Colin's Stargate Diaries (6x03 - Descent)

PROLOGUE - The Call

On Feb. 24th I got a call from Ross (my agent). He told me that Stargate had put out a breakdown for an upcoming episode and were looking for a character named 'Nolan'. Nolan was a scientist and joined up with SG-1 to explore an abandoned Goa'uld mother ship. Ross mentioned to me that the character could just as well be Major Davis instead, and asked how well I knew Peter DeLuise. I told him, "Well enough to give him a shout at home and plant a seed." So, I call Peter at home, but instead, his lovely fiancé' Anne Marie [Loder]. She had a guest role in the SG episode "The Other Side"] answers. I've worked with Anne Marie a thousand times and she's the greatest. I mentioned to her what I was thinking, and she said that Peter was at Stargate right now. She said, "I'll call you right back." Anne Marie called Peter, Peter said, "Hmmm.", excused himself from his production meeting, went in to see Brad Wright, who basically said, "First actor I know that has ever suggested himself... and turned out to be right." Brad called the casting director, she called Ross and Professor Nolan, became Major Davis.

All of this happened within ten minutes.

March 5th, 10:00 am

Day before shooting. I'm called into 'wardrobe' to try on some battle fatigues rarely seen on Major Davis. The usual green khaki pants, black T-shirt and high boots. Couple of Polaroids and I'm outta there. But before going, I thought I'd pop in to see if Brad or Michael [Greenburg - Executive Producer] were in their offices. So, I walk around and up the stairs, down the hall. Most offices seem empty, but I'm told that Brad is 'in' and so, I head for the open door at the far end of the hall way. I pop my head through and he's sitting in a meeting with two other guys. I excuse myself and basically thank him for having me on the show once again.

The show truly is a pleasure for me to do and although I really like these guys and can be quite social with them, I still never forget that they are responsible for my employment and I always want to make sure they know that I appreciate them and for my being invited to the party.

Brad was laughing at the circumstances leading up to this particular episode and seemed to happy that I was aboard (at least I hope he was). I like Brad. Anyway. The other two guys sitting with him I had not seen before and so, I introduced myself. Paul Mullie to my right and 'Joe' to my left. They were the writers for this particular episode. Turns out 'Joe' is Joseph Mallozzi and I realize that in the three years I've been affiliated to the show, I've never met him. Brad had just assumed that I had and so, didn't really think to introduce me. Anyway, it was great to finally meet the man. Both him and Paul have penned this particular script, and I was glad that I popped in to say hello.

March 6, 1:32 am

What the hell am I doing up?

My call time is 6:24 am (where they get the '24' I'll never know). Jan [Genn - 2nd Assistant Director] called and left a message with my call time, scene numbers to be shot and the standard request to call her back to confirm. I never did. It was late when I got the message and I didn't want to wake her up. I pray she's not up waiting for it.

Spent a good bit of time over at 'Blends' this evening looking over the script one last time before shooting (always a good idea). There's also a beautiful blonde girl that works there called 'Summer', I asked her to have dinner with me last week (to which she said, "Yes") and then never called. She was there tonight. I said hello to her. But there was no mention of dinner. Ah well. Nothing ventured.... But what the hell was I talking about. Oh, ya. My lines have been cut back considerably on this episode (not complaining) and so I'm wondering what kind of spin I can put on the whole thing, since I've only the occasional, "Colonel, look!" kind of dialogue. And so, I'm thinking... What if I play these scenes like I've got a big crush on Major Carter? Just the odd look from time to time. Though I think Peter [DeLuise] would probably laugh me off the stage. I'm still not sure if I should tell him, or just do it. We shall see. I gotta get some sleep. This is ridiculous.

March 6th, 6:20 am

-2. It's cold. Butt ass cold. Crows litter the morning sky, having begun their daily migration into the city. I arrive at the studio and go through the usual protocol. Check in. Find my 'trailer' (4'x4'1/2). And grab a bite to eat (veggie breakfast burrito). I get into hair and make up, where they have to fill my head with brown coloured mousse to temporarily hide the blonde highlights. I sit in the chair next to Amanda [Tapping - Major Sam Carter] who is beautiful at any hour. I like Amanda.

7:00 am

We get called to 'blocking' and greet our great and illustrious Director, Peter DeLuise. Peter's a great guy. He's got a sense of humor that is very tongue and cheek and razor sharp. It's morning, and so, Peter is not quite a hundred percent just yet. Come 9:30 am, I'll either be laughing my ass off, or wishing I'd read the script just one more time.

7:03 am

We complete the first blocking of the day. The scene is a quick one in which Carter and Maj. Davis come down a corridor and come upon a door that will not open. My line is "What's the problem?" Which is kind of funny, cause it's pretty obvious that the problem is that the door won't open. Ahh. Show business.

8:00 am

First shot of the day complete. Nixed the whole 'crush on Major Carter' bit. Definitely not working. It's good to see every one again.

11:30 am

Explosions are cool. Just did the ol', 'set the C-4 and run like hell' shot. They have this giant flame thrower made out of a beer keg, a metal tube and a whole whack of propane gas. They pressurize that baby up, light the burners. flick the switch and Whoooooshhh! Thirty foot fire ball.

12:30 pm - LUNCH

30 minutes from the last person in line, which can mean close to an hour if your first. Black beans with rice, greek salad and barley soup that I was to full to eat.

1:00 pm

Call my best friend Madison to see how she's doing. Practice the trumpet I bought ten days ago for preparation for my 'Stealing Sinatra' gig next week. I think the guy in the trailer next to me has been trying to sleep. He's going to have to try harder.

3:00 pm

The day's going pretty good. Been hanging with Amanda mostly. Richard Dean [Anderson] royally wasted his knee on some nail or something and so he has a physical therapist come by to work on it. Drag.

6:30 pm FINISHED

Great day all around. Peter was very focused and definitely kept things moving. In between set ups, I'd pop back to the trailer and practice my trumpet, watch Frasier, the news and an episode of ER. But all in all, things went pretty quick as they always do. I think I'm happy with what I did today. I had so little to do in terms of dialogue and 'importance' to this particular script, but I hope Peter was able to get as much as he'd hoped for.

I'm exhausted. I almost fell asleep in the cab driving home. The Roadster's going into the shop tomorrow to get tuned up and ready for spring. Next day on Stargate is Friday. Six days in total.

Looking forward to it.

Thursday, March 7th
7:30 pm

My call time tomorrow is 10:30 am and so, I figure I can sleep in a little bit. And so, I am at the Commodore Ball Room with Sean Hogan to attend the West Coast Music Awards. Sean is up for best country album of the year. (For those of you who don't know, I produced and directed his latest video, "I'd Rather Have You".) Anyway, he invited me to come along and since I didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn, I jumped at the chance. The show was great. Lot's of first rate musicians and local celebrities. Had a few beers. Lots of fun. Oh, and FYI. Sean won the award. (Second time in two years.) Way to go buddy.

Friday, March 8th

Slept in till 9:00. I think there is heroin in my sheets. Because getting out of bed for me is like trying to kick crack. Hopped into the shower and then realized that I had no towel. Ahhh! Finally slapped on a shirt, stepped over the puddle, hit the elevator, grabbed a cab and headed off to Bridge Studios. What is it with these damn cabbies? Don't people talk to each other anymore? The guy never said a word to me and then gave me a dirty look cause I didn't tip him.

10:29 am

Arrive at the studio. Grabbed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich since 'breakfast' ended a long time ago. Went through Hair and the brown mousse scalp treatment once again. I look like Engleburt Humperdink. After the 'doo' was finished, I sat down in the make up chair. Make Up is an amazing department. You come in looking like shit, and you walk out looking like Fabio. A bit of paint, touch of powder, and voila! Super hunk. But they truly can do some amazing things. You'd never know it, but Christopher Judge is actually 90 pounds and white.

12:00 pm

Slow day for me. Been sitting around killing time. They're shooting some FX 'glider' shots with the green screen and that always takes a bit more. And so, I've been doing the usual trumpet, computer, phone call, tv show kind of thing. I've also spent a good bit of time so far just hanging on set and watching all the wonderful magic get made. What a blast this show is.

12:30 pm - LUNCH

Sticky rice cakes with teriyaki sauce, asparagus, sweet pepper salad. Not really hungry. The peanut butter and jelly I had a few hours ago pretty much did it for me. That, plus all the tea I've been knocking back has kind of killed the appetite. And so, I went back to set early.

Hanging on set during lunch time can be kind of cool. Everybody is still eating outside and so there's nobody there. The imaginary world sits still, all by it's lonesome. You can walk the hallways, sit in the captains chair, run your hand along the wing of a death glider and there is no one there to notice. Peter's there of course. Directors rarely eat a whole lot. And if they do, it's just a quick bite and then they head straight back to set where it's quiet and they can have a moment to work out the rest of the day. Peter is no exception. He's doing a great job.

1:00 pm

Hanging out with 'DJ'. DJ is four years old and is the son of Michael Greenburg. Great kid. He spent close to an hour in the props truck going through every conceivable tool that exists. Never seen a kid so fascinated with hardware. Probably grow up to build a wondrous bridge over two continents. Anyway. Having fun doing tricks for the little guy. Making things disappear and float around.

2:14 pm

My first shot of the day. The 'Goa'uld mother ship' is set to self destruct. I meet Corin Nemec who plays Jonas. Nice guy. Shot is simple. I run past Jonas, then climb up some stairs. Cut! Print! Brilliant!

3:30 pm

Going to be a late night. The glider stuff shot earlier this morning put a bit of a kink in the day. Probably wrap up around 8:30. We shall see. But Friday's always run late. I don't care what show you're working on. Nobody goes home early on Friday.

4:06 pm

Check my phone messages at home and there's a message from Ross. Apparently the producers of a show called 'North Of 60' have offered me a part in a movie of the week. Fantastic. It's very rare that somebody just offers you a part without auditioning and I'm grateful. Ross says he's having a little trouble making the 'days' work out because of the Stealing Sinatra stuff shoots around the same time. Anyway, the project shoots in Calgary and so I may have to leave set on 'Sinatra' and go straight to the airport to fly to Calgary for three days. Awesome. It's stuff like this that makes me want to pinch myself. I'm the luckiest man alive.

5:58 pm

Nothing new to report. Things are running smoothly. I gave Jan [Genn - 2nd Assistant Director] an envelope for Peter DeLuise and his fiancé Anne Marie. A simple note of thanks for being so kind and for making the effort to get me hired for this job. In it I'd enclosed two tickets to see Luciano Pavaroti at GM Place in April...(7th row, center).

6:45 pm

DeLuise is going to get it. Get this, we're doing a succession of shots in which Major Davis, Jonas, and Jacob [Carter] are running down these long corridors of the Goa'uld mother ship before it explodes. Peter is shooting a lot of 'cheats', and this particular cheat is having us run down the corridor towards the camera. Peter yells cut, we reset. And then we shoot another take where we now run away from the same camera. The effect is that you are running down one corridor and then they 'cut' to see you running 'away' from the camera going down a 'different' corridor, when in fact it's the same corridor. Anyway, there's always a cut after each take. So, it's the last take of the day and everyone is tired, especially us. Peter calls 'Action!' And off we go. We run down the hallway, run past the camera and stop. This is where Peter would normally call 'Cut!' and we stop. But instead, Peter yells out, "Keep going! Keep going!" And so we immediately turn around and run back the other way, and when we get all the way to the end, he starts screaming again, "Don't Stop! Don't Stop! Keep going!" And so off we go again. Anyway, we get about three quarters down the hallway again and everyone is laughing their asses off. Peter had long since gotten what he wanted, but thought it would be funny to keep us running into eternity.

7:00 pm

And that's it. The day ended there. I thought for sure we'd go late, but it didn't happen. First time for everything. So I get out of wardrobe and go to call a taxi. But then I think to myself, you know what?, screw those guys. I'll grab a ride from Carmen [Argenziano - Jacob Carter]. Just met the guy for the first time today. What an extremely cool dude. I really like that guy.

But then again, in this business, it's hard to meet someone I don't.

MONDAY 11th March 2002
2:00 am

My nose is bleeding. It's two in the morning, I'm lying in bed and my nose is bleeding. All of a sudden I feel a drip coming down my nostril. I figure my nose is running and so I reach over to grab a Kleenex. And as I do I see five or six shadowy drops hit the floor. I'm like... what the? I never get nose bleeds, ever. And I'm thinking what the hell have I done to get this? Then I remember that my back has been absolutely killing me the past couple months. Anyway, the ol' doctor gave me some pain killers and I took a couple yesterday afternoon. Then later on that night, someone bought me a vodka and orange juice. Next thing you know, it's 2 in the morning and I've got blood on my face. My fault. Lesson learned. Don't mess with mixing alcohol with meds. Stupid.

4:50 am

Two hours fifty minutes later. This is early. The little electric box on my end table starts screaming, I hop in the shower, shave etc. Cab shows at 5:30 and I'm off to Bridge. This cabbie is much cooler. He was actually jamming some hard core Punjabi music and I guess felt a little self conscious, and so he turned it off. I told him that tunes were totally cool with me and so he turns on the radio to some Britney/New Boys bullshit. It's then I tell him that I really much rather listen to the Punjab. So he turns it back, cranks it up and away we go.

6:00 am

Still dark. Drop off my lap top, trumpet and script in my trailer (bigger today - [Christopher] Judge isn't on set and so I'm borrowing his). I grab some breakfast, eat, brush teeth and head into hair and make up. Warmer today. Thank God.

6:40 am

Called to set for a blocking. Basically a quick little shot of the Maj. Davis, Carter, RDA and Jacob standing in the 'beam me up Scotty' rings that transport people to and fro. I figure since I've Maj. Davis has never been through one of these things, that I'd stand facing away from where the others are facing. Actually, it was Peters idea. Good idea.

5:40 pm

Ya. I know that's a pretty big jump in time. But I've been busy running down hallways and saving planet earth, what do you want me to say? No. I've been having fun. I think DeLuise is a little stressed. He's doing a great job, but I think we're a little behind. I can't believe how fast the time fly's. I've been here almost twelve hours and I could go another ten. Crazy.

6:30 pm

I crash. Man, I'm tired. Wasted. Everyone is. Heads are fuzzy. People are dropping lines. I keep stepping on Richards. Carmen is falling asleep in the corner. Peter is holding the pressure extremely well. I had a visitor come by the set and he was more than hospitable. Looks like we'll wrap soon.

8:30pm

We finish. I'm toast. Get out of wardrobe. Take a warm towel to my face and I call a cab. I've been on set for 14 1/2 hours. Cab shows up, I hop in. Realize that I don't have my Visa card. Left it in my wardrobe pants. Lovely. Luckily, I've got some cash.

9:00 pm

Good night.

Tuesday 12th March 2002
8:40 am

I'm late. First time in fifteen years I've EVER over slept on a show biz work day. (Every other job I've ever held in my life, it was hard to get me to show up at all.) My call time is 8:42. I have two minutes to get to Bridge Studios. Call a cab, grab tooth brush and paste, jump in the elevator and by the time it hit ground floor, the yellow bus is waiting for me.

9:01 am

Man that was fast. Cab drivers looking for his money. I remember that I left my Visa in my 'on set' pants. He takes the last of my cash. What the hell am I going to do for the ride home?

9:30 am

I check with wardrobe to see if they came upon my Visa card. We look through my pants and find nothing. Ah well. Kay Serah Serah (or however the hell you spell it).

11:00 am

I look through my jacket looking for a phone number, and I find my Visa Card. It had been in my pocket the whole time.

1:30 pm

I'm done. Ya, I know this entry kind of sucks, but the day went incredibly quick. I had one short scene and was out of there. Hopefully my next day on set will be more exciting.

I'm off tomorrow. Back on Thursday.

Thursday, March 16th, 2002
4:45 am

Got a 6 am call time. Only today we are shooting in another studio aside from Bridge. This one's usually about an hours drive, but considering the hour, I'll make it in about thirty five minutes. Didn't sleep for shit. Tossing and turning for some reason. Back was killing me all day yesterday, but I'm not taking any more of those f**king pills.

6:00 am

I drive up a deserted street until I reach a bit of activity. A production assistant, who's standing out in the middle of the street handing out 'dash cards' (to identify that you're with Stargate). God only knows what time she had to get up this morning. She hands me a card and asks me to put my name, department and cell phone number on it, then place it on my dash board. Under 'department', I put 'Ladies Lingerie'.

6:30 am

It's still dark and the Crows have just now begun leaving their roosts. I cruise through hair and make up for the fifth time this episode and head over to my trailer. They give me Dons (Davis). So, I got a nice big one. I'm right next to Carmen and he bangs on the wall when I play my trumpet threatening to call the police. I like Carmen.

7:00 am

I have one scene to shoot today. And I have one line. "What's our status?" So, we're ready to shoot the scene, I hear my que, walk in and say, "How's are status?" DeLuise tells me that he can hire a coach to work with me in my trailer if I'd like.

8:30 am

Things are going swimmingly smooth. Having a laugh with Peter, Amanda and Judge. Also spending some time with John, who guest stars as 'Dr. Freisen' in this episode. He's a cool guy. It's a bit nippy out and so I make sure not to take off all my clothes and run around in the street naked.

11:50 am

Just got some 'sides' faxed over to me from Ross. Looks like I've got an audition at 1:30 pm. Not sure if I'll get out of here on time. And I really doubt that I'll be able to get home, get ready and then get over to the audition. It's a great part too. Fantastic. I really hope I get out of here early enough to make it. I think I'll talk wardrobe into lending me a shirt and tie.

12:20 pm

Just sitting around now waiting for them to tell me I can go home. I called Ross, told him to push my call time as late as he can. We shall see.

1:00 pm

Done for the day. One more to go.

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