TV Tattler: Celebrity Interviews

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What’s new this season?
We’re delving more into Merlin, Aurthur and the Knights of the Round Table kind of mythology. We’re delving more into the Ori. Obviously there’s a growing concern with what happened with Vala at the end of last season and does she give birth to Uber baby. So you’ll see, but it’s very big. Every episode we’ve done, it’s like, “Oh my God, how do we do this on this budget?” It’s cool to be part of a show that has such great production value.

Do you have a favorite ‘SG-1’ villain?
I always liked Apophis just because he was so arch. He was so almost over the top … he was our first real Goa'uld lord. Maybe because he was my first he’s always going to be special.

What's your favorite episode of all time?
I have favorites from a personal level. Like ‘Ergo,’ shooting with Dom DeLuise was just so much fun. ‘Solitudes’ and ‘Singularity’ for me, early on, were episodes where I got to test my metal as an actress on the show. It’s hard after 206 episodes to pinpoint any one particular episode. But I sort of defer to the fans to tell me what they like and didn’t like.

What do the fans say are their favorite episodes?
They like the group episodes. We just finished an episode called ‘The Quest,’ this massive two-parter, and there are seven to eight actors in every single scene, which is a nightmare to shoot but, oh, we had so much fun. You know, the whole gang is hanging out together all day, everyday.

You do a ton of fan events -- conventions and small, intimate engagements. What's that like?
I don’t do a lot of conventions, especially since I’ve had my daughter. I choose to do very few. But I like the small events because it is more intimate, and I feel like it’s actually an honest opportunity to one-on-one say thank you to the fans because if it weren’t for them, honestly we wouldn’t be here.

Do you have a memorable or weird fan experience?
Entire families will show up at events -- mother, father and kids -- and they all watch the show together … and the mother says, “Oh, you know my daughter’s grades are going up in math,” and the son has a sense of honor about him he didn’t have before. There’s the odd occasion when a fans will come up and just burst into tears, and that’s overwhelming to me. The biggest joy out of it is meeting them one on one and then hearing their stories and hearing how positively it seems to have affected a lot of people. It’s really humbling ultimately.

Would you feel that ‘SG-1’ paved the way for SciFi Channel's success and the ability for it to air other smash hits, like 'Battlestar Galactica'?
I hope so. I hope that it’s because we’ve just kept going and built this amazing fan base. Maybe ‘Battlestar’ came in because ‘Stargate’ is such a success. I have no idea how the whole network thing works. But I’d like to think it’s because this “little show that could” is kicking ass. I meet actresses on other shows who say, “You know, your character was really a forerunner for strong women where they didn’t have to be sexpots on SciFi.”

Your parents wanted you to go into science. Does it count that you play a scientist on TV?
I think it’s helped soften the blow. Hey, I got a series but it’s OK, I’m a scientist. It worked out perfectly -- the best of both worlds.

Is it difficult to recite any of your dialogue? You look like you know what you're saying.
I honestly know what I’m talking about. If I don’t, then I research it so I can understand it in the simplest layman’s terms and explain it to anybody who wants to listen. It would be very easy for me to just learn the words and to just say these polysyllabic words and sound like I know what I’m talking about. I think there would be a sort of deadness there, and people would know I was lying.

What do you think of the ‘Atlantis’ spin-off? Will you do more guest spots on that show?
I’ve already shot an episode of ‘Atlantis’ this year called ‘McKay and Mrs. Miller,’ and I’m hoping to do another one. I like crossing over there.

Where do you see yourself in five to ten years?
I’m not opposed to doing another series. I like the atmosphere, and I like the family dynamic of it. I’d like to see myself directing more, and I would like to branch out and do more documentary type work. I’ll take whatever comes my way as long as it’s interesting and as long as I think the character is interesting and has integrity or something interesting to say.