Doctor Janet Fraiser returns! We are thrilled to welcome back Teryl Rothery to Dial the Gate as we celebrate a staggering 400 episodes of the Stargate Oral History Project.

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TRANSCRIPT
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David Read:
Teryl Rothery.

Teryl Rothery:
Hey.

David Read:
So good to see you again.

Teryl Rothery:
Good to see you too.

David Read:
How are you doing?

Teryl Rothery:
I’m good. I’m admiring all your fabulous gadgets behind you.

David Read:
I have been extremely lucky. Many fans have chosen to submit, and most of the pieces behind me here are fan-made. The amount of talent that is out there in the community … You’ve met them. You’ve met them at Stargate Conventions.

Teryl Rothery:
I’ve met them. I’ve witnessed and have signed various things that they have made themselves, and I’m constantly in awe. Always in awe. I don’t know how they do it. It’s phenomenal.

David Read:
What are some of the things that you have recalled signing? Obviously, you’ve got the usual things. You’ve got the DVD box sets and everything else but …

Teryl Rothery:
The DVD box sets, the photos. I’ve signed different … I’m looking around to see if you have stuff like this. Where they’ll … OK, for instance, it’s to my left looking at your screen, where they’ve got the gate that’s lit up there, and then what they’ll do is with the walkway up, sometimes they’ll have us sign that. I’ve signed, I think, the zat’ni’katel. I’ve signed so many different things and, like you say, the majority of them are handmade, and it’s inspiring. I don’t know. I honestly have never had the gift. I can’t even do coloring in the line half the time, and yet here they are creating these phenomenal pieces. It’s mind-boggling.

David Read:
There’s so much that goes into the creativity of making something new in a sci-fi world where you have to often create stuff that doesn’t normally exist naturally on Earth. But to be in love with a TV show, a show …

Teryl Rothery:
Yes.

David Read:
… so much that you’re willing to let it come in and seep in … One of my favorite quotes of all time from Kate Mulgrew, who played Kathryn Janeway, she said for a while, she was always wondering why people would think that sci-fi fans weren’t smart, because she always said one has to be smart to connect science with the imagination. And people …

Teryl Rothery:
Absolutely.

David Read:
… do all kinds of things to express their love for the fandom, and it never gets old.

Teryl Rothery:
Never gets old. And the difference is, people will go and they’ll shop various pieces. Different places, stores that make things, but there’s definitely a difference. There’s a different energy when it comes from their heart. They have created this. It is … I’ve got goosebumps. I never get tired of meeting all these amazing people that support this show and then, in turn, this is just …

David Read:
That’s right.

Teryl Rothery:
… it’s paying tribute. I’m looking behind you and I’m just … I love it. Love it.

David Read:
What’s going on with you right now? Any updates you can give us on what you’re working on? You are always working on something. Teryl, every time I turn around, Teryl Rothery is working. You are one lucky gal.

Teryl Rothery:
I have to say, I’m very blessed in that regard. And when it does get quiet then I’m always like most people, “Uh oh, what’s happening? When’s the next one gonna come?” But I’ve been working on a Netflix series called Virgin River. March 12th they’re gonna be releasing Season Seven, so, that will be out to the public, and then we will begin filming in April.

David Read:
Wow. I’ve seen a little bit of it. There is something about that show that just captivates people, and it’s one of those that can just keep on … What is it about that show that has people coming back for more? What’s the X factor? Is it the cast? Is it the combination of stories and cast? Is it the writing that’s so good? What do you think is going on there? Martin Woods, I think, is working on it as well.

Teryl Rothery:
All of the above. All of the above. I love the escapism of it all, the same as with Stargate. There, we all have our favorite shows and it’s like, “Oh, good. I get to binge.” Or sometimes I’m one of those people just like when I have a favorite book, I’ll read the book and then I know I’m coming to the end and I really don’t want it to end so I’ll put it away for a bit. Just try, I’m trying to prolong my love of the writing, the book and the story. So, the same applies with this show. When you find a show that affects you the way it does and again, a testament to the writing, to the crew, to the design, to the production, everything, they found this amazing niche that was able to reach people … The amount of people, amazing humans that will say, “You have no idea. I was going through this ailment at the time. I was in the hospital at the time.” “I was having this,” or, “I was growing up and going to school.” That was our, we’d sit with my parents and my grandparents ’cause you’re getting the younger generation in. It is just magical that it was the type of show everybody could sit down and watch together, and then you would discuss it, and then that same joy we get when we look forward to the next piece of the story. Another puzzle piece coming in so that we can continue to watch. And … the imagination. Think about all the magical shows that allow us to expand our imagination and to have them take us to this planet and meet these individuals that live, inhabit this planet. And the good, the bad, all of the above, it had all of it. It had the heroes, it had the romance, it had the science, the people that would watch that show. So many, David. I know for a fact you’ve received the same information when people come up to you.

David Read:
Absolutely.

Teryl Rothery:
Where they’ve come up and said, “Oh, by the way, it was so inspiring. I got my doctorate and I’m currently working at such and such a hospital.” Or, “I’m doing research in such and such an area.” It just, goosebumps again, it’s just what a blessing for every one of us, all of us to be a part of this show. You included. You’ve been with us right from the get-go.

David Read:
I was, I’ve been blessed too, Teryl.

Teryl Rothery:
Look at us, how lucky we are.

David Read:
I want you to tell me about Don in the tub. Michael Shanks shared this story. And he says, “No one tells this like Teryl tells it.” You guys were in, I think, Europe or France, Europe.

Teryl Rothery:
We were in …

David Read:
At a convention.

Teryl Rothery:
… we were in Australia, I believe it was. I’m trying to remember, was it Australia? I just know that it was a different system than North America with regards to the size of tubs.

David Read:
Yes.

Teryl Rothery:
In the sense that that’s why I’m thinking maybe it was. I just know that it was a long tub that, it was in, it was for a little person like me, I could be in it. I was like, oh my God, I could … it’s like I was swimming. I could just lie in it and I could do the backstroke if I really wanted to. But it was, seriously. But anyway, and the funny thing was I was like, “Oh my gosh, I love this tub. This is the best.” And all of a sudden, “Bring, bring. Bring, bring.” Because they were in a hotel.

David Read:
So, he called on the phone.

Teryl Rothery:
There’s phones in the bathroom, David. You know how you go to some hotels, there’s a phone.

David Read:
Thank God.

Teryl Rothery:
Somehow, he got this phone, “Hon.” And at the time I was with my ex, he’s like, “You gotta come over ’cause I’m stuck.” I said, “What do you mean you’re stuck?” He said, “Well, I’m stuck in this bloody tub. I can’t get out.” And so, anyway, we had to go. I didn’t go into the bathroom, of course, but I’m howling, freaking howling. We go over there and there’s my ex, Calvin, trying to literally, you know when something’s stuck and you have to edge it out in little pieces at a time? That’s how Calvin had to get Don out of there. I’m still out of control laughing. I mean, and then he, that look of indignation when I do get to see him is like, “Teryl, hon, I’ve never, I’ve never in my life … Don’t they realize I’ve got a 55-inch chest? I mean, I couldn’t get out of this tub.” And he was just, it was hysterical. All the Donny-isms.

David Read:
And that’s the thing, and no one made fun of himself better than he did. He was salt of the earth. We’ve had that conversation many a time. But I never heard that story until Michael mentioned it, it was like, “Oh, that’s going on my Teryl list right there.” You’d think that when you invite people to your hotel, you should size them up when you look at them, when you take them in to assign them a room. Because, I mean, come on guys, you know the size of your tubs. Come on. Don’t just …

Teryl Rothery:
But still …

David Read:
… let ’em try.

Teryl Rothery:
OK, I’m gonna … Let him literally stew in there. OK, I have to tell you. So, then, this is an addendum to this. So, there’s all of this going on. And Don being Don, of course …

David Read:
Of course.

Teryl Rothery:
… did that. He was gonna send them up there, and he was gonna berate whoever came in. He went on and on with this gentleman that had come in to sort of suss out the situation. And again, he is going on and on, and his chest is puffed out, and he’s pissed, and he’s going on and on and on. And this fellow, with his accent, I’m not gonna even try to do the accent.

David Read:
It’s fine.

Teryl Rothery:
But he quietly said, “I completely understand, sir. I just also want you to know that I am such a huge fan of yours. And the show.” So, the Tasmanian devil… Imagine the Tasmanian devil in full form. There’s this animated thing going … Goes, “Pff.” Totally deflates into, “Oh, well, that’s very kind of you. That’s very kind of you. I so appreciate that, and here, come on over. I’ve got a photo here for you,” because he felt so bad.

David Read:
“Not only was your tub small, but here is one of my… here is something from me.”

Teryl Rothery:
And we’re like, and we’re going, “Donny, you just got your ass bit, didn’t you? Because you just got caught being angry.” And then he felt so bad, and in that beautiful way that Donny would do it, apologized, and everything was taken care of.

David Read:
The takeaway from that is you never know who’s listening and you never know who it is that you’re talking to.

Teryl Rothery:
And, but do we learn? Do you think we learn from that though? Do you think we learn?

David Read:
I think that’s up to us. I think that if we’re lucky, we do. And if we don’t, that’s a shame, isn’t it?

Teryl Rothery:
It is a huge shame. The reason I’m bringing this up is because something similar happened. I had a situation when I had to have the plumber in. Now the difference is I didn’t go full-on Don. But I was saying, “This is getting silly, guys. This is ridiculous, that you’ve had to come in this many times, and what am I supposed to do?” And I wasn’t foul or anything. I was just expressing my angst, and I was frustrated. And at the end when it was all done, it was a younger fellow, and he’s like, “Yeah, I don’t blame you. It was a very frustrating situation.” I said, “Well, thank you so much for getting it all fixed.” He said, “And I have to say, if you don’t mind…” Sorry.

David Read:
No, you’re okay. You’re perfectly all right.

Teryl Rothery:
This is my phone. The phone was ringing, I just wanted to make sure it went off. He said, “I have to say, I used to watch when I was younger. I used to love your show. You were Janet Fraiser. And my folks, my parents…” And that’s why I’m bringing this story up because in that split second I was like, “Oh, thank God I didn’t do what Don did.” But there was that moment where Don’s always present. I was like, “You know what? Thank you. I love the fact that you’re watching it.” I said, “It amazes me that …” I said … And this fellow had kids now, and that’s what I’m saying. It’s a testament to the show, to the whole … The writers, the creating of it all.

David Read:
And this guy came back to your house a few different times, though, to get this job done?

Teryl Rothery:
Oh, this poor kid. He had to. I had eight visits at one point.

David Read:
Shoot.

Teryl Rothery:
And this young man was … Yeah. I had every right to be pulling Tasmanian. It was crazy. But it was taken care of. Go on. What?

David Read:
Wow. And then while … That’s tricky because you don’t want to go in there … If I’m working at someone’s place, I don’t wanna be the first thing that I … You open the door the first time, “Oh my God, Janet.” You know? That’s awkward. So, he kept his mouth shut and …

Teryl Rothery:
He did.

David Read:
… he kept on, kept on working it. That’s a tricky situation. And the other thing that I think of with that, Teryl, is … And this is going back to the larger point, especially now. One of the words of this decade is gonna be divisive. We are so divisive with each other now that it’s so easy to miss the human being underneath, and we …

Teryl Rothery:
Yes, yes, yes.

David Read:
… deserve to give each other grace as much as possible.

Teryl Rothery:
Of course. Of course.

David Read:
The other part … If we just tried, I am convinced that most problems would be surmountable, but we love to hate too much.

Teryl Rothery:
Sadly. Sadly.

David Read:
I’ve got some fans here who want to ask you some questions.

Teryl Rothery:
Do they come on live with us?

David Read:
No. I have the questions here.

Teryl Rothery:
OK.

David Read:
I’m not gonna do that to you. Well, you would probably …

Teryl Rothery:
Ha! I don’t care.

David Read:
…not mind it, but there’ll be some people who are like, “Grr.”

Teryl Rothery:
I’d be fine with it.

David Read:
I’ll put a pin in that for the future. Francoisrevol7926, “Fourth Stargate series has been announced.” I was privileged to be there for that.

Teryl Rothery:
Nice.

David Read:
What do you think about this coming back, Teryl? There’s another one coming.

Teryl Rothery:
I’m so thrilled. I’m so thrilled. Now, I don’t know enough about it other than that … from what I understand, it’s not like a prequel or a follow-up. It’s coming back. Is that correct? Or has that even been announced yet? I don’t know.

David Read:
Yes, it is not a reboot. It is in the established canon of the show, and as Stargate always does the best, it’s in the now, so they’re gonna skip ahead to us now.

Teryl Rothery:
I love it. I love that. I think it’s fantastic. I’m so excited. I’m so excited for everybody to get this reboot. That’s huge. It’s huge. And I know that this is something that has been wanted by so many people for a very long time. I’m thrilled.

David Read:
That’s right. And everyone’s already asking, or saying … I’ve been reading the chats. They’re like, “Well, there’s gonna be another Doc Fraiser.” It’s like, this is sci-fi. Anything is possible. I don’t know if anyone out there saw X-Men: Days of Future Past, but you can resurrect whole frigging casts.

Teryl Rothery:
That’s so funny? Who knows? But I’ve had that same thing, people in the industry that I work with, they’re like, “So…” Same thing. Nobody … I haven’t heard all the details, just that it’s coming back. And they said, “Do you think you’ll come back?” And I went, “Hell no. I’m dead.” “I died.” And they’re like, “But …”

David Read:
You didn’t even ascend.

Teryl Rothery:
I didn’t even ascend. And they were like, “But wait a minute, that’s a sci-fi show. Couldn’t they … Don’t you guys go through…” This is how they were saying it. They’re like, “Don’t you guys go through a gate or something? You go to another planet?” I went, “I never thought of that. Who knows? Maybe.” You don’t know. Who knows what they have up their sleeves? But regardless of what it is, you darn well know if you’ve got the boys who began, the men who began this amazing institution, we’ll call it, they’re back at the helm. They are going to make sure that all of the fans will definitely be so pleased with whatever it is that they bring forward. I’m really excited for them all.

David Read:
This is gonna be a good time. Raj Luthra wants to know. Out of all the entertainment mediums you’ve worked in … You’ve worked in theater, you’ve done dance. I knew you had done dance the last time you came on, and I had a brain fart and forgot it, and I was so embarrassed, Teryl. Of course, I knew.

Teryl Rothery:
Don’t be embarrassed.

David Read:
God, that was a royal one. Movie and film and TV. Which have you emphatically enjoyed the most? What medium do you enjoy the most performing in?

Teryl Rothery:
I love series TV. I love it. I love it because obviously making a movie is … you love that too. But to me, it’s like a book. So, it’s like you get your beginning, your middle, end and then it’s gone and then it’s on to the next book. Series is like your favorite series of books where, “OK, volume one, done. Oh, I’ve got volume two, so it’s Episode One.” It keeps going and I’ve always loved that. Even myself, I personally gravitate to watching series television. Even if it’s the limited-edition ones, where you’ll get six episodes or whatever, eight episodes. That’s my go-to to watch for myself even. I like knowing it’s coming back.

David Read:
That’s right. There is something that I love about …

Teryl Rothery:
Does that make sense?

David Read:
Absolutely. Particularly limited series. I was a huge fan of Stephen King, and still am, when I was younger. There was nothing quite like the Stephen King television miniseries that had several episodes where his stuff … OK, so you know what I’m talking about. So, his stuff really had the proper ability to unfurl when it was on television. Some of the films are great, but there’s just something about … And a lot of these were shot in Canada. There’s a number of them. Garry Chalk, I can think of one right now in It, which was … It scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. There’s something about taking your time with a story, especially if it’s adapted straight from a book.

Teryl Rothery:
Absolutely. As an actor, we love just being in a character, creating that character. But yeah, there’s that … You brought up Stephen King. I just watched it. It came on Netflix and it had been shot years ago, but I just got into it. And again, the same thing, I was binging. Brendan Gleeson was the star of it. The heck was that?

David Read:
That was a King product?

Teryl Rothery:
Can you look it up? And it only … It was only three seasons.

David Read:
Mr. Mercedes.

Teryl Rothery:
Because that was the trilogy.

David Read:
Is it good?

Teryl Rothery:
It was scary, scaring the hell out of me.

David Read:
He’s good.

Teryl Rothery:
But Brendan Gleeson, I love him so much. And then the actress … There’s another actress in it. Can you list off…

David Read:
I can. Give me just a moment here. But while I’m looking for that …

Teryl Rothery:
Holland. Holland Taylor, or was it …

David Read:
Brendan Gleeson, Harry Treadaway, Kelly Lynch …

Teryl Rothery:
Holland. Some …

David Read:
Holland. Holland Taylor as Ida Silver.

Teryl Rothery:
I love that actress. I’ve seen her in so many things as well. So, I loved it for the acting, obviously the writing, how it was shot. I loved it. I mean, it was dark, it was scary, but so well done. The actors are amazing. Anyway, what were you gonna say about Brendan Gleeson?

David Read:
Brendan Gleeson did this movie called The Banshees of Inisherin, and he …

Teryl Rothery:
I think I watched … Wasn’t that years ago it came out?

David Read:
He gets so angry with a neighbor that he decides to completely cut him off, and if he ever speaks to him again, he takes off a digit, and it’s those kinds of digits.

Teryl Rothery:
Yes.

David Read:
And it was, “Oh my gosh.”

Teryl Rothery:
I remember.

David Read:
He is so good and he was dead serious. I thought that was …

Teryl Rothery:
Wasn’t that crazy?

David Read:
Yeah.

Teryl Rothery:
He’s brilliant. He’s brilliant.

David Read:
Exactly. I agree.

Teryl Rothery:
I always love the stuff that he’s in.

David Read:
Tele-Editing wants to know, “Teryl, did playing Dr. Fraiser evolve your view of healthcare workers and did it influence how you feel about those kind of folks and any involvement in researching that area of work?”

Teryl Rothery:
Absolutely. It was. As you know, I think most of them know as well, the people who watch, our fans, but we always had a medical person on set with us at all times. It started and then … I’ve done so many other medical things, series afterwards, but it’s a whole … You totally see the different side, you see the other side. For Janet, it was different. I mean, she wasn’t just working on our local citizens at a hospital. She was umpteen feet under the ground and dealing with non-humans. So, it was magical and creative and fun. They don’t get paid enough. Nobody really understands. I have yet to see this show, but I hear it’s brilliant. There’s a show called The Pitt. I don’t know if you’ve seen that yet.

David Read:
Someone just asked about that.

Teryl Rothery:
Noel Wyle stars in it.

David Read:
“Would you join in for an upcoming season if asked?” PhilippeCanat asked.

Teryl Rothery:
For … OK, so Philippe, I haven’t even watched it yet. That is my next list to binge, but are you kidding me? If I was asked to be on that, in a heartbeat. I’m hearing such amazing things about this show and it’s such a strong cast. It would be a gift to work on something like that. Of course it would be.

David Read:
That’s so cool. Kathiescall3899, “You mentioned someone on the set. Did you ever struggle with the medical lingo?”

Teryl Rothery:
No, not then. I think it was youth. Youth was on my side, so I could get it. But I have to say, our memory. I was telling somebody this too. Sometimes, Amanda and I would get new scripts saying, “Oh, by the way,” and I’d be literally standing ready to go into the scene. They’d say, “Oh, we’ve got these new updates. Take a look.” And I’d be, “What?” And then you’re looking at the medical jargon. What happens is you start to know, so I was on Good Doctor for a while as well. So, you start to know how to pronounce certain things because there’s stuff that is repeated when you’re in the emergency situation. So, I would start to actually know, and I loved researching. I would go down that rabbit hole of, “OK, so what is this? Oh, and how do we treat that?” And then I go to the next page and then I go, “Oh my God, this is so cool. Who even knew this existed?” So, I ended up absolutely loving it. And I can also say, I used to have this thing where I’d go into the hospitals and I would be, “I can’t deal with it.” Being able to work in an imaginary way, hearing stories right there, up close and personal when you’re setting up a scene and you’re hearing from the medical people saying, “God. I gotta tell you about this thing that happened in the ER the other night.” And they tell you things. It’s not a desensitization, but it’s a way of just looking at it as, “All right. Here’s a situation we have to deal with.” It’s, “OK, here’s a new script. I gotta learn this. Here’s a situation. This has to be dealt with, this body part. Oh, I see what’s happening here. Let’s deal with this.” And they’re on it and it doesn’t stop. And I am completely in awe and have so much respect for the medical people and how it all gels, how they manage to do it, how they still have a life outside of it. I’m in awe of it.

David Read:
Lockwatcher wanted to know, did you get to walk away with anything from the set? A little flashlight, any kind of small prop? Anything? Do you have anything of Janet or of Stargate?

Teryl Rothery:
No, not one thing. I was never like that. I know a lot of them, I won’t say anything, but I think some of them ended up with a few pieces, that’s all I’ll say. But I didn’t. And do I regret it? Yeah, there’s a part of me that does regret it. I wish I had a pair of the Dr. Fraiser boots. The silly ones that were this bloody high, like anybody in medical would ever, and certainly not military attire. That would have been fun to keep. But yeah, no. And my other big regret is not having that light, the pen light, ’cause I was always shining that bloody thing and Shanks or whoever, I was always doing the pupil dilating. I wish I’d had that. That would have been a fun little thing to have.

David Read:
Did you get a look at this?

Teryl Rothery:
Which one? There’s so many.

David Read:
The SGC logo.

Teryl Rothery:
Yes. It’s brilliant. Brilliant.

David Read:
Would you want one? Would you like to have one?

Teryl Rothery:
What do you mean, would I like to have one?

David Read:
I can have one made for you if you’d like.

Teryl Rothery:
Are you serious?

David Read:
His name is SGA Gate Builder, that’s his handle online. His name is Martin McClean. He is a dear friend of mine. He worked at Microsoft for 25 years. He’s a computer scientist …

Teryl Rothery:
Whoa!

David Read:
… and he builds these things. And I will have him make one for you. We made one for Gary Jones because Gary, he was the doorman. He symbolized …

Teryl Rothery:
He did.

David Read:
… that organization and so do you. And I would be happy to reach out to Martin and have him make one for you. So, we’ll have something done for you.

Teryl Rothery:
Oh my gosh. That would be phenomenal. I would be absolutely thrilled.

David Read:
You mean a great deal to all of us. And I asked him to design this last year and we gave one to Jonesy …

Teryl Rothery:
Wow.

David Read:
And I’ll get you one.

Teryl Rothery:
Thank you. Thank you.

David Read:
Absolutely. Recently, about a year ago I guess now, I was privileged to have on Vanessa Angel.

Teryl Rothery:
Mm.

David Read:
One of my favorite …

Teryl Rothery:
How is she? How is she? Tell me, tell me, tell me.

David Read:
She’s great. She’s doing really good.

Teryl Rothery:
Is she still stunning as ever, I bet?

David Read:
She’s wonderful. And she has such fond memories of that project. One of my favorite scenes from the entire series is the exchange that you have with her, with Don at your side in the hallway there. “I object,” to someone interfering with my experiments. “I object to being kept in the dark about information, about people whose health I am responsible for.” Oh, God. A, you go girl. But B, no kidding. Tell her what’s going on. We were all right there.

Teryl Rothery:
Funny you say that. I remember that scene now completely. I loved it. I loved Janet. She didn’t back down. She was freaking cool. Loved her.

David Read:
There was one scene in particular where you went to a place where I didn’t think that you would ever go. There’s an episode in Season Five called Rite of Passage, and Cassie is sick.

Teryl Rothery:
Oh, the mama. Mama bear.

David Read:
Yeah. And Jacqueline … I’m getting goosebumps, Teryl.

Teryl Rothery:
I was gonna say, you know what, David? I’m covered in goosebumps here.

David Read:
Jacqueline, I talked with her and I said, tell me if I’m wrong, Jacqueline. I said, “When she sticks the gun in your face, even though you’re a Goa’uld, your respect for her just goes up a little bit.” And she was like, “Oh, yeah. That was that moment.” It’s like, OK, this is impressive that this human is going to this point. And it’s because you feel those things. They’re coming through on the screen. “I totally understand that as a mother, and I totally understand that as watching someone who knows humans so well.” That took guts to do, and it was great TV.

Teryl Rothery:
It was great TV. I loved it. I loved that. I loved being able to show. That’s the thing, people would ask, “What do you, what do,” it for the, any, the regrets. The regrets of her not carrying on. And I say, which is so true, it’s like we all know that all of us as individuals, and especially as an actor, it’s like peeling, and the writers peeling away different layers of that onion. You can go thin, you can take a thick piece off, but it can continue to go. That was my thing is I was like, there’s still so many layers we could have peeled off for Janet. Because they were just getting there. There were so many things, different nuances. That moment there, the moment where you see the friendship and the aunt and the mama, when it was Cassie’s birthday. When Sam and Janet …

David Read:
“You’re lucky I’m letting you go out at all.”

Teryl Rothery:
… are there.

David Read:
‘Cause she’s, ’cause she’s not gonna allow it.

Teryl Rothery:
Yes! All of that, all of those amazing moments. And I think that’s the beauty of knowing when to end a series, when I think about it. We the viewers are disappointed ’cause we love our show and we want it to keep going. But then there’s that place where those who pull the plug and say, “No, this is it,” you kinda want to have them wanting more. As opposed to, “OK, I’m done. This is done now.” You do kind of want that, “Oh, if only we could’ve found out more.” I understand it. I do understand why it’s done.

David Read:
Shows can go on too long. There are some people who argue that SG-1 went on too long with the other two, the last two seasons are very different. And I can respect those people feeling that way. They’re very different. And trying to stick that landing is not easy. Otherwise, everyone would be making hit shows. It’s just not done. We’ve talked about this before but, there was not supposed to be a Season Eight. There was supposed to be Atlantis. And so in looking back, it’s just devastating because it’s like, “OK, we’re gonna be at SGC. Who’s gonna fill that void?” Someone has to fill that void. And it took them a while to figure it out. It’s because the character worked so well, guys. But “Heroes” was awesome because of it. And I know you’re never gonna watch it, and I have come to the point where I’ve accepted, and I get it. We had Mitchell Kosterman on. And if you’ve not … I should send you this link because his was a wonderful … He’s a wonderful guy. And he talked about the scene where he goes in and he’s the one who actually reveals over dialogue the actual fate. And Teryl, the guy broke down on camera …

Teryl Rothery:
It made me want to cry.

David Read:
… in front of me, recalling this scene. This guy loved you. But he was also, as a friend, connecting to the character who loved the doctor who took care of all of them. And I’m like, “That’s not fake. That’s genuine.” And that’s why the show worked.

Teryl Rothery:
That teared me up.

David Read:
Yeah. It’s so good. Saul Rubinek was amazing. I think one of my favorite scenes in the entire show is the two of you ’cause he’s been portrayed as kind of a jerk in this episode. And she’s like, “What’s with the ring?” ‘Cause now we’re like, “Oh, great. Now he’s married and he asked her out on it.” And then he says, “Yeah, it’s sentimental. My wife, my wife died a few years ago.” And you open up to him and he to you, and it’s just those little scenes that, in my opinion, make something like this work. Not the wormholes, not the explosions. We have to connect with the people, or we don’t connect to any of it.

Teryl Rothery:
Yeah, yeah. You’re bang on.

David Read:
I’ve got a couple here. ArabianLady, “If Teryl… if she could choose a role that was, at this point in her life, something that she would really wanna do that she hasn’t really done yet, is there anything …” You have been so fortunate to do so much over the years. Is there anything that you still wanna cut your teeth on? ‘Cause you’ve got a lot of years to go.

Teryl Rothery:
Let’s hope so.

David Read:
Yes, you do.

Teryl Rothery:
There’s so … that’s such a great question. And I have been asked similar things at various conventions, and I never have a firm answer because there is so, so many things. What comes to mind is playing a role, for instance, and I don’t ever, I aspire to be as great, but Jessica Tandy in Driving Miss Daisy. A role where there’s this, this, speaking of an onion, with layers. And where that character goes, and the acting and the subtleties, both her and Morgan Freeman, was just … wow. I just loved it. Something like that, a role that you would sink into and … I call it chewing away at it, and finding those moments, and getting the opportunity to play and try different … and having the time to take after take and try different things, that kinda thing, that would be phenomenal. I would love something like that. But we just …

David Read:
Can we …

Teryl Rothery:
Yeah, go ahead.

David Read:
Can we explore character a moment there?

Teryl Rothery:
Yeah.

David Read:
When you look at Driving Miss Daisy, great film. Characters are not obnoxious for the sake of being obnoxious, unless they’re written by a very incompetent person, which I suppose is possible. But as an actor, you’re probably always curious to know why. Why are they behaving this way? What’s really driving at that?

Teryl Rothery:
And you wanna go dig deeper …

David Read:
How far does the …

Teryl Rothery:
… as to why.

David Read:
… does the onion go down?

Teryl Rothery:
Yeah. You wanna find out why. And then something I remember from years ago in an acting class is we’ll sometimes play a character that we actually don’t like. And so, the role of the actor taking on that is you’ve gotta find something in there that you do like. And so, if there isn’t the backstory presented to you, you create your own backstory and find out why is that person the way she is? And you also, when the writing is like that and you find out where all of this stuff comes from, then you get those moments of finding, “OK, when is there …” And that’s again, your director is like your guiding light that will say, “OK, let’s see a brief little bit of this. Let that come through a bit, then pull it back.” And then you together, it’s like a dance. You create this character. And that is a joy. And those are gifts, those are amazing gifts. So, I guess when you say what would be the role of something like that, but just more those gifts, those opportunities to play these characters, just breathing life into another character. It just excites me. I love it.

David Read:
Can I ask you something that … You have a daughter?

Teryl Rothery:
I do.

David Read:
What did Cassandra mean to Janet?

Teryl Rothery:
So, going back to when Janet had Cassandra, I didn’t have children then. We all had our dogs. That’s what we had. Those were our babies. All of us. I do know … Where did I draw that from? I drew that from my own growing up, being raised by my grandmother and her ferociousness to protect, and a love that was so intense. And I would go, “Well, I know what I’m like with my dogs. How would I…” And then going back and going into my youth, and our ups and downs as teenagers and our angst and our awwies and the tears. All of those things, and how I was taught and how I was raised, and that was all I needed to know that that is a bond that goes beyond, even when we’re no longer on the planet. That bond never goes.

David Read:
I agree.

Teryl Rothery:
I’m getting teary thinking about it. You have that relationship too? Your parents? Your mom?

David Read:
I love her. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I’m an only child, and my mother and I were very tight.

Teryl Rothery:
So was I.

David Read:
I always connect … I don’t know what it is about Cassandra Fraiser that I always really connected with, and there’s something about being left alone out in the cold and other people coming along and picking you up and saying, “You’re with us.” We’ve all been in those circumstances where we’ve been alone.

Teryl Rothery:
Absolutely. And this child wasn’t even from our planet.

David Read:
And finding our family. No, no.

Teryl Rothery:
Yeah.

David Read:
“I’m from a place called Toronto?”

Teryl Rothery:
She was just left.

David Read:
And going from Katie Stuart to Colleen, ’cause you had Katie for a couple of episodes.

Teryl Rothery:
Yeah.

David Read:
In fact, I think her best one was her second one, where …

Teryl Rothery:
Which one was that one with Katie?

David Read:
That was “In the Line of Duty,” where Jolinar is introduced, and Cassandra is actually the one who detects, when she hugs Sam. She’s like “She’s a Goa’uld now.” And she brings Sam out of her slump of depression as she’s lost this thing, part of her, and she gets on the gurney with her and says, “You’re gonna be OK.” Man, that girl could act. Holy crap.

Teryl Rothery:
Yeah. It was magical. And her little face, I can still see her.

David Read:
Absolutely.

Teryl Rothery:
She’s a grown adult now, heck.

David Read:
She sure is. And then we had Colleen, who had played a different role in Season Two of the show, she came back and played the part. I guess you’re used to characters being played by different actors. But is it ever harder sometimes than others to really get into that? Because you have to interface with them on camera.

Teryl Rothery:
Yeah, it can be. But at the same time, logistically, we’re at a certain age, we just keep plugging along, doing the show. Little ones grow up, so you’re always gonna have a different version, another actor step in. So, there is that. And for me, it’s just turning it to this is who she is now at this age, and it doesn’t change. It’s this is what I’m being presented with, it’s the angst of the teens. It is this, all of these new things to confront. So, no. No, that didn’t jar me at all. I was fine. I’m just trying to think. Even when … You can’t fill another’s shoes. It’s like when I came back in Nine, I guess it was, and I was with Beau. Beau was sitting in Don’s chair. Completely different character. But there was still the familiarity of who should be in that chair. And for me, being on another planet before coming back in Season Nine in that episode, that was … Wow, it was like I had to fight my emotions too.

David Read:
For sure. That would, especially with you knowing who that man and that character was inside and out, arguably more than anyone. I think that would have been helpful in your situation because you are not at home in that one. You’re from a planet …

Teryl Rothery:
In that regard, yes.

David Read:
… where I’ll betcha Hammond was still around, and so there was a certain amount of detachment there.

Teryl Rothery:
Hammond would have still been around on my planet. Spot on.

David Read:
Listen man. Before I let you go, I wanna acknowledge the character that set up your journey in SG-1, and it was another Janet that you played in an extraordinary hour of television written by Brad Wright, and I believe directed by Jonathan Glassner, called “Field of Fire,” and it was a Robert Foxworth episode.

Teryl Rothery:
Yes, it was.

David Read:
And it may be my favorite Twilight Zone, Twilight Zone, ha, Outer Limits episode. It is really up there. And Brad did love blowing up the planet. You have the pivotal line at the end of this episode, and anyone out there I’m not gonna blow it, but go and watch “Trial by Fire,” Season Two, Episode Nine. Do you recall if that’s the reason why Fraiser was also named Janet? I’ve never been able to confirm that. That’s gotta be it.

Teryl Rothery:
I never asked Brad that.

David Read:
It can’t be it.

Teryl Rothery:
I never asked those guys that. I honestly don’t know. But wow, what a … Yeah, let’s not give spoilers for those who haven’t seen it, but it is …

David Read:
It’s a good show, man.

Teryl Rothery:
… frick me, it is a good show. And yeah, let’s not give it away. That last line, whew.

David Read:
Absolutely. I am so thankful to have you back on.

Teryl Rothery:
Me too.

David Read:
I’m sorry it’s taken this long, but I’m thrilled to have you for 400. This show that I’ve built for the last five and a half years has meant so much to me. And you have been a key part of it, and it’s been a privilege. I don’t think that this fandom is going anywhere, not the least because there’s a fourth one coming, but there is something about Stargate that continues to bring people back to the well, pardon the pun, all the time. We’re now on the third or fourth generation of …

Teryl Rothery:
Isn’t it something?

David Read:
… people, of families who are watching this thing. And, like Brad said, it may not be a brightly burning candle, but that candle ain’t burning out.

Teryl Rothery:
It’s not burning out. It is not. I’ll just share this one little tidbit. I might have already told you this one, I can’t remember. But years and years ago, were we in Germany? I can’t remember where we were. Gosh almighty. I had short hair, so whatever season that would have been when Janet had really short hair. We were somewhere, doing a convention. And this sweet, sweet little boy came in, and I got to hug him, and he was so sweet and he loved the show, and he was watching it with his mom, and anyway, not that long ago, I forget how many years ago it was, I was in Germany. It had to be Germany then. I was in Germany, and I’m there, and we’re signing, and these people come through, and I’m like, “Hey, how are you?” And we’re chatting, and one of them said, “You probably don’t remember.” I said, “Oh my gosh, I feel bad.” There’s so many different people. I said, “Tell me some stuff.” And he’s there with his lady, and there’s another lady there, and he presented me with this present. Gosh, I wish I had it up here. I’ve got it down in my den. Oh, I still have it. It is a photo of me bending down with this little boy with my arms wrapped around him. The man presented me with this photo with his fiancé and his mother, and I just went … I looked at the boy, and I’m looking up at this man. I went, “What…” I started bawling, like I’m gonna start now. I started bawling. I came from behind the table, and I’m just like, “Oh my gosh. That is what Stargate SG-1 is all about.” There he was, and he was like, “Hey, here’s my fiancé,” and … sorry. It was just such a beautiful moment, and his mom was there, and I was like, “Oh my gosh, you must be so proud. Look at your kid,” and he’s getting married. And it just … David, it was so moving, and it was that this is why, like you say, that candle doesn’t burn out. How beautiful is that? I got you going now, sorry.

David Read:
It’s OK. This happens occasionally on this one. It’s not that it happened the first time a fan had come up to you. It’s that he’s an adult now, he’s getting ready to start his own family, and it still means that much to him that he came back.

Teryl Rothery:
Yes.

David Read:
That’s magic. That’s pure magic …

Teryl Rothery:
Isn’t it?

David Read:
… that you can have an effect on someone that much.

Teryl Rothery:
It is magic.

David Read:
Still my favorite moment is, and I’m gonna share this. I shared it once with you. It was at a Creation event years ago, and this French fan came on stage. His name was Louis, and he asked about if you knew what a French kiss was, and you asked him, “Louis Calage – 20 — have you seen The Graduate?” “No.” “You must rent it, and then when you get to Mrs. Robinson, you must think of me and then you will know the answer to your question.”

Teryl Rothery:
Oh, my God.

David Read:
And then you turn here and you do this, and he gives you a peck on the cheek. And the room lit up.

Teryl Rothery:
I remember.

David Read:
Teryl.

Teryl Rothery:
I remember.

David Read:
I cannot tell you how many times people have come on, actors who are at their first convention, they’re like, “Oh, I don’t know if I can get into this.” And you go out in front of them and you just eat the stage. And they’re listening out there and they’re like, “I can never freaking do that.” And your ability to light up a room, that talent cannot be diminished. It is an awesome talent. And I thank you for spending this hour with me and with us on the eve of a new show. And it is always a treat to see you.

Teryl Rothery:
Thank you, David. Always.

David Read:
Thank you.

Teryl Rothery:
I wish I could give you a big hug.

David Read:
Be well. I’m giving you one now. There you go.

Teryl Rothery:
OK.

David Read:
You be well. I’ll be in touch and I want that photo. I would love to see that little photo.

Teryl Rothery:
OK. Let’s do it.

David Read:
Absolutely. And I will get you the clip of you and Louis ’cause I’ve got it. I just saved …

Teryl Rothery:
My, did you save it?

David Read:
I had them on tapes, and I recently converted everything, and now all of a sudden I’ve got this stuff … on my hard drive here, so, I’ll give it to you.

Teryl Rothery:
So smart. You’re so smart. OK, yes please.

David Read:
It’s little things like that that make life awesome.

Teryl Rothery:
I love it.

David Read:
… thank you for joining me today.

Teryl Rothery:
Thanks, David.

David Read:
You be well, dear.

Teryl Rothery:
Mwah. You too.

David Read:
I’m gonna go ahead and wrap up the show on this side.

Teryl Rothery:
Bye.

David Read:
Teryl Rothery, everyone. Janet Fraiser in Stargate SG-1. There are some actors that are pure magic and Teryl is one of those people. She is as much a member of SG-1 as Sam and Jack and Daniel and Teal’c. There are people who just stay with us in our soul when we’re watching these shows that we love, and she is certainly one for me. My name is David Read, you’re watching the Stargate Oral History Project. If you enjoy Stargate and you wanna see more content like this on YouTube, do me a favor, hit that subscribe button. Or the like button rather, the like button first of all, it really does help with the show and will continue to help us get our audience out there. Please also consider sharing the video with a Stargate friend, and if you wanna get notified about future episodes, click subscribe. And giving the bell icon a click will notify you the moment a new video drops and you’ll get my notifications of any last-minute guest changes. And clips from this livestream will be released over the course of the next few weeks on both the Dial the Gate and GateWorld.net YouTube channels. I have a tremendous team of people who help me pull off these episodes week in and week out. Thank you to Antony and to Lockwatcher for being the mod captains for this episode, and to Enigma for helping us with the time codes. I have so many people now who help me pull this thing off that I’ve had to completely revamp my end credits system. So, I’m gonna let it do the talking for me, and thank you for tuning in to Dial the Gate. My name is David Read, I appreciate you being here for this 400th episode. Let’s do another 400, shall we? I’ll see you on the other side.