Thor's Hammer

Plot: SG-1 arrive on a world that was deemed out of bounds by all Goa'uld. They quickly find out why, as Teal'c and O'Neill are transported in to a trap designed to hold Goa'ulds, eventually freeing their host from the parasite. Sam and Daniel must enlist the help of one such former host in order to return their friends to safety.



This is the first episode since the pilot that really seeks to expose the bigger picture of the Stargate Universe. It is the beginning of a plot-line that runs right through to the very last episode. Borrowing heavily from Norse mythology, the episode details the fact that there isn't just one group of aliens that were believed to be Gods.

Thor's Hammer provides a tantalising glimpse in to a race known as the Asgard. It also includes some intriguing Goa'uld lore, as Jack and Teal'c discover 'Unas', the first host, who supposedly came from the very same primordial ooze that the Goa'uld themselves did. Rather awesomely, he's voiced by James Earl Jones. He also looks like Babylon 5's G'kar, which isn't bad.


The excitement of a plot heavy episode like this can't really be beaten. It's one of the main reasons that I keep coming back to SG-1. It always feels like there's more to explore, find out or discover. In that respect, the experience of being in SG-1 is translated through the screen.

This is the first great episode of SG-1.

9 out of 10

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This weekend, lookout for a summary of the special feature that appears on the second disc of SG-1 season one, as well as a review of tonight's all new episode of Stargate Atlantis.

Cold Lazarus

Plot: Jack is duplicated when he touches a mysterious crystal on a planet. Leaving Jack behind on the planet, the duplicate returns through the gate with SG-1 before heading on a journey to explore Jack's past. Meanwhile, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c examine the crystal structures and are later surprised to find a second Jack O'Neill return through the gate.


I've seen this episode before and not particularly enjoyed it. However, in the context of the previous few episodes it provides a welcome wealth of background information on our very own Jack O'Neill. It allows the audience to get a handle on how much the death of his son defines his actions. The writers do really get across a sense of sadness about the character in the early episodes and this is all brought together in Cold Lazarus.

The episode present a couple of firsts. Those are the first unscheduled offworld activation and Teal'c's first excersion outside of the SGC. That excersion was particularly interesting after Teal'c had had his first experience of TV, showing a rather clichéd mix of violent news and metal videos. What a terrible people we are. :rolleyes:

The episode has a rather emotional climax, that is well played by Richard Dean Anderson and Harley Jane Kozak in the role of Sara O'Neill and helps to show that SG-1 isn't always going to be balls to the floor action.

There is an episode of Stargate Atlantis that is something of a sequel to this episode. 'Doppelganger' is the fourth episode of season four of Atlantis, except the crystals have rather more dramatic effects.

Character depth is what helped to make SG-1 a success over ten years. This episode was a fine start.

7 out of 10

Brief Candle

Plot: SG-1 arrive on a planet with an ancient Greek type civilisation. The population have life spans of only one hundred days, when Jack is seduced by one of them, he too is condemned to a rapidly shortened life span. SG-1 and Dr. Frasier must race to save Jack's life, before it runs out.


So this is a little weird. This is the sixth episode on the DVD, but it's actually production number eight, meaning that there should've been a couple of episodes before this one. I've had a look at the episode guide that was bundled with the DVD and it seems that the episode order is a little different to the production order. Now, TV stations are known for screwing around with episodes, airing them in the wrong order. My assumption is that Showtime probably showed them in the wrong order in the first place and they were eventually put back in the right order for release on DVD. Nothing major, but it's interesting.

The episode itself was a great piece of science fiction. Dodgy experiments on people by higher beings, distorted sense of time, all good stuff. It's the kind of thing that made a good episode of Star Trek and it's nice to see the SG-1 writers trying some of that stuff out. There's a lot more of this sort of thing to come from SG-1 and Atlantis. Atlantis in particular has had a couple of good ones, especially the one in season three where Colonel Sheppard gets sucked in to a time dilation field where time is rapidly sped up. Loved that episode.

While on the planet, Argos, Jack develops a relationship with one of the women, Kynthia. It was a bit weak to begin, but really developed nicely as the episode went on. It wasn't quite up to the standard of the Shat tearing his womanising ways across the galaxy, but Jack is still the man, if you follow.

And I'm sure you're all wondering what the title is all about. I certainly didn't notice any candles of note in the episode. According to the entry on Wikipedia, it's a reference to the following line from Macbeth:

"Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Makes perfect sense now, right?

7 out of 10

The First Commandment

Plot: A member of SG-9 goes rogue, posing as a God for a primitive people. He works them towards death under the planet's dangerously high levels of UV radiation in order to develop a new society in his own image. It's up to SG-1 to stop him, with the aid of a member of SG-9 and a native of the planet.


Firstly, I'll mention a couple of cool guest stars in this episode. Roger Cross, who we all know and love as 24's very own Curtis, as well as William Russ, who I always remember as the Dad from Boy Meets World.

This is quite an interesting episode, as it begins to explore the idea of godhood in a bit more detail. We've already seen a running theme of native populations believing the users of the Stargate to be Gods. This episode takes that a little further to show how that belief can be exploited for personal gain.

I felt that the episode drew some parallels between Jonas Hansen, posing as a God, and Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, assuming power through insanity.

The episode is notable for developing part of Sam's back-story, specifically that she was once engaged to Hansen, but broke it off. We see her trouble with men developed further in later series.

While this wasn't a particularly stunning episode, it did have intrigue and interest enough. It is the first episode written by Robert C. Cooper, who went on to become an executive producer for the show, as well as helping to create Stargate Atlantis. I think it's clear to see from this episode alonge how his influence on the show has permeated through the following two hundred-odd episodes, especially those related to ideas of godhood.

6 out of 10

The Broca Divide

Plot: SGs 1 and 3 head to a planet that is populated by both primeval and bronze age people, seperated by light and dark areas of the planet. Upon returning to the SGC, several members of the mission develop symptoms, turning them in to savage primeval men, just like on the planet. It is up to Daniel, Teal'c and Dr. Frasier to develop a cure for the dangerously contagious disease.


All told, not a bad episode. The intensity really ramps up towards the end, with the discovery of a cure and a bid to rescue Daniel from the primeval people on the planet. It makes for quite an unbalanced episode and a lot of the early build up seems superfluous when contrasted with what actually ends up happening. In particular, the Minoan style culture, which seves little purpose other than to develop a mechanic for allowing missions to be of scientific and cultural importance, on top of being of military importance.

The title, Broca Divide, refers to Paul Broca, a 19th century anthropologist, who studied the area of the brain related to language processing and comprehension. The Broca Divide in this context is the difference between the primeval and bronze age populations.

This episode is notable for being the first appearance by Teryl Rothery in the role of Janet Frasier and set the standard for Stargate doctors that was later followed by Lexa Doig, Paul McGillion and most recently, Jewel Staite.

7 out of 10

Emancipation

Plot: SG-1 travels to a planet populated by descendants of Mongols. The Mongol tribes view women as subservient, leading to Sam being kidnapped and traded to a brutal warlord, in exchnage for the hand of the warlord's daughter.


This episode felt a little weird to start off with, mostly because the Mongol descendants thing doesn't seem to fit in with the way the show eventually pans out. Having planets populated by long lost Earth civilisations feels very short term.

It's not long until that fades away, however. The episode quickly becomes enjoyable, as Sam's defiance in the face of subserviancy leads to some classic adventure.

The episode is notable for the fact that SG-1 head back to the SG-C with some new anisthetic, that could prove useful for medical studies. It's this mechanic of bringing back new technologies for study on Earth that creates a MacGuffin that is the basis for many of the early missions.

I was also surprised to hear SG-1 allude to a previous mission, showing two things. Firstly, that not all missions are shown in episodes and secondly, that the team by this point has already gained some experience in gate travel and in meeting other cultures. I'd like to think that this helps to give the show a good pace from the start.

This episode was an acting debut for Crystal Lowe, in the role of Nya. She has since gone on to appear in films, such as Black Christmas and Snake on a Plane.

Emancipation is classic SG-1 and is a perfect example of what the show was all about at the beginning.

7 out of 10

The Enemy Within

Plot: The personnel of the SGC must fight to save Major Kawalsky's life after it is discovered that he has been infested by a Goa'uld.

An important part of this episodes is the establishment of Earth as the home of the people of the Tau'ri, the birthplace of humans within the galaxy. The advancement of the people of Earth may be the galaxy's only hope for freedom from the Goa'uld, who hold power over hundreds of planets, maybe more.


While the fate of Major Kawalsky is met with unfortunate consequences, the episode facilitates Teal'c proving himself to the higher ups in Washington and Langley, allowing him to join SG-1.

There is no gate travel during this episode, which creates something of an anti-climax following the excitement of the pilot episode. Still, good seasons are built on solid foundations (see Heroes season 2) and this episode really helps to add intriguing levels of depth to the Stargate universe.

7 out of 10

Children of the Gods

Plot: It's a year after the first mission to Abydos and the Stargate lies dormant deep within the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. Apophis, along with several Jaffa, travels to Earth through the gate, killing four Airforce personnel and kidnapping one. This leads to General Hammond bringing Colonel Jack O'Neill out of retirement to go back to Abydos and bring Daniel Jackson back to Earth in order to discover more about this new threat.


While Daniel is showing Jack and Sam Carter around Abydos, Aphophis shows up and kidnaps Skaara and Sha'Re. Daniel joins Jack and Sam on a mission to Chulak, where it is discovered that Apophis is selecting a host for his wife's symbiote. Captured by Apophis, Jack, Sam and Daniel must rely on a mysterious Jaffa for help.

So, the pilot, that most unusual of TV events. The early concepts are never really that fleshed out enough to prevent frustration when the viewer returns to watch them 212 episodes later. Still, Children of the Gods isn't a bad one. Sam Carter is a dynamic introduction to the O'Neill-Jackson dynamic and The plot makes a nice re-introduction to the Stargate universe for those that had seen the Stargate a couple of years previously.

The first half of the 1 hour 40 minute pilot is rather plot heavy, but this is made up for by some fine action sequences towards the end, particularly with Teal'c, who quickly proves himself to be a righteous badass. There is a little annoyance in the rescue scene, where Teal'c suddenly turns on the other Jaffa to help O'Neill and the crew. It almost smacks of Deus Ex Machina. Almost.

Throwing a spanner in to the works right at the end by having a symbiote secretly take host of Kawalsky was a clever move. This really helps to encourage viewing of the next episode, which is always a good thing for a pilot to have, especially for that difficult second episode.

I'd never seen the R rated version of this episode. It doesn't quite make day time viewing as Sha'Re appears fully nude at one point. I'm not sure I want to go in to details about the connotations brough about by having a symbiote writhe around on her naked body, but you can probably understand what I'm alluding to.

So, with a computer full of possible gate addresses, a team of four and a mission to find and rescue Sha'Re and Skaara, the season is well set up. Not bad at all. :)

8 out of 10

Stargate

Plot: The Stargate, discovered on Earth, is used to travel to a planet in another galaxy. A team of Airforce personnel, lead by Colonel Jack O'Neil must battle an Egyptian God to free a group of humans from slavery and return safely home to Earth.


Immediately, the differences between the film and SG-1 become quite apparent. Most notable is the fact that Abydos exists in a different galaxy to Earth in the film, while it is within the same galaxy in SG-1. Indeed, travel to another galaxy is not possible in SG-1 without an insane amount of power.


You can read more about the inconsistencies on the 'Differences between Stargate and Stargate SG-1' wiki page.

That aside, Stargate still proves itself to be a fun, action science fiction film. Kurt Russel makes a fine Jack O'Neil (one 'l'), while Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin work to set up a plot that was intended to be strung out in to a trilogy.

Fortunately, that never went ahead and we got SG-1 a couple of years later. Although there are some rumours that Devlin still wants to get those sequels off the ground, continuing the Stargate canon, rather than tieing in to Sg-1. Groan.

Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright were eventually given the chance to re-develop the conceptas a TV series. I plan on kicking that off tomorrow, with the pilot episode, 'Children of the Gods'.

The Complete Stargate SG-1

Hi,

So, I went ahead and purchased the complete Stargate SG-1 boxset on DVD. I've been a fan of the show for five or so years now and felt I owed it to myself to experience it in its entirety, from start to finish.
I'm not the quickest with box sets and tend to have two or three on the go at once, so I'm not anticipating being finished within the next 12 months. To help me keep up a reasonable pace and to hopefully keep things interesting, I figured I'd blog the experience, detailing my thoughts on each episode and the way the show develops from season to season.

The set arrived this afternoon, it's really well put together and I'm excited about getting started:

Before I do start on the set, I'm going to go right back to the beginning and watch the film, Stargate.

I'll post my thoughts on that as soon as I've finished it (probably tomorrow). :)