Deutsche Version | “Stargate SG-1” Marathon | Season 2
Disc 1
Children of the Gods
Synopsis: A year after the events in the movie the project “Stargate” is practically shut down. But then a Ra-look-alike comes through the gate, kills several soldiers and abducts a female soldier. After that Colonol O’Neill’s bluff is called and he has to disclose that Daniel is not dead and that Abydos was not nuked. After the team around O’Neill successfully returns to Abydos they learn that there is not only the Abydos and the Earth gate but also many thousands more. But then Abydos is also attacked by this new enemy and they kidnap Daniel’s wife and Skaara, a friend of Jack’s. And so a rescue mission is set up, which will lead to strange new places and to new friends…
My Opinion: A very good pilot which takes upon the events of the movie and continues to tell the story. It simply ignores the contradictions to the movie instead of giving some cheesy excuses. Only Teal’c’s switching of sides was a bit too fast, he doesn’t know Jack at all. But I can’t come up with a better plot on how to manage this.
The Enemy Within
Synopsis: Kawalsky has more and longer headaches and phases of black outs after which he can’t remember anything. Back on Chulak he was taken over by a Goa’uld larva and now they fight for the mastery of the body. Meanwhile Teal’c is being interrogated by a men from Langley who wants to learn more about the Goa’uld.
My Opinion: I liked the fact that they didn’t accept Teal’c blindly in their team, even though Jack thought that he deserved it. It still went fast in the end but at least they mentioned their doubts and pointed out the problems. Now SG-1 is complete: Jack O’Neill, Daniel Jackson, Sam(antha) Carter & Teal’c.
Emancipation
Synopsis: SG-1 arrives on a planet where the population leads a life like in the times of Genghis Khan. It is forbidden for women to appear unconcealed in public, neither is it allowed for them to speak unless spoken to. Carter soon collides with these laws.
My Opinion: “SG-1 arrives on a planet” – I wonder how often I will write this sentence in this marathon. 😉 I didn’t like this episode much, mainly because they tried to communicate the morale with the grace of a sledgehammer. I nonetheless like the fact that they at least argued about the fact whether it is right to interfere with local customs and affairs.
Disc 2
The Broca Divide
Synopsis: On a planet whose one side is always away from the sun, SG-1 and SG-2 are attacked by a group of humanoids. But these people seem to be from an earlier stage of evolution than the homo sapiens. On the day side do the “Untouched” live, but sometimes one of them is “cursed” and becomes one of the “Touched” and is banished to the dark side. After the return to Earth, members of both teams also devolve.
My Opinion: I liked this episode because it was an out-of-character episode, finally Sam could seduce Jack. 😉 But I have to say this won’t be the last episode of this kind. From all Science-Fiction characters, no one had to endure as much as any of the SG-1 characters.
The First Commandment
Synopsis: The leader of SG-9 declared himself God on the planet his team has been for over five weeks. Why? Because the people there believed that he was a god. Now they have to work in the deadly sun to build him a temple and SG-1 has to stop him.
My Opinion: This episode was ok, but not exceptional. No matter how they tried to explain it, I can’t believe that an unstable captain like this would have ever been assigned to such an important project like the Stargate missions.
Cold Lazarus
Synopsis: In a crater on a lifeless planet SG-1 finds a number of destroyed crystals. They take some of them back to Earth. But they leave Jack behind – unknowingly.
My Opinion: I liked this episode because we see the past of one character for the first time – especially the past from before Stargate. Even though it wasn’t Jack himself, he (the real Jack) confirmed that he has a “fairly good idea” of what Jack-Copy said to Sara. We therefore can assume that he feels in a similar way.
The Nox
Synopsis: Some people begin to having doubts about the usefulness of the Stargate programme. None of the SG teams has brought back any superior technology which could be used against the Goa’uld. To change this, Teal’c leads the team to a planet where animals live that can cloake themselves completely.
My Opinion: This was actually the very first episode I’ve ever seen of Stargate SG-1. Back in 1998 I was on vacation in the Algarve (Portugal) and one evening I zapped through the channels until I saw this episode and thought “Hey, that’s MacGyver!” and “I know this guy from somewhere, too.”. Unfortunately my English wasn’t good enough to really understand what was going on, but it looked interesting.
Brief Candle
Synopsis: The Goa’uld Pelops reduced the lifespan of the inhabitants of Argos down to a hundred days. They grow and age accordingly. They praise Pelops until they find out what he has done to them. But Jack gets infected by the virus and he has to die within a fortnight.
My Opinion: They try and try but aging masks never look really real. This was more a filler episode, there will be better and longer moments for Jack to reflect his life.
Disc 3
Thor’s Hammer
Synopsis: On a planet that is protected by the nordic god Thor, Teal’c gets imprisoned in a labyrinth because of his Goa’uld larva – and Jack with him. Sam and Daniel try to find them, while Jack and Teal’c try to escape from the labyrinth and the thing that has dwelt there cince centuries.
My Opinion: I liked the episode in general, Darth Vader’s James Earl Jones’s voice gave the Unas the right sound. But even when I saw the episode for the first time I had my doubts of whether it was the right decision to destroy Thor’s Hammer. The team makes a lot of gut decisions without even thinking about long-time consequences. Here they’ve just endangered the security an an entire population.
The Torment of Tantalus
Synopsis: Daniel finds archive footage that shows that the gate has been opened before. Back in 1945 Catherine’s fiancé (Catherine was the project leader during the first Abydos mission; her father found the Stargate during a digging in Egypt) went through but never came back. He went to a place that the Goa’uld know nothing about and SG-1 has the order to bring him back – if possible.
My Opinion: This episode was tragicomical. On the one hand there was this lonely, old man who hasn’t seen a human being for 50 years. On the other hand was it funny to see how embarrassed they all were when he ran around naked. I really liked it when Dr. Littlefield convince Daniel that some prices are too high to be paid for the gain of new knowledge.
Bloodlines
Synopsis: Teal’c wants to return to Chulak, with or without SG-1. Teal’c has to admit that he has left his family behind. His son Rya’c has reached the age for the Prim’ta: he will recieve his first Goa’uld larva. Teal’c wants to prevent exactly this. But he is regarded as Shol’va (traitor), who has betrayed his god.
My Opinion: The first appearance of Tony Amendola in his role as master Bra’tac. I liked the man from the beginning. In this episode you realize for the first time what Teal’c has given up when he switched sides. Until now one could believe that he was single and has only left his belief behind.
Fire and Water
Synopsis: Jack, Sam and Teal’c return from ann off-world mission on which Daniel died. The funeral service takes place in the Stargate room. All three of them know that Daniel is dead but they can’t really accept it. And Daniel has to think about the fate of Omoroca.
My Opinion: Nice funeral. One could have thought that Michael Shanks has left the show. But Daniel’s part in this episode was rather boring, especially with that repeated question “What fate Omoroca?”.
Hathor
Synopsis: In a mayan temple a sarcophagus with egyptian hieroglyphs is found and shortly after the inhabitant of that sarcophagus breaks out. Then she is on the way to the Stargate.
My Opinion: The women fight while the men can only think about the one thing. It was fun to watch and I liked it a lot. I found the remark interesting, that Hathor is both child and wife of Ra’s. That’s not an uncommon concept among ancient gods. Hera also was Zeus’s sister and wife.
Disc 4
Singularity
Synopsis: There is planet where one can observe a nearby (in cosmic dimensions) black hole during a solar eclipse. But suddenly a people die, locals as well as the members of SG-7. Only one small girl seems to be immune to the plague but even she gets worse during her stay on the Stargate base.
My Opinion: Good episode. I presume that the name of the girl, Cassandra, was no coincedence. Although the connection to the mythological Cassandra is only given through the fact that both are connected to a trojan horse.
Cor-ai
Synopsis: The team visits a planet on which Teal’c has been before – as First Prime of Apophis. Now he has to face his past in a trial.
My Opinion: I loved Teal’c’s behaviour. He faces the consequences and he does not flee even if it means to die. That his friends try to rescue him is understandable, but I thought that Teal’c did the only right thing. His charge wasn’t just the riddiculous crime of crossing a white line.
Enigma
Synopsis: SG-1 saves a group of people from a dying planet. But these people don’t seem to be very grateful for their rescue and they deem the people of Earth as primitives. Colonel Maybourne from the NID has orders to bring these people to a secret location.
My Opinion: Like back in the days with Teal’c two sides collide. On one side are the people of Stargate Command who think in terms of “right and wrong”. On the other side are people who wish to gain a military advantage. Luckily on Stargate SG-1 “right or wrong” often wins. Somehow I liked the grouchy Omac.
Solitudes
Synopsis: During a travel through a Stargate back to Earth an accident happens. Teal’c and Daniel return to Earth but then the wormhole breaks down. Jack and Sam land in an ice cave on a totally different Stargate.
My Opinion: I liked this episode a lot, especially some of the comments. Sgt. Siler explains to General Hammond that he will need 24 hours to reactivate the gate. Hammond gives him 12. Siler’s reply “It doesn’t work that way, Sir!”. Scotty would have made it in 6. 😉 I also liked the question – directed at Teal’c of all people – of what happens, if you dial your own number.
The flaw of this episode was the fact that Carter never tried to dial another address after she resetted the DHD (Dial Home Device). I mean, there was a gate accident, was it so unlikely that the connection couldn’t be established because of the Earth gate?
But they had a great prank at Richard Dean Anderson’s expense:
Disc 5
Tin Man
Synopsis: After they’ve returned from a weird mission, the SG-1 members get the feeling that they aren’t themselves anymore. They aren’t even humans anymore. They are machines. They travel back to the planet and confront Harlan – the only inhabitant.
My Opinion: Harlan is the only inhabitant of that planet and everytime such a thing happens, something strange is going on with SG-1. I like Harlan, he is a funny guy.
BTW: When we see Jack’s front and his back then we see the back of Dan Shea. Dan was RDA’s stunt double on MacGyver and he is it on SG-1. He also plays Sgt. Siler.
There But For the Grace of God
Synopsis: An artefact that looks like a mirror brings Daniel into a parallel universe. When he returns to Earth, everything is the same and also different. But then Apophis’ troups attack from the orbit.
My Opinion: It mustn’t be any artefact, it has to be a mirror. 😉 Episodes in a mirror universe are always interesting because they fall under the category of “What if”. I also liked Teal’c’s haircut. 😀
Politics
Synopsis: Senator Kinsey is head of the committee that oversees the Stargate project’s budget. But he won’t spend any more money on this project unless he is convinced of it’s purpose. So he comes to Cheyenne Mountain to see the project for himself.
My Opinion: This is the “We’ve spent to much money on the FX and now we have to make a really cost-effective episode” episode. This is not uncommon, usually they find a reason to show a lot of archive footage and thus reduce the production costs of the current episode.
Within the Serpent’s Grasp
Synopsis: After Kinsey has shut down the Stargate Command, SG-1 goes through the gate without permission. They go to the address Daniel brought back from the mirror universe, because that’s the point from which the attack came. Suddenly they find themselves on a Ha’tak (Goa’uld mothership) that is on its way to Earth.
My Opinion: Great cliffhanger. I also liked the gag with the acceleration/deceleration. But they stopped using that later on (they also stopped using the ice-effect when going through a Stargate). This episode gives even more hope than Thor’s Hammer that something of the host survives when the Goa’uld takes over.
The Season – My Opinion: A good start to the series. Granted, there were weaker episodes but they had to warm up. The general framework of the series is set up and most of the major players are already on the playing field. The others arrive soon and then they can play the game for the next seven seasons until the rules are changed.