Stargate + over the top scifi?

[StargateMillennium]

I call it over the top scifi but you might see it differently. I'm talking about laser swords, jet packs, pisionic and superpowers, assault walkers, galaxy-wide plagues that bring back the dead, big mech suits with even bigger guns. Star Wars does it. Mass Effect does it. Halo does it. Starcraft does it. Warhammer does it. Red VS Blue does it. What if stargate did it?

Scifi's that focus on the exploration, like Star Trek and Stargate, tend to avoid these. Yeah, I guess they both touched upon psionics and superpowers with the Nox, near-ascendecnce, and Q. But would be able to watch stargate with a straight face if they had an SG team charge through the gate wearing giant mach suits with car-sized machine guns? Or if they encountered a group of jaffa and used their jet packs to escape to higher ground?

What do you think? Do you think this would up the epicness as you saw armies of walkers tread through wraith legions and psionic battles with priors? Or will you sob in disbelief if you saw Jack O'Neill try to save the SGC from space zombies using a plasma sword?

[Krisz]

The joy of watching Stargate was the fact it was a group of humans using human tech of today to learn by trial and error how to face the challenges of what they faced on the other side of the gate. Where it started to lose this 'simplicity' is when the likes of McKay could use Ancient technology instantly and give the "quick fix".

I liked how alien tech was utilised when it stayed within believable levels such as backward engineering the Goa'uld death gliders. Even Jack ending up with the Ancient abilities was ok because it was only temporary, but the way it gradually overwhelmed him and almost killed him made it a believable experience, giving Earth a few more ideas to work on and a fighting chance as he worked alongside his comrades on each occasion. As soon as Earth began to be able to blast enemies with Asgard lasers and beaming out at the 'last moment' it began to head down that road of 'over the top'.

I've always been glad that the SG teams; whether heading out of Stargate Command, Atlantis or the Destiny still carried their 'primitive ballistic weapons' and radios. I wouldn't want Stargate any other way!

[Master Chief Jack O Niell]

The joy of watching Stargate was the fact it was a group of humans using human tech of today to learn by trial and error how to face the challenges of what they faced on the other side of the gate. Where it started to lose this 'simplicity' is when the likes of McKay could use Ancient technology instantly and give the "quick fix".

I liked how alien tech was utilised when it stayed within believable levels such as backward engineering the Goa'uld death gliders. Even Jack ending up with the Ancient abilities was ok because it was only temporary, but the way it gradually overwhelmed him and almost killed him made it a believable experience, giving Earth a few more ideas to work on and a fighting chance as he worked alongside his comrades on each occasion. As soon as Earth began to be able to blast enemies with Asgard lasers and beaming out at the 'last moment' it began to head down that road of 'over the top'.

I've always been glad that the SG teams; whether heading out of Stargate Command, Atlantis or the Destiny still carried their 'primitive ballistic weapons' and radios. I wouldn't want Stargate any other way!

Do you think that if Star Gate comes back in a few years that it would be okay if they have teams use something like the TALOS suit and laser based weapons(on a vehicle) now that the military is already using them so its part of human tech.

[thekillman]

Do you think that if Star Gate comes back in a few years that it would be okay if they have teams use something like the TALOS suit and laser based weapons(on a vehicle) now that the military is already using them so its part of human tech.

It's not so much "modern tech", it's more that it should FEEL like modern tech, like us. If we're running around using exosuits then the enemy at the very least has to do this too.

[Falcon Horus]

Stargate is set in the now, while all those other examples are in the future and thus more advanced weaponry is more likely to occur.

[RunnerRonon]

When I talk to my friends about Stargate we never pass up the chance to talk about this subject. One of the many reasons I really liked Stargate was because neither the viewer nor the main characters knew much about the technology and science before encountering them in an episode. This to me felt like I was baffled by the same things, and learning just as fast as the SG teams. You don't see that in an "over the top scifi series", because those usually start with the main characters using and understand technology(or superpowers) the viewer has never seen before.

[StargateMillennium]

But what if they did encounter this technology naturally? They built starships through the study of alien technology. What if they, through studying alien technology, built mech suits? Or what if the bad guys had laser swords the SGC decided to try to use? Or what if the bad guys were space zombies? Stargate avoided having an SG running into something like that on mission. Discovering and utilizing these things ruin the stargate flavor?

[RunnerRonon]

Although mech suits, incredibly overpowered star ships, laser swords and space zombies could definitely be part of a great scifi series, and are great concepts on themselves, I don't think they would fit in as a main component of Stargate. The SGC got their hands on technology they weren't ready for a few times, like technology they found, or when they failed to reverse engineer a death glider. These moments were a few steps forward, and a few steps back, not always resulting in profit. They learned from their mistakes, but slowly got the hang of making things on their own. Space zombies as a main component is a whole different story. I'm imagining SG1 turning into "The Walking Dead: Space edition". This sounds like a cool spin-off, but would result in losing some of the main components of the series, such as exploration, meeting new races, and so on. Discovering new things, and utilizing them is something the Stargate franchise does in moderation, and I hope it stays this way in the new Trilogy.

[thekillman]

But what if they did encounter this technology naturally? They built starships through the study of alien technology. What if they, through studying alien technology, built mech suits? Or what if the bad guys had laser swords the SGC decided to try to use? Or what if the bad guys were space zombies? Stargate avoided having an SG running into something like that on mission. Discovering and utilizing these things ruin the stargate flavor?

Well we did have things like Wormhole Xtreme.

In my opinion the plausible deniability ("it could happen") was a very strong factor, with the lack of understanding and the hopelessness of the situation, combined with the moral aspect (mostly via Daniel). SGA already changed this with Atlantis et all. So to a degree, a more OOT Stargate would be watched.

Now, later-era Stargate was already less serious than early so to a degree they were different shows.

However, if it's wise to call it Stargate...i don't know.

[Krisz]

Do you think that if Star Gate comes back in a few years that it would be okay if they have teams use something like the TALOS suit and laser based weapons(on a vehicle) now that the military is already using them so its part of human tech.

I don't see why not, as long it was human tech, and of course there could be some incorporation of alien tech they have successfully backward engineered. As long as it stays within possible human tech of the day it keeps it Stargate.

When I talk to my friends about Stargate we never pass up the chance to talk about this subject. One of the many reasons I really liked Stargate was because neither the viewer nor the main characters knew much about the technology and science before encountering them in an episode. This to me felt like I was baffled by the same things, and learning just as fast as the SG teams. You don't see that in an "over the top scifi series", because those usually start with the main characters using and understand technology(or superpowers) the viewer has never seen before.

Nicely said, I share your view.

I've found myself getting bored with predictable successes in the use of "over the top" tech and super powers at times. Stargate was refreshing because they faced the failures and learning curves alongside the successes.

[RunnerRonon]

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy over the top SciFi just as much as the next guy, but I just feel Stargate did good by keeping the "over the top" things at a minimum. I am very glad there are so many different kinds of SciFi, because it gives everyone the opportunity to choose their own "niche" to watch and love

[Anja]

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy over the top SciFi just as much as the next guy, but I just feel Stargate did good by keeping the "over the top" things at a minimum. I am very glad there are so many different kinds of SciFi, because it gives everyone the opportunity to choose their own "niche" to watch and love

I agree here - I wouldn't dare to judge if a series is top or over the top - I like RDA and that's the reason I have watched (still rewatching) Stargate.