Serpent's Song

Plot: Apophis escapes from the captivity of a rival System Lord, Sokar, to beg for the aid of the Tau'ri. He's badly injured and the Goa'uld begins to die, leading to SG-1 attempting to get as much information out of him as they can. Meanwhile, in a bid to get Apophis back, Sokar begins attacking the Iris.

This is quite a remarkable episode, as it manages to generate a great deal of tension purely through several lengthy scenes of dialogue. With Apophis in custody, there's plenty of chance for everyone to give him the piece of their mind that they've wanted to for nearly two years now.

Jack goes first and makes it clear that he would rather have left him to die. Indeed, it's clear that Jack is annoyed at himself for not shooting Apophis while off world, especially now he's tangled up in the sticky web of prisoner of war's rights.

Daniel has a much more personal stake in the affair. He taunts Apophis by telling him that he knows where his child is. That he was the one that took the child, not Heru'ur. He rather scarily demands that Apophis tell him where Sha're is, or he'll kill him there and then. It's a kind of viciousness that we rarely see from Daniel, but worked really well. The fact that Apophis is eventually given back to Sokar shows that playing the 'I know where your son is' card will likely be a mistake.

Teal'c's up next. He revels in Apophis' impending death, claiming that the day that he dies will become a holy day for the people of Chulak. You can see the hatred in his eyes, a great scene played by Christopher Judge for sure.

Things are complicated by the fact that Sokar tracks down the Tau'ri. He begins bombarding the Iris with subatomic particles, making it get super hot. The temperature in the gate room rises to over 200 degrees fahrenheit after two full 38 minute activations. Sam is eventually able to dial the Earth gate out after developing a faster dialling sequence. I wonder if they just go on to use it by default from that point on. Certainly it's better than the rather sluggish dialling sequence that they had been using. Though no match for a DHD!

The Tok'ra had arrived a little earlier and advise SG-1 to return Aphophis to Sokar. He's already dead by this point, but Martouf explains that Sokar will still be able to revive Apophis and torture him for as long as he desires. Somehow though, I get the sense that Apophis may still have some fight in him yet. I'm sure we'll see more of him some time soon, eager to seek revenge on SG-1 for their offensive action that resulted in him being weak enough for Sokar to defeat him.

As I mentioned, this episode really did manage to maintain a great deal of tension throughout. The dialogue sequences between SG-1 and Apophis are particularly intense and show how good writing can make an action light episode in to a real triumph.

8 out of 10

The Fifth Race

Plot: Jack has the entire knowledge of an entire race downloaded in to his brain. While he starts using over 90% of his brain function, he also loses the ability to comprehend English. His brain is likely to shut down at some point due to the strain and so he begins working on a way to go and get help.


This is one of those truly fascinating episodes where we get the chance to explore that meaning of life stuff. SG-1 had stumbled upon a Repository of the Ancients, which contains the knowledge of their entire race. It knocks Jack out, but once he comes to back at the SG-C he begins sorting it out in his brain. He's not able to communicate or comprehend any of it, but he is able to make practical use of it

There are some real goodies. Jack develops a whole new algorithm for calculating the distance between planets. He adds a whole new stack of gate addresses in to the computer. After that, he develops what is probably a rudimentary ZPM. All of this is with one aim, to allow him to gate to the Asgard home world to find help. Most interestingly, the address to the Asgard homeworld contains an 8th symbol, meaning that it is within another galaxy's gate network. The ZPM that Jack developed helps to provide the additional power required to gate to another galaxy, it's over ten times the normal power requirements. His modifications to the computer also facilitate the dialling of an 8th symbol. All pretty cool.

Jack makes it through to the Asgard home world, where they kindly remove the knowledge from him. There they discuss the four great races and the fact that humanity is on the road to become the fifth one, although they have a long way to go yet. They also confirm that the Ancients built the gate network.

The Asgard do not live in the Milky Way, or the Pegasus galaxy, which was home to the Ancients. It makes me wonder if each of the four races hailed from a different galaxy. The Ancient's from the Pegasus galaxy, the Asgard from the Ida galaxy, the Nox from the Milky Way and the Furlings from some other galaxy. Certainly possible.

Of course, a great mystery surrounds the reason for the Ancients disappearing. We now know that the Wraith played a big part in that.

This is the key episode of season two, the one that answers a lot of questions and poses a lot of new ones. There's a lot more that I could say, but I think this short summary should suffice.

9 out of 10

Harmony

Plot: Rodney and Sheppard are visiting a trading planet, when they are roped in to going on a quest as guards for a young princess who must prove her worth to become queen.

While this episode was tedious at times, it did turn out to be quite a fun filler episode. While journeying to the Temple of Laros, so that Harmony can be bestowed with the power to rule her people, Rodney and Sheppard have to contend with a number of dangers.

The first of those dangers is Harmony herself. She has a bit of a crush on John Sheppard and a bit of an attitude to boot. As you can imagine, this leads to her and Rodney locking horns on a couple of occasions. She's resourceful and brave, however, running off in the night to fix them some dinner, as well as insisting that they continue on their journey, despite the other dangers that they have to contend with.

The second danger is the beast that will supposedly protect the princess as she journeys to the Temple. Neither Rodney nor John or certain that the protection will extend to them, so they're all the more cautious. Especially as it makes a rather ferocious roar.

Finally, they also have to contend with a group of Genii, who have been tasked by one of Harmony's sisters, the jealous Mardola, to prevent Harmony from completing the pilgrimage so that she may take the throne instead. Sheppard's never been one to let a few Genii get in his way though, and dispatches a number of them, first with his rifle and then with a Wraith Stunner.

Eventually, the trio arrive at the Temple of Laros, where they find a piece of Ancient technology. Turns out, the area was once a testing ground for drone technology. The beast that they had feared on their way, was not actually a beast, but a swarm of mini-drones. That swarm, rather conveniently, is programmed not to attack anyone with the ancient gene. That includes the planet's royal blood line, as well as Sheppard and Rodney. Wicked.

After a final showdown with the Genii in which Rodney saves Harmony's life and redeems himself in her eyes, she is able to activate the Ancient device, becoming queen. At her coronation, she thanks the pair for their service, and unveils this awesome picture:


A couple of other things; this episode showed on Sci Fi's new HD service. About time they got round to sorting that out, because I was getting sick of watching it in SD. I think it'll really pay off when BSG returns in a couple of months time. Can't wait for that!

Also, IMDb lists Anna van Hooft as playing the other princess, Flora. Now, I've been watching her play Aura in Flash Gordon all season and am nearly 100% certain that it wasn't her that actually played the character. It was a very small role, so I wonder if she was initially announced to play it, but had to back out at the last minute to be replaced by someone else. It'd certainly tally with the fact that she's been a lot more active in Flash Gordon since its return a couple of weeks ago. Any further information on that would be well appreciated.

So, like a said, a reasonably fun episode, but one that had some tedious moments. Especially those involving the Genii, who I'm fairly sure are the worst recurring race in all of the Stargate universe.

6 out of 10

A Matter of Time

Plot: The SG-C gates to a world that is in close proximity to a black hole. This leads to a team on the planet (SG-10) and the SG-C itself getting trapped in a time dilation field.


This is another of those episodes that explores a grand scientific idea. In this case, it's time dilation. Time dilation is a phenomenon in which an area of space experiences time at a different rate to another area of space. In this case, the planet that is in proximity to the black hole is experiencing time at a vastly slower rate than the SG-C. Soon, this field expands to encompass a large part of the base. In the end, this means that the day that passes for Jack and the rest of the team on base is relative to two weeks that passed in the world outside. Pretty cool.

It all starts with SG-10, who try to gate back from their mission and escape the black hole. The problem is that they're not able to make it through the gate before it shuts down. In actuality, time will have come to a virtual stop within proximity to the black hole. Meaning that it'll take several years for them to get close enough to the gate to walk through it. Having gated back to the planet to try and figure out what's going on, the gate refuses to disengage and, unbeknown to the personnel of the SG-C, the field begins expanding through the gate. It's not long until a team is sent to investigate, having lost contact with the base.

After the gate doesn't disengage automatically after 38 minutes, Sam realises that they're really in trouble. She goes topside to stop a plan to blow up the base, knowing that the gate will probably not be destroyed by it and will instead begin swallowing up the mountain and probably the rest of the planet with it. Instead, she proposes that they direct a blast at the gate, making the connection on the other side jump to another, meaning that they can just disengage it. After some heroics from Jack, it all works out and the world is saved once again.

This episode is notable for a number of other reasons. One of those is that Daniel Jackson is absent for a large part of it, only showing up at the very end. He'd been off on a dig with SG-6. This is one of the first examples of members of SG-1 disappearing off to arbitrary out of plot locations. There's no reason why Daniel couldn't have been in this episode for the most part, so it must have been that Michael Shanks had other commitments to attend to.

We also learn a bit about Jack's past. One of the team sent to investigate the loss of contact with the SG-C is Colonel Frank Cromwell. He and Jack have a little bit of history. It transpires that Cromwell left Jack behind in Iraq, leading to him spending 4 months in an Iraqi prison. Jack has never forgiven Cromwell for this, but he is able to redeem himself by sacrificing his life to save Jack's while they battled immense gravity to set up the bomb in front of the gate.

I think this is a really exciting episode that uses quite a complex idea really well.

8 out of 10

Touchstone

Plot: SG-1 work to recover a weather controlling device (the Touchstone) that has been stolen from another planet. Witnesses claim the thieves were wearing SG-C uniforms, leading to an investigation within the SG-C and related bases.


While this isn't a terrible episode, it isn't particularly thrilling. I'd say that it's an interesting premise that doesn't quite come off right.

After learning of the Touchstone's theft, Sam investigates recent gate activity, finding evidence that the 2nd gate may have been activated. SG-1 travel to Area 51, where the 2nd gate is being kept and where all of the recovered artifacts are sent for study. It was quite an interesting revelation, showing the scale of operation that is generated by the SG teams' trips through the gate. SG-1 are met by Colonel Maybourne, who gladly shows them the Gate in order to prove that he had nothing to do with the disappearance of the device. He's left a bit red faced though, as the gate at Area 51 turns out to be plastic. Jack speculates on the punishment for losing a Stargate. Keel-hauling sounds appropriate to me. ;)

The situation grows more desperate as the planet that is missing its weather controlling device begins being destroyed by adverse weather conditions. The device is also having an effect on Earth, causing flooding across the US.

In the end, SG-1 send a MALP through to the 2nd gate in order to get a GPS reading. It leads them to an off the records base in Southern Utah. They engage in a covert mission to infiltrate the base. They find the Gate, but the men looking after it escape through it to an unknown address. Along with the 2nd Gate, they also recover the Touchstone and return it to the planet. After all these shenanigans, Hammond makes sure that a permanent iris is placed over the Gate and that it is put under his command. Smart move.

I figure there are a couple of themes to discuss here. Firstly, ethics. Hammond mentions that there were two opposing thoughts on the SG-C's mandate when it was being set up. One of those thoughts was that SG-teams should recover technology regardless of the effect that it would have on the indigenous populations. It's clear that this one lost out, but it's interesting to consider how that could ever be justified in the first place, and whether future circumstances could bring a change of opinion about it. Could Earth's 6 billion inhabitants be left to die while a settlement of a few thousand people on an alien world lives with something that could prevent the deaths on Earth?

The other theme is opposing forces within the government and military, each seeking to benefit in different ways from the Stargate. I've discussed this before, but this episode seems to add another level to it. It's not just power players like Maybourne that are causing trouble with their dubious ethics anymore. This episode suggests that civilian organisations may also be involved in attempting to exploit the Gate's resources. Civilian organisations are certainly much less culpable to the ideals of the US government and may be down right evil. I'm sure we'll see how this plays out in future episodes.

I rated this episode a couple of years ago. I think I'll stick with that initial assessment.

6 out of 10

Spirits

Plot: SG-1 travel to a planet in search of the missing SG-11. There they find a population of Native American descent, who are protected by a group of mysterious spirits.


For a while, this episode is quite good fun. SG-1 are being briefed on SG-11 and their mission to mine a mineral called Trinium from PXY-887. The briefing is interrupted as the Stargate activates and SG-11's IDC is confirmed. Instead of SG-11 though, a Trinium tipped arrow is fired through the gate, the bullet proof glass of the briefing room and in to Jack's arm. This puts him out of commission for the mission, meaning that Sam gets her first shot at commanding a team. 'Cool', as Jack puts it.

There's no sign of SG-11 on the planet, but there is Tonane, who is a great character. He's fun and friendly and just all round pleasant to watch. He teaches SG-1 of the planet, the Trinium, which they call 'the key' and of the spirits. SG-1 manage to convince two of the spirits, one in the form of a crow, Xe'ls and one as a wolf, T'akaya, to free SG-11. SG-1 then try to negotiate for mining rights, eventually agreeing to let Tonane return to Earth with them in order to view Earth's mining methods.

This is where it all starts to unravel. Turns out SG-11 aren't SG-11, but instead the same spirits that took the form of Xe'ls and T'akaya. After Hammond gives an order to mine the Trinium without Tonane's people's permission, they begin trying to take over the base, by making the personnel disappear. this leads to SG-1 running around trying to find them and stop it. This goes on for about twenty minutes and it's all a little tedious. Eventually SG-1 convince the spirits to leave and return their people.

A point of interest is that the leader of SG-11 is Captain Conner, who we first saw in season one in 'The First Commandment'. He's again played by Roger Cross.

So not the best episode, though it is memorable for one great guest character and for Sam Carter's first command. Cool.

6 out of 10

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Turk

Plot: Sarah tracks down one of Skynet's creators, as John and Cameron begin school. Meanwhile, the Cromartie Terminator enlists the help of a scientist to create a new skin for him.


Again, another very enjoyable and engrossing hour of television. I think what works so well is that we know what's going to happen, so it's all the more exciting to see the characters work towards preventing it. I think in a lot of ways, it's very similar to what made Heroes such a good watch. The fact that Peter and Hiro can travel to the future means that they can then work towards preventing disaster. It's quite a subtle change in the set up of the plot, but it seems to work really well.

The Skynet creator in question is Andy Goode (Brendan Hines). He interned with Miles Dyson, but left college due to family problems, becoming a cell phone salesman rather than a Cyberdyne employee. Still, he had a strong Computer Science background and began work on a chess AI that he says has since developed moods of its own. Apparently the first signs of sentience, amid a backdrop of narration from Sarah about the scientists that worked on the Manhattan Project. It's clear that Andy has no intention of taking over the world, but it may be too late by the time he realises what he has created. Sarah torches the place. Her scenes with Andy worked well and it was good to see her away from the day to day business of protecting John and doing something that resembled letting her hair down, by going on a couple of dates with Andy.


Cromartie tracks down a scientist that has been working on some form of skin generation. The Terminator delivers him a new formula that will help him complete his work and develop a new skin for Cromartie. While the results were pretty gross, it looks like it worked reasonably well. Cromartie finishes the job by stealing the scientist's eyes and killing him, possibly in that order. Cromartie had been clothed and masked up until the point where he had to get in to the blood bath. It was actually quite frightening to see him stood there as a naked machine and I can only imagine what was going through the scientist's mind. Creepy stuff.

We see a bit more from Agent Ellison in this episode. He's one step behind the Connor's and Cameron, investigating the murder of Enrique and the deaths of the men that had been sent from the future to investigate Skynet. He seems to be juggling more pieces than will fit the puzzle at the moment, but I can't imagine that it'll be long before he's able to figure out what's going on.

Finally, John and Cameron start the new school. A girl commits suicide on the 2nd day after someone had been painting murals in the school that seemed to refer to an affair that she had. They were rather creepy and I'd like to have seen them tie in to some Terminator action, rather than some high school bullying. An interesting plot device though. Cameron gets more and more awesome. She's awkward around the other students, but has something of a sense of humour and Summer Glau plays it really well.

So as I said, enjoyable and engaging again, even if it did lack any particular action. That's not a problem though because these are some strong and interesting characters.

8 out of 10