Stargate
SG-1 Complete Series (1997-2007)
MGM
Cast:
Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Don S. Davis, Beau
Bridges and a whole bunch of neat aliens.
Rating:
NR.
Run
time: 9,900 mins (yeah, that's right - 165 freaking hours!!!)
Genre:
Science Fiction/TV
Verdict:
Beautiful
(see rating
system)
Talk
about lost in space - this mammoth 54-DVD set carries Stargate
fans on the ultimate journey to the stars.
As you enter the replica portal on the hefty box . . . OK,
OK you actually lift the lid off . . . you
discover all 214 episodes of this award-winning series. It
includes four DVDs packed with new extra features on the making
of the show, plus a full payload of previously released extras
AND a 40-page glossy book detailing every episode.
If
you've never seen this great Canadian-made production you'll
soon be hooked. From the plausible premise that ancient man
(particularly the Egyptians) knew of space travel, the series
takes off as present-day scientists and military personnel
engage in a series of confrontations with weird and wonderful
(sometimes terrible) aliens. Earthlings and aliens alike travel
through wormholes - basically passages through space and time
that scientists have long wondered about.
Taking
a journey means going through a stone ring called a Stargate,
all gussied up with Egyptian symbols and mythology. It's inspiring
stuff, with decent special effects and strong characters.
(There are also some adult themes and nudity, so be careful
when the kids are around).
Now
a word of caution. This is a bloody complicated show so you
really do have to sit through every episode to follow it or
you won't know your Ancients from your Ori.
The
show was a spin-off to the 1994 movie Stargate, which starred
starring Kurt Russell and James Spader.
They don't feature in the series - Richard Dean Anderson,
Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Don S. Davis and Beau Bridges
are among the first-class acting talent that came aboard for
the 10-year run, which is said to be the longest running sci-fi
series ever. It boasts fans in 121 countries.
The
big-budget 92-minute pilot episode - Children of the Gods
- that launched the TV series is actually better than the
theatrical film, and though the budget for the rest of the
TV series was more modest, the show's technical crew work
wonders with what they have, with only the occasional duff
effect or monster.
Though
the 10-year series ended in 2007, the Stargate crew will fly
on in a series of direct-to-DVD movies. The first - Stargate:
The Ark of Truth - will be released in March.
