The Stargate franchise is one of the largest in science fiction. Things are about to get even bigger, with a brand new film from the original director scheduled for 2025. Unless the reboot project has fizzled out again.
It all goes back to the 1994 sci-fi adventure film by Independence Day mastermind Roland Emmerich, which can be seen on German free TV today.
Today on TV: Military sci-fi with guns and stargates in Stargate
Stargate takes place in 1928 peculiar artifact in Egypt unearthed that appears to be out of this world. 66 years later, Catherine Langford (Viveca Lindfors), the daughter of the explorer at the time, visits the Egyptologist and linguist Daniel Jackson (James Spader). He is supposed to decipher the hieroglyphs on the futuristic-looking device, which theoretically opens gates to foreign worlds.
Together with Colonel Jack O’Neill (Kurt Russell) and his unit, Jackson sets out on a journey through the stargate after successful decryption. On the other hand, they discover a desert world similar to ancient Egypt, whose population is suppressed by the alien sun god Ra (Jaye Davidson). Will the strangers in this world find a way to help them? And then go home again?
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James Spader and Kurt Russell in Stargate
The film is based on the ridiculed one Ancient alien theory, which assumes that aliens influenced early human history. It also seems not unlikely that Emmerich has read Enki Bilal’s Nikopol trilogy, whose comics take up very similar aesthetics and approaches. These were made into a film in 2002 with the film Immortal – The Return of the Gods.
The Stargate film also delivers big ideas and an interesting mix of ancient Egypt with futuristic technology. On the human side, Spader as a nerd and Russell as a tough guy keep things going with their amusing dynamic. In the subsequent series Stargate SG-1, the roles were played by Michael Shanks and MacGyver star Richard Dean Anderson.
When will Stargate be on German television?
The local free TV channel VOX shows Stargate on Whit Monday May 20, 2024 at 10:30 p.m in the German dubbed version. Alternatively, the film can be streamed on the Amazon channel MGM+.