The first part of a two-hour SG-1 "Season Finale" special, showing two episodes but not as a TV-movie style. They did this with the SG-1 and Atlantis finales last year. The episodes are related, but as a two-parter. The writing of these episodes marks a certain return to form for the team, placing them in immediate jeopardy with far-reaching implications.
I've limited time this weekend, so here are my brief notes:
-But I must say, I'm wondering what Mitchell is DOING here... He isn't really getting much team development. He had the Sodan episode which gave him personal development, but not in the company of his team mates - IMO this didn't get him very far. When he's with the gang, he's something of an O'Neill clone, but without RDA's improvising wit - he fills a void tha has been missing since RDA took a reduced schedule in the show, but there really hasn't been much team-building, and I think that's a problem. It's like he's always BEEN there, and I enjoy the lack of Trekkian conflict typically imposed on a new team by the new guy, but still...
-On the other hand, the "new guy!" line from Jackson offered a brief but but welcome hint that they're still getting used to eah other. I want more!
-Walter Harriman must have the most varied duty wardrobe of anyone at the SGC. He's been in short sleeves, long sleeves, sweaters, and various jumpsuits. Today marks the first time he's been in the green jumpsuit, I believe. I have a sneaky suspicion that this is an in-joke, or that the actor (a fan favorite funnyman) wants to shake things up a bit.
-Our key guest star today is Anubis - againish. The guy has more lives than a cat... This time, he's cloned himself and his genetic memory into a clone that was engineered for ascension - in essence, to become a god capable of battling the other gods. Anubis created Kalik by swiping the original, or finding another one of Nirrti's genetic milkshake machines.
-Bob Picardo is back and balder as NID agent Richard "Dick" Woolsey, an antagonist this time, yet one shose convictions the SGC understands and sympathizes with,for a change. Still, he represents the old "we give you the cash, but you're not giving us the results we want, so I'm taking over" plotline, though with a less selfish twist than what people like Kinsey or Maybourne have us.
-The guest SG team this week is SG-5, under command of Major Altman. Almost oddly, Altman is the egghead of his bunch, and less of a military commander, which we rarely ever see in an SG team. SG-5 was last seen in "Heroes Part II" as a combat unit that went with Dr. Frasier on her last mission.
-A record number of people go flying into walls with this episode... And there are pretty cool FX of Kalik walking forward and causing bullets to bounce off of his invisible force field. Good thing we never saw the bullets themselves on the ground afterwards, even though there seemed to be spent shell casings everwhere...
-Okay, so how did Daniel get through the other door? Mitchell and Teal'c were having a cow's bum of a time prying the other one open, and Daniel just waltzes through his?
Mark
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
TEH AINCIANT WIZDOME!!
Honestly I'm having a hard time staying into this show since the departure of Claudia Black. I did like the "New Guy" line, and I thought Kalik did a decent job of stalking around and looking all evolved and scary. But less great than, say, John Goodman in Barton Fink.
No, but, so there are these ascended beings for the most part disinterested in the goings on in our plane. And the bride (ahem), excuse me, son of Anubis is trying to be more ascended and stuff and getting special powers as a result. Mightn't it be more interesting if the process of his ascension rather than making him more evil, actually did make him more good. Like instead of another evil, evil Anubis threat, he actually starts becoming spacey/mystic and while maybe not an ally, less an enemy. And so our heroes decision to kill him isn't so much a forgone conclusion, but more of an actual moral decision. Or maybe that's not what people want. My problem with the story was that the show was on rails from the point it was revealed that he was glower-y and evil.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
All this "further along the evolutionary path" stuff really bugs me, personally, almost as much as the "ten percent of the brain" business they seemed to be alluding to. Every time ascension comes up the show just grinds to a halt in general, for me.
Having said that, I liked the action this week, and I like how Mitchell hasn't just jumped in giving orders to everyone. I mean, does he even outrank Carter? And he certainly doesn't have the experience of the rest of them.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Yeah, and he was apparently a fighter pilot first. How does one transfer to SF duty from that? Still, he was already a Lt. Colonel when he led the squadron against Anubis' fighters, and Carter was still a Major at the time, so he does have superiority. But eight years of interstellar adventure? NO ONE has that...
Mark
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
SG-2?
(Wasn't the highest SG team number ever in one of the episodes this week, as well? I want to say 22.)
Posted by RLF (Member # 1396) on :
I believe that you are right, it was SG-22. They were the funky-swelling team that was returning to base early on.
Posted by machf (Member # 1233) on :
quote:Originally posted by Balaam Xumucane: TEH AINCIANT WIZDOME!!
Honestly I'm having a hard time staying into this show since the departure of Claudia Black.
I've heard she's coming back later in the season (possibly for the finale?) and that she'll possibly become a regular later... (something another friend told me, no idea where he heard it... wait, I do have an idea, let me see if that's it and I'll let you know).
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Claudia wouldn't mesh well in the military, structured environment of the SGC - she's proven as much, and the bracelets were the vehicle to basically trap her with the gang. She would do nicely in a commonly recuring role as with Bra'tac or Jacob, as long as it didn't become a "caper of the week" given her disposition to steal stuff...
SG-22 is the highest real SG team we've encountered so far - they were the combat unit that was futily blazing away at the Sodan warrior last week. The highest imaginary number IIRC is SG-28 from the Hathor-induced fantasy way back in the second season. In any case, what with all these teams, it's almost wierd that the gate isn't going 24/7 sending people off and back... The team coming back at the top of "Fourth Horseman" weren't SG-22, though, I'm sure of it.
Mark
Posted by RLF (Member # 1396) on :
You're right, SG-22 wasn't the funky-smelling team. I got the two episodes confused.