Stargate SG-1 Season 1

Stargate SG-1 Season 1
Last 5-DVD set of Season 1
Country of origin	USA Canada
No. of episodes	22
Broadcast
Original channel	Showtime
Original run	July 27, 1997 — March 6, 1998
Home video release
DVD release
Region 1	May 22, 2001
Region 2	October 21, 2002
Region 4	March 1, 2004
Season chronology
Stargate Season 2

The first season of the military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 commenced airing on the Showtime channel in the United States on July 27, 1997, concluded on the same channel on March 6, 1998, and contained 22 episodes. The show itself is a spin off from the 1994 hit movie, Stargate written by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich. Stargate SG-1 re-introduced supporting characters from the film universe, such as Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson and included new characters such as Teal'c, George Hammond and Samantha "Sam" Carter. The first season was about a military-science expedition team discovering how to use the ancient device, named the Stargate, to explore the galaxy. However, they encountered a powerful enemy in the film named the Goa'uld, which is bent on destroying Earth and all that opposes them.

The two-hour premiere "Children of the Gods", which aired on July 27, 1997 at 8 p.m, received Showtime's highest-ever ratings for a series premiere and ranked as the highest-rated original movie to premiere on Showtime in 3-1/2 years at the time. The show got a 10.5 rating in Showtime's approximately 12 million U.S. households, which equaled approximately 1.5 million homes in total. Season one regular cast members included Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Christopher Judge and Don S. Davis.

Development

Production

Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner had worked together on the Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer (MGM) television series The Outer Limits since 1995. Wright saw a wide range of possible science fiction storylines in the original Stargate (1994) film that could take place in the present day. Meanwhile, Glassner was interested in the feature film's theme that Ancient Egypt had been partially or completely built by aliens. Upon hearing of MGM's plan to create a television spin-off series of the film, Wright and Glassner independently and unbeknownst to each other approached MGM and proposed their concept for the television series. MGM president John Symes greenlit the project on the condition that Wright and Glassner worked together as executive producers of the new show. The show was eventually given the name Stargate SG-1 after Wright flightily agreed to Symes's pitch question if the team should be called "SG-1". MGM released posters titled Stargate SG-1 within the next week without the knowledge of Wright and Glassner.

John Symes approached Michael Greenburg and Richard Dean Anderson of MacGyver fame. Although Anderson was never a real fan of the science fiction genre, he believed the original concept of a "Stargate" was a good vehicle for a series. Anderson agreed to become involved with the project if his character Jack O'Neill was allowed significantly more comedic leeway than Kurt Russell's character in the feature film. He also requested Stargate SG-1 to be more of an ensemble show, so that he would not be carrying the plot alone as on MacGyver. The American subscription channel Showtime made a two-season commitment for 44 episodes in 1996. Principal photography began in Vancouver in February 1997.

"The First Commandment" was the first Stargate SG-1 episode written by Robert C. Cooper, who would later become an executive producer and co-creator of the spin-off series Stargate Atlantis. Paul McGillion, who played young Ernest Littlefield in "The Torment of Tantalus", would go on to play the recurring and later main character Dr. Carson Beckett in Stargate Atlantis. The outside scenes of "Solitudes" were filmed at Pemberton Icefield. The rest of the episode was filmed in the studio, which was filled with fake snow and ice and kept at a low temperature.

Production design

Lead production designer Richard Hudolin flew to Los Angeles, 1996 to gather material from Stargate for reference and found the original film prop stored outside in the Californian desert. Although the prop had severely disintegrated, he could take a detailed mould for Stargate SG-1 production to build its own prop. The new Stargate was engineered to turn, lock the chevrons, and be computer-controlled to dial specific gate addresses. A portable Stargate prop was built for on-location shoots and required six workers and one full day to set up. Since visual effects are sometimes faster and cheaper, a computer-generated Stargate was occasionally used in on-location shoots in later seasons.

The design of the Stargate Command (SGC) base was supposed to match the real Cheyenne Mountain complex as much as possible. The set had to be twice as high for shooting as the 22 feet tall Stargate prop, but one of Hudolin's original plans of a three-level SGC set was rejected in favor of a two-level set. The gateroom was the biggest room on set and could be redesigned for other scenes. Two multi-purpose rooms were frequently redecorated into the infirmary, Daniel's lab, the cafeteria or the gym. The SGC set and all other sets from the pilot episode were constructed within six weeks in January and February 1997, incorporating some original set pieces from the feature film.

Cast

Main characters

Actor	Character	Number of episodes
Richard Dean Anderson	Colonel Jack O'Neill	21/21 episodes
Michael Shanks	Dr. Daniel Jackson	21/21 episodes
Amanda Tapping	Captain Samantha Carter	21/21 episodes
Christopher Judge	Teal'c	21/21 episodes
Don S. Davis	Major General George Hammond	19/21 episodes

Recurring characters

Actor	Character	Number of episodes
Gary Jones	Master Sergeant Walter Harriman	12/21 episodes
Teryl Rothery	Dr. Janet Fraiser	8/21 episodes
Peter Williams	Apophis	4/21 episodes
Alexis Cruz	Skaara/Klorel	2/21 episodes
Brent Stait	Ferretti	2/21 episodes
Frida Betrani	Lya	2/21 episodes
Jay Acovone	Charles Kawalsky	2/21 episodes
Gerard Plunkett	Tuplo	2/21 episodes
Michasa Armstrong	Shak'l	2/21 episodes
Robert Wisden	Samuels	2/21 episodes

Episodes

Image	Title	Number	Airdate	Planet(s)	Race(s)	Enemies
	"Children of the Gods"	1.01/1.02	July 27, 1997	Abydos, Chulak, Earth	Abydonian, Goa'uld, Jaffa	Apophis, Amaunet, Klorel
	As powerful aliens come through the Earth's Stargate, Colonel Jack O'Neill returns on Abydos to retreive Daniel Jackson, who has discovered that the alien transit system includes much more than the two planets.
	"The Enemy Within"	1.03	August 1, 1997	Earth	Goa'uld	Charles Kawalsky
	Meanwhile Stargate Command and military decide of Teal'c's fate, a near mature Goa'uld symbiote is taking Major Kawalsky's body control. The SGC must find a way to remove it without killing the Major.
	"Emancipation"	1.04	August 8, 1997	Simarka	Shavadai	Turghan
	An alien civilization is forced to reconsider their views on women when Carter rebels against their social customs.
	"The Broca Divide"	1.05	August 15, 1997	Earth, P3X-797	Untouched	Touched
	Members of SG-1 become infected with an alien virus that turns them into primative beings. Dr. Fraiser must find a cure to save the team and the alien population from whom it was contracted.
	"The First Commandment"	1.06	August 22, 1997	Jonas' Planet, Earth	People of Jonas' Planet	Jonas Hanson, SG-9
	SG-1 must stop a renegade Stargate commander, who has gone mad and set himself up as a god on an alien planet.
	"Cold Lazarus"	1.07	August 29, 1997	Earth, P3X-562	Unity	N/A
	The team discovers a crystaline alien species with the capability of assuming human form. O'Neill comes to terms with the death of his son.
	"The Nox"	1.08	September 12, 1997	Earth, Nox Homeworld	Nox	Apophis
	Pressed by the government to acquire new technologies, SG-1 is led to a world inhabited by a seemingly primative race. When Apophis arrives, SG-1 ambush him with disasterous consequences.
	"Brief Candle"	1.09	September 19, 1997	Argos, Earth	Argosian	N/A
	SG-1 discovers a race of attractive people who age extremely rapidly. The situation becomes personal when O'Neill begins to suffer from the same accelerated aging, and must live out the rest of his life on the planet.
	"Thor's Hammer"	1.10	September 26, 1997	Cimmeria, Earth	Cimmerian, Unas	Unas
	Teal'c and O'Neill are transported to an underground cage designed by the Asgard to protect an alien world from the Goa'uld. Teal'c cannot escape the labyrinth while his larval Goa'uld lives.
	"The Torment of Tantalus"	1.11	October 3, 1997	Earth, Heliopolis	Alliance of Four Great Races	N/A
	SG-1 tracks down Catherine Langford's fiance, who took the first Stargate trip in 1945, and discovers an ancient meeting hall that may hold the secrets of the universe itself.
	"Bloodlines"	1.12	October 10, 1997	Chulak, Earth	Goa'uld, Jaffa	Serpent Guards
	Teal'c returns to Chulak to stop his people from implanting his son with a larval Goa'uld, but must sacrifice himself to save him.
	"Fire and Water"	1.13	October 17, 1997	Earth, Unnamed planet	Oanne	N/A
	Daniel is taken captive by an alien with a hidden agenda, while SG-1 is made to believe he is dead.
	"Hathor"	1.14	October 24, 1997	Earth	Goa'uld	Hathor
	The banished Goa'uld Hathor is found in an ancient Earth sarcophagus, and takes over the SGC with hopes of raising a new army against the System Lords.
	"Singularity"	1.15	October 31, 1997	Earth, Hanka	Hankan	Nirrti
	A mysterious affliction wipes out the entire population of a planet, plus a SG team — except for one young girl. Carter befriends her, but learns that she is being used by the Goa'uld.
File:Cor-Ai (épisode).jpg	"Cor-Ai"	1.16	January 23, 1998	Cartago, Earth	Byrsa	Serpent Guards
	Teal'c must stand trial for a crime committed while he served as first prime of Apophis when a villager on an alien world identifies him as the Jaffa who killed his father.
	"Enigma"	1.17	January 30, 1998	Earth, Tollan	Nox, Tollan	N/A
	SG-1 rescues a group of advanced humans from a planet near destruction, and must find a new home for the refugees before the Pentagon gets their hands on them.
	"Solitudes"	1.18	February 6, 1998	Earth, P4A-771	N/A	N/A
	Colonel O'Neill and Captain Carter are separated from Jackson and Teal'c during a Stargate journey, and are trapped on a desolate ice world with no way of escape.
	"Tin Man"	1.19	February 13, 1998	Altair, Earth	Altairan	N/A
	When SG-1 visits the underground warehouse of an advanced alien civilization, the area's caretaker transplants their minds into robotic duplicates — a "gift" of immortality.
	"There But For the Grace of God"	1.20	February 20, 1998	Earth, P3R-233	Jaffa	Teal'c
	An alien artifact transports Daniel to an alternate reality, where he is not a part of the Stargate program and the Goa'uld — led by Teal'c — are invading Earth.
	"Politics" (Part 1 of 3)	1.21	February 27, 1998	Earth	N/A	N/A
	Senator Kinsey arrives at the SGC to investigate the program and determine whether the great drain on the U.S. budget is worthwhile, prompting the team to recall missions from the past year.
	"Within the Serpent's Grasp" (Part 2 of 3)	1.22	March 6, 1998	Earth	Abydonian, Goa'uld, Jaffa	Apophis, Klorel
	SG-1 escapes through the Stargate before it is shut down, and learns that Daniel's alternate reality vision is true: Apophis is moving to attack Earth from above. The team must stop Apophis and his son, Klorel, who inhabits the body of their friend Skaara.