Stargate SG-1, does it get better?

So a friend recommended I check out SG-1. I am a huge fan of the film and watched the first two episodes of the first season and wow... were they ever AWEFUL and the summation of EVERYTHING I hate about TV. Unbelievably cliched and one dimensional characters... horrible dialog... a ridiculous interpretation of the military and how it functions... and just... well, I don't know what to say. I can't think of a single redeeming factor.

While I could name 100 things wrong with the new BSG... it was at least somewhat watchable. Does Stargate ever get to that point or is it just this ginat cheeseball throughout?

Am I just being too critical? This show seems to have a huge following, but I am dying here...

People will tell you YES, it's a WONDERFUL show, the BESTEST EVAR!!!!!!11!!!1

It basically morphs into Star Trek. And it has some humorous episodes which are worth catching. But it is pretty standard-issue stuff.

It takes a bit to get going.

If you don't like it by the end of the first season, you probably won't.

I was a pretty late convert too, having only caught a couple eps at friend's houses over the years, and not being too impressed, but my buddy Gene gave me the first season and after watching the whole thing I realized that I'd only managed to catch the bad ones.

Don't let the "bottle shows" and the alien mud village of the week put you off- What they'd do, would be make several really low budget eps, then splurge on a really good one with great FX and lots of action. Also, once they really got going and everyone was working well together, they started having fun with the stories once in awhile, like "Wormhole Extreme" where a really horrible TV series is somehow based on the SG project, or "Citizen Joe" where a small town barber finds an alien artifact that psychically links him to the project and he developes an almost "Close Encounters"-like mental obsession with writing stories about the images in his head.

There's some great FX stuff later too- The first appearance of the Prometheous, the Battle of Antarctica, etc.

-Sarge

-Sarge

BESTAST EVAR!!!111!!!!!11

Well yeah... first season is a bit rough. Gets much better. Then it switches from Showtime to Sci Fi channel and starts to suck in whole new ways.

k

Both SG-1 and Atlantis seem very campy to me. SG-1 a bit moreso, maybe. I like the campiness factor, but it's definitely something that you'll have to put up with all the time... so if you're not into that sort of thing, then I'd probably stop watching if I were you.

I remember seeing those first episodes of it, though, and wow... That wasn't even camp. I think that was Liberace mixed with some Lady Gaga with a dash of EEK!-sauce.

ART ANDREWS said:

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So a friend recommended I check out SG-1. I am a huge fan of the film and watched the first two episodes of the first season and wow... were they ever AWEFUL and the summation of EVERYTHING I hate about TV. Unbelievably cliched and one dimensional characters... horrible dialog... a ridiculous interpretation of the military and how it functions... and just... well, I don't know what to say. I can't think of a single redeeming factor.

While I could name 100 things wrong with the new BSG... it was at least somewhat watchable. Does Stargate ever get to that point or is it just this ginat cheeseball throughout?

Am I just being too critical? This show seems to have a huge following, but I am dying here...

From the things you listed as not liking i'd say no it doesn't get better, it's really just a cheesefest show, if your hoping for something realistic or gritty or even dramatic then give it a wide berth.

SgtFang said:

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or "Citizen Joe" where a small town barber finds an alien artifact that psychically links him to the project and he developes an almost "Close Encounters"-like mental obsession with writing stories about the images in his head.
-Sarge

That episode is a bottleneck but pretty good anyway.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottle_episode

The script is a bit too cliche for me.

I saw the first one on Showtime but I didn't care for it. I caught a later episode a few years later and really liked it. So I went back and watched from the beginning. I now think the series is better than the movie, and I liked the movie.

It takes a while to get going. But as the team visits other planets and races, they acquire technology. They eventually build a fleet of ships and operate much like Star Trek. Trek is even mentioned in the shows as an influence on how they do things, which I think makes it realistic. If this were to happen for real, Trek would certainly play a part. O'Neil even wanted to name the Prometheus Enterprise

I especially liked the one with William Devane as the newly elected president, who is then informed of the top secret "Star Gate" program.

Stargate the movie was pretty cool, in a goofy sort of way.... all of the stargate TV shows have been (IMHO) just lame-o poop.

I used to watch stargate upto about season 4 i think then i realised it was the same story week after week.They find some artifact so instead of letting the entire US military resources work out what it does Sam Carter potters around with it and eventually works it out for herself.Jack gets more stupid and childish every episode he is supposed to be a senior member of the military he has totally moved away from the basis of the movie character it was a real shame it could have been awesome.

I think it really depends on what you're looking for.


If you want gritty, realistic sci-fi or military drama, forget it. You won't get that.

If you want Whedonesque character development and weepy performances, again, forget it. Not gonna happen.

I think the Star Trek analogy is quite apt, actually. There are some thru-lines in the stories, and plenty of linked episodes, but much of the time you have "monster of the week" things that sometimes end up building towards more. The first few seasons do gradually improve in terms of expanding the universe and building up the lore of the show which gets used later. Not exactly a plot line, but more just building on the richness of the experience.

However, you definitely have your redshirts, and your hero shields (most of the time). You have your funny episodes, and you have your more serious ones.

The show doesn't generally take itself TOO seriously, although I suppose towards the end of the entire run you get some pretty interesting stuff with the Ori. It's a long wait to get to there, however.

Oh, another Star Trek feature is that, somehow, everyone speaks english. That's more just a convenient cheat because otehrwise each new planet would need, like, five episodes before Daniel would even figure out how to communicate with them. I give them a pass on that sort of thing.



There are definitely weaker episodes here and there, though. And there are stronger episodes. There are bottle episodes, and filler episodes, sometimes being the same thing. Although some of the bottle episodes DO develop the characters in ways we wouldn't otherwise get.





Basically, my advice is this. If you go into the show expecting a Star Trek kind of experience, on the whole, you'll be happy. If you go in expecting Lost or 24 or even BSG, you'll likely be disappointed. SG-1 is very much a show stylistically rooted in the tradition of Star Trek, especially TNG, but with (most of the time) a budget and f/x from the '00s. It does build over time, and the show's universe gets considerably richer and more interesting over time, but if the general episode-to-episode experience of a show like TNG isn't what you're looking for, then you should probably skip the show.

Go up on Hulu and watch the pilot episode..

Interesting to see how they were trying to figure out their characters and the differences when the show ended.

I'm still on the fence with S.G.U. Not sure where that show is going...

The show gets rolling as it moves on into further seasons. Watch the Continuum movie and if you don't like the series at that point, then you probably never will.

Most series take a few years to really develop a chemistry. Stargate had that issue as they were trying to develop show concepts while filming the shows the first two years. As soon as they got a consistence and crew chemistry going the show continued to improve through out the years.

I look at Babylon 5 which is one of my favorite series from start to finish and see basically the same thing. The sets and characters did not mesh well even with a pre-written 5 year story line in place. It took almost two years for them to really get going and it turned out to be one of the best out there in my opinion.

Stargate jumped on major story plot lines which weakened it in comparison, but I think they did a great job overall. they also had to deal; with major character changes through the long term show seasons which they dealt with well. The show had some weak points/shows, but also some very strong points as well and overall did quite well with its 10 seasons of screen works.

First season really had some bad groaners. It gets a LOT better. They even make fun of the first season towards the end of the series. You can stop watching at the end of season 9 though.

tripoli said:

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The show gets rolling as it moves on into further seasons. Watch the Continuum movie and if you don't like the series at that point, then you probably never will.

Most series take a few years to really develop a chemistry. Stargate had that issue as they were trying to develop show concepts while filming the shows the first two years. As soon as they got a consistence and crew chemistry going the show continued to improve through out the years.

I look at Babylon 5 which is one of my favorite series from start to finish and see basically the same thing. The sets and characters did not mesh well even with a pre-written 5 year story line in place. It took almost two years for them to really get going and it turned out to be one of the best out there in my opinion.

Stargate jumped on major story plot lines which weakened it in comparison, but I think they did a great job overall. they also had to deal; with major character changes through the long term show seasons which they dealt with well. The show had some weak points/shows, but also some very strong points as well and overall did quite well with its 10 seasons of screen works.

Good comparison to B5. I think generally the tone and underlying elements stay consistent in both shows throughout, but the chemistry definitely works better the further you go in the series.

With SG-1, I think the first season is...ok. It sets some things up so you recognize this or that alien race later, but the main storyline is only sporadically dealt with (namely finding other races to fight the goauld). The second season introduced some cool stuff with the secret military organization that was rivaling the Stargate project. I forget what the driving forces were for many of the seasons after that.


Generally speaking, your seasons will have an underlying theme connecting certain episodes throughout the season, and they eventually tie into the season finale (which is usually 2-3 episodes). But I think they tend to do a lot more one-off episodes here and there which only connect in that they build on the characters' experiences, rather than that they all directly tie into an ongoing plotline.

Kerr Avon said:

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First season really had some bad groaners. It gets a LOT better. They even make fun of the first season towards the end of the series. You can stop watching at the end of season 9 though.

I liked Season 10 and the wrap-up movie. I thought they did that stuff well. But I can see where, after a point, folks just sorta lost patience with the show. It had really changed by that point, although I rather liked the changes.




Anyway, like I said, ultimately, the underlying elements remain similar, but the writing, crew, and overall "click" of the show comes through more regularly around Season 2 and on.

I thought the show started off slow, but as the actors got used to working with each other and the writers got into their groove, it got a lot more enjoyable. It took a turn south when it went to Sci-Fi, at least for me, but I still kept watching it. If you enjoyed Farscape, then you'll appreciate the later seasons. I hadn't seen that show when before I watched SG-1, so I didn't get that draw, unfortunately.

I'm not sure if I would compare it too much to B5, but that's because I liked SG-1 but didn't really like B5.

Honestly, I would say give the whole first season a try and if you don't like it by then, then you probably won't ever.

I hate to sound sexist, but they kinda lost me the minute they introduced the cookie-cutter female lead, Sam Carter... so, let me get this straight... she is very attractive, very young, very self assured, a "theoretical astrophysicist" AND she logged over 100 hours of air combat... what?!? Really? Is the feminist movement still so strong that the writers feel a need to create such an outlandish character to "prove" she is just as valuable as a man? Come on. Do you have to overcompensate THAT much and if you feel the need to do so, what does that really say about your own view of women? I don't know why that moment struck me so hard but they really lost me there... Still watching though and will try to get through the first season.

ART ANDREWS said:

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I hate to sound sexist, but they kinda lost me the minute they introduced the cookie-cutter female lead, Sam Carter... so, let me get this straight... she is very attractive, very young, very self assured, a "theoretical astrophysicist" AND she logged over 100 hours of air combat... what?!?

They actually tone her down a little bit. The whole speech she gives about "just because your reproductive organs are on the inside instead of outside" even gets a joke made about it.

I liked the series. I think it may have gone awry of what the producers of the movie were trying to do, but the show DID grow on me. Towards the end of the series, they really just went all wonky with it.

As to what others have said about "Monster of the Week" type show, this is one of them.

Qui-Gonzalez said:

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I liked the series. I think it may have gone awry of what the producers of the movie were trying to do, but the show DID grow on me. Towards the end of the series, they really just went all wonky with it.

As to what others have said about "Monster of the Week" type show, this is one of them.

That was rarely true. There were a lot of story arcs through the series, and only rarely did they do a 'monster of the week' story.

I would never classify it as a "monster of the week" show. Far from it.

Well, they are your opinions, gents. I have the entire series. The Asgardian thing, Merlin...the whole shmear...it was a bit much for me sometimes.

Qui-Gonzalez said:

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Well, they are your opinions, gents. I have the entire series. The Asgardian thing, Merlin...the whole shmear...it was a bit much for me sometimes.

Sorry, but a race that was a regular fixture to the series from the first season to the very last does not a 'monster of the week' show make. The Ancient known as Merlin was a fixture through almost the entire Ori story arc. You do know that a 'monster of the week' show means something shows up essentially once, is defeated by the heros, and is never heard of again right?