Stargate SG-1 Season 7, Episode 1

"Fallen"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Very Good

Commentary by:

Michael Shanks – “Daniel Jackson”
Martin Wood – Director
Jim Menard – 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:  

In “Full Circle” Oma Desala snatched Ascended Daniel away when he tried to use his Ascended powers to destroy Anubis.  With Anubis killing the Abydonians, something SG-1 knew Ascended Daniel would give his all to stop, SG-1 ended season 6 wondering if they'd ever see Ascended Daniel again.  Now, on a not-the-Earth planet, some humans are going about their business, when there's a crash of thunder and a blaze of light.  Being fictional characters, they run towards the source of the noisy light show instead of away from it.  There they find a naked, amnesiac Daniel.  He's back!  Sort of.  With no memory of who he is, or how he arrived on not-the-Earth (we later find out the planet's name is Vis Uban), Daniel is not Daniel.

On Earth at the SGC, Jonas Quinn is still researching, trying to figure out the text on the stone tablet that Ascended Daniel described as being very important in “Full Circle.”  The goal: to find the Lost City that may have Ancients living there, or at least a treasure trove of “good for defeating Anubis” Ancient weapons.  Eureka!  Quinn deciphers the tablet's text.  SGC has the gate address for the likely location of the Lost City among the addresses O'Neill downloaded to SGC's computer (“The Fifth Race”).  General Hammond gives a go for SG-1 and some other SG teams to gate to the Lost City.  There they find peaceful inhabitants who don't seem to be Ancients.

The residents are not Ancients, just some nice squatters.  The SG teams search around, looking for … well, anything besides ruins.  Potential threats.  Ancient weapons.  None of those things are found, however they do find Daniel Jackson.  Daniel does not recognize his SG-1 cohorts, and has been living with the people on the planet for two moons (however long that is on that planet).  SG-1 is pleasantly surprised to see their friend, a reaction that I think rings true.  Daniel Jackson Ascended in “Meridian”, and Ascended Daniel made various appearances in season 6.  So, I think Daniel's reappearance falls under unexpected nicety for SG-1, rather than a shocking revelation.

No longer Ascended Daniel, he is now Amnesiac Daniel.  Amnesiac Daniel is standoffish.  Mainly because for him, SG-1 are strangers telling him crazy stories (O'Neill trying to explain what happened to Amnesiac Daniel is delightful), and partially because he is reluctant to learn who he was as a person.  He might be a jerk.  Yeah, that's a weak sauce explanation.  But, Amnesiac Daniel decides to go to SGC.  There, his memory returns in dribs and drabs.  However, he continues to have no memory of his time as Ascended Daniel.  Until ...

A few weeks later during a briefing with General Hammond and SG-1, Quinn mentions that while the ruins have been mapped, nothing Ancient-y is found.  Daniel joins the meeting, with General Hammond's permission.  Still trying to regain his memory, Daniel demonstrates that some of Ascended Daniel's knowledge is coming to his mind.  The Ascended beings rule book is very leaky since this is allowable.  

Now knowing that Vis Uban is not the location of the Lost City … City of the Lost … whatever its name is, SGC and the Tok'ra formulate a plan to take down Anubis' weapon.  Something straight out of Star Wars (1977).  There's a twist, though.  The plan requires working with a System Lord because the Tok'ra and Earth don't have enough firepower to take on Anubis' ship.  The idea is to work with the System Lord Yu, who is mostly on the low end of the Goa'uld scale of "wanting to destroy Earth."  Not so much that Yu is nice, as it is that Yu has little to no interest in Earth these days.  Also, Yu and the other System Lords will benefit from destroying Anubis' weapon.  The plan proceeds.

Anubis is lured to Vis Uban with some fake info.  With help from the Tok'ra, Daniel and Jonas will gain access to the ship carrying Anubis' weapon (they are most versed in Anubis' language of choice, ancient Ancient) in order to provide Carter and O'Neill with the coordinates of the weapon's power core.  O'Neill and Carter will fly an F-302 (a two-seater fighter space craft) to get up close and personal in destroying the weapon's power core.  Yu's fleet will take down Anubis once the weapon is out of play.  Teal'c goes to Yu to present the plan, and Yu agrees to participate.  Everything is mostly going smoothly, until Yu decides not to take his fleet to the agreed upon rendezvous site.

In the F-302, Carter and O'Neill are being targeted by Anubis' Death Gliders.  Daniel and Jonas are trapped on Anubis' ship.  Yu never showed up, and now Teal'c is a prisoner on Yu's ship.  Although the weapon's power core was destroyed, without Yu's fleet destroying Anubis' ship the weapon is still a threat.  Anubis doesn't have a power core for his weapon, but he still has the weapon.  The story continues in the next episode.

All of the actors provide excellent performances, with some Jonas Quinn moments being my favorites.  Jonas finally shows something other than just conviviality when dealing with the now, at times, kind of snarky Daniel Jackson.   Vince Crestejo returns as the System Lord Yu, and Kevan Ohtsji is his First Prime, Oshu.  The story is a bit too rushed at times for me to give a rating of "excellent."  Still, a very enjoyable and exciting episode as an introduction to season seven.

Failures:

I think this story, which spans two episodes – this one, and the next episode “Homecoming” – would have benefited from being spread out over three episodes.  There are moments where the story feels rushed.   When Amnesiac Daniel goes from being cold and distant towards SG-1, to his being curious about who Daniel Jackson is and agreeing to go back to SGC.  Also, jumping from Daniel remembering how to read the Ancient tablet to his being part of the the Star Wars (1977) homage attack plans on the Death Star Anubis' weapon, both in a montage and a meeting.  One scene, Daniel's amnesia is still prevalent enough that he can't remember Jack O'Neill's name and calls him, "Jim."  Shortly thereafter (maybe? see my comment below about the lack of time reference points), Daniel is part of a strike on Anubis' ship. 

There are some mentions of time passing, but without any reference points.  How many Earth days equal “the passing of two moons” on Vis Uban?  O'Neill mentions the events of “Full Circle” happening “last year,” but without knowing the date within the episode, that time frame could be a few weeks, or months, or nearly a year.

SG-1 Season Seven DVD Set -- Content

I will rate each season’s DVD set before reviewing the season’s individual episodes.  My rating in this post solely reflects the DVD content, options, & extras (or lack thereof), not episodes.

Overall Rating for the Set:  Good

Audio commentary on each episode.

There is not a “play all” option.
The only audio language is English.

Subtitles: None

Although there are no subtitles, the episodes are close captioned. You can use the close caption option on your television to view the dialog in English.

This is a five-disc set, with 21 episodes.
Each episode is approximately 44 minutes long, except for “Lost City” (episode 21) which is approximately 1 hour 24 minutes long.

All episodes are anamorphic widescreen 1.78:1.

Sound: 5.1 (Dolby Digital)

The special features are not rated.

The special features are not closed-captioned.

Special Features:

SG-1 Directors Series: “Fragile Balance”
SG-1 Directors Series: “Space Race”
SG-1 Directors Series: “Avenger 2.0”
SG-1 Directors Series: “Death Knell”
SG-1 Directors Series: “Lost City”
Stargate Fan Club Spot
Photo and Production Design Galleries
SG-1 Beyond the Gate: Michael Shanks
SG-1 Beyond the Gate: Christopher Judge
SG-1 Beyond the Gate: Richard Dean Anderson
SG-1 Beyond the Gate: Amanda Tapping
Photo Galleries

I rate this set Good because it has all of the season’s episodes in their entirety, and in broadcast order, and there is audio commentary for each episode, along with a variety of featurettes. Slim cases, and nice artwork.

With TV series on DVD, there are two quality of life options (meaning non-essential perks) that I enjoy.  First, a “play all” option for the episodes on a disk.  Main menu to episode menu to “play episode,” and then from the episode menu to the main menu to the next episode menu to “play episode” gets old, fast.  Second, putting a scene break on the DVD at the end of every episode's opening credit, where the theme music plays.  I love Stargate SG-1's opening credit theme music (I love all of Stargate SG-1's music), but sometimes I want to get straight to the episode after the opening scene.  In this season 7 DVD set, neither of those two quality of life options are available.

SG-1 Season 6 At a Glance

My rating for each episode in season six.

Episode 1: Redemption: Part 1 -- Excellent
Episode 2: Redemption: Part 2 -- Good
Episode 3: Descent -- Very Good
Episode 4: Frozen -- Good
Episode 5: Nightwalkers -- Very Good
Episode 6: Abyss -- Excellent
Episode 7: Shadow Play -- Very Good
Episode 8: The Other Guys -- Very Good
Episode 9: Allegiance -- Very Good
Episode 10: Cure -- Very Good
Episode 11: Prometheus -- Good
Episode 12: Unnatural Selection -- Very Good
Episode 13: Sight Unseen -- Fair
Episode 14: Smoke & Mirrors -- Good
Episode 15: Paradise Lost -- Good
Episode 16: Metamorphosis -- Good
Episode 17: Disclosure -- Good
Episode 18: Forsaken -- Good
Episode 19: The Changeling -- Excellent
Episode 20: Memento -- Good
Episode 21: Prophecy -- Good
Episode 22: Full Circle -- Excellent

Daniel Jackson being gone from the show at the start of season 6 meant there was a void in the SG-1 team that needed immediate filling.  Both as a warm body, and as someone with Daniel Jackson's skill set, but who was not a Daniel Jackson clone.  Jonas Quinn was a nice fit.  I think both Micheal Shanks and Corin Nemec are talented, and both did a great job with their respective Stargate SG-1 characters.  I think praise is due for how Quinn did not become Daniel Jackson 2.0.  There was some handwavium to explain Quinn's encyclopedic knowledge, something lost with Daniel Jackson's departure.  Otherwise, Quinn had his own voice that wasn't a full on copy of Jackson.

I enjoyed Corin Nemec's portrayal of Jonas Quinn.  The one issue I have with the character is that Quinn is perfect in every way.  I think Quinn's biggest fault is that he has no faults.  The character was boxed in by perfection.  Stronger than most humans.  Incredible intelligence supplemented by being able to absorb and remember anything he read or saw.  Jonas Quinn is too good, and kind, and true.  He would be a lovely sort of person in real life.  In a television series, not so much.  A flawless “good guy” character, like a villain with no redeeming qualities, is not all that interesting.

The SciFi Channel's initial decision to cancel Stargate SG-1 after this season meant no new, long term plots that couldn't be resolved being introduced in season 6.  I think the show runners did a good job with this situation.  There was the intention to make Stargate SG-1 movies.  Ongoing plots from previous seasons remained, simmering on a back burner, waiting for future movies.  The late timing of the SciFi Channel's renewal of Stargate SG-1 meant that season 6 episodes were a done deal at that point.

The result for me is that season 6 is what it is: mostly a compilation of stand alone episodes that respect the ongoing Stargate SG-1 storylines without doing much to expand on them.  This is a good thing for a series that knows it will be cancelled.  There are important facets of Stargate SG-1 canon introduced in season 6: tretonin modified by the Tok'ra ("The Changeling"), countries other than just the U.S.A. and Russia being made aware of the stargate ("Disclosure"); and completion and testing of the Prometheus spaceship ("Memento").

While I enjoy many season 6 episodes, it is not my favorite season to rewatch.  As mentioned, the over-arching story doesn't advance much at all this season.  And, while there aren't that many Quinn-centric episodes, it feels as though there are too many Quinn-centric episodes.  Quinn and the Ancient ("Frozen").  Quinn and the Kelownans ("Shadow Play").  Quinn and Nirrti ("Metamorphosis").  Quinn and his psychic abilities ("Prophecy").  In addition to just being a part of the SG-1 team in other episodes, this season felt very Quinn heavy to me.

SciFi channel ended up renewing Stargate SG-1 for two additional seasons (and another two seasons later, for a total of 10 seasons of the show). This dramatically changes the stories and flow of story arcs in seasons 7 and onward.  I think season 6 is good on its own, and very good in the context at the time of being written as the series' final season.

Stargate SG-1 Season 6, Episode 22

"Full Circle"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Excellent

Commentary by:

Martin Wood – Director
Jim Menard – 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: 

On Abydos, Skaara (“Pretense”) and other Abydonians discuss taking precautions for an incoming threat – Anubis.  There's talk of hiding the more vulnerable of the population, while the rest fight to protect what brings Anubis to Abydos.  Skaara points out that they have no chance fighting against Anubis.  One of those at the meeting turns around, and it is Daniel Jackson (“The Changling”).  He assures Skaara that the Abydonians will not be fighting alone.

Next we see O'Neill in an elevator at SGC.  Daniel Jackson appears in the elevator with O'Neill, asking for help with assisting the Abydonians, and preventing Anubis from obtaining an artifact that would make him incredibly powerful.  O'Neill is a hard sell for Jackson in a wonderful scene, as he knocks Jackson off his Ascended pedestal with some very good questions.

O'Neill meets with General Hammond and the rest of SG-1, explaining the situation with Anubis.  When asked what the source of his information is, O'Neill admits that it was the Ascended Daniel Jackson.  And, he is surprised when not only is his source (Jackson) accepted without question, but then Teal'c shares that he, too, has interacted with the Ascended Daniel (“The Changeling”).  Cognizant of just how dangerous Anubis is to Earth as well as the rest of the galaxy (“Fail Safe” “Redemption part 1 & part 2”), General Hammond gives a go for SG-1 to head to Abydos and help prevent Anubis from obtaining the artifact -- called the Eye of Ra -- needed for his weapon.

SG-1 searches for the Eye of Ra on Abydos, without Jackson providing the exact whereabouts of the artifact.  Partially because of the Ascended beings rule book, and partially because being Ascended doesn't make one omniscient, i.e., Jackson doesn't know the exact location.  There is one hard and fast rule in the Ascended beings playbook: no using Ascended powers in direct action to make major changes involving the lives of unascended beings.  Like saving Abydos and the rest of the galaxy from the badness of Anubis.  Violation of that rule will result in … something bad for the rule breaker.  Really bad.  Being on the receiving end of a lot of mind-bogglingly powerful beings retribution bad.  But, it's okay to use knowledge one possessed before becoming Ascended.  The bounds of the Ascended beings rule book seem wobbly to me, but I guess what with being immortal and outside of the normal rules of space and time, some Ascended beings can think of ways to test boundaries.

Anubis arrives at the planet before SG-1 finds the Eye of Ra.  Skaara, the Abydonians, and SG-1 desperately attempt to hold off Anubis' far superior forces.  O'Neill demands that Jackson do more to help, or SG-1 will walk, leaving the Eye of Ra (wherever it is) for Anubis to find.  Adamant that Anubis must not possess the Eye of Ra, Daniel pushes against the Ascended beings rule book, with mixed success.  The stakes are high, with the fate of Abydos, Earth, and the entire galaxy at stake.

Thought at the time to be the series finale, there is no resting on laurels here.  This episode holds nothing back.  There is action and adventure, good dialog delivered well, and a very touching but sad ending.  The effects are wonderful.  The story reconnects with the over-arching story of the Goa'ulds threat to the galaxy, and the threat of Anubis in particular.  The SciFi Channel did not renew Stargate SG-1 until very late in season 6.  This episode was meant as a lead up to Stargate SG-1 movies to tie up the loose story ends.  As we now know, the SciFi Channel did renew Stargate SG-1 for additional seasons.

Her'ak (“The Other Guys”) returns as the First Prime of Anubis.  Her'ak is outmatched in every verbal spat with O'Neill, resulting in some amusing dialog.  Micheal Adamthwaite is very good as Her'ak.  The performances of the regular cast are excellent.  Anubis is a form in a lot of shiny, loose robes.  His voice and actions exude menace, but the outfit – not so much.

Failures:

There is one point where, out of the blue, Ascended Daniel Jackson makes an offer that has zero sense.  It's such a non sequitur moment that it causes a disconnect in the flow of the scene.  The rationale for the offer is explained later, but in that moment it is awkward.

Ascended Daniel Jackson is kind of cold-blooded, willfully trading some lives for others.

Stargate SG-1 Season 6, Episode 21

"Prophecy"

images used above are courtesy of Gateworld and MGM

Overall Rating:  Good

Commentary by:

William Waring – Director
Peter F. Woeste – Director of Photography
Rick Dean – Chief Lighting Technician

The commentary is interesting, and stays with what is on screen.

 

Review: 

SG-1 is off-world on P4S-237 sharing a meal with the folks living there.  Their leader, named Ellori, states that they live a hardscrabble life, working in mines for Ba'al (“Abyss”).  Carter says that they thought Ba'al abandoned P4S-237 about 100 years ago because there wasn't any more naquadah.  There isn't much, but Ellori's people scratch out what they can and give it to Ba'al's emissary, a Goa'uld named Mot.  Ellori seems to doubt that Mot is a god, but Chazen, another resident of the planet, pipes up that of course Mot is a god.  He says that at the very least, Mot has god-like destructive powers.  Very po-tay-toe, pa-tah-toe is Chazen.

During this chat, Jonas Quinn is looking a bit ill and wobbly.  Then, Jonas has a prophetic vision, which is proven true a few moments later.  Unaware of Jonas' vision, Ellari mentions that his people have an ancient prophecy that one day someone will travel to their world via the stargate and save the people of P4S-237 from their lot.  Roll credits on the episode title.  Things are getting a bit tense between pro-Mot Chazen and pro-not being enslaved Ellari when Jonas keels over and passes out.

Back at the SGC, Dr. Frasier cannot find anything conclusive that might be the source of Jonas' ailment.  There's mention of the possibility of it being related to naquadria, as in the past being around improperly shielded naquadria is shown to cause brain damage (“Shadow Play”).  More medical testing is needed, but for now Jonas seems to have recovered.

At a briefing, Carter shares the Tok'ra confirming Ba'al's abandonment of P4S-237 about 100 years ago, and he is not receiving naquadah shipments from there.  The general thought is Ba'al defeated Mot at some point in the past, and demoted Mot to lackey.  Mot is likely keeping P4S-237's naquadah for himself in hopes of overthrowing Ba'al one day.  SG-1 sees the situation as a chance to take down Mot, and free the people of P4S-237.  Since Ba'al and the other System Lords have the planet on their “not worth my time” list, there shouldn't be a problem with more Goa'ulds moving in after deposing Mot.  During the briefing, Jonas has another vision that later comes true.

This all happens before the opening credits finish rolling.

Dr. Frasier and other medical staff try to learn what is physiologically happening to Jonas, as his physical condition deteriorates with each vision.  Jonas thinks that whatever Nirrti did to him in “Metamorphosis” is the cause.  Considering that this episode's “previously on” is all about “Metamorphosis,” that seems likely.  Dr. Frasier discovers some sort of non-cancerous growth in Jonas' brain, and wants to operate.  Jonas wants to wait and see what his prophecies provide.  General Hammond agrees to let Jonas wait 24 hours before having the surgery, but does not clear Jonas for going off-world.

So, ¾ of SG-1 head to the gateroom, ready to go back to P4S-237 and see about taking down Mot. But, Jonas has another vision just before they gate out.  This time of a severely injured Carter.  General Hammond takes Carter off of the P4S-237 mission, just in case.  Teal'c, O'Neill, and SG-15 head off-world.  Jonas continues having periodic visions that he hopes will be of good use.  Until something happens that brings in to question the usefulness of Jonas' visions.  The first time he tried to change the future based on his visions didn't end well.  Things aren't going well for SG-15 and the ½ of SG-1 on P4S-237, either.

Everyone's acting performances are fine.  Victor Talmadge is very good as Mot, exuding a nice level of Goa'uld menace.  The regular cast performs well, with Corin Nemec's portrayal of an increasingly ill Jonas being the best.  The story is all right.  Jonas' prophetic ability overrode the other story in this episode, the situation on  P4S-237.  Carter and Jonas' discussions about seeing the future are mildly interesting.

Failures:

Nothing major.