Entertainment Media Show: An Interview with Joe Flanigan

This interview can also be found on Step2Inspire.

Having been a fan of Stargate SG1 since about the age of 12, and of the subsequent and highly popular spin-off series Stargate Atlantis, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk with Joe Flanigan. Starring in Stargate Atlantis as Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, Flanigan is deeply ingrained in the Stargate legacy, having been on the show since it's inception in 2004 to it's (untimely) cancellation in 2009.

Once the queues had subsided and it seemed like we were in with the chance to chat with Joe Flanigan, Josh and I made our way to the table to meet the man who throughout my mid-to-late teens had played the dry-humoured Colonel...

BJ: Joe Flanigan! How's it going?

JF: Good! Good good good good. How're you guys?


BJ: We're good, thanks. I was just wondering whether you'd mind sharing a few words about Stargate?

JF: Yeah of course, go ahead.


BJ: Ok, well, obviously a lot of people were incredibly disappointed when Atlantis was cancelled after the Stargate franchise had been one of the longest running SciFi shows on the air. Did you feel it ended at the right time?

JF: Oh no, the show definitely ended too early. Without a doubt. It could have gone for another five years. It was a strange set of circumstances, and it has to do with the decline of the DVD market, which is partly responsible. The producers were getting anxious about all sorts of different issues. In any normal set of circumstances, we would have kept going, but the circumstances were not normal, so we were cancelled essentially to be replaced by what they thought of as a newer, fresher show that they could make more money off of, which is of course Stargate Universe. But unfortunately, their plans went quite horribly awry, and they actually ended up losing quite a bit of money. And our show, really, you know, it got cut off too early.

BJ: Yeah, especially as you said in your talk about Vegas (bloody loved that episode!); it was really taking the show in a new, fresh direction, but then it got cancelled.

JF: It was the penultimate episode, and we shot that knowing the show was going to be cancelled. It was always kind of a little bit of a tragedy, I was always like “aaah, that's a shame, this is such a great episode, too bad we didn't do this three or four years ago.” So, that's the way it goes, in TV land.

BJ: And sadly it was replaced with Stargate Universe. It's a shame that Universe didn't quite match up to the calibre of shows like SG1 or Atlantis...

JF: Well, it wasn't really trying to be SG1 or Atlantis, it was really trying to be Battlestar.

BJ: Yeah, they attempted to blend the two, which could have worked, but I didn't feel it was that successful.

JF: It could possibly have worked, but it would have to be under different helmsman-ship. The strength of Stargate was the sort of self-deprecating, wink of the eye, adventurous quality that we had. Not in anyway great pretence of sending messages and having intense drama, that was not really... I think the strength of Stargate. You know, they took what was successful, and they changed it, like when they made a new formula for Coke. They all ran back to the original formula, they realised it was wrong, so maybe they'll do that. Who knows, we'll see what happens.

BJ: Fingers crossed! There was word of an Atlantis movie, but nothing's been said about that since about 2009? 

JF: Yeah, the studio, MGM, has been suffering, it went bankrupt, I mean there were so many problems. So, we are largely a victim of their problems, and their problems are significant. If they had been Warner Brothers or Sony it would have been entirely possible we would have kept going. MGM was just a mess, and they're reorganising and... But I'm sure they'll become successful again in the near future, but right now it's just a matter of cleaning up the mess. They lost a lot of money.

BJ: If you could go on to do an Atlantis movie, would you?

JF: Oh yeah, absolutely! Provided we could get all of our group back together.

BJ: Yeah, if you could get the entire cast back...

JF: If they couldn't get everybody back together, it's questionable, but yeah, no, absolutely. That'd also be weird if there were new people doing it, it wouldn't be the same. Although, you'd be surprised what Hollywood will do to save a bit of money! “We'll take Laurel out, and Hardy out, and it'll be called Laurel and Hardy with different people!” You know, they'll do that.

BJ: “Sod David Hewlett, we don't need him! Nor that Flanigan fellow!” Nah, wouldn't work!

JF: Maybe they'll do an SG1 movie, or a Universe... I don't think they'll do a Universe movie. It wouldn't have the audience for it.

BJ: It really didn't take off and keep the spirit of Stargate alive as much as I'd hoped.

JF: It didn't. I also think that they really upset the fan-base. You've got a real loyal fan-base that's been nothing but supportive, generous and instead they go “oh, we don't need that fan-base any more, we're looking for a younger, hipper, cooler audience. If you don't like it don't watch it. We're going in a new direction and don't need our pre-existing fans.” Which is a really, really reckless approach, and it had very disastrous consequences as a result. The fans have not really forgiven that.

BJ: At the end of the day, a franchise is supported mostly by it's fan-base. The cast can be fantastic, have some great scripts and all the money in the world, but it'll be the fan-base that makes or breaks it.

JF: Absolutely. Assuming the fan-base... Well yes and no. Assuming the fan-base watches the show when they are needed to watch the show and buy the DVDs. If the fan-base is massive but they download everything, that show will disappear also. You need money to make a show, if your revenue streams are drying up and people are taking things for free, there's no way to make quality programming. It's one of those things.

BJ: Yeah... And are you currently working on any new projects?

JF: Oh yeah. Look at that. [He lifts his right arm, pointing to a swollen elbow.] I've just finished a film with Jean-Claude Van Damme (Six Bullets), and I play ex-Mixed Martial Artist world champion, and I had a tattoo that ran from here [points to shoulder] all the way down to here [points to wrist], a scar here and another scar here [points to cheek and eye brow]. When I came back from work and into the hotel, people would actually get out of the elevator. They were scared of me! And I was like “hey, this is kinda fun... Oh, you're restaurant is crowded, there's no tables available? Watch.” So it was interesting. We did a lot of stunts, and it still kind of hurts, but it was a lot of fun.

In case you were wondering why my elbow looked like it had a giant tumour; I hit it. Actually, somebody else hit it, it's somebody else's fault! With a machine gun. It was shot in Romania, and the rules of stunts in Romania are a lot looser... “Alright, we blow things up.” Yeah, great, what're you using? “We use dynamite, that's how you blow things up.” They do actually use dynamite – they're a lot looser with the rules, so you gotta be careful.

JH: We've got to wrap things up now.

BJ: Oh, blimey...

JF: Oh, right, I just gotta sign this, sorry.

BJ: Thank you for your time, it was a pleasure meeting you.

JF: Yeah, you too. Take care.

Joe Flanigan's latest film, Six Bullets, is due for release some time in 2012, and he also recently guest starred in the season four premier of Fringe; Neither Here nor There.

Entertainment Media Show: An Overview

This article can also be found on Step2Inspire.

On the 1st and 2nd of October, London's Earls Court played host to a wide array of guests from film and television at this year's Entertainment Media Show. Much like London Film and Comic Con earlier in the year, the event's range of talks, Q&As and photo sessions with the stars draws thousands of visitors annually. Armed with press pass in one hand and a dictaphone in the other, I took to EMS to attend the talks and chat with a few of the guests...

First and foremost, it was hot. Ludicrously so. Being crammed onto the second floor of the conference hall in the ridiculously unwelcome return of summer heat was not a situation I would describe as pleasant. Even I, who vainly and stubbornly always wears a jacket no matter the weather, was forced to sling my fashionable attire over my shoulder due to the unprecedented heat... Christ knows how some of the Cosplayers survived in their elaborate attire!

Saturday was primarily Q&A day, featuring guests from Bill and Ted, Star Wars and Doctor Who. Starting the day were Dan Shor and Jane Wiedlin (Billy the Kid and Joan of Arc in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure) talking about their experiences on Bill and Ted, and their own excellent adventures since the film. Shor is currently president of ShodaVision, a production company which started when Shor went on a sojourn to the South Pacific in 2003 – since then, he has gone on to produce documentaries, television series, music videos and video streams. Wiedlin has recently acted in Doggie Boogie, The Casserole Club and I Want To Get Married, has released the third issue of her comic book series, Lady Robotika, has just finished a tour with The Go-Go's, the band that she and Belinda Carlisle started in '78, and has also written a couple of musicals. Alex Winter had also been Bill-ed (see what I did there?!) for the event, but unfortunately he was unable to attend due to other commitments.

Next up was a Q&A with Ian McNeice and Albert Welling, both of whom recently appeared in Doctor Who as Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler respectively. McNeice had had previous experience performing as Churchill in Howard Brenton's Never So Good at the National Theatre, but was absolutely thrilled to be portraying the renowned Prime Minster on Doctor Who. Welling had previously played Erwin Rommel in D-Day, and upon being cast as Hitler in Let's Kill Hitler, his first thought was simply “this is the highest ranking Nazi I could ever get!” At the age of 14, Welling had been visiting some relatives in Germany when, for the first time since the war, one of Adolf Hitler's speeches was broadcast. Watching the speech from beginning to end, unable to understand a word of what was being said, Welling witnessed the power of Hitler's oratory, and drew on his feelings from that experience to portray the role in Doctor Who.

Later on, Eve Myles (known for playing Gwen Cooper in Torchwood) spoke about her experiences on the show, it's move to the States in Miracle Day, and how she finds it a constant fear and a joy to portray Gwen. “Every time I put those leathers on and those guns come out of my arse pocket, I am nervous as hell. And as soon as that stops, it's time for me to do another period drama! I will do it as long as people want to see me do it. And I love Gwen Cooper, she is the most extraordinary, complex, flawed beautiful character I have ever had the privilege of playing.”

On both Saturday and Sunday, a small panel of Doctor Who guests held Q&As on the series just passed, Saturday's line-up being Nina Toussaint-White (Mels, Let's Kill Hitler) and Arthur Darvill (Rory), and Sunday featuring Frances Barber (Madame Kovarian) and Georgia Moffet (Jenny, The Doctor's Daughter), with Caitlin Blackwood (Young Amelia Pond) in attendance for both days. Highlights from these Q&As included: Toussaint-White would love to return as Mels if the opportunity presented itself; Darvill has started collecting taxidermy, and really wants a stuffed owl; Moffet has a deathly phobia of fish, and as the daughter of Peter Davison and being engaged to David Tennant, she's the first person to be both the wife and daughter of the Doctor, albeit in different incarnations; Blackwood has never tried fish fingers and custard, and is rather adamant she never will; and Frances Barber can silence a room just by uttering “an impossible astronaut will rise from the deep, and strike the Time Lord dead.”

On the Sunday, I was joined by my friend and colleague Josh Harris and his flat mates. Having recorded the previous day's talks, Sunday was to be more focussed on brief one-to-one interviews with the guests. Unfortunately, some of the guests (not least David Tennant) were consistently inundated with autographing and photo shoot sessions, so getting a chance to speak with them was near-on impossible. We were able to chat with Dan Shor, Jane Wiedlin, Ian McNeice, Joe Flanigan (Lt. Colonel Sheppard, Stargate Atlantis), and Paul McGann ('I' in Withnail & I, and the Doctor in the 1996 Doctor Who TV-film). I had also fervently attempted to talk with Arthur Darvill regarding his potential return to Doctor Who, and his recent work in the Globe theatre's production of Doctor Faustus, but due to his popularity I sadly was unable to grab a few minutes with him.

Overall, the weekend was mad, packed, and thoroughly enjoyable! There was far too much there to cover in just a single article, and more will be coming soon. With approximately eight hours of audio recorded, run-downs of a number of the Q&As and transcriptions of some of the interviews will be online sometime soon, so keep an eye out for them!

Doctor Who - The Wedding Of River Song Review

This review can also be found on Step2Inspire.

Something has happened to time... Pterodactyls are attacking small children, Winston Churchill is heralded as Caesar, and Charles Dickens is promoting his new book on BBC Breakfast. On the 22^nd of April 2011 at 5.02pm, everything that has ever happened and ever will, is happening all at once. In The Wedding of River Song, Steven Moffat's grand finale brings things full circle, ending the series perfectly, but leaves many threads still hanging.

This moment has been coming a long time, and as it's a fixed point in time, maybe it's always been coming; the death of the Doctor. Having put it off for almost 200 years, touring the Universe bidding everyone one last goodbye, the Doctor knows his time is fast approaching and goes searching for an answer as to why he must die. Tracking down members of the order of the Silence, the Doctor follows a trail of contacts to take him to the man who may just tell him why.

"On the fields of Trenzalor, at the fall of the eleventh, when no living creature could speak falsely or fail to answer, a question will be asked. A question which must never ever be answered..."

Meanwhile, in a distorted time-line, all of history is happening at once. The clocks are still, the past and the future are the present, and for some reason this means that cars are borne aloft by hot air balloons. In this bizarre other-world, the Doctor is regarded as a soothsayer – albeit a dangerous one – as he is apparently the only one who knows why this is happening, and how it can be fixed. At Area 52, which just so happens to be a pyramid on a train line, both the cause of the problem and it's solution can be found. But a sinister foe lies in wait...

As the finale of the series, The Wedding of River Song promised to be monumental, bizarre, captivating, and timey-wimey. All those boxes were indeed ticked (I keep a tally on those four traits, not just for Doctor Who but in general!). Flitting between the 'real' time-line and the constant-now, how this all happened begins to piece itself together, and all the metaphorical fingers point the blame towards River Song fighting pre-destiny.

Everything about the episode revolved around the Doctor's death, or rather, in the constant-now, his non-death. For all the complaints of Doctor Who being too complicated now, the solution (which some people feared was to be so convoluted that it would be comparable to attempting to divide something by zero) was actually remarkably simple, if executed in a rather clever style. As much as I love the Russell T Davies era of Doctor Who, the stories spawned from Moffat's Mind tend to play a lot more with duplicity and the concept of time travel to great effect.

Knowing that to prevent the whole of reality from falling apart he must die, and River's reluctance to kill him, the Doctor cunningly fakes his inevitable death by disguising the Teselecta as himself (the Ganger Doctor was a red herring, I guess). Only revealing this twist to River, events play out as they should, and the rest of the Universe (aside from River, and later Amy and Rory) believes the Doctor to be dead, essentially rebooting the show to it's earlier days. Moffat's vision of the Doctor as a mysterious adventurer can now take form and bury the legendary mantle of the Time Lord Victorious. Personally, I'm quite looking forward to the return to the days of the Doctor as an anonymous traveller without him being the be-all and end-all of the Universe.

Throughout the episode, Matt Smith was once again on top form, certainly cementing himself as a contender to rival Tennant and Baker as one of the greatest and most iconic Doctors of all time. It was also good to see Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill return after their supposed 'farewell' at the end of The God Complex, and in a different capacity than usual. Amy's leading an operation against the Silence and to help the Doctor, able to recall events from the 'real' time-line, whilst Rory has embraced the honourable warrior within him that's been glimpsed at before in episodes like A Good Man Goes To War. Once again, this was an episode which saw the whole cast at the absolute top of their game.

And so, with only three people (and a head) aware that he's still alive, the Doctor continues on his eternal journey of exploration and adventure across time and space. But still he bears a secret, the answer to the first question, and the question that must never be answered...

Doctor Who?

Raindance Film Festival: Another Earth

This review can also be found on Step2Inspire.

Have you ever wondered; what if there was another you out there? Is there a parallel version of you somewhere in the Universe? If so, what are they like? Are they a better or worse person than you are? Have they made the same mistakes, or taken the opportunities you missed?

This is essentially the premise of Another Earth. As I find myself frequently contemplating how many potential alternate versions of me may exist in the Multiverse (one sleepless night, I wondered about the possibility of there being a parallel Universe for every single decision everyone makes... Blimey, that's a lot of potential realities!) I couldn't pass up the opportunity to attend the UK premier of the film at the Raindance Film Festival opening gala.

Another Earth follows the story of Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling), an intelligent young woman who has just been accepted into MIT's astrophysics program. On the evening of the discovery of a mirror Earth (dubbed Earth 2), and after an injudicious night out, Rhoda inadvertently alters her life and that of brilliant composer and family man John Burroughs (William Mapother), and their shattered lives become irrevocably intertwined...

Written by Brit Marling and Mike Cahill, Another Earth's exploration of the possibility of a replica of our world takes the audience on a journey of introspection. Rather than exploring the parallel Earth in a literal sense, the narrative focuses more on the inner torment of the characters, using the appearance of Earth 2 as a backdrop for what is at it's core a story of human drama, and the lingering question – might things have turned out differently on Earth 2? The subtlety with which the SciFi premise is dealt with means it never goes over-board with trying to explain things, or being too 'showy' with the concept behind it, giving most of the attention to the story of Rhoda and John, which could have easily felt cheapened if the idea of a parallel Earth had been used as a gimmick rather than the intriguing framing device it is.

Marling's portrayal of the guilt-ridden Rhoda is a sublime insight into the character's tortured and self-deprecating soul. Throughout, she provides a wonderfully natural performance, bringing a very real essence to the role. Although Brit Marling is only really known in independent film circles, I wouldn't be surprised if in the years to come she will become a bigger contender in the industry.

Of course, bolstering Marling's superb performance was William Mapother as John Burroughs. Burroughs is initially depicted as a positive man, but he's soon left in a pit of depression and apathy, and this was something Mapother portrayed brilliantly. The chemistry between he and Marling felt as if it developed as the bond between the characters grew, from the awkward interactions at the beginning to their burgeoning friendship as the film continued. As the only two characters really driving the plot, it was remarkably engaging to watch their relationship develop.

It's incredibly easy to forget that this was an independently produced film, made on a shoe-string budget with minimal crew. Having been directed, produced, edited and co-written by Mike Cahill, he's evidently a man of many talents, bringing the brain-child Brit Marling and himself to life on such a grand scale. It's clear to see why Fox Searchlight Pictures thought that investing in this film and distributing it would be a good idea!

Several months ago, Dylan Spicer wrote this article about the trailer for the film, suggesting that it could prove to be this year's Moon. Having never seen Moon, I can't actually comment, but for those who have I'd be interested to know if you feel it is! Several people at the after party remarked that it was also similar to Monsters, another film I have not seen (makes you wonder if I'm in the right job, really, doesn't it?!), but they seemed to know what they were talking about, so I'm inclined to trust their opinion!

Overall, Another Earth is a brilliant personal drama set against the intriguing backdrop of a mirror Earth. It is a cinematic and narrative triumph, and for something that was produced on a low budget this is certainly an outstanding piece of cinema. It is not overtly Science Fiction (aside from the planet Earth hanging in the sky...), but I think that's what makes it such a success – a SciFi premise, but with a human drama at its heart.

What would you do if you met a parallel version of yourself? I think I'd be overjoyed to be in the presence of such brilliant company!

Doctor Who - Closing Time Review

This review can also be found on Step2Inspire.

During the final days leading up to his imminent death, the Doctor pays a social visit to his old friend, Craig Owens. But things are never quite that straight forward when the Doctor comes knocking on your door...

In Closing Time, the sequel to series five's popular episode The Lodger, Gareth Roberts continues with the story of Craig Owens. Now a father and living in Colchester, Craig's living an idyllic (if average) life with now-long-term girlfriend Sophie and their son Alfie. Left to care for himself and Alfie for the weekend, Craig's determined to prove he can cope on his own – that is, until a certain Time Lord turns up. As part of his farewell tour, the Doctor drops by for a quick 'hello' and 'goodbye'. But strange things are afoot in a local department store; with electrical fluctuations and missing people, this is a mystery the Doctor can't pass up...

In a similar vein to The Lodger, Closing Time has more of a sense of the comedic about it. Playing largely with the character dynamic of Craig and the Doctor (and the James Corden/Matt Smith double-act), the story revolves around their interactions with each other and Alfie (who would rather be called Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All). With equal parts joyful-eccentricity and morbid-brooding, Smith's delivery of the Doctor acknowledging his final days was brilliant. Despite still being physically quite young compared to former Doctors, Matt Smith has the ability to appear both young and yet impossibly old at the same time, and that was remarkably prominent in this episode – he is quintessentially the Doctor!

Providing the framework of Closing Time's narrative were the Cybermen, and the welcome return of their rodent-like cybernetic helpers, the Cybermats (and as I hypothesised their return in my review of A Good Man Goes To War, I'm rather pleased about that; I do like being right!). Re-energised by the laying of power cables in the area, a small and dormant group of Cybermen try to rebuild, dispatching Cybermats to harvest more energy, whilst one by one the staff of the shop are abducted and taken for Cyber-conversion. Despite this brilliant set up, the Cybermen's role felt somewhat lacking, only really appearing towards the end of the episode and in a fairly weak state. For a once fearsome and powerful foe, the Cybermen posed little-to-no threat, with the Cybermat proving to be the more lethal of the lot!

That's not to discredit the Cybermat – it was as deadly and 'bitey' as the Yorkshire terrier that lives down the road from me (and that thing's bloody vicious!), but it's creators were much less of a threat. The only stage in which the Cybermen felt like a legitimate danger was in the climax of the episode, with Craig and the Doctor caught in what appeared to be a no-win situation, but the Cybermen were ultimately defeated by an overload of emotion when Craig's fatherly instincts kicked in. Closing Time saw the Cybermen at their weakest, and it felt as if more could have been done with them, but that didn't get in the way of an otherwise excellent episode.

It's interesting to note (well, interesting to me anyway!) that in this episode the sonic screwdriver appears to have had a couple of modifications made to it – namely a laser-like function accompanied by a high pitched tonal oscillation, reminiscent of the three-button-press sound on the sonic screwdriver toys of last year (I guess that means I've just revealed I have – and occasionally piss about with – a sonic screwdriver toy...). Could this somehow be connected to a brief glimpse of a screen on Demons Run in A Good Man Goes to War which reads: “Remember: 1. It's not sonic 2. It's not a screwdriver”? This function certainly felt distinctly more weapon-esque.

As the penultimate episode of the series, Closing Time answered a couple of pertinent questions leading in to the finale; namely, where the Doctor got his stetson from. Secondly, we can now be quite sure that River Song is the astronaut in the lake – largely because we see River Song dressed as an astronaut submerged in a lake (bit of a give-away, really!). On that topic, back in Let's Kill Hitler the Doctor whispers something into Melody Pond/River Song's ear – is it possible that perhaps, with the foreknowledge that he was going to die, he could have planted a suggestion or a message that will prevent his death? Or at the very least, make the Doctor's demise not-so-permanent as a way of tricking the Silence into thinking him dead? 

Overall, Closing Time was an enjoyable adventure with a brilliant story. However, as the first penultimate episode to not be the first half of a two parter, it'll be interesting to see how the final episode, The Wedding of River Song, will pan out. Now off to meet his fate, the Doctor is ready for his date with destiny on the shore of Lake Silencio...

If you missed Closing Time, it's available on iPlayer Here.