And so the fans of SG-1 get another taste of the series they have come to love. With the release of the DVD this month, I thought I would recap on the original movie "Stargate" with Kurt Russell.



The trailer for the original "Stargate" is really good! It truly encompasses the action, adventure, and excitement of the first mission of the Stargate. This movie sets the stage for earth's defense against the bad influences of the universe. Stargate used originally as a way to identify threats from unknown assailants, becomes earths gateway to knowledge.

Russell's character, Captain O'Neill is sent for the purpose of evaluating the danger of the Stargate, and destroying the gate if danger is perceived to be great. O'Neill, doesn't care about whether or not he comes back from this mission. He's a loose cannon after the death of his son, but that is why he was reactivated to active duty. The powers that be, needed some one who wasn't afraid to do what may need to be done.

James (Jimmy) Spade is Dr. Daniel Jackson. Dr. Jackson is the genius who deciphers the Stargate clues to make it work. He does in two weeks what the military and civilian analysts could not do in two years. Jackson winds up getting "married" while on his mission and chooses to stay on the other side of the Stargate at the end of the movie.

James Spade himself seems to be an unusual actor. "I didn't have a great knowledge of this genre. The only demand I was putting on the picture was that my paycheck came in and that I had fun making it. It seemed like it would be rather light-hearted. And it was. I'm not a big fan of films that take themselves seriously." - On doing Stargate. (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000652/bio)

Other comments he has made that has piqued my interest to know more about him is:

"If I don't need the money, I don't work. I'm going to spend time with my family and friends, and I'm going to travel and read and listen to music and try to learn a little bit more about how to be a human being, as opposed to learning how to be somebody else."

"I've had a lazy career, sometimes one film a year, sometimes none. I'm walking around in the street and doing this other thing, living, that I'm much more interested in. I just do some acting on the side." - 2005

"You know, when you choose to make your living as an actor, it's all fine and good to look at it as some kind of artistic endeavor. At its best, it is that. But the fact is, most of the actors out there don't earn $3 million a picture and can't afford to take two years off between films and look for the right thing. Most of us are tradesmen. Acting for me, is a passion, but it's also a job, and I've always approached it as such. I have a certain manual-laborist view of acting. There's no shame in taking a film because you need some money. No shame in taking a film because you have always wanted to visit China. I was thinking about this last night as I was driving home. I started to go back through the different films I've done, and the television movies I've done and I started to think about why I chose them at that time. And I realized, every single film I've ever done I've taken because of the money. Every single one. I'm not ashamed to say that." - 1990.

(http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000652/bio)

Intriguing to say the least, since we live in a world where most people simply want to accumulate more and more.

This original movie led to the nine seasons of SG-1 that so many Americans fell in love with. The spin off of SG-1 Atlantis led to a whole new generation of fans. We own all nine seasons. The children have watched it through completely since last summer when we bought the set. We even have one child watching it for the second time.

If you are Sci-Fi fans, you probably know all of this. If you are casual Sci-Fi viewers you may be interested in finding used copies of the movies and episodes and begin a love affair of your own. At any rate, with the Stargate Continuum coming out the end of this month, take a few evenings and review the seasons and prepare for the newest Stargate movie.

One final video for you. A prank on Richard Dean Anderson, who plays O'Neill in the series and movie. This is especially funny if you were MacGyver fans in the eighties.


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