Rating: Summary: Serious Technical Problems With This Release Review: To start, I have over 560 DVDs so I have some experience with them. I am also a great fan of SG-1 and spend a lot of time on various SG-1 sites.First, these are ARTIFICALLY widescreen, images are stretched and you WILL see fat faces and circles, and other distortions. While I prefer widescreen when a movie is shot that way, these were originally shot full frame and should have stayed that way. Still, that isn't my main complaint. The company who mastered these made a number of mistakes which are reported on a number of SG-1 message boards. In my case, starting with Broca Divide, voices are nearly inaudible unless you turn the stereo way up. The leaves rustling in the wind are still louder than the voices. Music and other sound effects scream and voices are barely a whisper. Supposedly Nox and a few other episodes also have this problem (haven't viewed them yet). Some say you can unplug one of the channels and get the voices. Why should we have to do that? And if you are using digital/optical sound "wiring" you can't do that. Another problem is that the interlaced scene transistions will frequently "flash" bright white with thin dark horizontal lines. While you can ALMOST get used to this it is very annoying. These are just mastering problems and can be fixed. I have not received a response from MGM but the store I bought them from will give me a full refund and are returning all copies FOR THEIR ENTIRE NATIONWIDE CHAIN to the distributor. When Disney had a similar problem (no voice on the right channel for "The Black Hole") they issued a recall within the first week and replaced all defective copies already purchased. It's unfortunate that MGM has apparently ignored complaints in the US and Britian concerning the sound. I am anxiously waiting to buy all 5 season, but not until they are mastered correctly.
Rating: Summary: Only complaint is how long we had to wait Review: Definitely a must-have! It's great to finally be able to watch a crisp-clear version of the first season of what I think is the greatest sci-fi series ever to grace the small screen--it very quickly passed up Trek in my book. The bonus featurettes are great, as well--definitely love the behind the scenes snippets.
Rating: Summary: Skeptical people, Listen to me. Review: I just bought this boxed set, sight unseen. I don't even have a DVD player yet, but I'm buying one BECAUSE of this little item. Stargate SG-1 is a spectacular show. The best on TV, in my opinion. Watch the original movie, and then watch the premeire episode. It's almost like watching a single show, save for the different actors playing the characters and some minor sound differences. A few inconsistencies aside, the movie and series are perfect together. SG-1 is quite simply the finest science fiction series in the last several years. I'd miss an entire season of DS9 or Voyager before I'd miss a single episode of Stargate. The writing is engaging, entertaining, and intelligent, and the characters are unparalleled. Buy it. If you liked the movie, the series is a step above and beyond. You'll LOVE it.
Rating: Summary: Great Series Review: I have watched this series on Showtime since season one. It's an excellent show, full of great characters and witty dialogue and cool kawoosh effects. I would highly recommend it to others. My friend purchased this DVD set and we've been having a great time watching the show.
Rating: Summary: Great Show Review: I'm so glad to have this series in a nice and clean format now with no speckles or wavy lines from my television transmission. I like the fact that the episodes are here in their original Showtime format, uncut (with the small exception of the credits which are those used for syndication, but that's okay because they have a nice montage of the characters in them, unlike the Showtime ones which only show an Egyptian mask motif). Anyway, I was very excited to get this first season set, am more than satisfied with the quality of the DVD's, and can't wait until the next set comes out. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who is considering buying it.
Rating: Summary: Outstanding Series Review: This is a great series. And this boxed set covers the entire first season all in one fell swoop. The writing for the episodes was excellent picking up on the threads that the movie Stargate had left off on in a logical manner. The transition between the movie and the series being nearly seamless with the return of the Goa'uld and the re-opening of the Stargate on Abydos and without any of those huge contraditions that so many tv series seem to have when based on movies. And,I was immediately hooked on watching how the four characters, making up the team of SG-1, start out as strangers and then grow to be friends and fiercely loyal to one another. The interplay between Michael Shanks as Daniel Jackson and Richard Dean Anderson as Colonel Jack O'Neill is worth the DVD's price alone. Michael Shanks shows us an earnest Daniel Jackson who still has that sense of childlike wonder despite the way life keeps knocking him down. And Richard Dean Anderson creates a Jack O'Neill who is strongly military but with a wicked sense of humor. Also, the added talents of Amanda Tapping (who plays Samantha Carter, an airforce captain and scientist) and Christopher Judge (Teal'c, a former first prime, a.k.a. head soldier, of the enemy) play off of these two in such a way that it makes a good balance. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who likes strong character development. Although I liked all the episodes (with the possible exception of Emancipation), I particularly liked: Cold Lazarus, Hathor, Fire & Water, Solitudes, There But The Grace of God, and Within The Serpent's Grasp. My only objection is that Within The Serpent's Grasp is the first of two parts and I would really hope that MGM would hurry up and release the second season set so that I can buy the sequel to this episode to add it to my collection. Overall, the film quality of the DVD's was good. The storylines were well written (the characters learn and change throughout, with each episode adding a little bit to the previously established material, and not simply being the "monster of the week" vignette). I also liked the fact that the series, like the movie, uses elements of different historical time periods, particularly egyptology, to form many of their premises. (If you're a history buff or amateur archeologist you'll run into a lot of familiar myths and legends and historical facts.) Also, the added bonus material of interviews and such was fun. Would I recommend this to a friend to buy. Yes. Do I think it's worth the money? Yes. Will I buy the next set. Yes. So, if you liked Stargate the movie. Or you like stories similar to the television show Farscape or books by such authors as Lois McMaster Bujold, where character development and witty dialogue are wrapped around adventures then I think you will enjoy this series too. Definitely a thumbs up!
Rating: Summary: Stargate SG-1 Season #1 Boxed Set Review: 5 GOLD Stars! I understand that this collection set represents an award winning year for the show, which is reason alone why you should own this set! Parental review and guidance is always a good thing! I'm not new to the Sci-Fi industry. I started out in the 60-s with the early ideas of outer space from the 50's, ever evolving through the decades of ideas to the outer space stories of today. The world of Sci-Fi is as boundless in imagination as the galaxies themselves. But I'm a late-comer to Stargate SG-1 having only entered the Stargate, depending upon the broadcaster, during current broadcast seasons 3 and 4. With broadcasters interrupting their schedules due to ratings weeks, ads, and other programming special events, I couldn't follow the current year stories easily but each episode did leave me wanting more of the story saga. I felt as if I were reading a chapter in a book that was located in the middle of some fantastic novel. I finally purchased the DVD, which presented the first 3 episodes of Season #1, and found wonderful writing that hooked my soul in the adventure of fantasy, drama, thrill, suspense, mystery, personal experiences reflection, ethics review, art work creation, and a lingering desire for this saga to continue! I mean---I was HOOKED! The cast of characters is fresh, energetic, inspirational and professionally spirited. The transition from the original movie with Kurt Russell to Stargate SG-1 with Richard Dean Anderson is splendidly done. However, I still wasn't satisfied as to 'how' I evolved up to Season 3 and 4 with story references made to earlier occurrences. I couldn't quite make this full 3-4 year leap. Behold and Rejoice! Event horizons answered my cosmic prayer with the release of this DVD Collection Set, complete Season 1. Here is a finely crafted collection of written stories (somewhat sequential in nature) which beautifully presents scientific/humanitarian/literature concepts, themes, character individualism, collective character interaction development with high caliber and refined acting. Richard Dean Anderson remarkably shows us his acting abilities in ways we've never seen his acting skills previously before---thus, Season #1 being a viewing year not to miss. We're introduced to Michael Shanks' abilities, and who, in my opinion, has excelled himself into a highly polished actor. Amanda Tapping's role is beautifully challenging, as are our own life's as career women today, in that we must learn certain scientific physics from her so that we can astro-boogie through that worm hole into a world of mysterious, weird, and highly imaginative circumstances of epoch civilization occurrences and other scientific space phenomena that adventurers of Sci-Fi space-travel love to encounter and experience. Today, by the end of Season #4, I can't begin to imagine learning ANY physics without Amanda! Christopher Judge gives us a new, gentle/tender loving meaning to the phrase 'brut force with a punch'. Other cast members will pop-up to wow you, too, even during this first season. High adventure Sci-Fi is not just for the boys anymore! Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful material. This collection set includes the first 3 episodes of Season #1 plus added behind the scene interviews with cast members. I have found that in order to truly enter the Stargate, one should have this entire Season #1 collection year --- you won't be disappointed! You can move forward from here. The Sci-Fi world is big and vast.....with plenty of space for us all!!!!! I finally climbed aboard this moving saga. What dance step is next? This is fun!!! 5 GOLD Stars!!!
Rating: Summary: It would get 5 stars if the video quality was better Review: It's great to see season 1 of SG-1 on DVD. The only complaint I have about the set is the video quality on a lot of the action scenes. It's just another case of quantity over quality. I've seen the Region 2 releases from the UK which have only 4 episodes per disc and the video quality on those is vastly superior with no really noticable compression artifacts.
Rating: Summary: "Open the Iris" Review: Stargate SG-1 is possibly the best Sci-Fi series since Next Gen. This cast works so well together and has made me a truly dedicated fan. The box set is a must-have for any true SG-1 fan. The Featurettes are interesting and add a lot to this already wonderful set. I found myself very saddened when I was done watching all the season 1 episodes. It is so easy to get totally enthralled in this series...If you aren't already, you will be ADDICTED!!
Rating: Summary: Latecomer to StarGate Review: I am a latecomer to Stargate SG-1, I saw it first in season 2, and missed all the buildup in season 1. This set of shows fills in most of the questions I had while watching seasons 2 and 3. The brightness of all the CDs was perfect on my computer, and to see these shows without the interruption of advertisement was also a great treat. I found the story lines of each CD riveting, and the acting was well done by all performers, although I think the stargate concept is interesting of itself, Chinese in origin perhaps (Tien-An-Minh) :)
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