Chevron six, locked! Chevron seven, locked! Wormhole established!
The SG-1 one team didn’t walk through a Stargate, but they walked across the Westin Peachtree Ballroom stage on Friday 4PM. Each member of the show received resounding applause from the audience, who filed into the room until it was at capacity. The moderator called out each cast member and the character they played, in order of appearance: Teryl Rothery as Dr. Janet Fraiser, Richard Dean Anderson as Colonel Jack O’Neill, Ben Browder as Cameron Mitchell, Claudia Black as Vala Mal Doran, and Michael Shanks as Dr. Daniel Jackson. The moderator had his work cut out for him as the guests haphazardly answered questions from the live audience and the discord with a late caveat that many of the responses wouldn’t be too serious.
Anderson responded to the first couple questions without responding but still talking quite a lot. He fumbled with the microphone and spilled a pitcher of ice onto the table. Hilarity further ensued as he looked to his fellow cast members for information on “Wormhole X-Treme,” the 100th episode and a parody of the Stargate SG-1 television series. One of the con-goers asked his feelings about it. In true Colonel O’Neill fashion, Anderson responded, “I’d feel ducky about it.”
Another question asked the actors, “What aspects of your character did you have the most fun acting, and did you introduce any personality traits that weren’t written initially?” Rothery would’ve loved to have shown Fraiser’s sense of humor but held back due to the doctor’s critical position on the team. Browder just wanted more episodes. Black explained that her character gets to do everything in the show she herself couldn’t do in real life and that excited her.
The fourth question steered back around to Anderson. “What is a moment of kindness that you observed that happened to you or stayed with you (in life or on the show)?” Anderson told a story about a woman he believed to be someone’s mother, who pulled a blue body out from the bottom of a pool and onto the deck and then called a lifeguard who saved the individual’s life. The endearing moment didn’t last as Anderson claimed to have stepped on the blue body at some point, which could’ve been a dolphin but wasn’t a dolphin.
Shanks laughed and said, “I’ve never seen kindness before, and I worked with you people for years.”
Rothery scoffed. “I was kind and got a staff blast to the chest,” she said, referring to the Goa’uld guard’s primary weapon. The audience recalled the episode and laughed.
The cast was then asked about costumes or props they cherished and kept after the final season. Shanks kept the red phone used to call the President of the United States. Black reminisced about two patches specifically made for her character because she wasn’t an official member of the SG-1 team until later. Anderson claimed to take eight pairs of boots and Fraiser didn’t take anything, except O’Neill’s heart.
Anderson teed up for another question, which referenced the “Window of Opportunity” episode in season four. He was asked about his favorite part of the groundhog-like episode to which he responded, “Repeating the kiss with Captain Carter.” Comedic banter ensued regarding other potential relationships between the characters. Rothery had reeled Anderson in a few times, repeating and clarifying questions for him, and keeping him on track every time he asked, “What was the question again?” She and the moderator lost control of the group, and the conversation quickly devolved into Black starting a Only Fans, for which the audience applauded.
The moderator regained control and asked about a prop, character, civilization, or planet that was never fleshed out that a cast member wanted to know more about. Rothery quickly responded, “Janet should’ve had the opportunity to be laid!” The crowd agreed. Rumblings of Dr. Daniel Jackson and Dr. Fraiser sharing several glances throughout multiple episodes surfaced. Anderson threw his hands up and asked, “What about Daniel and Jack’s romance?”
The audience asked the cast about near-death experiences for their characters and which was the hardest to film. Black said her scene involved lots of smoke, which seemed dangerous for a pregnancy she hadn’t told many about. She then learned that a stunt double took her place and was set on fire for the episode, with the correct personal protective equipment of course. Black worried for the stunt double and praised modern day computer graphics that could replace dangerous stunts performed by humans.
Browder shrugged and claimed that plot armor kept him and O’Neill alive, much to Anderson’s surprise. Rothery shook her head and said, “No near-death experiences on the show. No Sarcophagus. No ascending.” She glared at Shanks, who’d experienced all three, including the Sarcophagus, a powerful Goa’uld technology that was used to heal and revive recently deceased people.
Banter between the cast continued until the moderator called the group to order and announced the end of the panel. Friendly boos followed his words before a standing ovation for the SG-1 cast.
