The story : [Stargate, the movie] A giant metal circle was discovered in Egypt during excavations in the 1920s. In the late 90s, an archaeologist, Daniel Jackson, puts forward the idea that Egypt was home to an extraterrestrial civilization. He becomes the laughing stock of the scientific community. But the Air Force contacts him for a translation job, about unknown symbols. These symbols on the giant ring are coordinates of another planet. A military expedition is sent there, along with Jackson. They encounter a “God”, Râ, and destroy him. Jacskon falls in love with a local girl and stays on the planet, named Abydos [Stargate SG-1, the series] One year later, a commando resembling Ra’s army attacks the Earth base via the stargate. But they didn’t came from Abydos. Jackson found a set of coordinates for other destinations on Abydos. That’s the beginning of a vast program of expeditions. O’Neil, Jackson will be joined by an astrophysicist, Sam Carter, and Teal’C a former servant of the false gods, a parasitic species named Goa’ulds.
Why is it such an important series ? To my (limited) knowledge, it was the first time a movie became a series, and not the other way around. With budget associated to science-fiction, that was a challenge. In the late 90s, science-fiction was pretty much defined by Star Wars and Star Trek. Stargate offered another vision, another style. Space fights, creative spacecraft and all kind of visual effects are there. But -as in Star Trek- the series focus much more on extraterrestrial civilizations. Foes or allies, how do they make us evolve in our scientific approach, our way of communicating, our moral questioning. Familial and unpretentious, with endearing characters, Stargate SG-1 was an excellent moment of relaxation, combining reflection and daydreaming. It is still one of my favourite series today !
Stargate SG-1 led to a movie (with the same cast than the series) then 2 spin-offs, Stargate Universe and Stargate Atlantis. Another one may come.
10 seasons, 241 episodes (40 mn), 1997-2007, Showtime then Sci Fi. Today Amazon Prime Video
Casting
- SHOWRUNNERS : Brad Wright & Jonathan Glassner
- Richard Dean Anderson / Jack O’Neil
- Michael Shanks / Daniel Jackson
- Amanda Tapping / Samantha Carter
- Christopher Judge / Teal’C
- Don S. Davis / General Hammond
- Teryl Rothery / Dr Frasier
- And Tony Amendola, Carmen Argenziano, Ben Browder, Beau Bridges, Claudia Black