By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Photos copyright MGM
Who would have thought that the movie Stargate starring Kurt Russell would spawn a legacy similar to Star Trek. They spawned two spin offs, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe both of which were shamefully cut off in their primes.
Many people didn’t think a Stargate television series would ever work especially when they heard MacGyver himself, Richard Dean Anderson, was cast as the new Jack O’Neill. The role had been played in the movie by Kurt Russell so given the perceived image people had due to his time as MacGyver, would the audience buy it?
What they cleverly did was use the movie’s established history rather than ignore it like many television pilots do. Jack O’Neill would head the new team which would be made up of Sam Samantha Carter, whom O’Neill doesn’t expect to be a woman due to her preferring to be called Sam. The alien aspect would come in the form of Teal’c, played by Christopher Judge, a Jaffa head honcho to the god Apophis. He turns his back on his god when he meets O’Neill and the others. But we will come to that.
We get a great hook to open the show as a group of bored soldiers are playing poker in the gate room with the defunct Stargate. It is clear from their dialogue that no one comes here and staff are being shipped out. Like all classic horrors, something is moving under the tarp covering the gate. The female soldier goes to look as none of the others believe her. However, the gate opens with the same brillaint special effect that blew me away in the cinema. A metal ball pops through, scans the woman and a snake headed warrior grabs her. Out comes a squad of snake headed warriors from the movie. The last one, whom we will learn is their Lord Apophis, comes out. The guard holding the woman is revealed to be Teal’c who will become instrumental to the team and show. Subduing the woman with a hand device, Apophis then orders the others to kill the others. A squad of Stargate personnel burst in led by General Hammond, Don Davis. Apophis’ eyes flash just like Ra’s did in the original movie and they leave.
That’s a great way to start that really brings in the viewers, raising questions. Who are these aliens since Ra was killed? Is Ra actually dead? How did they get through the gate?
And just like Star Trek The Next Generation, they use the movie theme rather than try something else. It is clear the producers are embracing the roots rather than ignoring them and it is so much better for it. That sweeping score by David Arnold is as powerful today as it was back then, standing tall with the likes of Battlestar Galactica and Next Generation.
O’Neill is recalled and goes after Daniel Jackson. In O’Neill’s head, only Daniel can help him with it especially after seeing the dead body of a Jaffa from the initial attack. It is to his credit that Jack is maintaining the lie that Daniel died on Abydos after the nuclear device went off. However when he sees his old teammates, Kowalski and Ferretti being questioned also, and with Hammond about to send a bomb to Abydos, he has no choice to reveal what really happened. He throws a box of tissues through the gate knowing Daniel will know it’s Jack connecting with him.
Together with new addition captain Samantha Carter threy return to Abydos where they are reunited with Daniel and the others. Michael Shanks takes over the role of Daniel from James Spader and is born for the role. Using the original actors for Skaara and Sha’uri is nice touch. Daniel and Sam hit it off right away as they discuss the gates and what they mean. He believes there is a whole network of gates scattered all over the galaxy but Sam disagrees. Their technobabble leaves O’Neill and Kowalski none the wiser which will be a running gag every time scientific stuff is discussed round Jack. That is the only explanation for the new alien threat.
Another nice touch is when they talk about Jack’s son and how much Jack has recovered since his suicidal tendencies in the original movie. However, Jack and his wife have now separated following the death of their son. Add to that, Skaara trying to give O’Neill back his lighter is a nod to his giving up smoking. It’s also nice to see the Abydos locations again. The characters feel like they have known each other and bounce off each other nicely. Nothing is forced here and feels comfortable, a genuine extension of the movie.
But they are attacked by the snake warriors again, both Sha’uri and Skaara are captured leaving Daniel no choice but to go back and help O’Neill. The stakes are now personal as Ferretti is badly injured and Daniel is out to get his family back.
Something else that is laid here is the nature of the possessed lords. We discover they are hosts to a serpent like creature that lives in their stomachs and can move from person to person. In a full frontal nude scene, Sha’uri is taken over when the creature buries into the base of her spine. This is a marked departure from the grey white alien seen in Ra. This will become fundamental in the show going forward as will the existence of the network of gates.
Despite initial resistance, Daniel insists on being part of SG1 and they head off after Skaara and Sha’uri.
No expense is usually spared for a new pilot hoping to become a series and this is no exception.
All this time, we have seen Teal’c witness the murder of the soldier taken at the start of the episode and Sha’uri’s conversion for which, lest we forget, is his fault, through the episode. bit by bit, he is having doubts.
We also establish a regular event as SG1 meet a simple village of people who worship the Stargate. When they are captured by this lord and his new Queen Sha’uri, it becomes a fight for life. Thrown into a prison compound along with the other captured citizens, Skaara is chosen to be a host leaving Apophis to order the remaining prisoners to be executed immediately.
O’Neill sees something in Teal’c, a hesitation as to his Lord’s orders. With no weapons, no escape, it is a heart stopping moment when they are about to be executed by the squad of snake heads. O’Neill calls out to Teal’c telling him he can save these people. He says help me and Teal’c says, many have said that before but he is the first one he believes can do it. This moment seals the future as we witness the birth of a new friendship. Teal’c says he has nowhere to go but O’Neill says he can stay at his place for helping them. In a firefight, they blast a way out of the prison with the prisoners and run for it. But the excitement builds as warlord airships attack just as we saw in the movie. The serpent creatures we learn are called the Goa’uld, larva stages of the larger ones that every Jaffa carries.
As the group are attacked from the air and the flood of Jaffa ground troops, Apophis and his new Queen escape home through the gate. The effects are impressive, building on what came before. Watching it now for this flashback, my heart is in my mouth and I know what is going to happen. SG1 bring hope to a downtrodden people and this will never change.
The stage for all that follows is now set. The Goa’uld threat now that Earth has revealed itself as an enemy, the reveal of countless gates, the mission to save Skaara and Sha’uri, and the fact Teal’c is responsible for what happened to Daniel’s loved ones. Add to that, Kowalski is now infected by a Goa’uld and we are off to a great start to the series. No, I’ll change that; a spectacular start to the series.
I can look back now at all that spawned from this episode and feel a gratitude and delight that one of the best shows ever started with an episode that put its balls on the table and more than delivered. Against the odds and despite the critics, a legend was born.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 