Following its 10th season in 2007, “Stargate SG-1” was cancelled by the Sci-Fi channel. A 10-season run is impressive, though, especially considering “SG-1” was almost axed after season 8 to make way for another series. By season 8, star Richard Dean Anderson had decided to step away from his role as Jack O’Neill on “SG-1,” and a new series seemed like the way to go in his absence. A never-realized spin-off series, entitled “Stargate Command,” would have seen Ben Browder’s Colonel Cameron Mitchell and Beau Bridges’ Major General Hank Landry lead an all-new show that incorporated elements of the original. Ultimately, however, the decision was made to continue with “SG-1,” and ideas for “Command” were integrated into the show’s final two seasons. But this wouldn’t be the first time “SG-1” writers pivoted from their original plans.
Throughout the series’ 10-year run, there were multiple changes and last-minute decisions made that altered the course of the show. For example, the original network, Showtime, initially attempted to shoehorn nudity into “SG-1” but that approach was quickly scrapped after pushback from the actors and writers. These on-the-fly changes also extended to specific characters. Such was the case with Claudia Black’s Vala Mal Doran, who was introduced in the eighth season. Originally set to appear in that one installment, Vala actually came back for a six-episode arc before becoming a regular member of the SG-1 team.
Vala was originally supposed to be a one-and-done Stargate character
Vala Mal Doran was a human with a Goa’uld background who first appeared in the season 8 episode of “Stargate SG-1” entitled “Prometheus Unbound.” She then returned in a recurring capacity for season 9. In an interview with GateWorld during that ninth season, Claudia Black spoke about her return, saying, “I’m surprised to be able to walk onto a set and feel so comfortable.” The former “Farscape” actress praised the “social aspects” of being on-set and recalled how the crew even told her that she would most likely be back after her character survived the events of “Prometheus Unbound.”
According to the Australian actress, whose character ultimately went on to become part of the main cast in season 10, her initial debut on the show was shaky at best. In fact, she revealed that she didn’t even think she’d be able to appear in “Prometheus Unbound” due to her commitments to “Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars,” which was shooting in Australia close to the time she was due to appear on “SG-1” over in Canada. As Black explained:
“It was just lucky timing that I finished my post-syncs for ‘Peacekeeper Wars’ in time to get on the plane with two days notice and get the Canadian work permit and get here. Well, it was lucky the Canadian government is very kind to Australians and they expedite the process because we’re part of the commonwealth.”
Black added that “Prometheus Unbound” was supposed to be what she deemed a “bottle episode,” which she described as an episode with a “contained budget, nothing off-world, no expensive locations” and “just something that was character-based.” Black continued, “I liked that when I first read it, that it was just self-contained story, that I wouldn’t have to get used to the whole world straight-away, and be overwhelmed by it, potentially. Of course, Black would have to get used to the whole world when she returned for her six-episode arc in season 9.
Claudia Black impressed the Stargate SG-1 producers
In her GateWorld interview, Claudia Black spoke about her reasons for accepting the role of Vala Mal Doran, saying that the “Prometheus Unbound” script “was really funny.” She continued:
“I just wanted to make sure that they had the same intentions as I had inferred. And so I spoke to Andy Mikita and said to him, ‘How far can I go with the comedy, because I see some great potential for the character. And he said, ‘Oh, go all the way, honey! Do whatever you want.'”
As such, Vala was very much intended to not only be a one-and-done character, but comic relief for a self–contained episode. Clearly, though, Black made an impression on the producers. In a separate GateWorld interview, “SG-1” co-creator Brad Wright and producer Robert C. Cooper spoke about how the actress “came in and just blew us away.” Futhermore, her chemistry with Daniel Jackson actor Michael Shanks — who previously left “SG-1” for a season – was a big part of why Black was brought back. “We started immediately spinning, ‘How do we get her back and make her a bigger part?'” said Cooper. “Because what you don’t want to do is completely soften her character and lose this dynamic that was so wonderful, that Moonlighting kind of thing.”
According to Cooper, he and the other producers were keenly aware that Jack O’Neill actor Richard Dean Anderson would soon be stepping away from “SG-1” and that meant they needed a new addition to the “military presence.” Bringing Vala back to become a new member of the SG-1 crew was the perfect solution, adding a whole new main cast member to the series for its final season.
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