McGillion’s Captain Starship gets North American premiere

Back in September, GateWorld chatted exclusively with Stargate Atlantis actor Paul McGillion about all the upcoming projects he has on the horizon, and one of the first to be mentioned was his genre comedy, Captain Starship.  The potential pilot, currently in development and being shopped to various networks, stars McGillion as a sci-fi television actor whose personal life is invaded by both his oddball group of friends and the pre-teen nephew (with a tenuous grasp on reality) who comes to live with him.  If that sounds like a winning combination to you, you can catch the series’ pilot this coming weekend — but not on any television network.

In an effort to build buzz for the potential series, a screening of the Captain Starship pilot will take place during the final Los Angeles edition of the Creation Entertainment Official Stargate Convention, being held at the Marriott Los Angeles Airport this coming weekend, November 18-20.  In addition to McGillion, members of the cast and production team will field a Q&A panel about the project after its screening.

“To sum it up, it’s kind of like Entourage meets Two and a Half Men with a sci-fi twist,” McGillion told us during our September interview.  He wasn’t kidding, by any stretch.  In addition to McGillion and in-demand Canadian actress Erin Karpluk (Being Erica, Christmas Lodge), the pilot features many actors with Stargate roots including Michael Northey (“Inago” in Stargate SG-1‘s Season Nine episode “The Ties That Bind”), Ellie Harvie (Atlantis‘ hiccup-riddled “Dr. Novak”), and “Dr. Daniel Jackson” himself, Michael Shanks in a guest role.  Young actor Quinn Lord, who plays McGillion’s nephew, had a bit role in SG-1‘s Season Ten episode “The Quest, Part One” —  but has had more exposure as a young Zane Donovan on Syfy’s Eureka, and a young version of Peter Bishop in FOX’s Fringe.  Ivon Bartok, long-time Stargate DVD featurette producer, is also on board as one of the series’ producers (a title he shares with Northey, McGillion and Jesse James Miller).

The Captain Starship production team provided GateWorld with an advance copy of the pilot, and what we saw hits the spot.   While not every idea and joke works as well as intended (McGillion states tweaks to the concept will occur should the series be picked up), there is loads of potential for this half-hour comedy.  The humor is edgy without being crude, and the comedy parallels shift between Paul’s home and work life, invoking a little bit of a 30 Rock feel into the proceedings.  Also in its favor — due to the lack of a necessity for a big special effects budget, the cost of the series to any network that picks it up should be relatively low and hopefully make the series more appealing and attractive to prospective buyers.

Bottom line — this is a project that deserves a chance to see what type of legs it might have, and it’s a production that GateWorld will be keeping a very close eye on.  Be assured that we’ll keep you posted on its future developments — as fan and industry buzz about it continues to build.

If you made plans to be at Creation’s Los Angeles Stargate convention this weekend, make it a point to check out the series’ pilot episode for yourself.  Not only will you get a rare look at a potential series in its early formative period, but you’ll also get to see some of your favorite Stargate actors in a production that is equally familiar and fresh at the same time.  In a television environment that currently lacks anything Stargate whatsoever, this is easily a series that could help ease some of that pain — by bringing the laughs.