Stargate SG-1 S1 Rewatch Meme -- At the edge of the universe lies a gateway to an epic adventure
Well, since I'm on medical leave for two weeks I've been revisiting some old shows. Stargate SG-1 is one show I always wanted to revisit because I have yet to see all of the episodes and seasons. I was pretty much a casual viewer because it would fit into my study routines in college. I would watch episodes on syndication, but I noticed they were out of order and I didn't exactly catch all of the in-context lines either. After reading Rick Riordan's The Kane Chronicles trilogy (awesome writer & books!) the Stargate SG-1 episodes are in a whole other light to me. In other words things kept clicking about the terms Ra, Apophis, and other mythology words presented on the show. Perhaps because I concentrating on my studies at the same time I didn't catch the first time....d'oh. Anywho, I really enjoyed the first season much more as compared to when I first watched it.
Favorite Episodes: The Enemy Within, The Broca Divide, Cold Lazarus, Thor's Hammer, The Torment of Tantalus, Bloodlines, The Nox, Hathor, Singularity, Cor-ai, Tin Man, Solitudes, There But for the Grace of God, Politics, & Within the Serpent's Grasp
So-So Decent Episodes: Children of the Gods, Emancipation, The First Commandment, & Fire and Water
Least Favorite Episodes: Brief Candle and Engima
Favorite Storylines: There were several I really enjoyed....
*I loved all of the mythology, anthropology, and science of the worlds' case studies which made the worlds even more interesting. Oh, and the bonus of the Mirror World parallel universe was so awesome!!
"There But for the Grace of God" has to be one of my favorite alternate reality episodes I have seen. It is always fun to see the characters you know and love to be somewhat different. Jack being the commanding officer at the base, Teal'c still working for Apophis, and Sam never joining the military with lovely long hair. Plus on the top of that Jack and Sam were engaged!! I loved that were able to see Catherine again because I always loved the actress and her character, and it was a great connection since she worked with both "our reality" Sam and Daniel. Another reason I loved this episode because it delivered pivotal information for the season finale and season two premiere. We literally saw everyone from SG-1 die in front of us to get Daniel to the gate to save our reality from the same fate. Btw, how freakin' awesome and badass was it seeing Carter blew up a room full of Jaffa! Dr. Carter may not be in the military in this reality, but she is still a major badass. I was so heartbroken to see Jack killed by Teal'c because they are best of buds in our reality *sniff*. I was as equally heartbroken seeing Catherine die as well *sniff*. It was an amazing episode, so I hope we get see more episodes like this because the possibilities are endless!!
*Jack's getting some closure over Charlie's death -- I never watched the original movie the tv series this movie was based on, so I did like they gave tv viewers a chance to slowing go into way Jack is so emotionally distant in the first half of the season. It took a while to get to what happened with Jack's family. I could never imagine what it would be like to a person that serves their country to have their weapon used to kill their own child. It was so brutal to see the flashback, and I'm glad we never saw it but rather here it. Alas, how it went into the destruction of his marriage with Sara. Jack will never have complete closure of what happened with his family, but "Cold Lazarus" allowed him to confront them and open them a bit to his new family SG-1. The episode really helped Jack to move on in some aspect, and emphasized the reason why Jack continues the SGC to redeem what happened in the past family and/or military. Richard Dean Anderson did an outstanding job in "Cold Lazarus" where I was completely blown away by how he did the naive alien creature and seeing Jack coming face to face with Charlie and Sara in the episode.
*The Assembling of Team SG-1 -- One of the great things about a sci-fi/fantasy show is seeing how they assemble the core group because each person is a valuable member. I liked how over the season it showed how important each member of SG-1 was to the program and to the characters' journey. Jack, represents the military pragmatic side of getting things done with a sense of levity. Daniel, is the opposing side to Jack's pragmatic style that represented the moral and ethic code of foreign cultures with the added sense of naive and curiousness. Samantha, represents the science and technology side to things that tend to come with the plan if the problem resides in her expertise with added sense of quirky zest that sometimes can be the deciding vote between military and science. Teal'c, represents the muscle warrior side with the added 100+ years of experiences against the Goa'uld. Each member is unique and equally important to a success of a mission, or sometimes the survival of a race.
*The Threat of the Apophis, Hathor, & Goa'uld -- I have to admit I wasn't interested in the Goa'uld villian until the third episode "The Enemy Within" that showed how sick, twisted, and creepy these parasites were. How easily the SGC could be invaded without the proper procedures. Hathor is another villain I enjoyed because she could so easily malipulate the male gender which put Carter and Janet at heads with their own chain of command. It was really interesting to see how the ladies took control in that episode, but also how other Goa'uld attack. I hope we get to see Hathor again since she knows the ins and outs of the base. Apophis truly didn't get interesting to me until the last episode of the season truthfully. I thought he was pretty much a corny villain, but I really enjoyed his military tactics in the season finale.
*Teal'c Facing His Past to Pave the Future -- I really enjoyed seeing the obstacles Teal'c faced that included Goa'uld discrimnation, past mistakes, and current consequences. He did it was so much grace and dignity, such as in the episode "Cor-ai". He was willing to take his punishment after everything due to his previous actions as First Prime. It showed so much about his character in that one episode, and emphasized the Jaffa he was is no more. I really liked seeing these other sides to Teal'c including his family side. It was sad to see him face the fact that his own actions harmed his own family. His beliefs harmed the people he loved. Alas, it showed another vulnerable side to his character.
*Sam & Jack's Ongoing Attraction -- I never realized how much flirty and jealousy there was between these two until I rewatched this season. There were inklings of this way back in "Emancipation" at the campfire story of Sam drinking offworld liquid. I didn't expect there would be much going on between these two in the first season, but there was enough to build a solid foundation of attraction between the two of them. You had Sam's attraction and Jack's jealousy in "The Broca Divide", Jack's comfort hug in "Fire & Water", their interaction in "Hathor" (abs hehe), and Jack's concern for Sam in "Singularity". Then, you get to the very pivotal episodes of "Solitudes" and "There But for the Grace of God". "Solitudes", in my opinion, solidified the bond between CO and 2IC because you see the banter between them, Jack showing his bravery and concern, Sam showing her determination to the point of pure exhaustion to save her CO from near death, and to them both accept they are going to die together in the end clinging to each other for warmth. There is a reason "Solitude" is seen as the first major Sam/Jack shippy episode. "There But for the Grace of God" is important because it represents the possibilities of what we've been seeing all season that could come to pass someday between Jack and Sam. I thought they did a great job at the foundation of their relationship, and I can't wait to see what comes next for them!!
*Chipping Away Sam's Protective Shell -- I liked how the writers slowly developed Sam's character by having her open a little bit here and there throughout the season. The dynamic between Sam and the boys grow and mature to caring and protectiveness of each other. Not because she is a girl, but rather she is just a member of the team and a great asset to the team with her science and technological know-how. So by the time we get to "Solitudes" and "Singularity" her reaction, vulerability, determination, and so much more makes sense. We've been seeing these traits throughout the season, and then to see it climax to these episodes it was quite the payoff. To see Sam physically, emotionally, and mentally struggle to not only survive in Antarctica, but also to keep Jack alive as well. Jump to "Singularity" we see her become attached to a young child named Cassandra that depends on her, and a bond develops between them. It gets me everytime to see Sam's breakdown in the elevator because Sam is pissed, angry, scared, sad, and then a lightbulb goes on that Cassandra will not have to die. She is willing to be court martial to keep her promise to Cassandra. I just really liked that the show and Amanda Tapping gave Samantha Carter so much quality development, intelligence, and so much more. It just so happens she was a female. I can't wait to see what else is in store for her character!!
*Politics & Government vs. Stargate Command -- I thought the military and government involvement whether from Senator Kinsey, Major Bert Samuels, and U.S. President. I thought some of the dialogue was actually quite realistic, and Kinsey must have a lot of clout in Washington, D.C.....
Misc. Hated Aspects: There really wasn't any, but I did notice that Jack got the most hurt than anyone on the team hehe. Sometimes that got a bit tiresome because I felt some of the other team members should be showed too *shrugs*. I'm hoping as I go along the rest of the team's backstories and so forth are looked into. However, other than that I didn't have any truly hated aspects.
Favorite Couples & Potential Couples: Jack/Sam and Catherine/Ernest
Got So Bored Couples: None, because frankly the ships take a backseat
Favorite Friendships: Team SG-1, Teal'c/Jack, Sam/Cassandra, Sam/Janet, Daniel/Catherine, Jack/Skarra, Hammond & Team SG-1, Bar'tac/Teal'c and Sam/Daniel (they are like brother & sister hehe)
Favorite Characters: Jack, Sam, Daniel, Teal'c, Janet, Cassandra, Catherine, Ernest, Blue Crystal!Jack, The Nox, Bar'tac, & Harlan
Mixed Characters: Apophis
Can't Stand Characters: None
Favorite Villains: Klorel, Shak'l, Samuels, Kinsey, Hanson, the first Goa'uld, & Hathor
Least Favorite Villains: Apophis -- I enjoy his military tactics, but him as a character not so much
Most Tragic Deaths: Team SG-1....sorta of....in the mirror world in "There But for the Grace of God" because the reality was somewhat close to our reality. AU!Jack is the leader of the SGC and is far more rash in this decision making to perform genocide. I wonder AU!Jack's actions in this episode is a foreshadowing of what is to come. Yet, AU!Jack still had his skeptic wisecrack attitude that still makes him ever so charming. AU!Sam chose science over the military, but she still has her badass and direct attitude to get the job done. AU!Teal'c is the most different because this Teal'c never had the opportunity to turn traitor for Apophis. He never received that choice nor the olive branch from Jack. Alas, you also have AU!Teal'c's Jaffa vengeance going on where no logical reasoning will matter. Meanwhile, AU!Daniel turned down AU!Catherine's offer and ended up dying in Egypt. "There But for the Grace of God" is a prime example of how important not only SG-1 is in the grand scheme of things, but also once again emphasizes the importance of decision making. In regards to the series, this episode points how the decisions the characters made prior to joining the SGC is just as equally important as what they are doing now.
So it was really bittersweet to see the characters die in various ways in this alternate reality. Teal'c killing Jack knowing in another world they have been forming a close relationship. Jack knowingly knowing that he could be end up dead, but to accomplish the objective to give Daniel time. Sam pretty much blowing herself up and the rest of the Jaffa in the room to give Daniel time, and to make sure they don't get the technology they want. Hammond dying to stop the invasion in the SGC. The whole time Daniel is seeing the people he knows and love in another reality willing to die to save his own world. To save another reality from making the same mistake. On one hand the deaths were memorable and at times badass, but then part of me is happy because it isn't our characters who actually died. It was so cool to see the cast portray their characters another way from Teal'c and Sam's new hairstyles to Hammond having to take orders. It was just neat to see. I just love me some time travel and alternate realities.
What did you think of the season in general? As stated before I really enjoyed the first season much more than my initial watching back in the day. There was a lot of foundation on the SG-1 team, show's mythology, and so forth. In today's time I don't know if the show would have survived because of patience problems viewers tend to have. One of the reasons I love my Grimm since they took the time to ground the foundation in their first season. It is probably one reason I enjoyed Stargate SG-1 S1 because it reminds me of the shows that take their time with grounding their foundtation and then going above and beyond. I'm looking forward to watching S2, but since there are so many seasons I'm going to take breaks between seasons since I heard fatigue can set in.