Just ran across this essay about Stargate on TV Now, and thought I'd
share:
http://www.tv-now.com/pilato/stargate.htm
REPEAT AFTER ME
Mini-Histories of Classic TV's Finest
© February 2001 .. Herbie J Pilato
What Should A Sci-Fi Trek To The Stars Really Be?
[A Special Report]
As Star Trek: Voyager readies its final journey, and just as sci-fi
TV is as explosive and expansive as ever, this is as good a time as
any to assess what a true science fiction weekly trek to the stars
should aspire to be, encompass and embrace.
For one, Stargate SG-1 (original episodes of which air on Showtime,
then in first-year syndication in subsequent seasons) is thrilling
and intelligent. It's that simple. The characters embodied by Richard
Dean Anderson (the flip, yet stoic and loyal Col. Jonathan Jack
O'Neill), Michael Shanks (the inquisitive and brilliant Daniel
Jackson), Amanda Tapping (the no-nonsense Dr. Samantha Carter),
Christopher Judge (the mysterious Teal'C), and Don Davis (the stable
General Hammond) are ever believable in unbelievable situations.
We care about them, because they care about each other. We like them,
because they're likable. We laugh with them. We ache for them. We
applaud and cheer them on. We wonder with anticipation to where their
galactic gateway to the stars will take them next - and what they
will do when they get there. Into which world will they tumble? Which
civilization will they uncover? Align with? Fear?
Like the show itself, the SG-1 team remains unpredictable, but not
exhaustive or obnoxious. They're appealing, because their exploits
are the adventures of the heart, played out for the entire universe
to see, embrace and enjoy.
In short, Stargate SG-1 captures magnificently what other shows in
the planet-to-planet genre have failed to do, even - and
particularly – the many recent incarnations of Star Trek, the initial
screen template for which debuted back in 1966.
Stargate SG-1 is everything Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep
Space Nine and Voyager attempted to be, should have become, and
simply are not. These shows were created, partially, to right what
many considered a central dysfunction with the original Trek series:
to expand upon character driven stories, of which only a handful were
featured.
In the case of the continued classic franchise, too many rights made
a wrong. The new Treks overcompensated with too much character
development, and neglected the marvel of creator Gene Roddenberry's
ethereal, original vision – to explore strange new worlds - to trek
to the stars…undiscovered countries, and to exude charm and
exhilarate the audience in the process.
The new Treks became LA Law in Space, and Deep Space Blues. The
characters talked and talked and talked, but no one went anywhere
with any legitimate sense of fancy, or imagination. Most of the Next
Generation, Deep Space, and Voyager segments are, in effect, what
used to be called "bottle shows," with all the so-called adventure
taking place on board the Enterprise, the space station, or any other
number of starships.
Yet in essence, where all the action isn't.
Can it be that the feature film Galaxy Quest, a satire, is actually a
better time than any of the Star Trek motion pictures or small screen
sequels? For it certainly equaled in entertainment any episode of the
original Trek.
You watch the opening sequences of a Classic Trek segment like Miri
or Metamorphosis, and you immediately know you're in for an
entertaining ride. At once, the story and action is set up in the
tease, and boom – the opening theme commences and, upon completion of
the broadcast commercials, the segment begins to boil. The crew's on
a quest to some mystic world. They receive a distress signal, or
their journey is disrupted by an alien force who we're certain at one
point will zap at least one of the crew members across the planet's
surface with a resounding bolt.
Trek fans ultimately craved similar segments, and eagerly anticipated
small-screen viewings upon hearing of The Next Generation's debut (in
1987). But after a while, as many critics pointed out, you kept on
waiting for something to happen. But nothing ever did. Oh, sure, the
late DeForest Kelley's classic Dr. McCoy from the original Trek made
a cameo appearance in The Next Generation's pilot. And later, Leonard
Nimoy's Mr. Spock and even James Doohan's Mr. Scott came aboard the
latest century's Enterprise (in episodes, by the way, which happen to
be the highest-rated and best-loved segments in Generation's
history). And William Shatner's iconic Captain Kirk paired up with
Patrick Stewart's Captain Picard in the movie, Generations.
But the sacred triad in the form of Shatner's Kirk, Nimoy's Spock,
and Kelley's McCoy were not back on their own beloved Starship
Enterprise – back on TV. No one ever asked for the film series (the
second of which, The Wrath of Kahn, is at least superior to the TV
sequels), or a Next Generation, or new characters on a new ship
Voyager. And now the fifth new Trek series will allegedly concentrate
on the forming of the Federation before Kirk, Spock, et all.
Don't the people at Paramount (Trek's proprietor) get it?
Apparently not, because Trekkies (or Trekkers, which they preferred
to be called) seem to be getting everything but what they originally
wanted. Trek lovers merely sought fresh adventures for the same
wonderful people that they had come to know and adore - on the small
screen - in their living rooms, every week.
That's it. Nothing else.
Even Roddenbery himself was not pleased with the way Trek developed
after the first year of The Next Generation. Rumor had it, he was not
fully satisfied with the films (which he believed should have
ultimately been about the adventures of the Enterprise, and not the
adventures of Kirk and Spock's Enterprise).
Roddenberry's true resurrection of his original concept worshiped by
millions never came to be (and certainly now, with DeForest Kelley
gone, it never will). Instead, sci-fi fans were treated to unfamiliar
Trek sequels, produced from what looked to be a parallel universe
(which should have just been saved for Sliders).
In all fairness, Deep Space Nine is a very nice science fiction
program (especially upon viewing its last few seasons). But it's not
Star Trek…at least not any Star Trek that Gene Roddenberry had in
mind. If new Trek franchise king and executive producer Rick Berman
wanted to create a new science fiction series about star travels,
then he should have done that, but in essence, labeling Next
Generation, Deep Space, or Voyager as party to Star Trek, is simply a
misnomer. Neither Nine, nor Voyager have lived up to the name of
their legendary older brother. The Next Generation was a worthy try
but, sorry, in the long run, it just doesn't cut it.
Even with Kirk split it two (Patrick Stewart's Captain Picard and
Jonathan Frakes' Number One), and a poor-man's Spock (Brent Spiner's
Data), and a prettier doctor (Gates McFadden's Beverly Crusher), true
Trek fans still merely pined for the charm of the original show,
which never came into fruition.
But a gift like Stargate SG-1, well…that's a different story
altogether. This wonderful show – make that, wonder-filled - not only
outshines the Trek franchise (as well as Babylon 5, and Gene and
Majel Roddenberry's mangled Earth: Final Conflict), but even the
feature film upon which it is based.
Roddenberry's new Andromeda is quite respectable (though some of the
alien make-up is hideous, and some of the characters, just plain
silly). Farscape on the Sci-Fi Channel is elegant and elaborate, but
somehow, hallow. And Sliders' frequent character-replacements killed
any sense of lengthy on-screen camaraderie - and it would have been
so much cooler of they used a ship, instead of employing the Time
Tunnel-esque funnel effect.
Though Stargate SG-1 also does not have a ship, at least their portal
is stationary, with solid outlets spanned across variant worlds.
Suffice it to say, Stargate doesn't disappoint on any level. The show
employs spectacle, fancy, aptitude, humor and adventure, and wraps it
within a neat package that soars with entertainment and
sophistication, displaying a media mosaic of imaginative, fictional
disclosure.
What else could any sci-fi TV fan want, or better yet, it's what a
sci-fi trek to the stars should really be.
) zu der Entwicklung von SG1 sagt. Er hat ja mal gesagt, dass er etwas völlig anderes geplant hätte für einen neuen Kinofilm, aber dann hat er ja alle Rechte an MGM abgegeben...
