STARGATE
In 1994, the military science fiction feature film Stargate
was released; directed by Roland Emmerich and co-written by Dean
Devlin. The film lays the foundation for all the Stargate productions
that come after it, by explaining the notion, function, and history of
the Stargate.
In addition to film and television, the Stargate franchise
has expanded into other media, including books, video games, and comic
books. These supplements to the film and television series have
resulted in significant development of the show's fictional universe
and mythology. In 2008, the films Stargate: The
Ark of Truth and
Continuum were released direct-to-DVD, which in total
grossed over $21 million in the United States. In 2002, the franchise's
first animated series,
Stargate Infinity, was released as an introduction to the
Expanded Universe. In 2004, the TV series Stargate
Atlantis was released as a spin off from Stargate SG-1
and a second series Stargate Universe premiered on October 2,
2009.
Stargate Atlantis has won several awards for its actors, visual
effects and directors, including a WorldFest Platinum Award for David
Winning's direction of an early Season 1 episode. Atlantis
proved to be equally as successful as SG-1, with Nielsen
ratings and viewership. The Stargate franchise in 2009 won a
Constellation Award in the category of Outstanding Canadian
Contribution to Science Fiction Film or Television in 2008, the average
viewership to Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis was around
10 million a week worldwide.
