Stargate Trivia: The Top 10 Running Gags in Stargate: SG-1
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10. Blue Jello
The blue jello predates my involvement with the show. By the time Paul and I joined SG-1 in its fourth season, the gelatin was already de rigueur in most every mess scene, eventually, finding its way to Atlantis as well. So whatâs the deal? Search me. I seem to remember someone saying it was simply something the prop department whipped up one day that stood out, both for its neon properties and sheer ridiculousness, quickly becoming a comically beloved visual staple.
9. OâNeillâs obsession with The Simpsons
OâNeill was full of Simpsons references and an admitted fan. Why? Well, because most of the showâs writers were fans as well, although nowhere near as huge a fan as Richard Dean Anderson. How big a fan was he? So big that he attended the table reading of a Simpsons episode and was totally blown away by the experience. Occasionally, he would even bring his daughter by my office to check out the various Simpsons-related dioramas and action figures that bedecked my shelf. Eventually, actor Dan Castellanetta guested on the show (Citizen Joe) and he and Rick hit it off. They had a great time working together and, months later, Dan showed his appreciation by writing a Stargate/RDA-themed Simpsons episode to which Rick lent his voice talents.
8. Pineapples
If youâre watching Stargate and ever happen to catch sight of a pineapple, thereâs a good chance the episode youâre viewing was directed by long-time Stargate director Will Waring. The pineapples were his signature visual. More often than not, however, the fruit were so carefully camouflaged, most viewers would be hard-pressed to notice them. Still, thereâs plenty of fun to be had in trying. I once asked Will âWhy pineapples?â and he told me that on one of his first productions, he was camera operator on a scene involving a high speed chase. For some reason, he put a pineapple in the carâs back window as a gag â and then forgot to remove it for the actual shoot. As a result, for the entire high-octane chase sequence, thereâs a pineapple clearly rattling around in the back window of our protagonistâs car. Nobody noticed â until the dailies. The director was livid and was prepared to fire Will â but the producer LOVED the pineapple gag. Will got to keep his job â and the signature pineapple was born.
7. The Big Wrench
Where Will Waring had his pineapples, director Martin Wood had his big wrench. Youâll often spot it in the background, in the hands of longtime Stargate SG-1 Fight Coordinator Dan Shea (Sgt. Siler), as he makes adjustments to equipment or simply walks around with this huge, oversized calling card. Every once in a while, Martin would get into the big wrench background action as well, donning the persona of his onscreen alter-ego, Major Wood.
6. Peter DeLuiseâs Hitchcockian touch
Whereas Will had the pineapples and Martin had the big wrench, director Peter DeLuise hadâŠPeter DeLuise. Before he was a director, Peter was an actor, and so it was only natural that heâd take a page out of Hitchcockâs book and make himself his own visual signature. He appeared as a host of background characters and played the part of the young Urgo opposite his father Dom. Even in the most challenging of episodes, Peter found a way to make his trademark appearance. Once, we thought heâd missed his cameo â only to discover heâd found an ingenious way to make a subtle appearance. In one scene, as Tealâc sits in his darkened room, deep in meditation, we pull back to reveal he is surrounded by candles â several of which are assembled to spell out the initial âPDâ.
5. Jonas Quinnâs voracious appetite
Actors have their trademark âbitsâ as well and, for Jonas, it was food. Whether it was buttered toast in Night Walkers or the infamous banana scene in Descent (which, incidentally, ran about three minutes long in the directorâs cut), he was always snacking. But he crossed the line in one episode where he showed up in the gate room sipping tea from a mug and had to be reminded â the tea mug was another actorâs trademark âbitâ (see below).
4. Magnets
Every once in a while, whenever Carter tried to explain some scientific or technological wonder, Jack would try to tie it back to magnets. What was the deal with OâNeill and magnets? Well, this one was compliments of Creator/Executive Producer Brad Wright who once had someone pitch him some ridiculous scientific theory. When a dubious Brad asked him to clarify the faulty science, the other individual shrugged and offered: âMagnets?â. It eventually became the stock response to every befuddling question of logic.
3. The Wizard of Oz
This was another running joke that predated my involvement in the production but SG-1 was peppered with references throughout its ten-year run, culminating in the Wizard of Oz sight gag in the showâs 200th episode (200). Of course, by that point in the series run, the line-up had changed, offering a slightly altered version of the originals: Carter as Dorothy, Daniel as the cowardly lion, Tealâc as the tin man, and, of course, Jack as the scarecrow.
2. Indeed
If there is one word that perhaps appears in more episodes of Stargate than any other (beside, maybe, âstargateâ), itâs âIndeedâ, Tealâcâs short and sweet one-word response to most anything he is asked â and sometimes not. Actor Chris Judge even took to inserting the odd âIndeedâ on occasions where it hadnât even been scripted. I knew weâd reached the point of no return when, while watching dailies one day, we watched as someone asked Tealâc: âHave you seen him?â to which Tealâc replied: âIndeed â I have not.â
1. What the hell is in OâNeillâs cup?
Seriously. This one is fairly subtle but after noticing it for the first time, you'll always see it. Whenever Jack has a cup or mug in his hand there will come a point in the scene where heâll glance down, frown, and then attempt to pluck some mysterious foreign object out of his drink.
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To celebrate FESTA, I wanted to share my latest jacket inspired by debut Bangtan. I wish I had been there when it all started, but Iâm so grateful to be here now and for the rest of my life. (This is part of my Baltimore concert fit so if you see me, come say hi!!) đ @bts_bighit
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@joselyinechap What's even worse is im pretty sure her name tag on her shoulder says she's an ARNP which mean she's in the medical field...she has to know what texting and driving can end up being when it goes wrong in the worst ways. This is just negligence and idiocy
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