Stargate SG1 MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +3 Content: -2

This direct to video release is the pilot episode for a television series. Prior to retirement, Colonel Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) led an expedition through the Stargate, an ancient portal which allows instantaneous travel to other galaxies. When several aliens emerge from the Stargate, kill the soldiers guarding it and kidnap a female guard, Jack is summoned to answer a few questions about his Stargate mission. After seeing the aftermath of the alien attack, O'Neill confesses that he defied the order to destroy Abydos, the world he visited via the Stargate. And he reveals that Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), the scientist who was thought to have died on that mission, is alive and living on Abydos. O'Neill is reunited with his old comrades Kawalsky and Ferretti and joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) an astrophysicist. Together they return to Abydos to discover the source of the alien attack. Shortly after the Stargate Team arrives in Abydos, the evil Apophis, an alien searching for a queen, emerges from the Stargate and kidnaps Daniel's wife. So Daniel joins the team, and agrees to help them pursue Apophis through the Stargate. Because this straight to video release is a pilot episode to a new television series starting in September, the plot is left somewhat unresolved. And the unresolved plot may disappoint a few viewers. But the likability of the characters and the non stop action is sure to delight science fiction fans of all ages.

Of course, Stargate SG1 has the normal science fiction battles in which several aliens and humans are killed with futuristic weapons. It also has slimy aliens that live inside humans. So, it is definitely not a film for the squeamish. But it is refreshing for a film with so much action to have so little objectionable language, namely, only one moderate crude word. However, it is unfortunate that the producers felt it necessary to insert nudity to insure an R rating. And although they are not sexually oriented, the video does contain a few unfortunate scenes of female full frontal nudity. Another element that some viewers may find objectionable is the reference to historical Egyptian gods. The alien named Apophis is supposed to represent the serpent god of the night that the Egyptians worshipped many years ago. The film hints that the Egyptians worshipped these aliens as gods because their technology was so advanced. The frontal nudity in Stargate SG1 makes this straight to video release completely unacceptable. But, assuming that the nudity will be edited out when it airs on television, the television series may prove to be more acceptable.

Preview Reviewer: Rik Wyrick
Distributor: Orion Home Entertainment, 1888 Century Park E., Los Angeles, CA, 90067