Amanda Tapping Interview: Stargate SG-1, Atlantis And Sanctuary

When it came to the point where you moved away from Atlantis full time, to move onto Sanctuary, was it just because there was another project, or was this the time?I had been asked about Sanctuary two years ago basically. And I read the script, loved it, loved the idea of it, we shot a test scene in July of 2006 just to see if it would work. It was going to be a show that was going to live entirely on the web. We shot the pilot in January of 2007. Put out eight webisodes. But it’s hard to monetise this kind of show, on the Internet. Especially a show of that calibre. The budget was huge and it was an entirely virtual show.

When my contract for Atlantis was about to be renewed, I knew that Sanctuary had a chance of being picked up for television. We hadn’t yet, so it was a massive leap of faith on my part. If I walk away from Sanctuary, it dies. All these people who put their money and time in, it goes away. If I stick with Sanctuary, then there’s a better chance of us getting a broadcast deal. It was a really difficult decision, long talks with Joe Mallozzi, long talks with the Sanctuary producers. And eventually I just had to make the leap of faith. It wasn’t that I was sick of Stargate, it was that I had to give Sanctuary a chance.

Was it by choice then that you’ve kept your feet in the Stargate camp as well?

Yeah, absolutely. I’m hugely grateful that they’ve kept the door open, and they’ve been very gracious about it. Maybe Sam could come back toward the end of the season. So yeah, they’ve been amazing.One thing that strikes us about you is that you seem very generous with your fans. Sanctuary seems to be the embodiment of them, giving plenty back to the fans, right down to the tools for them to take their own spin on it. Was that always the intention, and is that interaction important to you?

Absolutely. First of all, I can’t even say enough about the fans. If it weren’t for them, Stargate wouldn’t have lasted ten years. They’ve been incredibly generous with us. I think that anyone who takes a look at our show and at the way that fandom has supported it and rolled with it, you have to acknowledge the fan base.

Sanctuary was the perfect way forward, and sadly we’ve fallen off the wagon a bit in keeping the fans as involved as we want. The nature of the show has changed because now networks own a bit more of it. Our ideology behind it was very pure, the vision was very pure. Giving back to the fans and saying look, you live on the Internet, let’s present this show to you, we’re going to make it this way, then let’s have some fun with it. Let’s make it interactive. Let’s start an energy and get the social network really moving behind the show. Our intention was quite pure, but it’s a very hard thing to make work.