The Stargate Franchise - A First Timer's Watchthrough

[David cgc]

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The Stargate people saw that and gave Pierre a couple of cameos, once as a Gate Tech...

Spoiler: 200

...and once as a zombiefied Gate Tech who was shot by Daniel Jackson's slightly more angular, southern-accented clone, Cameron Mitchell.

Oh, that reminds me, when we get close to season nine, we'll have to talk about the Stargate/Farscape publicity-shot meme that was going around so tomalak301 is in on the joke when it happens.

The Changeling

Holy Crap. [/spoiler]

I mentioned in a spoiler up-thread that I particularly enjoyed the revelation that Teal'c greatest fear was that Apophis actually is God and is going to send him to Hell when he dies.

I was a little confused about the title though. What did they call this episode Changeling? Maybe it's the Trekkie in me, but I hear that terms and think Shapeshifter. Teal'c was drifting in between dreams here so maybe that is "loosely" the same kind of thing?

In mythology and folklore, the fairy folk would sometimes kidnap children and replace them with a duplicate, called a changeling, who acted differently despite appearing to be identical. I've heard speculation the myth might've arisen in response to what we now know as Autism, to explain how a young child who appears to be growing up typically suddenly begins behaving unusually.

The title is probably referring to how Teal'c can't tell which of his lives is the real one, and which is the metaphorical changeling child.

 

[bigdaddy]

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Jason

Is that from THE YEAR 2000 or 2020? Seems like the same BS is going on. However now the recliner would actually be from his living room.

 

[DonIago]

The Changeling

Holy Crap.

That episode was freaking incredible. You spend the entire episode wondering what is real and what isn't and then the big climax hits and you just want to give Teal'c a big hug because he's a fucking hero. I've brought up Buffy The Vampire Slayer a number of times in this thread, and part of the reason why I wanted to do this thread was because I really enjoyed watching and talking about Buffy last year. Well, this episode reminded me of one of my favorite season 6 episodes of Buffy called "Normal Again". In that episode, Buffy is trapped not knowing what her reality is, either a normal teenage girl didn't have a Sister but both her parents were alive, or the life of a Vampire Slayer, where she just lost her mom and has Dawn. It's that theme of what is real and what isn't that has come up in that show, this one, and some other sci fi shows and I think it's a theme that always works.

Christopher Judge shined in this episode, and I would say this was his best work on the show. He's been great as Teal'c, but I feel sometimes the range for Judge to really stretch out isn't really that wide. Here he was able to really pull in so many emotions and I was gripped going on that journey with him.

Then we get to the end where we find out the reason for the Hallucinations and it was basically an ambush where he was trying to keep Bra'tac alive via the symbiote. That calls back to the 5th season episode Threshold where we learned how close they both were. Then, if that isn't enough we get a call back to probably my (second now) favorite episode of this season, Cure and the Tritonen and the real possibility that Teal'c doesn't even need Junior anymore. When I started this thread, I asked the question what happens when the Symbiote matures. Well, it looks like this episode gave the answer and it was already established thanks to the Tok'ra Queen. I also liked the use of Daniel Jackson here, which was similar to what happened with him and Jack in Abyss, and the commonality there was Jack and Teal'c are both are having near death experiences. Daniel Jackson is a guardian angel.

This season has been rocking it, but this episode was amazing.

I was a little confused about the title though. What did they call this episode Changeling? Maybe it's the Trekkie in me, but I hear that terms and think Shapeshifter. Teal'c was drifting in between dreams here so maybe that is "loosely" the same kind of thing?

To make it even more impressive, I believe Christopher Judge (actor who plays Teal'c), wrote and/or directed that episode. Probably wrote, not directed.

 

[tomalak301]

To make it even more impressive, I believe Christopher Judge (actor who plays Teal'c), wrote and/or directed that episode. Probably wrote, not directed.

If he directed that, I'm impressed because he was in every single scene. It was written by Judge, directed by Martin Wood.

 

[tomalak301]

Memento

Another good episode, this one not as good as Changeling, but nice all the same. I don't really know what to say about it though, other than I like Robert Foxworth (Star Trek guest star in 4 episodes) and I like the idea of humans asking for help from a civilization while showing them what their history might have been like and revealing that yes they do in fact have a Stargate. It was an episode about the fear of the unknown and standing up to that fear. I hope we see the Targarins again.

 

[DonIago]

One thing that bothered me about "Memento" was that this was the point where I decided that Prometheus was about as reliable as the holodecks.

 

[David cgc]

One thing that bothered me about "Memento" was that this was the point where I decided that Prometheus was about as reliable as the holodecks.

As it well should be. It's still technically an X-Plane, after all.

 

[fireproof78]

As it well should be. It's still technically an X-Plane, after all.

Exactly. It's human tech retrofitted with a bunch of alien tech not fully understood. Why in the world would it operate perfectly?

 

[tomalak301]

Prophecy, Full Circle, End of Season 6

Well, I did it. 7 (Maybe more) episodes of Stargate on a quarenteen Sunday (I did other things too). That was a hell of a marathon to finish the season.

Prophecy was another great episode. Jonas experiences premonitions of an ambush that will happen on a world that wants to get out from Ba'al's power. I liked the discussions Sam and Jonas had about predetermined futures and how in a way they had done what the Ancients foretolled. In a way it was kinda like DS9's Destiny, where they weren't trying to fulfill the destiny but it happened anyway. I'm glad Jonas had one more episode to be the star before the finale.

So many things happened in Full Circle. The plot with Anubis came to ahead and we got our first mention of the Lost City, which gives me an indication that Season 7 will probably be setting up Stargate: Atlantis. I'm so excited to have come to this point, and I did it in 4 weeks. Anyway, it was great to see Skarra again, learn about the role of ascension, finally get more revelations about Anubis that he found out how to ascend but the Ancients would not have it but only de-cended part of him, which is why he's energy and the black mask hides his true nature. I'm now understanding why the writers took so long to reveal Anubis fully, because in a sense he and Daniel are connected. I also liked Daniel's role, how Oma is watching and he can't interfere but almost does anyway. I know Shanks comes back in Season 7 so I'm excited to see how exactly that happens.

I think I've made my opinions pretty much clear, but Season 6 was an outstanding year. I almost feel like I was undersold this season, but I think it was for the best because Season 4 was somewhat disappointing, Season 5 felt like a righting of the ship, and Season 6 feels like Stargate in it's prime. I was looking at the episode listing again, and these were self contained episodes but that advanced these characters and these arcs in so many ways. In fact, I know we will never get back to the 22 episode season on streaming services, and that's disappointing to me because in a 20-22 episode season, what you don't advance in story you can advance in characters. We got to be introduced to Jonas this year, a character who came in as a replacement but held his own all the way through. We got some great stuff with Jack, now being known throughout the galaxy and having a bit of a reputation. We got more on Teal'c and Bra'tac, and the relations between the Tok'ra and the Jaffa rebels. Also, and I think this is the biggest thing, Earth is starting to find it's equal footing in the galaxy. They went through the gate, made friends, and picked up technologies to make them formidable against the Goa'uld.

There really was so much that happened in Season 6 that it is hard to do a top 5. I'll instead do a top 6

Changeling - Everything in this episode came together to make it so freaking amazing. I also think this will be Judge's best episode when all is said and done, and if I'm wrong, well I'm more excited for the final 4 seasons.

Cure - An episode about forgiveness and finding out the personal side of the Tok'ra

Full Circle - This episode brought back the Anubis plot in a big way and opened the door to Season 7 and maybe Stargate Atlantis. Also, I hope Yu isn't dead. I kinda like him

Abyss - Probably Jack's best episode this season

Smoke and Mirrors - I think I'm starting to like the Kinsey plot because of this episode. The guy is still a bastard though

Allegiance - If Humanity has allies, those allies need to work together. That's what this episode was about, the Tok'ra and Jaffa coming to common ground.

 

[Farscape One]

I've always loved season 6.

When I met Corin Nemec, I told him how much he brought to the table and he really did earn his place. (Jack even said he was needed at the end of "PROPHECY".)

I seem to really love the sixth season of shows... TNG, DS9, SUPERNATURAL, AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D., STARGATE SG-1.

 

[tomalak301]

Fallen & Homecoming

I might have overdone the whole binge watching thing. I should have known the Season 7 premiere was a two part episode, but I'm glad I stayed up to complete this story. That was a hell of a start to season 7. Jackson is back and he lost his memory (I hope that is a mystery of the season as to why but it looks like he's slowly getting it back), we had some spectacular space scenes flying around Anubis's ship, we had some fun interplay between Jackson and Jonas, and I did read a spoiler earlier about Jonas's fate, and no I don't think he got Pulaski-ed. I think this was a fine farewell for the guy and he can take everything he's learned from the year he was with SG-1 and maybe point his planet in the right direction. I hope we see him again for a Kelownan update in the future. I was close to right on Yu. He's still alive but he's not well, and it looks like Ba'al will be the main System Lord to go up against Anubis moving forward.

Excellent start to Season 7, and I think I'm done with SG1 for the night.

 

[Farscape One]

Season 7 had a lot of two-parters... this one, "EVOLUTION", "HEROES", "LOST CITY".

Great ones, though.

 

[Romulan_spy]

I was a little confused about the title though. Why did they call this episode Changeling? Maybe it's the Trekkie in me, but I hear that terms and think Shapeshifter. Teal'c was drifting in between dreams here so maybe that is "loosely" the same kind of thing?

The dictionary definition of "changeling" is:
"a child believed to have been secretly substituted by fairies for the parents' real child in infancy".

So the title "the changeling" might be referring to Teal'c's symbiote that is being transferred back and forth between Teal'c and Bratac. The symbiote is like a child, so the symbiote is the changeling.

 

[Romulan_spy]

Jackson is back and he lost his memory (I hope that is a mystery of the season as to why but it looks like he's slowly getting it back)

Yes, they will explain the memory loss.

 

[bigdaddy]

Season 6 is probably my favorite season, season 7 is probably my least favorite.

 

[Romulan_spy]

As mentioned before, season 7 has some really great two parters. I hope this is ok. Here is my non-spoiler preview for the rest of season 7.

Fragile Balance
Fun episode

Orpheus
Fantastic Tealc and Bratak episode

Revisions
Standalone episode with a neat scifi concept.

Lifeboat
Well told and well written scifi story. Amazing performance by Michael Shanks.

Enemy Mine
Revisits the Unas arc with some good moments.

Space Race
Stargate does Voyager's "Drive". Enough said.

Avengers 2.0
Fun episode

Birthright
A Jaffa episode with a special guest star from Enterprise

Evolution Part 1 & 2
Great two parter full of action. Stargate does Indiana Jones.

Grace
Standalone episode with some nice moments

Fallout
A sequel to Homecoming.

Chimera
Loved this one. I did not care for the B plot but the A plot with Daniel is great.

Death Knell
Great episode with lots of action.

Heroes Part 1 & 2
WOW. That is all I will say.

Resurrection
Honestly don't remember this one very well. I think it was good. Continues the NID arc.

Inauguration
Clip show

Lost City Part 1 & 2
The season arc comes to an epic and amazing conclusion.

 

[Farscape One]

Good quick take on the season.

My favorites are "FALLEN", "HOMECOMING", "FRAGILE BALANCE", "ORPHEUS", "LIFEBOAT", "ENEMY MINE", "DEATH KNELL", "HEROES" 1 and 2, and "LOST CITY" 1 and 2.

 

[JD]

This was where I started watching, and I was pretty much hooked right from that point on.

 

[bigdaddy]

So I'm the only one who dislikes season 7? I'll go into why after Tomalak watches it.

 

[tomalak301]

Fragile Balance

I guess it was inevitable that Loki would show up. I've been so hesitant to bring up the MCU in this thread considering Stargate and Iron Man are only about 5 years a part at this point in the series, but every time I heard Thor and Asgard I kept thinking about the MCU and Chris Hemsworth showing up. Yes, it's dumb, but here we are. I've had a thing against child actors on this series, but I thought the guy who played young Jack did a pretty good job. There was only one scene I didn't like and it's more modern day sensibilities than anything else, and that was the briefing room scene, where the white guys would rather hear what a kid says because he is Jack O'neill rather than what Samantha says even though she flew on the second mission of the 302. Also, I have a question. When Thor cured young jack, did he erase the memories of the SGC and basically Jack's life? I mean isn't that a little dangerous to send him to High School (With all the girls) with all the classified Stargate knowledge. I think it would have been nice if they had addressed that little part of the story. It was still a pretty fun episode though.