Michael Shanks lined up for Stargate Universe appearance

The former star of Stargate SG-1, who played Dr. Daniel Jackson, will be popping up in the latest incarnation of the franchise in 2010. Although Shanks makes a cameo appearance in Stargate Universe’s pilot “Air”, his role in the second half of the season is due to be a full guest star spot, similar to his appearance in the Stargate Atlantis two-parter “First Contact”/”The Lost Tribe”.

I’ve got mixed feelings on this one. I’ve still got an awful lot of affection for SG-1; whilst it wasn’t perfect, it was a good fun show, and the cast were one of the strongest elements (with the exception of Richard Dean Anderson, who in S8 started phoning it in to such an extent you could practically hear a dial tone whenever his mouth closed).

Michael Shanks as Daniel Jackson

Yet, whilst I’m happy to see Jackson again, I can’t help but feel that Universe needs to establish its independence a little more. The aforementioned RDA already has a recurring role in the first season of SGU, and I worry that packing it out with too many older characters will draw attention and screentime away from establishing new characters. Shanks himself recognised that a while ago when giving a comment about his cameo in the SGU pilot:

“They’ve got a lot of cast that they definitely need to facilitate. Certainly the Stargate audience knows my character and Richard [Dean Anderson]’s character and Amanda [Tapping]’s character and the others that show up very well. So they have to spend some time developing their world and fleshing out their characters. So I’m just a face.”

Still, I’m going to try and keep an open mind; I’m optimistic that SGU can revitalise Stargate a little more, and if it takes a helping hand from some familiar faces, then so be it.