Category: Press

Staff Reviewer G.J. Donnelly talks sacrilege

Starting out Donnelly’s review is the conclusion that it was best for the long-running Stargate SG-1 to divide Jack O’Neill into two and give part to Gen. Landry and the other to Lt. Col. Mitchell. Then, Donnelly offers the daring statement, “Pardon the sacrilege, but I think the show is better for the change.”

Donnelly doesn’t see much removal of Mitchell from Farscape‘s John Crichton in the acting of Ben Browder, but qualifies that it doesn’t appear to be a drawback.

Donnelly likens the Arthurian treasure hunt to a “Saturday-matenee serial”, but got great enjoyment out of Mitchell’s and Teal’c’s interaction in their puzzle chamber. “Trapped inside a tiny room, trying to decipher a set of tiles, Mitchell nearly jumps out of his tighty-whities when Teal’c tries to pierce a stone door with a machine gun. "Whoa, man! Bullets bounce!" yelps Mitchell. Dig Teal’c’s reaction — Christopher Judge’s split-second smirk was worth waiting the whole show for. That’s how you haze a rookie.”

Read G. J. Donnelly’s complete review here
9.01 “Avalon Part 1” Episode Guide
Poll&Views thread on SG1Solutions Fan Forum

[Thanks to ShardsGlass for the tip — DeeKayP]

Columnist Jason Davis gives the Season Nine Premiere an A-

Davis’ review leans toward characterization rather than storyline, and with that in mind, rates Stargate SG-1‘s Season Nine premiere highly. One of Davis’ greatest concerns about the sci-fi series going into its ninth season is that it would become like X-Files and lose the opportunity to change direction and make the show last. Davis’ opening question, “Could it be that one series has actually learned from the mistakes of another?” It appears he believes that Stargate SG-1 not only learned from X-Files‘s downfall, but, “With a little, luck, part two will keep up the good work and STARGATE SG-1 will boldly set a new record for American SF TV longevity…”

Davis’ thoughts about the actors and their roles are very complimentary. Concerning Jack’s appearance with his replacement Hank Landry, played by Beau Bridges, and his very small visit to an injured Mitchell in his hospital room, he writes, “Wisely, Richard Dean Anderson’s guest appearance as Jack O’Neill was a subdued visit to the periphery of the story that didn’t step on the primary narrative, but clearly was appropriate for the episode.” He adds, “Sensible heads will keep Jack involved without upstaging those who have succeeded him.”

As for the new characters and their actors, Davis observed, “Speaking of Lt. Col. Mitchell and Maj. Gen. Landry, could the series ask for better relief actors to arrive so late in the day? Ben Browder, though still exuding a bit of Uncharted Territories wormhole wrangler, is immediately agreeable as Mitchell and his disappointment at finding his new assignment bereft of personnel is at once disheartening and amusing. Bridges, as the no-nonsense Landry, follows in a long line of career TV military men who’d rather not know from alien menaces, but quickly have to face the extraordinary nature of their new duties. Both men are in fine form throughout the hour and bode well for the continuation of the series. Similarly memorable is Claudia Black’s guest appearance as Vala. Quite a distance from FARSCAPE’s Aeryn Sun, Vala truly shows off the actor’s range and wisely arrays her considerable talents against those of Michael Shanks, who endures them much as Sun used to suffer Crichton. Her exclamation of “Let’s make babies!,” her disappointment in Jackson’s sexual prowess, and the hilarious stab at Browder and Shank’s physical resemblance are comedic high points that will be hard to top.”

Read the full review here
9.01 “Avalon Part 1” Episode Guide
Poll&Views thread on SG1Solutions Fan Forum

[Thanks to Sueb45 for the tip — DeeKayP]

Thanks to Elyse at the sg1_spoilme Yahoo! group for the heads up on this article and images!

The July 10 2005 issue of TV Guide Magazine, the highest-selling magazine in the US, will feature the SciFi Friday night line-up, Stargate: SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, and Battlestar Galactica. Three different collector covers will be sold:

• Stargate: SG-1 featuring Ben Browder and Amanda Tapping
• Stargate: Atlantis featuring Rachell Lutrell and Joe Flanigan
• Cast members from Battlestar Galatica

(Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks were featured on the cover of TV Guide on July 26, 2003.)

Here is the cover story as reported at TV Guide.

Going out of this world is business as usual for Sci Fi Channel, which has picked the perfect night of the week — Friday — to showcase its hottest properties: the spectacular lineup of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica, all returning with original episodes on July 15. Read on for excerpts of the magazine’s previews of the Stargate franchise.

Shaking Up Stargate

Yes, Stargate SG-1 fans, there is life after Richard Dean Anderson. From the look of things at the sprawling complex in Vancouver where Sci Fi Channel’s Friday-night anchor is filming its ninth season, an infusion of new characters — and a villainous race so powerful it has its own planet-size stargate portal — has created a palpable sense of renewal.

Sure, the heart of the international hit remains the same: A team of U.S. commandos and their buddy from another planet pass through a stargate to distant galaxies to defend Earth from its enemies. But Stargate has been primped. “To us, it’s a new show,” says executive producer Robert C. Cooper. He and producing partner Brad Wright see the departure of their leading man as an opportunity to reimagine the series that’s now tied with The X-Files as TV’s longest-running science-fiction series.

Anderson’s Jack O’Neill is stepping aside to make room for new regulars Beau Bridges, whose Gen. Hank Landry will head Stargate Command, and Farscape hunk Ben Browder, whose Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell will lead the SG-1 team. Equally tantalizing: Farscape’s Claudia Black has signed on for six episodes as an intergalactic thief, and Lou Gossett Jr. appears as a manipulative alien political leader.

Atlantis Rises Higher

Here at the massive soundstages where the two Stargate series are filmed, a former steel-bridge factory 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver, the cast and crew of Atlantis (Stargate SG-1’s sea-sprayed spin-off) are spouting about the storm-tossed second season ahead.

The core conflicts surrounding the expedition crew — explorers transported through the stargate and stranded in the Pegasus galaxy while trying to locate the ancient city of Atlantis — were established last year. Now executive producer Brad Wright promises moments of “real jeopardy and real consequences” for the besieged team as they try to hold off the Wraith, the vampirelike race that dines on humans. In last season’s multipart cliff-hanger, those nasty suckers were threatening to seize the Atlantis portal and invade our blue planet, making Earth their new feeding ground.

In this week’s premiere, “Siege, Part 3,” the cavalry arrives in the form of the imposing battle cruiser Daedalus, dispatched from Earth — and just in time. But eager reinforcements may not be enough to hold back the Wraith as their presence becomes more insidious, poisonous and confounding.

“We get into some pretty hairy danger, and we may lose some people close to us,” warns coproducer Martin Gero. Among the brow-raising Wraith developments: The Atlantis explorers will venture into an active hive; encounter an advanced alien culture that’s in cahoots with the Wraith; uncover mistrustful factions among the Wraith who may incite civil war; and begin work on a gene therapy that could devolve the evil race. “There’s part of the Wraith that is human,” Gero hints.

The show’s producers are practically rubbing their hands with glee over the new season….
— Matt Roush, Ileane Rudolph and Michael Davis

Read more about Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica in the July 10 issue of TV Guide, on newsstands Thursday.

Copyright © 2005 TV Guide Magazine Group, Inc. No infringement intended.

Gateworld have secured an interview with Ben Browder. It’s a fun and interesting read, with Browder very positive and enthusiastic about facing the challenges ahead of him coming in to a long-established, successful cast and show. Well worth checking out!

Read Ben Browder’s interview at Gateworld