Having been assured by some kind soul that "it always rains in Vancouver and can get cold up in the mountains" it was somewhat of a surprise to drive up in the crew transport to find the location bathed in glorious sunshine and the cast and crew sweltering in the heat. Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson) and Christopher Judge (Teal'c) had their overalls slipped down to their waists and were sharing a joke with some of the make-up team whilst Richard Dean Anderson (Colonel Jack O'Neill) and Amanda Tapping (Captain Sam Carter) waved a welcome from their vantage point perched on a slope above us.

All around the clearing other members of the Stargate team were sitting next to or under some shade patiently enduring the interminable breaks inherent with any kind of film production. Not that anyone was complaining you understand. Certainly not American visitor Sam Jones, he of said Flash Gordon fame. Whilst the LA native spent most of that film bare-chested and clad in very little, today he is encased in metallicized leather and gilded with bronzed make-up. Somehow he manages to look cool, calm and collected whilst most around him, including yours truly, shed layers of clothing to take advantage of the unexpected warmth. "I love doing this show," he announced as he lined up for coffee. "These people are a lot of fun to work with and so acommodating." Jones doesn't do a bad job himself having stepped back to allow some ladies to collect their drinks before him, the poor man was then called back 'on set' to rehearse part of the next scene, on where he had to frog-march the hapless SG-1 team down some rough terrain.

"I'm playing the bad guy in this," he smiles gleefully, "I'm kind of an interstellar bounty hunter who gets entangled with the Stargate guys. Catch a look at all my heavy weaponry." Brandishing a serious amount of hardware, he marches off to join our intrepid heroes who have begun to climb a not inconsiderable slope for the umpteenth time that day.

Although it's barely nine am, the good people that make up the production team have been at work for several hours although you'd never guess it from the amount of enthusiasm generated by executive producer Michael Greenberg. Shouting words of encouragement (well I think that's what they were) to the actors who by this time have scrambled up to their starting place, he paused to explain what was happening. "SG-1 have been captured by an alien who is now taking them through the forest to his base and we're shooting a part of their arrival... We've gone through a few rehearsals, not just to get the actors comfortable but to get the various camera angles right, the lighting right and the cues for the visual effects just right.

When it eventually gets to screen, we'll be viewing this scene in many different way, so each shot has to be planned and executed in such a way as to seamlessly follow on from one another." He points to a couple of television monitors situated just behind his chair. "Go take a look and you can see what each camera is seeing as they come down the hill." Despite the length of time it takes to actually prepare the shot, it's only moments later when director Martin Wood calls "cut" and the cast have yet another oppurtunity to "rest" whilst the equipment is re-set. Amanda Tapping comes straight across to say hello and flops down gratefully onto a stool. She's twisted her foot during the last descent but like a true trooper, she shrugs off any fuss and settles for balancing on ice-pack over the top of her boots.

"Good job these are high and give lots of support," she smiles. "You'd never get Carter wimping out over a turned ankle." We take the oppurtunity then to chat a bit about her continuing role as astro-physicist Samantha Carter and the milestones which have charted her progress to date. "The first season was all about developing the character and trying to figure out who she was and how she reacted in certain situations. The second season was about these situations and now it would be nice to throw some new things into the mix. I had pretty much everything that I wanted to achieve with Carter happen throughout Season two and am now really looking forward to seeing what this year will bring. I still think that I'd like to explore more of the relationships with the team members because they've sort of sectioned us off a little bit.

I'm either with Jack, or I'm with Daniel whilst Jack and Teal'c go off and rage battle, but I don't have much of a relationship that's shown on screen with Teal'c and I'd like to explore that a bit further. What I'd really like to see occur more is that occasionally we get to have some fun as a team. It would be great to see the situation on-screen echo what happens on set." Speaking of the characters she says, "We've worked as a team now from two and a half years and you never see us laugh together or see us being goofy together and I'd love to see moments where we as people have that type of closeness."

Friendship is certainly a key concept across the board at Stargate SG-1. The cast and crew actually spend a lot of time 'hanging out' off-set, quite an accolade for a group of people who spend up to 14 hours a day in each other's pockets. There recently was an "inter-Stargate golf tournament" and unit stills photographer, Shane Harvey, who doubles as a jazz musician when he's not taking photographs, entertained his Stargate colleagues at a club in town a few nights previously. It seems as though Harvey's main job is to wander round the set telling dubious jokes to anyone who will listen whilst taking sneaky pictures of visitors. The continual light-hearted banter between individuals subjected to this treatment illustrates how relaxed they are as a group, and how patient. No-one tried to strangle Harvey, not once.

There were, however, some disconcerted mutterings when first aid/craft service supremo Jack Osterbeck got to ride on the crane with camera operator Chris McMullin. Whilst a production team can come up with all sorts of improvizations when needs must--they cannot do it without a serious amount of sustenance and some concern was expressed as to the future of the episode should Osterbeck decide to change the direction of his career as a result of the experience. Fortunately, once was enough, so everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, secure in the knowledge that tea was in safe hands.

Richard Dean Anderson admits that friendship was one of the reasons he chose to expand the idea for a Stargate series and become an executive producer in the first place. "Mike (Greenberg) and I had been friends and partners a long time--we'd worked together on my last three movies and a series so it was relatively easy for me to combine my acting and producing facets to develop the show. There are four executive producers (writers Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright make up the team) and basically, the philosophy is, the best idea wins. So if any of us get in trouble we can help each other out and if we hit any problems here on the front lines, it's just a matter of referring to Greenberg who knows this stuff." Generously complimenting the director's accomplishments, Anderson insists, "He knows what he's doing. I'm just hanging on his coat tails in many respects."

As far as the performing side is concerned, Anderson is delighted with the way his character is progressing. "We had an unresolved storyline from the movie which concerned the death of O'Neill's son and we very clearly dealth with that and had some closure, for which I'm fairly grateful because it allowed me as an actor to be ready to go in any direction now. I made sure at the beginning that MGM knew when I took the job I was going to bring my own sense of humor to it...you know, cynical, sarcastic, wry and naughty--irreverent, like you Brits."

Another soul with an irreverent view of life is Christopher Judge. As Teal'c he is definitely the most sombre and unfrivolous member of SG-1 team, but as himself has an extremely exuberant personality and a wicked sense of humor. Lounging in his trailer/dressing room which is parked some way from the area where filming is taking place, I innocently enquire what he would like to see for Teal'c in the coming months. His reply is immediate and gives the poor publicist grey hairs. "I want more sex!" he shouts. "Everyone else in the show has had the occasional dalliance, so Teal'c needs to get some." Moving to another part of the sofa, I ask it there is anything else he...um...desires for the character, and with a slightly more serious tone Judge suggests he would like to see more emphasis on Teal'c's intellectual superiority. "The writers have made quite a deal about the fact that I'm a big guy and am highly developed with regard to physical strength, but I would like to see more examples of Teal'c's superior intelligence. This guy is at the top of the gene pool. He was a leader amongst his own race. It's about time some of his finer attributes were explored." Although by no means getting on a soapbox here, the actor does thing that often black male actors are cast for what they can bring physically to a role rather than for their cerebral abilities.

"How often do you see the black guy as the leader unless it's some kind of warrior race? The writers of this show have a pretty good handle on bringing in the unexpected so I have a pretty good handle on bringing in the unexpected so I hope they'll bring some of that in for Teal'c. Failing that, I'll settle for the sex." Altogether quieter in his opinions about the future of his character, Michael Shanks appears content with the way things are working out. "The antagonism between Jack and Daniel has evolved into a bit of a closeness now although they still keep at opposite poles and Daniel himself has developed a little more of an edge. There have been one or two dramatic events which have shaped him in different ways [the discovery that his abducted wife was pregnant by their mortal enemy being one] and there's been more of a dark side revealed to the character which I think balances well with the orginial core."

A tiny bit of Shanks's own rebellious side surfaces when the assistant director comes in to the actor's trailer to announce he's needed on set. "You know, all this process," he sighs, referring to the film business, "is not something I'm a big fan of...with all this sitting around and waiting it's difficult to maintain your focus, especially when the hockey play-offs are one. I mean, I even find it hard to get out of the trailer." Sympathizing with his predicament, I suggest he might like to carry a portable television around. Slapping his head with amazement he agrees, "I don't know what I was thinking. It's only for like six months of the year. I'm a star! I'm going to go out there and demand one." Mumbling something about the producers being totally selfish in keeping the monitors on set solely for work purposes, and that they could at least devote one to sport, Shanks insists, "More tantrums are needed. A little bit of attitude." Getting into his stride, he jokes, "It's just too chummy with us--no dirt. What we need is a little controversy. Come back when the show wraps. I'll give you dirt!!" Leaving the man to his ravings I slip into the transport with Amanda Tapping who shakes her head and tuts wisely, "He's tired and emotional," she grins.

Back on set, Richard Dean Anderson introduces us to a second guest star. This time it's Mark Holden, an ex-policeman from just outside Bristol. Asked what prompted such a drastic change in career and location, Holden confides that he took up amateur dramatics whilst still pounding the beat in England but "all my friends and the people who came to see me suggested I take it up professionally. I came out to Canada two years ago to try my hand and have been lucky enough to stay working ever since." The Brit is another who's bowled over by the welcome he received this week. "So often," he confides, "You arrive as a guest artiste and feel very much a spare part, but not on this show. Everyone takes care to make sure you're included in everything. It makes a big difference with how you perform with this kind of atmosphere. It's not just a job this way." Just as well they like him; the last we see of the ex-copper (Korra in the episode) bashed about the baddie then dragged along by two of the Stargate team. Just think of the news headline that could make. Now where's the number from the National Enquirer?