Michael Shanks

Michael Shanks Busy with Several TV Projects

Stargate star Michael Shanks has been so busy on several television projects that we thought it was time for an update dedicated to him alone!

With thanks to the actor’s official website MSOL for a heads-up, with some information coming from Shanks himself, we can give a brief rundown of each project:

The Good Guys

“Role on the Good Guys is a possible returning character… kinda the boys “swat” nemesis. The episode is called ‘Supercops’ and I play the lead douche strike force captain Shaw, head of the ‘supercops’,” Shanks wrote.

We’ve done some digging and found that “Supercops” is episode 18. If the broadcast schedule continues uninterrupted, we’re projecting that the episode will air on FOX on Friday, November 19, at 9 PM ET. We’ll be able to confirm this when it gets closer to airing.

From the audition sides for Shaw, it appears that his Dallas Strike Force is an elite team that gets the job done with military precision. It’s fun to note that Shaw is described as “a swaggering, handsome cop with an attitude.”

Tower Prep

According to MSOL, Shanks will be in the third episode of this new live-action series for Cartoon Network. He’s playing Professor Literature. The show premieres on Tuesday, October 19, at 8 PM ET/PT, so if the schedule continues uninterrupted, Shanks’ episode, which was directed by Stargate alum Peter DeLuise, will premiere on Tuesday, November 2.

Endgame

Showcase – this is a new Canadian show that won’t be seen until Spring 2011!

Shanks wrote, “Just completed an episode of a Canadian series called EndGame. I play a character named Casey Roman who wakes up on a street with amnesia, and slowly pieces his life back together with the help of the lead character. He finds out he may have been a real asshole. The episode is called “The Caffeine Hit.” I did it because Anne Wheeler was directing and offered me the role. Good cast and script.” Anne Wheeler directed Shanks in two previous projects: Living Out Loud and Suddenly Naked.

MSOL described the new show, “Starring Shawn Doyle (Big Love, Medium) and Torrance Coombs (The Tudors, JPod), Endgame revolves around Russian World Champion chess master Arkady Balagan (Doyle), who uses his extraordinary skills of perception and strategic thinking to solve crimes that have stumped others. Traumatized by the murder of his fiancée, Balagan has made himself a virtual prisoner in his luxury Vancouver hotel, terrified to step outside the door. To pay the bills, he begins to solve crimes and help people with problems they cannot bring to the police.”

Additional cast members include Patrick Gallagher (Glee, True Blood), Kate Isabelle (The Good Wife, Sanctuary), Carmen Aguerre (Tin Man, Da Vinci’s Inquest) and Melanie Papilia (The Assistants, Intelligence).

Smallville

“Do the 11th episode of Smallville when I get back from Oz. The ep is called ‘Icarus,'” Shanks told MSOL.

This episode is also one in which Michael Hogan of Battlestar Galactica will appear as Slade Wilson, who will be introduced in the ninth episode “Patriot.” IGN tells us, “We’ll only know him by the name Slade when we meet him, but DC fans of course are aware that this is the man destined to become Deathstroke, an incredibly skilled and dangerous mercenary.”

When Carter Hall last appeared in “Shield,” he implied that he saw his death coming soon (he has immortality through reincarnation). Let’s hope it’s not in this episode, but the presence of Deathstroke does seem rather ominous.

Shanks said he’ll film “Icarus” (that name should sound familiar to Stargate Universe fans) after his return from “Oz.” He’ll be a guest at the Armageddon Melbourne con from October 15-17. He’s also scheduled to be in New Zealand the following weekend (October 23-25) at the Armageddon Expo in Auckland, so filming of the episode should happen near the end of this month.

Stargate Planner: Week of October 4-10

You might be interested in these news tidbits and announcements that have been noted on this editor’s calendar and notebook for this week. If you’ve got more to add, please don’t hesitate to announce them in the comment section below. We’ll update this article if something comes to our attention during the week.

Calendar

Monday, October 4	Season Two of Amanda Tapping‘s Sanctuary comes out today on DVD in the UK.
Tuesday, October 5	Syfy: SGU 2.02 “Aftermath” premieres at 9 PM ET, with a repeat at 11 PM. Stargate Universe premieres in the UK on Sky1 at 9 PM with “Intervention”. The Complete Season One DVD/Blu-ray for SGU comes out today in Region 1 (North America). Robert Carlyle provided the voice for the main character in the video game Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, which is being released today for the XBox 360 and PS3 in North America. It will be released on October 7 in the UK.
Wednesday, October 6
Thursday, October 7
Friday, October 8	New York Comic Con begins today and ends on October 10. Stargate guests include Christopher Judge, Alaina Huffman, Morena Baccarin, and Sarah Douglas. Check with the website for the event’s schedule.
Saturday, October 9	Robert Picardo stars in the Syfy Original Monsterwolf, which premieres tonight at 9 PM ET (repeats at 1 AM).
Sunday, October 10

News Notes

News Flashes and Brief Follow-Ups

Jason Momoa – Collider is but one of several websites announcing that the new Conan movie starring our very own Jason Momoa will be released in 3D as had been discussed but remained unconfirmed until now with the release of an updated poster (right). We still don’t have a date for when the movie will hit theaters in 2011.

Stargate Universe Press

Robert Carlyle – California Chronicle: TV star Rob is homesick; TV.com: A Chat with Robert Carlyle with Stargate Universe; Collider: Robert Carlyle On Set Video Interview STARGATE UNIVERSE Season 2.
Ming-Na – Bella Online: Interview – Ming-Na, Stargate Universe.
David Blue – Toronto Sun: ‘Stargate’ star’s math adds up; TV Deathray: Interview: David Blue Previews Stargate Universe Season 2.
Brad Wright – Collider: A Behind the Scenes Tour of STARGATE UNIVERSE with Producer Brad Wright…[spoilers for “Aftermath”]; TV Deathray: Interview: Stargate Universe Creator Brad Wright Previews Season 2.
Alaina Huffman, Jamil Walker Smith – Chicago Now: ‘SGU’ S2 countdown: Chatting with Alaina Huffman & Jamil Walker Smith.
Alaina Huffman, Jamil Walker Smith, Louis Ferreira, David Blue, Robert Carlyle – Vancouver Sun: On the Vancouver set with Stargate Universe: Out-of-this-world ensemble confronts the cosmos.
Louis Ferreira, Brian J. Smith – Collider: Justin Louis and Brian J. Smith On Set Interview STARGATE UNIVERSE Season 2 [NOTE: Justin Louis is Ferreira’s previous stage name.]; Chicago Now: ‘SGU’ S2 countdown: Video chat with Brian J. Smith and Louis Ferreira.
Paul Mullie, Lou Diamond Phillips – Blastr: 8 things you should know about the 2nd season of Stargate Universe.
Lou Diamond Phillips – The Buzz: Star sightings, filming updates shows a picture of Phillips with new pilot cast and director Tim Matheson.
Tygh Runyan – Joseph Mallozzi’s Weblog: Actor Tygh Runyan Answers Your Questions! Runyan plays Dr. Caine, who stayed behind on the planet in last season’s “Faith”.

It should be noted that whenever spoilers come out for SGU, they are placed in the episode guides in the Stargate Wiki without much fanfare here in the News Blog. To keep on top of such updates, visit the main page of the Stargate Wiki to see the “Recent Updates” list of links.

Solutions News Blog Round-Up

Our News Blog posts since the last Stargate Planner (most recent listed first):

Solutions LJ Companion Background Articles

Last week, we posted a few background articles in our LJ Companion that you might be interested in. The articles listed in this section don’t have a companion piece in our News Blog here:

Reminders

For news as it happens, make sure to visit the Stargate Twitter Superfeed for tidbits directly from the Stargate stars and production crew. And don’t forget our new feature Beyond the Event Horizon, which consists of “home pages” with dynamic feeds from our LJ and Blog for the stars of SG-1 and Atlantis.

Our LJ Companion has news bites, polls, and glimpses into the lives of the actors that we don’t necessarily cover here in our more formal news blog. Make sure to visit the LJ’s feed on our front page or visit the site directly to see its mostly fun little tidbits.

For the latest in convention appearances, which are subject to change, make sure to visit Stargate Actor Appearances.

New TV Projects for Shanks, Hewlett, Francks, Nykl

Blogs and Twitter: great sources of information on what our Stargate stars are doing these days! Here’s a brief update on the new projects being done by Michael Shanks, David Hewlett, Rainbow Sun Francks, and David Nykl.

Matt Nix of Burn Notice and of he-who-killed-off-one-of-the-best-characters-ever fame (concerning Michael’s character Victor) has hired Shanks to guest star on his new show, The Good Guys. Writer Tamara Becher published from her Twitter a behind-the-scenes picture that shows Shanks in a Dallas Strike Force uniform talking with director Nix. Becher also tweeted praise for his work in the guest appearance and then added, “Its not scripted for Shanks to die so i too hope Matt doesnt kill him.”

The Good Guys airs Fridays at 9 PM ET on FOX. From the show’s website: “From Matt Nix (“Burn Notice”), comes THE GOOD GUYS, a new action comedy about what happens when an old-school cop and a modern-day detective expose the big picture of small crime.” It stars Bradley Whitford as Dan Stark, “a washed-up detective who spends most of his time drunk or re-hashing his glory days.” Dan’s new partner is Jack Bailey, played by Colin Hanks, “an ambitious, by-the-book and overall good detective, but is sometimes a bit too snarky for his own good.” The show is set in Dallas, Texas.

We’ll be sure to post more about the episode when we get more details.

David Hewlett

“Sounds like me and cheerleaders next week…Just in case I wasn’t feeling old and grumpy enough already…Go Hellcats, Go!” Hewlett recently tweeted. Hopefully, we’re not jumping the gun in assuming that this means that he’s got a guest role lined up for Hellcats, a new show on The CW that is co-produced by Smallville star Tom Welling (who plays Clark Kent) and airs Wednesdays at 9 PM ET.

The show’s website describes it: “HELLCATS is a coming-of-age story about Marti Perkins (Aly Michalka, “The Roommate,” “Bandslam”), a pre-law scholarship student at Lancer University in Memphis, Tennessee. Marti is a hip, edgy townie with working class roots, whose world flips upside down, literally and figuratively, when her scholarship is cancelled and her well-meaning but irresponsible mother, Wanda (Gail O’Grady, “NYPD Blue,” “American Dreams”) neglects to inform her. Broke and out of options, Marti realizes the only way she can stay in school is by repurposing her dormant gymnastic skills to win a place on the Hellcats – Lancer’s legendary cheer squad – and the scholarship that comes with it.”

Now, Hellcats might sound familiar to Stargate fans because Ben Browder played the coach in the show’s pilot. Once the show was picked up by The CW, Browder had already moved on to other projects, so his part was recast.

Hopefully, Hewlett will tweet some more about this “sounds like me and cheerleaders” statement, and if it turns out he’s guest starring, we’ll keep our eyes open for the details!

Edited to add: Hewlett just confirmed on his Twitter account that he’ll be shooting two episodes of Hellcats!

Rainbow Sun Francks

Francks THE LISTENER character badge prop — Rainbow Sun Francks plays IIB Corporal Dev Clark in THE LISTENER

Francks posted via Twitter a picture of his Integrated Investigative Bureau badge prop for his character Corporal Dev Clark for an upcoming episode of the Canadian show The Listener. He later updated his followers on the project, “Another long day on set. No complaints here… Never been happier! #thelistener.”

The Cultural Post recently published an article about what to expect from the second season as we follow the adventures of Toby Logan, a paramedic who also has the psychic ability to hear people’s thoughts. The article states, “In the second season of The Listener, Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik), a paramedic from Toronto, has kept his habit of getting his nose in criminal investigations when he’s not on the job with his partner Oz Bey (Ennis Esmer). This leads Toby to get into a case investigated by Integrated Investigations Bureau (IIB) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada’s federal police. Obviously, Toby has no other choice but to reveal his telepathic gift to Sgt. Michelle McCluskey (Lauren Lee Smith). Despite her scepticism, Michelle will come to think that Toby’s gift is an asset for the IIB. Therefore, while still being a paramedic, Toby is enlisted as a collaborator with the IIB. There, he joins Michelle and her team made of computer expert Corp. Dev Clark (Rainbow Sun Francks) and Alvin Klein (Peter Stebbings), an in-house legal expert specialized on complicated investigation cases.”

The first season of the show was aired in the United States on NBC, but apparently, the second season won’t be in the network’s line-up. However, the Canadian TV network CTV is expected to air it, but a premiere date has not yet been announced.

David Nykl

In his Letters from Pegasus blog, Nykl announced that he’ll be in the seventh episode of the third season of Fringe (which stars John Noble, one of our SG-1 guest stars). His blog entry, titled “Fringe Season 3, Ep. 7”, includes pictures of his Vancouver location shoot, annotated, “Fringe! Season three. This was a fun shoot. Do you ever watch the show? I Just watched most of season one to catch up with these folks. What a cool show.”

Fringe airs on FOX on Thursdays at 9 PM ET. From the show’s website: “Set in Boston, the FBI’s Fringe Division was introduced when Special Agent OLIVIA DUNHAM (Anna Torv) enlisted institutionalized “fringe” scientist WALTER BISHOP (John Noble) and his globe-trotting, jack-of-all-trades son, PETER (Joshua Jackson), to help in the investigation of an airline disaster that defied human logic. After the defining case was solved and revealed to be one of a series of unusual incidents linked together, the unlikely trio supervised by Special Agent PHILLIP BROYLES (Lance Reddick) and assisted by Junior Agent ASTRID FARNSWORTH (Jasika Nicole) was formed.”

If there are no interruptions in the broadcast schedule, episode 7 will air on Thursday, November 4, at 9 PM ET on FOX.

Reminder: Shanks, Pileggi, Nemec Guest on The CW Tonight

The CW has two shows with our Stargate stars guest starring in them tonight (October 1)!

Lois Lane and Carter Hall in SMALLVILLE — Erica Durance and Michael Shanks in SMALLVILLE

First, at 8 PM ET, they’ve got Michael Shanks returning as Carter Hall in Smallville. The episode is called “Shield”, and in it, Carter is with Lois Lane (Erica Durance) in North Africa while she’s on her new assignment. We’ll learn a little more about his “tortured past with true love Shayera (Sahar Biniaz).” This appearance is the first of a few that Shanks did in the show’s current and final season.

Corin Nemec and Mitch Pileggi in SUPERNATURAL

Next, keep tuned in to The CW at 9 PM ET to watch Mitch Pileggi and Corin Nemec return in their recurring roles as Samuel Campbell and Christian Campbell, respectively, in Supernatural. Tonight’s episode is “Two and a Half Men” (IMDb says Nemec is in this episode, but TV Guide doesn’t list him.) The story: “Sam investigates when babies are kidnapped and their parents are murdered. When he finds a baby who is left behind, he contacts Dean to help with the case. Soon, the brothers encounter a shape-shifter who wants to take the child.”

MSOL Annual Auction Kicks Off Today (Sept. 27)

Here’s the announcement from Michael Shanks Online (MSOL) concerning their 6th Annual MSOL Auction, which is being launched today (September 27) to benefit the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada:

We are happy to announce that on Monday, 27 September, the long awaited 2010 annual MSOL auction will be launched, 100% of the profits of which will be donated to the charity supported by Michael and his wife, Lexa Doig – the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.

As well as many Michael Shanks/Stargate SG-1 related items – including some of Michael’s own scripts from SG-1, and from recent tele-movies and series such as Smallville, Burn Notice and Sanctuary – the auction will also offer items from past and current popular shows, such as Star Trek, Supernatural, Torchwood, Battlestar Galactica, Farscape and Dr. Who and – of course! – Stargate: Atlantis.

To date, the MSOL auctions and associated fundraising efforts have raised over $105,000 U.S. for the MS Society of Canada.

This year’s event, which includes items donated and/or signed for the auction by Michael and Lexa, Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Ben Browder, Joe Flanigan, David Hewlett, Sir Patrick Stewart, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy – among others – will, we hope, be just as successful as the last.

The first 20 items in the auction will be launched on 27 September, with more items added each day.

For more information, check out the MSOL Auction 6 home page – and please feel free to distribute the above news to any websites, lists, forums and online communities.