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The Showtime cable series Stargate SG-1 turns the premise of Stargate into a surprisingly viable formula, with former MacGyver star Richard Dean Anderson assuming Kurt Russell's role as Air Force hero Jack O'Neill. Michael Shanks inherits James Spader's role as archeologist Daniel Jackson, and the series' 1997 pilot, "Children of the Gods," reunites the adventurers when the Air Force's Stargate facility on Earth is attacked by sentries from Abydos, the distant planet on the other side of the space-warping Stargate. Faced with a new nemesis from Abydos, O'Neill and the fresh recruits of Unit SG-1 must return to the planet and close off the Stargate to prevent further attacks on Earth. It's a pretty standard adventure, with brief, gratuitous R-rated nudity not seen in the original cablecast, but Anderson's an appealing leader of the well-chosen cast (including Alexis Cruz, reprising his role from the film), and the show's production values are consistently high. Taking logical steps from Stargate, series developers Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner have managed an admirable feat, creating a spin-off that doesn't feel like a rip-off.

Episode One, "The Enemy Within," continues the SG-1 pilot, with the discovery that officer Kawalsky (Jay Acavone) is now the enslaved host of a Goa'uld larvae--a snakelike parasite from Abydos that has seized control of Kawalski's nervous system. Only an elaborate surgical procedure can save Kawalski's life, and the SG-1 loyalty of Teal'c (Christopher Judge)--a former enemy from Abydos who is also a Goa'uld host--is put to the test.

Episode Two, "Emancipation," guest-stars Soon-Tek Oh as the leader of the Shavadai, a Mongolian-like tribe on the planet Simarka, where the SG-1 Unit has arrived via the Stargate to begin their first expedition. The Shavadai view women as subservient and submissive, so the presence of SG-1 Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) causes an instant--and, for Carter, potentially deadly--uproar. This episode offers an enjoyable balance of humor and suspense, and establishes Tapping as a witty sparring partner for Anderson. --Jeff Shannon

Rating : - When fair movies become great TV
Most TV shows spun off from movies are uninvolving and uninteresting ("Blade," anyone?), and hopefully die and are forgotten.

That wasn't the case with the spinoff of the 1995 movie "Stargate," an okay science fiction movie that spawned an excellent television series. The first volume of the first season -- a TV movie and two more episodes -- shows that it wasn't quite on even ground yet, but had more promise than most sci-fi shows.

The Stargate has been inactive for a year -- until it is activated, and a bunch of Egyptian-styled warriors come through and kidnap a young officer. General Hammond (Don S. Davis) pulls Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) out of retirement to learn what really happened on the planet of Abydos, and where these mysterious aliens have come from.

O'Neill and a small team go to Abydos and encounter Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) who has been learning about a vast network of Stargates over the past year. But when Daniel's wife Sha're and brother-in-law Skaara are abducted by the same warriors, O'Neill, Jackson and Air Force scientist Sam Carter (Amanda Tapping) use the Stargate to venture to where they're being kept.

What they find is an alien race who inhabits human hosts, the Goa'uld, and their ruthless slave warriors, the Jaffa. Carter, O'Neill and Jackson are captured by the powerful Apophis -- but to escape, they must have the help of an unlikely ally: Teal'c (Christopher Judge), one of the Jaffa.

"The Enemy Within" strikes when Major Kawalsky (Jay Acovone) starts acting oddly, and they find that he's been infected by a Goa'uld symbiote in the previous battle. O'Neill is busy defending the prisoner Teal'c, and trying to support his buddy as scientists try to extract the symbiote. But to free Kawalsky, they may have to destroy him...

"Emancipation" was the first standalone episode, when the newly-formed SG-1 team arrives on a planet of Mongol descendents, where women are treated as chattel. Sam is understandably peeved by this, especially when she is captured and traded as part of a Romeo-and-Juliet situation. Now the guys have to get Sam back without sparking off a little war.

The first volume of this series is kind of awkward -- the characters are still at arm's length, Teal'c is an enigma, and everybody gets overly worried whenever the SG-1 team doesn't show up on time. But it shows the seeds of what would become an excellent TV series, both in the overall arc storyline and the standalone episodes.

One of the best things about this show is the snappy dialogue, mostly provided by the cynical, tart-tongued O'Neill -- after sending a "message" box of tissues through the Stargate, he says sarcastically, "Well sir, they could be blowing their noses right now!"

The Egyptian-styled sets and effects have a slightly low-budget style, but the script adds some brilliant twists to the original idea, such as hundreds of Stargates scattered through the cosmos. And the makers add some warm scenes, such as the eager Abydonian teenagers celebrating with O'Neill and his pals, which really makes the characters seem human.

The cast is also quite good -- Michael Shanks and Richard Dean Anderson have excellent chemistry as the cynical military man and the enthusiastic geek. Tapping is also quite good, although her character takes awhile to fit in, but Judge sadly doesn't get to show much of his formidable range as Teal'c, and O'Neill's demand that he be part of SG-1 seems very forced.

The premiere episodes "Stargate SG-1" are solid ones, although they have flaws that the succeeding seasons have since smoothed out. A solid, interesting beginning to a good series.