Summary
Very few series have as much in common withStar Trekas theStargatefranchise. With three television series and three films,Stargatemay not have quite as much content asStar Trek,but the two franchises have many similarities.TheStargatefranchisebegan with the 1994 feature film starring Kurt Russell as Colonel Jack O’Neill and James Spader as Dr. Daniel Jackson. In 1997,Stargate SG-1picked up where the film left off, albeit with an entirely new cast, continuing the adventures of Colonel Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and his team.
With its tight-knit team and episodic adventures,SG-1feels very much likeStar Trek: The Next Generation.SG-1ran for an impressive ten seasons and led to the firstStargatespin-off,Stargate: Atlantis. Set on an ancient outpost in the Pegasus galaxy,Atlantisincorporates elements ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine. LikeStar Trek: Enterprise,thefinalStargatespin-off,Stargate: Universe,feels more modern than its predecessors, for both good and ill. WhetherStar Trekfans are looking for more adventures of exploration or another cast of characters to fall in love with,Stargatemore than delivers.
All 8 Stargate Movies & Shows, Ranked Worst To Best
The Stargate franchise is made up of eight movies and TV series, each of which brings something unique to the popular science fiction adventure.
5Stargate Explores Strange New Worlds & Civilizations
Stargate’s Characters Also Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before.
Rather than traveling throughout the galaxy in powerful starships,the teams on Stargate travel through a portal on Earth that leads to a countless number of distant planets.OnStargate SG-1,Colonel O’Neill and his team travel to various planets and encounter numerous alien species. LikeStar Trek,many of these species are humanoid and some are more friendly than others. For much ofSG-1, Earth’s main adversaries are called the Goa’uld, parasitic beings that burrow into humanoid hosts and control them (like an evil parasitic version ofStar Trek’sTrill symbiotes).
TheStargateshows take place in the present day, and the general population of Earth does not know the Stargate program or the existence of aliens. The teams that travel through the Stargates are made up mostly of Air Force officers or experts in scientific and archeological fields. AfterDr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) discovers the legendary city of Atlantisin the Pegasus galaxy, Stargate Command sends a team to investigate. Led by Lt. Colonel John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), the Atlantis team encounters new alien species and fights off new threats to the Milky Way galaxy, including the powerful Wraith.
4Stargate Has Something For Every Kind Of Trek Fan
No Matter Which Trek Is Your Favorite, You’ll Find Something In Stargate To Love.
In its early seasons,Stargate SG-1focused mostly on stand-alone stories, much likeStar Trek: The Next Generation.In each episode, the SG-1 team travels through the Stargate to visit an alien world. Sometimes, they encounter humans who were taken to the world long ago, while other times they encounter alien civilizations.The later seasons ofSG-1became somewhat more serialized,with season-long arcs often involving threats to Earth and the Milky Way galaxy.
Set on a station in the distant Pegasus galaxy,Stargate Atlantishas a setting similar toStar Trek: Deep Space Nine.Expanding on the mythology established inSG-1,Atlantiscombines episodic and serialized stories, along with the occasional two-part episode.The final spin-off,Stargate Universe,follows a group of characters who find themselves stranded on an alien ship billions of light years from home. With a premise similar toStar Trek: Voyager, Universealso has the more modern tone and serialized storytelling ofStar Trek: Enterprise.
1994
1997-2006
2008
2004-2008
2009-2010
Stargate Infinity (animated, non-canon)
2002-2003
Stargate Origins (web series)
2018
3Stargate Has Compelling & Likable Characters
Even The Weaker Episodes Of Stargate Are Worth Watching Because Of The Characters.
Star Trek’scharactershave always been one of the franchise’s greatest strengths, and this also holds true forStargate. Colonel Jack O’Neill, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Dr. Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), and Teal’c (Christopher Judge) make up the mainSG-1crew, and they have an incredibly compelling dynamic. Like Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden),O’Neill and Carter develop feelings for one another, but never officially act on them during the series.
SeveralStargatecharacters introduced onSG-1,including Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter, pop up on the otherStargatespin-offs, making the universe feel more connected. OnStargate: Atlantis,Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett), Teyla Emmagan (Rachel Luttrell), and Ronon Dex (Jason Momoa), in particular,all have compelling character arcs throughout the series.As withStar Trek,the casts of the variousStargateshows feel like families, and their relationships with one another grow and change over time.
2Stargate Has Lots Of Familiar Star Trek Faces
Several Actors Crossed Over Between The Star Trek & Stargate Universes.
As both franchises had shows running throughout much of the 1990s and 2000s, it’s not surprising that several actors popped up in both series.Star Trek: Voyager’sRobert Picardo plays Richard Woolsey,who initially appears onSG-1as a bit of an adversary as he investigates the Stargate program for the US government. Over time, however, Woolsey develops respect for the Stargate teams and eventually becomes a main character onStargate: Atlantis.
John de Lanice and Jolene Blalock both had minor arcs onStargate: SG-1, and Armin Shimerman, René Auberjonois, Marina Sirtis, and John Billingsley all appear in episodes ofSG-1.Star Trek: Enterprise’sConnor Trinneer has a significant arc onAtlantisas a villainous Wraith. Colm Meaney appears in three episodes of Atlantis as a ruthless military leader, and Nicole de Boer also pops up in an episode ofAtlantis.
12 Star Trek Actors Who Crossed Over Into Stargate
Many recognizable Star Trek actors made appearances in another iconic science fiction franchise: Stargate.
1Stargate Plays With Many Of The Same Sci-fi Tropes As Star Trek
Both Franchises Incorporate Numerous Genres & Classic Sci-fi Stories.
Like many science fiction television shows and films,Stargateplays with many classic sci-fi tropes.The various Stargate teams save Earth numerous times,preventing alien takeovers and galactic disasters. There are god-like beings and primitive civilizations and references to ancient mythologies. The Stargate teams are more militaristic than the starship crews ofStar Trek, often using guns, grenades, and other weaponry to deal with their problems. TheStargateshows have done stories involving time travel, time loops, and alternate timelines, all things with which everyStar Trekfan is familiar.
Characters occasionally die and come to life (or in one case, ascend to a higher plane of existence and then return), butStargate also grapples with deathas a very real consequence of having such dangerous jobs.LikeStar Trek, Stargateruns the gamut when it comes to genre,incorporating elements of humor, romance, drama, and horror into its science fiction stories. Overall, if someone likesStar Trek,they will probably likeStargateas well, and there’s plenty of content to keep Trekkies busy while waiting for the nextTrekseries or film to drop.
Stargate
Cast
Stargate is a 1994 film from Independence Day director Roland Emmerich. Starring Kurt Russell and James Spader, Stargate focuses on an extraterrestrial device called a “Stargate” that can create a wormhole, allowing users to travel to another place in the universe. The film led to a spinoff TV show in 1997 called Stargate SG-1, which lasted for ten seasons.
