MY STORY:
Working on this farewell tribute, I can’t help but reflect back on what Stargate has meant to me in the nine years I have been watching it. I remember standing in the checkout line at Safeway and noticing a TV Guide blurb about a new TV show that had been green-lit, based on one of my favorite movies from my high school days and starring MacGyver himself.
As a college student I knew there was no way I’d get to watch the show, which was to air on a pay-cable station. So I set it aside and forgot about it. One year later I had graduated and moved to a new city alone — Chicago — and the place I was staying happened to have Showtime. SG-1 helped me get through a lot of lonely weeks living far from home, and I never looked back.
Stargate has also been a large part of my married life. I was married to my college sweetheart during the early part of Season Three, and it didn’t take much to make my wife an instant fan of the show. Friday night became a can’t-miss event, and soon I decided to start a crazy little Web site for our favorite show. GateWorld was born.
I remember the anticipation leading up to the fourth season premiere. I remember the all-day marathon before the 100th episode, and the tortuously long wait for the rest of Season Five. I remember the fandom conflicts over Michael’s departure. And I remember wondering what would become of a Stargate without Rick.
The success of this site has given me some rare privileges, for which I am extremely grateful. I have visited the set and interviewed the cast and producers each year for the past three years. I get to go behind the curtain at conventions. I get to sit upstairs in a hotel room with Chris or Michael, or in a Puddle Jumper with Joe Flanigan, and chat about Stargate.
This show has been a tremendous part of my adult life, and I will always be thankful for it, for its humor and its characters and its powerful stories, and for the welcoming and respect shown by everyone involved.
- Darren Sumner, GateWorld.net owner