This week we have a special episode from our friends over at Galactic Watercooler.
Chuck, Sean and Audra have covered the Stargate franchise in their podcast and recently did 1969 as part of a time travel mini arc so for something different they recorded an hour on the first two seasons which provides a different perspective to the show, it’s always about opinions folks.
The Gatecast returns to our usual programme next week with the season 3 premiere “Into The Fire”.
This episode takes a look back at the second season as we discuss in brief each episode and at times go wildly off topic, we also gives the results of our poll and our favourite and least liked episodes of the second season of SG1.
Jack awakes from cryo suspension into the SGC nearly 80 years later and learns his team are all dead and the current SGC command are looking for information on groups who back then were capable of standing up to the system lords. This season finale is pretty much a semi-clip show which really doesn’t do it any favours but once we get some new content the episode picks up and leads into the season 3 premiere which if memory serves is a feast of action.
The episode has two good guest stars, Tom Butler who plays Trofsky and Samantha Ferris who played Dr Raully.
Due to an as unknown quirk of Gate travel SG1 step though and find themselves back in the gateroom which vanishes infront of their eyes to reveal the rocket motor of a nuclear missile, they are still in the mountain but now it’s 1969. Aided by George Hammond with hair they escape and seek out the location of the Stargate and if they can get back at a particular time they can return to 1999 and the SGC they remember.
1969 is one of the better episodes of the second season, ranks high up in the whole series to be honest. It’s pure time travel scifi with lots of humour, you’ve got to love hippy SG1. The young Hammond played by Aaron Pearl was flawless both in looks and voice pattern, you really believed that was George as a young lieutenant. Michael and Jenny the hippy couple were excellent giving us the grounding in this world and offered us the emotive aspect of the story. Daniel being German was just priceless though but again continuity with Catherine was flawless.
The montage music was created for this episode by Bruce Turgon formally of Foreigner.
Over riding the Iris a young boy steps through the gate and soon we learn he is not human but an envoy from a race called the Reetou and brings a dire warning. Faced with enemies they can not see the SGC call in help from the Tokra and prepare to battle for the future of the base and the world.
Show and Tell was a decent episode, the Reetou to me anyway seemed very Starship Troopers like which isn’t a bad thing as the CGI effects worked well enough. There was a lot of angst as Jack bonded with the boy who took the name of Jacks dead son and that emotional aspect didn’t seem out of place.
A crashed UAV force SG1 to visit a world they thought was uninhabited but find an alien species that’s pretty much different to what they have encountered before. It isn’t long before a sickness spreads which also affects SG1 but it’s symptoms only seem to manifest on the plant until the mystery is solved thanks to Daniel and his pre-digital video camera.
One False Step is by no means a fan favourite but it was an interesting idea nicely executed. The acting by Richard and Shaun really brought the non-speaking aliens to life.
The highlight of the episode, the first proper “Indeed” by Teal’c.
Daniel takes a holiday, well not technically true, his body has an adventure thanks to the genius of an alien they find on a gate mission. Holiday is pretty much aimed at creating some mirth which it does very well as body swapping is rife and while we don’t get the Farscape male/female swapping it’s still funny especially with Tealc and Jack. Kudos to Michael Shanks for his dual role of Machelo, very well done.
The serious side is the offer of highly advanced technology in return for what amounts to the death of Daniel, now 1 for billions are odds and General on the battlefield will take but in these circumstances well….
SG1 visit a world whose gate address they believe came from the Tokra but a war erupts in the skys and a glider crashes down revealing it’s pilot, someone they know all too well…
A surprisingly good episode as we deal with the series original nemesis who has been turned on by his own, as is mentioned so many times the System Lords are just as aggressive against eachother and weakness is exploited. Apophis played wonderfully again by Peter Williams has let the SGC run wild and is suffering the consequences but as we see the host has also suffered centuries of abuse and the play off between the hatred for one and the compassion for the other is done very well.
The episode also underlines that Apophis was far from being the big bad we thought he was, Sokar makes him look like a toddler messing around in the sandpit.
SG1 gate into a enclosed room with nothing but a gate and a dhd. On walking over a circle on the floor a device emerges from a wall and Jack looks inside and promptly collapses. Upon waking he seems fine but slowly starts substituting latin sounding words for english and bit by bit his mind is over taken by the alien devices effects.
The rest you have to watch because it’s a great series arc cornerstone episode and my personal favourite of this season and pretty darn close to the best of the series.
Stephen sent us feedback, groovy (getting ready for watching 1969).
Crisis in the SGC as a gate is opened by SG10 which links our gate to a planet being swallowed up by a Black Hole. Unable to close the gate thanks to the huge amounts of energy being fed into the other gate the gravitational effects including time dilation are being to be felt around the SGC.
Time is running out (relatively of course) with only Jack and a former colleague Colonel Cromwell in a a position to attempt a save by using a shaped nuclear charge to force the gate to disengage, tick tock.
A Matter Of Time is by no means a bad episode, it is however a very visual episode despite the technobable so not the best commentary we have done. Thanks to Stephen for the feedback and as always emails, comments and Facebook interaction is most welcome.
A return visit to Madrona to investigate some weather control technology reveals a world ravaged by extreme weather due to a device being stolen by humans who looked like members of the SGC. SG1 promise to find the Touchstone and they discover the second gate stored at Area51 is not all that it seems and in the shadows of corporate America and the political dark allies there are forces at play which could undermine the work of Stargate Command.
Touchstone is quite a pivotal episode as it lays the seeds of the shadow conspiracy and the NID involvement at certain levels. We see the very definite attitudes taken by the SGC in dealing with other races when compared to this mysterious operation and the fall out is covered in later episodes.
Serious respect to the cinematographer and set designers/artists for creating Madrona, it was a beautiful piece of work from the stunning lightning flashes to the sun shining on the new day.
The new wonder material Trinium is high on the list of must haves by the NID and SGC but a mining operation on PXY-887 results in the disappearance of SG11. Thanks to Jack being wounded by a bolt shot through the gate Sam takes command and when visiting the world they to are captured and learn that the people believe in spirits who are responsible for SG11.
The Spirits then pay the SGC a visit and the fun really begins.
Spirits wasn’t a bad episode, the plot dealing with a simple cultures beliefs when confronted with the need of a more demanding culture was done fairly well. The resolution was welcome and really stuck it to both the NID and parts of the SGC who went along with the plans to betray Tonane’s people. Christina Cox guest stars as the spirit Takaya and they plaster a ton of makeup on her and a unflattering outfit, for shame:)
In the second part of the story Sam has returned to Earth to visit her dying father with the slim chance that Jacob could not only survive but serve his country once more by helping the Tokra Selmak. Meanwhile the system lords are on the way and the coincidence is too much, is there a spy amongst the Tokra and can the planet be evacuated before the Goauld ships arrive.
While the first part of this story was very talkie there is more action in the second but surprisingly doesn’t feel any faster, talking heads can still be very fascinating when the script is good and in this case the two parter has been excellent. The long term ramifications of this alliance are felt over the next few seasons but as we discussed the Tokra never really became big players but they did tend to pop in the right place at the right time.
We have feedback from Stephen via Facebook, cheers:)
Sam is plagued by the memories of Jolinar and in one vision the gate address of a world is seen and SG1 visits in the hopes of finding the Tokra and making them an ally. Alas the mindset of the Tokra sees no benefit in joining the people of the Tauri and with security in mind the members of the SGC will not be allowed to return home.
The Tok’ra at least the first of the double bill is pretty heavy in dialogue both as the SGC and Tok’ra get to know eachother but also the B plot with Hammond interacting with Jacob whose health has taken a turn for the worse. Both Sarah Douglas and JR Bourne are both excellent guest stars who play the merged characters of Garshaw and Lantash very well and Carmen Argenziano again proving to be a strong presence.
SG1 visit a world seemingly of high technology but devoid of humanoid life but not all life. Tealc is surprised when a large insect like creature lands on him and when provoked it stings him and within seconds it’s poison is tearing his body apart and SG1 flee the planet.
Back on Earth the NID appropriate Tealc to study the infection but he escapes and hides out in a near by city were he meets Ally a young girl who befriends him while both the SGC and NID try to find him for two very different reasons.
