Stargate SG-1: My New Obsession

Years ago, around 1987 to be exact, I started watching Star Trek with the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and it was good. In 1993 I started watching Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5 and things were really good (especially when all three where on at the same time). In 1995 Voyager started and it was okay. In 1997 I left to go to my Freshman year of College and stopped watching Voyager and Deep Space Nine, since I didn't have a TV in my room. I did try to catch most of Season 5 of Babylon 5 and it was okay. In 1998 Babylon 5 went off the air, with what I personally thing was the best hour of television ever and it was sad. In 1999 Deep Space Nine went off the air and I didn't watch it until the fall of that year when I found a station that re-ran seasons 6 and 7, which I had mostly missed and it was good. I also caught the first two episodes of Crusade, but didn't get to watch any of the other episodes and it was sad.

Then I stopped watching new Sci-Fi television for a while, though in 2001 I did catch all of the Crusade episodes on Sci-Fi and I did watch the last Voyager episode. Crusade was good, though it would have gotten much better. Voyager was just sad, not original, not entertaining and kind of bland. In the fall of 2001 I watched the first two episodes of Enterprise and gave up on the show.

So from roughly 2001 to recently, I gave up on science fiction television. Then through the magic of re-runs, I found Stargate SG-1 and I found what I had been missing since TNG, B5, and DS9 went off the air...Intelligent science fiction that has a larger story to tell, interesting characters, and is fun to watch episode after episode.

I've watched mainly Season 4, 5, and 7 episodes so far, so I do tend to get lost, though websites have helped. And though the larger story gets confusing sometimes, each episode is fun to watch filled with enough action, story, humor and pathos to make me want to watch more.

For those who don't know, the show is a spin-off of the 1994 Movie Stargate, about an ancient device that is uncovered which is a doorway to another world, which turns out to be where aliens impersonating the Egyptian gods took slaves.

Most of you might remember the movie as being good "popcorn entertainment" and not much else. It had a decent story, but rapidly turned into the usual "shoot-em-up" story. The show takes off of this premise and uses the movie characters Col. Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson.

The show has a great humorous side, especially when Jack shows his smart-assed side, which happens often. It also deals with the idea of mythology, as well as the inherent strife between the military and science. I can't really explain it well, but trust me if you are into science-fiction and want an intelligent show that is a break from the tired excuse for a Star Trek show Enterprise, then tune into Sci-Fi Monday-Friday at 6 p.m. or Mondays 6-10 p.m. or for the most recent re-runs, Fridays at either 9 or 11 p.m.