Stargate SG-1’s commitment to authenticity ended with the injury of a famous guest star

This post contains Spoilers For “Stargate SG-1”.

The Stargate series’ commitment to authenticity can be traced back to Roland Emmerich’s eponymous science fiction action film, which I went the extra mile to recreate ancient Egypt. Its hugely popular follow-up, the Syfy series “Stargate SG-1,” also enjoyed its commitment to authenticity, as most of the special effects were realized practically with very little use of CGI. This dedication, while admirable, proved to be a double-edged sword, as it was all too easy for things to become too complex on a technical level. Resulting in production nightmares that pose potential safety concerns.

Marina Sirtis, best known for playing Counselor Diana Troi in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and the four subsequent films, echoes these sentiments. Sirtis made a guest appearance in Season 4, Episode 7 of “SG-1” (titled “Watergate”), in which she played Russian envoy Svetlana Markov. At some point in the story, Markov needs to jump out of the plane alongside the SG-1 crew, so these scenes were filmed under the supervision of real Air Force personnel. This laudable commitment to realism did not sit well with Sirtis, as she did He explains How she was injured after being forced to wear truly Heavy canopy:

“At some point, we had to jump out of the plane. And because the SG-1 (crew) was Air Force, and not set hundreds of years in the future, they actually had real Air Force guys as advisors (…) and (Air Force personnel) said, ‘This is a real parachute you’re wearing.’ “You know, everything is original on this show. So, we were practicing jumping out of the plane onto a mattress pad (…) and I was falling like a sack of potatoes onto the mattress. So, anyway, we finally got the shot. And the next day, I can’t move. My back is killing me.”

Sirtis was not necessarily upset by this experience, as her tone throughout the tale was somewhat sarcastic, but she He does You have a point about “SG-1” exaggerating realism for the sake of it. For example, she says the umbrella stays inside the bag the entire time, so there’s really no need for any actor to wear an “authentic Russian umbrella” during the scene. “You could have filled it with newspaper. It would have been 50 pounds lighter,” Sirtis joked, while saying she’s not a fan of strict authenticity on the small screen.

This isn’t the only case where the “SG-1” production crew got out of control. The Season 3 premiere, “Into the Fire,” ends with a tower blown to pieces, but making that happen proves to be more than just a problem. The production crew ended up using more firepower than intendedThe wooden support tower was mainly shattered due to the intensity of the explosion. Fortunately, the crew was surprised and no one was hurt. There was also the time when “SG-1” star Richard Dean Anderson was accidentally stabbed during filming (!), but it was more of an unintended accident than something that could be blamed on a faulty prop.

On the other hand, the series’ design helped craft endearing visual effects that effectively enhanced the quality of its worldbuilding in creating some classic visuals. For example, the unstable vortex effect generated by a stargate (generates Shahosh! sound) in Emmerich’s original was extremely difficult to recreate, But the visual effects team achieved this with the help of an air cannon and a water tank. Now, that’s the kind of ingenuity on set that deserves appreciation.