Stargate SG-1, Season 5, on DVD

by Christina Gronow

Among its many fans, Star-Gate SG-1 rates up with Star Trek and the X-Files. Suitable for all ages, it is an interesting combination of adventure, science fiction, fantasy, history and, believe it or not, a heavy dash of ancient Egyptian mythology.

In a nutshell, Earth is in a battle with a super race called the Goa’uld who, many eons ago, spread out through the various galaxies (via transporters called Star Gates) to dominate everything they found.

They helped create civilizations and societies and controlled them by whipping a few Egyptian deities on the folks they found. That explains why we have pyramids.

SG-1, (number One Team in the SG hierarchy) is led by Colonel O’Neil (Richard Dean Anderson of McGyver fame), a solid, professional soldier who always contributes witty comments that are guaranteed to lighten the mood. Major Carter (Amanda Tapping) is the physicist who figured out how to make the Star Gate function along with archaeologist Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks). The fourth member of this eclectic team is Teal’c, a legendary rebel Jaffa, ancient first prime to Apophis (the prime Bad Guy) who has defected from the Goa’uld to help mankind.

In this Season 5 package of 5 DVDs and 22 episodes, the team travels through the Star-Gate and endeavors to retrieve technology and weapons to defend themselves in the epic battle between Earth and its arch-enemy. During this particular season, a well-known enemy system lord will be defeated, only to create a replacement enemy by giving others the opportunity to fill his place. Along with the loss of an old enemy, the team will endure a severe loss of its own; one of its members. This twist is not altogether unpredictable, however, and it adds variety to the types of episodes seen in previous seasons.

For each episode of the DVD, an audio commentary is available in the Special Features. This provides an opportunity for the viewer to receive an in-depth explanation of each episode, get background on many of the scenes and special effects, and feedback from the cast and crew. These commentaries are usually from the director and the visual effects designer with occasional additions from Amanda Tapping (Carter) and Christopher Judge (Teal’c). This was an interesting feature, since the people featured often had humorous or unknown information about certain scenes in various episodes.

An interesting twist on the SG-1 Video Diary feature includes Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, and Michael Shanks who were given cameras to record specific backstage clips, encounters with the cast, and to follow the filming process.

The “Inside the Tomb” featurette allowed Peter DeLuise, writer and director, to talk about the making of the episode “The Tomb” and how certain special effects were created. This isn’t the greatest feature on the DVD; however, it provides insight into the amount of work required to create each episode.

The Dr. Daniel Jackson Tribute is basically made up of clips from previous seasons and interviews with the rest of the actors from the team. They each provide their opinions of Dr. Daniel Jackson. This feature wasn’t amazing, but it was interesting to see how the cast interpreted Daniel’s role as a member of the team. The obvious “tension” probably explains why he became the team member who becomes fodder for the Gao’uld and will be replaced in the next season

Overall, this season had some very memorable episodes, excellent acting and great special effects. The unseen footage will be a treat for fans. This DVD is a must-see for all die-hard Star-Gate fans.

This includes 5 DVDs shown in 1.78:1 widescreen (16x9) and Dolby Digital.

Tell us at TechnoFile what YOU think