Michael Shanks - Action Jackson.
By: Steven Eramo
Publication: TV Zone #134
Date: November, 2000.

Double Jeopardy features the return of Goa'uld System Lord Cronus (Ron Halder), who previously appeared in Fair Game and Crossroads. SG-1 meets up with him while trying to undo a mistake it supposedly made on a prior mission. The team also crosses paths with some other familiar faces from an earlier adventure.

"This episode had quite an ambitious storyline and a number of elements to it," says Shanks. "It was probably our longest shoot in the history of the series. Usually we do seven-and-a-half days of principle photography, but in this case it took us ten days. We haven't gone overtime like that since out first year and, in particular, when we filmed our pilot episode.

"We spent two days on location in a forest near Vancouver mainland. All the rest of the work was done inside the studio, and you would not believe the variety of interior locations used for this story. For example, on Stage Six here we built the largest, most expensive set in the history of the show. Then, of course, there was the SGC [Stargate Command] set on the soundstage next door. We also constructed an entire 'world' plus a pyramid within that world on separate stages.

"See, I told you this was a big deal," laughs the actor. "I remember during the first read-through of the script everyone said, 'Oh, my God.' Then the rookie director, me, looked at the script and thought, 'You've got to be kidding.' It was the luck of the draw or just the chips falling where they may, but I ended up with the biggest episode we've done since the series began. It was an overwhelming situation to be dropped into to say the least."

There were many challenges for Shanks. "There's a scene in the episode in which a character is decapitated in front of a pyramid full of people," he recalls. "That took us a while to piece together in the editing room. It was written at the last minute and chock full of story elements. Initially, we were supposed to film it in one day but the work ended up spilling over into the next two days. It was just incredible. There were 25 people in the shot, each of whom had their own beats that were intricate to the scene. So they had to have proper coverage. Then there was the issue of this being somewhat graphic subject matter, and it had to be handled in a way that wasn't gratuitous. We had to be careful, especially because this was for tv.

"Another tricky sequence was one in which Richard Dean Anderson [Colonel Jack O'Neill] was fighting himself. Being the person that he is, Richard is oftentimes very particular about how he wants things done. So to have 'two' of him in the same scene at alternating intervals and then interacting at that level was challenging to pull off," jokes Shanks. "However, Richard made it work. He was the man who pushed the right buttons to make the scene play out smoothly. What a guy!

"I have to give kudos to the entire Stargate cast and crew," continues the actor. "They were super. When I committed myself to this [directing], I did so knowing that I was going to be supported. Everybody stepped up to the plate and was very tolerant and patient with me as I was feeling my way through the process. The questions come much faster to an experienced director and the demands made on him or her are a lot higher. With me, the crew was like, 'Let's just take a breath. We don't have to put the heat on him because he's going through enough already.' The actors were the same, and that helped boost my confidence level."

Actor Self-Help

Does Shanks feel that being an actor helped him as a director? "Yes, absolutely," he says. "Something that a number of television directors do not have is the ability or desire to communicate with actors. You can plan out a scene and know just what you'd like your actors to do, but if you can't express your ideas to them in 'common language' it's going to make both your jobs a lot more difficult. I've had directors or other people with technical backgrounds say to me, 'Jeez, it would be great to be able to talk to actors like you do.' That's flattering to hear, especially since I'm envious of their technical knowledge. SO working with the actors was the easiest part of the job because I was already inside their heads so to speak."

A director must co-ordinate the efforts of all those around, and this took a bit of getting used to for Shanks. "As an actor, you focus on your inner strengths and weaknesses in an effort to overcome any obstacles that might get in the way of you doing the best job possible," he explains. "When directing, you have to pay attention to every conceivable element. The pictures you're 'painting' need to be palatable to the eye of the average person who's tuning in.

"Directing is a completely aesthetic medium. There are times that it's more about how a shot looks than what's going on within it. To me that seems superficial, but it's also incredibly necessary in this medium as well as an important part of storytelling. It took time for this to sink in. I finally realized that, ultimately, it's my job to tell the story regardless of the people that are within its confines. I hope that makes sense. This realization changed my perception of the directing process and really opened my eyes to what it's all about.

"Honestly, my experience directing Double Jeopardy is a blur. The real fun for me came in the post-production process. During the shoot there was no time to relax and enjoy the moment. There was always too much stuff to do in one day and a zillion other things to talk about. Every lunch hour I'd review tapes from the day before and at night I'd prepare for the following day. It was gruelling at times, but it hasn't turned me off from directing. In fact, having finished it, I now feel as though I can take on anything this medium can throw at me."

Busy Acting

Michael Shanks has had plenty to keep him busy as Daniel Jackson. After four years as a member of the SG-1 team, Daniel has lost some of his wide-eyed innocence, but he remains as passionate as ever about exploring. According to Shanks, this season was a little disappointing in terms of how his character was, or was not, used.

"Our writers dream up some great ideas when it comes to writing Daniel stories, and I've had some excellent ones this year. I relish those episodes as they allow me to spread my wings as an actor," says Shanks. "Unfortunately, in group situations they're still not quite sure what to do with my character. I think that's been a common theme since the series began. Daniel is a bit of a loner and an outsider and, to top it off, he's not a soldier. So when the fighting starts what do we do with him? We have him crouch behind a rock and leave him out of the action or we don't have him in the scene at all.

"I found this happened more and more this year, especially since the creation of this red-herring relationship between Jack O'Neill and Sam Carter [Amanda Tapping]. The series has gone in a direction that I did not expect, and, believe me, I'm not saying that's a bad thing at all. I'm just saying I think Daniel has been slightly limited this year in his actual interaction with the team. Again, stories where he has been the focus have been wonderful, but they sort of end up excluding the rest of SG-1. So if anything, my wish for next season would be for my character to be worked a little more into the group dynamic."

Favourite from Season Four

When asked to choose a favourite Daniel story from the fourth season, Shanks is quick to respond with The First Ones. "That's a terrific one just in terms of the sense of humour and irony that Brad Wright [co-creator and executive producer] and Peter DeLuise [creative consultant] brought out in my character. Daniel was in his element. He spent the entire episode trying to be compassionate and communicative towards this Unas (Dion Johnstone), which, I feel, is where my character's strengths truly lie. It was a pleasure to work with my pal Dion, who I had performed with on stage before in Hamlet. He is a consummate actor who worked hard to bring his character to life and, in doing so, made it easy for me to work off him.

"Peter DeLuise also directed that episode, which made the shoot all the more enjoyable," continues the actor. "Peter is the ultimate peacemaker. He's also an actor and understands what his fellow actors need to guide them through a scene, which is what I was talking about earlier. He's an excellent actor's director. Technically, he's also a great storyteller. Peter isn't afraid to get in there and get the job done. We have a lot of fun with him."

At the start of Stargate SG-1's fourth season, Shanks and his fellow castmembers had the chance to act alongside former Star Trek: Deep Space Nine star Rene Auberjonois who guest-starred in The Other Side. A few weeks later, the cast welcomed Star Trek: The Next Generation's Betazed beauty Counselor Deanna Troi, alias Marina Sirtis, to the set. She played Russian scientist Dr. Svetlana Markov in the underwater tale Watergate.

"It was a treat to work with Marina," says Shanks. "She was so proud of The Next Generation and willing to share her experiences. I found it interesting to compare notes on what actors on Sci-Fi shows have to deal with on a daily basis, such as exposition and technobabble. As for Daniel's role in the story, this is one of those times where he's just kind of along for the ride. Fortunately, there were some humourous scenes inside the mini-sub with Marina, Amanda and myself. that's another facet of my character I'd love to see the writers explore more. I have a very dry, sort of subtle sneak-up-on you sense of humour that I think would suit Daniel in the appropriate situations."

Longtime Stargate SG-1 viewers know that Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson sometimes disagree on how to deal with aliens. In Scorched Earth, they butt heads trying to help two cultures settle a dispute over who has the right to colonize a planet. Jack is forced to come up with a military option that will result in the death of one group. Naturally, Daniel is against this and risks his life to execute a plan of his own that he hopes will result in a peaceful solution. Shanks was fascinated by what viewers had to say.

"I read some fans' responses on the Internet about Jack's point of view," he says. "They felt he was a bit hasty when it came to his decision to wipe out the Gad-Meer people, and I disagree. That's totally in character for O'Neill to take an approach like that, especially if Daniel's option failed. Something had to be done. It's easy to look back now that we know Daniel succeeded and ask. 'Why was Jack so eager to blow them up?' Let's say my character failed. What would these same fans say then? Probably, 'Why didn't Jack do something?' I love it when our writers take two characters with such opposing views, like Jack and Daniel, and pit them against each other. It not only makes for interesting drama but also a neat moral debate topic for the viewers."

Another of the actor's favourite Season Four episodes is The Curse, in which Daniel investigates the death of an old colleague and friend and is almost killed by a 10,000-year-old Goa'uld named Osiris. This story was, in fact, a result of Richard Dean Anderson having to take a short trip out of town. In his absence, the show's producers decided to hand Shanks the ball for the week and he could not have been more pleased.

"Our writers, Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, wrote this story in eight days after being told that Richard was going to be away for most of the week's shooting," says Shanks. "I had a wonderful time working on this one. The director is a friend of mine, Andy Mikita. We had fun going back to the show's Egyptian mythology roots and delving into Daniel's past. Oh, I can't forget to mention Anna-Louise Plowman, who played Sarah/Osiris. She is a phenomenal actress. That lady is going to be a star. She's beautiful, sexy and easy to work with. That's a great combination for an actress. Her character of Osiris is going to make a formidable nemesis for the SG-1 team in the future."

Shanks recently guest-starred in an episode of Andromeda, Star-Crossed. He played Gabriel, a love interest for the show's artificial intelligence, Andromeda (Lexa Doig). He has also appeared on other SF/Fantasy shows including Highlander and two episodes of The Outer Limits, Mary 25 and Manifest Destiny, the latter if which aired earlier this year in the States. In it, his character, Dr Will Olsten, is one of four people who succumb to a deadly virus.

"This was, by far, one of the most interesting experiences I've ever had working on a tv show," enthuses the actor. "That episode was filmed from the point of view of my character a la The Blair Witch Project. Each act was done in one continuous camera shot. If there was a single screw up we had to stop and start all over again. I was so proud of the Outer Limits people for taking a chance like that. Everyone pulled together to get the job done and I was honoured to be a part of the creative process."

Next February, Stargate SG-1's cast and crew will begin work on the show's fifth season, Is Shanks ready for more journeys through the Stargate? "You bet," enthuses the actor. "I started the show when I was 26 and I turn 30 this month. So much has happened and the time seems to have passed slowly, but at the same time it's gone by so quickly. It's had its ups and downs but my overall experience on Stargate has been an extremely positive one."