Fans of Baal may have been somewhat dissapointed as the calculating and stylish Goa'uld made only one brief appearance in the first half of Season Eight ("Zero Hour"), despite the fact that he is now one of Earth's biggest threats. GateWorld is pleased to report that Baal fans can now breathe a sigh of relief: a major, two-part Stargate epic is on it's way to television screens next year, and it's heavy with Baal. Beware of spoilers for the upcoming two-parter "Reckoning" in this report, as well as for Season Eight's "New Order" and "Zero Hour!"

"It felt good," Simon said about "Zero Hour" and his first appearance inside the base. "It was very good appearing at the S.G.C. without them knowing about it. Obviously that shows I have a power that they don't know about -- basically, that I can transport myself in there without them giving me permission. That sort-of puts them on edge a little bit, thinking that I can come in there any time I want. Nobody actually sees me. I can just stand around there and observe what's going on."

In "Zero Hour," it's apparent that Baal has overtaken Anubis' forces, including his Asgard projection technology, which he demonstrates by projecting himself into the gate room and taunting O'Neill. The oversight that Baal has this technology may end up being a gross underestimation by the S.G.C., as Simon explained. "Something might happen. They do get a signal when there's a restricted transmission coming through, when someone's trying to get through the gate without them knowing about it," the actor said. "It does give them a signal, but it does leave something open here. [Truth is,] I can basically appear there any time I want now, at the S.G.C."

Break out the T.E.R.s.

Baal makes a surprise appearance at Stargate Command. From "Zero Hour"

Baal will be featured heavily in both parts of "Reckoning," Simon told GateWorld. "I reckon (pardon the pun) these two episodes are definitely the best episodes I've worked on, as far as the writing and the storyline are concerned," he said. "What's happening now, as you know, is it's sort of coming to a peak with the Jaffa trying to be free, all these kinds of things. They want to retake the city, because that is what Baal basically runs, and that is where his power as a so-called god comes in. If the Jaffa could happen to take the holy city, that could prove, maybe, that Baal is not a true god, as he makes out to be. Or any of the other Goa'uld, actually.

For those who have followed the show closely, Simon points out that the Jaffa holy city of Ta'kara has not been in Baal's possession all along. But as to whether or not he took it from Anubis in the recent power vacuum, he only responded, "That I cannot say."

Not only will Baal be forced to defend Ta'kara in the two-parter, but he will have to contend with galactic issues. "There's another very bad person around, I call him a person," Simon said. "Some very bad entities who have come into our galaxy. A very big threat, a very big threat to Baal." (Whether or not Simon is referring to the new Replicator threat is anyone's guess.)

"I'll give you one teaser," he continued. "He requests the help of SG-1, so that brings another whole new dimension to the whole thing. Because now this powerful god, he's asking for help. Obviously O'Neill, he's like, 'What are you talking about? Why should we help you? If someone wants to kill you, why don't we just let them kill you? It's gonna help us [in the long run].'"

Unlike previous appearances by Baal, Simon says his evil character will be mixed into all the subplots of "Reckoning." "There are two or three different stories that Baal is involved in in these two episodes," he said. "So it gets pretty complicated because he's actually worming his way around, trying to play different characters. He's basically being unfaithful wherever he can, which is Baal. He's pretending to be good, but he's not. SG-1 sort of works out what's going on. But Baal's part is very, very big. The storyline is actually, basically, just Baal! For me obviously it's great, for the character it's great. It really puts Baal into a whole different dimension."

Baal tortures Colonel O'Neill mercilessly. From "Abyss"

Expect a new and exciting spin on the character, too, as this chapter in the Stargate saga allows the actor to expand his wings. "I'm personally trying to bring a little humanity to Baal, so he's not this arbitrary alien guy who's just bad the whole time," he said. "He's got to be a three-dimensional character, so that's what I try to bring in 'Reckoning,' and it seems to have come accross."

Perhaps Simon's best performance thus far was in Season Six's "Abyss," loved by many fans for the growth of Jack O'Neill's character in the episode. Will we continue to see the hostilities between these two characters? "Yes, you will!" Simon promised. Harkening back to this traumatic time in Jack's life, "Reckoning" will not dissapoint. Simon explains: "Baal is trying to get O'Neill to trust him, in a way, which is very difficult. Can O'Neill trust somebody who killed him over and over again? That's the whole angle from Baal's side. He has to get O'Neill to believe in what he's saying."

While his filming days for the two-parter have come and gone, it's not the end of Cliff Simon's Stargate experience: He'll make his first convention appearance at German City Con, December 11-12 in Nuremberg. "I am going to Germany in December, and I think I'm going with Amanda Tapping and Peter DeLuise," he said. "Any fans in Germany, I would love them to come along. It's the first convention I'm going to be doing. It'll be the first time people will see Baal. So it would be really nice to come by and say hi!"

"Reckoning" will air in early 2005 on The SCI FI Channel in the U.S. Watch GateWorld for more from guest star Cliff Simon when the episode airs!

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