From the author of Slayer: The Totally Cool Unofficial Guide to Buffy. It may have once been dismissed by some as a quintessentially horrid piece of trainspotter-SF, but Stargate SG-1 has, like a fine wine, matured over six seasons from a basic movie spin-off into the best science-fiction show on television. And one that includes within its impressive arsenal of strengths, a sly and laconic wit - heavily pushed by the personality of its leading man and executive producer, Richard Dean Anderson. Stargate SG-1 is witty, inventive, surprising in all sorts of ways and massively popular across the globe. The series has tackled some very serious issues - racism, xenophobia, religious intolerance and debates surrounding individual choice - but it's also loads fun, full of pithy dialogue and knowing winks to its audience. Beyond the Gate, breaks down each of the series' one hundred plus episodes, focuses on the elements that make Stargate SG-1 so popular, and recurring themes like the way in which Sam Carter's boyfriends all die horribly. In categories likes The Wit and Wisdom of Jack O'Neill and Origins of the Species Keith Topping analyses over five seasons worth of episodes, uncovers possible influences, ackowldeges the moments when logic simply flies out of the window and provides trivia for use at dinner-parties and conventions. An indespensible guide to the Stargate universe.