Art by Gilles Nuytens
It’s hard to believe we have been at this for 25 years – covering the Stargate franchise and loving our corner of sci-fi fandom since 1999. GateWorld launched on October 22, 1999 (the eve of the airing of “Jolinar’s Memories,” actually), as a place to celebrate this remarkable universe.
What started as an episode guide, and then news coverage, grew into a major undertaking of a team of fans, writing content, managing the server, moderating GateWorld Forum (a hoppin’ place the night new episodes aired), and more. In the years that followed we created an expansive online encyclopedia and image gallery, launched a podcast, and created original video content (when YouTube was in its infancy). If you’re interested in more about the history of the site, you can read my recounting from GateWorld’s 20th anniversary.
In this very special tribute, friends and familiar faces from Stargate help us mark 25 years of GateWorld. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do:
Thank you.
Thank you to David Read (and the whole “Dial the Gate” team) for making this happen, and for welcoming me on today’s livestream. You can check that out in its entirely below, or visit “Dial the Gate” over on YouTube. (The hour starts with a special surprise guest who wasn’t in the video tribute above!)
And a massive thank you to our friends Tony Amendola, David DeLuise, Tor Alexander Valenza, David Nykl, Joseph Mallozzi and Sharky, Rick Worthy, Simone Bailly, Tom Reeve and Sally Malcolm at Fandemonium, Paul McGillion, Alex Zahara, Jeff Gulka, Colin Cunningham, Valerie Halverson, Jacqueline Samuda, Peter Williams, Rachel Luttrell, and Michael Shanks. And to everyone else on the casts and crews who have given us their time and support over the years — especially Brad Wright, Jonathan Glassner, Robert C. Cooper, Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie, and the writers and directors whose vision brought us the shows we love so much.
Darren on the set of Stargate Atlantis in 2008
I first visited the set of Stargate at The Bridge Studios, Vancouver, in the spring of 2004. Stargate SG-1 was filming its eighth season and the crew of Stargate Atlantis were only on their second episode, with the cast eager for the show’s debut in July. Those became annual trips (until 2009, when I moved overseas), making for just some of the many memories I have with other fans, chatting online, goofing off (and working a lot) at conventions, playing Stargate trivia on “Dial the Gate,” and generally getting into mischief with my long-time collaborator David Read.
What’s next? While we all await Amazon MGM’s announcement of a new Stargate project, GateWorld will continue to report all the gate news that’s fit to print. We’re also focusing on producing more original video content for the YouTube channel, and building out the site’s first new section in several years: Stargate Collectibles, a (mostly) comprehensive index of Stargate’s licensed merchandise from the past three decades. You can get an early peek at the image gallery here.
Thanks for being with us, whether you are an old-timer like me or a newcomer to GateWorld and to Stargate fandom. Here’s to new adventures!
David and Darren at San Diego Comic Con in 2018