Reading "Stargate SG-1"

In 1997, the series "Stargate SG-1" first aired on American cable television and over the course of nearly nine seasons has developed its own unique mythological superstructure. "Stargate SG-1" focuses on the dynamic relationships among the show's main characters, the four-person first-contact team: SG-1. Each week they are taken to new planets where ancient human civilizations have been seeded as slave populations by the show's arch-villains, the parasitic, body-snatching Goa'uld. The series' concerns therefore range from ancient cultures and contemporary politics, to aliens and advanced technologies, all given life with award-winning special effects and anchored by the central icon of the Stargate. "Stargate SG-1" has blossomed into a series driven by fierce fan loyalty, with lively internet discussion groups, growing 'textual poaching' in fan fiction and art, and popular annual conventions. It has also generated a spin-off, "Stargate: Atlantis". In this welcome critical celebration, contributors discuss "Stargate SG-1's" characters, cinematic techniques, its themes and its place within science fiction television and film, along with its interaction with fan fiction, its Canadian setting, its ideological framing in the American point-of-view, and the tensions between its humanistic morality and its representation of military/political objectives. There is also assessment of the currently fledgling "Stargate: Atlantis". Written for both fans and scholars, the book also includes an episode guide to the first eight seasons of "Stargate SG-1" and to the first season of "Stargate: Atlantis", as well as a glossary of terms.

Stan Beeler is Chair of English at the University of Northern British Columbia, Canada. His work on contemporary television, humanities computing and the Rosicrucian movement has been widely published. Lisa Dickson is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Northern British Columbia. She has published on Shakespeare's early histories and on the intersection of beauty and violence in theatre and film.