I'm mourning the imminent demise of one of my favorite TV shows of all time. After last night's reintroduction for the second half of the tenth season, there are only nine episodes left of Stargate: SG-1. I am heartbroken.

It is not unexpected that I would have grown fond of this show over the years. I was raised in a family that prized sci-fi a great deal. My parents were avid Star Trek fans (I've even attended a Star Trek convention with my mom); I watched both the original series in reruns and Star Trek: TNG in its original run. (I did watch Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise as well, although not with the zeal I had for TNG.) I have seen all the Star Trek movies and own many (and still tear up at the end of Star Trek IV when the crew receive their new Enterprise). The appeal of Star Trek was its combination of adventure, love, politics, cultural sensibilities, slavery, racism, good vs. evil, and humor.

It is no wonder then that I enjoy Stargate: SG-1 (and its spinoff show, Stargate: Atlantis) very much. The same combination of elements, with an updated flair and surprisingly good acting and special effects, makes the show great fun to watch. I also enjoy the slightly more educated background and jokes in the show. The premise of the Stargate movie (with Kurt Russell and James Spader) and TV shows is that various alien races have been coming to Earth for thousands of years, and that these aliens have insinuated themselves into various Earth cultures throughout history. Many of what early people believed to be gods in various mythologies (including Egyptian, Greek/Roman, Celtic, Norse, and others) were nothing but aliens with particular abilities and technologies. Similarly, some people in later legends and myths (especially recently the King Arthur legends and the people of Atlantis) were also members of these alien races. It is really interesting to see the relationships between all these different mythologies and legends from history from this perspective.

It's also fun to watch the various actors and actresses, both the regulars and the guests. There seems to be a cadre of science fiction actors who have hopped from show to show. Shows like Star Trek, Farscape, Dr. Who, The X-Files, Dark Angel, and others have produced the people who spend a lot of time on the Stargate shows. I'm also fond of the show because I have a personal tie to it--the first time my husband and I ever sat down to watch the show was the weekend he proposed to me, and that show was the first thing we ever sat together to watch as a couple. Goofy, I know, but it still counts with me.

Stargate: SG-1 is now the longest-running science fiction show on television, taking the title from The X-Files this season. But the SciFi Channel decided to stop running it after this season, so the producers of the show decided to end it.

There is already one spinoff show, as I mentioned; they are planning a second as well. And they will also run two full-length Stargate:SG-1 movies to tie up some of the plot lines, since the show is so complicated and involving.

As much as I enjoy Stargate: Atlantis, it makes me sad that the original is going to end. Stargate: SG-1 is interesting, funny, sometimes emotional, well-thought out, clever (a great moment in last night's episode involved all the characters trying to think of the secret name of a dragon: Vala: "Darryl the dragon?" Mitchell: "How 'bout Smokey?" Teal'c: "Perhaps Puff?"--this would be funnier if you know the characters, I suppose; Teal'c is a very straight-laced and serious alien, and my favorite line he has uttered so far is "Undomesticated equines could not remove me from the room" because he doesn't always quite understand human culture). They also have made a variety of subtle MacGyver jokes over the years, as Richard Dean Anderson is both one of the original cast members and the executive producer. There have been some really great episodes over the years, and I hate to see it go.

But thankfully, it has shown up in syndication in a few places, the original characters will certainly make guest appearances on the spinoffs, and I can certainly watch the episodes over and over again on DVD (we own most of the seasons so far). But it just won't replace rushing home and parking in front of the TV on Friday nights to watch the newest episode.

Why must the best shows always end?