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"Daniel is wise,O'Neill is strong can I not choose both"-Skara

Jack: "What kind of archeologist carries a weapon?" Daniel: "Uhh, I do." Jack: "Bad example."

Daniel Jackson faced actual gods and refused to back down. Mitchel and the rest are great characters, but Jackson literally goes on a hero's journey, dies, resurrects, and heads out for round three.

"the moral issue just evaorates", "we're about to turn the tide" Jackson making excellent water puns

SG-13's Balinsky: "Doctor Jackson's going to DIE when he sees this!" Dixon: "What, AGAIN?" Balinsky: "Funny"

And everything Jackson went thru.... he never lost or changed his values and wonder of it all. There were several times he stood in defiance of the military. He was the hero, yes. But he was also the heart of the show.

Jackson is Stargate to the Tau’ri, In universe there’s and episode where a bounty hunter acknowledges that the price of his head is the highest because HE brought the humans to the frontlines.

Daniel is a very Star Trek character forced to survive in a less-than-utopian universe.

Daniel Jackson is a genuine hero to me and probably had an oversized impact on my life philosophy than most real people I've known. This video more eloquently explained why that is than I ever could so thank you so much.

"Hey Jack, which end do the bullets go in again?"

Not a controversial take at all. There were many times during the series that I flat-out hated Jack because of his short-sightedness, and his distinct tendency toward pettiness and meanness, and many times it was Daniel Jackson who prevented O'Neill from committing what can only be described as atrocities and war crimes. Daniel was the moral center of the team and series, kept Jack from taking the easy road and cutting-and-running many times, and provided crucial large-picture views of the events the team was currently involved in. I would argue that all of the alternate realities where Earth gets invaded before ascending to their Prime timeline tech level are the results of if Daniel Jackson wasn't part of the Stargate Program and wasn't part of SG-1. I'd even go as far as to say that if Daniel Jackson wasn't involved in the Stargate program, the fates of the Milky Way, Pegasus, and the Alteran home galaxies would all be radically different: Daniel is the primary motivating force of the entire series.

Interesting thing to notice about Daniel is how his demeanor changes precisely because his values never do. He begins as a composed, delicate, patient scholar but at the end of SG-1 he's quite a bit more harsh and forceful in expressing himself and in his actions. Particularly the threat of the Ori seems to have made him like this - since he maybe understood more than most just how much of a threat they are. He grows into being louder, even a bit frustrated at times, because upholding his values requires him to do that considering everything he's been going through.

I'm pretty sure off screen Daniel was required to go through bootcamp and certain training courses. Like they don't give you a gun in the military unless you are certified on it.

WOAH WOAH WOAH MAN!!!!.....Bullets BOUNCE! I am so glad you include that clip in its entirety. Mitchel became his own character throughout those 2 intro episodes, but that moment really just tickles me every time! Such a good moment between the two, because at first he grabs his gun to back his partner up, but as he realized the full scope, he just has that bounce step thing as he freaks out and it is just perfect.

Agree. He is one of the great TV sci fi characters, up there with Picard for me. He has the ability to offer a moral commentary on the plot that feels justified in his character and isn't just a proxy for the author's opinion. Michael Shanks honored what Spader did and then built so much dimension on top of that.

Stargate is one of the few shows where they put knowledge (both scientific and metaphysical) along with curiousity on the as the driving force, while the macho soldiers like O'Neill, Everett and even Shepherd become almost frustratingly narrow-minded most of the time (especially as the show goes on). One of the many reasons I love this show so much.

As a kid, Daniel Jackson was my favourite Startate character. I really admired that he was so intelligent, had such strong morals, and was willing to stand up to the fiercest enemies, be they Anubis, Ra, or O'Neill. To this day, most DND characters I play are similar to Daniel by focusing on Intelligence over combat skill.

My heroism is immaterial to this conversation.

Daniel Jackson dies for what he believes in. A bunch of times.

Just here for the Daniel Jackson Dying and Ascending Jokes

I would put forth one nitpick with the statement that Jackson has no training. I think it's pretty clear that while he starts out this way, he would have been receiving military training to some degree if he wanted to stay part of the team... like he has no problems firing guns and laying explosives and while I can't remember a specific moment, he's probably learned some combat medicine.

He noticed the Earth glyph was just below the Stargate's cover stone cartouche containing the Abydos address instead of within it. Samantha Carter worked on Project Giza for two years prior to the Abydos mission and even she didn't notice and she's a goddamn theoretical astrophysicist. Daniel realized the glyphs were star constellations by looking at a newspaper. The true hero of Stargate notices the little things and he wears glasses!

Daniel Jackson is a hero to everyone who hopes that learning obscure subjects, going where all the signs say don't, and sticking to one's principles is the path to success. And we love him for it.

Guess i better go watch all of Stargate since i haven't seen it. Brb.

Daniel was the heart and soul of the team. I always thought an interesting thing the writers did was each member of the team had different names to each other. Daniel Jackson was “Daniel” to Carter, “Jackson” to O’Neill, and “Daniel Jackson” to Teal’c. And the same for the other characters, except for Teal’c.

And you, RJC, are the Daniel Jackson of Sci-Fi KZfaq Channels: always on the horizon, always open for new and fresh ideas, always ready to empathize with filmmakers and mistakes they make, always willing to voice your opinion and stand up for it (while remaining civil and providing always interesting reasons).

Jackson and Carter did all of the hard work. Stargate Command needed their scientific and engineering minds to deal with a lot of the problems. They could have gotten plenty of random grunts to do the shooting.

I always recommend stargate to people looking to get into classic (pre-bsg04) scifi but haven't clicked with star trek. Daniel and Sam are "star trek-y" characters while Jack and teal'c bring a more grounded element to the show

Thank you for this amazing video. Daniel Jackson will always be my favorite character because I love his profound contribution to this amazing show. But I will also say this, I've never watched a show that had this kind of "team" character dynamic, it is brilliant. I really love them all (SG-1).

Thanks to you I've started watching this show, i started last month with the movie then jumped right into s1 and i am now done watching the series and it was great... as a 90s kid i slightly remember seeing it on tv here and there but never got into it till now and the wait was worth it same thing with the x-files 3 years back i bought the s1-11 Blu-ray collection and the 2 films and had an awesome winter watching everything x-files....stargate SG-1 and the x-files are both amazing shows.

DJ was always the heart of the team. And the connection for the audience.

Rodney McCay vs Daniel is all you need to know. Two very very different people. One embraces it, one only wants the science part but hates combat or anything close to it.

What a great series Stargate was. I remember waiting every week for the next episode back in 2000 when I was living in UK.

In my opinion the best written episodes of SG1 were when Jackson was at odds with his own friends.

I have the love the cut to S05E01 Enemies @8:12. It's a defining moment of the character. The episode that like no other, proves to the audience that the calm, kind and open Danial Jackson, is by then also a highly trained special forces solder who still remains calm, kind and open.

1:03 What a nice homage. Daniel Jackson is always looking at ancient texts for wisdom. 😂

Honestly, Jackson was the character that I felt was the outlier in the team. He was fully civilian, thus he had VASTLY different perspective compared to the rest of SG-1. Jackson was the hope of the team, so to speak. He was also the best example of someone using a personal pain to drive themselves to grow in some way. Jackson was the only person on the team that would likely have been in the program regardless of which country was actually running it. He was consistently useful when interacting with most of the snakes. He was the biggest pain for them due to his strong beliefs. Even when his wife was taken as host, he was still somewhat neutral towards most of the snakes. Apophis and Anubis being the notable exceptions regarding his innate neutrality.

As much as I love Stargate it did occasionally veer too far into military worship, so having Daniel's thoughtful, empathetic, humanist civilian perspective was absolutely vital.

I was a little skeptical when I clicked on this video, but you've convinced me and I now see Jackson in a new light and appreciate how he was written even more. Which is an impressive thing to do in someone who has loved this show for decades.

Oh yeah for sure. O'neill directing the group on the ground, but Daniel has always been the heart and moral compass of the group, questioning why they were doing what they were doing beyond the military need to defend earth and defeat the goauld and how humanity could better itself through what they uncovered. Even with Carter, she had the science element, but it was usually bent towards the military application as the primary purpose.

Daniel decoded an alien language in MINUTES. Without him, earth's stargate might not even be functional yet.

I thought it spoke volumes how, when selecting personnel for all the other SG teams, General Hammond decided they should each include an archaeologist. Obviously, it made sense for the purposes of translating ancient text, but I think it also really showed just how much he grew to appreciate Daniel's unique perspective.

Omg omg omg! I’m so excited by each Stargate post you make

Yesss, I am so glad you made this video. Daniel was always my favorite character, so this essay feels right.

It's why Daniel's departure in season six (and I love Jonas Quinn, do not get me wrong) was such a jarring thing. I mean, him dying was a huge blow for me when I saw it for the first time. Also, when he appeared to Teal'q when he was hallucinating because he had to change his symbiote between him and Bra'tac, that was one of the best episodes of Stargate, right after Heroes in my opinion. It just shows how much Daniel will do for his friends, no matter the circumstances.

Yeah! Good old Daniel Jackson.

The best example of Daniel's character, and I'm surprised you didn't put this in here, is when he was ascended the second time and gradually finds out who Anubis is. He does not hesitate, does not flinch, does not contemplate, but immediately attacks even while knowing he can't do anything. It's his steadfast commitment to his friends and to his values that finally convinces Oma to actually do something about the mistake she made in Anubis, which literally saved the entire galaxy.

Dude finally caught a fresh episode drop Yaya!!!

The essay and lots of the comments mention admiringly how Jackson held to his values in the face of overwhelming external circumstances. The video even includes that clip of him describing for the Doci (Julian Sands, R.I.P) his philosophy and how, regardless of the consequences, he would never change it. My question is, are we supposed to valorize him because he’s unwaveringly steadfast in his morality? What if someone displays equal lifelong, absolute fidelity to values we find abhorrent? I love Daniel’s character, and his courage and persistence are among the most laudable in fiction. But I’m not nearly as sure about his inflexible ethical certainty. At least one of the comments mentioned the hero’s journey, but while Daniel has incredible adventures, he doesn’t seem to grow and change (much) as a person. It’s probably a very good thing he came equipped with the very highest of ideals, but I think it’s more relatable to arrive at those beliefs as a consequence of living.

Hopefully we'll get a Stargate Universe

Loved watching Stargate as a teen and Daniel always was my fave for all the reasons you named

I loved this. This was fantastic and insightful and (conveniently) it cones in the heels of me finishing a complete rewatch of the franchise start to finish a few days ago, during which I concluded Daniel really is the core of it all. Not to be pedantic or anything, but I think we’re supposed to believe Daniel *did* get some formal weapons training at some off-camera point in season 1. In the beginning of the season he’s fumbly, and generally only trusted with a pistol, but by the end he’s badassing around, not extremely effectively (as compared to Jack) but clearly it’s more than he could have picked up just by osmosis. And by the end of season two, there’s really no difference between his weapons abilities and the others. There’s also scenes of him doing commando crawls and other very specific things without explanation. This is never mentioned onscreen, so I may be imagining it, but by the 40-ish episodes in, he’s never a liability ever again. Anyway, great job and thank you. This is just what I needed today

Why I always include the movie in the series watches is that shows where he goes from curious nerd with potential to his real hero journey. The cave scene with his wife in particular was the turning point for me.

You might use same exact arguments that he is Mary Sue. And what about that time his team got enslaved, and he ruled a planet? Or when he got superpowers and become the ruler of the Earth (even if it was a dream, or something, I cant recall)? Saying that he is a "classic hero" subtracts from other characters, by implying they are not good enough. Show portrayed him as heroic as everyone else, and they made sure that he is just as flawed. Saying that he was the only one who was happy to enter the stargate might as well be described as "he was only one who didnt care about how serious their mission is, he was reckless." You can even argue that he is extremely forgetful, because despite everything that happened to him, he is barely affected by it, which would make him much more callous than Jack. Jack lost his son, and it affected him for the rest of his life. And Daniel lost way more people, and got a million things which would traumatize anyone, but he is basically the same guy, except more confident and in better physical shape. He is a great character, but he is no better than the rest of main cast.

GREAT video, thanks so much 😊❤️😊!!!

Ok him being the civilian but also engaged in so many makes him the fullest ar wise, tealcs is kinda running paralllel to the story, and still good, and honestly jack fits more a mentor friend. Hell, vala is even part of that. And its interesting early struggle with his judgement too.

You forgot to mention how attractive Daniel is😂

I'm pretty sure none of us needed a KZfaq video to come to this conclusion. Our boy has saved the galaxy numerous times.

Thank you for this great video. It is because of Dr Daniel Jackson to why I love Stargate; I love the archaeology aspect and the discovery of the Ancients. Please bring more Stargate back. 😊

I saw the film before the series, and always considered Daniel the main protagonist and hero of the film. I will always remember the scene where he was talking with Ra. I must have still been in the single digits when I first saw the film, but none of the action or spectacle remained in my memory. Seeing what I considered the main character speaking in another language with the main enemy just resonated with me so much that I can't divorce that scene from the feeling of the entire franchise.

5:57 _"...Everyone should have the right to exercise their free will...."_ Dr. Hannibal Lecter approves this message.

Thanks for the great video, Rowan!

Your voice sounds like the Critical Drinker's but sober. lol... Cool video.

This was always known. Daniel had almost a mary-sue-esque character ark. He is truly the Guy.

I basically agree, but think Daniel did get some military training at some point. Comparing his early firearm use with his skill a bit later, for example.

My favorite character is Sam, mostly because, as a woman, I loved seeing a woman in a sci-fi show as smart and strong, but Dr. Jackson was great.

My dad was a librarian and a linguist, and when we saw the original movie he was pretty chuffed that a character so similar to him got to be the hero of a sci-fi action adventure flick.

Daniel looked at the whiteboard. He thought of Major Kawalsky, Dr. Janet Fraiser, Martouf, Sha're and the countless other heroes who all made sacrifices great and small. Jackson sighed as he walked to the whiteboard, erasing "The" and replacing it with an "A".

I didn't even realise this was even a question, but now I can see that many might not have assumed this like I did.

A little bit of backstory is good for consistency I have a guy in a book I’m writing he’s from a British boarding school but he’s from Boston his family sent him to a different school every year to isolate him because there a criminal mob family grooming him to be a cold “fixer” and he also eat mostly frozen TV dinners because he’s so emotionally detached he has no nostalgia for family diners and he’s a futurist having traveled as well he believes in labor saving devices and he stays consistent this way within me necessary saying this in the novel. He contrasts with the main detective who’s a real home body who was orphaned and raised by his grandfather in a small town with small town values. A few core backstory elements and remembering which stage of life the character is coming out of living through and heading to is a great trick

Daniel was definitely the most noble character. I miss this show.

Always a relaxing and interesting watch

Great Timing I just watched movie last night and the plot this morning. Introducing my kids to this show......again.

Daniel was always my favorite character on the series. Now I know why.

Daniel was my favorite after Carter. Nice to have them put a smart guy as a main character, instead of background. Also he died so many times!

Daniel Jackson gave me that really confusing queer moment of wanting to be him at the same time as wanting to be with him. Last year has been rough for my self-esteem, yet watching this kind, intelligent and courageus man grow stronger and more respected in the show gave me ideal to strive for

Shanks was great as Daniel, really liked him as a Burn Notice antagonist too. Great actor, well written character, fun video 👍

He always was . Without Daniel Jackson the Gate would never have been figured out.

Daniel is the heart and soul of SG-1. He always had do the right thing sort of attitude throughout the entire series. Even when he was ascended he didn't want to play "God" even thou he could of.

Wasn't ever a question

people tend to forget the movie is about jackson. it starts with him and ends with him. now i would say in the show they drop him a little but i would say hes now a 1b than a 2.

"The most important aspect of character writing is personality." *queue up "WACKO!" scene*

A badass is the last word you’d use to describe Season 1 Jackson. Season 10 Jackson is a certified badass.

Daniel is easily my favorite character in SG-1.

No one talks about how O'Neill and Daniel BOTH have which others names in there names.

I didn't realize this was ever a question!

There were times I wanted someone to put him in his place for being such a naive fool, but I cannot argue the fact that Daniel Jackson was the heart and soul of the SGC. Without his voice, it would have ended up as a purely military operation much like we see in the alternate at the end of season 1 - and we all know how that option ended. There were other characters also that contributed (such as Dr Janet Fraser) but Daniel had the largest impact.

You pretty much summed up in under 10 minutes why Daniel Jackson is my most favourite fictional character ever. I had been pretty much decided since I was 15 that if I ever had a son, his name would be Daniel lol

He more or less lead earth through the new universe they he helped unlock. He unlocked the gate and then lead the way through all the new cultures making first contact and establishing diplomatic relations, essentially being the face and poster boy of Earth.

Thanks so much for this; couldn't agree more!

Really well put. Completely agree 👍

Perhaps but O’Neil’s humor (apparently RDA was known for not sticking to the script) played a large role.

I mean, Daniel and O'Neill could possibly claim this title, since they're the only ones who started with the movie, and Jack is a little more one-note in his narrative role, so Daniel basically had to get it.

"Damn it colonel, just because they're aliens and their skulls are transparent, doesn't mean they don't have rights." - X-treme Daniel.

The protagonist of a story is the one whose will moves the story along at key points. As with any episodic TV series, many episodes differ from the core structure. But as was said in the video, Daniel is the one who does so at key points in the story. In "The Serpent's Lair", he deactivates the shields of one of the ships so that the explosion of the other takes out both, after being left behind wounded. Without him, Earth would have fallen. He ascends how many times (being the only one of the core team to ever do so iirc)? The Ori specifically capture and brainwash him. He was at the core of the inciting incident in the movie and the series. There are so many clues.

Thank you thank you thank you! One of my fav tv characters of all time

Well Said, great video.

Of course he’s a hero! The dude was able to reject Vala for so many years, that probably took enormous strengths 😂

I think Daniel Jackson would want to edit this title into "Why Daniel Jackson is *A* Real Hero of Stargate" and then rip into Coleman for not giving the most of the other characters their due. Another reason why he is THE Real Hero of Stargate.