OK, so now that you ask, here’s just a few reasons why I love Stargate:
1 Big Egyptian connection, that’s why I watched the movie in the first place. Not a big fan of either Kurt Russell or James Spader, it was Jaye Davidson who blew my socks off!
2 Love the Stargate itself, the size of the thing, the sound it makes when it starts to dial.
3 Love Chulak, everything about that place. The stones around the gate, the style of the dwellings, lots of candles, very gothic, also knowing that there will be plenty of “bad guys” about.
4 Goa’uld. Love those guys, big, bad and scary. Love the way their eyes glow, how their voice sounds and the whole idea that they’re parasites using humans as hosts. Great idea too, the sarcophagus. Their version of the American Express Card, never leave home without it!
5 The Jaffa guys with the big helmets and the sound of their marching.
6 The music, particularly later seasons.
7 The costumes, particularly the Jaffa priestesses.
8 The team and the way they defied the Goa’uld. No fear, cheeky and cocky!
Right, now that everyone knows why I love this show, let me tell you my Stargate story and what I think is so great about this show.
It all started when I opened the evening newspaper to the TV page just to see if there was anything on the box worth watching. It was all that TV critics fault you know. If he had never used the words Egyptian god and sci-fi thriller in his description, I wouldn’t have bothered tuning in. But he did and so did I.
Well, Kurt Russell and James Spader may have been the stars of the show but it was that big round ring thing and what it could actually do that had me gripped. The excitement when, at last, the code was cracked and the chevrons started dialling up. The soldiers walking up the ramp to go to God knows where, Daniel as he sticks his face through the “puddle”. Then we met Ra and now things really started to take off. Who was that guy/girl with the glowing eyes and the scary voice who lived in a pyramid and surrounded himself with big guys wearing serpents’ helmets? Oh, yeah, I was hooked!
Then what do you know, someone decided to make a television series based on the film. And if that wasn’t enough, it was going to have Richard Dean Anderson in the lead. He of the blond highlights, paper clips and bubble gum! What more could this girl ask for? Well, I didn’t ask for any more but I got it anyway. I got Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping and Christopher Judge. No, things couldn’t possibly get any better, could they? Wanna bet???? I also got the Goa’uld. Lots and lots of Goa’uld! Disgusting creatures that take a host in such a horrific way. Gross, but hey, it sure was different! I got to go to some strange new planets with this team of four explorers. Chulak, the mere mention of that place was enough to send shivers up and down my spine. Always guaranteed to meet some nasty piece of work there, whether it’s a minor Jaffa or the CEO of the Goa’uld himself, Apophis, the king of kohl! And what about all those weird and wonderful people I met, from the enchanting Lya to the annoying Shyla, from handsome Martouf to boot faced Omac. And as for Narim!!!!!
For once too, we weren’t the big guys with the big guns. We were just small fry to the Goa’uld, but through sheer grit and determination and a decent measure of luck, we managed to “kick their snaky little butts” a couple of times.
But without doubt, the biggest selling point for me was the perfect casting of four people who just happened to get it right. They *were* the perfect mixture, all for one and one for all. They were great company for an hour every week. I laughed and cried with them, I argued with them and fought for them. Heck, I was like the kid at the Christmas panto yelling, “look out, he’s behind you”! How could four people draw out so much emotion from so many? It has never happened to me before and hasn’t happened since.
Believe it or not, trying to describe what makes Stargate so great for me is actually difficult. It’s more of a feeling, something that pushed all the right buttons. It’s so easy to go off in tangents because there are so many great things I want to say about it. The hand can’t keep up with the head!
At the moment however, the only button that’s been pushed is the one called loyalty. It’s the only reason I watch season 6. I hate it and I hate what’s been done to my show. I hate that Daniel is gone and I hate that Jonas is around. My loyalty is directed at Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Don S Davis, Teryl Rothery and one or two more. It’s also directed at the wonderful, unique show that it once was.
I’ve tried on numerous occasions to draw up a list of my top ten episodes and I’ve never been able to do it. For the first three seasons the shows were just too darn good! Of those 66 episodes, there is only one that I don’t like. One episode in 66, honest! That speaks volumes.
And that is why I’ll fight tooth and nail for this show. Because it’s worth it. And because Michael Shanks is more than worth it. I owe it to Stargate because it entertained me for so long and I believe I owe it to Michael because he’s given me so much as Daniel. Until I hear from his lips that he won’t be back on the show, I’ll continue to do what I can. I will fight to have season 7 the way I want it, the way most people here want it. But if we are to have another season without Daniel and possibly Jack, I’m not sure how long my loyalty button will stay pressed!
Favourite Season: Impossible to pick between 1 and 3, so numbers went in a hat and 2 came out! So, season 2.
Favourite team episode: Between Two Fires, Within the Serpents Grasp, Serpents Song. If I have to select only one then it’s BTF. Why, because I prefer Daniels hair short! (it really is down to that, it’s so hard to pick just one!)
Favourite Jack episode: A Hundred Days, The Fifth Man, Message in a Bottle. (the hat came out again so AHD won!)
Favourite Daniel episode: Secrets, Forever in a Day, Maternal Instinct. (forget it, no hat is going to separate these three, it’s just impossible!)
Favourite Sam episode: Jolinar’s Memories, Entity, Singularity. (if I must pick one, it will have to be Jolinar’s Memories, but Singularity tore me apart. Oh.....eeiny, meeny, miny, mo, ok then, Jolinar’s Memories)
Favourite Teal’c episode: Threshold, Family, Cor-ai, Bloodlines. (ok, get the hat again..........Bloodlines!)
By Colette
20 Oct 2002
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