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 13 JAN 04:
ANDERSON AND SHANKS TO APPEAR IN THE ATLANTIS PILOT "RISING"
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MGM announced in early December
that "Stargate Atlantis will debut as a two-hour movie event on Sci Fi
and will feature cross-over appearances by select members of the SG-1
team. The show is based on the well known Stargate franchise and will
premiere in the summer of 2004. Brad Wright and Robert Cooper
will serve as executive producers on the new series. Cooper is
currently executive producer on Stargate SG-1; Brad Wright is
co-creator of the series and served as the series' executive producer
for six seasons."
At the recent French City Con in Paris (Nov 03), actor Michael Shanks
was asked what he thought about the idea of being in Atlantis.
Fans report that he smiled enigmatically and replied, "Yes.
Sure." but did not elaborate.
In December, an MGM source told Solutions, "It appears that Richard
Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks will star in the Atlantis pilot,
but this is subject to final confirmation upon completion of the
screenplay and their subsequent review. Other SG-1 stars may be added
to the pilot, but this could also be dependent upon the content of the
final script."
 Shanks
was interviewed on 11th December for cult radio talk show Sci Fi
Overdrive, his segment airing 12th January. The Sci Fi
Overdrive team asked Shanks about the possibility of his character
Daniel appearing in Atlantis. "I think, um, the last I
heard, there was a strong possibility of both the O'Neill character and
the Daniel Jackson character appearing in the pilot for the spin-off,"
Shanks replied. "Um, whereas everything seems to be in the real
baby stages in terms of creating Atlantis, we're not sure what
the concept is going to be. But there basically is a group of
people are sent off to a completely different universe, and unfolds a
whole different universe of enemies and technologies and races and all
those other things, so I'm not sure how they'd manage to swing our
characters in now and again. But it is supposed to take place in
the same timeline. It's supposed to be around the same timeline
using humans from Earth as well."
Sci Fi Overdrive host Erich Landstrom announced, "This has Spike written all over it!"
In a Yahoo news report from 12th January, Stargate SG-1 star Richard
Dean Anderson said, "The success of Stargate is spawning a spin-off,
called Stargate Atlantis. We're shooting it concurrently and it
will hopefully pick up the ball. I'll help launch it. I'll be in the
pilot but after that I'm done."
Casting
information confirms the presence of Jack and Daniel in the early
scenes of the pilot episode of Stargate: Atlantis. Daniel Jackson
is at the Atlantis outpost in Antarctica with Dr. Elizabeth Weir,
advising the civilian and military teams investigating Ancients
technology. He is joined by General Jack O'Neill, described as a
two-star general, meaning he's been promoted through two ranks.
Jack has to deal with the logistics of getting the Atlantis team from
Antarctica to the SGC, then through the Stargate to the Pegasus Galaxy,
identified by Daniel as the location of the lost Ancients' city,
uprooted and moved from Earth five to ten million years
previously. He also has to convince Major John Sheppard to join
the Atlantis team as he is one of only a hamdful of people who
possesses the rare gene allowing him to interact physically with
Ancients technology.
As Anderson and Shanks play the two original Stargate characters, Col.
Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson, it seems eminently fitting that
they reprise their roles and open the gate on Atlantis as their
characters did in the movie. It's also a smart move on the
part of the Stargate producers, who can bank on the popular two drawing
many Stargate SG-1 fans into the spin-off series. The character
of Dr. Elizabeth Weir will be established in SG-1 Season 7 finale The
Lost City, but the advantage of familiarity will be lost as the role is
being re-cast. Actress Jessica Steen will not be reprirsing the
Weir role in Atlantis.
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