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Michael Shanks Interviews
MICHAEL SHANKS TV Zone #146 interview (extracts posted with permission from Visimag)
So long, Daniel Jackson, until we meet again...?
"Wow, this is a great show. I wish I could guest-star on it. Well, there I was watching Stargate and saying, ‘This is an interesting TV show. I wish I was...oh, wait a minute, I am on it!’ It was one of those moments that were becoming more and more frequent where I’d think, ‘I’m spending nine months a year doing this show and at the end of the day I’m really not in it a lot."
The show was moving in a direction that seemed to hold less and less a place for my character,” explains Shanks. “There were a number of conspiracy plots developing and other Earth-based scenarios that were being done in order to flesh out the different aspects of dealing with the Stargate.
“Stargate had become a programme about a military group in a military institution surrounded by all the various aspects and organizations that people in the military might have to deal with. As the sole civilian of the team, other than Teal’c, there’s wasn’t much for Daniel to do. For example, in the fifth season we seemed to revisit many of the same planets we had been to in the fourth year. Being an anthropologist/archeologist, Daniel goes to other worlds to meet new races and study new cultures. Instead, we were dealing with old situations and becoming further entrenched in past conflicts. As a result, the archeological and cultural interests of my character had to take a backseat."
"It was getting to a point where Daniel was in scenes just to he there, you know, and, frankly, I didn’t want to do that any more."
[Daniel makes his final appearance in the penultimate episode of Season Five - 'Meridian'. A mission goes wrong and Daniel is dying. He is visited by Oma Desala from Season Three's 'Maternal Instinct'. To save Daniel's life, Oma helps him to ascend as was most recently witnessed in Season Five's 'Ascension'.]
“There were a number of agendas that had to be solved,” says the actor. “Not only did they need to finish off Daniel’s journey if you will, but they also had to introduce a new character. With so many things going on it really wasn’t clear why Daniel was being written out in this fashion. I thought there was a bit of a chickening out with how it all happened. The big problem, I think, was they were so intent on saying to the audience, ‘Daniel’s not dead!’"
[There was uproar from fans when recurring character Martouf was killed without warning in Season Four episode 'Dive And Conquer'. This plotline was referenced again in Season Five's 'Last Stand']
"The powers that be wanted to quell any backlash that might take place with the fans concerning Daniel’s departure. What they ended up doing lessened the impact of his leaving. They didn’t give the viewers a chance to grieve the ‘passing’ of the character."
[Michael Shanks goes on to explain his feelings on filiming his last show before leaving.] If given the chance, what would Shanks have done differently with his character? "That’s a tough one,” he muses. “I think I would have liked to have gone back to Daniel’s roots. We touched upon that a bit in the story The Curse. It would have been fun to go back to Egypt or someplace like that and discover a new element associated with another race out there amongst the stars. It needn’t have even been connected to the Stargate. That would have created yet another mystery for us to try to solve. It was something we broached in Crystal Skull, but we never returned to that planet! I enjoy stories like that as they allow us to delve into the great unknown, which is a subject that has piqued the interest of Humanity for centuries.
[The actor speaks warmly and at length of his close personal and professional ties with his fellow cast members. He will miss Richard Dean Anderson, Christopher Judge, Amanda Tapping, Don S. Davis and jokes about Teryl Rothery's professionalism in comparison to the squabbling, playful family the leads make]
Given the impact he made as Daniel Jackson, Shanks is sure to be associated with the character for a long time to come. He has no problems with that.
“I enjoyed playing Daniel,” he says. “I think what I liked most was his excitement whenever he discovered something new...Daniel never lost his passion for exploration and I’ll always he grateful for that.”
Michael Shanks, TV Zone #146 (c) 2001 TV Zone. All rights recognised. No copyright infringement intended. We respect all that TV Zone have done to cover Stargate SG-1 and this story, and thank them for granting permission to post these extracts. Our intent here is only to inform those fans who have no access to the magazine. You can purchase this wonderful magazine from http://www.visimag.com/ and read the interview in full. Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, SCI FI Channel, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. All blog entries represent the opinion of the poster. All editorials represent the opinion of the author. All linked content represents the opinion of the linked site's webmaster. Copyright on all articles/editorials/blog entries belongs to the original author. Offer void where prohibited. Please remain seated while the aircraft is in motion. Warning: Coffee will be hot. A moose once bit my sister.
Steven Eramo
