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