We believe we as fans deserve to have our voices heard.  This is a forum to grieve for the loss of Daniel from Stargate SG-1, to discuss our hopes and fears for the future of the series, to offer messages of support for Michael Shanks and to ask our questions of The Powers That Be.

Very Big Shoes to Fill

It's a task which would daunt many actors - filling the gap left by the departure of one of Stargate SG-1's most popular characters. But as Corin Nemec joins the team as Jonas Quinn, he admits he's rather relishing the challenge. "The thing I like about it most is that I've been given a framework on which to build. His first episode, "Meridian", was really just expositionary and there wasn't too much to discover about my character there. As far as the dialogue he was saying and the point of view he was coming from, it was pretty basic.

"The character of Jonas, as he's created by the writers, is basically like an assistant or an advisor to the president of his planet and is sort of a liaison between the people at Stargate Command and his government. In "Meridian", the writers kind of set him up as being a leader of sorts with the ability and confidence to make decisions but other than that the character has to be fleshed out and developed in up and coming episodes."

So might fans who were reluctant to warm to Jonas on his first appearance discover there's more to him than they thought? Nemec certainly hopes so. "What I'm excited about is the development of the character as go along because Jonas, on his planet, I felt was a little stiff; a little rigid, if you know what I mean. Not as laid back as obviously I would have preferred to play him. What's happening now as we begin filming season six is that there seems to be less protocol and 'what have you' on Earth, so I've been having a lot of fun in the creation of Jonas' personality within that environment. Where we're going to go from here is left wide open. It's like an open book so it's exciting for me to be embarking on this journey."

"As far as the character's sense of humour goes, it's definitely a thing being developed and it's a most crucial aspect."

"What's interesting is the writers have created the character as someone who is always reading. Jonas has this amazing ability to assimilate information very quickly and to be able to relay it back to whoever needs that information. So there is distinct similarity there."

The actor continues, "I also respect the interest level of the character in what's going on around him, because I feel I share that too. Then there's the enthusiasm about life and where we are going.'"

As Jonas' character develops, so do his relationships with the established members of the team. The relationship between Dr. Jackson and Colonel O'Neill has been at the core of Stargate ever since the movie and leaves a massive gap to be filled, but it would be unrealistic to expect the Colonel to bond too quickly with someone he's already dismissed as a 'geek'. "What's cool is that Colonel O'Neill is going to a hard nut to crack," says Nemec, acknowledging the problem, "and his loyalties are very strong. That's what makes his character so wonderful to me. His loyalties are really, really fixed and you know that once he is on your side you can trust this guy for life. So trying to get in his space; trying to get him involved in Jonas' life is obviously going to be slightly difficult and may take some doing. Realistically, the first two episodes are set up in that direction and then the third episode is sort of a proving ground. By the end of that episode Jack and I have kind of broken the ice a little bit but the original dynamic evident between us, which is a great dynamic to have, will continue for a while."

Fortunately, Jonas has less of a hard time with the rest of his colleagues. Says Nemec, "I haven't worked with Christopher Judge yet, apart from a short time in the last two episodes but he's a very cool guy on and off set. What I'm really enjoying is the way the writers have created the relationship between Jonas and Carter. They had to make one of the team open up to Jonas a bit quicker than the rest and that role has fallen to her. It's quite nice and a lot of fun because there's a little bit of playfulness there that I think is going to be interesting for the audience. Our audience is really used to the relationship between Daniel Jackson and the other characters and how they relate to each other so it's definitely going to be interesting for them to see how Jonas and Carter relate to each other."

"We're NOT going down that route [Sam Carter romantically involved with Jonas] but I think some people will probably assume something of that nature."

Nemec has this to say to those feeling doubtful about the prospects for the Daniel-lite sixth season. "For me it's like 'Man, change is a beautiful thing.' In the Universe everything always changes and if you're unwilling to change with it, you're going to be fighting a losing battle because change is going to happen with or without you. With Stargate SG-1, we don't know where we're going yet - but we do have an idea of where we want to get to. So I say 'Let's just have a good time finding out where we end up and let's enjoy getting to know each other along the way'." 

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