Stargate: Continuum

Stargate: Continuum may be the second direct-to-video adventure for SG-1 but it’s the first genuinely cinematic one. Shot on location in the Arctic, with blagged hardware from the US Army and Navy, it looks fabulous, while its time-travel storyline is tight and exciting.
Of course, ‘gating’ back through time is no biggie to these heroes, but this yarn has real wit and invention. The last of the Gou’ald system lords Ba’al buggers up the timeline to engineer an Earth without a Stargate programme, making it easy picking for a Gou’ald invasion. The visual effects are generous and genuinely impressive, there’s even gore and profanity (see, real movie!). SG-1 fans will appreciate all the nods to the show’s considerable continuity, and even newbies will find plenty to enjoy as it moves along at a cracking pace.

Rik Henderson: Continuum tries hard to be taken seriously as a movie, rather than a long TV episode, and visually it pretty much succeeds. Shot on film rather than the show's HD cameras, the 16:9 framed image has the grain and clarity you'd expect from a cinema release. This integrates well with the various visual effects, which are often jaw-droppingly good.  The sharpness and depth evident in the deep space FX in particular will be appreciated by sci-fi fans of all denominations. Overall, a big step up from standard TV grade productions and one which makes good use of Blu-ray's hi-def presentation.

Steve May: As befits the most lavish of the Stargate TV incarnations, Continuum comes with a DTS HD Master audio soundmix that, while not exactly pushing the envelope, licks it with considerable affection. When the team 'gate' there's a thunderous LFE ripple, the soundstage whooshes from front to back. Throughout, the sound design is fun and immersive, and there's plenty of deep bass to give the movie a big screen temperament. The Joel Goldsmith score is never far from the edge of the mix while dialogue is nuanced and realistic. Naturally there's an audio commentary track in the extras, but with this engaged the audio defaults to a Dolby Digital stream.

Anton van Beek: Okay, so Continuum is exactly overflowing with extras, but the material on offer should still go down a treat with the franchise’s legion of fans. Kicking things off is a commentary track by director Martin Wood and writer Brad Wright. It’s not a bad listen, but the amount of technical information being discussed does get a bit wearisome after a while, and it would have been nice to have some of the cast participate just to lighten it up a little.
Also on offer are a trio of featurettes (all presented in HD). There’s a detailed 23min look behind-the-scenes, a further 22mins devoted to the location shoot in the Arctic and a 9min guide to time travel by astrophysicist Jaymie Matthews.

We say: Stargate makes the leap to the brave new world of HD and comes up with a disc that will delight its many fans.

20th Century Fox, All-region Blu-ray, £28, On sale now
HCC VERDICT: 4/5