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In 1994, "Stargate" the movie was released, produced and directed by Roland Emmerich, whose credits now include, "Godzilla" and "Independence day". This film has gone on to spawn two spin-off TV series, Stargate SG1 starting in 1997 and Stargate Atlantis starting 2004. The first series ran for a record 10 years, and Stargate Atlantis is on its fourth season, so clearly, the formula works.

Briefly, the Film was based on the Largely discredited notion that the Pyramids of Egypt, were constructed by visiting aliens and that the Pantheon of Ancient Egyptian Gods, were actually visiting Aliens. Nevertheless, this Roland Emmerich film, a firm favorite of mine, carries this premise off with verve. The story goes that Aliens visit Earth, use humans to build space man stuff, leave Earth to go to another Galaxy at the far end of the Universe, and leave behind the material wonders of ancient Egypt, and the Stargate. The Stargate is discovered by scientists, acquired by US air force, experimented on, for decades. The final codes are deciphered by an outsider invited in. Then, a team is sent for first time through the Stargate to another Planet in another Galaxy. They meet enslaved Humans transported to the planet millennia ago, do battle with the aliens, and win. Stargate SG1 follows on from here. The Stargate TV series are a very rich tapestry of complex events and the writers rarely leave loose ends dangling and forgotten about.

In series 8 of Stargate SG1, a City Built by a race known as the ancients is discovered. From records in this city, information is found about an even more magnificent city in the Pegasus Galaxy. A large scientific expedition with military escort is gathered and sent through a Stargate to investigate the City in the Pegasus galaxy. Thus began Stargate Atlantis.

Stargate Atlantis is as complex as its predecessor. However, it has a completely different flavor. Where Stargate SG1 focuses on the activities of a team of 4 persons, and then gradually widened its focus, Stargate Atlantis starts with a full expedition as its cast, though focused on a core of about 10 persons, plus its focus is immediately at a Galactic scale. There are four major drivers that give Stargate Atlantis a flavor of constant urgency and tension.

Firstly, the team is trapped in Atlantis unable to return to Earth. This is primarily because the Stargate only had enough power for a one way trip , ego, they expect to find a power source to power their return to Earth. There is a continuous search for the correct power source.

Secondly. the Ancients were beaten by a formidable Enemy. This is important because, the Ancients are humanoid, assumed to be related to mankind, and their technology annihilated all protagonists in the Milky way Galaxy, the Battle ground of Stargate SG1. Whoever beat the ancients had to be bad new, and although the defeat was 10,000 years previously, the enemy still Held sway in the Pegasus Galaxy. The Enemy, the Wraith uses humanity as Food. The Wraith give no quarter, surrender is no option, the Wraith "cull" entire planetary population and this is portrayed in horrifying detail, The Wraith are aware of the return of people to the City of the Ancients, Atlantis, and are gathering their forces for a titanic battle

The scientific expedition is short of all supplies, including food. They are forced to trade with communities they discover via their short range Stargate, this leads to both positive and negative encounters.

The City, properly powered is capable of flying back to Earth. This discovery is made by the expedition and the Wraith also find out. The Wraith’s depredations have so badly affected Human population numbers that the Wraith have started to Starve. Then they discover the Existence of Earth, and the rest of the heavily populated Milky Way Galaxy , filled with Races, technologically inferior to the Ancients, whom they have already defeated. Their keenness to Acquire Atlantis escalates and their advance towards Atlantis speeds up.

In summary, Robert C Cooper and Brad Wright, the Creators of the series have crafted a sumptuous and fabulous series which in season one almost never disappointed me. Their development of the characters and the overall concept of the series is in my opinion first rate. The episodes swing effortlessly from a story about a small expedition to a small village dealing primarily with human interaction, to titanic Interstellar Battles superbly portrayed for a television audience.

The science is not always immaculate, but it must be remembered that the actual performance of sciences 10,000 years in advance of ours can not be accurately by 21st Century TV. This is a series to be treasured, get it.

Author: Oladotun Ogunsulire

I’ve been a science fiction for many years and this influenced my decision to do my first degree mechanical Engineering. Nowadays, I am an accountant by profession.

For more , do visit my space travel store at http://www.proximacentauri.biz

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Technorati Tags: review of stargate atlantis, Science Fiction, Stargate, Stargate Atlantis

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…." was a tagline that brought the concept of SciFi into the mainstream and opened up our world and our imaginations. In the three decades following the launch of the Star Wars franchise, we have seen many incarnations of Science Fiction series come and many more go. Series like Star Trek, Babylon 5, FireFly, Battlestar Galactica, Andromeda, Earth: Final Conflict and a slew of others. However, there exists one unique franchise which has remained a prevalent player in the SciFi space despite the demise of much of their competition.

The Stargate Universe as an entity has existed since 1994 and has since grown into a global dynasty encompassing a Movie, 2 television series, comics, books, audio books, games, toys and an assortment of FanFiction.

The Stargate Universe all began with the initial film, written by Dean Devlin and directed by Roland Emmerich. The film turned out to be a mega hit with worldwide sales of $196,600,000 and a $55,000,000 cost of production. The film was initially intended to be part of a multi-film franchise however, due to scheduling issues and differences in creative visions between Devlin/Emmerich and MGM, the initial vision was never carried out. It was in fact this disagreement that led to the studio execs evaluating other ways to capitalize on the success of the film.

The executives decided a television series would allow for long-lasting opportunities and with that Stargate SG-1 debuted on July 27, 1997 on the Showtime premium cable network. After seeing impressive ratings on Showtime, the studio wanted wider distribution and moved the series to the SciFi network where it immediately became a cult classic. The series led by Richard Dean Anderson of MacGyver fame lasted for a total of ten seasons and on average cost MGM $1,400,000 to shoot. By its final season, the show surpassed the ratings of big hits like X-Files and attaining the title of the longest running consecutive sci-fi series on television. After an incredible ten year run, Stargate SG-1 was discontinued in August of 200, but the franchise lived on as Stargate Atlantis.

Stargate Atlantis was created in 2004 as a two part season finale for season 8 entitled "Lost City". The plot involves a group of military forces and civilian scientists that travel to the Pegasus galaxy in search of the Lost City of Atlantis. In its current incarnation, the series has seen great success and has proven over the years to draw the same level of followers as SG-1.

The future of the Stargate Universe is scheduled to include two direct-to-DVD films being released later this year entitled "Stargate: The Ark of Truth" and "Stargate: Continuum". In addition, there was a 2006 Comic-con announcement by Stargate creator Dean Devlin that he is currently in talks with MGM to produce the final two films in the trilogy and leverage the talents of James Spader and Kurt Russel.

The series today stands out as a remarkable example of creativity and vision of a better future. The series is one that will live on in multiple incarnations moving forward as ling as it retains the excellent writing staff and an uncanny ability to explore current social and political issues in a unique way.

Author: Morgan Kelps

To Learn more about the Stargate Universe check out http://stargate.ugo.com

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Technorati Tags: Science Fiction, Stargate, stargate altantis, Stargate SG-1

Last night was the final Stargate Atlantis episode and we sat through, box of keelnex in hand, ready for the long goodbye.

Here is the original:
This Is The End, Staragte Atlantis [Stargate Atlantis Recap]

Technorati Tags: architecture, Breaking News, comics, IO9, Movies, Science Fiction, SGA, Star Wars, Stargate, Stargate Atlantis, stargate atlantis review, Television, video-games

So by now you’ve probably heard that some of this week’s episode entitled “Vegas” was actually shot in Vegas. Rob Cooper wrote and directed this one, and sometime in August he said to me, “You know, we’re probably going to…

Continued here:
Vegas, baby, Vegas

Technorati Tags: baby, film, networks, people, planet, riviera, september-2005, september-2006, Stargate, Stargate Atlantis, vegas

When it comes to science fiction and the SciFi channel, there are mediocre shows, good shows and really great shows. I think that the SciFi channel subscribes to the notion that you need all levels of writing in order to find the really great, OMG, that was awesome, must watch again and again series. In that arena falls three shows for 2008, but before I get to those, I must mention one really great show that ran for 10 years and will remain the all time great shows besides Star Trek. That show is Stargate SG-1. In its long run, it introduced us to worlds, realms and ideas that made us pause, gasp and laugh. It stands, in my opinion, as one of those shows that becomes part of pop culture and will remain a memory of a really great science fiction television show.

Read more >>>

Technorati Tags: Battlestar Galactica, Battlestar Galactica, Sanctuary, Stargate, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1

For once, we don’t have to report that Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse TV series is in trouble… because this time, it’s the webisode spin-off series that we’re worried about. Originally, each episode of the troubled Whedon creation was going to be accompanied with a three-minute webisode of exclusive material , but that seems to no longer be the case in light of the numerous production hiatuses and rewrites required to get the series ready for its February debut.

View post: 
Dollhouse – Now Only On TV! [Dollhouse]

Technorati Tags: architecture, astronomy, Books, comics, Doctor Who, environment, joss whedon, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Stargate, video-games

When Harry Potter author JK Rowling announced that venerable wizard Albus Dumbledore was gay, nobody was more shocked than the fans. But now they’re writing stories about Albus going where the novels never permitted. In the maelstrom of fannish squee that is the social network LiveJournal, there lurk thousands of Harry Potter fans who have taken Rowling’s novels into their own hands

Read the rest here:
The Best Gay Wizard Action in the Potterverse [Slash Fiction]

Technorati Tags: Books, dumbledore, entertainment, gellert grindelwald, Harry Potter, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate

Science fiction didn’t conquer the media world in 2008 all on its own: A host of creative people helped power the mighty battlecruiser.

Go here to read the rest: 
The Power List: 20 Movers And Shakers In Science Fiction [2008 Power List]

Technorati Tags: Books, Breaking News, Comic Con, Fringe, Music, Science Fiction, Stargate, Television

What will we do without our weekly McKay fix? Stargate Atlantis’ David Hewlett told us about ending the 5 year series, his new projects, and how to tie your shoes in front of an astrophysicist. I’m exceedingly excited that I got to talk to the David Hewlett about the end of the 5 year run at Stargate Atlantis and hear what it’s like working with real scientists on the amazing SGA episode “Brain Storm.” He also spilled it about kissing Jewel Staite and what’s in store for his future

Excerpt from: 
The Great Rodney McKay Says Goodbye to Stargate Atlantis [Interview]

Technorati Tags: architecture, Books, comics, david hewlett, environment, innovation, interview, Movies, science, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Stargate, Television

Carl Binder has been writing for television for 23 years. “Impossible!”, you say?

Original post: 
23 years!

Technorati Tags: episode, networks, november-2008, opinion, producers, Science Fiction, september-2007, Stargate, Stargate Atlantis, week