Stargate SG1 DVDs, Books and Videos

«A Postscript Season, but Still SG-1»

It was an open secret among SG-1 fans that every season since Season 5 was supposed to have been the show's final season. And yet, the team went into Season 8 with the dead certainty that it would be curtains. So, they chose to bring the series' myth arc, the Earth-Goa'uld War, to a close while simultaneously wiping out the Repliacators and freeing the Jaffa. It was a perfect note to close the series. Then they got a renewal once again and there was a sense of, "What the heck do we do know?" The creative team and cast adapted and the result was a similar, if different SG-1.

Season 9 opens several months after the Season 8 finale. The Goa'uld Empire has collapsed and the Replicators have been eradicated. Earth is finally safe for the first time in a decade and the SGC's primary missions goals have been fulfilled. Into this new order comes Colonel Cameron Mitchell (Ben Browder), fighter pilot and veteran of the Battle of Antarctica from Season 7's "Lost City". Mitchell has been promised any assignment and he wants to join the legendary SG-1.

But the SG-1 he has grown to idolize is no more. Jack O'Neill has accepted a promotion to head up the Department of Homeworld Security. Samantha Carter has taken up a lead research position at Area 51. Teal'c has returned to Dakara to help guide the formation of the newly created Free Jaffa Nation. Daniel Jackson is preparing to join the Atlantis Expedition, as contact has been reestablished with the Lost City. Mitchell is tasked with selecting a new team when all he wants are the legends.

It is at this crossroads that Vala Mal Doran, the beautiful and cunning thief who tried to hijack the Prometheus in Season 8's "Prometheus Unbound" returns. She has information that another cache of Ancient technology may be hidden on Earth. The search yields not only new revelations regarding the Ancients' origins, but the existence of a deadly new foe that will require SG-1 to reunite if the Milky Way Galaxy is to survive.

The cast changes once again for Season 9 as Richard Dean Anderson left the show. The absence of Jack O'Neill is felt, even with the character decay that had begun to set in during Season 6. Ben Browder's performance of Mitchell brings a fresh breath of air and energy, but the old SG-1 dynamic suffers, much as it did in Season 6 when Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson) left the show. Beau Bridges takes over the SGC as General Hank Landry, providing a balance between the humor of O'Neill and the wisdom of General Hammond. Claudia Black's return as Vala is much appreciated, especially for any Farscape fans as Claudia Black reunites with former co-star Browder.

This season sees the debut of SG-1's final major foe, the evangelical Ori. It's a clever reinvention of the old SG-1 paradigm of false gods and religion that the team spent 8 years dealing with. Now, they are forced to contend with beings who, for all intents and purposes, ARE gods. Combine that with another reinterpretation of mythology - this time on Arthurian legend rather than Egyptian or Norse myths - and you have a great set up for an interesting foe. Unfortunately, a twist halfway through the season does serious damage to their initial potential. The threat of the Ori is supported by the debut of the Lucian Alliance, a coalition of smugglers and criminals who have taken advantage of the new order and Ba'al, the last Goa'uld System Lord who managed to evade capture last season.

This season also overlaps with Season 2 of its spin-off "Stargate: Atlantis" and as contact has been reestablished with the Pegasus Galaxy, there is more interaction between the two shows. In fact, the reestablishment of contact is a partial catalyst for the storyline. Highlights include "Avalon", "Origin", Ex Deus Machina", "Camelot", and others.

[Monday, August 16, 2010]

«New team, new enemy»

Although it takes some time to get used to Col. O'Neill's leave, Lt. Col. Mitchell is able to fill the void. And with the more inclusive roll of Claudia Black as Vala Mal Doran, there is a nice sub-story with Daniel Jackson. In all, with the new enemy, the Ori, season 9 made up for changes in cast and storyline.

[Sunday, August 15, 2010]

«Not your father's Stargate!»

I started watching the series because of the Movie (and the great team of Kurt Russell and James Spader!), as well as the fact that RDA was in it! I actually would give this a 3 1/2 star rating, but can't so I'll opt for 4 just for Machael Shanks(Daniel), Amanda Tapping(Sam) and Christopher Judge's(Teal'c) continuing fine representation of their characters. However, the show really could have stopped at season eight and had a very fulfilling conclusion. Season eight tied up pretty much all the loose ends. I have watched all episodes up to the finale season (10) which I will be watching starting tomarrow. Watched all the specials on all the discs. Having said all that, this is very weak Stargate, getting way away from the cohesion of the characters that we are use to, and a completely unreal, nearly invincible enimy. (Shades of the Borg!) I'm hoping that season 10 will recover some of the magic of the first 8 seasons! Time will tell, and so will I!

[Tuesday, January 26, 2010]

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