From the StarNewsOnline (WilmingtonStar):
‘Stargate' breaks the movie-to-TV mold
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/p.../NEWS/40630010
‘Stargate' breaks the movie-to-TV mold
By Jeff Hidek
Staff Writer
[email protected]
TV shows based on movies almost never work. Remember the small-screen versions of Working Girl or Ferris Bueller? Me neither. Only three shows I can think of have found more popularity on the small screen than the silver screen: M*A*S*H, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Stargate SG-1.
Stargate the movie found mediocre success on the big screen in 1994, but Stargate the TV series has attracted legions of die-hard fans since its premiere in 1997. Now, the show about a secret team of military officers who explore the galaxy from Earth through a wormhole-producing Stargate, is about to follow in the footsteps of M*A*S*H and Buffy: It's launching a spin-off.
Stargate SG-1 began its life on Showtime, and fans followed the series after it left the pay network for syndication and eventually landed on Sci Fi Channel, where it has set ratings records for the network. The launch of Stargate Atlantis a week after SG-1's eighth season premiere this Friday is validation for this series, which spent so many seasons being shuffled around the TV landscape and existing mostly off the mainstream radar.
I've never been a huge SG-1 fan. At times, I've even been bitter that this enjoyable but predictable action yarn has overshadowed more inventive fare, like Sci Fi Channel's now-canceled Farscape series. But the show's appeal cannot be ignored.
Much of that appeal rests with star Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver). Mr. Anderson plays commanding officer Jack O'Neill as a dedicated and loyal soldier who's affable, able and just a little bit doofy. O'Neill lets his teammates, especially the brainy Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) figure out the hows and whys of Stargate travel. He just makes sure they all get out alive when they run into trouble on an alien world, which, of course, happens at least once an episode.
In the new season premiere, which airs at 9 p.m. Friday on Sci Fi, O'Neill is promoted to brigadier general and put in charge of the Stargate program. Unfortunately, that means he'll be going out on fewer missions. The show drags when Mr. Anderson is off camera (he spends much of the two-hour pilot in an alien-induced coma).
If you've never seen Stargate, starting in the eighth season could leave you a bit confused, even with the mostly self-contained storylines. You might want to start your journey with From Stargate to Atlantis, a one-hour special airing at 10 p.m. Monday that will give you a brief history of the series and introduce the new spin-off, launching July 16.
Stargate Atlantis steals its formula (and some supporting characters) directly from SG-1.
Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson), a civilian who was put in charge of the Stargate project in SG-1's seventh season, has been researching a lost city believed to be the home of the Ancients, the race of beings who created the Stargates. When Daniel Jackson (who, along with O'Neill, briefly appears in the Atlantis premiere) finds a Stargate address that suggests the city was moved to a far away galaxy, Dr. Weir leads a new team of explorers, scientists and soldiers to investigate.
The trip is so far, however, that team only has enough power for a one-way trip. With the new team stranded, able only to explore worlds in a galaxy separate from one the SG-1 team handles, Atlantis is a sequel that can steal and reuse all the best of parts of its original but still stand on its own two feet. And if you don't get too concerned with the jargon in the early scenes, you won't really need to know anything about Stargate history to enjoy Atlantis.
The new series certainly has its charms. Adding military support to Weir's mission is Major John Sheppard, played as a young Han Solo by Joe Flannigan (Sisters). He's roguish and witty, even though his character - an upstart soldier who likes breaking the rules - isn't really anything new. Atlantis seems to find more time for humor than its predecessor, too. Paul McGillion as Dr. Beckett and David Hewlett reprising his role as Dr. McKay offer great comic relief in the pilot.
Die-hard Stargate fans should like Atlantis, too. There's a whole new galaxy of friends - the team meets a small colony of friendly (for now) natives - and enemies - beings known as Wraith are this show's ultimate evil.
In a time when science fiction and fantasy shows are disappearing from TV (Angel's gone; Enterprise and Smallville are declining), you have to hand it to Stargate for its perseverance. And if the repeats on Sci Fi continue to approach Law & Order-like proliferation, and if Atlantis lives up to its potential, the universe of Stargate still has many years worth of exploration ahead.
|*|(*)|*|(*)|*|
Morjana
SG1-Spoilergate
http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/SG1-Spoilergate/
Richard Dean Anderson Fans
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rdandersonfans/
‘Stargate' breaks the movie-to-TV mold
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/p.../NEWS/40630010
‘Stargate' breaks the movie-to-TV mold
By Jeff Hidek
Staff Writer
[email protected]
TV shows based on movies almost never work. Remember the small-screen versions of Working Girl or Ferris Bueller? Me neither. Only three shows I can think of have found more popularity on the small screen than the silver screen: M*A*S*H, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Stargate SG-1.
Stargate the movie found mediocre success on the big screen in 1994, but Stargate the TV series has attracted legions of die-hard fans since its premiere in 1997. Now, the show about a secret team of military officers who explore the galaxy from Earth through a wormhole-producing Stargate, is about to follow in the footsteps of M*A*S*H and Buffy: It's launching a spin-off.
Stargate SG-1 began its life on Showtime, and fans followed the series after it left the pay network for syndication and eventually landed on Sci Fi Channel, where it has set ratings records for the network. The launch of Stargate Atlantis a week after SG-1's eighth season premiere this Friday is validation for this series, which spent so many seasons being shuffled around the TV landscape and existing mostly off the mainstream radar.
I've never been a huge SG-1 fan. At times, I've even been bitter that this enjoyable but predictable action yarn has overshadowed more inventive fare, like Sci Fi Channel's now-canceled Farscape series. But the show's appeal cannot be ignored.
Much of that appeal rests with star Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver). Mr. Anderson plays commanding officer Jack O'Neill as a dedicated and loyal soldier who's affable, able and just a little bit doofy. O'Neill lets his teammates, especially the brainy Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) figure out the hows and whys of Stargate travel. He just makes sure they all get out alive when they run into trouble on an alien world, which, of course, happens at least once an episode.
In the new season premiere, which airs at 9 p.m. Friday on Sci Fi, O'Neill is promoted to brigadier general and put in charge of the Stargate program. Unfortunately, that means he'll be going out on fewer missions. The show drags when Mr. Anderson is off camera (he spends much of the two-hour pilot in an alien-induced coma).
If you've never seen Stargate, starting in the eighth season could leave you a bit confused, even with the mostly self-contained storylines. You might want to start your journey with From Stargate to Atlantis, a one-hour special airing at 10 p.m. Monday that will give you a brief history of the series and introduce the new spin-off, launching July 16.
Stargate Atlantis steals its formula (and some supporting characters) directly from SG-1.
Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson), a civilian who was put in charge of the Stargate project in SG-1's seventh season, has been researching a lost city believed to be the home of the Ancients, the race of beings who created the Stargates. When Daniel Jackson (who, along with O'Neill, briefly appears in the Atlantis premiere) finds a Stargate address that suggests the city was moved to a far away galaxy, Dr. Weir leads a new team of explorers, scientists and soldiers to investigate.
The trip is so far, however, that team only has enough power for a one-way trip. With the new team stranded, able only to explore worlds in a galaxy separate from one the SG-1 team handles, Atlantis is a sequel that can steal and reuse all the best of parts of its original but still stand on its own two feet. And if you don't get too concerned with the jargon in the early scenes, you won't really need to know anything about Stargate history to enjoy Atlantis.
The new series certainly has its charms. Adding military support to Weir's mission is Major John Sheppard, played as a young Han Solo by Joe Flannigan (Sisters). He's roguish and witty, even though his character - an upstart soldier who likes breaking the rules - isn't really anything new. Atlantis seems to find more time for humor than its predecessor, too. Paul McGillion as Dr. Beckett and David Hewlett reprising his role as Dr. McKay offer great comic relief in the pilot.
Die-hard Stargate fans should like Atlantis, too. There's a whole new galaxy of friends - the team meets a small colony of friendly (for now) natives - and enemies - beings known as Wraith are this show's ultimate evil.
In a time when science fiction and fantasy shows are disappearing from TV (Angel's gone; Enterprise and Smallville are declining), you have to hand it to Stargate for its perseverance. And if the repeats on Sci Fi continue to approach Law & Order-like proliferation, and if Atlantis lives up to its potential, the universe of Stargate still has many years worth of exploration ahead.
|*|(*)|*|(*)|*|
Morjana
SG1-Spoilergate
http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/SG1-Spoilergate/
Richard Dean Anderson Fans
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rdandersonfans/
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