Stargate: SG-1

Stargate SG-1 is a Sci-Fi series, that went from movie theaters into a TV series, which has created three spinoffs (SG: Infinity, SG: Atlantis, and SG: Universe).

The entire show is based around the concept of a device known as a Stargate which allows almost instantaneous interstellar and intergalactic travel. These gates were built thousand of years ago be race of beings known as the "Ancients" aka Alterans. The ancients were technological and ethically advanced, and created many wonderous objects. They also helped cultivate many of the early stellar races, and seeded planets in hopes that their race would not be gone. Humans are just one of the many descendants of the Ancients (If it sounds like Star Trek you are right folks! Stargate borrows many of the same formulas that Star Trek has used and blended it in with Star Wars action). However, the Alterans split....one group became the Ori... while the others left for the Milky Way and Pegasus Galaxies.

Eventually these Ancients ascended into higher forms, and left the technology in the hands oftheir descendants or lost to time. In the Pegasus Galaxy, a group of Alterans who did not ascend were almost destroyed by the Wraith, and their own creations known as the replicators. Within the Mikly Way galaxy the Alterans ascended, and various races took control of the Stargates. The Goa'uld created an Empire using the Stargates and enslaved many worlds. Their empire stretch and encompassed Earth at one time, until a great revolt took place and drove them away.

The Stargate wasn't discovered until sometime in the early 1900's in Egypt. It was activated by the US Air Force in the early 1990's and first contact was made with the people of Abydos and the Goa'uld. The US unofficially commissioned this in SGC (Star Gate Command), whose main goal was to explore and recover alien technology. Eventually this brought them into conflict with the Goa'uld once more, and the empire retaliated many times in bids to destory the earth. The SGC also encountered a number of Alien races, and made a strong ally in the Asgard. The Asgard had seen that the descents of the Altarans had mutured, and despite their concerns did their best to guide us (we would later find out that the race was dying out and humans were chosen to be their successors).
As theses interstellar conflicts threatened the world, the governments of China and the USSR became involved in the program. What was worse is that a shadow government began stealing technology and had infiltrated the SCG for their agenda of world control. Eventually, the SGC started to work more closely with the international community. This the Atlantis expedition marks the first true co-operative mission by earth.
Also during this time, the US and its allies began construction on Interstellar Vessels (yup Atlantis id DS-9 and SGC is another Federation).

In more recent times, SGC has discovered an unmanned Alteran vessel that has been traversing various galaxies. The SGC sent another group by the SGC, and they were trapped on the ship (ala Voyager and Enterprise series). It was discovered that this vessel was built before the Stargates, and had an early form of Stargate that could only make interplanetary travel possible between the ship and the closest Stargate. The crew is lost and is trying to unlock the secrets and steer the ship in an attempt to return home.