Alison – Page 15 – Solutions Blog

TAPPING INTERVIEWED BY CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Actress Amanda Tapping, who plays Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter on the show, was interviewed 9 July by Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune “Amanda Tapping: Not Stargate Barbie”.

TAPPING on the changes in Carter this year and her relationship with police officer Pete Shanahan.

In the episode where Teal’c gets an apartment, Carter’s relationship with Pete goes a bit further, there’s more fleshing out of her personal life. Finally she’s got a guy in her life who doesn’t die! (laughs)

It is [scary] for her. It’s an opening up of a sheltered and protected harbor. She’s opened her heart in a big way, so it’s scary for her. Until last season, we hadn’t really done that much [on that side of Carter]. My fear is that it’s a double-edged sword. It’s great to round her out and it makes her more accessible, but have we taken anything away from her strength and integrity? Those are the things that prompt women to write me letters about how much they admire Carter. You do have that fear, how much do you want to reveal [about Carter’s personal life]?

You can read the rest of the interview at the Chicago Tribune Online Edition. You must be a registered user to access the article, but registration is free. We would always recommend that you read the terms and conditions before registering at any website.

Read the rest of Amanda Tapping’s interview at Chicago Tribune online edition

SPOILERS: TV GUIDE REVIEWS NEW ORDER

Follow the Leader
Stargate SG-1
(9 pm/ET, SCIFI)

Hey! Teal’c has hair!

Stargate SG-1’s resident alien (Christopher Judge) has outgrown his Kojak look and has opted for a hipper image in the two-hour eighth-season opener. And at the risk of incurring the wrath of its legion of fans, it’s a makeover that’s long overdue.

The Stargate devoted have littered the Web with tribute sites in French, Nordic, Russian, German — and even English. Criticizing the series could easily result in an international — or interstellar — incident. The fans’ loyalty may seem excessive, even obsessive, but I can relate. My friends can’t get me to shut up about the Yardbirds, let alone Monty Python. So who am I to judge the SG-1 faithful? This column is not about the fans; it’s about the show.

Tonight’s episode is titled “New Order” and it picks up where last season’s finale left off. O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) was cryogenically frozen in the aftermath of the team’s epic dust-up with Anubis over the fate of the Earth. Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson) has replaced rock-steady Gen. Hammond (Don S. Davis) as head of Stargate Command. The absence of O’Neill reduces the team to Teal’c, archeologist Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) and Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), who takes over as leader.

Obviously, the first order of business is to find O’Neill, but Weir does not want to risk SG-1 on what could turn out to be a wild goose chase. Carter’s determination quickly wins Weir over, but there’s a catch — Daniel must stay behind.

It turns out to be a shrewd move. Shortly after Carter and Teal’c embark on a quest to enlist the aid of an O’Neill ally, a party of Goa’uld System Lords contacts Stargate headquarters with an offer. Weir and Jackson are wary of their parasitical foes — particularly when they adopt a conciliatory tone and inject words like “deal” and “alliance” into the conversation.

In the meantime, Carter and Teal’c catch up with O’Neill’s friend Thor just in time to help defend his vessel from a swarm of Replicators — insect-like robots programmed to destroy Thor’s planet, Asgard. But their target isn’t Thor — it’s Carter.

The hallmark of Stargate SG-1 has always been consistency. Basically, the unit is made up of science-fiction archetypes. O’Neill is the irreverent leader, Teal’c the stoic alien, Jackson the romantic idealist and Carter the sexy, sensitive tomboy. But after seven years, consistency has morphed into tedium with the possible exception of the sudden death of Dr. Frazier (Teryl Rothery) in last year’s finale.

Happily, tonight’s show is full of surprises. The departure of Davis’s Gen. Hammond, coupled with the transfer of Higginson’s Weir to the spin-off Stargate Atlantis necessitates several changes within SG-1 that radically alter the dynamic among the characters. Although Davis’s departure could leave the gang without an anchor, a superior replacement isn’t out of the question.

However, the best part of this story is Tapping, who easily outclasses her castmates. She single-handedly elevates the episode from curious to riveting in a wrenching scene that puts Carter at the mercy of a vengeful captor.

There’s no denying that Stargate SG-1 has captured the hearts of millions, but let’s face facts: This cult series is, at best, an acquired taste. Now, I don’t begrudge anyone for wanting to gobble up this gumbo of stock characters, esoteric argot and escapism. At the same time, don’t hold it against me if I pass on the meal. — G.J. Donnelly

TV Guide Online Review

ANDERSON INTERVIEWED BY CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Richard Dean Anderson, who plays Brigadier General Jack O’Neill on the show was interviewed 9 July by Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune “Richard Dean Anderson: Leaving”

On possibly leaving after Season 8.

At this point, right now, with all that’s going on in my life outside all this, it’s very unlikely I’d be able to come back. I know what’s the most important thing right now. I’m very well aware of the fact that that may interfere with a very successful franchise.

Whether the show would go on without me … I think it could. I don’t know whether it will or not. Honestly I can’t answer that question, and it’s silly for me to start conjecturing, not until I’ve had conversations with MGM or Sci Fi.

I do feel as though this is my last season. I know what I have to do right now, given my real-life situation. There is a twinge of . . . not remorse, but I get a little sad about it. It’s been a very unique experience. On “MacGyver” I was flying solo for the most part, but this is a more character driven [ensemble] show.

It’s something I’ve been reflecting on lately more than before. I know how lucky we are to have this kind of camaraderie and rapport. It doesn’t always work out that way. There have been shows that go under because of differences of opinion. The main kids here like each other and we make each other laugh.

Read the rest of Richard Dean Anderson’s interview at the Chicago Tribune online edition

CHICAGO TRIBUNE REVIEWS “NEW ORDER”

It’s a classic bit of “Stargate SG-1” dialogue.

“That’s the bright side?” sighs Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson), who’s discussing the finer points of some of Earth’s interstellar adversaries with scientist Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks).

“Mmm, more of a slightly less dark side,” answers Jackson dryly.

Wry overstatement is the domain of O’Neill, who, when he finally defrosts, does so much heroic stuff that he gets a big promotion.

“I’ve spent my whole life sticking it to the man. . . . I don’t think I can be the man,” O’Neill says. “I don’t even have a desk.”

“For the record, sir, you do have a desk,” Carter deadpans.

Read the rest of the review of Season 8’s premiere “New Order” and some hints of what is in store for the characters in the rest of the season at the Chicago Tribune online edition.

Read the rest of the article at the Chicago Tribune online edition ‘Metromix’ entertainment section

SHANKS INTERVIEWED BY CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Actor Michael Shanks, who plays Dr. Daniel Jackson on the show, was interviewed 9 July by Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune “Michael Shanks: Back And Loving It”

SHANKS on the relationship between Jack O’Neill and Daniel Jackson.

It’s a great dynamic between Rick’s character and Daniel Jackson, to have that sort of earnest enthusiasm and this boyish naivete and altruistic belief in the concepts of science fiction, and then have O’Neill as the voice of the audience, saying, “Oh, come on.” It’s fun to have one character believe and then have another character mock that a little.

There is an element of moral debate there, though. It’s great to ask the what-if questions, we don’t know what time travel or [travel to the stars] would be like, why not take people from our present time and put in all the SpongeBob jokes and see what would happen in those situations. As long as you don’t take the audience out of it by taking it to pure camp. But I love Rick’s character’s sense of humor to escape the seriousness of a situation.

Read the rest of Michael Shanks’ interview at the Chicago Tribune online edition

RDA FLEW HELICOPTER

Richard Dean Anderson, the star and an executive producer of SCI FI Channel’s original series Stargate SG-1, told SCI FI Wire that one of the highlights of his career was shooting scenes in a military helicopter in a glacier in Canada for the upcoming SG-1 spinoff, Stargate Atlantis. “Martin Wood [the pilot’s director] and I took three helicopters and went up to Pemberton Glacier [near Whistler, B.C.,] and shot a sequence … for … the pilot of Atlantis,” Anderson said during a break in filming on the set of the show. It was “just kind of the guilty pleasure of being able to ride around for 10 hours over the glacier, being chased by another helicopter,” he said with a smile.

Anderson, who has expressed a love of outdoor recreation, added: “I had given serious thought to bringing my skis up there. But the snow was so baked, there was no [way]. We actually had a pair of skis up there that one of our guides brought. Somebody tried to come down the hill and could not turn the skis at all, that’s how thick and set up it was. So it was just as well. But stuff like that, again, they’re guilty pleasures that come along with [this], the perks of being … part of a franchise that is action-oriented [and] fantasy-oriented.”

Anderson returns as Col. Jack O’Neill in the eighth season of SG-1. He said that he’s able to keep things fresh after so many years by finding the quirks in his character. “I’ve sort of been blessed with the freedom to play and to find stuff and make things as interesting as possible without fear of reprimand,” he said. “Blessedly I’ve had—how do I phrase it?—it’s almost as though some of my behavior has been condoned by the fact that in changing lines or changing an approach to a scene or bringing really a tilted attitude toward a scene and characterization, that that in itself makes it fresh for me. There’s the written page, the written word. And then there’s the voice of the character, which I know best, but [executive producer] Brad Wright, I think, out of all the writers … has … the voice of O’Neill closest. … Coming to work with what might seem like the same old stuff, [I] try to make it as bright and as interesting as possible.”

Stargate SG-1 kicks off its eighth season with a two-hour premiere at 9 p.m. ET/PT July 9. Stargate Atlantis premieres with a two-hour episode, “Rising,” at 9 p.m. ET/PT on July 16.

SCI FI Wire

IGN INTERVIEWS AMANDA TAPPING

IGNFF: So you enjoyed the directing process?

TAPPING: Loved it. Just loved it. And that’s a career path for me. I want to continue acting, obviously, but directing is something that I’m definitely pursuing.

IGNFF: Have they slotted in your next stint behind the camera?

TAPPING: No, I’m still pushing for it…

IGNFF: So this interview will help…

TAPPING: This interview will help. “Let Amanda Direct!” should be your headline.

IGNFF: And I’ll say it right here – you should be allowed to direct again… I mean, they let all those other guys direct…

TAPPING: Exactly…

Read the Film Force intreview with Amanda Tapping

CHRIS JUDGE: TEAL’C GETS TALKY

Christopher Judge, who plays Teal’c in SCI FI Channel’s original series Stargate SG-1, told SCI FI Wire that his character will get to do a lot more in the upcoming eighth season—including talk. “Teal’c will talk more than he has in the previous seven years, and it’s really weird having to learn all these lines,” Judge said in an interview during a break in filming on the show’s set outside Vancouver, B.C. “It’s just a gabfest, you know?”

Fans will also get to see a softer side of the no-longer-taciturn Jaffa warrior, Judge added. “Lots of romance for Teal’c this year,” he said with a smile. “There’s a new character who I don’t know what the future of it will be. … It kind of pans out in [a future] episode, but then, ultimately, it doesn’t really work out in the end, but it’s still kind of out there what’s going to happen. … And of course, Ishta is coming back this year,” he said, referring to the Jaffa character played by Star Trek: Enterprise’s Jolene Blalock in last season’s “Birthright,” an episode that Judge wrote. “She’s just a wonderful actress to work with, and we just got along really, really well. And she was well received by the fans and everything, so when I pitched another episode, it was … basically green-lit right away.”

Judge wrote the new episode, “Sacrifices.” But unlike castmate Amanda Tapping (Maj. Carter), Judge downplays any desire to direct an episode of SG-1. “No, no,” he said. “I have no desire to direct Stargate. We’re too hardheaded. [I’m a] Leo. I would get too frustrated. And it’s … kind of like I would love to direct something else, but I think it would be hard to direct people that you know so well. And, especially, I’m not as easygoing when I direct. … I would feel weird about it.” But Judge added that he’s interested in writing more, including episodes of the spinoff series Stargate Atlantis. “Yeah, I’ve talked to [Atlantis executive producer] Brad [Wright], so I think I’ll be writing one, if not two, Atlantises. And I actually think I am going to at least run it by him about maybe directing one of them.”

SCI FI Wire

PETER DELUISE: SG-1 IS FAMILY

Peter DeLuise, who has directed dozens of episodes of SCI FI Channel’s original series Stargate SG-1, told SCI FI Wire that he wrote an early episode of the upcoming eighth season, “Affinity,” which he also helmed. “‘Affinity’ has to do … with the fact that both Carter [Amanda Tapping] and Teal’c [Christopher Judge] feel like they’re entitled to a private life,” DeLuise said in an interview during a break in shooting last May near Vancouver, B.C. “They want a sense of belonging. They want to have intimacy in their lives. And they don’t. [But] it’s not just about saving the world week after week.”

In the episode, the eighth on the production schedule, the two characters reveal seldom-seen sides, DeLuise said. “In Teal’c’s case, he gets an apartment outside the base, and he wants to be free to eat gelato and do tai chi in the park, right? And in Carter’s case, she wants to … have the right to have a relationship, because she’s been denied that for a long time because of her relationship with O’Neill [Richard Dean Anderson], which has been very safe. … So we’ve got two storylines, where Teal’c and Carter are both actively pursuing a private life, and … problems ensue, as they say.”

The episode is in keeping with the tone of the new season, DeLuise added. “Season eight is … more introspective,” he said. “It’s much more cerebral, and it has a lot to do with, in my mind, the specialness of the characters.”

For DeLuise—who was a regular cast member in the 1993 SF TV series SeaQuest DSV—Stargate SG-1 is also a family affair. His brother David DeLuise has a recurring role as Carter’s love interest, Denver cop Pete Shanahan. Another brother, Michael (who also co-starred in SeaQuest), appeared in SG-1’s 100th anniversary episode, “Wormhole X-Treme!” (in which Peter also appeared as himself). And Peter’s father, the famed actor and comedian Dom DeLuise, appeared in in a dual role in the season three episode “Urgo,” which Peter directed. “My mom’s the only one who hasn’t been on the show yet,” Peter said.

SCI FI Wire

MORE NEW J/D WALLPAPERS

In a weekend where I should’ve been working on an ascended beings article, the artistic streak continues 🙂 There are another 4 new J/D wallpapers up at Artful Divas.

Can’t Ask Can’t Tell
Someone is flirting with Daniel and Jack sits quietly, regretting Air Force regulations and maybe even the ties of the deepest friendship he’s ever known.
Can’t Ask Can’t Tell

Dangerous When Daniel Is Wet
The archaeologist is edible when wet. The colone has to make do with biting his lip…
Dangerous When Daniel Is Wet

Sense Of Humour
Jack only *thinks* he’s funny.
Sense Of Humour

Together
A new version of an old favourite. Just a warm, gentle moment of togetherness
Together

I hope you enjoy these. Please feel free to forward to any lists and forums.