"SG-1 -- Season 1" Review
24 November 2009
“Stargate SG-1: Season One” Review
** (Yes, I've seen SG-1 and F**K you, it's actually a pretty good show) **
What is deemed “hip” and “in” on the small screen in modern culture is an amalgamation of dancing contests featuring C-list celebrities, ultra-real medical dramas, and oodles of programs based off of sub-par movies from past decades. “Stargate SG-1,” is a decade-long running science-fiction TV series is based off Roland Emmerich’s 1994 feature film, however “SG-1” creators Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright took the original plot construct of the movie and vastly elaborated the Stargate Universe by creating layers of cross-galaxy mythology, theoretical scientific concepts, and multidimensional worlds filled with myriads of cultures.
The central premise of “Stargate SG-1” concerns the Stargates themselves, which are worm-hole powered passageways shaped like rings used since ancient times for peoples all over worlds to travel the galaxy. In Emmerich’s film a Stargate is found near the Giza Pyramids in Egypt so an excavationist seeks out Egypt expert Dr. Daniel Jackson’s help in deciphering hieroglyphs. After translating the hieroglyphs surrounding the Stargate Jackson is placed under the command of Colonel Jack O’Neil, who mentions that any information about the Stargate should remain classified. O’Neil and Jackson activate the Stargate and travel through to a sand-covered planet called Abydos and once there they meet human natives who speak a language with similar Egyptian roots. After fending off the antagonists the movie ends with Colonel O’Neil deciding to return through the Stargate, while Jackson decides to stay, particularly because he didn’t want to leave his new-found Abydosian wife Sha’re behind.
“SG-1” picks up a year after Jack returned through the Stargate. In the hour-and-a-half long pilot episode, “Children of the Gods,” a galactic villain called Apophis travels through the Earth Stargate with his elite guards known as Jaffa to kill people and to kidnap a female soldier. As a result Major General George Hammond recalls Colonel O’Neil back to the Stargate base and interrogates him about his previous mission to Abydos and the result of this meeting is a trip back to the desert planet with a new team, including Captain Samantha Carter, to find Daniel Jackson and to investigate the ones responsible for the abduction on Earth. When the team, notably called SG-1, arrives on Abydos they immediately find Dr. Jackson who shows them a massive room full of hieroglyphs. Jackson explains to them his hypothesis that the hieroglyphs on the walls are coordinates to other Stargates. Later in the episode SG-1, including Dr. Jackson, get captured by Apophis and his Jaffa but they are freed by a renegade Jaffa named Teal’c. Jackson’s wife, Sha’re, however is taken by Apophis and in a ritualistic ceremony she is implanted with the larva of a Goa’uld, which are a parasitic race that base themselves in humans. For the rest of Season One of “SG-1” the crew including O’Neil, Jackson, Carter, and Teal’c travel to various other worlds to interact with various race and cultures, and to seek out the Goa’ulds and Apophis.
The majority of episodes in the first season of “SG-1” are episodic, dealing with the crew’s adventures from planet to planet, yet all of the episodes have recurring themes interlaced with allusions to ancient mythology and the inclusion of theoretical science. In many of the episodes SG-1 travels through the Stargate to random worlds and they are immediately presented with conflict-laden situations filled with moral ambiguity, however the crew typically resolves the issue right before heading back through the Stargate back to Earth and the closing credits roll. In an episode called “Cor-ai” SG-1 travels to a planet called Cartego and there they encounter natives who want to apprehend Teal’c for carrying out the execution of a man’ s father while he was still a Jaffa working for Apophis. Teal’c is given a trial called a Cor-ai where the judge is the son of the man who was murdered, however O’Neil protests the entire trial itself citing the lack of objectivity and impartiality. SG-1’s desire to hold a fair, impartial trial is in conflict with the Cartego natives’ view of justice. Near the conclusion of the episode Jaffa come through the Stargate and it is SG-1 and Teal’c who fend off the antagonists to save the people of Cartego and for that they release Teal’c.
“Stargate SG-1” ran for over ten seasons and to this day it’s still on syndication on Sci-Fi network to the joy of Science-Fiction geeks who thrive off it’s intricate writing, it’s dazzling special effects, and the elaborate worlds which are filled with the perfect combination of amusement and uncertainty. Each time SG-1 passes through the Stargate the viewer is left to wonder what could be in store for O’Neil, Carter, Jackson, and Teal’c - characters whose journeys reflect any average escapist’s dreams of walking through a portal to another world. In today’s reality-television over-saturated world “Stargate SG-1” offers viewers a gateway to a plethora of other worlds, especially while Earth’s real woes keep churning out terrible entertainment.
“Stargate SG-1: Season One” Review
** (Yes, I've seen SG-1 and F**K you, it's actually a pretty good show) **
What is deemed “hip” and “in” on the small screen in modern culture is an amalgamation of dancing contests featuring C-list celebrities, ultra-real medical dramas, and oodles of programs based off of sub-par movies from past decades. “Stargate SG-1,” is a decade-long running science-fiction TV series is based off Roland Emmerich’s 1994 feature film, however “SG-1” creators Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright took the original plot construct of the movie and vastly elaborated the Stargate Universe by creating layers of cross-galaxy mythology, theoretical scientific concepts, and multidimensional worlds filled with myriads of cultures.
The central premise of “Stargate SG-1” concerns the Stargates themselves, which are worm-hole powered passageways shaped like rings used since ancient times for peoples all over worlds to travel the galaxy. In Emmerich’s film a Stargate is found near the Giza Pyramids in Egypt so an excavationist seeks out Egypt expert Dr. Daniel Jackson’s help in deciphering hieroglyphs. After translating the hieroglyphs surrounding the Stargate Jackson is placed under the command of Colonel Jack O’Neil, who mentions that any information about the Stargate should remain classified. O’Neil and Jackson activate the Stargate and travel through to a sand-covered planet called Abydos and once there they meet human natives who speak a language with similar Egyptian roots. After fending off the antagonists the movie ends with Colonel O’Neil deciding to return through the Stargate, while Jackson decides to stay, particularly because he didn’t want to leave his new-found Abydosian wife Sha’re behind.
“SG-1” picks up a year after Jack returned through the Stargate. In the hour-and-a-half long pilot episode, “Children of the Gods,” a galactic villain called Apophis travels through the Earth Stargate with his elite guards known as Jaffa to kill people and to kidnap a female soldier. As a result Major General George Hammond recalls Colonel O’Neil back to the Stargate base and interrogates him about his previous mission to Abydos and the result of this meeting is a trip back to the desert planet with a new team, including Captain Samantha Carter, to find Daniel Jackson and to investigate the ones responsible for the abduction on Earth. When the team, notably called SG-1, arrives on Abydos they immediately find Dr. Jackson who shows them a massive room full of hieroglyphs. Jackson explains to them his hypothesis that the hieroglyphs on the walls are coordinates to other Stargates. Later in the episode SG-1, including Dr. Jackson, get captured by Apophis and his Jaffa but they are freed by a renegade Jaffa named Teal’c. Jackson’s wife, Sha’re, however is taken by Apophis and in a ritualistic ceremony she is implanted with the larva of a Goa’uld, which are a parasitic race that base themselves in humans. For the rest of Season One of “SG-1” the crew including O’Neil, Jackson, Carter, and Teal’c travel to various other worlds to interact with various race and cultures, and to seek out the Goa’ulds and Apophis.
The majority of episodes in the first season of “SG-1” are episodic, dealing with the crew’s adventures from planet to planet, yet all of the episodes have recurring themes interlaced with allusions to ancient mythology and the inclusion of theoretical science. In many of the episodes SG-1 travels through the Stargate to random worlds and they are immediately presented with conflict-laden situations filled with moral ambiguity, however the crew typically resolves the issue right before heading back through the Stargate back to Earth and the closing credits roll. In an episode called “Cor-ai” SG-1 travels to a planet called Cartego and there they encounter natives who want to apprehend Teal’c for carrying out the execution of a man’ s father while he was still a Jaffa working for Apophis. Teal’c is given a trial called a Cor-ai where the judge is the son of the man who was murdered, however O’Neil protests the entire trial itself citing the lack of objectivity and impartiality. SG-1’s desire to hold a fair, impartial trial is in conflict with the Cartego natives’ view of justice. Near the conclusion of the episode Jaffa come through the Stargate and it is SG-1 and Teal’c who fend off the antagonists to save the people of Cartego and for that they release Teal’c.
“Stargate SG-1” ran for over ten seasons and to this day it’s still on syndication on Sci-Fi network to the joy of Science-Fiction geeks who thrive off it’s intricate writing, it’s dazzling special effects, and the elaborate worlds which are filled with the perfect combination of amusement and uncertainty. Each time SG-1 passes through the Stargate the viewer is left to wonder what could be in store for O’Neil, Carter, Jackson, and Teal’c - characters whose journeys reflect any average escapist’s dreams of walking through a portal to another world. In today’s reality-television over-saturated world “Stargate SG-1” offers viewers a gateway to a plethora of other worlds, especially while Earth’s real woes keep churning out terrible entertainment.