If Friday, the fifteenth of July, 2005 is not marked in your calendar yet, then grab a pen — you won’t be going anywhere that evening; three of among the best science fiction shows will be returning to our screens. While Star Trek: Enterprise has left us for the world of TV heaven — or possibly hell, depending on your perspective — Stargate: SG-1, and its spin-off, Stargate: Atlantis, along with Battlestar: Galatica are all to be shown on the aforesaid evening.

Unlike Enterprise, SG-1 has strangely suffered almost no criticism about abandoning its roots, even as major characters such as General Hammond, and now, Jack O’Neill, are removed, which I think is a great shame. O’Neill’s characteristic humour and personality added a unique touch to the show, and the SG-1 team interacted so well because of the balance and contrast he brought along to the wisdom of Daniel and Carter and the sobriety of Teal’c. It’s somewhat remiscient of the great dialogue that occured between the lead characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which — particularly if Odo, Quark, or Morn were involved — could always bring out a smile. Jack’s to be replaced by Mitchell, another military officer from Southern USA, though I personally doubt that he will be leading the team, as this would be a bit of a shock for the remainder of the group and the general audience, and would appear too much of a ‘replacement’ Jack. We’re told that he’ll at least have a good sense of humour, so that’s something to look forwards to, but without much of the arrogance that his predecessor established over the years.

With the Goa’uld nearly out of the picture, we’ll be seeing a lot more personal growth and backstory, as well as the introduction of a new villain — known as the Ori, another race of evil ascended beings. These will form a major component of the remainder of the season. The first three episodes — Avalon Parts I and II, and Origin — will form a triology, during which some ‘major revelations’ about everyone’s favourite race, the mysterious Ancients, will be revealed. This story will also see the return of Vala, who previously featured in Prometheus Unbound (Stargate SG-1, season 8, episode 12). She will appear in a number of early episodes — and will probably be causing more trouble for Daniel, who himself will be facing a couple of personal challenges. Teal’c will also face his own problems, although details of these are sketchy at the moment. Amanda Tapping (who plays the scientist on the team, Carter) was pregnant at the time of filming, so will not feature a major part of early Season Nine. It’s a shame to introduce a new character without her input, in my eyes, as this will leave a bit of confusion later in the series when the audience knows Mitchell better than Carter does. How this will be dealt with could prove interesting. Nevertheless, Jack will be in the first and last episode of the triology, and will be apparently making a few guest appearances throughout the season. Hopefully, we haven’t seen the last of him.

It all certainly looks like a promising attempt to breathe new life into an old series. Stargate has never been afraid of change, and I think this has been a major force in keeping it a much-loved and reasonably popular show. It may not have the following of Star Trek, but this can be an advantage as it is less constrained by its fans as to what is ‘canon’ and the right direction. I certainly hope, however, that this change doesn’t distort it beyond recognition. The producers need to be especially careful to maintain the key elements that people like — one of the reasons Enterprise failed was, in my opinion, the wrong pieces of the puzzle were taken out and replaced. Such a radical overhaul may be either a brilliant stroke of genius or a misconceived attack of senselessness. Let’s hope it’s the former.

A look into the new season of Atlantis will appear shortly, don’t go away. ;)

Thanks to our friends over at GateWorld for much of the information.