10 Things You Learn Rewatching Stargate SG-1
1. Keep The Tone
Finally, keep the tone consistent. Stargate SG-1 managed to keep its heart in place all throughout the series. It would have been easy to move further into melodrama with the death of Daniel's wife. It would have been easy to get even more farcically comedy-focussed with episodes such as 'Workhome X-Treme'. It would have been easy to just go off on a darker tangent where you get over-inspired by a recent re-imagining of a 1978 sci-fi series and make a spin-off that's incredibly gritty by comparison.... wait, got distracted there.
Basically, writing a TV show with the scope of one such as Stargate SG-1 is a balancing act. You have to explore a variety of issues, moral quandaries and personal character flaws, but while doing so, you can't risk upsetting the balance between comedy and action, between tragedy and delight, between grandeur and intimacy.
Stargate SG-1 is a roadmap for creating a truly great series because it was a truly great series. It wasn't perfect, but when it ended you can just about see the tears in Christopher Judge's eyes in the final scene and if you have a heart, you're right there with him.
Someday, we may see some more Stargate on our screens and if there is, we can only hope that the people responsible for it are people who love Stargate SG-1 and all of the lessons that it can teach us. Open the Iris, dial the Chevrons, we have a whole galaxy to explore.