To me (as much as I enjoyed it) SGU had two main faults.
That would be Vancouver BC actually. It’s like the old joke on Doctor Who “Why does every planet in the universe except Earth look like a gravel pit?”
Yeah, your points are probably very accurate: I didn’t actually watch Galactica so it didn’t feel repetitive to me. I also didn’t get deeply into SG until Universe, which held my interest more than the previous material; so again, I didn’t have the same expectations or background as SG fans who were into the entire series. it’s probably the more messed-up characters and darker tone that appealed to me. I wish they could have grab more newcomers who could have judged it on its own merits before tanking.
I thought it must have been shot in rural Slovakia.
The bit where Rush watched them playing around with the freezers, and abstaining from interference, was especially hilarious.
One of my favorite things about Atlantis was when, on an episode that was really obviously a Star Trek plot, McKay spouted off, “Oh, my God, this is just like Batman!”
I watched the entire series from start to finish one year, just so I never. had. to. watch. it. when. channel. surfing. ever. again.
This “Nikopol Triology” seems pretty obscure. On the other hand, Däniken’s “Chariots of the Gods” was a bestseller, as apeshit as it was (it professed to be “non-fiction”) and covered the same basic territory (Ancient gods were really aliens).
Almost forgot this gem:
The whole episode, “200”, is hilarious. Someone they brought through the 'gate, in a previous episode, had had his memory erased but retained enough to create a show called “Wormhole X” (iirc, it’s been a while) and in the 200th episode, he’s gotten a movie deal and is bouncing ideas off of SG-1.
Dr. Ndalianis hit the nail on the head, and imho the thing that makes SG-1 work is the same thing that makes Doctor Who work (and I’m about to be ripped to shreds): it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Hell, Galaxy Quest would probably have had a hard time skewering SG-1, because the show never took itself too seriously. I mean, honestly, the expert linguist couldn’t pronounce Go’a’ould? O’Neill changes from being Snake Pliskin to being Hawkeye Pierce? Yeah, I know, someone will skewer me again with some retconned explanation about the pronunciation, but there were times when Shanks would say “Gould” and Christopher Judge would respond with the correct pronunciation.
… the MacGyver jokes…
Bilal isn’t really obscure to anyone who was following SF in those days, but I’ll admit Von Däniken was more widely known. The common thread I see between SG and Nikopol more pertinent than their Egyptianness, though, is the aliens’ enigmatic inscrutability, something that really struck home with me: “Yeah, if we ran into aliens we probably would have no accurate model for their thoughts and motivations.” Earth 2 hit some similar notes — as of course have many novels, but the real alienness of intelligent alien races, as opposed to being analogues to human cultures or super-predators or what have you, doesn’t seem to come up in mass-market SF as often as you might think.
Of course it’s entirely possible I’m making palimpsestic inferrals based on my own likes and reading history. Regardless, I recommend Nikopol, it’s a trip.
EDIT: Start with the graphic novels, not the movie or the video game. Ideally, go back in time thirty years and read the serializations in Heavy Metal while away at summer camp. Smoke some hash, fool around with an older British exchange counselor who has been accidentally assigned to an all-male camp, chew tobacco, get conned into getting tied to a tree naked, LARP around the woods. Don’t have insurance or adults around who are overly concerned with your wellbeing.
I went to the original movie with a bunch of college friends. We had low expectations,but left the theater grinning. What an amazing piece of glorious pulp! It isn’t as dumb as The Fifth Element, or have that film’s nutty energy, but it is in the same camp. A great goofy adventure.
I didn’t start watching SG-1 for many years, because I didn’t have cable. I figured it was a derivative padded-out retread, so I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. When I started watching (I suppose it was syndicated eventually) I was surprised at how good it was. Not GREAT television, but pretty good; not GREAT science fiction, but pretty good.
It (and the successor series) were at their worst when they relied on continuing villains. Bad guys who kept showing up and showing up. Like Davros on Doctor Who. And even though the last seasons weren’t bad, the “Ori” were kind of “meh” villains.
As for the retread movie . . . oh, for cripes sake. Why?
you misspelled amazing 
I like to think that it’s a parody of Bruce Willis movies masquerading as a SF movie.
The Fifth Element is amazing. And dumb. And thoroughly enjoyable.
I’m not saying they have to include the old cast but from what I’ve read they are totally ignoring the lore of SG1 which means no Asgard, Ancients, or Jaffa which are all central parts of the franchise now. I’m sorry they didn’t get to make the movie sequel they wanted 20 years ago but this whole other show was developed which is why anyone even cares about the movies.
This! I liked the movie as a teen and was quite excited for the series but when I first saw the costumes and cheap effects all enthusiasm died instantly. Never watched an episode after that first experience.
If you want more of David Hewlett, look for a show from the late 90’s called Traders. It’s about the people in a Canadian investment bank. Hewlett’s character seems to be on the autistic spectrum. It also stars Patrick McKenna, probably best known as Harold on The Red Green Show. He managed to win the Gemini award for Best Actor in a Drama and for Best Actor in a Comedy in the same year.
It isn’t as dumb as The Fifth Element
Oh, how DARE you! 
I don’t think this counts, but they did two straight-to-DVD movies. They were basically long episodes with bigger budgets, but pretty decent.
Bonus: the guy with the glasses is John BIllingsley, best known to Star Trek fans as Dr. Phlox.
One of the weirder guest-stars was Wayne Brady as a completely humorless Jaffa.
