SCI FI PI

One of the coolest things about getting to go on set of a major Sci Fi show is sharing it with SCI FI fans.

With our visit on board The Daedalus, we could get right up close and see the kind of detail that you never get to see on air, the kind of 'behind the scenes' details that really define the show, but is never really revealed through transmission.

The first thing you notice about The Daedalus set of Stargate:SG-1 and Stargate:Atlantis is that as a space ship, it hasn't been created to look that futuristic - obviously, it's made to look like it was built in the present time, and shares a great deal of the surprisingly analogue technology that you'd find in any state of the art aircraft carrier. The buttons are switches, they aren't just glass panels, there's plumbing fittings and there's more than just a passing nod to the warning labels and signs that you see in the modern US. Navy.

Obviously, however, there are some differences. As you'd expect with Asgard technology!

Things like view screens are in fact that - modern LCDs that work, not just pictograms. The perspex 'map/star chart' boards are exactly as they are on film.

Getting up close to the consoles and workstations throughout the ship reveal a remarkable and joyous level of detail - perspex buttons are raised from the surface, backed with labels detailing a full working layout of space ship functions - there aren't any in-jokes here- everything is made to keep the actors in character.

Sitting inside the ship for more than an hour, and with no exterior lights or exterior references, it's very easy to see youreself getting swept up in the imaginary world - especially with blinking lights on the panels, and ceiling lighting that doubles as production lighting, meaning in most areas, there's no holes in the roof allowing for the usual television paraphernalia to intrude on the suspension of disbelief.

On the bridge, and of course, there's the captain's chair - not quite as iconic as those of Star Trek - but still pretty cool. especially when you're interviewing the show's creator, Brad Wright, and SG1 star, Ben Browder.

But more about them later,

In the meantime, enjoy these up close shots from The Daedalus. More will follow...




Buttons - circa 1978. Give the set a real 'touchy feely' look



Buttons - circa - 2008. This kind of detail is something you wouldn't expect - the only person who can ever really see this is the actor sitting at the console.



Lighting via mesh grills - functional, interesting - putting the space ship walls into sharp relief.



Ben Browder holds court from the Captain's Chair.