5 Reasons Star Trek Fans Would Love Stargate

Very few series have as much in common with Star Trek as the Stargate franchise. With three television series and three films, Stargate may not have quite as much content as Star Trek, but the two franchises have many similarities. The Stargate franchise began with the 1994 feature film starring Kurt Russell as Colonel Jack O'Neill and James Spader as Dr. Daniel Jackson. In 1997, Stargate SG-1 picked up where the film left off, albeit with an entirely new cast, continuing the adventures of Colonel Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and his team.

With its tight-knit team and episodic adventures, SG-1 feels very much like Star Trek: The Next Generation. SG-1 ran for an impressive ten seasons and led to the first Stargate spin-off, Stargate: Atlantis. Set on an ancient outpost in the Pegasus galaxy, Atlantis incorporates elements of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Like Star Trek: Enterprise, the final Stargate spin-off, Stargate: Universe, feels more modern than its predecessors, for both good and ill. Whether Star Trek fans are looking for more adventures of exploration or another cast of characters to fall in love with, Stargate more than delivers.

5 Stargate Explores Strange New Worlds & Civilizations

Stargate's Characters Also Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before.

Rather than traveling throughout the galaxy in powerful starships, the teams on Stargate travel through a portal on Earth that leads to a countless number of distant planets. On Stargate SG-1, Colonel O'Neill and his team travel to various planets and encounter numerous alien species. Like Star Trek, many of these species are humanoid and some are more friendly than others. For much of SG-1, Earth's main adversaries are called the Goa'uld, parasitic beings that burrow into humanoid hosts and control them (like an evil parasitic version of Star Trek's Trill symbiotes).

The Stargate shows take place in the present day, and the general population of Earth does not know the Stargate program or the existence of aliens. The teams that travel through the Stargates are made up mostly of Air Force officers or experts in scientific and archeological fields. After Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) discovers the legendary city of Atlantis in the Pegasus galaxy, Stargate Command sends a team to investigate. Led by Lt. Colonel John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), the Atlantis team encounters new alien species and fights off new threats to the Milky Way galaxy, including the powerful Wraith.

4 Stargate Has Something For Every Kind Of Trek Fan

No Matter Which Trek Is Your Favorite, You'll Find Something In Stargate To Love.

In its early seasons, Stargate SG-1 focused mostly on stand-alone stories, much like Star Trek: The Next Generation. In each episode, the SG-1 team travels through the Stargate to visit an alien world. Sometimes, they encounter humans who were taken to the world long ago, while other times they encounter alien civilizations. The later seasons of SG-1 became somewhat more serialized, with season-long arcs often involving threats to Earth and the Milky Way galaxy.

Set on a station in the distant Pegasus galaxy, Stargate Atlantis has a setting similar to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Expanding on the mythology established in SG-1, Atlantis combines episodic and serialized stories, along with the occasional two-part episode. The final spin-off, Stargate Universe, follows a group of characters who find themselves stranded on an alien ship billions of light years from home. With a premise similar to Star Trek: Voyager, Universe also has the more modern tone and serialized storytelling of Star Trek: Enterprise.

3 Stargate Has Compelling & Likable Characters

Even The Weaker Episodes Of Stargate Are Worth Watching Because Of The Characters.

Star Trek's characters have always been one of the franchise's greatest strengths, and this also holds true for Stargate. Colonel Jack O'Neill, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Dr. Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), and Teal'c (Christopher Judge) make up the main SG-1 crew, and they have an incredibly compelling dynamic. Like Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), O'Neill and Carter develop feelings for one another, but never officially act on them during the series.

Several Stargate characters introduced on SG-1, including Daniel Jackson and Samantha Carter, pop up on the other Stargate spin-offs, making the universe feel more connected. On Stargate: Atlantis, Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett), Teyla Emmagan (Rachel Luttrell), and Ronon Dex (Jason Momoa), in particular, all have compelling character arcs throughout the series. As with Star Trek, the casts of the various Stargate shows feel like families, and their relationships with one another grow and change over time.

2 Stargate Has Lots Of Familiar Star Trek Faces

Several Actors Crossed Over Between The Star Trek & Stargate Universes.

As both franchises had shows running throughout much of the 1990s and 2000s, it's not surprising that several actors popped up in both series. Star Trek: Voyager's Robert Picardo plays Richard Woolsey, who initially appears on SG-1 as a bit of an adversary as he investigates the Stargate program for the US government. Over time, however, Woolsey develops respect for the Stargate teams and eventually becomes a main character on Stargate: Atlantis.

John de Lanice and Jolene Blalock both had minor arcs on Stargate: SG-1, and Armin Shimerman, René Auberjonois, Marina Sirtis, and John Billingsley all appear in episodes of SG-1. Star Trek: Enterprise's Connor Trinneer has a significant arc on Atlantis as a villainous Wraith. Colm Meaney appears in three episodes of Atlantis as a ruthless military leader, and Nicole de Boer also pops up in an episode of Atlantis.

1 Stargate Plays With Many Of The Same Sci-fi Tropes As Star Trek

Both Franchises Incorporate Numerous Genres & Classic Sci-fi Stories.

Like many science fiction television shows and films, Stargate plays with many classic sci-fi tropes. The various Stargate teams save Earth numerous times, preventing alien takeovers and galactic disasters. There are god-like beings and primitive civilizations and references to ancient mythologies. The Stargate teams are more militaristic than the starship crews of Star Trek, often using guns, grenades, and other weaponry to deal with their problems. The Stargate shows have done stories involving time travel, time loops, and alternate timelines, all things with which every Star Trek fan is familiar.

Characters occasionally die and come to life (or in one case, ascend to a higher plane of existence and then return), but Stargate also grapples with death as a very real consequence of having such dangerous jobs. Like Star Trek, Stargate runs the gamut when it comes to genre, incorporating elements of humor, romance, drama, and horror into its science fiction stories. Overall, if someone likes Star Trek, they will probably like Stargate as well, and there's plenty of content to keep Trekkies busy while waiting for the next Trek series or film to drop.