Doc, Let Me Know When It Dies

I’ve been trying to write this column for two days, and I keep getting bogged down in trivia! So let’s try a fresh start.

Over the course of several years, Stargate SG1 has become one of my favorite science fiction shows. A spin-off of the successful 1994 feature film Stargate, the series starts out a year after the movie takes place, the stargate program all but abandoned because no one could figure out how to make the gate connect to anyplace but Abydos, where the gate was believed to have been destroyed by the bomb that Colonel Jack O’Neil (Kurt Russell) was supposed to have set for detonation before returning to Earth. Circumstances require a return to Abydos, where Doctor Daniel Jackson (James Spader), who stayed behind, has discovered a map showing gate addresses for many other planets. And off they go. The series has had all the of the elements necessary to a long-running successful television science fiction show: actors who work together with the right chemistry, decent plot lines and scripts, cool equipment and good special effects, great love-to-hate-‘em enemies, and enough new ideas introduced over the course of eight seasons to keep the show fresh and exciting without mutating it out of all recognition. It has even spawned its own spin-off, Stargate: Atlantis, which while significantly different from the parent, still retains enough of the elements of the original show to appeal to the fan base.

The team from which the series takes it name, SG1, is made up of Colonel Jack O’Neill (admirably reprised for the series by Richard Dean Anderson), Doctor Daniel Jackson (excellently portrayed by Michael Shanks in the show), Air Force pilot and astrophysicist Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), and for the mandatory alien that seems to be a requirement in any space opera, the Jaffa named Teal’c (Christopher Judge), human in appearance but also the carrier of an immature form of the parasitic symbiotes known as the Goa’uld. (The Goa’uld are the main bad guys of the series, passing themselves off as gods and enslaving vast numbers of people throughout the galaxy. Ra from the movie was a Goa’uld. Just so ya know.) First but only one of many stargate teams, SG1 is part of Stargate Command, a secret Air Force command that was formed to oversee the stargate program. SGC, still located in the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, is headed by Major General George Hammond (Don S. Davis), and is populated by extras and a number of more or less important recurring characters.

One factor that adds to the realism of the show is the attention to detail concerning things military. As a retired Air Force master sergeant, it jolts me out my willing suspension of disbelief when a TV show or movie portrays glaring errors in military uniforms, grooming and mannerisms. In general, the characters in Stargate SG1 are properly groomed, wear their uniforms correctly, and follow military protocol. (Except for the pesky civilians, but what’re ya gonna do?) Jack O’Neill is a maverick, but knows how far he can push the envelope. General Hammond plays it by the book, but also knows when it’s time to toss the book out the window. Samantha Carter is a good officer who knows the difference between personal initiative and bucking the system for no reason. Teal’c, used to both taking and giving orders, has no trouble fitting in the chain of command. Even Daniel Jackson can usually tell when argue with military bullheadedness and when to go with the flow. I find that it contributed to the overall realism of the story and makes it that much more enjoyable.

Starting out on the Showtime network, Stargate SG1 managed to survive and even thrive after its transition to the Sci-Fi Channel and is currently in syndication on both Sci-Fi and the Fox Network, while starting out just recently with a brand new season on Sci-Fi.

Which now brings me to what I really wanted to write about. What in the name of all the Goa’uld gods were the writers and producers of the show thinking when they came up with the misbegotten Frankenstein’s monster that they’re trying to pass off as season nine? I thought Ben Browder was absolutely great in Farscape, and that his co-star from that show, Claudia Black, was excellent as a guest-star in the season eight episode “Prometheus Unbound”. In the first two episodes of season nine, Browder has been less than inspiring and Black has been, well, bloody annoying. No Jack O’Neill, no Samantha Carter, and don’t get me started on Beau Bridges as the new CIC of Stargate Command. And what’s the deal with Walter Harriman pulling the “Radar O’Reilly” bit with the personnel records for the new commander? Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but that’s ridiculous. Not to mention that it looks like they’re bringing in a whole new set of false gods to start fighting with, after the defeat of the Goa’uld and liberation of the Jaffa toward the end of season eight. If the storylines and the acting don’t improving in one heck of a hurry, I predict that this will be the final season of Stargate SG1.

Now I’ve finished venting, and I don’t even feel any better about the whole thing. (Sigh.) I’ll probably continue to watch the new episodes, as least for a few more weeks, to give the buffoons who did this a chance to redeem themselves, but right now I’m not holding out much hope. I console myself with the thought that there are eight good seasons to re-watch, and I have the first season on DVD, all ready to go. If you haven’t watched Stargate SG1, do yourself a favor and don’t start with this new season - watch the old episodes in syndication, or buy/rent the first season and do it right.