Feature: Stargate SG-1 Michael
Shanks
So long, Daniel Jackson, until we meet again...?
 After five years as Daniel
Jackson, actor Michael Shanks has decided to bid farewell to Stargate
SG-1. In this exclusive and candid interview, Shanks reveals why it’s
time for him to move on…
Most TV actors dream of getting a job as a regular on a show. If the series
turns out to be a hit, then all the better. For Michael Shanks, his dream
became a reality back in 1997 when he won the role of Dr Daniel Jackson on
Stargate SG-1. "I'll never forget when Christopher Judge [Teal'c],
Amanda Tapping [Major Samantha Carter] and I visited the set for the first time
and saw the Stargate," he says. "The three of us were overwhelmed. We
were like, `Oh, my God, this is for us. This is our show, our universe.' It was
an awe-inspiring experience.
"I should add, though, that on our first day working on-location we had
what was probably the ultimate feeling in the opposite direction," jokes
the actor. "It rained the entire time, most of the film got ruined, parts
of the set were washed away, the extras were ready to mutiny, etc. It was
pretty much a nightmare... Thankfully, it was not the beginning of the end.
Everything seemed to go uphill after that."
However, after five years of adventures, Jackson's alter ego has called it
quits.
"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.
Admittedly, some of them were very interesting. For instance, the fifth-season
episode Desperate Measures was actually a
particularly good story because of its X-Files-brand of conspiracy
involving Maybourne [Tom McBeath]. In fact, when my girlfriend Lexa [Doig -
Rommie of Andromeda fame] and I were watching it I said to her,
‘This is a great show. I wish I were on it.' It's like when you watch a
really good episode of The X-Files and think, `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. I'm not getting a
chance to challenge myself as an actor.'
"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...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.
"I actually said to Brad Wright [executive producer] last season,
‘You need to have this fourth team member be a military person, maybe a
corporal or lieutenant with a bit of a background in archeology. This way if
you need such expertise this guy's got it. If not, at least you have someone
who can pick up a gun and start fighting. It was getting to a point where
Daniel was in scenes just to be there, you know, and, frankly, I didn't want to
do that any more..."
by Steven Eramo
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