One of the most common questions that we get on GateWorld from new viewers is:
What order do I watch the Stargate franchise in?
There's three different shows; there's 17 seasons of Stargate ... and they actually aired overlapping.
So in this video what we're going to do is talk through some options that you have for
watching the franchise, whether you're a completionist or you just want to watch the most important
episodes to catch up a bit.
Stargate has been off the air for a lot of years, but now that it's available on all
these streaming platforms there's a whole new audience that's discovering the shows for the very first time.
It's very exciting for us old-timers who watched the series when they originally aired.
But of course not everybody watches TV quite the same way.
So you might be somebody who wants to watch the original airing order.
Or, you might be the sort who wants to watch a whole season of one show and then switch
and do a whole season of the next show.
If you're interested in that, jump to the timecode below.
Finally, you might just want to watch all of one series and then all of the next series,
recognizing that you're going to see some thing out of order.
If that's you, jump to this timecode.
And last, but not least, if you don't want to watch the entire franchise – all three
movies and 354 episodes of television – well, there's a link in the description below to
a partial "Key Episodes List" that we made for Stargate SG-1.
Stargate SG-1 aired for 10 seasons, and this key episodes list cuts your viewing time in half.
We're going to pick a little bit more than a hundred episodes there that's just going
to give you the main storylines.
Of course, that doesn't mean that those are the best episodes.
SG-1 has some terrific single, stand-alone episodes that you really should check out.
But if you're just wanting to catch up with the main storyline, that list is going to help you out.
So let's start first with the canon timeline.
If you want to watch everything exactly as it happened in the Stargate universe, this is what you should do.
Start of course with the original 1994 feature film.
"Stargate" was directed by Roland Emmerich, and stars Kurt Russell and James Spader.
From here you're going to move into STARGATE SG-1, and you can watch the first seven seasons
of the show SG-1 started three years after the feature film, in 1997,
but the story picks up only one year later.
You can watch through all of this first seven seasons, which tees up SG-1's first spin-off series,
STARGATE ATLANTIS.
Atlantis premiered in July of 2004 and ran for five seasons.
So SG-1 and Atlantis now are going to air in parallel for the first three years of Atlantis.
So Season 8 of SG-1 aired at the same time – back to back on Friday nights – as Season 1 of Atlantis.
Season 9 of SG-1 aired alongside Season 2 of Atlantis; and Season 10 of SG-1 aired with
Season 3 of Atlantis.
Both shows shared the same writers room.
And the writers strategically wrote these to air back-to-back on Friday nights.
SG-1 would air at 8 o'clock on SCI FI Channel, Atlantis would air at 9 o'clock, and then
Battlestar Galactica aired at 10 o'clock – the great "Sci-Fi Friday" lineup.
Now the Season 8 premiere of SG-1 is a two-parter, called "New Order."
You want to watch both of those together as a little mini-movie.
Then switch over to "Rising."
The two-hour Atlantis pilot aired the following week as a two-hour movie.
And "New Order" specifically sets up "Rising."
Then, starting with the third episode of the season, you can alternate back and forth,
watching the SG-1 episode first and then the third episode of Atlantis.
The fourth episode of SG-1, the fourth episode of Atlantis, etc.
That's going to work all the way through the end of this season.
Just make sure that you watch "Moebius, Part 2" – that's the last episode of SG-1 Season 8 –
before you watch "The Siege, Part 2," the last episode of Atlantis.
You'll see why when you get there.
There's an important story element that's set up for the Atlantis finale.
From here you can continue the same procedure: alternating back and forth episodes from Season 9
of SG-1 and Season 2 of Atlantis, and then Season 10 of SG-1 and Season 3 of Atlantis.
Again, there's just a few occasional references that one show makes to the other ...
until you get to the tenth season of SG-1.
There's one big crossover episode.
So now you've watched ten seasons of SG-1 and the first three seasons of Atlantis.
And here's where things are going to get a little bit tricky.
Because SG-1 was immediately followed up by two direct-to-DVD movies.
That's "Stargate: The Ark of Truth" and "Stargate: Continuum."
You can watch "The Ark of Truth" immediately after the series finale of SG-1, "Unending."
"The Ark of Truth" wraps up the storyline from the final two seasons of the show.
And you should be sure to watch that before you head into the fourth season of Stargate Atlantis.
Again, you'll see why when you get there.
There's a big crossover here.
Now you can proceed through the fourth season of Stargate Atlantis, and also watch the fifth-season premiere.
That episode is called "Search and Rescue."
If you want to stick close to the timeline "Stargate: Continuum" fits here, after this episode.
So watch that movie and then come back, and you can finish the rest of Season 5.
STARGATE UNIVERSE aired for two seasons immediately following Stargate Atlantis.
So once you're done with Atlantis watch those two seasons.
Just be aware that the show ends on a cliffhanger.
It was intended to be a 5-year storyline, and the show was cancelled after its second season.
Well maybe you're the sort of person who doesn't want to alternate back and forth and watch
two different shows at the same time.
Well, that's fine – you're not going to miss out on any big references if you watch
them a season at a time.
So here's our second strategy for watching the shows.
Again, start with the feature film.
And then watch the firs seven seasons of Stargate SG-1, until we get to the point where two
shows are airing at the same time.
Then watch SG-1 Season 8, followed by Atlantis Season 1.
Just remember they're happening at the same time.
SG-1 Season 9, and Atlantis Season 2.
And then SG-1 Season 10, and Atlantis Season 3.
Using this method you can watch the DVD movie "Stargate: Th Ark of Truth" either before
or after Atlantis Season 3.
It doesn't really matter.
That movie wraps up the storyline of the last two seasons of SG-1.
So I'd watch SG-1 Season 10 and then immediately watch "The Ark of Truth" with it.
Now using this watch order I'd actually watch "Continuum" here as well,
before you start Atlantis Season 4.
There's going to be a cast change, and if you don't want to alternate back and forth
between the shows mid-season then "Continuum" fits pretty well here, after "Ark of Truth."
Then watch Seasons 4 and 5 of Stargate Atlantis, and the two seasons of Stargate Universe.
This "alternating seasons" strategy is perfectly good.
There's no big continuity blips that you're going to run into, with things happening out of order.
Just remember when you start an Atlantis season that you're rewinding a year in the timeline.
The other downside here is that you have a longer wait for the resolution of those big
cliffhangers that end most of the seasons.
Third and finally, maybe you don't want to alternate at all.
Maybe you just want to watch one show and finish it, and then watch the next show.
That's fine, too.
For this viewing order start with 1994's "Stargate" feature film.
Then watch all of SG-1, and its two direct-to-DVD movies: "The Ark of Truth" and "Stargate: Continuum."
Now you can watch five seasons of Atlantis, and two seasons of Stargate Universe.
Again, this is a perfectly valid way of watching all the shows.
But there are some more caveats here.
The drawbacks are – well, when you switch to Atlantis you have to remember that you're
rewinding three years in the timeline.
And also you are going to miss some of the references – some of the continuity mentions
back-and-forth between SG-1 and Atlantis.
You're also going to get a crossover episode in the tenth season of SG-1 that will spoil
some of what's to come.
So, you're ready to jump into Stargate SG-1 Season 1!
Well the next question is: Which version of the pilot do I watch?
There's actually three different versions that you can find for "Children of the Gods."
The original version of the pilot aired on Showtime in the United States in 1997.
And it's rated TV-MA for a scene of full-frontal nudity.
This is the version of the episode that is on the DVD and Blu-ray sets that you can buy.
And it's streaming on Netflix.
The second version of "Children of the Gods" was edited for syndication.
This is the version that you can find streaming on Hulu.
Unfortunately it's also cropped.
Instead of the widescreen episodes that you'll find on DVD and Blu-ray,
it's a 4:3 aspect ratio – and it's lower resolution.
But it does have the nudity cut out.
The third and, I think, definitive edition of "Children of the Gods" is called
"Children of the Gods: Final Cut."
This one came out on DVD in 2009.
Brad Wright – one of the show's original creators, and co-writers of "Children of the Gods" –
went back after SG-1 had finished airing and he recut the pilot.
He changed some things, he cut out some of the more cringey dialogue, and just generally
made the pilot feel more like the show that came after it.
There's brand new visual effects here, and also new audio – most notably,
actor Christopher Judge rerecorded all of Teal'c's dialogue for the Final Cut.
On the whole I really like the changes in the Final Cut.
It doesn't have the nudity; the visual effects are better.
It feels more like a stand-alone movie rather than a pilot that is setting up a TV show.
You can buy "Children of the Gods: Final Cut" on DVD.
Or, this is the version of the episode that streams on Amazon Prime ...
when Amazon Prime has Stargate SG-1.
Now for you completionists we have two more things to talk about.
STARGATE ORIGINS is a Web series that came out in 2018.
Well, this is the first time that Stargate ever did a prequel story.
It's actually set in the 1930s.
Stargate Origins was released originally in 2018 as a 10-part Web series.
This was then edited together into the "Feature Cut," which is available for purchase on digital storefronts.
Sometimes it's also available on a streaming service.
There's a link in the description below to a page where we're keeping track of where
all the different Stargate shows are streaming at any given time.
If you're a timeline purist, well you could watch this one first – even before the feature film.
But I really don't think Stargate Origins represents Stargate at its best.
I'd actually watch it here at the end, if you want to be a completionist, just to see
what a different take on the Stargate formula is.
None of the original creators of either the feature film or the television series were
involved in the making of Stargate Origins.
Stargate Origins takes more inspiration from the original feature film.
But there are some references to the television series.
If you haven't watched SG-1 yet, you're not going to pick up on them.
Even though it's a prequel I think it's better to watch here, at the end.
Last, but not least – what about STARGATE INFINITY?
Have you even heard of this one?
Infinity is an animated series that aired in 2002 and 2003 on Saturday mornings.
There's one season; it's available on DVD;
and it's not connected to the official canon Stargate timeline.
The producers of the TV shows have nothing to do with this.
It's more a licensed product than it is official Stargate storytelling.
So you might pick this up, you might check out a few episodes ... maybe more for the novelty factor.
Hopefully this list has been helpful to you, however you want to watch Stargate.
We're glad to have you aboard, glad to have you as part of the Stargate family, and also
a part of the GateWorld community.
Go ahead and Like this video and click the button to subscribe if you want to join us.
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So drop a comment below and let us know what kinds of videos you like to see on the channel,
if you want to see more like this.
So if you're ready to jump into Stargate but you've forgotten everything I just said ...
well don't worry, you don't have to rewatch the video.
There's a link in the description below for a written version of this guide.
Let us know if you use this list and if it's helpful to you –
whether you're watching Stargate for the first time or for the tenth time.