A decent movie: Stargate

Of all the crap that is on the air right now, there is one show that stands out as a true gem. That is Stargate SG-1. It is based on the 1994 movie Stargate starring Kurt Russell and James Spader. Best Buy has the "Ultimate Edition" of this on DVD for only $5.99, so I picked it up since I haven't seen the movie since it was in the the theaters.

It was fun to geek out and watch the movie to see the differences between the show. For the most part I think the movie is pretty good, but as I watched it I was struck by how much SG-1 has evolved from the base laid down by the movie. Its one of those rare instances where the "sequel" (and by this I mean anything that follows the original) is better.

The wit and humor of the show are present in the film (though not to the same level), so to me it shows that in the show that they have grown more accustomed to gate travel and have developed the ability to see the humor in their situations (where as in the movie everyone is on edge because this is the first time it has been done).

One thing that made me a little sad was listening to the commentary on the DVD. During the first dialing sequence the director (Roland Emmerich) and the co-writer (Dean Devlin) made some comments about how the show was "still using the same graphics" for the dialing sequence, they chuckled a bit and then quickly said "We have nothing to do with the TV show". After that there didn't seem to be any more mention of the show.

And to me that is a bit of a shame. Emmerich and Devlin have really created an interesting universe and mythology in the form of a movie that then translated into a pretty popular and well done TV show. Yet they sounded like they want nothing to do with that legacy. That surprises me.

Anyways, pick up this DVD if you get a chance, its a great deal at the price.

Tags:Entertainment, Reviews