1997 - 2007
note: this is long review that covers the entire series
Having recently been forced into convalescence I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. My dear brother lent me his 10 season DVD set of Stargate SG1 to help break the boredom. Indeed, it took several months to get through the whole series, but for a Sci-Fi buff it was like manna from heaven.As it happens I had already watched the entire 5-year run of Stargate Atlantis, therefore much of the lore as well as the back story was thoroughly ingrained in me before I even loaded up the first disk. Of course any Sci-Fi buff worth his salt had already watched the movie that sparked the franchise. The 1994 movie Stargate starring Kurt Russell and James Spader spurred a strong and loyal fan base that made the success of the TV series more or less a lock.
The Setup:
The Stargate was an ancient (alien) device found buried in the Giza plateau of Egypt in 1928. In 1996 the United States Air force has come into possession of the gate and recruits radical Egyptologist Dr. Daniel Jackson to translate the runes found alongside it and activate the gate.The Stargate, when activated, creates a stable wormhole that allows for instantaneous travel to a planet light years away that is also possessing a Stargate.
Dr. Jackson, who has up to this point been ridiculed for his theory that an alien race had visited and oversaw the building of the great pyramids as landing platforms for their massive starships, was the one to decode the Stargate "address" that led them to the first off-world adventure (as seen in the movie) known as Abydos.
The TV series literally picks up where the movie left off. Daniel Jackson, now played by Michael Shanks, had been left behind when Col. Jack O'Neill (played by Richard Dean Anderson) takes the team back to Earth as the movie ends. On the return trip a year or so later they find Jackson alive and with the news that in his possession is a map of many Stargates that exist throughout the galaxy. When Jackson's wife is abducted by the alien Go'ould known as Apophos he returns to Earth and joins the newly formed SG1 with the goal of finding his wife again.
The SG1 team with O'Neill at the head and Jackson as a civilian consultant also includes Major Samantha Carter (played by Amanda Tapping) who was the scientist instrumental in developing the dialing device for the Stargate. Soon the team enlists an alien, a Jaffa, called Teal'c (played perfectly by Christopher Judge) who longs for freedom for his people who are now enslaved by the Go'ould. Together they begin a ten year odyssey taking place in real-time (not some far off future) that baths the series in a fun conspiratorial light.
Suspension of Disbelief:
While first few episodes set up the series by closing out the movie, season one quickly falls off the rails. Having watched a spectacular Stargate Atlantis series that had the benefit of the growing pains SG1 endured I was taken aback by how awful some of the first episodes were. More than once I felt they were nothing more than bad rip-offs of mediocre Star Trek: The Next Generation scripts. I was impatient to discover how SG1 had come across knowledge and technology that was commonplace in Stargate Atlantis. As they randomly dialed the gate addresses from the map Jackson had discovered they found themselves in (in my eyes) tedious backward worlds with medieval cultures that tended to bore the snot out of me.
An important part of the back story is that the Go'ould, a nasty, megalomaniacal race masquerading as gods, had uprooted many cultures from all over a well populated Earth and resettled them on planets rich with mineral resources in order to supply their Jaffa armies and starships using the slave labor. These cultures were not allowed to develop beyond their ancient technological roots. However, some planets including Earth were abandoned or forgotten by the Go'ould because of constant in-fighting amongst themselves.
By the end of season two the series had found its legs and was fun and captivating if you were willing to accept a few glaring inconsistencies and pure foolishness. One thing to note in all the various Stargate series is that the bad guys are terrible shots, none of them can hit the broad side of a barn with any weapon. These are suppose to be fantastic advanced alien weapons and yet they appear to be as inaccurate as a blunderbuss. Second, everyone in the entire galaxy speaks mid-western English. True, many of the cultures are transplanted Earth cultures, but they were transplanted long before English became a ubiquitous language.OK this is TV, yes, an American TV show, it's just easier than subtitles - I get it. What I don't get is how the aliens don't understand prisoner/hostage 101. You always separate your hostages, yet every time SG1 is captured they are always placed in a holding cell all together where they can plot their escape. And escape they do, every time. Aliens are just stupid sometimes.
As the series progresses the writers cleverly weave in Earth-based enemies for SG1 and Stargate Command. We are treated to vast conspiracies from rouge government agencies to business interests hoping to exploit alien technology for commercial gain. This helps to ground the series with fun, conspiratorial sub-plots. Here the cynical insubordination of Col. Jack O'Neill shines. Richard Dean Anderson plays Col. O'Neill marvelously as an insolent, wise cracking underling to his superiors inside and outside the military chain of command. Yet, he is a fearless leader who never leaves a man behind - no matter the personal danger. He is a man who neither understands nor wants to understand the spectacular technology involved, but never shies away from the missions that rely on the pure magic of alien technology.
The writers also include much of he UFO sub-culture with references to Area 51 and in particular an advanced race called the Asgaards who look exactly like the small gray aliens with almond shaped eyes we've seen over and over in alien abduction lore. The Asgaards, far from being evil have secretly protected Earth for a millennium as humanity developed into a technological culture.
The underlying thread that supports the whole tale is that of the race they call the "Ancients". The Ancients are the gate builders and were by far the most powerful race in the known universe. They did, however, grow weary of constantly being challenged and eventually dismantled their culture and spread themselves throughout the universe (including Earth) or ascended into a higher plain of existence. Their departure some ten thousand years ago (roughly the same time of the first recorded history on Earth) left a vacuum of power in the Milky Way galaxy to be filled by the Go'ould.
Most of the first eight seasons the serial thread is a constant struggle to defeat the Go'ould. The Go'ould are actually parasites that resemble an eel. They bore into a host's body and attach to the brain where they exert complete control. They have chosen human beings as ideal hosts and through advanced regenerative technology keep their hosts alive for thousands of years. The Go'ould have enslaved an entire race of humanoids known as the Jaffa by implanting immature Go'ould symbiotes into them. The Jaffa revere the Go'ould as gods for without the symbiotes they would die. As a race their immune system has been destroyed and the symbiotes cure illness and repair their injuries.
The god Messages:
The Jaffa seem to made up of many humanoid races, but the black image is the most often portrayed. The writers obviously draw a parallel to the struggle of American black slavery. This along with a corrupt American government where Stargate Command is the only real moral entity makes us look at the messages throughout the series as if a mirror is shining back on us. Could the Go'ould be a reflection of a meglomaniacal American manifest destiny to rule the world and beyond? There are many subtle and not so subtle references to the historical cruelty of mankind. This not to say the writers necessarily go overboard, humanity's goodness also shines through.
Throughout most of the series - the first eight seasons - the writers avoid modern religions as targets of scorn. The religions - or gods, if you will are of historical Egyptian, Nordic or medieval folk-lore. This is cleverly traded throughout the series with Daniel Jackson uncovering the parallels and clues to help SG1 in the battle against the Go'ould. In the spectacular season eight finale the Go'ould are finally defeated in a epic three-way struggle with a machine-based race known as the Replicators and, of course, Earth's Stargate Command. Season eights finds Col. Jack O'Neill departing the series as a regular and a new leader for SG1 (and a new enemy) are needed for the series to continue. Welcome Cam Mitchell (played by Ben Browder) the fearless, hotshot pilot whose bravado is as big as the great outdoors.
This is point the writers decide to exploit the ultimate human boogieman... Christianity.
No one can watch season nine and ten and not see that the writers had decided to make the evils of evangelical Christianity their final statement. The Ori are a race of ascended beings who deceive their human followers into worshiping them with the promise of enlightenment and ascension. The Priors (priests) spread the "Word" through a book called Origin that reads exactly like the Bible and, of course, through so-called miracles. There is even god-child birth of sorts where the mother (a known floozy/slut) is mysteriously impregnated, bearing a savior for Ori believers. People who do not bow to the Ori's demands for worship are summarily put to death as evil-doers.
There is really no point in getting bent out of shape about such a blatant and ultimately comical attempt to make Christianity the ultimate evil except to point out that there is an actual religion practiced today that does have a mandate to kill or subjugate non-believers, but this religion is apparently off limits for ridicule. Islam in practice is exactly what Stargate SG1 portrays in the Ori. This really lowered my esteem for this fun TV series.
In Conclusion:
The final two seasons, when one accepts the writer's biases, are enjoyable to watch, but without Richard Dean Anderson are much less fun to be sure. Accepting he Ori as the enemy is easy enough, they are nasty in every way. Clearly the series had lost some steam by this time. It's hard to say if seasons nine and ten were even necessary, I wouldn't have missed them.
Stargate Atlantis was spawned from the original series near the end and was in many ways a better show. The acting was easily as good as the original. The enemy in the Pegasus galaxy called the Wraith were superior to the Go'ould making an excellent foil for the crew of Atlantis for five action packed seasons. I would say I enjoyed Stargate Atlantis more than I did the original. I would definitely recommend both Stargate series for those who love Sci-Fi. They are superior to Star Trek (any generation) and even the first three episodes of the Star Wars saga.
4 of 5 stars
CW
