Stargate inside info?

[Mouseferatu]

Geez. Looking at my posting history in this forum recently, people are going to think I'm obsessed.

Does anyone know a good site to get inside info and trivia on Stargate? I'm not talking about info like "This character did this" or "So-and-so played this person." I mean behind-the-scenes stuff, like why Michael Shanks left the show for a year and then came back, that sort of thing.

Thanks much.

 

[Viking Bastard]

www.gateworld.net

The #1 SG site on the net.

 

[Mouseferatu]

www.gateworld.net

The #1 SG site on the net.

I've looked at Gateworld, actually. It's a pretty cool site. But it doesn't have the depth of inside info I'm looking for. Or if it does, I haven't yet found it.

 

[trancejeremy]

I mean behind-the-scenes stuff, like why Michael Shanks left the show for a year and then came back, that sort of thing.

He was pregnant?

 

[reveal]

I've looked at Gateworld, actually. It's a pretty cool site. But it doesn't have the depth of inside info I'm looking for. Or if it does, I haven't yet found it.

I found this in the forums on http://www.sg1archive.com:

From what I understand reading interviews from the time he left, Michael Shanks didn't particularly want time off the show. He and writers couldn't agree on the direction of the character. They weren't interested in developing the character further, which they told him. He understandably wasn't happy with it, so he didn't renew his contract for Season 6.

He didn't have any other jobs lined up, so he didn't leave the Stargate for another show or to make a movie. He left because of creative differences.

During his year away, he had roles in a couple of tv movies, had a couple of guest appearances on different shows and made a German/South African production in South Africa called Sumuru, sort of a fun b-movie. It was while filming Sumuru in South Africa that Hank Cohen, head of MGM, called him to talk about coming back to Stargate SG-1.

 

[Ranger REG]

He was pregnant?

No, but his girlfriend Lexa Droig ("Rommie" in Andromeda) was. Already gave birth and just in time to finish up the last of the Andromeda episodes.

Someone has to make money to pay for the diapers.

 

[Viking Bastard]

I've looked at Gateworld, actually. It's a pretty cool site. But it doesn't have the depth of inside info I'm looking for. Or if it does, I haven't yet found it.

The answers are there. You'll just have to search the news archives for the sixth season:

Shanks to depart Stargate SG-1
Daniel Jackson star will persue other projects September 26, 2001

SG-1 will continue its mission to explore the galaxy for one more year, but they'll do it with one less archaeologist. Michael Shanks is giving up his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson -- at least for now -- according to an announcement made by executive producer Brad Wright at last weekend's Gatecon 2001 convention.

Shanks will leave the show after Season Five to pursue other projects, according to the report, and leaves on good terms with the producers. Wright said that he may return for a few guest appearances in Season Six, and will probably sign on for the SG-1 feature film -- implying that the character of Dr. Jackson will most likely not be killed off.

SG-1 will continue on with a new main character, who will fill Jackson's role as the team's conscience -- probably a male civilian, as Daniel was, according to Wright.

It's reasonable that whatever happens to Dr. Jackson -- whether he retires from the SGC, finds a new home offworld, or meets an unhappy fate -- the SGC will need to replace him with someone of similar skills: an archaeologist and linguist.

Wright also said that the writers would deal with the emotional impact of losing such an important character, in a script written by Robert C. Cooper. He also implied that the new character who will replace Jackson may be introduced before the end of Season Five.

Keep your eyes on GateWorld for future updates!

Michael Shanks talks departure
'Daniel Jackson' actor shares with fans at convention October 21, 2001

SG-1 fans returning from this weekend's Best of Both Worlds 12 convention in Australia are reporting on a rare convention appearance by Michael Shanks -- Stargate's own Dr. Daniel Jackson. The actor talked about his imminent departure from the hit series, as well as dropping a few bits of info about his replacement.

Shanks talked about the evolution of Daniel Jackson and his reasons for leaving the show after this season, according to one report. He said that the character wasn't going anywhere this season, and that he didn't feel that Daniel fit in with one current plot arc getting a lot of attention this season -- episodes focusing on the NID and an Earth-based conspiracy, rather that exploring new worlds and cultures.

The actor reiterated executive producer Brad Wright's comments last month (story) that the door will be left open for him to return for occasional guest appearances in Season Six -- SG-1's last year -- and expressed his enthusiasm for the feature film that will follow.

What about his replacement on the show? According to another fan report, Shanks revealed that the new regular would make his first appearance in "Meridian," Season Five's penultimate episode (expected to air in early March). He also said that the actor had only been signed for three or four episodes so far, and not yet for the entire sixth season.

The report also indicates that the SG-1 theatrical film "would feature Atlantis, the Antarctic Stargate." While it's not certain whether or not Shanks actually said this, it does agree with a questionable previous clue from MGM that the spin-off series (set up by the film) will be titled Atlantis.

The Best of Both Worlds 12 convention was held this weekend at the Gazebo Hotel in Elizabeth Bay, Sydney. Shanks, fighting jet-lag and a cold, spoke on stage to fans before signing autographs and posing for pictures.

Shanks gives details on departure
WEDNESDAY - NOVEMBER 28, 2001

Actor Michael Shanks is speaking publically about his departure from Stargate SG-1 for the first time since his appearance at a fan convention last month. The 30-year-old actor spoke candidly to writer Thomasina Gibson in the latest issue of DreamWatch magazine.

"To be honest with you," Shanks said, "it's one of those things where I don't know what I'm going to be doing. It's not like I'm in the kind of situation where I can say I'm quitting Stargate SG-1 to go do this, or I'm leaving to kick-start my film career. It's more a case of having embarked on a course of action so that I can explore the possibilities that are out there."

"The current situation is very strange for me. It would be one thing if Stargate was finished and there were no more episodes. But we, Richard [Dean Anderson], Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, the writers, the crew, all of us started something and built it into something special. ... I have a lot invested in it professionally and personally in terms of watching its development; of being really proud of it when it hit and being really disappointed when it missed. It's actually a tremendous brain fart for me to consider that the show is carrying on and I'm not a part of it."

The actor also described how he came to the decision to leave the show at the end of the fifth season, saying that it was very much due to the direction that the show has taken over the last two years -- and how it has come to focus less on Daniel Jackson's relationship with Jack O'Neill, and more on the military angle and Earth-based conspiracies.

"I think my naivete on the whole issue was that I'd watched the original movie and saw where Daniel Jackson went in that," he said. "Then, when I was offered the character, especially after reading the pilot where Daniel has a heavy part, I assumed it was going to be more a type of 'buddy' show. I knew the other characters would be involved as well, but I thought that the Daniel / Jack relationship would be the central focus. That's why I signed on to do it. Plus I liked the character and only saw his development based on the original blueprint. I couldn't and still don't see it from any other point of view."

"After the third season, the show started to go in a different direction. It veered off on a path that I initiated in that I wanted some resolution to the Daniel / Sha're arc and wanted to bring out the darker side of the character I played. By the start of the fourth season, things seemed to be going in a direction I wasn't comfortable with."

"I thought that what I was doing on the show was becoming seemingly more confined. And having broached the subject with the powers that control these things, it became clear that the character wasn't important enough to the overall process to warrant an upgrade."

With the production of Season Five having wrapped in late September, the cast and crew are on their normal break before things gear up again next year. Shanks revealed that one thing he has auditioned for the next Star Trek film, "Star Trek: Nemesis." More info on that as it becomes available.

"We're on our natural 'downtime' at the moment," Shanks said, "so it still really hasn't sunk in yet that when they resume filming in February I won't be there. I know that unless I'm totally immersed in another project by then I will be experiencing a very heavy heart about having made this decision."

"I guess Stargate has done a lot of good things for me in terms of getting me through a few doors which might not have opened for me. I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to all my colleagues and friends and the fans that have supported me and Stargate SG-1 over the past five years. It remains the best show I have ever worked on."

Be sure to pick up a copy of DreamWatch (issue #88) for the complete interview! The U.K.-based magazine is on sale wherever genre magazines are sold. (In the U.S., check stores like Borders or Barnes & Noble.) To read more excerpts from the interview visit the GateWorld Forums.

Michael Shanks to return full time to SG-1
NOVEMBER 8, 2002

Shanksadelic! Just as the cheers were dying down following The Sci-Fi Channel's announcement that Stargate SG-1 has been renewed for a seventh year, the next best news we could hear came -- and quite unexpectedly. The network announced today that actor Michael Shanks will return as a regular cast member, in the role of Dr. Daniel Jackson. Shanks departed the series one year ago. Shanks will return for Season Seven, which is expected to begin filming in February. He'll also appear as a guest star in two episodes in the last half of Season Six, to commence airing on Sci-Fi on January 10: "The Changeling," and the season finale, "Full Circle."

Since his departure from the show, the actor has already appeared in Season Six's "Abyss."

Sci-Fi also stated that only Shanks and series lead Richard Dean Anderson ("Jack O'Neill") have so far been confirmed as on board for Season Seven. The rest of the show's regular cast is expected to return as well, including newcomer Corin Nemec ("Jonas Quinn") -- who reportedly signed a 2-year contract with MGM when he joined the series one year ago.

Shanks left the show after five years as Daniel Jackson, stating that he was not happy with the direction of the show's storylines and under-utilization of his character. The decision left the world of Stargate fandom in an uproar, and triggered the Save Daniel Jackson fan campaign.

Should the new season commence with six regular cast members (including a 5-person SG-1 team and Don S. Davis, "General George Hammond"), the show's per-episode price tag will no doubt go up. According to a report from Variety, Sci-Fi will indeed be paying significantly more for each episode next year.

The series' Season Six per-episode price tag is reportedly $1.3 million, according to Variety.

Read Sci-Fi's announcement at SciFi Wire! You can also chat with other fans about the big news at GateWorld Forums.

 

[trancejeremy]

So he wasn't pregnant?

 

[Viking Bastard]

Dude, read between the lines.