The Stargate Dissertation, part II

Here is part 2 of the Stargate dissertation. And Rennie, I let you have fun with all your F1 posts, let me have this, okay...

SG-1
The Flagship team for Stargate Command, SG-1 was initially comprised of Col. Jack O'Neill, Major Dr. Samantha Carter, Lt. Kowalski, and Lt. Ferretti. Kowalski was killed by a Goa'uld and Ferretti went on to command another team. SG-1 was joined by Dr. Daniel Jackson and eventually by Teal'c, the Jaffa warrior. Teal'c was once First Prime of Apophis, the key enemy of SG-1 for the first four seasons. As the show entered its eighth season, Jack O'Neill was given command of the SGC. In season nine, Cameron Mitchell became leader of SG-1, and Vala Mal Doran joined the team as well.

ALLIES
The Asgard
The Asgard are the stereotypical aliens, little gray bodies with large, bulbous black eyes. The Asgard took one the form of ancient Norse gods, not for control, like the Goa'uld, but to help the ancient people. The key Asgard, Thor, has been extremely helpful to SG-1 and Earth.

The Tok'ra
Goa'ulds who oppose the System Lords, the name Tok'ra literally translates as "Against Ra." Maj. Carter was blended for a short time with a Tok'ra, and by doing so she gained many Tok'ra memories. SG-1 met the Tok'ra and joined forces against the System Lords. Carter's dying father blends with a Tok'ra and becomes a key member of the resistance movement.

The Ancients
The gate builders. The Ancients created many different technologies, but their key discovery was ascension. By ascending, a being leaves a lower plane of existence and enters a higher existence, typically as energy. A main rule of ascended beings is not to get involved with the affairs of the lower planes. Oma Desala always crossed the line on this rule. The Ancient Myrden, known in medieval times as Merlin, had long fought against the enemies of the Ancients, going so far as to design the Sangraal, a weapon capable of destroying Ascended beings.

ENEMIES
The Goa'uld System Lords
The Goa'uld are a parasitic worm-like species that forcibly take over host bodies. Their society is dominated by the System Lords. Ra was the Supreme System Lord. He took a human body 10,000 years ago, and was able to remain healthy through the use of alien technologies. Beneath Ra in the Goa'uld hierarchy are Apophis, Cronus, Niirti, Heru-ur, Sethesh, Yu, and many others. The non-System Lord Goa'uld caste includes Zipacna, Isis, Imhotep, and more. The most feared Goa'uld of all, though, was Anubis. Anubis was kicked out of the System Lord ranks because he committed atrocities even the Goa'uld found disturbing. Anubis disappeared, and later returned, in a half-ascended state. Oma Desala, in her pity, had helped him ascend, but he was kicked out of ascension and left half-ascended. He began to systematically wipe out the other System Lords until his defeat over Antarctica. Nearly a year later he engaged Oma Desala in eternal war .

The Replicators
Robots. Millions of tiny robots, each one capable of reproducing itself an infinite amount of times, all while integrating any technology into its being. That description amounts to what a Replicator can do. It does not come close to revealing how destructive these little buggers can be. The Replicator threat originated in the Asgard home galaxy, and they quickly targeted Earth. The "bugs" reached a level of technological evolution where they achieved human form. The Replicator Fifth became leader of the species, until his creation, a Replicator version of Samantha Carter, betrayed him. Replicator Carter was ultimately defeated by SG-1 and Daniel Jackson.

The Ori
The Ancients sought only to enlighten themselves. If a person was deemed worthy of ascension, an Ancient may help them. Oma Desala was famous for offering help. The Ancients never sought the worship of "lower" beings. The Ori, though, drew strength from their followers. They forcibly preached Origin as the way to true salvation, and promised, though rarely delivered, ascension. The Ori learned that the Milky Way had been protected by the Ancients and immediately sought to convert or kill the galaxy's inhabitants, and to eventually kill the Ancients themselves. SG-1 entered into battle against the Ori and met the Orici, a child with the knowledge and power, though not all of either, of the Ori. Orici led the Ori army into the Milky Way. SG-1, with the help of Daniel Jackson and Merlin (that's right, the wizard), devised a weapon that would eliminate the Ori. The weapon worked, but the Ori followers persisted. The Orici eventually ascended, possibly restarting the Ori way.