DANIEL JACKSON DESERVES RECOGNITION

Robert Cooper’s comments about everyone being promoted, and the acknowledgements given to both Sam and Jack, including medals (Both well deserved), have reminded me of the lack of recognition given to Daniel.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is America’s highest civilian honor, the equivalent of the military Medal of Honor in times of war. In 1945, President Harry Truman, searching for a way to honor the contributions of American civilians in World War II, created the Medal of Freedom as the nation’s highest civilian honor to be the equivalent of the military Medal of Honor.

President Kennedy went on to expand the Presidential Medal of Freedom to include all who had made lasting contributions “in all forms of endeavor that are touched with the public interest.” In addition to the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the award could be presented with a higher degree: The Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction.

Daniel Jackson has served alongside Colonel Jack O’Neill, Major Samantha Carter, who have both been recognised for their contributions to the Stargate Program and for saving the planet on numerous occasions. Daniel Jackson has been ignored. The Presidential Medal of Freedom should have been given to him a long time ago. If this medal stands for anything, it stands for what this man has given for his country. This award is often given to those who aid in the preservation of world peace. Because the writers have chosen to ignore the contribution of the whole team, we’ve decided to have a plaque or medal made on behalf of the fans. It will be sent to the studio’s for Michael Shanks to hold on behalf of his alter ego. TPTB might not recognise Daniel Jacksons contribution, but we do.

If you want to participate. Then leave your name and e-mail address in the comments section on the homepage, along with a few words to describe why you think Daniel Jackson’s contributions to his country, deserves to be recognised. These will then be sent, along with the presentation, to Robert Cooper, who will be asked to present it to Michael Shanks. Robert Cooper will also then be made aware of the feelings of the fans. If the writers won’t do what needs to be done, then we need to do it for them.

Suzanna

StargateDanielFriendly.net

AS THE STARGATE TURNS

As the ‘Stargate’ Turns
By Kate O’Hare

Who cares if the Goa’uld System Lords are about to attack Earth, or if the Asgard are going to show up in time to save the day, or if the giant Ancient Weapon is of any more use to Earth than a pea-shooter?

The real question looming as Sci-Fi Channel’s “Stargate SG-1” starts its eighth season Friday, July 9, is: Will cryogenically frozen Col. Jack O’Neill be thawed and survive so that he and Maj. Samantha Carter can hook up … or not?

To be fair, plenty of fans care about the System Lords and all that other plot stuff, but quite a few spend a lot of their time discussing, arguing and speculating about the love lives (or lack, thereof) of the main characters. They’re the ‘shippers (from the word “relationship”), and throughout science-fiction and fantasy television, they’re among the most vocal and ardent fans.

In fact, the strong feelings of the ‘shippers have had an effect on the development of the “Stargate: SG-1” spin-off, “Stargate: Atlantis,” which premieres next week and will, after its two-hour premiere, share Friday nights with its predecessor.

“We’re not going to set up obvious chemistry between our core characters on ‘Atlantis,’ ” says executive producer Brad Wright, who works on both shows. “Especially when ‘Stargate’ was so divided between ‘shippers and non-‘shippers, and I didn’t even know what that meant until long after we were doing it.”

The main ‘shipper issue on “Stargate: SG-1” concerns O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and his subordinate officer, Carter (Amanda Tapping). Back in season four, in an episode called “Beneath the Surface,” Wright and fellow executive producer Robert C. Cooper took a test swing at this by having the characters forget who they were while in captivity, therefore removing the impediments of military rank.

Wright says, “It struck us, if there was an attraction, and if they don’t remember who they were, they might fall into a relationship, because they didn’t know they were prohibited from doing so. Oh, the mail I got from that.

“Turns out there are as many people who want them to be together as don’t want them to be together.”

Apparently, a character’s demise is no impediment to ‘shippers who want to pair up archaeologist Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) and SG-1’s late medical officer, Dr. Janet Fraiser (Teryl Rothery), who met her fate last season in Part 2 of “Heroes.”

“There’s a whole camp of people who want Daniel to get together with Janet,” Wright says, “even though she’s dead now. I just think it’s interesting, because they like the characters so much, the fans want them to be happy. They see them as the perfect couple — why don’t they just get together?”

It’s this passionate attachment that has contributed to the success of “Stargate” both on cable and in syndication.

Anderson says, “Ultimately, what’s kept it together over the years has been, in great part– aside from the stories that we’re able to tell, the great imaginations of everyone involved — is the chemistry on-screen of the people telling the stories.”

Just how long this can continue remains an open question. Wright says, “I had said categorically there was going to be no season seven, and here we are shooting season eight. I’ve stopped predicting.”

When those words are relayed to him on set, Anderson — who has scaled back his working days on the show’s Vancouver location to spend more time with his daughter — gives a sidelong look.

“I have no idea about nine,” he says. “I wasn’t so sure about eight or seven, for that matter. But as far as if you’re asking, what is my future and my intentions, my intentions right now, as we speak, are to finish this year, be as integral a part of the franchise as I possibly can, and as I go through the process, helping to launch ‘Atlantis’ with my brief presence.

“Then, my intention is to retire, with quotes around it, because I don’t know what retirement means to a workaholic. But I’m going to have to learn.”

This season, fans will have to be satisfied with some big life changes for O’Neill and Carter that don’t necessarily involve romance.

“O’Neill is now Lord God King Boo-Foo O’Neill,” Tapping says. “And Sam’s just Supersmart Sam. That’s all I can tell you.”

For those who want Sam to put her love life on hold for O’Neill, Tapping says “tough.” Her police-detective boyfriend, Pete Shanahan (David DeLuise), is coming back.

“He’s not dead yet,” she says, alluding to the high mortality rate among former Carter loves. “There’s a huge hue and cry on the Internet from people who don’t want Sam to be with him. They want her to be with O’Neill — and probably, deep down, Sam does, too. But she’s given up on the idea of unrequited love and decided to live her life. But never say never, right?”

Zap2It.com

S8 EPISODE LIST UPDATE

“New Order: Part 1” Episode: #8.1 – 9 July 2004

“New Order: Part 2” Episode: #8.2 – 9 July 2004

“Lockdown” Episode: #8.3 – 23 July 2004

“Zero Hour” Episode: #8.4 – 30 July 2004

“Icon” Episode #8.5?

“Avatar” Episode #8.6?

“Covenant” Episode: #8.7 – 20 August 2004

“Affinity” Episode: #8.8 – 27 August 2004

“Sacrifices” Episode: #8.9 – 2004

“End Game” Episode: #8.10 – 2004

“Prometheus Unbound” Episode: #8.11 – 2005

“Gemini” Episode #8.12? – 2005

“Good To Be King” Episode #8.13 – 2005

COOPER REVEALS S8 SG-1 SPOILERS

SG-1 Spoilers Revealed

Robert C. Cooper, executive producer of SCI FI Channel’s original series Stargate SG-1, told SCI FI Wire that the upcoming eighth season will wrap up a few things. “To a certain extent I hope that fans will feel that at the end of this season that a lot the threads and storylines that … they want to see resolved will be resolved,” Cooper said in an interview on the show’s Vancouver, B.C., set.

Among other things, the series will deal once and for all with the Replicator threat, Cooper said.”They become a force in our galaxy, and then ultimately get into a … big war with the Goa’uld,” he said. “And we kind of get caught in between the two and have to decide who we want to side with and help.”

Cooper added that the show will deal with the fallout of Daniel Jackson’s (Michael Shanks) ascendance and return to Earth. “Daniel’s going to come to a bit of a closure with the whole ascendance storyline and what happened to him while he was ascended and his relationship with Oma and his kind of personal battle with Anubis and his feeling of responsibility for maybe not being able to complete the process of eliminating Anubis.” As for Anubis (David Palffy), who appeared to have perished at the end of the seventh season, Cooper teased, “I’ll say that there are still issues out there.” Baal (Cliff Simon), another Goa’uld System Lord, will also return.

And SG-1 will deal further with the Jaffa rebellion, including reprising the character of Ishta, played by Star Trek: Enterprise’s Jolene Blalock, who first appeared in the season-seven episode “Birthright.”

In response to a question about whether the upcoming season will be the show’s last, Cooper said, “We also are not going to completely end the show. We never wanted to end the show. Our intention was to leave it open so that SG-1 was still out there on adventures and also leave the door open for features or TV movies or direct-to-video movies or whatever, that sort of thing, so that the franchise will continue.”

Stargate SG-1 returns with a two-hour season premiere at 9 p.m. ET/PT July 9.

SCI FI Wire

SG-1 GETS HAIR RAISING

Teal'c gets hair raising in season 8Christopher Judge, who plays Teal’c on SCI FI Channel’s original series Stargate SG-1, told SCI FI Wire that his character undergoes one notable change in the upcoming eighth season: He grows hair. “Yes,” Judge said in an interview during a break in filming on the show’s Vancouver, B.C., set. “It took a lot of years of begging and groveling for me to finally get it, but yeah, … that will be the most obvious change, definitely.”

Judge, who is not naturally bald, said that seven years of shaving his head daily took its toll. “I got really tired of it,” he said. “Just shaving my head every morning. And by three quarters of the way through the season it was really painful to actually shave. So, you know, this is very welcome. Very welcome. Hopefully the fans will like it.”

Judge added that it took a little persuasion to get the show’s producers to allow such a dramatic change to his character’s appearance—and he even tried a more radical look. “It first was at least considered when there was going to be all the changes this year,” he said. “I’d done a bunch of conventions and had cornrows [during hiatus], so I talked to [executive producer] Rob Cooper before I left, and he said, ‘OK, maybe so.’ So I kind of unveiled the cornrows at the conventions. So we got here [when filming resumed], and it was the Friday before the Monday we started shooting, and pictures were sent down to MGM. And they didn’t like it. So I had to shave the cornrows. But this is what’s left.”

Judge’s hair is now closely cropped. “Believe me, I’m grateful for it,” he said with a smile. “I think it was time for it. You know, I mean eight years for this character to be on Earth? I just think that was the next move toward his … final assimilation. So yeah, I think the timing is right.”

So how will the show acknowledge Teal’c’s new do? “Nothing’s said about it until we find [star] Rick [Dean Anderson, who plays O’Neill] in … the first episode of the season. And he comes out of the little chamber and says, ‘So what’s with the hair?’ In typical O’Neill fashion.” Stargate SG-1 begins its eighth season on July 9.

SCI FI Wire

AMANDA TAPPING SEEKS HELM

Amanda Tapping, who plays Maj. Samantha Carter on SCI FI Channel’s original series Stargate SG-1, told SCI FI Wire that she’s eager to sit in the director’s chair again in the upcoming eighth season, as she did in the season-seven episode “Resurrection.” “I’m begging,” Tapping said in an interview during a break in filming in Vancouver, B.C. “And, in fact, I’ve just come from [executive producer] Robert Cooper’s office. … Every two days I go up and say, ‘There’s still a spot open on the director’s schedule.’ And today he actually said, ‘This is getting a little old, this conversation.’ And I said, … ‘It’s just going to keep happening until [the slot is taken].’ So, yeah, I keep bugging him.”

Last year, Tapping got a chance to direct for the first time in “Resurrection,” an episode based on an idea by cast member Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson). Tapping added that she was recently nominated for a Leo Award, honoring film and television work in British Columbia, for directing “Resurrection.” It’s an experience that Tapping recalls with fondness. “I loved it,” she said. “I still get a huge grin on my face when I think about it. I was in the episode more than I wanted to be. I kind of didn’t want to be in the episode I was directing. … And I didn’t have as much prep [time] as I would have hoped, because we were shooting our season finale prior to my shooting my episode. But having said all that, it was a fantastic experience.” Stargate SG-1 airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Season eight commences July 9.

SCI FI Wire

CLAUDIA BLACK TO GUEST IN S8

Claudia BlackFarscape star Claudia Black, who played the Peacekeeper Officer Aeryn Sun in the SCI FI Channel original series, is to guest star in Stargate SG-1’s Season 8 episode “Prometheus Unbound“. The news was reported in a post at Gateworld Forum by Stargate writer and Co-Executive Producer Joseph Mallozzi.

Mallozzi told fans that Black will play Vala, the alien woman who steals the Earth’s only starship Prometheus, and with it, Dr. Daniel Jackson.

Vala, dryly humorous, challenging and cynical, uses her looks to try to distract Daniel from preventing completion of her mission, which is to deliver the Prometheus to her people, whom she alleges to be rebels fleeing from Ba’al. Vala herself was once the host to a Goa’uld symbiote.

Farscape’s Aeryn Sun is one of the strongest and smartest female characters to ever grace the screen, with Black taking a coveted TV Guide cover as one of the sexiest stars in the universe. Farscape fans are fortunate to be able to welcome Claudia Black back to her most famous role in the mini-series “Farscape: Peacekeeper War” which finished filming in March of this year and is currently in post-production. Also starring Ben Browder [reprising his role of John Crichton], “Peacekeeper War” wraps up the loose ends left dangling when the series came to its abrupt and much lamented end last year after it was cancelled by SCI FI Channel because of disappointing ratings. Ironically, its spot in SCI FI’s Friday night line-up was taken by Stargate SG-1.

Stargate fans are sure to welcome Claudia Black to the SG-1 universe and will keenly anticipate the entanglement of her character Vala with series favourite Daniel Jackson, played by star Michael Shanks, in Season 8’s “Prometheus Unbound”. Black’s appearance in the show is sure to excite media and genre interest.

Claudia Black Online

CULT TIMES: ROBERT COOPER ON S8

A New Order
Robert Cooper and Andy Mikita
By Thomasina Gibson, Cult Times #106, Jul 04

“There’s so many great things happening with Stargate SG-1 it’s going to be an exciting year,” says [Executive Producer and Showrunner] Robert Cooper.

The big news is that lots of people get big step up the ladder career-wise. Cooper confirms, “Yeah, it’s promotions for every one, which is providing us with a whole new dynamic this year. We’re basing a lot of stories around the SGC, partly because of economics and also because SG-1 has become less of an exploratory unit and more of a defence-type unit and the pro¬motions are a necessary and logical step for some people who up ’til now were based at Cheyenne Mountain.”

The new order means we’ll be seeing less of a favourite familial face as General Hammond (Don S Davis) leaves the Stargate Command Centre in Colorado for a swanky new office in the Pentagon. Cooper reveals, “General Hammond is put in charge of all things related to the Stargate programme. Brigadier General O’Neill will still be in touch with him on a regular basis so we don’t lose Hammond’s presence completely. Then Carter [Amanda Tapping] gets her just desserts. It’s the first thing O’Neill does as a general.” Does she then get to boss everybody about? Sadly, Cooper shakes his head, “Ah, no! It’s not in Carter’s nature.”

Speaking of Carter, Cooper mentions that her boyfriend, Peter Shanahan (David DeLuise) is back on the scene: “Pete is definitely back in a couple of episodes, which will be a lot of fun. I mean, there’s a lot of stuff on the Internet about ‘Stalker Pete’ and it’s clear that some of these people have quite a few issues of their own that they have to deal with, but the whole discussion thing is fun.”

Teal’c will be sporting hair for Season Eight. Cooper explains, “Teal’c’s arc sees him living off the base for the first time and he’s be¬come a bit of an urban superhero. He has the Jaffa moral code which he doesn’t seem able to abandon, so if he sees something that is not right he will do what he thinks is the right thing and that might not always be the most discreet thing in the neighbourhood. He’s living off base with the USAF’s blessing, so long as he keeps undercover and quiet, and we’ll see that things don’t exactly work out that way.”

“Michael Shanks is going to have a couple of good episodes of his own,” shares Cooper, “and I guess the big thing that Daniel is going to do is to have a bit of a showdown with Anubis [David Palffy] towards the end of the season.”

Before then, Cooper is looking forward to the season opener, when Fifth (Patrick Currie) is going to come back and get revenge for the fact that SG-1 left him stranded and betrayed in Unnatural Selection. “Well, we have to remember that he is a replicator. He has this programming that ultimately, he won’t be able to overcome. In fact, there are going to be even better bad guys this year than last year. Some tables are going to be turned so we’re really going to have to be on our guard more than ever.”