Maybe he is why I love(d) Stargate so much.

Michael Shanks himself is a semi-hottie (though I swear they put him in these khakis that showed off his ass on every possible occassion, and the camera angles...) and though he has seemed kind of flat to me in the few other things I've seen him in, he has been very fun to watch playing Daniel Jackson. He mimics a lot of the funny quirks, speech and mannerisms that James Spader gave to the movie version of Jackson, but there's a lot more to Shank's interpretation. He (unlike Spader) was a kind of sexy geek. He was brilliant, boyish, cute and sometimes really annoying, but always interesting.

But, apparently Shanks said he was leaving the show if 'they' didn't develop his character more, and 'they' called his bluff. I don't pretend to know what really went on, but it seemed to me that in Season Four (I am a season behind because I watch it on Fox in syndication, not Showtime) at least, he was getting plenty of screen time and some interesting episodes. I WAS disappointed in the seemingly gratuitous appearance of the scantily-clad "Tok'ra Barbie" character in season four (who Peter DeLouise as much as admitted was an attempt to grab young male ratings, a la 7 of 9 in Voyager. Sheesh!) but I like the stuff with the Go'a'ould system lords and the quasi-egyptian tech-toys.

Now there is talk of bringing him back, since apparently he didn't really 'die' at the end of season five (convenient, though I guess that was nicer than killing him like the did to Dax on Star Trek DS9). But, though I wouldn't mind seeing Shanks back, I feel a little sorry for Cory Nemec. He has that unenviable role as Jackson's 'replacement.'