A Canceled Stargate Spin-Off Would Have Focused On Two Beloved Characters

"Stargate SG-1" ended its seventh season with "Lost City," a climactic episode that was supposed to lead up to a "Stargate" theatrical movie. Although this plan was eventually scrapped, "Lost City" laid the foundation for "Stargate Atlantis," a series spin-off that fleshes out the connection between the technologically advanced Ancients and the lost underwater city of Atlantis. Both "SG-1" and "Atlantis" have shaped the "Stargate" franchise into what it is today, effectively molding it into a thrilling world where humanity can learn from its collective mistakes while persevering against deadly intergalactic threats. This vast, boundless premise paved the path for short-lived yet promising entries like "Stargate Universe," which etches a darker, bleaker picture of a universe that is more hostile than it appears. 

Unfortunately, a third "Stargate" spin-off idea revolving around Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and Malcolm Barrett (Peter Flemming) did not make it to the screen. Although Barrett has made scattered appearances throughout "SG-1" and "Atlantis," Sam Carter is a core member of the "SG-1" crew, who also popped up in both sequels to the show. If this Barrett-Carter show had been greenlit, we would have been treated to a "The X-Files"-style Mulder and Scully dynamic within the context of "Stargate" lore. This premise sounds promising, as the franchise has always honed in on a larger group instead of a two-person dynamic (except for the original "Stargate" theatrical movie, where Daniel Jackson and Jack O'Neill work together to defeat the System Lord, Ra). 

Although it's unclear what this scrapped show would have explored beyond the Mulder-Scully inspiration from "The X-Files," it goes without saying that "Stargate" has ample lore which evokes a sense of surreal mystery. Let's take a look at what Peter Flemming has to say about the "Stargate" spin-off that could have been.

The Mulder-Scully inspirations for the Barrett-Carter procedural did not materialize out of the blue. In season 6 of "Stargate SG-1," the episode "Smoke and Mirrors" saw the two team up to solve a murder mystery in which Colonel Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson, taking over for Kurt Russell) gets implicated. This accusation proves to be troubling as O'Neill vows that he is innocent, prompting the SG-1 crew to investigate the case and apprehend the real culprit. This episode undoubtedly echoes tonal elements from "The X-Files," while featuring fun, snappy banter between Carter and Barrett as they transform into close allies. This evolved episodic chemistry served as the basis for the spin-off idea, which could have opted for a fresh creative direction in the form of grounded, slightly supernatural mysteries back on Earth. Although this sounds mundane in comparison to the vast intergalactic scope of "SG-1" and its successors, it's possible that the elegant simplicity of the premise could have been a foundation for exploring the nuances of a more sprawling sci-fi saga.

Flemming spoke to Dial the Gate about this scrapped project, referencing the chemistry explored in episodes like "Smoke and Mirrors" and how that could have led to a full-blown procedural series:

"They were coming up with different ideas for a new 'Stargate' show. In around the fifth and sixth year [of 'Stargate SG-1'], they were starting to think, 'What can we piggyback off this?' So it turns out that myself and Amanda Tapping were in the front line — with 'Atlantis' — to have our own spin-off [or] piggyback show [...] Who knows if it [the canceled series] would have had legs? Who knows what would have happened? As I watch a few of the episodes with Amanda [Tapping] and I, there's definitely a fun little chemistry there that could have [gone] a lot of different ways."

Based on what Flemming reveals about the spin-off in the rest of the interview, it seems that the decision boiled down to "Atlantis" and the Carter-Barrett series, and the former was selected to be greenlit. While "Atlantis" remains a fantastic addition to "Stargate," it's hard not to yearn for an unconventional, potentially thrilling crime procedural that could have been. After all, any storyline that prominently features Samantha Carter is worth pursuing, especially when teamed up with a character we know very little about. If the "Stargate" franchise ever makes a comeback, this discarded series should definitely be on top of the list of possible sequel ideas.