For those who love Stargate, it’s no secret that we’ve been waiting for the franchise to continue for some time. With news that Prime Video is rebooting the science fiction staple, we have hope for the first time since Stargate Universe concluded that more adventures across the galaxy — and through the gate — are underway. But several years back, in honor of Stargate SG-1‘s 20-year anniversary, MGM briefly revisited the franchise in a mythology-rich 10-part miniseries that aired across several weeks in 2018. If you’re looking for a quick sci-fi-flavored binge on Prime Video this weekend, look no further than Stargate Origins.
‘Stargate Origins’ Calls Back to the Franchise’s Roots While Telling a Standalone Story
Stargate Origins was originally released on the now-defunct streaming platform Stargate Command, which was devoted entirely to the Stargate franchise. However, since the streaming platform folded and Amazon purchased MGM, the entire franchise catalog has been folded into Prime Video — which is great news for fans looking for a new binge. Although the last entry in the franchise to date, Stargate Origins is a prequel that takes place even before the original Roland Emmerich-directed film. Set in 1938, several years after Professor Paul Langford (Connor Trinneer) and his team first discovered Earth’s stargate in Giza, the miniseries begins with a brief flashback to the 1994 film’s opening before jumping ahead several years to Langford and his daughter, Catherine (Ellie Gall), who struggle to understand the strange glyphs on the alien device. While Catherine would play a role in both the original feature film and SG-1, this prequel presents viewers with her own adventure through the gate, arriving on the world of Abydos decades before Daniel Jackson (James Spader, Michael Shanks), Jack O’Neill (Kurt Russell, Richard Dean Anderson), and their team would arrive there.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Whether you’ve seen all of SG-1 or only the original Stargate movie, you’ll find yourself up-to-speed for this standalone prequel. The 10-part miniseries — consisting of 10-minute episodes that run around an hour and 40 minutes total — sets up many of the events in the first film after the professor is forced through the gate by a crazed Nazi occultist, Wilhelm Brücke (Aylam Orian), who aims to use the power of the gods to give the Third Reich an edge on the rest of the world. In an effort to save her father, Catherine recruits her boyfriend, Captain James Beal (Philip Alexander), and Egyptian native Wasif (Shvan Aladdin) to jump through the gate, finding themselves on an adventure through the stars. In many respects, Stargate Origins comes across as a revisionist pulp story that seems to infuse 1930s speculative fiction with material meant for 2010s audiences. However, you feel about some of that, Origins is rife with inspired references to and set-up for the original motion picture, which featured an older Catherine played by Viveca Lindfors.
This underrated five-season sci-fi gem kicks off with a powerful two-part adventure that will keep you glued to the screen.
‘Stargate Origins’ Was the Final Entry (Thus Far) in the ‘Stargate’ Franchise
While the 10-minute episodes are a perfect way to binge the series over a short weekend, folks wishing to enjoy the miniseries all in one go can do so just as easily. For those unwilling to click “next episode” every 10 minutes (or if you just want a more seamless transition), Stargate Origins was re-edited into a “feature cut” by MGM titled Stargate Origins: Catherine. The re-edited version features a revised score and some updated effects, though the story itself doesn’t change. Of course, if you’re looking for something more like Stargate Atlantis in quality, you’ll be out of luck. While Origins is fun for what it is, the low-budget production is a bit uneven in terms of its performances, adds some strange character choices, and is more akin, in some respects, to a tie-in web-series rather than something of the caliber of SG-1 or its spin-offs. But if you love Stargate, it remains a must-see, if only on the basis that it’s another entry in the overall series — one that ties so directly to the foundation of the franchise.
Of course, if you’re looking to jump into the Stargate franchise and wondering if Origins is a good place to start, despite the name, we wouldn’t recommend it. The best order to watch this sci-fi extravaganza is by starting with the 1994 Stargate film. Although the feature was meant to be the first in a trilogy of Stargate movies, the franchise went a different direction entirely by transitioning to television in the form of Stargate SG-1, which picked up with the characters from the original film and continued their interstellar adventures. At least watch the first movie before diving into Origins (which, again, steals its opening scene directly from the 1994 picture), but if you’re looking to better understand the world, SG-1 is the perfect follow-up that will help set the stage for this quick prequel. Of course, you could always wait for the inevitable reboot…
Stargate Origins is available for streaming on Prime Video.
