Stargate SG-1: Season 1 [1997]

Amazon.co.uk Review

Like the very best of SF TV, Stargate SG-1 began very simply. Of course it had the benefit of a movie preceding it--in which the alternate universe, its rules and its characters were largely established--so this premiere season was therefore able to concentrate on good storytelling.

In 1997 not every new show was obsessed with securing a syndication-guaranteed franchise (same goes for Buffy debuting the same year), instead one-off episodes were the way of things, exploring interesting scenarios and conundrums. Naturally there were allusions to the feature film, but most were subtle and inspired. For example, a trip to retrieve the trapped professor who'd worked on the Gate decades ago was an unusual way of tying up loose ends. Some groundwork was laid for continuation should the show be renewed into an ongoing series. Knowing that these elements were pure wishful thinking at the time makes the tapestry of System Lords and the interlinks with our history and mythology all the more enjoyable in revisiting the show from its beginnings. With Richard Dean Anderson, leading the team in a far more charismatic and empathetic way than Kurt Russell in the movie, the series also benefited from some spot-on casting that instantly won audiences over. Special effects and use of studio sets may be less dazzling in these initial shows, but its solid grounding in old-fashioned SF won for the show a loyal audience. --Paul Tonks

Customer Reviews:

A fantastic SciFi series.......2007-08-24

I originally borrowed the DVDs of a friend and had to admit that i hadnt ever seen Stargate, from what i could say the whole business seemed a little odd and boring... how very wrong i was. I have bought the DVDs for myself now as i have never watched such an addictive and incredible series as this. The stories are enjoyable and there is not a point in the series where i got bored. End of the day this show managed to trounce all my preconceptions about it and has made me a huge fan. I would deffinately reccomend this box set... and in deed have done... as you just read it (the reccomendation that is)

Through the stargate.......2007-06-15

Most TV shows spun off from movies are uninvolving and uninteresting ("Blade," anyone?), and hopefully die and are forgotten.

That wasn't the case with the spinoff of the 1995 movie "Stargate," an okay science fiction movie that spawned an excellent television series, "Stargate SG-1." The first season is not nearly as brilliant as the ones that followed it, but it's a welcome change from distant space operas -- excellent writing, acting, and a sense of humor about itself and its characters.

The Stargate has been inactive for a year -- until it is activated, and a bunch of Egyptian-styled warriors come through and kidnap a young officer. General Hammond (Don S. Davis) pulls Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) out of retirement to learn what really happened on the planet of Abydos, and where these mysterious aliens have come from.

O'Neill and a small team go to Abydos and find Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) who has been learning about a vast network of Stargates over the past year. But when Daniel's wife Sha're and brother-in-law Skaara are abducted by the same warriors, O'Neill, Jackson and Air Force scientist Sam Carter (Amanda Tapping) use the Stargate to venture to where they're being kept.

What they find is an alien race who inhabits human hosts, the Goa'uld, and their ruthless slave warriors, the Jaffa. Carter, O'Neill and Jackson are captured by the powerful Apophis -- but to escape, they must have the help of an unlikely ally: Teal'c (Christopher Judge), Apophis' First Prime. Since Earth has now annoyed the Goa'uld, several exploration teams are formed to go through the Stargate and find weapons and allies.

And SG-1 -- Carter, O'Neill, Jackson and Teal'c -- encounters some very strange problems: a plague that turns people into savages, a people who live only a hundred days, a Viking planet, a Stargate explorer stranded since 1945, a little girl turned into a bomb, the seductive Goa'uld queen Hathor, and coming back as robots. And when the military shuts down the SG program, Daniel reveals that the Earth is about to be destroyed by Apophis' armies...

The first season of "Stargate SG-1" isn't the most impressive, though the last three episodes hint at the series' future greatness. And thankfully, it drops the usual space opera stuff -- instead we get Stargates, real military, and a very plausible reason why everybody in the galaxy (more or less) looks just like us.

It's graced with kitschy Egyptian-styled sets, lots of shoot-em-up action from Marines and Air Force, and plenty of planets influenced by Earth cultures, like the Minoans and the Vikings. Best of all is the snappy dialogue, mostly from the tart-tongued O'Neill ("Temperature--ground 1700 degrees Fahrenheit. Air--seems to be in pockets, ranging from 1500 degrees down to 200." "Sounds like LA").

And the makers add some poignant and/or warm scenes, such as the eager Abydonian teenagers celebrating with O'Neill and his pals, Teal'c reunion with his outcast family, or Sam bonding with a doomed little girl. All the characters get these moments, which really makes them seem human.

Instead of Kurt Russell's suicidal O'Neill from the movie, Anderson does a quirky, disrespectful, pop culture-lovin' guy with a hidden tragic past -- his "Cold Lazarus"double role is one of the best of the show. Tapping and Shanks are also great, as an enthusiastic geek and a smart, capable military woman. Sadly Judge gets shortchanged as the stern, honorable Teal'c, but he's brilliant when he's spotlighted.

The first season of "Stargate SG-1" is not the best of the series, but it's still a solid, imaginative sci-fi story with some great writing and even better acting. A must-have for sci-fi buffs.

awsome.......2007-02-27

i bought this about a week ago and watched the whole seaon in 2 days :) and i must say i think that it was amazing. a bit grainy but this is due to the fact the the early seasons of sg1 did not have a very high budget but is still good all the same. i definatly recommend this. buy it now!!!

Excellent - but lacking.......2006-10-23

Let me begin by saying I am a BIG fan of the show, and you should DEFINITELY buy this, regardless of if your new to the show, or not. This sci-fi series is a brilliant alternative for those not wanting the same old Star Trek style sci-fi.

The Good.
Brilliant series.
Brilliant show.
Good Packaging.

The Bad.
Picture quality is VERY grainy sometimes, although I suspect this was due to the first series having a low budget, and not a reflection on the transfer to DVD.

No extra features like Behind the scenes.

9.5/10

Stargate - A national treasure.......2006-09-18

I watched the odd SG1 on sky one and enjoyed it. i decied to get the first series and watch it with my dad. All i can say is it is by far the best thing i have ever watched in my entire life and my dad feels exactly the same. Thing is with startgate it touches on every question we've ever asked our self about things like the universe, the potential of the human race, heven and hell when we die and it explaines the actual science on how it could be achived etc. i hate over the top Sc-fi rubbish like farscape and battlestar galactica and the good thing with stargate it does not go over the top about anything. although the first series starts off rather slow and is a year on from the original movie it only gets better and better and better as the series go on. Bravo to Richard dean Anderson you've managed to create something which satisfies our need for answers to what our purpose as a race is.... how geeky does that sound, watch it and you'll agree

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