Episode 138 Enemy Mine

 Episodes  No Responses »
Jun 302012
 

 SG11 are prospecting on an abandoned Goauld world for Naquadah deposits and after a month of trouble free endeavours one of the airmen is taken by an alien/creature and strung up dead. SG1 are sent to investigate and provide military support for the expedition and Daniel sees artefacts that indicate that Unas were once used as slaves on this world and indeed the survivors of the mining camps have prospred since the Goauld left the planet.

Enemy Mine is a vehicle for the of the Unas and by extension Chaka the being that Daniel befriended and shared a few adventures. Faced with the desperate need for the Naquadah the US military are prepared to kill and relocate the “animals” but Daniel convinces them to try negotiation and with Jacks support they return to the planet with a new sense of purpose.

Boo!

The episode makes excellent use of the oft used gravel pit and forest locations around Vancouver, they really do add a sense of scale to the episode and makes it believable that dozens of Unas clans could be in the region but unseen. Michael Rooker who plays Colonel Edwards doesn’t have a lot to work with but he is a true professional and balances the negative aspects and positive outcome of his meeting with the Unas and SG1.
As always the prosthetics for the Unas are excellent and while we have Chaka played by Patrick Currie rather than Dion Johnstone he carries on with this remarkable creation capably aided by Alex Zahara as Iron Shirt.

Brothers In Arms

Enemy Mine is a rather slow moving episode despite an out and out fire fight between SG11 and a clan of Unas which was wonderfully done, vicious and violent without the gore. It also aided the observation into the motivations of the Unas which was eventually revealed by Daniel who had some excellent scenes but communications without a common language is very tricky in scifi hence universal translaters, translator microbes, Babel fish etc etc.
I consider the episode a fairly average viewing experience but one that is very high in terms of production, no one fell short in delivering in their field.

No Round Table?

Thanks for the feedback this week and comments about other aspects of the show on twitter, facebook and google+. The promo this week is from Hexed: Sisterhood of the Supernatural a tv centric show hosted by Suzie & Shannon.
Promo…

Links…

 

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Episode 94 Beast Of Burden

 Episodes  No Responses »
Jul 302011
 

  Daniel has been keeping a close eye on the Unas Chaka and his voyeurism pays off when his “friend” is kidnapped by humans with staff weapons. It takes some convincing but SG1 finally investigate and follow the men to their world an early industrialised culture that still uses slavery in the form of “wild” Unas. Playing the roles of traders they attempt to procure Chaka but are discovered and a clash of customs/beliefs occurs leading to the capture of Jack and Daniel. It’s time for the revolution when the slaves will fight for their freedoms led by a charismatic outsider, I’m talking about Chaka. We are joined this week by Adriana a fan of the series and of my co-host, I think we had a good time:)

Viva La Revolution

Once again the franchise exploits characters and stories from earlier episodes which I personally think is a bit of a no-brainer as it pays off for long term viewers and if written well can standalone for people new to the show. In this the Unas Chaka previously Daniels kidnapper now leader of his tribe is taken as a slave by other worlders and we get more or less a morality tale on the use of sentient beings and the vengeance factor by a people once themselves under the thumb of a system lord. The so called “bad guy” Burrock is played well be Larry Drake and we see a man hard by nature but true to his culture turn into a murderer which then allows the final resolution to play out without alienating the viewer.

Sam finally releases some tension

The Painsticks get around

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Promo…

Links…

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Episode 73 The First Ones

 Episodes  No Responses »
Feb 262011
 

A science mission on P3X-888 believed to be a homeworld of the Goauld thanks a fossil record being unearthed is well under way when the camp is attacked and Daniel abducted. SG1 along with another unit ride to the rescue and we see the episode branch into two parts as Daniel and his captor interact and the SG teams search for him while making the discovery that symbiotes are in the wild and any one of them could be now be a Goauld, except for Tealc of course.

An interesting episode which builds on the overall arc as it deals with the Unas, the first sentient hosts of the Goauld. Daniels super linguistic prowess comes to the fore as he learns in a small way to communicate with the Unas that captured him and the “b” plot search and rescue is done very well with action and humour. We have the return of  Dr Rothman as well as Major Coburn plus Dion Johnstone this time under all the latex makes yet another visit to the franchise.

This episode was very atmospheric in other words a lot of scenes with no dialogue relying on the soundtrack and music cues to add texture to the visuals, not easy to comment on:)

Marshmallow anyone?

Promo…

Links…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS