NORAD at Cheyenne Mountain has been tracking Santa Claus each Christmas Eve for 50 years. This year, in honor of their 50th season of tracking Santa, Richard Dean Anderson has joined a number of other celebrities in offering his congratulations to the "men, women, aliens, and elves of NORAD." Click here to visit NORAD's site and to listen to Richard's Christmas message.

Although Richard has always willingly signed autographs for fans, he has made it a practice that any fees paid for his signature should be donated to charity. He is also aware, however, that because of the demand for his autograph, many fans have been the victim of unscrupulous dealers selling forgeries. Paul Brown, of Legends Memorabilia, offered the perfect solution with an autograph project that guarantees authenticity to fans while donating 100% of all fees to charity. For a special message from Richard, and for more information on the best way to obtain an authentic autograph and to support charity, click here.

Richard is among the celebrities featured in the Vancouver Fire Fighters' "Pot on the Stove" Celebrity Cookbook. The cookbook, which raises money for charity, includes a history of the Vancouver Fire Department as well as photographs and favorite recipes from a number of celebrities. All proceeds benefit the BC Children's Hospital. Richard's contribution is a recipe for "Chocolate Hazelnut and Coconut Cake." The cookbook is now on sale at Chapters, Duthies, and London Drugs, and it can be ordered online at the website of the Vancouver Fire Fighters. Click here for pictures.

SciFi Channel announced today that it has renewed Stargate SG-1 for a ninth season. The renewal places Stargate in a tie with The X-Files as the longest running science fiction series on US television. Stargate Atlantis has also been renewed for its second season. The channel has ordered 20 new episodes of each series. Production is set to begin in March 2005, with the season premieres expected on SciFi in the summer. Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper will continue to serve as executive producers on both series. MGM is still in negotiations with the cast members for their return. Visit SciFi.com for more information.

First announced in October by TVShowsOnDVD, and later confirmed by Paramount and USA Today, Paramount Studios is releasing MacGyver to DVD. The tentative release date for the Season One boxed set for region 1 (US/Canada) is January 25, 2005, with a release for region 2 (Europe) expected shortly thereafter, perhaps as early as March. Additional seasons will be released at intervals throughout the year. Season one is already available for preorder at Amazon.com.

On September 14th, Richard was recognized at the Air Force Association's 57th Annual Air Force Anniversary Dinner in Washington, DC. The special award honors Richard's role as the executive producer and star of Stargate SG-1, and for the show's positive depiction of the Air Force. Richard also toured the Pentagon and visited with wounded troops at Walter Reed Hospital. Click here to read Richard's message about the event. Click here for more information about the event.

Richard has offered a special picture from his collection to be included on the website. The photograph, taken during one of his diving trips, shows him saluting from the bottom of the ocean. He added a special autograph, just for the website: "Glub, glub... Saying "Hi" from my favorite place!"

To celebrate the debut of Stargate Atlantis on the SciFi channel on July 16th, MGM hosted a very special party for the cast and crew on July 17th in Vancouver. The event included an exclusive screening of the pilot episode, "Rising", at the Queen Elizabeth Playhouse, followed by a party at the Shark Club. Richard made a surprise appearance at the event to show his support for the new spin-off series.

The new spin-off series, Stargate Atlantis, makes its debut on the SciFi channel on July 16th at 9pm with a two-hour premiere, "Rising". Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks both make an appearance in the pilot episode to kick off the new series.

Stargate SG-1 returns for its eighth season with a three-hour special on the SciFi channel on July 9th. A brand new behind-the-scenes special, From Stargate to Atlantis: A SciFi Lowdown debuts on July 5th at 10pm, and repeats on July 9th at 8:00pm as a special lead-in to the two-hour season premiere, "New Order".

To promote the new season of Stargate SG-1, Richard paid a visit to Craig Kilborn and the Late Late Show. They discussed playing hockey as kids in Minnesota, and Richard spoke about his daughter, diving, MacGyver, and Stargate. Richard also participated in "Five Questions", the last of which was, "Will you recreate this photo" of MacGyver, by wearing a wig?

When Pierre Bernard, of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, devoted one of his "Recliner of Rage" segments to his outrage over developments on Stargate SG-1, the producers invited him to visit the Stargate set and to appear in a small role as Technician Sergeant O'Brien on the episode "Zero Hour". A camera crew documented his visit to the set, where he met the producers, cast, and crew, and filmed his role, in a segment which aired on Conan O'Brien on May 13th.

On May 5th, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films announced the winners of the 30th Annual Saturn Awards which honor the best in genre film, television, and home entertainment. The nominations, announced on February 12th, included recognition for Stargate SG-1 as well as for Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks in the category of Best Actor in a Television Series, and Amanda Tapping as Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series. The awards for actor and actress went to David Boreanaz and Amy Acker, both of Angel, however Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie were both on hand to accept the award for Stargate SG-1 as the Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series. Click here for more information about the Saturn Awards.

Actor Cliff Simon, who plays Ba'al on Stargate SG-1, returned to the set for an appearance in an upcoming episode for season eight. He had a picture taken of himself with Richard, which he shared with his fans on his website at Cliff Simon.com, and with Richard's fans here (thanks Sam!).

On April 18th, the Canadian SPACE channel televised the Second Annual Spacey Awards which honor the finest in film and television in the science fiction and fantasy genre. The Spacey Awards is a unique traveling award show that hand-delivers the trophies to the winners. This year, Stargate SG-1 was recognized in two of the Viewers Choice categories. In the category of Favorite Male TV Character, Jack O'Neill received 27% of the vote, coming in second to Spike (of Angel) with 37% of the vote. In the category of Favorite Canadian TV Series, Stargate SG-1 won easily with 61% of the vote. The award was accepted on the Stargate set by Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, and Christopher Judge, with help from Thor. Click here for more information about the Spacey Awards.

Production of the SG-1 spin-off, Stargate: Atlantis, in which Richard will be making a guest appearance, begins at the Bridge Studio on February 23, 2004. Shortly afterward, on March 8th, the cast and crew of Stargate SG-1 return to Vancouver, British Columbia to begin filming the eighth season of the series. The new season is scheduled to begin airing on July 9th in the US.

Richard returned early from the Banff Sports Invitational to help host a High Tea Fundraiser in La Jolla, California on January 11th. The event, which raised awareness and money in support of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, included a lecture presentation by Captain Paul Watson and a signing of his book "Seal Wars", as well as a silent auction. Richard mingled with the guests and spoke about his commitment to the work that Sea Shepherd is doing to protect Earth's oceans and marine wildlife. Click here for pictures of Richard and Paul Watson at the event.

In January, Richard returned once again to the Celebrity Sports Invitational, held at the Fairmont Banff Springs in Banff, Alberta. This year Richard participated in the Snowshoe Toboggan Race, with his partner Klaus Von Heidegger, although their time of 28.48 did not place them in the final three by the race's end. As in years past, Richard exhibited his excellence on the slopes when he led his team to victory in the Dual Giant Slalom with a time of 23.99. During the weekend Richard spoke briefly with the press about his plans for retirement after Stargate's eighth and final season. "Well, as much as a workaholic can retire. I have some other things I want to do and they don't include necessarily working in front of a camera. I have a five-year-old daughter who I don't get to see enough, I'm going to build a house in California and I'm going to learn Spanish." Referring the the spin-off Stargate: Atlantis, he added, "We're shooting it concurrently and it will hopefully pick up the ball. I'll help launch it. I'll be in the pilot but after that I'm done." The Celebrity Sports Invitational is an annual event hosted by Robert Kennedy, Jr. in support of his Waterkeeper Alliance. Over $600,000 was raised to help protect and restore waterways around the world. Click here for pictures from the event.