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Stargate

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An activated Stargate, the central object of the fictional Stargate universe, here depicted in the SG-1 television series.

Stargate refers to the science fiction media franchise that began in 1994 with the feature film Stargate. The subsequent body of works detail an elaborate fictional universe where Earth battles hostile aliens possessing superior technology or supernatural powers. The film's story is continued in novel form, in two live-action television series (Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis), one animated series (Stargate Infinity), and in other derivative works.

The franchise, owned by MGM, continues to be successful 30 years after its inception.[1] Due to multiple developers working separately and independently on the franchise over the years, the various Stargate productions are not entirely consistent with each other: no set of works forms a "correct" or official canon. The largest fanbase exists for the story that begins with the original film, and continues with Stargate SG-1 (1997–2007) and Stargate Atlantis (2004–).[2]

Stargate productions center on the premise of a "Stargate", a ring-shaped alien device that enables personal teletransportation to complementary devices located cosmic distances away.[3] Most Stargate episodes are set in the present day.[4] The United States civilian government holds the Stargate's existence a secret, so story lines present no contradiction between the episode's events and reality.[5] In the story, many Earth mythologies are in fact based upon events involving aliens who visited or controlled Earth civilizations in the distant past.[6] Although initially the only hostile alien race depicted, the Goa'uld (as they become known in SG-1) become foremost among a series of Earth foes in subsequent franchise incarnations. Posing as gods, the Goa'uld enslaved the inhabitants of ancient Egypt, creating its culture and religion,[7] using Stargates to move laborers from Earth to other habitable planets. The aliens were forced to flee Earth following a successful rebellion by the humans, and the Stargate was buried and forgotten until its rediscovery in Giza, 1928.[8]

Film

Main article: Stargate (film)
File:Stargate-poster.jpg
Promotional poster for Stargate.

The feature film Stargate, written by Dean Devlin and directed by Roland Emmerich, was released in 1994. The film was intended to be the start of a film franchise, but Emmerich moved on to create Independence Day and Godzilla.[9] The film was not continued in a cinematic trilogy as originally envisioned, but the story was later expanded by writers and developers other than Emmerich and Devlin.

Emmerich and Devlin do not consider Stargate's spin-offs to be valid continuations of the original story of the film. Although Lionsgate now owns major rights to the original film, MGM owns the rights to the franchise, and as such, Emmerich and Devlin were unable to see "their" sequels made,[10] as a result, some fans of the film reject the series and some fans of the series reject the film.[11] Devlin has stated that he plans to write his own sequel to Stargate separate from the spin-offs' storyline, resulting in two versions of the continuing story.[10]

The production budget of the film was estimated as $55,000,000. The film achieved gross worldwide ticket sales of $196,600,000, with opening weekend sales of $16,600,000.[12] Critical reaction to the film was varied. Some critics were unimpressed with the action-driven plot[13] that was carried along by special-effects, and a somewhat slow beginning or poor ending.[14] Other critics were impressed with the film's deviation from the clichés of science fiction and unique and clever background plot.[15] Emmerich and Devlin were sued for plagiarizing the idea and the case was settled privately.[16] The film won the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film and the BMI Film Music Award for David Arnold's musical score among others.[17]

Plot

The film's plot lays the framework of the Stargate mythos. A brilliant Archeologist, Dr. Daniel Jackson (James Spader), is shunned by the academic world due to his far-fetched theories regarding the Great Pyramids. Dr. Catherine Langford privately hires him to decipher a set of symbols found on the cover stones of an ancient ring-shaped artifact (the Stargate) that was found at Giza in 1928. Jackson determines that the symbols are in fact constellations, and if 6 symbols are identified, a point in space can be extrapolated that corresponds to a "destination"; a seventh symbol defines the point of origin. This discovery unlocks the secret to using the Stargate for interstellar travel.

USAF Colonel Jack O'Neill (Kurt Russell), with Jackson, leads an expedition through the Stargate to the planet Abydos. In the film, only two Stargates are known to exist, i.e. the two connecting Abydos and Earth; hence the purpose of the mission is to determine whether Abydos poses a danger to Earth, and, if so, to destroy the gate on Abydos to protect Earth. Expansions of the film, such as SG-1, alter this premise, explaining that an entire network of Stargates exists.

On Abydos, O'Neil's team comes into conflict with an alien posing as the Egyptian sun god Ra (Jaye Davidson). Ra controls vast numbers of slaves who labor in his mine, living in fear and ignorance. The slaves are the descendants of humans who were transported to Abydos from Ancient Egypt to mine the mineral needed to sustain Ra's life. O'Neil's team befriends the people of Abydos, and Jackson falls in love with and marries a woman named Sha'uri, who was originally given to him by the people of Abydos as a peace offering. The team reveals Ra's hoax to the people of Abydos and leads them in revolution against him.

Before O'Neil is able to detonate a nuclear warhead to seal the pathway to Earth, Ra steals the bomb and uses the same mineral comprising the Stargate to increase its destructive power a hundredfold, with the intention of sending the bomb back to Earth through the Stargate. O'Neil is unable to defuse the detonation timer, and alternatively transports the bomb onto Ra's space-vessel. It detonates, destroying both Ra and his ship. With Ra's destruction, the slaves of Abydos are liberated.

O'Neil and the surviving members of his team return to Earth, but Jackson stays behind to live with his wife.[7]

Television

Stargate SG-1

Main article: Stargate SG-1
The original starring cast of Stargate SG-1.

Stargate SG-1 is a television series that debuted on Showtime on July 27 1997, and moved to the Sci-Fi Channel after its fifth season.[18] Created by Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright, it starred Richard Dean Anderson (as the respelled O'Neill), Michael Shanks (as Jackson), Amanda Tapping (as Carter) , Christopher Judge (as Teal'c) and Don S. Davis (as Hammond).

The cast has remained fairly regular for most of SG-1's run, but has experienced some changes. Michael Shanks left the show at the end of Season 5 and was replaced by Corin Nemec as Jonas Quinn. Shanks returned at the beginning of Season 7 and Nemec was written out. At the end of Season 7 Davis left the show and Anderson filled the gap he left in the story. Season 9 saw an unpopular departure of Anderson, but added new regulars Beau Bridges and Ben Browder. After a debut episode in Season 8, followed by appearances in eight episodes of Season 9, Claudia Black's popular reaction[19] earned her a position in the regular cast in Season 10.

MGM put an average of $1,400,000 into each episode of the show, and regards it as one of its most important franchises.[1] It has won the Saturn Award for Best Syndicated Television Series on numerous occasions, and its cast has won similar awards for acting.[20] More recently it has received acclaim for its visual effects, which increased in quality and realism as the show gained a larger budget.[21]

The series begins one year after the original film in its internal chronology. It chronicles the activities of SG-1, the first exploratory team of the newly-formed Stargate Command, after an enemy attack through the Stargate alerts the United States Air Force that Ra was not the last of his species (as was thought in the film). The series expands on the film, creating a full and rich mythology and a strong cast of recurring characters.

Stargate SG-1 proved to be very popular. Each year from Seasons 5 to 8 the show was repeatedly expected to end, but ratings continued to be high, allowing the show to break records and enter its tenth and final season (surpassing The X-Files as the longest running United States science-fiction series).

Guinness World Records recognized Stargate SG-1 as the longest currently running consecutive sci-fi series in 2006. The show is second only to the Doctor Who series, which holds the title for longest running sci-fi show overall.

On the August 21 2006, the Sci Fi Channel announced that it would not be renewing Stargate SG-1 for an eleventh season after a series of poor performances in the Nielsen Ratings.[22] Many fans were enraged at the news, even creating reactionary websites to exhibit their commitment to the series.[23] Spokespersons for the production have said all options for the continuation of SG-1 are being considered, including complete digital broadcasting.[24] Executive producer Robert C. Cooper told the fansite GateWorld exclusively that he was working to continue SG-1.[25] Currently, no network or company has ordered new episodes of SG-1, so the show is on hold until a new buyer can be found. However, SciFi has attempted to block other networks from taking up the show, citing its original exclusive contract with MGM.[26] In response to Sci-Fi's announcement to cancel Stargate, a community site (see external links) has been set up in an effort to convince Sci-Fi to renew the show. Despite such efforts, MGM has decided not to pursue an eleventh season and instead began focusing its efforts on new SG-1 DVD movie productions.

MGM has since announced the release of two direct-to-DVD SG-1 films for release in first half of 2008. Stargate: The Ark of Truth will wrap up the Ori storyline, and Stargate: Continuum will involve time travel.[27] This is intended to be the beginning of a series of SG-1 DVD movies, released at a rate of one per year or so.

Stargate Atlantis

Main article: Stargate Atlantis
File:Sga poster 1.JPG
The original starring cast of Stargate Atlantis.

Stargate Atlantis began as a spin-off television series from Stargate SG-1 that was originally intended to succeed it following a second feature film. The second movie was planned for after the sixth season and, when SG-1 was renewed for another year, for after the seventh season. When SG-1 was renewed again for an eighth season, the intended film became the episode "Lost City", a two-part season finale, and the setting of Stargate Atlantis was moved to the Pegasus galaxy. [28] This allowed the two shows to exist side-by-side within the same fictional universe, and later on the two shows even began to be interconnected, almost to the point that audiences were expected to watch both. The show is developed by most of the same people as SG-1, and is produced in the same studios.

Atlantis debuted on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 16, 2004, starring Joe Flanigan and Torri Higginson in the lead roles, with Rainbow Sun Francks, David Hewlett, and Rachel Luttrell alongside. Hewlett and Higginson had previously been characters in SG-1. In Atlantis' second season, Paul McGillion and Jason Momoa (replacing Francks) were added as regulars. The series has already finished its third season, and in contrast to SG-1 a new 4th season is already in production by the SciFi Channel.

The plot follows the adventures of the "Atlantis expedition", a combination of military forces and civilian scientists that travel to the Pegasus galaxy in search of the Lost City of Atlantis, left behind by the powerful race known as the Ancients. The finding of the city had been a plot arc for most of SG-1's Season 7, and the Ancients themselves had been a long-running facet of the SG-1 setting. Arriving at the City, the expedition discover that the Pegasus galaxy is dominated by a terrible enemy known as "the Wraith" whom they must defend themselves against despite being vastly outnumbered.

The series has won several awards for its actors, visual effects and directors, including a WorldFest Platinum Award for David Winning's direction of an early Season 1 episode. Atlantis proved to be equally as successful as SG-1, with Nielson Ratings consistently in the regions of 1.9.

Stargate Universe

Main article: Stargate Universe

Stargate Universe is the working title for a third Stargate series which is currently in development. The concept will revolve around the ninth chevron on the Stargate. It is on track to premiere in 2008.[29]

Stargate Infinity

Main article: Stargate Infinity
Characters from Stargate Infinity.

Stargate Infinity was an animated series spin-off from Stargate SG-1 intended for children aged 9 to 11. It ran from 14 September, 2002 to June 2003 on the FOX Network. Even though the series was produced by MGM with DiC Entertainment, none of the writers and producers of Stargate SG-1 were involved with Infinity, and it is not considered official Stargate canon.[30] The show was canceled after 1 season for its poor reception and ratings.

Set 30 to 40 years in the future, Infinity tells the story of a team of young recruits led by a veteran member of Stargate Command that are framed for a crime they did not commit. The team must travel from world to world trying to find a way to clear their name, while protecting a strange alien being discovered in the first episode, which is believed to hold the secret to mysteries surrounding the Stargates and the Ancient race that built them. Due to its cancellation, none of the major plot arcs of the series were concluded.

The series featured a strong moral and educational theme, purposely summarizing each episode with a distinct lesson for its young audience to learn. It focused primarily on the importance of working together and accepting differences in other cultures or people, whether they be aliens or members of your own team.

Books

Main article: Stargate literature

There are three series of novels based on the Stargate franchise, one based on the original Stargate film and two based in the Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis television shows. Short fiction has also been published in the official Stargate Magazine.

A series of books written by Bill McCay were published from 1996 to 1999 that were unofficial sequels to the film. These were produced by consulting the original notes made by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, in an attempt to envision where the film "would have gone". Neither party has commented on whether McCay's interpretation was correct. Despite the fact that he attempted to remain close to the original vision, the subsequent television series Stargate SG-1 (which began under an entirely independent development) developed the story along different lines, making no attempt to reconcile the plot lines of the books. This marked the first major branching of the franchise.

Later, from 1999 to 2001, ROC published four novels based in Stargate SG-1 written by Ashley McConnell. In 2004, UK-based Fandemonium Press started a new series of licensed tie-in novels based on Stargate SG-1. Due to the conflict with ROC's license, these books were available in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK, but not in the US. Fandemonium books became available in the US in 2006.

The official Stargate Magazine, produced by Titan Publishing, began publishing short stories written by Fandemonium authors in their 8th issue. The stories alternate between both SG-1 and Atlantis.

Comic books

Main article: Stargate Comics

A series of comic books, based on Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, began to be published by Avatar Press in 2003. Five have been published to date, with stories by James Anthony and artwork by Jorge Correa.

Games

File:Stargate Worlds Concept.jpg
Concept art for Stargate Worlds.

Future of the franchise

Charles Cohen, executive vice president of MGM Television, has voiced plans to develop further Stargate films and produce a third television series to be titled Stargate Universe (discounting Infinity as a Stargate television series), currently in a pre-production concept phase.[33][34] Additionally, Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, developers of SG-1 have signed a contract with MGM to produce two SG-1-based films, tentatively titled Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum. Both films will be direct-to-DVD releases.[35] According to actor Michael Shanks, most of the cast and crew of the series have signed on to the movies (though Richard Dean Anderson will not reprise his role as Gen. Jack O'Neill for Ark of Truth), set to begin filming on April 15, 2007 and June 1, 2007.[36]

Plans for producing two sequels of the original film were announced by the original film's creator Dean Devlin at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con. He has said he is currently in talks with MGM to produce four films and he would like two of them to be the final two films in his envisioned Stargate trilogy.[37] In an interview with Sci Fi Wire,[38] Devlin says that should the sequels be made, he hopes to enlist Kurt Russell and James Spader in the two sequels. These sequels would ignore the 10 years of mythology created by SG-1 and Atlantis if they are produced.

In the meantime, Lionsgate remains the major rights holder to the original film (any home video or theatrical reissue is now the responsibility of Lionsgate)--this was due to the fact that its predecessor, Live Entertainment, owned home video rights to the Carolco Pictures library and had also owned international distribution rights, although Carolco itself was on the brink of bankruptcy when they produced this film.

Stargate as a subject of scholarly analysis

According to the SF writer Vernor Vinge: "It’s a truism that science fiction is always about the present. That is, the stories are simply a reflection of the concerns of the era in which they are written".[39] Indeed, a scholar - Dr. Jan Johnson-Smith - goes so far as to venture that "Seven Days, Freedom, War of the Worlds, Stargate SG-1 and Andromeda etc., all have clear militaristic leanings". [40]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Stargate 200: 10 years of Stargate success". MultiChannel.
  2. ^ "Comic Boom: Massive loyal fanbases for SciFi productions like SG-1 and Atlantis". MultiChannel.
  3. ^ "Stargate SG-1 Official Site". FAQ Section
  4. ^ "Summary of Stargate". New York Times.
  5. ^ "Interview with Brad Wright". GateWorld.
  6. ^ "Mythological References in Stargate SG-1". StargateFan.
  7. ^ a b "Stargate Primer". GateWorld.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference film was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Stargate SG-1 on DVD". Amazon.com Feature.
  10. ^ a b "Dean Devlin on his Movie Trilogy". ComingSoon.net.
  11. ^ "Fan reactions to films versus series". SliceOfSciFi.com.
  12. ^ "Business Data for Stargate". IMDb.
  13. ^ "Roger Ebert reviews Stargate". Chicago Sun Time.
  14. ^ "James Berardinelli reviews Stargate". Colossus.net.
  15. ^ "Hal Hinson reviews Stargate". Washington Post.
  16. ^ "Stargate Trivia". IMDb.
  17. ^ "Stargate Awards and Nominations". IMDb.
  18. ^ "Announcement from SciFi Channel". SciFi Wire.
  19. ^ "Interview — Vala joins SG-1 regulars". SciFi World.
  20. ^ "Stargate SG-1 Awards and Nominations". IMDb.
  21. ^ "Stargate grows cutting edge VFX industry". GateWorld.
  22. ^ "Stargate SG-1 Said To Be Axed". MultiChannel News.
  23. ^ "Fans Rally: SaveStargateSG1". GateWorld.
  24. ^ "MGM Insists Stargate Won't Shut". MultiChannel News.
  25. ^ "Cooper: SG-1 will go on". GateWorld.
  26. ^ "MGM Considers Stargate SG-1 Future". GateWorld.
  27. ^ "Stargate SG-1 movies coming to DVD". GateWorld.
  28. ^ Gosling, Sharon. "Watergate". Stargate Atlantis: The Official Companion Season 1. London: Titan Books. pp. 10–14. ISBN 1-84576-116-2. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |origdate= (help); Unknown parameter |origmonth= ignored (help)
  29. ^ "Third series is Stargate Universe". Gateworld.net. Retrieved 2007-03-24.
  30. ^ GateWorld — Interviews: Brad Wright
  31. ^ Posts by the Adelrac Entertainment staff on their boards
  32. ^ GateWorld — News: MGM announces Stargate MMORPG
  33. ^ MGM planning Stargate film, third series. Gateworld.net
  34. ^ Exclusive: Third Stargate series in development. Gateworld.net
  35. ^ Stargate SG-1 movies coming to DVD Gateworld.net
  36. ^ IGN Interviews Michael Shanks IGN
  37. ^ Devlin Announces Plans for Stargate Sequels
  38. ^ SciFi Wire Interview with Devlin
  39. ^ http://reason.com/news/show/119237.html Interview in ReasonOnline magazine May 2007.
  40. ^ p.36 Johnson-Smith, Jan American science fiction TV: Star Trek, Stargate and beyond (London & New York: I.B.Tauris, 2004).

Official sites

Fan sites

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