Author: michelle

Shanks joins Creation Con line-up for 2006

Creation announced today that Michael Shanks will appear at their Seacaucus, NJ and Burbank, CA Stargate conventions in November, 2006. Shanks will join Claudia Black, Joe Flanigan, and Cliff Simon at those events. There is no word yet on whether Black or Shanks will attend the Creation convention in Vancouver in March ’06. Gold Pass tickets for that event are nearly sold out, Creation also announced today. Set visits will be available with lower-priced ticket packages, however.

Fans are pleased to learn that Shanks will appear at US conventions in 2006, as there were indications he might not. There is no word on whether Chris Judge or Amanda Tapping have committed to any 2006 Creation events as they have in prior years. Ben Browder has appeared at Creation’s Farscape conventions but has indicated in an interview it is unlikely he will do Stargate conventions due to wanting to spend weekends with his family.

For details and ticketing information, visit Creation Entertainment.

Shanks in negotiations for Season 10

During brunch at today’s Creation Convention in San Jose, California, Michael Shanks confirmed that he is in negotiations with the studio (Sony) to sign for Season 10 of Stargate: SG-1. He has not yet come to agreement on the conditions of his contract. He remarked that since the show is already renewed based on its success even in the absence Richard Dean Anderson, the studio does not link the future success of the show very closely to any one particular actor. Therefore the actors have less leverage than they might otherwise and must negotiate to achieve an acceptable result. Fans at the table rushed to assure him that Daniel Jackson is a vital character to the show, but he reminded us this is a business and that Stargate is now a two-show success and therefore not tied inextricably to any one character. In the meantime he is pursuing new work in Los Angeles and has had several meetings and auditions for guest roles.
MS with blond highlights
Michael looked lovely with his new blond highlights, which he got for his guest starring role on CSI: Miami. He has one more day of filming on that episode in the coming week, and it will air on December 5 or December 19. He is very much enjoying his first LA acting experience and looks forward to more.

Solutions will be posting a complete convention report with more details from the brunch and the Q&A session, so watch this space!
MS smiling

Shanks clarifies situation

Through his representatives, Michael Shanks has issued a clarification of the situation regarding his cancellation of last weekend’s London Expo attendance and his status for Season 10. This announcement was given to and posted on the MichaelShanks-Online.com site:

Ending much speculation resulting from the London Expo cancellation, the following information has been provided to MSOL by Michael’s publicist:

Michael has advised that his appearance at the London Expo was actually cancelled awhile ago as he had some general meetings in Los Angeles that weekend, and not for any specific meeting about any particular major TV role [as has been previously reported]. Further, in terms of his appearance in Season 10 of Stargate SG-1, at this time Michael is not confirmed as returning and “is essentially a free agent as far as work is concerned”.

Stargate SG-1 Solutions independently obtained the same information from Shanks’ representatives, who assured us the actor was in LA for general meetings, “nothing specific, nothing concrete.” We certainly hope that Shanks’ “free agent as of right now” status is converted to “signed for S10” very soon. Fans will certainly take the opportunity to ask Michael Shanks directly if he will be in Stargate’s extraordinary 10th season at the Wolf SG10 convention this weekend in the UK.

Sci Fi Makes Renewals Official

Press release from Sci Fi Channel and Sony Pictures:

‘STARGATES’ CONTINUE TO SHINE BRIGHT ON SCI FI

‘SG-1’ AND ‘ATLANTIS’ RENEWED

Stargate SG-1 Enters Unprecedented 10th Season
The Longest-Running Sci-Fi Drama in US Television History

New York, NY (October 24, 2005) – The Stargate franchise continues to rule the television universe. SCI FI Channel has ordered new seasons of its hit original series, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. Production on both 20-episode seasons is slated to begin in early 2006 for summer premieres on SCI FI.

Heading into an incredible tenth original season, Stargate SG-1 is now the longest-running sci-fi drama in American television history, outlasting The X-Files, The Twilight Zone and every iteration of Star Trek. And the series is stronger than ever. The first half of SG-1’s ninth season has averaged 2.4 million viewers per week.

Stargate Atlantis, cable television’s first successful drama spin-off, has been renewed for its third original season. A pulse-pounding action adventure, Atlantis took the original premise of Stargate – instantaneous travel to different worlds through an ancient portal – and introduced a brand new team and sinister new enemies that pose a threat to humankind throughout the universe. A bona fide hit, the show has averaged over 2.3 million viewers a week for the first half of its sophomore season.

SG-1 co-creator Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper will return as executive producers on both series.

Stargate SG-1 is produced by Double Secret Productions, in association with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and Sony Pictures Television. Stargate Atlantis is produced by Acme Shark, in association with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and Sony Pictures Television.

The one-two punch of the Stargates, coupled with the critically-acclaimed Battlestar Galactica, have made SCI FI Channel cable’s #1 destination for young adults on Friday nights. New episodes of the entire SCI FI Friday lineup will return to SCI FI in January 2006.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an independent, privately-held motion picture, television, home video, and theatrical production and distribution company. The company owns the world’s largest modern film library, consisting of approximately 4,000 titles, and over 10,400 episodes of television programming. Its film library has received 208 Academy Awards®, one of the largest award winning collections in the world, and includes numerous successful film franchises, including James Bond, Pink Panther and Rocky. MGM is owned by an investor consortium comprised of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corporation of America, Comcast Corporation and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.

Sony Pictures Television is one of the television industry’s leading content providers. SPT produces and distributes top-rated, award-winning programming in every genre, including series, movies and family entertainment for network and cable television; first-run syndicated series; off-network syndicated programs; and theatrical releases. SPT (www.sonypicturestelevision.com) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.

SCI FI Channel is a television network where “what if” is what’s on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic Web site (www.scifi.com ) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 85 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies.

Thanks very much to journalist Mary McNamara for providing this news to Our Stargate

SG-1 and SGA Renewals Official?

The Stargate Project site reports that SG-1/SGA Director and Producer Martin Wood has told them that SG-1 has been picked up for a 10th season and Atlantis for a third. Their quote from Martin is: “We are going to be […] busy… Yes we just got picked up – both shows. Season 10 [of SG-1] and season 3 [of Atlantis].”

We hope this news is true! Read the full story at Stargate Project.

SGA Composer Presents Evolution of Theme

As he promised at his convention appearance in Burbank in July, Stargate composer Joel Goldsmith has updated his website with a page devoted to “The Evolution of the Atlantis Main Title Theme.” You can listen to six versions of the theme music as it progressed from Joel’s original concept to the final, Emmy-nominated version. To do so, visit Joel’s site FreeClyde.com and click on the Atlantis box. It really is lovely to listen to the theme in each incarnation.

Thanks to Elyse at sg1_spoilme for the tip, which came in turn from the sg1hc list.

Stargate Fan Awards Announced

The 2005 Stargate Fan Awards, for fan fiction and other fan endeavors, have been announced. You can see them here. We’re so pleased to see that our sister site, The AlphaGate Archive has won for best fan fiction archive.

Many congratulations to all of the nominees and winners for contributing to a vibrant and amazingly creative fandom for Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis!

Stargate Action Figures – Finally!

As reported at Gateworld, Diamond Select Toys and Collectibles and MGM have signed a licensing deal for the company to create the first action figures based on the characters of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. The figures will be 7-inches in height and will reportedly feature the main characters of both series. Individual figures will sell for about $15 (US).

There is no word yet on when the figures will become available, but it is welcome news to fans of all ages that the shows will finally have merchandise that other shows produce far earlier in their lives as series!