I'm an avid viewer of America's longest-running scifi series, Stargate SG1. I originally ignored this show when it came out in the late 90's, as I thought: "Pft! Just another corporate watering-down of a movie. And fucking McGuyver? Give me a break." And yes. I even thought of the rolling-eyes smiley. I've always been ahead of my time. But, seriously, I just didn't give it the time of day.

Then, about a year before I got married, I had moved out from living with Cross and had my own place. Expenses forced me to not have cable. And since Netflix was just discs at the time, I was forced to watch anything I could find otherwise. One of my friends began mailing me burned copies of the SG1 show. I let them pile up as I just couldn't bring myself to watch it.

Then, finally bored one day, I caved and watch the pilot. Then the next episode. Then the following one. Then the entire season. Within three days I had gone through the first two seasons of the show.



Holy shit was it good. How utterly wrong I was. I mean, "Michael Keaton could NEVER be Batman"-wrong. As I had never watched McGuyver, I guess I just didn't know what to expect with Richard Dean Anderson. What I got, though, was the mot realistic, pragmatic, believable military man I've ever seen presented on television. Literally the antithesis of every cliche you've seen in the genre, his "Jack O'Neill" ('two L's!') is the living breathing epitome of what I would classify as the "ultimate soldier" without ever having to "prove" his skills. The confidence and sense of humor he brings to the character, as well as extremely good casting for the rest of the ensemble, is probably what helped the show run non-stop for ten years. And don't get me wrong. He's stand-out, but it's not "The Jack Show". SG1 is a true ensemble that fleshes out all characters involved, as well creating an enormous recurring background cast.



SG1 also does what Trek never did, and that's build upon itself. You can bet if the SG1 unit recovers some type of alien tech in one episode, you will damn well see it become a factor in their attempts to secure tech that will help them defend Earth against the Gou'ld. I cannot bring up a single "throw-away" episode. Even in the first season, when they were recycling TNG script concepts because they weren't quite sure where to take the show, the writers would later touch back on all these episodes to maintain the integrity of their internal logical universe. It was not only never over-powering continuity-driven navalgazing, but was actually quite rewarding for long-term viewers. It built definable, realistic parameters in the storytelling and how SG1 operated. The series presented the evolution of the cast, which allowed a sense of danger as principle players are killed off as the story demands.



All in all, an excellent series which I highly, HIGHLY recommend based upon repeated viewings. And luckily for anyone who wants to try it, Netflix's streaming service is currently offering ALL 10 years of the show, as well as the two full-length TV movies that followed, "SG1: Ark of Truth" and "Stargate Continuum".



Take a shot. I think if you like great characters and fun writing, you won't be disappointed. Just understand, the first two season will be the weakest of them all. Make it through those and you will see what I'm talking about.

P.S. There's full-frontal nudity of Daniel's wife in the pilot episode, as it aired on Showtime.

Meh. I never could get into SG-1. I liked Stargate Universe and the few episodes I watched of Stargate Atlantis.

Meh. SGA and SGU are derivative of the original source. But, SG1 is definitely rooted in 90's scifi...

SG-Atlantis was going to be the Voyager of the series until the producers realized that having them stranded was a horribly bad idea. Universe decided to dust off the Voyager concept and add a bit of Galactica reboot. Still a bad idea because, as we all know, Voyager sucks.

I really want to know why Stargate had higher ratings than Farscape.

It honestly just boggles my mind how Stargate survived while Farscape faded out of existence.

I keep thinking it was cost, but that doesn't sound like the whole story.

Maybe it was Wheadon himself.

Does Stargate have a Roddenbury/Ronald Moore/JMS/Weadonesque type?

Lothar probably opened this thread and was disappointed at the contents.

Totally. Wright/Cooper should have handed the franchise over to someone else after RDA retired as executive producer. He's the one who kept that thing on track. After that, it was just as you say.



From what I understand, it's generally considered that Farscape was far too "alien" for the common joe to invest in. Not to mention, they were always trying to secure funding from a channel that didn't really want to be supporting them. But, Scape was the scifi for scifi-nerds. Good friend of mine L-O-V-E-S that show. I could never get past the muppets, myself. But, I love me some Ben Browder and Claudia Black. They were a welcome addition to SG1 when Farscape folded. BTW, did you ever watch SG1? Too Air Force for you?




You're thinking of Firefly. Farscape was a Jim Henson Studios production in co-op with some Australian or New Zealand studios.



SG1 has ex-actor-turned-writer Brad Wright as it's guiding light. He and a guy named Michael(?) Glassner wrote most of the first two-three seasons. After that Glassner went on to other things, and Wright stayed with the show until the end. Richard Dean Anderson became one of the Executive Producers for season four through season eight.

The main creative influence over the style of the show and the integrity of the characters was the DeLuise brothers. Michael, Peter, and David DeLuise (sons of famous 70's/80's comedian and Burt Reynolds movie partner, Dom DeLuise) wrote, directed, and starred in the show from year 3 to year 10. I would point towards them as being the ones who made the show the franchise it became, far beyond anything Brad Wright contributed...



Yeah...

No. Too boring.

There's only one man in this thread and it aint Pro or Short Round.

How far did you get? Just curious. I found it a struggle to get through most of that first year, myself. That's why I'm asking. I was wondering if you tried and gave up before digging into it...

Lying editor. I saw the first version. You said "There's not a man in this thread." Too slow, old man!

Hallucinate much?

Best. Episode. Ever.

I thought the pilot all on its own was kinda lame. But I still gave the series a shot when it started up. I got ten episodes in before I completely lost interest and just drifted in and out of the series.

I honestly didn't think it would last. Next thing I knew, it hit its seventh season and there was talk of spin-offs.

I figured with that much staying power, it got better. I started watching the second and third seasons, but....they really weren't so different from what I saw at the beginning. The acting didn't even seem to evolve--which was my biggest problem with the show in general.

So I skipped all the way to the end and started watching the episodes with the Orai. At that point, I just gave up.

I do not understand what people see in this show, and I'll probably never understand--which bewilders me because even though I despise every show Whedon came up with, I can still understand why people liked the crap he churned out. Stargate however, a show apart of a genre with subject matter I'm far more likely to enjoy, comes across as mediocre and cheesy to me--but it's universally beloved for fuck's sake!

I simply don't get it.

Fixed it for you.

Liar. Try again, you wuss.

YES!!!

Well, Whedon didn't have anything to do with this. And I'm the opposite. People rave about Whedon as if he were some creative genius. Every show he's ever made has been derivative of something else. But, the guy doesn't have an original bone in his body. He's never made a thing I enjoyed (except AVENGERS, and I don't know how much to attribute to him for that one).

SG1, though, is all about the characters. I personally like it because it has great acting, chemistry, and humor. The fact that you don't like it truthfully only reinforces my beliefs in how awesome a show it is, and the tenacity of the franchise tends to back me up on that one.

Sorry you couldn't find someone to love in it. It's still good. You should give it another shot. But, this time, prep yourself for happiness and joy, instead of rage and sadness. That might be the key you're missing. SG1 opposes the cynicism of most scifi concepts. It laughs at the cliche of the "dark-n-gritty". And I laugh along with it...

this happens a lot for you doesn't it?

Don't dodge the question,whack job.

Flawless visual overview of the series.

I approve of this thread.