Michael Shanks not yet signed for season 10

[Madeleine]

What I'm irritated at is that he pooped out of a gate con to go to an off-gate thing-- the gaters are the ones that made him, and he just drops them off to do whatever.

I just find it.... well, quite frankly, as I said, I find it arrogant.

maddy

Teryl Rothery has bailed on the London Expo three times, all for work, never for Stargate work. Loads of the Trek actors who have been booked for the Expo or similar events cancel, at the last minute or with a few weeks notice, because they got work on other shows. Good for them.

A part in a TV show is not 'whatever'. It's a big deal.

Fans know and understand this. Fans read the bit on the flyer that says 'all guests appear subject to work commitments' and all but the greenest most illiterate con newbies know enough to half expect one or more cancellation from any con they buy tickets for. Fans are mostly generous enough to feel *happy* for the actor who makes his or her apologies on the grounds of a role they landed. Convention-going fans know that they are a tiny weeny part of what 'made' the actor, and know that they will not be able to (or want to) sustain him or her financially beyond the show's run. Fans tend to want to see their favourite show's actors in other things too, so that they know he or she will have an acting career to fall back on rather than the fickle con circuit once the show ends... but also just for the sake of it (witness the happy fuss Stargate Fandom made about MS on Andromeda, AT on Proof Positive).

Most fans would think it weird for an actor to turn down a part in an internationally recognised TV show to fly to a foreign country and natter to fans. I've never heard actual criticism of actors for taking the jobs they can get, or for bailing on cons because of it. If I did hear such criticism from a fan, I'd probably think the fan was extremely arrogant for putting his or her weekend's entertainment above a person's livelihood, and for imagining that fans getting to hear two hours of Q&A with the actor is more urgent / less rearrangeable than a part that could - literally - make a person's career (yes, I know it's unlikely, but still it's MS's first chance to get into the US actors' union and all that, I believe).

[ShadowMaat]

Most fans would think it weird for an actor to turn down a part in an internationally recognised TV show to fly to a foreign country and natter to fans. I've never heard actual criticism of actors for taking the jobs they can get, or for bailing on cons because of it. If I did hear such criticism from a fan, I'd probably think the fan was extremely arrogant for putting his or her weekend's entertainment above a person's livelihood, and for imagining that fans getting to hear two hours of Q&A with the actor is more urgent / less rearrangeable than a part that could - literally - make a person's career (yes, I know it's unlikely, but still it's MS's first chance to get into the US actors' union and all that, I believe).

Amen, Mads. Far from demonstrating anything negative about the actor, it'd demonstrate something negative about the fan(s). How massively arrogant is it to assume that YOU, Joe (or Jane) Fan, are more important than an actor's prior work commitments or the possible future of his career?

[prion]

[QUOTE=maddyjames]

Corin is never again setting foot on Stargate. Whatever happened, he's permanently blackballed, despite the placating BS TPTB occasionally spout.
QUOTE]


I am not saying I loved Corin, what I'm saying is that it seems as tho he was kicked off just because Michael wanted to come back. Where did you hear he was blackballed? Not questioning the accuracy, just curious. Why would they bring him back for s7 if blackballed? Seems to me like they just dropped Corin because Michael wanted his seat back. maddy

Although this has nothing to do with Michael, there's no evidence except fan conjecture as to why Corin is off the show. As to the 'blackball' conjecture, that's all it is. No fan knows what went on.

[LuvsJonasQuinn]

I'd love to see Corin back on the show as Jonas. I loved season 6. I also thought the scenes of Jonas and Daniel were good.

[smurf]

...but still it's MS's first chance to get into the US actors' union and all that, I believe).

Out of interest, does anyone know how many parts in shows an actor needs to get into the union?
I'm guessing it's counted on x number of speaking roles within x years, am I right?

All credit to MS for getting a part on CSI and putting his career first. I think his year out from Stargate taught him a few useful lessons about ego, and I think it's a shame he wasted a great opportunity at the end of season 5 to go out and spread his acting wings. I don't think many other actors have had the chance to take risks, and have the security of recurring work on their old TV show.

[Gate Freak]

Ah, but that was for their main show, Gate, wasn't it.

Hey, I used to work in Hollywood, I understand that actors have jobs that sort of pop up and require them to go somewhere asap.

What I'm irritated at is that he pooped out of a gate con to go to an off-gate thing-- the gaters are the ones that made him, and he just drops them off to do whatever.

I just find it.... well, quite frankly, as I said, I find it arrogant.

This reminds me of the attitude of many fans of Joss Whedon's series. I used to check out various forums dedicated to Buffy and Angel and i remember there being a sense of the fans believing that they somehow owned the actors and that, just because you happened to watch a series that an actor appeared in then they owed you some sort of debt.

I just don't see it that way at all. Sure, if we didn't watch Stargate then Michael would probably not have had the pleasure of playing Daniel Jackson for the last decade or so but i seriously doubt that an actor of his quality would have had trouble getting work somewhere or other.

These conventions are not something that the actors are obliged to do and they sure as hell don't owe us anything. They do them as a thank you and a way to meet their fans, not because it is a part of their contract. All they owe us for watching their television series is that they make the best of the lines they are given in each episode, nothing more. If they have to cancel one of those appearances because of work commitments, no matter whether it is related to their main show or not, then we should accept that. Shanks has a career to think about and it won't always revolve around Stargate.

As for the Corin Nemec thing, this again reminds me of the Whedonverse and the rumours of bad blood between Joss himself and Charisma Carpenter, when she left Angel at the end of season 4. Those rumours were eventually found to have been blown all out of proportion my internet gossip and i'm certain that this supposed trouble that Corin had with the Stargate PTB is more than likely exactly the same thing. Internet gossip that has taken on a life of it's own, regardless of any actual facts.

[Skydiver]

people can think what they want, but i personally think it would have been pretty arrogant of MS to tell CSI to stuff it so that he could go to a con and get an ego boo.

in the same way i think it would have been silly of amanda to tell her hubby 'gee hon, sorry aobut our anniversary, but i'm gonna do a con instead' (she bailed on gatecon 2001 to go with her hubby to hawaii for thier anniversary)

life comes first and a career (and paycheck) ranks right up there.

something similar is why there's so little janet in s7. the renewal came so incredibly late that teryl couldn't wait so she kept lookingfor work, found jobs and then, when s7 was approved, stargate had to work around her existing schedule

I'm sorry that folks were disappointed but actors cancelling cons is just part and parcel of the whole experience

[Madeleine]

people can think what they want, but i personally think it would have been pretty arrogant of MS to tell CSI to stuff it so that he could go to a con and get an ego boo.

LOL, you're right of course

[ShadowMaat]

As for the Corin Nemec thing, this again reminds me of the Whedonverse and the rumours of bad blood between Joss himself and Charisma Carpenter, when she left Angel at the end of season 4. Those rumours were eventually found to have been blown all out of proportion my internet gossip and i'm certain that this supposed trouble that Corin had with the Stargate PTB is more than likely exactly the same thing. Internet gossip that has taken on a life of it's own, regardless of any actual facts.

I didn't always suspect bad blood between Corin and TPTB. Corin has certainly been very positive about his experiences on the show and while I still think he was nastily shafter, it was only as time continued to pass and no mention whatsoever was made of Jonas and no storylines were set to involve him and time passed and the characters continued to act as if Jonas didn't exist and never had that I began to wonder what was happening. TPTB kept saying it was a matter of finding the right story and the usual BS, but you can only hear that so many times before you realize it's exactly that: BS.

I believe one of TPTB also went on record at a convention as flat-out saying that Jonas would never be back (anyone recall who and which con?). No one else has said that, but it confirmed what a lot of fans feared and it's hard to go back to thinking that he might ever really appear on the show again, especially after so much time has passed.

But please excuse me for hijacking the thread. It's an old, sore wound and it's best left for discussion elsewhere. This thread is for discussing the chances of Shanks being in S10. And I still think it's a sure thing, regardless of whether or not he's actually signed on the dotted line yet. He may be spreading his wings a bit, but ALL actors do that, especially in the downtime. I don't think he's going to take flight until Stargate is good and dead.

And I think we can also all agree that only the shallowest and most arrogant of fans could think ill of the actors for doing their job instead of going to a con.

I won't be able to make it to whichever con Michael was scheduled to go to, but I WILL be able to tune in to CSI Miami to see his appearance. And there's a lot to be said for THAT, too.

[keshou]

I am not saying I loved Corin, what I'm saying is that it seems as tho he was kicked off just because Michael wanted to come back. Where did you hear he was blackballed? Not questioning the accuracy, just curious. Why would they bring him back for s7 if blackballed? Seems to me like they just dropped Corin because Michael wanted his seat back.

I'm just interjecting my .02 here.

None of us know the truth. Frankly, I've come to believe - in my opinion only - that there are PTB that don't want Corin/Jonas back on the show.

Why do I think that?

The appearances in S7 seemed to be more nods to contract obligations than a real desire to keep the character of Jonas alive in the Stargate universe. The appearance in Fallout wasn't connected to Jonas' story arc they began at the end of S6. It was more a "filler" episode.

They could have easily kept Jonas in contact with Earth thru a series of guest spots in S7 and then used him in the Atlantis spin-off. That was their original intention for the character according to some of Corin's interviews. They didn't do that. Why?

I can only surmise that they decided they wanted to go a different direction with Atlantis. So they decided to just drop the Jonas character. Just like they decided to change actresses for the Weir character. Just like they decided to phase Ford out to a recurring character (a much smarter move than droppping him like they did Jonas, btw).

But that's only my conjecture. Again, none of us will ever know the full story.

Edited to add: Shadow - it was Michael Greenburg who said Jonas wouldn't be back. Sounded pretty final. Think it was at a con last year in England.

I liked Jonas okay - that he had some potential - but don't really miss him now that he's gone. On the other hand I was impressed with the way Corin handled the situation and have tried to follow his career post-Stargate. I watched his CSI appearance (as I will MS's) and even suffered thru Mansquito!

As far as season 10 and whether or not Michael will be back, I do expect he will, but I also expect he'll demand a price hike and the show has gone so downhill I don't think that's really worth a tenth season. He'll probably demand top billing or something before he comes back... he's already got a special "and Michael Shanks as Dr. Daniel Jackson,"... Amanda and Chris don't have that, do they?

We have no idea what the actors are asking for. More power to AT and MS and CJ if they get raises. I would be surprised if MS is asking for top billing - MS accepted the "and" position for season 9 - why would he demand top billing for S10? TPTB seem fairly entrenched with Ben as their new lead-off actor.

I do see your point on the convention, my take on it however is that the fans made him. To bail on his fans of stargate to go do an unrelated show on the 11th hour is really to say that his fans are less important than whatever cool new project he has. I think sometimes celebrities forget that it's the fans that made them, and they just drop them like that to go and do something completely unrelated to his previous committment. At least if it was filming for Gate or something that would be a little different, but to just go off because he has a chance to be on a popular tv show....

AT cancelled the NJ Creation Con last year with short notice because she had to work on Earthsea - or Proof Positive, I forget which. Rachel Luttrell filled in.

Joe Flannigan just cancelled his Australian con at the last minute because of work obligations. Doubt it was "Gate related" since Atlantis isn't filming.

It happens. Especially during hiatus when these actors have a chance to go out and get other jobs. They have absolutely no time to do that the other 8 months of the year when they're filming Stargate.

I do feel for the fans who pay money to see their favorite actor and they have to cancel. But many fans seem to enjoy the con experience - and seeing their friends - as much as seeing the actors. The con promoters are pretty upfront in telling customers that actors may have to cancel due to other work. To expect MS to cancel a con and pass up a chance for a guest spot on a popular American show? Frankly I'd tell him he was stupid if he did that.

And to stay on topic - I'd be shocked if MS wasn't in S10. Or any of the other actors.

[smurf]

I didn't always suspect bad blood between Corin and TPTB. Corin has certainly been very positive about his experiences on the show and while I still think he was nastily shafter, it was only as time continued to pass and no mention whatsoever was made of Jonas and no storylines were set to involve him and time passed and the characters continued to act as if Jonas didn't exist and never had that I began to wonder what was happening. TPTB kept saying it was a matter of finding the right story and the usual BS, but you can only hear that so many times before you realize it's exactly that: BS.

None of us know the truth. Frankly, I've come to believe - in my opinion only - that there are PTB that don't want Corin/Jonas back on the show.

I think it's less bad blood between Corin and TPTB, than between top levels of TPTB themselves. A real shift happened in the running of the show in season 7 and Corin got hit in the crossfire.
I expect the only people who know the reason why are those at the top of TPTB tree (and I have a feeling this may not include JM) and Corin. Corin may regularly repeat the "I don't know" line, but as an experienced actor he knows how the game is played. That said I think he'll be the first to let slip the truth, unless Stargate gets cancelled after next year. He came very close in the last interview before his brain caught up with his mouth.
http://www.thescifiworld.net/intervi...n_nemec_02.htm

Gilles Nuytens: But your time was great there!
Corin Nemec: I had a great time, yeah, absolutely. It's political in a lot of ways. But at the end of the day everybody wants to keep their own jobs. So, no one really cares, which is fine, but the reality is much harsher than the idea of reality.

Steven Reggers: But why had you to go away when Michaël Shanks came back?
Corin Nemec: Because ... actually I don't know.

Back on topic.
I don't think MS would get top billing even if they never hired BB. It would have gone properly ensemble then. For S10 it will be interesting where he gets placed if AT gets taken out of the credits.

[LaCroix]

This reminds me of the attitude of many fans of Joss Whedon's series. I used to check out various forums dedicated to Buffy and Angel and i remember there being a sense of the fans believing that they somehow owned the actors and that, just because you happened to watch a series that an actor appeared in then they owed you some sort of debt.

I just don't see it that way at all. Sure, if we didn't watch Stargate then Michael would probably not have had the pleasure of playing Daniel Jackson for the last decade or so but i seriously doubt that an actor of his quality would have had trouble getting work somewhere or other.

These conventions are not something that the actors are obliged to do and they sure as hell don't owe us anything. They do them as a thank you and a way to meet their fans, not because it is a part of their contract. All they owe us for watching their television series is that they make the best of the lines they are given in each episode, nothing more. If they have to cancel one of those appearances because of work commitments, no matter whether it is related to their main show or not, then we should accept that. Shanks has a career to think about and it won't always revolve around Stargate.

As for the Corin Nemec thing, this again reminds me of the Whedonverse and the rumours of bad blood between Joss himself and Charisma Carpenter, when she left Angel at the end of season 4. Those rumours were eventually found to have been blown all out of proportion my internet gossip and i'm certain that this supposed trouble that Corin had with the Stargate PTB is more than likely exactly the same thing. Internet gossip that has taken on a life of it's own, regardless of any actual facts.

If I seem to recall Charisma Carpenter was witten out of S5 because Joss Whedon said her story arc was over with ( de ja vue anyone) and she only had one episode to get Angel back on track. Also she had a baby too.

But I digress. No I don't believe that actors owe any thing to anyone, but since a lot of people had made reservations to the Con. anyone concerned show get a partial refund if they wish.

[Skydiver]

i agree that corin's departure was very politically motivated. and i think that the decision to dump jonas and bring back daniel came from very high levels

i also agree that jonas' appearances in s7, fallen, homecoming and fallout were nothing more than 'ok, so i know we signed you for 2 years, but we only want you for one...here's your severance pay'

jonas was included because tptb were contracturally obligated to include him

nothing more, nothing less

why did they feel the need to dump jonas????

oh, such a loaded question adn definitely nothing for this thread, or any for that matter since all we have in conjecture and supposition.

corin is professional enough not to air dirty laundry in public

do fans deserve a rebate if their actor doesn't show??? you know, that would be fair in a way..but a logistical nightmare since i have no doubt that someone would claim that skippy the wonder poodle was the only reason they booked and that they deserved a rebate because he didn't show. (ie, people aren't above fibbing to save a few bucks)

cons are expensive to put on. not only in paying the actors (whose fees can range in the 1000 - tens of thousands), but in booking the hotel, expenses, paying staff, travel expenses, food, etc.

a good portion of them don't make much profit at all....while others(as creation's continued existence is evidence of) have gone on for years

and as to s10, i will be very, very, very surprised if shanks doesn't sign.

i dont' think it's 'if' i think it's 'when'

[TechnoBoY]

I think this is Shanks way of asking for more money.

I personally dont mind if he isnt in season 10. His character didnt seem right after they brought him back in season 7 anyways. I liked having Jonas there and then he came back and the show has become more bleh ever since.

I liked the DJ character the first 5 seasons but when they wrote his character out it shoulve stayed out. Or a least have a better way of bringing him back. He came back and then a few eps later Jonas was out. I think this is more of a lazy writer problem though. But still. Like I said before, the character doesnt even seem like before! I dont like the new DJ.

[prion]

Out of interest, does anyone know how many parts in shows an actor needs to get into the union?
I'm guessing it's counted on x number of speaking roles within x years, am I right?

All credit to MS for getting a part on CSI and putting his career first. I think his year out from Stargate taught him a few useful lessons about ego, and I think it's a shame he wasted a great opportunity at the end of season 5 to go out and spread his acting wings. I don't think many other actors have had the chance to take risks, and have the security of recurring work on their old TV show.

If you speak several lines, I believe that entitles you to a SAG (in US) card. A whole part (guest star) would do it.

As for MS departing after season 5, as I recall magazine articles cited that he was financially secure enough to make that decision. Believe, how many of us would ditch the rat race if given the chance like Michael did?