StarGate SG-1

At the time of this writing (10/25/2004), I have only watched the first 7 seasons of StarGate SG-1, which are available on DVD.

StarGate SG-1 is a television series spin-off from the movie "StarGate." The movie starred Kurt Russell as Commander Jack O'Neil of the Air Force. James Spader played the archeologist, a Dr. Daniel Jackson. The movie reveals the discovery of an ancient Egyptian artifact used by aliens to transport things throughout the galaxy. Humans are used as slave labor by Ra, an alien posing as a God. At the conclusion of the movie, Ra is killed by the StarGate team.

Characters

The television series changes the cast a bit. Richard Dean Anderson becomes commander Jack O'Neil. Michael Shanks becomes the archeologist, Dr. Daniel Jackson. Amanda Tapping is added as Samantha Carter, a brilliant military physicist. An alien named Teal'c rounds out the team. Don S. Davis plays Major General Hammond, who is in charge of the overall stargate project, including numerous SG teams. The main characters are part of SG-1, the title team. I've seen up through SG-13, although I don't know the total number of SG teams under Hammond's command. Additional characters include Teryl Rothery as the talented Doctor Frasier, and Corin Nemic as Jonas Quinn in season 6 (a substitute for Dr. Daniel Jackson).

Plot

The underlying story in the series is that ancient polytheistic religions were a deceptive form of slavery committed by an alien race called the Goa-uld. These aliens use an elaborate and decadent ancient-Egyptian theme to their technology, wardrobe, weapons, armor, and social structure. This later expands to include Asian and south American religions. A huge network of StarGates exist throughout the universe. With a special combination of 7 digits, a person can "dial" another StarGate, and travel instantaneously to another gate. Humans at varying levels of technology, and with varying cultural backgrounds inhabit these far-off worlds, most under the servitude of the Goa-uld. The series integrates the modern world, primitive human cultures (slaves and ex-slaves) on other worlds, and advanced civilizations from throughout the universe.

Setting

The setting is a top-secret Cheyenne Mountain Complex, owned by the United States Airforce. Miles below the surface, the StarGate is attached to sophisticated computer systems, a tremendous power supply, and housed inside a concrete bunker. The underground complex is like a small military city. It has an advanced medical complex, a cafeteria, housing, research labs, a library, and additional amenities revealed throughout the series. The main characters occasionally reveal their homes in the surface world, and every episode has the characters visiting new planets.

Later in the series, a large spaceship called the X-303 is occassionally the set.

Critique

Near the beginning, the writers didn't think about realistic goals for the team. Because of this, the first season is amateurish, at best. The team doesn't know what it's doing, and effectively accomplishes nothing. They provoke their primary enemy without any long-term strategies, and they fail to recruit allies. They general cause a lot of trouble with an occassional "warm fuzzy feeling" as a reward.

In-show opposition to the StarGate project complain that they are spending billions of dollars to run around the galaxy and provoke danger for earth. A poor use of tax payer money. While these voices are meant to be on-earth bad guys who "don't get it", the writers clearly wake to the realization that this is true, and the series slowly leans toward better goals. The result is a dramatic improvement in the series.

Additionally, they reduce the internal conflicts of the team and give individual characters a more concrete role. Conflict starts coming from outside of the organization, and plots cater more toward individual proficiencies.

In addition to this, the StarGate project achieves some major long-term objectives over the course of the series. Alliances fall into place -- most notably the Tok'Ra, the free Jaffa, and the Asgard. Technology improves, most notably with the Naquada generators, improved weapons, improved armor, and a few starships. And some tangible earth support materializes with these successes.

Since the major turnarounds in the series, this show has become the best televised science fiction that I have ever watched. I eagerly wait for every DVD release, and I am pleased to hear that a new StarGate series is in production.