The Two Things Stargate SG-1’s Co-Creator Would Change About The Sci-Fi Series

When Roland Emmerich’s “Stargate” made just short of $200 million on a $55 million budget, naturally there was talk of a sequel. In fact, Emmerich’s modest 1994 sci-fi hit was supposed to kick off an entire “Stargate” film trilogy. But when the decision was made to move the franchise to the small screen, Emmerich turned down the offer to direct, citing episode budgets that weren’t quite capacious enough for his ambitious vision.

Plans for a TV show went ahead anyway and in 1997, “Stargate SG-1” debuted on Showtime. Co-created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, the series used the same premise as Emmerich’s film and followed the eponymous crew’s exploits as they explored alien worlds by passing through the Stargate portal. While the film had been a solid hit, the show went on to garner a cult following and spawned multiple spin-off series in the forms of “Stargate: Atlantis,” “Stargate: Universe,” “Stargate: Infinity,” and “Stargate: Origins.” Not only that, “SG-1” is at least partly responsible for erecting what became nothing short of an entertainment empire, with the “Stargate” saga now having played out across comic books, video games, and novels.

Had Emmerich known this would be the outcome, he might well have made a different decision about overseeing “SG-1.” Of course, it was impossible to know how enduring “Stargate” would turn out to be at the time. Even Wright and Glassner, who ultimately helped the property grow into what it became, have their own regrets about the series that started it all, with Wright in particular struggling with two specific aspects of early “SG-1” episodes.

“Stargate SG-1” might well be beloved among fans, but it made its share of missteps. One of the worst episodes of “SG-1,” for example, saw Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) captured by a tribe before being sold off to a warlord who she eventually defeats in battle, thereby teaching the tribes about women’s rights … or something. It’s not good.

For Brad Wright, however, even this episode isn’t quite as bad as two specific aspects of the series which, as he admitted to GateWorld in 2002, he would change if he could. Speaking to the fan site just as Season 6 of “SG-1” was getting underway, Wright reflected on some of the choices made throughout the show’s five previous seasons. Asked about what he would alter if he could go back to the beginning of the show, Wright replied:

“I would have dropped the symbiotes in the pouch. I’ve never liked the damn things. O’Neill’s feelings for symbiotes and pouches reflect mine exactly. I liked the concept in general, but the execution of it was … not great.”

The symbiotes were Goa’uld parasites that lived in the bodies of other organisms such as humans. In the show, the parasites were shown living in pouches on Jaffa hosts — a race that serves the Goa’uld. Apparently, Wright wasn’t a fan of the admittedly gross depiction of these parasites-harboring pouches. But this wasn’t the only thing the co-creator would redo if he had the opportunity.

When “SG-1” first began airing on Showtime, the network pushed for more nudity until one star fought back. At the time, the cable channel was known for being a little more lewd than others, and its execs were seemingly keen to make their “Stargate” series fit with the Showtime brand. After Samantha Carter actor Amanda Tapping pushed back, however, the Showtime bosses relented, and “SG-1” was a mostly nudity-free affair.

Before the writers and producers could recalibrate the show’s sensibility, though, one nude scene did make it into the pilot episode. Premiering on July 27, 1997, “Children of the Gods” included a scene where Vaitiare Bandera’s Sha’re appears topless. This was actually removed from the episode in subsequent showings, but it seems Wright always regretted the fact it had made the cut in the first place. “I also would have dropped the nudity in the pilot episode,” he told GateWorld. “I was dead against it at the time, and even brought my seven-year-old daughter to the rough cut — just to point out that I had to remove her from the screening room for two whole scenes.”

The co-creator also spoke about the nudity debacle several years later in another GateWorld interview in 2009. As he explained to the website, while “the studio thought that it would help the ratings on Showtime,” ultimately he and the other producers knew the show would be better off without it.

Interestingly enough, it seems as “SG-1” went on, Wright developed even more regrets about the “Stargate” series. In fact, he highlighted two other glaring issues with the show in a 2022 Reddit AMA. While Emmerich might have missed out on contributing to a surprisingly expansive sci-fi franchise by choosing not to be involved with “SG-1,” then, at least he doesn’t have any pouch or nudity-related regrets to worry about.