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===Anti-Ori underground=== ===Anti-Ori underground===

Revision as of 22:00, 24 March 2008

Template:Stargate race The Ori (Template:PronEng) are fictional characters in the American science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. They are a group of "ascended" beings who use their advanced technology and spiritual knowledge of the universe to trick non-ascended humans into worshipping them as gods. They belong to the same race as the Ancients.

They first appeared in the ninth season of Stargate SG-1, replacing the Goa'uld as the show's primary antagonists. While the Goa'uld relied on their technology to pose as gods, the Ori also have paranormal abilities in addition to very advanced technology. As Ascended beings, they live on a higher plane of existence with great power and knowledge and are as close to being "gods" as any non-deific being can be.

The Ori fabricated a religion called Origin, which they use to control non-ascended beings, attempting to destroy anyone who rejects it. A central theme in the show is that power does not make someone a god nor entitle them to be worshipped; rather, the way they use great power is the measure of how they should be revered.

Concept and creation

Since the eighth season of Stargate SG-1 was intended to be the last, the producers had finished it with the defeat of the Goa'uld and Replicators. When the Sci Fi Channel however renewed the series, the producers had grown creatively tired of writing endings. Having made good experiences with the first season of Stargate Atlantis, the producers hence decided to revamp the series in more fronts than just adding new characters by introducing new villains and new missions. Thus they considered the beginning of Season 9 as the pilot of a new show.

Season Nine was about wiping the slate clean and reset the story to where Stargate SG-1 was in its first season. The reason was that the SG-1 team was now winning everytime, having already defeated the main enemies the previous season. Since SG-1 had always been grounded in Earth mythology, the producers chose the King Arthur/Avalon/Merlin mythology for the new season as that had not been done before. Merlin being a famous magical figure, he was made an Ancient, leading to the Ancients' enemies named the Ori. Producer Brad Wright believed the Ori are still within in the overriding theme of Stargate, as they are "aliens playing gods" and "false gods" and the relationship between aliens as gods and ordinary human folk. The introduction of the Ori was to prepare the viewer for their invasion and overtaking that would take place later. The Ori also served as a challenge for the new heroes in the SG-1 team (Mitchell, Landry, Vala). The writers believe that new bad guys and new obstacles for the characters to overcome make for a more interesting story.

The name "Ori" comes from the word "Origin", as in the origin of the Ancients. When Cooper looked at the root of "origin", and retcon-invented the word "Origin" as the name of the Ori religion. Cooper said it is an interesting idea for him to address the philosophical arguments with various religious people, and saw the whole challenge as "how do you prove whose God exists or whether God exists at all?" Instead of the Goa'uld, who proved quickly to not be gods by killing them and figuring out their technology, it would be hard to present the same argument to the Ori followers because the Ori are essentially ascended gods. Even if their gods are dead, it wouldn't make much difference for them, as their followers would continue to believe. Even when the "magic powers" of the Ori were eliminated, their followers and the Priors (the Ori's missionaries) could still use the technology and their ships. Cooper said that "it's not necessarily wrong to believe in something ... what's wrong is to murder somebody because they don't believe the way you do." Although Cooper was reluctant to get too serious about the meaning behind the Ori, he considered it representative of television and the media, "mak people believe whatever the people in charge of that magic box -- whatever they want you to believe they can pretty much convince you, or convince the vast majority of people."

Composer Joel Goldmith's inspiration for the Ori themes were the "certain parallels to what's happening today, in modern day". He admits that the music of the Ori was intentionally given a gothic, Gregorian and Christian feel. He tried to take a few different styles, and then mold them.

Art director James Robbins developed the design of the Ori and the Priors from scratch. All he knew at the beginning a basic description of them and their powers, and that they would carry a staff weapon. The art department first looked at Japanese and Samurai from a costuming point of view. Inspired by remote jungle tribes for the mystical aspects, Robbins came up with the idea of scarification. for the Priors and the Doci. The Priors have scarifications on the chin and the cheek, while the Doci also have them on their forehead. Scarification would therefore by a symbol of high establishment. Originally, it was also considered to have scarification on the hands, and to have the Priors have finger extensions, but this became too impracticable. When the Prime Jaffa Gerak became a Prior in Template:Sgcite, his golden Jaffa tattoo on his forehead was replaced with a Prior scarification, and his makeup was made to look like the gold had melted and become part of his Prior scarification.

Each Prior was given his own unique symbol, which he would wear on his wardrobe and also on his staff weapon. The art department built each staff to have a little orb encased in natural wood, and the orbs start to glow when the actor pushes a little button on the handle.

In the original pitch for Template:Sgcite, Brad Wright had intended to let Ori build the Supergate and come through. It was then decided among the writers to only let the threat of the Ori come through the Priors, and wait for the Ori arrival until the end of the season.

Cooper was concerned that the distinction between the Ori and the Ori's followers was often overlooked, and that the SG-1 team deals with the followers, not the ascended gods. If, as Template:Sgcite suggested, the Ori were actually destroyed by the Merlin's Ancient weapon, the real issue for the SG-1 teams becomes the followers. Brad Wright pointed to power corruption, and the catch of the Ori killing unbelievers.

The last ten minutes of "Camelot" should serve as a "great, ominous harbinger of the foe" SG-1 is up against. In Season 10, the Ori sweep through our galaxy, forcing SG-1 to start from scratch again and find technology and resources and allies to fight against them.

Mythology of the Ori and the Ancients

The Ori backstory is elaborate and is explained over Season 9 and 10 and the film Stargate: The Ark of Truth. Part of this backstory goes back to the Ancients, whose backstory began in the Season 1 episode Template:Sgcite. Early in Season 9, Brad Wright explained that the Ori are the original Ancients, who would disagree with the Alterans (later to relocate and be known as the Ancients of the Milky Way galaxy) that they shouldn't interfere because interference would mean playing god, which these beings hadn't quite achieved. The Ori behave like gods in their galaxy, are practically indistinguishable from gods, and are accepted as proof. Yet in their minds, they are being benevolent because they offer all the knowledge of the universe and way to get there. "There's a twist, and we're not going to reveal that part. But there's a real sinister, evil quality to what they're doing, and why."

As told in the series, the Ori and the Alterans (later known as the Ancients) formed one race millions of years ago and lived in one society on an evolutionary path to ascension. However, a philosophical division emerged. The Ori grew more and more fervent in their religious belief, while the Alterans adopted a more scientific/rational outlook to become a more progressive society. According to the Ancient Myrddin, the Ori had the best intentions when they first began. With the Ori outnumbering the Alterians, their viewpoints ultimately diverged so much that the two groups split apart and began to oppose each other, with the Ori attempting to kill the Alterans. The Ark of Truth addresses the non-interference policy of the Ancients when the Ori threaten them, and how they act since SG-1 did them a big favor by killing the Ori. Cooper considered the Ark "a truly fascinating centerpiece" and "mass brain-washing device" that can be used to convince people of the truth. Although the Alteran scientists invented this device to get rid of the Ori, but they thought it to be philosophically and morally wrong in the end and left.

After much time, believed by Daniel Jackson to be thousands of years, the Alterans discovered the Milky Way, where they eventually built their empire. However, even after the Ori had forced the Alterans to leave their galaxy, the two factions remained bitter enemies. Eventually, the Alterans were afflicted with a terrible plague that wiped out most of their civilization. It would later be discovered that what was known of this plague is very similar to the disease used by Ori Priors against non-believers, which had led Daniel Jackson to speculate that the pre-Ascended Ori might have been responsible for this plague.

Eventually, both the Alterans and the Ori ascended, forming two groups that continued to oppose each other, even at the higher planes of existence. According to the Orici Adria, the Ori-Ancient war on the Ascended plane is due to the Ancients' intolerance for those who do not comply with their rules. According to Orlin, the Ori ultimately wish to destroy the Ancients once and for all. The Ori had thus become ascended gods without physical bodies in the human plane of existence. Still, they are a localized energy form that is not entirely omnipresent in the universe.

The Ancients are well known for their fierce belief in free will. and have a code to be "fairly non-violent". As such, they do not interfere on lower planes of existence at all, not even to save their own kind from being exterminated by the Ori. In contrast, the Ori constantly interfere. For example, their religion states that failure to share the secrets of the universe to those on the lower planes of existence is an evil act and that anyone not following it must be eliminated. They also have no rules against taking direct control of living beings or completely changing them to behave as they desire.

According to a de-ascended Ancient, Orlin, ascended beings can be empowered by massive numbers of humans worshipping them. The Ori have fabricated an entire religion based on the false promise of ascension to drain power from their followers. The Ancients firmly resent using their powers this way, and therefore refrain from interfering in the lower planes of existence because manipulating and aligning lower life forms in some order could result in exactly this type of abusive corruption.

As a result, the Ancients have shielded the second evolution of humans (i.e. current human culture) in the Milky Way from the Ori and still prevent the Ori from taking direct action in the Milky Way. However, as the Ancients will not interfere in the lower planes of existence, the Ori are allowed to send their human followers to the Milky Way in order to convert it, and anyone who wishes to worship the Ori will be allowed to do so.

Characteristics

See also: Ori technology in Stargate

The Ori impose a religion called Origin on sentient beings, promising a guide towards enlightenment that is also known in the series as Ascension. The faith comes with a holy book called The Book of Origin, and the Priors spread the Word of Origin. The Book of Origin contains tales of how the followers of the Ori returned to the path to enlightenment, and thus achieved Ascension, although some skeptics consider these merely "fables meant to fill a soul bereft of hope with purpose". Several lines from the Book of Origin, or otherwise repeated mantras, are heard on the show. These include variations of "Hallowed are the Ori", a mantra repeated by all believers, the priors. The central icon of this religion is fire, something that gives off light and warmth. The fact that on Earth this icon has some evil or Satanic associations in many modern religions prompted Daniel to posit that the Ancients had influenced this negative connotation in order to identify the threat the Ori pose. Among the populations of natives in the Ori home galaxy are groups of heretics who believe they are being suppressed, and seek to discover forbidden historical knowledge to show others that the Ori are, though powerful, not gods.

Ori military tactics varied during the initial incursions into the Milky Way galaxy and the full scale invasion that was later achieved through the Supergate. The initial incursions were achieved through lone Priors who were sent to worlds in the Milky Way galaxy, preaching to the populace as well as distribute the Books of Origin. Should the people not comply, more drastic measure would be taken up until destroying the population. The show features powerful Ori weapons in Template:Sgcite, ships in Template:Sgcite, control chairs like that in Template:Sgcite and Supergates in Template:Sgcite. The Ori can be killed by Merlin's Sangraal weapon, which nullify ascended beings.

Characters and society

Doci

The Doci amidst two Priors in the episode Template:Sgcite

The Doci represents the Ori in their home galaxy and leads the Priors. The Latin word docere means to teach. The Doci is essentially a chief Prior who acts as a mediator or mouthpiece for the Ori. The Doci has brown hair and colored eyes, pale skin and facial markings of a Prior. The Doci was introduced in Template:Sgcite, where he was shown to reside in the city of Celestis, with his chambers next to the Ori's Flames of Enlightenment. In one instance, the Ori possessed the Doci to speak to Daniel. The Doci's second and last appearance is in the direct-to-DVD film The Ark of Truth. Had Julian Sands not been able to come back as the Doci, the producers had planned to hire another actor as a different Doci in charge in Celestis.

Priors

The Ori are served by so-called Priors, highly evolved human beings who act as missionaries of the Ori by traveling to different planets to spread the religion of Origin. As the Ori are incapable of directly affecting the material universe in the Milky Way Galaxy due to the protection of the ascended Ancients, they send the Priors as their representatives. Cooper said the Priors have "these incredible, superhuman powers", which allows them to perform miracles, read minds, and attack enemies, and resurrect the dead. They also unleash plagues as punishment for not following the Ori. The Priors believe fervently in their mission, and essentially offer a real religion with big promises. Priors have been encountered on various worlds, trying to convert the local population and fight anyone who tried to stop them, including the Tau'ri and the Jaffa.

As shown in the series, priors are normal humans whom the Ori transform into an evolved state of human to serve as missionaries as a reward for loyal and devoted service. This process drastically alters their appearance: albino skin and hair, a tracery of raised lines on the chin and cheeks, and indentation of the skull just above and behind the eyes. Their eyes appear as a misty gray pupil without an iris. In Template:Sgcite, SG-1 was able to temporarily disable a Prior's abilities by using ultrasonic sounds to deny Priors access to the advanced areas of their brains.

Tomin and the Ori warriors

Tomin and some Ori warriors in Stargate: The Ark of Truth

The Ori warriors are conscripted men, who were trained to fight unbelievers as foot soldiers and take over the Milky Way. They are plated in metallic armor and are armed with powerful staff weapons. They are men who are actually doing the fighting. They were introduced in "Crusade" and were first shown in combat in Season 10. Cooper wrote "Crusade" with the intention to show that the Ori warriors are not two-dimensional, even though their strength of belief and single-mindedness makes them fight for what they want to fight for. According to Cooper, the Ori warriors are a fictional mirror of the events in the real world, but he wanted people to try and understand "why people want to go to war with us, or blow up our buildings, or our airplanes". Cooper also wanted to show that "there's really no winner to the argument" when it comes to "religion and belief, and gods"; according to Cooper, there is a line when a society takes up arms instead of finding a more civilized way of dialogue.

Tomin, a devout Ori follower living in the village of Ver Isca, becomes an Ori commander in Season 10. According to Cooper, he is the representation for the Ori warriors. He is introduced in flashbacks in Template:Sgcite, having found Vala after she was transported to the Ori home galaxy. Tomin had been crippled since childhood, and was therefore looked down on by his fellow villagers. Tomin married Vala and accepted her pregnancy as his child, not knowing that it was an immaculate conception set by the Ori. A little later, a Prior visited the village and cured Tomin of his limp, allowing him to become a warrior for the Ori. The prior also told Tomin the truth about the child as "the will of the Ori", who would later be the Orici. Tomin is later able to forgive Vala. Tomin and Vala depart aboard the first wave of Ori vessels entering the Milky Way, and they go separate ways in Template:Sgcite. Tomin rises to the rank of commander within the Ori warrior armies, and he and Vala meet again in Template:Sgcite. Because a Prior twists the words of the Book of Origin, Tomin begins to doubt the Priors and their interpretations of Origin's teachings, and helps Vala escape. Tomin plays an important role in the film Stargate: The Ark of Truth, in which, after seeing a Prior's death with his own eyes, he learns the truth about the Ori.

Adria the Orici

File:Stargate SG-1 - 10x07.jpg
Adria, the Orici.

In Season 10, the primary antagonist switched from the Priors and the Doci to the Orici, also known by the name Adria. The story presents her as a genetically advanced human infused with Ori knowledge, created to circumvent the Ancients' rules that the Ori cannot directly use their powers to conquer the Milky Way galaxy. Adria is one step higher than the Doci, but equal in terms of her role in the Milky Way galaxy, which is to lead the armies of the Ori in the Milky Way galaxy, converting the galaxy to Origin in the process. Adria possesses several Prior-like superhuman abilities, and leads the armies of the Ori until her Ascension in the penultimate episode of Stargate SG-1.

Adria's story begins shortly after the events of "Beachhead", when Vala Mal Doran is impregnated by the Ori in the Ori home galaxy. Vala eventually returns to the Milky Way aboard one of the Ori battlecruisers invading the Milkyway galaxy. In "Flesh and Blood", Vala gives birth to a baby girl, the Orici. Within hours of being born, the child reaches the apparent age of four and heals her mother's pain, knowing that Vala is not a believer in Origin. By the child's apparent age of seven, Vala gives her the name Adria, after her "witch of a woman" stepmother. Vala escapes when Adria is at the apparent age of twelve. Adria only starts to have an impact in the second half of the first half of the season, when she has grown "into a beautiful but deadly young woman". When Vala, who has joined the SG-1 team, meets adult Adria in "Counterstrike", Adria foreshadows her plans with Daniel. In "The Quest", Adria tricks SG-1 into obtaining the Sangraal for her. Adria captures Daniel before he can complete the device. Hoping to convert both Earth and Vala, Adria attempts to convert Daniel to the path of Origin and makes him a Prior. In "The Shroud" however, Daniel betrays her and uses the weapon on the Ori galaxy. In "Dominion", Adria is briefly implanted with the Go'auld Ba'al. Although the symbiote can be removed, the procedure almost kills Adria and she ascends. Being the only surviving Ori power after the events of "The Shroud", Adria alone controls the power generated by the followers of Origin, and continues the Ori's assault on the Milky Way in Stargate: The Ark of Truth. After an Ancient device known as the Ark of Truth affects her galaxy's believers, Adria is last seen in an Ascended battle with the Ancient Morgan le Fay.

Young Adria was played by three child actresses. Adria at age four was played by producer Robert C. Cooper's daughter Emma, who replaced the originally cast child who suffered from stage fright. Morena Baccarin was offered the role of adult Adria in a phone call by the producers, who were Firefly fans. The orange contact lenses that the actress had to wear made her feel nearly blind and irritated her eyes, so the lenses were dropped during the shooting of "The Quest". Baccarin enjoyed "the whole experience incredible" as she got to play a character she could learn from. In her words, "Adria was a complex character and I loved trying to make her sweet as well as totally bad." Brad Wright called Adria "an interesting character because she's the Ori cheating", and compared her to the Ori equivalent of a Harcesis. Cooper considered Adria becoming host to a Goa'uld "the marriage of the old villains and the new villains" and compared it to the episode Template:Sgcite, the first where both the Replicators and the Goa'uld first appeared together.


Anti-Ori underground

In the second episode of season 9, its shown that not all Humans in the Ori Home Galaxy believe their gods to be benevolent as is seen in the case of the Anti-Ori Underground. This group of Humans live a dangerous life in hiding from purges and the fanatical followers. Their purpose is simply to collect enough evidence to prove to their brethren that the claims of the Ori are false. Despite this, they do believe that the Ori are very powerful; its only their intentions they doubt. Even though the group lives in the shadows of Ori society, they have shown to have collected a number of artifacts which they have hidden as such pieces of technology contradict the book of Origin and thus are destroyed when discovered. The group also has a number of followers within high positions which are even present within the City of the Gods within the ranks of the training monks there. Among this movement are Fannis, Harrid and Salis, and Seevis and Denya.

Reception

In reviewing the first part of Season 9, Steven Graves of TV Zone was concerned that "mining Arthurian mythology for season 9 may prove to be a mistake for Stargate", comparing scenes of Template:Sgcite to "a god-awful Merri Olde England patiche straight out of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, complete with unwashed peons, an overbearing church and witchburning." He however commented about Template:Sgcite that "Stargate SG-1 seems to be establishing an interesting set of themes this season, providing a timely commentary on religlious evangelism and intolerance with its new villains, the Ori." By Template:Sgcite, Graves was sure that "the Ori are a force to be reckoned with." Regarding Template:Sgcite, he thought it was "doubly nice" to see an SG-1 story where the apocalyptic events have an effect on contemporary Earth instead of on alien planets.

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References

  1. ^ Sumner, Darren (July 2005). "Executive Decisions – GateWorld talks with Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper". gateworld.net. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  2. ^ "Origin" (Stargate SG-1)
  3. ^ Eramo, Steven (July 2005), "Stargate SG-1 Season 9 preview - Nine Lives", TV Zone, no. Special #64, pp. 24–30, 44–48 56–60
  4. ^ Sumner, Darren and Read, David (April 2006). "Directing The Future – GateWorld talks with Robert C. Cooper". gateworld.net. Retrieved 2008-03-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Sumner, Darren and Read, David (June 2007). "New Directions – GateWorld talks with Robert C. Cooper". gateworld.net. Retrieved 2008-03-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. Read, David (November 2006). "Gate Harmonics – GateWorld talks with Joel Goldsmith". gateworld.net. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  7. ^ Eramo, Steven (December 2005), "SG-1 Season Nine Part 2 - Alien Siege", TV Zone, no. Special #67, pp. 6–18
  8. ^ Sumner, Darren (July 2006). "Wright On Target – GateWorld talks with Brad Wright". gateworld.net. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  9. ^ "The Quest" (Stargate SG-1) Cite error: The named reference "The Quest" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  10. "Window of Opportunity" (Stargate SG-1)
  11. ^ "The Powers That Be" (Stargate SG-1)
  12. ^ "The Shroud" (Stargate SG-1)
  13. ^ "The Fourth Horseman" (Stargate SG-1)
  14. "The Pegasus Project" (Stargate SG-1)
  15. ^ "Counterstrike" (Stargate SG-1) Cite error: The named reference "Counterstrike" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  16. ^ "Crusade" (Stargate SG-1) Cite error: The named reference "Crusade" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  17. "Camelot" (Stargate SG-1)
  18. ^ "Flesh and Blood". Stargate SG-1. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help)
  19. "Line in the Sand" (Stargate SG-1)
  20. ^ Eramo, Steven (January 2007), "Actress Morena Baccarin – Child's Play", TV Zone, no. Special #74, pp. 48–49
  21. "Dominion"
  22. "Stargate: The Ark of Truth"
  23. Audio commentary for "The Quest", Part 1
  24. Audio commentary for "The Quest", Part 1
  25. ^ Graves, Steven (December 2005), "Season Nine episodes 1–10 Reviews", TV Zone, no. Special #67, pp. 20–22

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