1 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:09,240 (narrator) He's the anthropologist who helped unlock the secrets of the Stargate. 2 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:14,080 Jack, l think that this is a map of a... a vast network of Stargates,... 3 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:16,440 ..Stargates all over the galaxy. 4 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:20,720 (narrator) And chose to live on the other side with a new bride... 5 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:22,800 Goodbye, my Daniel. 6 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:28,080 (narrator) ..until she was kidnapped and forced to join an evil empire. 7 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,560 (distorted) Behold. Your Queen. 8 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:35,880 Sha're, it's me. 9 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,960 (narrator) From that day on, Dr Daniel Jackson's role with SG-1 ... 10 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:46,920 ..would change for ever. 11 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,040 Don't! 12 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,200 (narrator) Each mission put his loyalties to the test. 13 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:04,440 Drop your weapons. 14 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,480 Jack, if you're ever gonna trust me on anything, now is the time. 15 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:18,960 (narrator) Each journey challenged his intellect. 16 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:22,400 We're travellers. We come in search of friendship. 17 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:26,920 We'd like to exchange our knowledge and culture. 18 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:30,800 (distorted) We accept your proposition. 19 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,800 (narrator) For actor Michael Shanks, Stargate SG-1 offers more... 20 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:36,800 ..than the average TV drama. 21 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,080 With this series... 22 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:42,400 The best thing about... 23 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:47,120 ..a lot of science fiction series, but this one, more importantly,... 24 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:52,680 ..because it's based in human history, is that the possibilities are endless. 25 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,480 What the future holds is anybody's guess. 26 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:58,240 lt's exciting. Every time l pick up a new script. 27 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:02,440 Because you're not doing Melrose Place, you're not doing soap opera,... 28 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:07,640 ..where you're going ''Who am l gonna be sleeping with? Who's gonna kill who?'' 29 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,880 lt's about ''Who are we gonna meet? What culture are we gonna see?'' 30 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:15,480 ''What world are we gonna discover?'' You can't get much bigger than that. 31 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:18,720 What are you doing? What's he doing? 32 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,280 - (Carter) Daniel. - l think it just wants to understand. 33 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:24,760 - What? - Us. 34 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:30,000 (narrator) Years before Stargate,... 35 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:33,840 ..a chance encounter with Richard Dean Anderson helped Michael's decision... 36 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:35,480 ..to become an actor. 37 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:40,200 They happened to be filming an episode of MacGyver down at the beach. 38 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,240 Well, this was my first time,... 39 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,240 ..at 1 9, seeing a professional... 40 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:53,320 ..television shoot. 41 00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:58,000 Being interested in acting, l was like a kid in a candy store. l just loved it. 42 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,320 And Richard was down there. They were shooting scenes - 43 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:06,000 ..l can't remember exactly what for, but there was a huge crowd of people around. 44 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:10,720 l sat there for about an hour watching him work and watching the show take place. 45 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:15,160 And l really thought this was fabulous. l just thought this was great. 46 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:18,360 - She's out there somewhere, Jack. - l know. 47 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:21,080 So's Skaara. 48 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:24,200 So what do we do? 49 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:26,920 We find 'em. 50 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,360 lt's that whole coming full circle with something: 51 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,640 ..being so far on the outside, watching Richard work,... 52 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:38,520 ..and all of a sudden getting the opportunity to work right up close to him. 53 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:42,560 That being the first television shoot that l'd seen, it's really great. 54 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:47,560 (narrator) At the audition, Michael had an intuitive sense about his future co-stars. 55 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:53,960 lt seemed to be that myself, Amanda and Christopher somehow... 56 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,240 We didn't know that we'd all be getting the parts,... 57 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:00,120 ..but we managed to gravitate towards each other. 58 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:03,640 We had a very positive, relaxed energy... 59 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:08,400 ..that came from overcompensating for nervousness,... 60 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:12,200 ..or simply just really good-natured people... 61 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,560 ..who saw a sparkle in somebody else's eye and said ''This is cool.'' 62 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:18,800 ''We're all in the same boat here. Let's just relax and enjoy it.'' 63 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:20,920 l thought it was very ironic... 64 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:23,760 ..that when we'd come for the first read-through... 65 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:27,280 ..that we were looking at the same faces and the same reaction. 66 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:29,760 lt was very nice. A very comfortable feeling. 67 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:34,600 And a thrill to have Richard, who is so good-natured, so easy to work with... 68 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:38,040 ..and so just wants to be one of the guys and hang out. 69 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:41,960 And when we do the work, it all, you know, it's fun. 70 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:45,560 (narrator) Shanks is the first to admit that joining Stargate SG-1 ... 71 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:47,320 ..was somewhat intimidating. 72 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:52,240 My first reaction when l found out l had the job was ''l've got a lot of work to do.'' 73 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,760 We explore so many different worlds, so many cultures,... 74 00:04:55,880 --> 00:05:02,000 ..it's impossible to go in depth the way an archaeologist or an anthropologist would. 75 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:06,080 But you have to have a certain amount of study in it. 76 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,600 So l thought all that work that l had ahead of me,... 77 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:15,080 ..all that book work, all that ''going back to school'' work was really difficult. 78 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:17,800 Queen, primordial Goa'uld, evidenced by enlarged... 79 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:20,600 ..pectoral musculature and dorsal structure. 80 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:25,240 The study of history is fascinating to me. The study of people and cultures... 81 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:27,720 ..has always been fascinating to me. 82 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:34,320 Not to the degree that the character has, but l think l find people very fascinating. 83 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:38,640 - Why are they treating us like this? - They think we're gods. 84 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:42,000 My character, in a lot of the worlds we go to - 85 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:46,840 ..and all the other characters as well - are looked at as gods,... 86 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:50,880 ..once we step through the Stargate, by the inhabitants of these planets,... 87 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:55,280 ..which can be, when you look at it from a human perspective, very humbling. 88 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:02,920 To be put on a pedestal like that by other human beings is very awkward. 89 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:06,560 And l feel very... lt leaves you very humble. 90 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:08,120 - Daniel? - Jack? 91 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:09,800 What you doin'? 92 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:13,720 Something about this place says we all shouldn't rush in waving guns around. 93 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:17,200 He is right. This is sacred ground. 94 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,840 The additional sentiment that you can add,... 95 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:26,320 ..the avenues you can explore in human relations, in moral issues,... 96 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:29,880 ..anything like that, just to touch on it, not to go too far... 97 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,800 ..and tell you how it's supposed to be, just to say ''What if?'' - 98 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:38,200 ..l think that's as good a reason as any to show... 99 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,360 ..a different... perhaps a different perspective... 100 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:46,960 ..on how we could look at things differently, if presented with them again. 101 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:51,760 We've only ever seen one side of this. Do we even know why they're fighting? 102 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,840 - For their lives. - Yes, and l was all for saving those lives. 103 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,280 But we're about to go way, way, way beyond that. 104 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:01,920 We're about to turn the tide of a world war that we know nothing about... 105 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:04,960 ..against an enemy that we know nothing about. 106 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:09,480 ls that the way to get their technology? Yes. But is it the right thing to do? 107 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:12,360 lt's not necessarily a time-travel thing. 108 00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:17,720 lt's more of a... You put a different race of people on a different world... 109 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:21,320 ..and see what avenues that world turns into... 110 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:26,920 ..and what could have been if the world's history had turned a different way... 111 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:31,800 ..and what we could do differently next time, faced with that same possibility. 112 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:34,000 You're not here to serve life on this ship. 113 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:38,040 You're here to protect the integrity of life on this ship. 114 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:42,440 Think about the people down there, and all the life that you will be destroying. 115 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:46,840 (narrator) The rigours of shooting such a complex series can take its toll,... 116 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:49,680 ..but Michael finds ways to enjoy the process. 117 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:53,080 We get so many new directors in on the show, and what l love to see... 118 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:55,160 ..is l watch them flip out,... 119 00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:57,960 ..because they see how big the show is. 120 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:01,720 They go into it thinking they're just doing series television. 121 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:07,000 And they go into it and they see, slowly... They come in with a smile on their face. 122 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:10,680 And we're smiling back at them, going ''What is this director gonna do?'' 123 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:12,600 He takes us down this road. 124 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:17,720 l'm gonna start printing the rehearsals. We're so far behind here. 125 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:22,640 And he realises just how overwhelming this show can be, and is. 126 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,240 And we just sit there and watch them... 127 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:28,920 ..spin and twist and freak out and throw things and yell and scream. 128 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:31,720 Everybody just sits back calmly and goes ''Yep.'' 129 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:34,960 ''Yep. Second day. l think it's about time you did that.'' 130 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,600 The Goa'uld used to use this place as some sort of opium den. 131 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:41,520 Trained as an actor, to be thrust with technical stuff... 132 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:45,240 ..that comes with the show - all the sci-fi, the technical process... 133 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:50,560 ..of shooting it with the bluescreen and the special effects and the weapons - 134 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:54,680 ..being thrown in the middle, with acting somewhere lying in the middle of it,... 135 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:56,520 ..is a bit overwhelming. 136 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:58,920 You learn to be patient and pick your spots. 137 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:00,920 But it's been great so far. 138 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:05,120 The hours are long, but it's very rewarding. lt's a lot of fun. 139 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:08,440 l'll see both of you again someday, right?