Keep at it! It certainly gets better. I got into it in season 4 and then made my way backwards.
Stargate
- Thread starter bajorangirl
- Start date
The season ending arc of season 1 is where the show really picks up, starting from the alternate universe ep. But the two parter at the end might be one of the best 'Enemy base infiltration' episodes of any scifi series.
And the one in the middle is like a tutorial on how to do a clip show, if you absolutely must.
And the one in the middle is like a tutorial on how to do a clip show, if you absolutely must.
FYI, the two Stargate SG1 movies, Ark of Truth and Continuum and free to watch right now on youtube.
For those that may be interested, you can watch all of SG-1 for free on https://tvonline.cc/
You may need to create an account to access the free stuff. Voyager and Enterprise are also free.
I loved SG-1, season 8 was lacklustre but the rest was great, loved Atlantis right away but it took a while to get into SG-U, the opening episodes were great but after that I lost interest, the end of season hooked me again and season two was a huge improvemeng and I thoroughly enjoyed it and then it was unceremoniously cancelled. The dvd movies though didn't do much for me, continuum was fine but nothing more, but ark of truth was uninspiring.
7 and 8 were definitely lower points for me. I think the Ark of Truth was entirely forgettable for what it had been building towards. Continuum was OK. I genuinely loved Ben Browder as Cameron and his interactions with the team. He has this incredible presence in terms of being that leader, while making it his own, which was hard in filling RDA's role.
I got more into Stargate SG-1 in the last few seasons, when the Farscape actors took over and the Ori became the main antagonists. One day I might go back and look at the early seasons. I've always liked the concept of the Goa'uld and how the series draws on Earth mythology.
I was into Atlantis pretty much right off the bat. I looked at SGU and appreciated the attempt to be edgier than SG-1 or STA, but it didn't fully grab me, though I liked the sniveling, scheming scientist (can't remember his name). It was a little too gritty for me. I did like their take on aliens though quite a bit. The blue aliens in particular.
I was into Atlantis pretty much right off the bat. I looked at SGU and appreciated the attempt to be edgier than SG-1 or STA, but it didn't fully grab me, though I liked the sniveling, scheming scientist (can't remember his name). It was a little too gritty for me. I did like their take on aliens though quite a bit. The blue aliens in particular.
The FarScape cast additions really make the last few season far more enjoyable for me whilst the Ori are a far more dangerous foe to face off again, the Goa'uld really stuck around for far too long I think.
Nicholas Rush (played by Robert Carlyle) is definitely a character you love to hate. SGU as a whole really is a series that is best binged, as it's narrative blends well from one episode to the next and whilst it might get really grim at times, when they do have a success it is well worth it and earned--though immediately swamped my more misery and grit
The FarScape cast additions really make the last few season far more enjoyable for me whilst the Ori are a far more dangerous foe to face off again, the Goa'uld really stuck around for far too long I think.
Nicholas Rush (played by Robert Carlyle) is definitely a character you love to hate. SGU as a whole really is a series that is best binged, as it's narrative blends well from one episode to the next and whilst it might get really grim at times, when they do have a success it is well worth it and earned--though immediately swamped my more misery and grit
Definitely see what you're saying about the Goa'uld overstaying their welcome. I've long loved mythology and so the concept is just so neat to me, and I could imagine cost effective to just draw from ancient Earth cultures/religions. It's almost endless the Goa'uld they could come up with. But I can see how that would play itself out. I've seen some of the early seasons and I liked Aphophis and Anubis seemed cool. Doesn't seem like they did much with Sokar though. I also enjoyed Baal. Perhaps they just went to that well one too many times. Though SG-1 never struck me as the most original or imaginative series. It seemed like a Trek-lite in many respects.
As for their other antagonists, I did like the Replicators (really liked how they clanked when they moved). The Ori did come off as very dangerous.
The Goa'uld just needed a smaller revisiting to make them essential to keep around. Ba'al's efforts were understandable, if irritating because it took away from the Ori. I think that if they had tried to keep building the alliances with the Milky Way powers to fight against the Ori, while Ba'al, or another Goa'uld was plotting to stab them in the back that would have been far more interesting that a major threat and occasional minor threat.
Why do you guys always need a big bad to fight in a series? Those were my least favorite episodes. I prefer those where they go to a planet, discover a problem and solve it. And where questions about humanity are asked, yes, very much like in Star Trek. But I did watch Stargate first.
For example the episode where they had relocated people to a new planet but then a ship arrived to transform the planet for another life form and it had to be decided who deserves to live there more.
Or the episode with the black hole where we learn about Jack's past. That was good character stuff. It does not always need to be about fighting.
Or the episode where they go to that planet and are excited for new technology but then find out they are space Nazis and discuss whether or not having new technology is worth this. Or... I could go on like this.
I like season 9 and 10 least. What had been a good drama show with the occasional humor became comedy and totally over the top. It was not realistic anymore.
Many years later I watched TOS for the first time. The episode with the Horta I feel could have been a Stargate episode as well. Kirk like Jack who wants to shoot the beast but Spock like Daniel who says it's the last of its kind.
I liked that I could both agree with Jack's and Daniel's point of view in some episodes, and how they found a compromise in the end.
For example the episode where they had relocated people to a new planet but then a ship arrived to transform the planet for another life form and it had to be decided who deserves to live there more.
Or the episode with the black hole where we learn about Jack's past. That was good character stuff. It does not always need to be about fighting.
Or the episode where they go to that planet and are excited for new technology but then find out they are space Nazis and discuss whether or not having new technology is worth this. Or... I could go on like this.
I like season 9 and 10 least. What had been a good drama show with the occasional humor became comedy and totally over the top. It was not realistic anymore.
Many years later I watched TOS for the first time. The episode with the Horta I feel could have been a Stargate episode as well. Kirk like Jack who wants to shoot the beast but Spock like Daniel who says it's the last of its kind.
I liked that I could both agree with Jack's and Daniel's point of view in some episodes, and how they found a compromise in the end.
I prefer episodic too, that's why I think I will enjoy Stargate. But you also need some overlying story arcs that come into play from time to time. Have some sort of goal every season of two.
There's no need. I just like it. Stargate, like Star Trek, is a multi modal story platform.
They like most shows these days to have some kind of arc going through each seasons or multiple seasons, and when you have an action show like the Stargates, the easiest way to do that is by introducing some kind of enemy for them to deal with.
I get that and I don't mind it occassionally as it broadens the universe, but in my memory (I may remember it wrong) the later seasons were about the Ori in every episode. There were no standalone episodes anymore. It was always about finding a way, a weapon to fight them, and it got boring.
It's also where Atlantis lost me in later seasons when it was only ever about the Wraith and the Replicators and the Replicators and the Wraith. No exploring of strange new worlds anymore.
In the famous words of Vic Mignogna: "Star Trek is not about fighting the Klingons."
For a show with 22 episodes a season, episodic with arcs tends to work better overall.
My problem with the later seasons, besides that the original 4 is one of the greatest scifi ensembles ever and they never reproduced that, is that the enemies became so strong all the ground tactics became irrelevant and the story became all about finding the next ancient artifact in time.
My problem with the later seasons, besides that the original 4 is one of the greatest scifi ensembles ever and they never reproduced that, is that the enemies became so strong all the ground tactics became irrelevant and the story became all about finding the next ancient artifact in time.
Devlin did an interview with Gateworld.net, a Stargate fan site, and discussed that he and Emmerich opted to walk on it. Here's the link to the interview, but it is 75 minutes long.
