Skip to content
Menu
Meerkat Musings
  • Welcome to Meerkat Musings
  • Meerkat Podcasts
  • Why Meerkats?
  • Formula 1
  • Why I love…
  • What I think…
  • Sci-Fi Analysis
  • Reviews
  • Meerkat Fiction
  • Meerkat Book Reviews
  • Sites Meerkats Like
  • If Meerkats Could…
  • The Meerkat Muse
  • Site Updates
Meerkat Musings

The Gateverse

Tweet
Follow me

Sg1stargatefront

(The titular stargate)

Of most of recent sci-fi offerings, I have found Stargate (and its spin-offs) to be the most compelling and intriguing of them. The first TV series, SG1, delved into not only Egyptian mythology, but also wove this strand into many other historical and mythological events, creating a rich tapestry.

The shows were also full of good old action, and engaging and warm characters. Who couldn’t love the tongue-in-cheek Jack O’Neill, or dead-pan Teal’c, or the moral compass that was Daniel Jackson? And what about the boffin with beauty and brawn that was Samantha Carter?

Watching the show the first time around, I was hard-pressed to think of a single episode I wasn’t prepared to re-watch. Even the relatively low-budget, ‘set within the SGC’ episodes moved the story arc forward and were entertaining. We also saw that actions had consequences – sometimes, events from the early seasons would come back with a vengeance in later seasons, showing good and refreshing continuity.

Such was the show’s popularity at its height that there were at one point, discussions were underway about making a second feature film, but this film was eventually turned into a big-budget season finale for the show’s seventh year, and this finale was used to help set up the second series, Stargate Atlantis.

Stargate_Atlantis_intro

(The second Stargate series took us to another galaxy)

There are question marks within the fanbase as to whether SG1 should have continued beyond the show’s 8th season, which wrapped up most of the major story arcs and appeared to end the series quite conclusively, but the show was renewed for a 9th season, that introduced a new enemy, built on mythologies established in Atlantis and would ultimately reach a 10th season, hitting over 200 episodes.

Atlantis would not go as far as SG1, but did top 100 episodes and spanned five seasons – I personally felt that, unusually for a TV show, season one was the show’s strongest year, but it did have some highlights throughout its run – Atlantis was never quite as good as SG1 though. The chief problem for me, is that SGA became too tongue-in-cheek. The brevity overshadowed opportunities to create genuine tension and drama, and the show suffered for it.

At the conclusion of SGA, a third Stargate series – Stargate Universe, began, which would prove to be divisive within the fanbase.

sgu

(SGU was the black sheep of the Stargate family)

Universe made a conscious effort to be darker and grittier in tone and style than SG1 and SGA. The characters were more conflicted, their situation was far more desperate and they never seemed to catch a lucky break. SGU also mimicked the shaky-cam approach that the Battlestar Galactica reboot used. All of this added up to a very different show to its predecessors.

Personally, I rather liked SGU – it was slow-burning, especially in the first season, but that was part of its strength. This was a more grown up Stargate, and in my humble opinion, Stargate needed a new look and fresh scene in order to remain relevant and interesting. Unfortunately, the bulk of the fans decided SGU was too different, and the show was canceled at the end of its second season, in 2011 – and no new Stargate has been made since.

There have been whispers that new films, based on the original 1994 Stargate movie, might yet be made, but given the stop-start nature of these rumours, I am not holding my breath.

Overall, I have been very impressed with the attention to detail and continuity that Stargate has achieved, and the richness of the universe it has created. It is sadly missed!

Below, I offer up some closer examinations of the different aspects of Stargate, in the hope, as ever, that you will be entertained!

The Stargate

Gods and Monsters

Ancient History

Wraith – Evil Bloodsuckers?

3 thoughts on “The Gateverse”

  1. Amelie says:
    February 8, 2016 at 10:57 pm

    Hello Darth Timon, I am from GateWorld.
    I agree with all you said, very well written.
    I think everybody loved SG1 because of the humour, and also the way it was different to everything else, the characters were very likeable, they all gelled together well.
    I have to say that my favourite have to be the Asgard, and their ships were amazing.
    I did like Atlantis, altho I would have preferred them to have explored more of the city, i mean, who knows what hidden horrors could have been lurking down there after all that time.
    SGU, well, at first i did not like it, but i persevered, and it grew on me and the ship had a character of its own.

    All in all, SG1 was my favourite, and it will be sorely missed

    Reply
    1. DarthTimon says:
      February 9, 2016 at 9:31 pm

      Hi Amelie, I’m glad you like my Gate pages! Hopefully I’ll have the Ancient page ready soon! I agree that SG1 is popular and it’s my favourite too. I enjoyed Atlantis and Universe but SG1 had that unique chemistry between the characters that the other shows couldn’t quite capture.

      Reply
  2. Pingback: Happy Birthday to Meeeeeeeeee! – Meerkat Musings

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

The Awakening UK

The Awakening USA

Please like and follow this meerkat!

Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
Tweet
YouTube
Follow by Email

Meerkat Comments

  • Football Manager P17 – Tough Lessons – Meerkat Musings on Football Manager P18 – Middle of the Road
  • Football Manager P18 – Middle of the Road – Meerkat Musings on Football Manager P17 – Tough Lessons
  • Football Manager P16 – Mighty Eagles – Meerkat Musings on Football Manager P17 – Tough Lessons
  • Football Manager P17 – Tough Lessons – Meerkat Musings on Football Manager P16 – Mighty Eagles
  • Football Manager P15 – Soaring Eagles – Meerkat Musings on Football Manager P16 – Mighty Eagles

Meerkat Tweets

Ben BerwickFollow

Ben Berwick
darth_timonBen Berwick@darth_timon·
6h

Does anyone have any advice on how to actually consistently win on Football Manager 21?!

Reply on Twitter 1366885821870137344Retweet on Twitter 1366885821870137344Like on Twitter 1366885821870137344Twitter 1366885821870137344
darth_timonBen Berwick@darth_timon·
8h

Grr. I know it's hoping for a lot but I could really use a magic pill tactic on #FootballManager2021 .

Reply on Twitter 1366861854753046537Retweet on Twitter 1366861854753046537Like on Twitter 1366861854753046537Twitter 1366861854753046537
Retweet on TwitterBen Berwick Retweeted
SelfPubShow3Self-Publishers' Showcase@SelfPubShow3·
8h

A fallen warrior, together with a small band, must tear down everything his kind holds dear and reshape his people -- or see them utterly destroyed. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DK71165 #scifi #action #adventure @darth_timon

Reply on Twitter 1366853325719822336Retweet on Twitter 13668533257198223361Like on Twitter 13668533257198223361Twitter 1366853325719822336
darth_timonBen Berwick@darth_timon·
8h

This sums up Brexiteers. 'I don't care how much it ruins the country if it annoys people!'

Tony Briggs 🇬🇧@Tony4Tory

The more I engage with remoaners on twitter, the more I am glad I voted brexit. I don’t care if brexit makes me so poor I am literally starving to death; at least I got to annoy these f’uckers.

Reply on Twitter 1366851570059665411Retweet on Twitter 1366851570059665411Like on Twitter 1366851570059665411Twitter 1366851570059665411
darth_timonBen Berwick@darth_timon·
9h

My brian is well and truly fried today.

Reply on Twitter 1366840301202133006Retweet on Twitter 1366840301202133006Like on Twitter 1366840301202133006Twitter 1366840301202133006
Load More...

Meerkat Categories

  • Art
  • Books
  • Charity
  • Family
  • Fiction
  • Film
  • Food
  • Football
  • Formula 1
  • Funny
  • Games
  • History
  • Interwebs
  • Music
  • Other Stuff
  • Politics
  • Religion
  • Reviews
  • Sci Fi
  • Science
  • Site News
  • Society
  • Technology
  • TV
  • Uncategorized
  • Weird
  • Work

Meerkat Podcasts

Meerkat Musings
Meerkat Musings
A man (meerkat?) called Ben discusses the world!

Podcast Subscription Menu

  • Visit Website
  • RSS Feed
FM21 – Going Up
by Ben Berwick

The Eagles Soar!

FM21 – Going Up
FM21 – Going Up
February 25, 2021
Ben Berwick
Zelda 35
February 21, 2021
Ben Berwick
Football Manager 2021 Career
February 21, 2021
Ben Berwick
The latest Aldershot Action!
February 14, 2021
Ben Berwick
Rambles
January 30, 2021
Ben Berwick
Football Manager 2021 – Upwards
January 29, 2021
Ben Berwick
Absolute Power
January 23, 2021
Ben Berwick
Football Manager 2021 – The New Career P1
January 23, 2021
Ben Berwick
Favourite Day of the Week
January 17, 2021
Ben Berwick
Meerkat Musings on 2021!
January 8, 2021
Ben Berwick
Search Results placeholder
©2021 Meerkat Musings | WordPress Theme by Superbthemes.com