l remember one of the first table readings we had...
lt had to be the first one - we were all just meeting.
And we sat at this long table in a conference room
and had a read-through.
Even before we started, some...
l don't know if l can call them antics. Maybe it's nervous energy,
maybe it's my absolute desire or need to make sure people have a good time,
that there's an understanding that things shouldn't be taken so seriously...
l certainly don't take myself that seriously.
Fascinating behind-the-scenes stuff.
There's been a rapport that has developed over the years,
and l think an understanding or, if nothing else, an acceptance, hopefully,
that old Rick has got a few loose cables and bolts and nuts and stuff.
- My breasts are sticking together. - Argh!
There are times l don't know what will come out of my mouth.
Which leads me to believe that l really don't know what's going on in my head.
My sense of humour tends to be irreverent, sarcastic, at times cynical.
But the character, and l guess my general approach,
had to have some humour in it. There had to be some levity to it.
lt's worked out. People were pretty happy with what they saw in the pilot of the show
and l've just been playing on that ever since.
Well, my fellow cast members...
They've had to endure not just my eccentricities,
but l guess my appreciation for the absurd, the incongruous,
the weird, l guess...
lndividually: Amanda is funny in her own right -
she's an extremely talented, l think, comedienne.
She's got a keen wit. She's very perceptive.
She kind of gets it. She's a very funny woman.
Chris Judge is... big. l mean, he's...
Aside from physically, he also has one of the biggest hearts,
and his laughter is absolutely infectious.
Or obnoxious, depending on where you might be.
Chris has grown to appreciate, l think, my sense of the absurd.
So l adore him - especially his heart. He's really a wonderful man.
Michael Shanks...
Oh, jeez... Camera guy again.
Michael is there to race,
and it's fun to have someone with that kind of energy and awareness of rhythms,
and the abilities for timing, and that can click.
Michael's also not afraid to try it, to try virtually anything, or work things out.
All in all, l think it's important that in the time that is spent together
there is levity and humour and laughter.
Oh, my God!
(laughter)
Colonel O'Neill!
My interests vary.
l have a variety of interests,
but my greatest interest is in the outdoors and things of nature.
l've been involved in a couple of projects in the last five years or so,
one of which was Earth River Expeditions.
Eric Hertz is the proprietor of the company,
and he asked me to be part of a renegade documentary film group
that would essentially document about eight of the great rivers in the world.
The one that looms right now as the most profound experience
has been the Upper Yangtze trek to China and into Tibet.
9,000 miles, get on the Yangtze River and l forget ChapStick.
The upper part of it is rarely... ln fact, we're the first group to document,
as best we could, the river itself, the physicality of it,
but also visit as many of the Tibetan Buddhist monasteries along the way,
and ask some poignant questions
about the connection that the river has had - or has - with Buddhism.
lt was one of those experiences
that l've described as being a consciousness-altering experience.
Because l still, to this day,
don't have a really clear understanding of the tenets of Tibetan Buddhism,
but my experience in just meeting the people, the monks...
You know, l speak in terms of it being almost a revelation to me.
And part of that has allowed me to look at the flip side of it,
because in meeting these people there is that realisation
that we are, for the most part, the first white humans these folks have ever seen.
No one speaks English, or very few speak English where we were.
So our mode of communication became through the eyes, initially.
We all seem to be staring at one another.
And then through physicalisation of some kind, and with tone of voice,
or with nods of understanding or nods of misunderstanding.
And l have to say that the thing that made it so comfortable
were the Tibetan people themselves,
who in general are the warmest, most beautiful physical humans l've ever seen.
We got down to absolute basics -
the basics of, you know, a handshake, an embrace...
These are ways of communication that we relied on.
- (hums a ditty) - (laughter)
And... ha!
What does she do?
You don't know?
Perfect!
l'm sitting here doing three different things.
Chatting with a camera, driving down the Pacific Coast Highway
and eating a Subway sandwich.
And also trying to explain the intricacies of the Challengers Club.
When l married into its energy, it was literally a parking lot
and, essentially, a gymnasium.
Before, all this was playground.
And then this was the main entrance right here.
- This is the old... - This is the old side.
We used to have everything in here.
And a chain-link fence was erected around it -
that was one of the first things that needed to be put in place
because it's in a part of town frequented by crack dealers and gang members.
l mean, it was really a bit of a clichéd inner-city type environment.
And Lou Dantzler took it upon himself
to start raising funds and sort of taking the reins in his hands,
and essentially developed the club itself, Challengers Boys and Girls Club.
Over the years it's developed, all through donations,
and it's acquired some of the land around there
and done further development for buildings and facilities.
lt allows inner-city kids who attend to learn all aspects of commerce,
what it takes to run a kitchen,
what it takes to cook - something as simple as that.
Computers have been donated over the years, so there's a computer lab.
l think Lou's intention was to create a protected area in the inner city
where these kids could be kids.
Because it really was not a safe neighbourhood.
He wanted the kids to be able to relax and be free to express themselves as kids
and to have a recreational environment.
For what little publicity l seek,
l do always try to bring Lou's name and Challengers to light.
And the bottom line to it all is it's been an absolute honour to know this man.
l think Lou's got some things to show off today
as part of the 35th anniversary celebration. That's where we're going.
l've had fans who have been loyal to my career my entire life.
l don't quite understand the attraction.
And that's not meant to be falsely self-deprecating in any way,
because l know that l've been lucky and extremely fortunate.
l do know, pragmatically, that l've made the most of a limited amount of talent.
l've done as much as l can.
And for some reason people have been attracted to it,
or willing to put up with it or tolerate it, or be supportive.
And the experience in general has been - as a blanket statement - quite spectacular.
Hi, Jack. Thanks for coming.
l was told you said there were six Jaffa. Where'd you learn to count?
And cut.
Awesome. Perfect.
And that's a day in the life...
But l'd really be remiss if l didn't grab the opportunity to say the words ''Thank you''
from the bottom of my pancreas for all your support.
Thanks for watching ''Beyond the Gate'' with me.
See you.
ENHOH