About

The original movie (1994), featuring Kurt Russel as Col. Johnathan "Jack" O'Neill and James Spader as archeologist-anthropologist-linguist Dr. Daniel Jackson. Jackson is called in by a super-sercret sect of the military to figure out how to get the ancient Stargate found in Egypt up and running. When he does, though, it's like opening Pandora's box. Going through the gate, they find, on the planet Abydos, a parasitic alien who, in Egyptian times, stole the body of a human boy, masqeraded as the god Ra and abducted our people. A battle ensues. When the battle is over and Ra is dead, Daniel ends up married to one of the planet's inhabitants and decides to stay there.

In 1997, The Sci Fi Channel launched with Stargate SG-1 as it's first original series. In the series, role of Daniel Jackson is by Michael Shanks, and Jack O'Niell is played by Richard Dean Anderson, of MacGyver fame. Skaara, though, is once again played by Alexis Cruze, while Erik Avarti reprises his role as the leader of the Abadosians and father ofSkaara and Shiore (now called Sha're and played by Vaitiare Bandera).

Stargate SG-1 picks up where the movie left off, but with some changes. Daniel is reunited with Jack, and his wife and brother in-law-are kidnapped by soldiers serving Ra's brother, Apophis. We learn that Ra and Apophis are being from a race of parasites known as Goa'uld. They are served by marsupial humans known as Jaffa. One of the Jaffa, Teal'c (Christopher Judge), befriends Daniel and Jack and agrees to help them and astrophysicist Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) fight the Goa'uld, in the hopes of freeing his people from the false gods. They become the team known as SG-1, and use the Stargate, along with the rest of the SG teams of Stargate Command (SGC), under the guidance of Genera; George Hammond (the late, great Don S Davis), to explore other worlds. As time goes by, they make numerous friends and enemies across the universe. They succeed eventually, but in the interim, Share is eventually killed by Teal'c, in order to save Daniel from her Goa'uld, Amaunet.

In the series, Earthlings are known as the Tau'ri, but all humans in the Milky Way are descended from those who came from Earth, even the Jaffa. Earth was, for a time, occupied by another race of humans, the Alterrans, also known as the Ancients; current humans are the second evolution of the human form. Long ago, the Alterrans came to the Milky Way from another galaxy, and settled on Earth wen they doscovered beings much like themselves (only more primitive) evolving here. It was the Alterrans who built the Stargates. They later evolved into 'Ascended beings" of pure energy; when this happened, the Goa'uld swept in and stole their technology, enslaving the humans. There are two other major races besides the Ancients and the Goa'uld -- the Asgard, who are the very-technologically-advanced "grey aliens" and the basis for our Norsic myths, and the uber-peacful Nox, who are very long-lived, have healing powers, and can make things invisible.

When the Goa'uld were defeated, Hammond retired, and Jack was promoted and left the SGC. Now SG-1 is under the command of General Hank Landry (Beau Bridges), and led by Col. Cameron Mitchell. Daniel, Samantha Carter (now a Colonel), and Teal'c all had left when O'Neill did, but Mitchell convinced them to come back. Now, with the help of space-pirate Vala (Claudia Black), they fight against a new threat: the Ori, another sect of Ascended beings from another galaxy (bretheren to the Alterrans, in fact) who are intent on making us worship them -- on pain of death. They can gain power form the non-ascended, but only if they are worsphipped by the person first (and therefore that person's psyche is open to their invasive powers). Eventually, SG-1 found a device, made by the Alterran Merlon, which destroyed all the Ori -- leaving only one, Adria, to take over. In The Ark of Truth, though, Adria was defeated, and the humans of the Ori galaxy freed.

Daniel has Ascended once, but was returned to life as a Tauri because he would not obey the Ascended Ancients' non-intereference laws. He's considered highly valuable for his skills as a linguist and his knowledge of the Ancients. He's still deeply committed to his Alterran research.

Vala is a thief/smuggler who first encountered Daniel on the Prometheus, a ship she was trying to steal; she later sought his aid in a treasure-hunt. To encourage him, she bound him to her with a pair of bracelet-schackles that prevented them from getting very apart without them both dying. On said hunt, she and Daniel got body-swapped with a human couple in the Ori galazy, which in turn alerted the Ori to the existence of their home galaxy. She later risked her life in preventing the Ori from creating a Supergate, causing herself to get transfered again to the Ori galaxy, this time in body as well soul.

She found herself immaculately impregnated with the Ori's savior-child and married to one of their human followers, Tomin. After contacting SGC via a sort of telepathic communication device and her connection with Daniel and apprising them of her situation, she then gave brith to Adria. A creation of the Ori, Adria grew practically overnight! Vala tried to teach her daughter to leave the people of the Milky Way be, but was unsucsessful. Daniel rescued her, and she became a part of SG-1, SGC's primary team. She's still a bit manipulative and greedy, but she defionitley does care about the fate of the universe, having risked her life for it, and has shown her compassionate side more and more frequently over the course of her time with the team.

Key moments in the development of their relationship include: "Counterstrike", where Daniel finally revealed to Vala that he had been married once before, and showed her great compassion and understanding regarding her situation with her "daughter" Adria, when they thought Adria to be dead. "Memento Mori", in which Daniel took Vala out on what he insisted was *not* a date (his teammates smiled knowingly, clearly not believing him) and ended up worried to death when she was kidnapped; they shared a beautiful hug when he found her. "Family Ties", in which Daniel helped Vala through her estranged relationship with her father, and gave the man a stern talking to, clealry on the lookout for her welfare. "Dominion", where they were faced with the very real posibility of having to kill Adria; again, he showed great support and compassion regarding how hard it would be for Vala. And in "Undending", SG-1 was trapped in a time-dilation field on the Odyssey for several decades, allowing fans a glimpse of a consummated Daniel/Vala ralationship -- whichw as, alas, erased when Sam found a way to make time reverse. Teal'c, the only memberfor whom time was not reveresed, knows that they got together, though, and seems to be trying to prod Daniel in that direction while still leaving the archaeologist free to make the choice for himself.

In Continuum, we learn that, despite the threat of the Ori having been finally ended, Vala still remains with the SGC, content to leave her days on the run behind her.

Kismet was the site I'd started in order to express my adoration for Daniel & Vala. I'd been itching to draw Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) and Vala Mal Doran (Claudia Black) for a while. Then after watching the episode "Counterstrike", my writing muse, Maer, was inspired to write a fic well, so she and my art muse, La, decided to collaborate. And then it seemed like I couldn't stop writing about them!

I have to confess that I had only a passing interest in the series before, though Daniel's been my fave character since the movie, and I found I enjoyed Shanks' portrayal even more than Spader's. While I'd barely seen any of Farscape at that point, I *immediately* liked Black's Vala (although I originally missed her first appearance, not encountering her until "Avalon, Part 1"); I adore her all on her own from a "redemptionistra" standpoint. And the chemistry between Daniel and Vala is spectacular, earning them an honored place in my shipper heart.

There came a point where I had done enough fan-work involving the two that I decided I needed a more central location for access to it all, so Stargate: Kismet was born. :)

In searching for a weapon to fight the Goa'uld, Daniel Jackson discovered the location of the lost Alterran city of Atlantis -- in another galaxy, which they named Pegasus. Alas, the Stargate used a lot of power, from a rare energy-storage device known as a Zero-Point Moudule, or ZPM, to reach the 'Gate of Atlantis; obviously, Jack wouldn't allow Daniel to go on the expedition to it, fearing it would be a one-way trip. And, for a goodly while, it was ...

The Atlantis expedition is a motely (and large) crew of scientists, military, and doctors. Soon after arriving in the city, Major John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), while trying to rescue new allies they had met as well as members of the expedition, accidentally awoke a race of hibernating space vampires known as the Wraith. Those allies, a tribe of migratory humans known as the Athosians, relocated to Lantea, the world which the city of Atlantis called home; the Athosians later found a new homeworld. Eventually Atlantis, which is actually a city-ship, had to flee Lantea when another enemy, the shapeshifting nanites known as the Replicators, attacked; Atlantis now resides on an unnamed world with two moons. Atlantis is no longer cut off from Earth, either: now the SGC has intergalactic vessels, like the Daedalus, that allow them to go back and forth between Pegasus and Milky Way -- provided one is willing to make a three-month round trip. There was also, for a short time, and intergalacti space bridge, which was destroyed in a battle with the Wraith.

The leader of the Athosians, a woman named Teyla Emmagan (Rachel Luttrell), became a part a reconnaisance team that Sheppard started soon after his first encounter with the Wraith. The sarcastic astrophysicist Dr Rodney Mckay (David Hewlett) and Lt Aiden Ford (Rainbow Sun Franks) completed the team. Ford eventually became addicted to Wraith enzyme, a substance they inject into their prey when feeding, and went on the run. Specialist Ronon Dex (Jason Momoa), a young Satedan warrior, replaced Ford. Sheppard's team is often assisted by: Major Evan Lorne (Kavan Smith), John's 2IC and leader of the second team; Dr Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion); former Chief Medical Officer who occasionally went into the field (now deceased but also cloned ...); Dr Jennifer Keller (Jewel Staite), current CMO: Dr Radek Zelenka (David Nykly), who is essentially Rodney's second-in-command, and Col Stephen Caldwell (Mitch Pillegi), commander of the Daedalus. The first expedition leader was Dr Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson), who was eventually compromised by the Replicators; she was replaced by SG-1's Col Carter for a year, and then by IOA bureaucrat-with-a-conscience Richard Woolsey (Robert Picardo). Together, these brave souls seek both the technology that drew the expedition in the first place, and a way to save the Pegasus galaxy from the Wraith. They're also learning more about the Alterrans, and are always on the hunt for more ZPMs (or alternative forms of energy), in order to power Alterran tech and allow them to use the Stargate back to Milky Way more frequently.

Along the way, they've had an off-again/on-again alliance with one of the more industrial societies of humans of Pegasus, the Genii; they were mostly enemies under the eventually deposed leader Cowan and his general Kolya, tentative friends under the current Leader, Laden. They've also become tentative allies with a group of space nomads (the producers refer to them as the Travellers, but they have not been labelled in the series), led by a tricky woman named Larrin. Oddly enough, the Atlantians have even been known to ally themselves with the Wraith from time to time -- in particular, with "Michael", a wraith that Beckett attempted to change into a human (and who later caused them all sorts of touble by trying to create a human/wrath hybrid army), and "Todd", a Wraith who first allied himself with Sheppard in order to escape Kolya's clutches at one point; they teamed up with Todd to fight both the Replicators (who were originally created by the Alterrans to fight the Wraith) and Michael.

Dr Rodney McKay is one of the most brilliant scientists of the SGC -- a fact he knows all too well. We first met him on SG-1, when he worked, on several occasions, with Samantha Carter. Now he's head of the science team in Atlantis. No one knows more about Ancient technology than he does. He's also one of the few successful recipients of the ATA gene therapy -- the ATA gene being an Alteran gene that allows carriers to operate the technology of Atlantis. Rodney is a hypocondriac, hypoglycemic, and a food lover -- although he claims to be dealthy allergic to citris. He's also honest to a fault (often brutally so, though he is quick to blame other for his own shortcomings and mistakes) and has a severe lack of social skills, but those who have come to know him have learned to tolerate his idiosyncrisies in most cases, and put him in his pace when necessary. He doesn't take failure, from himself or others, very well. Rodney is also the type of guy who, if he can't be the best at it, would rather not have anything to do with a skill set, and speak disparagingly of it. He's mellowed considerably over the years, though, reining in his ego. He even almost married botanist Dr Katie Brown, until she discovered his cranky side while they were trapped in what seemed a doomed situation. He admits to being an utter coward and will fold under the first sign of torture -- but he's also put the lives of others before his own on numerous occasions, surpising everyone -- including himself.

About his past, We know that: He had an unhappy childhood, with parents that blamed him for their failing marriage. He has a younger sister, Jeannie Miller (played by Kate Hewlett, David's real-life sister) who is a mathematical genius; he was estranged from her for a few years because he disapproved of her giving up her talent to marry an English professor and become a homemaker. And he once dreamed of being a concert pianist until his teacher said that he didn't have a musical soul, only technical talent.

Lt Colonel John Sheppard (he's been promoted) is an Airforce pilot who can fly just about anything. He's a natrual ATA-carrier -- possibly the strongest there is next to Jack O'Neill. Sheppard is cool under fire -- though he never seems to hesistate to get angry at Rodney. (To be fair, this is partially because McKay works best under presue.) He's also had a few (unintended) romantic entanglements with alien women, prompting Rodney to call him Kirk. We know he's had an unsuccessful marriage, that his father (deceased in season 4) did not approave of his joining the military, having expected his son to take over the family business, and that his brother Dave was also disapproving. We also know that he got in trouble for disobeying orders to attempt a rescue in Afghanistan (an effort which failed). John refuses to leave teammates behind, and will gladly give his life in the line of duty, his actions prompting some to wonder if he's suicidal. His teammates are each, in their own way, his very best friends, a surrogate family who are equally loyal to him.

McKay and Sheppard are said to have a habit of "saving each other". Sheppard is the most capable person for guiding/leading/controlling the flighty McKay, getting the physicist to complete impossible tasks under truly horrific restraints, often even sparking ideas for him or helping him to look outside the box. Though McKay often tries the usually-laid-back Sheppard's patience, and Sheppard threatens Rodney on a daily basis, the two truly are very close, and can often be seen joking and smiling together as well. They have a healthy rivalry, they snipe at and tease each other, and they may question one another's sanity, but when the chips are down, they trust one other implicitly, and at times are completley in sync. Together, they can be nearly unstoppable!

I have to confess that I wasn't a fan of Atlantis at first -- I wasn't impressed with the two-part pilot. (It's since grown on me a bit.) But I went through something like this with Star Trek: DS9 -- I didn't care for it, then watched an episode that had a character I liked from ST: The Next Generation (O'brien), and suddenly I was hooked and watching all the re-runs I could. The same thing pretty much happened here: I'd half-watched Atlantis because other people in the house were watching it, but it wasn't until I caught re-runs of "McKay and Mrs Miller" and "Hide and Seek" -- both McKay-centric -- that I really took notice. And then I saw "Tao of Rodney", and was totally hooked. Which is really funny, because I didn't even really like McKay in the beginning; the only character I liked from the get-go was Beckett. But then I started watching re-runs like mad, and began finding a new appreciation for the eps I only half-watched before. I started poking around the net to learn about David Hewlett (Rodney). The chemistry (call it just frendship or call it more, it works either way for me) between McKay and Sheppard has really fascinated me. I've been gobbling up McShep slash fics and McKay/Shep friendship fics, and was soon inspired to write one of my own. I'm sure there will be more art and stories to come, so I figured I needed a place to put them, and P-JL came into being, inspired by the episode "The Defiant One", where John teached Rodney to fly a 'jumper.