For 10 years Stargate SG-1 was a staple science fiction TV series, going through several cast iterations and storyline changes throughout its run. Toward its end, it had gotten a bit longer in the tooth. So, I was startled when Michael Shanks opened up about being “surprised” when Stargate SG-1 eventually was canceled by Syfy. However, it’s not for the reason you’d probably guess.
After Richard Dean Anderson and Amanda Tapping hyped more, and many false starts, we finally learned a revival series would be coming down the pipeline. Those involved originally have been understandably emotional over a return, and while we wait for new details, I've been reading about the original show. This tidbit from Shanks really stood out.
I Didn’t Realize The Threat Of Cancelation Was Looming For A Long Time
In fact, despite working on Season 10 at the time, Shanks was pretty comfortable the show would continue moving forward. You have to remember Stargate was a big franchise, particularly after it moved to Sci Fi (which later became Syfy). Stargate: Atlantis was also airing on the network, and the ratings “weren’t that bad,” per Shanks’ own recollection.
Yet, he said in Chevrons Locked the real reason he was so stupefied when Stargate got the axe had to do with the fact he’d been living under constant threat of cancelation since Season 5 – a whopping 5 years before the show eventually was dropped!
When we were finally canceled, I was surprised, because we’d survived so many years. At our own caution, from Season 5 onwards, there was always the threat of looming cancellation. And for the first time, they negotiated a two-year deal instead of the one. I wasn’t even aware that cancellation was possible until I heard it. Especially based on the ratings, which weren’t that bad. They were pretty good considering most of TV had dropped off 25 or 30 percent across the board. I thought we were doing just fine. And then to hear it was a surprise. We thought for once that we were guaranteed and to find out that we weren’t …
Shanks also spoke about his personal trajectory on the show, noting that his own leave of absence in Season 6 had led him to gain perspective on the series as a whole. He’d actually exited (reportedly over creative differences) at the end of Season 5 which coincided with the first time Stargate SG-1 had started dealing with the potential to be canceled. So, by the time he came back, it was a convo every year. It sounds like they were constantly re-evaluating whether or not there was anything new left to explore.
But at the same time, after doing the show for five years, then not coming back for the sixth year, and then coming back to the show, it’s hard to be terribly upset about it, because we had such a wonderful run. I’d been through so much with the show that, as much as there are people out there that believed the show could go on forever, there was always the question of, ‘What territory haven’t we discovered? We haven’t gone over?’ We’ve gone over so much. Part of me felt strangely satisfied and relieved that we were done.
The main premise of the series: Exploring the galaxy and defending it against alien antagonists would remain through the whole run of the show, and the actor is right they covered a lot of material during the 10-season run it eventually got. Outside of the movie and the spinoffs, the OG series got 214 episodes to explore the characters, the rules of the Stargates, and many, many different alien societies. Jack O’Neil even got in some fishing! In short, a lot of ground was covered.
It all worked out in a way that led Stargate SG-1 to remain iconic nearly 20 years after it ended (honestly, the show even recently came up during the Olympics) and 30 years after it began. So, yes, it’s still surprising to hear exactly why Shanks was also shook up when the show ultimately did get the axe, but I’m also glad we got his point of you. You can read more in Chevrons Locked, available on Amazon.
