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Stargate

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This article is about the science-fiction universe based on the film Stargate. For other uses, see Stargate (disambiguation).
An activated Stargate, the central object of the fictional Stargate universe, here depicted in the SG-1 television series.
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Stargate collectively refers to the fictional universe started with the 1994 science fiction feature film Stargate, and afterwards continued in novel form, in two live-action television series (Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis) and in other derivative works.

It is based on the premise of a 'Stargate', a device that allows for almost instantaneous teleportation, by creating a wormhole to a complementary device on another planet. Discovered in 1928 at Giza, Egypt, the purpose of the alien device was unknown until the mid 1990s. A top-secret military program was created to use the Stargate, eventually for the purpose of exploration and interaction with extraterrestrial cultures.

In the Stargate universe, most early Earth mythologies are based on events and personalities of aliens who visited or controlled Earth in the distant past. Most significantly an alien race later known as the Goa'uld enslaved the inhabitants of early ancient Egypt, creating its culture and mythology. The Goa'uld pose as Gods to make slaves of humans, and used the Gate to take slaves from earth to other habitable planets. After a rebellion on earth thousands of years ago, they fled, leading to the burying of earth's Stargate, which was not discovered until 1928.

Film

File:Stargate-poster.jpg
A movie poster for the Stargate DVD.
Main article: Stargate (film)

Stargate, the feature film, was released in 1994. It was originally intended as the start of a film franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin moved on to create Independence Day and Godzilla. Emmerich and Devlin had nothing to do with Stargate SG-1 and do not consider it a valid continuation of the film's story, although MGM owns the rights to the franchise. As a result, some fans of the movie reject the series (and vice-versa).

The movie set the grounds of the Stargate universe. Dr. Daniel Jackson (played by James Spader), a brilliant Egyptologist shunned by the academic world due to his farfetched theories, is hired to decipher the symbols on an ancient ring-shaped artifact (the Stargate), made of an unknown material, which had been found at Giza in 1928. Jackson discovers the true purpose of the ring and opens the gate for interplanetary travel. USAF Colonel Jack O'Neill (played by Kurt Russell) leads an expedition to planet Abydos, where they come into conflict with an alien "God" posing as the Ra of Egyptian Mythology.

Television

Two live-action television series continue the story of the original movie (with adjustments). An animated series has also been broadcast, but it is not currently considered canon.

Stargate SG-1

The original starring cast of Stargate SG-1.
Main article: Stargate SG-1

Stargate SG-1 debuted on Showtime on July 27, 1997, and moved to the Sci-Fi Channel after its fifth season. Created by Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright, it starred Richard Dean Anderson (as O'Neill), Michael Shanks (as Jackson), Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge and Don S. Davis. Michael Shanks took year 6 off and was replaced during the whole season by Corin Nemec, but then returned. At the end of season 7 Don S. Davis had his role reduced to an infrequent guest star, and Anderson took his place as SGC's commanding officer. Then in season 9 Anderson also moved into the background, which added new regulars Beau Bridges as commanding officer and Ben Browder as head of SG-1. Now, heading into the tenth season, Claudia Black is coming on as a regular.

Starting one year after the original film, the series chronicles the activities of SG-1, the first exploratory team of the newly-formed Stargate Command (the "SGC"). The series expanded on the movie, created a full and rich mythology and a cast of recurring characters. Stargate SG-1 proved to be very popular. The series was expected to end at its seventh season, but it has continued to extend to its current ninth season. As of October 24th 2005, Stargate SG-1 has offically been renewed and given a record breaking tenth season beating the The X-Files as the longest running United States science-fiction series with its 200th episode believed to be early in the next season.

The original Stargate film made it seem like Ra was the last of his race, but in SG-1 seasons 1-8, the main threat to Earth was from other beings like him, the Goa'uld, parasitic aliens that posed as gods. They had massive armies of footsoldiers, the Jaffa, and colonies on other enslaved planets, as well as fleets of attack ships. At the end of season 8, SG-1 (with some help) vanquished the Goa'uld and season 9 introduces the team to a new threat. Originally in SG-1, the teams visited other worlds through the Stargate so as to find new technology capable of defending Earth from the Goa'uld, and it appears that despite a new enemy the premise is still essentially the same.

Stargate Atlantis

File:SGA-poster.jpg
The original starring cast of Stargate Atlantis.
Main article: Stargate Atlantis

Stargate Atlantis debuted on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 16, 2004, starring Joe Flanigan, Torri Higginson, Rainbow Sun Francks, David Hewlett, and Rachel Luttrell. The series is currently on its second season, adding Paul McGillion and Jason Momoa as series regulars, and has been renewed for a third season. This series follows the adventures of the Atlantis expedition, a combined military and civilian exploratory expedition that travel to the Pegasus galaxy in search of the Lost City of Atlantis, left behind by the powerful aliens known as the Ancients. The series introduces a new enemy, called "the Wraith".

Atlantis was originally intended to succeed Stargate SG-1 after its seventh season and a second feature film. When SG-1 was renewed for an eighth season, the intended movie became the episode "Lost City", a two-part season finale. After that the 8th season of SG-1 and the 1st of Atlantis began running side by side, thus the setting of Stargate Atlantis was moved to the Pegasus galaxy. This overlap still exisits, as both shows are still running.

Stargate Infinity

Characters from Stargate Infinity.
Main article: Stargate Infinity

Stargate Infinity is an animated series that ran from September 2002 to June 2003. Even though the series was produced by MGM with DiC Entertainment, none of the writers and producers of Stargate SG-1 or other live-action Stargate projects were involved with Infinity. According to SG-1 co-creator Brad Wright, "the animated series should not be considered official Stargate canon."

Set about 30 to 40 years in the future, Infinity tells the story of a team of young recruits led by a veteran member of the SGC that are framed for a crime they did not commit. The team must travel from world to world trying to find a way to clear their name.

Books

There are three series of novels based on the Stargate franchise and various comics. Short fiction has also been published in the official Stargate Magazine.

Movie-based

A series of books written by Bill McCay were published from 1996 to 1999 that were sequels to the film. However, the subsequent TV series was an entirely different development and there was no attempt to reconcile the plot lines of the books and television show.

  • Stargate: Rebellion
  • Stargate: Retaliation
  • Stargate: Retribution
  • Stargate: Reconnaissance
  • Stargate: Resistance

Series-based

ROC books

Since 1999, several novels have been released based on the Stargate SG-1 series. These books were written by Ashley McConnell.

  • Stargate SG-1 (novelization of the series' pilot, "Children of the Gods")
  • The Price You Pay
  • The First Amendment
  • The Morpheus Factor

Fandemonium books

A series of licensed tie-in novels by Fandemonium Press Ltd. based on the Stargate SG-1 series is also available in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. They're not available in the US bookstores due to licensing issues. Titles have been corrected to show the authorized official title of each novel.

  • Stargate SG-1: Trial By Fire by Sabine C. Bauer
  • Stargate SG-1: Sacrifice Moon by Julie Fortune)
  • Stargate SG-1: A Matter Of Honour (1 of 2) by Sally Malcolm
  • Stargate SG-1: City Of The Gods by Sonny Whitelaw
  • Stargate SG-1: The Cost Of Honour (2 of 2) by Sally Malcolm
  • Stargate SG-1: Siren Song by Jaimie Duncan and Holly Scott (upcoming) -- spelling of author names is per the authors and amazon.co.uk
  • Stargate SG-1: Survival of the Fittest (upcoming)

Fandemonium will also launch a new series of books based on Stargate Atlantis in late 2005. Those books will be available worldwide.

  • Stargate Atlantis: Rising by Sally Malcolm (novelization of the pilot episode). On sale December 15.
  • Stargate Atlantis: Reliquary by Martha Wells (forthcoming February 2006) -- title and publication date are per Martha Wells' website, amazon.co.uk and gasbo.net
  • Stargate Atlantis: The Chosen by Sonny Whitelaw and Beth Christensen (13 April 2006) - per gasbo.net

Unlike with the SG-1 books, Fandemonium will not be accepting fan submissions for the Atlantis books. They will be written only by professional writers.

Short fiction

These short stories were published in the pages of the official Stargate Magazine, produced by Titan Publishing.

  • Flipside by Sally Malcolm, a Stargate Atlantis story appearing in issue #7 (Nov/Dec 2005)
  • Archeology 101 by Martha Wells, a Stargate SG-1 story appearing in issue #8 (Jan/Feb 2006)

Comic books

Main article: Stargate SG-1 (comics)

A series of comic books was based on Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis which began to be published by Avatar Press in 2003.

Other

External links

Stargate
Film
SG-1
Atlantis
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