Stargate star Michael Shanks

Watch for sparks to fly between Hawkman and resident costumed hero Green Arrow – and no, ladies, I don’t mean those kind of sparks. Though Justin Hartley was quoted in TVGuide as saying “Hawkman kind of has his way with him and Oliver is not going to let that go too easily.”

If you haven’t been watching, now’s the time to catch up with Smallville. It begins at 8:00 tonight, Friday, February 5 on The CW.

Michael Shanks as Hawkman in SMALLVILLE on The CW. Photo: Jack Rowand/The CW ©2009 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved

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Air Date: Friday, December 11 at 10:00 pm on Syfy

Magnus (AMANDA TAPPING) is reunited with an old friend, Jimmy (MICHAEL SHANKS) who is transporting a valuable elemental Abnormal to the Sanctuary for safety.

But an underground mob accustomed to cashing in on the Abnormal black market, tracks down Jimmy and his valuable cargo before the delivery is complete. Magnus and Jimmy find themselves in a dangerous shootout, determined to save the Abnormal. Will (ROBIN DUNNE), Kate (AGAM DARSHI) and Henry (RYAN ROBBINS) are quick on the scene as backup. Kate proves her worth when she manages to get Jimmy and the Abnormal to safety. But not before taking a shot from one of the mobsters herself.

Hiding out in an abandoned, derelict motel room until the immediate danger of the mob passes, Jimmy tends to Kate’s gunshot wound. With little to do but talk and wait for Magnus to find them, Jimmy and Kate discover an unexpected common history.

“Penance” Episode 209 — Pictured: (l-r) Michael Shanks as Jimmy, Amanda Tapping as Dr. Helen Magnus — Syfy Photo: Jeff Weddell

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Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting, The Full Monty), Lou Diamond Phillips (Numb3rs), Ming-Na (ER, Vanished), Alaina Huffman (Smallville), and David Blue (Moonlight) star in this series about a group of soldiers, scientists and civilians, who are forced through a Stargate when their hidden base comes under attack. Instead of coming through on another planet, they find themselves on the starship Destiny which is locked on an unknown course. Hopelessly lost in space (I couldn’t resist) they must find a way to meet their basic needs such as food and water, all the while battling weekly dangers.

And, despite the fact that they’re trapped on a ship in space, they will still run into guest stars such as Grammy nominated recording artist, Janelle Monáe, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, and Carlo Rota. Sounds rather Gilligan’s Island, doesn’t it?

And speaking of Amanda Tapping, Sanctuary returns for a second season beginning on October 9 at 10:00. Here’s the blurb:

Sanctuary follows the adventures of the always surprising Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping), a brilliant scientist who holds the secrets of a clandestine population — a group of strange and sometimes terrifying beings that hide among humans.

Joining the cast in season 2 is Agam Darshi as Kate Freelander, a con artist and thief who finds herself in an uneasy alliance with Dr. Magnus. Sanctuary also stars Ryan Robbins as tech wiz Henry and Christopher Heyerdahl as the sinister John Druitt.

Special guest stars this season include Christopher Gauthier (Eureka) and Michael Shanks (Stargate SG-1).

Scare Tactics and Destination Truth will also return this fall along with more new episodes of  Warehouse 13 on Tuesday nights and Ghost Hunters on Wednesday nights. In October, music superstar and longtime Ghost Hunters fan Meatloaf will join the team as a guest investigator in a special episode featuring a home in Thousand Islands, NY, one of last year’s finalist locales in the Great American Ghost Hunt contest.

Photos: Syfy

Pictured: Eddie McClintock; Joanne Kelly and Mark Stern, Executive Vice President, Original Programming, Syfy; Co-Head, Original Content, Universal Cable Productions at the imagination celebration and opening of the Syfy Imagination Park at Rockefeller Center in New York City on July 7, 2009 — Syfy Photo: Heidi Gutman

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* Michael Shanks’ signed, personal “SG-1″ scripts (with hand-written notations), plus scripts and call sheets from his appearances on the USA Network series “Burn Notice” and the Fox Network series “24″

* Stargate DVDs signed by the original movie’s stars, Kurt Russell, Mili Avatal, Erick Avari and Alexis Cruz.

* Photos, posters, DVDs and action figures signed by – among others – Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins (“Supernatural”), Jeffrey Donovan (“Burn Notice”),  Jamie Bamber and Katee Sackhoff (“Battlestar Galactica”), Joe Flanigan, David Hewlett and Paul McGillion (“Stargate: Atlantis”), Sean Astin (“The Lord Of The Rings”) and Gareth David Lloyd (“Torchwood”).

* “SG-1″ team and individual photos, DVDs, and more, signed by Michael Shanks, Claudia Black, Amanda Tapping, Beau Bridges, Ben Browder and Christopher Judge, among others.

The profits from this auction will be donated to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. The auction starts today and new items will be added daily for the next two to three weeks. You can go straight to the auction on ebay or visit Michael’s website for more detailed information.

The Cap

On offer here is a Stargate SG-1 tan cap, produced to celebrate the milestone of 200th episode. The cap is embroidered on the front with the Stargate SG-1 moniker, and on the back with the words “200th Episode”.

The cap has been signed by:

* Michael Shanks  – Daniel Jackson
* Erick Avari  – Kasuf
* Carmen Argenziano  – Sel’mak
* Steve Bacic – Camulus
* JR Bourne – Martouf
* Ben Browder – Cameron Mitchell
* Claudia Black – Vala Mal Doran
* Alexis Cruz – Skaara
* Colin Cunningham – Paul Davis
* Peter Deluise – Director extraordinaire!
* Bill Dow – Dr. Bill Lee
* Torri Higginson – Elizabeth Weir
* Tom McBeath – Harry Maybourne
* Corin Nemec – Jonas Quinn
* Davd Palffy – Anubis
* Cliff Simon – Ba’al
* Amanda Tapping – Samantha Carter
* Kavan Smith – Evan Lorne
* Alex Zahara – Michael

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– Richard Dean Anderson (Stargate SG1, Stargate Continuum, Stargate Atlantis) Anderson reprises his role as General O’Neil. O’Neil is the former leader of the elite military team SG-1.

– Amanda Tapping (Sanctuary, Stargate SG1, Stargate Continuum, Stargate Atlantis) Reprises her role as Samantha Carter, an astrophysicist and United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel.

– Michael Shanks (Stargate SG1, Stargate Continuum, Stargate Atlantis) Reprises his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson, Stargate’s archeologist and linguist.

– Gary Jones (Stargate SG1, Stargate Continuum, Stargate Atlantis) Reprises his role as Chief Mst Sgt. Walter Harriman, commander technician of the team.

– Christopher McDonald (Superhero Movie, Rumor Has It) Stars as Senator Alan Armstrong. The U.S. Senator and head of the International Oversight Committee that governs the Stargate program. He is the father to Chloe Armstrong.

– Janelle Monáe (Bad Boy/Atlantic Records) The Grammy® nominated artist plays herself in an upcoming episode. Janelle and her band will perform “Many Moons” and “Sincerely,” two songs featured from her latest album titled “Metropolis.”

– Carlo Rota (24, Saw V) Stars as Carl Strom, head of the International Oversight Advisory (IOA), the civilian oversight committee that heads up the Atlantis Expedition and all funding.

Now all we need is an appearance by John Shepard (Joe Flanigan) along with his faithful companion Major Lorne (Kavan Smith) and I’m good to go.

Richard Dean Anderson as Maj. Gen. Jonathan “Jack” O’Neill — SCI FI Channel Photo: Eike Schroter..

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All your favorites are on board including Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Michael Shanks, and Richard Dean Anderson. Here’s the summary:

An adrenaline-driven, action adventure film, that has members of SG-1 returning to a world where their history has been dramatically altered. Continuum reunites Richard Dean Anderson as Jack O’Neill, with all the series favorite crewmembers. The most northern filmed movie production in history.

Stargate: Continuum features incredible visual effects, out-of-this-world battle sequences and breathtaking scenes shot on the Arctic ice. The film finds Ba’al as he travels back in time and tries to prevent the Stargate program from ever being started. The SG-1 team must somehow restore history and once again save the galaxy from oppressive domination.

Sounds good to me and come on, how cool is Ba’al there, sitting on his throne?

MGM Global Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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If you never bought the DVD, you’ll now have a chance to see Stargate: The Ark of Truth on TV for free. Continuing where Stargate SG-1 left off, this feature film has the whole gang back and searching for an ancient weapon which could help them defeat the sinister Ori force. But hey, you know it can’t be that easy, right?

The new movie stars Amanda Tapping as Lt. Col. Samantha Carter, Christopher Judge as Teal’C, Ben Browder as Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell, Claudia Black as Vala Mal Doran, and Michael Shanks as Dr. Daniel Jackson. Also look for Firefly’s Morena Baccarin.

I reviewed this DVD when it was first released a year ago and I enjoyed it mostly for the great production values. I’m more of an Atlantis fan than an SG-1 fan but I found myself caught up in the story and the action and the soundtrack which is spectacular. If you decide to go back and read my review, be aware that some people found it a tad spoilerish. If that doesn’t bother you, you’ll also find a fan’s extensive review in the comment section.

Stargate: The Ark of Truth airs on Friday, March 27 on SCI FI Channel

Photo: MGM Global Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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With a bigger budget behind them (rumored to be around 7 million) and more time to dedicate to one storyline, the Stargate movies are poised to be grander than ever.  But turning any TV series into a film comes with one inherent problem — how do you keep fans engaged without alienating potential viewers who have never seen the TV show.

Me?  I fall somewhere in between and I probably represent the majority of the audience for this movie.  I’ve seen Stargate SG-1 now and again.  I’m familiar with the basic characters and premise but I haven’t seen a single episode in the past five years.  I do watch Stargate Atlantis on a regular basis, so I’ve got a leg up there.  Keep this in mind as I review the movie.

The overall premise revolves around an Ancient artifact which is reported to contain a relic which will cause anyone who views it to know the truth about the Ori.  That is, they’ll realize that the Ori are false gods and thus they will cease to fight in their name.  This is particularly relevant at the moment because Stargate Command has received word that the Ori followers are about to launch a mass attack on the Earth.  Eventually, the SG-1 team is split into two factions; Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), Vala (Claudia Black), and Teal’c (Christopher Judge) go after the ark with the aide of Vala’s husband, Tomin (Tim Guinee) a follower of the Ori.  Sam (Amanda Tapping) and Cam (Ben Browder) take to the skies aboard the newly outfitted battlecruiser Odyssey with James Merek (Currie Graham) of the IOA along to make things difficult for them.

Confused?  Don’t worry, the DVD comes with a “prequel” that you can turn on or off, which is designed to give you all the backstory you need in order to understand what you’re about to see in the movie.  If you didn’t watch the last two seasons of Stargate SG-1, I suggest you run the prequel twice before embarking on the feature.  Your brain will thank you an hour into the flick.

Though there is a lot of mythology here to be processed, The Ark of the Truth also comes with its share of great action, from space battles, to hand-to-hand combat, to a full on alien attack.  As I watched, I couldn’t help but feel that I was being showered with homages to some of the best Scifi/Fantasy films ever made.  You’ll see shades of “lord of the Rings”, “Aliens,” “Star Wars,” and even a “Terminator” nod that is terribly blatant but awfully cool.

Even without a feature film budget, the folks at Stargate have always done an amazing job with their special effects and here they’ve managed to step it up a notch.  The effects are so natural you forget that they’re effects!  Frankly, it’s a shame this had to go straight to DVD without a theatrical release because the helicopter shots of Teal’c treking through the snow-covered mountains would be breathtaking on the big screen.  (Though I did have the urge to start singing, ‘the hills are alive, with the sound of music. . . ‘)

Stunt coordinator, James Bam-Bam Bamford was along to create a few of his signature fight-scenes and you won’t fully appreciate the fire stunt in the film until you watch the making-of featurette.  Wow.  And again I say, wow.

To really ratchet things up a notch, composer Joel Goldsmith (son of famed composer Jerry Goldsmith) was given a full orchestra and choir for the movie’s soundtrack.  (For the TV show it’s all synthesized music.)  There is nothing like a soundtrack played by a real orchestra and Goldsmith has outdone himself with these epic tracks.  He manages to capture both the futuristic sounds of a space battle and the fairy tale charm of Merlin the Magician.  And I was particularly struck by an almost comic piece of music played during a firefight between the SG-1 crew and the Ori followers — it set the tone quite nicely.  And the use of the use of chanting choirs, eerily brilliant. 

The movie clocks in at just over an hour and half but its loaded with enough plot and action for a half dozen TV episodes.  The special features include audio commentary with writer, director and producer Robert C. Cooper, actor Christopher Judge and director of photography, Peter Woeste, “Stargate SG-1: The Road Taken: Prelude to The Ark of Truth,” The Ark of Truth: Stargate at Comic-Con” (Hey, I was there!) and the behind the scenes featurette “Uncovering The Ark of Truth.”  It also comes with an annoying front load of trailers and advertisements that couldn’t be skipped on my preview copy of the DVD.  I was also surprised by the lack of razzamataz in the navigation screens but I can’t say for sure that these are the screens being used in the finished DVD so I’ll give them the benefit of doubt on that one.

Overall, I really enjoyed “Stargate: The Ark of Truth.” Even though I haven’t seen the show in years, I was quickly pulled into the characters and plots and though I was a bit confused at times, it didn’t effect my enjoyment of the film in the end.  If anything, I’d say it made me want to go back and watch the last few seasons of Stargate SG-1.  I had no idea what I was missing.

If you’re a fan, “Stargate: The Ark of Truth.”  is a must buy.  If you’ve never seen the show but are a scifi fan in general, rent it and give it a shot.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how big a small show can look when it becomes a full-length feature on DVD.

“Stargate: The Ark of Truth” will be available anywhere DVDs are sold on Tuesday, March 11.  You can also enter to win one of three copies of the DVD right here on SFUniverse.  All you have to do is leave a comment on our contest post.

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Stargate Atlantis

Richard Woolsey has often been a thorn in the side of Sheppard and the Atlantis team and I imagine he’ll continue to be, forcing our heroes to “adjust to his unique leadership style.”  It worries me and not in a fictional sense.  Piccardo has always added an element of humor to the series, something he does quite well, but not something I want to see on a weekly basis.  Though it wasn’t specifically mentioned by SCI FI, Tapping’s exit does seem well timed with the announcement that Sanctuary, in which she also stars,  is moving to SCI FI.   

The rest of the cast remains intact and Paul McGillion will return for a five episode arc (never say dead.)  Stargate SG-1 star Michael Shanks will also make a quest appearance and the series will hit a landmark.  During this season, the show will hit it’s 100th episode.  An amazing feat!  Surely The Ancients would be proud.

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