Entertainment
Where To Start Watching Stargate
By Jennifer Asencio
| Published
In the wake of the recent announcement about Amazon’s new Stargate series, fans all over are pulling out old DVDs and scouring streaming services to rewatch the show. The excitement over the new show is generating a lot of buzz that is also bringing in fresh viewers. With three shows and several movies, new viewers might wonder where to begin watching the Stargate franchise.
I’ll cut right to the chase: it is necessary to start this show from the beginning, with the 1994 film by the creators of Independence Day and starring Kurt Russell and James Spader. Stargate SG-1 is a serial with very few filler episodes, and the theatrically released motion picture sets up the entire story.
After You Watch The Stargate Movie, Begin With The First Episode Of Stargate: SG-1
The first episode of SG-1, “Children of the Gods,” is a feature-length movie that was produced as a prestige episode by Showtime, which aired the first 44 episodes of the show. It also begins years after the movie ends, picking up where it left off without thoroughly recounting its events.
Stargate might seem extraneous when faced with the pilot movie for SG-1, but it is more like a prologue that sets up the events that propel the show. It also builds important relationships, like Colonel O’Neill’s relationship with the boy Skaara and Daniel Jackson’s relationship with Sha’uri. “Children of the Gods” absolutely depended on viewers being familiar with these characters to raise the stakes of SG-1.
It takes several seasons of SG-1 to learn all the lore behind the rest of the Stargate franchise. As a serial, the story builds upon itself in layers, expanding beyond the Egyptian gods to include Norse mythology, Arthurian legend, and even beings similar to angels.
Stargate Is Not An Episodic, Reset-Button Franchise
The various adventures of O’Neill, Jackson, Samantha Carter, and Teal’c weave a rich tapestry of storytelling that unfolds over multiple seasons and encompasses a total of three story arcs, known to fans as the Apophis arc, the Anubis arc, and the Ori arc. Each arc is established by the arc before it, so they must be watched in order; the Anubis arc must be viewed to introduce the other Stargate shows, Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate: Universe.
The original movie Stargate, as well as the movies that take place within the series (The Ark of Truth and Continuum, as well as prequel Origins), are all streaming for free on Tubi. Stargate SG-1 must be purchased to be viewed in its entirety; limited seasons are on Amazon Prime and Pluto TV. Hulu is streaming all of Stargate: Atlantis, and Amazon Prime has all of Stargate: Universe.
