Post by Forever Xena on Jan 5, 2006 1:45:35 GMT -6
Source tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271|99406|1|,00.html
Shanks Feels at Home on 'Stargate SG-1'
By Kate O'Hare
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
02:17 PM PT
Actors on successful, long-running shows sometimes worry about being typecast, while actors not on successful, long-running shows sometimes wish they had the luxury of worrying about being typecast.
Michael Shanks, who plays spacefaring archaeologist and linguist Dr. Daniel Jackson on Sci Fi Channel's "Stargate SG-1," has adopted a "no worries" philosophy.
His show, shot in Vancouver, Canada, returns for the second half of its ninth season on Friday, Jan. 6 -- followed by rest of season two of its successful spin-off, "Stargate Atlantis" -- and has already been renewed for a 10th season. This make it the longest-running science-fiction drama on U.S. television, surpassing "The X-Files" and all the versions of "Star Trek."
"The bottom line is, it's a good thing," Shanks says. "I'm from Canada. It was a treat when I first got this job. It was a treat to live near my family for a year or two, whatever. I thought, 'This is never going to happen again. I should really take advantage of this.'
"Now it's going into its 10th year, and I don't know what I'd do if I had to move somewhere else. This has always been my home."
Shanks should know, since he left the show after season five -- causing an uproar among female fans -- and later rejoined the cast in a storyline that saw his character return to Earthly life after ascending to a higher plane of existence.
Although his reasons for leaving the show were more concerned with character than commerce, Shanks quips, "Nobody ever dies in science fiction until they ask for more money."
Happily back in the fold for several seasons now, Shanks now gets to work with wife Lexa Doig, who was a regular on the syndicated science-fiction show "Andromeda." Shanks guest-starred on her show, and now she returns the favor with a recurring role on "SG-1" as Dr. Carolyn Lam.
"We always talked about how much of a family it is," Shanks says. "Now it's a real family experience."
"Stargate SG-1" has also weathered the reduced involvement of star Richard Dean Anderson, who plays Air Force Brigadier Gen. (formerly Colonel) Jack O'Neill, head of the SG-1 team, which uses ancient alien portals to move between worlds. Original stars Christopher Judge, who plays the alien Teal'c, and Amanda Tapping, as Lt. Colonel (formerly Captain and Major) Samantha Carter, remain with the show.
"The success of the spin-off," Shanks says, "solidified the idea that it was a recognized brand name, and you didn't necessarily need those big-name stars to head it up. This past year, getting new cast members, the numbers were about the same as before. With someone like myself or Christopher or Amanda, we're like, 'Does that mean we're expendable too?'"
Last season, Ben Browder, the star of Sci Fi's Australian-produced "Farscape" -- the target of even more fan fervor, if that's possible, than "SG-1" - signed on as new team leader Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell.
Appearing in the recurring role of ethically challenged thief Vala was Browder's "Farscape" co-star Claudia Black. She will be a regular in season 10, and Shanks hopes the current love/hate relationship between Vala and Jackson expands.
"That can still work," he says, "but it needs to be toned down, otherwise it's one of those things that doesn't leave a lot of room for the other characters. It's good to have two people who respect each other work together and still have those comedic moments. You can make sure they still exist, and the tension still exists, without being redundant."
Shanks still works outside the "Stargate" universe, most recently in a December episode of CBS' "CSI: Miami," a series that has also featured Browder as a guest star. But the "Stargate SG-1/CSI: Miami" connection doesn't end there.
"One of our creators of 'Stargate,' Jonathan Glassner, was working as a writer there on the second season of 'CSI: Miami,'" Shanks says. "I ran into him on the set. He's now directing back and forth on 'CSI: Miami' and 'CSI: NY.' I didn't realize that. I knew he was writing, but I thought he was done. I tell ya, that was weird.
"He didn't know I was there, and I didn't know he was there. All of a sudden, I'm like, 'Is that Glassner?' He's like, 'Shanks?' 'What the hell are you doing here?' 'What the hell are you doing here?'"
Although other science-fiction shows garner more critical acclaim -- among them, Sci Fi's "Battlestar Galactica," which airs after the two "Stargates" -- Shanks is proud of what his show has accomplished.
"It's the little show that could, in a lot of different ways," he says. "We've had critics panning us right and left, science-fiction fans saying, 'That's not really interesting enough to be real science fiction' Even [Sci Fi Channel and USA Network president] Bonnie Hammer said, 'It's bread-and-butter science fiction.'
"I don't think she meant it as a slam. It's more like, 'Farscape' is a dark world, and 'Stargate' is more of a staple. It has a larger audience, and it appeals to more people."
And if pressed, Shanks can even explain the show's convoluted plot. "But someone would have to really want to listen to it," he says. "My father asked me one time, 'What's going on in your show?' I started to tell him, and he said, 'No, no, forget I asked.'"
By Kate O'Hare
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
02:17 PM PT
Actors on successful, long-running shows sometimes worry about being typecast, while actors not on successful, long-running shows sometimes wish they had the luxury of worrying about being typecast.
Michael Shanks, who plays spacefaring archaeologist and linguist Dr. Daniel Jackson on Sci Fi Channel's "Stargate SG-1," has adopted a "no worries" philosophy.
His show, shot in Vancouver, Canada, returns for the second half of its ninth season on Friday, Jan. 6 -- followed by rest of season two of its successful spin-off, "Stargate Atlantis" -- and has already been renewed for a 10th season. This make it the longest-running science-fiction drama on U.S. television, surpassing "The X-Files" and all the versions of "Star Trek."
"The bottom line is, it's a good thing," Shanks says. "I'm from Canada. It was a treat when I first got this job. It was a treat to live near my family for a year or two, whatever. I thought, 'This is never going to happen again. I should really take advantage of this.'
"Now it's going into its 10th year, and I don't know what I'd do if I had to move somewhere else. This has always been my home."
Shanks should know, since he left the show after season five -- causing an uproar among female fans -- and later rejoined the cast in a storyline that saw his character return to Earthly life after ascending to a higher plane of existence.
Although his reasons for leaving the show were more concerned with character than commerce, Shanks quips, "Nobody ever dies in science fiction until they ask for more money."
Happily back in the fold for several seasons now, Shanks now gets to work with wife Lexa Doig, who was a regular on the syndicated science-fiction show "Andromeda." Shanks guest-starred on her show, and now she returns the favor with a recurring role on "SG-1" as Dr. Carolyn Lam.
"We always talked about how much of a family it is," Shanks says. "Now it's a real family experience."
"Stargate SG-1" has also weathered the reduced involvement of star Richard Dean Anderson, who plays Air Force Brigadier Gen. (formerly Colonel) Jack O'Neill, head of the SG-1 team, which uses ancient alien portals to move between worlds. Original stars Christopher Judge, who plays the alien Teal'c, and Amanda Tapping, as Lt. Colonel (formerly Captain and Major) Samantha Carter, remain with the show.
"The success of the spin-off," Shanks says, "solidified the idea that it was a recognized brand name, and you didn't necessarily need those big-name stars to head it up. This past year, getting new cast members, the numbers were about the same as before. With someone like myself or Christopher or Amanda, we're like, 'Does that mean we're expendable too?'"
Last season, Ben Browder, the star of Sci Fi's Australian-produced "Farscape" -- the target of even more fan fervor, if that's possible, than "SG-1" - signed on as new team leader Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell.
Appearing in the recurring role of ethically challenged thief Vala was Browder's "Farscape" co-star Claudia Black. She will be a regular in season 10, and Shanks hopes the current love/hate relationship between Vala and Jackson expands.
"That can still work," he says, "but it needs to be toned down, otherwise it's one of those things that doesn't leave a lot of room for the other characters. It's good to have two people who respect each other work together and still have those comedic moments. You can make sure they still exist, and the tension still exists, without being redundant."
Shanks still works outside the "Stargate" universe, most recently in a December episode of CBS' "CSI: Miami," a series that has also featured Browder as a guest star. But the "Stargate SG-1/CSI: Miami" connection doesn't end there.
"One of our creators of 'Stargate,' Jonathan Glassner, was working as a writer there on the second season of 'CSI: Miami,'" Shanks says. "I ran into him on the set. He's now directing back and forth on 'CSI: Miami' and 'CSI: NY.' I didn't realize that. I knew he was writing, but I thought he was done. I tell ya, that was weird.
"He didn't know I was there, and I didn't know he was there. All of a sudden, I'm like, 'Is that Glassner?' He's like, 'Shanks?' 'What the hell are you doing here?' 'What the hell are you doing here?'"
Although other science-fiction shows garner more critical acclaim -- among them, Sci Fi's "Battlestar Galactica," which airs after the two "Stargates" -- Shanks is proud of what his show has accomplished.
"It's the little show that could, in a lot of different ways," he says. "We've had critics panning us right and left, science-fiction fans saying, 'That's not really interesting enough to be real science fiction' Even [Sci Fi Channel and USA Network president] Bonnie Hammer said, 'It's bread-and-butter science fiction.'
"I don't think she meant it as a slam. It's more like, 'Farscape' is a dark world, and 'Stargate' is more of a staple. It has a larger audience, and it appeals to more people."
And if pressed, Shanks can even explain the show's convoluted plot. "But someone would have to really want to listen to it," he says. "My father asked me one time, 'What's going on in your show?' I started to tell him, and he said, 'No, no, forget I asked.'"