The List: #28 Stargate SG-1

#28
Number of Seasons: 10
Years Active: 1997 - 2007
Networks: Showtime, Sci-Fi

Stargate: SG-1 seems like a bad Star Trek rip-off (and coming from me, that's an enormous insult), but when you scratch the surface, the layers of the show are very deep. SG-1 does succumb to some bad sci-fi cliches, but it is also deals with genre stereotypes very well.

The show was spun off from the movie Stargate, and expands the mythology of film (it helps to see the film, but there is enough explanation in the pilot, and plenty of changes to make the movie non-required viewing). An elite Air Force team uses an ancient alien artifact to instantaneously travel to worlds across the Milky Way galaxy. Their stated purpose is to make new allies and procure advanced technology to defend the United States (and the Earth) against the goa'ould, a malevolent alien threat.

The goa'ould storyline is serious, but SG-1 has a wonderful sense of humor. The series both uses and satirizes sci-fi cliches regularly. Col. O'Neill, the lead character, is a bit of a cliched hero (although he doesn't sleep with every off-world princess or slave girl he meets), but he is the first one to point out and decry other cliches. The 100th and 200th episodes poke endless fun at various other sci-fi series, but the show that is satirized the most is SG-1 itself ("200", the aptly named 200th episode is funny enough for casual fans, but loyal fans are treated to one of the funniest hours of television in the last decade due to all of the self-referential jabs).

There are a few poor episodes (which the series acknowledges in the episode "Citizen Joe"), but overall, the average stand-alone episode is pretty good. But the best episodes are, of course, the ones that deal heavily with the ongoing story. There are some pretty impressive action sequences and special effects (it is clear that the budget goes towards these, because it is obvious that some of the costumes, especially the Jaffa armor, are fairly poor). Starting with the sixth season, the season finales kept upping the ante for action, since the writers kept thinking that they were writing the series finales (the sixth, seventh and eighth seasons were all thought to be the last, and the series always seemed to be saved at the last minute).

The series is far from perfect, but if you are willing to put up with some lame filler, the reward is well worth it.

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