Stargate SG-1 Season 2 Boxed Set (1998)
Review by Doc Ezra
Film:
DVD:

Written by Robert C. Cooper, Brad Wright, et al.
Directed by Mario Azzopardi, Peter DeLuise, et al.
Starring Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks, Christopher Judge, Amanda Tapping, and Don Davis.

Features:

• Production design featurette
  
• Trailers
  
• "Dr. Jackson" featurette
  
• "Teal'c" featurette
  

Rating: NR, suitable for audiences 13+

Anamorphic: Yep.

My Advice: Own it.

With the original Stargate movie, an interesting premise was established and, in the opinion of a great many sci-fi fans, left entirely unexplored. Mayhap sequels were on the minds of the studio until poor box office returns sealed its fate at a one-picture deal (I blame ad hype that pitched it as the next Star Wars, dooming the film to failure at the box office). Nonetheless, the idea wasn't exhausted and interest was expressed in a series of adventures, aired on Showtime to free up the storytelling a bit, as well as guaranteeing a slightly higher production budger.

Now in its fifth season, the show is an unqualified success, building on the simple premise of a "wormhole machine"--and the hateful alien species that built it--to create a dazzling array of worlds, cultures, and interesting scenarios for the core team of four explorers to delve into each week. With a significant cult following and syndication rights on a half-dozen cable channels, it was merely a matter of time before discs hit the shelves.

This set collects the 1998 season in its entirety, 22 hour-long episodes, along with a couple of character profiles and some "making-of" info. As with any episodic television, there are some episodes that stand out from the crowd, and others that don't really leave much of an impression. On the whole, however, the good far outweight the bad, and the mediocre manage to be pretty entertaining in their own right, too. Stand-outs include "Prisoners," "The Gamekeeper," "Thor's Chariot," "The Tok'ra" (a two-parter midseason), and "Out of Mind."

The performances of the four principals are such that their interaction will be entertaining and interesting to watch, regardless of what's going on in the foreground. In this second season, the characters are well-established, and the actors have had ample opportunity to get used to each other's delivery and timing, so the onscreen chemistry is pretty tight. Don Davis, as Major General Hammond, is excellent as always, and a particular favorite of mine since his work on Twin Peaks.

The presentation here is excellent, preserving the widescreen aspect of the show's original filming and broadcast. Syndication too often runs the show full-screen, which does a disservice to the original vision of the show's creators. Audio is likewise crisp and clear. For features, there's not much in the set. You get a couple of character overviews, which include extensive interviews with the actor responsible, and you get a single production featurette. Not a lot of bonus material. Some commentaries would have been interesting, from any member of the main crew or cast. Nonetheless, if you're a fan of sci-fi television, Stargate: SG-1 is one you'll want to have on hand.