Michael Shanks Movies

Called back to active duty by Gen. George Hammond (Don S. Davis), Col. Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) emerges from the retirement he'd imposed on himself after vanquishing Ra, despotic leader of the hideous Goa'uld race, in the "alternate universe" planet Abydos. Word has reached Hammond, head of the top-secret Stargate project, that O'Neill's former associate Dr. David Jackson (Michael Shanks), who'd discovered that the universe is festooned with Stargate "portals" enabling alien civilizations to pass from one plane of reality to another and back again, and who'd evidently perished during the battle with Ra, may still be alive. Blasting off from Stargate Command's headquarters in the Air Force's Cheyenne Mountain Complex, where the Earth's Stargate is located and carefully guarded, O'Neill and his Stargate 1 team, including scientist Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) manage to cross over into Abydos and rescue Jackson from Ra's vicious successor Apophis (Peter Williams). Armed with a map drawn up by Jackson, the SG-1 personnel dedicate themselves to journeying to as many Stargates in the galaxy as possible, the better to protect a variety of alien races from hostile invasion. And thus begins the first season of the enormously popular cable sci-fi series Stargate SG-1. Before long, O'Neill et al. have taken on a new ally, Jaffa soldier Teal'c (Christopher Judge), who refuses to fall in line with his people and blindly accept the Goa'uld as gods. Though Teal'c seems to be trustworthy, the rest of the crew cannot forget that he, like all Jaffan males, carries a larval Goa'uld in his stomach. The SG-1's intergalactic perambulations brings the team in contact with the Shavadi warriors on the planet Simarka; with planet P3X797, where a strict caste system is determined by who lives on the "dark" and "light" side of the plane; and with Samantha Carter's former lover (played by William Russ), who rules Kurtzlike as a god on a faraway planet. In one startling episode the entire crew is actually killed by the predatory Apophis, only to be brought back to life by the invisible Fenri race. Elsewhere, O'Neill undergoes an accelerated aging process on the planet Argos; the crew uncovers disturbing evidence of Stargate activation as far back as 1945 -- but they may never live to tell about it; SG-1 takes the first of many trips to the Planet Cimmeria, ruled by Holographic Norse deities; Teal'c tries to save his son Rya'c (Neil Denis) from being inseminated with a Goa'uld larva; Samantha bonds with a little girl who may have to be killed before she can destroy all humankind, and later Sam and O'Neill are marooned on a frozen planet where she is forced to assume command; and Dr. Jackson is whisked into an alternate reality where all the familiar characters undergo radical changes of personality. Season one ends as all subsequent seasons will, with a cliffhanger that will remain unresolved until the beginning of the next season. In this case, Jackson must alert the team of his foreknowledge that Earth is due for an attack by the Goa'uld -- just as the Stargate Project's funding is slashed to the bone by an anti-military politician. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Resolving the cliffhanger ending established at the end of season two, season three of Stargate SG-1 finds evil Goa'uld queen Hathor (Suanne Braun) still trying to win SG-1 teammates Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), and Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) over to her side -- while the team's Jaffan ally Teal'c (Christopher Judge). In the midst of this tense situation comes some good news; Carter's father Jacob (Carmen Argenziano) -- saved from the brink of death when his body became host for Selmak, a leader of the Goa'uld resistance movement Tok'ra -- has now joined his daughter and her comrades in the ongoing battle to protect Earth from hostile aliens who've penetrated the many Stargate portals throughout the galaxy. In later episodes, a killer parasite plunges Jackson into madness and threatens the sanity of the other team members, which may force General Hammond (Don S. Davis) to kill them all "for the greater good"; Hammond himself later becomes a liability to the Stargate Project thanks to a race of "morphing" aliens; the Quantum Mirror, a device introduced during the series' first season, once again causes profound personality changes in the protagonists when they pass into an alternate-reality Earth; and in a plot right out of a WWII spy picture, O'Neill and his crew come face to face with young alien warriors who've been trained to impersonate Stargate personnel for the purposes of infiltration and ultimate domination. Also, Jackson must make a crucial decision about his future after Teal'c is forced to kill Jackson's alien wife Sha're (Vaitaire Bandera). A "necessary" bit of thievery results in O'Neill's resignation in disgrace from the Stargate program -- and into the greedy clutches of con artist supreme Col. Maybourne (Tom McBeath). And in the two-part "Jolinar's Memories," the fate of the crew as they attempt to infiltrate the (literally) Hellish prison moon Sokar is in the hands -- and the mind -- of Samantha Carter. Likewise offered as a two-parter is the season's cliffhanger finale, in which the Earth is once again threatened with invasion -- this time by metallic Replicator bugs. In order to save mankind, O'Neill and the team may be forced into an act of mass suicide! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After recovering an ancient table in a room where three Goa'uld resistance leaders have been found dead, Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), suddenly goes insane. A killing parasite, the anti-Goa'uld technology created by Jackson's "alter ego" Ma'chello, is the cause of Jackson's madness. Soon thereafter, the parasite infects O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), Teal'c (Christopher Judge) and Dr. Frasier (Teryl Rothery), forcing General Hammond (Don S. Davis) to make an extremely difficult decision. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although Stargate SG-1 had only been contracted to run four seasons on Showtime,the series' vast popularity dictated a fifth season--and of course a satisfactory resolution for the "cliffhanger" that had closed out the action the year before. Well, what could be more satisfactory than the death of despotic warrior king Apophis--and with Jacob Carter (Carmen Argenziano), the newly regenerated father of SG-1 crewperson Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), leading the final assault against Apophis and his minions? In fact, the producers of the series were so juiced on this season opener that they allowed to it spread over two hour-long episodes! But though Apophis is gone, the parasitic Goa'uld race is still a menace to those alternate-universe planets on the other side of the Stargate portals throughout the universe, and thus the mission of SG-1 leader Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and his crew is far from over. Subsequent adventures include one which casts the spotlight on longtime series featured player Teryl Rothery), who in her role as Dr. Frasier, aide to Stargate Project head Gen. Hammond (Don S. Davis), must save a modern-day Cassandra (named Cassandra!) from being killed by her own visions of doom. Later, an episode titled "2001 hasn't got much to do with Stanley Kubrick), but instead is concerned with a strange and possibly universe-altering bargain from the hitherto unknown Ashen Confederacy. And in a fascinating, Pirandellian episode, O'Neill must prevent the filming of a TV show about Stargate SG-1. The most significant development of Season Five occurs during the 2-part cliffhanger finale, in which the crew comes to the aid of the planet Kelowna to forestall its destruction. In the course of the action, O'Neill's comrade in arms Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) sacrificially absorbs a fatal dose of radiation--which causes Kelownan diplomat Jonas Quinn (Corin Nemec) to offer his services as an SG-1 team member to compensate for his guilt over indirectly causing Jackson's demise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Inasmuch as longtime regular Michael Shanks has returned to Stargate SG-1 after a one year absence, the series' seventh season opens with the SG-1 crew, headed by Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), literally bringing Shanks' character Daniel Jackson back from the dead, rescuing his soul from the City of the Lost. Although he has no memory of his past life, Jackson proves indispensable to the team during their showdown with all-purpose villain Anubis (David Palffy). In the course of the action, the crew becomes separated from Jackson's temp replacement Jonas Quinn, who won't show up again until midway through the season (actor Corin Nemec is no longer a regular, and will hereafter be billed as a "special guest star"). In later episodes, Jack regresses to a teenager thanks to a cosmic disturbance involving alien abductees. Jaffan crew member Teal'c (Christopher Judge) must save his son Rya'c (Neil Denis) from a Jaffa death camp--but becomes a prisoner himself; the crew comes across a biodome on a toxic planet, populated by people who may be figments of a computer's imagination; Jackson is possessed by the souls of dozens of hibernating space travelers; the efforts by Sam Carter (Amanda Tapping) to help an alien society enter the "race for space" is compromised by a saboteur; and a virus originally designed to disable unfriendly Stargates accidentally spreads throughout the Gate Network. Also: in the two-part "Evolution", a new enemy race determined to systematically destroy all System Lords appears just as Jack is off elsewhere, attempting to rescue a kidnapped Jackson. A later two-parter, "Heroes, begins with the arrival of a documentary crew prepared to spend a few days filming Star Gate Command--and ends with the unexpected death of one of the series' longest-lasting regulars. And in the season finale, the SG-1 crew must journey way, WAY back in time to retrieve the ancient weaponry required to defend Mankind against the latest assault from Anubis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The discovery of an ancient secret leads to a shocking revelation that may forever alter the course of history in this imaginative entry from the folks who brought you Stargate SG-1. When the SG-1 crew unearths the remnants of what they believe to be the Lost City of the Ancients -- the very civilization that originated the Stargates -- an investigation by Stargate Command leads a new team of explorers to a distant galaxy. Headed by Dr. Elizabeth Weir, the explorers soon discover the deserted remnants of a highly advanced civilization settled on the ocean floor. When the daring explorers make contact with a group of nomadic humans, the discovery of an otherworldly enemy that feeds on fear offers a grim foreshadowing of things to come for the human race if they don't band together and fight the dark force that threatens to consume them all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An angry swarm of genetically enhanced wasps challenges humankind's comfortable status on the food chain in a director Paul Ziller's tense tale of bugs gone bad. Having escaped from the laboratory where skilled scientists had been attempting to concoct a powerful pesticide specifically designed to kill wasps, a vicious swarm of experiment subjects quickly begins reproducing and soon descends on a small Midwestern town. When fly swatters, bug zappers, and even the most powerful industrial-strength pesticides fail to rid the terrified town of the deadly flying menace, it's up to scientist Kent (Michael Shanks) to come up with a more effective means of beating nature's wrath. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The irrepressible Stargate team faces their biggest challenge yet as they set out in search of the ancient artifact with the power to defeat the villainous Ori before they launch a devastating attack on planet Earth. The Ori are determined to exterminate all traces of mankind, but not if Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), Teals (Christopher Judge), Vala (Claudia Black), Sam (Amanda Tapping), and Cam (Ben Browder) have anything to say about it. With a scheming I.O. operative aboard the Odyssey, the final fight for humanity begins to unfold in the deepest reaches of outer space. Beau Bridges co-stars. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The Stargate saga continues as an elite military unit races back to Earth following the mysterious disappearance of two key team members, only to find themselves in an alternate reality where the Stargate has never been invented. Somewhere in deep space, the SG-1 team is in serious trouble. Two team members have vanished without a trace, and now the SG-1 unit's only hope for survival is to get back to Earth as quickly as possible. Upon touching down the team is relieved to be home, but deeply disturbed to learn that the reality they just returned to isn't the same one they departed from. In this reality, the Stargate has never been discovered and neither the government nor the military has never even heard of the SG-1 unit. But who altered the Earth's timeline, and why? Upon discovering that a malevolent alien known as Ba'al has been meddling with the planet's timeline in an attempt to conquer Earth, the team must race against time to defeat the most powerful adversary that they have ever faced. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide