The Stargate Franchise - A First Timer's Watchthrough

[Silvercrest]

Seth

Decent episode, but I thought the best part was Teal'c's joke that no one got. Judge's delivery of that was hilarious. As for the rest, always fun to see Sam and Jacob bond together and we met another Goa'uld system lord. That's two system lords killed in two episodes in a row.

I always wondered why one else thought the joke was funny!
I was also amused by the description of Setesh's compound as "about halfway between Seattle and Vancouver" ... which is where I'm located. In fact, there used to be a slightly-controversial commune located here, and it's possible that someone was taking a jab at it.
However, I never quite understood why it was so important that the gang rush off and hunt down Setesh RIGHT NOW URGENT URGENT URGENT when it was implied the guy's been stuck here for thousands of years.
So:
As mentioned in the past, for a number of years I've been running a tabletop RPG set in the Stargate universe. For this, I explained that the Tok'ra had discovered that someone was running a grassroots movement on many worlds that threatened to overthrow all the System Lords — but they couldn't figure out who was doing it or where they were based. Our adventurers were able to hunt down one of the group's cells and discovered the Setesh symbol. That told the Tok'ra who, and also gave them an idea as to where ... leading into the events of this episode. Setesh had plenty of offworld contacts and wasn't stuck here at all; he was just biding his time until he could really mess things up.

In that same game I also showed how the Tok'ra first got hold of the Atanik, err, devices. (Avoiding spoilers for Season 4.03.)

 

[DonIago]

According to them it was basically Shanks getting a little bored with just playing the scientist all the time and that he was taking on a few different roles just so he could be challenged, which was why in Legacy he was taking on the role of the voice of Mach'ello. Like I said I'm not sure how reliable this is (I guess it's on the special features and fans of the series would have better sources than I do) but that's what I heard.

This might (or might not) track with events to come.

 

[tomalak301]

Learning Curve

That was a very interesting and sci fi story about extremely smart children who spread their knowledge through nanites to the rest of society. I do wonder though, what happens to these children after the oviriuum. Do they relearn everything so when they become adult age they can function in society? I mean we only saw the father as an adult but how do the adults function normally. I did like Mirrin's relationship with Carter and I do wonder if Jack was in the wrong. You can't push your values on another society, even though it ended up working out in the end. As much as the prime directive in Star Trek is abused in extreme situations, I wonder what if this episode was a Star Trek episode and Jack did what he did. He probably should have been court martialed.

 

[jbny67]

which was why in Legacy he was taking on the role of the voice of Mach'ello.

More that just the voice.
He is Mach'ello.

 

[tomalak301]

More that just the voice.
He is Mach'ello.

The credits listed him as the voice of Mach'ello, but ok. Thank you for clarifying.

 

[thribs]

I'm watching 1969, and Jack O'neill just referred himself as Captain James T Kirk. Stargate and Star Trek, and now Star Wars coming together in matrimony.

He does that a lot. Just wait till you get to Prometheus.

 

[Romulan_spy]

I do wonder though, what happens to these children after the oviriuum. Do they relearn everything so when they become adult age they can function in society?

That was addressed in the episode. The oviriuum removes the nanites from the children and is distributed to the adults but this causes the children to become dumb and regress back to infants. Dr. Fraiser mentions at one point that by implanting the nanites at such a young age, before the brain is formed, it prevents the brain from forming naturally, so when they remove the nanites, it's like taking pieces of the brain out. It's the nanites that give the children their ability to learn so quickly. We also see the child who was friends with Tealc after the oviriuum and he no longer remembers who Tealc is. And I think the father says that they don't bother trying to teach the children after the oviriuum since they have fulfilled their purpose, but that the children are well taken care for.

So this is actually one of the big issues with this episode. This society is essentially using their children as hard drives to store information and then dumping the information when they get full, leaving the children as empty shells afterwards, like a discarded hard drive that you don't need anymore. SG1, especially Jack, considers this morally repulsive. That is why Jack takes the girl outside to try to teach her to play and have fun.

You bring up a good point about Star Trek. This episode did feel like a classic TOS or TNG episode in a lot of ways. It is essentially the scifi trope where the main characters discover a planet that harbors some secret that raises some big ethical dilemma. And the main characters have to wrestle with whether to accept the society's perceived unethical culture or try to change them. We saw that same trope in a lot of Trek episodes.

 

[tomalak301]

So this is actually one of the big issues with this episode. This society is essentially using their children as hard drives to store information and then dumping the information when they get full, leaving the children as empty shells afterwards, like a discarded hard drive that you don't need anymore. SG1, especially Jack, considers this morally repulsive. That is why Jack takes the girl outside to try to teach her to play and have fun.

I agree, it was repulsive, from our point of view. I'm still not sure if I agree with letting Jack off the hook though.

Point of View

Another quantum mirror episode, and we finally can get some more Carter/Jack love, even if it was an alternate reality of Carter. I really liked this one, even though it seemed a little too easy to repower the asguard power generator. I really did wish they would have written Kawalsky back into the series, maybe as head of one of the other SG teams. I also liked Carter with the longer hair.

 

[tomalak301]

Deadman's Switch

This episode was unique. It was fun, but I'm not sure if it amounted to anything. It felt like a recap of what we know, with a pretty good guest character to add some levity to the show. The deeper the episode got, the more I actually liked Aris, but I was disappointed we couldn't actually see Sokar.

I haven't mentioned this a lot, but since I don't have much to say about this episode I want to talk about RDA. I think watching Stargate makes me want to watch McGuyver one of these days. I had seen maybe 2 or 3 episodes, but that was so long ago. I love him here as Jack. The dialoge actually reminds me a little of Joss Whedon, maybe a little more child like. He's reactions to everything is hilarious and he's so laid back. It's fun everytime Jack speaks.

 

[USS Firefly]

The dialoge actually reminds me a little of Joss Whedon, maybe a little more child like. He's reactions to everything is hilarious and he's so laid back. It's fun everytime Jack speaks.

Yeah me too.
It's a shame there isn't a SG1 quote book, I love Jack's interaction with everyone.

 

[John Clark]

Yeah me too.
It's a shame there isn't a SG1 quote book, I love Jack's interaction with everyone.

I could have sworn there was one, but I've just looked and the one I'm thinking off is more an episode guide (not complete) that usually just has a quote per episode in rather than the Trek one we got which was exclusively quotes.

(The one I was thinking of was Beyond The Gate by Keith Topping)

 

[tomalak301]

Demons

I wasn't a fan of this episode. It was boring and in the last two episodes I miss what is going on at SGC and General Hammond. Also, is it just me or is the kindness and compassion of the SG1 team getting them into more trouble than it's worth. If Voyager has a cliche of too many shuttles, I think SG1 has the cliche of getting captured too much.

There was a classic Jack O'neill thing here, which goes back to what I said last night. That Dr. Evil reference with the "Or something" was funny.

 

[DonIago]

^I had to read the synopsis of the episode, and if I ever even saw it (and I have the whole series on DVD, so...), I have absolutely no recollection of it.

 

[Romulan_spy]

Demons

I wasn't a fan of this episode. It was boring and in the last two episodes I miss what is going on at SGC and General Hammond. Also, is it just me or is the kindness and compassion of the SG1 team getting them into more trouble than it's worth. If Voyager has a cliche of too many shuttles, I think SG1 has the cliche of getting captured too much.

There was a classic Jack O'neill thing here, which goes back to what I said last night. That Dr. Evil reference with the "Or something" was funny.

"Demons" is one of the weaker episodes of Season 3. Every season has to have at least 1 meh episode. But you are just 2 eps away from "Forever and a Day" which is fantastic episode.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I like Deadman Switch a lot, but it feels anticlimactic that they get him to have a change of heart instead of outsmarting him. The first 3/4 of the episode are great though.

 

[tomalak301]

"Demons" is one of the weaker episodes of Season 3. Every season has to have at least 1 meh episode. But you are just 2 eps away from "Forever and a Day" which is fantastic episode.

I might be able to get to the two parter today. Don’t want to overdue it but where else do I need to be?

 

[Romulan_spy]

I might be able to get to the two parter today. Don’t want to overdue it but where else do I need to be?

Oh, the two parter, "Jolinar's memories" and "the devil you know" is epic.

 

[tomalak301]

Forever in a Day

I've been waiting for an episode to make me say wow. The last few have been kinda boring, or merely just average. This episode might be the best use I've seen of the reset button since DS9's The Visitor. It brings a conclusion to the Sha're arc, lets us and Daniel Jackson say goodbye, and gives Daniel a new mission to stay with SG-1. I've felt the series has been a little on the meandering side but this new plot development, going to find the son who contains all the knowledge of the Goa'uld, gives the series some direction again. This episode was really needed this season and it came at the right time. It's also going into my top 5 when I reach the end, unless the second half of the season is out of this world amazing. I'm sure there are great episodes to come, but I'm going ahead and saying this was the best episode of the season so far.

 

[Romulan_spy]

Forever in a Day

I've been waiting for an episode to make me say wow. The last few have been kinda boring, or merely just average. This episode might be the best use I've seen of the reset button since DS9's The Visitor. It brings a conclusion to the Sha're arc, lets us and Daniel Jackson say goodbye, and gives Daniel a new mission to stay with SG-1. I've felt the series has been a little on the meandering side but this new plot development, going to find the son who contains all the knowledge of the Goa'uld, gives the series some direction again. This episode was really needed this season and it came at the right time. It's also going into my top 5 when I reach the end, unless the second half of the season is out of this world amazing. I'm sure there are great episodes to come, but I'm going ahead and saying this was the best episode of the season so far.

I've been waiting for you to review this episode. "Forever in a Day" is a fantastic episode. It is definitely one of the best of the entire series. I love how we get to see Daniel and Sha're experience all that time together but it really all takes place in the span of a few seconds when he is under the hand held device. It reminds me of TNG's Inner Light where Picard experienced a lifetime in a blink of an eye.

The episode also has so many good character moments. The scenes with Tealc and Daniel are great. And Sha're funeral is very moving with the myth of the deceased's soul going to "heaven" if their soul weighs less than a feather (I hope I am remembering that right).

And yes, the episode gives new purpose to Daniel. And what a purpose! No spoilers but the episode "Maternal Instinct" that comes towards the end of this season is a sequel to this episode and is a really important episode in Daniel's arc.

 

[tomalak301]

The episode also has so many good character moments. The scenes with Tealc and Daniel are great. And Sha're funeral is very moving with the myth of the deceased's soul going to "heaven" if their soul weighs less than a feather (I hope I am remembering that right).

Yeah. Both scenes you mention were great. This was a very character driven episode, which is what this show is really good at.