Stargate SG-1

[D'kian]

Only recently I've been able to watch this show. I know its run is over, I know it was around starting in the last century. But it's still a great show. Here's why:

The show centers on a device known as the Stargate. Essentially a wormhole portal that allows people to travel to toher such portals throughout this and other galaxies. SG-1 is a team of airforce officers, a civilian scientist and an alien, who roam other worlds in search for allies, technology, weapons, and general exploration as well.

Now come spoilers for the first two eps, which set the show's premise. Proceed at your own risk.

You've been warned.

The stargate network is used by a species called Goa'uld. They are a parasitic species, shaped like really ugly snakes, who need to inhabit a human host in order to function (otherwise they're really ugly snakes swiming circles in a pond). But their parasitism goes further than that. On Earth, many thousands of years ago, they impersonated gods and demanded worship. Eventually the people of Earth rebelled and kicked them out (not clear how, as those events are backstory for the movie the show is based on). Off Earth they've developed a sort of feudal empire, with a senior Goa'uld lording over others of his kind, plus many slaves of whom they demand worship (they're the ultimate second handers). There being several senior Goa'ulds, each with his own sphere of influence. Sometimes they go on conquests, sometimes they fight themselves.

They took humans off Earth long ago to form reservoir populations of hosts. Some, however, were altered into a subset of our species that came to be known as Jaffa. The Jaffa are the goa'ulds slaves and soldiers. they also serve as incubators for young goa'uld, which they carry in a pouch in their bellies. the little snake a Jaffa carries does not take them over, but it works as a kind of immune system and can also heal wounds and treat disease. This makes the Jaffa long lived. When the goa'uld reaches maturity it goes on to inhabit a human host, and the Jaffa gets a new larva to incubate to maturity.

When a goa'uld takes over a human host, he represses the hosts personality compeltely. The goa'uld is in control and the host is merely a means to his ends. The host's mind still exists, but it's powerless. The parasite can also heal his own host by itself, or with the aid of a device that looks like a sarcophagus.

Ok, so much for background. The show opens with a small goa'uld detachment coming through Earth's stargate, which had been mothballed inside the NORAD mountain headquarters in Colorado. Long story short, the goa'uld now see Earth as a potential threat and will proceed to deal with it. The US sets up a Stargate Command (SGC) led by an Air Force general, which oversees various Stargate groups (SGs), the leading of which is SG-1 (the numbers grow throughout the show, eventually reaching 20 teams or so, I think).

That's the first good thing about the show. Confronted with a nasty threat, America uses her military to come up with a defense. BTW the stargate is kept secret and no other nations are involved at first. And no one says anything about America being an unilateral bully

Next, in the first ep we learn not all Jaffa are faithful slaves and worsjipers of the goa'uld. Some yearn for freedom from the "fasle gods." that's also a positive leemnt, as the Jaffa get treated as individuals and not as pieces of a collective. SG-1 gains the allegiance of one such rebel, Teal'c, who betrays his goa'uld master, Apophis, in order to save the team. HOf course theree does this because he sees them, and their world, as a possible route of salvation for him and his people. Another positive element, a freedom-loving individual acting in his own self-interest; and he's one of the show's heroes.

The show tends to alternate between three kinds of stories:

1) Straight exploration stuff. The team will find somethign of interest, but not of use to their strugle against the goa'uld. this are the Trek-like eps, beacuse suually they either bring back a plague, get killed, get captured, imprisoned, etc etc.

2) Eps where the team finds allies, weapons or knowledge to use against the goa'uld.

3) War episodes. This can involve a special operation to capture a device, or kill a target, etc. Or they can involve a battle against the goa'uld, or against others. These tend to be less frequent than the other two.

Big spoiler coming. be warned.

Another very positive element in the show is that the lead bad guys are not all of one piece, either. There is a group of really ugly snake parasites that think taking over a host forcibly is wrong. Instead they inhabit a volunteer, usually one near death whom they can heal and whose life can be extended. They dont' repress the hosts personality, but rather share control of the body with the host. These are symbiotes rather than parasites. they benefit from the host, but the host benefits from them. They call themselves Tok'ra and fight the goa'uld as hard as they can. Eventually they are allied with the SGC.

So the show avoids making a species the villain. Within that species there are good people and bad people, individuals every one of them. That's also true of the various humans taken off Earth, the Jaffa, etc etc.

The off Earth humans also develop in a variety of ways. Some remain rather primitive, stuck in the bronze age, for instance. Others have developed very advanced technology.

Of course this makes up for a very complex universe, where good and bad people can come in any shape or form and knowing whom to trust, and how much, and when, is a difficulty. Add to that other aliens and other enemies and threats, and it's good to go for 10 years and a spinoff (Stargate Atlantis). And for all that there is a high degree of moral clarity to each side, but in particualr to the good side. That's sorely lacking in TV, sf or not, these days.

Among the various major factions and groups, the Earth humans remain the least advanced and the least capable. Everyone else has ships, warchips, support craft, bombers, etc. The humans ahve the stargate and, in time, one ship, then two. But the Air Force special ops teams are quite effective. they will raise subject peoples in successfull rebellions, thwart attacks on Earth, and kill several goa'uld System Lords to their best advantage (something they do get criticized for doing somtimes, but rationally enough).

It's an unusual kind of show, involving several good and interesting features. The drama is only fair, though, which keeps the show from being truly great. But as melodrama it is much better than the average fare.

[LiberTodd]

I have not watched SG-1 too much but I am a rabid fan of it's spin-off series Stargate: Atlantis. It's a guilty pleasure of mine .

[D'kian]

I have not watched SG-1 too much but I am a rabid fan of it's spin-off series Stargate: Atlantis. It's a guilty pleasure of mine .

I've seen exactly one ep of Atlantis. It seems they ran across the Replicators that have given the Asgard so much trouble.

[LiberTodd]

Yes, that they did. The main antagonist in SGA is the Wraith, however. The Wraith are a species of humans whose DNA was altered millions of years ago by a parasitic insect. Although they are humanoid the Wraith live in a hive-like structure and rely on human lives for sustenance. They established small low-tech human civilizations on several planets throughout the galaxy which act like farms for them. They possess a hive-mind structure and do not have much of a concept of individuality, lesser Wraith drones are bred with an organic mask which obscures their face.

However like the Tok'ra there are some Wraith which, after being stranded from the Hive for quite some time, start to gain a sense of individuality and even empathy for their human prey.

It's an interesting show, personally I think the characters, plot lines, special effects, and choreography are all superior to SG-1 although that's probably due to a higher budget and more recent computer technology.

[D'kian]

Although they are humanoid the Wraith live in a hive-like structure and rely on human lives for sustenance.

I'm going to assume a Carter-like character has alredy tried to get them to eat something else and it dind't work.

BTW if they're in another Galaxy, or so I gather, how did other humans get there for the Wraith to consume in the first place? I suppose I'll learn the answers when the series eventually re-runs (or when I break down and look it all up at Gate World).

It's an interesting show, personally I think the characters, plot lines, special effects, and choreography are all superior to SG-1 although that's probably due to a higher budget and more recent computer technology.

The effects, maybe. SG-1 does a large number of bottle shows, and the sets depicting goa'uld ships are recycled for several types of ships. At least they mostly stayed away from the tacky effects used in Andromeda (waste of a good premise if there wver was one). the rest is good writing, which may or may not be expensive.

[LiberTodd]

I caught a rather funny tidbit on SGA last evening. When asked how long it would take to rig a ship's cloaking device to the city, two scientists responded at the same time. One said "a couple of hours" and the other "a week." The one who said a couple of hours looked at the other and said "what are you, Union?"

[D'kian]

I saw the movie. briefly, the movie was made in 1994, then the show was developed from it in 96 or 97.

I remember when the movie first came out. I didn't see it then because, judgin from the previews, it was one more B-movie script with A-movie production values. Further the presence of Ancient Egyptian-like buildings as motiff strongly suggested tired old, von Danikken type ideas.

I was wrong. Oh, the script was B-movie quality and the production first rate. and there were von Danikken type ideas, too, of aliens visiting the earth in ancient times. But there was a good idea buried in there: aliens who take over human hosts. In the movie this is an incidental detail, perhaps thrown in to explain the alien's appearance (there is only one alien in the entire movie). I give my heartiest congratulations to the show's developers for taking that kernel and making it an interesting central theme in their work.

Other than that, the acting is rather good. I was surprised to see David Spader can play something other than a supercilious, narcisistic, self-centered jerk (self-centered means the second hander type who believe the world revolves around him). I know what type-casting is, and I admit I was guilty of that, but nevertheless I was surprised. Kurt Russell, on the other hand, does rather badly at playing the troubled, grizzled, middle-aged (not old, not in Hollywood) special forces veteran.

Overall rent the movie if you're a fan of the show. Buy it only if you collect Stargate DVDs. Otherwise it's not worth watching.

[edited to add:] Movies having better budgets than TV, many of the visual effects are much better as well. Some, like the passage through the gate, are re-used in the show (the opening of the gate, too, I'm sure). the sets and cosyuming are also of better quality. Notably the movie's Goa'uld (retroactive continuity) presents himself more as a god than the TV variety do. Beyond intermittently glowing eyes and deep, rebervarating voice, the movie's villain, Ra, is attired in colorful, embroidered fabrics and wears a pharaoh's death mask (like the ones found on sarcophagi). He also has a retinue and a grander throne room.

Edited July 9, 2008 by D'kian

[funandlearning]

I'm at Season 9 (dvd) at this point, and have thoroughly enjoyed some of them

Next in line is Stargate Atlantis, of course.

[D'kian]

I'm at Season 9 (dvd) at this point, and have thoroughly enjoyed some of them

I'm on an odd viewing schedule. Sci-Fi Channel (Latinamerican version) is re-running SG-1 in strip syndication, meaning an ep per day every weekday. Thus far they ran seasons 1 through 4, then started over. Recently they reached the end of the fourth and began rer-running season 2.

Meanwhile on another channel, FX (Latinamerican edition of course) they ran season 10. A friend lent me the season 6 DVD, which I finished in a week. So I've seen seasons 1-4, 6 and 10. I've also peeked at Gateworld for details.

Next in line is Stargate Atlantis, of course.

That's on FX, too, which recently ended season 4 (as first run for the region). they're re-running the whole series on strip, but at times I can't watch. I need to get a DVR soon.

Finally I stumbled on one of the SG-1 movies, "Continuum." It was good, but it still suffered from TV/direct-to-video production values. For instance the F-15 and MiGs vs Death glider scenes were too few and over too soon. But the story is top notch. I particularly liked the part the team is told they won't be allowed to mess with the timeline. That brings up a number of issues not commonly addressed in SF (the only other time I can think of was a Voyager ep --no kidding!-- when the common transporter accident creates a new individual and an ethical dilemma).

At the end the dilemma is not solved. SG-1 simply gets the chance to correct the time-line and they do. SPOILERS FOLLOW:

You've been warned

Teal'c, of course, does face the dilemma head on and acts on his judgement. He's seldom given easy solutions. This time he has to choose between waging war on the Goa'uld to bring freedom to his people and himself, or to trust the humans who tell him in their time line the Goa'uld are defeated and the Jaffa are free. With the complication of Baal's time machine now under new management, naturally.

But the time machine, the death of Baal and the ascendance of Qatesh add up to one thing: the time line will now change to Qatesh's liking, and she doesn't even care to pretend she'll free the Jaffa. Given Teal'c's character, his choice is the corerct one.

I also liked the symmetry displayed in the execution of the last System Lords. The movie starts with the To'kra extraction of Baal, the last System Lord. In the alternate time line where Baal reigns supreme, we first see him executing Apopphis as "the last System Lord to oppose me." Plus we get to see Baal die three times.

[Matus1976]

I want to chime in on how great this show is, here's some of the reasons...

1) clear cut good and evil

The G'ould in SG-1 are parasitic beings which take over humans (and other animals) and breeds humans as both warriors and genetically altered many of them to serve as temporary hosts. They pretend to be gods and engage in fuedal power struggles between the most powerful worlords. They routinely kill thousands of people and use humans as slaves. The SG-1 team does not 'try to understand' them or negotiate with them, they pit the warlords against each other and help free the Jaffa slaves.

2) Celebrates intellectual achievement as much as physical strength

The G'ould dominate most of the galaxy with millions of warships and warriors, yet they have trouble defeating the humans from earth to a great degree because they are routinely outsmarted, strategy is demonstrated to play a clearly devise role. Leading characters are brilliant and pull through with solutions at the last minute. The SG-1 teams engage in special forces like activities, while the G'Ould march in formation with little strategy.

3) it is (mostly) internally consistent.

Nothing drives me more crazy than a series or movie which contradicts it's own established premises. SG-1 rarely does this, though you can find occasional slip ups (the Gould warriors seem to get weaker with each passing season) it is almost entirely internally consistent, something established in the first season is referenced and adhered to, or built on, in all subsequent seasons.

4) actions have consequences

The SG team is routinely depicted as having to weigh the consequences of difficult decisions and then act accordingly, often in split second situations. Sometimes the consequences are bad and sometimes they are good.

5) plenty of moral dilemmas and moral fortitude

Similarly, they must weight the moral consequences of decisions as well, in one case about extinguishing an AI life form which could destroy the galaxy, or provide the key to saving it. Tealc, a formerly enslaved high ranking Gould warrior betrayed his 'god' and joined forces with the humans in the long term hope of freeing his people from the Gould. His moral fortitude is inspiring, as he struggles with losing his wife, his son, his people, his planet, he faces every decision with the same relentless devotion to his principles, often at his own peril.

6) no 'prime directive' nonsense

The SG-1 has no nonsensical rule against interfering with the cultural development of a people, especially ones who are enslaved by false gods, and they routinely supply tech and foment revolutions in societies under the enslavement of the Gould.

[D'kian]

3) it is (mostly) internally consistent.

Nothing drives me more crazy than a series or movie which contradicts it's own established premises.

I agree. But there is one thing they play fast and loose with: the ability to remove a Goau'ld parasite.

The humans can't do it. Fine.

The Assgard can, with Thor's Hammer, but I've seen them do it only once (and the host was left by SG-1 to die).

The To'kra can do it, but they don't always succeed. What determines the successful removal of a parasite? The needs of the plot.

Tealc, a formerly enslaved high ranking Gould warrior betrayed his 'god' and joined forces with the humans in the long term hope of freeing his people from the Gould. His moral fortitude is inspiring, as he struggles with losing his wife, his son, his people, his planet, he faces every decision with the same relentless devotion to his principles, often at his own peril.

Teal'c is one of the finest characters in modern science fiction, if not the finest. In addition to what you've said, he's loyal, brave, steadfast and always keeps calm. He also has an understated but witty sense of humor. He's the kind of man you want and your side and dread to face in battle.

[Sarrisan]

I've watched this show for years. Got my mom and sister into it, and they ended up buying the Season DVDs.

Of course, my mom only watches it to stare at Daniel. I think she almost cried when he cut his hair after the first few seasons.