Stargate SG-1, Season 1, Episode 8

"Brief Candle"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Fair

Synopsis:
Do not accept cookie-pizzas from strangers when visiting an alien planet.  And, if that stranger then does an interpretive butterfly dance for you, you are probably doomed. Despite this initial silliness, there is an interesting story in this episode.

SG-1 gates to a planet, named Argos by its inhabitants.  The inhabitants are humans snatched from Earth by the Goa’uld.  The Argosians are a happy, simple people, under the effect of Goa’uld induced physiological changes that the Argosians are too happy, and simple, to initially comprehend when SG-1 tries to explain it to them.  Turns out that the Goa’uld use humans for other things, besides a place to park their parasitic selves, or slave labor.  Previously unseen Goa’uld technology is uncovered, and we learn that the Goa’uld have a written language (not surprising), and that Teal’c can read the language (mildly surprising, as the Goa’uld aren’t big on educating others).

Richard Dean Anderson does a nice job as O’Neill becomes like the Argosians, without all the happy and the simple.

Not a phenomenal episode, but worth watching for the new bits of information about the Goa’uld.

8th episode broadcast.
6th episode in the DVD set.

Failures:
In the end, O’Neill’s recovery is very neat, and pat.