Jack O'Neill

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Jack O'Neill
Human
OccupationUnited States Air Force
Colonel
Brigadier General
Major General
Lieutenant General
SpouseSara O'Neill (wife in film)/(ex-wife in television series)
ChildrenTyler O'Neil (son, in film)
Charlie O'Neill (son, deceased, in television series)
Accolades

Jonathan J. "Jack" O'Neill is a fictional character in the

MGM's military science fiction franchise Stargate, primarily as one of the main characters of the television series Stargate SG-1. Richard Dean Anderson played O'Neill in all the Stargate media since 1997, when he took over the role from actor Kurt Russell, who portrayed the character in the original Stargate film in 1994. O'Neill and Daniel Jackson
are the only two characters to appear in both the original film and all three live-action Stargate television series.

In his very first appearance in the 1994 film as Colonel Jack O'Neil, the character leads the first team to go through the

Stargate Program
, whose goal is to explore the galaxy and defend against alien threats.

He became less prominent in the

Stargate Command, at the rank of brigadier general, therefore greatly reducing the character's time spent exploring via the Stargate. Anderson chose to spend more time with his family, eventually leaving the show at the start of its ninth season and only appearing four times until the end of the series in its tenth and final season. The character's absence from the show was explained by yet another promotion, to the position of head of the Department of Homeworld Security, as a major general
.

Anderson reprised his role once again in the direct-to-DVD film

Stargate SG-1: Unleashed
.

Character arc

Jack O'Neill is a

Ra, O'Neill and his team return to Earth, while Jackson remains on the planet.[2] Though he and Sara were still together when Jack was initially recruited for his first mission through the Stargate,[3] by the time he returned she had left him.[4]

O'Neill returns to the Stargate Program when the

Office of Homeworld Security/Homeworld Command after the retirement of General Hammond, with Major General Hank Landry taking his position as the new commander of Stargate Command.[9]

In the pilot of Stargate Atlantis, O'Neill convinces

Everett Young body swaps with Colonel David Telford to tell O'Neill about a dire situation in which they find themselves.[13]

Conceptual history

Conception

Air Force Association dinner where he was recognized for the show's continuous positive depiction of the United States Air Force
.

John Symes approached Michael Greenburg and Richard Dean Anderson of MacGyver fame.[14] Although Anderson was never a real fan of the science fiction genre, he believed the original feature film to be a good vehicle for a series.[15] Anderson agreed to become involved with the project if his character was allowed significantly more comedic leeway than Kurt Russell's character in the feature film, shown especially Anderson's flippant and utter disregard for appropriate military protocol and decorum over the series, which contrasted Russell's "by the book" adherence to protocol. He also requested Stargate SG-1 to be more of an ensemble show, so that he would not be carrying the plot alone as on MacGyver.[16] Anderson was part of the main cast from season 1 through 8 and played a recurring role in several episodes each season thereafter. He was influential in the development of O'Neill's character and personality from the beginning. While he praised the work done by Russell in the Stargate film, he said he couldn't be that serious all the time and worked with the writers and directors to give his O'Neill a more lighthearted tone while maintaining the sense of importance the role required. Additionally, he joked that he would never be able to get his hair to stay like Russell's.[14] This "double personality" was also joked in the second season, when Jack introduced himself as: "It's 'O'Neill,' with two 'L's. There's another Colonel O'Neil with only one L, and he has no sense of humor at all." Fans have speculated that the transition is due to Russell's O'Neill still being deeply traumatised by the recent death of his son, while Anderson's has overcome the worst of his issues even if he makes it clear he will never forget his loss.

Development

In

Stargate Command. Anderson continued to appear in a recurring status on Stargate SG-1, albeit with less frequent appearances.[18] He returned for the second straight-to-DVD film, Stargate: Continuum in a brief cameo, and was expected to return for the third movie. Executive producer Brad Wright stressed the importance of O'Neill's presence in the Stargate universe even after the character went on hiatus during the last two seasons of SG-1 when Anderson took a leave from regular acting.[12]

Anderson has also had various guest appearances on the two spin off series' Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe. Anderson had several guest cameos scattered over the first season of Stargate Universe.[19] He is mainly seen in the Pentagon but later visits the Destiny after the revelations about Telford emerge. In total, he appears in six episodes of Stargate Universe, the most of any main actor from Stargate SG-1.

Reception

For his portrayal of O'Neill,

Saturn Award in the category "Best Genre TV Actor" in 1999, and was nominated in the same category in 1998 and 2000. From 2001 to 2005, Anderson was nominated for a Saturn Award in the category "Best Actor on Television" but never won.[20] Anderson was nominated in the category for "Best Male Performance in a 2008 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Mini-Series" at the Constellation Awards in 2009 for his work in Stargate: Continuum (2008), where he reprised his role as O'Neill.[21]

He was presented with an award at the

Air Force Association's 57th Annual Air Force Anniversary Dinner in Washington, D.C., on September 14, 2004, because of his role as star and executive producer of Stargate SG-1, a series which has portrayed the Air Force in a positive light since it first premiered.[22] It was presented by the then-Air Force Chief-of-Staff, General John P. Jumper.[23] Anderson was made an honorary brigadier general.[24]

TV Guide ranked Jack O'Neill #10 on its "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends of All Time" list.[25]

References

Notes

  1. ^ Jonathan Glassneris and Brad Wright (is). "The Gamekeeper". Stargate SG-1. Season 2. Episode 4. Showtime.
  2. Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer (MGM) and Carolco.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link
    )
  3. ^ Stargate [1994] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111282/
  4. ^ Stargate SG-1: Children of the Gods [1997] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0234794/
  5. ^ Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright (writers). "Children of the Gods". Stargate SG-1. Season 1. Episode 1–2. Showtime.
  6. ^ David Warry-Smith (director), Robert C. Cooper (writer). "The Fifth Race". Stargate SG-1. Season 2. Episode 15. Showtime.
  7. Sky One
    .
  8. ^ Andy Mikita (director), Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie (writers). "New Order". Stargate SG-1. Season 8. Episode 1–2. Sci-Fi Channel.
  9. ^ Andy Mikita (director), Robert C. Cooper (writer). "Avalon". Stargate SG-1. Season 9. Episode 1–2. Sci-Fi Channel.
  10. ^ Martin Wood (director), Robert C. Cooper & Brad Wright (writers). "Rising". Stargate Atlantis. Season 1. Episode 1–2. Sci-Fi Channel.
  11. ^ Brad Turner (director), Martin Gero (writer). "The Return". Stargate Atlantis. Season 3. Episode 10. Sci-Fi Channel.
  12. ^ a b "Wright: Stargate movies need O'Neill". GateWorld. May 11, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  13. ^ Andy Mikita (director), Brad Wright & Robert C. Cooper (writers). "Air". Stargate Universe. Season 1. Episode 1–3. Sci-Fi Channel.
  14. ^ a b Wright, Brad; Glassner, Jonathan; Greenburg, Michael; Anderson, Richard Dean; Shanks, Michael; Tapping, Amanda (2001). Stargate SG-1: Season 3 – Timeline To The Future – Part 1-3 (DVD). MGM Home Entertainment.
  15. ^ Harwin, A.J (December 2, 1998). "'Stargate SG-1' teleports into second season of production". The Daily Bruin. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  16. ^ Eramo, Steven (July 2002). "Richard Dean Anderson – Mr Anderson – Colonel O'Neill". TV Zone (Special 46): 4–9.
  17. ^ Gibson 2003, p. 66, p. 117.
  18. ^ Rudolph, Ileane (August 18, 2006). "Richard Dean Anderson Marks SG-1s 200th". TV Guide. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  19. ^ French, Dan (November 29, 2009). "Anderson 'may recur on Stargate Universe". Digital Spy. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  20. ^ "Saturn Awards – Past Award Winners". Saturn Awards. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  21. ^ "Constellation Awards". Stargate Archive.com. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  22. ^ Haugsted, Linda (November 20, 2009). "Through the Wire". Multichannel News. Reed Elsevier Inc. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  23. ^ Thar, Doug (September 9, 2004). "Air Force to honor actor, producer". Air Force Link. Archived from the original on December 30, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
  24. ^ Sokol, Anna. "A Day of Honors". Archived from the original on 8 November 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  25. .

Bibliography

External links