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.