Stargate SG-1 Season 6, Episode 20

"Memento"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Good

Commentary by:

Peter DeLuise – Director
Damian Kindler – Producer/Writer

The commentary is very informative and interesting.  Lots of behind the scene information.  The commentary stays on point with what is on screen.

 

Review: 

The Earth ship Prometheus is on a shakedown run in space, with SG-1 riding along.  But, the Prometheus breaks down, and the Asgard don't show up like a space faring AAA this time (bright spot – O'Neill commenting on the Asgard not showing up).  The ship can't get back to Earth.  But, hark!  There's a planet nearby that should have a stargate.  Uh, oh.  The ship's naquadria reactor malfunctions and is jettisoned before it explodes.  The reactor is spewed into space, near a planet.  One that the Prometheus crew doesn't know whether or not is populated.  Turns out it is, and the planet is called Tagrea by its inhabitants.

From the Tagrean perspective, Prometheus introduced itself by throwing an explosive brick through a window. So Tagreans launch an attack on the Prometheus with missiles capable of reaching and destroying the Earth ship.  Prometheus tries to convince the Tagreans that the big boom was an oops, not an act of war, and somehow that works.

The two sides meet, with Prometheus/SG-1 wanting to use Tagrea's stargate.  Except, Tagreans say they don't have a stargate.  But, there's a gate address for Tagrea. So, aha!  There must be a stargate on the planet that the Tagreans don't know about.  Or (I thought), whatever Goa'uld brought humans to Tagrea took the stargate with them when they abandoned the planet.  But, it looks like we're going with an unknown stargate.

After establishing that the Tagrean Commander Kalfas (military leader) and Chairman Ashwan (political leader) have different visions of first contact protocol after a seeming attack, SG-1 gets some historical information that doesn't shed light on where Tagrea's stargate is  located.  The information only covers the last 300 years of Tagrean history.  Turns out Tagreans would rather forget everything that happened more than 300 years before.  A statement which causes the Earthlings to clutch their pearls at the willful destruction and erasure of history.  Which happens on Earth, too, although not always with the vigor of the Tagreans.

With the Tagreans permission Teal'c and Jonas root around in Tagrea's archives.  There Teal'c and Jonas meet the charmingly squirrely Tarek.  Tarek says that he can help them find Tagrea's stargate.  Tarek is part of a secret sect that still worships Heru'ur (“The Serpent's Venom” and the Goa'uld who brought humans to Tagrea long ago) as a god.  In secret, because keeping the history of anything before the time Heru'ur left their world is frowned on.  Turns out that some digging with hand shovels uncovers the stargate.  Tagreans are really bad at hiding their past.

After Teal'c, Jonas, and some Tagreans successfully test the newly uncovered stargate, Kalfas rolls up on them in an armored vehicle, firing warning shots and backed by a lot of Tagrean military personnel and equipment.  SG-1 finds themselves in the midst of another world's two-sided internal conflict.  Again.  This time with the Prometheus' crew along. 

I give this episode a rating of Good because while the story had me sighing -- a lot -- everything else about the episode is done well.  The acting is very good.  John Novak (Ronson) and Miguel Fernandes (Kalfas) performances keep their respective characters from being one note.  There's more going on within those individual characters, even though their dialog isn't inspired.  Robert Foxworth as Ashwan shows a mature delight that there are not only others in the galaxy, but that those others don't to seem to want to fight.  Alex Diakun is quite a talent, and gives the character of Tarek Solamon a wonderful balance of twichiness mixed with certitude, without falling into caricature.  The special effects are very well done throughout.

One of my favorite parts: the glimpse of Ashwan's assistant messing around with the unfamiliar Earth food of mashed potatoes, while Kalfas' assistant doesn't even pretend to eat the Earth food because he's too busy glaring at the Earth folks during a meal on the Prometheus.  Nicely done.

Failures:

First impressions are lasting.  There are a lot of bad first impressions with this episode.  O'Neill's public snit fit over justified drills.  Dumping a naquadria generator near a planet without knowing anything about the planet's possible population.  Then there is various Prometheus bridge crew members, and SG-1, having to lay some very basic truths on Ronson, things he should have known on his own.  Colonel Ronson and Commander Kalfas – who is so hawkish at times I'm surprised when words instead of bird of prey screeches come out of his mouth – have a round of literal, “my guns are bigger than yours.”  Prometheus' uninspired “my bad” to Tagrea, and it being accepted (although not by Commander Kalfas).  When not bumping heads with Ronson, I thought that Kalfas was not wrong.  The well done effects and acting performances save this episode.

 

I think not focusing on the Tagreans purposely attempting to eradicate a chunk of their history is a missed opportunity, and had the makings of a more interesting story.  That was one thing where Ashwan and Kalfas were in complete agreement. I wonder, did another religion(s) replace the forced worship of Heur'ur, or do the Tagreans refuse to worship anything, or at least not worship anything that isn't tangible?  Juxtaposing the Tagreans willful erasure of history with some on Earth willfully re-writing, and at times trying to erase, history could've made for insightful dialog.