Post by Niemz on Jun 19, 2007 22:08:55 GMT -6
The film's plot lays the framework of the Stargate mythos. A brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Daniel Jackson (James Spader), is shunned by the academic world due to his far-fetched theories regarding the Great Pyramid. Dr. Catherine Langford privately hires him to decipher a set of symbols found on the cover stones of an ancient ring-shaped artifact (the Stargate) that was found at Giza in 1928. Jackson determines that the symbols are in fact constellations, and if 6 symbols are identified, a point in space can be extrapolated that corresponds to a "destination"; a seventh symbol defines the point of origin. This discovery unlocks the secret to using the Stargate for interstellar travel.
USAF Colonel Jack O'Neil (Kurt Russell), with Jackson, leads an expedition through the Stargate to the planet Abydos. In the film, only two Stargates are known to exist, i.e. the two connecting Abydos and Earth; hence the purpose of the mission is to determine whether Abydos poses a danger to Earth, and, if so, to destroy the gate on Abydos to protect Earth. Expansions of the film, such as SG-1, alter this premise, explaining that an entire network of Stargates exists.
On Abydos, O'Neil's team comes into conflict with an alien posing as the Egyptian sun god Ra (Jaye Davidson). Ra controls vast numbers of slaves who labor in his mine, living in fear and ignorance. The slaves are the descendants of humans who were transported to Abydos from Ancient Egypt to mine the mineral needed to sustain Ra's life. O'Neil's team befriends the people of Abydos, and Jackson falls in love with and marries a woman named Sha'uri, who was originally given to him by the people of Abydos as a peace offering. The team reveals Ra's hoax to the people of Abydos and leads them in revolution against him.
Before O'Neil is able to detonate a nuclear warhead to seal the pathway to Earth, Ra steals the bomb and uses the same mineral comprising the Stargate to increase its destructive power a hundredfold, with the intention of sending the bomb back to Earth through the Stargate. O'Neil is unable to defuse the detonation timer, and alternatively transports the bomb onto Ra's space-vessel. It detonates, destroying both Ra and his ship. With Ra's destruction, the slaves of Abydos are liberated.
O'Neil and the surviving members of his team return to Earth, but Jackson stays behind to live with his wife
USAF Colonel Jack O'Neil (Kurt Russell), with Jackson, leads an expedition through the Stargate to the planet Abydos. In the film, only two Stargates are known to exist, i.e. the two connecting Abydos and Earth; hence the purpose of the mission is to determine whether Abydos poses a danger to Earth, and, if so, to destroy the gate on Abydos to protect Earth. Expansions of the film, such as SG-1, alter this premise, explaining that an entire network of Stargates exists.
On Abydos, O'Neil's team comes into conflict with an alien posing as the Egyptian sun god Ra (Jaye Davidson). Ra controls vast numbers of slaves who labor in his mine, living in fear and ignorance. The slaves are the descendants of humans who were transported to Abydos from Ancient Egypt to mine the mineral needed to sustain Ra's life. O'Neil's team befriends the people of Abydos, and Jackson falls in love with and marries a woman named Sha'uri, who was originally given to him by the people of Abydos as a peace offering. The team reveals Ra's hoax to the people of Abydos and leads them in revolution against him.
Before O'Neil is able to detonate a nuclear warhead to seal the pathway to Earth, Ra steals the bomb and uses the same mineral comprising the Stargate to increase its destructive power a hundredfold, with the intention of sending the bomb back to Earth through the Stargate. O'Neil is unable to defuse the detonation timer, and alternatively transports the bomb onto Ra's space-vessel. It detonates, destroying both Ra and his ship. With Ra's destruction, the slaves of Abydos are liberated.
O'Neil and the surviving members of his team return to Earth, but Jackson stays behind to live with his wife