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Daniel Jackson is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation while visiting an alien civilization that is building a weapon of mass destruction.
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PRODUCTION
Actor Michael Shanks ("Daniel Jackson") spoke to TV Zone magazine about his departure from the show: "There were a number of agendas that had to be solved. Not only did they need to finish off Daniel's journey, if you will, but they also had to introduce a new character. With so many things going on it wasn't really clear why Daniel was being written out in this fashion. I thought there was a bit of chickening out with how it all happened.
"The big problem, I think, was they were so intent on saying to the audience, 'Daniel's not dead!' This was mainly for the benefit of the same viewers who apparently got so upset last season when Martouf was killed off in 'Divide and Conquer.' The powers that be wanted to quell any backlash that might take place with the fans concerning Daniel's departure. What they ended up doing lessened the impact of his leaving. They didn't give the viewers a chance to grieve the 'passing' of the character.
"Of course, the dual storyline involving the new character didn't help either. Having said that, I understood why it had to be done, and in all honesty unless I can think of an alternative way of handling something I usually keep my mouth shut and don't gripe. So I didn't really protest and just figured, 'OK, fine.' I knew it was the end of the road. I didn't mind the story. I just wished there was a better way that it could've been done, but that's neither here nor there at the end of the day.
"On my very last day I worked only with the actor that was going to be replacing me, which was a bit ironic. The day before, though, was different. It was my last one working with Christopher and Amanda. We spent a lot of time talking about where we had begun, where we'd ended up and the unfortunate circumstances that led to this particular point. So it was a very emotional day. Funnily enough, I felt more like the dying guy who had to make certain that everyone else knew he was going to be OK. I was being more of the comforting person in the situation."
(TV Zone magazine interview with actor Michael Shanks [issue #146 - December 2001])
Amanda Tapping ("Samantha Carter") also spoke about the episode, and one touching, impromptu scene that didn't make it into the final cut: "I want more with Janet and I want more with Teal'c. ... We've been talking for three years about that, and in fact in 'Meridian' there's a scene. There is a scene where I'm coming out of Daniel's hospital room and Teal'c is about to go in, and the scene is written that Carter and Teal'c pass each other in the hallway and acknowledge a silent glance, and then continue down the hallway. And Chris and I couldn't stop crying for real, so -- and Michael wasn't even in the room anymore, there were just shooting the hallway -- so there was this empty bed and it was symbolic and every time I looked at it I started crying.
"So I turned to Chris and said, 'This our chance. This is our moment to play something organic where it happens. These characters care about each other and we're losing one of our best friends.' So what we did -- and the cameras kept rolling, and it was just so beautiful and so spontaneous -- is I walked out and he's standing there, and he's like 12 feet tall. I just rested my head into his chest and cried and he put his arms around me and I cried and he did his 'Teal'c, I'm about to cry' thing. And it's so moving when he does that, and then we released and I kept walking on down the hallway and he steeled himself and then went in to the hospital room.
"And they cut that, for reasons of timing -- whatever, whatever. I thought that would have been such a crystal clear solidity for that friendship."
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VOTE!
How would you rate SG-1's "Meridian?"
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SCORE:
7.70
Good
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PROMOTIONAL PHOTOS:
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SCREEN CAPTURES:
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