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Stargate SG-1 fans, hang on to your Goa'ulds . . . Daniel Jackson lives! Well, maybe not. But he's back. Fans can rejoice because not only is the popular shot-in-Vancouver sci-fi series returning for a seventh season, Vancouver actor Michael Shanks will be back to reprise the role of Dr. Daniel Jackson -- much to the relief of the savedanieljackson.com site, we're sure. Shanks exited the show at the end of season five after complaining that his character, who dated back to the original 1994 Stargate movie (where he was played by James Spader), was being under-used. Shanks walked. Dr. Jackson, in turn, gave up his human life during that season's finale and ascended to a higher plane of existence. He returned for one season-six episode in spirit form. Other than Shanks and star and series producer Richard Dean Anderson, no other cast members have been confirmed, although an announcement was pending at press time. Shanks' replacement was Corin Nemec, playing a character named Jonas Quinn. Other stars of the series include Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge and Vancouver native Teryl Rothery. The show
was on Showtime until last year, when it was picked up the U.S. Sci-Fi
Channel.
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Reuters/Variety
TV, By John Dempsey
Over the summer, original episodes of "Stargate SG-1" on the Sci Fi Channel averaged 1.32 million households, the best series ratings in the history of the cable channel. Negotiations for the new contract dragged out because Richard Dean Anderson (news), the star and co-executive producer, reportedly didn't want to do another full season. One scenario under discussion was to bring the show back without Anderson. "I'm glad he's signed up: Anderson is a major part of the series," said Bonnie Hammer, president of the Sci Fi Channel. Hammer referred to the series as the linchpin of the network's Friday night of original programs. In January, the network will schedule the last 11 episodes of the sixth season along with the final 11 hours of the canceled "Farscape" series, plus reruns of "The Dead Zone" from Sci Fi sister network USA. Sci Fi also owns exclusive rights to the first five seasons of "Stargate," which it runs every Monday night from 7 to 11. "Stargate," based on the 1995 MGM movie starring Kurt Russell (news), began its life as a Showtime series in 1997. After the show's five-year run on the pay cable network, Sci Fi took over the rights to the firstrun episodes. MGM said the network will continue to share the runs with TV syndication in the seventh season. The parties declined to comment on reports that the new contract will increase the cost of each Vancouver-based episode well beyond the current $1.3 million an hour, with Sci Fi paying a larger percentage of the production cost in license fees. |