Production on Stargate's television shows was a
sprawling enterprise, employing hundreds of people to make more than 350 hours of entertainment.
Stargate was a cornerstone of the Vancouver film and television industry for over a decade.
Every once in a while, though ... something slips through the gears of that well-oiled
machine. A production goof makes it unseen through the layers of filming, editing,
and post-production, and onto our screens. And, of course, Stargate fans are there to notice.
Here we’re running down some of our favorite production goofs from Stargate
SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. The last one on our list is the very
best, and once you see it you’ll never be able to unsee it – so stick around
all the way to the end of the video. Now, these goofs don’t detract from the
show’s greatness. (We nitpick because we love!) But they are fun to look for that
hundredth time you watch a classic episode. And let’s be clear: we’re not talking about the
tiny, little things here. Inevitably there are going to be plenty of times where a camera light
is visible in the reflection of Daniel’s glasses, or a military rank insignia
is incorrect on a uniform. Sometimes the number of illuminated chevrons on
the Stargate doesn’t match what MSgt. Harriman is calling out. And on rare occasion an actor simply
transposes two digits in a planet’s designation number (so that “P3X-989” becomes “PX3-989”).
Those aren’t interesting enough errors to make our list.
Are there more you’ve spotted? Check out all ten on the list, and then
add yours to the comments below. Here we go! #1 – MOVING TATTOO
“The Enemy Within” (SG-1 Season One) In the show’s earliest days of filming every
member of the production team – from the actors and directors to the keyest of key grips –
were still getting to know the characters, their styles, and their distinctive looks.
One thing that grabbed viewers’ attention right away was Teal’c. He’s big, he’s
stoic, he’s an alien ... and he has a gold emblem with a serpent on his forehead!
Actor Chris Judge was even painted a subtle golden color and wore guyliner in the early days.
The “tattoo” of a First Prime – that gold emblem on his forehead – also evolved over
the years, and the makeup team figured out how to optimize the forehead appliance
that Judge wore on set all day, every day. In this case the goof is a simple oversight
on a single day of shooting. And this is the first regular episode after the pilot movie.
When Jack O’Neill enters the room to talk to Teal’c ... the symbol of Apophis is on
upside-down. You can keep looking for it for another ten seasons. We're pretty sure
this is the only time this one slipped through. #2 – EASY PASS
“In the Line of Duty” (SG-1 Season Two) In this scene Teal’c confronts a Goa’uld prisoner
in a cell at Stargate Command. The alien creature has taken Captain Carter as a host ... but Jolinar
of Malkshur has something shocking to tell him. She is not Goa’uld, but Tok’ra –
part of a legendary underground movement that opposes the Goa’uld.
Stunned by the news, Teal’c turns to quickly exit the room. But look closer: when
he uses his security pass to unlock the door, he slides it through the card reader
with the magnetic stripe facing out. Of course the door opens anyway.
Would you say no to this guy? It’s one of those moments that is so quick, so totally secondary to that plot
bomb that’s just been dropped, that you probably missed it. But once seen,
the backwards security card can't be unseen. #3 – ZAT MAGIC
“Family” (SG-1 Season Two) (We’re really ragging on Teal’c here, aren’t we?)
Just as the production team gradually developed a character’s look, so too did it
take a while for everyone to remember how to use Stargate‘s signature props
consistently from episode to episode. The zat gun was brand new, having made its
first appearance in the first season finale. In this scene early in Season Two, Teal’c
and SG-1 have rescued his son Rya’c from Apophis – who brainwashed the child
and turned him against his family. With no other options, Teal’c and his
wife Drey’auc agree to subject their son to electro-shock therapy. In
this case that means a single shot from a zat’ni’katel – incredibly painful, but
enough to wipe away the enemy’s brainwashing. Watch closely when Teal’c fires the weapon,
though. The serpent-shaped zat is supposed to uncoil and fire from an open position. But when
it fires in this scene, the zat is still closed. SG-1 used multiple versions of the prop over the
years. The background zats were a solid piece cast in resin, either open or closed but with
no moving parts. The “hero” zats could be opened by an actor, and in later years they were
advanced enough to be opened and closed at will. In this case we're not sure if Chris
Judge just forgot to press the button, or if the props master handed him a
zat that couldn’t open if he tried. #4 – THE ALIENS MUST BE HANGRY
“The Ark” (Atlantis Season Three) The spin-off series Stargate Atlantis was not
exempt from the occasional production gaffe. This one is evidently an item left behind on
set by an actor or a crew member – something that has no business at all being on
an alien ship in the Pegasus Galaxy. Colonel Sheppard and his team find a
colony ship built inside a small moon, with mostly antiquated technology ... but also
the last survivors of a centuries-old fight with the Wraith, who used Wraith beaming technology to
store the patterns of more than a thousand people. Inevitably things go sideways, and
Sheppard must take the helm and try to steer the moon to a safe planetary reentry.
But check out the alien control console just past the 15-minute mark in the episode,
as Herick swivels into the shuttle control systems to ignite the engines. Next to his
hand, is that ... is that a Snickers wrapper? It looks like even aliens in Pegasus need
to satisfy their hunger now and again. When Sheppard comes back to the panel later in the
episode though, the sneaky snack evidence is gone. #5 – TRASH FROM AROUND THE GALAXY
“Condemned” (Atlantis Season Two) There seems to be something about sweets on the
set of Atlantis. “The Ark” actually isn’t the only time a wrapper made its way all the way
from Earth to a planet in the Pegasus Galaxy. Early in Season Two, Sheppard’s team
takes a Puddle Jumper through the gate and finds that while this civilization lives
mostly on the mainland, the Stargate itself is on an island that serves as a penal colony.
That’s because the corrupt leaders are sacrificing their criminals – or folks they
just don’t like – to be fed upon by the Wraith, in order to save their own skin.
At the start of the episode our team doesn’t know this yet, so they land the Jumper
on the island and try to make some new friends. (This is right before Ronon tastes their
stew and they all get shot at with arrows.) As the team approaches the disheveled colony
of prisoners there is trash and disused metal strewn about ... not only from this world,
but also evidently some imported from Earth. Yep, that’s an Oreo cookie wrapper on the ground.
Maybe it was someone’s request for their last meal? #6 – UNIFORM CODE “The Serpent’s Lair” (SG-1 Season Two) We’d seen the sarcophagus work its
technological magic a few times by the time SG-1 reached the start
of its second season. It healed both Daniel and Sha’re in the feature film. So when Daniel is
shot and mortally wounded by a Jaffa staff blast on board a Goa’uld mothership coming to attack
Earth, he realizes he might have a way to survive. While Bra’tac and the rest of his team
escape the ship before it explodes, Daniel drags his bloody self to the on-board
sarcophagus. And when he pops out, right as rain, it’s not just Daniel himself that has been healed.
The alien healing device has also stitched back together his clothes and his gear!
His walkie is even looking ship-shape. Hey, we should keep some of these around
just for fixing our stuff when it breaks! #7 – WORMHOLE SWITCH
“Prodigy” (SG-1 Season Four) So they film the actors going into the Stargate
on one set, and then on a completely different day they shoot them coming out of the Stargate on
an alien planet. Isn’t it kind of amazing that the continuity here is nearly always perfect?
Nearly. To try and help a brilliant young cadet who is on
the verge of washing out of the Air Force Academy, Major Carter offers Jennifer Hailey the opportunity to see the future
that could lie ahead of her. Hailey is brought to Stargate Command to
see the interstellar program first-hand, and even step through the gate to M4C-862.
Now, wormhole physics long established on the show dictate that anything that goes
into a Stargate comes out exactly the same way the other side – in the same position,
and even at the same speed that it entered. In this case, the women managed to do
a little switcheroo while en route. Did you see it? Carter and Hailey come out of the
wormhole standing on opposite sides of each other. Watch it again. IN. And OUT.
That is one magical wormhole. #8 – CITY OF THE FUTURE
“1969” (SG-1 Season Two) The team is stuck in the year 1969, sent back by
a solar flare that bent the Stargate’s wormhole back in on itself. Now they have to travel from
Colorado to the east coast of the United States. To get there they’ll get some help from a couple
of classic 60s hippies, Michael and Jenny, who are on their way to a concert in upstate New
York. (For you kids out there, that’s Woodstock.) There are a few montages to show the team
and their companions crossing the country. When they drive through the great city of
Chicago during one of their travel montages, editors chose a familiar shot of the
Chicago skyline with the iconic Sears Tower. Unfortunately ... well, the Sears
Tower did not exist in 1969. Construction was started in 1970, and
the building opened its doors in 1973. (I guess maybe the show is set in a parallel
universe, where the Tower was built earlier?) #9 – LANDING ZONE
“Double Jeopardy” (SG-1 Season Four) The show’s visual effects teams faced some
tall orders from the writers over ten seasons and two movies. But this one was a doozy: “Double
Jeopardy” ends with the downfall of a System Lord, and SG-1 takes possession of
his Ha’tak-class mothership. In the final shot the script calls
for the massive Goa’uld vessel to land atop the pyramid on the planet Juna.
The challenge? How to land a pyramid with a 3-sided base on a 4-sided platform.
There are, of course, 4-sided pyramid ships in the Stargate universe. Ra had one in the
feature film. But they're rare on the TV show, and the zillions of shots of Ha’taks
over the years have clearly established that its underside has only three sides.
The final shot adopts a perspective that carefully conceals the flawed landing plan. But
boy, on touchdown that must have been wobbly. #10 – PEEKABOO CARTER
“Revelations” (SG-1 Season Five) Here’s our favorite goof that you can see
in the final cut of the episode – but in this instance it’s only visible if you’re
watching the widescreen version that’s on DVD, Blu-ray, or streaming on Prime Video.
Thor has been captured by the Goa’uld Osiris, and Jack O’Neill and Teal’c sneak on board her ship
to try and rescue him. While they move stealthily through the corridors, Sam Carter guides them by
radio from the safety of a hidden Asgard facility. Things get dicey for our heroes
when Jaffa patrols corner them. Sam has to think quick: she projects a hologram
of herself onto the ship to distract the Jaffa. That gave actress Amanda Tapping a reason to be
on set with the boys – and it’s why in one shot you can actually see her crouching off to the
side of the corridor as Jack and Teal'c walk past. This one is fun to look for, since it’s an actor
caught where their character isn’t supposed to be. But it actually has a logical explanation: like other shows of this era SG-1 was
originally broadcast in a 4:3 aspect ratio. But it was also filmed so that the episodes
could later be presented in widescreen. Monitors on the set were marked with
boxes for both 4:3 and 16:9 framing, so that the director could see what
was in frame for both aspect ratios. A 4:3 framing keeps Tapping out of frame in
this shot – and that’s probably how this one slipped through. The goof wasn’t even visible to
viewers when “Revelations” first aired on cable, but only later when the show was
released in widescreen on DVD. There you have it! Ten
production errors from Stargate. Have you seen another interesting or funny
production goof we didn’t mention here? Stick it in the comments below, and if you
really want to be kind leave a time code from the episode so we can go and find it.
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