Fun fact: the 5.7mm round the P90 uses was not being produced as a blank. So the armorers bought TONS of live 5.7mm and made those into blanks.
This actually caused a supply bottleneck for none other than the US Secret Service, who were also using P90s at the time. They actually had to ask, or buy, not sure which, several thousand rounds from the show armorers for training until ammo production could ramp up stateside IIRC.
I read it they had trouble getting ammunition for the P90 because of the Iraq war so they switched to different weapons towards the end of the show. I'm not totally sure though I'm too lazy to look it up.
She's one of my go-to examples of a "strong female character" that Hollywood has completely fucked up in the last ten years or so. Carter is smart, resourceful, quick on her feet, and more than capable on the battlefield.
But not a superhero who can beat up, say, Teal'c or other Jaffa 3x her size. She's also very much a woman and exhibits feminine traits accordingly. You know, like how real normal people behave.
Also on the list: Sarah Connor, Dana scully, Laura Roslin, Captain Janeway despite her flaws, a few others...
Im watching Stargate for the first time at the moment and im really surprised by how good it is. on season 7 at the minute and cant wait to see whats coming.
Are Atlantis and SGU just as good or is there a dip in quality?
If you like SG1, you will like Atlantis. They're both the same level of fun sci-fi.
I personally loved SGU. It was spiritual kin to the first two shows with the same thoughtful sci-fi world building, but it dialed the whimsy down to 1 and the drama up to 7. But it was still a Stargate show in every way. It respected established canon while building it's own lore independent of the other shows. I was legit mad when it was canceled.
SG-1 is one of my all time favorite shows! It changes so much over the years but everything works IMO, even 9 and 10 which are typically lower rated than the rest.
Atlantis is watchable but nowhere near as good IMO. Characters aren't nearly as memorable, there's a lot of plot threads that go nowhere, the cast turnover is quick, things like that. To be fair I heard there were a lot of production issues and unexpected issues, and it's a miracle SG-1 was as good as it was given all of their numerous issues.
Fuck everything about Universe, I couldn't stand that show. YMMV
I liked each series in a different way. Universe felt to me like the first few episodes of Atlantis but an ongoing damage control situation. SG1 is definitely the best out of the three.
Depends on your expectations... I personally liked Atlantis but SGU somehow failed to captivate me. Both shows somehow fizzled out without really leading anywhere (you could say the same about SG1 but at least they closed up the main plot lines before opening a bunch of new ones which didn't really have clear purpose).
I'll provide a counterpoint. I never loved Atlantis but I really liked SGU. especially the second season when it really hit its stride. I don't think either of them were nearly as memorable as SG1 though.
Whilst I respect the entire show and all the work it did as far as I'm concerned season 8 episode 20 I think ith the fishing pond is the place you should genuinely end.
The follow up series are ok but don't add anything,
It's really an entirely different animal than either of them, but ranks right up there with them in terms of quality.
SG1 is a 50/50 serious/fun ratio, with long running plot threads mixed in with adventure- of-the-week episodes. It's a bunch of friends saving the galaxy and having fun doing it. It's got a real sense of Earth's slow progression from the mostly forgotten backwater homeworld of humanity all the way to being a major power in two galaxies.
B5 is like a 90% serious novel about war and politics.
BSG is 100% grim, and it becomes really obvious in later seasons that while the Cylons might've had a plan, the writers sure as shit didn't know what it was supposed to be. This unfortunately makes it overall the weakest of the three IMHO.
SGU had a shakey first season and was hitting its stride in the second when they cancelled it. apparently there is an official comic that wraps the story up, but tbh where they left it... it kinda works...
Sg1 will probably be one of my favourite series ever. But from my perspective it really didn't age that well. Not talking about graphics or CGI here, but more on a action POV. A few jokes I probably wouldn't bring today anymore, a few weird decisions regarding the plot and the cast and, because of the episodic character of the show quite a few plot holes.
SGA on the other hand is a great show, which aged just as well and is the one I actually recommend people nowadays if they want to take a look at the franchise.
Stargate: Battlestar Galactica. It was so, so apparent at the time that they saw the success of BSG and wanted in on it. It's honestly hilarious because Trek tried to pull the same shit with Discovery, and then with Picard s1-2 before they reversed course and were like "what if we just made the type of Trek that Trekkies like?" and then comes Picard S3 and Strange New Worlds.
Me too!! It was around season 1 or 2 and I remember seeing a few in a row: the episodes stranded in Antarctica, the girl Cassandra with the bomb inside her, maybe the prison escape one idk. I loved it and was instantly hooked.
Next week on Showtime Sci Friday: Richard Dean Anderson stars in an all new Stargate SG-1! Happiest words of my childhood lol
SG1 is a show that I feel never made a mistep to the point where I can call out a bad episode. Unlike various star trek series that had their WTF episodes that are generally disliked.
I always hoped for one more piece of the story with the original team, details were floating around of the final movie and I think covid killed that off.
I am just getting into the series after having watch the film various times over the years. It really feels a bit, "religion of the week" right now and I am struggling with some of these episodes. I really like the characters but my goodness was that Emancipation episode awful. Would you encourage me to press through?
I actually just recently re-watched SG1 for the first time in probably a decade or more now. I was half expecting to have my fond memories ruined, but that wasn't even remotely the case. I still love it, and probably always will.
I just introduced my girlfriend to stargate, and she's never liked any sci fi, but she loved it so much. It's such a great show. Funny and lighthearted and usually easy to watch, but still touches on really deep subjects and has incredible storylines and what ifs. Looking back on it too, I realized how many sci fi tropes seemed to start there, or how many episodes of other sci fi shows clearly took inspiration from them.
I feel like campiness has become a lost art form. Stuff these days generally tends to take itself very seriously while Stargate was self aware and knew how to lean into it. At the same time—as you mentioned—it wasn't afraid to do more tonally serious episodes from time to time. I think that mix is what allowed it to have such a long run.
Heroes (2006-2010)? That was one of the most boring and monotonous serial shows I've ever attempted to get all the way through. I watched every single episode of that suck fest hoping something would happen, nothing ever did. Just the same old thing over and over. I was like an obsessed gambler thinking the next one was going to be the big score. To this day Heroes holds a special place in my heart as the most disappointing waste of time serial show I've ever watched all the way through.
BTW, I liked SG1 and Atlantis, both were good shows and I watched most if not all the episodes. Never watched 200 so no comment on that one. Some remarkable ones I've seen lately; The Mandalorian, Star Trek Strange New Worlds, Black Mirror, Silo. Some awful ones; From (for lack of a cohesive plot) and Last of Us (for being gratuitously violent).
Heroes season 1 was fantastic, Heroes season 2 was a victim of the writer's strike. They should've just put it on hiatus instead of forcing out the garbage they did.