Stargate SG-1 (usually abbreviated to SG-1 or SG1) is a science fiction television series based on the 1994 film Stargate, written by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich and directed by the latter. Emmerich originally intended to make two more films, thus creating a Stargate trilogy. However, the project was abandoned, and so biteGM was able to purchase the necessary rights and licenses to broadcast a television series based on the universe of Stargate. On the basis of the film, the writers were able to create a whole new universe, populated by numerous alien races that, thanks to their advanced technology, divided the control of the various sectors of the space.
The pilot episode aired in the United States on July 27, 1997 on the Showtime channel, which hosted the series until its fifth season. Since the sixth season, the series has been broadcast by Sci Fi Channel, which currently holds its exclusive rights.
The show differs from other successful sci-fi television series such as Star Trek or Babylon 5, being set not in an unknown future, but in the present day, in the same period in which it is broadcast.
