There are some things I watch for the writing. (Eg, I think I would have watched Buffy regardless of whether Sarah Michelle Gellar had been cast as Buffy or someone else had. No disrespect to her, she obviously worked very hard and all that.)

Other things I watch because of the cast. Or at least one person in the cast. I've sat through some fairly awful films because of just one cast member. And it does make me wonder about things like: why particular casting decisions get made.

For example, it's widely reported that RDA got the role of because he needed to find his glasses to read the script and that fallibility impressed the producers. Which led me to think, what if he had had laser surgery by that time in his life? And hadn't needed to wear or find glasses? Would there have been something else that made them think, "Yeah, this is the guy"?

What if they had cast someone else? And that someone else had said, "I like firing pretend guns. Please write more guns into the script! All the science stuff is fine, but please put in lots of guns. Oh, and I don't like rhinos. Maybe I could shoot a rhino or something?"

Everything could have been so different. And probably not in a good way.

Also, imagine if the producers of SG1 had managed to get Kurt Russell back to play the role he played in the film. And whoever thought to offer the role to RDA anyway? "Okay, you don't like guns, we think you'd be really, really good as a military guy". I mean, I think he's very good as O'Neill (and I like the way the character has been changed from the original film). I'm pleased he got the role. I just can't quite work out the thinking behind it all.

I have a feeling he cast himself because he was exec producer and it was his production company making the show - although I could be wrong.

If I remember correctly the idea of the show was first pitched to him by his partner in crime, Michael Greenburg, so I suspect he may have seen the oppertunity there and taken it. But don't quite me on that.

I have a feeling he cast himself because he was exec producer and it was his production company making the show - although I could be wrong.

If I remember correctly the idea of the show was first pitched to him by his partner in crime, Michael Greenburg, so I suspect he may have seen the oppertunity there and taken it. But don't quite me on that.

Good point. Okay, imagine the first time anyone suggested a spin-off, Kurt Russell begged them to let him reprise his role? And whoever had the TV rights had said, "Yay, that would be perfect"?

If I remember correctly, Greenburg wanted RDA as Jack O'Neill and being an Executive Producer on the show came along with the role...

I wonder if RDA would have tried out for the role if Greenburg wasn't already attached to it... probably not. There's a big chance that someone would have been cast that would have played the role more like Russell, I guess?

Sounds like a friendship deal for me like: I can arrange it for you if you want to.

I'm just pleased he ended up as . If he hadn't done "SG1", maybe the other actor would have been equally successful and RDA would have done something else that people would have liked just as much. But I can't imagine Mac being played by anyone else.