Stargate Origins that narrate the adventures of an archaeologist Paul Langford and his daughter Catherine after finding a stargate in Egypt and want to prevent the Germans to use it was first aired on February 2018. It is hard to believe that this mini-series continues with the plot of the 1994 Stargate starring Kurt Russel and James Spader. The movie had mixed comments when it came out but it created a solid fanbase over the years and gave birth to 4 TV shows, a series of books and video games. What makes Stargate series so special? Space research? Foreign species? Watching the brilliant performance of the actors every week?
You might think you are a fan of the series but do you everything about the series? For example, which materials are in the stargate? Or which Stargate character has a real asteroid dedicated to the character? Here are some facts that will surprise you and make you want to re-watch the TV show…
1- First Movie with A Website
Today, every movie has a website. Some websites air the trailers when they show the behind the scenes of the movies. But how did things work in 1994?
Believe it or not, Stargate is the first movie with an official website. Since it was 1994, there were various photos and written information on the website created by Dean Devlin even though the website didn’t have high-resolution trailers.
2- James Spader Did Not Like the Screenplay
Who would say actors will always feel good about the movies they star in? Sometimes we are all forced to the things we don’t like in our work. For example, Michael Caine who won his second Oscar with The Cider House Rules was not present in the award ceremony when he won his first Oscar with Hannah and Her Sisters. Why? Because he was at the shooting of Jaws: The Revenge which was a bad movie.
We don’t know if something similar happened to James Spader but the famous actor said he didn’t like the screenplay when he first read it. There are some theories about why he accepted to star in this movie. Some say it is for the money and others says Roland Emmerich convinced him when they met.
3- Jaye Davidson Stopped Acting After Stargate
Additionally, Jaye Davidson never thought of acting. Jaye who was discovered in a bar found himself playing the lead role in The Crying Game movie directed by Neil Jordan. Roland Emmerich set his eyes on Davidson when he started working on directing Stargate. Because he wanted to see him as the antagonist of the movie.
Jaye Davidson accepted to star in Stargate for a high figure as 1 million dollars and he found the movie shooting challenging. He quit acting and this might be the main reason. Although he starred in a short movie called The Borghilde Project in 2009, some say he is working in the fashion industry.
4- Favorite of American Air Force
The US will introduce the Space Force which will be the 6th unit of the Air Force in a short time but military science fiction TV show Stargate SG-1 will continue to be the most reliable source…
American Air Force appreciated the TV show for describing them and awarded Richard Dean Anderson who played Jack O’Neill character with “Honorary General” title. Additionally, two Air Force generals played small roles in the show.
5- Movie Director Didn’t Like the TV Show
1994 movie that led to 10 season-long Stargate SG-1 and other TV shows was not praised at the beginning. Moreover, Roger Ebert hated the movie. However, Stargate SG-1 was loved around the world and the TV show had a long life.
But Stargate movie director Roland Emmerich neither liked SG-1 TV show now side TV shows. The characters and TV shows were so different than the original movie that Emmerich thought of making a Stargate trilogy that ignores the TV show. This caused a reaction among TV show fans and the problem was settled by cancelling the project in 2016.
6- Which Materials Are in The Stargate?
The literature has various fictional materials. Thor’s hammer Mjolnir is made from Asgardian metal “uru” and Wolverine’s claws are made from an indestructible metal “adamantium”. Stargates are formed from a very heavy metal “Naquadah”.
Naquadah that is used in the weapons is a quartz-like material that can store energy. Asgard’s ships use Naquadah fusion reactors. Goa’uld weapons have liquid Naquadah. Even Goa’uld’s blood has Naquadah. This metal is named after the Naqada city in Egypt.
7- O’Neil vs. O’Neill
In 1994 Stargate movie, Jack O’Neil character played by Kurt Russell had slight changes when Richard Dean Anderson who joined the Stargate SG-1 team asked for some changes. This change was adding one more “L” to the last name.
Additionally, Anderson asked the O’Neill character in the TV show to be funnier than the movie. While O’Neil is an ordinary soldier following the orders in the movie, O’Neill in the movie is a maverick.
8- Effects
The stargates move to the front and then to the back like waving at the end, they are stationary and look like a pond. How did these effects are done with 1994 technology?
Although computer effects were widely used in Stargate movie and TV show, the pond effect in the movie was done by shooting a tank filled with water with the air gun. Aren’t we all attracted to the wavy effect on the stargate?
9- Where Is the Time Travel?
Incorrect or irrelevant translation of the movie names is a common fact all around the world. For example, Oscar-winner The Crying Game move of Neil Jordan came out in China as “My Girlfriend Has a Penis”. It is really surprising. The same thing happened to Stargate even though it is not that extreme.
Stargate came out in Mexico as Timegate. But there was no time travel in the movie. Naturally, the audience was confused.
10- Stargate Infinity
Not most people know that Stargate has a cartoon. The cartoon show narrates the adventures of Gus Bonner who was the veteran squadron leader who lost his reputation and respect due to a conspiracy of Stargate Commandments and a group of rookie student. Bonner and his team must use the stargates to clear their name. Stargate Infinity was only aired for one season in 2002.
The cartoon show did not have the screenplay writers and producers of Stargate. Therefore, Stargate Infinity is not officially accepted as the part of the mythology. It was highly criticized due to its low budget and bad screenplay.
11- Stargate Broom Cupboard
The command center in Stargate SG-1 TV show is located in 52nd District in Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Colorado in real life. There is a military base in the same location.
When people who joined the Cheyenne Mountain Complex tours asked for the Stargate command center to their guide, the guide showed a door with “Stargate Command Centre” on it. Well, what do you think is there behind the door? A broom cupboard…
12- Wraiths
Wraiths that have approximately 100,000-years old past terrorized all planets in Pegasus Galaxy with vampire cultures in Stargate Atlantis TV show. They can absorb the entire life power of a human with an organ in their right hand. Just like Borg in Star Trek and Zerg race in StarCraft, these living beings move as herds and they are the most malignant aliens you could ever see.
Wraiths can be thought as robotic worker bees taking orders from the Queen. Most of the male Wraiths are played by James Lafazanos and most female Wraiths are played by Andee Frizzell.
13- Play Stargate At Home!
Crysis is a computed game where soldiers fight against aliens and North Koreans. In this game, the soldiers with increased power and speed due to nano clothes fight against an alien species called Ceph and the game is fun because it has an extension that has Stargate theme.
With StarCry extension, the players can enter to Cheyenne Mountain Complex and go on adventures by activating stargates. The players can use Zat’nik’tel against their enemies. This extension has lots of references to Star Wars.
14- Stargate Novels
If you love Stargate series, you should check out the novels! Like numerous novels that continue the TV shows, there are novels written as the continuation of the movie. What is more, Bill McCay wrote 5 novels called Rebellion, Retaliation, Retribution, Reconnaissance and Resistance between 1995 and 1999. Since they are written before SG-1 TV show, the novels and the TV show are not related and the novels are based on the initial movie.
We should also remind that there are tens of novels/comic books for SG-1, Atlantis and Universe TV shows and some TV shows still continue this way. Unfortunately, none of the Stargate novels is translated to the Turkish language.
15- Not an Effect
Most movies use a lot of computer effects but it is always better to use simple effects. For example, in the Inception movie, the explosions in the Parisian cafe around Cobb and Ariadne were created with the air gun.
Do you remember the scene where a submarine surfaces by breaking the ice in Stargate: Continuum movie which is the sequel of Stargate SG-1? Some of you might think that this scene is a computer effect but it is not. USS Alexandria, the US submarine with a nuclear warhead in that scene was, in fact, coming by breaking the ice on the Beaufort Sea. It is nice to know that the Marines also love Stargate TV show as well as the Air Force.
16- Short-Time Record of SG-1
Some TV shows might be cancelled in their first season and some last for life. ER which was a hospital drama lasted for 15 seasons. CSI has been there since 2000 and Law & Order: SVU has been there since 1999.
Has Stargate broken any records? For a short time yes. Stargate was the longest sci-fi TV show aired without any break. 214 episodes were shot in 10 years of life. Dr. Who is one of the longest TV shows with more than 800 episodes but it was not continuous. Today, Supernatural that is aired since 2005 holds this record.
17- Peter DeLuise Signature
For years, Peter DeLuise made unique contributions to cinema and TV sector. You might know him as Police Captain Doug Penhall from 1987 hit show 21 Jump Street or as the son of famous actor Dom DeLuise… Peter started directing after acting and he directed various episodes in Stargate.
DeLuise liked to put his signature on every episode he directed. For example, he played a small part in every episode he directed. Additionally, he has a weird side to add “Penhall” name to every episode he directed.
18- Video Games
Stargate corpus is huge. TV shows which are the most important elements of this corpus are watched by everyone. But how many people read books and playing video games? There have been a few unsuccessful trials (Stargate Worlds and Stargate SG-1: The Alliance) but special games like Stargate SG-1: Unleashed are launched as well.
The game is about our team’s fight against Goa’uld System Lord Sekhmet. What makes this game so special is that the voice over is done by the actors in the show.
19- Apophis At Space
There is a crater in the Moon named after Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan. There is even a spider called Aptostichus angelinajolieae which is named after Angelina Jolie. As you can see, science is not disconnected from popular culture.
Torino scale is a scale that determines the collision risk of celestial objects with Earth. When Asteroid 99942 was discovered in 2004, it got the highest value on the Torino scale and there was a chance for collusion soon. The discoverers of the asteroid David J. Tholen and Roy A. Tucker were huge Stargate fans. In this case, they named the asteroid after Apophis who is the lead antagonist of SG-1 show. Since both cause a treat against the Earth and humanity, we can say this is a right and meaningful decision.
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