| Stargate SG-1 | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | |
 DVD cover | |
| Starring | Richard Dean Anderson Michael Shanks Amanda Tapping Christopher Judge Don S. Davis |
| No. of episodes | 22 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Showtime |
| Original release | July 27, 1997 (1997-07-27) – March 6, 1998 (1998-03-06) |
| Season chronology | |
Next → Season 2 | |
| List of episodes | |
The first season of themilitary science fiction television seriesStargate SG-1 commenced airing on theShowtime channel in the United States on July 27, 1997, concluded on the Sci Fi channel on March 6, 1998, and contained 22 episodes. The show itself is aspin-off from the 1994 hit movieStargate written byDean Devlin andRoland Emmerich.Stargate SG-1 re-introducedsupporting characters from the film universe, such asJonathan "Jack" O'Neill andDaniel Jackson and included new characters such asTeal'c,George Hammond andSamantha "Sam" Carter. The first season was about a military-science expedition team discovering how to use the ancient device, named theStargate, to explore the galaxy. However, they encountered a powerful enemy in the film named theGoa'uld, who are bent on destroying Earth and all who oppose them.
The 100-minute premiere "Children of the Gods", which aired on July 27, 1997, at 8 p.m,[1] received Showtime's highest-ever ratings for a series premiere and ranked as the highest-rated original movie to premiere on Showtime at the time. The show got a 10.5 rating in Showtime's approximately 12 million U.S. households, which equaled approximately 1.5 million homes in total.[2] Season one regular cast members includedRichard Dean Anderson,Amanda Tapping,Michael Shanks, withChristopher Judge andDon S. Davis.
Brad Wright andJonathan Glassner had worked together on theMetro–Goldwyn–Mayer (MGM) television seriesThe Outer Limits since 1995. Wright saw a wide range of possible science fiction storylines in the originalStargate (1994) film that could take place in the present day.[3] Meanwhile, Glassner was interested in the feature film's theme thatAncient Egypt had been partially or completely built by aliens.[3] Upon hearing of MGM's plan to create a televisionspin-off series of the film, Wright and Glassner independently and unbeknownst to each other approached MGM and proposed their concept for the television series. MGM president John Symes greenlit the project on the condition that Wright and Glassner worked together as executive producers of the new show.[3] The show waseventually given the nameStargate SG-1 after Wright flightily agreed to Symes's pitch question if the team should be called "SG-1". MGM released posters titledStargate SG-1 within the next week without the knowledge of Wright and Glassner.[4]
John Symes approached Michael Greenburg andRichard Dean Anderson ofMacGyver fame.[3] Although Anderson was never a real fan of the science fiction genre, he believed the original concept of a "Stargate" was a good vehicle for a series.[5] Anderson agreed to become involved with the project if his characterJack O'Neill was allowed significantly more comedic leeway thanKurt Russell's character in the feature film. He also requestedStargate SG-1 to be more of an ensemble show, so that he would not be carrying the plot alone as onMacGyver.[6] The American subscription channelShowtime made a two-season commitment for 44 episodes in 1996.[3] Principal photography began in Vancouver in February 1997.[7]
"The First Commandment" was the firstStargate SG-1 episode written byRobert C. Cooper, who would later become an executive producer and co-creator of the spin-off seriesStargate Atlantis.Paul McGillion, who played young Ernest Littlefield in "Torment of Tantalus", would go on to play the recurring and later main character Dr.Carson Beckett inStargate Atlantis. The outside scenes of "Solitudes" were filmed atPemberton Icefield.[8] The rest of the episode was filmed in the studio, which was filled with fake snow and ice and kept at a low temperature.
Lead production designer Richard Hudolin flew toLos Angeles, 1996 to gather material fromStargate for reference and found the original filmprop stored outside in the Californian desert. Although the prop had severely disintegrated, he could take a detailed mould forStargate SG-1 production to build its own prop. The new Stargate was engineered to turn, lock the chevrons, and be computer-controlled to dial specific gate addresses. A portable Stargate prop was built for on-location shoots and required six workers and one full day to set up.[3][9] Since visual effects are sometimes faster and cheaper,[9] a computer-generated Stargate was occasionally used in on-location shoots in later seasons.[10] some of the Prosthetic and Animatronic Effects were done bySteve Johnson's XFX.
The design of theStargate Command (SGC) base was supposed to match the realCheyenne Mountain complex as much as possible.[9] The set had to be twice as high for shooting as the 22 feet tall Stargate prop,[11] but one of Hudolin's original plans of a three-level SGC set was rejected in favor of a two-level set.[9] The gateroom was the biggest room on set and could be redesigned for other scenes.[10] Two multi-purpose rooms were frequently redecorated into the infirmary, Daniel's lab, the cafeteria or the gym.[9][12] The SGC set and all other sets from the pilot episode were constructed within six weeks in January and February 1997, incorporating some original set pieces from the feature film.[9]
The initial season had five main characters getting starbilling.Richard Dean Anderson portrayed formerly suicidal United States Air Force ColonelJack O'Neill.Michael Shanks played the American EgyptologistDaniel Jackson. Both O'Neill and Jackson appeared in the 1994 filmStargate.Amanda Tapping played astrophysicist and United States Air Force captainSamantha "Sam" Carter.Christopher Judge portrayedTeal'c, aJaffa from Chulak and former First Prime ofApophis. Don S. Davis playedGeorge Hammond, the new leader of theStargate program, taking over after General W.O. West. Numerous supporting characters have been given expansive and recurring appearances in the progressive storyline, including:Teryl Rothery asJanet Fraiser,Gary Jones asChevron Guy (later identified as Walter Harriman),Jay Acovone asCharles Kawalsky (portrayed byJohn Diehl in the 1994 feature film),Tom McBeath asHarry Maybourne, andRonny Cox asRobert Kinsey, among others.
The original airing of "Children of the Gods" on Showtime featured full frontal nudity during the scene showing the possession ofSha're (Vaitiare Bandera) by Amonet. While this has never been repeated on network television and subsequent airings as well as this episode available on most streaming platforms have had the nudity cut out for syndication; it was rated R by the MPAA.[13] The DVD, iTunes and Netflix prints as well as the current Prime Video prints of this episode retain this scene. According to Brad Wright, the Showtime network had insisted on the full frontal nudity despite Wright's vocal opposition; Wright toldfan siteGateWorld that he would cut the nudity scene from the 2009direct-to-DVD recut of the pilot episode.[14] The DVD version, in fact, only retains a portion of this scene, with full frontal nudity being cut and a partial syndicate friendly back nudity version used. Likely because of the nudity, the original version of this episode as well as the next two episodes of the series are the first and only ones in the series to be rated by the MPAA (it is rated R), while in the UK the episode is rated 18 by the BBFC (all other episodes have generally been rated PG, or 12, very occasionally 15).[15] It is rated M in Australia, recommended for (but not restricted to) viewers 15 and older. The version available on iTunes and Netflix is the uncut, original version of the episode.
"Hathor" was heavily criticized, and the series' writers themselves acknowledged the episode's weakness.[16] Later, in the Season 7 episode "Heroes (Part 1)", Dr. Fraiser is discussing Jack with the film crew and mentions "the whole Hathor incident, which we were never supposed to speak of again".
"Children of the Gods" was nominated for aGolden Reel Award in the category "Best Sound Editing – Television Movies of the Week" and the music for "Best Sound Editing – Television Episodic – Music".[17] "The Nox" was nominated for anEmmy in the category "Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)".[18] "Within the Serpent's Grasp" was nominated for aGemini Award in the category "Best Visual Effects".[19]Richard Dean Anderson won aSaturn Award for Best Genre TV Actor.[20]
During the production of "Solitudes", a joke was played onRichard Dean Anderson. Whilst filming, when O'Neill asks how Carter is getting along with unearthing the Stargate's DHD, Carter starts ranting at O'Neill for being completely "MacUseless" even though he spent seven years onMacGyver, referring toRichard Dean Anderson's role in both shows. The prank was organized by Tapping in cooperation with the director.[8] Similarly, in the first episode, "Children of the Gods" Carter speaks of "MacGyvering" the Stargate into operation while O'Neill rolls his eyes. The 2009 DVD version of this episode does not contain the MacGyver reference.[21] "Politics" contains a scene that references uploading a virus to an alien mothership, alluding that the solution to the movieIndependence Day will not work in this situation.[22] "Within the Serpent's Grasp" contains the only scene produced especially for Showtime, not shown on the syndicated versions. When seeing a floating metal ball, Teal'c explains "It is a Goa'uld long-range visual communication device, somewhat like your television, only much further advanced." In the Showtime version, O'Neill says "Think it gets Showtime?" While this scene remains in the DVD versions of the episode, syndication runs have O'Neill instead saying, "Hmm....Goa'uld TV..." (in a manner similar to that ofHomer Simpson)[23]
In the United States the series broadcaster, Showtime, aired episodes 7 through 19, except 14 and 17 out of order.
Episodes inbold are continuous episodes, where the story spans over 2 or more episodes.
This is the list of episodes in order as they aired on Showtime.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Children of the Gods" | Mario Azzopardi | Jonathan Glassner &Brad Wright | July 27, 1997 (1997-07-27) | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | ||||||||||
TheStargate Program (SGC) is revived whenApophis, an alien of the same race asRa, comes to Earth through the gate seeking hosts. After the attack, ColonelJack O'Neill andSamantha Carter are sent toAbydos to locate, and bring back,Daniel Jackson. They all are sent to Chulak and befriend Apophis's first primeTeal'c, aJaffa (incubator to a larvalGoa'uld), who joins their side. He helps SG-1 return to Earth, though they cannot save Daniel's wifeSha're and his friendSkaara, who have been taken as hosts. | |||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Enemy Within" | Dennis Berry | Brad Wright | August 1, 1997 (1997-08-01) | ||||||
After being infested by a Goa'uld parasite in the previous episode,MajorCharles Kawalsky shows signs of possession. The symbiote is removed, but Kawalsky remains possessed and is killed by Teal'c. | |||||||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Emancipation" | Jeff Woolnough | Katharyn Powers | August 8, 1997 (1997-08-08) | ||||||
SG-1 visits a planet inhabited by the Shavadai, a nomadic tribe descended from theMongols. They regard women as property, and restrict their rights in the belief that to do otherwise would bring "demons" (theGoa'uld) down upon them. Carter ends up being 'sold', but when Carter beats a chieftain in hand-to-hand combat, the team changes the tribe's opinions about the rights of women. Guest starringSoon-Tek Oh andCary-Hiroyuki Tagawa. | |||||||||||
| 5 | 5 | "The Broca Divide" | William Gereghty | Jonathan Glassner | August 15, 1997 (1997-08-15) | ||||||
SG-1 travels to P3X-797, a planet divided into 'Light' and 'Dark' sides. While the inhabitants of the light side have aBronze Age culture bearing similarities to theMinoan civilization, the dark side is infected with a plague that turns people into savages, and the SGC is locked down when SG-1 brings it home.Dr.Janet Fraiser manages to find a cure for both peoples. | |||||||||||
| 6 | 6 | "The First Commandment" | Dennis Berry | Robert C. Cooper | August 22, 1997 (1997-08-22) | ||||||
As SG-9 is on P3X-513 and long overdue, SG-1 is sent after them to find out what has happened to them. They soon discover that the commander of SG-9 has gone completely insane and set himself up as a god on the planet. | |||||||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Cold Lazarus" | Kenneth J. Girotti | Jeff F. King | August 29, 1997 (1997-08-29) | ||||||
A strange crystal strikes down O'Neill, replacing him with a double that returns with the team to Earth to find the cause of O'Neill's private grief – his son's death. But the double is dangerously unstable. Can O'Neill return home to save everyone and prevent chaos? | |||||||||||
| 8 | 8 | "The Nox" | Charles Correll | Hart Hanson | September 12, 1997 (1997-09-12) | ||||||
When a planned ambush goes disastrously awry, resulting in fatalities among the SG-1 team, the peace-loving Nox restore them to life. But while these gentle people can bring back the dead, can they resist the deadly technology of the blood-thirsty Goa'uld? | |||||||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Brief Candle" | Mario Azzopardi | Story by : Steven Barnes Teleplay by : Katharyn Powers | September 19, 1997 (1997-09-19) | ||||||
On the mysterious planet Argos, the beautiful Kynthia (Bobbie Phillips) seduces Colonel O'Neill, which means he is condemned to an Argosian lifespan of only a hundred days. As he turns grey and old, will his team succeed in their frantic search for a cure? | |||||||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Thor's Hammer" | Brad Turner | Katharyn Powers | September 26, 1997 (1997-09-26) | ||||||
SG-1 visits the planet Cimmeria (P3X-974), a planet inhabited byViking descendants, in search of allies against the Goa'uld. Upon arrival, O'Neill and Teal'c are trapped in a labyrinth, where the only exit is throughThor's Hammer, a device to destroy Goa'uld, but preserve the host. Goa'uld weapons are rendered inoperative but not earth guns. Also in the labyrinth is one of theUnas, the original host species for the Goa'ulds. | |||||||||||
| 11 | 11 | "The Torment of Tantalus" | Jonathan Glassner | Robert C. Cooper | October 3, 1997 (1997-10-03) | ||||||
SG-1 goes to Heliopolis (PB2-908) and recovers Dr. Ernest Littlefield, who went through the Stargate in 1945 (using astandard diving dress as a spacesuit) and never returned. Daniel nearly stays behind to study a 'book' detailing the meaning of human existence, left behind by theFour Great Races. | |||||||||||
| 12 | 12 | "Bloodlines" | Mario Azzopardi | Story by : Mark Saraceni Teleplay by : Jeff F. King | October 10, 1997 (1997-10-10) | ||||||
Teal'c's sonRya'c is to be implanted with his first Goa'uld larva on Chulak, so SG-1 goes to prevent it. However, Rya'c falls ill and can only be saved by a symbiote; Teal'c donates his own, and receives a stolen one for himself. The team also meet Teal'c's first teacherBra'tac, formerly the greatest of all Jaffa warriors and now still a spry 133 years old, who had taught Teal'c that the Goa'uld were false gods. | |||||||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Fire and Water" | Allan Eastman | Story by : Brad Wright & Katharyn Powers Teleplay by : Katharyn Powers | October 17, 1997 (1997-10-17) | ||||||
On P3X-866, SG-1 is given a false memory of Daniel's death by his alien abductor Nem. Nem is a member of an amphibious species named Oannes (Ohne), and wants to know from Daniel what happened to his mateOmoroca in ancient Babylon. Ultimately, Daniel remembers the obscure fact from his studies of ancient myths, and is allowed to go home. | |||||||||||
| 14 | 14 | "Hathor" | Brad Turner | Story by : David Bennett Carren & J. Larry Carroll Teleplay by : Jonathan Glassner | October 24, 1997 (1997-10-24) | ||||||
The Goa'uldHathor (one of the mothers of all Goa'uld) brainwashes the men of the SGC withpheromones, and nearly makes O'Neill host to a larval Goa'uld conceived with Daniel. She flees after the unaffected women of Stargate Command retake the facility. | |||||||||||
| 15 | 15 | "Singularity" | Mario Azzopardi | Robert C. Cooper | October 31, 1997 (1997-10-31) | ||||||
On the planet Hanka (P8X-987), SG-1 finds the entire planet's inhabitants and SG-7 dead except for Cassandra, a small girl who turns out to have a non removable Naqahdah bomb put in her byNirrti to destroy the SGC. Ultimately the girl is given to the care of Dr.Janet Fraiser, the SGC doctor, after they discover that the bomb will dissolve if she is kept away from the Stargate. | |||||||||||
| 16 | 16 | "Cor-Ai" | Mario Azzopardi | Tom J. Astle | January 23, 1998 (1998-01-23) | ||||||
The Byrsa, human inhabitants of the planet Cartago (P3X-1279) that was once enslaved, condemn Teal'c for the atrocities he once committed underApophis. He is sentenced to death, but when the Goa'uld attack, Teal'c saves his accuser's life and proves he is a changed man. | |||||||||||
| 17 | 17 | "Enigma" | William Gereghty | Katharyn Powers | January 30, 1998 (1998-01-30) | ||||||
| 18 | 18 | "Solitudes" | Martin Wood | Brad Wright | February 6, 1998 (1998-02-06) | ||||||
Carter and O'Neill are stranded on an icy planet when the Stargate malfunctions on their return journey to Earth. However, it turns out that they have merely been redirected to a second Stargate in Antarctica. | |||||||||||
| 19 | 19 | "Tin Man" | Jimmy Kaufman | Jeff F. King | February 13, 1998 (1998-02-13) | ||||||
11,000 years ago, the inhabitants of the planet On Altair (P3X-989) were forced underground by deadly radiation, and eventually transferred their minds into exact android duplicates to survive. By the time SG-1 visits their planet, there is only one remaining individual, Harlan, who creates android replicas of the Earth team to aid him. When this is discovered, the androids must accept that they will stay off-world, and the real SG-1 returns home. | |||||||||||
| 20 | 20 | "There But for the Grace of God" | David Warry-Smith | Story by :David Kemper Teleplay by : Robert C. Cooper | February 20, 1998 (1998-02-20) | ||||||
On P3R-233, Daniel finds a strange alien mirror and is transported into analternate universe where he finds things are slightly different from his own reality, including a Goa'uld attack on Earth. Before he returns to his own reality, he learns of a Stargate address where the attack originated. | |||||||||||
| 21 | 21 | "Politics" | Martin Wood | Teleplay by : Brad Wright Excerpts by : Jonathan Glassner, Brad Wright, Hart Hanson, Jeff F. King, Robert C. Cooper, Steven Barnes and Katharyn Powers | February 27, 1998 (1998-02-27) | ||||||
SenatorRobert Kinsey shuts down the Stargate program (as the gate represents a global risk and costs too much money to operate), despite Daniel's warnings thatApophis will attack Earth, and that the Stargate may be Earth's only defense. | |||||||||||
| 22 | 22 | "Within the Serpent's Grasp" | David Warry-Smith | Story by : James Crocker Teleplay by : Jonathan Glassner | March 6, 1998 (1998-03-06) | ||||||
