Stargate was an adventure military science fiction franchise, initially conceived by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Stargate. It was originally released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, and became a hit, grossing nearly $200 million (USD) worldwide.^[1][2] Three years later, Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner created a television series titled Stargate SG-1 as a sequel for the film.

In addition to film and television, the Stargate franchise has expanded into other media, including books, video games, and comic books. These supplements to the film and television series have resulted in significant development of the show's fictional universe and mythology. In 2008, the films Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Continuum were released direct-to-DVD, which in total grossed over $21 million in the United States. In 2002 the franchise's first animated series, Stargate Infinity, began airing, which holds no canonicity in the franchise despite its Stargate SG-1-inspired plot. In 2004, the TV series Stargate Atlantis was released as a spin off from Stargate SG-1 and a third series, Stargate Universe, premiered on October 2, 2009. Stargate Universe was cancelled during its second season, leaving it on a semi-cliffhanger.^[3] Then on April 17, 2011, Stargate producer Brad Wright announced that any plans for the continuation of the franchise had been cancelled indefinitely, ending 17 seasons of Stargate television production.^[4]

Premise[link]

Stargate productions center on the premise of a "Stargate", a ring-shaped device that creates a wormhole enabling personal transportation to complementary devices located cosmic distances away. Under the control of the United States government, the Stargate discovered on Earth is kept a secret from the public. This allows for storylines to present no contradiction between depicted events and reality, an effect compounded by setting Stargate in the present day and depicting Earth accurately, with any unrealistic technology originating solely from alien civilizations. These extraterrestrial civilizations are typically more pre-industrial than scientifically advanced and are almost always human. Together, this allows for stories dominated by human interaction in Earth-like environments, an unusual feature for a science fiction franchise focused on exploration of other worlds.

In the story, this is explained as being the result of alien interference in Earth's distant past—the concept influenced by the ideas of Erich von Däniken. Many ancient mythologies are shown to be the result of aliens who had visited Earth posing as gods by using their technology to give the impression of deific power. While some of these aliens had benign intentions, a race later known in Stargate SG-1 as the "Goa'uld" used Stargates to move slaves from Ancient Egypt to other habitable planets, simultaneously being responsible for the Egyptian religion and culture. Following a successful rebellion, the Goa'uld fled Earth, and the Stargate was buried and forgotten until modern times, when the United States acquired it following an archaeological dig. With the rediscovery of the function of the Stargate, the galaxy becomes a source of knowledge as well as threats, and the attention of the Goa'uld is drawn once more to Earth.

Franchise releases[link]

Due to multiple developers working separately and independently on the franchise over the years, the various Stargate productions are not entirely consistent with each other; and while no set of works forms an official canon,^[5] the largest following exists for the three live-action series.^[6] Through the work of various authors and developers, at least six separate story cycles can be discerned, some of which are continuations of the other ones (either endorsed or unendorsed by their predecessor).

Media releases[link]

Game releases[link]

• Stargate: Resistance is an online, third-person shooter. It was released February 10, 2010. It has since been canceled due to contracts with MGM. It is still downloadable however.
• Stargate Worlds was a Stargate-universe Massively multiplayer online role-playing game in development prior to its cancellation. The writers and producers of Stargate viewed Stargate Worlds as running side by side with the show in complete canon.
• Stargate SG-1: The Alliance was a computer game based on the Stargate universe, which was due to be released in late 2005, but was canceled.
• A Stargate Trading Card game was released in May 2007. It is available in both Online and Print forms. Designed by Sony Online Entertainment—who also run the Online version of the game—and published by Comic Images.
• A Stargate Role-Playing Game (RPG) was produced by Alderac Entertainment. It was considered canon by both the publishers, and the staff of MGM.^[13] However, when Sony bought MGM, they lost the license to produce Stargate RPG products and the RPG license is currently unassigned.
• Two video games based on the film were released by Acclaim Entertainment: a 1995 eponymous side-scrolling platformer for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and Sega Genesis, and a Tetris-like puzzle game for the Sega Game Gear and Nintendo Game Boy.
• There are three simulator-style amusement park rides named Stargate SG-3000 located at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, Six Flags Great America, and Six Flags Marine World.
• A Stargate pinball game has been produced by Gottlieb.
• Text and turn-based games were also created with the theme of the original universe of Stargate, although slightly different from "reality", all made by Kingdom Games Ltd. Many versions of the same stargate universe have been created and still work in parallel. Among those are Stargate Wars, Quantum Gate, and BattleCorp. On the forums related to the stargate games developed by Kingdom Games Ltd. a text-based roleplaying story was created, called the Enmity Saga. This story takes place in the starting universe of Stargate:SG1, mainly on unvisited planets.
• Asgard Heroes is an online browser mmorpg created by Evolution Vault that pays homage to Stargate. The initial release received some poor reviews which helped the development of the game and a better user interface.

[edit] Stargate franchise timeline

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Theatrical films[link]

[edit] Stargate

In 1994, the military science fiction feature film Stargate was released; directed by Roland Emmerich and co-written by Dean Devlin. The film lays the foundation for all the Stargate productions that come after it, by explaining the notion, function, and history of the Stargate.

The theatrical version of the film begins with the unearthing of the Stargate in Giza in 1928. As of Present Day (i.e. 1994), the failing egyptologist Daniel Jackson (James Spader) helps to make the Stargate work again by deciphering the hieroglyphs on the cover stones of the Stargate, now housed at a military base in Creek Mountain, Colorado. A team led by Colonel Jack O'Neil (Kurt Russell) is ordered to step through the Stargate and identify potential military threats on the other side. Jackson accompanies them to aid in translations to allow them to return home later. At their arrival, the team discovers a slave civilization serving an alien who is posing as the Egyptian god Ra (Jaye Davidson). He and his minion-gods have taken human form, commanding the slaves with brute force. With the help of the locals, O'Neil's team is eventually able to instigate a slave rebellion, overwhelming Ra's forces. Ra escapes in his mothership, but O'Neil is able to teleport and detonate a nuclear warhead on-board Ra's ship in orbit. With Ra dead, the civilization can live in peace; O'Neil and his team return home through the Stargate, but Daniel Jackson stays on the planet with a young local woman named Sha'uri.

[edit] Other releases and future development

After Bill McCay had written a series of five novels continuing the story the original creators had envisioned, and despite the success of the Stargate television series, Dean Devlin stated in 2006 that "he has struck a production deal with MGM and is developing the long-delayed sequel feature films that will pick up the story from the 1994 original"^[14] According to Devlin, two movie sequels would have picked up the story from the 1994 original, but not the mythology of the SG-1 and Atlantis series, with the original stars Kurt Russell and James Spader. Devlin regretted giving MGM control over the franchise.^[14] The first movie already tapped into Egyptian mythology; the second one would have moved into other mythologies; and the third would tie all the mythologies together.^[15] Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis producer Brad Wright said in 2002 that "Devlin can wish to do a sequel to Stargate all he wants. MGM owns the rights, and I doubt very much that they'll ask him to do it. He knows better."^[16]

Plans for producing two sequels of the original film were announced by the original film's creator Dean Devlin at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con. He has said he is currently in talks with MGM to produce four films and he would like two of them to be the final two films in his envisioned Stargate trilogy. In an interview with Sci Fi Wire, Devlin says that should the sequels be made, he hopes to enlist Kurt Russell and James Spader in the two sequels. Both Russell and Spader have expressed interest, Devlin revealed. "They've always said they wanted to do it. The irony is actually because it was 12 years ago that we made Stargate, [and] part two was actually supposed to take place about 12 years later. We were just going to kind of age them up as actors. So it actually works out really nicely." These sequels would bypass the 12 years of mythology created by SG-1 and Atlantis if they are produced.^[14]

Dean Devlin has spoken out again on July 4, 2011 stating that he hasn't given up on the idea of sequels to his 1994 feature film. He talked about the idea again in a new interview with Collider. Devlin actually wrote it as a trilogy of movies, but was never able to do parts two and three. His hope is, now that the series is starting to wind down, that perhaps it will be time to actually get to do parts two and three.

Devlin has said "I think it'll change a little bit from our original idea since so many years have passed," he said. "We wanted to explore the idea of how the Stargates were built originally, and where else in the universe they exist, and why they exist — and where else they exist on Earth. We had really planned out, as a trilogy of films, to allow this mythology to grow bigger and bigger." "^[17]

Stargate was directed by Roland Emmerich, and starred Kurt Russell as Colonel Jack O'Neil and James Spader as Dr. Daniel Jackson. Devlin said he would absolutely want to use the same actors. The movie was shot with a modest budget of $55 million, and released in October 1994.

In the meantime, Lionsgate remains the major rights holder to the original film; this was due to the fact that its predecessor, Live Entertainment, owned home video rights to the Carolco Pictures library and had also owned international distribution rights, although Carolco itself was on the brink of bankruptcy when they produced this film.^{[citation needed]}

Television[link]

[edit] SG-1

In 1997, Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright co-developed Stargate SG-1, a television series intended to continue the story laid down by the original film. Although new actors were cast, several roles from the film were reprised, including the main characters Daniel Jackson and Jack O'Neill (which was re-spelled to include an extra "L"). The Stargate Command setting was transferred from a fictional military facility located in Creek Mountain, to the Cheyenne Mountain military complex. Other variations and differences between the original film and SG-1 mostly concern the location of the planet Abydos, the alien Ra, the race of Ra's underlings (Jaffa), and Stargate travel.^[18][19]

The series debuted on Showtime on July 27, 1997, and moved to the Sci-Fi Channel after its fifth season.^[20] It starred Richard Dean Anderson (as O'Neill) and Michael Shanks (as Jackson), alongside Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge and Don S. Davis playing the new characters Samantha Carter, Teal'c and George Hammond. The cast remained fairly regular for most of SG-1's run, but experienced some changes. Michael Shanks left the show at the end of Season 5 and was replaced by Corin Nemec as Jonas Quinn. Shanks returned at the beginning of Season 7 and Nemec was written out. At the end of Season 7 Davis left the show and Anderson filled the gap he left in the story. Season 9 saw the departure of Anderson, but added new regulars Beau Bridges and Ben Browder. After a debut episode in Season 8, followed by appearances in eight episodes of Season 9, Claudia Black's popular reception earned her a position in the regular cast in Season 10.^[21]

MGM put an average of $1,400,000 into each episode of the show, and regards it as one of its most important franchises.^[22] Stargate was taken off air in 2007; however, two movies entitled Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum were made to tie up loose ends.

[edit] Atlantis

The Stargate Atlantis series follows the adventures of the "Atlantis expedition", a combination of military forces and civilian scientists that travel to the Pegasus galaxy in search of the Lost City of Atlantis, left behind by the most powerful race known to ever have lived, referred to as the Ancients, also known as Lanteans and Alterrans. The finding of the city had been a plot arc for most of SG-1's Season 7, and the Ancients themselves had been a long-running facet of the SG-1 setting. Arriving at the City, the expedition discover that the Pegasus galaxy is dominated by a terrible enemy known as the "Wraith", against whom they must defend themselves, despite being vastly outnumbered.

Stargate Atlantis was a spin-off television series from Stargate SG-1. A new feature film was originally intended to transition the two series after the sixth season of SG-1. Later, SG-1 was renewed for a seventh season, and the feature film was then planned to transition that season. Finally, when SG-1 was renewed for an eighth season, the intended film instead became the two-part season finale episode "Lost City", and the setting of Stargate Atlantis was moved to the Pegasus galaxy.^[23] This allowed the two shows to exist side-by-side within the same fictional universe, and later the two shows even become interconnected. Atlantis was developed by most of the same people and in the same studios as SG-1.

Atlantis debuted on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 16, 2004, starring Joe Flanigan and Torri Higginson in the lead roles, with Rainbow Sun Francks, David Hewlett, and Rachel Luttrell alongside. Hewlett and Higginson's characters had previously appeared in SG-1 (though Higginson inherited the role from actress Jessica Steen). In Atlantis' second season, Paul McGillion and Jason Momoa (replacing Francks) were added as regulars. At the end of the third season, Higginson and McGillion were removed as regulars, both serving recurring roles in the 4th season. Season 4 brought in Amanda Tapping, reprising her role as Samantha Carter from SG-1, and Jewel Staite in a recurring role. Tapping left the show for season five to concentrate on Sanctuary, and was replaced by Robert Picardo, who reprised his role as Richard Woolsey from both SG-1 and Atlantis. However, in late summer 2008 it was announced that SciFi would not renew Atlantis. The final episode aired on January 9, 2009.

[edit] Universe

Stargate Universe is the third live-action Stargate series, and premiered on October 2, 2009. The series was pitched to the Sci Fi Channel in the fall of 2007, just before the writer's strike—which put a hold on the project. "The pitch was received very well," according to Stargate Atlantis co-creator Brad Wright. Sci Fi Channel ordered Universe after announcing the cancellation of Stargate Atlantis. Syfy announced on December 16, 2010 that they would not pick the show up for a third season.^[24] The final episode aired May 9, 2011.

After the events of Stargate Atlantis research into the Stargates 9th and final chevron^[25] lead to an expedition being stranded across the universe on board an Ancient ship called "Destiny" which has been traveling through the universe unmanned for millions of years and is presently several billion light years from Earth. With no apparent way home, the show follows the crew as they struggle to survive on board Destiny. The show was intended to have a darker tone than its predecessors as well as delve more into the humanity of the characters and their relationships with each other while also remaining true to the Stargate mythology and continuity.

[edit] The Ark of Truth & Continuum

Stargate: The Ark of Truth is a direct-to-DVD movie written and directed by Robert C. Cooper. The film is the conclusion of Stargate SG-1's Ori arc, and picks up after the SG-1 series finale, but takes place before the fourth season of Stargate Atlantis. The Ark of Truth was released as a Region 1 DVD release on March 11, 2008. Sky One has broadcast the film on March 24, 2008, to be followed by the Region 2 DVD release on April 28, 2008, with the Region 4 DVD release on April 9, 2008.^[26]

Stargate: Continuum is a direct-to-DVD movie written by Brad Wright and directed by Martin Wood. Some scenes for this movie were already shot at the end of March 2007, but the original start date was set for May 22 at Vancouver's Bridge Studios. The production budget was $7 million.^[27] The movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on July 29, 2008. The Region 4 DVD was released on August 6, 2008 with the Region 2 DVD released on August 18, 2008;^[28] followed by possible TV broadcasts.^[29] The film is a time-travel adventure and is the second sequel to Stargate SG-1, after Stargate: The Ark of Truth.

Future feature film projects[link]

Executive producer Brad Wright has revealed that "Children of the Gods", Stargate SG-1's pilot episode, is being re-cut into a Stargate SG-1 direct-to-DVD movie with brand new visual effects and scenes not previously included in the television version.^[30]

In April 2009, MGM confirmed a third SG-1 new film that Brad Wright had first announced in May 2008.^[31][32] Wright will co-write the film with former Stargate Atlantis executive producer Carl Binder.^[33] Martin Wood will serve as director.^[34] According to Wright, the film would center on the Jack O'Neill character and will reunite as many of the SG-1 cast as possible, depending on the cost of the film and actor availability.^[31] Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson) has confirmed his and Richard Dean Anderson's participation.^[35] Amanda Tapping confirmed her appearance in the third SG-1 film and the first Atlantis movie.^[36] According to Wright, the character of Vala Mal Doran will not appear in the film.^[34] The working title for the film, Stargate: Revolution was revealed by Joseph Mallozzi in his blog.^[37]

According to Sci-Fi and Joseph Mallozzi, a Stargate Atlantis two hour direct-to-DVD movie has been given the go ahead after the series was cancelled at the end of its fifth season. More movies are expected to follow in the Atlantis series if the first movie is successful.^[38] The rumored working title for the film is Stargate Extinction. By May 2009 the script for the film was finished.^[39]

On April 17, 2011, Stargate writer and executive producer Brad Wright announced that the SGU movie is not going to happen. He also confirmed that the proposed Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis movies have been permanently shelved, along with another movie idea he had been trying to get a greenlight on which would have involved cast members of all three series.^[4] Still, Wright did not rule out future Stargate films, saying; "It's a franchise. Stargate is not over. Somebody smart from MGM is going to figure it out, and something will happen."^[40]

[edit] Infinity

Stargate Infinity is an American animated science fiction television series created by Eric Lewald and Michael Maliani as a spin off from its sister show, Stargate SG-1. The story arc in Infinity is set 30 years into the future and follows Gus Bonner and his team. Bonner's team was created after he was framed for a crime he did not commit. He escaped from Stargate Command (SGC) after the hostile alien race Tlak'kahn attacked the SGC to find the chrysalis. Together with his team he escapes through the Stargate with the chrysalis. From that point forward they go from planet to planet until they find the evidence to clear their names while learning about the unique cultures in the galaxy, so that they can one day return back to Earth.^[41] The story arc was never resolved because of low viewership ratings, the show was cancelled in 2003.^{[citation needed]}

Stargate Infinity premiered in September 2002 as part of 4Kids Entertainment’s FOX BOX Saturday morning line-up on FOX and went off the air in June 2003. Due to its lack of popularity the show is almost completely unrecognized. The series was cancelled before any of its story arcs could be resolved. The show was of low budget, which was constantly noted by the media.^[42][43] DIC Entertainment released a 4-episode DVD on October 7, 2003 in Region 1. MGM Home Entertainment released a five disc season box set on August 13, 2007 in region 2.^[42] Shout! Factory, a company known for releasing cult animated series, acquired the rights to the show and released the entire series to DVD on May 13, 2008 in Region 1.^[43] As of 2009, there is yet to come a release of Stargate Infinity package in Region 4, namely Oceania and Latin America.^[44]

The writers and producers of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Stargate Universe and the main canon of the Stargate franchise were not involved with Infinity, and neither MGM, the production teams nor the fans of Stargate consider Infinity to be an official part of the Stargate universe. According to Stargate SG-1 co-creator Brad Wright, the animated series should not be considered official Stargate canon. Commenting on it, he stated, "I don't have a problem with it. I'm just not involved."^[45]

Reception[link]

Stargate took in $16.7 million on its opening weekend,^[46] and received mixed reactions from critics; while it was panned by the likes of Roger Ebert,^[47] several positive reviews counterbalanced this leading to a score of 46% on Rotten Tomatoes.^[48] Although the film was originally intended as the first of a trilogy of films,^[14] Emmerich and Devlin ultimately moved on to produce Independence Day, and it was not until 2006 that Devlin showed renewed interest in developing sequels.^[15] In the intervening time, copyright-holder MGM succeeded the film with the television series Stargate SG-1 without the input of Emmerich and Devlin.

Fans (called "Gaters") posing as SG teams at Dragon Con in 2008

Stargate SG-1 has won the Saturn Award for Best Syndicated Television Series on numerous occasions, and its cast has won similar awards for acting.^[49] More recently it has received acclaim for its visual effects, which increased in quality and realism as the show gained a larger budget.^[50] On August 21, 2006, the Sci Fi Channel announced that it would not be renewing Stargate SG-1 for an eleventh season after a series of poor performances in the Nielsen ratings.^[51] Many fans were enraged at the news, even creating websites in reaction to exhibit their commitment to the series.^[52] Spokesmen for the production have said all options for the continuation of SG-1 are being considered, including complete digital broadcasting.^[53] Executive producer Robert C. Cooper told the fansite GateWorld exclusively that he was working to continue SG-1.^[54] Currently, no network or company has ordered new episodes of SG-1, so the show is on hold until a new buyer can be found. However, SciFi has attempted to block other networks from taking up the show, citing its original exclusive contract with MGM.^[55] Stargate Atlantis has won several awards for its actors, visual effects and directors, including a WorldFest Platinum Award for David Winning's direction of an early Season 1 episode.^[56] Atlantis proved to be equally as successful as SG-1, with Nielsen ratings and viewership. The Stargate franchise in 2009 won a Constellation Award in the category of Outstanding Canadian Contribution to Science Fiction Film or Television in 2008.^[57]

The average viewership to Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis was around 10 million a week worldwide. According to Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis co-creator Brad Wright, the show is very popular in Great Britain, Germany, France and Australia, but with a steadily declining viewership in homeland Canada. It was estimated that around 30 million Stargate DVDs were sold worldwide in 2006.^[58]

The DVD release of Stargate: The Ark of Truth in the US earned MGM/Fox US $1.59 million in rentals in the first week after the release, and another US $1.38 million in rentals in the second week. In its third week it earned US $1.19 million in rentals totaling US $4.16 million . The DVD has also earned US $9.0 million in sales.^[7] Stargate: Continuum would go on to gross over $8 million United States dollars in the United States.^[8] The film sparked mostly positive reviews with movie critics.^[59][60][61] A third Stargate SG-1 movie was planned to follow Continuum but the third movie was put on hold with any other future Stargate movies; the film will center around the character of Jack O'Neill.^[62]

Literature[link]

There are three series of novels based on the Stargate franchise, one based on the original Stargate film and two based in the Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis television shows. A series of books written by Bill McCay were published from 1995 to 1999 that were unofficial sequels to the film.^[63] These were produced by consulting the original notes made by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, in an attempt to envision where the film "would have gone". Neither party has commented on whether McCay's interpretation was correct. Despite the fact that he attempted to remain close to the original vision, the subsequent television series Stargate SG-1 (which began under an entirely independent development) developed the story along different lines, making no attempt to reconcile the plot lines of the books. This marked the first major branching of the franchise.

Later, from 1999 to 2001, ROC published four novels based in Stargate SG-1 written by Ashley McConnell.^[64] In 2004, UK-based Fandemonium Press started a new series of licensed tie-in novels based on Stargate SG-1. Due to the conflict with ROC's license, these books were available in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK, but not in the US. Fandemonium books became available in the US in 2006. The official Stargate Magazine, produced by Titan Publishing, began publishing short stories written by Fandemonium authors in their 8th issue. The stories alternate between both SG-1 and Atlantis.^[65]

A series of comic books, based on Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, began to be published by Avatar Press in 2003. Five have been published to date, with stories by James Anthony and artwork by Jorge Correa.^[66] In February 2008 it was announced that Big Finish Productions would release officially-licensed audiobooks featuring members of the cast reading new stories. The first two stories, available on CD and digital download, are Gift of the Gods read by Michael Shanks and A Necessary Evil read by Torri Higginson.^[67]

References[link]

External links[link]

• SyFy Channel Stargate Website
• MGM Stargate Film
• Stargate Talking Books Official Site
• Official Stargate site at mgm.com

To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, the introduction of this article may need to be rewritten. The reason given is: All sections are not covered in the lede such as Early Life. Please discuss this issue on the talk page and read the layout guide to make sure the section will be inclusive of all essential details. (February 2012)

Erich von Däniken
Erich von Däniken in 2006
Born	Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (1935-04-14) 14 April 1935 (age 77) Zofingen, Aargau, Switzerland
Occupation	Author

Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (/ˈɛrɨk vɒn ˈdænɨkɨn/; born 14 April 1935 in Zofingen, Aargau) is a Swiss author best known for his controversial claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, in books such as Chariots of the Gods?, published in 1968. Däniken is one of the main figures responsible for popularizing the "paleo-contact" and ancient astronaut hypotheses.

Däniken is a co-founder of the Archaeology, Astronautics and SETI Research Association (AAS RA), and designed the theme park Mystery Park in Interlaken, Switzerland, that first opened on 23 May 2003.^[1] Däniken's first book, Chariots of the Gods?, was an immediate best seller in the United States, Europe and India, with subsequent books "according to von Däniken, have been translated into 32 languages and together have sold more than 63 million copies."^[2]

His ideas are largely rejected by scientists and academics, who categorize his work as pseudohistory and pseudoarchaeology.^[3][4][5]

Early life[link]

Von Däniken was raised a strict Catholic, and attended the international Catholic school Saint-Michel in Fribourg, Switzerland. During his time at the school he rejected the church's interpretations of the Bible, and developed an interest in astronomy and the phenomenon of flying saucers.^[6]

At the age of 19, von Däniken was given a four-month suspended sentence for theft. ^[6] Von Däniken was withdrew from school, and became apprenticed to a Swiss hotelier.^[7] After moving to Egypt, he was convicted for fraud and embezzlement.^[6]

He then became manager of the Hotel Rosenhügel in Davos, Switzerland, during which time he wrote Chariots of the Gods?, working on the manuscript late at night after the hotel's guests had retired.^[8] In December 1964, von Däniken wrote Hatten unsere Vorfahren Besuch aus dem Weltraum? ("Did our Ancestors have a Visit from Space?") for the German-Canadian periodical Der Nordwesten.^[9] Chariots of the Gods? was accepted by a publisher in early 1967, and printed in March 1968.^[8]

In November 1968 von Däniken was arrested for fraud, after falsifying hotel records and credit references in order to take out loans^[8] for $130,000 over a period of twelve years. He used the money for foreign travel to research his book.^[6] Two years later,^[8] von Däniken was convicted for "repeated and sustained" embezzlement, fraud and forgery, with the court ruling that the writer had been living a "playboy" lifestyle.^[10] Von Däniken entered a plea for nullity on the grounds that his intentions were not malicious and the credit institutions were at fault for failing to adequately research his references.^[8][10][6] Von Däniken was sentenced on 13 February 1970 to three and a half years imprisonment and fined 3,000 francs.^[8][11] He served one year of this sentence before being released.^[6][12]

His first book, Chariots of the Gods?, had been published by the time of his trial, and its sales allowed him to repay his debts and leave the hotel business. Von Däniken wrote his second book, Gods from Outer Space, while in prison.^[6][10]

Claims of alien influence on Earth[link]

In 1966, when Däniken was writing his first book, scientists Carl Sagan and I. S. Shklovskii, wrote about the possibility of paleocontact and extraterrestrial visitation claims in Intelligent Life in the Universe, giving some scientific legitimacy to the idea.^[13] Many ideas from this book appeared in different form in Däniken's books. Sagan has been very critical of von Däniken:

That writing as careless as von Däniken's, whose principal thesis is that our ancestors were dummies, should be so popular is a sober commentary on the credulousness and despair of our times. But the idea that beings from elsewhere will save us from ourselves is a very dangerous doctrine - akin to that of the quack doctor whose ministrations prevent the patient from seeing a physician competent to help him and perhaps to cure his disease.

—Carl Sagan, Foreword to The Space Gods Revealed^[14]

Other authors had already presented ideas of extraterrestrial contacts in the past. Däniken made the same claims using similar evidence, sometimes identical, didn't credit properly these past authors and sometimes didn't give any credit at all.^{[15][notes 1]}

Errors and omissions[link]

I also hope for the continuing popularity of books like Chariots of the Gods? in high school and college logic courses, as object lessons in sloppy thinking. I know of no recent books so riddled with logical and factual errors as the works of von Däniken.

—Carl Sagan, Foreword to The Space Gods Revealed^[16]

The iron pillar of Delhi, erected by Chandragupta II the Great

In Chariots of the Gods?, Däniken wrote that a non-rusting iron pillar in Delhi, India was evidence of extraterrestrial influence.^[17] In a later Playboy interview, when told that the column showed some signs of rust and its method of construction was well understood, Däniken said that since writing the book he had learned of investigations reaching other conclusions, and no longer considered the pillar to be a mystery.^[18][19]

In The Gold of the Gods von Däniken wrote of being guided through artificial tunnels in a cave under Ecuador, Cueva de los Tayos, containing gold, strange statues and a library with metal tablets, which he considered to be evidence of ancient space visitors. The man whom he said showed him these tunnels, Juan Moricz, told Der Spiegel that von Däniken's descriptions came from a long conversation and that the photos in the book had been "fiddled".^[20] Von Däniken told Playboy that although he had seen the library and other places he had described, he had fabricated some of the events to add interest to his book.^[21][10][22] Later in 1978 he said that he had never been in the cave pictured in his book but in a "side entrance", and that he had fabricated the whole descent into the cave.^[22] A geologist examined the area and found no cave systems.^[20] Däniken also wrote about a collection of gold objects held by local priest Father Crespi, who had special permission from the Vatican to make archeological research.^[20] But an archeologist reported to Der Spiegel that, while there were some good pieces, many were just local imitations for tourists, and that Crespi has difficulty distinguishing brass from gold.^[20]

Dr. Samuel Rosenberg said that the "Book of Dyzan", referred to by von Däniken,^[23] was "a fabrication superimposed on a gigantic hoax concocted by Madame Blavatsky." He also says that the "Tulli Papyrus", cited by von Däniken in one of his books,^[23] is likely cribbed from the Book of Ezekiel, and quoted Dr. Nolli (through Dr. Walter Ramberg, Scientific Attache at the U.S. embassy in Rome), then current Director of the Egyptian Section of the Vatican Museum, as "suspect[ing] that Tulli was taken in and that the papyrus is a fake."^[24] According to NYT's Richard R. Lingerman, it is likely that von Däniken obtained these references from UFO books that mentioned them as real documents.^[23]

Von Däniken brought the Nazca Lines to public prominence with his 1968 book Chariots of the Gods?,^[25] attracting so many tourists that researcher Maria Reiche had to spend much of her own time and money preserving them.^[26] Von Daniken said that the lines were built following instructions from extraterrestrial beings, to be used as airfields for their spaceships.^[27] In his 1998 book Arrival of The Gods, he added that some of the pictures depicted extraterrestrials.^[27] Archeologists are sure that they were made by pre-columbian civilizations for cultural purposes, and they have not bothered refuting this sort of speculations.^[27] Silverman and Proulx say this silence from archaeologists has harmed the profession and the Peruvian nation.^[27] The idea was not original of von Däniken, it started as a joke made by people who first saw the lines from the air,^[25] and had already been published by other people.^[28] One of the cropped photos in Chariots of the Gods?, claimed by von Däniken to be similar to the markings of a modern airport, was only the knee joint of one of the bird figures and was quite small in size; Däniken says that it was an error in the first edition, and that he wasn't the one who wrote that claim in the book, but the error has not been corrected in later editions.^[25][29]

Von Däniken wrote in Chariots of the Gods? that a version of the Piri Reis map that the map depicted some Antarctic mountains that were and still are buried into ice, and could only be mapped with modern equipment. His theory relies on the book of Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings by Charles Hapgood. A. D. Crown in Some Trust in Chariots explains how this is simply wrong. The map in von Däniken's book only extends 5 degrees south of the equator, ending in Cape São Roque, which means that it doesn't extend to the Antarctica. Däniken also said that the map showed some distortions that would only happen if its was an aerial view taken from a spaceship flying above El Cairo, but in fact it doesn't extend enough to the South to cause visible distortions in an aerial view. Von Däniken also asserts the existence of a legend saying that a god gave the map to a priest, the god being an extraterrestrial being. But Piri Reis said that he had drawn that map himself using old maps, and the map is consistent with the cartographic knowledge at that time.^[30] Also, the map is not "absolutely accurate" as claimed by von Däniken, since it contains many errors and omissions;^[31] a fact that von Däniken didn't correct when he covered the map again his 1998 book Odyssey of the Gods.^[32] Others authors had already published this same idea, a fact that von Dâniken didn't recognize until 1974 in an interview to Playboy magazine.^[33]

The Nova documentary The Case of the Ancient Astronauts shows that all the claims made by Däniken about the Pyramid of Cheops were wrong in all accounts. The technique of construction is well understood, we know perfectly what tools they used, we can still see the marks of those tools in the quarries, and there are many tools preserved in museums. Däniken claims that it would have taken them too long to cut all the blocks necessary and drag them to the construction site in time to build the Great Pyramid in only 20 years, but Nova shows how easy and fast it is to cut a block of stone, and shows the rollers used in transportation. He also claims that Egyptians suddenly started making pyramids out of nowhere, but there are several pyramids that show the progress made by Egyptian architects while they were perfecting the technique from simple mastabas to later pyramids. Däniken claims that the height of the pyramid multiplied by 1 million was the distance to the Sun, but the number falls too short. He also claims that Egyptians couldn't align the edges so perfectly to true North without advanced technology that only aliens could give them, but Egyptians knew of very simple methods to find North via star observation, and it's trivial to make straight edges.^[34]

Däniken claimed that the Sarcophagus of Palenque depicted a spacemen sitting on a rocket-powered spaceship, wearing a spacesuit. However, archaeologists see nothing special with the figure, a dead Mayan monarch who is wearing traditional Mayan hairdo and jewelry, surrounded by Mayan symbols can be observed in other Mayan drawings. The right hand is not handling any rocket controls, but simply making a traditional Mayan gesture, that other figures in the sides of the lid also make, and is not holding anything. The rocket shape is actually two serpents joining their heads at the bottom, with the rocket flames being the beards of the serpents. The rocket motor under the figure is the face of a monster, symbol of the underworld.^[35]

Von Däniken put forward photographs of ancient stones in Peru, with carvings of men using telescopes, detailed world maps, and advanced medical operations, all beyond the knowledge of ancient Peruans. But the PBS television series Nova determined that the stones were modern, and located the potter who made them. This potter makes stones daily and sells them to tourists. Von Däniken had visited the potter and examined the stones himself, but he didn't mention this in his book. He says that he didn't believe the potter when he said that he had made the stones. Däniken says that he asked Doctor Cabrera, a local surgeon who owns the museum, and Cabrera had told him that the potter's claims were a lie and that the stones were ancient. But the potter had proof that Cabrera had thanked him for providing the stones for the museum. Däniken claimed that the stones at the museum were very different from those made by the potter, but the Nova reporters oversaw the manufacturing of one stone and confirmed that it was very similar to those in the museum.^[36]

Kenneth Feder accused von Däniken of European ethnocentrism,^[37] while John Flenley and Paul Bahn suggested that views such as his interpretation of the Easter Island statues "ignore the real achievements of our ancestors and constitute the ultimate in racism: they belittle the abilities and ingenuity of the human species as a whole."^[38]

Ronald Story published The Space Gods Revealed: A Close Look At The Theories of Erich Von Däniken in 1976, written in response to the evidence presented in Däniken's Chariots of the Gods?. It was reviewed as "a coherent and much-needed refutation of Von Däniken's theories".^[39]

A 2004 article in Skeptic Magazine states that Däniken took many of the book's concepts from The Morning of the Magicians, that this book in turn was heavily influenced by the Cthulhu Mythos, and that the core of the ancient astronaut theory originates in H. P. Lovecraft's short stories "The Call of Cthulhu" written in 1926, and "At the Mountains of Madness" written in 1931.^[40]

Speaking in a 2001 documentary, Von Däniken said that although he could not conclusively prove to the scientific community that any of the items in his archive were of alien origin, he felt that "today's science" would not accept such evidence, as "the time is simply not right". He argued that it was first necessary to "prepare" mankind for a "wonderful new world".^[41]

Popularity[link]

Jungfrau Park located near Interlaken, Switzerland was opened as the Mystery Park in 2003. Designed by Erich von Däniken, it explored several great "mysteries" of the world.^[42]

Ridley Scott has said that his upcoming film Prometheus will be looking at some of von Däniken's ideas regarding early human civilization.^[43]

Reviewing the two-disc DVD release of Roland Emmerich's film Stargate, Dean Devlin referred to the "Is There a Stargate?" feature where "author Erich von Däniken discusses evidence he has found of alien visitations to Earth."^[44]

Books[link]

• Chariots of the Gods? (Souvenir Press Ltd, 1969)
• Return to the Stars (Souvenir Press Ltd, 1970) ISBN 0-285-50298-0
• Gods from Outer Space (Bantam,1972; reprint of Return to the Stars)
• The Gold of the Gods (Souvenir Press Ltd, 1973) ISBN 0-285-62087-8
• Miracles of the Gods: A Hard Look at the Supernatural (Souvenir Press Ltd, 1975) ISBN 0-285-62174-2
• In Search of Ancient Gods: My Pictorial Evidence for the Impossible (Corgi books, 1976) ISBN 0-552-10073-0
• According to the Evidence (Souvenir Press, 1977) ISBN 0-285-62301-X
• Signs of the Gods (Corgi books, 1980) ISBN 0-552-11716-1
• The Stones of Kiribati: Pathways to the Gods (Corgi books, 1982) ISBN 0-552-12183-5
• The Gods and their Grand Design: The Eighth Wonder of the World (Souvenir Press, 1984) ISBN 0-285-62630-2
• The Eyes of the Sphinx: The Newest Evidence of Extraterrestrial Contact (Berkley Publishing Corporation, 1996) ISBN 978-0-425-15130-3
• The Return of the Gods: Evidence of Extraterrestrial Visitations (Element, 1998) ISBN 1-86204-253-5
• Arrival of the Gods: Revealing the Alien Landing Sites of Nazca (Element, 1998) ISBN 1-86204-353-1
• The Gods Were Astronauts: Evidence of the True Identities of the Old "Gods" (Vega books, 2001) ISBN 1-84333-625-1
• Odyssey of the Gods: An Alien History of Ancient Greece (Vega books, 2002) ISBN 978-1-84333-558-0
• History Is Wrong (New Page books, 2009) ISBN 978-1-60163-086-5
• Twilight of the Gods: The Mayan Calendar and the Return of the Extraterrestrials (New Page books, 2010) ISBN 978-1-60163-141-1

German language books published between 1984 and 2009[link]

• Der Tag an dem die Götter kamen (1984) ISBN 3-442-08478-4
• Habe ich mich geirrt? (1985) ISBN 3-570-03059-8
• Wir alle sind Kinder der Götter (1987) C. Bertelsmann, ISBN 3-570-03060-1
• Die Augen der Sphinx (1989) C. Bertelsmann, ISBN 3-570-04390-8
• Die Spuren der Ausserirdischen (1990) (Bildband) ISBN 3-570-09419-7
• Die Steinzeit war ganz anders (1991) ISBN 3-570-03618-9
• Ausserirdische in Ägypten (1991)
• Erinnerungen an die Zukunft (1992) (Reissue with new foreword)
• Der Götter-Schock (1992) ISBN 3-570-04500-5
• Raumfahrt im Altertum (1993) ISBN 3-570-12023-6
• Auf den Spuren der Allmächtigen (1993) C. Bertelsmann, ISBN 3-570-01726-5
• Botschaften und Zeichen aus dem Universum (1994) C. Bertelsmann, ISBN 3-442-12688-6
• Götterdämmerung (2009) KOPP Verlag 978-3942016049
• Grüße aus der Steinzeit: Wer nicht glauben will, soll sehen!, 2010
• Was ist falsch im Maya-Land?: Versteckte Technologien in Tempeln und Skulpturen, 2011

Further reading[link]

• Peter Krassa, Disciple of the Gods: A biography of Erich von Däniken (W. H. Allen & Unwin, 1976). ISBN 0-352-30262-3

Films[link]

• Ferry Radax: Mit Erich von Däniken in Peru (With Erich von Däniken in Peru, 1982). A documentary.

See also[link]

• Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology (book)
• Pseudoarchaeology
• Oolon Colluphid/Professor Eric von Contrick, fictional characters based on Däniken.
• Cueva de los Tayos
• David Icke

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Fritze, Ronald (2009), Invented Knowledge: False History, Fake Science and Pseudo-religions, Reaktion Books, ISBN 978-1-86189-817-3 

Story, Ronald (1980), The Space-gods revealed. A close look at the theories of Erich von Däniken (2 ed.), Barnes & Nobles, ISBN 0-06-464040-X 

Further reading[link]

• Von Mauz, Gerhard (July 1970), "Wie es unser explorand sehr schön zeigt" (in German), Der Spiegel, http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-45202660.html 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Erich von Däniken

• Erich von Däniken's official homepage
• AAS RA homepage
• The Prophet of the Space Gods SkepticReport article
• Däniken entry from the Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy and Spaceflight
• "Von Däniken’s Chariots: A Primer in the Art of Cooked Science" Skeptical Inquirer Winter 1976
• Fagan, Brian (29 November 1998). "Maybe Not; ARRIVAL OF THE GODS; By Erich von Daniken". Los Angeles Times: p. 9. http://articles.latimes.com/1998/nov/29/books/bk-48636. 

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