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Stargate SG-1 (season 8)
Encyclopedia
Season eight of Stargate SG-1
, an American-Canadian military science fiction
television series, began airing on July 9, 2004 on the Sci Fi channel
. The eighth season concluded on February 22, 2005, after 20 episodes on British Sky One
, which overtook the Sci Fi Channel in mid-season. This was the first season of the show to have 20 episodes instead of 22, as well as the first to air concurrently with Stargate SG-1 spinoff series Stargate Atlantis
(the first season thereof). The series was originally developed by Brad Wright
and Jonathan Glassner
, while Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper
served as executive producers. Season eight regular cast members include Richard Dean Anderson
, Amanda Tapping
, Christopher Judge
, and Michael Shanks
. The eighth season begins with the SG-1 team trying to revive Colonel Jack O'Neill
(Richard Dean Anderson) after the events of the seventh season. At the end of the two-episode season opener, Colonel O'Neill is promoted to General and assumes command of Stargate Command
(SGC), while Major Samantha Carter
(Amanda Tapping) is promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and assumes command of SG-1. The season arc centers around the growing threat and seemingly final defeat of the Goa'uld
and the Replicator
s, races who were introduced in the first and third season of the show, respectively.
as Colonel/Brigadier General Jack O'Neill
, Amanda Tapping
as Major/Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter
, Christopher Judge
as the Jaffa Teal'c
, and Michael Shanks
as civilian Dr. Daniel Jackson. After O'Neill's promotion to commander of Stargate Command
, Carter assumes command of SG-1. Despite being one of the main characters, Anderson's time on set was further reduced from previous seasons, and he only worked 3.5 out of 5 working days per week. After seven years of shaving his head for his role, Judge was granted his wish to have hair in season 8.
The first season of Stargate Atlantis
was filmed in parallel to the eighth season of SG-1, and aired in the time slot immediately following SG-1. Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks appeared in the pilot episode of Stargate Atlantis. Beginning with "New Order" and continuing into the spinoff series Stargate Atlantis, Torri Higginson
replaced Jessica Steen
as Dr. Elizabeth Weir
. Ellie Harvie
, who first appeared in "Prometheus Unbound" as Lindsey Novak, later became a regular on Stargate Atlantis
Among the notable guest stars in season eight were Steve Bacic
, who Robert C. Cooper
already had in mind for the part of Camulus in three of the first four episodes of season 8. Bacic is known for playing Gaheris Rhade and Telemachus Rhade on Andromeda
, and previously played SG Team leader Major Coburn in "Maternal Instinct" and "The First Ones". "New Order" also marks the first appearance of Colonel Lionel Pendergast (Barclay Hope
). "Prometheus Unbound" guest starred Claudia Black
, of Farscape
fame, as Vala Mal Doran
. Black had originally been considered for the role of Krista in "Affinity", but her schedule did not allow it. Krista was then played by Erica Durance
, who played Lois Lane
in Smallville
and Black would later join the cast of Stargate as a regular, playing Vala in seasons 9 and 10. Dan Castellaneta
, the voice of Homer Simpson
on The Simpsons
, guest starred as Joe Spencer in the episode "Citizen Joe". Charles Shaughnessy
, known from his role in The Nanny
as Maxwell Sheffield, appeared as Colson in "Covenant". Tony Amendola
appears again as Bra'tac, and Carmen Argenziano
as Jacob Carter/Selmak. Another recurring actor is Mel Harris
as Oma Desala in "Threads".
With the defeat of the Goa'uld
in "Reckoning"/"Threads", several actors make their final appearance in season eight. Yu, the longest-running Goa'uld recurring character, dies. Season eight also sees the final defeat of main villain Anubis. After David Palffy
played Anubis from seasons five through seven, the entity that made up Anubis was portrayed by Michael Shanks
, Gavin Hood
, Holly Ferguson, Amanda Tapping
and Richard Dean Anderson
in "Lockdown", by Dean Aylesworth and Rik Kiviaho
in "Reckoning", and finally by George Dzundza
in "Threads". As with the two preceding seasons' finales, "Moebius" was intended to be the Stargate SG-1 series finale, and as such many actors reprised their roles from past episodes: Don S. Davis
as George Hammond, Peter Williams
as Apophis, Colin Cunningham
as Major Davis, and Jay Acovone as Charles Kawalsky. "Moebius" was the last episode to feature Richard Dean Anderson
as a main cast member.
The main technician (played by Gary Jones), who sported the name "Norman Davis" on his uniform for seven years, was officially renamed "Walter Harriman". In the episode "2010", O'Neill referred to him as "Walter". Simply renaming the character to "Walter Davis" did not clear, so he was renamed to "Walter Harriman" after Hammond had called him "Airman", which sounds similar to "Harriman", in the pilot episode.
Joseph Mallozzi
explained the resulting incongruity by positing that Harriman is Walter's married name.
One scene in "Zero Hour" featured Pierre Bernard as a technician. Bernard is a graphics designer for the NBC
show Late Night with Conan O'Brien
, and was offered the cameo on SG-1 after a rant on Late Night in which he said the show was better without Daniel Jackson. The show's writers named his character "O'Brien" as a tongue-in-cheek
reference. The Stargate producers later invited Bernard back to the set for a scene in the 200th episode of SG-1
.
's eighth and presumably final season. Seasons five through seven had previously been expected to be the last, but the show was renewed each year. The team ultimately agreed on about ten initial episodes, two of which would comprise a two-hour premiere intended to address issues remaining from the season seven finale.
In the first draft of "New Order, Part 1," Richard Woolsey assumed command of the S.G.C., but in the end the writers decided that the character of Dr. Weir suited the story better because of her background in diplomacy. She also offered a link to the Atlantis spin-off and was seen as a better candidate to offer O'Neill his promotion. The end of "New Order" with Fifth creating Replicator Carter was also not in the original outline. Robert C. Cooper came up with the twist while he was writing the script. Originally, Anubis was planned to end up on a fiery planet at the end of "Lockdown", but Joseph Mallozzi opted for the frozen world instead.
The idea for "Icon" came from Damian Kindler pitching a story in season seven "in which Carter is stranded off-world, struggling to survive, while the rest of the team mounts a desperate bid to rescue her". In November 2003, in preparation of season eight, the writers felt that they already had enough Carter stories and attempted to redress the balance by making it a Daniel story with the working title "English Patient Daniel". "Affinity" was originally intended to air after "Covenant". Airing "Affinity" first creates the minor continuity error of Daniel already knowing the name, disclosed in "Covenant", of the newly-formed Trust.
The writers always wanted to do a "fish out of water" story wholly dedicated to Teal'c and his attempts to fit into Earth society, but later felt that the only opportunity would have been in season one. The script of "Full Alert" called for a large military build-up and a potential worldwide confrontation, but the show's budget was limited. As such, screens were erected to sell the point of an impending military conflict on a global scale. Furthermore, stock shots of jets landing on aircraft carriers and missile silos opening were used to accommodate financial concerns.
Stargate SG-1 has several regular directors. Andy Mikita
is known to shoot much coverage because he likes having the choices during cut-and-edit. Peter DeLuise
, however, lets the cameras roll, which makes things more difficult for the script supervisor and the editors later. The video tapes are not re-usable and are archived in a library. "Lockdown" was the first SG-1 episode to be shot in high definition (HD) instead of on 35 mm film. Since no one was used to filming in HD, they had to get a new HD crew and lost about an hour per day. The HD video tapes cost around 50 dollars, and previously 7000 feet of film were shot each day, costing possibly a million dollars a year in film.
Episodes such as "Zero Hour" and "Prometheus Unbound" reduced costs by being shot mainly on the standing sets Stargate Command
and the Prometheus. At other times the actors' time was split between different episodes: "Gemini" centered around Amanda Tapping
as Carter and her alter ego RepliCarter, and Michael Shanks (Daniel) did not appear. Meanwhile, Shanks filmed "Promethues Unbound" in the absence of the Carter character. The money was then spent on time-consuming techniques such as motion control
in "Gemini". The motion control enabled two people in the same shot to be seamlessly filmed on different passes. Split screens with locked-off cameras and different shots with stand-in actors were used whenever possible, but still cost much time for wardrobe changes and blocking.
The first episode filmed after the hiatus was "Lockdown", which aired third. The writers thought it would be fun to test O'Neill in his new position as general of the SGC early on and to have him prove his worth. The episode "Avatar" served as an introduction for a Stargate game that was produced at the time, and much of the story was filmed from a first-person perspective. "Zero Hour" is the last episode to have CRT monitors
in the briefing room and the control room. Amanda Tapping
originally hoped to direct another episode after her debut in season seven's "Resurrection", but she became pregnant late in the season.
and used it as Thor's ship in "New Order". They were able to make the set taller, and installed big arches and silver tilework. They also created a special command post for Thor and raised it off the ground so that the actors' eye lines with Thor was a little higher. The Blade 3 effects stage was also used for the F-302 scene in "Covenant".
Art director James Robbins
designed the set for Fifth's space ship, which was only about 10 feet long and 6 feet wide. For the scene where Carter is embedded in Replicator tiles, the model shop used cut-out vacuform pieces and slabs that had been made to fit Amanda Tapping. The Prometheus set, the producers' answer to the Goa'uld ship design, was used in several season eight episodes. Instead of big empty rooms, the Prometheus set had seats, screens, buttons and switches. "Endgame" required the interior of a Goa'uld ship to hold a Stargate, an effect which has not been used since season one. The Puddle Jumper space ship, usually part of Stargate Atlantis
stories, also had its first appearances in SG-1; it appeared in "It's Good to be King" and "Moebius". "Threads" used the diner set from Dead Like Me
.
Although "Lockdown" was filmed mainly on the existing Stargate Command
set, the story made it necessary to have the SGC broken into segregated zones. The set decorators changed the graphics and lighting to make the set show some of the 28 different levels of the SGC. In the same episode O'Neill's new office was slightly redesigned to mirror the history of the character. The carpet in the Briefing Room was replaced every second year early in the show, but when the renewal of the show changed from a two-year basis to a yearly basis, the carpet was never renewed again. When SG-1 was renewed for an eighth season, the carpet was finally replaced, and the floor in the halls was repainted."
The idea for the plants in "Zero Hour" came from Brad Wright
, who in season four had the notion of the SG being overrun with plant life and the gate being literally buried under foliage. For "Icon", one of the locations used was a house built in the early 1900s. Like "Birthright" one year before, exterior scenes for "Sacrifices" were filmed at High Point Properties in Langley, British Columbia
. The Goa'uld ceremonial tent in the episode was designed to be re-usable, with the concept loosely based on the Hagia Sophia
in Istanbul
. "Reckoning", in which Carter attempts to open the Ancient Wall, was filmed at a sound stage at NorCo Studios, a former bicycle factory. The ventilation is questionable, and when the director decided to add smoke for the light to catch to give a dramatic dusty air feeling, the oxygen supply decreased, which made acting harder. Daniel's class room in "Moebius" were shot in the conference room of the Outer Limits
production at Bridge Studios near the set of SG-1. SG-1 crew members had originally scouted a real school but lost that location. Carter's office room in the same episode was right down the hall from the conference room.
Stargate SG-1 was shot in Vancouver, Canada. As Vancouver is still developing, Tynehead Park is one the few locations where the SG-1 team can still film alien locations. Other Vancouver locations include a set of roads at a Vancouver airport for the episode "Full Alert". The roads were closed to regular traffic so that the filming could take place without police escorts and other difficulties that come from blocking traffic. Desert locations were shot at the Richmond
Sand Dunes, a cement factory that is slowly using up all the sand. What is seen in the "Moebius" desert is all that is left of the dune. The horse shoe form of the dune had been established by another television project called Legend of Earthsea. O'Neill's house, which was first seen in season one, was used in two episodes in season eight, "Full Alert" and "Citizen Joe". Since the house is inhabited in real life, the producers have looked for alternatives, but so far have been unsuccessful. For "Zero Hour", the SGC set was decorated with various plants and vines. Some plants were plastic, but for the torching scenes, real plants were used so as to minimize the risk of a fire. All objects on set were sprayed with flame-retardant chemicals.
spent a weekend at Cheyenne Mountain
(where the fictional Stargate Command
takes place) and filmed new angles at night time, daytime, and emergency situations. The producers had previously re-used stock footage from season one for the last seven seasons.
To save money, props and footage were re-used from previous seasons. The chairs used in "Avatar" are the same used in the season two episode "The Gamekeeper", but since they had been cut up and changed around completely for a previous SG-1 episode, and re-adjusting them would have cost as much money as building new ones, they were used like they were. Catherine's amulet that was shown in "Moebius" is the same used in the movie. In "Reckoning", some shots of the replicators in the SGC are re-uses of footage from the episode "Menace". At other times, whole scenes were cut. The original scripted teaser for "Lockdown" would have cost US$100,000 for visual effects, with Anubis in the space ship. The falling Replicator chips and the resulting mess on the ground in "Reckoning", however, was animated in VisFX because it would have been more expansive to have the mess be tracked. Image Engine
created the bug effects in "New Order". One scene involved hundreds of Replicator bugs running in a forest, for which they went from singly hand-animated bugs to replicated effects.
Season eight was the first year that used a rear screen with an LCD projector projecting the puddle for the Stargate wormhole effect. Before that time, this was too expensive and not bright enough. The outside of the Puddle Jumper space ship in "Moebius" also used a rear screen projection, for which a dune at a real location was filmed and then projected on a screen behind the Puddle Jumper windows. This allowed to move the camera around and not be locked off. The on-set Puddle Jumper is only about 2/3 the size of that of the actual space ship. For dramatic effect, the episode "Zero Hour" had longer scenes filmed in green. "Gemini" had scenes filmed in infrared.
, a new record high for the show during its run on cable, which has since been equalled but never beaten. It also became the most-watched regular series episode ever for the Sci Fi Channel
and the highest-rated episode in the history of Stargate SG-1, drawing 3.22 million viewers. The episode "Threads" originally aired as a 63-minute piece on the Sci Fi Channel, but an edited 45-minute version exists for syndication. The 45-minute versions is missing several scenes, including Daniel speaking with Ancient
and O'Neill waking up with Kerry. TV Zone
s Jan Vincent-Rudzki called "Lockdown" "an interesting episode, although it dips in the middle." Vincent-Rudzki saw O'Neill's portrayal as the new leader making "the Goa'uld threat [...] a laugh" and "an amazing change from the events from the series' early days" if even O'Neill does not take this race seriously. Fans regarded "Reckoning", the climax of plots including the Goa'uld
, the Replicators
, and the Jaffa Rebellion, as two of the most popular episodes of the series.
In 2005, the second part of the season opener "New Order
" was nominated for a Gemini Award
in the category "Best Visual Effects". "Reckoning (Part 2)" was nominated for both an Emmy Award
in the category "Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series" and a Leo Award in the category "Best Visual Effects". Peter DeLuise
was nominated for a Leo Award in the category "Dramatic Series: Best Screenwriting" for "Affinity", while Christine Mooney was honored with a Leo Award in the category "Dramatic Series – Best Costume Design" for the season finale "Moebius (Part 2)". For the episode "Threads", actress Amanda Tapping
won a Leo Award in the category "Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance – Female", and Michael Shanks
was nominated in the Leo category "Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance – Male". The episode "It's Good To Be King" led to three Leo Award nominations: Jim Menard in the category "Dramatic Series: Best Cinematography", Christine Mooney for "Dramatic Series: Best Costume Design", and Tom McBeath in the category "Dramatic Series: Best Supporting Performance – Male".
Season eight was released to DVD
in Europe
and Australia
. The episodes "Gemini" and "Prometheus Unbound" switched sides, and "Citizen Joe" was placed after "Reckoning"/"Threads". Contrary to the Region 1 DVD, the Region 2 did not offer commentaries for "It's Good to be King" and "Citizen Joe". When the season was initially released on DVD in Region 1, the release temporarily contained the shortened 45-minute version of "Threads" until Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
(MGM) gave in due to complaints. The slimline re-release contains the full 63-minute episode. Neither region has commentaries for "Threads". The release of season nine was held up because of MGM's switch in partners for home distribution, from Sony to Fox.
". This was a late addition by actor Chris Judge who provided the voice for D Mob
in the video game of the same name. Several members of production crew made cameo appearances. Digital effects supervisor Bruce Woloshyn
appears as the garage sale homeowner who sells Joe Spencer the Ancient stone device in "Citizen Joe". In the episode "Prometheus Unbound", Daniel introduces himself to two aliens as Hans Olo, a wordplay on the Star Wars
character Han Solo
.
O'Neill's last line in "Moebius
", "close enough", is an homage to The Simpsons
episode "Treehouse of Horror V
" that involves Homer Simpson
time traveling and unintentionally making numerous changes to history; upon returning to a timeline where his family has snake tongues but everything else is otherwise normal, he says, "eh, close enough". In the same SG-1 episode, the name of O'Neill's boat is "Homer". There are also cross-references to events in SG-1's sister show Stargate Atlantis
. In the episode "Threads", Daniel reads a paper with a headline "Wraith
on the way to Atlantis
". This piece is followed by a screenshot of the Atlantis Deep Space Scanner display from the Atlantis episode "The Brotherhood", showing the trio of hive ships that assaulted the city in the Atlantis episode "The Siege
". In "Covenant" Alec Colson, played by actor Charles Shaughnessy
, is introduced to "Captain Sheffield" upon entering the Alpha Site. This is in reference to Maxwell Sheffield, Shaughnessy's character from the sitcom The Nanny
.
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
, an American-Canadian military science fiction
Military science fiction
Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are members of a military service and an armed conflict is taking place, normally in space, or on a planet other than Earth...
television series, began airing on July 9, 2004 on the Sci Fi channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
. The eighth season concluded on February 22, 2005, after 20 episodes on British Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
, which overtook the Sci Fi Channel in mid-season. This was the first season of the show to have 20 episodes instead of 22, as well as the first to air concurrently with Stargate SG-1 spinoff series Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
(the first season thereof). The series was originally developed by Brad Wright
Brad Wright
Brad Wright is a Canadian television producer, screenwriter and actor. He is best known as the creator or co-creator of the television series Stargate SG-1 , Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe...
and Jonathan Glassner
Jonathan Glassner
Jonathan Glassner is a television writer, director, and producer. He is known for his involvement with Stargate SG-1 and The Outer Limits. Glassner was initially noticed as a writer for his work on Alfred Hitchcock Presents...
, while Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper
Robert C. Cooper
Robert C. Cooper is a Canadian writer and producer best known for his work in the Stargate franchise. He was formerly an executive producer of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis until both series conclusion and currently holds the same title on the third Stargate series Stargate Universe...
served as executive producers. Season eight regular cast members include Richard Dean Anderson
Richard Dean Anderson
Richard Dean Anderson is an American television and film actor, producer and composer. He began his television career in 1976 as Dr. Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series General Hospital, then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver...
, Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping is an English-born Canadian actress, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis...
, Christopher Judge
Christopher Judge
Douglas Christopher Judge is an American actor best known for playing Teal'c in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. He attended the University of Oregon on a football scholarship and was a Pacific Ten Conference player.-Early life:Christopher Judge was...
, and Michael Shanks
Michael Shanks
Michael Garrett Shanks is a Canadian actor who achieved fame for his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson in the long-running Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1.-Early life:...
. The eighth season begins with the SG-1 team trying to revive Colonel Jack O'Neill
Jack O'Neill
Jonathan J. "Jack" O'Neill is a fictional character in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe, three science fiction shows about military teams exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices...
(Richard Dean Anderson) after the events of the seventh season. At the end of the two-episode season opener, Colonel O'Neill is promoted to General and assumes command of Stargate Command
Stargate Command
The Stargate Program is a fictional top-secret program that plays a key role in the Stargate franchise: it surrounds the operations of the Stargate on Earth. The core of the Stargate Program is Stargate Command , based at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station near Colorado Springs, Colorado...
(SGC), while Major Samantha Carter
Samantha Carter
Samantha "Sam" Carter is a fictional character in the Canadian-American military science fiction Stargate franchise, appearing in television series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe. SG-1 and Atlantis are both about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien...
(Amanda Tapping) is promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and assumes command of SG-1. The season arc centers around the growing threat and seemingly final defeat of the Goa'uld
Goa'uld
The Goa'uld are a fictional symbiotic race of ancient astronauts from the American-Canadian military science fiction television franchise Stargate. The Goa'uld are parasites from the planet P3X-888, integrated within a host, most of the time human. The resulting creatures are a powerful race bent...
and the Replicator
Replicator (Stargate)
In the military science fiction series Stargate SG-1, the Replicators are antagonistic self-replicating machines that propagate by ingesting the metals that make up civilizations and use them to create either blocks that form the bug-like version or smaller cells that compose the human-form...
s, races who were introduced in the first and third season of the show, respectively.
Cast and characters
The regular cast members of season eight are Richard Dean AndersonRichard Dean Anderson
Richard Dean Anderson is an American television and film actor, producer and composer. He began his television career in 1976 as Dr. Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series General Hospital, then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver...
as Colonel/Brigadier General Jack O'Neill
Jack O'Neill
Jonathan J. "Jack" O'Neill is a fictional character in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe, three science fiction shows about military teams exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices...
, Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping is an English-born Canadian actress, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis...
as Major/Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter
Samantha Carter
Samantha "Sam" Carter is a fictional character in the Canadian-American military science fiction Stargate franchise, appearing in television series Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe. SG-1 and Atlantis are both about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien...
, Christopher Judge
Christopher Judge
Douglas Christopher Judge is an American actor best known for playing Teal'c in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. He attended the University of Oregon on a football scholarship and was a Pacific Ten Conference player.-Early life:Christopher Judge was...
as the Jaffa Teal'c
Teal'c
Teal'c is a fictional character in the military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. Played by Christopher Judge, Teal'c is a Jaffa warrior from the planet Chulak. As a Jaffa, Teal'c is a genetically modified human with an abdominal pouch that serves as an incubator for a larval Goa'uld...
, and Michael Shanks
Michael Shanks
Michael Garrett Shanks is a Canadian actor who achieved fame for his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson in the long-running Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1.-Early life:...
as civilian Dr. Daniel Jackson. After O'Neill's promotion to commander of Stargate Command
Stargate Command
The Stargate Program is a fictional top-secret program that plays a key role in the Stargate franchise: it surrounds the operations of the Stargate on Earth. The core of the Stargate Program is Stargate Command , based at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station near Colorado Springs, Colorado...
, Carter assumes command of SG-1. Despite being one of the main characters, Anderson's time on set was further reduced from previous seasons, and he only worked 3.5 out of 5 working days per week. After seven years of shaving his head for his role, Judge was granted his wish to have hair in season 8.
The first season of Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
was filmed in parallel to the eighth season of SG-1, and aired in the time slot immediately following SG-1. Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks appeared in the pilot episode of Stargate Atlantis. Beginning with "New Order" and continuing into the spinoff series Stargate Atlantis, Torri Higginson
Torri Higginson
Sarah Victoria "Torri" Higginson is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles in the TekWar movies and series, The English Patient, Bliss, and Stargate Atlantis...
replaced Jessica Steen
Jessica Steen
Jessica Steen is a film and television actress, noted for her roles in Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, Homefront, Earth 2, Armageddon, Left Behind: World at War, NCIS, and Flashpoint....
as Dr. Elizabeth Weir
Elizabeth Weir (Stargate)
Dr. Elizabeth Weir is a fictional character in the Canadian-American Sci-Fi Channel television series Stargate Atlantis, a military science fiction show about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices. Elizabeth Weir is introduced as a recurring character in...
. Ellie Harvie
Ellie Harvie
Ellie Anne Harvie is a Canadian actress born in Belleville, Ontario who portrayed Morticia Addams on The New Addams Family. Later, she starred as Dr. Lindsey Novak in Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis....
, who first appeared in "Prometheus Unbound" as Lindsey Novak, later became a regular on Stargate Atlantis
Among the notable guest stars in season eight were Steve Bacic
Steve Bacic
Steve Bacic is a Canadian actor of Croatian origin. He is known for playing the character Telemachus Rhade on the Sci-Fi series Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda. After being a guest star in season 1-3, he joined the cast early in season four...
, who Robert C. Cooper
Robert C. Cooper
Robert C. Cooper is a Canadian writer and producer best known for his work in the Stargate franchise. He was formerly an executive producer of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis until both series conclusion and currently holds the same title on the third Stargate series Stargate Universe...
already had in mind for the part of Camulus in three of the first four episodes of season 8. Bacic is known for playing Gaheris Rhade and Telemachus Rhade on Andromeda
Andromeda (TV series)
Andromeda is a Canadian-American science fiction television series, based on unused material by the late Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, developed by Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and produced by Roddenberry's widow, Majel Barrett Roddenberry. It starred Kevin Sorbo as High Guard Captain Dylan Hunt...
, and previously played SG Team leader Major Coburn in "Maternal Instinct" and "The First Ones". "New Order" also marks the first appearance of Colonel Lionel Pendergast (Barclay Hope
Barclay Hope
-Life and career:Hope was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is the brother of actor William Hope. Hope appeared in the TV series Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal as Peter Axon...
). "Prometheus Unbound" guest starred Claudia Black
Claudia Black
Claudia Lee Black is an Australian actress and voice actor, known for her portrayals of Aeryn Sun in the science fiction television series Farscape, Vala Mal Doran in the science fiction series Stargate SG-1, Chloe Frazer in the Uncharted series, the witch Morrigan in Dragon Age: Origins and...
, of Farscape
Farscape
Farscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...
fame, as Vala Mal Doran
Vala Mal Doran
Vala Mal Doran is a fictional character in the American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1, a science fiction show about a military team exploring the galaxy via a network of alien transportation devices. Played by former Farscape actress Claudia Black, Vala was created by...
. Black had originally been considered for the role of Krista in "Affinity", but her schedule did not allow it. Krista was then played by Erica Durance
Erica Durance
Erica Durance is a Canadian actress. She has also been credited as Erica Parker. She is best known for her role as Lois Lane in the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.- Early life :...
, who played Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
in Smallville
Smallville (TV series)
Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar based on the DC Comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network , premiering on October...
and Black would later join the cast of Stargate as a regular, playing Vala in seasons 9 and 10. Dan Castellaneta
Dan Castellaneta
Daniel Louis "Dan" Castellaneta is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Noted for his long-running role as Homer Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, he voices many other characters on The Simpsons, including Abraham "Grampa" Simpson, Barney Gumble,...
, the voice of Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
on The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, guest starred as Joe Spencer in the episode "Citizen Joe". Charles Shaughnessy
Charles Shaughnessy
Charles George Patrick Shaughnessy, 5th Baron Shaughnessy , simply known as Charles Shaughnessy, is a British peer, and television, theatre and film actor. He is known for his roles on American television, as Shane Donovan on the soap opera Days of our Lives and as Maxwell Sheffield on the sitcom...
, known from his role in The Nanny
The Nanny
Nanny may refer to:* Nanny, a child's caregiver* A grandmother * A Cajun word for godmother * A female goat* Nanny , a 1981–83 British drama series starring Wendy Craig* Nanny of the Maroons...
as Maxwell Sheffield, appeared as Colson in "Covenant". Tony Amendola
Tony Amendola
Tony Amendola is an American actor who is best known for his recurring role as the Jaffa master Bra'tac in Stargate SG-1.-Career:Major movie roles include Blow, The Mask of Zorro and its sequel, The Legend of Zorro...
appears again as Bra'tac, and Carmen Argenziano
Carmen Argenziano
Carmen Antimo Argenziano is an American actor who has appeared in over 50 movies and around 100 television movies or episodes....
as Jacob Carter/Selmak. Another recurring actor is Mel Harris
Mel Harris
Mel Harris is an American actress.-Personal life:Harris was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the daughter to Mary Michael "Mike", a high school science teacher, and Warren Harris, a university football coach...
as Oma Desala in "Threads".
With the defeat of the Goa'uld
Goa'uld
The Goa'uld are a fictional symbiotic race of ancient astronauts from the American-Canadian military science fiction television franchise Stargate. The Goa'uld are parasites from the planet P3X-888, integrated within a host, most of the time human. The resulting creatures are a powerful race bent...
in "Reckoning"/"Threads", several actors make their final appearance in season eight. Yu, the longest-running Goa'uld recurring character, dies. Season eight also sees the final defeat of main villain Anubis. After David Palffy
David Palffy
David Palffy is a Canadian film and television actor of Welsh and Hungarian descent. He has a degree from the University of Calgary . He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and was cast in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. Palffy has many television/film credits as an actor and as a...
played Anubis from seasons five through seven, the entity that made up Anubis was portrayed by Michael Shanks
Michael Shanks
Michael Garrett Shanks is a Canadian actor who achieved fame for his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson in the long-running Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1.-Early life:...
, Gavin Hood
Gavin Hood
Gavin Hood is a South African filmmaker, screenwriter, producer and actor, best known for writing and directing the Academy Award-winning Foreign Language Film Tsotsi...
, Holly Ferguson, Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping is an English-born Canadian actress, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis...
and Richard Dean Anderson
Richard Dean Anderson
Richard Dean Anderson is an American television and film actor, producer and composer. He began his television career in 1976 as Dr. Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series General Hospital, then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver...
in "Lockdown", by Dean Aylesworth and Rik Kiviaho
Rik Kiviaho
Rik Kiviaho is a Canadian actor and musician based in Vancouver. He has performed large recurring roles on Andromeda, Stargate SG-1 , and Jeremiah...
in "Reckoning", and finally by George Dzundza
George Dzundza
George Dzundza is an American television and film actor.-Personal life:Dzundza was born in Rosenheim, Germany, to a Ukrainian father and Polish mother who were forced into factory labour by the Nazis. He spent the first few years of his life in displaced persons camps with his parents and one...
in "Threads". As with the two preceding seasons' finales, "Moebius" was intended to be the Stargate SG-1 series finale, and as such many actors reprised their roles from past episodes: Don S. Davis
Don S. Davis
Don Sinclair Davis PhD was an American character actor, theatre professor, painter and captain in the United States Army.-Career:He was perhaps best known for playing General George S...
as George Hammond, Peter Williams
Peter Williams (actor)
Peter Williams is a Jamaican-born actor currently residing in Canada. The majority of his work has been in television, including the role of the primary villain Apophis in the first four seasons of Stargate SG-1...
as Apophis, Colin Cunningham
Colin Cunningham
Colin Alexander Cunningham is an American television and film actor, now living in Vancouver, British Columbia.-Television:...
as Major Davis, and Jay Acovone as Charles Kawalsky. "Moebius" was the last episode to feature Richard Dean Anderson
Richard Dean Anderson
Richard Dean Anderson is an American television and film actor, producer and composer. He began his television career in 1976 as Dr. Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series General Hospital, then rose to prominence as the lead actor in the television series MacGyver...
as a main cast member.
The main technician (played by Gary Jones), who sported the name "Norman Davis" on his uniform for seven years, was officially renamed "Walter Harriman". In the episode "2010", O'Neill referred to him as "Walter". Simply renaming the character to "Walter Davis" did not clear, so he was renamed to "Walter Harriman" after Hammond had called him "Airman", which sounds similar to "Harriman", in the pilot episode.
Joseph Mallozzi
Joseph Mallozzi
Joseph Mallozzi is a Canadian writer and producer.He is most noted for his contributions to the Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, and Stargate Universe television series. He joined the Stargate production team at the start of Stargate SG-1s fourth season in 2000...
explained the resulting incongruity by positing that Harriman is Walter's married name.
One scene in "Zero Hour" featured Pierre Bernard as a technician. Bernard is a graphics designer for the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
show Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
, and was offered the cameo on SG-1 after a rant on Late Night in which he said the show was better without Daniel Jackson. The show's writers named his character "O'Brien" as a tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
reference. The Stargate producers later invited Bernard back to the set for a scene in the 200th episode of SG-1
200 (Stargate SG-1)
"200" is the sixth episode of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1s tenth season, and the 200th episode of the series overall...
.
Writing
After production wrapped on season seven, the writers came together and pitched ideas for StargateIn the first draft of "New Order, Part 1," Richard Woolsey assumed command of the S.G.C., but in the end the writers decided that the character of Dr. Weir suited the story better because of her background in diplomacy. She also offered a link to the Atlantis spin-off and was seen as a better candidate to offer O'Neill his promotion. The end of "New Order" with Fifth creating Replicator Carter was also not in the original outline. Robert C. Cooper came up with the twist while he was writing the script. Originally, Anubis was planned to end up on a fiery planet at the end of "Lockdown", but Joseph Mallozzi opted for the frozen world instead.
The idea for "Icon" came from Damian Kindler pitching a story in season seven "in which Carter is stranded off-world, struggling to survive, while the rest of the team mounts a desperate bid to rescue her". In November 2003, in preparation of season eight, the writers felt that they already had enough Carter stories and attempted to redress the balance by making it a Daniel story with the working title "English Patient Daniel". "Affinity" was originally intended to air after "Covenant". Airing "Affinity" first creates the minor continuity error of Daniel already knowing the name, disclosed in "Covenant", of the newly-formed Trust.
The writers always wanted to do a "fish out of water" story wholly dedicated to Teal'c and his attempts to fit into Earth society, but later felt that the only opportunity would have been in season one. The script of "Full Alert" called for a large military build-up and a potential worldwide confrontation, but the show's budget was limited. As such, screens were erected to sell the point of an impending military conflict on a global scale. Furthermore, stock shots of jets landing on aircraft carriers and missile silos opening were used to accommodate financial concerns.
Filming
The eighth season of Stargate SG-1 was filmed over an eight-month period, with twelve-hour days five times each week. Filming started at 7.00 AM, broke for a half-hour lunch break in the afternoon, and ended at 7.30 PM. The directors usually received scripts around two weeks before shooting started. Early seasons had 7.5 days to shoot an episode but with careful planning, season eight reduced this time to six days. Richard Dean Anderson only worked 3.5 days out of 5 working days a week during season eight. Owing to his limited availability some episodes, such as "Zero Hour", were shot over longer periods of weeks. "Zero Hour" was shot as the seventh out of the 20 episodes of season eight. The producers do not treat two-part episodes as a different episode but as one longer episode, though the episodes are still legally broken up into two with the actors, for example, being paid twice.Stargate SG-1 has several regular directors. Andy Mikita
Andy Mikita
Andy Mikita is a Canadian television director and producer. He has worked in the TV and film industry for over 20 years. Mikita is best known for his work as a director and producer for Stargate SG-1, and its sister shows Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe.-Career:Andy Mikita began his...
is known to shoot much coverage because he likes having the choices during cut-and-edit. Peter DeLuise
Peter DeLuise
Peter John DeLuise is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, perhaps best known for directing episodes of science fiction television shows, particularly in the Stargate franchise.-Career:...
, however, lets the cameras roll, which makes things more difficult for the script supervisor and the editors later. The video tapes are not re-usable and are archived in a library. "Lockdown" was the first SG-1 episode to be shot in high definition (HD) instead of on 35 mm film. Since no one was used to filming in HD, they had to get a new HD crew and lost about an hour per day. The HD video tapes cost around 50 dollars, and previously 7000 feet of film were shot each day, costing possibly a million dollars a year in film.
Episodes such as "Zero Hour" and "Prometheus Unbound" reduced costs by being shot mainly on the standing sets Stargate Command
Stargate Command
The Stargate Program is a fictional top-secret program that plays a key role in the Stargate franchise: it surrounds the operations of the Stargate on Earth. The core of the Stargate Program is Stargate Command , based at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station near Colorado Springs, Colorado...
and the Prometheus. At other times the actors' time was split between different episodes: "Gemini" centered around Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping is an English-born Canadian actress, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis...
as Carter and her alter ego RepliCarter, and Michael Shanks (Daniel) did not appear. Meanwhile, Shanks filmed "Promethues Unbound" in the absence of the Carter character. The money was then spent on time-consuming techniques such as motion control
Motion control
Motion control is a sub-field of automation, in which the position or velocity of machines are controlled using some type of device such as a hydraulic pump, linear actuator, or an electric motor, generally a servo...
in "Gemini". The motion control enabled two people in the same shot to be seamlessly filmed on different passes. Split screens with locked-off cameras and different shots with stand-in actors were used whenever possible, but still cost much time for wardrobe changes and blocking.
The first episode filmed after the hiatus was "Lockdown", which aired third. The writers thought it would be fun to test O'Neill in his new position as general of the SGC early on and to have him prove his worth. The episode "Avatar" served as an introduction for a Stargate game that was produced at the time, and much of the story was filmed from a first-person perspective. "Zero Hour" is the last episode to have CRT monitors
Cathode ray tube
The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...
in the briefing room and the control room. Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping is an English-born Canadian actress, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis...
originally hoped to direct another episode after her debut in season seven's "Resurrection", but she became pregnant late in the season.
Sets and locations
Sets from previous seasons were reused: The Goa'uld transport ship, a standing set in the NorCo Studios, was originally built for a particular episode in season one but has since been reused in "New Order". Despite its cool looks, it is hard to shoot in. The Stargate franchise acquired the set of Blade: TrinityBlade: Trinity
Blade: Trinity is a 2004 American superhero vampire action film, written and directed by David S. Goyer, who also wrote the screenplays to the first two Blade films...
and used it as Thor's ship in "New Order". They were able to make the set taller, and installed big arches and silver tilework. They also created a special command post for Thor and raised it off the ground so that the actors' eye lines with Thor was a little higher. The Blade 3 effects stage was also used for the F-302 scene in "Covenant".
Art director James Robbins
James Robbins
James Robbins is the BBC's Diplomatic Correspondent, a post he has held since January 1998. He previously served as its Southern Africa Correspondent and its Europe Correspondent . He led the BBC's coverage of 9/11, making the first report on that evening's BBC Ten O'Clock News, a report lasting...
designed the set for Fifth's space ship, which was only about 10 feet long and 6 feet wide. For the scene where Carter is embedded in Replicator tiles, the model shop used cut-out vacuform pieces and slabs that had been made to fit Amanda Tapping. The Prometheus set, the producers' answer to the Goa'uld ship design, was used in several season eight episodes. Instead of big empty rooms, the Prometheus set had seats, screens, buttons and switches. "Endgame" required the interior of a Goa'uld ship to hold a Stargate, an effect which has not been used since season one. The Puddle Jumper space ship, usually part of Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
stories, also had its first appearances in SG-1; it appeared in "It's Good to be King" and "Moebius". "Threads" used the diner set from Dead Like Me
Dead Like Me
Dead Like Me was an American-Canadian comedy-drama television series starring Ellen Muth and Mandy Patinkin as grim reapers who reside and work in Seattle, Washington. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, the show was created by Bryan Fuller for the Showtime network, where it ran for two seasons...
.
Although "Lockdown" was filmed mainly on the existing Stargate Command
Stargate Command
The Stargate Program is a fictional top-secret program that plays a key role in the Stargate franchise: it surrounds the operations of the Stargate on Earth. The core of the Stargate Program is Stargate Command , based at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station near Colorado Springs, Colorado...
set, the story made it necessary to have the SGC broken into segregated zones. The set decorators changed the graphics and lighting to make the set show some of the 28 different levels of the SGC. In the same episode O'Neill's new office was slightly redesigned to mirror the history of the character. The carpet in the Briefing Room was replaced every second year early in the show, but when the renewal of the show changed from a two-year basis to a yearly basis, the carpet was never renewed again. When SG-1 was renewed for an eighth season, the carpet was finally replaced, and the floor in the halls was repainted."
The idea for the plants in "Zero Hour" came from Brad Wright
Brad Wright
Brad Wright is a Canadian television producer, screenwriter and actor. He is best known as the creator or co-creator of the television series Stargate SG-1 , Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe...
, who in season four had the notion of the SG being overrun with plant life and the gate being literally buried under foliage. For "Icon", one of the locations used was a house built in the early 1900s. Like "Birthright" one year before, exterior scenes for "Sacrifices" were filmed at High Point Properties in Langley, British Columbia
Langley, British Columbia (city)
The City of Langley is a municipality in Metro Vancouver. It lies directly east of the City of Surrey, adjacent to Cloverdale, and surrounded on the north, east and south by Township of Langley.-History:...
. The Goa'uld ceremonial tent in the episode was designed to be re-usable, with the concept loosely based on the Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. "Reckoning", in which Carter attempts to open the Ancient Wall, was filmed at a sound stage at NorCo Studios, a former bicycle factory. The ventilation is questionable, and when the director decided to add smoke for the light to catch to give a dramatic dusty air feeling, the oxygen supply decreased, which made acting harder. Daniel's class room in "Moebius" were shot in the conference room of the Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that originally aired on Showtime,the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002...
production at Bridge Studios near the set of SG-1. SG-1 crew members had originally scouted a real school but lost that location. Carter's office room in the same episode was right down the hall from the conference room.
Stargate SG-1 was shot in Vancouver, Canada. As Vancouver is still developing, Tynehead Park is one the few locations where the SG-1 team can still film alien locations. Other Vancouver locations include a set of roads at a Vancouver airport for the episode "Full Alert". The roads were closed to regular traffic so that the filming could take place without police escorts and other difficulties that come from blocking traffic. Desert locations were shot at the Richmond
Richmond, British Columbia
Richmond is a coastal city, incorporated in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Part of Metro Vancouver, its neighbouring communities are Vancouver and Burnaby to the north, New Westminster to the east, and Delta to the south, while the Strait of Georgia forms its western border...
Sand Dunes, a cement factory that is slowly using up all the sand. What is seen in the "Moebius" desert is all that is left of the dune. The horse shoe form of the dune had been established by another television project called Legend of Earthsea. O'Neill's house, which was first seen in season one, was used in two episodes in season eight, "Full Alert" and "Citizen Joe". Since the house is inhabited in real life, the producers have looked for alternatives, but so far have been unsuccessful. For "Zero Hour", the SGC set was decorated with various plants and vines. Some plants were plastic, but for the torching scenes, real plants were used so as to minimize the risk of a fire. All objects on set were sprayed with flame-retardant chemicals.
Design, props and special effects
Before the season began, director Martin WoodMartin Wood
Martin Wood is a Canadian television director who has been directing since the mid 1990s. Specializing in science fiction, where he is best known for his work as a director and producer on Stargate SG-1 , as well as its spin-off series Stargate Atlantis .-Career:Martin Wood began his television...
spent a weekend at Cheyenne Mountain
Cheyenne Mountain
Cheyenne Mountain is a mountain located just outside the southwest side of Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S., and is home to the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station and its Cheyenne Mountain Directorate, formerly known as the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center .Throughout the Cold War and...
(where the fictional Stargate Command
Stargate Command
The Stargate Program is a fictional top-secret program that plays a key role in the Stargate franchise: it surrounds the operations of the Stargate on Earth. The core of the Stargate Program is Stargate Command , based at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station near Colorado Springs, Colorado...
takes place) and filmed new angles at night time, daytime, and emergency situations. The producers had previously re-used stock footage from season one for the last seven seasons.
To save money, props and footage were re-used from previous seasons. The chairs used in "Avatar" are the same used in the season two episode "The Gamekeeper", but since they had been cut up and changed around completely for a previous SG-1 episode, and re-adjusting them would have cost as much money as building new ones, they were used like they were. Catherine's amulet that was shown in "Moebius" is the same used in the movie. In "Reckoning", some shots of the replicators in the SGC are re-uses of footage from the episode "Menace". At other times, whole scenes were cut. The original scripted teaser for "Lockdown" would have cost US$100,000 for visual effects, with Anubis in the space ship. The falling Replicator chips and the resulting mess on the ground in "Reckoning", however, was animated in VisFX because it would have been more expansive to have the mess be tracked. Image Engine
Image Engine
Image Engine is a visual effects company based in Vancouver, British Columbia and formed in 1995. In 2010, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.-2009:*The Twilight Saga: Eclipse*The Losers*District 9*New in Town-2008:...
created the bug effects in "New Order". One scene involved hundreds of Replicator bugs running in a forest, for which they went from singly hand-animated bugs to replicated effects.
Season eight was the first year that used a rear screen with an LCD projector projecting the puddle for the Stargate wormhole effect. Before that time, this was too expensive and not bright enough. The outside of the Puddle Jumper space ship in "Moebius" also used a rear screen projection, for which a dune at a real location was filmed and then projected on a screen behind the Puddle Jumper windows. This allowed to move the camera around and not be locked off. The on-set Puddle Jumper is only about 2/3 the size of that of the actual space ship. For dramatic effect, the episode "Zero Hour" had longer scenes filmed in green. "Gemini" had scenes filmed in infrared.
Release and reception
"New Order" and "Moebius (Part 2)" both earned a 2.4 Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, a new record high for the show during its run on cable, which has since been equalled but never beaten. It also became the most-watched regular series episode ever for the Sci Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
and the highest-rated episode in the history of Stargate SG-1, drawing 3.22 million viewers. The episode "Threads" originally aired as a 63-minute piece on the Sci Fi Channel, but an edited 45-minute version exists for syndication. The 45-minute versions is missing several scenes, including Daniel speaking with Ancient
Ancient (Stargate)
The Ancients are a humanoid race in the fictional Stargate universe. They are called "Ancients" in the Milky Way, but are also known as Lanteans or Ancestors in the Pegasus galaxy and as the Alterans in their home galaxy, and they sometimes call themselves Anquietas in their language...
and O'Neill waking up with Kerry. TV Zone
TV Zone
TV Zone was a British magazine published every four weeks by Visual Imagination that covered cult television. Initially, it mostly covered science fiction, but branched out to cover other drama and comedy series.-History:...
s Jan Vincent-Rudzki called "Lockdown" "an interesting episode, although it dips in the middle." Vincent-Rudzki saw O'Neill's portrayal as the new leader making "the Goa'uld threat [...] a laugh" and "an amazing change from the events from the series' early days" if even O'Neill does not take this race seriously. Fans regarded "Reckoning", the climax of plots including the Goa'uld
Goa'uld
The Goa'uld are a fictional symbiotic race of ancient astronauts from the American-Canadian military science fiction television franchise Stargate. The Goa'uld are parasites from the planet P3X-888, integrated within a host, most of the time human. The resulting creatures are a powerful race bent...
, the Replicators
Replicator (Stargate)
In the military science fiction series Stargate SG-1, the Replicators are antagonistic self-replicating machines that propagate by ingesting the metals that make up civilizations and use them to create either blocks that form the bug-like version or smaller cells that compose the human-form...
, and the Jaffa Rebellion, as two of the most popular episodes of the series.
In 2005, the second part of the season opener "New Order
New Order (Stargate SG-1)
New Order is the two-part Season 8 premiere of the science-fiction series Stargate SG-1. The episode earned a 2.4 Nielsen rating, a new record high for the show during its run on cable, which has since been tied, but never beaten...
" was nominated for a Gemini Award
Gemini Award
The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
in the category "Best Visual Effects". "Reckoning (Part 2)" was nominated for both an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in the category "Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series" and a Leo Award in the category "Best Visual Effects". Peter DeLuise
Peter DeLuise
Peter John DeLuise is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, perhaps best known for directing episodes of science fiction television shows, particularly in the Stargate franchise.-Career:...
was nominated for a Leo Award in the category "Dramatic Series: Best Screenwriting" for "Affinity", while Christine Mooney was honored with a Leo Award in the category "Dramatic Series – Best Costume Design" for the season finale "Moebius (Part 2)". For the episode "Threads", actress Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping
Amanda Tapping is an English-born Canadian actress, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis...
won a Leo Award in the category "Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance – Female", and Michael Shanks
Michael Shanks
Michael Garrett Shanks is a Canadian actor who achieved fame for his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson in the long-running Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1.-Early life:...
was nominated in the Leo category "Dramatic Series: Best Lead Performance – Male". The episode "It's Good To Be King" led to three Leo Award nominations: Jim Menard in the category "Dramatic Series: Best Cinematography", Christine Mooney for "Dramatic Series: Best Costume Design", and Tom McBeath in the category "Dramatic Series: Best Supporting Performance – Male".
Season eight was released to DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The episodes "Gemini" and "Prometheus Unbound" switched sides, and "Citizen Joe" was placed after "Reckoning"/"Threads". Contrary to the Region 1 DVD, the Region 2 did not offer commentaries for "It's Good to be King" and "Citizen Joe". When the season was initially released on DVD in Region 1, the release temporarily contained the shortened 45-minute version of "Threads" until Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
(MGM) gave in due to complaints. The slimline re-release contains the full 63-minute episode. Neither region has commentaries for "Threads". The release of season nine was held up because of MGM's switch in partners for home distribution, from Sony to Fox.
Cultural references
In "Zero Hour" Dr. Lee says, "Thankfully [the plant] hasn't eaten anyone yet." O'Neill answers, "Well, thank you Seymour." This is a reference to the comedy-musical Little Shop of Horrors about a man-eating plant from space. In "Avatar", Teal'c says "I play Def Jam VendettaDef Jam Vendetta
Def Jam Vendetta is a professional wrestling video game that combined hip hop with pro wrestling. It was released for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube. It was Electronic Arts' first attempt at a wrestling game since the widely-panned WCW Backstage Assault...
". This was a late addition by actor Chris Judge who provided the voice for D Mob
D Mob
D Mob is one of the stage names used by British house music producer Dancin' Danny D .The 1988 UK hit "We Call It Acieed" hit #3 in the UK Singles Chart, and was one of a wave of acid house singles to enjoy success that year. The video was directed by Marek Budzynski...
in the video game of the same name. Several members of production crew made cameo appearances. Digital effects supervisor Bruce Woloshyn
Bruce Woloshyn
Bruce Gerald Woloshyn was born March 22, 1964 in North Battleford, Saskatchewan to Gerry & Phyllis Woloshyn. He is a digital effects artist and supervisor.-Television credits:His visual effects television credits include*The Guard*Stargate SG-1...
appears as the garage sale homeowner who sells Joe Spencer the Ancient stone device in "Citizen Joe". In the episode "Prometheus Unbound", Daniel introduces himself to two aliens as Hans Olo, a wordplay on the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
character Han Solo
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
.
O'Neill's last line in "Moebius
Moebius (Stargate SG-1)
"Moebius" is the season finale for season eight of the Canadian-American military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. The episodes were written by Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie, Executive producers Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, the episodes were directed by Peter DeLuise...
", "close enough", is an homage to The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Treehouse of Horror V
Treehouse of Horror V
"Treehouse of Horror V" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons sixth season and the fifth episode in the Treehouse of Horror series. It premiered on October 30, 1994, and features three short stories called The Shinning, Time and Punishment, and Nightmare Cafeteria...
" that involves Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
time traveling and unintentionally making numerous changes to history; upon returning to a timeline where his family has snake tongues but everything else is otherwise normal, he says, "eh, close enough". In the same SG-1 episode, the name of O'Neill's boat is "Homer". There are also cross-references to events in SG-1
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper as a spin-off series of Stargate SG-1, which was created by Wright and Jonathan Glassner and was itself...
. In the episode "Threads", Daniel reads a paper with a headline "Wraith
Wraith (Stargate)
In the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, the Wraith are the original enemy alien species, first introduced in the pilot episode . In the series, they are a vampire-like telepathic race who feed on the "life-force" of humans, and are the dominant power in the Pegasus galaxy...
on the way to Atlantis
Atlantis (Stargate)
In the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, the spin-off of Stargate SG-1, Atlantis is a city-sized starship originally located in the Pegasus galaxy. Atlantis serves as the base of operations for the main characters, from which they explore other planets through the Stargate...
". This piece is followed by a screenshot of the Atlantis Deep Space Scanner display from the Atlantis episode "The Brotherhood", showing the trio of hive ships that assaulted the city in the Atlantis episode "The Siege
The Siege (Stargate Atlantis)
"The Siege" is the season finale for season one and season premiere for season two of the military science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, and the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first episode of the series overall...
". In "Covenant" Alec Colson, played by actor Charles Shaughnessy
Charles Shaughnessy
Charles George Patrick Shaughnessy, 5th Baron Shaughnessy , simply known as Charles Shaughnessy, is a British peer, and television, theatre and film actor. He is known for his roles on American television, as Shane Donovan on the soap opera Days of our Lives and as Maxwell Sheffield on the sitcom...
, is introduced to "Captain Sheffield" upon entering the Alpha Site. This is in reference to Maxwell Sheffield, Shaughnessy's character from the sitcom The Nanny
The Nanny
Nanny may refer to:* Nanny, a child's caregiver* A grandmother * A Cajun word for godmother * A female goat* Nanny , a 1981–83 British drama series starring Wendy Craig* Nanny of the Maroons...
.
Episodes
| # | # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DVD releases
| DVD Name | Region 1 | Region 2 (UK) | Region 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stargate SG-1 Complete Season 8 | October 3, 2006 | February 5, 2007 | August 16, 2006 |
| Vol. 38 (4 eps.) | — | March 27, 2006 | — |
| Vol. 39 (4 eps.) | — | April 24, 2006 | — |
| Vol. 40 (3 eps.) | — | May 22, 2006 | — |
| Vol. 41 (3 eps.) | — | June 19, 2006 | — |
| Vol. 42 (3 eps.) | — | July 17, 2006 | — |
| Vol. 43 (3 eps.) | — | August 14, 2006 | — |
External links
- Season 8 on GateWorldGateWorldStargate fandom is a community of people actively interested in the military science fiction film Stargate and the television shows Stargate SG-1 , Stargate Infinity , Stargate Atlantis , Stargate Universe and their spin offs...
- Season 8 on IMDb
- Season 8 on TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...