Stargate

Stargate (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien wormhole (specifically an Einstein–Rosen bridge) device (the Stargate) that enables nearly instantaneous travel across the cosmos. The franchise began with the film Stargate, released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, which grossed US$197 million worldwide.^[1][2] In 1997, Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner created a television series titled Stargate SG-1 as a sequel to the film.

This show was joined by Stargate Atlantis in 2004, Stargate Universe in 2009, and a prequel web series, Stargate Origins, in 2018. Also consistent with the same story are a variety of books, video games and comic books, as well as the direct-to-DVD movies Stargate: Children of the Gods, Stargate: The Ark of Truth, and Stargate: Continuum, which concluded the first television show after 10 seasons.

In 2011, Stargate Universe, the last Stargate program on television ended its run. Brad Wright announced that there were no more plans to continue the same story in further productions.^[3] In 2016, comic publisher American Mythology acquired the rights to publish new Stargate Atlantis stories set within the established franchise canon. This was expanded in 2017 to include new Stargate Universe comics as well, resolving the cliffhanger that ended the show.^[4][5]

The predominant story arc thus ran for more than 15 years, including 18 seasons (364 episodes) of programming, and 22 comic book issues as of January 2020. However, a variety of other media either ignore this main continuity or reset it, while maintaining essential elements that define the franchise (mainly, the inclusion of a Stargate device). These include the 2002 animated series Stargate Infinity.

In 2017, the franchise was revived with the announcement of a new prequel web series, Stargate Origins.^[6] Episodes premiered on a central “fan hub” for the franchise called Stargate Command,^[7] with a season of ten 10-minute episodes.

In April 2022, all series in the franchise premiered on a dedicated channel on the streaming service Pluto TV.^[8]

Premise – Stargate

An activated Stargate, the central object of the *Stargate* universe, here depicted in the *SG-1* television series.

Stargate productions center on the premise of a “Stargate“, a ring-shaped portal that enables rapid transportation via wormhole to other stargates that are located cosmic distances away. The story begins when one such device is discovered on Earth. The 1994 film and subsequent television series depict how the device is kept under the control of the United States government, who use it to conduct interplanetary missions by dialing the thousands of stargates located in the galaxy, which are the legacy of an ancient civilization.

The expeditions originally had the goal of acquiring extremely rare resources, new technology and detecting threats; but often face scientific and humanitarian issues and the dilemmas of interacting with different societies. Finally, they resulted in a unified United Nation-coalition to better support the constant need to continue the program to defend Earth from invading aliens.^{[citation needed]}

Combined with the notion that the Stargate is a secret, Stargate productions are notable for presenting no contradiction with reality, being set in the present day on an otherwise normal Earth, and being dominated by human interaction in the galaxy. In the story of the 1994 film, this is explained as being the result of forced deportations by aliens, with the suggestion that most ancient mythologies are the result of aliens posing as gods in the distant past (as in unproven ancient astronauts).^{[citation needed]}

The longest-running series, Stargate SG-1, presents the Milky Way galaxy as a failed state in which Goa’uld System Lords war against each other. Ra had been the Supreme System Lord and his death (which occurred in the film) undermined the existing social structure of the System Lords. Humans have been deported throughout the galaxy from Earth by the Goa’uld, who used superior technology to pose as gods. These people are kept in poverty, ignorance, and slavery, and the Goa’uld also seem to believe the rulers’ propaganda. The US Stargate Command is represented as having a higher level of civilization and a lower level of technology during conflicts, rarely preventing the Goa’uld from dominating planets.^{[citation needed]}

Franchise releases – Stargate

Due to multiple developers working separately and independently on the franchise over the years, the various Stargate productions are not entirely consistent with each other; and while no set of works forms an official canon, the largest following exists for the three live-action series.^[9] Through the work of various authors and developers, at least six separate story cycles can be discerned, some of which are continuations of the other ones (either endorsed or unendorsed by their predecessor).