Stargate SG-1 – Season Nine
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Episodes: C
After
looking at the original Stargate
film on Blu-ray recently, Stargate SG-1
– Season Nine is so far away from the original idea and there is even the
second Atlantis series (pilot
reviewed elsewhere on this site) that had its moments. The shows are not even as interesting as the
film was, but since I had not been paying attention, a great thing
happened: Richard Dean Anderson left!
Yes,
MacGyver got bored and departed. As a
result, these later shows have a better pace and the kind of intelligence the Battlestar Galactica revival keeps
getting credit for. Though this is still
a militarized space opera not-so-cleverly disguised as smart Science Fiction,
it is not that smart since any science is incidental to the soap opera and
melodramatic elements. With that said,
the show and its unknown cast still seem to have more naturalism and energy
than most of the TV shows in this cycle and there are even new characters.
Maybe all
felt they had to work extra heard to keep the show going, but whatever the
motivation, this was much more watchable.
Unfortunately, it is the same type of formulaic stories (nature and
primitive society worshiping fake gods versus the “Civilized” military in touch
with reality/science) and the idea this would be The U.S. Air Force of all
things never gels. Like the recent
motion picture disaster Stealth, we
have yet to see a great piece of Science Fiction that would be realistic enough
to believe it would be that branch of the military. Like the original film and up to now, there
are just too many fantasy elements here to suspend disbelief, but the 20 shows
are watchable for consistent light entertainment.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is not bad, but it has so much digital
work that it is both dated-looking on arrival and is also like watching
yesteryear’s forgotten videogame. The
Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes are decent, but nothing exceptional like a few TV shows
have delivered. The combination is
adequate for a TV action series, but don’t expect much more.
Extras
include Director’s Series featurettes, a producer profile, four making of
featurettes, audio commentaries on all episodes and photo/production design
galleries on all five DVDs. That is not
bad, but the TV franchise has its own following and that is why MGM would go
out of its way to load up this set. It
did not last over a decade as filler. It
may not be for everyone, but you get plenty for your money with this Stargate SG-1 – Season Nine set.
- Nicholas Sheffo
