Behind the Stargate

[Colonel Carter]

In the movie, when they activated the Stargate, it shot out what look like a burst of water (which in reality was water). Then when it went back into the gate, it came out behind the gate as this kind of sideways vortex looking thing. However, in the tv series, the back side of the Stargate stays flat after it's been activated. This has always bugged me because that's not what it does in the movie. Have they ever offered a reason for why it changed?

[PKidd18]

LOL Cost of special effects?!? :)

I dunno... I've always wondered why, if the vortex can kill people and destroy matter that is in fron of/behind it, why then is the ramp leading to the gate itself always in tact? I mean, the ramp leads up and through the gate itself, yet there is never any damage to it! Who knows? That's gonna rank up there with the whole "it's never snowing" thing of mine! :tgrin

[Colonel Carter]

The burst of water that shoots out shoots out above the ramp, thus the ramp is safe because it is below that burst. After all, in the episode "Prisoners," when someone stood in the way, all that was left was their cindering feet because their feet were below the thing.

[PKidd18]

Well, yeah, but if you look at episode, like "Enemy within" the ramp goes right up, through the gate itself, and behind the gate a little, so, in all technicalities, the ramp should have a piece missing from there, where the vortex opens. I dunno.. just a little think I've notices!

As for the no vortex behind the gate itself... I'm not really sure about it... I mean, If you look at when they activate the gate on other planets, it just stays in the gate, it doens't funnel out... And if you think about it, if it did funnel out the back, the back wall of the SGC would have been destroyed by now (since it's build in an old missile cylo and the walls can't really be moved...)...