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[Mac Jackson]

Listener Question:How do you think the show fared after the loss of Michael Shanks?

I think Season 6 is as excellent as the rest of the first 8 seasons. As much as I love Daniel I thought the addition of Jonas was wonderful and supplied a great rookie dynamic for the team. Jonas never tried to be Daniel and I love the fact that it took time for Jack to warm up to him. It also gave Daniel a new dynamic with powerful episodes like "Abyss" since we really didn't "Lose" Daniel over all. Even Jonas with Daniel provide a great dynamic when together. I would have loved for Jonas to stick around even after Daniel came back.

[Spinobreaker]

hey guys, assuming uve cn it, could i get ur thought on the new transformers movie, figure u could add it to the end like u did star trek... please

[Darren]

I haven't seen it yet, and may or may not catch it before it hits DVD. Sorry! (But good suggestion!)

[Ksya]

My favorite episode of Season 6 was definitely "Full Circle" It was a great season finale that left me on the edge of my seat. It brought back Alexis Cruz as Skaara, one of my favorite recurring characters. The effects were amazing, and so was the character of all of SG-1 and Daniel.

[KhaosNite13]

Listener Question: How do you think the show fared after the loss of Michael Shanks?
First off, I strongly disagree with the notion many fans have brought forth about Season 6 being "better" or "worse" without Michael Shanks. That said, I strongly believe that Season 6 was just different. Could we have had episodes like Abyss, or Shadow Play, or moments like Jonas' involvement in Changeling, or Metamorphosis, had Michael Shanks not left the show? In my opinion, no. It allowed new stories to be told, with a character that brought a new perspective to the show. Many of these stories told, may not have worked, or been the same had Michael Shanks stayed. I thoroughly enjoyed Season 6, but won't call it better or worse then any previous or future season. Just... different.

[Spinobreaker]

I haven't seen it yet, and may or may not catch it before it hits DVD. Sorry! (But good suggestion!)

thanks anyway, u guys always have an interesting POV on things

[Atri]

My favorite episode is probably Full Circle, though Abyss is a close second.
I especially liked that SG-1 visited Abydos again and saw Skaara. It was a fitting end for Abydos and it brought the team back to the very beginning, the first world the Tau'ri went to.

As for how the show fared without Daniel? I never disliked Jonas but I always had the feeling that Jack, Sam and Teal'c never really accepted him into the fold, no matter what he did. I admit I missed Daniel sometimes, missed the dynamic and bonds that existed between him and the others, though it was interesting to see how the three original members of SG-1 dealed with an outsider.

[Natasha]

By far the best episode of season 6 was Abyss. Great perfomances by Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks and Cliff Simon. A great team episode as everyone contributed to Jack's escape. We also see a side of Jack that we have not seen since the original movie - a Jack who is about to give up and like the movie its Daniel who is their to stop Jack from losing hope.

One of the great things about SG1 is the amazing chemistry between the characters. I was especially drawn to the friendship between Jack and Daniel and the obvious chemistry between Michael Shanks and Richard Dean Anderson. This chemistry was really missed in Season 6. Nothing against Corin Nemec who is a good actor and played the part of Jonas really well but I always felt uncomfortable how suddenly Jonas became part of the team especially considering the events of Meridian. It was a brave move on the part of the writers to make Jonas part of the team and gave him an interesting storyline throughout the season but it never sat well with me. Maybe I am a bit biased as my favourite character is Daniel but I think if they were to make Jonas a member of SG1 it shouldn't have happened so soon.

[UngoauldedUnas]

Listener Question: Without a doubt, my favorite episode of season six and probably of the whole series of SG-1, is Abyss. For one thing, it’s the episode that really got me hooked on SG-1. For another, I am a major fan of the friendship between Jack and Daniel and this episode really delves into that relationship. It also shows how seriously the team takes their motto of “leave no man behind.”

As a side note, it always bothered me that when SciFi shows the reruns of season 6 of SG-1, they show Abyss BEFORE Frozen. It really doesn’t make any sense. Have you guys heard of any reason why they do that or have any thoughts on why they do that?

[Rachel500]

Episode #48 is now available!

Just wanted to say I really enjoyed the podcast - I've only just worked out itunes so it was my first one! (Yes, I am that Luddite sitting in the corner).

On under/overuse of characters, I do think usage comes down to three main things: character popularity with the writers, the character's function within the show and the character's underlying development arc if any.

The first is always subjective and truly only known by the writers themselves how much they let their enjoyment of one character lead to highlighting them more than others who were harder work. I would speculate that if you're writing two shows simultaneously with the volume of work that involves, writing for the characters that you find enjoyable and easy is quicker and less stressful and this may have led to focus on some and not others.

The second - character function - is problematic. If a character is primarily a 'warrior' they are going to be fairly redundant in a scene where technology/science exposition is wanted; if a character is primarily 'science' they are going to be fairly redundant in a scene calling for huge physical fights. I think SG1 did a lot better at showing the team as a team; that even when Sam was spouting technobabble, Jack/Teal'c were providing a sounding board/guarding her back - or when they were pinned down and fighting, Daniel would be suggesting they talk or shown to be competently providing cover fire or dialling the gate to get them out of there. Atlantis occasionally just did have characters standing around doing nothing but holding up the scenery.

I also think with Weir there was a struggle in realising within the stories how best to effectively incorporate the base commander into the action; it always seemed the writers defaulted to what they were comfortable with - the Hammond model - and as such, certainly post S1, I think the original vision for Weir wasn't explored a great deal and ultimately the character fell victim to becoming almost bound and gagged by the role of base commander (Sam was in danger of being the same in S4).

For me though it's the third - character arc - which is most important. What underlying reason does this character have for sticking around and how much of that is actually explored? I do think Teyla and Ronon had good underlying reasons but they were never fully explored to the extent they could have been. Ronon only got one per season really (and Sateda, Reunion, etc are some of the best stories Atlantis has done). Stories rarely focused post S2 on Teyla introducing them to others in Pegasus; her leadership of the Athosians and conflict with her role fighting alongside the Earth guys. To be fair, an attempt was made to redress the balance in later seasons with the arc of her people going missing.

For me, this character arc piece was the problem with Ford - there was no exploration of why he'd joined the expedition other than he was an Air Force officer, and once in Pegasus, there was no additional reason given to him for being there - he was just *there*. Sam had the same issue in S1 of SG1 and they resolved this in S2 with the Jolinar arc. With Ford, it seems only in writing him out did they give him a compelling link to the story and one that would have been more interesting to explore with him as part of the team.

I tend to agree that before characters are deleted, it would be worth investing time and energy into working out why they're not working out and attempting corrective action. With Ford they could have done so much more.

[Rachel500]

Next Week's Listener Question: What is your favorite episode of Stargate SG-1 Season Six, and why?

-or-

How do you think the show fared after the loss of Michael Shanks?

Favourite episode: Well, going to follow the masses and say, Abyss. It is a classic, a great mix of drama, pathos and some humour. It does focus on the friendship between Jack and Daniel primarily but conveys the sense of team as they work to find Jack and help him. Ba'al is just fabulous here; truly evil, truly frightening. Everyone just seemed to pull out great performances especially Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks.

I also do have a huge soft spot for Allegiance though - Bra'tac and Jacob/Selmak together is just wonderful.

How did the show fare with the loss of Michael Shanks: I remember watching S6 with a lot of trepidation. Daniel was an original character from the movie; the fundamental premise of Stargate is exploring that dynamic between civilian and military working together to overcome the odds; the dynamics of the team would inevitably change with his departure.

Firstly, I think Corin Nemec did an outstanding job as Jonas. He did make Jonas likeable and I think the character found his niche over the course of the season.

Secondly, I didn't really feel we did lose Michael Shanks or Daniel. With Michael coming back for Abyss, The Changeling and Full Circle (all fabulous episodes) and Daniel continually referenced throughout the season, it didn't really feel as though Michael/Daniel was *gone* to me. It's that old argument of quality over quantity. And I truly think the departure worked for the character.

From an arc perspective, Daniel had no real reason to be there any more once Shifu was found. The character was floundering in the *why is he here* category. By Ascending, the character regained a purpose, regained a reason for being - (and ultimately when Michael returned, the Ascended arc became Daniel's underlying motivation, the driver for the character beyond simply exploration).

I'm not saying it was a perfect, seamless transition and I will say I think the show struggled without the civilian/military dynamic occasionally in some stories (as Jonas was too new and too deferential to Jack to fully go nose to nose with him in the same way Daniel would have done) but I think S6 can stand up to any other season of SG1 in terms of quality and I would say, with all respect to Michael and the character of Daniel, the show managed better with losing Michael and Daniel than it did later in S9 with losing Rick and Jack.

[Petra]

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Listener Question: What is your favorite episode of Stargate SG-1 Season Six, and why?

My favourite episode not only in season 6 but also in the whole series is Abyss. But since almost everybody picked it I'm gonna go with my second favourite: Descent and Paradise Lost.

Descent is just all around great SG-1 episode. It's the first time we see "new" SG-1 on mission so it's worth mentioning for that alone. It also brings back beloved characters of Jacob and Maj Davies and is full of action, humour and drama. Who didn't laugh at the "alien conspiracy" line?

While Descent is a team episode Paradise Lost is very much focused on Jack and his relationship with Maybourne. It's one of few post season 3 episodes which show Jack not as a loveable joker but as a smart, tough, self-dependent Black Ops Colonel. RDA gives another impressive performance, Tom McBeath is good as usual, the episode has a distinctly different visual style. It's also the first time Sam and Teal'c get a "friendship scene" between them. All in all great stuff.

How do you think the show fared after the loss of Michael Shanks?

To be honest I think it fared excellent. Actually season 6 is my favourite season of the series. As mentioned above I also didn't feel that we "lost" Daniel: he was mentioned all the time, he appeared in 3 excellent episodes..it was enough.

But the team dynamic completely changed and I guess this is what I enjoyed the most. Jonas with his endless enthusiasm and desire to learn was a welcome addition to the show that lacked this element in previous 2 years, when Daniel became more jaded and weary. Sam, Jack and Teal'c found themselves in new roles: Teal'c became a mentor to the other alien, Sam really started to take charge and Jack discovered that he was indeeed quite good at diplomacy, when he wanted. I doubt that we would get this character development had MS stayed on the show, especially since when he came back everybody "forgot" how they changed in season 6 and went back to their "old" roles.

I also think that episodes that season were excellent. With the exception of Disclosure there's not one I don't enjoy rewatching - and sadly this is the last season I can say this as from season 7 onward the show had "hit and miss" seasons.

So to sum it up: IMO loss of Michael Shanks actually helped the show. It refreshed it, allowed to change dynamics between the characters, explore new angles of their personalities and tell new stories that wouldn't have been possible otherwise.

[Darren]

Episode #49 is now available!

Season Six was a turning point for Stargate SG-1, as the show jumped to the SCI FI Channel and had to replace Daniel Jackson with a brand new character. Meanwhile, leading man Richard Dean Anderson was beginning to reduce his shooting days. How did it turn out? In this week’s podcast, Darren and David talk about the highs and the lows of what remains a controversial year of Stargate history.

Also this week:

Stargate News! The latest news from the world of Stargate

GateWorld Features! What's new on the site?

Interview Preview! Hear a preview of our interview with "Cassandra" actress Colleen Rennison

Listener Feedback!

CALL US! You can call the hotline and leave us a voicemail any time, day or night. Give us your thoughts on this week's listener question, leave feedback on the podcast itself, or talk about anything Stargate-related you want.

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Thanks to everyone for listening and contributing to the podcast!

[Descent]

4/10! Wow. I'm very surprised at David, but I guess I can understand considering 'how' he rates the seasons. Guess that means S7 is gonna get something pretty low as well.

Anyways, I love these SG-1 History podcasts, keep up the good work guys!

[Shirt'n'Tie]

Hi Guys!!

Great podcast....as always.

Thanks for all the hard work!

Paul