Brad Wright (2016)
Brad Wright is a Canadian television producer, screenwriter and actor. He is best known as the creator or co-creator of the television series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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About the Brad Wright Interview
UPDATE: Hi Reddit, Brad Wright here. That was a blast! I answered as many questions as I could... Remember to watch Travelers starting this Friday on Netflix!
Brad Wright Dec 21, 2016
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Hello and thank you for making StarGate, my favourite TV series of all time. My question: will Stargate return in any capacity in the future?
seismicor
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Hi! I'm sure Stargate will return in some form in the future. It will likely be a reboot either of the original movie or of the series. I'm hoping its the series of course! It's up to MGM. If they do it, I doubt they'll ask me to be a part of it, though. They'll want a fresh take.
Brad Wright
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Hi Brad,
First, thank you for the many, many years you worked on Stargate. You helped create a lasting legacy in a science fiction series that few others have been able to achieve, and have gone above and beyond in extra features that really make DVD and Blu-ray purchases worth it over streaming options.
There's so many questions I'd like to ask you, especially as follow-ups to the sort-of-AMA you had on Joseph Mallozzi's blog back in 2009, but I'll limit myself to one (okay, three, but they're all tied together) that /u/JosephMallozzi (in a comment to one of his posts half a year ago) suggested we should really be asking you, that comes courtesy of /u/fzammetti :
What the thinking was behind Destiny's mission? What was the signal? Where was the main theme of the show going to land?Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to Travelers on Netflix :)
DemIce
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I think I've answered that above.
Brad Wright
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Hi Brad!
How did the idea of creating the SG series arise and how hard was it to push it through?shivan21
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Jon Glassner and I were both working on the Outer Limits for MGM when the original film came out. We pitched MGM that it would make a great series, but they were way ahead of us and asked us to partner up. Showtime bought two seasons of the show at once! Not a lot of series get that kind of green light.
Brad Wright
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Of all three SG series, which was your favorite character and why?
Aerron
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Too many favorites. Loved writing Daniel. McKay too. But I loved the dynamic between Young and Rush. Two great actors too.
Brad Wright
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Where did you get the idea of the way Travelers get to past and do you have all potential logical holes in it covered?
shivan21
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Travelers began as a notion about social media. For the past ten or fifteen years we've put ourselves out there on many platforms, but is it a reflection of who we really are? Or what we want the world to think we are? That was the original idea that I spun into the concept for Travelers. Hundreds of years from now, those facebook (and reddit) posts will still be out there.
Brad Wright
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Are you still friends with Richard Dean Anderson? Would you work with him on another project of yours?
seismicor
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I love Rick but we haven't seen each other in a while. I never get invited to conventions! We've exchanged emails for years though. He was a pleasure to work with and I included him in every Stargate thing we did.
Brad Wright
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Have you ever wanted for the SG-1 team to be cast from protagonists of the original movie?
shivan21
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That wouldn't have been possible. Besides, I love our cast. Who knew they'd be on television for ten years?
Brad Wright
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Hi Brad
Can you give us a summary of Travelers? (or is it Travellers?) i.e. What would get us interested in watching.
How do you get a sci-fi show made? Seems like a hard thing to get rolling. How did you get a foothold? How many hours did you need to put in? etc.
sgannon200
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Travelers is about people from the future taking over the lives of people from the present in order to save the world from the terrible future they've left behind. But really it's a character drama. Please just watch the first episode and I think you'll like it. Better still, binge the whole thing!
Brad Wright
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Hey there brad, big fan of stargate and scifi in general. Since it looks like others have asked most of my SG questions, My question is there any fun storys of behind the scenes you have for travellers you'd like to share before the series hits netflix?
slicer4ever
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One fun fact: I had pitched Travelers to most of the big linear networks in the U.S. but after I developed the show at the CFC in Canada I took it to Netflix. They understood what I was going for and appreciated that we had a whole season of stories, not just a pilot script. When we were developing the show I said "Let's make a show that we'd like to watch on Netflix." I'm very grateful that we are going worldwide in a couple of days. Excited and nervous!
Brad Wright
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Hey, Brad. I'm a huuuge Stargate fan and I'm looking forward to Travelers. My questions:
Where do you think Universe would have gone in season 3?
Do you think Eli lived?
What did y'all plan on doing with the Atlantis crew?
Slanderpanic
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Of course Eli lived! He fixed the pod and is in suspended animation with the rest of the crew waiting to be revived...
We hoped to do a series of Atlantis movies, but as I said earlier, market forces made it financially impossible for MGM.
Brad Wright
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I just have to say that Stargate SG-1 is my absolute favorite piece of media, and it was an amazing experience to grow up with (started with SG1 when I was 6, Atlantis premiered when I was 8). Thank you so much for your critical role in my childhood which gave me not only ~400 hours of entertainment through the three series, but a launching pad for my interest in science, history, and teamwork.
Two questions:-
What "serious" episode (not Wormhole X-Treme! or 200) was the most enjoyable to write? Not necessarily your "best" epsiode, but one you enjoyed the creation/execution of?
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"Lost City" part one and two are high up on my favorite episodes list, and would have been fantastic series finale and/or movie (though glad it didn't have to be). Is there any chance for a release of at least these episodes in HD (as Seasons 8 through 10 have), in a similar way to Children of The Gods: Final Cut? Based on the performance of the remastered Star Trek: TNG on Blu Ray, I'm not counting on a full rerelease of the series anytime soon, but I know I would pay top dollar for it :)
Thanks again to you, /u/josephmallozzi, Robert C. Cooper, and the rest of the Stargate gang!
trsohmers
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I loved writing Stargate Continuum.
You'll have to ask MGM for the second question.
Brad Wright
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DeLorean or TARDIS?
infinityxero
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In "Travelers" we never see the mechanism that sends our team to present day, because we never see the future. We've hinted at it, and talked a little about what it's like, but since the show takes place in the here and now, we only ever see the Travelers arrival. But if you're asking my preference, I'm a DeLorean guy.
Brad Wright
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Hi,
You must have known that this question was going to be asked! I believe there was a five year plan for Stargate Universe and unfortunately the series was brutally cut short. If these series had continued how would you have imagined the endgame playing out? Did you also have any other short-term or long-term arcs for the series? Finally I would like to thank you for all of the amazing and inspiring characters that you have had a hand in.
TeamRush2016
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We did have a plan. It's sad that we didn't get to play it out. Maybe someone at MGM will realize that the crew are still in suspended animation. I'll leave that door open and not explain what we had in mind!
Brad Wright
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I saw Christopher Judge and Richard Dean Anderson together in an episode of MacGyver, is that how they met? And how did you meet them, what were the circumstances of their casting in SG-1?
shivan21
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Rick was already an executive producer, so he was there when Christopher came in to audition. I remember what he said when Chris walked in: "Hey, how 'bout working out a little? Don't you care?" Chris just laughed. He nailed that audition.
Brad Wright
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who's your favorite classic sci-fi writer and what work from them originally published before 1970 should I read?
highglossenamel
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Oh, great question. I loved Azimov, but when I tried to go back and re read it does feel dated. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle are great, especially together. They teamed with Steven Barnes to write my favorite SF book of all time "The Legacy of Herorot" which I would love to turn into a movie someday.
Brad Wright
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What is your favorite episode of anything you've been apart of?
knightmustard
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Wow. That's a tough one. Of SG-1, probably 2010. Of Atlantis, "The Shrine" and Carl Binder's episode of SGU called "Epilogue" was my favorite of that show. I love all the Travelers episodes but my favorite is 111, called "Marcy" followed by "Bishop" (109) and my pilot episode. Nick Hurran absolutely knocked that out of the park and elevated the material. We were lucky to have him create the look of the show.
Brad Wright
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Would you say that SG-1 is rather an american or canadian series?
shivan21
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Well, I'm Canadian. Our studio was American and so was some of our cast, including Rick of course. But most of the writers, directors and crew were Canadian.
Brad Wright
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Hi Brad, I'm very much looking forward to Travelers when it drops this weekend! As a longtime Stargate fan (and author...) I have three Stargate related questions:
1. Was the script to the third SG-1 movie ever completed?
2. Has there ever been any discussion about novelizing the story intended for the 3rd movie?
3. (Sorry for this one...) There was a scene in the third movie (according to Joe Mallozzi) that would have made the Sam and Jack relationship canon...can you speak to how that was going to have been done?Thanks so much!
Stella60
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Unfortunately "Ark of Truth" and "Continuum" were among the last successful direct to DVD movies made. We really wanted to keep going, and even kept the "Atlantis" set up for months so we could make that movie too, but the bottom fell out of the DVD market just as we were in the planning stages.
Brad Wright
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Hi Brad,
Thank you for SG1, it is my favorite show ! :D
The 3rd Stargate movie (Stargate: Revolution) will most likely never be produced, I would very much like to know what you had in mind for this movie. Is there any chance we could know more about this story ? I would love to read the script. Or maybe a comic, or a book... :)Heltihes
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Keep in mind, I don't own Stargate. That's a question for MGM.
Brad Wright
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Who came up with the Ori's and were there other ideas who would "replace" Goa'ulds as villains?
seismicor
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That was all Rob Cooper.
Brad Wright
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Do you think the large hadron collider is really just a stargate?
2cool4life
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Maybe the stargate should be called a small hadron collider.
Brad Wright
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What was the most funny story you experienced with Rick during SG-1 shooting?
shivan21
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Rick is always funny. He can't help himself. But "Window of Opportunity" when he drove golf balls through the gate... that was fun.
Brad Wright
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What theory of time travel does Travelers hold? Do every action in the past immediately changes the future? Can a traveler cause changes that make it impossible for a traveler being sent back and thus create a paradox?
shivan21
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I don't want to say too much, but I will say that even our characters are taken by surprise at how time travel works in this show. I will also say that we have a complete set of rules that we follow to the letter. One of the main rules is that the future can only self travelers back to a time after the most recent traveler. So there are no "do-overs" in our show.
Brad Wright
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Were there any particular commonalities you noticed writing for Forever Knight and Highlander? Seems like they'd have a similar formula with the immortal protagonist and the flashbacks to previous eras of their lives.
ChuckEye
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I was a freelancer on both of those shows and it was years ago. I was grateful for the work, but only did a couple of episodes.
Brad Wright
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What is the question fans ask you the most?
seismicor
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Where do you get your ideas?
Brad Wright
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What should we expect from Travelers that won't be obvious at first? Love your work btw!
dirtcheapstartup
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Travelers has many twists but it's so much more about the characters. Time travel is well trodden ground, (especially this year) but I think our show is different from the others. I can only ask you to check us out and see for yourself!
Brad Wright
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How do you remember working on Outer Limits? I remember it as a great and innovative series, what did it mean for canadian sci-fi creators such as yourself at the time?
shivan21
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Outer Limits was the best gig a writer producer could have. It was like making a new pilot every week. We had so much fun and I learned so much... Best job ever.
Brad Wright
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First of all, thank you so much for creating some of my favorite shows. They have so much rewatch value and have really helped to make some of the roughest times in my life bearable. I've always really enjoyed the art direction of the Stargate franchise, possibly more than anything else. Is there any part of the franchise that you are most proud of/like the most?
notanimposter
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I loved the Destiny. It was a piece of art.
Brad Wright
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Just wanted to thank you for creating the best sci-fi tv-series i've ever seen. The first time i started with SG-1 and then eventually ended with universe was a fantastic journey! It's a shame universe ended abruptly, and it's widely agreed it got easily SG-1 tier good during it's last episodes. I wish it only had continued for a bit longer and i'm sure it would perhaps even still be running.
Do you keep in touch with any of the stargate actors still?
Thank you and merry christmas!UltramemesX
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Amanda Tapping directed our season one finale of Travelers! She did an amazing job too. Merry Christmas backatcha!
Brad Wright
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What did you think of the idea of Dean Devlin rebooting the Stargate series with his own movie? Was you surprised by the backlash against it from a lot of fans of your series?
MorgenGreene
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I actually appreciated the support from fans. Maybe MGM will think of rebooting the series instead.
Brad Wright
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Love stargate huge fan why was there never a cross over between SG-1 and Atlantis?
vortish
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There was! I wrote it. It was called "The Pegasus Project" and of course Stargate Command is featured in SGU.
Brad Wright
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What type of bagels do you prefer?
AzuraHatesScamps
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plain.
Brad Wright
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How would you compare american and canadian sci-fi? I would say american is more special-effect and instant action oriented while canadian has more of a special mystery underneath, do you feel it the same way?
shivan21
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I like to think that good television is good television, wherever it's made. Travelers is good television.
Brad Wright
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hey Brad,
do you look for new scripts/ plots for your projects? how can someone contact you?i cant wait to watch travelers
confusedhelpplshelp
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I have too many projects of my own to try to do!
Brad Wright
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Have you seen Black Mirror yet?
Caught up on Travelers BTW and really enjoyed the season so far. The trailer is giving some the impression that it's an FBI procedural but I thought you did a good job of focusing on their mission and it never really feels like a procedural show. The characters reconciling their personality with their host's life is pretty interesting. Marcy's situation is particularly compelling.
JohnnySkynets
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Loved Black Mirror. Marcy's arc is my favorite.
Brad Wright
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Are you still in touch with Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie? What do you think of their show Dark Matter?
Scotty0709
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I golf with Paul all the time. Well, when we're not crazy busy on our shows. Love Dark Matter and I know they're having a blast making it.
Brad Wright
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Hi Brad! I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all your work over the years. The various Stargate series have had a major impact on my life since I was first introduced to them back in 2001 or so. My favorite memory has to be watching Continuum from the deck of the aircraft carrier in San Diego in 2008 at Comic Con. I was there with the Stargate Worlds crew, being a forum moderator for the game back when it was still in development.
I snapped what is my favorite picture while working at the booth the day the cast and crew were doing autographs. http://imgur.com/cU6X3j0 I've managed to get everyone's autograph on it except the elusive Martin Wood. Someday I hope to run into him at a convention to finish off the photo!
I was introduced to my wife through someone working at SGW, so in a way I'm quite grateful to you for my family!
I don't really have a question at this time that hasn't been asked already, so I just wanted to share my story and say thank you for all you've done!But apparently I do have to ask a question to submit this comment, so other than Stargate, what is your favorite Star-named franchise?
ooryl2
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Trek!
Brad Wright
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