SG:1

Portals to other worlds

A stargate opens a wormhole that connects to a distant gate. The system was created millenia ago by a now-departed race of Ancients. After the Ancients but still thousands of years ago, the system was taken over by the Goa'uld, a race of evil parasites who enslaved humanity. The Goa'uld took human slaves from Earth and established them on suitable planets throughout the galaxy. The humans of Earth rebelled against the Goa'uld and buried the Stargate in prehistoric times.

The discovery of the buried stargate in Egypt and the eventual unpuzzling of how it works sets the stage for the show's adventures. Established in an underground facility in Cheyenne Mountain, Stargate Command is a secret military base with a mission to explore other planets, make contact with humans and other races, and conduct a defensive war against the Goa'uld.

Stargate: SG-1

Stargate Command's lead exploration team is designated SG-1, and is comprised of wisecracking tough guy Colonel Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), brainy astrophysicist Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), idealistic archaeologist Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), and alien Jaffa warrior Teal'c (Christopher Judge), who once unwillingly served the Goa'uld but switched sides to work for their defeat.

Evil Aliens

Goa'uld are small lizard-like parasites who reside inside a (usually human) host and take over and control the host's body. Goa'uld have both great powers and advanced technology, much of the technology pirated from the mysterious Ancients. On the planets they control, the Goa'uld pose as gods and the local humans worship them. And like the gods of mythology, the Goa'uld also squabble and battle among themselves.

Extraterrestrial Adventure

In their travels to other worlds, the SG-1 team finds powerful allies, including the Asgard, a spacefaring race of skinny big-eyed little grey fellows with that classic 'alien' look, and the Tok'ra, who are the 'good guy' Goa'uld. The Tok'ra Goa'uld take human hosts who are volunteers and the relationship is symbiotic rather than parasitic.

Over the course of the series, SG-1 saves the planet numerous times, from conquest, from complete annihilation, from plagues and other dangers. And it's all classified and unknown to the average citizen. Nor are all the dangers dealt with of extraterrestrial origin; sinister government cabals and greedy unscrupulous industrialists are also given their comeuppance.

Show history

Stargate SG-1 premiered in 1997 and ran on pay cable channel Showtime for its first five seasons before moving to the cable Sci-Fi channel. In syndication, the show is a year behind the cable first run episodes.

As might be expected in a long-running series, much has changed. Colonel Jack O'Neill was promoted to General and was given command of Stargate Command before retiring. Samantha Carter began the series as an Air Force Captain and is now a Lt Colonel. Daniel Jackson was absent for a season, ascended to a higher plane of existence. (Long story.) The Goa'uld have finally been defeated for good, but new villains, the Ori, have shown up to enslave and demand worship. And SG-1 is now led by wisecracking tough guy Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell (Ben Browder, from Farscape).