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In 1997, Showtime debuted Stargate SG-1, a spinoff from the Stargate movie that debuted in theaters in 1994.
While the film was only a modest success, Stargate SG-1 was a massive hit on television that ran for ten seasons and spawned two additional spinoffs.
Later this month, all 213 episodes of Stargate SG-1 are hitting Netflix, and that’s more than enough to keep binge-watchers busy.
Watch With Us is a big fan of the cult sci-fi show, and we tell you why it’s just as good to watch now as it was three decades ago.
‘Stargate SG-1’ Brought a Strong Cast Together
Although Stargate SG-1 is a direct continuation of the story from the Stargate film, only a few performers appeared in both. Kurt Russell and James Spader didn’t reprise their leading roles as Colonel Jack O’Neill and Dr. Daniel Jackson. Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks took over, and while they may not have had the star power of the earlier duo, they respectively made Jack and Daniel their own over the course of the series.
While the movie dealt with an ancient device that could open a wormhole to another world, the series expanded upon that premise with a network of Stargates that could reach multiple planets in a galaxy. Reuniting Daniel and Jack was only a part of that expansion. To complete the SG-1 team, the series introduced Amanda Tapping as Samantha Carter and Christopher Judge as Teal’c. That quartet carried the show for several seasons with their camaraderie and chemistry.
Later seasons added more cast members, including Ben Browder, Claudia Black and Beau Bridges, which was a necessity when Anderson took a much smaller role on the series. But this trio and the series’ remaining cast members helped the show through its final seasons.
‘Stargate SG-1’ Mixed Comedy With Drama
It’s important to note that Stargate SG-1 wasn’t a farce or a campy series. The show took itself as seriously as it had to, especially when the fate of Earth and the rest of the galaxy was on the line. But it wasn’t a humorless bore either. Stargate SG-1‘s creative team occasionally interjected lighter moments of humor that kept the series from getting too dark.
There were even some episodes that fully leaned into comedy, including the 200th episode, which featured parodies of other science fiction shows from the ’90s and ’00s. Not even Stargate SG-1 itself was safe from the show’s self-mockery in that episode. Some hardcore sci-fi fans may cringe at moments like that, but this series struck the right balance between funny scenes and dramatic stakes.
The Sci-Fi Series Has Epic Moments and Mythology
You won’t have to watch the two spinoffs, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe, but you would definitely need to watch SG-1 to fully understand those shows. Very few science fiction TV shows have ever run as long as this one did, and that gift of time allowed the creative team to set up long-running stories that eventually paid off with dramatic conclusions. That, in turn, also allowed certain parts of the shared universe to open up for the eventual spinoffs.
Over the course of 10 seasons, Stargate SG-1 had three primary stories that spanned several seasons, as well as smaller-scale tales that rarely extended into two parts. If you’re expecting Star Wars or Disney+-scale special effects, you may be disappointed. Stargate SG-1 never had a budget that big, but it had enough to create some epic tales that are worth revisiting years later.
Stargate SG-1 is now streaming on Netflix.
