Stargate SG-1 is easily one of the most successful and entertaining
science fiction television series in recent history. Going strong now in its
seventh season, MGM has capitalized on this trend by releasing over
the past months the previous six seasons on DVD. A while ago I reviewed Season
Four (a fantastic season), and unfortunately by some mishap, Season Five never
made it into my hands. But here now is Season Six – and once again it
is plain to see why this series is still going strong.
Just how good was this season you’re asking? Well, even as a full-time
graduate student, I managed to watch all 22 episodes and most of the special
features, spread over five discs, in less than a week. That’s over sixteen
hours of episodes and features…well worth the time invested.
I’ll assume that if you’re reading this you just want to know if
season six is worth picking up, and you already have background knowledge about
the show. But then again, there are those who are always willing to dive into
something at any point in time. Though, for new viewers, I will warn you: you’re
going to have a hell of a time keeping up with if you chose to start watching
now. But nonetheless here’s a brief synopsis of the Stargate
series.
The Stargate is a…gate…to…the stars…kind of. Based on
the movie of the same name that came out in the 90’s, Stargate
SG-1 follows a team of Air Force officers know as SG-1 through all
their trials and tribulations. The gate itself is a device that was found in
Egypt early in the 1900’s. Its operation remained a mystery until Dr.
Daniel Jackson was able to translate the writings, and open the gate successfully
(this happened in the movie). When the symbols on the gate are used in a proper
order, it opens a stable wormhole to the other gate that was “dialed.”
So, now you’re saying: “there’s more than one gate?”
Oh yes, there’s a ton of them. The gate system was built by a race known
as the Ancients. They existed a long, long, long time ago – but were marvelously
advanced. Their domain (not in the Hitler sense) stretched across much of the
galaxy.
Then, over the course of time, a race known as the Goa’uld found, and
harnessed the power of the Stargate system. Only they used it to bring slaves
to many different planets to do their bidding. One reason many of the aliens
encountered on other worlds bare such a striking resemblance to humans is because
the many of them are descendents of humans (remember there was a Stargate on
Earth). Most of the species and worlds that were controlled, regarded the Goa’uld
as gods. But some do not. Think of it in Star Wars terms – the Goa’uld
is the Empire, and everyone else is either under their subjugation or are part
of the Rebel Alliance. Earth, obviously, is not under the control of the Goa’uld
but is always searching for ways to fight them off. This is a bigger problem
than you might imagine. But when SG-1 is not fighting the Goa’uld, they
are hopping from planet to planet (using the Stargate) looking to make friends,
swap technologies, and continue to explore. This is but a brief synopsis of
the series, as it would take quite a while to explain it all fully.
The SG-1 team is composed of four people: Richard Dean Anderson is Colonel Jack
O’Neill (yes, it’s MacGyver!!), Amanda Tapping as Major Samantha
Carter, Christopher Judge as Teal’c (a Jaffa – former servant of
the Goa’uld), and Corin Nemec as Jonas Quinn. The newcomer is the character
of Jonas Quinn – some may remember Dr. Daniel Jackson…well he has
moved onto other things in his life. I won’t give away anything here,
you’ll have to watch the show. Even with a key character being replaced
six seasons into a show, the new group works equally as well. The difficulties
of integrating a new part of the team are addressed throughout the show. I think
even the most reluctant viewer could accept Jonas’ character. Richard
Dean Anderson is such a great actor, especially in this role. As you’ll
see in some of the special features, he is a blast. Half of the lines that make
the final cut of the show are all ad-libbed by him. The rest of the cast can
barely keep from cracking up.
Season six is possibly one of the best seasons of Stargate SG-1.
The episodes are a perfect blend of story, and fun. One thing this show has
done, and done successfully, is continue a main storyline throughout the entire
series, and while it changes here and there, it continues to build, and become
ever more intertwining and interesting. With the appearance of a new Goa’uld
known as Anubis in the past season five, the suspense and tension in the Stargate
universe never stops. I wish I could pick better words to describe it, but I’ve
left my thesaurus in my other pants.
The beginning of the season finds Anubis attacking Earth in a two-part episode,
and it only gets better from there. While many other stories take place, the
main plot never gets away from the fight against Anubis and the Goa’uld,
and it is done so well. Among the more memorable episodes are: “Redemption
parts 1 &2,” “Descent,” “The Other Guys,”
“Allegiance,” “Unnatural Selection,” “Memento,”
“Prophecy,” and the season closer “Full Circle.” Two
episodes, “Abyss” and “Full Circle” are particularly
powerful. In the season ending episode, the true roles of Daniel Jackson, and
Anubis are discovered. From here, only season seven can tell the story. So I
hope you’re watching!
Accompanying the 22 episodes is a limited amount of special features. Actually,
there’s only two…but they are spread over all five discs. The first
is audio-commentary for every episode…yes, all 22. They are good commentaries
as well. Done by mostly the director’s and some of the set managers, they
offer good insight behind the show – as well as help you separate the
script from ad-libbing, and real props from CGI. Not to mention some helpful
hints about storylines in case you’re confused. I find that these are
the best kinds of commentaries. When the directors and/or cast will actually
talk about the show then I’ll be interested. Since Stargate SG-1
has more than one director (they direct different episodes) it’s
interesting to see how each handles the production of their episode, and their
thoughts behind it. Overall a good feature that I would suggest you watch if
you like commentaries.
The second extra is a number of featurrettes accompanying most of the episodes.
I say this is only one bonus feature because they are all part of the “SG-1
Directors Series.” There are 12 all together spread over the five discs.
Each part is a behind the scenes look at the making of the episode, the set
designs, the storyboarding, the actors,…everything. Not only are these
kind of interesting, they are fun. I learned the shimmering “puddle effect”
from the Stargate is done by a guy sitting and shaking a sheet of foil with
a bright light reflecting off it. Amazing! Not really, but it’s funny.
They’re worth a look definitely. I’m sure you will enjoy them.
The Stargate SG-1 series is a great sci-fi show that has weathered
through six seasons, and is easily plowing through its seventh. Season six is
a true testament to the prowess of this show. It was said in the director commentary
of the season ending “Full Circle” that the season was thought to
be the last – and was partly written to that fashion. But the show was
renewed for a seventh season. Hopefully this will not be the last either. Either
way, if you’ve got the first five seasons of Stargate SG-1
on DVD already, you better be getting this set, or you’ll be kicking yourself
for sure. As I stated before, I don’t see any first timers really enjoying
this – its for fans only. There certainly are no special features to entice
newcomers either – simply enough to allow the fans to further understand
the details of the show. So if you’re an avid viewer and a collector of
DVDs, do I really need to tell you to pick this up? I shouldn’t. Just
do it.
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