A few immediate nits come to mind:

How did Dr Langford's team know what the Stargate was capable of? Until Daniel translated the seventh symbol, they said that they'd never got any further than firing up the first six chevrons, which caused nothing more than a lot of vibrations. Yet they'd already got a star chart ready to monitor where the probe went after it had been sent through, so they clearly understood what the Stargate would do once they finally got it working. This is also borne out by Col. O'Neill's arrival and his comment to Dr Langford that "I'm here in case you succeed." Yet the hieroglyphics on the cover stones didn't give any clue (especially as they'd not been translated properly in the first place).

I was surprised by one of the team's comment to Daniel when they fired up the Stargate for the first time after he'd translated the seventh symbol. As the first six chevrons were engaged, she told him, "This is as far as we've ever got before." But if they knew (or even just guessed) that they just needed one more symbol to make it work, why hadn't they tried every combination? Even if they weren't sure that the symbol they needed was on the Gate (and, hey, how dopey were they when it was there all the time?!) there are only 30-odd symbols to try - it wouldn't have taken them that long! After all, they've been working on the durned thing for over two years!

Come to that, why had they only been working on the Gate for 2 years? It was found in 1928 - would it really have taken Dr Langford that long to decide to have a go? I suppose she could have taken over the project after her father's death - maybe he just kept it as a pretty ornament in the back garden ;)

I'm very puzzled about the cover stones. When the Stargate was dug up, it had a big stone cover on it, and on that cover were the symbols for the planet later called Abydos. But I thought that the Stargate had been buried by humans to prevent Ra from ever getting back to Earth? Why would they put in the coordinates (and so effectively leave instructions on how to use the Gate) for any future generations to find? I would have thought they should have put a Great Big Warning on it - Don't Use This or You'll Get into a Whole Lot of Trouble!

how did the probe calculate where it was after they sent it throught the stargate? The other stargate was indoors so I doubt that it could see stars, and if they were tracking by a signal of some kind, it is getting the signal out of the stargate or the signal travels faster that light.

Well, the Stargate did stay open when the probe was sending back signals, and they only lost transmission when the Gate closed. I suppose it's possible that the signals were being sent back through the wormhole - though is it possible for signals to travel backwards when people can't?

I was surprised that they just allowed the team to go through without checking whether biological lifeforms were able to travel without any side effects. I wonder whether perhaps they might have sent a rabbit or something through first and then got the probe to send back a picture of it alive and well on the other side.

A visual nit: when Daniel starts getting dragged across the desert by the big beastie, his sunglasses can clearly be seen falling off. Yet when he sits up after the beastie has stopped, the first thing he does is put his sunglasses on. Perhaps kind Mr Kawalsky stopped and picked them up for him, eh? ;)

What I was saying is that to locate the probe they would triangulate the signals. When you triangulate something you take the length of one side of a triangle and two of the angles. This can be used to calculate the lengtth of the remaining sides and that information is used to discover the position. If they tried to triangulate throught the wormhole then they would read that the probe is only a few feet or so in front of the gate, not lightyears away unless the wormhole is lightyears long and everything in is as accelerated past the speed of light inside. Does this make any sense to anyone out there?

The trip through the gate looks similar to portions of 2001's stargate. Of course, every trip through a wormhole appears that way...

Warning: Spoilers for Children of the Gods

*******

Well, apparently they didn't really know what they were doing, as Abydos is NOT on the other side of the universe, but is, in fact, the closest planet to Earth.

Well... only one spoiler, really, isn't it?

Based on the later television series, if the voices of Ra's guards were anything to go by, these men were Goa'uld. This is the only time we see Goa'uld acting in such a minor role as guards. Ra must have been far more important than any other of the System Lords.

Ra was the most powerful and important Gou'ald of all. In discussing this with my friends, we decided that Ra was, in fact, the father (or grandfather, great-grandfather, etc...) of ALL the other gou'ald we see on the show. Although this wasn't confirmed on the show (as far as I know), it fits with Hathor's role and description on the show.

Ok, I just re-watched this film the other day and something really bugged me during the scene where the Stargate first opens. As it opens, and everyone stares in shock, Dr. Langford says something. She's not talking in English, (maybe German?) and it ends with "Papa," so I assume she's saying something in honor of her father, but what? "Gee, dad, we finally did it?" I rewound the tape a few times, but I can't figure out what she's saying. Anyone out there know?

Well, I dutifully got my video out and, like you, rewound it umpteen times but I still can't work out what she said as she just seemed to be muttering to herself. I did hear 'Papa' but her lips carried on moving after those two syllables so I'm not even sure if it's Katherine's voice or someone else's. Sorry not to be of more help!

Gee, all those people at work digging and yet they somehow missed finding the DHD.

Callie, as we learn in episodes of the show, not all Goa'uld had left Earth. Maybe one of the remaining Goa'uld left carved instructions in case he or she forgot the address? (This might also explain the missing DHD. He or she moved it to a 'safer' location.)

The Stargate base is identified as Creek Mountain, Colorado, but I thought the base in the show was Cheyenne Mountain?

Jackson's 6 point coordinates is wrong, but then the writers clearly didn't have a clue. IRL you would simply use Latitude, Longitude & Distance to plot some point out there. The idea of using 6 constellations from a zodiacal & near-zodiacal portion of our sky & somehow use them to plot a course makes no sense whatsoever. The only way I can see them being used is to find Earth. ("It's between Orion, Triangulum, Scorpius...")

Callie, I too was wondering how they knew what they knew about the Stargate. It seems like they had too much information. Even taking into account the episode where we learn there had been a successful gating years earlier they seem a bit too prepared. (Maybe one of the founders of the Stargate Project was really a Goa'uld? That would make for a nice plot twist to wrap up the series.)
Besides having the star map & the technology to track an object through a wormhole, the computer knew when the sequence was complete, & they knew objects passing through the gate would be molecularly deconstructed.

Apparently they later discovered that the gate had a dimmer switch as I don't remember any open gates being as bright as we see in this movie.

Why are they burning flares instead of using flashlights inside an enclosed space?

The idea of having different symbols (for Abydos' different constellations) was a nice touch, but how come later episodes seem to feature those found on the Earth gate?

Ferreti's an alien! He's also known as Harry Solomon! ;-)

Journey to an alien planet & feed an alien creature an Earth candy bar???

Daniel says he can't make it work without the seventh symbol. Uuuum, why not just try using the remaining symbols as the seventh symbol instead? Or if you want to wait a year or so, study the constellations in the alien sky & whichever symbol doesn't sem to be accounted for must be the Winnie.

So, the writers expect us to believe that Abydos two moons have been in geosynchonous orbit for over 10,000 years???

Daniel & Shauri's clothes are not healed by Ra's sarcophagus, unlike a later episode of the show where Daniel's uniform was 'healed'. (I guess Apophis had a more advanced model. ;-)

Raise your hands all those who didn't realize that Daniel would fire the staff weapon back at Ra & his guards? Just Ra & his guards apparently.

Did the Jaffa set the bomb in the whoosh zone of the Stargate?

Why did the ship explode with a Star Warsian ring?

What about the radioactive fallout from the bomb destroying Ra's ship?

If I understand this correctly, they were supposed to go through, Daniel would dial the correct address to get the men back to Earth & Jack would stay behind and explode the bomb? If this was the case, then why bother sending anyone but Jack & the bomb through?

I believe Jack had the bomb so if the place was unfriendly, the men could escape back to Earth and then Jack would sacrifice himself to destroy the Stargate on that world, thus protecting Earth, I guess. Of course, they don't take into account Stargates on any other worlds, but then the movie wouldn't be as exciting.

As for the candy bar, well, why not? Chocolate knows no boundaries, right?

Maybe one of the remaining Goa'uld left carved instructions in case he or she forgot the address? (This might also explain the missing DHD. He or she moved it to a 'safer' location.)
I’ll go with the first part – a Goa’uld could have carved the address on the cover stones after the humans who had buried the Gate had gone away. It makes sense to leave a message for any other Goa’uld who got left behind. But why move the DHD? You can’t open the Gate without it. Then again, perhaps there was another set of instructions saying [in Goa’uld] “If you can read this and need the DHD, ring this number and ask for Ea’rl” ;-)

Do NOT get me started again on how Stargates work! I was thinking about this last night and getting annoyed all over again about constellations being used as signposts. I really hope that TPTB will give us an explanation at some time during this series, the second movie or Atlantis. I hear rumours that Atlantis may feature the Ancients – the original Gatebuilders – so maybe they’ll be able to explain why they did what they did!

Finding out that the Gate had been successfully opened in the past still might not have shown the scientists in the 50s that the “Door to Heaven” led to other planets. Would they have had MALPs (or some earlier equivalent) in those days? I’m assuming they must have sent something through in advance of Ernest, but would they have had the right equipment to send back images?

Apparently they later discovered that the gate had a dimmer switch as I don't remember any open gates being as bright as we see in this movie.
It probably helped that they turned the lights on in the Gateroom after the movie!

The idea of having different symbols (for Abydos' different constellations) was a nice touch, but how come later episodes seem to feature those found on the Earth gate?
It was a nice touch, and it made sense. The series spoiled it by having the same symbols on all Gates, though I can understand that they wouldn’t want to spend every episode hunting for a cartouche (plus the budget constraints probably made it impossible to design a new Gate and DHD for every world). Nevertheless, it’s still annoying.

Daniel says he can't make it work without the seventh symbol. Uuuum, why not just try using the remaining symbols as the seventh symbol instead?
Exactly what I said about the Earth Gate, too. It makes no sense that they know what the first six symbols are and can’t try to dial out – it’d only take 33 attempts, assuming that the seventh symbol isn’t a repeat of one of the earlier six! Do they really have anything better to do?!

It’s been a while since I last watched the movie – how did Ra know that the intruders came from Earth?

Why did the ship explode with a Star Warsian ring?
BILC, of course!

I’m not sure whether chocolate could be dangerous to anyone, though its richness might make them feel sick. I have to agree with Keith, though – it’s a bit risky offering anything in the way of food to an alien. If he’d really hated the taste he might have thought that Daniel was trying to poison him. And it didn’t best please the beastie either!

I always thought Ra recognized them because he, or rather, his body, was originally from Earth and just felt that these guys were from there. Having never watched the series, is there anyway for a person to know the last location a Stargate opened to? Perhaps Ra noticed that the gate had been opened and where it had been opened from. Or maybe his guards interrogated the men they captured from the pyramid/gate area?

cstadulis, there was a comment in the movie when Kawalski asks why he wasn't told about the bomb. Jack says something to the effect of once they got there Daniel was to open the gate & everyone but Jack & the bomb were supposed to go back. Also shortly after they get to Abydos they do a quick fan out, just leave the pyramid, then it seems like Jack asks for Daniel to reopen the gate. Doesn't seem like Jack wanted to waste much time checking out the planet & Jack by himself couldn't send out any reconaisence to see if there were any hostiles or not.
Then again, the early scene of Jack with the gun indicated that he was planning on killing himself so maybe he just planned to blow up himself & the gate whether any hostiles were found or not.

If it was the government's plan to blow up the gate, then why have the bomb shipped in pieces that had to be reassembled? If they had encountered hostiles would Jack have had time to reassemble it?

Cats & dogs from Earth are allergic to chocolate, (& I think some people might be. Why else would someone create carob chips to use instead of chocolate chips?) Aliens might well be poisoned by chocolate or any other ingredient in that candy bar.

Callie, possible Ancient's explanation for how they came up with the constellations as addresses: "Hey, we were high on chocolate at the time we came up with that idea. Man, what a trip." ;-)

Thanks, KAM. I was mis-remembering (or perhaps just trying to rationalize what seems to be a very irrational idea (the whole bomb-thing)). Of course, knowing the U.S. military, it might not be that irrational (Heck, just blow the gate up! That'll solve any problems!)

As for chocolate, Daniel did make a huge error (he seemed to go along with my earlier philosophy, "what harm could chocolate do?"). What if Daniel had accidentally killed the leader of the slaves on Abydos (that's the name of the planet, right?)? Then the team would have really been in trouble. Of course, then it would have been a rather short movie (figure out how to open Stargate, go through, get stranded, kill leader of slave population by doing something stoopid, get hacked to bits by slaves)

The leader of the slaves would be Kasuf, played by Erik Avari, I believe.

Ah, thank you. I didn't have my videotape handy (they usually frown on that sort of stuff at work!).

And that's why the video store you work for is going out of business. ;-) ;-)

Well, the bomb thing does make sense if there are hostiles on the planet, but the way Jack plays it doesn't make any sense. (Unless he decided that this would be a good way to commit suicide.)

The planet was named Abydos in the series.

Something else that's interesting is they just happen to get to Abydos the day before Ra gets there. Does Ra frequently visit this planet or is this the first visit in a long while. (I guess there wouldn't be much of a story if they arrived there after Ra had left, still I think it might have played less coincidentally if there had been mention of a monitoring device to alert Ra if the Stargate on Abydos had been activated.)

One more nit. Apparently the Egyptians actually pronounce Ra as Ray, not Rah. But then calling the guy Ray probably would have made audiences laugh.

Didn't the Abydos (or, to use the slur from the non-canon novels Abba-dabbas) call him something that sounded like "Rei-u"?

An interesting source for pronunciations of the things in the book but not the movie is the complete StarGate novel on audiobook, read by Erik Avari (Kasuf).

By the way, those non-canon novels are very good, if just for the fact that they are SO different from the series. A couple of spoilers follow.
.
.
.
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Also interesting are the similarities. Daniel loses Sha're (or Sha'uri), though she isn't dead. Also, the StarGate can go to other planets. I recommend these books.

How did the Abydonians know the full story of how the Ra symbiont travelled to Earth and took over a young boy? They have the story in pictures in the cave, but why would Ra or any of his minions ever have told any human the truth that he wasn't really a god?

The later series turns the final line of the movie into a nit: Jack says, "I'll be seeing you around, Dr Jackson," but in the pilot episode it's revealed that Jack told Daniel to bury the Gate, so how was he planning to see him again?!

It was very convenient that the sarcophagus was open when Daniel took Sha'uri to it. When he'd got out, it had been starting to close.

Why was Sha'uri unconscious when the sarcophagus opened? All people in the series have been awake when they were revived, as was Daniel in the movie.

I have recently bought the Director's Cut on DVD and finally understand why they chose O'Neil and sent him off with the hidden bomb.

When the Stargate was found on the Giza Plateau, under the Stargate they found the fossilised remains of one of Ra's helmeted guards. O'Neil goes to view the remains, also kept on the base, and is joined by General West and he tells O'Neil that this is why he was chosen for this mission.

Two very small additions which to me on first viewing made the whole movie flow a lot better.

"Tastes like chicken".

Message to Keith Thomas: Well, it's about time you got here!!!!

Love and hugs

Callie XX

Just watched it yet again (what a great movie!), and something struck me. Why is it that 6 of the 7 symbols are star signs - and the other one isn't? Neither the Earth symbol nor the Abydos symbol is a star sign.
And my question about how the star gate works: how does the outer ring circle and lock down at the same time? It circles, it selects a symbol, the symbol is 'locked down', and they go to the next symbol. Am I missing somethin'??

Apparently, the chevrons (the glowing things) on the stargate lock the symbol in a similar way to a rotary telephone. It cha-thunks, inputting the number, then releases the ring to goto the next symbol.

Re: Callie's May 30 2001 post.

They may or may not have been Goa'uld, but they certainly were not Jaffa. We could see their abdomens, and no pouch.

I'm not sure if this is a nit or not, but at the end, just before the bomb goes off, it looks like Ra assumes an "alien" form, and it sure doesn't look like a snake! Looks almost like a Gray, but not an Asgard.

This was kind of touched on earlier, but how were they able to follow the progress of items in transit?

The climax to the opening scene shows the workers hauling the Stargate up out of the sand. Was this wise? In 1928 I doubt they had sensitive enough equipment to work out how strong the metal was – hauling it up onto its edge like that after being buried for so long could have caused the whole thing to crack under its own weight and disintegrate.

STRING ALERT! The death gliders launch a prolonged attack on the city. At one time during the attack, a shot from one of the gliders lands very near to Kasuf, knocking him to the ground. Closely watch the next moment as another glider goes over – you can clearly see the strings holding it up!!

I watched the credits and noted that Ra’s two main guards are named Anubis and Horus. This, of course, makes a humungous nit for Season 5 onwards of the TV series; and doesn’t make sense when there were also “Horus guards”, as it sounds like the Horus guards were guarding Horus rather than Ra.

Who or what was “Mastadge”? Frank Welker is credited as the voice of Mastadge.

I also noticed that there was a credit for “Young Ra” as well as “Ra”. Was Young Ra the boy very briefly shown in flashback when Daniel narrated how Ra the alien crashed on Earth? I always assumed that the younger boy (who didn’t look much younger than the older Ra) was played by Jaye Davidson as well.

There’s also a credit for “Masked Ra”. Was Jaye too much of a star to wear a mask on his head and so insisted that someone else wear it?!

and doesn’t make sense when there were also “Horus guards”, as it sounds like the Horus guards were guarding Horus rather than Ra.

You mean Heru-Ur, don't you? Well, Teal'c himself has spoken of "Horus Guards", so I assumed they were simply guards in the service of Ra and his family who wore the falcon masks. But you're right, it is odd.

Who or what was “Mastadge”? Frank Welker is credited as the voice of Mastadge.

I think the Mastadge is the large domesticated mammoth-like animal that gives Daniel a ride when they first get to Abydos.

There’s also a credit for “Masked Ra”. Was Jaye too much of a star to wear a mask on his head and so insisted that someone else wear it?!

Can't disturb his perfect hair, you know. A hot naquadria-treatment and a quick zat-drying looks great, but mask-hair is never attractive.

Come to think of it...maybe that's why all the Jaffa are bald or wear skullcaps!

There was a character referred to in the credits as “Horus” and there were also four characters referred to as “First Horus Guard”, “Second Horus Guard” etc. That’s what I meant about it sounding like the Horus Guards were guarding Horus in the context of this movie. In the TV show they did indeed also guard Heru-ur, the son of Ra.

It never even dawned on me that the beastie had to be voiced by a human. I thought it was real! ;-)

Drying your hair with a zat – that I’d like to see!

At long last I got the video of the Director’s Cut of the movie. All I can say is: Surely Some Mistake?!! Perhaps someone with the DVD can confirm that I have a seriously dud version of the movie, because there are no subtitles of any of the conversations in the Ancient Egyptian dialect!!! Any footage that was in the original version has had the subtitles removed – the only bit of this video that has subtitles is the later part of the 1928 Giza footage which wasn’t included in the original version. I can’t believe that Roland intended for the subtitles to be taken out, because anyone watching the film for the first time won’t have a clue what’s going on, especially in the long conversation between Daniel and Ra, and those between Ra and his guards, so it must surely be a production error. No wonder the video only cost five quid!

This is one of those situations where I could do with two TVs side by side, because the picture quality on the Director’s Cut is a million times better than the original. The original was really dark and gloomy, so much so that it took me several viewings to even work out which of the characters French Stewart was playing, so it was really nice to be able to see what was happening for the first time. But without the subtitles this version is just not watchable!

The additional footage didn’t help as much as I’d hoped it would. And I rewound the tape several times at the new scene of Jack staring at the thing on the wall but couldn’t actually see what it was meant to be! I know that it was supposed to be a squashed Horus Guard but it looked like a magic eye picture to me and I couldn’t see it!

One major change between the two versions was when Daniel said that he could align the offworld Gate. In the original film, Jack turned to Colonel West and said, “It’s your call,” as he walked out but in this version he says, “He’s full of poo” (polite translation!).

Must be the quality of the video, the squashed guard is as clear as day on it. It looks as though someone had lots of fun making it!

Pure Jack moment... In the pyramid, when the guards discover him. "How ya doin'?" Just before he shoots the guard.

How did the Abydonians know the full story of how the Ra symbiont travelled to Earth and took over a young boy? They have the story in pictures in the cave, but why would Ra or any of his minions ever have told any human the truth that he wasn't really a god?

It's entirely possible that there had been rebellions in the past on Abydos (whether by the humans living there or even Jaffa) in which the rebels attempted to convince the others that Ra was not a god.

Hello! First post here on these forums, but I've been lurking for some time. Is it possible to get a permanent account still, or is it only anonymous posting from now on? I looked at the "Getting Started" page, but I wasn't sure whom I was to contact to get an account.

Regardless, here are my nitpicks, musings, and general feelings for the movie "Stargate" (Director's Cut). I followed along with the movie while I was typing these out, so they follow the timing of the film.

SPOILERS CONTAINED WITHIN

!-- Opening

I like the opening sequence and music, even if it is a little long at times. I know that this was mentioned in the Director's Commentary on the DVD, but I still think it got a little carried away. The statue in the opening was a little cross-eyed at times. Yes, I know Peter DeLuise enjoyed mentioning this, too.

!-- Ra selecting a host

I'm referring to the opening scene which shows Ra selecting a host via his spaceship "probe". A thin male tribe member slowly stumbles over to the bright light to see what was going on. What would drive him to go see what the big building was? It seemed Ra chose him for his bravery; but why was that important, if the parasite could overtake the body? Regardless, was Ra merely waiting for someone to go check out his ship so he could transport them up as a host?

!-- Stargate discovery

Why was the Katherine allowed to take whatever she pleased from the ruins? Nobody seemed to mind her taking it - was everyone able to do this?

What drove the people to stand the Stargate up?

!-- Present Day

Present Day - would have preferred the actual date intended. Watching the movie now makes one think this is actually set in the present day, when in fact it was set several years ago. Even then, what is "present day" in the movie? The release date?

What did the people expect Daniel Jackson to be talking about in his commentary? Didn't they read the summary? Fitting that they mention Atlantis and then martians about who built the pyramids.

The Air Force officers said they'd take care of the bags, but they didn't seem to be doing too much for them. They left them laying on the ground in the rain.

!-- O'Neil residence

Why was the son named Tiger O'Neal?

!-- Mountain complex

The installation was built in Creek Mountain. Stargate SG-1 refers to it as "Cheyenne Mountain".

!-- Mountain complex: translation

Why did they stand the cover stones up in the installation for Daniel to translate them? They're all cracked. Did they drill them to get them up?

Daniel starts erasing what is translated. This includes "Coffin". What was coffin translated to be?

So the Stargate here was called "Stargate". Why not "Chappa'ai" or however it's spelled?

O'Neil comes in and says "plans change". How can "plans change"? How did he know about something succeeding? Did they know what was going on with the Stargate? How did they know it was going to do something? Why did the Air Force need to interfere in this? What were they offering that required the Air Force to intercede? Sure, in Stargate SG-1, it's revealed that Ernest, a scientist, went through the Stargate. Even so, that same episode says it was all covered up in classified documents by that time. So how did they know it was going to transport people?

Why did Daniel have to sign in after leaving the restricted area to get a refill on his coffee can?

What made Daniel think the constellations were position indicators? What gave him that idea? Sure, the translations said "Gateway to Heaven" and/or "Stargate", but would one really believe that meant it was a transportation device? Obviously so, since they built a walkway into the vertical gate (once again, why was it standing up?)

They really didn't notice the chevron match? Why did they know that seven chevrons were required (they even put in only seven spots on the list)? Why did they think there was going to be something other than rumbling? What made the thing run in the past? They said "it was as far as they got" - they thought more was coming?

Within two weeks they've begun calling it a Stargate?

!-- Mountain complex: Stargate opens

You can't see through this Stargate liquid. You can in Stargate SG-1.

In the control room, when the MALP goes through the Stargate, the large starchart starts beeping, talking, and moving to locate the destination. What was so strange about being able to scan itself? The lady says "It's scanning itself. Can you believe that?" What? What's hard to believe? They didn't intend for it to trace its location?

How did the star map have the blinking crosshair?

The radio signal didn't keep the Stargate open, even though it is supposed to, as it does on Stargate SG-1. The walkway is really small, only about the size of a FRED. Why was the Stargate away from the back wall? Did they know it was going to funnel the way that it did?

What gave the General the indication that they wouldn't be able to walk in and out of the gate from either side? Why would they have to decipher the symbols on the other side of the gate if the intention was to blow the thing up?

Why didn't Daniel say he had to find the new symbols?

Why weren't the supplies hit by the splash from the Stargate when it opened? They didn't do any tests to see the affects of flesh going through the wormhole? They stuck a robotic probe in (that seemed to have no flashlights), and that was enough testing to okay the project? The crew in the control room were awed enough just by Daniel's actions. Daniel walks through the event horizon just enough for half of his face to show, yet he transported. What would happen if he walked backwards? Would he lose half his body?

!-- Abydos: pyramid interior (reconnaissance)

They did scans that showed the air was breathable. They should be able to see the humidity factor as well. Yet once they got there, they had to do more scans, and they didn't wear gear designed for desert combat, despite their thoughts that this was built in Egyptian fashion.

Why would they bother with all the scans and teams if they were just going to blow the thing up? Why did they WANT to blow the thing up? If it's been underground for all this time, unused, whatever was going to come through it is dead. If they believe the only way to operate it is with the power they use to make it run, why don't they unplug it? Why aren't they fascinated that there is no power source needed to make the Stargate run? What MAKES the Stargate run on Abydos, and how do they use it there?

!-- Abydos: pyramid exterior (reconnaissance)

The lens used to make the blue skies makes the uniforms black.

How did Ferretti know they had to turn the Stargate on from Abydos?

Did Daniel ever clean up all his books?

I don't like O'Neil. The character is too much like "Soldier", where he tries to emote with his eyes instead of saying anything. His continued committment to killing himself gets in the way of the character. It becomes annoying, to the point where I was hoping he'd kill himself or get over it, just to do SOMETHING.

Why was the Mastage loose? Why wasn't there a search party? Was it normal for them to run off? Why did Jackson feed the animal the candy? Many earth-bound animals can't eat chocolate.

!-- Abydos: mine

If the only thing these people see are Ra's men, why did they wait to bow until they saw the eye? Wouldn't they have to regardless? I thought it was funny that Daniel, the linguist, said "Hi". Why were they mining?

If this was "Present Day" what were those tools used by the scientist? I don't recall those existing.

What made Sha'uri fascinated with Daniel Jackson from the start? He wasn't a very handsome guy at the time.

"Bonnie Way" was a great scene.

What is the same material as the Stargate? What is the material? How do they know it's able to be destroyed by a nuclear bomb?

Why was sneezing so fascinating?

Why would they make base camp outside the pyramid? I never understood why they'd put their camp outside a defendable position that was obviously more hardy than tents.

!-- Abydos: city

O'Niel is an idiot, and the Air Force is portrayed as a bunch of idiots. They were surprised that a desert had a sandstorm?

If they were sent by Ra, why did Kasuf think it was acceptable to wipe away the drawing? What drew him into having Daniel get the "special treatment" of Sha'uri? It seemed almost like the drawing made him decide to have him marry her.

This actress was a much better actress than the one used for SG-1. She doesn't whine.

!-- Abydos: pyramid interior (attack)

How many times do those guys need to load their guns? They didn't look around themselves? Didn't set up a good defense perimeter? Never saw the rings in the ceiling? What's up with these air force guys? Are they all stupid as well as lacking any military experience? Feretti COULD have shot the guy in the chest, around the armor, but he just acts scared because the enemy is wearing a Halloween costume?

!-- Abydos: city

For all his worries about children, O'Neil sees no problem giving the kid a cigarrette? Wonder what Ska're will think when his lighter runs out of fluid!

So much for comrades in arms if the men don't know anything about O'Neil's kid. Supposedly O'Neil never talks, but are we also to assume the men never visited him once he retired? The O'Neil of Stargate SG-1 visited his superiors; why didn't O'Neil's men care?

Why wouldn't the Airman assume problems from the sandstorm instead of "there's something out there"?

Why did Ska're's friend grab the fire? Is there a different version of fire on Abydos?

Why would he call himself "Ra", the sun god? What made sun important to him? Why wasn't there more said about Earth's uprising? Was Ra in control there as well?

It seemed as if Ska're wasn't all that afraid of seeing the group go into the pyramid with Ra's ship on top of it. One would think he would have warned them of their impending doom.

!-- Abydos: pyramid interior

The rings look really fake. They don't seem to have any mass. In Stargate: SG-1, the rings "bounce" once they hit the ring below it. Why would the Horus guard have to click the button to make the rings stop glowing once they were inside the ceiling? That's rather pointless, isn't it?

!-- Abydos: Ra's ship

Why didn't the Horus guards notice the eye of Ra on Daniel?

When O'Neil falls into the water, Kawalski's dog tags flip from back to front with each scene.

What is with all the kids? Why are they all half naked? Why is Ra so feminine?

Where do the helmets go? They both mend in different directions on the guards. Don't even start with the Ra headdress. Why did they take the headdresses off anyway? What was the point? What good are they really? Are they just intended to scare? How are they scary if they're able to be removed, and those who are in Ra's presence know of such? Or are we to assume those who have seen the guards and Ra unmasked die?

!-- Abydos: pyramid exterior

The transition between Ska're looking at the death gliders and the death gliders flying over the city is poorly done. It looks like Ska're is watching them shoot the city, when it really is quite a distance away.

!-- Abydos: Ra's ship

Why would Ra heal Daniel, anyway? Because of the eye? If anyone wears the eye, do they get a free ticket to a new life?

Very hard to find Ra threatening when he is so gay/feminine. He's also very hard to understand. It's a wonder Daniel didn't have to ask him to repeat himself.

Ra created the civilization, eh? Contradicts SG-1.

!-- Abydos: pyramid exterior

Did anyone really believe that Daniel was going to kill his friends? I figured Ra would have been smarter that that, and would have at least given Daniel a fake staff just to make sure, or would have gotten guards with a quicker draw.

!-- Abydos: city

So, despite the apparent apathy Ra had with the slaves (as long as they mined the "mineral"), nobody bothered to ever read the walls, even out of rebellion? Hard to believe, especially considering they could read it, despite not being allowed to write. Sha'uri wasn't that old, yet she could read it all.

!-- Abydos: pyarmid exterior

Daniel's not the greatest aim, is he? He could have taken Ra out right there, but misses horribly. It wasn't like he spun around and immediately shot, either. There was a delay.

If there are these many sandstorms, how is anyone expected to get any mining done?!

O'Neil's first response to being saved by the kids is to tell them they could be killed? They DID just save him, after all. They didn't even get a thank you. O'Neil's mission was to "track down signs of any possible danger, and if I found any, blow up the Stargate. Well, I found some". Wha? Contradiction. He said everyone should get back to Earth almost immediately upon getting to Abydos. There was NO danger in the pyramid. He was just looking for a way to kill himself. However, at this time, there wasn't much said about him killing himself. Then, he partially admits the reason for wanting everyone back, and nobody seems to notice he was going to die, and didn't seem to mind. However, then Daniel says that the gate at Earth is at fault: O'Neil agrees, and adds that because they can't get back, they don't have that option. Hold it. If the reason for going through the Stargate was to destroy the Abydos end to avoid danger, despite even the colonel running the mission knowing that it was pointless, what was the reason for going to Abydos in the first place? If everyone in the Stargate program (or at least those in power) agreed that opening the Stargate only equalled danger to Earth, why did they bother opening it in the first place? Just keep it buried? Obviously, O'Neil just wanted an excuse to die. How did he convince the General of such a thing?

Why would the nuke destroy the village, anyway? It doesn't appear that it would. The distance between the gate and village seems too great. Daniel says everyone wants to live, yet the nuke wouldn't really do anything. Ra doesn't use the Stargate any longer.

!-- Abydos: pyramid interior

So the rings transport anything in between them, regardless of which was the point of origin? Not a very good tactical choice for transport. Beam down your best men, but beam up your enemy!

Why do the rings cut into skin for Daniel and Sha'uri, but every other shot does no damage to skin whatsoever?

!-- Abydos: pyramid exterior

I know we're supposed to be sad that the little retarded kid eats it, but he's shown so little, it doesn't weigh on our hearts that much. He should have been given a bigger role.

Was it really wise, considering the actions of Ra's men, to believe that surrender was a valid option? One would think they'd be killed regardless.

!-- Abydos: pyramid interior

Sha'uri should be dead as well. She was laying on the ring pattern.

!-- Abydos: pyramid exterior

The slave rebellion is a great scene. Very moving. Despite the tripping.

Quite funny to see the rubber staff weapons throughout the movie. They weren't well hidden.

!-- Abydos: planet atmosphere

So all those kids on the ship are dead too, eh? Who ran Ra's ship before the humans? Was he running the entire thing alone?

!-- Abydos: pyramid exterior

The salute scene was more cute than moving, mainly because of the state and dress of the people saluting. They were so ramshackle, I thought it funny more than serious. Now, the Kasuf cheer, that was cool.

!-- General musings

How DID Daniel open the gate?! Why did Daniel get clued in on O'Neil's son's death, but his comrades stay unaware? Why would O'Neil want to open up to a "dweeb"?

How long does it take to rebuild someone in the sarcophogas? For Daniel, it takes until sundown, which seems to be quite some time from the previous scene. However, Sha'uri takes only a few minutes. What's up with that?

The soundtrack is superb, the graphics overall well done, the enemy blase, the story subpar.

Hi Medhead and welcome,

The accounts are just for moderators of topics AFAIK.

You certainly did some detailed picking of that film, it's been too long since I saw the film to comment on them but I'm sure someone will do so shortly.

Welcome again.

What drove the people to stand the Stargate up?
I wondered that, too. After being buried for so many thousands of years, it could have been very delicate and might have cracked.

Why was the son named Tiger O'Neal?
His name was Tyler, not Tiger.

So the Stargate here was called "Stargate". Why not "Chappa'ai" or however it's spelled?
Because “Stargate” is the English translation of “chappa’ai”.

how did they know it was going to transport people?
The squashed Guard presumably gave them the idea, though I agree that it was a huge leap of imagination.

Why would they have to decipher the symbols on the other side of the gate if the intention was to blow the thing up?
I think it was always the intention to try to send everyone back (apart from O’Neil) if it was safe and possible to do so.

Why didn't Daniel say he had to find the new symbols?
He knew they’d never let him go in the first place if he told them that. Either that or he was supremely (and stupidly) confident that the symbols would just be there on the other side.

What MAKES the Stargate run on Abydos
Presumably the same thing that makes all Stargates run wherever they are!

How did Ferretti know they had to turn the Stargate on from Abydos?
I imagine that this was scientific knowledge – that wormholes only work in one direction.

Why were they mining?
Because Ra told them to, and would kill them if they didn’t!

It seemed almost like the drawing made [Kasuf] decide to have [Daniel] marry [Shau’ri].
Probably because of the fact that Daniel was brave enough to write when it was banned. Kasuf must have assumed that Daniel must be a very important person who was permitted by Ra to write.

For all his worries about children, O'Neil sees no problem giving the kid a cigarrette?
He knew that Skaara would find smoking disgusting and never attempt to do it again. I’ve known of other parents who have made their kids start to smoke one cigarette – they don’t try again.

Did anyone really believe that Daniel was going to kill his friends? I figured Ra would have been smarter that that
That’s the arrogance of power. Perhaps no-one’s ever stood up to him before.

I'm sorry, I missed your post here, Callie. Thank you for responding.

I want to write a little about what you said, if I may.

His name was Tyler, not Tiger.
Ah, I thought I saw it was "Tiger" on the award.

Because “Stargate” is the English translation of “chappa’ai”.
Yes, you're right. My point was that everywhere else (or most everywhere else) it is called the Chappa'ai. Everywhere else came from Earth. I've watched up to season seven, and I don't recall any other world calling the Stargates by that name, but I have heard multiple worlds calling it "Chappa'ai". Therefore, if most everywhere else called it "Chappa'ai", where did the term "Stargate" originate if all life originated on Earth? Daniel (in SG-1's "Children of the Gods") doesn't readily know what "Chappa'ai" means: this means that he never encountered that word in 1. his stay on Abydos, or 2. his deciphering/translation of the heiroglyphs in the film. That's why I'm confused: if all life originated from Earth, why is there a different term for the Stargate that is consistent across non-Earth worlds?

I think it was always the intention to try to send everyone back (apart from O’Neil) if it was safe and possible to do so.
That's not my point, though. If O'Neil wantd to go to Abydos to die, he would have no need to send everyone through and decipher the code. He would have needed to only go alone, find civilization, trudge back to the Gate and finish his business. Dragging everyone out on a risky mission that would end in suicide was pointless, at least to me. I personally think the plot progressed in the way it did to make everyone think it was a normal mission, then have it change to something different to increase tension.

Because Ra told them to, and would kill them if they didn’t!
No, it wasn't that: what purpose did the mining serve? What did Ra do with the ore? It seems like that was the reason Ra stuck around, but there is little shown as to what drives Ra to make the people mine. It's mentioned that it's the same material as the Stargate, but in the movie the only known Gate travel was from Abydos to Earth and back. Therefore, because it didn't give the characters any ideas that Gate travel allowed for other Stargates, then the material would be used for something else. What then? It's not explored, but it could have been useful information for tactical purposes.

I imagine that this was scientific knowledge – that wormholes only work in one direction.
That's a first for me: I didn't think wormholes worked that way until I watched this film. Otherwise, they were a Star Trek style multi-directional transit sort of thing.

Otherwise, your points seem valid, but I still have my doubts about the film. Some of the decisions made by the writer and/or characters seem illogical, but I suppose that's a good thing.

From some hints in the movie, it seems the Stargate material (Naquda) has energy enhancing properties. Maybe thats why Ra wants it. For all we know though, R+E may have meant for Ra to be the builder of the gates.

Naqahadah (the stuff they were mining) is the mineral that makes all Goauld technology work. I know in the real world they weren't thinking about it but in the film Daniel did say that the mineral was the building block of Ra's powers so either way it's not really a nit. Here's one thing though that is a nit. Setting aside the question of what the kids on Ra's ship were, O'Neil doesn't seem to have any problem blowing them up along with the ship even though their presence stopped him from killing Ra when he had the chance earlier. Sure, if the bomb went off in his face everyone else would have been dead but he doesn't seem to react at all to the fact that he's killed a dozen or so children along with Ra.

Just noticed, though this might actually be a Children of the Gods nit. We all know they talk about Abydos being halfway across the universe. But they also explicitly state that it's in another Galaxy.

The series establishes that Abydos is the *nearest* stargate, it's about 40 light years away, and you need 8 symbols to dial another galaxy.

Medhead said "What made Sha'uri fascinated with Daniel Jackson from the start? He wasn't a very handsome guy at the time."

In response to that (as a female), James Spader (the actor that played Dr. Jackson) has a lot of devoted fans because of his looks. If you a referring to the fact he was covered in dust it is my opinion that gave him a bit more grit - and they are dessert people themselves. Also maybe it was his intelligence that won her over, or his mystery. Then again it could have just been his accent.

Can I also add there's a lot of great nits here in regards to the movie but I don't know that its fair to nit in regard to the series. The series came AFTER and it more appropriate to nit pick the series (if you are going to make a series from a popular movie you should ensure it follows suit)Just nit picking the nits now aren't I?

One of my sister's professors in college did the Egyptian translations for this movie. The guy who played Ra was so bad at remembering his lines that he had to wear an earpiece, and my sister's professor spoke the lines to him during the scenes.

The guy who played Ra

Jaye Davidson, of "The Crying Game" fame.

Jason: If they tried to triangulate through the wormhole then they would read that the probe is only a few feet or so in front of the gate... Does this make any sense to anyone out there?
Yes it does and thank you for being so precise.

Cstadulis: Of course, they don't take into account Stargates on any other worlds, but then the movie wouldn't be as exciting.
This was the attitude that implied these two stargates were the only ones. Another example is if there are so many gates, why does Ra need a ship?

KAM: The Stargate base is identified as Creek Mountain, Colorado, but I thought the base in the show was Cheyenne Mountain?
I don't watch the shows, was it mentioned that the operation was moved? There isn't room for any of this stuff in Cheyenne Mountain anyway because NORAD already takes up all the real estate.

Medhead: How did the star map have the blinking crosshair? [...] What did Ra do with the ore?
It was just a blinking light coming from the magnifier. Since the mineral is evidently very durable, I would imagine he made his ship from it. What I'd like to know is how Ra could increase the power of a fission bomb using this mineral?

Medhead: You can't see through this Stargate liquid. You can in Stargate SG-1... The radio signal didn't keep the Stargate open, even though it is supposed to, as it does on Stargate SG-1
ScottN: The series establishes that Abydos is the *nearest* stargate, it's about 40 light years away, and you need 8 symbols to dial another galaxy.
blue eyes: The series came AFTER and it more appropriate to nit pick the series
If something from the series contradicts the movie it is the series that is wrong, and after reading the posts here it sounds like a frequent occurance.

Something I didn't quite understand about the seventh symbol on the stargate is why would it be the symbol for the planet you're on instead of the destination? When I call somebody on the phone I don't dial my number. Wouldn't it make more sense the other way around? Whomever said the air force guys in this movie weren't very bright, I agree, but that's the AF for ya (kidding).

"There isn't room for any of this stuff in Cheyenne Mountain anyway because NORAD already takes up all the real estate."

In the show, they joke that the SGC is "below NORAD".

inblackestnight, a better comparison would be charting a route rather than dialing a phone. You find out where the destination is (latitude, longitude), then map the route from your location.

After the rescue from Ra O'Neil said "lieutenant take these guns away before they hurt themselves" or something like that. When he said this it seemed like he was talking to his second in command, a lieutenant colonel, but he would be addressed as a colonel. He could've been talking to another officer, in which case I would wonder why there were so many officers on this mission, but he was just taking to the Lt-Col and was again after he said this.

Merat: Well, apparently they didn't really know what they were doing, as Abydos is NOT on the other side of the universe, but is, in fact, the closest planet to Earth.
ScottN: The series establishes that Abydos is the *nearest* stargate, it's about 40 light years away, and you need 8 symbols to dial another galaxy.
The chubby lady with big glasses said the signal was coming from the "Calium Galaxy(?)" and Langford said it was "on the other side of the known universe." Considering there would probably be no series without the movie I'm more apt to believe what was said here, which is of course farther than 40ly.

MedHead: What made Daniel think the constellations were position indicators? What gave him that idea? Sure, the translations said "Gateway to Heaven" and/or "Stargate", but would one really believe that meant it was a transportation device?
He had been looking for the answer for two weeks and when he saw the constellations in that guard's newspaper(namely Orion), after making him show his ID for some reason in an underground facility when they're the only two awake, he put the two together and found his answer.

That would be protocol, BlackestNight. It doesn't have to make sense, it just is. I've had to show my pass in theoretically secure areas to people who know me because its the rules. Prevents people from getting lax and making mistakes.

"The chubby lady with big glasses said the signal was coming from the "Calium Galaxy(?)" and Langford said it was "on the other side of the known universe." Considering there would probably be no series without the movie I'm more apt to believe what was said here, which is of course farther than 40ly."

This is a Retcon, which is sadly so prevalent that they've come up with a term for it. The official explanation for this is that they didn't fully understand wormhole mechanics at the time and were misreading the data being sent back to them by the probe.

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quote:

By David (Guardian) on Wednesday, October 03, 2007 - 8:00 am:

One of my sister's professors in college did the Egyptian translations for this movie. The guy who played Ra was so bad at remembering his lines that he had to wear an earpiece, and my sister's professor spoke the lines to him during the scenes.

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Ancient egyptian is a dead language, nobody knows what it actually sounded like. The best modern linguists can do is extrapolate from related modern languages.

Stargate SG-1 makes this entire film a nit. According to The Torment of Tantalus, they had figured out back in the '40s how to get *somewhere*.

Since SG-1 appears to be in the same continuity as the movie, why didn't they use that address in the movie?

cstadulis, back in 2002:

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quote:

I believe Jack had the bomb so if the place was unfriendly, the men could escape back to Earth and then Jack would sacrifice himself to destroy the Stargate on that world, thus protecting Earth, I guess.

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Since SG-1 appears to be in the same continuity as the movie, why didn't they use that address in the movie?

Because after the loss of Ernest, they abandonned the project and filed away all the documentation pertaining to it. It was Daniel, rummaging through those old files decades later, who discovered there had been earlier work done with the stargate. The people in the movie knew nothing about it.

Yes, a quick check of the transcript of The Torment of Tantalus shows that Catherine Langford never knew that they turned the Gate on. She was told that Ernest Littlefield died in an explosion in the lab.

OK. Thanks. Some of us are old and have bad memories.

At least the movie got it right in that, people cut off from Earth for thousands of years, would not be speaking like 21st Century Americans.

Some of us are old and have bad memories.

Including me - I had to go and find the transcript to check!

Yes, the movie worked with the Abydonians speaking another language. The TV series (especially Atlantis when the humans in Pegasus had never been on Earth) would have been very boring if Daniel/Elizabeth had had to spend most of the 42 minutes of the episode translating what everyone was saying! So we just had to willingly suspend disbelief there, so that we got a more interesting story.

They could have avoided the issue if the first piece of alien technology SG-1 had acquired had been a universal translator

[TEAL'C] Indeed. [/TEAL'C]

That nit raised on the Emancipation board. See
"Joel Croteau (Jcroteau) on Monday, December 17, 2007 - 1:48 am"

Just watched the movie a few days ago and thought I'd put in my two cents a million years after the original posts :p

Callie, back in 2002:

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It’s been a while since I last watched the movie – how did Ra know that the intruders came from Earth?

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quote:

I always thought Ra recognized them because he, or rather, his body, was originally from Earth and just felt that these guys were from there.

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quote:

Don't even start with the Ra headdress. Why did they take the headdresses off anyway? What was the point? What good are they really? Are they just intended to scare? How are they scary if they're able to be removed, and those who are in Ra's presence know of such? Or are we to assume those who have seen the guards and Ra unmasked die?

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Everything Wrong With Stargate In 14 Minutes Or Less.

Doctor Who through the Stargate vortex

Disclaimer: I didn't find this one myself, but somone pointed it out to me.

When the team is first out in the desert on Abydos, you can see the camera crew reflected in O'Neil (one 'l')'s sunglasses. Apparently this is most noticable in the Blu-Ray release.

Nice! I'll have to look for it.

Also Scott, buddy, great to see you're still around.

Never left. I'll probably be the one turning off the lights at the end... "First in, last out" -- that sort of thing.

After Daniel identifies the point of origin symbol and they begin dialing in the symbols of the gate address, objects all around the control room start shaking more and more as each symbol is encoded. Some almost fall to the floor and the technicians barely manage to catch them before they do. However, this is not the first attempt they made to activate the gate, Catherine tells Daniel that they previously managed to go as far as the sixth symbol, so they should already know that the process shakes things up and everything loose in the control room should have been tied down and secured long ago.

During the scene when they dial in the gate address, the sequence goes chevron 1-2-3-5-6-7, it jumps over the 4th chevron.

Small difference between the movie and the tv series, the gate's chevrons do not light up when they lock in their symbols.