Stargate SG-1

The two-hour premiere is sort of fun, but the plot is nutty even by sci-fi standards.

Stargate SG-1 is mainstream sci-fi television of the no-brainer genre. Light on intellectual depth and heavy on action, it seems destined to play toward a younger age group than the Star Trek and Babylon 5 sort of science fiction shows. [24 Jul 1997]

The TV pilot, like the theatrical film, is long on hardware and gunplay and short on logic. [24 Jul 1997]

"SG-1" is a passable action series on a par with most syndicated sci-fi fare. Its only real distinguishing feature is [a] ludicrous, completely gratuitous nude scene. [26 Jul 1997]

Stargate [the movie] gained in power largely because of its visual sweep: the scenes of ancient folk and modern warriors joining to engage the supernatural, against a vast desert backdrop, made for a resonant, even poetic blend of the past, present and future. A television series, with a lower budget, can't be expected to achieve its impact in that way, but Stargate SG-1 seems to be trying to make up the deficit with shock tactics.

Pedestrian writing, pulp-mag plotting, shopworn characters, hackneyed dialogue ('with all due respect' pops up at least three times in the first hour) and Mario Azzopardi’s broad direction will all undoubtedly delight billions and billions.