Best SG-1 seasons

[mr friendly guy]

Ok, first of, I never got into SG -1. I blame it on a combination of poor time slot and apathy. However I have noticed various seasons on sale for cheap, so I am considering getting them. Personally I am leaning towards starting from season 6, when they get some advance tech and build the prometheus, and maybe up to season 10. However I am willing to listen to recommendations.

So which SG 1 seasons should I get?

[Big Orange]

Seasons Two, Three & Four.

[mr friendly guy]

Ah, why? What is so good about those seasons as opposed to the other ones?

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

I'll second 2, 3, and 4.

The second season has most of the early awkwardness and 90s-ness out of the way, but retains much of the novelty, exploration, and general wonder, as well as many of the establishing plot threads and character development that comes into play all throughout the rest of the series.

The third season is easily the best of all, it's the perfect blend of the show, actors, characters, writers, etc all being where they need to be while still being new and fresh. It's the show in its prime, and Carter with her best haircut.

The fourth is like the third but a little less fresh (a trend which continues every subsequent season, each one being a little more stale than the previous, which was inevitable). Also, weird haircuts for Carter (for whatever reason, show quality directly correlates to Carter's hairstyle, in case you didn't know).

[Marcus Aurelius]

Ah, why? What is so good about those seasons as opposed to the other ones?

Seasons 2-5 if you want to see SG-1 like it originally was, Season 5 and onward (there was some overlap) if you want to see what it became during the second half of its running. Most people would say that the original military adventure style with humor and good character dynamics was the superior part of the show, whereas the latter part was just so-so space opera. Season 1 is pretty stiff and awkward, so you can certainly skip it, but if it will not cost you too much extra and you have the time, it does work as an intro to seasons 2-5.

In general I wouldn't say that SG-1 was ever a really great show, but the best episodes in seasons 2-5 are reasonably entertaining. Somewhat surprisingly the acting was pretty good so that the characters felt like they were not acted, which means that the actors really got into their roles; a rare feat in scifi shows.

[JME2]

The first half, the Showtime years, also lacked the dues ex machina solutions that dominated SG-1's Sy Fy years.

[Crazedwraith]

I'd place the peak more in Season 4 but the advice is sound. I've got seasons 1-6 on DVD myself. Only because I have a soft spot for Season 6 because its where I started watching on TV. Plus I like Jonas. His inferiority complex might not been the most original of plotlines but it was still well done and he had some great scenes with Teal'c and Carter over the season. I was very saddened at his abrupt departure from the show.

[Skylon]

Season 1 is pretty stiff and awkward, so you can certainly skip it, but if it will not cost you too much extra and you have the time, it does work as an intro to seasons 2-5.

The season 1 finale (resolved in the season 2 premiere) is probably the best "The Goa'uld are going to invade Earth!" story of the series.

Season 1 never struck me as that awkward. Compared to shows like "Seinfeld" or "The Simpsons" where watching season 1 feels like warping into another reality.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Season 1 never struck me as that awkward. Compared to shows like "Seinfeld" or "The Simpsons" where watching season 1 feels like warping into another reality.

Season 1 had some very good episodes -- the Antarctica bit and the introduction of Cassie, for example -- but in general it was pretty awkward. None of the actors had really found their characters yet. Carter in particular has some very cringe-worthy bits (which is as much the writers' fault than Tapping's), and Jackson is kind of annoying. Hammond isn't yet really Hammond; instead he's still sort of the Interfering Bureaucratic Authority Figure archetype, which didn't get shifted onto Maybourne until later on. The special effects are pretty wretched in places. Heck, the creators even acknowledged the awkwardness in part by completely overhauling and re-cutting the pilot episode for a re-release much more in line with the rest of the series.

[Metahive]

The first half, the Showtime years, also lacked the dues ex machina solutions that dominated SG-1's Sy Fy years.

They might have been somewhat subtler, but free of DEMs they weren't (SPOILER ALERT!):

Season 1: "Good thing Daniel fell into that alternative universe mirror that shoved him into the exactly right alternate universe to learn the coordinates of Apophis' attack fleet in advance or our adventures would have been apruptly cut short after only one year" - Might not exactly count as DEM, but I found it just as gratingly contrived
Season 2: "Good thing there's this very old yet very useful Needle Threader or our rescue attempt of SG1 would have totally failed, also, let's never use that thing again"
Season 3: "Good thing the Asgard showed up in time to save Teal'c and O'Neil from the exploding submarine"
Season 4: "Good thing the Replicators showed up at exactly the moment Apophis was about to blast us to pieces"
Season 5: "Good thing Asgard reinforcements showed up just as Osiris was about to capture us"

[JME2]

The first half, the Showtime years, also lacked the dues ex machina solutions that dominated SG-1's Sy Fy years.

They might have been somewhat subtler, but free of DEMs they weren't (SPOILER ALERT!):

Season 1: "Good thing Daniel fell into that alternative universe mirror that shoved him into the exactly right alternate universe to learn the coordinates of Apophis' attack fleet in advance or our adventures would have been apruptly cut short after only one year" - Might not exactly count as DEM, but I found it just as gratingly contrived
Season 2: "Good thing there's this very old yet very useful Needle Threader or our rescue attempt of SG1 would have totally failed, also, let's never use that thing again"
Season 3: "Good thing the Asgard showed up in time to save Teal'c and O'Neil from the exploding submarine"
Season 4: "Good thing the Replicators showed up at exactly the moment Apophis was about to blast us to pieces"
Season 5: "Good thing Asgard reinforcements showed up just as Osiris was about to capture us"

Fair enough.

Let me rephrase that. Excluding the Quantum Mirror, the Showtime years lacked the Ancient Ex Machina solutions that dominated the closing years (Telchak's device, the Lost City, the Dakara Weapon, the Sangraal, etc.).

[Alyeska]

DEMs were not heavily prevalent early in the series. They had some convient things happen, but not on what I could call a massive plot point. What usually happened was a plot point whose foundation was already laid earlier. Enemies often defeated through practical means and being thought out.

DEMs started their slide at the end of Season 6. When the Lost City was first discussed. But they didn't actually take effect until the Lost City episode at the end of Season 7. Though the way it was done the ground work had existed for a season and they had spent time trying to find it. So I consider that an acceptable DEM.

The problem is it didn't stop there and things just grew out of control. More DEMs were introduced in season 8 and it just got worse. To make matters worse, they introduced plot contrivances to remove capabilities introduced by the DEMs further mucking things up.

I thought Seasons 2-7 were pretty damned good. I like it all. Some weaker points in a few of the later seasons, but still pretty good. It felt like classic SG1, and in fact it was. If I had to reduce further I would do seasons 2-5. But I still rather enjoyed 6 and 7, just not quite as much as the others.

[Themightytom]

The first half, the Showtime years, also lacked the dues ex machina solutions that dominated SG-1's Sy Fy years.

They might have been somewhat subtler, but free of DEMs they weren't (SPOILER ALERT!):

Season 1: "Good thing Daniel fell into that alternative universe mirror that shoved him into the exactly right alternate universe to learn the coordinates of Apophis' attack fleet in advance or our adventures would have been apruptly cut short after only one year" - Might not exactly count as DEM, but I found it just as gratingly contrived
Season 2: "Good thing there's this very old yet very useful Needle Threader or our rescue attempt of SG1 would have totally failed, also, let's never use that thing again"
Season 3: "Good thing the Asgard showed up in time to save Teal'c and O'Neil from the exploding submarine"
Season 4: "Good thing the Replicators showed up at exactly the moment Apophis was about to blast us to pieces"
Season 5: "Good thing Asgard reinforcements showed up just as Osiris was about to capture us"

Why would you not spoiler tag that knowing the OP'er hasn't seen the series.

I actually like Jonas, so I nominate season six and i also liked Season 7 and feel in fact, the series could have effectively ended there.

Season 9 and 10 are essentially eye candy and soundtrack.

[Terralthra]

Skipping Season 1 will skip the episode devoted to introducing the Nox, which would be a travesty.

[Crazedwraith]

I can't see why people are recommending skipping season 1. Its weaker, than the follow seasons, sure and I can see why maybe people wouldn't rewatch it but suggest that new comer start with season 2? With no introduction to any of the series' character? Starting with a episode that is all about resolving the previous cliffhanger? That's a stupid place to start.

[Big Orange]

Season 1 is generally recommended from what I can vaguely remember, with "Thor's Hammer", "The Torment of Tantalus", "Fire & Water" and "There But for the Grace of God" being a few of the highpoints, but there was a fair bit of cheese as well and a production crew who were still practicing before getting much better in S2 onwards.

[Themightytom]

I can't see why people are recommending skipping season 1. Its weaker, than the follow seasons, sure and I can see why maybe people wouldn't rewatch it but suggest that new comer start with season 2? With no introduction to any of the series' character? Starting with a episode that is all about resolving the previous cliffhanger? That's a stupid place to start.

Well Season one isn't worth a PURCHASE.
I'd say just watch them ALL on netflix if you have it.. for free.

[Metahive]

Why would you not spoiler tag that knowing the OP'er hasn't seen the series.

I figured the all-caps "SPOILER ALERT!" I included would be sufficient.

[lordofchange13]

Any season from 3 to 7, all the other ones were ether kinda boring or had magic level tech every were.

[mr friendly guy]

Just to clarify, I am sure I have seen one or two episodes of the later seasons (Ben Bowder had replaced Richard Dean Anderson as the O'Neil equivalent figure hadn't he, while O'Neil got promoted). But I never got into the show regularly. I don't mind spoilers, since I am sure I once read about them to understand various vs debates, but I am most probably going to forget them anyway.

So you guys are saying the plot with the Ori and the Priors were shite, and I avoid it like the plague?

Also the reason I was suggesting the later seasons was that they start getting tech then. I have only seen a few episodes of early SG 1 and it reminded me of the "Voyager syndrome". That is they would come across some tech and due to plot contrivances couldn't even get hold of it for study. For example there was that episode where SG 1 encounter that race of white supremacist clones who had superior tech, but were losing out to the more numerous non racist multi ethnic coalition. After O'Neil helps the good guys trash defeat the clones they lose the tech.

[Cecelia5578]

Season 8 really isn't that bad either; I'll be the contrarian and state that my favourite seasons are 5-8. I have this thing with pretty much all television shows that I can't stand the earlier seasons as much as the later ones.

S8 really did a good job of wrapping up two of the major ongoing plotlines (yeah, they were a bit DEMish, but still enjoyable) and we got to move forward a bit with the characters personal lives a bit, which was nice.

I'll be honest, a lot of what I find annoying about Stargate whenever its brought up is that many people comment they never watched the show beyond its first couple of seasons. I'll agree that the show really hit its stride around 4-5, but unlike a lot of tv shows, it continued going strong into season 8.

I was watching seasons 9 and 10 on Hulu recently, and I enjoyed them a lot more than when they first ran. Still pretty flawed, but enjoyable in a sense that many shows aren't near the end of their runs.

[JME2]

I can't see why people are recommending skipping season 1. Its weaker, than the follow seasons, sure and I can see why maybe people wouldn't rewatch it but suggest that new comer start with season 2? With no introduction to any of the series' character? Starting with a episode that is all about resolving the previous cliffhanger? That's a stupid place to start.

Aside from that, there's also a lot of stuff planted in Season 1 that comes into play in the following seasons (Colonel Mayborne, the Tollan, the Alliance of the Four Great Races, etc).

[neoolong]

There are weird inconsistencies in S1 though that can draw you out. Like Teal'c presumably being somewhat debriefed after joining up, but episodes later he pops out with some planet that might have advanced technology and it's all a surprise. It didn't occur to him to mention this originally?

I don't think it's the best season, nor particularly bad, but it was a learning experience for the cast and crew I'd wager.

Of course, rewatching the Cam Mitchell seasons, it seems like the writers forgot to make him competent. It seems like he just jumps in in really foolhardy ways and the rest of the team is needed to bail him out.

[Nephtys]

The problem after season 5 (and ESPECIALLY after season 6) was that a lot of earlier stuff was forgotten as if it didn't exist. The Tollans? The Aschen? Even the Tok'ra mostly, all pretty much ignored. Multiple one-shot planets and locations it would be really logical to revisit didn't work out. Jonas's home planet for example, was a big deal. IT was one of the most fleshed out modernish human civilizations they found, and all that did was produce Jonas's episodes, one after that with Jonas and Daniel, and that one with the Ori. That's like two episodes out of some 80 or so after they were introduced.

The Tollan had like, three episodes related to them for the entire run of the show, and should have been a Big Deal.

[adam_grif]

Although it's a generally weak episode, you can use the Clip-Show "Politics" to catch up on Season 1 events, and this episode also provides the direct lead-in to the awesome season finale. Seasons 2-7 are all essential viewing for the series, although I do agree that 2-4 are the best seasons. Seasons 1, 8, 9, 10 are by no means unwatchably bad (it never sinks to the depths of Andromeda's later run for instance), but are generally sub-par compared to the glory days of 2-7.