Some franchises have so many TV episodes and movies that it’s hard to know where to start viewing them. The Stargate series, which spans three decades, three TV shows, three movies, and a slew of additional non-canon content, is a prime illustration of this concept in action. This is why we think this Stargate watch order will be of help to you.
If you want to watch Stargate, you’ll have a long road ahead of you because some of these narrative arcs overlap, while others are prequels set in a time before the events shown in the first film. As you might guess, it may become fairly complicated at times, and that’s where I step in to help. Continue reading as this guide explains the best Stargate watch order, all TV shows, and movies.
How Many Stargate TV Shows and Movies are There?
Currently, there are 3 TV shows, 2 series (animated and web series), and 3 movies on the Stargate franchise. However, note that Stargate: Infinity is not considered canon, and your only legal option for watching it is via old DVDs. However, avid fans of the franchise may still enjoy the stories it has to offer. Below is the official list of all Stargate shows and movies:
- Stargate (1994) – Movie
- Stargate SG-1 – TV Series
- Stargate: Infinity – TV Animated Series
- Stargate: Atlantis – TV Series
- Stargate: The Ark of Truth (2008) – Movie
- Stargate: Continuum (2008) – Movie
- Stargate: Universe – TV Series
- Stargate Origins – Web Series
Stargate Chronological Watch Order Including TV Shows and Movies
Things get a little more tricky if you want to watch Stargate in chronological sequence. It is preferable to view them in the on-screen chronology order rather than the release order since you will have a better understanding of what is going on as you advance. Below is the best chronological order to watch the Stargate franchise.
1. Stargate (1994) – Movie
This is the film that originated and launched the series, and it exposed spectators to the Stargate world as a whole for the first time. This was the forefather of them all. Where you need to go for the original Stargate narrative, where several of the important characters initially appeared.
As is customary, this 1994 film serves as the launch, and the TV program really begins where this Kurt Russel and James Spader film finishes, so it’s critical to see this first. This gives you a greater idea of what transpired and why SG-1 was created.
Blending into Egyptian myth and tradition, and the concealment of an extraterrestrial species that once came to this planet and kidnapped its population as slaves, not by spacecraft, but through the use of teleportation and the Stargate.
The Stargate’s objective is to allow people to travel to the furthest reaches of the cosmos in a moment, by a quantum jump from one space to another, as easily as stepping from one room to another.
Now, in the current day, as for millennia before, the Stargate has been hidden, forgotten, and buried as time has passed and histories have come and gone; the Stargate has been unearthed once more.
In the hands of the military, this gateway, this one-of-a-kind instrument, this strange technology will renew and take individuals who now know its secret to amazing and new realms. Col. Jonathan ‘Jack’ O’Neil, his squad, and Dr. Daniel Jackson, scientist, and Egyptologist, have transcended time and space limits.
These modern-day pilgrims have inadvertently discovered the Kingdom of the ancient deity Ra, a brilliant, cunning, and cruel aging monster that has utilized the bodies of his people, his slaves, and his humanity for millennia to renew himself to acquire endless life.
And thus the war between Man and the lethal demigod Ra starts, with the Stargate, and it will conclude with the Stargate.
2. Stargate SG-1: Season 1 (1997 – 1998)
After you finish the movie, you get to enjoy a long, uninterrupted stretch of the television show Stargate SG-1. A spinoff of the film, Stargate SG-1 picks up roughly one year after the events depicted in the movie.
The first season was about a military-science expedition team discovering how to use the ancient device, named the Stargate, to explore the galaxy. However, they encountered a powerful enemy in the film named the Goa’uld, who are bent on destroying Earth and all who oppose them.
3. Stargate SG-1: Season 2 (1998 – 1999)
In the second season of Stargate SG-1, the team works to form an alliance with the Tok’ra to help put an end to the power of the Goa’uld System Lords. Along the way, Captain Carter’s life is forever transformed, and the team witnesses the fall of a powerful enemy.
4. Stargate SG-1: Season 3 (1999 – 2000)
To prevent impending invasion, the Asgard becomes Earth’s protector as a result of a treaty with the Goa’uld. However, this does not stop SG-1 from encountering more deadly enemies — including Sokar, a powerful rogue Goa’uld poised to conquer the galaxy.
5. Stargate SG-1: Season 4 (2000 – 2001)
With the Goa’uld’s increasing power, Earth is led to join the Asgard in combat against their evil adversary. With their hands full, the SG-1 team is faced with other challenges including genocidal civilizations and the long-forgotten Unas race.
6. Stargate SG-1: Season 5 (2001 – 2002)
In the fifth season, a powerful new Goa’uld enemy threatens to annihilate Earth and its allies. The System Lords renew their alliance, and one member of the team sacrifices his life to save others.
7. Stargate SG-1: Season 6 (2002 – 2003)
New to the Stargate team is Jonas Quinn (Corin Nemec) and soon, the team faces Anubis, a dangerous and powerful Goa’uld System Lord. Meanwhile, Col. O’Neill is forever altered, and Asgard’s conflict with the Replicators comes to a head.
8. Stargate SG-1: Season 7 (2003 – 2004)
Daniel Jackson returns to his post with the SG-1 team. Their celebration is short-lived, however, as Anubis continues his tyrannical reign over other System Lords. The team is in a desperate search for the Lost City of the Ancients, which they believe houses technology powerful enough to defeat Anubis.
9. Stargate SG-1: Season 8 and Atlantis Season 1 (2004 – 2005)
This is when things get a bit complicated. While Stargate SG-1 was still in production, MGM capitalized on its success by developing another spinoff TV series, Stargate Atlantis. Both of these programs take place in the same universe at the same time.
The good news is that SG-1 and Atlantis are mostly independent of one another, as they take place in different galaxies and feature wholly different stories and ensemble casts, although there are a few episodes in which the series make reference to one another.
Although you do not have to weave the episodes together, it is definitely better to begin viewing Stargate SG-1 season 8 and Stargate Atlantis season 1 together.
Atlantis, a forgotten metropolis, is introduced towards the end of Stargate SG-1 season 7. The team members locate its position, which is quite deep in space. Stargate Command sends a permanent staff there, which establishes its own base and lives as a colony in the city of Atlantis.
Season 8 of Stargate SG-1 continues its narrative, and by the season finale, the crew has finally defeated its two main opponents, the Goa’uld and the Replicators. Meanwhile, Stargate Atlantis season 1 introduces the new characters — as well as their own fearsome adversary, the Wraith.
10. Stargate SG-1: Season 9 and Atlantis Season 2 (2005 – 2006)
Afterward, watch Season 9 of Stargate SG-1 and Season 2 of Stargate Atlantis. Because the actors who played Jack O’Neill and General Hammond decided to retire, they were reduced to small roles.
As a consequence, a new SG-1 squad is formed. Hank Landry (Beau Bridges) takes command of Stargate Command, while Cameron Mitchell (Ben Browder) attempts to lead a broken SG-1.
Vala Mal Doran (Claudia Black) also appears as a key character: she is a tremendously brilliant but ethically ambiguous (human) extraterrestrial who has a deep crush on Doctor Jackson. We’re also introduced to the Ori, a new species of antagonists who discover mankind living in the Milky Way Galaxy.
So they launch a violent campaign into our universe, intending to convert everyone to their religion, Origin. Because they are technologically advanced, SG-1 must devise novel ways to fight them.
Meanwhile, in Atlantis, the crew is attempting to create a retrovirus that would transform Wraith into humans. However, their trials aren’t ideal, with participants yielding confusing results at best. The Wraith, who feed on people, learn of Earth’s location and plan to travel there to take advantage of its plentiful feeding grounds.
11. Stargate SG-1: Season 10 and Atlantis Season 3 (2006 – 2007)
Season 10 is Stargate SG-1’s last season, and it concludes various narrative strands. Without giving anything away, the series finale wraps up some long-running narrative strands, including the fate of at least one fan-favorite pair and the struggle against a series of the major evil.
After hundreds of episodes, Stargate SG-1 has come to an end – now dust off your hands and go over to Stargate Atlantis season 3, which you should watch concurrently.
In Stargate Atlantis, the crew successfully prevents the Wraith from attacking Earth, but they also fail to generate a retrovirus capable of transforming the Wraith into humans. Throughout the season, they face up against the Wraith as well as a new foe known as the Asurans, which are self-replicating nanobots.
As the Asurans threaten to destroy Atlantis, the crew activates the city’s hyperdrives and takes off for the stars. However, the spacecraft is wrecked shortly after this evasive maneuver, and our heroes are stranded in space.
12. Stargate: The Ark of Truth (2008) – Movie
SG-1’s second film was published directly on DVD, although it takes up after the “Unending” episode, so you don’t have to watch the last season of Atlantis first.
The Ark of Truth concludes the Ori plotline that was left hanging in the SG-1 series finale, effectively eradicating the enemy once and for all. The film opens by detailing the existence of an ancient artifact known as the Ark of Truth, which has the ability to vanquish the Ori.
Naturally, the crew is eager to locate it, but it is located on the Ori homeworld. Even though it is a death mission, they go to the planet and recover the gadget. However, in the process, they resuscitate an ancient foe – the replicators.
The Ori assemble their troops for a last assault on the Milky Method, but SG-1 activates the Ark of Truth, which unexpectedly defeats the Ori. The technology demonstrates to the Priors that the Ori are not gods.
The Priors are humans who serve the Ori and spread their religion, which includes invasion plans for Earth.
The Ark of Truth has the effect of making all Priors in the galaxy aware of the truth, causing them to abandon their faith and the Ori entirely, and the film concludes with SG-1 preparing to travel through the Stargate on yet another mission, hinting that the tale will continue.
13. Stargate Atlantis Season 4 (2007-2008)
After you’ve completed Ark of Truth, return to Stargate Atlantis and watch season 4. The tone and direction of the program change as well, although this time it’s a little darker.
Our heroes are striving to rebuild the city of Atlantis, which is floating in space. They continue to combat their two main foes, the Wraith, and the Asurans, but in a brilliant ploy, they compel the two adversaries to attack each other.
After the Atlantis crew reprograms the Asurans, they start attacking the Wraith, who appear to be decimated.
14. Stargate: Continuum (2008) – Movie
Stargate: Continuum is another direct-to-video film that, while largely an independent plot, does fit chronologically between Seasons 4 and 5 of Atlantis.
Stargate: Continuum concludes the narrative of a particular individual from Stargate SG-1. Even after the wicked Goa’uld were defeated in Season 8 of Stargate SG-1, one survivor, dubbed Ba’al, remained. Ba’al remained a minor character in SG-1 seasons 9 and 10, occasionally teaming forces with the Earthlings but ultimately remaining evil.
The SG-1 crew has finally trapped Ba’al in Stargate: Continuum, and they want to kill him. However, this is a Ba’al clone, and the real Ba’al has one more trick up his sleeve to win universal authority. Ba’al flies back in time to 1939 and prevents the Stargate program from ever taking place on Earth.
This results in an alternate history in which Ba’al conquers the cosmos and will soon attack Earth. Fortunately, a few members of SG-1 recall the earlier chronology and successfully return history to its former state.
The film concludes with the initial scene, in which Ba’al is ready to be executed. This time, the characters are oblivious of the prior events of another timeline and proceed to murder him for good.
15. Stargate Atlantis Season 5 (2008-2009)
When you’ve finished Continuum, it’s time to return to Stargate Atlantis for the final time. You’ll be watching the show’s fifth and final season. Fortunately, the program does an excellent job of closing up several plotlines.
McKay, the snooty nerd, eventually falls for Keller. The crew ultimately overcomes the Wraith, their archenemy. Finally, mankind will be able to build a government in the Pegasus Galaxy, free from the oppression of hostile extraterrestrial powers.
Stargate Atlantis’ series conclusion is quite fantastic. The Wraith learns the location of Earth and rushes there, intending to consume everyone there. As a result, the crew resolves to sail the city of Atlantis to Earth and join a great battle against the Wraith.
Atlantis lands in the Pacific Ocean near San Francisco after an epic battle and magnificent victory.
16. Stargate Universe: Season 1 (2009 – 2010)
Season one of the efforts to resurrect Stargate begins up after the events of Atlantis. After the completion of Stargate Atlantis, viewers were treated to another TV show called Stargate Universe, which lasted only two seasons.
The premise and characters are quite distinct from the rest of the franchise, thereby making the program its own standalone story arc. Earthlings discover in Stargate Universe that an ancient alien culture known as the Ancients dispatched an expedition ship deep into the universe — like extremely deep into the universe.
It’s so distant that even utilizing the Stargate to get to the ship is tough, and it’s such a long voyage that it turns out to be permanent.
A crew from Stargate Command decides to investigate, but they get stranded aboard the spacecraft. The program strikes a balance between figuring out how to go back, living, and discovering out what the Ancients were up to with this spacecraft.
As it turns out, the Ancients were examining something very near to where the Big Bang happened, and there is evidence that there was life before, or shortly after, the Big Bang.
17. Stargate Universe: Season 2 (2010 – 2011)
The Destiny continues its voyage through the Universe, despite a paucity of supplies and no idea of its ultimate destination. The crew’s tempers and personalities clash as they struggle to manage the ship’s systems.
Faced with unexplored space and opponents who want to capture the ship by force, the Destiny crew fights to remain alive and find a route home.
18. Stargate Origins (2018)
If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that we’ve been working through the Stargate franchise in approximately chronological sequence. The one exception is as follows: Stargate Origins is a web series that serves as a prelude to what you’ve already learned. It takes you to 1939, long before the events of the first film.
Origins is a different media from the rest of the franchise in that each of its 10 episodes is just ten minutes long. If you’ve been bingeing so far, you’ll be able to finish this series in no time.
It followed a young Catherine Langford, a keen observer of the phenomenon that would eventually be known as Stargates on Earth. When Catherine and her father discover and study one of these gates near Giza, they are apprehended by Nazis who have been utilizing the gate for their own sinister reasons.
Catherine flees, but the Nazis drag her father through the portal. Catherine then enlists the assistance of her close friends and embarks on an expedition via the Stargate to save her father.
More information regarding that story will be revealed in Stargate Origins. The series’ main opponent is a Nazi who, surprise, knows about the Stargate and how it operates.
Later that year, a 104-minute ‘feature cut’ of the ten episodes dubbed Stargate Origins: Catherine was published. It included some new sequences, a new title sequence, and upgraded visual effects in addition to tying the old episodes together.
This pleased fans of the program, but the series’ overall reaction by fans and reviewers demonstrated that SGO did not live up to the Stargate moniker.
The main reason we didn’t put this web series first, is actually that it is horrible, and if you watched it first, I don’t believe you will continue watching one of the best SF franchises ever.