posted
Good episode. One of the best of SG-1's this season.
-The Prometheus is dead. Long live the Prometheus! You know, she lasted only four years, from the fifth through the ninth seasons (and even then, we saw her only 2-3 times a year), but I got the feeling we got to know her just as well as the "star" vessels of Trek and similar ship-based SF. She was squat, ugly, and outpaced in looks in every way by her fatter, sexier sister. But we loved her.
-That said, I do wish she'd been given a sendoff in a better-named episode. I also wasn't a fan of the predecessor episode to this story, seeing as how it really wasn't SF at all, but this one being moreso is definitely a help.
-Nice moment with everyone being unable to sit in the big chair. Incidentally, it *is* the same one that both O'Neil and Hammond used. Hammond was originally supposed to repatriate it last year, but never got around to it. Must have forgotten it while he was suffocating.
-SG-1 is fully capable of making autonomous decisions when Landry isn't around, including scaring up the Prometheus for a mission. You'd think that taking Earth's ONLY regularly stationed space defence platform off on a relatively "unimportant" mission would take a little more doing. Likewise, while it seems Mitchell and Carter are in command of the mission, the fully-Colonelized Pendergast is subservient to 'em.
-Holy crap! It's Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters and all those other movies! SG-1 has been pretty good with headlining black actors, in the last couple years...
-Someone should be able to calculate the Prommie's size now... The side pods are (which supposedly were ONLY her hyperdrive pods) are now shown to support an F-302 launch bay a la Daedalus, albeit a little smaller than her descendant's version. This makes sense, as the Prometheus is meant to support only eight F-302s (Daedalus is estimated to have room for twice that). Also, she's gained a VLS and launch sequence.
-VFX gaffe: the missles launched from the 302s have smoke contrails in space.
-The destruction of the Prometheus was handled VERY well - gritty, very long, very dramatic. Almost no one dying by exploding consoles, everyone working for damage control and to replace fallen comrades. IMO, it made the loss of certain hero ships in Trek look like a clean shot to the head.
-It also represents Earth's first real strategic loss in the whole series, aside from people. I'm forced to recall the loss of DS9's Defiant under similar circumstances, and even then THAT was over in only a couple minutes. This one really struck home for the series.
-Hey, what WAS that captain thinking when he tried to take the elevator? It seems a little much just to justify using the ladders and thus breaking that guy's arm.
-Great FX blowing up the Prometheus. The satellite platform's second shot deserves particular note: it breaches the hull and detonates the missiles in the VLS, but no dialogue supports it. Nice demonstration of FX acting independent of dialogue (if not scripting) to accomplish the same goal. Shows the FX guys had their brains on that day, and sorta makes up for the smoke thing earlier.
-The standard crew of Prometheus is around 115. About forty were lost during the battle - arguably the single largest combat loss in the history of the SGC, including the venerable Colonel Pendergast, who stayed behind to beam everyone off. What a guy.
-Although his last command is to beam everyone down to a nice open field, but close to a border with a country at war. I dunno about anyone else, but I'd be worried about beaming everyone right into a minefield!
-The remainer of the episode becomes an engaging, if predictable exercise in Brinkmanship, which is also a refreshing change for SG-1. And for the second time this season, our heroes - and their allies, and THEIR enemies, essentially lose. Well done.
"VFX gaffe: the missles launched from the 302s have smoke contrails in space."
Could it be some sort of vapor condensing and freezing? I mean, I realize that, yes, it's probably just a mistake. But, I'm just saying.
"Hey, what WAS that captain thinking when he tried to take the elevator? It seems a little much just to justify using the ladders and thus breaking that guy's arm."
Which, consequently, had no effect on anything. I'm not sure what the point of that guy even was.
Registered: Mar 1999
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This episode was so weird. (Did the scenes aboard the Prometheus look like they were shot on video to anyone else?) Was it an intentional bit of allegory? Because, like, the U.S. decides to preemptively attack somebody and gets smacked down for it, and then the political situation on the planet falls apart anyway. Plus the one general's sole excuse for assassinating the president is that he violated "international treaties," which everyone seems to more or less accept.
Or, like, they waltz in and take some potshots, and then when it turns out the Randians aren't so helpless it's all "hey, no fair shooting back."
(On a sidenote, it always bugged me how the Prometheus apparently lacked any trained personnel of its own. Pendergast was always getting bossed around and how come Carter has to run down several decks to deal with something, instead of the full-time engineering staff who work on the ship? It's not even framed as going to help the regular engineering guys. Prometheus' crew can't even find their own way around the ship. But, dramatic necessity, I suppose.)
Registered: Mar 1999
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WizArtist II
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I thought the loss of the Prommy was, somehow, cheap. I kept thinking "OK they're clearing the way for a new BA ship". When Pendergast is about to become Kentucky Fried Captain, I couldn't help thinking of Commodore Matt Decker's death scene. Pendergast's death just didn't have that same emotional impact. Maybe that is because all we've seen him do is get bossed around by a bunch of Gaters.
I agree with the sentiment about Carter having to do stuff, doesn't EVERY ship have an obligatory Scotty?
Did the Prommy have an Asgard aboard? If so, did he survive?
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Registered: Nov 2004
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I think everyone else has hit the high points, but the VFX seemed to clear up a quesiton I've had for a long time: Where's the bridge? Naval tradition would have it in the tower, but this is an Air Force ship, so it might be in the forward section (like the Daedalus now). But from various clues in this episode, I think it's pretty clear that the bridge was in the tower.
Two things... the 'smoke' may have been expanding gasses.
What does the title "Ethon" refer to or mean?
Not a bad episode.
Minister Chaska reminded me of someone, someone from Trek - so did President Nadal... but neither have been on Trek - well according to IMDB.com at least.
The Randians were suppose to build the satellite with stuff that was only available to them - i.e. using technology their own level (I guess sort of like Spock in City on the Edge of Forever and Data in Time's Arrow 1 and 2... so how did they make the shield that was more sophisticated than Asgard technology - their reasoning was that even though the Ori told them how to build it - it was still based on Rand technology. Did the Ori come and pop the shields and weapons in? They only travel by gate network at the moment.
Poor Prometheus.
Seems Minister Cheska was played by Desiree Zurowski who was in "New Ground". "Icon" which is what this episode was based on and that episode - to me seem similar. Two countries on the one planet changed by the arrival of an SG team. I maybe remembering "New Ground" incorrectly though.
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
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I also wasn't a fan of the predecessor episode to this story, seeing as how it really wasn't SF at all, but this one being moreso is definitely a help.![[Smile]](smile.gif)
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