by Andrew Marshall
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Stargate SG-1 TV Series Overview


Introduction

Stargate SG-1 (often abbreviated SG-1) is a Canadian-American military science fiction adventure television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s Stargate franchise.

The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 science fiction film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich.

The television series was filmed in and around the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The series premiered on Showtime on 27 July 1997 and moved to the Sci Fi Channel on 07 June 2002; the final episode first aired on Sky1 on 13 March 2007.

The story of Stargate SG-1 begins about a year after the events of the feature film when the United States government learns that an ancient alien device called the Stargate can access a network of such devices on a multitude of planets and in space.

SG-1 is an elite United States Air Force special operations team, one of about 20 teams from Earth who explore the galaxy and defend against alien threats such as the Goa’uld, the Replicators and the Ori.

The series draws upon Egyptian mythology, Greek mythology, Norse mythology and Arthurian legend.

The series was a ratings success for its first-run broadcasters and in syndication and was particularly popular in Europe and Australia. Stargate SG-1 was honoured with numerous awards and award nominations in its ten-season run.

It also spawned the animated television series Stargate Infinity, the live-action spin-off TV series Stargate Atlantis, Stargate Universe, and Stargate Origins and the direct-to-DVD films Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum.

Merchandise for Stargate SG-1 includes games and toys, print media and an original audio series.

Outline

The plot of Stargate SG-1 picks up a year after the conclusion of the events recounted in the original feature film.

It follows the present-day adventures of SG-1, a military team from Earth. SG-1 and a dozen other SG teams venture to distant planets using an alien portal known as a Stargate, which in the series is housed in a top-secret United States Air Force military base known as Stargate Command (SGC) in the underground Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

In the first eight seasons, the mission of the SG teams is to explore the galaxy and search for alien technology and allies to defend Earth against the Goa’uld, a snake-like parasitic alien race from planet P3X-888 that takes humans as unwilling hosts.

As explained in the series’ backstory, the Goa’uld had transported human slaves from Earth to other habitable planets across the galaxy thousands of years ago and now pose as gods of old Earth mythologies, particularly Ancient Egypt. SG-1 eventually learns that highly evolved human-like beings, known as the Ancients, had originally built the Stargate network millions of years earlier, before ascending to a higher plane of existence, after which they pledged not to interfere in the lives of other species.

The Ori, a faction of the same race as the Ancients who instead use their powers to subjugate other species by religious indoctrination, assume the role of the main antagonists in Season 9 and Season 10.

Stargate SG-1 TV Series

Stargate Franchise

You can find a full index of the Stargate Franchise here, whilst clicking on the following links for films, documentaries, and TV series (all and Stargate SG-1 only).

Production & Filming Details

  • Release Date: 27 July 1997 to 22 June 2007.
  • Running Time: 45 minutes.
  • Country: US.
  • Language: English.

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