Bumping this thread in eager anticipation of Pippin's tale of wonder.

Yay!

Thanks, lis!

And lucky me, I don't have to worry about checking post length because Glark has that new post-length-checker thingy scripted to tell you to cut down your post if you try to post something too long!

As per Keckler's request, I'll be recounting my real-life trek (sorry, couldn't resist) through the Paramount lot and the Enterprise sets, make-up and costume departments, as well as meeting all the actors except Jolene and Linda.

I've been asked to hold off on reporting this for a bit, so I shall. But I'll get back to you on this (and answer all the questions) soon!

Levar Burton too? Cool. You're a very good fan, knowing an excellent episode he directed off the top of your head. I can never remember that stuff.

Just to help me picture it in my head, were the guys in costume and makeup? I'm guessing that since John Billingsley was just arriving at the studio, he wasn't all Phlox-ed up yet.

It's much more fun to picture him in full make up though.

Asked by whom, Pippin?

See my email. I hasten to add to everyone else that I will be reporting soon.

Here’s the first bit of my account of the tour of the Star Trek: Enterprise set. Or, as I call it – my trip to Wonderland.

I will be posting this in bits and pieces over the next few days. And will be happy to answer any questions, as long as they're not spoilerific.

First off, let me say that I was surprised by the location of Paramount. In Toronto, the studio district is that; a district out in the industrial area of the east end. The soundstages/studios are surrounded by their support services; i.e., trailer rentals, sound mixing, etc., etc.

But Paramount is right in the middle of a mostly residential area. Across the street on one side are these tiny old bungalows (the same colour as the studio walls; a light gold/yellow) that were probably built around WWII, while to the south are some really beautiful homes. The studio also shares its lot with a cemetery.

We drove around the studio, and here’s a funny thing: it doesn’t seem all that large when you drive around the outside perimeter. But once you get inside, it’s bloody huge! Some sort of space/time inversion, I suppose.

While we were taking pictures at the 5555 Melrose sign, John Billingsley ("JB") drove by and honked and waved. We went to the car, decided not to go in right away to give him a minute or two, and drove around the block, playing Enterprise Mad Libs and listening to Faith of the Heart at full volume. (So go ahead, shoot me.)

We got to the gate and presented IDs. They’re very security conscious now; they ran some sort of metal detector over the car, and we had to open the trunk.

There were no passes, but John was walking up, so we explained and he explained. We were directed to park and go to the other guard shack. Hugs and handshakes from JB, then over to the other shack. JB had to explain it all again, and we gave our IDs again. Guard called the office, JB talked to the office, and we had to give our names all over again.

I don’t have a California driver’s license (gee, I wonder why) and so used my passport as my picture ID. When he saw that, JB joked with me that Canadians weren’t allowed on the lot. I pointed out that I knew that was a lie because we had seen Leslie Nielsen (in a very sporty dark green convertible-style car) drive in, and besides, what about all the Canadians on Trek? He said they were exceptions!

We finally got passes and walked back in. JB said he had come right down to the gate after he saw us out front, but then we were gone and he went looking for us on the lot and had just then come back. He had come to the conclusion that we had been abducted by aliens!

As we walked to commissary, JB explained that Jolene and Linda had other plans so wouldn’t be there, and that we’d see Scott Bakula and Connor Trinneer on the set. We saw someone walking up the other way, who spoke to JB, some of us recognized it was LeVar Burton right away. I however, did not - not until he was right on top of us, so to speak. He was looking very natty, and had oval sunglasses on.

JB introduced us, and we complimented LeVar on Similitude. One of our gang told him that she had watched it again last week and it still made her cry. JB said “But you cry at the drop of a hat…”

JB asked LeVar what he had going and he said he had something starting in 2-3 days and still didn’t have a script (acting like that was a usual thing). B and W told LeVar that we would take Similitude to the desert island with us, and JB said that the desert island wasn’t on the tour!

Next up: Lunch. The John, Dom and Anthony show

Yay! It's up!

Can you remind me how your friends know JB so well?

By the way, I believe Paramount is the only studio still located in Hollywood proper. And I'm always shocked by the sizes of these places.

They've met him at several conventions; also attended a play that his wife was in, and are members of his online book club. (No discussion of Enterprise allowed).

We drove by Universal and another studio which were in the city, but more or less off on their own. But Paramount is one of the older studios; built in the 1920s, I believe.

Do you have the URL for said online book club? I'd like to check out their reading list.

There's a SciFi convention here on Feb 14th. William Shatner is going to be the guest and if you buy a $90.00 ticket you can sit in the VIP section and see him! And maybe even talk to him! Be still my heart. I think I'll just go and look at the toys.

Go, Isaboe! I spent about that much just to have my picture taken with him. And I'd do it again.

When Mind Meld came out Shatner held a signing at the Mall of America. He would only sign copies of that, but it was a relatively cheap DVD so no big deal. And there was no charge to wait in line! We shook his hand (leftie!) and Mr. b asked him how his flight was. The Shat didn't get the reference. Hee! After seeing him in person I have much more respect for his acting skills. He calmly and sweetly put up with the intense geekery around us ("You should see my space art!" "Do you know such and such guy?" "Wanna read my fan script?" "I've met you 1,852 times previous, do you remember me?" &c.) with the pleasantest of faces.

Here's the next chapter in the saga:

After LeVar went on his way, we went on into the commissary. Dominic Keating (“DK”) was waving from a table in the back. He was wearing black shirt, black pants, denim jacket, boots, while JB was wearing jeans, Enterprise Stunt Team t-shirt, brown heather sweater, sneakers. The room was full of other diners. Dominic bestowed hugs, kisses, handshakes all around. A4T, JB, DK sat against the wall, B on the end next to DK, then I was across from DK and W was across from JB.

I gave them caricatures that I had done (I did one for Dom, John and Connor). I think they really liked them! JB said they get a lot of this kind of thing (caricatures and artwork), but these were the best, and he was “definitely going to frame this one”. He said it a couple of times, so I think he actually meant it!

JB noticed that all the girls were on one side of the table and the boys the other and said we should have gone boy/girl/boy/girl. We said no, because it was easier to talk this way.

Both actors knew my home town of Toronto; JB even knew “exactly” where I lived, as he’s very familiar with the city. Dom asked if it was freezing (that’s not exactly how he put it!) and I said, damn right (only that’s not exactly how I put it, either!)

The actors asked what our favorite Enterprise eps were. We said Twilight, Similitude, Cogenitor, Shuttlepod One, Singularity.

We also told them we would like to see more character stories, and they agreed that more character work would be better. W argued that Twilight and Similitude had some, but JB disagreed; in his opinion we didn’t really find out anything new or different about the characters or how they think in Twilight.

A4T gave JB and DK a picture of JB,DK,CT that he had taken at a charity event. They laughed and spent several minutes trying to caption it. (With somewhat rude results!)

At some point in time,(and I can’t remember exactly how the point came up), I said that I was probably the only one of the tour who wanted to get to the production offices. JB was surprised; he said he could take me there, but why did I want to go? I explained my scriptwriting aspirations. Both Dom and John listened and didn’t blow me off. John actually had an excellent suggestion and I am following up on it. Enterprise is the hardest place to sell to, apparently.

Lunch came. The food was excellent food, (we ordered from a menu). It’s called the “commissary” but it’s really a nice restaurant. (About as far from your average cafeteria as you can get).

JB looked around the room and said they could point out some important people in the room, but since there weren’t any at the time, they’d just have to make stuff up!

Next up: Anthony Montgomery blows in.

I was just thinking about that 3rd Rock scene last night:

Dick (John Lithgow): How was your flight here, sir?

Big Giant Head (Shatner): Very odd. I looked out the window, and saw a creature tearing apart the wing!

Dick: The very same thing happened to me!

[In the Twilight Zone movie, Lithgow had the role Shatner originated in "Terror at 20,000 Feet."]

Here's more of the saga. If you have any questions, please ask! It'll help me to remember things, I'm sure.

Anthony Montgomery (“AM”) came by at the end of our lunch. He has a very high energy level, and simply bubbles over with enthusiasm. He was looking very nice and neat, and wears two earrings. He, too, bestowed hugs and hellos to everyone. He remembered W and B from his play last summer. Sat down next to W across from A4T. Some of the party mentioned seeing him on Sharon Osbourne show (I hadn’t, so I kept my mouth shut). It was obvious JB had seen it too.

AM talked about how clueless she [Sharon] was. He tried to explain the concept of uniforms, and used the word “coveralls”; she was talking “overalls”. We told him what clip was used, and asked why not the part where Trip says he should get a medal? His reply: but then it’s not just about Travis. Osbourne's dog was nice to him – he said there was another actor that made her take all dogs off the set because he is afraid of them.

JB talked about an Australian talk show host who had wrong notes about him, and was asking questions like, “How did you like working with Jack Lemmon”, etc., so he ended up explaining Enterprise to her while the interview was on air.

AM asked if we would listen to his songs [I guess he's done some singing somewhere] if he did them and we said yes. Got our pics out for him to autograph. Some of our group took all their action figures and posed them in an exact duplicate of the 3rd season bridge shot. AM really liked the AF pic (actually, they all did), and he recognized the bridge set. He said his part of the bridge should be out and W told him that it hadn’t been released yet.

AM hadn’t seen his season 3 hallway pic. We told him it was on startrek.com. JB and DK showed off their caricatures and AM thought they were great, and wanted to know “Where’s mine?” So I promised him that I would send one.

AM tended to flip his silverware around as if they were martial arts weapons. At this point in time, we noticed that everyone else in commissary is gone now – AM scared them off!

AM encouraged me in myendeavors. He said he’s the closest thing to a rags to riches story on the crew. He also told me it’ll be the hardest thing you ever do, but go for it. This led DK and him to reminiscing; they talked about how they started out and compared stories about playing to audiences of 2 or 3 a night; in some cases, the cast was larger than the audience!

Next: The Universe has a sense of humour

Pippin, this is all so cool!

I have a question -- did TWoP come up at all? I'm dying to know if they know anything about keckler's recaps.

No, it didn't. But I let slip the nickname "Bermaga" at one point, and (after explaining it) have a funny feeling it's going to be all over the set.

Heh. According to my TrekThroats they and the production staff had been using my nickname for TPTB in secret since they started reading my recaps a few years ago.

How exactly did you explain it, Pippin?

That is *such* a happy thought. XD

It was when we were at lunch, and I said something about "Bermaga", and John and Dom both looked at me the way a dog listens to a high-pitched whistle. I was, oops, sorry. It's a combo, I told them. Rick BERMan and Brannon BrAGA.

I think they thought it was funny.

And speaking of which, it seems appropriate to continue the saga:

When we were coming out of commissary with DK and JB, we saw two figures approaching. John nudged me and said, there you go!

It was Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. John and Dom introduced us all. Bermaga was/were reserved and polite, and were dressed up, but were not wearing ties. Saw the caricatures and commented (positively) on them.

They then asked if actors had behaved themselves at lunch. We assured them that napkins and forks had been used, and they joked and acted surprised. As they walked off, Berman said “Don’t give away any secrets!”

John congratulated me on my restraint for not shoving a script into their hands. I replied that I knew the game had rules, and if I wanted to be taken seriously, I would have to play by them. Still ... sigh ...

We wandered on (JB, DK and us), recovering, trying to take it all in. JB wisely took us on a long route through the fun parts of the lot, including the "Old New York" Street, the "Victorian Street" the "Little Italy Street" and so on.

One street was set up for an Italian festival a la New York, and on the cross street they were filming JAG. Go figure. We passed where they are filming Lemony Snicket with Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep.

In that soundstage, JB showed W how the lights are arranged in a grid on the ceiling, numbers across one wall, and letters across the other, so when lights need to be adjusted, a call for “A14” means the light at that grid will be adjusted. Someone stays up in the rafters all day to do that.

Carrey has a "compound" of about five trailers and doesn't like to be disturbed, or so we were told. We also passed the soundstage for Angel, a very small fire station, and up an alley used in The Godfather. Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Brad Pitt was also being filmed somewhere on one of the streets.

Next: Dom's invitation...

I thought that said "shoving a script up their asses." Can't imagine why I would think that.

Hee!

[joke] I don't think my scripts are that bad, tothemax.[/joke]

However, if it were a copy of "A Night in Sickbay" ...

We wandered on (JB, DK and us), recovering, trying to take it all in. JB wisely took us on a long route through the fun parts of the lot, including the "Old New York" Street, the "Victorian Street" the "Little Italy Street" and so on. One street was set up for an Italian festival a la New York, and on the cross street they were filming JAG. Go figure.

We passed where they are filming Lemony Snicket with Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep. We went inside, and saw some of the sets for that film in the process of being built.

In that soundstage, JB showed W how the lights are arranged in a grid on the ceiling, numbers across one wall, and letters across the other, so when lights need to be adjusted, a call for “A14” means the light at that grid will be adjusted. Someone stays up in the rafters all day to do that.

Jim Carrey has a "compound" of about five trailers (arranged in a square) and doesn't like to be disturbed, or so we were told. We also passed the soundstage for Angel, a very small fire station, and up an alley used in The Godfather. Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Brad Pitt was also being filmed somewhere on one of the streets but we didn't see anyone.

We ended up next to the Enterprise set and a lot of small trailers. DK opened his trailer and said "come in" so we walked inside a small mobile home and sat down. In the back, where a bed would go, he has a weight room set up. Smart man, as we later found out from the costume designer -- SB is in perfect shape and the others struggle to keep up with him.

So there we are sitting in DK 's trailer and he's showing us some stuff fans have sent in. One fan didn’t ask for a pic from DK, but sent DK his own pic and autograph instead! B and W noticed a pile of unopened fanmail on his chair and asked if he'd gotten the Christmas card they sent, so he riffled through it and found their card and opened it in front of them.

It was Archer, leading the crew of AF's in caroling. There was a thought balloon for Malcolm too, “I still think it’s risky to let Santa on board the ship. Could be a Xindi-Elf in disguise!” He loved it! He laughed and put it up on the wall of his trailer. He showed it to AM and they both caroled for a bit, badly on purpose.

Next: Where Pippin nearly loses it ...

Pippen, I don't think I've told you nearly enough lately how much I hate you.

Hmm, good thing my eyes are already green, so nobody will notice the change...

Eeeeeeeeeee! I know what's next! ( At least, I think I do.) Touching!

*sigh* That's just so cool.

AM reappeared and announced "Here's the Captain" and in bounded SCOTT BAKULA, (a first time meeting for all of us) wearing his uniform. He had come straight from shooting a scene to say hi to us.

"Nice to meet you!" "What's your name?" "Where are you from?" etc. To B and W’s reply that they were from Ventura, he said “Oh, you’re local then.” He was very very nice, genuinely interested in meeting us and talking to us.

Scott has such a charismatic personality that when he was in the trailer, it was like he was the only one of the cast around.

He is quite trim (except for those broad shoulders) and about 6'2" or so, taller than A4T by a bit. He has bright eyes and looks right at you. His eyes are very light, but very green. He has a big smile, and a strong handshake. He's in great shape.

As he talked, we noticed his phase pistol on his hip - quite cheap and plastic up close!

And I was this far (holds up thumb and forefinger to indicate) away from him.

And folks, this is when I nearly lost it. I had been cool and insouciant during lunch with Dom and John, chatting easily with them, and also with Anthony. But when Scott bounded into the trailer (and funnily enough, we all stood up when he came in; I mean, after all, it's the Captain!) I nearly turned into a gibbering, squealing fangirl. I managed to control myself, but it was a close call!

So keckler, I have to report that your Bakula-love is totally and completely justified. I'd always been an SB fan, but after meeting him in person ... sighs...

We commented about his appearance and he explained it. (yes, we know, but it’s a SPOILER)

He then offered to sign things for us, A4T handed him his Archer/Trip picture from Desert Crossing. He looked at it for a long while and DK with him, joking about how they looked like they were on a pub crawl, in search of the next whiskey. Someone said something about how CT looked, and SB said, "Yeah (pause) I never know what to say about CT." (!!) Too fun. He signed it with a really creative line "Where's my ship??" that he came up with himself.

He signed many other things too. DK also showed the Christmas card to SB and he laughed and said “That sounds just like Malcolm.” When he was signing the AF cast photo for B and W (they had arranged all their action figures to mimic the season 3 cast group photo on the bridge) he noted that Phlox was the one that looked best, and was the only one who was “looking” at the camera.

JB brought in scripts for B and W, signed by everyone except SB, so SB signed it right then. B got “North Star” (with JB’s handwritten notes for “Similitude” on the back!) and W got “Harbinger” -- talk about spoilers! No, DON'T. No spoilers. [Note from wollem – I CAN’T talk about it anyway. I was good and put it away and no one gets to read it before the episode airs!]

This is just another example of the generosity and graciousness of the Enterprise folk. I can't say it enough; everyone we met made us feel right at home, and that they were truly happy to talk to us.

And then, AM appeared at the door again ...

Next up: AM's announcement

Hee. Pippin, I'm drowning in conflicting emotions here! So jealous that you got to meet them all, and so happy for you that they were all so welcoming and sweet. And of course, so thrilled that you're sharing the experience with us this way.

Thanks for these reports. I hate you.

I love that these reports have cliffhangers!

I was just going to say that Promethea! I can't wait to find out more. Exciting stuff. Eeee!

Yay! I mean, it's exciting enough to meet these people in person, but something about meeting them in uniform really gets my inner geek going.

Pippin, I'm smiling with my whole face on your behalf.

Pippin, I'm a puddle of envy.

Pippin, you are such a tease! You're sooooooooo lucky. Grrr.

We interrupt this (fabulous) narrative to bring you this special bulletin...

On March 18th, the Borg Invasion attraction will have its Grand Opening Ball at the Las Vegas Hilton. According to the really fancy email I just got, here's the lowdown:



*sniff* I want a commemorative lanyard!

First off, apologies for dropping off the radar, but I got clobbered with a truly vicious migraine (with a touch of a cold mixed in, just for fun) and have spent most of the last few days in bed, begging for death.

Secondly - remember how I told you that I gave John B and Dominick K. caricatures? Well, yesterday, I received a hand-written thank you note from DK, thanking me for the caricature and telling me he'd hung it in his study at home.

DK = extremely classy guy.

OK, on with the saga:


While SB was signing, AM announced to us that: “Here’s an engineer you might recognize!”

I must admit, that at first that didn't register. After all, I was this far from Scott Bakula!

Connor Trinneer appeared at the door of the trailer, fresh from the set as well. CT said hello to us all, shook hands (touching!) but didn't seem to have remembered those who had attended a convention from a month earlier. JB of course knew us all, and DK remembered A4T in particular, but CT? No such luck. (The Boy has what might kindly be termed as a "convenient" memory.)

[I've never met Connor before, so I can't comment, but here's what those of us who had met him previously felt]: Now here's the strange thing: We feel more like we met Trip Tucker. We were quite clear that it was CT, but he looked nothing like what we've seen at conventions. He looked like Trip. It wasn't just the uniform or the makeup. It wasn't just the combed hair even. It was in his eyes, his mouth, and his voice. He seemed to be bringing a bit of the character off the set. It was quite amazing.

SB was very captainly in his own right, but A4T thinks SB is close to Archer in a lot of ways. We certainly felt like we met a starship captain that day, not just an actor.

I gave CT a caricature too, and he seemed very happy with it, holding it by the wrapping paper “I don’t want to get it dirty.” (His hands were all grimed up - by makeup, I hasten to add). I didn't hear everything he said about the caricature; I was paying attention to our gallant captain, but apparently CT showed it to AM and said complimentary things about it.

SB and CT had to return to the set, but not before we stopped CT outside and B asked about the "arm-grab" Archer gave him in Chosen Realm. He explained it not as anger but as making sure that Trip understood the full seriousness of the situation since he'd been out of the loop on how bad things had gotten so fast. He also felt that it was Archer showing the aliens that he had things under control, since they were standing right there.

CT seemed a bit peeved that people (not us) out there were focusing too much on how he was a hothead and how that was his motivation for everything. He doesn't see Trip that way. He went in his trailer and we walked on. He seemed very Trippy here too.

We hung out for a bit, and got a peek inside Jolene's trailer from the doorway. It was like a home, with a mat, decorations, lots of books, a lamp hanging from the ceiling, etc. The guard was right next to us, watching us like a hawk. But like everyone else we met on the tour, he was friendly and happy to talk with us! The actors chatted with him, confirming our feeling that the Enterprise set is essentially a happy one, with a “family feel” between the cast and crew.

We also got to talk to two of the alien actors who were hanging around - two very nice guys (we have a pic with them) in full makeup. They’ve been lots of different aliens and one of them just got through working as a Borg for the new ride in Vegas.

Next up: Strange new worlds ...

Whoa...I'm always impressed by actors who can really inhabit, become their character like that.

I forget: who came up with The Boy as his nickname?( I vaguely remember it happening, but forget the circumstances.) 'Twould have been interesting if you had slipped up and called him that. :)

Wow! I'm soooo jealous.



For some reason I read that as singing, which would have made me explode from envy, but still, you met the Captain!

Me too, that would have been awesome.

More of the saga:

We headed to the shooting set a few minutes later. *BEST PART FOR A4T* We waited outside a few minutes until the red "shooting" light went off, and then entered the set.

There are 3 standing soundstages that Enterprise uses. Dominic called the one that was in use Planet Hell - one they used to set up alien planets and large environments, although on Wednesday they were filming an interior corridor scene.

The room was filled with fake smoke and haze, and we got very close to the set. We stood off to one side, with DK and JB, a script woman and Merri Howard. There were tons of other people buzzing around in all directions. We commented that it was odd that the alien ship had carpeting (when you watch, you may not even see the floor, but it's carpeted. For quiet I assume, but funny-looking.

We then stood near the monitors, on which we could see the scene being rehearsed. We could hear the actors behind us in the set, but we couldn’t physically see them from where we were; we only saw what the camera saw.

They did a few takes and you could hear CT asking questions, the director talking, etc. (Director to CT: “Give him a hard look.” CT to Director: “With my line? *using Trip’s accent!* Like I said - he was really in character that day.)

The first take we saw was a rehearsal, then more after that, each with "print that". They also added in special effects just by saying the words, like "SHAKE", where the camera shakes and then the actors stumble a bit, or "BOOM" and then they flinch back. Very funny.

Once the episode ("Damage") airs, I'll let you know which scene it was we saw filmed.

During a tiny pause, we got to look down the corridor and see the guys there - They continued to rehearse, and DK couldn't resist criticizing CT’s gun-handling skills (“I am the Armory Officer after all!”). He made fun of how CT was waving his phase pistol all around. He imitated CT in a very exaggerated manner; his arm over his head, dancing about and pointing the pretend pistol in random directions. Dominic then kicked one of the tall lights by accident and almost toppled it. We all laughed. I don't think Connor saw, but I'm sure he heard Dominic. And probably rolled his eyes. (You know that eye-roll in "Canamar"? I think Connor gets to use that expression a lot on the set.)

When they broke for lunch, we were allowed to walk down the corridor (a tight fit) and touch everything. SB was giving CT grief about how he'd dented the wall of the set during his take!

SB was responding to a request from the director. Something about “I didn’t realize that’s we were doing. Then I’ll do that and I’ll just step *around* the wall here. Unlike *some* people!” - Pointed look at Connor. Obviously, The Boy has graduated from wrecking phase pistols to entire sets. WAY TOO GREAT TO BELIEVE.

Next: The Good Ship Enterprise

I think I'm going to be saying this a lot: soooooooo jealous. It sounds like you had the best time that day.

I'll be on my side of the pond, sulking and just generally being jealous. ;)

Continuing on ...


The corridor designer, the main set designer I believe, was there and talked to us too. That same corridor is used again and again, the design on the walls, the lighting, the panels all reconfigured. The corridor we were in had also been used in “Impulse.”

DK and JB then took us to the next building to see the first of the sets. We saw sickbay first - it was amazing - the imaging chamber, the biobeds, the colored liquid bottles. We saw the osmotic eel! Saw some other creature cages stacked in the corner.

DK hopped up on a bed to recreate his scene from Shuttlepod One, waking up next to Trip. JB offered to make us a drink from the stuff on his shelves. We were free to touch everything, go anywhere, etc. Sickbay was the only set that had props out.

Of Shuttlepod One, DK said that it was an "elevator" ep, done to save money by using two actors and one tiny set all week. The problem was that although he's been pitching ideas, TPTB are resisting a lot of them as "too much like SP1."

I can't recall the order we saw stuff, but we saw EVERY part of the ship, which is all interiors, and all randomly scattered around three soundstages. The Xindi council chamber for example, which we stood in, was near decon, IWRC.

We saw lots of corridors, the Captains' mess, and the Mess Hall. The thing that stood out for me was how SMALL everything was. I can now appreciate much more the clever camera angles, etc. For instance, the captain's table looked to be about two feet wide at most, and about a foot from the wall. The mess hall (how big would you guess it is?…..) is about 10 by 20 feet. All the furniture was in storage at one end. The green screen for movie night was up front, and outside (open) window was a "starfield", a black cloth with glittery stars on it.

We saw the decon chamber (and stood in it with DK and JB, but no gel). It was about 5x7 feet, TINY and opened on one end to the changing area with lockers that we saw in an early ep this season, and on the other end to a hall.

Down further was the transporter, and when we got there, DK was standing on it. I started to move the controls and he shouted "Don't touch that!" in a joking way. (But I still jumped about 3 feet up and 6 back). JB warned that DK might get beamed over to the "Charmed" set if he wasn't careful. (A fate worse than death?)

Next up: The Chair...

Sigh

Why have a green screen for movie night? Why not just show a movie? Is it easier?

I liked SP1 - wouldn't mind seeing something like that again- yaay for Bottle Eps. Maybe with Hoshi and Mayweather this time? (Of course, Trip and Malcolm are fine too. ;)

Not when you factor in all the equipment (lights, cameras, mikes, etc.) involved in shooting a scene. Adding a film projector would only increase the complexity of the shoot. Plus the noise of the projector would probably increase the difficulty of miking the actors correctly; when they were shooting, you stood extremely still and tried hard not to breathe loud.