Stargate SG-1 - The Best of Series 1

Amazon.co.uk Review

The 1994 film Stargate was originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. Since neither Kurt Russell nor James Spader would be able to commit, it gave the producers licence to tinker with the cast and the universe they'd explore. Replacing the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG 1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" pharaoh-like Goa'uld--the ancient Egyptian Gods who are not too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot-thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld, and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnel to the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargate has held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi.

This peculiar chronological cut and paste from the opening year at least starts sensibly with the pilot "Children of the Gods". A year on from Stargate the motion picture, Earth's military have assembled crack units to protect against whatever might follow from planet Abydos. So naturally they make things worse discovering a new enemy on Chulak. In "There But for the Grace of God" Daniel plays out Star Trek's "Mirror Mirror" scenario in an alternate dimension. Then in "Politics" no one believes his warnings of an impending attack, instead rationalising the Gate's closure. The season's stunning cliffhanger--"Within the Serpent's Grasp"--lands the team aboard the Goa'uld flag attack ship headed to destroy Earth. This episode features some truly inspired one-liners: "We can't just upload a virus to the Mothership!" --Paul Tonks

Customer Reviews:

Good series, bad DVD.......2004-07-17

This DVD contains the start (double episode) and end (three episodes) of series 1. The first episode is an expanded version of what I remember, and other reviews have commented about that. I like this version. This is a good series, which manages to end the episode with enough of a cliff hanger to make you want to see the next episode, which isn't on the DVD. The same problem exists with the last three episodes, whose story arc ends on the next season, and therefore isn't on the DVD. As a result the DVD isn't all that satisfying as is. Technically, this isn't a "best of" DVD, as it claims to be, but just the start and end of the season. Politics is a boring episode, mainly showing parts of previous episodes, and while it serves to give a glimpse of what's missing from the DVD, I skipped most of it.

The DVD itself is a pretty sorry example of its kind. First of all, the video quality is one of the worst I've seen. It's very grainy and quite distracting at times. The box says "widescreen version" but apart from the menu, it was fullscreen (this may be Amazon's fault -- the DVD wasn't shrink wrapped, unlike others, so it's possible that it's the wrong box). There are no extras, and it's even impossible to move from one episode to the next by skipping to the next chapter, which is what I usually do when I don't want to see the end credits. At least there are subtitles for the hearing impaired (which, as sometimes happens with DVDs, take an occasional license to deviate a bit from the actual words being said).

I bought this DVD on a sale at Amazon, and for that price I think it's decent value. The normal price seems too high to me for the value that this DVD provides. It allowed me to refresh my memory about the first season, and was enjoyable for that. It's also a good way to tie in to the second season for those who want to buy just the second. However, I doubt there are many such people. Most people would prefer buying the complete first season, which provides over four times the number of episodes for a little over twice the price.

the best version of the pilot.......2003-01-27

I watched the uncut special edition of the pilot last night and i was quite shocked about the full frontal nudity scene but then i thought it was a good scene and added to the episode. i liked the scene with Jack and Daniel having a drink and talking about Sha're. I much prefer this episode to the one on available on video. There's more to it and i think it is the definitive version. Very good 10 out of 10.

Great start, Great Finish!.......2002-04-17

Although this DVD only has 4 of the episodes from Season 1, it does make up for this by including the special uncut version of the pilot. This alone makes it worth buying as the video release was different. There are many extra scenes, including a touching scene at Jack's home where Jack and Daniel talk about the recently captured Sha're. Another scene included shows Sha're's possession in it's entirety. Putting aside the graphic, full-frontal nudity, this scene is so shocking, it's great. I feel that this version is the definitive version as without the extra scenes, the episode doesn't work. As for the other episodes, they are great and action-packed too.

To call this the 'best of' Season 1 seriously undersells S1.......2002-02-19

Season One of Stargate SG-1 was undoubtedly a mixed bag. I think many if not most fans would agree that S2 and S3 were better. However, mixed bag or not, to call this tiny selection the 'best of' S1 seriously undersells S1. There are only four episodes on this DVD: Children of the Gods (the excellent sequel to the 1994 movie and pilot for the series); There But For The Grace of God (another excellent episode); Politics (a pretty weak clip-show that nevertheless has to be included as it is part of a 4-episode arc) and the outstanding Within The Serpent's Grasp. However, there were many excellent episodes in S1 that are *not* included on this DVD and anyone trying to get a flavour of the first season from this DVD is going to end up feeling a little baffled and short-changed.

For a start, important themes from Children of the Gods are concluded in The Enemy Within which is not included on this disc. Also many episodes which begin far-reaching story arcs continued in later seasons (which are available on DVD) are not included here, leading to more bafflement for the viewer. Quite apart from their value as conveyers of important information about the team, there can be no excuse for not including such excellent episodes as The Nox, The Torment of Tantalus, Bloodlines, Fire & Water, Cor-Ai, Enigma, and Solitudes.

It's true that not every S1 episode was a winner. Some, like Emancipation are downright embarrassing, and Broca Divide, Brief Candle, and The First Commandment also have their less than stellar moments. However, with the exception of Emancipation, there isn't a single S1 episode that doesn't have *some* merit; something that can't be necessarily be said about some S4 and S5 episodes which are being granted a DVD release.

What is even more galling is that the far more 'patchy' fourth season of Stargate has been released in its entirety by MGM simply because it was filmed on 35mm and S1 wasn't. The film quality of S1 may not be quite as high as later seasons but there are scripts and stories in this season which are equal to anything produced since (Solitudes for one) and in some cases superior to almost every Stargate episode produced later (The Torment of Tantalus) in fidelity to the original themes of the Stargate feature film and originality of storyline.

So, great to have some S1 episodes on DVD, but how much more satisfying if MGM had released them all in a boxset for Region 2 viewers as well as for Region 1 viewers.

DVD fantastic, humorous and exciting.......2001-10-24

Fantastic DVD that takes on where the film left off. Different actors but true to the characters. If you like sci-fi you will love Stargate SG1, full of action, imagination and wit. Not to be missed, especially if you want to be whisked away. Feature length addition well worth the DVD alone, but we are pleasured with 3 of the best episodes of season 1. Every bit as good as Star Trek Voyager. Buy it.

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