Welcome to Season Five! It brings us great pleasure to reopen the show with one of the most recognized guest stars from Season Four of SG-1, Vanessa Angel. She joins us LIVE to discuss her time on the series and answer your questions!

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Timecodes
0:00 – Splash Screen
0:15 – Opening Credits
0:49 – Welcome
1:10 – Guest Introduction
1:30 – Twenty-Five Years Ago…
3:02 – MGM Executive
8:13 – Getting the Gig
10:25 – “I don’t think they liked me.”
15:36 – Anise and Freya in One Body
17:56 – Hits and Misses in the Role
23:15 – Making Different Acting Choices
26:03 – “Upgrades” and the Armbands
27:21 – Curve Balls from RDA
30:45 – Opposite Don Davis and Teryl Rothery
32:20 – “Divide and Conquer” and Killing Martouf
37:21 – Costuming
39:12 – Anise’s Tok’ra Voice
41:29 – Vanessa and Season Five
44:05 – Stargate Souvenirs
45:00 – Current Projects
48:57 – Stargate Fandom
51:45 – Post-Interview Housekeeping
53:17 – End Credits

***

“Stargate” and all related materials are owned by MGM Studios and MGM Television.

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TRANSCRIPT
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David Read:
Hello everyone. Welcome to Season Five of Dial the Gate. The Stargate Oral History Project. My name is David Read. I appreciate you being here with me. This is Episode 301. And joining me to open up my brand new season is someone I’ve been wanting to have on for a while now. Vanessa Angel. Anise and Freya, the Tok’ra, in Stargate SG-1. Vanessa, thank you for joining me for this episode. I really appreciate you being here. It’s a privilege to have you.

Vanessa Angel:
Thank you for having me. I love everything Stargate so I’m so happy to be here talking about it.

David Read:
Are you surprised to have gotten my message? Or has Stargate, in terms of your response from your fans, kind of been in your orbit ever since? Or was it, like, “Yeah, that’s right, I did that show?”

Vanessa Angel:
Yes. What’s interesting… It was 25 years ago. I shot my three episodes in 2000 so just to wrap my head around the fact that that was 25 years ago is kind of shocking. And actually, I really started to do Comic-Cons and podcasts and interviews because of Stargate. I think I did my first ever Comic-Con in 2004 so that show, that role, really introduced me to the whole world. This world. It definitely was very, very heavy in the early 2000s to probably, like, 2012. Stargate related Comic-Cons and conventions, whatever, were really popular. And then I would say that it sort of dropped off a little bit since then. But I love… It’s such a brilliantly written show that I think people are sort of re-finding it now. So, it’s almost open to a new audience which is great. And I watched the episodes that you sent me because I haven’t watched them in a long time, and it really holds up. You would never know that that was shot 25 years ago. I know the show went to 2007, but my episodes were in 2000.

David Read:
That’s right. You were in Season Four for a three-episode arc. And do you know the story of the MGM executive who led to your casting? Do you know this story?

Vanessa Angel:
It’s Hank Cohen, right?

David Read:
I think it was Hank. Do you remember the line that he said?

Vanessa Angel:
No.

David Read:
I think it may have been Hank, but the executive actually appears, [and] there were several, next season in episode Wormhole X-treme! actually repeating the line he said. With the leadup to Season Four he said, “You know what the show is really missing is a sexy female alien.” And then enter you, you got the sexy but also a brilliantly written character. One with complex layers. I’m not sure how much you know about Tok’ra. They are the same species as our great enemy, the Goa’uld, but they’re philosophically different. But two years in, we’re still not quite 100 percent sure about them. So, it’s, like, “Are they gonna stab us in the back?” And you gotta straddle that line and I’ve really been looking forward to talking with you about that.

Vanessa Angel:
Well, O’Neill never really trusted me. They never… There was always an element that they don’t quite trusted Tok’ra. And I know that the Tok’ra were born from Egeria. [inaudible]

David Read:
Right. You got it right.

Vanessa Angel:
And so, they were all about the resistance to the System Lords, which it’s so fascinating to me that, not that I wanna get political, but how you can relate 25 years later. It’s not just in fictional worlds. It’s this whole sort of dealing with oppression. So, in that regard, I almost wish I had the experience that I have now, and the wisdom I’ve accrued over the last 25 years, and played her today. I know the show is not running now but it would have been very interesting to bring my perspective today.

David Read:
I’m curious…

Vanessa Angel:
Interesting thing about the Tok’ra is, I think that it was so well-written that you almost didn’t have to do that much. I know that sounds crazy but if a character… The words almost made the role. A lot of times as an actress you have to fill out the role and make it your own. There’s [a] sort of guideline in the script but I think with Stargate it was so well-written and so detailed that it’s almost like the words helped you give the performance.

David Read:
Which is really interesting coming from the perspective of a scientist who… You’re in a sci-fi series. You’re saying things that you have to intuit that the character understands but you don’t necessarily have full grasp of yourself. You’re just, like, “OK. This must lead to this, and I have to make it sound convincing.”

Vanessa Angel:
Exactly.

David Read:
So it wasn’t that hard to wrap your brain around it?

Vanessa Angel:
Oh, it was. Anise, particularly, speaks very scientifically. It was very, very hard. Probably, honestly, it was the hardest role I’ve ever played in terms of honoring the dialogue and honoring the words. I know I just repeated myself. And it was literally like learning another language. And it was interesting watching the shows again the other day, I didn’t really feel like listening to it. It just felt like someone who spoke very intelligently and clearly and concisely and with intelligence. But it was much harder to learn it than it came across. It’s, like, I remember we shot in Vancouver, and I had to spend the entire weekend just learning the dialogue, almost like wrote, so it became, like, second nature so it didn’t sound like I was grasping for words. And also, the going in and out of Freya and Anise was another aspect that made it a little bit more complex because I had to sort of… Even though, obviously, the Anise voice in post-production is enhanced. So, you’re actually playing the role with your own voice but there’s a very different way of speaking between Freya and Anise. It was a lot to do. It’s a lot more challenging than I think people realize.

David Read:
Well, that’s the thing. You’re juggling a number of different balls. Not only are you speaking technobabble but Tok’ra technobabble. You have to balance these two entities. I wanna speak into a little bit of that more as we proceed forward but I wanna ask you about your audition. Was this an audition or was this an offer?

Vanessa Angel:
It was very interesting, actually, because I remember meeting with Hank Cohen, because it was MGM, and Kingpin, which obviously was a few years earlier, had been an MGM project, and I know that they wanted to bring some kind of character into Stargate. And I think initially it was brought in as a possible love interest for O’Neill. And actually, I noticed that in Divide and Conquer there was a scene where Anise was speaking with Daniel and it was almost, like, a romantic connection there. So, there was, like, Freya was interested in O’Neill… Sorry, Anise was interested in…

David Read:
“The Snake like[s] Daniel.” I remember that.

Vanessa Angel:
“The snake like[s] Daniel.”

David Read:
“The snake likes you.”

Vanessa Angel:
But they didn’t really take it anywhere. Basically, I was turned down by O’Neill. And sorry, to go back to your question, I know that they were interested in me. The MGM was interested in me because of Kingpin so I met with Hank Cohen, and he explained what they wanted to do, bring this character in. I did actually have to do an audition. I didn’t think I had to, initially, but I did, and I think it’s because [of] the dialogue and the specifics of the character. They need to see it because they need to know that you can handle that.

David Read:
You can’t take a chance on something like that. Especially… You know who you want and then it’s, like, “OK. Let’s just make sure and then let’s move forward.”

Vanessa Angel:
Can they execute it? Because it is different. If you haven’t done sci-fi before, it is a different kind of thing. So, I do understand why they had me audition. But the whole thing, initially, I thought was an offer but then they sort of turned it into a different thing. But to be honest with you, between you and me, I don’t think they liked me very much. I don’t think they liked me. Because my character was supposed to come on for the following season and do nine episodes. And then I ended up, not to get too personal, but I ended up getting pregnant and I had my daughter in early 2001 so I wouldn’t have really been able to continue doing the show because of obviously being pregnant and that wouldn’t have been a good storyline for a Tok’ra. And the skimpy outfits would have been very difficult to… Or that then to do it continuing. So, I don’t really know what the reason was exactly, but I remember being very disappointed because it was supposed to be three episodes and then six episodes in the following episode [sic!] that never happened.

David Read:
So, you said three episodes which we had, and then six episodes, and a following episode that never happened?

Vanessa Angel:
That was the contract. It was to do nine episodes. Three episodes in that season and then six episodes in the following season.

David Read:
And then that never happened.

Vanessa Angel:
And then possibly more.

David Read:
So, you signed up, before frame one, for nine shows?

Vanessa Angel:
Yes.

David Read:
I did not know that. And Vanessa, I will tell you right here. I’ve had a number of frank conversations with all members of production over the years in private. And all I can say from my perspective is, no one has ever said anything about you or your performance at all. And I’ve had many of those kinds of conversations. So, from my perspective, can I know for sure? No. But I don’t think so. We loved you. I can tell you that right now. The fans sure did.

Vanessa Angel:
Thank you.

David Read:
This was an intelligent, attractive woman who was a strong counterbalance to all the members of our team as a pseudo kind of adversary. And you had to play that on the knife edge, I would think, to make sure not to come off as…

Vanessa Angel:
Unlikable?

David Read:
Yeah, that wasn’t what I was going for, but I suppose. But also, more like threatening, like, “Do we wanna still be dealing with these people?” I did not know about the episode count so that makes… That’s interesting.

Vanessa Angel:
There’s definitely… It really created some of the tension and the potential challenge, like, you never really knew which direction it was gonna go. And I do love… It was great to play a character that was so sort of… I didn’t really mind what the reaction would be. I was so solid in my own character and what I needed, for the greater good, I believe. Even when I go to O’Neill’s room when he’s… And I basically… The fact that I took a chance to do that…

David Read:
You mean the character did. That’s really presumptuous. “Well, you know… I’m here. You’re over there. Let’s say hello.”

Vanessa Angel:
There was something interestingly bold and demure about her at the same time, in that particular scene. She was great to play, outside of the difficulty of learning the dialogue really well. And also, what was so great about the show, the production quality was incredible. The sets. Those were all built sets. And nowadays… I don’t do really big high end production stuff which you do on sound stages and stuff but the last 10 years, I’ve really not done things on sound stages. It’s on location or outside. Or if it’s on location, it’s in a house. It’s standing, or whatever. And there’s something about walking onto the sound stage with these incredibly elaborate sets. And the costumes were beautiful. They were so beautifully made. And you just don’t see that today. I mean I don’t see that. Maybe it’s going on. I’m sure that there are a lot of productions that have really high ended everything, but I haven’t been a part of those for a long time.

David Read:
But this was a big part, a big example, of something great in your career that was well made.

Vanessa Angel:
So, when you, as an actor, walk on set in your costume, in your beautifully crafted costumes, in this incredible set with wonderful actors who are all giving 100 percent, it’s just an experience that you don’t have every time. And I really feel so grateful that I got to experience that, really.

David Read:
I wanna dig into the counterbalance between these two being a little bit here. You had the Tok’ra Anise and then the human Freya. I got the impression that Anise much more of a harder edge and by the book, and then Freya would kind of come in and say, “Well, she’s saying this. What she means is this.”

Vanessa Angel:
[inaudible]

David Read:
Here’s the softer edge.

Vanessa Angel:
Interestingly, when I actually played it, I felt, like, Anise is like the left brain of me, and Freya is like the right brain. And I’m very right brain as a person, as Vanessa. So, I kind of approached it almost like Anise is the more analytical, the more scientific, less emotional, more even keeled that’s just really no nonsense. And then Freya has a little bit more of the creative right brain kind of sensitive part of her. And it was interesting. In Divide and Conquer, I think that I played Freya mostly in that episode. It’s more… I loved playing Anise and the fact that she was very scientific, and I didn’t really get much of a chance to play those kinds of characters throughout my career. But there is something easier as a human to bring the little pieces of humanity that you would to a role. If you’re very stoic and you’re very sort of matter of fact, it’s not as easy to bring little nuances and little quirks and little things that make a character more appealing to an audience.

David Read:
Absolutely. I forgot to mention. Everyone who’s watching in the audience, if you’re on YouTube in the chat, you can submit questions to Vanessa. My mods are filtering them into me, and I will be asking a few of them for the next 40 minutes or so. And I’d like to start weaving some of those in now, at this stage, if you don’t mind. Raj Luthra wanted to know… He asks, “What did you like and not like about working on SG-1?” I would like to massage that in a way that… What do you feel was really successful and what do you feel, you know, “I wish I could have taken another crack at that?” Or, “This costume didn’t work as… It was beautiful but man, it was awkward in…”

Vanessa Angel:
The costumes were not comfortable. Especially the last one with those tie-ups. It literally took 12 minutes to get out of. If you need[ed] to go to the bathroom or whatever, you needed help from the wardrobe department. So that aspect of it also adds to the discomfort. Again, I sort of mentioned it earlier, but I think what’s interesting for me now, is that just because I’m 25 years more mature now I wish I had that to bring to the role before. But obviously if we could all do that, we’d be wise beyond our years.

David Read:
Let’s drill into… No, go ahead and finish your thought.

Vanessa Angel:
So, what was hard about doing that show was I think just the discipline of learning the dialogue. And I have to be honest. On set there was times where I would flub and I wasn’t used to doing that so that frustrated me. Because you’re doing television. You gotta get a lot of pages done in a day and there’s not a lot of room for error. So, I would like… And I’m very hard on myself, and I was probably harder on myself back then, because I was still newer in my career so I wanted to do 100 percent the best I could. So, if I had a hard time with dialogue, I would be very hard on myself. And I don’t think doing that is very productive if you’re on a set. Honestly, I remember sort of beating myself and go, “F***! Shit!” Sorry!

David Read:
You’re OK.

Vanessa Angel:
Seeing things like that if I made a mistake and then it kind of creates tension around you. So that part of it… I’m being brutally honest here.

David Read:
No, I appreciate that. I think we see a lot of blooper reels and special features and think, “Oh, they’re just doing cut ups if someone flubs a line.” You’ve got a 100 people standing around waiting for you not only to hit your mark physically but verbally, in order, the exact same way every time, for two or three takes. And that’s all you’ve got. Then they have to move on.

Vanessa Angel:
Exactly. You got, like, two… Hopefully you can do it in two takes and if you can’t then I just felt, like, I was wasting people’s time. The other actors. I was trying to be respectful to everybody and so my way of doing that was to beat myself up if I flubbed. And I don’t usually… I’m not a flubber. Usually, I have good control of the dialogue, but it was just particularly hard. So that part of it I regret. I wish I had… I think a more mature version of me would have handled that aspect of it better. Not that there was ever, like, yelling or, you know… It was never…

David Read:
There was an internal frustration to perform.

Vanessa Angel:
Internal frustration that I unfortunately allowed out sometimes and I don’t think that that… I wish I could go back and change that aspect of it now. And I just think I would have… To be honest, to be brutally honest with you, I had not really seen the show before I got the show. I’m not a mad sci-fi fan. I actually appreciate it more now. That’s another aspect, too. I wish I had more of an understanding of the sci-fi world and the creativity of that.

David Read:
You don’t think it would have spooked you?

Vanessa Angel:
What’s that?

David Read:
I apologize. You don’t think it would have spooked you a little bit getting all that information in? Do you really think it would have informed you?

Vanessa Angel:
Yeah. But you know what’s really funny? This is a little side story. In 2006 my daughter started elementary school and two of the girls in her year were the daughters of Jonathan Glassner who was the co-founder of the show. And so, Jonathan and I, we became friends for seven years during elementary school. It was just so weird.

David Read:
Small world.

Vanessa Angel:
Our kids were literally in the same class. And in those years, you do a lot of stuff with parents. You’re much more involved in your kids’ lives at that stage. So, I would see Jonathan, like, all the time. And that was kind of interesting and very… One incredibly brilliant man. Just incredibly brilliant man.

David Read:
Absolutely.

Vanessa Angel:
That was sort of weird to have… Because I never met him when we were on the show because he’s gone back…

David Read:
He returned to LA. He was still a consultant I believe but after his first three seasons he went south again. That’s interesting. Very small world.

Vanessa Angel:
Isn’t it?

David Read:
Would you…? You’re talking about going back and changing certain behaviors. I’m curious to know, reflecting on your career sense with your collection of knowledge that you have now and expertise in the craft, if would have approached today those two characters slightly differently than you did then? And what kinds of changes might you have made? Or do you think that still really stands up? Like, your approach to how the characters flowed with one another.

Vanessa Angel:
That’s an excellent question. I’m not really sure. Looking at the shows, watching them again earlier this week, I think they really hold up. I actually… It was better than I remember, if that makes sense, in terms of what I brought to the show. But I think I just… Maybe I wish that I had understood a little bit more of the detail of the folklore, if that’s what you call it, of the show. I knew the Goa’uld, and Apophis and the Jaffa. I knew but now I feel, like, I would be better at really understanding the nuances and all the details and how everything is connected better.

David Read:
It sounds like you’re a little bit of a fan.

Vanessa Angel:
Yes, exactly. But I think when… Back in those days it’s also a job and you don’t, I think, when you’re younger, fully appreciate what you have. You’re always trying to get the next best thing. You’re always trying to get ahead in a way or get something that you think is gonna get you more traction or more… And you get caught up in that when you’re in your 20s and early 30s and I think that happened to me a lot. And now I have so much appreciation. If I’m on a set, I don’t care what it is. It can be, like, a set with Christopher Nolan or a set with some newcomer director who’s never done anything. And I will bring the same amount of commitment to each now. Whereas before, I think, the old version of me was just much more concerned with, “What can this do for me?”

David Read:
“What’s the next thing,” as opposed to, “Let’s live in the moment while we’re here.”

Vanessa Angel:
Yes. So, I think that that comes with maturity and age and wisdom. So, all those things, I think, would have affected all of the roles I played in a way.

David Read:
I wanna go through each of the episodes a little bit here. You were introduced in an episode that was notorious for a particular reason. I’m curious to see if you watched anyone freak out over this. Upgrades is your first appearance and you come in with the Atanik armbands which never worked, apparently, and poor Kenny Gibbs, the property master, was struggling to make these things work. Did you witness any of this?

Vanessa Angel:
Yes. There was problems with getting them on and off, [which] was an issue. The work that they did, the detail of everything, the costumes, the props, the sets, again, were just so beautifully done. But obviously there’s gonna be a little snafu here and there. But I do remember, sometimes that kind of technical stuff can hold back production a little bit, timewise, and then you sort of rushed to make the day. And the technical side of making television particularly, because you’re doing so many pages a day, is really challenging.

David Read:
Do you recall Rick throwing you any curveballs? He is notorious for being spontaneous.

Vanessa Angel:
Yes.

David Read:
And you have a straight line that you have to go down with the dialogue. Tell me if anything comes to mind.

Vanessa Angel:
Oh my God! But Christopher Judge is worse. He would, like… Even if you’re on camera, he would be trying to crack you up all the time. And I’m desperately trying to remember my dialogue, which is very specific, and then you got Christopher Judge on the other side of camera, like, doing funny faces. And in the scene, in the episode Crossroads, where they bring Shan’auc on the stretcher, and I’m walking, it’s very somber moment, and Teal’c meets us. And I remember that trying to shoot that scene was so hard because he was just on a roll that day and making us all crack up and we’re in this completely serious situation where this great love of his is almost dead.

David Read:
This is not the time. This is somber.

Vanessa Angel:
“Please stop cracking us up.”

David Read:
“Stop screwing this up.”

Vanessa Angel:
And Rick was very awesome, very fun like that. What was so great about him, his energy is so lovely. He’s such a beautiful human being that he brought his energy to the whole set. So, it’s very… To me, whoever is number one on the call sheet…

David Read:
Sets the tone.

Vanessa Angel:
Whatever… They bring the vibe in a set, to the whole show. So, if you don’t have a good number one, I’m telling you it makes a very, very big difference. He was just… Not only is he brilliant but he brought just the best energy on the set so whenever he was on set, it was just always lighter and more joyful. Because you wanna find moments of fun because it kind of can get serious when you’re trying to get this stuff done. And he’s just such a light-hearted person, whereas nest. Not that he doesn’t take his work seriously but he’s just a joy. He’s just a joy so that makes a big difference.

David Read:
Him and Michael Greenberg set the tone on the set that, “If we can’t enjoy what we’re doing it’s not worth doing.” There are gonna be days that are hard, but we’ll do it.

Vanessa Angel:
You’re spending 13 hours a day with [them]. They become like your family. Especially if you’re doing years on a scripted show. If you’re spending 13 hours a day and you’re not enjoying it then what are you doing? Obviously, there’s gonna be a day here and there where it’s stressed and something’s going wrong or whatever, [or] somebody’s having a bad day. That’s just life. But in general, if you can all kind of enjoy what you’re doing, it makes… You see that on the screen. I think you really see what’s going on underneath, in the work, really.

David Read:
Perhaps my favorite scene of yours, in Upgrades, is one with you and Teryl and Don S. Davis, where Teryl, who’s very much a mama bear when it comes to these personnel, she says, “I object to being kept in the dark on the condition of people whose health I am responsible for.” Do you remember that scene? Do you remember the intensity? Do you recall anything about Teryl and Don?

Vanessa Angel:
They were the more serious ones. Because I think [with] Rick and Michael Shanks and Christopher there was more lightness. Even [though] obviously the roles were serious, but I think with Don and with Teryl, they were always having… They were always sort of dealing with serious situations. My memory of shooting that was… And I remember on Divide and Conquer, where I’m trying to see if they’re Zartacs [sic!] or not…

David Read:
Za’tarcs.

Vanessa Angel:
Za’tarcs. Sorry.

David Read:
It’s all good. It’s gobbledygook.

Vanessa Angel:
It’s, like, “Xanax or something?”

David Read:
“Do we or do we not have a Xanax detector?”

Vanessa Angel:
So funny. That’s such a Rick thing to do, right? O’Neill thing to do. That was sort of serious. It depends. Some days are more serious than others. But anytime there was a scene with those two characters it was more sort of by the book and, like, no nonsense.

David Read:
You are in the episode of Stargate that up to that point and for a few years after was considered the most polarizing episode of the show. People either loved it or they hated it.

Vanessa Angel:
Which one?

David Read:
That episode was Divide and Conquer. Because they killed Martouf at the end.

Vanessa Angel:
I’m getting goosebumps.

David Read:
That was a big deal. And I’m giving myself them now that I think about it. What was it like watching that story again a few days ago?

Vanessa Angel:
It’s my favorite episode.

David Read:
OK.

Vanessa Angel:
Just a title alone. Hello. That’s a theme in history, right? That’s a theme in history. It was heavy. It felt heavy when we were shooting that.

David Read:
That’s a heavy show.

Vanessa Angel:
It was a very heavy show. It really was. And it was my third show. It was the third of my series. And I do remember. I remember filming when he gets shot, and JR [Bourne] is a wonderful person by the way. Literally every single person on that show was so wonderful. Because part of the beauty of working on shows, especially when you’re just not dropping in for one episode, you get to know these people and they really do become like family. I was there, I think, for five weeks. So even in five weeks, you really sort of get close to these people. I remember filming that scene and it was heavy.

David Read:
Even the earlier parts of the episode where, I think it was Lieutenant, they’re probing her mind to see if this thing is in there, and she just snaps and goes berserk. I remember watching this, like, “What the hell is going on? This is a heck of an episode.” And she murders herself right in front of you. And even Freya goes, “No!” That was wild.

Vanessa Angel:
I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it. I don’t know. Just to me, these kinds of shows are just so much on a higher level than so much that’s… I know there’s great shows today but there was something about Stargate that was really, really special.

David Read:
I sold your Za’tarc detector. I did. That was cool. The stuff that they were able to make and fabricate out of nothing. They had a huge fabrication department to make everything from…

Vanessa Angel:
And that stuff’s all being lost. With AI, it’s, like… There was just something beautiful about this group of humans getting together and creating art. It was art. And I feel, like, that’s getting lost. Like I said, it’s like walking onto a set, a sound stage, where the sets have been built by people, as opposed to… I’m not completely against AI, and I know that in some bigger productions, where there are things you just can’t create…

David Read:
We can’t just hand it over to it. We have to find the balance.

Vanessa Angel:
But there’s something beautiful… Literally, all those corridors, all those rooms were sets. And that’s just… It adds to everything, I think, and I miss that that’s going away.

David Read:
More and more. The volume is extraordinary technology, and you can definitely get more bang for you buck on the screen but on the other hand at what cost? There’s less for you to interact with and less for you to disappear into to find the character better.

Vanessa Angel:
Exactly. Not to go off topic, but I’m going off topic, but I did a show in the mid-90s which was a very heavily special effect show called Weird Science. And we shot that at sound stages at Universal. And those were all sets. And we did a lot of green screen. And that was sort of the beginning of… It was very hard to do scenes on a backdrop where you… On a green screen. It’s just very different. When you’re actually working with the real things, even if they’re sets that have been built, it creates much more of an environment and an atmosphere where you just step into the fantasy so much more easily.

David Read:
Absolutely. Let’s get to some other fan questions. You spoke about how some of the costumes were uncomfortable at times, harder to get in and out of. Allan Scollick wanted to know, “In terms of costuming choices, did you ever feel they were a bit more revealing than you’d anticipated?” Or was it right on the money? Did you feel like a million bucks in them?

Vanessa Angel:
I remember flying into Vancouver and literally was driven from the airport straight to wardrobe.

David Read:
To Christina McQuarrie.

Vanessa Angel:
Yeah. And I remember the first episode was Upgrades and it was that sort of burgundy colored leathery kind of thing. I loved them. I thought they were beautifully made. Just beautifully made. They were sort, like, showed my… It definitely enhanced my voluptuousness.

David Read:
Your ladies.

Vanessa Angel:
But the clothes made me feel like Anise and Freya. Costumes are, for actors, one of the most important aspects. Even just the shoes you wear, even if you don’t see the shoes, it does help create the character.

David Read:
Changes how you walk.

Vanessa Angel:
Exactly. I mean the fitting for the Divide and Conquer was the pants and… I knew that was gonna be a problem because it literally took somebody to help me untie them. So that was a little bit problematic. Even when I had to [have] a bathroom break. But I thought they were beautiful. I wish I had them. I would be sitting here in my Tok’ra outfit if I could. I’m, like, “Talk about Halloween costume for the next 25 [years].”

David Read:
Absolutely. Dan Ben wanted to know, “Were you surprised at how, or do you remember reacting to anything that was added in post-production when you finally got to watch the episode for the first time?”

Vanessa Angel:
The first time I heard Anise’s voice, it was, like, “Oh, that’s weird.” But it’s not actually… Watching it again wasn’t quite as… You still kind of heard a little bit. It wasn’t too kind of out there where you didn’t relate to… You know what I mean? It was kind of… That was one of the things that was a little shocking, initially.

David Read:
Would you ever think that some of your performance had been gotten lost in the flange effect? “I don’t feel like all of what I tried to deliver is coming all the way through now that I’m underneath this computer stuff.”

Vanessa Angel:
I remember when I was actually shooting it, I wasn’t sure how much inflection to give in these. Do I give… Because I wasn’t really sure how much they were gonna do that with my voice so I kind of tried to find a happy medium. I knew that it was gonna be what it was gonna be with the post sound, but I also tried to… Because obviously your face and your eyes and everything is also giving some indication and communication outside of the actual sound of the voice. So, I just tried to keep her no nonsense, by the book, not even keeled. Like I said, more sort of left-brain type.

David Read:
That’s a great distinction. One’s over here and one’s over here. Did it say Anise or Freya in the scripts so you could go back and forth easily enough? Did you have to tie, like, a string around? You’re, like, “OK, which one am I doing right now?” Did you ever forget which one you were?

Vanessa Angel:
A few times I had to sort of go back and forth within the scene.

David Read:
“Who am I?”

Vanessa Angel:
It was challenging. It’s not… I’m sure you talked to other people, actors who played Tok’ra and I’m sure that they have the same thing to say probably.

David Read:
William Arends, “Had the next season story arc occurred,” and Sethvega also asked this as well, “What would you have liked to have seen?” So, you had the three, the front three, and then the back six are coming later. What would you have thought, “If I get a chance to come back and play with this group of absolutely uncontrollable children, this would be kind of cool.”

Vanessa Angel:
I thought it would be interesting just because it’s slightly more emotional content for Freya to really start developing some kind of relationship with O’Neill. And Anise with Daniel.

David Read:
Wouldn’t that be interesting?

Vanessa Angel:
I know it’s… This sort of love interest thing, it was not that important. But I remember watching it again the other day, I realized that they had already clearly determined that Carter and O’Neill had feelings for each other. Because that’s basically the whole episode. Not the whole episode but it’s a very important part of that episode.

David Read:
It’s the twist.

Vanessa Angel:
It’s the reveal that, “Oh my gosh, they actually have real feelings for each other.” That maybe makes sense why when I come to his chamber, he basically rejects me.

David Read:
He’s occupied up here already by his situation.

Vanessa Angel:
I think they both realize in that episode, “We have feelings for each other.”

David Read:
I do think that there was something there but there was so much going on that I think ultimately it got lost in the other story elements moving forward.

Vanessa Angel:
There was a lot of stuff going on in that episode. But I think that could have been kind of interesting outside of just the general things that were happening in terms of the overall System Lord problems and the different things that were going on, on a bigger scale.

David Read:
This really makes me sad. I would have loved to have seen you come back but at the same time you had a bundle of joy in your life that I’m sure is an amazing woman.

Vanessa Angel:
She’s 24 now.

David Read:
That’s a pretty good trade off, all things considered.

Vanessa Angel:
She just turned 24 two weeks ago.

David Read:
Happy belated Birthday. Marcia Middleton, “Do you have any souvenirs or any Stargate stuff that you got to take with you?” Anything at all?

Vanessa Angel:
No. I wish.

David Read:
Come on.

Vanessa Angel:
Honestly, I would have loved to have kept one of the outfits. I’d love that. I really would. It’s probably the most special outfit that I’ve ever worn in my career. But no, I didn’t get to really keep anything at all.

David Read:
Would you like a Zat gun? If I got you a replica Zat gun, would you take a Zat gun?

Vanessa Angel:
Yes.

David Read:
I’ll get you a Zat gun. I’ll be in touch. Give me some time. But there’s some beautiful ones that I’ve come across and I have a designer that I can… I will take care of that. And you can display it.

Vanessa Angel:
You’re so sweet. Thank you.

David Read:
Absolutely. Anything going on that you wanna make us aware of? Anything happening that we need to be keeping our ear to the ground for?

Vanessa Angel:
Well, I did a really fun movie a few months ago called The Roaring Game and it’s got a little bit of Kingpin vibe to it, and Mickey Rourke is in it. And a lot of… William Forsythe and Eddie Kaye Thomas and Darin Brooks. It’s a great cast and it’s directed by a wonderful director called Tom DeNucci. And it’s basically about curling. You know curling?

David Read:
I love curling. I love watching curling.

Vanessa Angel:
It’s a really fun, heartfelt comedy, along the lines of Kingpin, really. And I play a sports newscaster and that was great. So that’s gonna be coming out and I’m actually off to shoot a movie on the 6th in Nevada, in the desert. I’ve actually done a lot of movies in the last three years. I’ve done probably 12 movies. I’ve just been doing a lot of independent… And that’s really seems to be where it’s at for me right now. And like I said earlier in the show, I just love the experience of meeting new people, collaborating. I’m just so grateful. I’m truly so grateful that I’m still doing this in my ripe old age.

David Read:
Come on.

Vanessa Angel:
No, really. I feel so blessed and it doesn’t really matter… Would I like to do The White Lotus or some very high-profile thing? Yes, I would. But I’m also really happy to go collaborate with a bunch of great people and just live that experience. It almost doesn’t matter to me, the outcome. I used to care so much about the outcome of something, like, “How’s this gonna be and how’s it gonna do and how’s it gonna be received and is it gonna help me?” Now I don’t even really think about that. If the material is interesting to me, it’s fun or different, I’ll go, and yes, you hope that something great happens from it, but if it doesn’t, I’ve had the experience of doing that. And that’s more important to me now than how it’s received or how I’m perceived, or any of that.

David Read:
You’re a girl who counts her blessings.

Vanessa Angel:
I really do, I genuinely… I really have so much gratitude, I wish I had the gratitude I had now back then.

David Read:
“Woulda, shoulda, coulda.” You have it now.

Vanessa Angel:
I know.

David Read:
You got a successful career doing some interesting stuff. I really wanna sit down and watch this Deadly Games. I saw the trailer for it.

Vanessa Angel:
It’s fun. Like I said, it’s a beautiful looking movie because it was shot in Cancún and there’s beautiful girls in it and Gilles Marini who I think the ladies will like.

David Read:
Well, I think it’s topical. So many of us who are online now are chasing this, “I need a bigger number on my social. Not enough people are looking at me.” And I don’t see that going away any time soon. I see it getting worse. I think it’s good to share stories like that and also make fun of ourselves a little bit in the process, like, “Really? This is the story that we’re gonna tell to portray this? OK. Here we go.” So, it’s cool. Right?

Vanessa Angel:
Yeah. The premise of the movie is a competition to get the most, like, followers and money from social media. It’s very relevant thing today so it’s actually quite a relevant movie in a way. What people are willing to do to get attention.

David Read:
Last question for you before I let you go. How has your experience with Stargate fans been over the years at various events?

Vanessa Angel:
Wonderful. Honestly, David? The best. I’m actually gonna do three Comic-Cons in a few months. This year, I’ve got four, actually, coming up. I love the Stargate fans. They’re just always so interested and they’re so curious and they’re usually very intelligent. And I love that they have this community. They have this community and when you do a Comic-Con, you really get this sense that it’s not just about meeting the actors or voiceover people, whoever they’re coming to get autographs from. It’s really their own community. They like to get together. It’s just a beautiful way for people to come together, who are likeminded or have similar interests. And we’re just sort of the icing on the cake.

David Read:
That’s right. They’re also [there] to be with each other.

Vanessa Angel:
Yes. And I love that. I really learned about community from doing Comic-Cons, especially the sci-fi ones. The ones I do now are more nostalgia, the sort of the things I did in the 90s. But I used to do, like, I’ve gone to England to do specific Stargate conventions, and you spend the whole weekend, and you have dinner with the people. It’s just so great to be around people who truly appreciate and love something. And you can share that with them. It’s really a genuinely beautiful thing.

David Read:
You created three episodes of some of the best of SG-1. This is my favorite season of the entire franchise.

Vanessa Angel:
Really?

David Read:
Yeah. And it’s a great testament to the work that one can watch the episodes for entertainment and enjoy it, and then we can also go and sit back and go, “How does that make me feel? What do I think about those situations? And what do I think about the thoughts that are being presented?” And it’s quite a cool legacy to be a part of. And I appreciate you coming on to share some memories from those weeks.

Vanessa Angel:
I really enjoyed talking with you. It’s lovely to talk Stargate. It really is, always. And anytime. I love it.

David Read:
I appreciate you helping to open up my season. And thank you for everything.

Vanessa Angel:
Thank you so much.

David Read:
Thank you for taking the time. I’m gonna go ahead and wrap up the show now on this end.

Vanessa Angel:
OK. That’s good.

David Read:
You be well.

Vanessa Angel:
Thank you.

David Read:
Thank you, Vanessa. Bye-bye.

Vanessa Angel:
Bye.

David Read:
Vanessa Angel, everyone. Anise and Freya in Stargate SG-1. Really appreciate you tuning in. We’re just getting started. We’ve got a number of episodes that are gonna be heading your way over the course of the next few weeks. We’re gonna keep you really busy. My tremendous thanks to Matt EagleSG Wilson, Nick Sketcher, Samuel Cockings and David Jaurequi. They were responsible for the opening titles today of the Ha’tak flying through the scene. I’ve wanted a Goa’uld mothership for years now, and now we have one for a part of the collection in the opening titles. My producers, Linda “GateGabber” Fury. My moderating team, Anthony, Jeremy, Marcia, Summer, Tracy, Raj, Lockwatcher and Kevin. Please welcome Raj, Lockwatcher and Kevin to the team of mods. These are the folks who allow me to bring you guys this content without missing a beat and connecting you to the artists who have made these shows. Frederick Marcoux at ConceptsWeb. He’s our web developed over at dialthegate.com. That’s all that I believe I’ve got for you here. We have Colonel Pearce himself, Rob Lee, coming up to join us at the top of the next hour so I’m gonna get the episode ready to go here. We’ve got a number of shows this weekend and so visit dialthegate.com for the complete details and we’ll see you on the other side.