Welcome to the bonus episode and a small review of an SG1 novel. Trial by Fire written by Sabine C Bauer is the first SG1 novel I’ve read and it’s existence is very much inline with the highly successful Pocket Books series of Trek paperbacks. I’m not sure if we’ll squeeze another show in during the holiday period especially since the next release date is Christmas Day but we are returning in the new year and that will be with the season 4 premiere “Small Victories”.
Some sad but not unexpected news for fans of the more adult and harder edged science fiction drama. In the end the move to Tuesday and corresponding drop in “live” viewing figures regardless of good DVR and streamed viewing makes you wonder if Syfy were looking to dump perhaps their most expensive scripted show. Given the demise of Caprica they have certainly freed up a huge amount of cash and no offence to the creators of Haven or Eureka but they are far cheaper shows to produce.
We wrap up Gatecast’s season 3 with a general overview of the third SG1 season with our guest Stephen who has been a listener and provided feedback during the year. Many thanks to him and others who have commented on the show/episodes be it via Facebook, Email, Skype, Twitter or directly on this website, it’s always good to know someone is listening:)
Each of the third season episodes are discussed briefly and the results of the poll announced and once again thanks to all those that voted, we increased the participation when compared to the season 2 poll and that is most welcome.
I’m not sure at this time if there will be another Gatecast episode released in 2010, we all have lots to do over the next few weeks so for now have a happy holiday and a better 2011.
SG1 are on vacation but before Jack can go fishing he his transported away into orbit by Thor who has a rather pressing problem on board his flagship and if it’s not solved then the Earth itself could be in peril. Hammond doesn’t listen and sends Tealc and Sam (Daniel was recovering from surgery) upto the ship with a plan to save the day but the results open up a whole new can of worms on Earth.
Nemesis was an excellent season finale, yes it’s cliffhanger time but it’s a cracker with the fate of SG1, Thor and even the Earth in the balance. The episode features some very good special effects and CGI work as well good puppeteering for Thor when he is required to be there rather than as CGI. The introduction of Russian involvement or more to the point not being able to pull the wool over everyones eyes has ramifications further into the series.
A giant pyramid and a mysterious crystal skull are linked to Daniels grandfather who like Daniel had a wacky notion but ended up in the loony bin rather than a top secret military project. When Daniel vanishes the SGC seek out Nick Ballard who claims to have witnessed a crystal skull transport him to a place of giant aliens but how do you get the most out of a guy who thinks he is crazy and hallucinating?
Michael Shanks guest stars on The Good Guys episode “SuperCops” as the commander of the crack SWAT like division of the Dallas police force the unit Jack applied for around the time he partnered up with Dan. It’s not a large role for Michael but he looks good in the uniform and is playing a bit of a jerk with lots of potential for a recurring role.
Bratac arrives bearing news of an attack on Chulak by Apophis as he searches for his child. Further investigations lead the SGC to believe they have found the mythical Kheb a world feared by the System Lords where the child has been taken and SG1 with Bratac visit the world.
I really enjoyed this episode simply by listening to the “zen” slanted discussions by the monk as he leads Daniel through the steps required to get his mind in a state when he could understand why the boy needed to be protected and by whom. There are some nice visuals as well as locations used which all add atmosphere to the episode and of course the humour from Jack running into the wall that is metaphysical Daniel.
Congratulations to Robert Carlyle for winning the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role for his work in the first season episode “Human”.
Alas despite SGU having another 8 nominations for both behind and infront of the camera work Robert was the only winner but he certainly deserves it having made the decision to move from theatrical to tv with a role that suited his style to perfection.
The SGC computer on a routine “dead” address dialling program gets a hit as the gate on P2x-416 has recently been uncovered by an archaeological dig and by recent I mean minutes. They make contact with one of the scientists and visit the world but find themselves between the proverbial rock and a hard place as a religious war allows no room for the local military commander to even consider they are not enemy spies but actually aliens despite mounting evidence to that fact.
New Ground is in many ways a weak episode as it attempts to tell a story that has enough scope to require far more than 40 odd minutes so we really only graze the surface of the story as it pertains to this simple set of circumstances. This won’t be the first time the SGC gets stuck in the middle of competing forces on one of their expeditions so perhaps the writers knew they had a gem of an idea and tried to do it better in a late episode.
We did get some good one liners from the guys and perhaps Teal’c came out of it the best after being injured and left helpless reliant on the alien Nyan to help in the rescue of the rest of SG1. The bad guys were a little weak but simply no time for their character development but they served their purpose. So watchable but instantly forgettable.
Ok folks we’ll be recording the recap of Stargate’s third season next Tuesday (16th) so it’s an excellent opportunity for both first timers and old hands to send us some feedback even if it’s just the name of your favourite episode:)
Comments can be posted here, emails, facebook and twitter are all acceptable.
The recording should kick off around 6pm (UK time) using our normal method which is Skype so you can even join us as we record, the episode will be very loose as we discuss each episode for a few minutes and anyother bits we can think of.
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.
A few days too late for the US but a few days early for the UK is the TV spot for Gary Jones best known for his role as Mst Sgt Walter Harriman as he guest stars in Sanctuary. The episode in question “Bank Job” is the shows take on a mission to recover an object safely tucked away in a vault but things go a little wrong and Helen and Co end up holding hostages and dealing with the feds, good fun especially a couple of the lines which were gems.
A visit to the world of Edora for trade negotiations reveals a world that is in peril from a meteor shower which returns every 150 years, when faced with disaster the SGC takes many of the people through the gate for protection but many are left behind after the gate suffers a direct hit. Jack is one of these people and when he believes there is no return to Earth he slowly embraces this new society developing feelings for Laira but the rest of SG1 do not know what giving up means.
A Hundred Days is one of my favourite episodes, the effects of the meter shower while not having the impact of a modern production still looked fantastic and we see a side of Jack which has only be hinted at through flashbacks and other devices. His relationship with Laira (Michelle Green) always flirtatious grew into something more serious leaving us with questions when the episode concluded with the rescue of Jack. I know where I stand on the pregnancy but it’s one of those contested issues of the franchise and alas it was never resolved.
SG1 step through the gate and reappear in the SGC, a mystery to them but more so for Hammond who tells them they have been gone for hours with no contact. They then start to hear voices, well one voice talking to all of them and Urgo appears before them an entity only they can see and much hilarity ensues.
Without any doubt Urgo is a comedy episode especially written to exploit the talents of Dom DeLuise the father of Peter who has directed and worked with the show for a while now. The story is undemanding but in essence only exists to allow the cast to have fun ad-libbing and basically goofing off, Teal’c the perennial straight man has probably the easiest episode of the series requiring only use of expressions. The only negative as Alan points out time and time again is that if you are not a fan of Dom then the episode can fall a little flat but if you are a fan it’s a blast.
SG1 are invited at the behest of Skaara to the new world of the Tollan to act as his “seekers” in a trial to determine if his body belongs to him or the Goauld Klorel who has controlled it for the past couple of years. Upon visiting Tollana via a gate the Tollan built themselves (yeah they are smart) they find the Goauld have sent a seeker as well but there are different agendas at play.
Triad
Once again the franchise is quite happy to build on the continuity by bringing back both individuals and races/worlds we have met before. In this case Narim of the Tollan and Lya of the Nox return and it’s interesting to note both are people from cultures far in advance of the Earth, mind you that’s the main reason they are still around with the Goauld knocking off weaker worlds. The big payoff of course is Skaara who was in the original movie finally getting into a position to reclaim his body something out of the question in the first season but as we learnt more about other races the knowledge that possession by a Goauld was not the end of the world has opened up many story lines.
Pretense is a good solid episode, I won’t say the court room drama is well written because it isn’t but then again perhaps it does reflect how it would play out between people and worlds so different. We also see a little groundwork laid for two future episodes although at the time we didn’t know it:)
Welcome to the bonus episode and a small review of an SG1 novel. Trial by Fire written by Sabine C Bauer is the first SG1 novel I’ve read and it’s existence is very much inline with the highly successful Pocket Books series of Trek paperbacks. I’m not sure if we’ll squeeze another show in during the holiday period especially since the next release date is Christmas Day but we are returning in the new year and that will be with the season 4 premiere “Small Victories”.
