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?
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.
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 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:)
SG1 return from a very rainy mission to find the SGC under tight security after a chemical spill but in the infirmary what seems to be a genuine medical procedure reveals itself to a be more sinister endeavour leaving only Sam and Teal to raise the alarm, aliens are on Earth!
Foothold hails the return of Maybourne (Tom McBeath) as Sam is faced not knowing who to trust so goes outside the SGC, he is of course his own foolish self but there is a lot of comedy value especially in this episode in many ways despite the “invasion” the story is a fun adventure ride.
SG1 along with Martouf and Jacob are still prisoners on Netu thanks to the prisoners rebellion and as the one formerly known as Naonak bargains with Sokar the Tokra implement their own direct action plan to remove the threat of Goauld civil war and the rise of Sokar to well ruler of the galaxy.
This is the conclusion to the episode “Jolinars Memories” and is quite a pivotal episode as it sets the scene and players for future stories/events. The use of the memory device to spoof real memories with a twist was interesting in allowing us to see Sam as a youngster, Charlie, Daniels issues over his wifes son and Martoufs love for Jolinar and by extension Sam. The fact all these attempts failed to various degrees just underlines why Goauld endeavours fall short when dealing with the more complex individuals/organisations like the Tokra and SGC.
While investigating Sokar and a potential move against the system lords Selmak aka Jacob gets himself captured and taken to Netu a world created to resemble the mythical hell. A daring rescue attempt by SG1 and Martouf armed with the inside knowledge of Jolinar (the one person to escape from Netu) does not go well and then things really start to go wrong.
Jolinars Memories is the first of a two parter as we see the power play and resources Sokar has gathered to combat his fellow system lords and we’ve already seen his ingenuity and malice when dealing with Apophis.
Well I have been in two minds in regards to watching the trailers for the upcoming SGU season 2 since I really do not appreciate spoilers but lets be honest guest star casting news is pretty impossible to avoid so here is the latest trailer, watch if you dare:)
The season two premiere kicks off on the US SyFy channel this Tuesday the 28th and is partnered up with the early returning Caprica (if that is your thing). SGU returns to UK screens on Tuesday the fifth of October on SKY1 and is followed by the new season of Fringe.
A world with no children and the entire population have no memories beyond the last few months, this is what greats SG1 on a routine exploratory mission. Daniel soon becomes close to the leader of the people while researching the condition and upon returning to the SGC they discover the truth and the return of a familiar character.
Past and Present is an episode the franchise does well, returning to a theme or character that has worked well in the past and this case with a twist to make it more viable. There were some issues with exactly how large this population was or how advanced but it’s the character of Kera that’s important and the question of wrongs done in the past by essentially a different person. The complication of Daniel falling for her adds spice but does suffer from simply being the next episode on from when he lost his wife.
All in all an entertaining and well written/performed episode.
We are well into the third season now so voting is open and will continue to the end of the season and the results included in the wrap up show. Additional comments (email, mp3 etc) will be most welcome on specific episodes or the season in general.
A rescue mission leads to a pitched battle with the Jaffa of Amonet who is holding a number of Abydonians including Kasuf prisoner. Daniel reaches the elaborate tent of Amonet who proceeds to fry his brain but all is not as it seems as Daniel flashes between realities where Share dies and another where she lives.
Forever in a Day is a marvellous episode which ties up the Sha’re story in a very creative way and allows for Daniel to have closure while setting up a valid reason why he and the SGC continue to search the stars.
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?
