Fans of Stargate are awaiting the start of Stargate Universe with eager anticipation, though there are some who question it's place in the Stargate mythology. For those of you who have never really gotten into Stargate this is a very brief (and I mean very brief) retrospective look at what we've seen so far.
Stargate was one of those movies that spanned multiple genres although it excelled in the science fiction community and formed the start of a faithful fanbase which then grew as the popular movie expanded onto our TV screens in the form of Stargate SG-1.
The TV series throughout the 10 years that it ran for focussed upon a team of elite soldiers and scientists who worked in the Cheyenne Mountain complex on the covert Stargate command operations. At the end of the theatrical movie we saw Ra, supposedly the last of his race die in a nuclear explosion above the planet Abydos; though in the pilot episode for SG-1 we learnt that Ra was not alone, there were other worlds out there connected by the Stargate. To counter this new threat the US Government and military put together 10 teams to explore these new worlds to bring back technology that may help then in the fight against their new enemy, the Goa'uld.
The first Goa'uld they encountered after Ra was his arch-rival, Apophis who ruled from the world of Chulak. This first mission acts as a way of fixing story elements so that the main premise of the original movie could actually continue as a TV series. In the movie when Ra is atomised he briefly changes his appearance so that he looks like one of the Roswell "Greys", suggesting this was his true form. In the pilot episode we learn he was a Goa'uld, a race of parasitic, worm-like creatures that take full control of their human host. During infancy the young Goa'ulds reside in a pouch inside the stomach of Jaffa soldiers in return for granting them long life and good health. All this is explained in the pilot episode as the first prime of Apophis, Teal'c, rebelled against the false Gods he served and joined SG-1.
Daniel Jackson had already rejoined them by this point after his wife, Sha're, is kidnapped and used as host. It wasn't enough for their quest to be just for Jackson's wife though – Col. Jack O'Neill , who is brought out of retirement, is also after saving Skaara who reminds him of his dead son. Joining these three to form SG-1 is Captain Samantha Carter, an astrophysicist.
Over the next few seasons the story evolves as SG-1 meet a splinter group of Goa'uld called the Tok'ra – a group who rebelled against the System Lords arguing that hosts should only be taken willingly and not by force. They also learn of an alliance of ancient races: the Ancients, the Furlings, the Nox and the Asgard. The first race we see are the Nox, a group who SG-1 believed to be primitive and in need of protection, but by the end of the episode they understand that appearances can be deceiving.
Throughout the series there are a few things from the movie that are eventually forgotten – Jackson's allergies, the chill from going through the gate, and the fact that Abydos was supposed to be in a different galaxy. The only other thing they dropped which I've not yet mentioned is how the Stargate caused the base to shake every time it was activated – this however was explained by the addition of some dampeners.
As System Lord after System Lord is defeated we see new enemies introduced such as the replicators, and eventually, after the final defeat of the Goa'uld and the formation of the Free Jaffa Nation we are introduced to a new threat: the Ori. By the time we see this mysterious new enemy we've become accustomed to seeing Earth's newfound superior technology be able to fend off any enemy that might threaten Earth. This all changed though. The Ori were a group of the ancients who after ascending chose to use their powers to affect others and gain worshippers through their new religion, Origin. This threat is one that never got resolved during the 10 years that SG-1 ran for, instead it was resolved in the first SG-1 feature length movie, "Ark of Truth".
Where Goa'ulds borrowed from Egyptian and Chinese mythology amongst a few others, the Asgard borrowed from Norse mythology and it becomes not too uncommon to see things like them looking for Merlin and the Sangraal (the Holy Grail), a device which could be used to wipe out the Ori.
The next SG-1 movie, "Continuum" covers a staple of science fiction in the form of time travel and altered realities. Ba'al alters the timeline so that Cameron Mitchel (the replacement leader for SG-1 after Jack O'Neill left), Sam, Daniel and Teal'c never form SG-1 and the System Lords still live with Ba'al ruling them instead of Ra.
The story telling of this show was generally good as was the score produced by David Arnold. Personally my favourite episodes were those that dealt with mythology such as the episode where the Asgard are introduced with them masquerading as Norse Gods.
A couple of years before SG-1 finished it's run a spin-off series begun after Daniel Jackson discovered details on how to reach the lost city of Atlantis. Although initially he did not get to go himself, there was an expedition team sent through to the other side. Unfortunately for the team they were trapped in a city that was underwater and vastly underpowered. To get from the Milky Way galaxy to the Pegasus galaxy where Atlantis was discovered it required a great power source – which they did not have on the other side.
They weren't afraid to shake things up on this show either, after the first year of being out of contact with the SGC they had finally been able to establish contact and eventually got sufficient power sources to be able to use the Stargate to reach Earth regularly. In this new galaxy they not only met new allies, but also new enemies such as the Wraith and the Asuran's – replicators built by the Ancients. Again they shook up the status quo at the end of season 3 when they replace Weir with Sam Carter from SG-1 and again in season 5 with the IOA lackey, Richard Woolsey.
The series eventually ended with the city landing just off the coast of San Francisco, with the whole crew looking on at the golden gate bridge after having defeated a Wraith attempt to attack Earth.
Between the two TV shows we've seen actors who have been well known for other roles: Richard Dean Anderson (from MacGuyver), Jewel Staite (from Firefly / Serenity), Robert Picardo (from Star Trek: Voyager), Ben Browder and Claudia Black (from Farscape).
The two shows have been so good that it was a real shame to see them end, but at least they have been able to continue on as TV movies with a third SG-1 movie being planned, and a first Atlantis movie also in the pipeline. We can now look forward to Stargate Universe – a third spinoff series where the crew are marooned on an starship created by the Ancients and stranded far from home. Unfortunately there has been a lot of doubt about this series due to the premise for the series and the average age of the cast members which has earned it the nickname "Stargate Voyager 90210". Hopefully this third spin off will work out okay, but only time will tell.
Note: I know I've not included the animated Stargate:Infinity series in this retrospective, but it really wasn't that good and is best left forgotten.
