More stars burst through the Gate

Beau Bridges, Mitch Pileggi and Lou Gossett Jr. Join the Casts Of SCI FI’s ‘Stargate SG-1’ and ‘Stargate Atlantis’
SCI FI Channel Press Release

New York, NY (February 7, 2005) Hot on the heels of the exceptional January premieres of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, SCI FI Channel and MGM Television Entertainment have scored a casting hat trick, welcoming three-time Emmy winner Beau Bridges, Oscar winner Lou Gossett, Jr. and sci-fi favorite Mitch Pileggi to the Stargate family.

Bridges will join the cast of Stargate SG-1 as General Hank Landry, the new head of Stargate Command. When Jack O’Neill is promoted to oversee Homeworld Security, he hand-picks Landry to be his successor. In addition to being committed to a regular role on SG-1, Bridges will also cross over to appear in a few episodes of Stargate Atlantis. Gossett will also join the cast of SG-1 in a recurring role as a Jaffa leader who vies with Teal’c for political control of the new Jaffa nation.

Bridges and Gossett join returning cast members Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge and Michael Shanks, and newest team member Ben Browder, who plays Lieutenant Colonel Cameron Mitchell. With these fresh casting additions, Stargate SG-1 (currently the longest-running sci-fi drama on American television) is primed for even greater success as it enters its ninth original season.

X-Files alumnus Mitch Pileggi will take on Stargate Atlantis in a recurring role as a hard-nosed colonel who butts heads with Dr. Weir (Torri Higginson) and Major Sheppard (Joe Flanigan).

Production on both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis is set to begin in March 2005 for summer premieres on SCI FI. Robert C. Cooper and SG-1 co-creator Brad Wright will continue to serve as executive producers on both series, which are distributed by MGM Worldwide Television Distribution.

Discuss this news at our SG1Solutions Forum

EXCLUSIVE! Incredible new direction for S9

“Season 9 will have a new beginning with a new enemy,” Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis Executive Producer and writer Brad Wright told Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune. “I think once you’ve seen the end of Season 8 you’ll understand why we’re doing that.”

Meanwhile, Stargate SG-1 Executive Producer and writer Robert C. Cooper told SCI FI Wire, the news website of broadcasters Sci Fi Channel, that the ninth season would introduce new villains and take the show in a new direction. “While we say new direction…the concept of the series is very much pulled from the mythology of SG-1, and I think fans are going to be very excited about the direction we’re going. One of the things we’re going to be exploring in season nine is the origin of the Ancients and the Gatebuilders. And it’s something I know fans have been sort of very curious about, and have sort of asked to see. And that is … one of the things we’re really going to be delving into…Who the Ancients really are, and where they came from, and we may even get a chance to go there.”

Now Stargate SG-1 Solutions is hearing from its sources that the writers will be incorporating classic – and eternally popular – Arthurian legend into Stargate’s rich mythology. As well as introducing new enemies, Season 9 will explore the fascinating myths of Camelot, Avalon and Excalibur within Stargate’s distinctive universe.

The key to this incredible new direction for the show?

Merlin was an Ancient!

And the questions Stargate SG-1’s resourceful, mythology-hungry fans are sure to be asking themselves? Merlin’s magical powers rooted in Ancient technology? Arthur being able to draw the sword from the stone because he possessed the Ancient gene? Excalibur a powerful Ancient weapon? Camelot and Avalon worlds SG-1 will journey to? Oma Desala as the Lady Of The Lake? Daniel and the team embarked on a Grail quest?

Let the speculation begin…

Discuss the incredible new mythological direction of the show at SG1Solutions Forum

Merlin biography
Arthurian resources
Voice of the Shuttle: Arthurian studies
King Arthur
The Camelot Project

Season 9 spoilers to date

Main regular cast members for Season 9

Michael Shanks – returning as Dr. Daniel Jackson
Christopher Judge – returning as Teal’c
Ben Browder – joining the cast as Lt. Col “M.M”

Recurring cast members

Amanda Tapping – recurring as Lt. Col Samantha Carter for 15 episodes
Claudia Black – recurring as the alien Vala for a 5-episode story arc

Daniel and Teal’c

“Fans of both Daniel and Teal’c should be very happy with the back half of SG-1’s 8th season. Prometheus Unbound, Full Alert, Reckoning I and II, Threads, and Moebius I and II promise some major developments for both characters (and, incidentally, allow Michael to flex his comedic muscles more than a couple of times). DJ and Teal’c will have their hands full in the second half of season eight, and that’s a trend that will continue through season nine (and hopefully beyond) as the developments/revelations from the aforementioned episodes will see them front and center as we kick off a new year of SG-1. …We’ve got big plans for the boys.” –- Co-Executive Producer and Writer Joseph Mallozzi

Daniel and Vala

“[Next season] Claudia [Black] is going to appear in a five-episode arc in the role of Vala. She’s great. You’ll get to see just why we wanted to bring her back in “Prometheus Unbound,” which has yet to air.” –- Stargate: Atlantis showrunner Executive Producer and Writer Brad Wright

“She’s [a] human from another planet. And she’s a bit of … an enigma. You’re not quite sure what her true story is in the episode ‘Prometheus Unbound.’ She’s a bit of a rogue who tells a long story about her planet and her people and her past, and then in the end you’re not really quite sure whether it’s true or not. So she’s a bit of a wild card. She’s a very … sexy character, who isn’t afraid to take whatever … she wants in any given situation. And we had a lot of fun writing the role, and I know she had a lot of fun playing it, and we’re going to try very hard to maintain the integrity of that character and still have her sort of join up with the team, but still sort of keep the essence of that wonderful friction that went on between her and Daniel, and I’m sure it’ll continue to sort of play out with the rest of the characters as well.” –- Stargate SG-1’s showrunner Executive Producer and Writer Robert Cooper.

Lt. Colonel “M.M”

“Ben is playing a military guy, a lieutenant colonel. And I can’t tell you his name yet. It hasn’t been legally cleared yet, so it could still change.” Browder’s character, who joins the show in the upcoming ninth season, has a past history with the Stargate program, Cooper said. “The audience just hasn’t met him yet,” he said. “He’s actually played a key role in some major events that went on … in the Stargate universe and was in fact very instrumental in helping SG-1 succeed in one of their more important missions. And as a result of that, he was given … his choice posting. And he ultimately chooses to join SG-1. So when he first appears on the show, SG-1 will already know who he is. And we’ll see some of those scenes and how he was basically woven into the tapestry of the show through flashbacks.” –- Stargate SG-1’s showrunner Executive Producer and Writer Robert Cooper.

Q: If Ben’s character has already been somewhat defined – will his character be a member of the military? A Stargate SG-1 team member? An alien? Can you talk at all about what kind of man Ben will be playing?
A: Rob will tell you this, but yes, he’s a military man. Specifically, he’s the F-302 pilot (our Earth-designed space fighter) that led the squadron that fought Anubis in Antarctica. He was badly injured when his fighter crashed, nearly killed but was promised a place on SG-1 if he made it back to fighting form. I’m not concerned with Crichton comparisons that may arise. SG-1 is a unit of the U.S. Air Force and so he should be an officer, but it’s a very different show. –- Stargate: Atlantis showrunner Executive Producer and Writer Brad Wright

Browder hopes his new, higher-profile series will help the cause of another Farscape project. “It’s not only a good career move for me, but it could be good for the whole Farscape cast.” — Ben Browder

Jack O’Neill

Q: Is Richard Dean Anderson coming back at all for Season 9? There was some talk of 4 appearances for Season 9, but has anything been confirmed? If he does not come back for Season 9, what happens to him at the end of Season 8?
A: O’Neill will continue to be a part of the SG-1 universe. Whether we actually SEE him is up to Rick, but the character will continue to exist on or off screen. He may appear in one or two or more episodes. But let me add this: I handed over the reins of the SG-1 to Robert in season seven because I needed a rest and wanted to spend more time with my family. That’s all Rick wants to do, and I don’t blame him. I came back. The door is open for Rick to do the same. –- Stargate: Atlantis showrunner Executive Producer and Writer Brad Wright

The character of Brig. Gen. Jack O’Neill will remain a part of the show in the upcoming ninth season, whether or not Richard Dean Anderson returns as a regular cast member. “His character is going to remain very much alive in the Stargate [SG-1] universe. He … is going to be integral in commanding what goes on at the SGC. As to the appearance of Richard Dean Anderson in the series, that’s really still undetermined. We are very hopeful that Rick is going to agree to participate in a number of episodes, but I have no idea as to how many or when that will be resolved.” -– Stargate SG-1’s showrunner Executive Producer and Writer Robert Cooper.

“My decision to leave the show is purely a personal one, based first and foremost on my desire to spend as much time as possible with my 6-year-old daughter in Los Angeles.” –- Richard Dean Anderson

Samantha Carter

“We are having to … deal with a brief absence of Carter, [played by] Amanda Tapping, who’s pregnant. And we had already discussed a storyline that involved the return of Vala, … the character played by Claudia. And so we thought it worked perfectly to have that sort of miniarc play out maybe while Amanda was less available to us.” -– Stargate SG-1’s showrunner Executive Producer and Writer Robert Cooper

“I know there are also a lot of questions about season nine of Stargate. I will be returning. I am slated to do 15 of the 20 episodes. I will return to the show in May. I will bringing the baby with me, (not through the gate of course..heehee) and we’ll see how it works out. I know I am not the first actress to do this and I sincerely hope I am up to the challenge. I am very excited! It’s going to be o¬ne heck of a year.” –- Amanda Tapping

Season 9 in general

Meanwhile, Cooper said the ninth season would introduce new villains and take the show in a new direction. “While we say new direction, … the concept of the series is very much pulled from the mythology of SG-1, and I think fans are going to be very excited about the direction we’re going. … One of the things we’re going to be exploring in season nine is the origin of the Ancients and the Gatebuilders. And it’s something I know fans have been sort of very curious about, and have sort of asked to see. And that is … one of the things we’re really going to be delving into: … Who the Ancients really are, and where they came from, and we may even get a chance to go there.” –- Stargate SG-1’s showrunner Executive Producer and Writer Robert Cooper.

Season 9 will have a new beginning with a new enemy. I think once you’ve seen the end of Season 8 you’ll understand why we’re doing that. –- Stargate: Atlantis showrunner Executive Producer and Writer Brad Wright

A Solutions source has revealed that Emmy and Golden Globe winner Beau Bridges has been cast as Stargate Command’s new general. Bridges will succeed Don S. Davis as Major General George Hammond and Richard Dean Anderson as Brigadier General Jack O’Neill.

Discuss the Season 9 spoilers on SG1Solutions Forum

SPOILER PICS FOR UPCOMING EPS (UPDATED)

Stargate-Project.com has some intriguing new pictures taken during the making of late Season 8 episodes. Click on the small images to bring up larger ones in a separate window.

8.13 “It’s Good to be King”
Wayne Brady looks a lot different as a bad guy than he did as a talk show host.

Edited to add:
8.17 “Threads”
Wherein we learn that the answer to one question is: briefs.

8.19 “Moebius Part 1”
8.20 “Moebius Part 2”
It appears the “Ra” storyline will be a major element of Moebius Part 1, while Part 2 features the “nerdy” versions of Daniel and Carter.

Thanks to Stargate-Project for providing these pictures!

S8 SPOILERS: CITIZEN JOE

These spoilers have been out for a while now but we’re just getting to posting them. Somehow we weren’t inspired…

A man shows up at O’Neill’s house with a gun and accuses O’Neill of ruining his life. His name is Joe and he’s just an average guy from the mid-west. He knows way too much about Jack and the Stargate program, and it turns out the reason is that seven years earlier he picked up a strange stone covered with glyphs at a garage sale. Ever since, he’s been having visions in which he sees SG-1’s missions through O’Neill’s eyes. His belief in the visions and his desire to write them down and figure out what they mean have ruined his marriage and his business. He finally tracks down O’Neill to confront him.

This episode features clips from previous episodes that represent Joe’s visions.

Isaac Hayes, George Dzundza to Guest Star

Isaac Hayes

SciFi Wire is reporting that actor/singer Isaac Hayes and actor George Dzundza will be appearing in Stargate: SG-1 this year. From SciFi Wire on 17 August:

‘Isaac Hayes (South Park) will guest-star in the upcoming Stargate SG-1 two-part episode “Reckoning,” along with Mel Harris (reprising the role of Oma) and Cliff Simon (as Baal). Hayes, who recently completed a role in SCI FI’s upcoming two-hour film Anonymous Rex, will also guest-star in the upcoming episode “Threads,” along with George Dzundza.’

Isaac Hayes is probably best known now as the voice of Chef on South Park, though he is also a musician and has appeared in many movies including the 2000 remake of Shaft. Dzundza is a highly talented character actor (Law and Order, Dangerous Minds, Crimson Tide).

George Dzundza

It’s possible that either Hayes or Dzundza will be playing the role of Mike, the ascended being who talks with Daniel about his choices, though we do not yet know if Mike will be a character in all three episodes. If not, then it’s likely that Dzundza will be playing him.

The 3-part story comprising ‘Reckoning’ and ‘Threads’ promises to be a welcome return to the Ascended story arc that will address some of the mysteries of the Ascended and Daniel’s short time among them. We look forward to seeing both actors take their turn in the Stargate universe. Dzundza is an engaging actor, and Chef is very, very cool.

S8 SPOILERS: THREADS

According to our sources, Episode 8.17 will be called “Threads”, written by Robert C. Cooper and directed by Andy Mikita.

In one major story line, Daniel is trapped, presumably figuratively, in a 60’s style diner with Oma Desala and another Ascended named Mike. Daniel knew Mike when he was ascended, though of course he doesn’t remember him now. Oma has once again offered Daniel the opportunity to ascend, and Daniel is trying to understand the implications. If he refuses, there is a big chance he will die, though how soon is not clear. What is clear is that Anubis is threatening mass destruction, bending the rules to avoid being stopped by the Others even as he plans to destroy the entire galaxy with a device created by the Ancients. As an Ascended, Daniel would escape death, but he would be unable to help the SGC in the fight against Anubis.

Mike describes how Oma is unlike the Others in that she alone helps deserving lower-level beings to ascend rather than letting them find their own way to a higher plane as the Others normally do. Mike reveals that is was Oma who helped Anubis to ascend, and Oma finally admits to Daniel that Anubis tricked her into it. Now Anubis remains half ascended and is allowed to do whatever he would have been able to do as a Goa’uld, and neither Oma nor the Others will stop him.

The second major story line involves O’Neill, Carter, and their respective love lives. Carter is preparing to marry Pete, but is having second thoughts that come to a crisis point when Pete puts a down payment on a house for them to share. Meanwhile, O’Neill has been having a romantic relationship with Kerry Johnson, a woman in her mid-30’s who is on the SGC Professional Oversight Committee. Carter works up the courage to discuss her misgivings about marrying Pete with O’Neill and goes to visit O’Neill at his home. She says she is sorry to bother O’Neill, but that she needs to say something to him. They are then interrupted by Kerry. O’Neill and Kerry are forced to reveal their relationship to a shocked and embarrassed Carter; until now they have kept it a secret from the SGC. Carter then gets a phone call and must leave: Jacob and his symbiote Selmac are ill and may not survive.

Kerry later breaks up with O’Neill, saying he has ‘issues’ related to Carter that she does not want to deal with. Kerry suggests that O’Neill retire so he and Carter can be together, and he admits he’s considered it. She hints he should run the SGC as a civilian, to remove the barrier of Air Force regulations.

This episode also sees the return of Jacob Carter and Bra’tac, and a mention of story threads involving the replicators, Anubis, and the Jaffa.

Keep in mind these are preliminary spoilers and may be changed, especially in light of the possibility of of a Season 9. One can only hope.

S8 SPOILERS: FULL ALERT

Our spoiler sources reveal that episode 14 of Season 8 will be entitled “Full Alert,” written by Paul Mullie and Joseph Mallozzi and directed by Andy Mikita. Details are sketchy, but it appears that relations between the U.S. and Russia are strained, with the Russians believing that the U.S. administration has been compromised. Daniel has traveled to Moscow to meet with a General Kiselev but is instead detained for questioning by a Colonel Chernovshev, who insists on taking a sample of Daniel’s blood. Chernoshev insists that an American assassin was out to kill Kiselev but was captured before he could do so. Daniel is incredulous, but Chernoshev shows him that the assassin is none other than former U.S. Vice President Robert Kinsey, who is most definitely not himself these days.

Meanwhile O’Neill confronts Colonel Checkov at the SGC about what is going on in Moscow, presumably in reference to Daniel’s predicament.

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