relative newcomer to the franchise - how to prepare?

[c_martini]

I don't consider myself a huge Stargate fan. I have watched the 1994 film and have seen maybe a handful of sg-1 episodes. As interesting as the concept of the story seemed, it never really grabbed my attention the way some other science fiction shows/films/books have.

Since hearing about the new Stargate Universe series that sy-fy is producing, this has sparked my interest.

I would really like to give the franchise another go and see how I like it.

I want to watch the pilot (part 1&2) of Universe but have heard there are connections to sg-1 and Atlantis.

Before I start watching the new series, I would like to know if anyone can recommend any episodes of the other shows that have a connection to the new series in order for me to build up a good back story.

I have watched SG-1 "Children of The Gods", a few season 9 episodes (9x16: "Off The Grid", 9x17: "The Scourge", 9x20: "Camelot"), One season 10 episode so far (10x01: "Flesh & Blood"). I watched those as I had read that there was some back story connections to the new series.

I will also watch "The Ark of Truth" and "Continuum". Any other recommendations from people who have seen the Universe pilot?

Thanks...

[Wraithicator]

Hi c_martini...welcome to the forum.
You have an interesting question there...Stargate definitely has a ton of backstory, so you really wouldn't be getting 'the whole picture' if you just watched Universe. But it's understandable if 15 seasons (10 SG-1 and 5 Atlantis) seems a bit daunting... For perspective and a little backstory, I'd recommend watching a little bit of the first few seasons of SG-1...at least 1 to 4, and then I'd recommend watching Season 8. 9 and 10 are almost a separate series, to be honest, so they may not be necessary - unless you enjoy them, then watch away. :) Universe is set on an Ancient starship, so I'd also watch/read up on Ancient-centric episodes. One thing you could do is head to Stargate Wiki and read the entry on the Ancients or at least look at the episode references. Ark of Truth will also help with the Ancient backstory, but will only make sense if you watch most of SG-1 seasons 9 and 10.
Atlantis probably won't help with backstory as much as SG-1, but it's definitely good entertainment.

Some other things you might want to know about backstory wise:

How gate dialing works - with 7 or 8 chevrons. Universe is about the 9th chevron

The Tau'ri (human) discovery of hyperspace and the creation of hyperspace capable human ships

Ancient 'body switching' stones


Hope that helps! Once again, welcome to the SGC!

[Anissa T]

I agree, you probably don't need to watch the last few seasons to understand everything. Although, if you in it just for entertainment value (not story value), sure why not. Ba'al really comes alive in the last few seasons as well.

That said, I think you'll be fine if you get each season and have a marathon. Buy them, rent them, it's all the same. You can probably skip The Ark of Truth, but I would watch Continuim.

Just my 2 cents.

[c_martini]

Thanks for the suggestions :thanx:

I did get through "Ark of Truth" but not all the way through "Contiuum" (I will finish it this evening). I had the pilot episodes of Universe sitting on my hard drive in 720p and my partner and I just couldn't wait any longer. We were just too damned curious...

You see neither of us were big fans of the franchise. We both had various criticisms of the past incarnations including poor acting, poor writing etc. However I did notice that the acting abilities of the sg-1 cast improved from season to season.

I have to say we were both very impressed with Universe. The concept is interesting, effects are top notch and the acting is far superior to anything I had previously seen in the franchise. I was also happy to see the SG-1 cast (esp Richard Dean Anderson reprising his role as Jack O'Neill).

We are now fans :cool: