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.