(narrator) He's the anthropologist who helped unlock the secrets of the Stargate.
Jack, l think that this is a map of a... a vast network of Stargates,...
..Stargates all over the galaxy.
(narrator) And chose to live on the other side with a new bride...
Goodbye, my Daniel.
(narrator) ..until she was kidnapped and forced to join an evil empire.
(distorted) Behold. Your Queen.
Sha're, it's me.
(narrator) From that day on, Dr Daniel Jackson's role with SG-1 ...
..would change for ever.
Don't!
(narrator) Each mission put his loyalties to the test.
Drop your weapons.
Jack, if you're ever gonna trust me on anything, now is the time.
(narrator) Each journey challenged his intellect.
We're travellers. We come in search of friendship.
We'd like to exchange our knowledge and culture.
(distorted) We accept your proposition.
(narrator) For actor Michael Shanks, Stargate SG-1 offers more...
..than the average TV drama.
With this series...
The best thing about...
..a lot of science fiction series, but this one, more importantly,...
..because it's based in human history, is that the possibilities are endless.
What the future holds is anybody's guess.
lt's exciting. Every time l pick up a new script.
Because you're not doing Melrose Place, you're not doing soap opera,...
..where you're going ''Who am l gonna be sleeping with? Who's gonna kill who?''
lt's about ''Who are we gonna meet? What culture are we gonna see?''
''What world are we gonna discover?'' You can't get much bigger than that.
What are you doing? What's he doing?
- (Carter) Daniel. - l think it just wants to understand.
- What? - Us.
(narrator) Years before Stargate,...
..a chance encounter with Richard Dean Anderson helped Michael's decision...
..to become an actor.
They happened to be filming an episode of MacGyver down at the beach.
Well, this was my first time,...
..at 1 9, seeing a professional...
..television shoot.
Being interested in acting, l was like a kid in a candy store. l just loved it.
And Richard was down there. They were shooting scenes -
..l can't remember exactly what for, but there was a huge crowd of people around.
l sat there for about an hour watching him work and watching the show take place.
And l really thought this was fabulous. l just thought this was great.
- She's out there somewhere, Jack. - l know.
So's Skaara.
So what do we do?
We find 'em.
lt's that whole coming full circle with something:
..being so far on the outside, watching Richard work,...
..and all of a sudden getting the opportunity to work right up close to him.
That being the first television shoot that l'd seen, it's really great.
(narrator) At the audition, Michael had an intuitive sense about his future co-stars.
lt seemed to be that myself, Amanda and Christopher somehow...
We didn't know that we'd all be getting the parts,...
..but we managed to gravitate towards each other.
We had a very positive, relaxed energy...
..that came from overcompensating for nervousness,...
..or simply just really good-natured people...
..who saw a sparkle in somebody else's eye and said ''This is cool.''
''We're all in the same boat here. Let's just relax and enjoy it.''
l thought it was very ironic...
..that when we'd come for the first read-through...
..that we were looking at the same faces and the same reaction.
lt was very nice. A very comfortable feeling.
And a thrill to have Richard, who is so good-natured, so easy to work with...
..and so just wants to be one of the guys and hang out.
And when we do the work, it all, you know, it's fun.
(narrator) Shanks is the first to admit that joining Stargate SG-1 ...
..was somewhat intimidating.
My first reaction when l found out l had the job was ''l've got a lot of work to do.''
We explore so many different worlds, so many cultures,...
..it's impossible to go in depth the way an archaeologist or an anthropologist would.
But you have to have a certain amount of study in it.
So l thought all that work that l had ahead of me,...
..all that book work, all that ''going back to school'' work was really difficult.
Queen, primordial Goa'uld, evidenced by enlarged...
..pectoral musculature and dorsal structure.
The study of history is fascinating to me. The study of people and cultures...
..has always been fascinating to me.
Not to the degree that the character has, but l think l find people very fascinating.
- Why are they treating us like this? - They think we're gods.
My character, in a lot of the worlds we go to -
..and all the other characters as well - are looked at as gods,...
..once we step through the Stargate, by the inhabitants of these planets,...
..which can be, when you look at it from a human perspective, very humbling.
To be put on a pedestal like that by other human beings is very awkward.
And l feel very... lt leaves you very humble.
- Daniel? - Jack?
What you doin'?
Something about this place says we all shouldn't rush in waving guns around.
He is right. This is sacred ground.
The additional sentiment that you can add,...
..the avenues you can explore in human relations, in moral issues,...
..anything like that, just to touch on it, not to go too far...
..and tell you how it's supposed to be, just to say ''What if?'' -
..l think that's as good a reason as any to show...
..a different... perhaps a different perspective...
..on how we could look at things differently, if presented with them again.
We've only ever seen one side of this. Do we even know why they're fighting?
- For their lives. - Yes, and l was all for saving those lives.
But we're about to go way, way, way beyond that.
We're about to turn the tide of a world war that we know nothing about...
..against an enemy that we know nothing about.
ls that the way to get their technology? Yes. But is it the right thing to do?
lt's not necessarily a time-travel thing.
lt's more of a... You put a different race of people on a different world...
..and see what avenues that world turns into...
..and what could have been if the world's history had turned a different way...
..and what we could do differently next time, faced with that same possibility.
You're not here to serve life on this ship.
You're here to protect the integrity of life on this ship.
Think about the people down there, and all the life that you will be destroying.
(narrator) The rigours of shooting such a complex series can take its toll,...
..but Michael finds ways to enjoy the process.
We get so many new directors in on the show, and what l love to see...
..is l watch them flip out,...
..because they see how big the show is.
They go into it thinking they're just doing series television.
And they go into it and they see, slowly... They come in with a smile on their face.
And we're smiling back at them, going ''What is this director gonna do?''
He takes us down this road.
l'm gonna start printing the rehearsals. We're so far behind here.
And he realises just how overwhelming this show can be, and is.
And we just sit there and watch them...
..spin and twist and freak out and throw things and yell and scream.
Everybody just sits back calmly and goes ''Yep.''
''Yep. Second day. l think it's about time you did that.''
The Goa'uld used to use this place as some sort of opium den.
Trained as an actor, to be thrust with technical stuff...
..that comes with the show - all the sci-fi, the technical process...
..of shooting it with the bluescreen and the special effects and the weapons -
..being thrown in the middle, with acting somewhere lying in the middle of it,...
..is a bit overwhelming.
You learn to be patient and pick your spots.
But it's been great so far.
The hours are long, but it's very rewarding. lt's a lot of fun.
l'll see both of you again someday, right?