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 06 FEB 04:
SHOWRUNNER ROBERT COOPER ANNOUNCES MAJOR CHANGES FOR SEASON 8
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 In
an interview for British scifi magazine dreamwatch, executive producer,
writer and showrunner Robert C. Cooper revealed that Jack O'Neill will
be promoted to general, leave SG-1 and take command of the SGC for the
show's 8th season. Actor Don S. Davis, who plays General
Hammond, won't be a series regular. Cooper was unable to
confirm if Davis would make a guest appearance in season 8.
Cooper stressed that lead Richard Dean Anderson's character Jack
O'Neill would remain a key player in Stargate SG-1. "I
think there has been some concern from fans that SG-1 won't be the same
and the four-core team won't be going through the gate together," says
Cooper. "The fact of the matter is the stories for the series are
still going to be about the four leads of the show. While
technically O'Neill is not on SG-1, his character as the general will
probably take a more active role in the field. He will still be
going on missions with the team. And the stories will very much
centre around the four core characters."
However, sources have revealed that Anderson's filming schedule is
significantly reduced from even that of Season 7, with Stargate's lead
only available for filming three days in every fortnight. Without
going into specifics of Anderson's schedule in the interview, Cooper
does note that the promotion of the O'Neill character will allow the
writers to deal with the situation in an upfront way.
Cooper also reports that the first five scripts of Season 8 have been
written, with storylines for fifteen episodes now in place. A new
villain will be introduced but no new regular character as SG-1's
fourth. He feels that the way the stories are developing, it
isn't necessary.
 In
other interviews, Amanda Tapping has revealed her desire for Sam
Carter's boyfriend Pete Shannahan to return in Season 8, while
Christopher Judge revealed to Shanks-Judge convention attendees that
Teal'c will have hair. Michael Shanks noted that there will be
lots of Teal'c in Season 8 and Judge himself will be writing an episode
which will feature a marriage, a death and a family reunion.
There is no news at this point of any Daniel stories.
Cooper feels the biggest challenge facing the production is to not only
match but exceed the standard of quality they've established for the
series, noting that while fans resist change, it's change that has
allowed the series to live on as long as it has.
Extracts from "Lord of the Ring" by Chloe Richards, dreamwatch #114
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© 2004, dreamwatch. All
rights
recognised. No copyright infringement intended.
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