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Inside
the Cover Book Reviews Stargate SG-1: The Essential Scripts If
you know how to spell Teal’c, pronounce goa’uld, or how many chevrons it
takes to dial the Asgard galaxy, then you will enjoy this look behind the scenes
of the third longest running science fiction series ever (behind Dr. Who and
X-Files), Stargate SG-1. If
you want to write science fiction, team adventures, or one-hour teleplays, you
will gain much information from this collection of annotated TV scripts. Even
if you just enjoy reading intelligent stories about likeable characters, you
will find Stargate SG-1: The Essential Scripts to be a worthwhile read. Since
I fall into all three of the above categories, I highly recommend this book –
though I might quibble with why it took 8 years and more than 150 episodes for a
publisher to come up with the idea of putting out these scripts. Better late
than never. Fans
will have a field day debating whether the six scripts chosen for this
collection are truly “essential,” but for the most part these scripts are
indicative of the best mythologies and storylines that this contemporary science
fiction world offers. These choices also exhibit some of the best work of the
series’ principal writers, Robert C. Cooper, Brad Wright, and the team of Joe
Mallozzi and Paul Mullie. Cooper
is represented by two of his best Stargate scripts from seasons one and two:
“Torment of Tantalus” (TOT) and “The Fifth Race” (TFR). These stories
are some of the series’ best science fiction stories and help to create the
richly populated and complex historical universe within which the Stargate
Command was formed (TOT) and in which the Stargate series lives (TFR). Even
with all that work to carry, these scripts still contain many character moments
between the members of SG-1. It is these key relationships that form the bedrock
upon which the series’ long-running success ultimately rests. Wright
has two scripts in the collection from seasons four and six. “2010” is a
classic time travel episode with a Stargate twist. Once again the nifty science
fiction mind bender that is time travel does not overshadow the camaraderie
between series regulars – even though their team was disbanded years ago. When
another crisis for Earth rears its ugly head, our trusty heroes instinctively
come back together to work out a team operation to save the planet. “Abyss”
is a character-driven episode with an overlay of gravity-distorted prison cells
and technologically sophisticated torture devices. But this episode is often
listed as a fan favorite precisely because of the character interactions that
show the depth of the chemistry among the four members of SG-1. Mallozzi’s
and Mullie’s first Stargate script “Window of Opportunity” is a fine
example of SG-1 at its humorous best. The series tries to do a funny episode
every season and Season Four’s entry was this time looping episode that
literally drives two members of SG-1 loopy. Perhaps
the biggest question mark for an included script is the series 100th episode,
co-written by Wright, Mallozzi, and Mullie and called “Wormhole X’treme!”
This was season five’s humorous episode and included lots of in-house humor
for the production staff but seemed a poor choice to celebrate the 100-episodes
milestone. It does not make many fans’ Top Six Essential Scripts List. Nevertheless,
this collection of annotated shooting scripts is invaluable to Stargate SG-1
fans and to aspiring TV or science fiction writers. Editor Sharon Gosling does a
good job drawing the writers into commenting on their scripts’ development in
lengthy introductions and conclusions to the scripts. With almost 175 other scripts to choose from, and many other gems in the bunch, we can hope that a volume two is in the works. With the likelihood that Stargate SG-1 may continue into a ninth season and feature films, the fan base for such a product is alive and growing. Heather Hunt earns her living as an editor for a business publisher in Connecticut. For fun she rides her bike, reads books and magazines, watches Stargate SG-1 (Say yes to Season 9!), and cheers on the Red Sox. She writes reviews for ThisChristianLife.com and SFReader.com and is also practicing screenwriting. Practice makes perfect! |
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