The new SG-1 direct-to-DVD movie, which was released in the US on July 29, was beaten only by the movie ‘Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay’ — by fewer than 200 units, according to Nielsen VideoScan First Alert.

GateWorld’s Chad Colvin sat down with Michael Shanks (”Dr Daniel Jackson”) in April, just hours after he had sat down to watch Continuum with the cast, crew, and a handful of fans from Creation Entertainment’s Vancouver Stargate convention.

Whereas March’s Stargate: The Ark of Truth was meant to tie up the story from the last two years of the television show, Continuum is much more of a stand-alone story — a wild adventure with time travel, tons of amazing special effects, and a host of bad guys back from the grave.

‘Continuum’ is Stargate at its very best. If this is what an on-going series of Stargate movies look like, fans are in for a terrific ride. Combine one of Stargate’s best with an excellent audio commentary and a handful of great bonus features, and sci-fi fans have no reason not to go and buy two.

While Stargate: Continuum is a stand-alone movie that doesn’t necessarily require a lot of back-story, GateWorld has put together a Stargate refresher course to get you back up to speed for SG-1’s biggest adventure ever.

Picardo’s character, bureaucrat Richard Woolsey, will be presented a little differently than in his numerous appearances on both “Stargate: SG-1″ and “Atlantis,” especially as the writers have now been able to define Woolsey more clearly.

Creatively, Stargate is in a state of decline and disrepair with “Stargate: Atlantis” — which is essentially carrying the torch — relying more and more heavily on recycled “SG-1” stories or dumbed-down adventures with Wraith hybrids and clones.

MGM already is talking with executive producer Brad Wright about keeping the direct-to-DVD movie franchise going. In addition, it seems that MGM is confident SciFi Channel or some television outlet will pick up the previously announced third series “Stargate: Universe” as well.