Ori (Stargate)
The Ori are fictional characters in the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. Within the storyline, there are fictional beings described as "ascended" because of their use of advanced technology and knowledge of the universe. The Ori are an example of such beings. A significant part of the storyline in the ninth season of Stargate SG-1 involves the Ori's attempt to trick humans into worshipping them as gods.
The Ori first appeared in the ninth season of the series Stargate SG-1, replacing the Goa'uld as the TV series's primary antagonists. While the Goa'uld relied solely on stolen technology from other civilizations to pose as gods, the Ori were conceived as having paranormal abilities in addition to advanced technology. As ascended beings, they live on a higher plane of existence with great power and knowledge and are as close to being "gods" as any non-deific being can be.
The Ori fabricated a religion called Origin, which they use in an attempt to control non-ascended beings. Those who reject Origin risk getting their civilization–or even their planet–wiped out by the Ori.
Concept and creation
Genesis
Since the eighth season of Stargate SG-1 was intended to be the last, the producers finished it with the defeat of the Goa'uld and Replicators. When the Sci Fi Channel renewed the series, however, the producers had grown tired of writing creative endings. Having had good experiences with the first season of Stargate Atlantis, they decided to revamp the series by introducing new villains and missions. Thus they considered the beginning of Season 9 as the pilot of a new show.Season Nine was about wiping the slate clean and resetting the story to where Stargate SG-1 was in its first season. The reason was that the SG-1 team was now winning every time, having already defeated the main enemies the previous season. Since SG-1 had always been grounded in Earth mythology, the producers chose the legend of King Arthur for the new season. Merlin, as a famous magical figure, became an Ancient, leading to the Ancients' enemies named the Ori. The Ori are thus "a natural extension of where the Ancient mythology had gone." Up until that point, the story of the Ancients had been kept at arm's length because the show was not about the aliens but "human beings going out into this unexplored, fantastical universe." The producers also stated that a premature full revelation of the Ancients would have caused their story to be less interesting.
Producer Brad Wright believed the Ori were still within the overriding theme of Stargate, as they are "aliens playing gods" in their relationship with ordinary human folk. The introduction of the Ori was to prepare the viewer for their invasion that would occur later in the show. The Ori also served as a challenge for the new heroes in the SG-1 team. The writers believed that new bad guys and new obstacles for the characters to overcome would make for a more interesting story.
The name "Ori" comes from the word "origin," as in the origin of the Ancients. When executive producer Robert C. Cooper looked at the root of "origin," he retcon-invented the word "Origin" as the name of the Ori religion. Cooper said it was an interesting idea for him to address the philosophical arguments with various religious people, seeing the whole challenge as "how do you prove whose God exists or whether God exists at all?" Unlike the Goa'uld, who were quickly proven to not be gods after killing them and figuring out their technology, it would be hard to present the same argument to the Ori followers because the Ori were essentially ascended gods. Even if their gods were dead, it would not make much difference to them, as their followers would continue to believe; without the "magic powers" of the Ori, their followers and the [|Priors] could still use the technology and their ships. Cooper said that "it's not necessarily wrong to believe in something what's wrong is to murder somebody because they don't believe the way you do." Although Cooper was reluctant to get too serious about the meaning behind the Ori as Stargate should "first and foremost entertain people," he considered it representative of television and the media "mak people believe whatever the people in charge of that magic box-whatever they want you to believe–they can pretty much convince you, or convince the vast majority of people." For Cooper, "the followers of the Ori were the interesting part," and he "wanted to do a story that was in some way reflective of the differences between people's beliefs that we see around us in our society, and how conflicts arise as a result of that." Cooper was particularly interested in the interaction between Ori followers and other normal human beings and the resulting "mysterious aspect and quality to religious belief and the passion that it invokes." The producers therefore inserted the Ori into the story's background, similar to the way there was very little direct interaction between the actual deities of the religion and mankind in real life.
Cooper was concerned that the distinction between the Ori and their followers was often overlooked, and that the SG-1 team dealt with the followers, not the ascended gods. If, as "The Shroud" suggested, the Ori were actually destroyed by the Merlin's Ancient weapon, the real issue for the SG-1 teams became the followers. Brad Wright pointed to power corruption, the catch of the Ori killing unbelievers.
Story ideas
In the original pitch for "Beachhead," Brad Wright had intended to let the Ori build and come through the Supergate. It was then decided among the writers to only let the threat of the Ori come through the Priors, and to postpone the actual arrival of the Ori until the end of the season.The last ten minutes of "Camelot" should serve as a "great, ominous harbinger of the foe" SG-1 is up against. In Season 10, the Ori sweep through the Milky Way galaxy, forcing SG-1 to start from scratch again in finding technology, resources, and allies to fight against them.
If Stargate SG-1 had continued, the producers would have considered the search for the Ark as the overriding story for the eleventh season, similar to the Sangraal in seasons nine and ten. The producers did not explore more detailed ideas after the show's cancellation.
Design
Art director James Robbins designed the Ori and the Priors from scratch. At the beginning, he knew a basic description of them and their powers, and that their weapon of choice would look like a staff. The art department looked at Samurai to design their costumes. Inspired by the rituals of remote jungle tribes, Robbins came up with the idea of scarification for the Priors and the Doci. The Priors have scarifications on the chin and the cheek; the Doci have the same scarifications as the Priors with added ones on their foreheads. Scarification would therefore be a symbol of high establishment. Originally, it was also considered for the Priors to have scarification on the hands, along with finger extensions, but this was deemed impracticable. When the Prime Jaffa Gerak became a Prior in "The Fourth Horseman," the golden Jaffa tattoo on his forehead was replaced with a Prior scarification, and his makeup was made to look like the gold had melted and become part of the new mark.Each Prior was given his own unique symbol, which he would wear on his wardrobe and also on his staff weapon. The art department built each staff to have a little orb encased in natural wood, which glows when the actor pushes a little button on the handle.
Music
Composer Joel Goldsmith's inspiration for the Ori themes had "certain parallels to what's happening today, in modern day." He admits that the music of the Ori was intentionally given a Gothic, Gregorian and Christian feel. He tried to meld a few different styles.Mythology of the Ori and the Ancients
The Ori backstory is elaborate. It is explained throughout Seasons 9 and 10 and in the film Stargate: The Ark of Truth. Robert C. Cooper considered the backstory "pretty complicated" but felt the show gave the answers to the audience members who wanted to delve deeper.Part of this story returns to the Ancients, whose backstory began in the Season 1 episode "The Torment of Tantalus." Early in Season 9, Brad Wright explained that the Ori are the original Ancients, who would disagree with the Alterans that they shouldn't interfere because interference would mean playing god, which these beings hadn't quite achieved.
The Ori and the Alterans were one race millions of years ago and lived in a single society on an evolutionary path to ascension. The Ark of Truth shows flashbacks to human Ancients coexisting with the people who eventually became the Ori. However, a philosophical division emerged. The Ori grew more and more fervent in their religious belief, while the Alterans adopted a more scientific/rational outlook to become a more progressive society. The Ancients were well known for their fierce belief in free will and had a code to be "fairly non-violent." As such, they do not interfere on lower planes of existence at all, not even to save their own kind from being exterminated by the Ori, or to prevent all life in the Milky Way galaxy from being exterminated by Anubis. In contrast, the Ori constantly interfere. For example, Origin states that failure to share the secrets of the universe with those on the lower planes of existence is an evil act and that anyone not following it must be eliminated; by this definition, every ascended Ancient was evil and must be destroyed. They also have no rules against taking direct control of living beings or completely changing the living beings to behave as the Ori desire. With the Ori outnumbering the Alterans, their viewpoints ultimately diverged so much that the two groups split apart and began to actively oppose each other, with the Ori attempting to kill the Alterans.
Their fundamentally different beliefs in regards to science led the Alterans to hide their level of scientific belief so that they would not get into a conflict. Eventually, the Ancients decided to build a spaceship and leave rather than to use their technology, like the Ark of Truth, to defeat the Ori. Though they had the ability to stop the Ori, they thought it to be philosophically and morally wrong. The film thus addresses the non-interference policy of the Ancients under the Ori threat, and how they act millions of years later, when SG-1 succeeds in killing the Ori.
After much time, believed by Daniel Jackson to be thousands of years, the Alterans discovered the Milky Way, where they eventually seeded life and built their empire. However, even after the Ori had forced the Alterans to leave their galaxy, the two factions remained bitter enemies. Eventually, the Alterans were afflicted with a terrible plague that wiped out most of their civilization and forced them to relocate again. It would later be discovered that what was known of this plague is very similar to the disease used by Priors against non-believers, which had led Daniel Jackson to speculate that the pre-ascended Ori might have been responsible for this plague.
After millions of years, both the Alterans and the Ori learned how to ascend and evolved, forming two groups that continued to oppose each other, even at the higher planes of existence. According to the Orici Adria, the Ori-Ancient war on the Ascended plane is due to the Ancients' intolerance for those who do not comply with their rules about non-interference. According to Orlin, a de-ascended Ancient, the conflict arises from the Ori's ultimate wish to destroy the Ancients once and for all as they seek to eliminate all who oppose them.
When the Ori ascended, they re-created humanity to worship them in the Ori galaxy, and gave their followers the knowledge and technology to essentially enslave others and to force them to believe as the Ori desired. The Ancients shielded the humans in the Milky Way, preventing the Ori from finding out about and enslaving them to "Origin," as they had in their own galaxy. The Ancients do not view this action as a violation of their non-interference policies, as the Ori are at a level equal to themselves. However, as the Ancients will not interfere in the lower planes of existence, the Ori are allowed to send their human followers to the Milky Way in order to convert it, and anyone who wishes to worship the Ori will not be prevented from doing so.
According to Orlin, ascended beings can be empowered by massive numbers of humans worshipping them. The Ori fabricated an entire "Origin" religion, based on the false promise of ascension in order to take power from their human followers. The Ancients refrain from interfering in the lower planes of existence because manipulating and aligning lower life forms could result in exactly this type of corruption. According to the Ancient Myrddin, the Ori had the best intentions when they began. Even after the Ori were destroyed, their followers and Priors continued acting in their name to oppress thousands of people since, for the most part, they were ignorant to the demise of their "gods."