If you’ve been around the sci-fi fandom for a while, it’s more than likely you’ve heard ofStargate. Whether you’re familiar with the original 1994Roland Emmerichfilm or perhaps the impressive 10-season television seriesStargate SG-1, there’s something for everyone in this exciting exploratory franchise. But if you’ve heard ofStargate, then you likely also know that the timeline can be confusing. With three television shows, multiple movies, and a prequel miniseries, one might be lost on where exactly to start. Thankfully, we have the answers. So set your coordinates and get ready to walk through the gate because this is going to be a bumpy ride.
Stargate SG-1
The Original ‘Stargate’ Film Kicks off the Franchise
In 1994, Roland Emmerich andDean Devlinco-wrote and releasedStargate. This high-concept sci-fi adventure starredKurt Russellas Col. Jack O’Neil andJames Spaderas Dr. Daniel Jackson. Together, along with their small team, O’Neil and Jackson travel through the titular portal discovered in Giza over 60 years earlier. The stargate was later co-opted by the U.S. military and hidden within the underground Colorado mountain complex, only to be activated by Jackson. On the other side of the stargate’s wormhole is the desert world of Abydos, where the alien god Ra (Jaye Davidson) rules over an enslaved class of humans whose ancestors were stolen from Ancient Egypt. Eventually,O’Neil and Jackson stop Ra from his ultimate plans to take over Earth, but that’s where things get messy.
The originalStargateis a great time and a fun standalone adventure that sets the stage well for the rest of the franchise. Here, Jack O’Neil and Daniel Jackson are established as key figures in the military science-fiction series, and the film ultimately concludes with the former regaining his purpose in life. Jackson, on the other hand, remains on Abydos with his new bride, Sha’uri (Mili Avital), deciding to explore the cosmos. Of course, Jackson and O’Neil would be reunited a few years later, but neither would be the same. ThoughStargatewas originally meant to kick off a trilogy of films, the original classic never quite got as far off the ground as Emmerich and Devlin hoped. Instead,Brad Wrightand Jonathan Glassner were hired by MGM to develop a television continuation, which eventually becameStargate SG-1.
‘Stargate SG-1’ Reinvents the Entire ‘Stargate’ Concept
If you went from watchingStargateto immediately jumping intoSG-1, you probably noted a few discrepancies between them. For starters, formerMacGyverstarRichard Dean AndersonandMichael Shanksreplaced Kurt Russell and James Spader, who would never return to the franchise. Additionally, Anderson’s version of Russell’s character is a bit different, particularly the way his name is spelled. Russell’s was spelled Jack O’Neil, while Anderon’s was changed to Jack O’Neill. And that wasn’t the only change. The location of the stargate (as well as its appearance), the names of certain minor characters, and other small details could be considered continuity errors, but it’s best not to think about them. In effect,Stargate SG-1follows the basic events ofStargateeven if certain elements don’t exactly align.
SG-1can be split into three distinct arcs, the first of which is kicked off with the pilot episode “Children of the Gods” (though we’d recommend the extended feature version,Stargate: Children of the Gods - The Final Cut). InSG-1, O’Neill is brought out of his retirement when the alien race, known as the Goa’uld (the same race Ra once belonged to), arrives on Abydos to fill the void left by the Egyptian Sun god. Reunited with Jackson,O’Neill is conscripted into Stargate Command, which has launched nine teams to battle interstellar threats around the globe. O’Neill, Jackson, Captain/Dr. Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and newcomer Teal’c (Christopher Judge) become SG-1,and the adventure kicks off.
Though the Goa’uld Arc makes up the first four seasons ofSG-1, the alien tyrants are constant thorns in our hero’s sides throughout the series. Though beginning with Season 5, the Anubis Arc begins. Anubis (played byDavid Palffy) was the main antagonist for the next few seasons and recurred onSG-1until the eighth season. Of course, this is when things get a bit tricky.InSG-1’s seventh season finale, “The Lost City,” the concept of Atlantis is brought front and center as Stargate Command prepares to expand its reach. Following the two-part Season 8 premiere, “New Order,” fans will not have to divide their attention betweenSG-1and its sister series,Stargate Atlantis.
‘Stargate Atlantis’ Begins a Parallel Narrative as ‘SG-1’ Continues
In the two-partStargate Atlantispremiere, “Rising,” Daniel Jackson discovers the hidden location of Atlantis, sending Major John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) and his Stargate Command team into the Pegasus Galaxy, where they capture the Lost City as their own. For the next three seasons, Sheppard, Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson), Athosians leader Teyla Emmagan (Rachel Luttrell), and the rest of the crew battle the villainous Wraith and discover the hidden secrets of the Ancients. Ironically, futureAquamanstarJason Mamoaeven joins the show in its second season. While there is some clear crossover betweenSG-1andAtlantis(Amanda Tapping’s Samantha Carter is a consistent character on both shows), the spin-off was largely its own thing. Still,the Atlantis Expedition is an exciting adventure that expands theStargateuniverse further than before.
Running concurrently with the first three seasons ofStargate Atlantisare the final three seasons ofStargate SG-1.SG-1Season 8 takes place at the same time asSGASeason 1, just as Season 9 ofSG-1and Season 2 ofSGAoverlap. Naturally, things round out withSG-1Season 10 (the final season of the original series) andAtlantisSeason 3, though the latter series continues. After the end ofSG-1, Amanda Tapping moved over toStargate Atlantisfor the show’s fourth season, where she reprised her role as Samantha Carter on the Atlantis Expedition.SG-1concluded after a decade with its final arc (the Ori Arc), ending the show at 214 episodes, whileAtlantiscontinued for two more seasons before ending at episode 100, “Enemy at the Gate.” Though anAtlantiscontinuation film,Stargate: Extinction, was in the works,the project was shelved indefinitelyin 2011.
‘Stargate SG-1’ Concludes With Two Made-for-TV Movies
Just becauseStargate SG-1andStargate Atlantiswere over didn’t mean that the rest of the franchise was finished. Following theSG-1series finale, “Unending,“Stargatefranchise executive producerRobert C. Cooperhelmed the continuation film,Stargate: The Ark of Truth. This direct-to-video feature continued right whereSG-1left off (though it took placebeforethe Season 3 finale ofStargate Atlantis). In this film, Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell (Ben Browder) — who had replaced Richard Dean Anderson’s Jack O’Neill as SG-1’s commanding officer following Season 8 — and the rest of the SG-1 team take the final fight to the Ori.The Ark of Truthofficially wraps up any loose ends from the original series and concludes the saga. But even this isn’t the end for our favoriteSG-1heroes.
ThoughThe Ark of Truthwas released in March 2008, only a few months later,Stargatefans were elated thatStargate: Continuumwould continue theSG-1story to its final end. Here, Jack O’Neill reunites with his SG-1 allies and calls back to the original Goa’uld Arc from the start of the series. As Ba’al (Cliff Simon) rewrites history to ensure that Stargate Command never exists, the SG-1 team is thrown into a world where they never banded together in the first place. Nevertheless, they’re forced to confront the harsh realities of the future Ba’al has planned for Earth and make a final stand against the Goa’uld invaders.Continuumis set just after theStargate AtlantisSeason 5 premiere, “Search and Rescue.” Though another proposedSG-1continuation (this one centering on Jack O’Neill) titledStargate: Revolutionwas considered,it too was ultimately shelved.
‘Stargate Universe’ Rounds out the Timeline, Which Officially Ends With ‘Stargate Origins’
Part of the reason we never got to see more fromStargate SG-1andStargate Atlantiswas because of the thirdStargateseries,Stargate Universe. Unlike the previous two installments in the television franchise,Universeran only two seasons (and 40 episodes) and felt the most like a departure from the original narrative. Though characters like Richard Dean Anderson’s Jack O’Neill showed up in a guest capacity, the crew of theDestiny(the Ancient ship traveling through space) are the clear and main focus of this spin-off. In addition to the series itself, there are 40 webisodes under theStargate Universe Kinobanner, though they’re not essential viewing. Unfortunately,Stargate Universeends on something of a cliffhanger, though we won’t spoil it here. The series finale, “Gauntlet,” wasn’t meant to be the end of the saga, buta steep decline in ratings sealed its fate. Years later, a comic book continuation would attempt to conclude the saga withthe “Back to Destiny” arc, though it only ran for a few issues. Still, that’s better than most canceled shows get.
But even this wasn’t the lastStargateproject produced by MGMbefore its eventual sale to Amazon… In 2018,Stargate Originstold the story of a young Catherine Langford (Ellie Gall),the daughter of the professor who originally found the stargate in the Egyptian desert. Catherine had been played by a variety of actresses throughoutStargatehistory, but here we see a young version of the character in the 1930s Giza as she battles Nazi explorers and Goa’uld invaders alike. Technically,Origins— which was first released as a miniseries and later collected into a feature titledStargate Origins: Catherine— could be watched before the original 1994 film, but we’d recommend you save this for the very end. While it’s a nice companion piece to the whole franchise, it’s not essential to the main plot. Of course, for all you completionists out there,anyStargateis essentialStargate.
The entireStargatefranchise is available to stream on Pluto TV in the U.S.
