Michael Shanks Online Becomes Official Shanks Site

In a note posted on MSOL, Michael Shanks gives this all things Shanks site the nod to become his official online website. Congratulations to all.

Sg1 Movie Ark of Truth DVD to be Released in March

The release date for the first SG1 Movie, Ark of Truth, has been set for March 11, 2007. The movie features Michael Shanks, Ben Browder, Claudia Black, and all the tenth season cast. It will tie up the loose ends left at the end of the tenth season. Go here for more details.

Richard Dean Anderson to attend Vancouver Convention

News Release: October 20, 2007.

We are in the process of working out the final arrangements but we can now confirm that Richard Dean Anderson and Capt. Paul Watson of The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) will be attending Gatecon 2008 - the Family Reunion in Vancouver. Gatecon 2008 will be focusing it's charity fund-raising activities to support SSCS and its endeavours to protect the worlds oceans and ecosystems (www.seashepherd.org). Consequently, Friday August 22 will be a very special day as several exclusive Sea Shepherd activities will take place involving Richard Dean Anderson and Capt. Watson.

For Stargate fans we can also confirm that in a rare public appearance, Richard will participate in the entire weekend activities. Legends Memorabilia will be bringing other surprise guests to the event which will run from Aug 21-24, 2008 at the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver.

More details concerning this special event and its guests will be announced at www.gatecon.com and www.stargateprops.com.

Stargate: Atlantis Renewed for Fifth Season

Citing standout ratings above other SciFi shows, SciFi's Mark Stern announced 20 new episodes for next year. Read more here.

Hewlett movie in big demand

Congratulations from everyone at SDJ to David Hewlett, best known to fans of Stargate: Atlantis as Dr Rodney McKay, whose movie A Dog's Breakfast hit the Amazon pre-order chart this week. The movie, which stars fellow Stargate actors Paul McGillion (with an extremely scary hairdo), Rachel Luttrell, Christopher Judge and David's sister Kate Hewlett, will be available from September 18th but there's been unexpected demand from fans for the dvd, written and directed by Hewlett. Sci Fi Wire reports that at one point the dvd was in the top 20 when Amazon began taking orders last week. To order the movie, go here.

Shanks charity auction launches

Fancy owning a piece of sci fi history? Our friends at Michael Shanks Online have just launched their third annual auction, in aid of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, and they could have just the item you're looking for!

Approximately 100 items will feature in the auction, covering scripts, merchandise and photographs from a variety of Vancouver-based shows including Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, Battlestar Galactica and Supernatural. Many of the items are donated by actors from those shows, with donations coming from Michael Shanks (including the shirt off his back from an early college appearance), Lexa Doig, Stargate: Atlantis cast members including David Hewlett, Torri Higginson and Rachel Luttrell, as well as fan favourites Don S Davis and Teryl Rothery, to name but a few.

For the first lot of items and more information about the auction, go here.

Villains old and new in SG-1 movies

There'll be villains old and new in the Stargate SG-1 movies that are currently filming. In Stargate SG-1: Continuum, a familiar face returns to plague the SGC - system lord Nirrti returns, according to Jacqueline Samuda's official website. It's also been confirmed that Morena Baccarin will appear in Stargate SG-1: The Ark of Truth, reprising her role as Ori leader Adria; there's a follow-up role too for Sarah Strange (ReGenesis) who played ascended being Morgan le Fay in the Stargate SG-1 season 10 episode 'The Pegasus Project'.

Meanwhile, Michael Shanks let slip some spoilers, talking about the link (or not?) between a certain development in the series finale 'Unending' (due to air in the US on June 22) that fans seemed to either love or hate, and the upcoming movies. If you don't mind spoilers, you can find out more here.

Spaceys win and new cast members confirmed for SG:A

In April, we reported that both Stargate: Atlantis and actor David Hewlett (Rodney McKay) had received nominations for this year's Spacey awards - both managed to pick up awards at the ceremony over the past weekend, SG:A winning the tough 'Favourite TV Show' category while Hewlett won 'Favourite TV character'. For more on the awards, go here.

Meanwhile, the Sci Fi Channel has confirmed that former-Firefly actress Jewel Staite will be appearing in the upcoming season of Stargate: Atlantis, with heavy hints being dropped that her character (Dr. Jennifer Keller) may have a romantic entanglement with someone on the show. For more on Staite's role and what the showrunners have planned for newly-promoted Colonel Carter, not to mention the show as a whole, go here if you don't mind spoilers.

Cast farewells get Sci Fi airtime

The official Sci Fi Channel website has begun to show videos from the main cast members of Stargate SG-1, starting with Christopher Judge, who talks about his ten years as Teal'c and what the future holds for him, including some intriguing hints about a television pilot he's written.

The video can be found here.

Meanwhile, our friends at Michael Shanks Online tell us that the newest round of Stargate SG-1 action figures, featuring Cameron Mitchell, Vala Mal Doran, an Ori Prior and Black Ops Daniel are now on sale. Coming soon from Diamond Select Toys, who also produce a range of Stargate: Atlantis action figures, will be a further range of SG-1 figures, including camouflage-clad Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson.

More on Shanks '24' appearance

"So I started watching, and lo and behold, I'm watching for good reason, because it ended up being homework for what I was going to be involved with."

That's Michael Shanks, talking about his upcoming role on hit show 24, where he takes a break from stepping through the Stargate as archaeologist Daniel Jackson to travel the corridors of power as Washington lobbyist Mark Bishop. Shanks reveals some spoilers about his role on the show in this interview, so if you don't want to know in advance, tune in for his first scenes next Monday (April 23rd) rather than clicking on the link below.

To read more, go here.