This is another series that I have hardly ever watched. I saw the movie at the flics and to be honest was not very impressed. However have seen a few episodes when I have been visiting other people and some of them have seem fairly reaonable even though I havent fully known what was going on.

A friend of mine's wife has got the whole of the first season on dvd and has offered to lend them to me.

Do you think I should and if so why?

Yes. Oh yes.

Firstly ignore the film - apart from the concept of a big metal ring sending people through space, the characters of O'Neill and Jackson and the basic Egyptian mythology line it's a completely different beast.

I've always found Stargate SG-1 a superior series to Trek in as much that I find it a lot more believeable. Perhaps it's because of the contemporary nature of the series which adds the believeability of it, but doesn'y take advantage of it (while O'Neill is a fan of The Simpsons, or Teal'c has watched Star Wars 9 times, it's not milked too far).

Add to that a stronger element of humour, as well as the sense that this team genuinely get on with each other (as opposed to the forced relationship you sometimes see in Trek).

And, if it's a final recommendation, Krystal (my finacee) watched it sceptically, not thinking she'd like it. She now loves it, and says it's her favourite sci-fi series that she's seen. :D

Blimey, Phillip! You've almost convinced me! And those boxsets are going for £29.99 in HMV at the moment. Hmmmm.... :)

Do it - you know you want to :D

(Does Gollum impression)

Not listening, not listening!

I must admit, I really do enjoy Stargate. It is kind of a guilty pleasure. The stories are usually enjoyable and not too taxing on the old brain, and the characters are quirky and funny. It's a good programme to watch if you are in the mood for something light!!

Stop it! I have no room left on my shelves! :lol:

Phillip's absolutely right Ken. Forget the movie. It's completely dissimilar to the series, besides perhaps the first 20 or so minutes. The movie focused entirely on one mission through the gate, not a particularly interesting mission I might add. The series balances the offworld missions much more with the Stargate Command. We've had numerous episodes for example where they never leave the base.

Characterwise, it's very strong, and probably has a better cast than say Voyager or Enterprise, and in Richard Dean Anderson they have a lead character that Trek frankly at the moment could only dream of having.

The other big plus for it is that it's actually a lot of fun. Trek at the moment has lost the way of balancing the two whilst telling one story. See this season's TWILIGHT for example. A great episode granted, but had that been SG1, they'd have still upheld the drama whilst also injecting their own brand of humour. The fun element is something that's been missing from Trek now since the glorydays of DS9, and as much as Enterprise looks to be improving, that's still one area that requires urgent development.

I know a lot of Trekkers like to blame Enterprise's (and before that Voyager's) falling numbers on a downturn in the interest for sci-fi and fantasy. It's shows like SG1 where even now 7 years down the line it's still going from strength to strength, that blow this theory out of the water.

TV Guide recently stated that Stargate SG1 has now become the greatest Sci-Fi franchise of the moment, usurping Trek in the process. At first glance that may be difficult to take in, but trust me when I say it's a well deserved sentiment.

Look at the apathy towards Trek at the moment. SG1 on the otherhand has an eighth season next year, with possible talks of a ninth beyond that, it has a spin-off series airing this summer and there's still talk of a movie to eventually bring SG1 to an end, whenever that may be :)

Go for it Ken. You too WR ;)

Richard Dean Anderson is a god. He can do no wrong as Jack O'Neill and is without doubt my favourite character.

I have watched Stargate since the pilot episode and have followed it since. I agree with all the points made, its lighthearted yet deals with complex moral issues, the characters are strong and interact well together, the variety - almost a new planet every week, Richard Dean Anderson, the Asgard, Richard Dean Anderson, the subtle yet very much there arcs- they don't force them on you and did I mention Richard Dean Anderson? ;)

Love this show and long may it continue. I am looking forward to CH4 showing S7, have yet to see an episode but have heard good things.

ken and WR- you'll regret it in years to come if you don't catch this episode!

Sumaiya
PS The only Star Trek I ever watched was Voyager (and no that wasn't just because of the very lush Tom Paris, well OK it was but) and even then not religiously not like say Stargate or Angel etc.

Plus you've got the uber-badass Replicators. Now talk about a nemesis !! :)

Season 7 starts off quite slow but picks up a lot towards the backend of the season. The finale is fantastic.

How could I forget the replicators? You're right there - the most badass you can get. Just writing about them makes my skin crawl, clickety clack...urghh.

The Goauld have nothing on the replicators.

The Replicators are even more terrifying than the Borg. Completely relentless. Without giving anything away, we can look forward to the Replicator's return in Season 8 :)

The Goa'uld were fine to begin with but I lost interest in them some time ago to be honest. At least Anubis is completely unlike the other System Lords :)

I'm thinking Stargate's going to have to be my next obsession unless Joss pulls something out of the hat quite quickly, I've seen a few, not bad! And I liked the film. I'm still curious though, Ra is the same actor from the Crying Game, its definitley a man, isn't it ,the name was quite adrodgenous, I was never 100% certain.

Both the actor and Ra are indeed blokes :)

And Sumaiya? I'm totally with you on the Richard Dean Anderson thing. The older he gets, the better he gets!!