Number 15 Stargate SG-1 1997 -2007
This series sprung from the cool Sci-Fi movie Stargate from 1994 which starred Kurt Russell. The movie had a great concept that perfectly lent itself to a TV series. A Stargate was dug up in the desert which lead to an alien world. Logically the other symbols on the gate would lead to other worlds. The mythology of the show was strong with different worlds to visit throughout the galaxy. The Stargate team would unlock some of the mysteries of the galaxy about who created the gates and face several enemies of along the way.
The series lasted for 10 years eventually spawned 2 spin offs and direct to DVD movies had some great stories. The TV version of the show starred Richard Dean Anderson of McGyver fame as Col. O'Neil and he part a great dry sense of humor to the show. The show originally aired on Showtime and made its way to the Sci-Fi channel. Budget of course was the main drawback for the show which lead to many "Ship in a bottle" episodes or on Stargate stuck in the base episodes. Being on the air for 10 years also lead repetitive storlines, but the strong mythology of the show made up for this episodes. Even the departure of the shows main actor didn't mean the end for the show as Sci-Fi vet Ben Browder (Farscape) joined the show for a couple of seasons near the end. Every once in awhile you would get a really good episode where the budget limitations didn't stick out as much. I would really like to see what this show could have been had money not been an issue, with big budget special effects we could have had some much more interesting worlds to visit. If the movie ever gets rebooted the concept which was gold could lead to worlds like something out of Avatar.
