SCI FI PI

THE GOA'ULD ARE SCARY AGAIN!

Released Aug 6
Starring: Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Michael Shanks, Claudia Black, Richard Dean Anderson, Cliff Simon, Don S. Davis, Beau Bridges
Directed by Martin Wood
Rated M


Available on Blu-ray and DVD.


Whilst Ark of Truth was purported to be the real 'Gater' film, finishing off the 10 year series with a tying up of the final Ori storyline, it is Continuum, oddly enough, that feels more like a fan celebration of the Stargate series, as it reintroduces a host of fan fave characters (both good and evil) even whilst it retains its 'standalone' and 'first time viewers' storyline.

Continuum benefits from the extended budget and extended scope that makes these new Stargate films highly satisfactory for established fans, and quite a surprise for Stargate newbies expecting low-budget, straight to DVD fare.



Where did Teal'c go?


Continuum is not a double episode - it's a feature film. Whilst Continuum might not have the budget of a Michael Bay movie, the money they do use goes a hell of a long way - and when you're laying waste to the Earth and its puny Earthling inhabitants, this is ALWAYS a good thing.

The simple truth is that the decades plus experience of the Vancouver-based Stargate team gives them an edge in the CGI/Vfx/sfx department - when it comes to bang for your buck, should they ever get their hands on something close to a feature film budget, Michael Bay will be out of a job.

WHAT's THIS STARGATE I'VE BEEN HEARING SO MUCH ABOUT?

After a walkthrough of the SGC which fans will be vibrating over, the film begins with the extraction ceremony of Ba'al, the last of the System Lords. Simple enough, you all say, but of course, things go horribly wrong.

For those unfamiliar with Stargate - the System Lords are a group of rather vile, highly pretentious aliens who've inserted themselves into human hosts and then taken on the form of Gods - thus the mythologies of the world, are for the most part based on the rather nefarious interruptions in our histories by icky snake-head aliens hell-bent on galactic domination (if only you had a dollar, right?).

The good guys, surprisingly enough, are the Asgard (they take the names of Thor, for example) and they look like the 'greys' of common Ufology, although the have a rather superior attitude when dealing with the intellectually challenged humans that infest our insignificant planet.



Not just a Lord - a System Lord. Ba'al contemplates the destruction of Earth.


The SG-1 team are a group of air-force led scientists and military types who use the alien system of Stargates, artificially created wormholes through which one can instantaneously travel to faraway planets, (labelled by the military with the evocative names such as PX-74451M) who explore the galaxy and collect technology to fight the Goa'uld and anyone else who threatens to obliterate Earth.

As we meet them now, the team consists of Cameron Mitchell, Samantha Carter, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c (a former 'head thug' of one of the Goa'uld) and Vala Mal Doran, close enough to a female Han Solo (a Scoundrelette) who used to be host to a Goa'uld named Qetesh.

Apologies to those Gaters who know all of this back to front. Let us be getting back to Continuum.



General Hammond. Mr President. Good to see you in this one.

CONTINUUM TAKES TIME AND TEARS IT A NEW TIME-HOLE

Why Continuum? Time and space baby!

Whilst Ba'al is getting his snake-head extracted from his human host after thousands of years of terrorising the galaxy, our team suddenly begins to disappear. The good Goa'uld (the Tokra) also start vanishing, as does their city.

Things look grim, and get even worse when Ba'al breaks fee and stabs General Jack O'Neill, (the iconic Richard Dean Anderson, who led SG-1 for 8 years) who dies in front of our eyes.

With reality heading into clusterfluck territory, the remaining team members, Daniel Jackson, Samantha Carter and Cameron Mitchell head back to Earth through the Stargate.



I'm sorry, I'm really not falling for this 'body warmth' routine. Get your hand out of there!


Luckily, they're unaffected by causality as the timeline changes around them as they travel through the wormhole - (wormholes do that!) - because they're in for one hell of a shock when they get back to earth.

History has changed. Big time. No Stargate, no Stargate command - and not everyone in the team exists!

Their only chance of reasserting the previous timeline is to convince the top brass of a rather dubious reality concerning intergalactic travel, nasty aliens and the rather ludicrous existence of a thing called a 'Stargate'.

Hilarity, setbacks, alien invasions, delicious double crosses, grandfather paradoxes and a rather chilly polar adventure ensues. And the best thing about it - Ba'al and his secret plan is pretty damned crafty - the baddies have really got their act together and it looks like the Earth is pretty well screwed. Feel the fear of the System Lords once more!



Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaa!

IT's BIG AND IT's SMALL

Yes, the Stargate team did shoot in the the Arctic, yes they did make history with their filming of a Los Angeles attack-class nuclear submarine. The results are unmistakably authentic, and with home-theatres being what they are, rather spectacular.

Whilst a great deal of the action is of a larger scale than ever seen before on SG-1 proper - with a bombardment from space, a climactic finale, an F-15 boondoggle and the aforementioned snowbound Hoth-like adventure, there is, quite surprisingly, a rather intimate passage through the film, where the helter-skelter pace is slowed down to let the characters breathe and reflect, allowing us into their lives and providing some much needed development and pathos - not just for the film, but as a significant moment in the entire SG-1 saga.



That's what SHE said!


Alternate timeline or not, the character moments ring very true and provide the fans with a close-up view of characters often too busy saving the world to stop and think of just who they are and just what they are without the Stargate program.

It's a strong move, and a testament to the robust writing that goes on behind the Stargate franchise. With spectacular special effects and good quality direction, it's not surprising that Continuum works for both fans and for newbies.

However, it would be fair to say that as a newbie experience, it's not quite as special as it is for fans, being more in the 'surprisingly solid' Sci Fi category. Whilst it is terrifically entertaining, it's operating on a budget the tenth of the size of its current feature film competitors. As budgets and scope are increased for the next set of movies, the 'new' fanbase, however, can only grow.

As a DVD film, it's excellent value for money, and is an obvious harbinger for the Stargate features to come.



No matter what timeline he's in, Teal'c kicks ass.

DVD Extras:

Extras include an excellent and often quite lively commentary track with creator/writer Brad Wright and director Martin Wood.

There are three featurettes - The Making of Continuum, Stargate Goes to the Arctic and The Layman's Guide to Time Travel. All the featurettes are substantial.

The Australian Collector's Edition DVD comes with a booklet that includes an interview and a special note from Martin Wood, cast bios, script and screen grabs, trivia and the online address to never-before-seen footage.


P.S.: For fans of the loveable Don S.Davis, who passed away recently, this is your chance to see him in Stargate action one more time.


Click here for the next Stargate SG1 episode on SCI FI, and here for the next Stargate: Atlantis episode on SCI FI.