Why Christopher Decide By no means Directed An Episode Of Stargate SG-1

Christopher Decide was arguably essentially the most recognizable facet of “Stargate SG-1.” As a ’90s child who remembers the present being on-air across the late-90s/early-2000s, I can say that whereas I knew nothing concerning the present itself (my solely information of the franchise was Roland Emmerich’s 1994 “Stargate” film ) I vividly recall the picture of Decide’s Teal’c and his golden brow tattoo. The Jaffa warrior and his distinctive look was simply a part of the final cultural surroundings of the time.

Now, having grow to be extra aware of “SG-1,” it is grow to be clear simply how essential to the collection Decide’s character was. Decide was a collection lead however he additionally wrote three episodes: season 6’s “The Changeling,” season 7’s “Birthright,” and season 8’s “Sacrifices.” He additionally reprised the function of Teal’c in two episodes of the sequel collection “Stargate Atlantis” and within the direct-to-DVD films “The Ark of Reality” and “Continuum.” What’s extra, Decide tried to spearhead a “Stargate SG-1” spin-off that will have delivered what the actor described as “Stargate’s tackle ‘Black Panther.'” That spin-off could not have come to fruition, however the actor clearly felt able to proceed Teal’c’s story and tried to provide followers a continuation that they little question would have embraced regardless.

With all that in thoughts, it would shock you to study that Decide by no means directed an episode of “SG-1.” The actor, who since leaving “SG-1” has grow to be identified for voicing Kratos in two “God of Conflict” video video games, was clearly concerned behind-the-scenes of the present. So, you may count on him to have maybe transitioned from writing episodes to directing, very like Steve Carrell with “The Workplace” or Kelsey Grammer with “Frasier.” Alas, we by no means acquired a Decide-directed installment of SG-1.

Actors directing episodes of their very own reveals is not unusual. Jason Alexander directed an episode of “Seinfeld,” and David Schwimmer directed a formidable 10 episodes of “Associates.” With Christopher Decide having written three episodes of “Stargate SG-1,” it would not be all that shocking to study he directed the odd episode. But it surely appears the actor by no means fairly felt comfy in that regard.

In a 2006 interview with IGN, a yr earlier than the Sci-Fi channel canceled “Stargate SG-1,” Decide spoke about his writing contributions to the collection, revealing that he’d began penning scripts again in his faculty years and felt extraordinarily supported by “SG-1” co-creator Brad Wright, who evidently inspired him to contribute his writing to the present. Requested whether or not he’d ever take into account directing an episode, nevertheless, Decide was a lot much less enthusiastic. Although he admitted he’d prefer to direct, Decide felt that his relationships together with his co-stars would make it tough. “I do not suppose I might prefer to direct our forged,” he mentioned. “We all know one another so effectively, and we have been doing this for therefore lengthy, that, I, in truth, I simply would not need to direct me.”

Elaborating on his aversion to directing, Decide defined that he and the forged additionally had an “uncommon” course of on set. “None of us take an entire lot of time to arrange earlier than a scene except it is a very emotional scene,” he mentioned. “We prefer to screw round and joke round ’til after the director says ‘motion.'” As Decide noticed it, he probably would not have been in a position to take care of his colleagues’ pre-shoot shenanigans whereas concurrently making an attempt to take his function as director significantly, with the actor noting how the screwball antics might “put on very skinny on the persistence of our administrators.”

Whereas Christopher Decide clearly had reservations round directing, there appears to be slightly extra to his resolution to jot down for the present. Talking to Michael Rosenbaum on the “Within You” podcast, the actor defined how he initially began writing scripts resulting from his need for Teal’c to get extra outstanding storylines. Decide says he approached Brad Wright about giving his character extra prominence: “Brad […] admitted to me that [production company] MGM needed to keep away from that […] he mentioned if you need that it’s a must to write it, so he opened the door to me writing.” 

Clearly, then, Decide was compelled to jot down as a manner of serving to his character achieve extra prominence and extra attention-grabbing storylines. Directing would not essentially assist in that regard, and so it is sensible that that exact job wasn’t of as a lot curiosity to the actor. What’s extra, Decide nonetheless has but to make a directorial debut, regardless of the actual fact he is been working pretty constantly for the reason that present ended (although he does have some recommendation for a possible “SG-1” reboot). It appears directing simply is not one among Christopher Decide’s essential ambitions.