Approaching the Possible: the World of Stargate SG-1
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Stargate_FINAL_COVER 11/8/05 11:41 AM Page 1 JO STORM Stargate SG-1 has been a television hit for nine years, with a record-breaking tenth on the way. APPROACHING THE POSSIBLE: The World of Stargate SG-1 tackles everything from the mythology of Ancient Egypt, to the series’ devoted and vocal fan community, and its evolution as a CGI wunderkind. APPROACHING THE POSSIBLE includes: ✦ A comprehensive guide to the first eight seasons that examines SG-1 episode by episode, introducing the show for new viewers while providing an in-depth exploration of the series for long-time fans ✦ Background information on the mythology and science not only of the stories, but of the writing, directing, and special effects as well ✦ Exclusive interviews with cast and crew members including Joe Mallozzi, Teryl Rothery, and James Tichenor, engaging the Stargate universe from multiple angles ✦ A special chapter devoted to the unique contribution fans have brought to the show and a personal tour of one of the most popular SG-1 Web sites, GateWorld ✦ Favorite, funny lines from each episode. (Indeed!) ✦ A look at the cultural relevance of Stargate’s filming location: Vancouver, Canada. ✦ A 16-page color photo insert and dozens of exclusive photos throughout the book ✦ A showcase of the passion the show inspires in its viewers, from real-life scientists to fan fiction writers. Jo Storm lives in Toronto, Ontario. She is also the author of an article on Stargate SG-1 in the forthcoming critical anthology, Reading Stargate, published by IB Tauris. ISBN-10: 1-55022-705-X ISBN-13: 978-1-55022-705-5 ECW Press • $19.95 U.S., $22.95 CDN Distributed by Independent Publishers Group in the U.S. ECW and Jaguar Book Group in Canada ecwpress.com Trim Size: 6.75 x 9.375” Spine Size: 1.11” the world of stargate sg-1 jo storm ECW Press Copyright © Jo Storm, 2005 Published by Queen Street East, Suite , Toronto, Ontario, Canada All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or trans- mitted in any form by any process — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and . Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Storm, Jo, 1972– Approaching the possible : the world of Stargate SG-1 / Jo Storm. isbn 1-55022-705-x 1. Stargate SG-1 (Television program). I. Title. pn1992.77.s76s76 2005 791.45’72 c2005-904251-6 Developing editor: Jennifer Hale Typesetting: Gail Nina Cover and text design: Tania Craan Cover photo: Courtesy Shooting Star Color section credits, in order: Jonathan Cruz; Albert L. Ortega; Peter Fallon; Charles Bush/Shooting Star; Tricia Byrne; Michelle; Albert L. Ortega; Jonathan Cruz; Albert L. Ortega; Charles Bush/Shooting Star; Courtesy Teryl Rothery; Jonathan Cruz; Ron Davis/Shooting Star; Sue Schneider/Shooting Star; Ron Davis/Shooting Star; Charles Bush/Shooting Star Printing: Transcontinental : Jaguar Book Group, Armstrong Avenue, Georgetown, , : Independent Publishers Group, North Franklin Street, Chicago, Illinois " iv Table of Contents Acknowledgments........ vii Approaching the Possible: The World of Stargate SG-1........ 1 Making Myth: The Story of Stargate SG-1........ 5 The Cast of Stargate SG-1 Richard Dean Anderson (Jack O’Neill)........ 9 Christopher Judge (Teal’c)........ 19 Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson)........ 28 Amanda Tapping (Samantha Carter)........ 37 Behind Stargate SG-1........ 49 Through the Stargate, Season by Season........ 51 Everybody CanCon: Stargate SG-1 in the Great White North........ 71 Coding the Wormhole: An Interview with GateWorld’s Darren Sumner........ 81 Out of the Blue: The Franchise of SG-1........ 89 No Red Shirts: The “Fanchise” of SG-1........ 97 Stargate SG-1 Episode Guide........ 107 Season One........ 109 Season Two........ 159 Season Three........ 209 Season Four........ 257 Season Five........ 305 Season Six........ 357 Season Seven........ 407 Season Eight........ 459 Resources........ 513 Bibliography........ 517 Acknowledgments Thank you to Jen Hale, Jack David, and ecw Press for the chance to put in text the abiding fandom that is “sgwun.”Thanks also to my good friend and sometime agent Noelle Allen, who made my shyness seem like an okay thing to a very busy Jen Hale, who took on the project even though she was about to go on maternity leave. A very big and warm thank you to Eliza Bennett, who was an invaluable assistant and whom I cannot praise enough. The shaping of this book was helped by fans all over the globe who sent me photos, offered suggestions, hounded cast and crew at conventions for info, and supported me through the entire endeavor. I’d like to thank Anthea Murphy, Tricia Byrne, Robin, Craig and Zoë Bennett, Jenifer Renieri, Julie Winningham. A warm thank you to the people who agreed to be interviewed — Meesh, without whom none of the interviews would have happened, AJ, Suz Voy, Tricia Byrne, splash_the_cat, Denise, and lab_brat. Thanks to all the cast (and their agents!) and crew who participated — James Tichenor, Joseph Mallozzi, Alex Zahara (who agreed to an interview even though he had food poisoning), and Teryl Rothery. Not only is she enthusiastic and friendly, but she is a genuinely brilliant woman. James Tichenor mentioned that everyone is welcome at his blog, “The Joint” (http://www.lehopictures.com/the_joint/), and as he’s working on Stargate Atlantis these days, it’s chock full of Stargate stuff. Thanks to Morjana Coffman and Denise for their excellent proofreading skills and general Stargate knowledge. Also to Morjana (SG-1-Spoilergate) and Darren Sumner (GateWorld), two seriously dedicated fans whose vast warehouse of knowledge I used. Thanks to Aline Reinhard, Maureen Thayer, my “Convention Gals” (Robin, Zoë, Jenifer, Eliza, and Tricia), Douglas Thar of the US Air Force, Danielle MacNeil, Michelle, Jonathan Cruz of Cruz Photography and Peter Fallon of Best of Both Worlds (http://www.bobw.com.au/), for their great photographs. This book is dedicated to all the SG-1 fans around the world (and there are a lot of them!). After nine years, a split, a death (or two), and a spin-off, you still keep SG-1 honest. vii " Approaching the Possible The World of Stargate SG-1 Speculative fiction has roots that reach way back, but until recently it was loosely designated under the heading “fanciful.” That phrase taps the shoulder of none other than the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. To Coleridge, the difference between what he termed “fancy” and “imagination” was the difference between “stuff” and “art.”He maintained that fancy was merely a resetting of familiar things, whereas imagination took old things and made them new, a phrase reiterated by the Modernist movement. For a long time, speculative fiction in either the science or fantasy realm was derided as mere “fancy,” not compressing or dissolving old themes and making new ones, but just putting them in space with a ray gun, or in the forest with a sword. Contemporary scholars however, have delved more deeply into the underlying structures of speculative fiction and realized that this genre is more than old tales retold with new costumes. Fantasy often offered spiritual or moral insights because it spoke to timeless truths, and science fiction presented insight into physical reality, because it was based on the laws of physics. Traditionally, science fiction and fantasy are seen as two sides of the same coin (or universe); one employing the hard-and-fast rules of science to explain phenomena, and the other using magic, myth, or other more sublime rule sets to explain the ways in which a world and its inhabitants 1 " exist. In both cases, it is insight into our world and how we live in it that readers are looking for. Speculative fiction television seemed to have landed heavily on the “sci- ence” side of things. Starting as far back as Captain Video in 1949, tv offered shows like the British Dr. Who, which ran from 1963 to 1993 — the longest running science fiction show to date. Across the pond in America, The Outer Limits, originally aired in 1963, went back into production in the 1990s. And, of course, there is the ubiquitous Star Trek, starting with the original series in 1966 and continuing to this day in its various spin-offs. More fantastical series like Battlestar Galactica, which aired for one season in 1978 (though it’s been renewed recently to greater audience acclaim) and Jim Henson’s Farscape (1999–2003) didn’t seem to have the same staying power. These kinds of shows were trying to ride the coattails of popular imagination — Battlestar Galactica aired directly after the movie Star Wars — or, like Farscape, they became mired in intricate, slow- moving plots that demanded close (and often repeated) viewings, some- thing large television audiences weren’t interested in. A few fantastical shows developed small followings but ultimately did not appeal to wider audiences. Beauty and the Beast, a cult romantic series that aired between 1987 and 1990, tailored its mythic characters to a grown-up audience, recasting the fable with a modern day premise. Occasionally, a show might seem to have a scientific premise, but it was really more about fantastical worlds — Quantum Leap is a good example, running from 1989 to 1994. What was missing was a hybrid — a show that catered to viewers’ taste for mythology and good storytelling while being “believable” due to its sci- entific, “realistic” premise. That brings us to the year 1997. Stargate SG-1 started out as a movie in 1994 (like another hit series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and was a long anticipated brain-child of director Roland Emmerich. The concept of the movie was simple.