Upon Further Review: Looking Back At SG-1 & Atlantis

Stargate - the little franchise that could.


In 1994 the Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich produced film, Stargate, hit theaters and was a moderate sized hit. They were going for an epic sweep, and the kind of movie you just don't see anymore (the kind where there are scenes with hundreds of extras in big action scenes - and not CGI extras, either). It was a fun, entertaining movie with some really cool concepts.

A couple years later MGM, owner of the property, decided to turn it into a television series, and sold Showtime on the project. The first order of business was to decide what to do with the cast and characters. How many of the characters from the movie would be on the show, and how many of the original actors from the movie would actually do the show?

Well, lead actors Kurt Russell and James Spader were movie actors, and were never likely to reprise their roles for a cable TV series. It just wasn't going to happen. So the question becomes, do you recast, or go with new characters?

Producers and show creators Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner decided to keep the main characters and just recast them. The first order of business was to fill Kurt Russell's rather sizeable shoes, and they did a great job of that by hiring MacGyver himself, Richard Dean Anderson for the role. Now, that bit of casting did require some reworking of the character - Richard Dean Anderson is much more of a smartass wiseguy than Kurt Russell, and the character slowly morphed into a wisecracking, anti-authoritarian type over the course of the first season. It was brilliant. Richard Dean Anderson was turned loose, and he was simply magic in the role.

But to replace James Spader as archaeologist Daniel Jackson they went with a relative unknown, Michael Shanks. Shanks, as it turned out, was able to play the quirkiness of Spader's Daniel Jackson, but he also brought his own take to the role as well. Ultimately, most fans agree that Shanks is the better Daniel Jackson for a lot of reasons, none of which denegrate Spader, whose performance in the movie was excellent.

From there they cast the rest of the main characters with equal adeptness. Amanda Tapping was one of the new characters, Captain/Major/Colonel Samantha Carter, a PHD in astrophysics and an all around genius, as well as a capable military officer. Christopher Judge was the other main cast member, playing Teal'c, an alien formerly in the service of the evil Goa'uld Apophis (one of the main bad guys on the show). Judge absolutely nailed the part, bringing a cool, calm, rational persona to a character that often showed his humanity as much as his honor and nobility.

A better cast could not have been set. Each cast member was perfect for their roles, as was the case with supporting cast members Don S. Davis and General Hammond, and Teryl Rothery as Doctor Janet Fraiser.

The show had the same spirit and vibe as the classic Star Trek series from the 1960's. It was adventure and excitement and discovery - and a lot of fun! The show wasn't a comedy, but it would have it's share of comedic moments over the years, and a handful of episodes that straddled the line between comedy and drama.

This was a well crafted universe, with an alien threat that was always looking to conquer Earth and enslave it's people - or destroy it! When the main bad guys, the Goa'uld (alien parasites that look something like snakes that take over their human hosts) started to run their course, new threats were created, and when those threats ran their course, a new organized evil threat was created (the Ori), and that two year run at the end of the series was simply fantastic.

The writers and producers always found a way to keep the show fresh and entertaining. But after 9 seasons, it was pretty clear that the show had run it's course, so they wrapped up the series... with a direct to DVD/Blu Ray movie following it's 10th and final season.

But in the middle of the series, after it had switched from Showtime to the Sci-Fi channel (later SyFy), it was a clear ratings success, so a spin-off series was created, and debuted concurrently with SG-1's 8th season. Stargate Atlantis was set up with some key episodes in the 7th season of SG-1, leading to a full blown crossover to start the new series at the beginning of SG-1's 8th season. Where SG-1 took about a half season to really find it's footing, Atlantis had the benefit of 7 previous seasons of SG-1 to draw from (in terms of how to write the show, and set up the longer story arcs).

Atlantis hit the ground running, and with only a handful of hiccups or speed bumps along the way, cruised through it's five seasons with amazing consistency.

The cast for Atlantis, like SG-1's, was spot-on.

Joe Flanagan just felt right in the Stargate universe. His work as John Sheppard is ideal for the universe that was created for Stargate. He's irreverant and a smartass, but a serious military officer, too. He isn't as over the top as Richard Dean Anderson could sometimes be on SG-1 (although, like William Shatner before him, that's what most fans love about him), but he isn't a standard issue, cookie cutter military officer.

Torri Higginson was the 2nd actress to play Dr. Elizabeth Weir. Initially, on SG-1, Weir was played by Jessica Steen (from Earth 2). For whatever reason, Steen wasn't signed for the full series, so Higginson took over the role... and was just perfect for the part. Steen was good as Weir, but she didn't seem quite tough enough. Higginson can be both humane and hard nosed. She is a strong willed woman with only a little self doubt, and she's not intimidated by anyone (something that can't be said of Steen's Weir).

Of course, the most inspired bit of casting came in the form of an actor who had made a couple guest appearances on SG-1, David Hewlett. Interestingly, even though he made a strong impression on SG-1 as Dr. Rodney McKay, the initial thought for Atlantis was to have him play a different character, with less of the abraisive, obnoxious, arrogant qualities that McKay had. And then Robert Cooper and Brad Wright realized that having McKay on the show is just what it needed. An antagonist among the heroes, one who could be both heroic and annoying at the same time. This would give them a huge toybox from which to pull a lot of fun stuff. He would give them the opportunity to write some dialogue and character interactions that would really help the show stand out. And their plan worked to perfection. Hewlett became one of the most popular characters on the show. Slowly, over time, McKay grew and became a better person, but the truth was he was always trying to do the right thing in the first place, his personality just kind of obscured that fact.

After that the rest of the cast was just the icing on the cake. Except that it wasn't. Oh, it could have been, but rather than just casting solid, reliable actors to play the supporting roles, they found people with real personality and style.

Paul McGillion as Dr. Carson Beckett was probably the most inspired of these choices. Born in Scotland, his family moved to Canada when he was two years old, then they moved back to Scotland when he was a teenager, where they lived for a few years. His Scottish accent is the real deal, and it gives Dr. Beckett true warmth and depth. He has character. Easily the most likeable character on the show, Dr. Beckett was beloved by the fans, and for good reason. Not only did McGillion knock it out of the park, the part was written perfectly as well.

Then you add in Rachel Luttrell as Athosian Teyla Emmagen and you've got a cast so diverse in styles and looks and accents that everyone stands out while fitting together perfectly (just like a jigsaw puzzle) at the same time. She's wonderful in her role, carrying the part of the Athosian leader with great nobility and humanity. Teyla is strong, but has great depth of emotions.

For the second season future Aquaman Jason Momoa was added to the cast, adding a stronger character who is used to being alone and has to learn how to be a team member again (having been a lower rank military officer prior to his world falling to the Wraith).

Later on you had Amanda Tapping reprising her role as Samantha Carter, who was given command of Atlantis, only to be replaced a season later by Robert Picardo's Richard Woolsey (a recurring character well developed on SG-1).

The cast was pure gold. And the writing was every bit as good as SG-1 at it's best.

The one thing that turned me off from the show before it aired, and kept me from giving it a shot until it hit DVD was this - the main villains of the show. The Wraith.

Space vampires.

That was how they were described before the show went on the air. They weren't literally blood sucking, fanged vampires. Well, they had sharp teeth, but that's not what they used. They sucked the life force out of their victims and were practically immortal as a result.

So when I read, "Space vampires," I immediately thought of this...




With Stargate Atlantis going there I immediately, and quite reflexively, dismissed the entire series based solely on that concept.

In the words of Jack Slater, "Big mistake."

Stargate Atlantis is a series that many fans believe surpassed it's predecessor, and I'm inclined to agree. It's definitely more consistent, and by the time the series was developed and written the producers of SG-1 had really gotten into a groove, and creating this new part of the Stargate universe gave them the opportunity to step out of the concepts of the original movie and take the new show in a different direction.

Atlantis is more Science Fiction than much of SG-1. It takes place in another galaxy. They have access to ancient, advanced technology left behind by The Ancients. They're flying around in spaceships from the very first episode, but not in a way that seems out of place or forced. It was set up with several episodes of SG-1, so it feels natural.

And the writing on Atlantis was fantastic. It's fun, and has a sense of humor, but is deadly serious at the same time.

The production values for the show were excellent. The CGI was very good, and the sets were fantastic. Everything worked when it came to Atlantis.

The show was canceled prematurely thanks to the success of the rebooted Battlestar Galactica. SyFy wanted Stargate to follow closer to that style. Darker, more serious, moodier, and featuring more sex and violence - not a family show, a show for adults.

That brought up Stargate Universe as a replacement for the more lighthearted (but still mostly serious) Stargate Atlantis. SGU was not accepted by fans the way Atlantis had been, and the show only lasted two seasons. The end result was Stargate Universe effectively killed Stargate as a television franchise.

And it wasn't because SGU was bad. It wasn't. It was good (and it got better as the first season went along, leading to a very strong second season). It was just too different for Stargate fans to accept. Not all of them anyway. Not enough of them.

Joe Flanagan took it upon himself to try and bring back Atlantis, and had a deal worked out with both investors and MGM, only to have MGM's bankruptcy and sale kill the deal at the last minute.

Rumors of a new Stargate series have made their way across the internet from time to time, but recently producer Brad Wright acknowledged that he is working on a new Stargate show, and this time it is a legitimate possibility. The show would even feature Michael Shanks as Daniel Jackson in some capacity (hopefully as a regular or a recurring role). The news is that the deal is about 70% done as of this time, but in Hollywood that may as well be 10% if the last 30% can't be worked out. Fans are cautiously optimistic.

We'll see.

Until then, Stargate SG-1 just hit Blu Ray for the first time ever, and Atlantis was just re-released on Blu Ray as well. There are fifteen seasons of classic Stargate fun, plus another two seasons of the darker, moodier Stargate Universe out there as well.

IF that's all we get, it will be enough. But if we get more? That won't just be good news - that would be great news. Indeed.