Welcome to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and the set of Stargate SG-1.
I'm Richard Dean Anderson.
And I'm Brad Wright, executive producer of Stargate SG-1.
This is the gate room, where we shoot our show.
What we're gonna do is take you on a behind-the-scenes look at Stargate SG-1.
We're gonna interview cast and crew,...
...and you'll get a look at the show you've never seen before.
- Where d'you wanna start? - Why not at the beginning?
- Such a writer. - I know.
Colonel Jack O'Neill?
Retired.
I'm Major Samuels.
I'm underorders to bring you to see General Hammond, sir.
- Never heard of him. - He replaced General West.
He says it's important. Has to do with the Stargate.
I got a call from John Symes, who was president of MGM.
He talked to me about this title that he had, Stargate,...
...and this concept that they were trying to make into a television series.
Actually, his pitch to me over the phone made sense,...
...cos it sounded like it would make a good TV series.
Actually, a broader and more interesting series than the actual movie.
The thing that intrigued me about the original Stargate movie...
...was that it took a concept that had been battered about a lot,...
...by science fiction people in particular:
that ancient Egypt was partially or completely built by aliens.
The Stargate movie took that theory and turned it into a science fiction movie,...
...which I thought was a lot of fun. I wish I had thought of it!
When I found out they were planning on doing Stargate,...
...I approached MGM on my own and said "I'd really love to write the pilot."
Jonathan had also approached MGM and said "I'd really love to do this project",...
...so John Symes, the clever man that he is, decided to make us partners.
So he called us and said "How'd you like to do it together?" We said "Great."
John just called me and said "I want you to do this project." And I said "What is it?"
He said that MGM had purchased the rights to the Stargate franchise...
...and were developing a series, and he wanted me to be a part of it.
So I looked at the movie a couple of times and saw great potential for a series,...
...because of all the elements involved. So I signed on for it.
It was originally supposed to be a two-year gig.
Showtime ordered 44 episodes. During the first season they ordered another 44,...
...so the ball started rolling successfully pretty early on.
But my involvement was by request.
I told them "If we're gonna try and get Rick involved,...
...then he's gonna have to have a lot more leeway with the character."
I had to make sure they were willing to put up with -
well, endure - my sense of humour...
...and somehow infiltrate it into the character subtly,...
...or with a sledgehammer.
- "Lucy, I'm home!" - I am not Lucy.
For crying out loud,just open the door.
Once all the pieces were put into place to create the series,...
...a big task still lay before us: to create a story that stayed true to the feature,...
...but was unique in its own way.
And I think we pulled it off.
Well, it wasn't without its challenges.
To get the ball rolling and to execute the vision that we all had for this series...
...was sizing up to be a pretty monumental task...
...because Stargate is a heavily visual-effects-laden show.
The movie ended with Daniel Jackson stuck on Abydos...
...and Jack O'Neill having left the military, and everything kind of shut down.
So the fun thing about the pilot was actually having the Stargate mothballed,...
...and figuring out that it goes other places.
And figuring out how to get Dr Jackson back, cos he was a wonderful character.
So that's what we set about to do, and we wrote a pilot about that -
about getting Jack O'Neill back into the military, getting Jackson back to Earth,...
...and discovering that the gate goes other places.
Permission to take a team through the Stargate, sir?
Consider yourself recalled to active duty, Colonel.
The one thing that we knew we had to do was create this cartouche...
...that showed there were hundreds of Stargates out there.
And we stayed true to the myth that the Stargate was used to pull humans...
...through the wormhole to other planets as slaves.
(distorted) Goodchoice, Teal'c.
Perfect specimen.
For the pilot, we shot in the largest sound stage in North America...
...because we had such massive sets to put up.
And the Stargate facility itself is two storeys tall,...
...um... and it's got all these different levels.
The Stargate itself is 22 feettall, so in order to shoot up at it with a camera,...
...the set has to be almost twice that tall.
So we pulled off some pretty big stuff there,...
...and we had an amazing team behind us doing it.
I remember Michael Shanks and I walking in...
...and seeing the Stargate for the very first time.
My God! Look at this!
The energy the gate must release to create a stable wormhole! It's...
It's... astronomical, to use exactly the right word.
Just walking in and suddenly seeing the Stargate, we both went "Wow, it's huge!"
You can actually see the fluctuations in the event horizon.
We were actually quite blown away.
Oddly enough, the original Stargate had been stored out in the Californian desert...
...and had completely fallen apart, disintegrated.
It was junk at that point, but it was still being stored.
What I was able to get from it was that we could at least get a mould for the detail...
...and we didn't have to start from scratch sculpting a mould.
So we built our own Stargate.
(Glassner) Our guys had to engineer a Stargate that would work.
I mean, it doesn't have a wormhole that goes to other planets,...
...but it actually turns, the chevrons lock. It's computer controlled,...
...so we can program in addresses and the right ones will go to the right place.
There's a 30-foot gear inside that thing, so everytime it spins...
In four seasons that chevron has never missed. It's computer operated now.
We can turn it anywhere and it locks on a dime.
So our special-effects people did a great job in putting that part together.
A huge part of the appeal of Stargate SG-1 is the action and the visual effects.
But all of that would be meaningless, if it wasn't for our strong ensemble cast.
Which I believe is the most important element of all movie making.
It's clearly the most important thing.
Yes. Yes, the cast.
General Hammond, Colonel Jack O'Neill.
Retired.
I can see that.
Me, I'm on my last tour.
Time to get my thoughts together, write a book.
You everthink of writing about your exploits in the line of duty?
I've thought about it.
But then I'd have to shoot anyone that actually read it.
That's a joke, sir.
Yes, of course.
The Jack O'Neill of the film - played by Kurt Russell - went into a dark place,...
...and his adventure with Daniel Jackson brought him out of it again.
Kurt did a phenomenal job for that O'Neill and that movie.
You can get away with it in just a one-movie character arc.
But for Rick to be interested in a long-running series,...
...he has to have a much broader range for it to be interesting to him.
Just remember, I retired. You wanted me back.
When I met Rick... He's got such a natural presence.
He's got such a natural sense of humour. He's flip. He's a little glib.
That's Jack O'Neill.
Anybody with a snake in their head, raise their hand.
Damn!
- What now? - Now we die.
Well, that's a bad plan.
Lately I get this weird feeling when I'm near Teal'c.
Hey, who doesn't?
Well,...
...this sucks.
I wanna make sure you get one thing right.
It's O'Neill, with two Ls.
There's another Colonel O'Neil with one L. He has no sense of humour at all.
Kurt Russell is just a phenomenal guy.
He did a great job with the character.
But I knew, just by looking at his hair, that I couldn't do that.
I mean, who can do that with their hair?
The type of humour I appreciate most is mostly British humour,...
...but my favourite show on television is The Simpsons, and...
Partly because it's a cartoon, first of all, but it's also smart.
I remember something.
There was a man.
He's bald and wears a short-sleeved shirt...
...and somehow he's very important to me.
I think his name is Homer.
Doesn't ring a bell.
When Jonathan and I were first conceiving her character,...
...I was concerned - and arguably so - that we were creating a superwoman.
She was a military officer, she was a physicist,...
...she was beautiful - she was perfect.
She had a lot of those attributes that make a character ring false,...
...if it's not portrayed correctly.
Sam Carter was very linear.
She was one-dimensional, in that she was this out-to-prove-herself feminist...
...sitting on her soap box with this raging diatribe about equality,...
...which I personally, as a feminist, found really tired and really boring.
I take it you're Colonel O'Neill. Captain Samantha Carter reporting, sir.
But, of course, you go by Sam?
Don't worry, Major. I played with dolls when I was a kid.
So I talked to the writers about it and said "A: women don't talk like this,...
...B: why can't she just be in the team...
...without constantly raising the flag that she's a woman?"
That was refreshing!
She's, I think, an integral member of SG-1.
She loves the people that she works with and would die for them.
And that's something I like about her: her incredible loyalty.
And she's starting to warm up a bit and have some fun.
What you doin'?
They salvaged a couple of replicator pieces from the ocean. I'm having a look.
Is that wise?
There's no discernible energy being emitted. It's safe to say they're dead.
Well, I'm off.
- Still going fishing? - Yep.
- Still stayin'here? - Yeah.
- OK. - Have fun.
Yah sure, you betcha.
They should never be together.
Sure there's potential for us to fall in love. We're definitely attracted to each other.
And that's fine, but we need to temper it with the fact that it's not going anywhere.
We had sort of a three-episode arc...
...where you see they admit there's deeper feelings for each other.
I didn't leave...
...because I'd have rather died myself than lose Carter.
- Why? - Because I care about her.
A lot more than I'm supposed to.
We leave it at "OK, we admit it, we finally said it out loud."
"I love you, you love me", or "I would die for you, you would die for me."
And not just because we're in the military.
This is as far as it goes.
What are you smiling at?
Nothin'.
I don't wanna dismiss the idea that there'd ever be a future for the two of them.
Who knows? Tune in next week.
Carter! Uh... I'm sorry. I didn't know you were in here.
What the hell is goin'on?
- I want you. - Why? I mean, no!
Carter, this is a little outta line, don't you think?Agh!
For cryin'out...
Cha'hari!
Cha'hari.
Lower your guns.
Hello, Jack.
Uh, welcome back.
Michael Shanks walks in and does a perfect imitation of James Spader.
He portrayed the Daniel Jackson from the future perfectly.
And, um... I knew that that was a great place to start.
And I also knew that that meant he was gonna be capable of going much farther.
And I think over the course of the last four seasons...
...Daniel has grown from the archaeologist nerd that he began as,...
...and he's become a capable soldier.
You see him with a P-90 running down the halls in episode 1 of season 5.
I think the best way to put it is he is a type of moral conscience for the team.
He started off being that token translator, but, due to the nature of our show,...
...we can't have every alien race speaking another language.
He's become more of a moral centre to the team.
He's the person who tries to see outside ofthe box.
We've only seen one side of this. Do we know why they're fighting?
- For their lives. - Yes. I was all forsaving 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.
Is that the right way to get technology? Yes. But is it the right thing to do?
He adds that other dimension of "Let's look at this more as human beings...
...than as some people who have to follow orders to achieve a goal."
So I think he's the naive one, he's the more innocent one,...
...but he's also the believer in the best of human nature.
Don't! Don't, don't, don't shoot! Ka! Ke ka!
- Daniel? - What did you just say?
- I think I asked him not to kill me. - And they're buyin' that?
He's the only guy out of the cast - when we were picking everyone -
who we all saw and went "OK. Teal'c. Good. Moving on." It was so obvious!
He's got the voice and presence, his arms are as thick as my waist. He was the guy.
You!
It's very difficult to write for Teal'c. He doesn't make suggestions or make jokes.
He doesn't share in the same banter that the other three often participate in.
But he is, in so many ways, the centre, the still one. He's the centre of the group.
- How did she fly, son? - Within expected parameters.
Woo-hoo!
Sorry, sir. I couldn't help but get caught up in Teal'c's enthusiasm.
I think in the beginning Teal'c was very focused on his people and their plight,...
...and his wife and son.
He didn't care to assimilate with human beings or anyone else he came across.
I think he was very single-minded in his quest to help his people.
- Father! - Rya'c!
I never meant to hurt you, Father.
Rya'c has returned.
Don't you think this was a little too easy?
Yeah, that was an awfully fast turnaround.
My son is strong. His mind has overcome the lies Apophis placed there.
I think "Cor-ai" was the show where you really saw...
...what an honourable and honest character Teal'c is.
- So you were following orders? - Hanno's father died by my hand.
No one else's.
I am responsible.
What I did while serving Apophis, I will not hide from.
- Even if the punishment is death? - Then that is what I deserve.
Teal'c, you sound like you wanna die.
Colonel O'Neill, have you ever faced the crying eyes of a child...
...whose father you have just murdered?
Not exactly.
The notion of honesty and being accountable for things in your life,...
...no matter what the repercussions are,...
...I think that's the pure essence of Teal'c.
Teal'c, look scary and take point.
General,...
...maybe we should consider using the Stargate as a strategic weapons platform.
We already tried to send a team through. It won't work.
And I can't think of any military reason to wipe out the people of Chulak.
Since I am no longer wanted or needed here,...
...I respectfully request permission to join a team headed for the Alpha site...
Permission denied.
The idea is to send the best and brightest.
When the time comes, you'll stand with the men and women of this command,...
- ...in defence of this facility. - But, sir...
I ask no more or less ofmyself.
Dismissed!
The biggest compliment to Don that I can think of is that...
...he truly does portray a military officer,...
...especially a command military officer, with accuracy.
He's not bombastic, he doesn't throw orders around...
...like most television generals, or film generals for that matter.
He's a thoughtful, considerate man,...
...and I think that lends a lot of credibility to the character.
You've all been briefed on the mission...
...by Colonel Makepeace.
You know the enemy.
You know the risks.
What I'm trying to sayis...
...I would rather not order you to do this,...
...so I would like all of those willing to attempt the rescue of SG-1...
...to take one step...
His strengths are his intense loyalty to his people and to his family.
There is an episode called "Chain Reaction"...
...in which some people threaten to kidnap his grandchildren,...
...and, as a result, he resigns. He leaves the command.
Regardless of how much he's invested in it and how much he loves the service,...
...he will not cross that line.
Let me just say it's been a pleasure serving with all of you.
We'll miss you, sir.
It won't be the same without you, sir.
On Chulak, when a great warrior retires, it is customary to sing a song of lament.
Fortunately we are not on Chulak.
Take care of yourselves.
That episode, when he commits a court-martiallable offence...
...to go save SG-1, going through the gate himself and using aliens to save SG-1,...
...there's no way that,...
...other than his superiors caring that much about him,...
...that he could get away with that. And yet he'll give up everything.
What did he mean by threading the needle?
Observe.
Fire!
Yeehaaaaaaa!
I think that those people are people you want to invite into your house every week.
And they are people that obviously care about each other.
And I think that comes through on the show...
...in a way that the longer it's on the air the more their bonds grow more firm.
And I think that's invaluable.
Well?
Hopefully you've gained more insight into our show and its characters,...
...and enjoyed their adventures.
Oh, time flies. Say what, Bradley?
Yes, it does, Richard.
Our goal continues to focus on taking these characters in new directions.
Which, by the way, I think is the most important aspect of all production.
You're right again. That's true.
Thank you.
I'm Richard Dean Anderson.
Which, apparently, is very funny.
So where shall we start?
The beginning!
Welcome to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada,...
...and the Stargate set of...
Look, I could dig my way out of it, if you wouldn't laugh so much.
I have a way. Some have a way with words, some not have way.
I are one of them.