Daniel Jackson - archaeologist, linguist, anthropologist

	A multiple Ph.D. with degrees in archaeology, anthropology and linguistics, he was the "Golden Boy of Archaeology", entering UCLA at the age of 16, until his relentless pursuit of the truth led to his academic disgrace. In the feature film, he dared to suggest that the pyramids were, in fact, 10,000 years old, thereby going against every sacred belief in the archaeological community up to that time. He did not even get to the point that he thought the pyramids were in fact built by aliens before he found himself alone in an empty lecture hall. In the feature film, he was proven right. And the series goes on to show that whatever Daniel says, however outrageous or out there it sounds, he'll probably be right.
	An expert on Earth cultures, he speaks 23 languages (and counting) and repeatedly demonstrates his ability to "think outside the box", which leads to his amazing theories and solutions. As a scientific consultant to the US Airforce, he is a civilian in a military world, a pacifist among gun toting machos. He is the voice and the conscience of SG-1, always opting to solve conflicts by sitting down and talk, or, failing that, by at least trying not to kill anyone.
He also seems to be quite fearless, an unlikely trait in a man you'd take for a geek at first glance. Whenever someone tries to intimidate him, he'll treat them to his snarky sarcasm instead of cowering in fear. Another thing is his stubbornness. He simply will not back down, not to the military, senators, his academic peers or his enemies. And in more than one episode of the series, Daniel is too stubborn even to die.	Speaking of snarky, in this MPG file, Daniel taunts his personal nemesis Apophis while surrounded, outnumbered and weaponless. "Your mate Ammaunet is dead. Sorry to ruin your day. No, actually, I'm wrong about that. I'm not sorry." (clip from "The Devil You Know", gratefully stolen from Philip's Screencapture Library)
He is a pacifist. That doesn't mean, however, that he doesn't know how to use a gun. If necessary, he can hold his own as well as any soldier. Nice arms, too.
Slashy viewpoints aside, a special bantering relationship exists beween Daniel and Colonel Jack O'Neill, who is technically his superior. There are nine seperate instances in the series and one in the feature film where they speak in unison. They seem to have a contest going, always trying to score over one another, yet they've saved each other's lives repeatedly. In fact, they are very much like an old married couple.

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Daniel Trivia
This space contains spoilers!

Personal data and accomplishments

He was born on July 8 (Forever In A Day), 1965 (1969)

His last known address was 1152 Mainland St. (Holiday), Apt. # 8-3 (The Light), Colorado Springs. Up until his second official death (Meridian), he lived in a loft with lots of artefacs and books on shelves and room dividers (Forever In A Day, The Light). There were two large rooms with two dining tables and two couches, a fireplace, a fish tank, a piano in one corner and a balcony. The apartment was divided into sections by sets of two steps each. You cross two such sets and round one corner to reach the innermost room.
He has moved into a house following his descension and the loss of his second apartment (Fallen). His new address is #4075 in an unknown street. It's a one story house with a small front lawn and back garden. The house is nowhere near as spacious as the apartment was (Chimera)

He lost his apartment twice, due to being declared dead (Fire and Water, Meridian)

His local fax extension at the SGC is #719 (Heroes I)

He was orphaned at the age of 8, when both his parents, Melburn and Claire Jackson who were also archaeologists, were crushed in front of him by a falling coverstone, while erecting an Egyptian exhibit at the New York Museum of Art (The Gamekeeper)

After the death of his parents, he was fostered, and had his foster parents die on him as well, in a plane crash (Stargate the movie, novelisation. Yes, I know, it's conjecture. But it does make sense.)

His grandfather Nicolas Ballard refused to adopt him. Later, after they met again, Nick left Daniel once more to pursue his own interests and to ultimately live on another planet (Crystal Skull)

Daniel entered UCLA at 16 (Stargate the movie - novelisation)

He has at least two PhDs - archaeology (Deadman Switch) and linguistics (There But For The Grace Of God). (Personally, I think it's three - another in anthropology)

Daniel was married to Sha'uri after having her given to him as a gift (Stargate the movie). He then lost her to the Goa'uld Amaunet (Children of the Gods) and eventually had her killed in front of him (Forever In A Day)

He had a relationship with Dr. Sarah Gardner while with the Institute for Oriental Studies in Chicago, where he studied archaeology under Dr. David Jordan (The Curse). Sarah was kind of a groupie of Daniel's and had referenced his work in her thesis. They broke up when Daniel worked through their two-month anniversary dinner (Chimera). Before they met again, Sarah was taken over by the Goa'uld Osiris (The Curse), but could later be saved (Chimera)

It took Daniel two weeks to figure out the symbols on the Stargate, something a whole load of specialists couldn't figure out in two years. (Stargate the movie) The Goa'uld put a price on his head for making the Stargate work (Deadman Switch)

He knows how to fly a Goa'uld mothership (Exodus, Enemies)

He can play chess well enough to beat Jack even when he's not 100%, but he isn't very good at Gin (Legacy). He also knows how to play "The Jackal and the Hound" (Fire And Water)

He's athletic enough to be able to swim across a small lake in full gear with his hands tied, even following a forced cross-country hike (The First Ones)

He works out with Teal'c, lifting weights (Orpheus, Chimera)

He can ride on horseback (Emancipation) and on camels (photograph of Daniel on the back of a camel in front of the Great Pyramid, various episodes)

He has lots of obscure knowledge. He can e.g. deliver babies (Brief Candle, Secrets) and destill alcohol (Children Of The Gods)

His favored weapon, if you can call it that, is a Beretta. However, he knows how to use an MP-5 (Family, The Serpent's Lair, Rules Of Engagement), a P-90 (Enemies, The Fifth Man), a staff weapon (Stargate the movie, The Nox, Thor's Hammer), a Zat (Seth, 2010, Beast Of Burden) and a TER (Show And Tell). He can also shoot a Beretta left-handed (The Serpent's Lair)

He can understand military hand signals (various), but his own version of it has a distinct Daniel accent (Show And Tell)

His skills as a diplomat are lauded even by General Hammond (48 Hours). Daniel once authored a treaty whose wording was called "inspiring" (Divide and Conquer)

He was deemed worthy of ascension by Oma Desala following a lethal exposure to radiation which he received sacrificing himself for an alien planet (Meridian). He spent a year as an ascended being, during which time he received the knowledge of the Ancients

While ascended, he tried to keep to the Ascendeds' rules of non-interference (Abyss, The Changeling, Full Circle), but was forced to descend when he found those rules impossible to adhere to. His conscious memory was then wiped of all the Ancients' knowledge (Fallen)

He has added interrogator to his list of accomplishments (Endgame, Full Alert)

SG-1 singing Row, row, row your boat. Sam goes first, then Jack, then Daniel, then Teal'c. (mp3-file (280 kb) captured from "Urgo")

He has a nice singing voice (Urgo), probably plays the piano (The Light) and is very musical. In fact, he could pick up the code and crack a musically coded force shield in under an hour where another team took 48 hours (The Sentinel)

He speaks more than 23 languages (1969) and is the only man on Earth who is fluent in Goa'uld (Summit) and the Ancient's language (Fallen). He can also interpret Native American totem poles (Spirits). He's consulted even by the Tok'Ra for his expertise in dead languages (Serpent's Venom). He's learned enough extra-terrestrial languages to be able to learn unknown alien languages fairly quickly (Ascension, The Sentinel)

Daniel's languages - spoken

Ancient Egyptian, also spoken on Abydos (Stargate the movie, Children of the Gods, There But For The Grace Of God, Serpent's Song, Forever In A Day). Fluent.

Unas (The First Ones, Beast of Burden, Enemy Mine). Learned from scratch by talking to Unas. Has a basic knowledge of the language and a limited vocabulary.

Arabic (Childen of the Gods). Spoke one word.

German (1969). Fluent.

various Goa'uld dialects (Brief Candle, Within The Serpent's Grasp, Fair Game, Serpent's Venom, The Curse, The Light, Summit). Fluent enough to trick Goa'uld system lords.

Russian (1969, The Tomb, Lockdown, Full Alert). Fluent. Also knows proverbs and swear words.

Spanish (Evolution I). Fluent.

Daniel's languages - read or recognized

Middle English (Demons)

Mayan (Crystal Skull). Recognizes spoken words.

Latin (The Fifth Race)

Greek (Holiday)

the Ancients' Language (The Fifth Race, Window of Opportunity, Full Circle, Fallen, It's Good to be King). Learned it from scratch and while ascended. Fluent.

The Ataniks' Language (Upgrades). Learned it within a few minutes while under the influence of Atanik technology.

Linear A (Brief Candle), which is related to Goa'uld. Is now the only man on Earth who can translate it.

Runic script (Thor's Chariot), which is also the Asgards' script, even though the Asgard language has nothing in common with Norse or Germanic (The Fifth Race). He knows enough about runes to be able to tell their numeric value.

the language of the people of Orlin's planet (Ascension). Learned it from scratch without known references within a few days.

Babylonian Cuneiform (The Tomb). Reads and translates fluently.

Phoenician Ugaritic Cuneiform (Serpent's Venom, The Tomb). Reads and translates fluently.

Sumerian and Akkadian Cuneiform (Fire And Water). Reads and translates fluently, without reference material, which makes him one of about half a dozen people on Earth who can do that.

Berber (Stargate the movie)

Chadic (Stargate the movie)

Omotic (Stargate the movie)

Ancient Welsh (2001). Has basic knowledge, doesn't know all the words.

Personal habits and quirks

Daniel loves coffee (Stargate the movie and various episodes), chocolate bars (Stargate the movie and various episodes) and chocolate walnut cookies (Forever In A Day). If available, he puts lots of sugar in his coffee (Threads).

He eats little (an apple in The Light, waffles in Window Of Opportunity) or nothing except coffee (Absolute Power) for breakfast, yet he has a well-equipped kitchen, complete with copper pans (The Light)

He likes waffles (Window of Opportunity, Threads), pie (Urgo), steak (Upgrades) and has no qualms about eating unknown and potentially disgusting food (Stargate the movie)

He has allergies (Stargate the movie and various episodes) which are aggravated by travelling (Stargate the movie, Children Of The Gods); he takes antihistamines for them (The Broca Divide, One False Step). Though he's allergic to pollen (The Gamekeeper, One False Step), cat hair doesn't seem to be a problem (Stargate the movie)

For all his knowledge, he knows only the most basic basics about technical stuff and looks blank whenever Sam opens her mouth (Singularity, 1969, Red Sky), or when anybody else explains something technical (The Curse). He doesn't even know enough about mathematics to realize the importance of zero (Serpent's Venom)

He seems to have little patience with scientists outside his own field (The Fifth Race)

He has a marked dislike for Wallis Budge, author of one of the standard texts on Egyptian Hieroglyphs (Stargate the movie). Yet he's not above referencing Budge when he himself is stumped (Forever In A Day, Maternal Instinct)

He can't hold his liquor (well, his beer anyway) (Children Of The Gods) and doesn't like beer (Shades Of Grey), though he's been known to drink it (Children of the Gods, Upgrades, The Lost City II). He's a cute, funny, giddy drunk (Children Of The Gods, The Lost City II)

He keeps an expedition journal for each planet he visited (Fire And Water, The Warrior) where he records both scientific observations and personal thoughts (Fire And Water). His notes are apparently difficult to make sense of (Reckoning II)

In the field, he wears a boony hat (various) or a bandana (various)

He uses clip-on shades for his glasses (various, Scorched Earth)

At home, he sleeps on the right side of the bed, bare-chested, possibly in the nude, or with boxer shorts and a T shirt (Forever In A Day). In the field, his favored sleeping position is on his back (The First Commandment, Jolinar's Memories). In his own bed or on a soft surface, he favors lying on his left side (Forever In A Day, Legacy, Beneath The Surface, Birthright). In hot weather, he sleeps on his back, on top of the covers (Chimera). In the absence of archaeological or linguistic excitement, he's capable of falling asleep sitting up with people working around him (Fail Safe)

He collects swords (Forever In A Day, The Light)

He keeps fish as pets (Fire And Water)

He drives a red vintage Jeep (Chimera)

He underwent emergency surgery to have his appendix removed and was apparently very lucky (Nemesis, Small Victories. NB: this was written into the script because this actually happened to actor Michael Shanks)

Daniel has a "problem with heights" (Thor's Chariot). Or maybe that was just a joke.

He's watched Star Wars (1969) and The Wizard Of Oz (Serpent's Venom) often enough to quote from them. He's also familiar with Independence Day (Politics)

He's not above enjoying more primitive forms of entertainment (or Jack wouldn't have had Teal'c call him in Ascension to go watch jell-o wrestling)

He considers being able to read fast a more important accomplishment than any physical feat (Upgrades)

He seems to be a bit of a daredevil behind the wheel (The Curse)

While it's hard to provoke him (Stargate the movie), he doesn't like to be called "four-eyes" (Rules of Engagement) or "geek" (various episodes). At one time, while under the influence of alien technology, he made Jack start a barroom brawl after being called a geek (Upgrades)

He may be superstitious. At any rate, he mentioned once that an artefact was cursed without explaining it away (The Curse), and he certainly believes that there are things which can't be explained scientifically (Thor's Hammer, Maternal Instinct, Crystal Skull)

His mind works best when he's hyper-caffeinated and sleep-deprived (Stargate the movie, Solitudes, Message In A Bottle), suffocating (Prisoners), or under great pressure (Thor's Chariot, The Tomb, The Serpent's Lair)

He tends to utter non-sequiturs when distracted (The Enemy Within, There But For The Grace Of God)

He has a habit of making negative statements while nodding (Stargate the Movie, Deadman Switch)

He has a low opinion of his own merit, which almost cost him his life when offered ascension (Meridian)

He has the capacity for trust in complete strangers (Maternal Instinct) and is able to trust his mind contrary to the evidence of his senses (Legacy)

He's probably myopic, but he can see reasonably well without his glasses (Beneath the Surface), and he wears contacts when glasses are impractical (Summit)

He almost always goes offworld with his uniform jacket and utility vest open (Third season onward)

When there's an insurmountable language barrier, his approach to interplanetary diplomacy is handing out chocolate bars (Stargate the Movie, The First Ones)

He never gives up. Even outnumbered, weaponless and injured, he once countered the threat of being "skinned alive" with a machete by picking up a rock to fight back (Evolution II)

He has an abiding hatred for the Goa'uld and was capable of killing a whole tankful of larvae without remorse (Bloodlines). Yet he's ever mindful of the host, and even showed compassion towards Apophis' host (Serpent's Song). The Jaffa, too, are blameless in his eyes (There But For The Grace Of God, Summit)

He considers Jack "broken in" and is resistant to having to break in another colonel (Enemy Mine)

He never really felt at home anywhere until he found his place with SG-1 (Orpheus)

Favorite phrases: "I have no idea" - usually said with an expression of utter fascination, when he's really out of his depth, and usually preceding some amazing feat of intuition (Stargate the Movie, There But For The Grace Of God, The First Ones). "Oh boy" - usually muttered under his breath after touching something he shouldn't have, or after something bad happened (Need, One False Step, Deadman Switch, Rite Of Passage). "This is incredible/fascinating/amazing" - usually said preceding an enthusiastic, detailed explanation (The Tomb). "What was I thinking" - always meant ironically, usually said after someone verbally attacked him for saying something highly speculative or ironic (One False Step, The First Ones). "That's neither here nor there" - used to stop himself from going off on a tangent (Abyss, various). And, of course: "Why?" - said in a childlike manner in any and all situations (various), once even following someone's invitation to sit down (The Fifth Man).

His Jack-given nick names are Danny (various), Dannyboy (Holiday, Prisoners), Spacemonkey (The Serpent's Lair), Plant Boy (One False Step), Big Guy (Children of the Gods), Big Fellow (Rules of Engagement) and Grasshopper (Maternal Instinct)

He's damn good looking. (Well, it's a fact.)

Injuries And Deaths

Non-fatal injuries and traumas:

Slapped around by Jack (Broca Divide), Heru'ur (Secrets), various Jaffa (Point Of View), Reese (Menace), Vala (Prometheus Unbound)

raped (Hathor)

choked to unconsciousness (Prisoners)

temporarily blinded (The Serpent's lair)

crushed in a rockfall (Need)

subjected to alien mind probes (Fire And Water, Out Of Mind, The Gamekeeper, Reckoning II)

drugged (Hathor, Out Of Mind, Seth, The Devil you Know)

made addicted (Need, The Light)

driven apparently mad (Legacy)

rendered invisible for several days (Crystal Skull)

subjected to dream-like "learning experiences" (Forever In A Day, Absolute Power, Threads)

tortured for information (New Ground, Beast of Burden, Evolution I & II)

hit by staff weapon (The Nox, There But For The Grace Of God, The Serpent's Lair)

zatted (In The Line Of Duty, Point Of View, The Fifth Man, Beast Of Burden, Lockdown, Affinity, Endgame, Prometheus Unbound)

shot (Evolution II, Lockdown)

ribboned (Stargate The Movie, Within The Serpent's Grasp, Forever In A Day, The Curse)

subjected to Goa'uld pain stick (Beast of Burden)

forced to withdraw into a coma while a dozen other minds inhabited his body (Lifeboat)

Confirmed deaths:

killed by staff blast (Stargate the Movie, The Nox)

flatlined following addiction (The Light)

died of a lethal dose of radiation (Meridian)

stabbed to death by "sword" arm of Replicator Carter (Reckoning II)

Supposed and not-really deaths:

burned to a crisp by volcanic activity and declared dead (Fire And Water)

shot by staff weapon and blown up with Goa'uld ha'tak (The Serpent's Lair)

multiple "deaths" in a virtual reality (Avatar)

Crushed by rockfall (Need)

Major Plotlines

The Sha're Arc

While at the first mission to Abydos (Stargate the movie), Daniel was gifted with Sha'uri, the daughter of Kasuf, leader of the tribe of Abydonians living near the stargate. He fell in love with her, so finding out that he was already married to her (the language barrier not having been breached at that time) was no hardship. Daniel stayed behind on the planet when the rest of the team returned to Earth.

A year later, Apophis came through the Abydos gate in search of hosts. Sha're was taken, and later chosen by Apophis's First Prime, Teal'c, to become host for Apophis's queen Ammonet (Children Of The Gods). When Daniel saw her again, she was heavily pregnant with Apophis's child. Daniel brought the child into the world and managed to hide him from both Apophis and Heru'ur, leaving him with Kasuf. He could not save Sha're then, who left with Apophis (Secrets).

Roughly another year later, SG-1 managed to find Ammonet and her host Sha're. Ammonet attacked Daniel with the ribbon devide to kill him. During those few seconds, Sha're managed to get a message through to Daniel, telling him that her son Shifu was hidden in Kheb, and to forgive Teal'c for killing her. Shortly before Daniel would have died, Teal'c shot Ammonet with his staff weapon (Forever in a day).

Daniel then went on the quest to find Sha're's son and Kheb, a place only found in myth. He found Kheb with Bra'tac's help, and the infant Shifu, but he left him with Oma Desala, who, being a higher being, would be much better equipped to take care of him (Maternal Instinct).

When Daniel met Shifu again, he had grown to be a boy of about 8 years physical age. Daniel then found out that Sha're's child, being a Harcesis, a child of two Goa'uld hosts, had the knowledge of all the Goa'uld, but his stepmother Oma Desala made the knowledge inaccessible to him. Shifu gave Daniel a graphic demonstration of the power of the evil within him, and they realized they could not force Shifu to remember the Goa'uld knowledge without becoming evil. No one could withstand that kind of evil. Shifu assumed a non-corporeal state and went to rejoin Oma Desala (Absolute Power).

The Ascended Arc

While on Kheb, Daniel was shown to have the ability to trust in complete strangers, and to believe that it is possible for the mind to rise above its limitations. He made contact with Oma Desala, "Mother Nature", who then sought him out to help him ascend when he lay dying from radiation poisoning (Meridian). Daniel then spent one years as an ascended being, moving among the Ancients and literally learning the secrets of the universe, the "meaning of life stuff" that has always held an irresistible allure for him (e.g. Torment of Tantalus).

When he broke the Ascendeds' rules of non-interference in order to help SG-1 and the Abydonians (Full Circle), he was forced to descend to corporeal form, and his conscious memory was wiped clean of the Ancients' knowledge (Fallen). He managed to regain some memories (Orpheus), but most of it could not be accessed consciously. Only when the human form Replicator Sam helped him to find his hidden knowledge (following an ulterior motive, of course), could he access those memories and use the knowledge to gain control of all the replicators currently infesting the Milky Way Galaxy (Reconing I and II). When he was killed by the replicator, he spent several days in a plain between corporeal form and ascension, where he learned what happened to him during the year he was ascended (Threads).

Mannerisms

pouting: the thwarted look (e.g. Shades of Grey)

scowling: "I think I may have to kill you..." (e.g. Window Of Opportunity)

lip-biting: implies consternation (e.g. Wormhole X-treme)

the index finger: precursor to long-winded explanations or appeals, often used with lip-touching (e.g. Forever In A Day)

the self-hug: wrapping his arms around himself; classic Daniel in distress (e.g. Into The Fire)

the fleeting smile: crops up and disappears during normal conversations (e.g. Learning Curve)

the raised eyebrows: he's either sceptical or expects someone to respond to him (e. g. Window Of Opportunity)

the tilted head: his classic debating pose (e.g. Deadman Switch)

the scratching: rubbing or scratching of face, neck, chest; happens when he's at ease (e. g. Window Of Opportunity)

the false smile: used to soften snarky remarks or improbable situations (e. g. The Gamekeeper)

the excited bounce: something just clicked for him (e.g. Torment Of Tantalus)

oral fixation: licking and touching of lips (e.g. Learning Curve, Window Of Opportunity)

the open-mouthed stare: listening and not quite believing (e.g. Learning Curve)

the emphatic "Yes!" with sharp uplifting of head: used to answer such questions as, "Do you really want to look at that artefact?" (e.g. Learning Curve)

"flirting": the batting of eyelids: used against friend and foe alike, probably completely unintentional (e.g. Deadman Switch)

the over-the-top-of-his-glasses-glance: fleeting glace to find out if anybody is watching him (e.g. 48 Hours), to make himself unthreatening, or to express condescension or pity (e. g. Window Of Opportunity)

the sideways glance: used during discussions, implies disbelief or impatience (e.g. Window of Opportunity)

restless hands: fiddling with objects and with his own hands (e.g. Window of Opportunity)

flapping arms: when words fail, or when emotions run high, use gestures. He keeps his fingers together and makes sometimes slashing, sometimes graceful motions with one or both hands (e.g. Singularity, One False Step, Torment of Tantalus, Prisoners)

slapping his own face: used to illustrate how life just slapped him (Crystal Skull, Deadman Switch)

Daniel's Mannerisms

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This page updated on 2005-02-12