Thanks to Netflix.com, the Sci-Fi Channel, and a couple of large internet downloads, over the past year I have managed to watch seven seasons of
SG-1 has its flaws, mostly of the type common to SF TV shows in general. (Aliens who speak English without having had contact with humans before unless it’s convenient for plot reasons to have difficulty communicating, bad but convenient science, etc.) But I’ve come to the conclusion that, if one wishes to have any science fiction to watch on TV, it is necessary to make allowances for such conveniences of storytelling.
I’ve been thinking about why I like Stargate SG-1 so much, and I’ve decided that it’s because of its theme. (Not the music — although I think it’s one of the better TV themes out there; of course, it was a movie theme first.) And it’s not the theme of “plucky humans who stand up to the more advanced aliens.”
As I see it, SG-1 is a show about loyalty. Many episodes deal with what lengths the members of the SG-1 team will go to in order to help each other. Their loyalty also extends to their superior (General Hammond) and he is loyal to them in return.
But it’s more than just personal loyalty. There is loyalty to their country, to the Earth, and to humanity in general (since there are hundreds of worlds populated by enslaved humans.) There is loyalty to their alien allies.
And there is loyalty to principles of freedom and decency.
I like that theme. And so the creators of Stargate SG-1 have themselves a loyal fan.