Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episodes 21 and 22

"Lost City: Parts 1 and 2"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Excellent

Commentary by:

Martin Wood — Director
Amanda Tapping — Samantha Carter
Robert C. Cooper — Writer

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

  

Note: While originally broadcast in two parts, on the DVD “Lost City” parts 1 and 2 are put together in one extended episode, so I’m writing them up together in one blog entry.

Review:  

Part 1:

At SGC, Daniel Jackson is so excited about writings an SG team found on a structure off world on P3X-439, that he telephones Jack O’Neill at home to share the news.  The writings make mention of a repository of knowledge, like the one found in “The Fifth Race.”  Jack rightfully points out that he’ll be at SGC soon, and the news can wait until he gets there.

In Washington, D. C., Dr. Elizabeth Weir is rushing to get to a meeting with President Hayes.  Weir is a well respected diplomat.  Vice President Kinsey (”Inauguration”) rolls up in a sedan to give Weir a ride to her meeting, and hands her a file with a bare bones description of the stargate program.  President Hayes wants Weir, a civilian, to be in charge of SGC.

At SGC, Daniel and Carter present their reasons to General Hammond for wanting to go to P3X-439 and investigate the writings.  O’Neill is less enthused at the prospect, but understands the importance of maybe finding another repository of knowledge.  He does suggest contacting the Asgard (”Fragile Balance”), but General Hammond states that an attempt was made to contact them, but there was no response.  He also points out that without something more, hopefully something useful from the Ancient’s lost city, the Earth doesn’t stand a chance when a likely attack by Anubis (”Evolution: Part 2”) happens.  The mission is given a go.

A Goa'uld reconnaissance drone was in the area before, so General Hammond sends SG-1, SG-3, and SG-5 to P3X-439.   SG-3 and SG-5 set up to defend the stargate just in case, while SG-1 heads to the structure to check out the writings.  An interface like the one in “The Fifth Race” pops up on the building.  Then, Jaffa attack the location from the air and on foot.  O’Neill wants to destroy the interface to keep it away from the Goa’uld.  Jackson tries to use the interface for the knowledge about the lost city of the Ancients.  O’Neill stops him and reluctantly uses the interface himself.  Afterward, SG-1 destroys the interface then they run for the stargate while SG-3 and SG-5 fight the attacking Jaffa forces.  All teams make it back to SGC.  And Jack knows that his days are numbered, as the repository will begin to unwrap itself in his head, overwrite his mind, and destroy him.

The Jaffa attacking the SG teams on P3X-439 are with Anubis, who is also looking for information about the Ancient lost city.  And he is none too happy about the Taur’i getting there first.

Pragmatically, Jack heads home for the weekend (with General Hammond’s permission), since before it took a couple of days for the knowledge in his head to come forth.  Carter, Teal’c, and Daniel show up at Jack’s house.  They know without the help of the missing in action Asgard Jack’s condition is fatal.  They spend time with their friend.  General Hammond shows up, too, as he has news to share with SG-1: Hammond has been relieved of command of the SGC.  This doesn’t sit well with SG-1, but Hammond says leave it be.  And, President Hayes shut down the SGC for three months to review all the goings on there.  Which makes things a bit awkward for O’Neill in his current condition.

Later, back at SGC, Daniel speaks with Weir trying to convince her about the urgency of both Jack’s condition and the ongoing Goa’uld threat to Earth.  During their discussion, Bra’tac (”Evolution: Part 2”) gates to SGC.  He has news: Anubis and his full fleet are on their way to destroy Earth, and will arrive in three days.  After SGC’s visit to P3X-439, Anubis thinks that Earth knows the location of the Ancients lost city, and decides now is a good time to obliterate the Taur’i.  SG-1 and Bra’tac meet with Weir to discuss the situation.  Kinsey shows up for the meeting, too.  SG-1 and Bra’tac want to keep SGC going in order to deal with the impending Anubis situation.  Kinsey says that they are lying just to keep SGC going.  Weir has the final decision.  Much to Kinsey’s displeasure, Weir states that she will consider allowing a stargate mission if O’Neill comes up with the location of the lost city.  Bra’tac and Teal’c gate off world, hoping to garner space ships and Free Jaffa support to aid Earth.

Part 2:

At SGC, the repository’s knowledge is beginning to surface with O’Neill.  He begins speaking, and writing down words, in the Ancient’s language.  Daniel thinks Jack is providing the location of the lost city.  It turns out that each symbol on a stargate has a corresponding sound.  The planet’s gate address sounds out to the words Praclarush taonas.  To convince Weir, they try the gate address Jack wrote down.  There is a stargate at that address, but no wormhole can be established.  Jack is going further down the repository rabbit hole, and gathers a lot of equipment for reasons he doesn’t understand.  He, Jackson, and Carter gate to Teal’c and Bra’tac’s off world location, where the two Free Jaffa have gotten the use of a space ship from another Free Jaffa, named Ronan, who wants to go along with them.  The six of them use Ronan’s ship to go to Praclarush taonas.

Back on Earth, President Hayes, General Hammond, General Maynard (”Inauguration”), and Vice President Kinsey are in the oval office when the National Security advisor, General Jumper, informs the president that three Goa’uld vessels have been detected exiting hyperspace.  Still arguing just to argue, and demonstrating an utter lack of any sort of combat tactics knowledge, Kinsey says that three ships aren’t the full force of Anubis’ fleet.  Hammond points out that the three ships are a test to see if Earth has weapons from the Ancients lost city.  Which it doesn’t.  Hayes decides to hold back on using what defenses Earth does have for now, rather than tip their hand.

Anubis orders his First Prime, Her’ak (”Homecoming”) to begin the attack on Earth.  Back on Ronan’s ship, SG-1 finds Praclarush taonas to be devastated long ago by volcanic activity.  But, there is one area that seems to be protected from the destruction.  Using the ship's transport rings, SG-1 heads down to see what they can find.  All while O’Neill becomes more and more Ancient-like, which is great for gaining knowledge but also means the clock is ticking down on his survival.  While Praclarush taonas appears to be Ancient, no weapon is found.  Instead, Jack operates the surviving machinery and pulls up a glowing crystal something.  He then indicates that they need to head back to Earth, bringing the crystal thing with them.

Back at Earth, embolden by the lack of defenses, Anubis contacts President Hayes and demands Earth’s surrender.  Hayes refuses, and Anubis rightfully believing that if Earth had the Ancient’s weapon they would have used it, calls in the rest of his fleet to destroy the Taur’i.  More than thirty of his ships drop out of hyperspace and head towards Earth.  Then, they begin to systemically destroy communication and power infrastructure.

SG-1 and company head back to Earth, hoping to find the lost city, now known to be called Atlantis, and a weapon to deal with Anubis.  While Kinsey hightails it to SGC hoping to escape through the stargate, everyone else at the oval office decides to stay with President Hayes, who refuses to leave Earth.  And, Hayes has a special assignment for General Hammond.  At SGC, the power goes out just as Kinsey is about to gate out.  Weir orders the iris closed, and good thing because Anubis dialed the gate and sent through a gi-normous bomb.  There is a very satisfying moment where Kinsey gets his comeuppance.

Earth is under attack from the full force of the most powerful Goa’uld in the galaxy.  O’Neill is fading away, as the Ancient depository of knowledge unfolds in mind.  The last chance is an Ancient weapon that is, hopefully, buried under ice in Antarctica.   Just as SG-1 approached the location, Anubis targets their small ship sending Al'kesh and gliders.  Outnumbered, out gunned, and still trying to get to and use a hoped for weapon that is their last chance before Anubis wipes out everyone on the planet.

"Lost City: Parts 1 & 2" are outstanding!

The story is very well written, placing the Taur’i in danger of extinction in a believable manner.  The actors performances keep that energy going, and ramp it up throughout.  I cheer out loud every time I watch "Lost City."  The special effects are wonderful.  The SG-1 actors are great, with Richard Dean Anderson as O’Neill being the standout.  Don S. Davis as General Hammond elevates the most basic lines with his delivery.  Tony Amendola returns as Bra’tac, which is always a joy to behold.  Jessica Steen as Dr. Weir does a great job as someone who is suddenly thrown into the deep end of things, and learns to swim fast and well.  James McDaniel as General Maynard which is a pleasure.  Ronny Cox as Kinsey, and William Devane as Hayes, both making those characters live.  David Palffy returns as Anubis.

General John P. Jumper, then the real life U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, appears as himself.  The winner of the Sci Fi channel's 2003 "Get in the Gate" sweepstakes has a cameo in part one.

Failures: 

Absolutely none.

Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episode 20

"Inauguration"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Very Good

Commentary by:

Peter F. Woeste — Director of Photography
Michael Greenburg — Executive Producer

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

Review:  

Henry Hayes has just been inaugurated as the new President of the United States.   At the White House, he makes his way to the oval office as his Chief of Staff runs down some situations needing Hayes' attention.  And, also alerts Hayes that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Francis Maynard, is waiting for him in the oval office.  General Maynard is there to brief President Hayes about the stargate program.  The United States Air Force has, for years, sent people to planets around the galaxy via alien technology?  Hayes thinks it’s a joke.  It’s not a joke.

While Hayes is processing this paradigm shift in his understanding of reality, viewers also get a surprise.  Robert Kinsey (”Heroes: Part 1”) was Hayes' running mate, and is now the Vice President of the United States of America.  Kinsey has long known about the stargate program.  Still trying to gain control of SGC, and in the process boot out Hammond and O’Neill, Kinsey does his best to convince Hayes to take his side.  Balancing the argument, General Maynard supports the current SGC personnel.  To his credit, Hayes isn't immediately swayed by either Kinsey or Maynard to take their side.  Clips are used, as Kinsey and Maynard recount past SGC events to Hayes to support their positions.

Like another clip episode, “Politics,” this has a strong story framework, and excellent performances by the actors.  The clips are used logically.  And, this isn't a filler episode.  President Hayes' decision about keeping or changing SGC's leadership and personnel will affect future episodes.

William Devane is excellent as Henry Hayes, a leader who is well aware of his power as the President of the U.S.A., but not corrupted by it nor losing touch with his humanity.  Mr. Devane portrayed President John F. Kennedy in a made for TV movie, The Missiles of October (1974), and this is given a wink and a nod.  Ronny Cox returns as Robert Kinsey and continues to provide a stellar performance as the less than stellar character.  James McDaniel is solid as General Maynard, showing quiet strength and steely determination.  Robert Picardo returns as Richard Woolsey (”Heroes: Part 2”), and does a great job.  Don S. Davis appears as General Hammond, strong as always.  The rest of the regular cast appears only in clips.

Failures: 

None.

Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episode 19

"Resurrection"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Very Good

Commentary by:

Amanda Tapping — Director and Samantha Carter
Will Waring — Camera Operator

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

Review:  

At an abandoned industrial complex in Los Angeles, CA, there are a lot of military and civilian personnel in the vicinity.  Agent Barrett (”Smoke and Mirrors”) exits the complex as 3/4 of SG-1 pull up to the location in an SUV.  O’Neill is still recovering from injuries he received in “Heroes: Part 2” so is not present.  SG-1 wonders why they are there.  Barrett explains that the N.I.D. has been on the hunt for rogue N.I.D. sleeper cells, and Agent Barrett got wind of this place.  There are 32 casualties at the location.  SG-1 is taken to the perpetrator of the carnage — a calm but scared young woman locked in a cell made of a thick, clear material.

Barrett says they know the young woman did it because video shows her offing nearly everyone at that location.  There are also many video tapes labeled “Anna,” and are of the woman in the cage.  Anna was roaming around loose when the N.I.D. team arrived, Barrett demonstrated a lot of good sense by locking her up in the cage, one Anna says is where she was kept.  She says she has no memory of what happened.  There is only one survivor of her murder spree, a scientist named Keffler.  Then, Barrett shows SG-1 why they were called.  There’s a storeroom filled with small "a" ancient artifacts, including items related to a Goa’uld named Sekhmet.  Daniel and Teal’c stay in the room to check out the artifacts.  Carter and Barrett go to talk to Keffler.

Keffler is a smarmy one, neither intimidated by Barrett or Carter, nor being real forthcoming with information.  He knows he has the upper hand since no one else knows what happened, including Anna.  Leaving Keffler be for now, Barrett takes Carter to a lab further into the complex.  The creepy just keeps getting creepier as we see numerous clear canisters with deformed somethings in them.  Carter hacks into the nearby computer within seconds (sigh).  Barrett returns to Teal’c and Jackson to see what they’ve learned.  And that’s not much.  A lot of Sekhmet’s stuff, but nothing to explain what happened.  Daniel is given the task to get Anna to talk, because as Barrett says, Jackson has, “ … a knack for this type of thing.”  He's not wrong.  Anna is willing to speak with Daniel, although she continues to say that she doesn’t know what happened.  She only knows that Keffler made her, something made believable by what’s in the lab and Keffler’s unctuous with a side of soulless mad scientist vibe.

A young woman seemingly grown in a lab, paired with a scientist who acts like everyone else is potentially something he’ll experiment on, and a fair sprinkling of Goa’uld related artifacts is the basis for a good story.  But, wait.  There’s more.  The truth about Anna and Keffler is quite surprising, and ties into a threat that could kill millions of people.

A really good story, with a unique twist.  There are revelations that uncover an Earth bound side of things that’s not often shown.  Last seen in “Smoke and Mirrors,” the rogue N.I.D. organization is still operating, allegedly with the intent to make Earth humans safer but actually just causing problems.  I think a stargate based TV series revolving around the N.I.D. going after rogue N.I.D. operations could have worked.  Keeping elements of Stargate SG-1, while looking at things from a different, murkier aspect.

Kristen Dalton as Anna, and doing a nice job portraying Anna’s many facets.  Brad Greenquist as Dr. Keffler.  Mr. Greenquist’s talent is such that Keffler is a special kind of disturbing, while being a believable character not a broad parody.  Micheal Shanks as Daniel Jackson, Amanda Tapping as Samantha Carter, and Christopher Judge as Teal’c all provide good performances.  Bill Dow returns as Dr. Lee (”Heroes: Part 1”).

Failures:

While it’s explained how Agent Barrett and the not rogue N.I.D. arrived at the industrial complex — they intercepted a phone call from the location, why they knew that the situation was in their bailiwick before getting there is not explained.

Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episode 18

"Heroes: Part 2"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Good

Commentary by:

Andy Mikita — Director
Robert C. Cooper — Writer and Executive Producer
Andy Wilson — Director of Photography

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

Review:  

Continuing immediately after the events of “Heroes: Part 1,” SG teams are sent off world to help SG-13 with their wounded.  The documentary filming is still going on, although they are not allowed to travel through the stargate.  Back at SGC, it’s revealed that one of the regularly appearing Stargate SG-1 characters is dead, killed off world.

Failures:

A regular character is gone, from what I understand in order to see how the other characters deal with loss.  Thing is, there have been SGC characters killed off on Stargate SG-1 before.  And, the surviving characters had to deal with those losses.  Sometimes, background characters, starting within the first few minutes of Stargate SG-1’s initial episode, “Children of the Gods.”  “Meridian” was meant to be, and treated like, Daniel Jackson’s swan song.  O’Neill was ready to let an entire planet’s population starve because some SG personnel were killed in “Red Sky.”  We've seen Stargate SG-1 characters sacrifice, and grieve for lives lost, before.  Nothing was added to Stargate SG-1 by the events of “Heroes: Parts 1 and 2.”  I rate this episode as good based solely on the actors performances, the effects, and the sets.

Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episode 17

"Heroes: Part 1"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Good

Commentary by:

Andy Mikita — Director
Andy Wilson — Director of Photography

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

Review:  

A documentary about the stargate program is commissioned by the President of the United States of America.   A film crew is allowed in SGC to get their story.  The reaction by SGC staff to being interviewed is a mixed bag, with some taking the requirement to participate better than others.  Meanwhile, off world, an SG team comes under attack by Jaffa forces.

Failures:

I have a difficult time not mentally tuning out during this episode, despite excellent performances by the regular cast and guest stars.  Primarily due to my lack of interest in watching stargate personnel being interviewed, even by the admittedly charismatic Emmett Bregman as portrayed by the talented Saul Rubinek, a favorite actor of mine.  As far as the story, I’m never sold on the premise of a civilian as part of a documentary team and being allowed so much access to SGC and its past missions.

Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episode 16

"Death Knell"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Excellent

Commentary by:

Amanda Tapping — Samatha Carter
Peter DeLuise — Director

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

Review:  

In “Allegiance,” SGC had an off world site named Alpha site.  The site’s location was secret, an emergency locale in case something like the events in “There But For the Grace of God” happened, and because having a buffer between Earth and whatever SG teams find off world is long overdue good sense.  “The Warrior” lead to many Free Jaffa moving to the Alpha site.  Then, in “Allegiance,” an off world attack lead to many Tok’ra also moving to the Alpha site.  The secret Alpha site is no longer secret after Anubis used a mind probe on Jonas Quinn (”Fallen”.)  Since then, SGC set up another Alpha site at a new secret location.

Jacob/Selmak (”Evolution: Part 2”) and Sam are at the new Alpha site, working on a prototype weapon to defeat Kull warriors, the beings formerly known as Super Soldiers (”Evolution: Part 2”).  I called them Bibs (beings in black), Carter called them Super Soldiers, and Anubis calls them Kull warriors.  Since Anubis created them, he gets final say on their name.  Suddenly, the Alpha site is under attack, and an evacuation is ordered.

Twenty minutes later, back at SGC, General Hammond briefs Daniel, Teal’c and O’Neill about the attack on the Alpha site.  It was perpetrated by Goa’uld ships.  Many folks successfully evacuated from the Alpha site to the Beta site, but around 90 of them are still missing.  A MALP is being prepped to send to the Alpha site.  O’Neill says what they all are likely wondering: how did the attacking Goa’uld ships find the Alpha site.  The MALP shows that the Alpha site stargate is now lying on its side, and buried under debris that the stargate wormhole’s ka-whoosh partially removed.  General Hammond gives a go to check out the Alpha site for survivors.  It appears that the Alpha site’s desolation came from the site’s self-destruct protocol, not from an enemy attack.  A piece of Kull warrior armor is found in the rubble.  A few surviving SG team members, Free Jaffa, and Tok’ra are found, as is a badly injured Jacob/Selmak.  Sam Carter is missing.

O’Neill, Teal’c, and some fresh SG teams continue to search the Alpha site for survivors.  Daniel remains at SGC with Jacob/Selmak, as General Hammond investigates how Anubis found the Alpha site by questioning surviving SG members, Free Jaffa, and Tok’ra.  

Back at SGC, Jacob/Selmak relates as much as he knows about what happened.  Not only does he confirm that the Alpha site was attacked by Kull warriors, but that Sam and Jacob/Selmak were specifically targeted — as the ones working on the prototype weapon to use against Kull warriors.  Sam had the prototype weapon’s power unit, while Jacob/Selmak has the weapon itself.  As far as Jacob/Selmak knows she is on the run somewhere in hills surrounding the Alpha site.

Sam is alive, though badly injured, and being hunted by a Kull warrior.  At SGC, General Hammond is hunting down how the Alpha site’s location was revealed to Anubis.  Hammond’s inquiries brings many things to light, including the Free Jaffa and Tok’ra’s simmering resentment and anger towards each other, and towards SGC.  An allegiance between the three groups  based on a common enemy — the Goa’uld — is a lot shakier than believed.  The Alpha site attack may destroy the tenuous alliance of the SGC Taur’i, the Tok’ra, and the Free Jaffa.  Meanwhile, Sam, and the best hope for defeating Anubis’ Kull warriors, are being relentlessly tracked down off world.

This is an outstanding episode.  The bare bones of the story seems sparse, however it reveals much of what has been going on between the three allied groups.  There wasn't a behind the scenes happily ever after.  Whether at the SGC, or on the Alpha site planet, the story forges on with a steady pace, building towards a potentially grim end.  The effects are wonderful.  Costuming and make-up are excellent.  Amanda Tapping is fantastic as Carter desperately tries to stay a step ahead of the Kull warrior.  Don S. Davis’s portrayal of General Hammond is perfect, balancing the determination to uncover the facts, while not taking any nonsense from anyone.  Carmen  Argenziano is again great as he flips between being Jacob and being Selmak.  Sebastian Spence as Dalek, exhibiting that Tok’ra snideness and arrogance oh, so well.  Mark Gibbon as M’zel, a Free Jaffa.  I love me some Teal’c and Bra’tac, still it is nice to see other faces as part of the Free Jaffa movement.  Mr. Gibbon does a splendid job.  The rest of the cast does a very job, too.  Dan Payne returns as the Kull warrior, again demonstrating the skill to act through layers of costuming.

Failures:

None.

Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episode 15

"Chimera"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Very Good

Commentary by:

Will Waring — Director
Peter F. Woeste — Director of Photography
Damian Kindler — Writer

The commentary is informative and interesting.   It starts after the “previously on” segment.  The commentary stays on point with what is on screen.

Review:  

The episode opens with Daniel in a sunny apartment stuffed chock-a-block full of small “a” ancient artifacts.  Dr. Sarah Gardener is also there.  Hold on a minute.  The Goa’uld Osiris infested Sarah in “The Curse.”  Oh, wait.  Now we see Daniel asleep in his home during the night, with something that looks like the memory recall device Anubis used on Jonas Quinn in “Homecoming” stuck on his head, and Osiris is sitting nearby.  A Goa'uld specifically targeting Daniel, rather than, you know, devastating Earth.  Something nefarious is afoot.

In the next scene, we learn that Sam has a boyfriend.  His name is Pete Shanahan and he is a police detective.  Pete does not know about the stargate program.  The two enjoy their time together.  The next night, Daniel continues having happy (”G” rated happy) dreams about Sarah, not knowing that for some reason Osiris is involved in his having these specific dreams.

Pete is not buying Sam’s excuses about her work.  He exhibits some very creepy stalker behavior by using his connections in the police department to check Carter’s background.  Ew.  Sam, unaware of Pete’s “worthy of a restraining order and a face full of pepper spray” goings on, is concerned with how to balance being close to someone while having to lie about her job.  Meanwhile, it turns out that Osiris is manipulating Daniel’s mind in order to get information about the Ancient’s Lost City (”Fallen”).

Osiris goes off script with Sarah's behavior, and Daniel becomes suspicious.  He begins to think something else is happening, not just memory bits from his time as an Ascended being worked out while he sleeps.  Daniel has been talking about his dreams with his SG-1 teammates.  Teal’c mentions that the Goa’uld have technology that will explore a person’s memory.  Well, yes.  Osiris is on team Anubis, and as mentioned, there's what happened to Quinn in “Homecoming.”  They figure Osiris is on Earth.

Pete continues creeping on Sam, including secretly following her.  SGC sets a trap for Osiris.

Anna-Louise Plowman returns as Dr. Sarah Gardener/Osiris (”Revelations”).  Ms. Plowman's portrayal of Osiris is a favorite of mine, as she captures the arrogance and ruthlessness of an ex-System Lord Goa’uld in a delightful mix.  David DeLuise (brother of Peter DeLuise who directed a number of Stargate SG-1 episodes) as Pete Shanahan.  Both actors do a fine job, as does the regular cast.

Failures:

Sam Carter continues to get done wrong by writers when it comes to romance.  At least this time it isn’t a “love at first sight” alien.  But, it is someone who is comfortable exhibiting some very sketchy, and likely illegal, behavior towards her.  I think Sam could do, and deserves, better.

Daniel doubts his dreams because Sarah is nice about a situation in a dream that made her angry in real life.  Since he still thinks it’s all a dream, why would that make him so suspicious?

Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episode 14

"Fallout"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Very Good

Commentary by:

Martin Wood — Director
Paul Mullie — Writer
James Tichenor — Visual Effects Producer

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 stargate activates at SGC.  Hey, it’s Jonas Quinn (”Homecoming”).  But, this isn’t a social visit.  Some types of crystals used by Goa’ulds store information.  The Langarans have been studying a crystal left by a Goa’uld named Thanos, who was last on Langara about 3000 years ago.  This crystal indicates that naquadria is not a naturally occurring material.  Instead, Thanos’ experimentation resulted in veins of naquadah being transformed into naquadria, and in Thanos' death which is why Langara is the only source of nadquadria.  Okay, cool.  Except, there is a particularly large vein of naquadah on Langara undergoing the conversion into naquadria.  Naquadria is powerful, and unstable.  The result of the conversion will destroy Langara.  Okay, not cool.  Carter goes to Langara with Jonas to work on the problem, with the aid of Jonas’ Langaran co-worker Kianna Cyr.

Back at SGC, representatives on the governing council of Langara's three countries — Kelowna, Andari, and Tirania — gate in to discuss the naquadria problem.  They meet with General Hammond, O’Neill, Teal’c, and Daniel.  Turns out that while the three countries aren’t openly at war with each other anymore, they still do not trust each other.  And, still think that geopolitical boundaries are magical barriers, i.e. only Kelowna will be affected if the naquadria explodes since it is located under Kelownan land.

After explaining that the problem is the entire planet's, SGC offers to provide help in relocating Langarans. People of the planet Madrona (”Touchstone”) are willing to accept some Langaran refugees.  However, Madrona could not handle the influx of all Langarans at one time.  Well, the Andari rep pipes up that they want to be evacuated to a planet of their own.  Which sets off a lot of bickering between the three Langaran reps.  Which sets O’Neill off, since the clock is ticking on their planet exploding.  Teal'c is done with the Langaran reps nonsense, too.  O’Neill and Teal’c tap out on the talks, leaving Daniel to try and get the reps to focus on the here and now, and get their priorities straight.

On Langara, Carter and Jonas come up with a possible plan to save the planet.  Kianna is helpful, but something is a bit sketchy with her.  Hmm.  The idea to save Langara is a long shot, but the alternative is the planet blows up.  The Langaran reps still seem more inclined to squabble than co-operate towards mitigating the annihilation of their people.  Jonas and Carter’s plan to save the world isn’t without its flaws and challenges.  There is no guarantee it will work.  To top things off, an old enemy rears up, adding their chaos to an already chaotic mix.

This is a wonderful episode on many levels.  Seeing Corin Nemec back as Jonas Quinn is delightful.  The story logically supports Quinn’s reappearance, and Mr. Nemec’s performance is done well.  With the planet in danger of being destroyed not being Earth, the peril is very believable.  Patricia Drake as Tarthus, the Andari rep; Julian Christopher as Eremal, the Tiranian rep; and Gillian Barber returns as Dreylock, the Kelownan rep.  All three actors do a fine job in their roles, aptly exhibiting the ongoing antagonism between the Langaran countries.  The sets and costumes are outstanding.  The regular cast turn in great performances, with the exact tone needed at a given moment.

Failures:

None.

Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episode 13

"Grace"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Very Good

Commentary by:

Peter F. Woeste — Director
Jim Menard — Director of Photography
Will Waring — Camera Operator
Mark Davidson — Set Decorator

The commentary is informative and interesting.   It begins after the “previously on” segment.  The commentary stays on point with what is on screen.

Review:  

Carter is on board the Prometheus (”Memento”).  Rather than a naquadria drive, the ship is using a hyperspace drive from an Al’keesh — a type of Goa’uld space ship.  The Al’keesh hyperspace drive needs to cool down after a couple of hours of use, and the Prometheus drops out of hyperspace to allow it to do so.  Shortly after exiting hyperspace the Prometheus is attacked by an alien ship of an unknown design.  Sam is knocked unconscious during the attack.  After awakening, she discovers the rest of the crew is no where to be found.

Alone on the ship, Carter has several months of supplies.  But, she discovers that the ship is slowly being destroyed from the outside inward by corrosion.  And, she is having hallucinations.  Sam must try to keep the ship viable and herself alive, while working on a mystery and awaiting a hoped for rescue by SGC.

Amanda Tapping provides an excellent performance.

Failures:

There is a mystery that is never explained.

Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episode 12

"Evolution: Part 2"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Excellent

Commentary by:

Amanda Tapping — Samantha Carter
Peter Deluise — Director

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

Review:  

This episode begins immediately after the events of “Evolution: Part 1.”

The 3/4 of SG-1, Bra’tac, SG team members, and Free Jaffa who survived the attack of the Super Soldier escape from Ramius.  Well, less escape, more leave, because the Super Soldier found Ramius.  And, Ramius being a Goa’uld, he threw his Jaffa at the Super Soldier to buy time for his escape.  He didn’t escape.  SG-1 and company manage to capture the Super Soldier alive and take it back to SGC.  Apparently “don’t tell the enemy anything” is not part of a Super Soldier’s make up, and when asked it confirms that it serves Anubis.  On the other hand, the Super Soldier doesn’t know much of anything else.  Except where to return after a mission.  Jacob/Selmak suggests using a memory recall device (”Out of Mind”) and the location of Anubis’ base is learned.

On Earth, Jackson and Dr. Lee find the Ancient’s healing device, but are captured by rebels.  Since this is Stargate SG-1, I'm talking about Earth human rebels.  The rebels intend to ransom the two.  Rafael, the rebel leader, doesn’t believe that Daniel and Lee are just archaeologists.  Word gets back to SGC from the state department about the abduction and the ransom request.

“Evolution: Part 2” begins with General Hammond and O’Neill discussing Jackson and Lee’s situation.  Paying the ransom is unlikely, so the option to send in a strike team is being considered.  That decision is out of General Hammond’s hand, and they have wait for a decision by higher ups.

At the rebel camp, Daniel is brought before Rafael for more questioning, specifically wanting to know about the Ancient artifact.  Daniel says it is a lowercase “a” ancient artifact.  He’s in a lose-lose situation.  Raphael has doubts that Daniel is just an archaeologist, and is angry about Jackson taking artifacts out of his country.  Rafael tortures Daniel, but gains no new information.  Then, Dr. Lee is brought before Rafael.  Will Dr. Lee hold up to torture like Daniel did?  No.  Lee tells Rafael everything.

O’Neill is in on the mission to rescue the two SGC scientists.  He’ll be joined in Honduras by a CIA agent named Burke.  Jack is familiar with Burke, and apparently not fond of Burke, but there aren’t any other choices.  O’Neill is off to Honduras.

 Back at SGC, Jacob/Selmak is briefing Carter, Teal’c, and General Hammond about Anubis’ location — a planet named Tartarus because of course Anubis would hang around someplace named Tartarus.  The planet is impossible to approach via space ship due to extensive sensor arrays, and there’s a force field on the planet’s stargate.  Like an energy version of the iris on SGC’s stargate.  Jacob/Selmak puts forth the idea for him to enter Tartarus’ stargate while wearing the Super Soldier’s armor.  Once inside, he’ll turn off the sensor array so that Carter, Teal’c, and Bra’tac can approach the planet in a ship.  Then the team can skulk around, and see what they can learn about Anubis’ plans.

Back on Earth, O’Neill meets up with Burke.  Burke is assigned in his current backwater location as an unofficial but official punishment for an incident, one that also involved O’Neill.  Time hasn’t been kind to Burke’s mental health, and he is a few fries short of a Happy Meal.  He blames O’Neill for not supporting his version of what landed Burke in this assignment, and O’Neill is having none of that.  The two split, with Burke declaring he will not help with the extraction.

Meanwhile, after being tortured by Rafael, Lee is dragged back to the tiny shack where he and Daniel are imprisoned.  Lee admits to telling Rafael everything.  Rafael is seen mucking about with the Ancient artifact, and manages to turn it on.  Uh oh.

Jacob/Selmak dons the Super Soldier armor and gates to Tartarus.  Burke changes his mind, joining up with O’Neill in the jungle, and the two search for Daniel and Lee.

At the rebel camp, Jackson is brought before Rafael again, with demands for more information about the artifact.  Upon seeing that the artifact is activated, Jackson tells Rafael that he really needs to turn it off because it is very dangerous.  This is proven true a short time later.  After being returned to the tiny prison shack, Daniel gets to work escaping, telling Lee that the two of them need to get the heck out of there, now.  He’s not wrong.

The ex-friends, O’Neill and Burke, have to put aside their past to try to save Daniel and Lee.  On Tartarus, more is learned about Anubis’ plans, including some very surprising revelations.

Bill Dow as Dr. Lee.  Frank Roman as Rafael, and he does a wonderful job as Rafael falls further and further under the influence of the Ancient artifact.  Victor Favrin as Chalo, a rebel who demonstrates just how horrific the Ancient artifact’s effect can be.  David Palffy as Anubis, who has a very menacing voice, but a not so menacing wardrobe.  Enrico Colantoni as Burke, and he is wonderful as this character, giving Burke some nuance and depth, without every losing touch with the more than a smattering of crazy that is Burke’s operating zone.  The regular cast does a great job.  The special effects are awesome.

One of the many things I enjoy about this episode is that it is a seamless continuation of the previous episode in tone.  There have been two part Stargate SG-1 episodes where one episode emphasizes character, and another action.  I’ve never liked such a split.  Evolution Parts 1 and 2 do not do that, and it’s like watching a two hour (well, 88 minutes or so) long episode.

Failures:

Once Daniel decided to escape, he just … escaped.  Why not do that earlier?

Serendipitous timing strikes again in the show.  I understand that it is due to timing constraints, that the story needs keep moving and also fit into 44 minutes.  Still, a “showing up just in the nick of time” moment, even if it only happens once in an episode, gets old.  Yes, there is such a moment in this episode.

Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episode 11

"Evolution: Part 1"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Excellent

Commentary by:

Peter DeLuise — Director
Gary Jones — Walter (on the DVD commentary menu as “actor”)

The commentary is informative, and mostly stays on point with what is on screen.  Mr. Jones does not appear in this episode.

Review:  

Off world, following up on a rumored meeting between two Goa’ulds intent on forming an alliance, Teal’c and Bra’tac ("Orpheus") come across a battlefield littered with dead Jaffa.  Some of the dead are the Goa’uld Tilgath’s forces, and some are the Goa’uld Ramius’.  Tilgath is found, dead, but there is no sign of Ramius.  The pair do find the First Prime of Ramius, severely wounded but conscious.  When asked why Ramius attacked and destroyed Tilgath and his forces, rather than form an alliance, Ramius’ First Prime says that his master didn't do the killing, and barely escaped with his life.   Before he can explain what did happen, an energy blast of some sort kills Ramius’ First Prime.  A humanoid being in head to toe black armor fired the shot.  Teal’c and Bra’tac fire their staff weapons back, to no effect.  The attacker begins to fire on Bra’tac and Teal’c, using a wrist weapon that fires energy bolts.  Bra’tac goes in for some hand-to-hand combat, and is easily knocked aside by the being in black (let’s call him Bib).  Teal’c pulls out a ‘zat gun and fires it repeatedly.  Finally, Bib drops dead.

Bra’tac and Teal’c return to the SGC, bringing Bib’s body with them.  After they explain what happened, General Hammond wonders if the attacker was an Ashrak (”Allegiance”).  Teal’c says no, that Bib is unlike anything he has seen before.  Carter thinks Bib’s armor might absorb energy based attacks.  General Hammond orders Carter to find out everything she can about Bib and its armor.  Carter calls in the Tok’ra for help. The Tok’ra Jacob/Selmak (”Fragile Balance”) arrives.  In an SGC lab, he and Sam remove Bib’s armor face plate and … oh my word, what a pale mess of terrifying they find inside.  Humanoid, but looks more like a skeleton with a firm, gelatinous substance as its flesh, and icky, sticky goo that seems to work to fuse Bib to its armor.  Not only that, but Bib has a Goa’uld symbiote, now also dead.  And the weirdness just keeps coming, as testing shows Bib is genetically engineered to be incredibly strong, with great stamina, but was not made to be long lived.  Its Goa’uld symbiote was about the only thing that kept it alive, but even the symbiote could not sustain Bib’s life for long.  Turns out that Bra’tac and Teal’c didn’t kill Bib, instead it died of pulmonary failure.

Bib seems to be a lab manufactured host for a Goa’uld symbiote, maybe as a replacement for Jaffa forces.  As the Free Jaffa rebellion spreads, it’s possible that at least one Goa’uld decided it’s better to have guaranteed loyal, if short-lived, artificially created fighting forces than Jaffa.  Jacob/Selmak shares that not only is Bib short-lived, powerful, and wears armor that is immune to energy weapons, the being was not alive when it was created.  Once mature, it was given life, possibly using something along the lines of a sarcophagus ("Abyss").

All of this happens before the credits finish rolling.

But, giving life to the lifeless is beyond a sarcophagus’ capability.  Turns out that thousands of years ago a Goa’uld found a device of the Ancients that was capable of healing, but the device’s output was so strong that it had a detrimental effect.  That Goa’uld created the sarcophagus based on that Ancient device.  Jacob/Selmak thinks that the original Ancient device might be the key to developing a weapon against enemies like Bib.

Daniel works his knowledge mojo, and determines the original Ancient device might be located on Earth.  He wants to search for the device, which is possibly located in Honduras.  Also important, Jackson and Carter present a reasonable tie between Bib and Anbubis (”Homecoming”).  General Hammond gives a go for Jackson and Dr. Lee (”Paradise Lost”) to go to Honduras and look for the Ancient tech.  Why Daniel goes is self-explanatory.  Why Dr. Lee, though?  I’m not sure.  But Dr. Lee is smart, and in his new iteration since his last appearance, pretty funny in a pragmatic way, and adds to the story.

Back at SGC, Bra’tac points out that if Anubis is destroying other Goa’ulds who try to form alliances, Anubis is likely working his way towards being the one and only top Goa’uld.  Which would be very bad for not only Earth, but for the entire galaxy.  To learn more about Anubis’ manufactured warriors, Carter needs a live specimen.  A plan is hatched to go to Ramius’s planet (since Bib did not succeed in killing him), and wait for another Bib assassin, then capture it alive.  SG-1 (minus Daniel), a couple of SG teams, Bra’tac, and some Free Jaffa head to Ramius’ world and wait for a Bib to come through the stargate.  When a Bib does show up, the tranquilizers Carter made have no effect on the Bib.  None of their weapons work on the Bib, who fires back using its wrist weapon on any of the team who fire on it.  Then, it keeps on, heading towards Ramius’ stronghold.  3/4 of SG-1 and everyone with them are captured by Ramius’ forces.

Daniel and Dr. Lee are somewhere in the wilds of Honduras, looking for a legend.  They aren’t having any better a time with their mission than the off world team.  3/4 of SG-1, Bra’tac, and their remaining SG and Free Jaffa backup who weren't killed by the Bib are captured by Ramius.  The Bib is still roaming around that same planet, searching for Ramius while being willing and able to kill anyone who gets in the way.

The story begins on a battlefield strewn with dead Jaffa, and leads to simultaneous missions: one on Earth and one off world.  Both missions go badly, with Daniel and Dr. Lee ending up in the worst position despite never leaving Earth.  An old foe returns with some new tricks.  As if Goa’ulds and their loyal Jaffa forces weren’t enough, now there are Bibs (later called a Super Soldiers, which admittedly is a cooler name than Bib).  While short-lived, a Super Soldier can and does inflict a lot damage.  There’s a Goa’uld threat (welcome back, snaky villains) that’s not directed at Earth, but absolutely involves Earth.  SG-1 is once more split up, losing the magic of the four main characters’ chemistry.  However, their separate stories are interesting, and relevant to the characters involved.  It’s likely that Teal’c and Bra’tac’s discovery of Bib isn’t the first mission the Super Soldiers have been on, so those two happening upon Bib rings true.  Although, the timing of Bib having pulmonary failure just as it was about to end Teal’c and Bra’tac takes a bit of squinting and head tilting to believe.

The Super Soldier has some very cool armor.  If I were talented enough to make cosplay outfits I would absolutely make a Super Soldier’s armor.  Kudos to the costume design team.  There’s a scene where the Super Soldier walks through a fiery explosion, but it is just a bit off.  All the other effects look amazing, both on Earth and on Remius’ planet.  The dialog aptly tells the story, without getting bogged down in exposition.  And, the actors do a great job of delivering that dialog.  Tony Amendola and Carmen Argenziano return as Bra’tac and Jacob/Selmak, respectively.  I never tire of their guest appearances, and once again they both do a wonderful job with their characters.  Bill Dow as Dr. Lee.  I like this version of Dr. Lee much more than his previous appearances.  Previously, Dr. Lee was “generic scientist.”  Lee has now become a unique character in his own right.  Eric Breker as Colonel Reynolds (”Fallen”).  Zak Santiago as the delightful and believable Rogelio Duran.  Frank Roman appears as Rafael, who is great with conveying tempered menace.

This episode isn’t about character development.  It’s a story driven by the characters.  And does an excellent job at it.   Special shout out to: Todd Thomson as Ramius’ First Prime, we hardly knew you but in your short screen time you absolutely were a First Prime; Michael Jonsson as one of Ramius’ Jaffa guards, Mr. Jonsson managed to convey Jaffa threat and arrogance, as well as vulnerability as a young Jaffa who has his worldview turned upside down; and Dan Payne as the Super Soldier, Mr. Payne does a great job being a Super Soldier through the suit, and later imitating someone imitating a Super Soldier.  Bravo, Mr. Payne.

Failures:

Nothing egregious.

Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episode 10

"Birthright"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Fair

Commentary by:

Peter F. Woeste — Director
Jim Menard — Director of Photography
Mark Davidson — Set Decorator
Robert Davidson — Set Decorator

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

Review:  

Off world, meeting up with a Jaffa who wants to be a Free Jaffa, SG-1 is attacked by a group of Jaffa who are apparently good with being enslaved by the Goa’ulds.  Suddenly, the attacking Jaffa are wiped out by a flurry of staff blasts.  Expecting to see Free Jaffa, SG-1 instead sees a group of women Jaffa.  They are the ones who defeated the attackers, and call themselves Hak’tyl.  One of the Hak’tyl goes to a fallen Jaffa and removes his symbiote.  Well, yuck.  SG-1’s reputation precedes them, and the Hak’tyl invite the group to their outpost on another world.  Once there, SG-1 meets Ishta, the Hak’tyls leader, and gets the full story.

The Goa’uld Moloc decreed 30 years ago that all female Jaffa under his control be killed at birth.  Moloc believes only male Jaffa are effective fighters and worthy of being allowed to live.  Teal'c is unfamiliar with any Goa'uld that allows female Jaffa as part of their fighting force, but other Goa'ulds don't kill off their female Jaffa solely because they are female.  Some of Moloc's female Jaffa are kept alive as breeders, and a few more as priestesses whose job is to kill newborn female Jaffa born under his rule.  Ishta is one of the priestesses.  She and other priestesses rescue the female newborns when they can, and raise them at their outpost.  The Hak’tyl also form hunting parties to take down male Jaffa and procure their symbiotes, because once a Jaffa reaches puberty they must be implanted with a symbiote or else die (”Bloodlines”).  Teal’c disapproves of killing Jaffa, at least before offering them a chance to be free.  SG-1 tells the Hak’tyl about the tretonin option (”The Changeling”).

The Hak’tyl must decide to use tretonin, or lose Teal’c, and possibly by extension the rest of SG-1 and SGC, as allies.  Being Jaffa, the Hak’tyls are suspicious of living life without a symbiote.

The acting is okay.  Neither bad, nor great.  Jolene Blalock is Ishta, Christine Adams is Mala, and Kathleen Duborg is Neith.

Failures:

This episode is written by Christopher Judge, who usually adds interesting details about Jaffa society in his writings.  Not this time.  This is Stargate SG-1 does an Amazon woman warrior mythos story, with no new information about Jaffa society in the mix.  Nothing new about Amazon woman warrior mythos, either.  I rated this episode Fair, but it’s a very weak Fair.

Female Jaffa aren’t allowed to fight?  Pretty obvious after 6 seasons of Stargate SG-1, when there was nary a female Jaffa warrior in sight during battles.  Female Jaffa can fight, and fight well?  This is not surprising.

Not long after the episode begins, Moloc’s femicide of Jaffa born under his rule becomes a very minor plot device.  More of the story’s time is spent on Teal’c’s disapproval of the Hak’tyls killing male Jaffa willy-nilly, and the Hak’tyls reluctance to switch to tretonin.  When using something as horrible as femicide in a story, then give the topic the time and respect it deserves.  There were other options for initiating the story.

Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episode 9

"Avenger 2.0"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Excellent

Commentary by:

Amanda Tapping — Samantha Carter
Martin Wood — Director

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

Review:  

Felger (“The Other Guys”) is back.  The episode starts in a lab at SGC where Felger, and his assistant Chloe, are preparing a demonstration of a weapon Felger created that could be powerful enough to replace missiles on the X-303 (”Memento”).  Due to his intense hero worship of SG-1, and a massive crush on Carter, Felger is nervous and giddy.  O’Neill and Carter arrive in the lab for the demo.  Unexcited to be there, O'Neill remembers Felger, but gets his name wrong.  Carter is polite.  The weapon demonstration fails, strikingly so.  Not only blowing up instead of firing, but also knocking out SGC’s power.

General Hammond has had enough of Felger’s missteps, and wants him out of the SGC program.  Felger begs for one more chance, saying that he has a spectacular project that will overshadow his previous failures with its brilliance.  General Hammond gives him 24 hours to demonstrate the new project, or else Felger is out.  This is awesome for Felger, except … he lied.  He has nothing ready to show General Hammond.

Back in his lab, Felger tells Chloe what happened.  Chloe chides Felger on making an empty promise.  He decides to use an idea he had for a computer virus — named Avenger -- that will rewrite a DHD’s coordinates, making gate travel from that DHD impossible.  The idea being to stymie the Goa’uld and their forces use of gate travel.  They could still get around using their ships, but the loss of stargate travel would be a significant hindrance.  Chloe reasonably points out that Avenger is an idea, and no where near ready.  Still, his position at SGC on the line, Felger hastily puts together enough of a rough draft of the virus program to show Carter, who agrees to look it over.  O’Neill and Teal’c head off world on a mission.  Daniel is already off world on another mission.  Carter tells General Hammond that what Felger showed her has promise, but it needs more work.  General Hammond gives the Avenger project a go, with the caveat that Carter has to work with Felger on it.

Once Avenger is ready, Carter selects a gate on a planet controlled by the the System Lord Ba’al (last seen in ”Homecoming,” mentioned in other episodes) to test Avenger.  Waiting for the result of the Avenger test, SGC contacts O’Neill via the stargate after he misses a check-in.  O’Neill didn’t do his scheduled check-in because he can’t establish an outgoing wormhole.  Felger swears that it can’t be because of Avenger, but the timing of deployment of the virus and the failure of the stargate at O’Neill’s location is too close.  Then, the Tok’ra contact SGC, reporting that there are a series of malfunctions in the stargate system, with several stargates going offline.  Further checking shows that the stargate system is not only interconnected, they also send automatic updates within the gate system via their DHDs.  It looks like Avenger became part of that automatic update, and is now spreading throughout the gate system.  Earth’s stargate is unaffected because it runs via the complex computer system SGC built, not a DHD.  Pretty soon no wormhole can be initiated by a DHD throughout the stargate system, except for SGC's stargate.

General Hammond recalls off world SGC teams, hoping to get them back to Earth before the update makes its way to all the DHDs in the gate system.  Not every SGC team is able to make it back to SGC, including Daniel’s team and O’Neill’s team.  Daniel’s team is in danger from rising flood waters at their location.  O’Neill’s team is under attack from Goa’uld forces.  And, Ba’al is taking advantage of the situation using his fleet, the largest of all the System Lords, to overwhelm other Goa’ulds forces.  Instead of making life hard for Ba’al, Avenger has given Ba’al a huge advantage.  General Hammond will not send teams off world to help others because those teams would also be stranded.

Felger is needed to work on a fix for Avenger, but he is having a major meltdown.  SGC forces are trapped off world, some in life threatening, time sensitive situations.  Every society that uses the stargate is now stranded wherever they were when the gate system went down.  Meanwhile, Ba’al is having a very good day, doing very bad things, due to the situation.

This is a wonderful episode.  Drama with a lot of comedy can be a tricky mix.  Here, it is done to perfection.  Patrick McKenna returns as Felger, and is in top form as the hero-worshipping, well intentioned, brilliant but messy, character.  Jocelyn Loewen guest stars as the pragmatic and exasperated Chloe, and is an excellent counter balance to Felger.  Amanda Tapping is in top form as Carter.  Ms. Tapping perfectly balances the seriousness of the situation with the comedy that flows from Mr. McKenna’s performance.  The two play off of each other perfectly.  Richard Dean Anderson as O’Neill.  He doesn’t have a lot of scenes in this episode, but is at the top of his Jack O’Neill game the entire time.  Don S. Davis is perfection as General Hammond dealing with Felger and the Avenger fallout.  Jackson and Teal’c are not present in much of this episode.

Failures:

The creation of the Avenger virus program by Felger, Chloe, and Carter seems to take a remarkably short amount of time.  There is a montage of Carter, Felger, and Chloe working on the virus, but the time frame isn’t very long.  O’Neill and Teal’c are still off world on their mission after Avenger is completed, and it’s unlikely that they were gone for months.  But, I can forgive this because the rest of the episode is a grand, fun adventure.

Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episode 8

"Space Race"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Fair

Commentary by:

Andy Mikita – Director
Jim Menard – Director of Photography
Damian Kindler — 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:  

Warrick, an alien from the episode “Forsaken,” ventures to SGC via the stargate for a visit.  Well, for a visit and a favor.  Warrick’s home world, Hebridan, is holding a space race (roll credits).  If he can borrow one of SGC’s naquadah generators for his ship in the race, Warrick will give SGC access to specs for his people’s ion energy tech.  The winner of the race gets a lucrative contract from a large corporation on Hebridan.  Apparently getting tech from aliens in order to win the space race doesn’t break any rules, and SGC is always about learning new technology, so a trade is made.  I would not be surprised if the Hebridan space race rule book will be updated, but for this race it is what it is.  Don’t get me started on the selling out of Hebridan’s technological secrets by an individual so that said individual can win a lucrative contract.  Harsh words would be used.

Sam joins Warrick as his co-pilot for the race.  There is a nefarious secondary story, which I won’t spoil.  Mostly, there is a race.  In space.  Using space ships.  Go team Warrick and Carter.

The effects are marvelous.  Makeup, costuming, and sets are wonderful.  The acting is nicely done.  There are some amusing moments.  All of those factors don't compensate for an unsatisfactory story.

Failures:

I just can’t muster enthusiasm for the core story: a space ship race, with a side of espionage by the SGC against a friendly alien society -- while in diplomatic talks for said secrets.  The espionage is mitigated later in the episode, but that doesn’t change what SGC is willing to do to the Hebridans.  Between extortion (”Lifeboat”), willingness to commit genocide for resources (”Enemy Mine”), and now trying to steal secrets from a friendly alien society, SGC leadership’s moral compass is swinging to the sketchy side of the Force.  SG-1 and General Hammond still seem to have a hold of themselves.  Except for Carter in this episode, who is more interested in having fun with the race, and less interested in the ramifications of secretly making off with an alien ally’s tech.  SGC is getting ruthless.

Stargate SG-1, Season 7, Episode 7

"Enemy Mine"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Good

Commentary by:

Peter DeLuise — Director
Gary Jones — Walter (on the DVD commentary menu as “actor”)

The commentary is informative, and at times stays on point with what is on screen.

Review:  

Off world, an SGC survey discovers a mother lode of naquadah.  Naquadah is a mineral not found on Earth, and used in a lot of alien technology by the Goa’ulds, the Asgard, and the Ancients.  Earth uses it in building powerful generators.  Usually SGC comes across planets depleted of naquadah by the Goa’uld.  With a chance to mine a rich source of the mineral, SGC says go for it.

But, the planet has a population of Unas (”Beast of Burden“) who aren’t happy with SGC’s mining efforts.  A fight ensues between SGC personnel and the Unas.  Daniel uses his knowledge of the Unas’ language, and gets them to stop attacking.  Back on Earth, SGC’s position is: get rid of the Unas.  Either by forced relocation or just force.  Chaka (”Beast of Burden”) gates to SGC to help Daniel parley with the Unas.  The Unas say nope to relocating.  SGC says don’t care, we want the naquadah.

World with a history of forcibly relocating native populations and taking their land’s resources tries to forcibly relocate an alien race on another planet in order to take that planet’s resources.  

The actor Dion Johnstone previously portrayed Chaka, but was unavailable for this episode.  Chaka is instead portrayed by Patrick Currie.  The change is noticeable, but not immersion breaking.  The title, “Enemy Mine,” is a reference to the novella by Barry B. Longyear and the 1985 film of the same title.  However, I think the episode “The First Ones" is closer to the spirit of the novella and film than this episode.  Parts of this episode remind me of the film Zulu (1964).  Michael Rooker guest stars as Colonel Edwards, and Steven Williams as General Vidrine.

Failures:

This isn’t the first episode where the powers that be of Stargate Command are willing to run rampant over a planet’s population in order to get what they want.  Pretty similar situation occurred in the episode, “Spirits.”  There is less (virtually no) self-reflection in this episode by Earth humans.  Making for a far less interesting story dynamic.  The focus is more about the differing command styles of O’Neill and Colonel Edwards.  The question of one society riding roughshod over another society to get what they want isn’t addressed from a moral standpoint.  At the least I would have liked for someone to point out the parallels between the intended treatment of the Unas on the planet by Earth humans, and how the Goa’uld treat, well, everyone who isn’t more powerful than them.  The end result is a story that doesn’t rise above okay, buoyed by the the good performances of the actors.