DVD Review by David Blackwell

DETAILS: 872 minutes, 20 audio commentaries, featurettes, still galleries

STUDIO: MGM/ 20th century Fox Home Entertainment

RELEASE DATE:   10-3-2006

VIDEO: 1.78:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)

AUDIO: English 5.1, French 2.0 Dolby Surround

Subtitles: English, Spanish

DISC 1- AVALON Part 1 and 2/ ORIGIN/ THE TIES THAT BIND

DISC 2- THE POWERS THAT BE/ BEACHHEAD/ EX DEUS MACHINA/ BABYLON

DISC 3- PROTOTYPE/ THE FOURTH HORSEMAN Part 1 and 2/ COLLATERAL DAMAGE

DSIC 4- RIPPLE EFFECT/ STRONGHOLD/ ETHON/ OFF THE GRID

DISC 5- THE SCOURGE/ ARTHUR'S MANTLE/ CRUSADE/ CAMELOT

Premise: The Stargate is an interstellar gateway and the U.S. Air Force sends a team lead by Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell (Ben Browder) on peace keeping missions throughout the galaxy. His team consists of Lt. Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping who returns six episodes into season 9), Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), and the alien Jaffa Teal'c.

ANALYSIS: STARGATE SG-1 could have just ended after season 8, but Sci-Fi renewed it for another season which meant they had to find someone to fill the gap since Richard Dean Anderson left the show. They brought in Ben Browder (known to many Farscape fans as John Crichton) in season 8 and Beau Bridges in season 9. Then it became more of a Farscape reunion as Claudia Black became a semi-regular character on the show with the introduction of a new major bad guy race, The Ori, who were the opposite of the Ancients. The Ori storyline was a bumpy road as the episodes varied in quality with everything gelling by the mid-season and the end of the season. The standalone episodes are the weakest of the season. A major space battle closes the season. Season 9 wasn't one of my favorite seasons, but it made me want to come back for season 10.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Audio commentaries for every episode, but the best of the bunch is when Amanda Tapping drops in for the track for CAMELOT. Photo and Production galleries are on each disc. The Director's Series focuses on five different directors and the episodes they did. Ben Browder gets his own featurette on disc 4 and a few behind-the-scenes featurettes focus on various aspects of the series.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Not the best point in SG-1 as the show is a little long in the tooth, but The Ori storyline and a couple of Farscape actors help keep it alive. Plenty of extras fill this set.

Related DVD Review:

STARGATE ATLANTIS season 2-  http://enterline2.tripod.com/stargate_atlantis_season2.html

this review is (c)3-5-2007 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission (except for excerpts and a link to the review). Look for additional content at http://enterlinemedia.livejournal.com and send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com