Review of Stargate SG1: Volume 5

Introduction

For anybody not familiar with Stargate SG-1, it is a US TV Sci-Fi series based on the film Stargate, a surprise hit from 1994. Basically a circular device has been found which when operated activates a wormhole between planets allowing people to travel huge distances in a matter of seconds. The series builds on the plot of the film by following a team as they explore the galaxy for the benefit of mankind etc etc.

Video

The picture is presented in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen. The picture quality is good throughout with well-defined colours and no obvious compression problems other than slight grain during a dialogue scene in “A Matter of Time”. The image is stable and the special effects look good. Similarly the menus are well presented and clear.

Audio

The soundtrack is Dolby Digital 4.0 (Pro-Logic) which is a shame because some of the battle scenes and wormhole etc would sound very nice in a 5.1 mix!

I didn’t hear a great deal of action from the rear speakers, but the sound is clear throughout and dialogue is set at an appropriate level to be heard above the effects. There is little in the way of music during the episodes.

Features

The only "extra" on offer is episode selection with a choice of eight scene selections per episode.

Conclusion

I enjoyed this DVD. As usual compilations of TV Series do not include any extras and have a Pro-Logic soundtrack but the picture and content is good.

The episodes themselves were all enjoyable, however like many Sci-Fi series, humans are millions of years behind everybody else in the galaxy but still manage to save the day (nice aren’t we!). This disk had two of the four episodes based mainly in the SG-1 base in Cheyenne Mountain which is a shame because the episodes set on other planets provide more interesting locations, but the episodes themselves were still enjoyable.