Universe.”

From left: Ming-Na, Alaina Huffman, Elyse Levesque (Photo credit: Art Streiber)

Blast will be sitting down with Ming-Na, Alaina, and Elyse in San Diego for a deeper look at their characters, updates from the set, and the newest “Stargate” installment. Stay tuned with us for the next few weeks as we keep you posted on all your breaking Comic-Con news!

MGM Home Entertainment asked fans to pick their favorite Stargate Atlantis episodes, and now the company is putting out a Blu-ray disc created literally for fans by fans, coming out August 4 for $29.99.

More than 20,000 fans voted, and it’s all about the beginning and the end. The series pilot “Rising” and an extended version of the series finale “Enemy at the Gate” will be packaged together.

The disc will feature 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio and HD video.

It’s a lot to pay for two episodes, and we’re not sure about any special features. We just figured you’d wanna know.

When the film adaptation of the graphic novel sensation “Watchmen” was first announced, the main concern was whether director Zack Snyder could pull off a successful adaptation of Alan Moore’s iconic word.

Key among those concerns was whether the Minutemen — a group of superheroes founded in 1939 and pivotal to the story of “Watchmen” — would be included in the final product.

Blast got a chance to watch the first 18 minutes of “Watchmen” at New York Comic Con a few weeks ago and saw for ourselves that Snyder did manage to pull of a balance of attention to detail and concrete storytelling. The Minutemen were heavily featured in the opening minutes of the film; heroine Silhouette prominent among them.

We also had the chance to speak with actress Apollonia Vanova about the role of Silhouette and her experience on the set of “Watchmen.”

“There was a lot of attention to detail,” Vanova said of her time on the set. “I was overwhelmed. … Every little prop was perfect. I couldn’t believe how real everything was to different times and different eras. And it was just really excited to be a part of that project to see all the characters dressed in their costumes.”

Silhouette’s screen time is limited, but her presence is big part of the “Watchmen” universe. As one of the Minutemen, Silhouette is a major figure in the spotlight during the 1940s.

Her homosexuality — shown during the film’s opening montage with a brilliantly choreographed reenactment of the V-J Day kiss — leads to her murder.

“I have read on an Internet site that some lesbian women are offended about the V-J Day kiss in the movie, writing that it is a cheap shot and an attention-getter for the men. I don’t agree,” Vanova said. “In my opinion that sequence should be included in the movie. … For Silhouette, this was not only about the war ending, this victory represented her own personal victory as well — she was Jewish and a homosexual.”

The V-J Day kiss — a scene unique to the movie — was the part Vanova was asked to audition with.

Vanova said filming the kiss was “amazing” and her favorite part of the experience.

She said during every practice take, the set had been silent, but when it finally was time for the shot to be filmed, balloons and firecrackers went off to represent the celebration and then she performed the kiss.

In the graphic novel, Silhouette retired from the Minutemen after the fact she was a lesbian became public knowledge. Later on, she was murdered by one of her enemies.

SPOILER WARNING In the film’s opening montage, there is a scene where Silhouette and her lover are shown murdered on their bed with the words “Lesbian Whores” written on the wall behind them. END SPOILER

“When we think of superheroes or of heroes, you always think they are people with great moralities or people who are ideal humans. And I think in (“Watchmen”) I think that all the superheroes are flawed — and not in a bad way — but that they are all human. … Because Sillouette was a lesbian and she had to escape Austria, she had her own personal reasons to join the minutemen and these reasons may not always be for the good of others. These superheros enact justice based on their own interpretation and morals. This is what makes them human and flawed,” Vanova said.

A true thesbian, Vanova adjusts herself and her persona to her role — straight or gay.

“As an actor, I feel very comfortable with both,” she said, “When I do a scene with a man, the feminine apect dominates. When it as with a woman, I instinctually become more masculine. In opera, a lot of the roles for mezzo sopranos are ‘pant’ roles and I find the discovery of the masculine very interesting.”

Vanova has not seen the final cut of “Watchmen” and could not comment on whether homosexuality in superheroes was as present in the film as it was in the novel, but based on the footage shown at New York Comic Con, the character of Silhouette was kept the same.

In the novel, the stories of the Minutemen were reserved for brief essays and excerpts from novels taken from within the Watchmen universe that followed each chapter. The history of the Minutemen illuminates on the present circumstances of the superheroes.

Vanova said the film preserves the stories of the Minutemen during the opening montage using a combination of art references (Character Sally Jupiter’s retirement party is based on Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”) and historic events (Another, The Comedian, is portrayed as being the one who shot Kennedy).

“I think they wanted to show why, for example, my character was ousted for the group,” Vanova said. “I think kiss is just a visual representation of what happened to Silhouette. The snapshot.”

There was an additional scene shot of Silhouette escorting gangsters and “dominating them” with people taking pictures that Vanova said is being held for the DVD.

Vanova said it was the attention to detail that impressed her on the set.

“Every little prop was perfect. I couldn’t believe how real everything was to different times and different eras,” she said. “From what I’ve seen and from when I’ve read the comic book, it was pretty close.”

Her costume, which she enthusiastically expressed her love for, was a glamorized version of the black number Silhouette wore in the comics. The look required that they cinch Vanova’s waist down to a trim 22 inches. “As long as I kept my diet, I was fine,” she said with a laugh.

Vanova, who Stargate fans will recognize from her role in one episode as the Wraith Queen, said she plans on focusing on acting and her opera singing now that “Watchmen” is completed. She is producing her own opera CD, which is slated for release in April.

She certainly has the look for fantastical sci-fi and alternate reality roles like “Watchmen” and “Stargate.” Does she look out for these roles?

“I just happen to fit the roles of unusual characters,” she laughed.

“Watchmen” opens Friday.

Terri Schwartz also reported from New York.

John Guilfoil is not happy about the cancellation of Stargate Atlantis.

Read his rant on PRrag.com.

Stargate: Continuum came out last week hot on the trail of Stargate: The Ark of Truth. This movie finally ties all story threads in the SG:1 Universe — a fitting end to a series that started with an alien invasion.

The direct to DVD and Blu-ray feature is directed by series veteran, Martin Wood. Written by Brad Wright and Johnathan Glassner, developers and creators of the TV series, this movie is sure to please hardcore fans. The budget is clearly much bigger this time around. Everything from the back-from-the-past costumes, the CGI, and even the on-location filming looked far more detailed, expansive, and expensive than even the previous movie.

The movie is not advised to be seen by the unconverted. It is not only rich with time paradoxes and alien technology dialogue, but it’s also deep in Stargate universe mythology and SG-1 history. New people will get lost, and fans of the show will find their trivia knowledge absolutely put to the test. What you thought you knew about Stargate will need to be re-visited or you will have questions.

So far, fan reviews have given it praise. That being said, there are always the fans who will see this and ask ‘what the hell?’ While the movie clocks in at an average length of 1 hour and thirty minutes, it will seem short. Not rushed, but will seem as if more could of been included to show what happened than the explanations that were verbally given. Stargate is known for this sort of scripting, where days pass by and an explanation for an obvious gap in visuals is just spoken of as a cheap way out of actually filming something.

This movie will get confusing, as it is with all time-travel stories, logic will need to take a step outside. In Stargate:Continuum, Ba’al is the last of the Gou’ld to be sentenced to death in the new Tok’ra headquarters. Interesting to note that Tok’ra are nomads, but have finally chosen to settle. The well internet leaked appearance of Jack O’Neill comes early, and doesn’t disappoint as the one true fulcrum of the SG-1. The plot begins to take off when the SG-1 team members begin to disappear one by one.

The featured characters turn out to be Colonel Mitchell, Daniel Jackson, and Major Samantha Carter. They escape the disappearing phenomenon by jumping into the stargate. They find themselves not back home inside the SGC, but instead, inside a frozen boat, far away. What makes this movie worth while, as the remaining SG-1 team figures out away to foil Ba’al’s plans, are the numerous cameos by past Goa’aulds. This movie is truly meant for the Goa’auld lover out there.

One of the returning characters that should be reveled, specifically for Blast readers is the appearance by Don S. Davis, as General Hammond. Davis, who died this summer, gives an all too familiar performance as the well-loved authority figured who’s so partial to SG-1. This time it comes with a twist, but he has optimal screen time to do him final a Stargate farewell. Which is more that I can say for Apophis. Again.

While not wholly loved by the Stargate community, Beau Bridges gives a stellar monologue that finally does justice to what we all thought of about the alternate realities. He really gives voice to the ‘alternate universe’ perspective of why they wouldn’t just allow another SG-1 copies to run the place just so they can get back to their own time and/or space. With this movie we even get some semblance of normalcy and real heart break toward the end.

Fans of the series will need to see this one to finally wrap-up those 10 years of adventure. SG-1 has already proven themselves legends among the stars. And now they the prove how timeless they really have become.

I’ll leave you geeks, nerds, dorks, fans with something from Brad Wright himself: “MGM has suggested we start thinking about that and start putting a story together, and that’s what we’re doing right now. But not just a movie … it seems that MGM is confident SciFi Channel or some television outlet will pick up the previously announced third series “Stargate: Universe” as well.”

When Blast commissioned an interview feature with Don S. Davis, it wasn’t simply because he was an interesting character actor who our readers know, love, and largely grew up with. It was because I was inspired by the amazing range — actor, stunt man, painter, sculptor, set designer, writer.

He was never really a leading man, and he always seemed happy with the lovable roles he played, notably as Major General George Hammond on Stargate SG-1.

What we did not know, and what we certainly did not expect, was that we would produce his last media interview. Mr. Davis died June 29. He was 65 and had been in declining health, causing him to reduce his acting duties since 2003.

Mr. Davis has been a warrior, educator, actor, artist and much more. His inspirations come from his military background and his upbringing in Aurora, Mo. in the Ozark Mountains.

“It’s a small town filled with good people in a beautiful area,” Davis told Blast in March. “It’s a beautiful area with picturesque towns and farms set among rolling hills, which are crisscrossed by many rivers," he writes in his biography on his art website, donsdavisart.com. "The towns and farmsteads contain wonderful old homes, barns and other buildings that provide nearly limitless opportunities for artistic inspiration."

“So many of you have been touched by not only the work and art of Don S. Davis, but by the man himself, who always took the time to be with you at the appearances he loved,” his family wrote in a statement after his passing. “On behalf of his family and wife, Ruby, we thank you for your prayers and condolences.”

His fans always said it best.

"Mr. Davis will always be one of my very favorite people because he cares so much for Stargate and for the fans," said Patricia Stewart, a fan from British Columbia who met Davis at a convention last August. "And when I saw him later that day, he remembered my name! He’s a real gentleman."

We will remember Mr. Davis, the actor, artist and gentleman.

A private memorial service will be held in the coming weeks. His ashes will be cast into the ocean.

Blast Magazine correspondents Manuel Uribe and Sarah Gantz contributed to this report

Stargate. Check
Explosions. Check
Ori. Check
Ancients. Check
Replicators? Possibly…

The feature-length movie that all Stargate: SG-1 fans have been waiting for is here. After the grandiose ending that left the Asgard in the dust, the Ori possibly finished, and our heroes stepping through to the unknown, this chapter ties up the loose ends once-and-for-all — so don’t worry about any “To Be Continued” showing up.

The movie’s direct-to-DVD format has allowed producers Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright, the opportunity to finish of the Ori story arc mostly the way they intended to.

The DVD also comes stuffed with special features you’ll actually want to watch. There’s everything from a “making of” featurette, to a special Comic-Con Spolight. The cover-art, alone is worth getting it legally and not from P2P networks. Having the golden artwork in your physical DVD collection can really make it seem more like a trophy, than just another movie. Plus, it’s only around $20. Trust me, you’re getting your money’s worth, if not more.

The main film has a Prelude option, which serves as a “previously on…” segment, which is worth watching if you missed a couple of Season 10 episodes. Or, if you just haven’t been watching the Season 10 DVDs lately and you want a refresher course. It highlights where we left off from the TV series, from the time of Mitchell joining the SG:1 to Adria’s ascension, and finally the acquisition of the Asgard technology in the final episode.

I applaud the extended, full orchestra main theme. Jerry Goldsmith has outdone himself again.

SPOILER WARNING

In the opening scene, we get to see the Ancients, but old, benevolent race who built the Stargate system many years ago. Then the movie cuts to Daniel Jackson uncovering an artifact.

It all feels very much like a regular Stargate episode. This time around, theres no teaser. The action quickly vamps up. There are really no introductions per-se, so anyone coming in out of the blue will not know what the hell is going on.

Tomin, who we saw in seaons 9-10, makes his appearance early on, adding to the continuity of the story arc. As a small skirmish over the newly-discovered artifact quickly turns into a surrender, we find that our heroes have again something up their sleeve.

As Mitchell, Carter, Jackson and Teal’c begin their mission after receiving vital Intel, a new appointee from the IOA, James Merek, has his own agenda.

As the problems begin to mount for our team, new avenues of truth and solutions begin to unravel and appear. Sometimes in the form of Ancients, and other times it’s Mitchell’s run-and-gun approach. Carter’s ingenuity is always helpful, especially when seven Ori motherships are alerted the Odessey’s presence.

Teal’c's past makes a wonderful come back, in an emotionally driven dialog between him and Tomin — betraying your false gods. The stakes get even higher when a Prior arrives on Earth with an urgent message.

You will not be disappointed with the conclusion and the aftermath.

It’s too early to tell whether this will lead to more direct-to-DVD movies for SG-1 but one thing’s for sure: This movie makes true legends of the team of SG-1.

5 out of 5 stars

By the way: Due to a reporting error, we incorrectly reported that Jerry Goldsmith made the musicial score for “Stargate: The Ark of Truth,” when in fact it was Joel Goldsmith.

Look for the name Don S. Davis in the credits of television shows and movies, in the corners of oil paintings, on a military badge and, soon, on a screenplay cover. He is a man of many roles, many talents and, appropriately, many fans.

People often don’t see the person behind the TV character or movie hero, but behind Davis — who has 134 acting credits according to IMDB.com — there lies a warrior, educator, painter and writer.

Davis has played many roles over the years, but he has been an artist his entire life.

“I started drawing and painting when I was a kid,” said Davis in a recent interview with BLAST. “I’ve always liked drawing and painting landscapes and buildings.”

Davis’ art portfolio is a combination of oil paintings, drawings, wood carvings and stage designs, all of which exhibit attention to detail and affection for the simplicity of the country life he grew up in. Originally from Aurora, Mo., Davis now resides in British Columbia, but he says the inspiration for his artwork is rooted in his rural hometown in the Ozark Mountains.

“It’s a small town filled with good people in a beautiful area,” Davis says. “It’s a beautiful area with picturesque towns and farms set among rolling hills, which are crisscrossed by many rivers,” he writes in his biography on his art website, donsdavisart.com. “The towns and farmsteads contain wonderful old homes, barns and other buildings that provide nearly limitless opportunities for artistic inspiration.”

Though the picturesque towns inspire his work now, Davis says that in college he was greatly inspired by abstract painters, including Robert Motherwell and Jackson Pollack, who are still among his favorite artists. “I like abstract art. I still do a bit of it,” he says. “But spending 16 years teaching stage design and technical theater seemed to change my personal creative orientation toward more representational work.”

Perhaps most well-known for his roles as Major General George S. Hammond on the Sci-Fi Channel television series “Stargate SG-1″ and Major Garland Briggs on “Twin Peaks,” spaceships and eerie towns are not the only settings Davis performs well in. Before picking up acting in the late 1980s, he taught at the college level, served in the military and completed a master’s degree and doctorate in theater.

Davis’ hometown in the Ozark Mountains inspired much of his artwork, but the powerful, authoritative characters the 65-year-old actor plays best came from his years in the military during the mid-1960s, when he was stationed in Korea. He entered the US Army with the rank of lieutenant and left as a captain with a collection of memories to fuel his acting career.

“I draw on my experiences in the military and the unique people I met and worked with in a lot of my work as an actor,” Davis said.

Now that “Stargate SG-1″ is no longer in production after 10 seasons, the general has retired his Stargate Command badge and picked up his paintbrush. Painting will not become a new career for Davis, who says he does not sell his work — yet.

“Over the years I’ve often thought of opening an art gallery — I still think about it,” Davis said. He is entertaining the idea of marketing select prints of his paintings if he can find an arrangement that suits him well.

For now, painting is just a way to relax and forget about the aliens left thwarted in his path.

“I paint for myself and my family and my friends,” he says.

The Missouri native has come a long way from his childhood landscape sketches, on a journey that’s taken him to the far corners of the galaxy and back again. It was not until after the army, his own education and the subsequent years of teaching that he decided to pursue acting full time.

Davis may not be a space captain in real life, but he is a true science fiction fan. His favorite sci-fi shows are “Dr. Who,” “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and “Lexx.” He is also a fan of Spider Robinson, the Nebula award-winning author of “The Callahan’s Series,” the Stardance trilogy, the Deathkiller trilogy, and other science-fiction novels.

Since starting out, Davis has appeared in numerous films and TV shows. He was the coach of the Racine Belles in “A League of their Own” and had roles in “Alaska,” “Best of Show,” “The West Wing,” and “The X-Files.”

His favorite role was Donald P. Carstairs from the Canadian television series “Slick Air.”

“Carstairs is a ‘tough-guy’ private eye. He’s a slob, and not the brightest bulb in the pack,” Davis said. The show, also starring Shannon Tweed and David Elliot, is about a couple who run an under-funded charter airline service. “When Carstairs is not repossessing their office furniture and equipment, he is often being hired by them to do bodyguard work,” he said.

Davis is currently involved in a number of projects, portraying starkly different roles in each. Set to release later this year are “Woodshop,” an indie comedy about making it through high school alive, “Viper,” a made for television horror flick and “Far Cry,” an action-drama.

“I am a character actor, and I enjoy playing a variety of roles,” he said.

Davis is also appearing in the straight-to-DVD Stargate movie, “Stargate: Continuum,” which will serve as a mid-summer fix for SG-1 addicts. Davis says he is working on his own screenplay, though he is keeping the details to himself for now.

His characters — past and upcoming — differ greatly but share one common gene that draws Davis to them. He is a sucker for “any well-written role that allows me to portray an interesting character in a good story, with a talented director and talented actors, who happen to also be nice people.”

“I’ve been fortunate to have this experience many, many times while working in both TV and film,” most notably, with “Stargate” and “Twin Peaks,” Davis said.

Charlotte Stewart is one of those talented actors and nice people. Stewart, who played Davis’ Catholic wife on “Twin Peaks,” has fond memories of the show and her fictional husband.

“I think Don got a great kick out of being in Twin Peaks,” said Stewart in a recent interview. When the show aired, she says, “he was like a kid enjoying a private party.”

“(He is) one of the most genuine, sweet human beings I have ever met,” she said.

The fans seem to have taken an equal shine to Davis.

“Mr. Davis will always be one of my very favorite people because he cares so much for Stargate and for the fans,” said Patricia Stewart, a fan from British Columbia who met Davis at a convention last August. “And when I saw him later that day, he remembered my name! He’s a real gentleman.”

Other Stargate fans say they’ve had similar experiences.

“I’ve always found Davis to be 100,000 percent professional when dealing with his fans,” said H.C. Taylor, a Stargate fan from Newburgh, N.Y. “He’s always been absolute aces.”

Taylor has been a Stargate fan for years, but she became a true Don S. Davis fan in 2004 at a convention where he spent time talking to her group and encouraged them to approach for pictures or a handshake throughout the event.

“You could have knocked our table over with a feather,” said Taylor. “Nobody does that at a convention.”

Like many Stargate fans, Taylor kept up to date with the actors’ post-gate lives, careers and interests, which included keeping tabs on Davis’ growing collection of original artwork. After inquiring about purchasing a print, a copy of Davis’ “Oregon Coast” arrived at her door, as a token of his appreciation of her Stargate tribute website, selmak.org.

The painting of a rocky coastline reminds of the coast of Maine, where she often visited with her father. The print has become a priceless possession and represents the growing appreciation among fans for the complexity of the man behind the role. It is a strong appreciation that binds people beyond a television show or movie set.

“If my house was burning, I’d grab my purse, my dog, cat, undies, and it,” Taylor said.

As a thriving, spoiled Generation Y member, spending a few days with my parents in Connecticut over the holidays meant leaving my Wii and my DVR behind in Boston. That left me one night to … gasp … watch live television.

Flipping through the channels, I came to the Sci-Fi Channel, which I respect as a geek but never get to squeeze in between Wii Sports and re-runs of “House.” They were running a “Stargate SG-1″ marathon.

My only previous knowledge of Stargate came from knowing that “Stargate: Atlantis” is on Fox around 3 a.m. Sunday mornings right after M*A*S*H, and I might catch it between Chinese takeout and passing out after a long night.

Well I watched Stargate, and one episode turned into seven, and soon enough it was 2 a.m . and I has just watched most of what I later learned was Season 9 of one of the most popular science fiction television shows ever. It’s based on a realistic fiction take on what they play off as the government-held secret of inter-planetary space travel.

Somehow I had missed this for the last decade or so.

What really took me for a ride was the fact that while the show was wrapped around such complex sci-fi topics as hyperspace and energy weapons, the show was very much about people. And it went into unbelievable character building detail, interpersonal conflict and topics like war, disease, and the misuse of technology.

A little Wikipedia research (which, of course, I verified from a reputable, journalisticly citeable source) revealed that SG-1 was on television for ten years before being sadly clipped, while its spinoff, Stargate Atlantis, was producing its own fifth season. This all came from a 1994 Roland Emmerich film starring Kurt Russell. (Now, two more direct-to-DVD movies are being released to tie up the SG-1 saga, which was canceled right in the middle of a major conflict with an evil alien religion.)

With one of my giftcards (Christmas has been boiled down to giftcards…) I set out to Best Buy to find this film. The “Ultimate Edition” extended cut with all the bells and whistles was a whopping $6.99.

If you want a little bit of history spinning, sci-fi and just damn good writing, check this out.