Was Richard Dean Anderson required to make SG-1's humor work? (Clip) 

The answer is YES! The character Jack O'Neill had two unique purposes. One was to add humor in such a way as to ground all the INSANITY around him by stating the obvious. If a 5-headed alien walked into the room, I'm sure Jack would say something like, "Must be one hell of a hat rack back home!". Other characters would accept what they're seeing as norm and proceed with the utmost professionalism. The audience of course would side with Jack's viewpoint. The other purpose of O'Neill's character was that of a techno-babble blocker. It gives a writer a way out for reasons of not wanting to dive deep into the science especially if the audience wouldn't understand it and if they did, try to spotlight the inaccuracies. Jack would always halt the babble mid-tech and command the smarties to talk in layman's terms. This way, the audience could understand it and the Samantha Carters of the world wouldn't have to lose face. As someone watching from home, they wouldn't feel so bad knowing that another character shared the same headache.

I love the show. The main reason I love the show is because of RDA. All the characters on each of the series were great, but Stargate would never had been what it was, and is, if not for RDA and the O'Neill character. He's the man, hands down.

I don't think you needed RDA but it needed someone just like him, so who better than the man himself? Along with the humour, he also brought charm and gravitas to character. I'm sure part of why Ben Browder was chosen is because he could deliver that humour and as much as I watched and enjoyed it until the end, it wasn't the same without RDA.

I never thoughts Jack was *required* to make the show work. All the characters were funny in their own way. Teal'c's deadpan fish out of water, Daniel's impassioned tantrums, Sam's random awkwardness, Cam's ridiculous optimism, and Vala in general. The best humour in the show came from the characters playing off each other. "The Bad Guys" is one of the funniest episode and Jack wasn't even in it.

Stargate was always on TV on Thursdays, around season 8-9-10 they changed the time/days and it was hard to keep up. Television stations had such power to make or break a season by making it accessible. There are some great stories and moments in these seasons but the tv stations (here in Australia) really did the show a disservice in the later seasons. Thankful for streaming services now!

As a Swede, I had watched MacGyver ofc and love it. RDA was awesome in/as MacGyver but I guess (now) it could have worked with another actor as well... When I watched SG1 first time I did watch it mostly because I'm a Sci-fi fan, but sure MacGyver was in it also so that has to be good :-) A couple of more episodes and then I totally forgot about MacGyver, and RDA was O'Neill. And a couple of episodes later I think the show could not be any better mostly because of RDA (and ofc he's character). He seemed (but then again, maybe he was written so well and was such a good actor?) get pretty loose rope on the show. Anyway, I loved all the characters on the show (can't remember anyone that I did not like actually (actor and/or character, maybe Rodney McKay on SG1 but he was my favorite in Atlantis :-) But RDA's humor (and the way he acted with the script or improvised) was so fun and awesome. Ben Browder worked ofc too, but not at all in the same way. And it was a clever thing to make Jack O'Neill a not dumb character but in the company seem dumb not care but get hints now and then that he was not as dumb as he (O'Neill) portrayed himself sort of.. He was sort of smart (but not Samantha level of smarts) but did not want the "hassle" of being looked at as "smart"... Hard to explain. But I love it. But then again I loved McKay also :-) and he portrayed himself as the smartest person on earth (which in some cases he probably was) but was as dumb as a doorbell in many ways... Enough ranting! Love the Stargate franchise (mostly, SGU is not my favorite... still ended to soon)

I don't know if im in the minority, but i absolutely loved the tech stuff, the human ships were soooo fricken cool, especially during combat, nothing was more frustrating in stargate to me than when the team found a really cool advanced technology only to have it taken from them in some way at the end of the episode, although i understand for story reasons why they did that. I still think that stargate can work with earth having some advanced technology and warships, and i think those open the door to some really cool action scenes, Atlantis had some of the best action with the ships, and atlantis being attacked scenes.

I've never watched starwars or Stargate but Rick Anderson rock's, thankyou, Rhonda Brisbane Australia 🦘

I loved and missed Richard Dean Anderson greatly from the show. I continued to watch, but I NEVER loved the show the same, and could miss a show without regret. I found that his character was my "in" to being a part of the team. Just as I missed Doctor Jackson when he left, although I accepted Jonas, it wasn't the same until Jackson was back. I never felt the same about the show after Jack was gone. Even when he showed up once in a while, it just wasn't the same as having him being the leader of SG1 team. I also missed General Hammond after he left to go to DC and Jack became Brigadier General O'Neill. Yes, the show suffered after losing RDA. While it still went on and it was good, it was never GREAT again. Sorry to say, it lost a lot and became a different show all together.

need to now hu put in the line in the Pilot "cant we Macgyver something to work "

David, you are a gift. Keep doing what you're doing my man. Quoting Hammond verbatim from Wormhole Xtreme episode was just..... :chef's kiss:

RDA really made SG-1 *work* as a family friendly adventure show and it seemed to me like the writing of the series was very much geared around his character. But that doesn't mean that a different dynamic with different actors couldn't have worked just as well. I personally feel like one of the mistakes of Atlantis was that it tried too hard to copy SG-1 rather than doing and becoming its own thing. I know SG-1 established a formula that worked, but that formula depended too much on a particular set of actors and characters and sticking too closely to it I'm sure contributed to the show's eventual cancellation. Maybe the SG/ST comparisons are trite at this point, but the whole argument of Kirk vs Picard exists because Picard was a very different kind of character, while on the SG side Shepherd often feels (especially in the beginning) like a low-budget O'Neill. (Shepherd = O'Neill, McKay = Carter, Teyla = Daniel, Ronon = Teal'c, Wraith = Goa'uld) And just thinking out loud here, but if Atlantis had done more to differentiate itself it could have gone on two or more additional seasons.

O'Neill was my favourite character through most of the series (up until the 7th... maybe? I don't remember). And the reason he was for so long, was because of his humour. Even in episodes that he annoyed me, he still made me laugh. I don't think Rick's take on O'Neill could ever be replaced. :)

God, I miss this show

*#DavidRead** I really enjoyed this interview, it was excellent. Thanks again Mate*

I like them all. Sean

There's no other actor like RDA. He refused to do the science gibberish or as he liked to call it, the "gobbledygook". He cracked good jokes and was a good actor. I don't know if anyone else would've done what he did, the way he did it let alone as well as he did. So, yeah I'd say RDA was required to make it what it was. Anyone else and it definitely would've been very different. The first thing that comes to mind when I think about SG-1 is RDA's humor. As far as I see it, he's as important as the gate....and Walter.

"Carter, I can see my house!" I liked the new actors. I hate resets. Continue to grow and develop, don't recycle. Stargate was always the best at the ongoing storyline that grew organically out of what came before, and that, more than anything else, was why in my head it's a completely real parallel universe.

As I understand it, iirc, it was RDA that wanted to inject humor into the series so that the atmosphere of the show would be lighter than the more serious tone of the OG 1994 movie & the same but serious character that Kurt Russell portrayed. I liked both the movie & the series. Speaking of a new movie, it has been said that a potential upcoming movie trilogy by the original creators of Devlin and Emmerich that was planned did fall apart, so now it seems we are back at square one as far as the continuation of the original movie is concerned, with the possibility of mixing in the canon from all 3 of the Stargate television series.

yesss!!!

Awesome 👍✨🛸✨✌️

There aren't many shows that can write and publish an awesome series finale and then come back after it to continue a great show, let alone for 2 more seasons, but SG-1 did and it was good

At the start SG1 was what SGU eventually became, very serious and dark etc

I loved the human starships engine sound of Daedalus for instance. It sounded like a cool techno/house party is on its way.

I think it´s safe to say that without RDA, then Captain Sam Carter´s remark in the very first episode, about MacGyvering something, wouldn´t have had quite the same impact.

YOU BETCHA

About Area 51, wasn't there some fuss about the Rogue NID storyline? I had heard that the USAF patches were introduced as a bit of an apology for that.

Yes. RDA was necessary. Humor in SG1 was humor of opportunity. Often times intended to be accidental. It was very seldom overt. No original team member of SG1 would be characterized as having had “a sense of humor”. What we, the audience, found funny the characters did not. We laugh,… but they had a straight face. Seasons 9 and 10 characters were slightly more overt and often laughed,… but seasons 1 through 8, ...not so much. As a matter of fact, they rather frowned upon other characters who were trying to “be funny”. It wasn’t appreciated. These were serious professionals conducting serious missions with serious consequences. What we remember (or refer to) as being “humor” in Stargate SG-1 was actually what we would more accurately call cute, ironic, sarcastic, or comfortably endearing. A very special kind of “smart humor” that left us smiling long after the laugh had faded. Jack had that special “I just don’t care. I know you think I do,… but I don’t” attitude. And after everything he had seen,… Everything he had done,… And everything that had been done to him,… His “mouth with no filter” and smart-ass sarcasm was priceless.

Forest ruined the 3rd season of the Shield (which was shocking, I’d been a fan of his up until that point). I’m thrilled he didn’t have the same effect on Stargate. Cool he was a devoted fan, though! Glenn Close for the new series, pls! Lol

I remember the promo about whether you preferred your gate in red/orange or blue. :)

"In the middle of my backswing?!?!" Brilliant. Having grown up with Magyver there was no one better, however who was it thought of Browder and Black?? Ah fer cry'n out loud...they were fresh out of Farscape and how they ever kept straight faces is the stuff of legend....'course jack matured by Universe which is still unfinished.

@4:10 was king harry influenced by Star Treks "I Mudd"?

Jack O'Neill was who all of the Martin Lloyds in the audience thought of as most like them.

SG1 ran on sarcasm fuel.

8:15 💯

I think if they would have done season 11, with regards to the question about Earth's technological level, it would be easy to take notes from Star Trek (which the show has done multiple times anyways): The federation is very advanced, but there are always some phenomenons or alien technologies that they have not even considered, making their tech useless. So even if the Ancient and Asgard tech is so advanced, there certainly must be limits. Dealing with the wraith alone was almost impossible even with all that tech at their disposal.

-while it might seem to be a full solid , on a molecular level it's actualy quite empty -so.. like a chip bag ? -wel...well yes exactly ! sir...

Too bad they couldn't get Gary Burghoff to come in and work with Gary Jones' character Walter. Perhaps as his dad or something.

You asked about where the show would go now that Earth had gotten so much cool space tech. Spin off a new series that's more philosophical or political drama. "Humanity being the 5th race and the heirs of the Ancients and the Asgard now finds itself struggling to be a stabilizing influence in a galaxy now rife with turmoil after the fall of the Goa'uld." Maybe appoint Daniel Jackson as diplomatic lead with the goal of forming a "Galactic Council" or something - The West Wing meets Andromeda with Stargates. SG-1 kinda explored galactic politics a *little bit* with a few episodes of the Free Jaffa and the Lucian Alliance before diving into the Ori plot, but I think there was plenty there to build a whole new series off of.

Re Earth's advanced tech: As in D&D, when your character levels up a good DM throws tougher monsters at you and gives you more demanding quests. The godlike Ori were as nasty as the Goa'uld or the Wraith but weren't as much fun. Having a corporeal enemy that you can hack, or shoot, or vapourize, or blow to pieces is so much more satisfying than a ghostlike creature. Further, the motivations of the Goa'uld and Wraith were more relatable than that of the Ori.

Well Janus from the comics would be nice at 11 season

Required... no but Jack's character made SG-1 campy and that's the show we fell in love with. I dont think another Stoic (Kurt Russel) character would have worked because Tealc did the same thing, but a different actor could have owned the role in a different way. Joe Flanigan played the same character and wasn't nearly as campy but was still a lovable character imo.

Jack: Daniel? Daniel: Jack? And then there is cake...

While it wasn't necessary, he did help.Quite a bit. Characters are what drive shows. Great C characters can make great shows better

RDA was the linchpin to Stargate SG-1. The team was well balanced. Raiding Farscape to prolong Stargate SG-1 was a mistake because Farscape had more longevity to it. It could have run longer. SG-1 had run it's course.

*For me I didn’t want the charioteer O’Neill/RDA to leave the show. Read the comment below this **#DavidRead** if you will*

RDA made the show accessible with his humor and delivery. And he added the gravitas and charisma too. he was the whole package. The problem I had with the Mitchell character was that he didn't standout at all. The writers and directors tried to make him too much a copy of O'Neill with style of humor. IT DIDN'T WORK. Not for me because he wasn't unique like all the other SG1 characters. Even Jonas was different from Daniel and grew on me. Mitchell never did, he was a poor O'Neill copy. The actor didn't have what RDA had, the charisma and presence. Captain Picard worked because he was an original and different from Captain Kirk. And he was great stories that made us care about his own story. Same with Sisko and Janeway. I wanted to like Mitchell, but he just annoyed me. He really wasn't interesting to watch. Seasons 9 and 10 were very hit and miss. SG1 story truly ended when Jack left, IMO.

Send a Stargate to Area 51, get it lost in the mail

Yes, He made the show a success and it was only measured against his O'Neil that the other characters had any interesting qualities at all. For example, Kurt Russell's Jack from the movie would not have worked in the series, RDA gave us the necessary O'Neil required for the show to work.

Kind of hard to say, really. One one hand, you could have had ANY actor do the job as far as simply needing somebody to be a bit "dumb" scientifically, but "wise" in leadership and getting an overall "concept" of what the science/history parts were trying to accomplish. The general "laymen terms" character is easy to pull off, especially when they can get across the science stuff and go "so, a big bang, right" and the scientist who just used all these technical terms can reply with "very big bang, sir". But on the OTHER hand, you NEEDED to have RDA involved because of his sense of humor and ease of making fun of his own shortcomings in the science and history sections of the story. Example: Red Sky, when Carter is trying to explain how the plan to use the Stargate path to leave an element in the sun and Jack points out the need for another gate to complete the connection and Carter says "You are right for a normal connection". She continues to explain how they were going to cut power to stop the flow to the other gate before it connects, and ALL Jack can do is look at Hammond and go "I was right". You NEEDED someone like RDA to do the whole "ha ha, I'm so proud of myself for finally getting it" that he MISSES the overall plan trying to be put into place. And does it while looking at Hammond trying to get Hammond's praise for getting it right, but Hammond is too busy hearing the rest of the plan to pause JUST to give Jack the credit of being right that it completely throws Jack off his game and he looks around like 'wait, what did I just miss" when the scene ends. THAT type of stuff, you DID need RDA involvement because it was basically RDA playing RDA. Other actors might have been able to do the scene in the same way, but it would have felt as if they were TRYING to act a part, not BE a part.

My vote is no. I think Atlantis was decent and had its own approach. Flannigan took some of RDA's advice to avoid the technobabble, but he wasn't RDA, yet his team worked well enough. In fact, most of the wives in our social group preferred Atlantis to SG-1 whereas most of the guys preferred SG-1. There are a fair number of folk that want their scifi served up with humour (ex: Firefly, Farscape, SG-1, Atlantis) but there are more dramatic works with more tension and less humour (Expanse, Dark Matter, BSG Reboot). Throwing comedy in those places, if it wasn't dark comedic wisecracks, would take from the tension.

Not going to get into specifics, but on the question of why "Area 51" isn't really discouraged in media, like SG-1 for instance, is that what the Groom Lake facility (it's real name) is used for has nothing to do with aliens or super-advanced technology. So the US government is pleased as peaches for it to be used as a stand-in for "super secret all-encompassing place" in media. In reality, Groom Lake is little more than a rocket, missile, and mostly air tech test bed. And while obviously secret, it's location has more to do with not killing civilians with bad ideas gone wrong than actually hiding much. Any idiot world power can pop a satellite in orbit on that trajectory and see what they need to see if they are able. IF the government knew of any aliens, there are far too many super nerds and SG-1 fans in it to let it be a secret more than a day. Trust me on that one.

If it returned i think it wold work better to forget huge universe changing plit devices likecascendents ori etc and concentrate on stand alone political stories with limited vavailable vtechnology eg no wide availability of zpms or supergates. More intrigue along battlestar lines but still with tactical action like a western or serendipity.

Oh come off it. Vala was incredibly funny. Humor after my own heart. Jack on the other hand had that "I'm dumb and I know it." humor that didn't sit well with me. The only thing that could've been better is if the ship designers used more safety fuses on the explosive circuits. :)

No..didn't need macgyver after say...season 3...

If they didnt use him they might always mc Guyver anothervto fill the place

The show pretty much died after season 8... Just wasn't the same anymore, I think they should of just ended it there and focused more on Atlantis.

No. Season 9 was absolutely worse. I'm not saying that the show fell apart because he left, but the show got worse after he left.

No crap 💩 about area 51 cause of plausible deniability.

Without Jack O'Neil the dynamic would have been all wrong and Carter couldn't gave carried the show. It would gave gone woke before woke even existed and it would have killed the show instead of running for 8 seasons plus 2 more with a new lead cast stolen from Farscape.

The show would not have been the same without Jack O'Neill. In fact there's another Jack O'Neil with one L and he has no sense of humor at all