Double Trouble.
By: Thomasina Gibson
Publication: Cult Times #65
Date: February, 2001.

The challenge - should he choose to accept it - was to tell everything there was to know about Stargate SG-1's fourth season in 10 minutes. Fat chance of that, actor Michael Shanks had started laughing at the mere thought before the sentence was even complete and was just pretending to be helpful whilst backing out the dorr. "Erm - here we go!" he grins, "Oh! They've, just called me to set. Bye!" Enticed back by an altogether more reasonable task, Shanks then proceeds to explainwhy he's still as "up" and "excited" about Season Four despite there being only one week till the end of term.....er......television year. Usually by this stage in proceedings everyone involved in an hour long weekly series is tired and punch drunk and looking forward to a break. "I actually had a lot of fun this season," says Shanks. "In terms of production I think the shows have improved in lots of ways. They look better, they're cooler, and they were a lot more interesting. As Daniel [Dr. Jackson to you and me] I let a lot of the angry stuff go and tried to focus on the lighter side this year so jsut tended to have more fun. Plus the advent of directing and whatnot made it quite an exciting time for me. Which is why I did it - the directing thing," he explains.

Having chatted to the actor several months previously when his much-vaunted directorial debut was still at the discussion stage, Shanks revealed that he was "a tad nervous" about wearing "a new hat" so to speak. Thankfully he managed to keep the quivers firmly under wraps when the filming of Double Jeopardy actually began. "I wasn't as nervous as I thought I was going to be because I guess I was so overwhelmed. I had so much to do and so little time to get on and do it. Everything was pretty much 'Go, go, go, go, go!' and that's actually better for me in the long run. To not think. Because for me, having time to think makes me indecisive. It's better if I'm thrown into the fire and am forced to make decisions and have to trust myself and trust my instincts and trust my first judgement rather than out-think myself. Which is what I tend to do a lot. There was so much to do that I didn't have time to be nervous."

Even an initial case of men behaving badly didn't deter Stargate SG-1's newest director. Famed for their penchant for pranks, fellow actors Amanda Tapping (Sam Carter), Richard Dean Anderson (Jack O'Neill) and Christopher Judge (Teal'c) soon stopped taling liberties and knuckled under. Automatically defending his team mates, Shanks claims, "I think their first instinct which is a natural instinct," defends Shanks, "was one of, 'What are you doing telling us what to do just because you're the director all of a sudden?' It was kind of unusual for them because nirmally I'm the one trying not to do what the director is telling me. So it was like, 'Oh yeah! Like you're going to get is to do that!'

"But although that was the original joke," he goes on, "everybody very quickly stepped up the game and were supportive above and beyond the call of duty. Because they knew I was up to my neck in it with this episode, they were there for me when I needed them."

Quietly pleased with the way the filming of Double Jeopardy went overall, perfectionist Shanks is reluctant to over-praise the result. "I'm happy." He nods, then muses, "I'm pleased to have gotten through it. I think I may look back in a few years' time and go, 'What the hell was I thinking?' but I'm content with the way it got put together. I'm not ecstatic about it, obviously. I'm the type to be overly judgemental about my own stuff, so when it comes to looking at the episode again, I may well not be able to look at it. But, generally, I'm satisfied in the sense that I got through it, I survived and I learned a great deal. When I see the episode as it goes out I'll be in a better position to make a judgement about how I should have done things differently or whether or not I got what I wanted to get."

Charmed by the actor's modesty I remark that he appeared incredibly professional when I visited the set during filming, and that by calmly giving instruction whilst accepting a hug from Christopher Judge's tiny daughter, he looked as though he'd been directing Stargate SG-1 all his life. "Well, that was the thing too," he grins, "I realized that a fair amount of acting had to go into this little debut because there are a lot of sharks swimming out in the water, and a lot of assassins in the woods. If you're not strong in your game of endowing other people with confidence and assuring them that you know what you're doing, people tend to jump off the boat. Michael Greenburg [executive producer] taught me that as director you're the rudder, you're the guide and you have to be prepared and strong and firm and straught-forward - not wishy-washy about anything. So it may have looked as though I knew what I was doing but it was really a case of where that infamous 'professionalism' comes in."

Teasing that no one could fail to be impressed when filming continued even though a small flame burst through the cloak that Cronus (Ron Halder) was wearing during the dramatic fight scene, Shanks laughs, "Oh, we're used to people catching fire on this show. It's not unusual." I doubt for a moment that such incidents are commonplace because Shanks' steady resolve and unflustered calls of "Carry on...." continuing before he yelled, "Cut! Now put him out!" rought the house down. The audience of cast and crew were in hysterics as the safety crew did their stuff and Shanks, having walked over to check his actor was happy and unconcerned, slid back into his chair waving, "Again please: there are plenty more where he came from." I won't tell you what the actor's verbal response was to that observation, but Michael Shanks can move pretty fast when an irate System Lord is on his case.

He's also quick to respond to suggestions that he try his hand at directing a second time. "Absolutely!" he confirms. "I haven't had discussions about next year but there might be the possibilty of doing another episode in Season Five. It's still sometihng we have to talk about but certainly I'd like to expand on this experience. The 'largeness' of this episode hasn't put me off at all. If anything it gave me a little more confidence for the next time. I mean, obviously, I feel I've made a few mistakes and stepped into a few bear traps and next time I'll avoid them and be better. Although," he admits, "I don't think I could have been given a more challenging episode. I'm hoping that this one was as bad as it gets." Agreeing that it mist have been a back-handed compliment on the part of the producers, Shanks concurs, "Well, if you're going to learn something, you may as well learn it good and proper and that's what happened."

As well as challenged behind the camera, Shanks has had a few memorable moments in front of one too. "There were a couple that were particularly fun to do. The first was the episode where an alien took to dragging Daniel around on a tether." Shanks wouldn't elaborate on why being hauled about on the end of a rope was such a wheeze other than to insist that it was fun because it was a great story and a 'Daniel' episode. "My second favourite, which was more challenging as an actor is called Absolute Power and is a complete departure for the character. It gave me a fine line to walk in terms of showing Daniel going to the Dark Side without doing what I consider 'evil acting', of the form which I could tip the hand to what's happening too early. It was a terrific opportunity to play Daniel with a bit of a malicious edge and to show that by having this absolute power he becomes a different person altogether. "

With the 14-week hiatus imminent, Shanks has the chane to do something completely different on a personal level. "I have nothing planned," he reveals. "For the first time in a long time I have nothing immediately waiting in the wings, which in a sense is a good thing and in another way it's kinda frightening. When you're used to working the hours that we work for so long and you're used as an actor to having something there that demands your time, the notion of having an open space for three and a half months with not even a vacation planned is a little daunting.

"It's kind of nice to know that you can chill out and do nothing and not have your life mapped out in front of you," Shanks cautiously suggests. "I'm not entirely disturbed by the idea. It's more a kind of pleasant surprise."

Anyone who has suggestions or offers as to what the lovely Mr Shanks could do with his time (and don't all shout at once) should keep them firmly to themselves.