WHAT IS SG1?
In 1994, Dean Devlin and Ronald Emmerich (who later made 'Independence Day' and 'The Day after Tomorrow') made a movie. It involved an outcast archaeologist called Daniel Jackson (James Spader) getting called on to a military base to translate various inscriptions. These inscriptions proved to be the key to unlocking a device that had been raised from the Egyptian desert in 1929, having been buried for millennia before. As a result, Daniel joined up with a military team headed by a suicidal US Air Force Colonel Jack O'Neil (Kurt Russell) on a journey through a wormhole to the planet Abydos where they were faced both with the task of finding the symbols needed to find a way home and a fight against an alien impersonating the ancient Egyptian God Ra, who was enslaving the natives. Having succeeded on both fronts, Jack found a new reason to live and returned to Earth with his team while Daniel stayed on Abydos with his new wife Sha're. The movie was named after the device the team used for interstellar travel - the 'Stargate'.
Devlin and Emmerich wanted to create a trilogy of Stargate films - but instead MGM gave the idea to Brad Wright and Johnathon Glassner who both wanted to create a TV series based on the film - this is what became Stargate SG1 in 1997.
SG1 deals with the idea that Ra was not (as was previously thought) the last of his race. In fact many members of his race of parasitic symbiotes, called the Goa'uld, had taken human hosts and impersonated ancient Gods - enslaving the ancient peoples of Earth at one point. They've got deep flanged voices, enhanced strength, glowing eyes and a lot of scavenged advanced technology - and they want to reclaim Earth.
Primarily facing up to them on behalf of Earth have been the people of the US military facility Stargate Command (housed under NORAD in Colorado) who send teams through the Stargate to find new technologies, allies and fight battles against the Goa'uld and other foes. The headline team of these is SG1, commanded by Jack O'Neill (now with two Ls) who'd been called out of retirement. Having retrieved Daniel from Abydos after Sha're became possessed by a Goa'uld, SG1 was completed by USAF Captain and scientist Samantha Carter and Teal'c, a member of the Goa'uld slave race known as the Jaffa, and for most of the show's tenure have reported to an SGC commanding officer General George Hammond.
Over the next 8 seasons SG1 (in more than one form) have killed many of the Goa'uld 'System Lords' that they have faced, thus helping to spread a belief that the Goa'uld are 'false gods'. And in the meantime they've had some help.
The first of these allies have been the Tok'ra - an offshoot of the Goa'uld. Unlike the Goa'uld, however, they share control of their bodies with their hosts. They have existed for millennia as a resistance group against the Goa'uld - operating through infiltration and stealth. Despite solid Earth interconnection with the Tok'ra through their liaison Jacob Carter (a former US Air Force general who hosted Tok'ra symbiote Selmak), the Tok'ra have always been uncomfortable with the SGC's strategy of engaging the Goa'uld directly.
In a more recent development, the Teal'c-inspired Rebel Jaffa have operated in a similar vein, and they have recently declared their independence as the Free Jaffa Nation. Traditionally minded warriors, these newest of players on the Galactic scene have a long road ahead.
And finally, there are the Asgard - a race who could theoretically explain the Roswell Greys. Former member of the Great Alliance formed by the Stargate building Ancients, the main face of the Asgard is Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet (in a similar fashion to the Goa'uld, the Asgard have inspired Norse mythology) and good friend of Jack's. However, while their advanced technology always has its uses, the Asgard have usually had problems of their own - primarily the Replicators.
SG1 have had more than their share of dealings with the Replicators themselves as a result. Originally a group of metal-eating mechanical insect-like beings, the Replicators later took the chance to evolve into a seemingly indestructible humanoid form and have attempted to invade Earth twice in their own right.
And now there's a new enemy that the SGC has to deal with, called the Ori, a group of ascended beings from a distant galaxy who want the entire universe to worship them and their concept of "Origin", and have an army of Priors and Doci to spread they're message and kill anyone who disagrees.
Overall, SG1, though not an outright comedy, has never taken itself overly seriously and as a result creates a unique relatable atmosphere that on form is guaranteed to provide an enjoyable hour of TV and has long cemented itself in the elite of scifi.
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