So what exactly is StarGate?
Well, first it was a movie in 1994. The StarGate, a circular ring that, when the right code is punched in, will open up wormholes to other planets, is found in the movie (titled 'STARGATE') and the first trip though it is taken.
After that, StarGate was made into a ten seasons long TV show (with several spinoff shows) with the same characters (though not the same actors) as the movie. It follows the team SG-1 as they travel through the gate to make friends - and enemies - and to find more knowledge.
(The poster for the movie)
This is a show like no other sci-fi show out there. For one, it's set in modern days. Also, it isn't all spaceships, aliens, must-blow-things-up. It's kind of like space-travel-meets-archaeology.
I really love that the primary means of travel in this show is not spaceships. The SG teams have to gear up and walk through the wormhole to get to the other planets. Not until much later do they figure out how to make a spaceship (with the help of alien technology and help from the Asgard's). In this show, the humans aren't the rulers of the galaxy - we're just starting to get out there in the universe, and there are a lot of people out there that want to take advantage of our planet.
Which is bad, because, besides the president and all the people working for the StarGate program (which is run by the Air Force), no one else knows about it! The rest of the humans on earth no nothing about all the enemies out there and it's up to SG-1 to save the planet over and over again! Which they do, of course.
Another thing that I love about this show is that it is SO WELL MADE! Watching it makes you think that it really is happening because the writing is so superb (as is the acting). And I LOVE how they include so much archaeology and Egypt and pyramids (which are actually alien spaceships) and even the Arthurian legend. They make it so it all seems real. Oh, it's just so amazing.
I'm gonna talk about the characters because they are so lifelike and likeable that really, anyone should watch the show just for them:
Colonel Jack O'Neill (played by Richard Dean Anderson).
He is an Air Force colonel who leads the SG-1 team through the first eight seasons of the show, before being promoted (and, subsequently leaving the show. I believe it was because he wanted to spend more time with his daughter).
He is a gruff man, very sarcastic, but a great leader. He has some personal baggage - his son accidentally killed himself with Jack's gun, and as a result, Jack's wife left him. Jack is a very lovable character and very funny. It's sad to see him go at the end of season eight, but he has a recurring role, so he shows up again.
His best friend is Teal'c, he watches hockey, he's never seen Star Wars, and his favorite show is the Simpsons.
Samantha "Sam" Carter (played by Amanda Tapping).
AKA one of the most well done female characters on TV. She's part of the Air Force, carries a gun (and uses it) with SG-1, can hold her own against men, but still remains feminine. She's a bit of a geek, in terms of computers and stuff. She's an astrophysicist. Sam is very down-to-earth and kind. She's a really great character.
Teal'c (played by Christopher Judge).
Teal'c is a Jaffa warrior. The Jaffa are kind of like guards to the bad guys (the Goa'ulds) but Teal'c defects from them in the first episode and spends the series trying to free his people from the slavery that their false gods (the Goa'ulds) have put them in.
He's pretty cool. He doesn't speak all that much and hardly ever smiles.... But in a cool way. That's the way he was raised. He does enjoy an occasional hockey game ("The Canucks of Vancouver are superior warriors"), though, and has seen Star Wars, what, eight times? Nine.
His catchphrase is "indeed" which he says all the time.
And now my favorite character... ever. In the whole wide world. Okay, maybe not. But he's right up there with Julian from Star Trek and Sherlock Holmes and Tintin. I mean, seriously. He has got to be the best character....
Daniel Jackson (played by Michael Shanks).
AHHHHHHHHH! I LOVE HIM!
Sorry....
Anyway, Daniel is the nicest guy in the whole wide world. He's kind and compassionate. Plus he's an archaeologist which is super cool. And he knows a whole bunch of languages. He also dies, like, ten times in the show. Most of the time it's his clone or the version of himself in an alternate reality. And he makes the WEIRDEST faces. Seriously, if you were take a screencap of all his weird faces, you could laugh your way through life.
His first three seasons are spent trying to find his wife, who was kidnapped by one of the Goa'ulds to be his wife.
He's just such a good guy. It's kind of sad in the last two seasons when his character changes from nice guy to gruff guy.
Those four, Jack, Sam, Teal'c and Daniel, are the primary characters for the first six characters. Then, in season seven, Jonas Quinn joins them just for one season.
He's a pretty nice guy as well, though is he kind of a filler character.... But he's cool. I like him. He's an alien. And he likes to watch the weather channel.
In season 8, Jonas leaves and it's just Jack, Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c again. But then in season 9, Jack is promoted to General and leaves the show.
Colonel Cameron Mitchell take his place (played by Ben Browder).
After the amazingness of Jack O'Neill... It might annoy some people to have a new leader.... But I LOVE Cam Mitchell. He is so cool. I realized the other day that he's a totally geek. He makes all these Star Trek references, even if people don't have a clue what he's talking about. And there's this one episode where he meets an alternate reality version of himself and they are talking and making jokes and they're like best friends.
That's how he is, but with an alternate version of himself.
He's a really great character. He's so cool.
And the last character... Vala Mal Doran (played by Claudia Black).
Vala is a bad girl. She shows up a couple of times and then becomes a pretty regular cast member during seasons nine and most definitely ten. She's not a character that most people would like, but she grows on you. She is sneaky and manipulative and only does stuff for others if she gets something out of it. She's gone through a lot in her life... abandonment and being a Goa'old host and lots of other stuff. She likes to seduce people and have fun and is kind of childish.
Despite all her faults, though.... She does grow on you (at least, she grew on me). She grows a lot in her two seasons for the better and eventually joins SG-1.
So, all in all, this is a very wonderful show. If you like sci-fi and archaeology this is definitely the show for you. It is so intricate and well done. The acting is superb (there's an episode where all of the characters switch personalities with each other and they do brilliantly acting as each other. It is so totally amazing) and the writing is superb. This show is definitely a 10 out of 10!
Live long and prosper!
Little disclaimer thingy... Like all TV shows, this one definitely has it's faults in language and sexual content. If you start watching this show, BEWARE of the first episode. The made-for-TV version of it is just fine (I believe) but if you watch the extended edition/feature length version of it has a full screen image of a naked lady.... So, just watch out.
