John Scalzi is Creative Consultant For Stargate Universe

John Scalzi, author of Old Man's War, is joining the upcoming Stargate: Universe as a Creative Consultant. So what does that mean, exactly? John explains on his blog:

The reason I'm in Vancouver, aside from having dinner at Fuel last night with Joseph Mallozzi, can now be revealed: I have a new gig as Creative Consultant for the upcoming Stargate: Universe television series. I've been talking to the SGU folks about it informally for some time and flew out to meet the producers and writers, and talk about the ideas and directions of the new series. I also got the tour of the sets, which are still under construction, and which look pretty damn nifty so far. It all went very well, and I liked what they were doing with the show and the people involved, and equally importantly they seemed to like me too. So I was happy to say yes when they invited me onboard.

To answer questions that immediately come to mind: What "creative consultant" means in this case is to assist the producers and directors in shaping the direction of the series, to offer technical writing suggestions and advice, and basically to be useful when they want another point of view on something; it's a background rather than foreground sort of job. No, I won't be writing for the series at this point; hey, I just got the one gig, let me do that first. Yes, I've seen scripts and now know all sorts of stuff about the series you don't, yet. No, I won't tell you anything more than what's already out there; my title is "creative consultant," not "dude who leaks stuff." Yes, the producers and writers are very smart folks who have a definite idea of what they want SGU to be, and I think it's a good and intriguing idea with lots of interesting possibilities, which is why I signed on.

He's sure to bring a fresh viewpoint to the series, which we're looking forward to seeing.