‘Stargate’ Fandom Legacy: From Gatecon to the New ‘Stargate’ TV Show—How Community Kept the Gate Open
Explore how fans, GateWorld, and streaming have fueled the sci-fi franchise's 2026 London revival
When Stargate: SG-1 aired its final episode on the Sci-Fi Channel on June 22, 2007, it didn’t feel like a goodbye so much as a promise. Much like Star Trek before it, the series refused to quietly slip into television history. Its original fans held on tight, revisiting favorite episodes, sharing memories, and introducing the show to friends and family, while an entirely new generation discovered SG-1—as well as spinoffs Atlantis and Universe—through streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu. Of course, now there’s the new Stargate TV show from Amazon which is preparing for production in London.
What kept Stargate alive, though, was pure connection. The fandom was never some abstract idea; it was (and remains) something you could see and feel. It lives online through Darren Sumner’s meticulously curated and endlessly informative GateWorld, a digital gathering place where news, history and enthusiasm converge. It thrives through David Read’s Dial the Gate oral history project on YouTube, which gave fans the rare chance to hear cast and crew reflect on the show with candor, affection and perspective. And it flourishes in person at fan conventions, where the sense of shared joy is impossible to miss.
Chief among those gatherings was Gatecon, a fan-driven celebration that ran annually from 2000 through 2010 before returning for special events in 2016, 2018, and again in September 2022. Each revival served as a reminder that, more than a television series, Stargate was a shared experience. Years after the final journey through the portal on SG-1, the fandom continued to prove that some series—as will undoubtedly be the case with Amazon’s Stargate TV show—absolutely find new ways to bring people together.
BRAD WRIGHT (co-creator/executive producer, Stargate SG-1): “My agent is the one who said, ‘Don’t dis science fiction; it’s what we call evergreen.’ And he’s absolutely right.”
RICHARD PASCO (Gatecon): “The team behind the world’s longest-running Stargate convention first got together online back in the days of dial-up. UK-based Kathryn Rogers was building a Stargate website in 1998 and approached Australian Allan Gowen for some help with her code. Allan had already set up his own Stargate site called Ausgate. They both joined another new site for the show called Stargate Command, where fans of the show could join SG teams and take part in games and quizzes. It was the first real Stargate fan community. My sister, Kathryn Fryn, invited me to Stargate Command. They all joined the SG8 Diplomatic team where, amongst others, they met American Sue Seeley. As the SGC community grew ever bigger, it became very clear to all that there was a huge demand for all things Stargate. A gathering or convention was mentioned. Fryn decided to contact The Bridge Studios in Vancouver [where the Stargate series were shot] to tell them about our plans. None of us had ever been to a sci-fi convention before, let alone tried to organize one as we all came from unrelated backgrounds. But, perhaps naively, we didn’t think it could be that difficult. Had we known then exactly what was going to be involved, we may have knocked it on the head before it began.”
“Weeks passed and there was no response from the studio. We came to the conclusion there was no interest from the studio side of things and at this point we almost gave up on the idea. But in a final bid, Fryn sent a new email along the lines of, ‘How dare you ignore the fans?’ And to our surprise, this one did get a response, and it was a positive one. The studio told us they would be 100% behind an event, especially as the plan was to hold it in Vancouver where the show was filmed.”
FRYN ROGERS (Gatecon): “Over the 20 years Gatecon has been running, relationships with the cast and crew have altered considerably as the cast seem to feel at ease with the convention scene, which, for Stargate SG-1 at least, was very new back in 2000. I, too, have relaxed into my role. These two factors combined makes for a far more casual and fun environment all round. A lot of interaction takes place at our charity auction with the actors doing their best to raise bids. These efforts contribute immensely to raising massive amounts of money for charities such as The Make a Wish Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis and Sea Shepherd. This is due to the efforts of the cast and crew as well as the staggering generosity of our wonderful attendees. And to watch the actors interact with the fans is a complete treat. Gatecon is known for ‘actor access’ and while we try to keep it to a reasonable level, it’s impossible to prevent our guests from mingling with the fans in the bar or restaurant come evening. I believe this is one of the aspects that makes Gatecon so popular, both with attendees and guests alike.”
RONNY COX (actor, CHARACTER): “Early in my career, everybody knew that I was the singer/guitar player from New Mexico, but for years I’ve had such success playing guys primarily in suits and ties that people get really amazed and blown away when I show up with my guitar and then play. One of the things that’s been really gratifying is that I’ve gone to a number of Stargate conventions, especially in Europe, where I’ve done concerts for Stargate fans. I play Senator Kinsey/Vice President Kinsey, probably the most hated character on the show. I loved playing that character, by the way, but, first of all, when we went over to England and Germany and Scotland for these shows, I had every reason to think that they didn’t really understand what folk music was. I also had every reason to believe that they might just boo us off the stage. And I have to say that the Stargate fans — and I’m not using hyperbole here at all — were the best fans for the music that I ever encountered.”
“They got every nuance of every song, they sat on the edge of their seat. It’s a little embarrassing to talk about it. We had six encores. The Stargate fans have just been wonderful. They’re so supportive of my music. It’s been really gratifying to see that. I know this sounds self-aggrandizing, but they always treat me practically like royalty when I go up there. I can’t say how enamored I am of all the producers and writers, and of course all the other actors [as well]. I’ve never been treated better. Ever.” (Courtesy GateWorld/Dial the Gate)
CLIFF SIMON (actor, “Baal”): “The whole show was just highlights. It was great, as have been the conventions and traveling around the world and just meeting the people who watch you. I’d probably say the conventions and the fans are the highlights because before I went into Stargate, I didn’t know that this happened. The highlight is actually getting to meet the people who watch you, because, generally, actors never get to meet the people who watch them. You forget people are watching you. And you get feedback—only a stage actor has immediate feedback from the audience, but with film and television, you don’t know. You don’t know how good you were or how bad you were. But eventually, over time with the fans, you get feedback from them and you realize, ‘OK, I did a good job.'” (courtesy Gateworld/Dial the Gate)
RICHARD PASCO: “The one thing we wanted to do was produce a show for the fans, by fans, but at the same time to make it as professional as we could from the theatrical experience of the on-stage events, including the now infamous Stargate-themed stage designs, to the photo shoots, the special convention magazine—that has been a central part of each event, the laminated passes and con merchandise.”
JOSEPH MALLOZZI (co-executive producer, Stargate): “I started on Stargate at a time where fandom was kind of really just getting going online. I actually went online and connected with fans, and it’s something that I do to this day. What you gauge is that genre fans are passionate, but it’s a double-edged sword. They can be incredibly enthusiastic and supportive, but on the other hand, when you do something they don’t like, they will let you know. As time has gone on and social media has grown, their voices got louder, but sometimes I have to remember that they’re kind of a vocal minority. They will get a lot of notice usually, but if you’re someone who is enjoying the show you either don’t say anything or you go on your GateWorld forum. But if you don’t like something, you’re going to all these other forums and complaining and putting Brad Wright ‘Wanted’ posters online.”
ALLAN GOWEN (Gatecon): “In the first few seasons of Stargate SG-1, the internet was a relatively new thing. The likes of Facebook, Twitter and even Google were still a few years away, so fans gravitated towards the early Stargate websites and message boards. The start of true Stargate communities started to gather on the first Stargate websites. It wasn’t until the end of Season 3 that Stargate conventions started appearing, with a small convention in Sydney, Australia, with only one guest, then the first full blown convention with Gatecon in 2000 with close to 40 actors, directors, writers, behind the scenes staff and even some executives from MGM Television. It was then the Stargate fans found the production cast and crew extremely receptive and likewise they to the fans, creating an almost instant atmosphere of family and ownership of the show for fans.”
DAVID READ: “This is not hyperbole. I am always shocked when I look at Star Trek fandom online and Stargate fandom online and Star Wars fandom online. Without a doubt, the Stargate fandom has a maturity that the other two do really lack. I think the audience skews older and is really appreciative of the content that they’ve had. It also benefits from being largely internally consistent and not being mucked with by successive generations. If the online series Stargate: Origins had taken over and taken a left turn from canon, then we would be in a different situation more than likely. Largely attributing to that is that Stargate has yet to be ‘blessed’ by J.J. Abrams and the like, so there is less divisiveness in our fandom. At this point I host Dial the Gate chats every week and everyone is just so happy to be together. A lot of us recognize that Stargate is a fraction of the fan base size as some of these other sci-fi shows, so there’s a sense of being in the trenches and camaraderie that we’re all here together to keep this flame going, which is something that the other franchises just lack.”
ALLAN GOWEN: “Stargate fans are mostly down to earth people from almost every country and race, and everyone accepting of each other. Being a show based on the U.S. Air Force, the fan community was popular with a large number of past and present military personnel. Stargate didn’t seem to attract the ‘extreme fanatic’ that other sci-fi franchises had, with the exception of the ‘Save Daniel Jackson’ (SDJ’ers) campaign in 2002 when Michael Shanks left the series, where some fans showed hostility towards Corin Nemec and the part of Jonas Quinn.”
PAUL MULLIE (co-executive producer, Stargate): “The fans were interesting. We would have contest winners come in and there was one guy I remember who had tattoos of the patches on his arms. You look at something like that and you’re like, ‘That’s crazy.’ I mean, I’m glad he likes the show, but that seems a bit extreme. But, you know what? Good for him if he’s connecting on that level with the show and it’s making him feel good and get’s getting something good out of it. We’d get fan mail and people would say nice things about how much they loved the show. I appreciated it as well as the life of the show after the fact. The thing that a lot of science-fiction shows—with Star Trek being one of the greatest examples of all time—has is that people still watch the show and love it, even though it’s so different from the way the genre is made today. That just speaks to the quality of the writing, the quality of the production. There was something there that people could relate to.”
JONATHAN GLASSNER (co-creator/executive producer, Stargate SG-1): “Back in the early days, there weren’t that many fans online and they certainly weren’t trying to piss people off or fight with each other the way it is now. They were genuine fans, and I’ll share a sweet story. I got an email through whatever service I was on in those days—maybe Compuserve—and I received a message from a lady who wanted to thank me. She was in the hospital and suffering from a terminal illness, and had been there for months and months. For her and her husband, the only thing that made their day was watching Stargate, and she just wanted to thank me. I had tears in my eyes after I read that, so I immediately went and took one of our posters and went down and had the whole cast sign it for her. Got her name and the hospital room number and sent it to her. You can’t do that today, because now there’s 50,000 people out there and you get those sorts of emails all the time, and half of ‘em aren’t even true.”
MICHAEL SHANKS (actor, “Daniel Jackson”): “Sci-fi fans are probably the most passionate and intelligent group of fans you could ask for. The best thing about them is they kind of keep you honest, because they follow the show so closely. It’s important that we have fans that are that reverent, that intelligent and they bring our game up. I think it brings the writers’ game up and brings the actors’ game up and everybody’s obviously paying a lot closer attention to all the details that go into it, which is essentially what leads to making a better show.”
PETER WILLIAMS (actor, “Apophis”): Science-fiction fans have opened my eyes. They really have. The conventions are a place where there is a distinct lack of judgment of other people, so you can be who you are in a science-fiction crowd. It’s not just Stargate fans, but science-fiction fans in general. There’s lot of criticism, but judgments on who you are as a person aren’t there. And there are interpersonal relationships; I’ve become friends with a lot of fans. They’re always impressed for some reason that we talk to them, or even count them as friends. By and large, most of the fans have been considerate and respectful and friendly. That’s really why I keep coming back and going to far-flung places.” (courtesy Dial the Gate/Gateworld)
ERICK AVARI (actor, “Kasuf”): “I did a convention a few days after 9/11. That was Gatecon in 2001 in Vancouver. That was a very special one for me. It was the first one I had attended and I wasn’t sure what to expect. This terrible thing had happened, the world was in shock and yet people came from all over the world despite the fact that flights were chaotic and the whole world was in panic and turmoil and this convention went on as scheduled. And it was incredibly moving. I was so touched and moved by the fans on that one, that I came back to do a total of about six in all. And I have yet to have a bad [encounter]. A lot of them have been very, very moving personal experiences. I find a lot of Stargate fans are handicapped in some ways and in other ways incredibly inspiring. I’ve always enjoyed talking to them about their lives and their triumphs, their failures, their stumbling blocks. I’m always so touched to see how much what we do as actors and storytellers affects their lives. I’m always very conscious. In fact, it’s gotten me into a lot of trouble in the business, because I see very clearly how we have a responsibility to our audience to tell the truth.” (Dial the Gate/Gateworld)
DARREN SUMNER: “There are different kinds of fans. I’m sure Star Trek is the same way. I have always described myself as a franchise fan. I’m a fan of the Stargate as a mechanism of storytelling and the universe that Brad, Rob, Joe, Paul and Jonathan built. So if you give me a live action show and tell me it’s canon, then I will find things about it that I like, because it fits into the fabric of the world that I love.”
JOSEPH MALLOZZI: “After Michael Shanks left, there was the ‘Save Daniel Jackson’ campaign. You see it with Star Trek today, you see it with Star Wars. Like I said, it’s a double-edged sword. I think you’ve got to be cognizant of what the fans enjoy, but you can’t take dictation. It’s really tough, because I get fandom. I was a fan of Star Trek. I get it. If you’re invited to take part in something, let’s say, and you do, your support is kind of fueled by the production. And then they make a creative decision that you feel kind of pulls he rug out from under you … That was kind of the Michael thing, even though it was a mutual decision, really, more driven by Michael. For me, I look back at Star Wars and I remember watching the first movie and loving it as a kid. I remember seeing it, I think, like 11 times. That first opening was so great; I had scrapbooks and everything. Then I went to see The Empire Strikes Back and it just blew my mind, because it was so amazing. And then I saw Return of the Jedi and halfway through the Ewoks come out and I’m, like, ‘What the f**k is going on?’ I felt betrayed and George Lucas was, like, ‘Oh, no, this was always Star Wars.’ And it’s, like, ‘No, it wasn’t.'”
“And so, I know a lot of people online—a lot of creators and a lot of fans—get upset with fans who basically criticize a show for changing or doing something different, and they will go out there and say, ‘Don’t watch!’ You may ask, ‘How can people take all this time to be so negative about something?’ Well, you as a production got these people hooked, got them to support the show and now you’re doing something different. Not everybody is going to like it. That’s what happened with Stargate after Michael left, and not everybody liked it when we did Stargate: Universe, which was totally different. I think one of the greatest gripes I see is regarding a tonal shift, which I kind of get. Basically if you’re shifting tone or contradicting canon, those are the things that I think are a little more egregious. I will say, the fandom is still out there. We recently did a kind of Stargate tweetstorm and ended up ‘trending’ in the U.S., Canada and all over Europe. So the fandom is still there.”
ALLAN GOWEN: “Stargate fans started to come alive again with help from Joseph Mallozzi, who began publishing a regular blog with behind the scenes photos, artwork and trivia from the set of Stargate. He started a huge movement within Stargate fandom with the #WeWantStargate twitter campaign to get MGM and streaming services to notice the popularity of the brand and the passion of the fans. Once again the community was in full voice and united in the cause to get Stargate back on television screens.”
CHRISTOPHER JUDGE (actor, “Teal’c”): “One of the things that I’m proudest of, of Stargate, is going to conventions or going wherever and having two to three generations of a family attend. They will say, ‘This is how I bonded with my parents.’ There’s just not much stuff now that families can watch together and all aspects of that family can be entertained. When people ask, ‘What are you proudest of?”—that’s what it is, that all these families found this program to bond over.”
G. PATRICK CURRIE (actor, “Eamon” and “Chaka”): “The fans all use the word ‘family,’ and after having been to [many] conventions now—you get it. These people have been together for years. I’ve seen their relationships grow. And it’s hilarious, because they start forming these bonds with us, and we unconsciously do as well. It’s just a familiarity, so all of a sudden they find themselves behind the scenes of the profession that we have. And we start to actually appreciate how lucky we are to do what we do.”
RICHARD DEAN ANDERSON (actor, “Jack O’Neill”): “I’ve had fans who have been loyal to my career my entire life. I don’t quite understand the attraction and that’s not meant to be self-deprecating in any way. I know I’ve been lucky and extremely fortunate, and the fact is I do know, pragmatically, that I’ve made the most out of a limited amount of talent. I’ve done as much as I can. For some reason people have been attracted to it or were willing to put up with it or tolerate it or be supportive, and the experience in general has been, just as a blanket statement, quite spectacular.”
AMANDA TAPPING (actress, “Samantha Carter”): “There’s just a huge appreciation for the fandom and there’s a huge desire to say, ‘Thank you.’ And there’s a whole new generation who haven’t heard the same stories a hundred times, so, yay, fresh ears to listen. I probably do two conventions a year and it’s just lovely. I feel so grateful to be able to meet people and thank them for the support, because that’s really what it’s about. The fandom is great; friendships have been formed from around the globe and they come together to Vancouver from various parts of the world to hang out together. The show is almost ancillary at this point when you see the friendships that have been formed.”
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