How Many Times Did Daniel Jackson Die In Stargate?

When it came time to turn Roland Emmerich's 1994 blockbuster "Stargate" into a TV series, "Stargate SG-1" creators Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner were faced with recasting every character. Kurt Russell certainly wasn't going to come back as Jack O'Neill, the leader of the intrepid Stargate team, and neither was James Spader as Egyptologist and linguist Daniel Jackson. That meant Wright and Glassner had to start from square one when it came to the cast of their new show — though five actors from the movie actually did come back for one of the three main "Stargate" shows that sprang up in the wake of Emmerich's film. None of them, however, were main cast members.

After securing "Macgyver" star Richard Dean Anderson for the role of O'Neill, Wright and Glassner were evidently impressed with how well Canadian actor Michael Shanks could imitate James Spader, leading them to cast him in the role of Jackson. Alongside Amanda Tapper as Samantha Carter and Christopher Judge as Teal'c, Anderson and Shanks rounded out the central cast, who would carry the series for its duration ... well, almost.

"Stargate SG-1" ran for ten seasons before being cancelled by the Sci-Fi Channel, which is a heck of a run even if devoted fans would have quite gladly stuck around for more. In that time, those same fans had witnessed the core cast change quite dramatically. While Tapper and Judge remained mainstays, Anderson left "SG-1" midway through its run, while Shanks stuck around for most of it. Though the latter would go on to appear in multiple other "Stargate" shows and movies, turning Jackson into the most ubiquitous character in the saga, Shanks would also depart "SG-1" at one point, leading to the apparent death of Jackson. He soon returned, but this wouldn't be the last time Jackson perished. Here's every time Daniel Jackson died on "Stargate SG-1."

Throughout "Stargate SG-1," Daniel Jackson developed a reputation for dying and being resurrected, to the extent that he passed away a total of four times in 10 seasons. It was fitting, seeing as the character had gone through that exact experience in the movie on which the show was based, dying to protect Jack O'Neill before he's brought back to life by Ra. Jackson would go on to die and return from the grave multiple times in "SG-1," to the extent that it became somewhat of a joke among fans and even the show's writers.

Throughout "Stargate SG-1," Daniel Jackson dies four times (that aren't reversed due to time travel). The first time comes in the season 1 episode "The Nox," wherein he perishes alongside his fellow squad members only to be resurrected. This happens again in the season 4 episode "2010," which depicts an alternate future in which the SG-1 members sacrifice their lives to warn their former selves about a grave threat to Earth. Prior to that, however, Jackson took the opportunity to almost die in season 2, episode 1, "The Serpent's Lair," in which he was shot with a Jaffa staff weapon before using a Goa'uld sarcophagus to restore his health — technology he used again in the season 2 episode "Need."

His next actual death took place in the season 4 episode "The Light," where he became addicted to a certain form of light and flat-lined while undergoing treatment for his addiction. Thankfully, he was quickly brought back by his teammates, but he wouldn't last that long after this relatively quick demise and rescue. His death in season 5 of "SG-1" is the most significant, as it was all prompted by Michael Shanks wanting to leave the series. The actor had creative disagreements with the writers and so departed the show, leading to a storyline in which Jackson dies of radiation poisoning in the season 5 episode "Meridian." He then ascends to a higher plane of existence, where he exists for a time, leading to several guest appearances by Shanks in season 6 of "SG-1," before he's brought back to life in season 7's "Fallen (part 1)."

However, this wouldn't be the last time Jackson passed away. His final official death came in the season 8 episode "Reckoning," in which he's killed by RepliCarter, a clone of Samantha Carter. Once again, Jackson would be resurrected, returning to his mortal body in the very next episode, entitled "Threads."

If you include his death in the original "Stargate" movie, Daniel Jackson died a total of five times. But he's come very close to death in several episodes of "SG-1" and beyond, and has used the sarcophagus on multiple occasions after sustaining injuries that likely would have led to his death. What's more, robot versions of him have been "killed" and alternate versions of the character have also perished. He's presumed dead in the season 1 episode "Fire and Water," in which the SG-1 crew is brainwashed to believe their teammate has died. But even after "SG-1" ended, that wasn't the end of his suffering.

Michael Shanks reprised his role in other projects in the franchise, including "Stargate: Atlantis" and the short-lived "Stargate Universe." He also showed up in the movie "Stargate: Continuum," wherein he's killed by a Jaffa staff weapon, but he's brought back to life via Ba'al's time-travel device. You can see why, then, the writers made light of the character's penchant for being snuffed out in the season 7 "SG-1" episode "Heroes," when a scientist says "Dr. Jackson is gonna die when he sees this!" before Adam Baldwin's Col. David Dixon responds with, "What, again?"

There was a planned "Stargate" movie that would have brought every show together, but it was cancelled before it could get off the ground. Had it happened, however, no doubt the writers would have found some horrible fate for Jackson to endure, only for him to be resurrected by the time the movie ended.