The Stargate Franchise - A First Timer's Watchthrough

[tomalak301]

Secrets

I was wondering if we were ever going to see Shar'e again. It's been close to a season and a half and I'm glad they finally got us back to this storyline. I think this is the first time that SG1 has had a A and B plot that wasn't connected to each other and I enjoyed both. I loved the game changing revelations of the Shar'e plot, and it was nice to get the rest of the team out of SGC and in a different location. Carter's dad is a bit of a dick, but I can kind of understand where he was coming from, especially with the cancer reveal. As for the stuff with the reporter, that's a storyline worth following, even though I do think Hammond was the one driving the car. His emphatic "It was an Accident" kinda gave that away.

 

[tomalak301]

Bane

I wasn't going to say anything about this episode, but I was criticizing child actors today, and I liked Ally. It's a very 90s episode though with the super soaker but I'm glad Daniel and Teal'c visited her at the end. That was funny.

 

[Farscape One]

Spoiler: I'm not sure if this is really a spoiler, but just in case

I just realized Amanda Tapping and Christopher Judge are the only two regulars who were actually in every season.

Spoiler: Wel...

Credited as regular, yes. But Daniel appeared several times in season 6, and O'Neill appeared in the season 9 premiere and season 10's "THE SHROUD".

I guess I'm being too technical.

 

[tomalak301]

The Tok'ra

I'm so glad I tried to make it to these episodes as a form of Marathon, especially seeing Secrets and these two episodes together. After watching In the Line of Duty, I saw this two parter as a big one, even though I didn't know what to expect. I have to say it was a little obvious they would get Sam's father to be the new host, but how they did it was really well done, and there was no shooting or action at all. It was all story with a lot of heart, and it put a big smile on my face. Like I said about this show having a scientific curiousity, this two parter had a lot of emotional beats that hit the mark for me. We got answers to the Tok'ra, we got to know that Sam's father really is a good man after all, and the team made a new ally against the Goa'ld System lords. To be honest I'm excited for the war storyline that is coming. We are seeing this world expand and grow that the pay off will be excellent I think.

 

[Romulan_spy]

The Tok'ra

I'm so glad I tried to make it to these episodes as a form of Marathon, especially seeing Secrets and these two episodes together. After watching In the Line of Duty, I saw this two parter as a big one, even though I didn't know what to expect. I have to say it was a little obvious they would get Sam's father to be the new host, but how they did it was really well done, and there was no shooting or action at all. It was all story with a lot of heart, and it put a big smile on my face. Like I said about this show having a scientific curiousity, this two parter had a lot of emotional beats that hit the mark for me. We got answers to the Tok'ra, we got to know that Sam's father really is a good man after all, and the team made a new ally against the Goa'ld System lords. To be honest I'm excited for the war storyline that is coming. We are seeing this world expand and grow that the pay off will be excellent I think.

Learning more about the Tokra was great world-building. And yes, we are seeing SG1 slowly but surely finding allies that will eventually pay off later.

But two things about this episode that I also appreciated was seeing Jacob's reaction to the stargate for the first time and his talk with Selmak and he prepares himself for the blending. Jacob's reaction to the stargate is the audience's reaction. But the talk with Selmak was so informative because it gave us a very intimate view of what the blending is like. And it did a great job of exploring the implications. Jacob is a stand-in for the audience. He asks the same questions that the audience is asking.

 

[tomalak301]

Learning more about the Tokra was great world-building. And yes, we are seeing SG1 slowly but surely finding allies that will eventually pay off later.

But two things about this episode that I also appreciated was seeing Jacob's reaction to the stargate for the first time and his talk with Selmak and he prepares himself for the blending. Jacob's reaction to the stargate is the audience's reaction. But the talk with Selmak was so informative because it gave us a very intimate view of what the blending is like. And it did a great job of exploring the implications. Jacob is a stand-in for the audience. He asks the same questions that the audience is asking.

Yeah, and it made him a much more sympathetic character. In that 10 minutes, he got so much character development that once the blending happened, you were pretty much on board. That's pretty good writing.

 

[Farscape One]

And acting.

Unfortunately, I never got the chance to meet him before he passed away a while back.

 

[Romulan_spy]

Yeah, and it made him a much more sympathetic character. In that 10 minutes, he got so much character development that once the blending happened, you were pretty much on board. That's pretty good writing.

I think the reason Jacob comes across as so unsympathetic before in the episode "Secrets" is because he was ignorant of the Stargate program. So at that point, he is just your rigid career military man who mistakingly thinks that Carter is throwing away her career because he does not know about the Stargate program. Plus, he's dying so that affects his perspective. But once he learns about the Stargate and sees what amazing things Carter really is doing, all that disappointment and resentment goes away. He is in fact very proud of her. Plus, the blending mellows him out too. I think it is even mentioned in the episode that the Tokra symbiot's personality will affect the host in a good way. So Selmak is basically a companion that can help smooth out the rough edges in his personality.

 

[David cgc]

Jacob and Bra'tac are definitely my two favorite characters in the franchise. It's always a good time when one of them shows up in an episode.

 

[Farscape One]

Even better when both appear in the same episode.

 

[JD]

Spoiler: Wel...

Credited as regular, yes. But Daniel appeared several times in season 6, and O'Neill appeared in the season 9 premiere and season 10's "THE SHROUD".

I guess I'm being too technical.

Spoiler: same spoiler

Yeah, I should have been more specific, I meant were main credits regulars every season. I think pretty much everybody that left, made at least one or two appearances after they left.

 

[The Wormhole]

As for the stuff with the reporter, that's a storyline worth following, even though I do think Hammond was the one driving the car. His emphatic "It was an Accident" kinda gave that away.

Well, that's certainly an interesting interpretation I've never seen elsewhere. While everyone's generally in agreement the reporter getting run over was not in fact an accident, I don't think anyone's ever suggested it was Hammond driving the car. And personally, that seems a bit out of character for him.

Spoiler

Even taking into account later revelations regarding his dabbling with shady intelligence types.

Spoiler: same spoiler

Yeah, I should have been more specific, I meant were main credits regulars every season. I think pretty much everybody that left, made at least one or two appearances after they left.

Spoiler: related to that

It is worth mentioning that prior to the eighth season, Amanda Tapping and Christopher Judge were the only two actors to have appeared in every single episode. In the eighth season, they're both absent for Prometheus Unbound. Amanda Tapping later has a few more absences, mostly related to her maternity leave in season 9 and a few season 10 episodes she took off in order to film guest appearances on Atlantis, but I think Christopher Judge's only absences are Prometheus Unbound and season 10's The Road Not taken.

 

[David cgc]

Spoiler: related to that

It is worth mentioning that prior to the eighth season, Amanda Tapping and Christopher Judge were the only two actors to have appeared in every single episode. In the eighth season, they're both absent for Prometheus Unbound. Amanda Tapping later has a few more absences, mostly related to her maternity leave in season 9 and a few season 10 episodes she took off in order to film guest appearances on Atlantis, but I think Christopher Judge's only absences are Prometheus Unbound and season 10's The Road Not taken.

Spoiler: So deep down the road I'm not sure if this is still a spoiler

I remember hearing once that the producers could have Jack and Daniel, or Sam and Teal'c, in an episode of Atlantis or Universe, but generally avoided going beyond those pairs, because it meant they had to pay more royalties, since Jack and Daniel originated in the movie, and Sam and Teal'c came from the SG-1 pilot. I'm not sure entirely how that shakes out (for instance, Jack and Woolsey both guested on the same episode of Atlantis when neither were series regulars, but maybe the writer who was credited for Woolsey's first episode was on the Atlantis staff?) In any case, that explains why you saw those pairs visit the spin-offs a lot more than, say, Teal'c and Daniel, or Jack and Sam.

 

[The Wormhole]

Spoiler: So deep down the road I'm not sure if this is still a spoiler

I remember hearing once that the producers could have Jack and Daniel, or Sam and Teal'c, in an episode of Atlantis or Universe, but generally avoided going beyond those pairs, because it meant they had to pay more royalties, since Jack and Daniel originated in the movie, and Sam and Teal'c came from the SG-1 pilot. I'm not sure entirely how that shakes out (for instance, Jack and Woolsey both guested on the same episode of Atlantis when neither were series regulars, but maybe the writer who was credited for Woolsey's first episode was on the Atlantis staff?) In any case, that explains why you saw those pairs visit the spin-offs a lot more than, say, Teal'c and Daniel, or Jack and Sam.

Spoiler

Except weren't there SGU episodes that did have Jack and Sam, or even Jack, Daniel and Sam?

 

[tomalak301]

I have a question that might sound like the most basic Babylon 5 question. Is there a function for each SG team on this series. I know SG-1 is the main group (You wouldn't have a show otherwise) but I hear a lot about SG-9, SG-11 and so on. What about SG-3, through SG-8. I mean for an underground bunker, how big is that staff?

*The reason I compare this to the B-5 question is because that question is basically what happened to Babylon's 1-4 (Which that series explains in the first season, SG-1 I'm still confused on the functionality of the base).

 

[tomalak301]

Well, that's certainly an interesting interpretation I've never seen elsewhere. While everyone's generally in agreement the reporter getting run over was not in fact an accident, I don't think anyone's ever suggested it was Hammond driving the car. And personally, that seems a bit out of character for him.

I am probably very wrong on that assumption, but the way he said "It was an...accident" made me really suspicious, not to mention his demeanor throughout the episode. You're right it probably is out of character, but I've learned watching this show how secretive they all have to be to make sure it never gets out.

 

[Farscape One]

I have a question that might sound like the most basic Babylon 5 question. Is there a function for each SG team on this series. I know SG-1 is the main group (You wouldn't have a show otherwise) but I hear a lot about SG-9, SG-11 and so on. What about SG-3, through SG-8. I mean for an underground bunker, how big is that staff?

*The reason I compare this to the B-5 question is because that question is basically what happened to Babylon's 1-4 (Which that series explains in the first season, SG-1 I'm still confused on the functionality of the base).

There are some SG teams that have specialty in certain fields, such as search and rescue. While all are jack-of-all-trades and explorers, most have full on experts in one or two kinds of scenarios.

I think you have already seen him so far, but one SG team leader is Colonel Makepeace, and his team is composed fully of marines.

 

[tomalak301]

Touchstone

Always love a good conspiracy and this episode provided that, but because there isn't really much to say I wanted to say something about Colonel Maybourne. He's a swarmy villain this season and I actually like him. He's a good foil for Jack and it's just always fun watching them trade jabs. I also appreciated we got an update on the second stargate and again, this season is really about paying off stuff from the first season and just expanding the mythos. Half way through this season already and I do like it more than the first.

 

[Romulan_spy]

Touchstone

Always love a good conspiracy and this episode provided that, but because there isn't really much to say I wanted to say something about Colonel Maybourne. He's a swarmy villain this season and I actually like him. He's a good foil for Jack and it's just always fun watching them trade jabs. I also appreciated we got an update on the second stargate and again, this season is really about paying off stuff from the first season and just expanding the mythos. Half way through this season already and I do like it more than the first.

Your next episode is "The Fifth Race". It's another great episode with a lot of cool world-building. And it introduces a lot of elements that will be super important later in the series.

 

[Silvercrest]

There are some SG teams that have specialty in certain fields, such as search and rescue. While all are jack-of-all-trades and explorers, most have full on experts in one or two kinds of scenarios.

I think you have already seen him so far, but one SG team leader is Colonel Makepeace, and his team is composed fully of marines.

Apparently SG-9 (from "Prisoners") is some kind of diplomatic unit and their leader, Major Kovacek, is an attorney.