is a
Fictional Character in both the
Science Fiction feature film ''
Stargate '' and the subsequent television series ''
Stargate SG-1 ''. The role was played by
James Spader in the film version and is played by
Michael Shanks in the TV series
Dr. Daniel Jackson is an only child and an
Orphan . His maternal grandfather and only living relative,
Nick Ballard , is currently living on another planet with giant aliens ("
Crystal Skull "). Daniel's parents, Melburn and Claire Jackson, also archaeologists, were crushed while overseeing a piece of Egyptian art being placed in the
Metropolitan Museum Of Art , in New York ("
The Gamekeeper "). This caused Daniel much grief during his life. in ''
Stargate '']]
Daniel is a brilliant
Archaeologist and
Linguist who speaks more than twenty-three
Language s; the ones seen on screen are
Ancient Egyptian ,
Russian and
German , as well as
Goa'uld ,
Ancient , and
Unas (which he decoded). He used his knowledge of Ancient Egyptian knowledge to open the
Stargate by interpreting the cover-stones found with it. On the original mission through the Stargate to the planet
Abydos , Daniel met and fell in love with a native woman,
Sha'uri (she is named
Sha're in the TV series
Stargate SG-1 ).
They accidentally married, but after winning the battle to free the Abydonians from the
System Lord Ra , Daniel decided not to return to Earth with the rest of the team. He had finally found a family and wanted to live the rest of his life learning about the culture and history of Abydos, insights into
Ancient Egypt .
in ''
Stargate SG-1 '']]
A year after the initial mission to Abydos, Sha're was kidnapped by
Apophis and she was made host to the
Goa'uld symbiote Amonet, Apophis' wife. Daniel returned to Earth and joined
SG-1 in the hope that his missions through the Stargate would help him find his beloved wife Sha're.
During these missions, Daniel serves the role of an interpreter when speaking to alien people. He learns languages quickly and has a wealth of knowledge on ancient cultures. Among a team of military officers, Daniel is often the voice of understanding and acceptance of different cultures. He is an optimist and believes in helping people even if it endangers his own life.
During his many adventures with SG-1, Daniel has been captured, infected with alien viruses, had 12 alien consciousness planted within his brain, killed, brought back to life multiple times, been inside a sarcophagus many times and experienced withdrawal symptoms, he also succumbed to appendicitis as well as being kidnapped once. The actor, Michael Shanks, suffered appendicitis around the time "
Nemesis " was being filmed and was in no condition for any serious work, so the writers had to quickly reduce Jackson's role in the episode, and used Shanks's real-life condition.
Because the
Harcesis child
Shifu was born to his wife Sha're, Daniel Jackson might be considered some sort of stepfather to the boy.
His contributions have also been recognised by the '', the flagship of
Thor , the Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet, was named in his honour.
At the end of Season 5 of
Stargate SG-1 in the episode "
Meridian ", Daniel Jackson died due to over-exposure to radiation he suffered while disabling an unstable
Naqahdriah reactor. However, Jackson did not perish completely; instead, he
Ascended to a higher plane of existence, guided by the
Ancient Oma Desala .
While Ascended, Jackson's role was filled by
Jonas Quinn , however he later returned to human form in the Season 7 episode "
Fallen ". He spends much of Season 7 trying to find the Lost City of the Ancients, which leads them to finding the Ancient Outpost at Antarctica in the Season 7 finale "
Lost City ".
Jackson died again in the episode "
Reckoning (Part 2) ", killed by
RepliCarter . In the next episode, "
Threads ", it is shown that
Oma Desala is once again providing a path for Daniel to Ascend. But events in the real-world prevent him from continuing his journey, and during his decision-making,
Anubis appears. Daniel eventually persuades Oma Desala into fighting Anubis, and Daniel is Descended back to Earth, to live on as a human.
During Season 8's "
Prometheus Unbound ", Daniel had his first contact with
Vala Mal Doran when the latter seized the
''Prometheus'' and Daniel was left on board.
in ''
Stargate SG-1 '']]
Vala later returned in "
Avalon ", preventing him from going on the
''Daedalus'' to
Atlantis by linking him to her with
Linking Bracelets . She is searching for a lost Ancient treasure and wants Daniel to assist her. After finding the
Ancient chamber under
Glastonbury Tor ,
England , Daniel discovers, by reading an Ancient book, that the Ancients called themselves the Alterans and came from another galaxy. He also discovered that the Ancients had a device for intergalactic communication. Still linked to Vala, they use the device to communicate, where they find themselves in the bodies of two people in another galaxy. There, they make contact with the
Ori and bring that threat to the Milky Way.
The show occasionally jokes about how many times Daniel has died, as in fact it occurs often. While other characters are frequently shot, infected and killed, the show seems to prod the audience with the idea of being without this particular character.
- Hit by a staff blast and apparently mortally wounded, remains behind on Apophis' doomed ship to use the sarcophagus and escapes via Stargate before the ship is destroyed in " The Serpent's Lair ".
- Killed by falling rocks, resurrected by a princess with a sarcophagus in " Need ".
- Died of old age while in the body of Ma'chello, an ancient enemy of the Goa'uld, in " Holiday ".
- In the opening of " Rules Of Engagement " he appears to die along with the rest of SG-1 but is only temporarily stunned.
- Carter shoots an alien resembling Daniel Jackson, the alien later dies." Foothold ".
- SG-1 searches for Jackson while he follows them around in a non-corporeal state, suspecting that he has died and is a ghost in " Crystal Skull ".
- Suffers cardiac arrest after becoming addicted to a Goa'uld narcotic device. " The Light "
- Is shot and killed with gate-defence lasers along with the rest of SG-1 in " 2010 ".
- Has his head chopped off in " Double Jeopardy ", revealing that the SG-1 the episode had followed to that point is not the original, but rather the Android SG-1 .
- Is dying of radiation poisoning and psychically asks O'Neill to make the doctors and Carter stop trying to save him in " Meridian ", thus Ascending to a higher plane until season seven.
- Killed by Teal'c in the Virtual Reality system during " Avatar ". If he did not gain the trust of Teal'c inside the game, as he had previously been a Goauld Spy inside the Virtual Reality, they would both eventually die.
- Killed by RepliCarter at the very end of " Reckoning " and is seen at midway point between Ascension and mortality before finally being brought back to life in " Threads ".
- A Goa'uld -possessed alternate timeline version of Daniel is shot by Teal'c in " Moebius ". The timeline is restored by the end of the episode and Daniel is alive with all of SG-1. (in another timeline in the same episode, all of SG-1 are killed ''except'' Daniel; that timeline's Daniel apparently lives out his life in ancient Egypt, and would have eventually died as well.)
