1
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Anubis created the supersoldiers.

2
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That came from a rather
intelligent recognition on his part

3
00:00:35,127 --> 00:00:40,360
that the Jaffa
were no longer a reliable army.

4
00:00:41,287 --> 00:00:44,836
We've done a number of stories now
where the Jaffa have begun

5
00:00:44,927 --> 00:00:47,487
to doubt the Goa'uld as gods,

6
00:00:47,567 --> 00:00:52,118
and have turned upon the Goa'uld
in many circumstances.

7
00:00:52,207 --> 00:00:55,916
There are rebel Jaffa spies
amongst the Jaffa,

8
00:00:56,007 --> 00:01:00,637
and, at this point, I think
the Goa'uld were being a bit silly

9
00:01:00,727 --> 00:01:06,165
not coming up with an alternative
servant warrior, so to speak.

10
00:01:07,367 --> 00:01:11,758
That was one of the reasons
we had Anubis create the supersoldiers,

11
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was to make him look like a smarter,
more formidable villain.

12
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The Goa'uld are supposed to be
this hi-tech, powerful master race

13
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that has access to incredible technology

14
00:01:25,007 --> 00:01:30,684
and yet all they have are these guys
running around in skirts, blowing horns.

15
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So we wanted to introduce
a more formidable, but also higher-tech,

16
00:01:35,487 --> 00:01:39,036
superwarrior that would
present a challenge for us.

17
00:01:39,127 --> 00:01:43,245
Yeah, it adds some sort
of a cool factor to the show.

18
00:01:43,327 --> 00:01:47,479
And I think that
the multidimensional layer to them...

19
00:01:47,567 --> 00:01:50,127
They aren't just a robot warrior,

20
00:01:50,207 --> 00:01:53,040
there's a cool duality to them.

21
00:01:53,127 --> 00:01:57,484
They have a Goa'uld inside them,
and a Goa'uld that's been animated

22
00:01:57,567 --> 00:02:01,276
using Ancient technology
that Anubis has utilised.

23
00:02:01,367 --> 00:02:04,643
It makes it very unique
to the Stargate universe.

24
00:02:04,727 --> 00:02:07,446
Rob came up with the idea of having

25
00:02:07,527 --> 00:02:11,566
a new level of bad guy, if you will.

26
00:02:12,487 --> 00:02:17,766
It was born of the issue that Jaffa were
beginning to join the free Jaffa movement.

27
00:02:17,847 --> 00:02:24,320
The logical step was to create a bad guy
who was basically like a Terminator.

28
00:02:24,407 --> 00:02:28,002
When we were getting ready
to do "Evolution" part one and two,

29
00:02:28,087 --> 00:02:32,478
we just started talking conceptually
about the supersoldier,

30
00:02:32,567 --> 00:02:36,116
or the Kull warriors,
as they eventually became known,

31
00:02:36,207 --> 00:02:38,596
and what they would look like and be like.

32
00:02:38,687 --> 00:02:41,076
I guess the science
behind them was an issue.

33
00:02:41,167 --> 00:02:45,206
A lot of it was initially born
of the ideas that came out of "Cure",

34
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when you had a symbiote that had
healing powers and gave you strength,

35
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but it didn't take over your will.

36
00:02:52,367 --> 00:02:55,439
It was basically a tabula rasa
or a blank-slate Goa'uld.

37
00:02:55,527 --> 00:03:00,999
Rob used that as a springboard for, "what
if you could create a superhuman clone?"

38
00:03:01,087 --> 00:03:03,362
And put a symbiote in them,

39
00:03:03,447 --> 00:03:09,204
but they didn't have any of that ego and
posturing that goes on with the Goa'uld.

40
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Essentially, a Goa'uld slave
with all sorts of interesting technology,

41
00:03:13,327 --> 00:03:15,966
and from there, strength,

42
00:03:16,047 --> 00:03:20,120
incredible allegiance and loyalty, which
is not what the Goa'uld are known for.

43
00:03:20,207 --> 00:03:25,964
So, essentially, you've got someone
who was unquestionably loyal to Anubis.

44
00:03:26,047 --> 00:03:28,720
You've got healing powers
and strength of a Goa'uld,

45
00:03:28,807 --> 00:03:32,641
and you've got technology
that made them incredibly hard to kill.

46
00:03:32,727 --> 00:03:36,003
To blow them up, you need
a huge amount of explosives to do that.

47
00:03:36,087 --> 00:03:39,602
Bullets don't work.
Even zat and staff blasts don't work.

48
00:03:39,687 --> 00:03:42,918
Even defensive weaponry -
as you see in "Evolution Part One",

49
00:03:43,007 --> 00:03:46,556
shielding and containment doesn't work.

50
00:03:46,647 --> 00:03:50,356
It was mission accomplished
in finding a tough-to-kill bad guy.

51
00:03:50,447 --> 00:03:58,161
We wanted it to be more
than just a guy-in-a-suit robot warrior.

52
00:03:58,247 --> 00:04:01,319
We wanted there to be
an added dimension to this bad guy

53
00:04:01,407 --> 00:04:04,001
that made him extra creepy.

54
00:04:04,087 --> 00:04:09,878
I think the idea of having a reanimated
zombie Goa'uld inside this evil black suit

55
00:04:09,967 --> 00:04:12,686
just made it all that much more scary.

56
00:04:13,247 --> 00:04:14,680
Speak/

57
00:04:15,287 --> 00:04:18,518
I serve Anubis.

58
00:04:18,607 --> 00:04:23,522
Rob is great at blurring the line between
the human and the technological.

59
00:04:23,607 --> 00:04:26,280
I think people are fascinated
when you see something

60
00:04:26,367 --> 00:04:28,801
that symbolises
the nexus point between that.

61
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"Is it a human or is it a machine?"
And you're not sure.

62
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It's a creation of some kind. It's alive,
but it'll kill you and you can't kill it.

63
00:04:37,927 --> 00:04:41,442
I think that's what supersoldiers
thematically brought to the show,

64
00:04:41,527 --> 00:04:44,325
which is this very tried
and true sci-fi element.

65
00:04:44,407 --> 00:04:47,444
It's exciting to watch it come to life.

66
00:04:51,847 --> 00:04:56,523
When we first conceive of a concept
like the supersoldier,

67
00:04:56,607 --> 00:05:00,395
that we know is going to involve

68
00:05:00,487 --> 00:05:05,242
an expensive and intricate
design element, like a suit,

69
00:05:05,327 --> 00:05:08,842
myself or one of the other producers
will go to the art department.

70
00:05:08,927 --> 00:05:13,762
We'll discuss what our thoughts are
and what we've imagined.

71
00:05:13,847 --> 00:05:17,522
A lot of times, I will just
let them come up with something.

72
00:05:17,607 --> 00:05:22,840
I'll try not to give them too much direction
because they're very creative people.

73
00:05:22,927 --> 00:05:28,923
And they will often bring ideas that
are even better than what we imagined.

74
00:05:29,007 --> 00:05:34,604
It's a process, so we'll eventually work
towards a result everybody's happy with.

75
00:05:34,687 --> 00:05:39,477
The way the supersoldier was designed
by the art department was done

76
00:05:39,567 --> 00:05:44,766
mainly through Rob talking to them
about what he saw it looking like.

77
00:05:44,847 --> 00:05:49,796
I worked with them as I wrote "Evolution
Part One" saying, "I'm thinking of this..."

78
00:05:49,887 --> 00:05:54,199
I'd say, "I'm writing the scene where they
take the mask off and there's mucus."

79
00:05:54,287 --> 00:05:56,482
"Can we do mucus?
Can the thing come off?"

80
00:05:56,567 --> 00:05:59,877
"Can air escape?
Are there hoses that disconnect?"

81
00:05:59,967 --> 00:06:05,519
And they go, "Yeah." So I would work with
them while the script was being written.

82
00:06:05,607 --> 00:06:09,725
As often happens in TV. You don't go,
"Here's the script. Design what it says."

83
00:06:09,807 --> 00:06:14,927
It's often done in tandem. You're writing,
they're working. You talk to each other.

84
00:06:15,007 --> 00:06:17,441
And ultimately what came out was great.

85
00:06:17,527 --> 00:06:22,965
It wasn't like I wrote, "And he's
wearing red and he's got a moustache."

86
00:06:23,887 --> 00:06:27,800
The original concept
was probably less of a concept

87
00:06:27,887 --> 00:06:30,242
and more kind of a general direction

88
00:06:30,327 --> 00:06:34,764
as to the requirements
of what this character had to do.

89
00:06:34,847 --> 00:06:39,875
And the design wound up
being based on that kind of thing.

90
00:06:39,967 --> 00:06:42,925
They wanted something
that was more hi tech.

91
00:06:43,007 --> 00:06:46,522
The concept was that
they were dead flesh -

92
00:06:46,607 --> 00:06:49,644
cloned bodies that were reanimated

93
00:06:49,727 --> 00:06:54,721
by use of... I believe
it was the Telchak device.

94
00:06:54,807 --> 00:07:01,565
The look of the soldier was basically
just to be more hi tech, scary...

95
00:07:01,647 --> 00:07:07,119
That was pretty much it. It was wide open
when I sat down to do the first sketch.

96
00:07:07,207 --> 00:07:09,323
This is the first drawing that I did.

97
00:07:09,407 --> 00:07:14,401
When this went in, they didn't like the
cloth headdress hanging from the helmet.

98
00:07:14,487 --> 00:07:17,001
They would not be carrying
staff weapons any more.

99
00:07:17,087 --> 00:07:20,284
The second they were happier with.
No staff weapon any more.

100
00:07:20,367 --> 00:07:23,245
The chest section changed largely

101
00:07:23,327 --> 00:07:27,605
and I based it more
on human physiology than anything else.

102
00:07:27,687 --> 00:07:32,363
Here's what we anticipated they'd
look like once they were cleaned out.

103
00:07:32,447 --> 00:07:36,679
And also a detailing of the impervious suit.

104
00:07:36,767 --> 00:07:41,158
This is my first take
on the man inside the mask.

105
00:07:41,967 --> 00:07:45,516
I guess the initial reactions
were "a little too Borg".

106
00:07:45,607 --> 00:07:47,723
I was also gonna
do something I'd not seen,

107
00:07:47,807 --> 00:07:52,085
which was have this fibre optic network
running across the skull.

108
00:07:52,167 --> 00:07:57,844
This is a profile view of the clay maquette,
keeping the praying mantis look in here.

109
00:07:57,927 --> 00:08:01,522
Todd Masters' take. The final prosthetic.

110
00:08:01,607 --> 00:08:04,724
And there you have it.
The making of a monster.

111
00:08:04,807 --> 00:08:08,038
We knew it would be very expensive
to create one suit,

112
00:08:08,127 --> 00:08:11,164
but the idea was to create moulds

113
00:08:11,247 --> 00:08:15,684
so that we could ultimately
create a number of suits.

114
00:08:15,767 --> 00:08:19,760
The nice thing about the supersoldier
is he's wearing a mask.

115
00:08:19,847 --> 00:08:24,967
We cast a couple of guys, one in
particular, who's our hero supersoldier,

116
00:08:25,047 --> 00:08:30,280
and even though we kill
the supersoldiers all the time,

117
00:08:30,367 --> 00:08:33,677
Dan Payne comes back
and plays him every time.

118
00:08:33,767 --> 00:08:38,443
It's been a great gig for Dan.
I know there's downsides to playing it.

119
00:08:38,527 --> 00:08:42,679
Being in that outfit can be quite hot,

120
00:08:42,767 --> 00:08:45,725
especially outside in the summertime.

121
00:08:45,807 --> 00:08:48,480
But I think it's been
a pretty good gig for him.

122
00:08:48,647 --> 00:08:51,878
The secret of the supersoldier
is that there's a nice guy inside,

123
00:08:51,967 --> 00:08:56,961
despite all the evil and killing.
OK? That's about it. No.

124
00:08:57,047 --> 00:08:59,686
Secrets about playing the supersoldier...

125
00:08:59,767 --> 00:09:03,237
They built a body to build
the suit on for me, and the head as well.

126
00:09:03,327 --> 00:09:08,196
They built the armour on top and a suit to
go underneath. They did an amazing job.

127
00:09:08,287 --> 00:09:12,803
It was the most functional, mobile
full-body unit I've ever been in,

128
00:09:12,887 --> 00:09:15,765
so for comfort, it's awesome.

129
00:09:15,847 --> 00:09:18,520
The discomfort comes from the heat.

130
00:09:18,607 --> 00:09:20,882
As was mentioned,
there was a couple of days

131
00:09:20,967 --> 00:09:25,518
when we were running around
in 100-degree weather, or so it felt.

132
00:09:25,607 --> 00:09:30,965
If you don't stay hydrated... I started
to see pink elephants with purple tutus.

133
00:09:31,047 --> 00:09:33,641
I shot at them.

134
00:09:33,727 --> 00:09:37,436
It was just good times,
except for overheating, basically.

135
00:09:37,527 --> 00:09:42,885
There's a girl, Nancy, who was
primary care person for me for the suit.

136
00:09:42,967 --> 00:09:48,166
Any little... If something was sticking in
here or there, she'd second-skin it.

137
00:09:48,247 --> 00:09:51,045
At first, it took us
about 30 minutes to get into.

138
00:09:51,127 --> 00:09:53,641
Now it takes about 15 to 20.

139
00:09:53,727 --> 00:09:57,356
And getting out? As fast as I possibly can.

140
00:09:57,447 --> 00:10:02,043
It's sticky and evil,
but, yeah, you get out of it no problem.

141
00:10:17,327 --> 00:10:21,639
I think this character, although we do
eventually see underneath the outfit,

142
00:10:21,727 --> 00:10:24,321
I think he's kind of scary anyway.

143
00:10:24,407 --> 00:10:29,720
Dan Payne, the unseen man inside the
mask, I believe is about six foot five.

144
00:10:29,807 --> 00:10:33,959
Then we put a pair of two- to three-inch
heels on him, in the boots.

145
00:10:34,047 --> 00:10:38,438
And on top of that is the added height
from the helmet itself,

146
00:10:38,527 --> 00:10:41,678
because we've placed the eyes...
His real eyes would be here,

147
00:10:41,767 --> 00:10:47,717
and the electric glowing eyes
are actually about forehead level on him.

148
00:10:47,807 --> 00:10:52,244
By the time he's all suited up,
he's, I'm guessing, close to seven feet tall.

149
00:10:52,327 --> 00:10:55,478
So, I mean, just
his sheer stature is kind of scary.

150
00:10:55,567 --> 00:10:58,286
The quality of the material

151
00:10:58,367 --> 00:11:03,521
is dark, reflective,
high-gloss material all through.

152
00:11:03,607 --> 00:11:06,838
And it takes light beautifully.
That's one of the things I love.

153
00:11:06,927 --> 00:11:09,316
You can see almost no detail on him,

154
00:11:09,407 --> 00:11:14,242
except you get these two glowing eyes
staring out and then surface detail -

155
00:11:14,327 --> 00:11:18,878
light rippling off the ribs
in his outfit and the lines.

156
00:11:18,967 --> 00:11:22,323
Everywhere I could,
I kept the lines changing and moving.

157
00:11:22,407 --> 00:11:26,719
I was really pleased with that aspect
of it, because at the end of the day,

158
00:11:26,807 --> 00:11:31,756
the light just lives and moves on him.
It's a very cool thing to look at.

159
00:11:40,767 --> 00:11:46,717
The supersoldier is cool because he's a
seven-foot massive dude in black armour.

160
00:11:46,807 --> 00:11:49,526
I think that, just visually...

161
00:11:49,607 --> 00:11:53,486
The cool factor is anything that's
tough to kill, people are interested in.

162
00:11:53,567 --> 00:11:58,561
That's the Terminator mythology. How do
you handle something almost invincible?

163
00:11:58,647 --> 00:12:03,926
How deep inside do you have to go to
defeat something almost undefeatable?

164
00:12:04,007 --> 00:12:08,080
- That's a neat dynamic.
- It wasn't fun any more to kill Jaffa.

165
00:12:08,167 --> 00:12:13,639
We had gotten to know them so well
through Teal'c, we realised that they were

166
00:12:13,727 --> 00:12:19,040
very much just victims
in the whole milieu of Stargate.

167
00:12:19,127 --> 00:12:22,005
I worked the word "milieu"
into a sentence.

168
00:12:22,087 --> 00:12:24,237
There are situations where, in stories,

169
00:12:24,327 --> 00:12:29,526
you wanna just be able to
shoot the bad guy and feel good about it.

170
00:12:29,607 --> 00:12:32,519
That's what the supersoldier
became for us.

171
00:12:32,607 --> 00:12:34,916
He's definitely cool.

172
00:12:35,007 --> 00:12:39,319
I think it's made the Goa'uld,
specifically Anubis, look a little smarter.

173
00:12:39,407 --> 00:12:43,923
It's given our team
a new obstacle to overcome.

174
00:12:44,007 --> 00:12:47,556
Episodes like "Avatar", in which,

175
00:12:47,647 --> 00:12:53,199
even though the supersoldier was just a
figment of the game Teal'c was trapped in,

176
00:12:54,447 --> 00:12:59,475
he was a great video-game foil for Teal'c.

177
00:13:00,567 --> 00:13:05,038
We see them in key moments in
"Lost City" and in season eight episodes.

178
00:13:05,127 --> 00:13:10,076
Just suggesting that where there's Anubis,
there are supersoldiers.

179
00:13:10,167 --> 00:13:12,123
Anubis is a tough enough customer,

180
00:13:12,207 --> 00:13:16,166
but he's also got this posse
of badasses who work for him.

181
00:13:16,247 --> 00:13:21,685
I think it's added an extra layer
of coolness to the look of SG-1.

182
00:13:21,767 --> 00:13:26,283
I bet that the technology Anubis was using
to create them has not been shelved.

183
00:13:26,367 --> 00:13:31,441
I think there'll probably be more variations
on that kind of bad guy creation.

184
00:13:33,567 --> 00:13:38,243
I spent a lot of time thinking about
how you reveal this brand-new bad guy.

185
00:13:38,327 --> 00:13:43,003
In the opening to "Evolution Part One",
Bra'tac and Teal'c discover a massacre,

186
00:13:43,087 --> 00:13:47,046
and someone says it wasn't an army,
it was one man.

187
00:13:47,127 --> 00:13:51,598
You go, "What?" And then suddenly
there's this guy just starts laying waste.

188
00:13:51,687 --> 00:13:54,679
There's a great moment
where both of them go:

189
00:13:54,767 --> 00:13:58,521
"Wait a minute, we just shot this guy
and he just laughed it off."

190
00:13:58,607 --> 00:14:01,075
I think that's a great moment of arrival.

191
00:14:01,167 --> 00:14:03,886
Yeah, I loved "Evolution".
It was the introduction.

192
00:14:03,967 --> 00:14:06,003
I think it was a great introduction -

193
00:14:06,087 --> 00:14:10,046
everybody's awe
at how powerful this guy was.

194
00:14:10,887 --> 00:14:14,800
"Prometheus Unbound" is an episode
we've just finished shooting

195
00:14:14,887 --> 00:14:18,766
and will air
in the second half of season eight.

196
00:14:18,847 --> 00:14:22,601
It brings a whole new dimension
to the supersoldier that, probably,

197
00:14:22,687 --> 00:14:26,680
none of us really ever expected
when he was first created.

198
00:14:27,847 --> 00:14:30,919
I think the fans will really enjoy that.

199
00:14:43,607 --> 00:14:45,598
EN