The Gallery

Well, I'm been quite in to film reviews at the moment, so I've set up a new blog for that purpose. This blog will still be used for Stargate updates, but any film stuff will be posted at The Gallery. Check it out!:)

The Gallery

Rules of Engagement

Stargate SG-1 Season 3 Episode 9 - Plot: SG-1 discover an off world camp used by the Goa'uld to train young Jaffa how to be human in order to infiltrate Earth.

The Camp

SG-1 meet Captain Rogers, who believes them to be under the command of Teal'c and part of an inspection team. Captain Rogers and his men were training to fight for Apophis, it's clear that they've been abandoned by their Jaffa masters since Apophis death. Rogers and the trainees refuse to believe that Apophis is dead.

Problems arise as SG-1's real weapons get mixed up with the 'Intar' training weapons, that stun but do not kill. As SG-1 work to find the weapons in the middle of a war game, Rogers is shot by Teal'c's staff weapon.


Gods Cannot Die

Rogers is taken back to Earth for treatment. He refuses to accept that Apophis is dead, until he is shown a video of his death in the SG-C. After this, he helps SG-1 to plan a mission to prevent the trainees engaging in the final test, in which the Intar weapons are replaced with real weapons. The trainees are to battle to the death, with the survivors being taken on as Apophis' personal guard.


Going Home

SG-1 return to the planet with Rogers and use a device to broadcast a large image of Apophis' death to the trainees. They reluctantly accept that their God has in fact passed on and realise that they can return to their homes.

The Review

An interesting concept, reminiscent of those supposed American towns set up in Russia as Communist training camps for a Soviet invasion of the suburbs. I think a bit more could have been made of this, rather than focusing so much on trying to prove to Captain Rogers that Apophis is dead.

This episode was fairly well paced, with transitions between the off-world camp and the SG-C helping to keep things fresh. SG-1 get roped in to a number of battles using the Intar. The Intar itself seemed to shoot a bit like a BB gun, which made me think that some SG-1 themed Airsoft battles could be pretty awesome.

Not much more to say apart from that.

6 out of 10

Flash Gordon Cancelled

So I just found out that Flash Gordon has been cancelled and will not be returning for a second season.

I'm not especially surprised, though a little disappointed. As I mentioned in my review of the first season, I always felt the show had potential and certainly improved in response to the negative criticism following its launch last Autumn.

It was at Sci Fi's upfront presentation that David Howe (Sci Fi Channel President) lumped Flash Gordon in with the likes of Painkiller Jane and The Dresden Files, both of which were similarly unsuccessful and similarly cancelled. Howe cited failings in the development process and it seems that he'll be seeking to ensure that new shows are more thoroughly developed before being debuted.

This seems sensible as Flash Gordon suffered from a slow start out of the blocks and never really recovered after being pretty universally panned by the critical media.

Howe closed by saying that the channel may try again with Flash Gordon in a few years time. For now, I think its best just to ensure that development of new shows go forward with lessons learned from this particular failure.

All Along The Watchtower

I'm personally very excited about BSG returning. It's verging on a year since the climax of season 3 and I really think that a good job has been done in hyping up the show's return in the last 6 weeks or so.

From web adverts, to Letterman, to TV spots and documentaries, it seems that everyone has gone frakking nuts about BSG.

In preparation for the premiere, I thought I'd take the opportunity to re-watch season 3's 2 part finale. I can safely say that it really overwhelmed me on a second viewing.

The main plot of the finale focused on the trial of Gaius Baltar. Baltar is surely one of TV's most fascinating characters. Plagued by hallucinations of his Cylon lover, he could be considered responsible for the genocide of the entire human race. In this trial, he faces charges that he was responsible for the deaths of 5,000 people under his regime on New Caprica. That 5,000 people made up some 12% of the remaining human population. With this in mind, it's understandable that temperatures run high as the prosecution and defence make their case. It's a fascinating trial, dramatic in its own right, but delivered with a real theatrical atmosphere. It's taut and tense and you never really know which way it's going to go. In the end, Lee Adama - Baltar's co-council - is placed on the stand to testify against Admiral Adama for pre-judging the defendant. He gives a speech that could easily have bordered on the cheesy side, but is instead impassioned, honest and from the heart. It gets Baltar off the hook to plague another season with his arrogance and eccentricity.


For me though, that really takes second fiddle to the events that lead to four of the Galactica crew realising that they are, and always have been, Cylons. Since the beginning of the finale, the four had been hearing a melody throughout the ship that seemed to disappear before they could quite figure out what it was or where it was coming from. It was really subtly handled as you never quite knew what it all meant. Possibly a Cylon weapon, possibly something wrong with the ship. I, personally, didn't put it together that it was only happening to the four of them until quite late on in the second part. Indeed, with the dramatic events of Baltar's trial, it seems forgivable that less attention would be paid to the strange song coming from 'the frakking ship'.

Those four are Chiel Tyrol, Sam Anders, Tory (Roslin's Assistant) and, most notably, Saul Tigh. I won't go in to the ramifications of this now, but it seems clear, for the moment at least, that they want to carry on as they were. Serving the fleet.

That song that they'd been hearing was a version of Hendrix's/Dylan's All Along The Watchtower, which plays out in the final scene. It really added something special to the final scene, something that I can't quite put my finger on, but it made me feel something in the pit of my stomach. It was a deep resonance with the events that had just unfolded and were currently playing out. It was perfect.


The final scene had the fleet in a spot of bother. They'd jumped to a key landmark on the road to Earth, only to find power going out across the fleet and multiple DRADIS contacts. Vipers are scrambled, with Apollo chasing a contact away from the melee. The bogey is right on his tail and seems to have the better of him, before it's revealed to be another Viper that pulls along his side. The pilot is Kara Thrace, presumed dead, but here telling Apollo that everything's going to be alright. Perhaps her special destiny has finally come to fruition. She's been to Earth and is going to show everyone the way there. With that, the shot pulls out of the nebula, the system and the galaxy, before crashing back in on Earth, the goal and surely the final destination of this fourth and final season.

BSG has always succeeded in making plot events feel monumental, like they were moments in history documented for us to learn from. Crossroads really brings all of those moments together, to produce a masterpiece in every sense of the word. I'm not sure how the show could improve on this, but after reliving this episode and getting swept up in the hype of the past few weeks, I feel that a very special second coming may be on the horizon.

Grizzly Man

Plot: Werner Herzog presents a documentary detailing the life of Timothy Treadwell, a man that spent 13 years living amongst Grizzly Bears.

I suppose there's two things to cover here. Treadwell himself and Herzog's documentary.

It's clear that Treadwell had a troubled past. Drugs and alcohol supposedly leaving him to suffer a near fatal overdose. It's not a stretch to assume that this may have caused some form of mental break down, requiring him to leave the evils of society that had hurt him in such a way. He finds solace in the wild, companionship and friendship from the bears. A unique connection that no one else on the planet could experience, which is something I feel drove him to continue returning to the Bear Sanctuary year after year.

It's remarkable that he lasted through 13 summers in the way that he did, though I feel that this was more through luck than any great judgement. Treadwell seemingly meant to leave the bears earlier in this final summer, like he did in the years before. An altercation at the airport led him to return to spend extra time at the end of the season. Seemingly this was the most dangerous time as desperate and hungry bears were more abundant as food became scarce. His death is made to seem inevitable by many people in the documentary, but it seems to me that had he followed his usual pattern, he may still be visiting the bears today.

Although it is important to consider that he carried a dark side with him. The curse-laden rant is a clear example of the fact that he could become very negative at times. Negative against the world that had hurt him, certainly, but it's not to say that negativity towards the natural but imperfect actions of the animals around him wouldn't eventually lead him to do something stupid.

I didn't know much of Timothy Treadwell before this documentary, but he was certainly shown to be a unique and fascinating individual. Whether he was right or wrong to do what he did, he did it with a conviction and died doing what he loved.

Herzog's documentary is put together well to really let the audience connect with the person. It's a unique documentary because it's rare that a person would leave so much of themselves on film, creating a character of themselves that could later be cut and edited as a character to suit a biographical narrative. Herzog clearly treats this with respect, showing a deep range of the character's emotions and his soul, as well as the extraordinary beauty that the character managed to capture.

Interspersed between the camera footage are interviews with Treadwell's friends and family. Here, Herzog allows the audience to get a sense of the effect that Treadwell had on the people's world around him. How people talk of him with God-like reverence, grand speculation and sad disdain.

Herzog subtly gives his conclusions, but not in a way that interfered with the audience's own and that's a real gift in documentary film-making.

Death Proof / Planet Terror

I'll get this out of the way now, since I find the Grindhouse 'play them together/separate' debate ____ing tedious. Grindhouse was split in two for the UK release, with both films enjoying separate and extended releases a couple of months apart. So I saw Death Proof on DVD a couple of months ago, and watched Planet Terror last night.

I've slated Quentin Tarantino in the past for being an unoriginal hack. In this case, I think he really hit the nail on the head and produced the smarter, funnier and more entertaining of the two films. Snappy dialogue was employed to great effect, letting the plot build on two occasions to a climactic scene. A little unorthodox to utilise two completely different casts, but it's been done before to a similarly good standard, such as in Chungking Express. Indeed, it's typical of Tarantino to reference other work in this way.


Planet Terror on the other hand suffers from having too many characters to develop within the first 45 minutes before the action really starts. Four concurrent plots is a bit much and makes the film loose, rather than tense and claustrophobic, like it should've been. When the action does start, it's very satisfying. Freddy Rodriguez as Wray is a true, badass Grindhouse star, secret past and all. He, with Sheriff Hague, works to really end some zombies, as blood, flesh and bones fly. There's plenty of gut munching goodness and then there's Cherry.

I guess the thing that you know going in to Planet Terror is that a chick ends up with a machine gun for a leg. I thought it sounded pretty cringeworthy, but it works impressively well to add to a frantic, and explosive climax to the film.

Stylistically, both films work well, with scratched, dusty, broken and even missing film stock creating that effect of an overused and poorly kept film in a run down theatre. Again, I'd say that Death Proof used the effect more subtly and with greater results.

I get the feeling that this kind of thing might be tried again. I just hope that directors and producers remember that re-creating quick and dirty shock cinema doesn't have to be at the expense of good film making techniques. Keep it simple and keep it fun.

Death Proof: 7 out of 10 / Planet Terror: 6 out of 10

Demons

Stargate SG-1 Season 3 Episode 8 - Plot: SG-1 encounters a Christian civilisation that is being terrorised by an Unas under the command of Sokar.

Playing Devil

As SG-1 speculates that a Goa'uld is playing God, they discover that the village Canon is sacrificing villagers to the Unas, posing as a satanic demon. The Unas is doing the bidding of Sokar, who is in this case posing as the devil. SG-1 offer to assist the villagers, but the Canon believes that Teal'c is possessed by a demon and submits him to a witchcraft test.

The Tests

Teal'c is first submitted to the 'Mark of the Devil' test, in which a part of his body believed to have been marked by the devil is tested. The belief is that if it has been marked by the devil then it should feel no pain. Teal'c fails this as the Canon burns his brand with a red hot poker, but feels no pain. Next he is submitted to a drowning test, in which he is tied to a rock and thrown in to a river. If he floats then he will be considered a demon, if he sinks then he will drown in an honourable Christian death.

Teal'c drowns and is cleared of being a demon. As SG-1 mourns his death, he rises during the burial ceremony. He reveals that he entered a meditative state and allowed his symbiote to breathe for him to survive.

Sacrificed

SG-1 are sacrificed to the Unas following this, but they are able to get the upper hand on him with the help of a villager, Simon. Simon mortally wounds the Unas, but its parasite escapes in to the Canon. Sam is able to detect his presence and SG-1 quickly dispatch him, leaving Simon to bury the Gate upon their departure.


The Review

It's curious that this is the kind of episode that I crave as a fan of SG-1, but so often they don't deliver. This is certainly the team at their best, out exploring the galaxy, discovering new cultures and helping them to better themselves. There's no need to worry about military politics, IOA interference or any of that stuff, just honest to goodness exploration.

So it's a shame when it doesn't quite come off, such as in the case of this. Teal'c's witchcraft trial felt rather tagged on and it was patently obvious that he was going to rise from the dead at some point. The fact that there were only two trials made the concept feel yet more shallow. The Unas' appearances were bookended and negated any possibility of some decent action, except for when Simon shoots him three times with a staff weapon.

Simon was played by David McNally, he starred previously in SG-1 in the episode 'Cor-Ai', in which Teal'c is put on trial for his crimes as a Jaffa. He also starred in one of my favourite episodes of Atlantis, 'Epiphany'. That's the one where Sheppard falls in to a time dilation field on a planet.

Jack kept the humour going throughout the episode to good effect, the Christianity puns and references were appreciated in particular. Still, it wasn't enough to save a poorly executed and somewhat dull episode.

6 out of 10

Deadman Switch

Stargate SG-1 Season 3 Episode 7 - Plot: SG-1 are taken captive by a Bounty Hunter. They are offered their freedom in exchange for their assistance in capturing a Goa'uld.

Aris Boch

The Bounty Hunter is a man named Aris Boch (Sam J. Jones). He claims he is from a race that was immune to being taken as a host by the Goa'uld. Sam is excited by the possibilities of such an immunity, but Aris tells them that the Goa'uld simply wiped out his race instead. We find out later that the Goa'uld enslaved Aris' people by lacing their water supply with an addictive substance.

A Goa'uld?

While Aris keeps Sam hostage, Jack, Teal'c and Daniel go to attempt to capture the Goa'uld. Problem is, he turns out to be a Tok'ra, that has recently gone on the run having been found as a spy by Sokar. The Tok'ra is Korra and he, along with SG-1 are unwilling to let him fall in to the hands of a System Lord, who may compel him to reveal sensitive information. Aris cannot return to Sokar empty-handed, so Teal'c offers to take Korra's place.

A Change of Heart

As Aris takes Teal'c away, he asks more questions about the Tok'ra and Earth's fight against the System Lord. He has a change of heart and makes his ship self destruct as he and Teal'c escape away in escape pods. Clearly, news of the Tok'ra and their fight with StarGate Command against the System Lords has given him hope of a future without them.

SG-1's Value

During their capture, Aris explains SG-1's value to a System Lord. Teal'c is obviously the most value, as they'd like to make an example of him to other would-be traitors. Sam is next as she contains the memories of Jolinar. After that is Jack for being a pain in the 'nikta' (which doesn't stand for neck). Finally, Aris says that Daniel is probably worth about a day's rations. Daniel is understandably perturbed by this.

However, Aris later reveals that Daniel is actually worth a lot more because he's the one that figured out how to use the StarGate in the first place. That news doesn't make him feel much better.

The Review

Well this was very enjoyable. Sam J. Jones was excellent as Aris, a funny, larger than life character. Probably the best thing is that he is, of course, Flash Gordon from the 1980 film. It took me ages to place him, he's certainly pretty well built now. They could've cast him as Marv in Sin City, they probably wouldn't have needed all the make-up they needed for Mickey Rourke to fulfill the role!

I thought the episode was being set up for a two-parter, with Aris taking Teal'c away to Sokar at the end of this episode, SG-1 would find a way to free him in the next. Still, it was quite a satisfying end, thanks mostly to a really classy shot where we see Aris ship flying off in to the distance behind Sam and Jack (see above). It then explodes and we see the two escape pods flying back down to the ground. Great effect and well produced.

So yeah, good fun!

8 out of 10

Point of View

Stargate SG-1 Season 3 Episode 6 - Plot: Alternate reality versions of Samantha Carter and Charles Kawalsky use the Quantum Mirror to travel to this reality in order to find refuge from a Goa'uld attack.

Alternates

The alternates arrive through the Quantum Mirror in to Area 51. There are some key differences. Firstly, Carter never joined the Air Force and is part of the StarGate programme as a Doctor. It seems that she fulfilled Daniel's role in figuring out how to use the Gate. This probably explains how Kawalsky is still alive. If Daniel didn't go on the Abydos mission then he didn't stay for a year and didn't set the events the led to SG-1 travelling to Chulak and meeting Teal'c. Thus, Kawalsky never got infested by a Goa'uld symbiote.

In the alternate reality, Sam and Jack were married. It's once again shown that they could easily be an item, if only they didn't have things like rank in the way. Alternate Jack died fighting the Goa'uld attack, led by Apophis.

Having two Carters in the same reality begins to cause problems, as alternate Carter suffers from entropic cascade. Following this, SG-1 works to plan an assault on the alternate reality's SG-C in order to oust Apophis, his First Prime Teal'c and the rest of the Jaffa by contacting the Asgard.

The Assault

The assault goes well, as Teal'c removes his alternate and takes his place as First Prime. He's able to stop the torture of General Hammond by Apophis and creates sufficient distraction for alternate Sam to go through the Gate to the Asgard homeworld.

Meanwhile, Daniel is captured by the Jaffa midway through using the Quantum Mirror's remote to find the correct reality. Jack and Teal'c surrender to save his life, but they are all in danger of being killed by Apophis, until the Asgard show up at the last minute.

Teal'c and Daniel travel back, as Jack and alternate Sam share a goodbye kiss.

The Review

Ah, the wonder of possibilities. I love these episodes, where we see what could've been and what could be. Much like the Atlantis season 4 finale, which I've just reviewed.

It's always good to see Kawalsky, this is the last time we'll see him until Moebius though. Alternate Sam was interesting. Much the same, but also subtly different. She gives our Sam a very frosty reception due to the fact that she joined the military. Her struggles with Jack's death in her reality are compounded by coming face to face with our Jack. He does well in a very difficult position and I'm sure he managed to help her through the problem.

I thought the set up of the episode worked well. The first half being taken up with the implications of the alternates arriving from their reality, whilst the second half showed the assault on the Goa'uld. Neither part really dragged on longer than it needed to and the development of an action sequence helped to keep it fresh and fun.

8 out of 10

The Last Man

Stargate Atlantis Season 4 Episode 20 (Finale) - Plot: Sheppard attempts to gate back to Atlantis, but his wormhole is intercepted by a solar flare, causing him to be sent 48,000 years in to the future. There, he is greeted by a hologram of Rodney McKay, who tells of the disastrous events that followed his disappearance.

The Future

Sheppard arrives on Atlantis, but finds that the base had been abandoned and the ocean has been evaporated by the planet's star, which has become a red giant. The Rodney hologram shows him as being somewhat aged and begins to recall the fates of the Atlantis team as they travel to the stasis chamber. Rodney's plan is to put Sheppard in to stasis until another solar event occurs that will be able to send him back to within two months of his disappearance.

Teyla and Michael

Teyla has her baby and Michael is able to use it to complete his research in to the Human/Wraith hybrid. The Atlantis team eventually find Teyla dead, but McKay intends to send Sheppard back with her location in order to help the team find her faster. With his research complete, Michael is able to effectively cut off the Wraith's food supply, leading to intense fighting between them. The Wraith eventually fall and Michael sets about converting more humans to hybrids, bringing the strong in to his fold and exterminating the weak.

Sam Carter

Sam manages to encourage the Air Force to build a new battle cruiser for her to fight Michael's forces. The Phoenix is instrumental in allowing her to fight a guerrilla war against Michael. She is eventually killed in an ambush, the ship destroyed.

Ronon

Ronon leaves Atlantis to form a militia group to battle Michael. After a number of victories, he is killed in action with Todd during the destruction of one of Michael's laboratories.

McKay and Keller

Rodney and Jennifer eventually leave Atlantis after Richard Woolsey (Robert Picardo) is put in charge of the expedition. He stops all of the expedition members' humanitarian efforts across the Pegasus galaxy in order to focus on the defence of Atlantis.

The pair begin a relationship during their trip back to Earth on the Daedalus. Dr. Keller eventually passes away following complications caused by her exposure to the Hoffan virus. It's this that causes Rodney to begin his research in to changing the time line by sending Sheppard back from 48,000 years in the future.


The Present

Sheppard arrives back on Atlantis after 12 days missing. He immediately sets to work in organising a mission to find Teyla. Once at the facility, the team finds that it has been booby trapped. The episode ends as the building collapses on the team. Their fate, unknown.

The Review

A very satisfying season finale. Not quite what I'd have expected ten episodes ago, but it keeps up the pace that's built over the past two or three episodes. The plot mechanic developed in the SG-1 episode, 1969, of sending people to the past and the future has proven itself in providing several quite interesting episodes. This was no different.

Atlantis has gone through a lot of changes this season, with Carson and Dr. Weir gone, but I think it's fair to say that it's come out of the end in a very strong position. The season has ebbed and flowed between the epic, the fun and the fantastic. The strength of guest characters has been developed well. Todd and Jennifer Keller have been particularly excellent additions.

Probably the highlight of this episode for me was seeing Rodney and Jennifer develop that relationship that was hinted at a few episodes ago. It'll be interested to see if that'll develop again, now that the time line has changed.

The cliffhanger leaves the fate of a big chunk of the team unknown. I'd anticipate that something will happen to see the team come out of it safe and sound, though I wouldn't be surprised if someone like Major Lorne isn't as lucky as the rest.

That's it for a few months then!

9 out of 10

The Kindred (Part 2)

Stargate Atlantis Season 4 Episode 19 - Plot: The story behind Carson's incarceration is unveiled, as the Atlantis team works to find and rescue Teyla.

Carson

Understandably, everyone's a little sceptical about Carson's return. They fear he may, intentionally or not, do something to hinder their attempts to find Michael and Teyla. We learn this much, the real Carson did die a year ago in an explosion. This Carson is a clone, who believed he was the real Carson and that he had been in captivity for two years, having been taken following the events of Misbegotten.

There's a problem though. Carson had been receiving regular injections from Michael. His original belief was that these were designed to keep him sedated. In fact, they were designed to keep him alive, as a side effect of the cloning process causes cell decay. Carson begins to suffer organ failure, but is determined to help in the search for Teyla.

Teyla

Teyla is taken to a facility on an abandoned post-cull world. There, she is re-united with the Athosians, before being taken to Michael where he explains his plans for her child. As the child will be the product of two parents with The Gift, Michael believes that it could be vital in his research in to developing Human/Wraith hybrids.

The Atlantis team gets a lead on their location and invades the facility. Following a confrontation with Beckett, Michael escapes with Teyla.

Stasis

Dr. Keller's efforts to save Carson have not been successful and there's no choice but to put him into Stasis while she works to find a way to regenerate his cells.

In an emotional 'see you later', the team gathers to watch him go in to the Stasis Pod, knowing that he may never be revived again.

The review

I'd say this was something of a disappointment following last week's episode. It certainly felt like it was building up to more than this. Maybe the fact that it wasn't our Carson made me a little disenchanted with the episode from the start.

It did pick up towards the end, with some exciting action scenes during the Atlantis team's assault on Michael's facility. It was interesting to see that the Teyla in captivity plot will roll over to another episode. I'd imagine it might even roll over to next season. She certainly appears to be heavily pregnant up to this point. She's already had her baby, but it'd stand to reason that she'd need to take a break away from the show for that reason.

Mixed feelings about putting Carson in to Stasis. On the one hand, it means we're likely to see him again. On the other, it's a rather big dangling plot thread that might never be resolved.

Well this episode floundered for twenty minutes or so, it picked up a head of steam eventually to produce a half satisfying/half frustrating climax.

The season 4 finale is up next!

8 out of 10

Demon Hand

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 1 Episode 7 - Plot: Sarah attempts to track down the missing hand of the T-888 that was recently destroyed. Meanwhile, Agent Eliison's investigation in to Sarah leads him to Dr. Silberman.

Ellison & Sarah

First of all, we find that Ellison has hidden the T-888's hand in his freezer box. As I think a lot of people expected, he's starting to buy in to Sarah's prophecy and he eventually finds himself at the door of Dr. Silberman. Silberman is here played by Bruce Davison, having been portrayed by Earl Boen in the film trilogy.

Ellison and Silberman sit down to tea. Ellison is drugged by Silberman, who reveals that he needed to be certain that he wasn't a machine. Silberman clearly believes Sarah and realises the danger that someone asking questions about her might pose. Most interestingly, he tells of his encounter with Schwarzenegger's Terminator and the T-1000 as a religious experience. Saying how The Terminator reached out the hand of God to John Connor, 'Come with me if you want to live, like the Sistine Chapel.

Silberman douses Ellison in petrol and sets the cabin on fire around him. As he escapes, he runs in to Sarah, apologising for not believing her. Sarah knocks him out, takes the hand and rescues Ellison.

John

During the course of her investigation in to the whereabouts of the hand, Sarah finds herself at Ellison's apartment, where he has tapes of Sarah from her time in the mental hospital. She takes one away with her, which John watches. It shows her signing a form to relinquish parental responsibility over John. John is understandably upset at this, but Sarah explains how it was on the day that they found each other and that she needed it to give herself the strength and the necessity to break out and get to him.

Cameron

Cameron sets to work in finding The Turk. She ends up at the dance studio of the sister of Andy Goode's partner, Dmitri. She eventually finds Dmitiri and learns that he messed with The Turk's end game protocol to make it lose the chess match in order to sell it to someone. She gets an address in exchange for money, though Dmitri and his sister are soon killed by Russian mobsters, to whom the money was owed. Scarily, Cameron did nothing to help them, as it was out of her mission protocol.

Very interestingly, Cameron shows a very keen interest in ballet while conducting her investigation. She's seen at the very end practising some moves. A voice over from Sarah explains that the machines cannot appreciate beauty, they cannot create art. If they ever learn these things, they won't have to destroy us. They'll be us.

The Review

Certainly interesting to see the characters going off in different directions. The links back to T2, especially relating to Dr. Silberman provided some very intriguing scenes, especially in the cabin as he explained his encounter with the 2 Terminators.

I think The Turk has played a much bigger part in this season than I originally anticipated. The initial set up of the show made it seem as if Sarah, John and Connor would be off systematically taking out key components of Skynet. Instead, it's been a lot more complicated. There are more players in the game and even removing one component has proven to be a challenge. It's a show of great plot depth and a show that patience will be key to stopping Judgement Day and enjoying the show.

Cameron again proves to be a very interesting character, not just relating to her dancing, but also to an exchange between her and Derek Reese, where they both reveal that they know who each other is. I'm guessing there's more to Cameron than we know so far and I wouldn't be surprised if we find out what that is in next week's 2-part season finale. I've also got a slight suspicion that she might not make it out of that finale alive. I've really enjoyed Cameron as character, but I'm not sure that she necessarily needs to part of the show long-term. There were just a few very subtle hints in this episode that suggest to me that something might happen to her.

I guess we'll all find out next Monday. :)

8 out of 10

Learning Curve

Stargate SG-1 Season 3 Episode 5 - Plot: A knowledge exchange between the SG-C and the planet Orban leads to a disturbing discovery of the way that the Orbanians learn.

The Exchange

It's made clear that the Orbanians have rapidly advanced technologically during the past few decades. They have a Naqahdah Generator that they are willing to loan to the SG-C for study. Major Carter works with a young girl named Merrin to figure out how the device works and apply the knowledge using Earth technology.
In exchange, Teal'c teaches a young boy named Tomin about the threat posed by the Goa'uld.

Machine Learning

Merrin undergoes a medical upon arriving at the SG-C. From this, Dr. Frasier learns that Merrin's brain is full of nanites. It transpires that the Orbanians acquire knowledge by putting millions of nanites in to the brains of selected children. The nanites create synapses that facilitate rapid and advanced learning. Atfer ten years of learning, the child reaches the age of twelve. At this point they go through a ceremony to remove the nanites, which are then distributed throughout the population. The method allows the knowledge gained by the individual child to be delivered to all of the people of Orban.

Taking Merrin as an example, she has worked for ten years to study and advance the people of Orban's use of Naqahdah. When she goes through the ceremony, the knowledge will be given to the rest of the population, allowing someone else to further her work for another ten years.

There's a catch though, the process of removing the nanites renders the child a vegetable. They are then unable to be re-implanted with nanites or to learn in the normal way. The Orbanians do not seem too concerned by this, but as you can imagine, SG-1 and General Hammond are somewhat apalled.

Fun

Never when to balk at the idea of kidnapping an 11 year old girl, Colonel O'Neill takes Merrin off the base. It seems that he's becoming quite friendly with the staff and students of the elementary school where Cassandra attended. Jack introduces Merrin to the students, who teach her to play and have fun. She's a little apprehensive at first, but learns all about fun and using imagination when she takes an art class with the children.

When she returns to Orban, her knowledge is taken and spread throughout the population. Not just the knowledge of Naqahdah though, also how to have fun. SG-1 returns to see a very different people.

The Review

It's quite a lovely episode. You know from the start that there's something fishy about the way that the children are doing all of the learning from the start of the episode. It was fun to try and figure out exactly what was going on, before it was eventually revealed about 2/3rds of the way through.

Jack's always good with the kids and it was interesting to get an idea of a way that he spends his time off base. Certainly his fondness of Cassandra had made him rather popular amongst the other students.

Seeing it all wrap up nicely in the end put a bit of a smile on my face, even if it was a little hammy. Jack could face a court martial for kidnapping Merrin, but he says it was worth it to teach a little girl to have fun.

I'm pretty sure that the Naqahdah generator that Sam develops with Merrin's help ends up playing a rather large part in coming seasons. It seems to be a rather powerful device, a decent stop gap before the ZPMs are discovered at least.

8 out of 10

The Kindred (Part One)

Stargate Atlantis Season 4 Episode 18 - Plot: Teyla has a series of visions that set her on a path to find Kanaan, the father of her child. Meanwhile, the rest of the Atlantis crew investigate a disease that is sweeping through the Pegasus Gate Network.

Complicated

I'm not going to lie to you, this is one hell of a complicated episode plot wise. It's really a great pay off to the fans who've been with the show since the beginning, as it rekindles plots from seasons one and two.

If you did struggle to recall some of the back story, then I'd recommend reading through the following Wiki entries, just to jog your memory: Poisoning the Well (Episode), Michael (Character), Michael (Episode), Allies (Episode).

Teyla's Visions

Teyla's visions are of Kanaan, who leads her to a trading planet, where she discovers items of jewellery that belonged to the Athosians. She hopes that a meeting with the trader who found them will lead her back to her people, but she is instead taken by a Wraith Dart. There, she finds that her captor is Michael. He appears to have great plans for Teyla's baby. Michael reunites Teyla with Kanaan, but she is distraught to find that Michael has used the Iratus Bug retrovirus to turn him in to a Human/Wraith Hybrid.

Disease

Dr. Keller reports on a disease that has affected 8 worlds in the Gate Network so far. While the virus appears to have run its course on all the worlds, it claimed the lives of 30% of the population in the process. The virus turns out to be a refined version of the inoculation developed by the Hoffans, with the help of Carson Beckett way back in episode seven of season one. If you remember, the inoculation was made to prevent the Wraith from feeding on humans. It becomes clear that someone is seeking to weaken the Wraith's faith in its food supply.

With a little help from Todd, the team figure out that Michael must be behind it. Michael is bitter at the Wraith for rejecting him and does not need to feed on humans to survive.


An Old Friend

Todd helps the Atlantis team to find Michael's base of operations. Sheppard leads a mission to infiltrate it, only to find that neither Michael nor Teyla are there. They are in fact on a Wraith Cruiser that is in battle in orbit with the Daedalus. Sheppard radios to tell Caldwell not to destroy the Cruiser. Unfortunately it escapes in to hyperspace before they are able to disable it.

The guards in the base had been defending one room in particular. With them all neutralised, Sheppard, McKay and Ronon open the door to find Carson Beckett. He'd supposedly been dead for a year, but demands to know what took them so long in finding him.

The Review

As I said, it's a lot to take in and a lot to try and recall, especially as the plot keeps coming thick and fast. Despite that, it lacked a certain something, a bit of spice and excitement if you will. The episode always felt like it was building to something. Knowing this was part one of two, I resigned myself to the fact that the pay off was going to be next week.

Seeing Paul McGillion return as Carson Beckett was a real curve ball. It was one of those end of episode twists that really leaves you tingling. Excitement, confusion, shock and surprise, all the good emotions that you want from a TV show. Carson died in an explosion last year, so it's theoretically possible that he was scooped up by a Dart just before it hit. It'd make sense that Michael would want him. After all, he helped to develop the original inoculation 4 years ago.

I imagine that this will only be a short-lived return, though I'd be more than happy to see Carson back full time. It's possible that the actor simply wanted to take a year out Daniel Jackson style. It'll also be interesting to see if the Elizabeth Weir/Replicator plot is resolved this season. Having both Carson and Elizabeth back within a three episode spell would be pretty exciting.

Can't wait for part 2, even if this episode was slightly let down by being mostly build up.

7 out of 10

Legacy

Stargate SG-1 Season 3 Episode 4 - Plot: A parasite infects Daniel Jackson, leading to him experiencing visual and auditory hallucinations.

Daniel Jackson committed to mental institution

Upon returning from an off-world mission, SG-1 team member, Daniel Jackson began showing symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia. These symptoms included hallucinations of a group of dead Goa'uld's found by SG-1 during their last mission.

SGC medical personnel had little choice but to confine Dr Jackson to a mental institution as he became a threat to himself and others.

Gate travel suspended for mental health review

A review by SGC medical personnel led to a conclusion that Dr. Jackson's medical condition was as a result of gate travel over an extended period of time. Following this, General Hammond took the decision to recall all off world teams and initiate a review of the health of all SG-team members.


Reason for death of Linvris discovered

While being held in an air force mental institution, Dr. Jackson came in to contact with fellow SG-1 team member, Teal'c. During this contact, an organism was transfered from Daniel to Teal'c. Teal'c became very ill soon after, while Daniel's condition quickly improved.

An investigation revealed that the organism was actually a weapon designed by Ma'chello, a man encountered by SG-1 during a mission off-world last year. The organism attacks the Goa'uld symbiote, resulting in death of the parasite and of the host. It appears to cause insanity in humans without a host as a side effect.


Goa'uld weapon wreaks havoc at StarGate Command

During research in to the source of the weapon, Major Carter, Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Frasier all become infected by it. O'Neill and Frasier quickly began to succumb to insanity, but Carter was unaffected. The organism soon left her body and she saw a vision of Ma'chello, informing her that the Goa'uld that held her has already been removed.

This led to an assumption that a protein left by dead Goa'uld in a host's body was being used by the weapon to determine who it should attack. Sam Carter worked quickly to inject the protein in to Dr. Frasier, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c. The three all made a quick recovery.

The review

I enjoyed the link back to Ma'chello. His inventions did seem to have a lot of potential at the time and it was good to see the research in to them being referred back to. It was his page turning device that was being used to deliver the weapon. One of which was in storage at Area 51 and had been found with the Linvris.

The Linvris were also quite interesting. Teal'c describes them as a second tier of Goa'uld that opposes the System Lords. Seemingly with little success, as there were only nine of them. They now pose no threat at all, having been killed by Ma'chello's weapon.

The episode seemed to ebb and flow. Daniel's descent in to insanity was fun to watch. Sam figuring out how to develop a cure for Jack and Dr. Frasier wasn't. Teal'c was pretty much forgotten about until the very end. Poor guy.

This is the third main episode of this series and we've yet to really see SG-1 out and about in the StarGate network. A great deal of the action has taken place on Earth and at the SG-C so far. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is a marked change from the two previous seasons. It's understandable, as if the show was to survive then it would need to show growth of the StarGate programme as a whole, not just of SG-1.

7 out of 10

Dungeons & Dragons

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 1 Episode 6 - Plot: As Charley and Sarah fight to save Derek Reese's life, Derek recalls the events that led to him travelling to the past.

The Present

Sarah fills Charley in on the details of Judgement Day, Skynet and the machines. He accepts the story fairly well, but is rather freaked out by Cameron, especially as she works to destroy the exoskeleton of the machine that tried to kill them in the last episode.

Derek's condition is grave, as his lungs begin to fill with fluid. John is able to help by donating some of his blood. Derek has a rare blood type and the fact that John is a match allows Charley to fill in the blanks that the pair are related. He's not John's father as he originally suspected, but his uncle. Knowledge of the fact that Kyle Reese is John's father is a very closely guarded secret, Sarah won't even let Derek know. This is understandable as it puts Kyle at risk in the future. If Kyle is killed before he's sent back to protect Sarah then John is never born.


The Future

It's important to note that this is actually Derek's past. Derek, Kyle and a group of other freedom fighters are holed up in a bunker in a ruined city. Intelligence reports reveal that the machines have a secret weapon, this transpires to be the device that can send people through time. While on an offensive, Derek is captured and held in captivity with other freedom fighters and Andy Goode. Andy confides in Derek that he helped to create Skynet.

Derek and the other captives are inexplicably let go after being tortured. They return to the bunker where news of the capture of the secret weapon is passed around alongside news of the missing Kyle Reese. He had been sent back to the past, but Derek doesn't learn this until he himself is briefed on the device by John Connor.

The Past

Derek Reese and three others arrive in the past to work to stop Skynet from being created. In an effort towards this, we see Derek killing Andy Goode after the chess tournament.

Sometimes they go bad

In the present, Cameron discusses the fact that captured and converted machines have their memories scrambled. She says this is to help prevent them from turning bad.

In the future we see Cameron and Derek meet. Derek assumes she's bad, but is informed that she's been converted to join the freedom fighters. Later on, she helps to stop another convert that has gone bad. It seems that the process of converting the machines to fight for the humans was not and may still not be perfect.

It's assumed that Cameron's memory was removed after she met Derek Reese, so she does not believe she has met him by the time he turns up in the present.


The review

So it's all a little complicated, but works really well once all the bits fall in to place. Not much really happens in the scenes set in the present, but they do help to make the future scenes more intriguing.

We never actually see Derek being tortured, but his demeanour after being taken down to a mysterious basement room suggests that it wasn't a pleasant time. Honestly, I couldn't guess what actually happened and there was a lot about the machines that was 'odd'. For starters, the one that watches over the captives doesn't appear to be particularly advanced. His skin job isn't perfect, nor is his mobility and dexterity. On top of that, a flying machine regularly blasts a high intensity light in to the room in which they are being held captive. At a guess, I'd say that it was to check up on them, but then what were the other machines doing in the make shift prison?

What's more curious is that the machines just let them go. It could've been a ruse gone bad, but I sense that the machines aren't the cohesive force that we might've expected.

Finally, we never actually see John in the future. This may just be because Thomas Dekker isn't old enough to really play that part. Or, it may be because something is yet to happen to John in the series that will effect the way he appears, or the way we perceive him in the future.

The scenes set in the present didn't really contribute much to the episode and were mercifully short. This allowed a tantalising glimpse of the future to play out in intricate detail. It all fit together perfectly in the end, helping to make this one of the better episodes so far.

8 out of 10

Fair Game

Stargate SG-1 Season 3 Episode 3 - Plot: The Asgard warn of a major System Lord threat in the wake of Sg-1's defeat of Hathor. He helps to set up a peace summit with three of the System Lords to guarantee Earth's protection.

SGC negotiates peace treaty with Goa'uld

Having been warned by Thor of a threat posed to Earth, the SGC successfully managed to negotiate a treaty to place Earth under the Protected Planets Treaty. Negotiations had hit the rocks after it appeared that SG-1 team member, Teal'c, had attacked one of the congregation, Cronus. Sg-1 eventually uncovered a plot hatched by a 2nd member, Nirti, to sabotage the negotiations by making it appear as if Teal'c had attacked Cronus. She had utilised a technology designed to fight the Re'tu, an alien race that appears invisible to human eyes.

Having learned of Nirti's treachery, Cronus and Yu agreed to allow Earth entry in to the Protected Planets Treaty.

Protected Planets Treaty

The Protected Planets Treaty is held amongst the Goa'uld System Lords in conjunction with the Asgard to ensure that a member planet cannot be attacked by any of the System Lords. Those that break the treaty face the wrath of the Asgard. The treaty ensures that no member planet can advance beyond a technological point where they would become a threat to the Goa'uld.


An Asgard bluff

The Asgard, Thor, revealed that the treaty was in fact a bluff on the part of the Asgard. Thor claimed that their forces are stretched perilously then by an ongoing battle in their own galaxy with a force much worse than the Goa'uld.

Thor claimed that if the Goa'uld called the bluff then there is little that they could do to actually defend any of the treaty's member planets. The ruse is upheld by the Goa'uld's belief that the Asgard pose a threat far beyond their technological capability.

Teal'c reveals reason for becoming First Prime of Apophis

In a conversation with Daniel Jackson, Teal'c revealed his history with the System Lord Cronus and how that resulted in him becoming Apophis' First Prime. His father was First Prime of Cronus and was eventually killed after failing to complete a mission that Teal'c described as impossible. Following this, Teal'c and his Mother fled to Chulak where he vowed to become First Prime of Cronus' most hated enemy, Apophis.


Samantha Carter promoted

A delighted Major General George Hammond rewarded Samantha Carter with a promotion for her enacting duties far beyond her remit as Captain. For her part in defending Earth and defeating two System Lords, she was promoted to Major.

The review

I think it's fair to say that this episode's importance and notability probably outweighs it's quality. A lot happens. From Sam getting her promotion, to Teal'c telling of a fatherless childhood and, of course, the summit.

Nirti, Yu and Cronus are a pretty frightening trio. All three seem to have a formidable Earth based past, spread across the Greek, Hindu and Chinese cultures. Yu is most receptive to Earth entering the treaty. apparently he conducts most of his business away from this area of space anyway. Cronus appears to be a big mean bear, and we've already heard of Nirti's evil side, having destroyed Cassandra's planet in season one.

All of this makes for quite a charged episode and it seems at one point that Earth might have to give up the StarGates to secure their safety. Fortunately, Nirti's treachery puts paid to that.

On top of that, Thor speaks of a threat more potent that the Goa'uld. Perhaps we might meet them at some point this season. ;)

7 out of 10

Seth

Stargate SG-1 Season 3 Episode 2 - Plot: Jacob Carter/Selmak arrives on Earth to enlist the help of SG-1 in finding a missing System Lord, Seth.


SG-1 uncovers Goa'uld led cult

SG-1, with the aid of the Tok'ra brought down a brainwashing cult outside of Seattle. The cult, led by a System Lord named Seth, had been recruiting local youngsters in to its heavily fortified HQ. The Tok'ra had been conducting a census of System Lords when they realised that one was unaccounted for. They believed that he may never have left Earth. With the help of Daniel Jackson, it was uncovered that the Goa'uld had been leading suicide cults throughout history.

A swift operation saw SG-1 members Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter and Dr. Jackson allow themselves to be captured to infiltrate the base. Following this, the team were brainwashed, but had safe guarded against this being permanent by carrying devices designed to deliver an electric shock to snap them out of it. Seth was later killed by Captain Carter, who was able to utilise a Goa'uld hand device.

President resolves jurisdictional dispute

The Air Force and the ATF were involved in a jurisdictional dispute over who should lead the operation to bring down the Cult of Seth. ATF mission leader, Agent Hamner had claimed that the cult was a civilian matter. However, the presence of a Goa'uld within the Cult allowed SG-1 to rely on the President to clear the matter up. In the end, SG-1 ran the mission with co-operative support from the ATF

Jacob Carter returns to Earth to resolve family matter

Selmak encouraged a return to earth having become aggrivated by an unresolved matter between Jacob Carter and his estranged son. Jacob and Sam Carter were successfully reunited with Mark, now a father of two children.

The review

This was certainly back to normal after a dissapointing season finale and premiere. It was nice to see Carmen Argenziano return as Jacob Carter, even if the family matter was rather tagged on to the plot.

The idea of a Tok'ra census of System Lords was an interesting one, reinforcing the fact that there is a wider entwork of System Lords than we were initially led to believe. Indeed, Jacob Carter brough a Tok'ra device back with him to display Ra's fmaily tree. This included the likes of Apophis and Hathor, as well as Seth. It stands to reason that there may be other families of Goa'ulds out there that SG-1 will encounter at some point.

In truth, this episode could've worked really well as an episode of The X-Files. I can imagine Mulder and Scully being placed in the position of the ATF quite easily. I guess an X-Files episode would've focused more on Seth's mysterious powers, his huge life span and brain washing abilities. This episode of SG-1 focused instead on the building of a mission to bring the Goa'uld down. After all, the abilities and history of the Goa'uld is no mystery to us.

This isn't the most thrilling of episodes, but it's one of the strongest Earth based ones that we've seen so far. The way that SG-1 had to work under strict confidentiality to prevent the ATF from becoming aware of what was really going on was particularly interesting. It's a decent concept to roll out from time to time, providing it isn't used too often.

7 out of 10