Stargate SG-1 Fan Mystery

[DeepSpaceWine]

Something that never seemed very clear is when & where did Stargate fans discover SG-1. For 5 seasons, its episodes debuted on the premium cable channel Showtime (very off the radar). They seemingly never released ratings info, though I've read in passing it was sub-million. That would indicate most fans who started watching SG-1 started not with Showtime. Starting in Summer 1997, on Showtime it usually ran from June- Sept/Oct, then Jan-March and then aired in syndication over-the-air in the next season (starting in Sept 1998). It switched to Sci-Fi Channel for first airings in June 2002 and continued the pattern of airing in syndication the next season.


So, SG-1 fans, when did you start watching and what type of broadcast was it?
Was it...
Showtime?
Syndication? (which season?)
Sci-Fi Channel?


For me, I am one of the outliers, started watching it on Showtime in 1997. I watched The Outer Limits and the second rate Poltergeist: The Legacy on it. After 2000, my parents only subscribed to showtime during the blocks Stargate SG-1 was on. I only periodically caught it in syndication since I already saw the premieres and was following DS9, Hercules & Xena, Earth: Final Conflict in syndication.

Showtime seemed to treat it decent through 2001, but it seemed like they wanted to get rid of it in the back half of Season 5. By The Legacy's 3rd season, it was clear they wanted to get rid of it. They treated Outer Limits decently through the end. I was a bit surprised Sci-Fi didn't get Stargate earlier. After it was a hit in syndication and after 1999 (assuming that year's expenditures were tied up with the new Farscape), it seemed like Sci-Fi was the perfect venue for it.

 

[David cgc]

I saw a couple episodes in syndication, but I didn't start watching regularly until I got cable a few months before the beginning of season eight. I started watching the SG-1 monday marathons and following the new episodes, as well, when they started.

 

[SG-17]

I started with the Season 7 premier on Sci-Fi and I managed to catch up in a number of weeks thanks to Sci-Fi Monday marathons.

 

[Kelso]

I watched first half season or so on Showtime when it debuted... but my interest fell off. I didn't pick the series back up until it came to Sci-Fi in season six. I caught up via repeats and DVDs by the time season seven debuted. Love it.

I recently introduced the series to my gf, and she can't get enough. We're up to season five.

 

[Caliburn24]

I watched it in syndication back in 97' or 98', whenever that started. I dabbled with the first season, not really caring to watch it every week. And at some point during that first season I just sort of lost track of it. It was syndicated on the local Fox affiliate which preempted it for baseball, nascar and various other sports, and it got annoying to try to keep track of when the show was going to be on.

But then it moved to Scifi channel and I jumped back onboard all the way through Atlantis and SGU as well.

 

[BlobVanDam]

As I'm not from the US, my data is useless, but I started watching it during season 5 some time, I believe.

 

[MacLeod]

Season One, on Sky One.

 

[Lucky]

I first saw it during Season 5 on Showtime. I became a regular viewer by the time Season 6 debuted on Sci-Fil

 

[AJ86]

Season One, on Sky One.

I thought Sky didn't get it until season 4 or something?

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

On the local channel. I was expecting an episode of Voyager that I'd missed in first-run, so I set my VCR (which is a device that captures sequences of television images on a spool of magnetic ribbon) to record. I was quite delighted to be catching the Canadian premiere of SG-1 in Calgary.

Rewatched it more than once that weekend, and was hooked since.

Mark

 

[Lindley]

Caught a few episodes in syndication shortly after I started college (first time I had access to cable). I think "The Other Side" may have been my first. I was in a phase where I was making a conscious choice to branch out and try some shows other than Star Trek.

That got me interested enough to pay attention when Scifi started doing Stargate Monday.

 

[Sindatur]

My mom watched it from the beginning on Showtime, and recorded a couple episodes for me. I enjoyed them well enough, but, didn't keep up with it, was busy with B5 and DS9. When it came to SciFi Channel, I started checking out the Monday Marathons (And I believe it also aired every evening as well on SciFi in another rotation. So, I got all caught up and started watching probably S7 as it aired on SciFi. Watched it through to the end (And enjoyed the final 2 seasons). Watched Atlantis here and there, but, never religiously, and watched SGU all the way through.

 

[USS Kongo]

I watched it from the very beginning on Showtime. I was a huge fan of the original movie at that time, and initially thought this series would be a big waste of time. How wrong I was! I loved it from the first episode onwards.

Sean

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Season One, on Sky One.

I thought Sky didn't get it until season 4 or something?

Yeah, I think Channel 4 broadcast the first few seasons before Sky snapped it up.

 

[John Clark]

Another one from the UK here. Our local store had Children of the Gods for hire before C4 picked it up so I saw it then. Later watched it on C4 and Sky as it aired

 

[The Wormhole]

I began watching SG-1 in fall 2003. Space had just begun showing it in syndication and I decided to give it a shot.

 

[Harvey]

I saw it on DVD courtesy of my local library, starting with season one, then season seven, and continuously out of order from there until I was caught up. Then I watched it in order on DVD (and occasionly on the Sci-Fi Channel) from season 8 onward.

 

[Kirby]

My nephews were fans of the show from the time it hit Sci-Fi, but I HATE to start shows part way through so I didn't bother. In fact, I was sick one day and flipping around the channels and came across a re-run on Sci-Fi, so I figured I'd give it a shot. It turned out to be the season 6 episode The Changeling. I had no idea WTF was going on with firefighters; it made no sense and was probably the worst episode to start.

When Atlantis started, I figured that was a good point to start watching the franchise. I liked it enough that when I found season 1 of SG-1 at Costco for $12 I picked it up, and loved it. I ended up watching through season 8 on DVD and then caught seasons 9 and 10 during their original broadcast.

 

[DeepSpaceWine]

It's interesting how many people didn't find SG-1 through syndication. Comparing ratings from a season in syndication a year later and the debut season on Sci-Fi, Sci-Fi Channel's SG1 ratings didn't eclipse the syndicated ratings til Season 8! Though syndicated ratings were falling in the late 90s and the syndicated market imploded over the early 00s, SG1 was the #1 show in the early 00s. It was also the only synd show since the mid '90s to see its ratings rise since its first few episodes* (peaked in the 99-00 season before declining).


*: Adventure Inc. did see its ratings rise after it had been cancelled, like in spring & summer, but we're talking all under 2.0 in the ratings, which is tiny.



I was going to ask how people handled jumping from Season 4 in syndication to Season 6 on Sci-Fi, missing Season 5 (which aired in synd overlapping with Season 6 on cable), which Sci-Fi didn't get to show til Sept 2003 (midway into Season 7), but as I see, not many posters here made that transition.

 

[od0_ital]

A friend of mine is a big fan of the series, and she kept talkin' to me about it. And I really enjoyed the movie, so I agreed to watch an episode just so she'd shut up about it.

Tuned in for one of the SciFi Channel's own reruns (the ones they aired at five & six).

My first episode was 'Watergate' with Marina Sirtis.

After that, I played catch up with the reruns, watched the last three seasons all new and got in on SGA from the beginnin'.