The “Stargate” franchise is a bit of a complicated one, starting with Roland Emmerich’s 1994 film about ancient portals (the titular “stargates”) that allow for travel between distant worlds. Just three years later, premium cable network Showtime launched a television series based on the movie, though star Kurt Russell did not reprise his role as commander Jack O’Neill, who was instead portrayed by Richard Dean Anderson. Despite moving from Showtime to the Sci-Fi channel (which became SyFy), “Stargate SG-1” was rather successful and had a devoted fanbase that helped support not only the series but additional spin-offs like “Stargate Atlantis,” “Stargate Universe,” and “Stargate Origins.” In fact, “Stargate SG-1” broke a Guinness world record for the longest consecutive running science fiction series, taking over the spot from the hit Fox show “The X-Files.” That record-breaking almost didn’t happen, however, as the team behind “Stargate SG-1” nearly cancelled the show after the series’ eighth season to make room for another “Stargate” series.
While producers thankfully decided to continue “SG-1” and incorporate their ideas for the new series into the flagship title, they did have some decent reasons for wanting to take things in a new direction — and the last two seasons of “Stargate SG-1” feel pretty different as a result.
Stargate SG-1 was almost axed to make room for Stargate Command
One of the main reasons behind wanting to end “Stargate SG-1” with season 8 was that Anderson was done with playing Jack O’Neill full-time, as he wanted to step away from the role to spend more time with his family. He would have limited involvement with the series moving forward, and producers knew they were going to have to shift focus onto some new characters. Not only that, but Amanda Tapping’s character Dr. Samantha Carter was also absent for a large chunk of season 8 due to maternity leave, meaning “Stargate SG-1” really had to pivot a bit.
While Ben Browders’ Colonel Cameron Mitchell and Beau Bridges’ Major General Hank Landry were welcome additions to the “Stargate” universe, there would be a definite shift in the series’ tone that led executives to believe it might be better to create a new series called “Stargate Command” instead. In the end, they decided to simply continue “SG-1” with the understanding that the show would be a bit different in its later seasons. It would only run for two more seasons before the series was canceled by SyFy, though the network said it was a decision made so the show would “go out on a high note.” In the end, “Stargate” fans got a movie, four TV shows, and a handful of TV films all made about their favorite franchise, and that’s really not too bad.
