“Shows change, they evolve, they become different,” Browder said. “That’s all due to the producers and where the story is going and the persons involved in telling the story. Season Nine will probably be different from Season Eight and my only problem is that people will attribute that to me.”
Browder joins newcomer Beau Bridges (“General Hank Landry”) and series veterans Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping, and Christopher Judge for the show’s ninth season. (Actor Richard Dean Anderson’s level of involvement has yet to be finally determined.)
Browder observed that most successful, long-running shows have had to eventually make alterations to their casts. “At a certain point, you have to keep swimming or die, you have to keep moving or die,” he said. “Most shows, you look at great shows in TV, Cheers or MASH, any long-running shows, they have their transitions. NYPD Blue, too. The show itself, the story being told, is what’s important. You can change out cast members and the show will survive. Shows add characters, they lose characters, that’s the nature of a solid show.
“Even in four years on Farscape, we lost characters and added characters. Whether the audience embraces that [on Stargate] or how they respond — there’s absolutely nothing I can do about that. Other than enjoy the experience and see where the thing goes and hope the producers feel that they made a good decision.
Despite the high challenge of meeting the expectations of an established crew, cast, and fan base, Browder is looking forward to beginning production next month — and getting to know Cameron Mitchell. “The great thing with introducing a new character is that he’s got no powers. He’s useless. That’s a great thing. He can’t sense when a symbiont is present. He doesn’t know anything about Ancient technology. He’s not a translator. If nothing else, it’s going to be interesting.”
Read the full interview at ChicagoTribune.com! Season Nine kicks off this summer on The SCI FI Channel.
(Thanks to Maureen Ryan for the tip!)