More of the same really (Stargate S.G. 1)

Member Name: somersetsaint

Product:	Stargate S.G. 1
Date:	12/09/00 (7 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some original ideas

Disadvantages: Mostly predictable

This type of sci-fi serial has become extremely popular in the last decade. On top of the multifarious Star Trek spin-offs on the BBC, we've had the (extremely popular) likes of 'Babylon 5' building pretty good ratings for Channel 4. 'Stargate:SG1' is a spin-off of the mid-90's film, 'Stargate' which was moderately successful in the US and here, and which comes around occasionally in an evening BBC film slot.

Sadly, 'SG1' is largely formulaic and predictable. Star Trek introduced its transporter device to allow travel from the starship to various planets without wasting time with some kind of shuttle. The Stargate takes this a step further, allowing characters to travel from Earth to any of the many planets they might care to visit.

We have the Klingon-style 'bad guys' (in this case based on Egyptian culture) who pop up every few episodes, and form the basis of the long-term plot. And naturally one of the footsoldiers has defected, joining the human SG1 team and giving them an insight into the planets and cultures they come acroos. The rest of the team consists of a hard-man military commander, a slightly geeky science-type, and an attractive but serious female.

Individual episodes invariably involve either the meeting of a strange alien culture or some accident befalling one or more of our heroes, but of course they all escape to go back the following week, providing more prime-time entertainment.

All in all, just another run-of-the mill American sci-fi series with little that is genuinely original.

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