15 December marks the day one Michael Garrett Shanks came into the world, so taking a brief moment to say…
Best wishes for an awesome day full of all things bright and good, Michael.
And cake.
You must have cake.
If you’ve been on Twitter in the last 24 hours, you might have noticed more than a few tweets hitting the interweebs with the #WeWantStargate hashtage pinned to the posts.
Spearheaded by former “Stargate” writer and producer, Joe Mallozzi, the “Stargate Superdrive” campaign aimed to get the hashtag trending in order to demonstrate to franchise owners MGM that the fanbase for “Stargate” is alive and strong, and ready for new content.
According to the organizers of the campaign - @StargateNow - the campaign, supported by “Stargate” alumni such as Michael, Amanda Tapping, Torri Higginson, Jewel Staite and David Hewlett, trended to #1 Worldwide, and in the US, Canada, Australia and France.
Whether the posting of “Stargate” memories and a call for a new series by thousands of fans will spur MGM to take notice and revive the franchise has yet to be seen, but there’s no doubt the trending campaign proved the strength and dedication of the “Stargate” fandom.
Check out articles about the Superdrive on Deadline, ComicBook.com and Gateworld.
“Virgin River” has been released on Netflix today.
The streaming series in which both Michael and his wife, Lexa Doig, have guest and recurring roles (respectively), is a romance drama based on the “Virgin River” novels by Robyn Carr, Netflix describing the series with the following:
“Searching for a fresh start, a nurse practitioner moves from LA to a remote northern California town and is surprised by what -- and who -- she finds.”
For those looking specifically for his appearance, Michael appears in Episode 6, “Let’s Mingle” and the final episode of the first season, Episode 10 “Unexpected Endings”. (Lexa appears in Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.)
For a quick introduction of the series, check out the official trailer for the series on Youtube.
It’s that time of year when the tinsel is pulled out, the tree erected, and the good folk at the Hallmark Channel starts airing the many old and new Christmas-themed movies they have locked in their vaults, including a handful featuring themes of military family reunions.
Entertainment Weekly has provided a guide to the movies scheduled to air over the festive season. Among them, of course, is Michael’s telemovie “Christmas Homecoming.” The film is scheduled to air on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel on the following days:
4 December at 9pm
9 December at 3pm
17 December at 7pm
22 December at 1pm
26 December at 1am
29 December at 7pm
Keep an eye on the Hallmark Channel Schedule page for any date/time updates, or check your local TV Guide listings.
“Unspeakable”, the mini-series created by “Stargate” writer and producer Robert Cooper, and starring Michael, Shawn Doyle (“The Expanse”), Camille Sullivan (“The Man in the High Castle”) and Sarah Wayne Callies (“The Walking Dead”, “Prison Break”) has been named by the New York Times as one of the Best International Shows in their Best TV Shows of 2019 wrap-up.
The series was based on the book “The Gift of Death” by André Picard, and detailed the tragic real-life events leading to and resulting from the tainting of Canada’s blood supply during the 1980s.
Per the NY Times:
“Unspeakable” is a “straightforward dramatization of an entirely avoidable calamity: the tainting of Canada’s blood supply by H.I.V. and hepatitis C in the 1980s. It can be prosaic and sentimental at times, but its steady, no-frills approach keeps you engaged in the increasingly enraging story.”
Check out the full list of Best TV shows of 2019 on the NY Times website.
You can currently stream “Unspeakable” on Sundance Now and Amazon.
For those of us old enough to remember seeing the film in cinemas when it was first released, it’s hard to believe that 25 years have passed already. But they have.
“Stargate”, the movie that started it all, is now 25 years old.
On the anniversary of the film’s original release date, The Hollywood Reporter has re-published their original review of the movie, their ‘bottom line’:
“A blast from the past in many ways, but it imaginatively employs the latest special effects technology to give audiences new thrills.”
As those who’ve followed Michael’s career well know, the 1994 film from MGM was the basis for “Stargate SG-1” in which Michael played the role of Dr. Daniel Jackson and Richard Dean Anderson the role of Colonel Jack O’Neill, played by James Spader and Kurt Russell in the original big screen film. Running for 10 years and 214 episodes, “Stargate” and “SG-1” also gave rise to “Stargate Atlantis” and “Stargate Universe”, series in which Michael also made guest appearances, as well as the ‘sequel’ telemovies “Stargate: The Ark of Truth” and “Stargate": Continuum.”
25 years on from that first trip through the gate, Happy Anniversary, Stargate!
James Spader (as Daniel Jackson) and Kurt Russell (as Jack O’Neil) in the original “Stargate” movie.
The San Francisco Chronicle has written a tribute to “Stargate” in recognition of its 25th Anniversary - 25 years since Jack O’Neil, as played by Kurt Russell, and Daniel Jackson, as played by Michael Shanks, stepped through the stargate.
Per the website:
“Director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devin may have made their most prominent impact crater on the cultural landscape via “Independence Day” in 1996, but they earned their place in many a heart two years earlier via the charmingly goofy “Stargate.”
Primarily remembered today as the mothership that launched 15-plus seasons of television spin-offs, the original movie was itself something of a phenomenon when it was released 25 years ago.”
Check out the full article on the SF Chronicle website.
The New Yorker has published it’s review of Michael’s latest Lifetime telemovie, “The College Admissions Scandal” scheduled to air this coming weekend, 12 October at 8pm/7pm Central on the Lifetime Movie Network.
The film depicts the real-life story behind the FBI’s Operation Varsity Blues, the investigation into the criminal conspiracy to obtain college admissions on false pretenses.
Summing up the film, reviewer Troy Patterson writes:
“The crimes described here seem heinous because they subvert the founding myths of meritocracy, and this Lifetime movie—with its strokes of low-brow expressionism, its inadvertently funny production values, its clever lead performances—converts the news story into an exhilarating nightmare.”
Check out the full review on the New Yorker website.
Entertainment Tonight have uploaded an exclusive trailer to YouTube for Michael’s latest Lifetime telemovie, “The College Admissions Scandal”, while online magazine Glamour have shared some casting news about the production.
The telemovie is schedule to premiere on Lifetime on Sunday, 12 October at 8pm/7pm Central.
Entertainment Weekly is reporting the news that Michael has been signed to a new Lifetime telemovie, a ‘ripped from the headlines’ drama based on the college admissions scandal, the result of an FBI investigation which uncovered a criminal conspiracy to influence undergraduate admissions decisions at several major universities.
Michael has been tapped to play the role of Rick Springer, the real-life mastermind of the criminal scheme, with Penelope Anne Miller (“American Crime”) and Mia Kirsher (“Star Trek: Discovery”) joining him in roles that are composite characters of those parents involved in the scandal.
For full details, check out the article on the Entertainment Weekly website.
