29.Dec.04
Posted in News at 4:20 pm by Alison
Robert C. Cooper, executive producer of SCI FI Channel’s original series Stargate SG-1, told SCI FI Wire that Farscape star Claudia Black will reunite with her co-star Ben Browder in several episodes of SG-1’s upcoming ninth season. Black will play Vala, a human character who will be introduced in the 12th episode of season eight, “Prometheus Unbound,” which airs early next year when SG-1 resumes original episodes.
“It will air in January [28],” Cooper said in an interview. “It’ll be the second episode back in our run on SCI FI. And we thought she was absolutely wonderful. The character really worked out. She had wonderful chemistry with Michael Shanks. She plays opposite [Shanks'] Daniel Jackson in the episode.”
Black will return to SG-1 in five season nine episodes, which begin shooting in March. “We are having to … deal with a brief absence of Carter, [played by] Amanda Tapping, who’s pregnant,” Cooper said. “And we had already discussed a storyline that involved the return of Vala, … the character played by Claudia. And so we thought it worked perfectly to have that sort of miniarc play out maybe while Amanda was less available to us.”
Cooper added that Black will play several scenes with Browder. “She’s [a] human from another planet,” he said. “And she’s a bit of … an enigma. You’re not quite sure what her true story is in the episode ‘Prometheus Unbound.’ She’s a bit of a rogue who tells a long story about her planet and her people and her past, and then in the end you’re not really quite sure whether it’s true or not. So she’s a bit of a wild card. She’s a very … sexy character, who isn’t afraid to take whatever … she wants in any given situation.
“And we had a lot of fun writing the role, and I know she had a lot of fun playing it, and we’re going to try very hard to maintain the integrity of that character and still have her sort of join up with the team, but still sort of keep the essence of that wonderful friction that went on between her and Daniel, and I’m sure it’ll continue to sort of play out with the rest of the characters as well.”
Sci Fi Wire article
Discuss this article at SG1Solutions Forum
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22.Dec.04
Posted in News at 3:33 pm by Alison
Maureen Ryan
Chicago Tribune
BACK TO THE FUTURE: Ben Browder of “Farscape” fame is joining the cast of “Stargate SG-1″ in the show’s upcoming ninth season, and executive producers Brad Wright and Robert Cooper have already decided that Browder’s character will be a military guy, part of a Stargate team viewers haven’t seen yet on the Sci Fi show.
“Specifically, he’s the [pilot] that led the squadron that fought [an enemy named] Anubis in Antarctica,” Wright wrote in an e-mail. “He was badly injured when his fighter crashed, nearly killed but was promised a place on SG-1 if he made it back to fighting form.”
Here’s my e-mail exchange with Brad:
Q: How did Ben’s name come up in connection with SG-1? Was there a desire to add a character to the ninth season, and the names of various actors came up? Or was Ben the only actor that was under consideration?
A: Actually, we asked casting to generate a list as we usually do, but we’ve been interested in working with Ben for some time. Meeting him for the first time in San Diego at Comicon last year reinforced that interest.
Q: Did Sci Fi Channel execs or anyone at MGM suggest Ben, or was it an idea cooked up by you and Robert Cooper? Or did Ben just show up at your house and demand a part?
A: We already knew that the execs at Sci Fi were fans of Ben because of Farscape, so we were on the same page. Ben was the only actor we made an offer to.
Q: Do you have strong ideas about the character that Ben will be playing, or is his character still being developed?
A: Rob and I had talked at length about the character and he came up with a very interesting backstory. You should actually ask Rob about that, since he’s writing the script introducing his character. [Ed note: I plan on doing just that.]
Q: Related to the question above, if Ben’s character has already been somewhat defined — will his character be a member of the military? A Stargate SG-1 team member? An alien? Can you talk at all about what kind of man Ben will be playing?
A: Rob will tell you this, but yes, he’s a military man. Specifically, he’s the F-302 pilot (our Earth-designed space fighter) that led the squadron that fought Anubis in Antarctica. He was badly injured when his fighter crashed, nearly killed but was was promised a place on SG-1 if he made it back to fighting form.
I’m not concerned with Crichton comparisons that may arise. SG-1 is a unit of the U.S. Air Force and so he should be an officer, but it’s a very different show.
Q: When does filming begin for Season 9 (are you already in production for Season 9, or are you still filming Season 8)? And is Ben committed to be in the entire season, or only in a certain number of episodes? Is he committed beyond Season 9?
A: We’ll start shooting Season 9 at the beginning of March. (I can’t believe I just said that)
Ben will be with us for the entire season and if we keep going, he’ll keep going. (I’m not so sure if I’ll keep going 
Q: Everyone’s been commenting on how similar Ben and Michael Shanks look — is there any possibility that their characters will be related?
A: No, they won’t be related but once we’ve shaved Ben’s head it will be far easier to tell them apart We’ll come up with something. I’m not worried about it.
Q: Is Richard Dean Anderson coming back at all for Season 9? There was some talk of 4 appearances for Season 9, but has anything been confirmed? If he does not come back for Season 9, what happens to him at the end of Season 8?
A: O’Neill will continue to be a part of the SG-1 universe. Whether we actually SEE him is up to Rick, but the character will continue to exist on or off screen. He may appear in one or two or more episodes. But let me add this: I handed over the reins of the SG-1 to Robert in season seven because I needed a rest and wanted to spend more time with my family.
That’s all Rick wants to do, and I don’t blame him. I came back. The door is open for Rick to do the same.
[Next season] Claudia is going to appear in a five-episode arc in the role of Vala. She’s great. You’ll get to see just why we wanted to bring her back in “Prometheus Unbound,” which has yet to air.
Q: Can you confirm that Claudia Black will come back during Season 9? Would having Claudia and Ben on the same episode(s) of SG-1 be a great opportunity to get Farscape fans to check out SG-1, in your mind?
A: I think Claudia and Ben should bring a few “Farscape” fans aboard, but that’s not why we’re doing this. They’re great actors. Claudia has already proven herself on our show.
Q: Have you heard/read any feedback on Ben’s casting from SG-1 fans? From “Stargate” fans? Are both camps generally happy with the news? What’s the general feeling you’ve been getting from people?
A: As to whether or not the “camps” will be happy — I honestly don’t worry about that. We do read what is posted on the ‘net but then we make our shows the way we think they should be made. We’ll see.
Q: In Season 9, is there a desire to do more off-world, mythology stories? Or will they be more Earth-set?
A: Forgive me, but this question drives me nuts.
Despite the fact that I think the Earth-based stories are important to the series, it is not entirely a creative decision. Since the beginning we’ve done Earth-based stories to offset the costs of offworld stories. We don’t have unlimited resources. It is a fact that Earth-based shows are — generally speaking — less expensive to produce. (Antarctica doesn’t count).
Off-world stories require visual effects, matte paintings, otherworldly sets, remote locations, costumes, props and set [decoration] that all has to be constructed to our standards. I know that fans hate that answer but that’s the way it is. It is NOT our inability to come up with stories that take place on other planets.
Q: Regarding Season 9, can you talk a bit about the general direction or theme of the season? Will there be any crossovers to Atlantis?
A: Season 9 will have a new beginning with a new enemy. I think once you’ve seen the end of Season 8 you’ll understand why we’re doing that. Yes, I hope there will be cross over between the two series. I have an idea but I’m still working it out.
Q: Is Don S. Davis coming back in Season 9?
A: Possibly. Nothing has been set.
Q: What do you think Ben will bring to SG-1 — what are you personally most excited about, regarding his coming to the show?
A: I think it’s going to be fun to have him around.
Posted with permission of the author: our grateful thanks to Maureen Ryan
Read Maureen Ryan’s article at the Chicago Tribune
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Posted in News at 10:49 am by Alison
Stargate SG-1 star Michael Shanks told SCI FI Wire that he was pleased to hear that Farscape’s Ben Browder would be joining the cast of the SCI FI Channel series when it kicks off its ninth season next year. “I’m a big fan of stirring the pot,” Shanks said in an interview. “Not that we’ve become complacent, but I’m a big fan of introducing new elements.”
Browder joins the cast as a new character, a seasoned lieutenant colonel who becomes the latest member of SG-1. “We’ve worked on the show for many years, and we’ve worked with the same three other actors,” Shanks said, referring to co-stars Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge and Richard Dean Anderson. “If it’s just those four people on the screen, yeah, we could have a great rapport, but when you introduce a new element you always have that inhale of breath. It’s like, ‘Ooh, what’s this going to do?’ That’s what guest stars are for. You get complacent when you sit on your butt too long and you work with the same group of people. You get used to the dynamic, and you get spoiled and lazy. I think introducing a new element tests you, and it also shakes it up a little bit. And I think, without taking anything too much away, the introduction of a new person is going to up the stakes and sort of have everybody doing a tapdance to figure out where this is all going to fit.”
SCI FI no doubt hopes that Browder’s presence will both attract new viewers to the show and keep SG-1 fans—particularly those who’ve bemoaned the decreased presence of Anderson—in the fold.
But Shanks insisted that that end of the equation was not his concern. “Whether Ben brings a SF cachet to the table, … I don’t care,” he said. “That’s not my business to worry about whether or not he’s going to bring in viewers. My job is to find out how we can work together and how it’s going to be positive and what kinds of good stories we can tell. If his reputation in that regard is spot-on, that’s all I care about, and it sounds like he’s got a positive reputation.”
Sci Fi Wire article
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Posted in Merchandise at 9:54 am by Alison
We have today uncovered another apparent autograph scam involving Richard Dean Anderson’s signature and we need to bring this to everyone’s attention.
Specifically, there is a website called “mspgautographs.com” which is offering Richard Dean Anderson autographs on a ‘pre order’ basis at a price of £80 (yes, £80!!) The website claims these are from a ‘private MSPG signing’ with Richard. As our company has recently commenced a non-profit charity program for the sale of RDA’s autographs, we know that Richard is simply not engaged in any such activity other than with the Stargate.Autographs.com charity project
Having reviewed the website claims, I called Richard this afternoon to discuss this matter with him personally. He confirmed to me that he has NOT entered into any such arrangement with MSPG Autographs or any other company. At the same time, he expressed deep concern that such activity is taking place.
This matter has now been placed in the hands of Richard’s attorney, who I am confident will take appropriate measures.
Those of you that have visited the www.stargate-autographs.com website will have hopefully read Richard’s personal statement as to how he feels about fans getting ripped off by scams such as this. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth the read!
I do apologise if our ‘fake SG autograph’ warnings may seem to be getting a little tedious, but we need forums like this to help spread the word. We are all sick and tired of fans putting out good money for worthless paper, which has motivated us to create a safe alternative.
I also wish to re-emphasise that our program is a non-profit venture and would like to remind fans that Richard has established the price of his autographed photo at $40 – not 80!! Also, please remember that EVERY PENNY of this goes to Richard’s charities.
Finally, we encourage you to contact us if you see any Stargate autographs that you feel are ‘questionable’. We shall be happy to help you distinguish between the good, the bad and the ugly!
If you’ve got this far down the page, thank you for taking the time to read this rather lengthy posting!
Best of the season to you all.
Paul Brown
Legends Memorabilia Inc.
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Posted in News at 8:45 am by WelshHelen
The official rating for End Game has been published. Atlantis didn’t make the Sky Top 10 for the second week running, with less than 780,000 viewers.
Stargate ratings
05/10: 0.94m viewers, placed 3rd (New Order Part 1)
12/10: 1.19m viewers, placed 2nd (New Order Part 2)
19/10: 1.00m viewers, placed 2nd (Lockdown)
26/10: 1.03m viewers, placed 3rd (Zero Hour)
02/11: 0.92m viewers, placed 2nd (Icon)
09/11: 0.88m viewers, placed 5th (Avatar)
16/11: 0.93m viewers, placed 4th (Affinity)
23/11: 0.89m viewers, placed 4th (Covenant)
30/11: 0.82m viewers, placed 5th (Sacrifices)
07/12: 0.80m viewers, placed 8th (End Game)
Atlantis ratings
12/10: 1.28m viewers, placed 1st (Rising Part 1)
19/10: 0.99m viewers, placed 3rd (Rising Part 2)
26/10: 0.97m viewers, placed 4th (Hide and Seek)
02/11: 0.86m viewers, placed 4th (Thirty-Eight Minutes)
09/11: 0.76m viewers, placed 10th (Suspicion)
16/11: 0.86m viewers, placed 6th (Childhood’s End)
23/11: 0.73m viewers, placed 9th (Poisoning the Well)
30/11: less than 0.72m viewers, not in top 10 (Underground)
07/12: less than 0.78m viewers, not in top 10 (Home)
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21.Dec.04
Posted in News at 10:43 am by Alison
O’Neill Remains Part Of SG-1
Robert C. Cooper, executive producer of SCI FI Channel’s original series Stargate SG-1, told SCI FI Wire that the character of Brig. Gen. Jack O’Neill will remain a part of the show in the upcoming ninth season, whether or not Richard Dean Anderson returns as a regular cast member.
“His character is going to remain very much alive in the Stargate [SG-1] universe,” Cooper said in an interview. “He … is going to be integral in commanding what goes on at the SGC. As to the appearance of Richard Dean Anderson in the series, that’s really still undetermined. We are very hopeful that Rick is going to agree to participate in a number of episodes, but I have no idea as to how many or when that will be resolved.”
At press time, Anderson was still in talks about his status on the show.
Meanwhile, Cooper said the ninth season would introduce new villains and take the show in a new direction. “While we say new direction, … the concept of the series is very much pulled from the mythology of SG-1, and I think fans are going to be very excited about the direction we’re going. … One of the things we’re going to be exploring in season nine is the origin of the Ancients and the Gatebuilders. And it’s something I know fans have been sort of very curious about, and have sort of asked to see. And that is … one of the things we’re really going to be delving into: … Who the Ancients really are, and where they came from, and we may even get a chance to go there.”
Sci Fi Wire article
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Posted in News at 10:42 am by Alison
Stargate SG-1 star Michael Shanks told SCI FI Wire that he’s just wrapped production on an upcoming SCI FI original picture entitled Swarmed. “It’s not a bee [movie],” Shanks said in an interview. “No, it’s a wasp movie.”
Shanks plays a scientist in Swarmed. “It’s one of those sort of campy little throwbacks to the ’60s period of SF movies,” he said. “It’s kind of like The Swarm, where there’s this cloud of genetically altered wasps, rather than bees, that descends on this small town in Indiana.”
Shanks added, “It was a fun project to do. I always go into those things and hope the people involved actually get the fact that this isn’t supposed to be life and death, and that the important task is to have as much fun as possible and to maybe give a wink now and then to the audience and let them know that we know that we’re not putting men on the moon in this particular two hours of television.”
Swarmed, which co-stars Carol Alt and Ellen Dubin, will air sometime in 2005.
Sci Fi Wire article
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20.Dec.04
Posted in News at 3:57 pm by Alison
Browder’s SG-1 Role Revealed
Robert C. Cooper, executive producer of SCI FI Channel’s original series Stargate SG-1, told SCI FI Wire that new regular cast member Ben Browder (Farscape) will play a new military member of the SG-1 team. “Ben is playing a military guy, a lieutenant colonel,” Cooper said in an interview. “And I can’t tell you his name yet. It hasn’t been legally cleared yet, so it could still change.”
Browder’s character, who joins the show in the upcoming ninth season, has a past history with the Stargate program, Cooper said. “The audience just hasn’t met him yet,” he said. “He’s actually played a key role in some major events that went on … in the Stargate universe and was in fact very instrumental in helping SG-1 succeed in one of their more important missions. And as a result of that, he was given … his choice posting. And he ultimately chooses to join SG-1. So when he first appears on the show, SG-1 will already know who he is. And we’ll see some of those scenes and how he was basically woven into the tapestry of the show through flashbacks.”
Cooper said that Stargate SG-1 will embark on a new direction in the upcoming ninth season. “One of the things we’ve always done with Stargate … [is] to reinvent ourselves all the time, and … bring in new villains and anything we needed to do to keep the show fresh,” he said. “And yet we still I think stuck to the core concept and the core team that started out at the beginning. And so fans of the show will still feel as though things are very comfortable and familiar, you know?
We’re still going to see Daniel Jackson and Teal’c and Carter and our new colonel going through the Stargate to alien worlds and getting into adventures. But there’s going to be some big new dangers as well.
We [will wrap] up a lot of storylines in season eight. And I think that, hopefully, fans are going to be very satisfied by the conclusion of season eight, and feel like we’ve really paid off a lot of the stories we’ve been building up over the last couple of years. And we’re looking at season nine to start fresh with some new stories and a new take on the Stargate universe.”
The remaining new season of Stargate SG-1’s eighth season kick off Jan. 21, 2005, in a new Friday 8 p.m. ET/PT timeslot, followed by the new episodes of Stargate Atlantis at 9 p.m. and the new original series Battlestar Galactica at 10 p.m. The ninth season of SG-1 will begin airing in the summer.
Sci Fi Wire article
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19.Dec.04
Posted in Merchandise at 9:48 am by Alison
Fake Stargate Autographs Warning
To all Stargate fans, especially those in Germany:
It has been brought to our attention that several Stargate autographs that are for sale on eBay Germany are possible fakes. Having inspected the items, we have determined that these items are indeed bogus. The person responsible for selling these items goes under the eBay “ID” as micha10-5 and the item numbers/links are as follows:
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=8726&item=6138476983&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=8726&item=6138477180&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=8726&item=6138477453&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=8726&item=6138477811&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=8726&item=6138477932&rd=1
Unfortunately, these items have been listed as a ‘private’ auction, which means we are unable to view the bidder ID’s to warn them.
The purpose of this notice is to caution fans and auction bidders from purchasing any Stargate autographs from this particular vendor. At the same time, extreme caution should be taken when purchasing any Stargate signatures online. Please be sure to try and verify the authenticity and in this regard, don’t hesitate to contact us if you want an authenticity opinion on any Stargate autographs that you are considering purchasing.
Those of you that know about our Stargate autographs project, will also know that this is a non-profit service we are providing to help charities and to stop fans from being ripped off by unscrupulous ‘merchants’ who are trying to capitalize on the popularity of Stargate – as illustrated above.
With kind regards,
Paul Brown
President
Legends Memorabilia Inc.
www.stargate-autographs.com
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18.Dec.04
Posted in News at 9:58 pm by Alison
A Solutions source has confirmed that both Michael Shanks and Christopher Judge have signed for Season 9 of Stargate SG-1 while writer and producer Joseph Mallozzi promises on the SG1Solutions Forum that we’ll see Daniel and Teal’c “front and center as we kick off a new year of SG-1.”
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