If the words ‘chevron seven… LOCKED!’ mean anything to you, then I have great news.
The kind folks over at Netflix have only gone and added one of the best sci-fi series ever made — Stargate SG-1.
If you’ve watched it, you’ll already know that SG-1 has it all — from parasitic aliens with a messiah complex to omnicidal robots, exciting space battles, and technobabble.
But if you weren’t lucky enough to watch the show when it aired in the 2000s (it was on Sky after all), allow me to explain what it’s about.
A spin-off of the woeful Stargate movie, the show follows a secret military team known as SG-1, who travel the galaxy, exploring alien worlds.
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‘How do they get there?’ you ask. Well, they use the titular Stargate, a miraculous ancient device that allows users to travel vast distances in the blink of an eye.
Unfortunately, humanity isn’t travelling across the stars for peaceful reasons, though.
SG-1 is looking for allies and technology to protect humanity from a variety of alien threats, many of whom would like to enslave the human race.
While the show never quite broke through to the mainstream in the way other series did, it became a massive cult hit in sci-fi circles.
Indeed, Rolling Stone branded it ‘the unlikeliest success stories in sci-fi TV history’, and SG-1 ran ten seasons from 1997 to 2007.
Not only that, it spawned four other spin-off series and two direct-to-DVD movies.
And while the show has been off the air for nearly 20 years now, SG-1 still has a dedicated fanbase.
‘Stargate SG-1 just dropped on Netflix again, and I’m so happy,’ wrote @timetogoof on X. ‘My comfort show is easily accessible again.’
The Stargate franchise
Movies
- Stargate (1994)
- The Ark of Truth (TV movie, 2008)
- Continuum (TV movie, 2008)
TV series
- Stargate SG-1 (1997 – 2007)
- Stargate Infinity (2002-2003)
- Stargate Atlantis (2004 – 2009)
- Stargate Universe (2009 – 2011)
- Stargate Origins (2018)
‘Feeling awesome that Stargate sg1 is now on Netflix,’ added @MissWWrecker. ‘Guess what I’m binging!!!!!’
It’s hardly surprising that fans are so excited. SG-1 is considered one of the greatest sci-fi shows ever, with some even saying it’s better than Star Trek.
‘I nominate this and Babylon5the best television sci-fi series made,’ wrote planktonrules on IMDb. ‘Both stand out in my mind because, unlike the early Star Trek series, there is a consistent evolution of plots and characters.
Is Stargate really better than Star Trek?
Our Deputy TV Editor, Tom Percival, answers the biggest question in sci-fi…
Comparing Stargate and Star Trek is a little bit like comparing apples and onions, by which I mean they’re both in the same section of the food pyramid, and I like them both, but they’re fundamentally different.
Star Trek (which is the onion in this preposterous metaphor) is a bit more self-serious and self-important. Which makes sense, I guess.
Star Trek is set in a universe where humanity is a big player in galactic politics. As a result, its characters are composed and self-assured; there are few scenarios the crew of the USS Enterprise can’t get out of.
Stargate is different.
In SG-1, humanity had bumbled into a hostile galaxy full of despotic aliens and was sort of making it up as it went along. As a result, the show is more irreverent in tone and chaotic, which lends it a completely different vibe.
So if you asked me which was better, I’d have to say it depends on what you’re looking for… but I’m more likely to watch SG-1 which probably says it all.
‘If you look at the original Star Trek and Star Trek: TNG, they were fine shows, but there was no overall theme or plot that connected all the episodes…
‘The bottom line is that in many ways this series was like watching a family or a long novel slowly take form.’
It’s not just fans on the internet either, even TV Guide once wrote, ‘Forget Trek! Stargate SG-1 is now sci-fi’s biggest hit!”
A new Stargate TV series was reported to be in development in late 2025.
According to reports, Amazon MGM Studios has recruited franchise veteran Martin Gero to develop a new show set in the Stargate universe.
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