Still Great Stuff: Stargate, Season 2 Review

SEASON 2

Episode #1: The Serpent's Lair—Nice pay-off to Season 1's cliffhanger.

Episode #2: In the Line of Duty—Quite good episode! It introduces Jolinar and the idea of the Tok'ra. I hadn't realized until watching the episodes in order, how early the Tok'ra were introduced. (One thing I like about Stargate is the writers' willingness to explore cracks and exceptions in supposedly monolithic cultures. As Daniel constantly reiterates, our main characters really know very little about the Goa'uld).

Episode #3: Prisoners—Good episode introducing Linea. Linea is a great character and is paid off well later on. The only snag is the whole genius-who-can-master-an-entire-alien-computer-system-in-fifteen-minutes syndrome. I just don't buy it. Sci-fi uses this motif A LOT.

Episode #4: The Gamekeeper—Good episode with, of all people, Dwight Schultz. Now, there's another sci-fi acting junkie!

Episode #5: Need—A rather odd episode. It explains why humans don't use the sarcophagus, but the plotting is kind of random. Diplomacy just isn't that hard; Daniel should have been able to get his friends released days before he turned into evil-sarcophagus guy.

Episode #6: Thor's Chariot—Pay-off episode to "Thor's Hammer," which also introduces the Asgard in the most in-your-face deux ex machina resolution I've ever seen. (It really is totally unbelievable.)

Episode #7: Message in a Bottle—One of those episodes which promotes the plot of a-supposedly-evil-alien-that-has-taken-over-our-base/starship-but-is-only-trying-to-communicate. There are days I actually prefer the Independence Day version of aliens.

Episode #8: Family—Pay-off for earlier Chulak episode. Eh.

Episode #9: Secrets—The introduction of the Harcesis (kid born to two Goa'ulds). Switching Daniel's focus from his wife to the baby is an example of something I think Stargate does very, very well. They don't try to keep one single problem going for ten, or even three, seasons. In fact, by Season 3, they have disposed of both Skaara and Daniel's wife; this is smart. Giving a character the same problem for ten years may be "real life" but isn't good television.

Side-note: The actor who plays Mulder's half-brother in X-Files shows up as the reporter who suspects the Stargate secret and gets killed for his suspicions. The Stargate folks are serious sci-fi nuts (they know Classic Trek!). I wondered if this was a tribute to X-Files. (There is definitely a tribute in "1969" with the Cigarette-Smoking Interrogator.)

Season #10: Bane—Eh. I don't mind episodes with children, but I don't really get into The Feisty Helpful Street Kid motif.

Season #11 and Season #12: The Tok'ra—Pretty cool introduction of a not-completely-trustworthy ally and the wonderful Carmen Argenziano as Carter's dad and Tok'ra-to-be.

One thing I love about Stargate is the casting. I think it is inspired. The writers avoid existentialism (they never make the claim that all alien races look and/or act alike), but they use casting (and great costuming) to remind the reader what group you are dealing with. The majority of the male Tok'ra are dark-haired, muscular wiry young guys who all have the same dark-haired, muscular wiry look. It is visually smart casting.

Season #13: Spirits—I didn't care for this episode the first time I saw it. I kept hearing "Message! Message! Message!" Rewatching it, though, I very much enjoyed the guest star: Rodney Grant as Tonane.

Season #14: Touchstone—Episode with the second Stargate. Other than guest-starring the awesome Tom McBeath as Maybourne, it's kind of a throw-a-way.

Season #15: A Matter of Time—An interesting reflection on time moving at different speeds, but that's about all.

Season #16: The Fifth Race—I love this episode for the ending. First, I like the Asgard. Second, I like Jack being the focal point of Asgard-human relations. Third, I love the Asgard music (see below).

Season #17: Serpent's Song—Fascinating episode with Apophis played by the stellar Peter Williams. I don't watch it often because it's so sad: as the Goa'uld starts to die, the host reemerges; the host has been controlled by Apophis for over 2000 years and is completely confused. The part where Daniel says the Egyptian prayer-for-the-dead for the host is non-saccharine touching.

Apophis almost enters the realm of ambiguous bad guys, and I like ambiguous bad guys as long as the good guys don't forget "this is a bad guy." On a side-note, one of my favorite Stargate: Atlantis episodes involves "Steve," one of the Sheppard-named Wraiths. Steve is used in an experiment and then dies. Sheppard's reaction isn't to beat his chest and say, "Oh, the Wraith aren't our enemy after all/we're just as bad!" but he does evince concern for Steve. It's a great episode.

Season #18: Holiday—One of my absolute favorites with Michael Shanks playing both Daniel and Ma'chello. One of the things I really love about Michael Shanks playing multiple characters is that he will subtly insert verbal differences, like pronunciation. So, Shanks as Ma'chello (in Daniel) pronounces "Goa'uld" differently than Shanks as Daniel (in Ma'chello). Shanks is completely consistent.

Season #19: One False Step—Odd but not totally awful episode. We get to see Daniel and Jack yell at each other and then make up (guy fashion) which is always inexpressibly amusing.

Season #20: Show and Tell—Not a bad episode except for the glaringly stupid decision to go to a planet of invisible terrorists who can sneak undetected through the Stargate. But then, if they didn't, the episode wouldn't have worked.

Season #21: 1969—I really like this episode. I'm a fan of time travel episodes in general, and I get a huge kick out of, well, everything, including Jack's interview with the 1969 Cheyenne Mountain CO where he refers to himself as "Captain Kirk" and then as "Luke Skywalker." I also love the part where the team is locked up in Cheyenne Mountain; a suspicious guard comes in and says, in Russian, "Are you Soviet spies?" Daniel, who speaks seven languages, shrugs and says, "Nyet." Jack glares at him. As he is being escorted out, you hear Jack say, exasperated, "Nyet?!"

The best part, however, is the actor who plays the young General Hammond. He is so pitch-perfect in terms of behavior, voice, and appearance, I looked him up to see if he is related to Don S. Davis. He, Aaron Pearl, isn't, but boy, is he fantastic! (By the way, I just learned that Davis died in 2008, so I'm feeling very, very sad.)

Season #22: Out of Mind—Season ender with rerun flashbacks (have I mentioned how boring flashbacks are? I'll rewatch entire episodes six, seven, eight, nine times, but episodes with flashbacks bore me silly). The premise is completely ridiculous (why on earth would villains, who torture without compunction and have mind-reading devices, bother to concoct elaborate subterfuges like building replicas of the hero's hometown, etc.?). However, one of the refreshing things about Stargate is that story is more important than message and even more important than good sense! There's never the self-consciousness that I sense when watching Star Trek or Whedon's stuff. It's like the director and writers go to work every day and go, "This is so much fun! What a great way to earn a living! Let's do it again!!"

Still Great Stuff: Stargate, Season 1 Review

I see very few television series through to completion. Like with books, somewhere around number 3 (novel, season), I get tired of the whole thing.

There are exceptions, such as shows that only have three seasons. I have also seen all of Star Trek: Next Generation and all of Star Trek: Voyager.

Recently, I decided to watch all of Stargate and all of X-Files. In both cases, I made it to about Season 4. But I figured, Stargate and X-Files are my two favorite cult-classics, so why not finish them?

I've been rewatching Stargate Seasons 1-4, preparatory to watching all of Season 5, all of Season 6, all of Season 7 (rather than just a few episodes here and there) and the remaining seasons (10 altogether). And I figured: why not take notes?

So, here is my review of Stargate SG-1, starting with Season 1. I don't give summaries, just reviews:

Episode #1: Children of the Gods—Pretty good! I've seen it several times. It is rated "R" based on some National Geographic nudity. The nudity isn't offensive, but it is completely disconcerting because Stargate is about as PG a show as I've ever encountered. In any case, Episode #1 is a good "movie" (Stargate movies are, in general, pretty good).

Episode #2: The Enemy Within—Pretty good episode which introduces why the Goa'uld can't just be removed from human hosts (this ups the ante for the rest of the show). Disappointing death of Kawalsky (played by Jay Acovone, one of my favorite "bit part" actors).

Episode #3: Emancipation—Okay episode with a feminist theme and a Star Trek feel. (In general, Stargate episodes are surprisingly non-Star Trek-y). I suppose some episodes just have to be done, sci-fi-speaking.

Episode #4: The Broca Divide—I really like this episode, mostly for the line where Daniel Jackson says, deadpan, "Oh, you poor man," when Jack confesses that Carter tried to seduce him (in cave woman mode).

Episode #5: The First Commandment—Well-written episode but not one of my favorites. God-complexes just don't interest me that much.

Anderson-Tapping 2019

Episode #6: Brief Candle—If you ignore the completely non-professional behavior (Jack should never have eaten the food in the first place), this episode is a good showcase of Richard Dean Anderson's talent. It makes me want to keep track of Richard Dean Anderson and see if he behaves the same way when he is 80, as he acted in the episode.

Episode #7: Cold Lazarus—Okay episode that gives more background to Jack's family history (with his son). This is one of Stargate's very touching episodes (they actually have several); it edges on saccharine but doesn't go too far.

Episode #8: Thor's Hammer—Good episode up until the end. I have very mixed feelings about the end. On the one hand, I agree with Jack that you do what is best right here/right now. On the other hand, dismantling another planet's defense system for the sake of your friend...eh...that's not so good. (This particular problem is identified and addressed in a later season.)

Episode #9: The Torment of Tantalus—I quite like this episode with its WWII sequences. Young Ernest Littlefield is played by the same actor who plays Dr. Beckett (McGillion) in Stargate: Atlantis. This is disconcerting because the personas are totally different. 

Episode #10: Bloodlines—I rarely rewatch the Chulak episodes, but of course, I had to this time. It's an okay episode. The little boy who plays Ry'ac is seriously adorable.

Episode #11: Fire and Water—One of my absolutely favorite episodes! In fact, this episode is the reason I bought Season 1. I think Michael Shanks does a fabulous job in this episode. Shanks tends to either be ultra-laconic or ultra-hyper. Here he is ultra-hyper, and I love it.

Episode #12: The Nox—Not one of my favorite episodes, but it's nice to watch Armin Shimerman play a sweetie-pie rather than a loathsome principal or a scheming Ferengi.

Episode #13: Hathor—Eh. The degree of control exercised by the Goa'uld varies considerably...
depending on the needs of the writers.

Episode #14: Cor-ai—I quite like this episode; it deals with forgiveness and whether Teal'c should be punished for what he was in the past or forgiven based on what he has become. This is also the beginning of many, many episodes where Teal'c is looked after (anointed, perfumed, painted, washed) by women. I'm thinking Christopher Judge wasn't complaining.

Episode #15: Singularity—Another favorite which borders on saccharine. Also, one of the few episodes that goes out of its way to remind us that, for all her military background, Carter still has motherly instincts. (Stargate does this less with its women than a lot of shows; in general, Carter is one of the most truly emancipated—not just token emancipated—women on television).

Episode #16: Enigma—The introduction of Garwin Sanford as Narim. (Garim Sanford is also in Stargate: Atlantis as Dr. Weir's boyfriend who gets dumped when she goes to Atlantis. I was sure he'd been on Voyager too; I was wrong, but he is a sci-fi acting junkie.)

"Enigma" is a pretty good episode, but it does introduce another race with "superior technology" that runs around calling Earthlings "children." This is very annoying. The race's "adult" superiority isn't based on a higher moral standard or better government, just better technology. That is, if they didn't have the technology, they would be as vulnerable to the Goa'uld as humans and just as unhappy about it. Therefore, their sneers at Earthings' war-like reactions are pretty obnoxious. The so-called superior race isn't unwarlike because it has grown beyond war; rather, it is unwarlike because it can afford to be. I prefer the Asgard, who would help if they could but can't due to treaties and problems at home.

Episode #17: Tin Man—Very fun episode. I was completely surprised by the ending because I thought the episode was going in a Star Trek direction and it didn't! (I've never really understood the putting-people's-brains-back-into-their-heads resolution.) This episode is very nicely paid off in a later season.

Episode #18: Solitudes—Introduction of the second Stargate which is never really used by the show in a way that leads to anything. Eventually, it is destroyed; apparently, too many Stargates=problematic show. I agree.

Episode #19: There But For the Grace of God—One of my favorites. I really like alternate reality type shows where you see the same cast and location, only from a new perspective. What stays the same? What changes? Very cool.

Episode #20: Politics—Episode with rerun flashbacks. The narrative that holds the flashbacks together is quite good; the political arguments against the Stargate program are well-written and delivered. The flashbacks are boring; flashbacks always are (but these types of episodes give everyone in the studio a break).

Episode #21: Within the Serpent's Grasp—First of a two-parter. Both parts are well-conceived. It does get funny after awhile watching the team run down corridors, knowing it is the same corridor over and over and over again. I tried not to think about it too hard.