Here’s why Don S. Davis’ General Hammond was so key to Stargate SG-1’s success. The Stargate franchise kicked off in earnest with the 1994 movie blockbuster, starring Kurt Russell and James Spader. The story found a team of scientists and soldiers traveling through a wormhole to another world. The movie became a surprise hit, but while director Roland Emmerich planned to return for a trilogy, no big-screen sequels ever emerged.

The mythology hinted at in the movie was way too big to tackle in one movie, so TV spinoff Stargate SG-1 was able to really explore the concept. The show debuted in 1997 with Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks replacing Russell and Spader respectively, while Amanda Tapping’s Samantha Carter and Christopher Judge’s Teal’c filled out the team. The show was a huge success, running for ten seasons in total and receiving spinoffs in the form of Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate Universe.

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Don S. Davis was a well-regarded character actor before signing on for Stargate SG-1, including appearances in Twin Peaks and Hook. His character General Hammond was originally written as the stern leader of Stargate Command, who would clash with Richard Dean Anderson’s sarcastic O’Neill. Davis wasn’t interested in just playing a humorless stereotype and was allowed by the showrunners to inject Hammond with humanity as the series progressed.

Don S. Davis’ Hammond is undeniably a stern boss, but he also cares deeply for those under his command. His role in Stargate SG-1 means he’s rarely in battle himself – though he steps into the action in episodes like “Into The Fire” – he still has to make life or death calls. The show gives insights into his backstory, including the reveal his wife passed away from cancer prior to his joining Stargate Command, but he rarely shares much about his life with the team.

Don S. Davis brought real gravitas to Hammond, and there was always something reassuring about his presence on Stargate SG-1. The benefit of such a long-running series is that it gets actors a chance to evolve their characters, and it was interesting seeing Hammond gradually loosen up, including bending or breaking the rules when he deemed it correct. Due to health problems, Davis would reduce his role following season 7, though he continued to make guest appearances in following seasons.

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Sadly, Don S. Davis passed away in 2008, and the offscreen passing of his character Hammond was later acknowledged in Stargate: Atlantis by Carter. He may have lacked O’Neill’s humor or Teal’c’s stoic coolness, but General Hammond was eone of Stargate SG-1’s MVPs. His firm but fair authority was a key ingredient of what made the series work, and for some fans, it was never quite the same when Hammond stepped down from command in later seasons.

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Padraig Cotter
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It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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