Production Brad Wright and
Jonathan Glassner had worked together on the
Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer (MGM) television series
The Outer Limits since 1995. Wright saw a wide range of possible science fiction storylines in the original
Stargate (1994) film that could take place in the present day. The show was eventually given the name
Stargate SG-1 after Wright flightily agreed to Symes's pitch question if the team should be called "SG-1". MGM released posters titled
Stargate SG-1 within the next week without the knowledge of Wright and Glassner. John Symes approached Michael Greenburg and
Richard Dean Anderson of
MacGyver fame. Anderson agreed to become involved with the project if his character
Jack O'Neill was allowed significantly more comedic leeway than
Kurt Russell's character in the feature film. He also requested
Stargate SG-1 to be more of an ensemble show, so that he would not be carrying the plot alone as on
MacGyver. The American subscription channel
Showtime made a two-season commitment for 44 episodes in 1996. "The First Commandment" was the first
Stargate SG-1 episode written by
Robert C. Cooper, who would later become an executive producer and co-creator of the spin-off series
Stargate Atlantis.
Paul McGillion, who played young Ernest Littlefield in "Torment of Tantalus", would go on to play the recurring and later main character Dr.
Carson Beckett in
Stargate Atlantis. The outside scenes of "Solitudes" were filmed at
Pemberton Icefield. The rest of the episode was filmed in the studio, which was filled with fake snow and ice and kept at a low temperature.
Production design Lead production designer Richard Hudolin flew to
Los Angeles, 1996 to gather material from
Stargate for reference and found the original film
prop stored outside in the Californian desert. Although the prop had severely disintegrated, he could take a detailed mould for
Stargate SG-1 production to build its own prop. The new Stargate was engineered to turn, lock the chevrons, and be computer-controlled to dial specific gate addresses. A portable Stargate prop was built for on-location shoots and required six workers and one full day to set up. but one of Hudolin's original plans of a three-level SGC set was rejected in favor of a two-level set. Two multi-purpose rooms were frequently redecorated into the infirmary, Daniel's lab, the cafeteria or the gym. The SGC set and all other sets from the pilot episode were constructed within six weeks in January and February 1997, incorporating some original set pieces from the feature film.
Cast and characters The initial season had five main characters getting star
billing.
Richard Dean Anderson portrayed formerly suicidal United States Air Force Colonel
Jack O'Neill.
Michael Shanks played the American Egyptologist
Daniel Jackson. Both O'Neill and Jackson appeared in the 1994 film
Stargate.
Amanda Tapping played astrophysicist and United States Air Force captain
Samantha "Sam" Carter.
Christopher Judge portrayed
Teal'c, a
Jaffa from Chulak and former First Prime of
Apophis. Don S. Davis played
George Hammond, the new leader of the
Stargate program, taking over after General W.O. West. Numerous supporting characters have been given expansive and recurring appearances in the progressive storyline, including:
Teryl Rothery as
Janet Fraiser,
Gary Jones as
Chevron Guy (later identified as Walter Harriman),
Jay Acovone as
Charles Kawalsky (portrayed by
John Diehl in the 1994 feature film),
Tom McBeath as
Harry Maybourne, and
Ronny Cox as
Robert Kinsey, among others. == Main cast ==