One fine summer, after finishing weeks of intense studying and sitting exams I was suddenly finished with Uni for the year. To celebrate, I took myself off to the movies. I choose that exciting SF movie that had been all over tv for the past few weeks. I went to see Stargate.

Maybe it was the come-down from finishing studying. Maybe it was just the crappy acting. But god I hated that movie.

So, when the tv-series spin-off started, I took once glance at it, and dismissed it as just more crap.

Fast-forward to about a year ago. Me, on the couch, channel surfing. And I see these images:

I keep watching. Then I see <a href="David Hewlett on screen; one of my fave actors from such great films as Cube and Cypher.

I keep watching. And realize I’m watching Stargate. I’m shocked. This is way too cool to be Stargate, I’m thinking.

The next day I go to work and ask my fellow nerds what the deal is. It’s Stargate: Atlantis they tell me. It’s good they say.

I’m not immediately convinced. But, a couple of weeks later, I catch another episode. And it still looks way cool.

So I get ahold of the whole first season of Stargate Atlantis, and burn through it pretty quickly. And aside from some terribely cliched plots (one where its all a dream, etc), I’m damn impressed. Sure, there ain’t enough Wraith episodes, but I get that those would be more expensive to make etc. Anyway, I finish with Atlantis, and realize there’s a whole backstory I’m missing with the show, being that it leverages of the (to me) still gay looking SG-1 (ie who are these tiny little aliens flying around in the Daedalus – the Asguard).

So, I discuss it with my main SG nerd and decide to bit the bullet. I’m gonna have to play catchup with eight seasons of SG-1.
My man gives me a short-list of the most crucial eps to watch, to get the main SG-lore under my belt.

So, I get ahold of the first season of SG-1, consult my list and start watching. After a while, I’m curious as to the eps I’ve skipped. So I consult the episode summaries and add more eps to my watch list.

And I determined the following rule. Skip an ep if

• its obviously a cliched sf trope
• its solely about the family Teal’c

Which means I watched roughly 50% of the season. Of each season, ’cause I kept watching them. Because, that good 50% are really cool.

And, when it’s not about the Asguard, the aliens rock. There’s all these other cool races, like the Nox and the Tollan. And, I can’t really understand why they’re given so few episodes by the writers of the show.

Somewhere, there must be a huge Gay for the Gou’ald lobby. Possibly partnered up with the nerd contingent that think Samantha Carter is actually hot. I mean, she’s a plain jane – how can all these humans, and even an ancient, keep falling for her? Its criminal!!

Thankfully, with season nine, they’ve shaken the show up a bit. For the first few eps there’s no Samantha Carter! Instead, we have the wonderful Vala! And that other refugee from Farscape, Ben Browder takes over as head of SG-1. And they’ve added a decent new enemy, in the Ori.

Season 9 of SG-1 ended on a cool cliffhanger (season 2 of SG: Atlantis, less so). And this October, for the first time ever, I’ll be anixously waiting for new eps of both SG-1 and SG: Atlantis.

And that’s the story of how the Wraith saved Stargate for me.

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