Asgard
Episode 109 Revelations
Life without Daniel is tough on SG1, while Sam deals with the loss aimlessly walking around Daniels old lab an unexpected visitor arrives and in time honoured fashion circumvents all the safe guards in place to protect the SGC. Yes Freya from the Asgard is paying them a visit with news that Thor has been killed by the Goauld but assistance is required to protect a secret lab on the planet Thor had been protecting and it’s vital to the Asgard. Jack jumps at the chance knowing that the best way to get over the loss of Daniel is to throw themselves back into the job so off they go in a captured cargo ship and on arrival are ringed into the secret lab. It’s there the experiment into the genetic manipulation of the Asgard race is being done by Heimdall a younger Asgard and a 100% CGI creation which allows some wonderful shots to be produced for this episode. The tension escalates when Anubis arrives to take over the interrogation from Osiris of the captured Asgard while SG1 put together a rescue plan whilst knowing they will eventually be discovered.
Osiris faces down Thor
Revelations the season 5 finale is epic on many counts, the first win for the Goa’uld against the Asgard in open battle must send shockwaves through both camps for different reasons and the loss of Thor even more so but even worse Anubis captures Thor and is able to pretty much drain the knowledge out of his brain opening up even more possibilities. The CGI in this episode from the wonderful Heimdall (Voiced by Teryl Rothery) to the beautiful starships in orbit around the planet is top notch and the skill required to merge CGI and live action in the lab is a major achievement on a TV budget, there are truly some beautiful and clever shots.
Assume the position!
Puppets, CGI, Green screen, Real people
In hindsight the lack of an uber cliffhanger makes a lot of sense as the show was leaving Showtime and moving to the Scifi channel (as it was then) and while at times show runners/studios seem to delight in sticking it to their fans this time Showtime viewers got a good send off. I’m not sure in this day and age if a show moved then they wouldn’t try to maximise the impact of a finale but they would certainly not miss the opportunity to make sure the viewers knew a former much loved character always had a chance to return.
Everything will be just fine, trust me:)
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Episode 106 Menace
The last survivor of a long gone race of people is found in some form of stasis in a very sleeping beauty pose but her true being is soon discovered upon returning to the SGC and when she regains conciousness the questions are asked and mysteries revealed. Faced once again with a conflict between extreme power and a lack of awareness and restraint the relationship between Reese and the SGC in particular Daniel who works point quickly collapses and all hell breaks loose, the result is inevitable despite the heart felt pleas of Daniel for a humane resolution.
Menace is another one of the episodes which could be taken as a standalone episode but they weave in long standing arc elements especially in terms of the nemesis of the Asgard whose influence in the Human/Goa’uld sphere has always been restricted by events in their home galaxy. It’s probably convenient that a solution appears just as the Asgard are facing a critical time in their war and to add fuel to the fire the rise of Anubis is ramping up the threat level.
Beauty and the Beast?
One thing that may be surprising is that even though the basic plot is fairly simple and straight forward the episode packs in an awful lot of character interaction and action. The General and Janet get some good screen time and the dynamic between Reese and SG1 is strong with Daniel being the strongest and it’s their relationship which first builds trust and empathy and could have held it all together but eventually Reese’s lack of err maturity and the ease she can react to perceived slights brings down the house of cards. Danielle Nicolet who plays Reese carries off the innocence and then fury easily and developed strong chemistry with Michael Shanks which made the episode work, without that “warmth” the coldness that came later would have less impact and her fate less devastating.
Storm Troopers have nothing on this army!
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Episode 104 Fail Safe
The Earth is doomed yet again as a rogue asteroid hurtles towards the planet and we have days left to live, not even Bruce could swing this one unless Dean Devlin decided to use this plot for a theatrical remake. The Tokra are in no position to help us having been more or less wiped out last week and surprisingly the Asgard refuse due to the protected planets treaty and no proof this is not a natural disaster. As luck would have it the crashed Teltak on Revanna is flyable with a little work from the tech guys from Area 51 and the SGC and armed with a Naquadah enhanced nuke SG1 make their way back to Earth to destroy the asteroid before it’s too late. Then the fun begins as the ship is crippled leaving SG1 stranded on the asteroid along with the nuke and a 2 hour countdown then the discovery of the composition of the rock proves the Goauld are responsible and the explosion will take out the solar system. They’re doomed:)
Fail Safe is a stand alone episode but ties in at least in terms of consequence from the events in Last Stand as Anubis promised the System Lords he could remove the Earth from the galactic equation. The lack of help also reflects the demise of the Tok’ra as a power and casts a question over the Asgard who are bound by the treaty but again without Thor may not be as enamoured with us.
Things to do today, Die!
Fail Safe comes along with some very tasty CGI and matt/green screen work, yes the scenes with Jack and Teal’c in suits (very good suits) walking in slow mo on the asteroid are difficult to make realistic on a TV budget but the rest looks fantastic. I assume the lack of significant guest stars and no location shooting meant more of the budget could be put towards the CGI work required to make this episode work despite splurging cash on the last episode especially. While it is a standalone episode there are certainly threads worth following in terms of the Asgard, Tok’ra and Anubis which shows the writers are on their game so close to the season finale.
I can see my house.
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Episode 92 Red Sky
Perhaps there are some things you should not tamper with without the complete specs or instruction manuals but the lack there of does not stop the SGC from over riding lock out protocols on the gate and dialing. The results don’t seem too bad until minutes after arriving on Ktau the sun turns red casting the world into shadow and pretty much heralding the end times to the inhabitants who honour the Asgard created mythology.
Red Sky is a standalone episode which draws on the existing canon in regards to the gate system and the Asgard and certainly echos the season 1 episode “Thors Hammer” which is never a bad thing. We get to meet some more of Thor’s people and the Asgard puppets are getting really good with some top notch facial expressions most of which anyone who talks to Jack for any length of time would recognise.
Tough Crowd
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Episode 61 Shades Of Grey
Jack goes off the deep end and steals some Tollan technology after diplomatic discussions fail to provide the Earth with more advanced technology. Faced with alienating the Tollan the device is returned and Jack is allowed to save face (and jail time) by resigning but after a week he is already bored and then gets an interesting offer.
Shades Of Grey follows on from the events in Pretense and as before the Tollan are reluctant to provide advanced technologies to other races in fear of the use they will be put to even if by default they are not military hardware. They have a valid point but events which first began back in Touchstone as Earth humans are operating behind the backs of the SGC and maybe the results they get are not worth risking the goodwill of worlds the SGC (well SG1) have encountered. A third episode is even touched on as Jack requests retirement to the planet Edora (100 Days) which in context makes a lot of sense for the character.
Shades Of Grey is not the beginning of the political or third party faction arc which runs throughout most of the mid series season but it is significant as we see a well organised and effective group exploiting the work of the SGC. This situation will expand greatly over the next few seasons and thankfully the series never gets itself to embedded with the hard drama, they always keep it accessible for fans while adding a new angle to the show.
Not quite SG1
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Episode 49 Point Of View
Area 51 has unexpected guests thank to the Quantum Mirror as Sam and Kawalsky visit our reality from theirs which is being invaded by Apophis and his first prime Tealc. Tip toeing around the realities of merging two different lives proves difficult for both new Sam (married to her Jack) and Kawalsky (distrust of Tealc) but a chance to save their world by returning and calling for Asgard help is worth the risk.
Jay Acovone played Kawalsky
Peter Williams as Apophis
Evil goatee wearing Teal'c
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Nuclear Hurricane is the movie which featured Erin Grey and Gil Gerard together again.
Bonus Episode Gatecast/GWC
This week we have a special episode from our friends over at Galactic Watercooler.
Chuck, Sean and Audra have covered the Stargate franchise in their podcast and recently did 1969 as part of a time travel mini arc so for something different they recorded an hour on the first two seasons which provides a different perspective to the show, it’s always about opinions folks.
The Gatecast returns to our usual programme next week with the season 3 premiere “Into The Fire”.
Episode 37 The Fifth Race
SG1 gate into a enclosed room with nothing but a gate and a dhd. On walking over a circle on the floor a device emerges from a wall and Jack looks inside and promptly collapses. Upon waking he seems fine but slowly starts substituting latin sounding words for english and bit by bit his mind is over taken by the alien devices effects.
The rest you have to watch because it’s a great series arc cornerstone episode and my personal favourite of this season and pretty darn close to the best of the series.
Stephen sent us feedback, groovy (getting ready for watching 1969).
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