Responses to Meme
Okay, here is the first batch of responses to this meme. I'm doing the Stargate: SG-1 episodes here, and I'll do the DW and TW episodes in a couple of separate posts.
From verav, I got "The Fifth Race."
This is easily on my list of Top 5 Stargate: SG-1 episodes. For me, this, along with "Torment of Tantalus" first cinch what the series is all about.
This episode is such a pivotal moment in the franchise, because it introduced so many threads that would be continued later on, and it combined the elements that embody Stargate--the mythology, the science, the military, the bonds of friendship, the depth of what it meant for the earth to suddenly be pitched out into a world far bigger than it comprehended.
And I think this is the first time Jack really got how big all of this was and possibly the first time he understood what Daniel had been trying to tell him during "Torment of Tantalus."
In terms of character interaction, this episode captured the devotion Daniel feels toward Jack, and at the same time showed Daniel in his element as an archaeologist and linguist. This was Daniel's first opportunity to make any headway with the language of the Ancients, so he was understandably excited. But at the same time, he was desperate to help Jack and to be his lifeline. One of my favorite lines from the episode is when Daniel is explaining why he can't go with Sam and Teal'c on a mission. He says, "And bottom line, sir, what about Jack? I mean, right now, I'm possibly his only hope for communicating on any kind of serious level. I can't leave him like this. And I won't."
The scenes between them are beautiful and show the friendship between them.
And the scenes between Jack and the Asgard...
From that first glimpse of an Asgard peeking around the archway to seeing them through Jack's eyes for the first time... the shot of their legs, and then the gradual shot of their entire bodies. And then the shot of the whole lot of them. Brilliantly done.
After Jack is purged of the Ancient knowledge, and the Asgard give him their song and dance about humans not being advanced enough to interact with them, one of my favorite exchanged in the entire franchise takes place:
Jack (to the Asgard): "You folks should understand that we're out there. Now. And we might not be ready for a lot of this stuff, but we're doin' the best we can. We are a very curious race."
To which the Asgard reply: "You have already taken the first steps towards becoming the Fifth Race."
All of that meant a lot to me when I first saw the episode, but now that I've seen the whole series, it's that much more poignant.
Finally, another favorite scene is this one: When Jack returns, he says to Daniel: "You know that meaning of life stuff? I think we're going to be all right."
Like I said earlier, I think Jack gets it now, at least on some level, and that was a good moment between them.
Ahem. This is a bit longish, isn't it? *blush*
From lenyia, I got "Enemy Mine."
Anyone who's spent five minutes on my journal can guess one major reason why I love this episode. Major. Get it? (Sorry, I'm hopped up on chocolate and Dr. Pepper.) But yeah, this is the episode that gave us Major Evan Lorne and those dimples.
His character was just a one-off back then, but like so many other guest stars, Major Lorne came back later on as a full-fledged character. How cool is it to go back and see where he came from. One thing I always wanted the writers on SGA to do is somehow work his background in this episode into a story. How did he get from a mining planet to Atlantis? I realize they had no idea during the making of this episode that they'd use him again, but a good writer could work some magic.
Plus, I always wanted to see Colonel Edwards (Lorne's then CO) again. I really liked the character and wanted to know more about him.
In any case, we know the story. One of the men gets snatched, and SG-1 is called in to investigate. One of my favorite scenes is when Lorne goes to lead the team to the place where the missing guy was last seen and leads them straight by a table full of artifacts. And thus, Lorne learns never to piss off an archaeologist.
Daniel: "Artifacts?"
Lorne: "Yes." (He clearly knows Daniel's not happy here.)
Daniel: "You found all this, and you didn't contact me?"
Lorne: "We were going to."
Daniel: "They've been moved."
Lorne: "They were in the way."
Jack: (quickly intervenes) "Daniel, go to your happy place."
You should also know that this scene gave me enough fodder to become a Daniel/Lorne shipper.
After Daniel uncovers evidence of Unas in the area, he and Edwards hit an impasse. Violence between the SG teams and the Unas ensues, and to solve the situation, Daniel calls in his old friend Chaka.
I love all the Chaka episodes. Whenever we see Chaka, we get to see Daniel actually get to show his linguist mojo as he attempts to negotiate with a limited vocabulary in a tense environment. It was reminiscent to the early attempts at communication between Daniel and the people of Abydos during the original film.
The negotiations between the Unas on the planet and Daniel and Chaka were beautifully done and gave us a lot of information about the social structure of the Unas.
So another great episode. Since I've gotten verbose again, I'll wrap this up.
From verav, I got "The Fifth Race."
This is easily on my list of Top 5 Stargate: SG-1 episodes. For me, this, along with "Torment of Tantalus" first cinch what the series is all about.
This episode is such a pivotal moment in the franchise, because it introduced so many threads that would be continued later on, and it combined the elements that embody Stargate--the mythology, the science, the military, the bonds of friendship, the depth of what it meant for the earth to suddenly be pitched out into a world far bigger than it comprehended.
And I think this is the first time Jack really got how big all of this was and possibly the first time he understood what Daniel had been trying to tell him during "Torment of Tantalus."
In terms of character interaction, this episode captured the devotion Daniel feels toward Jack, and at the same time showed Daniel in his element as an archaeologist and linguist. This was Daniel's first opportunity to make any headway with the language of the Ancients, so he was understandably excited. But at the same time, he was desperate to help Jack and to be his lifeline. One of my favorite lines from the episode is when Daniel is explaining why he can't go with Sam and Teal'c on a mission. He says, "And bottom line, sir, what about Jack? I mean, right now, I'm possibly his only hope for communicating on any kind of serious level. I can't leave him like this. And I won't."
The scenes between them are beautiful and show the friendship between them.
And the scenes between Jack and the Asgard...
From that first glimpse of an Asgard peeking around the archway to seeing them through Jack's eyes for the first time... the shot of their legs, and then the gradual shot of their entire bodies. And then the shot of the whole lot of them. Brilliantly done.
After Jack is purged of the Ancient knowledge, and the Asgard give him their song and dance about humans not being advanced enough to interact with them, one of my favorite exchanged in the entire franchise takes place:
Jack (to the Asgard): "You folks should understand that we're out there. Now. And we might not be ready for a lot of this stuff, but we're doin' the best we can. We are a very curious race."
To which the Asgard reply: "You have already taken the first steps towards becoming the Fifth Race."
All of that meant a lot to me when I first saw the episode, but now that I've seen the whole series, it's that much more poignant.
Finally, another favorite scene is this one: When Jack returns, he says to Daniel: "You know that meaning of life stuff? I think we're going to be all right."
Like I said earlier, I think Jack gets it now, at least on some level, and that was a good moment between them.
Ahem. This is a bit longish, isn't it? *blush*
From lenyia, I got "Enemy Mine."
Anyone who's spent five minutes on my journal can guess one major reason why I love this episode. Major. Get it? (Sorry, I'm hopped up on chocolate and Dr. Pepper.) But yeah, this is the episode that gave us Major Evan Lorne and those dimples.
His character was just a one-off back then, but like so many other guest stars, Major Lorne came back later on as a full-fledged character. How cool is it to go back and see where he came from. One thing I always wanted the writers on SGA to do is somehow work his background in this episode into a story. How did he get from a mining planet to Atlantis? I realize they had no idea during the making of this episode that they'd use him again, but a good writer could work some magic.
Plus, I always wanted to see Colonel Edwards (Lorne's then CO) again. I really liked the character and wanted to know more about him.
In any case, we know the story. One of the men gets snatched, and SG-1 is called in to investigate. One of my favorite scenes is when Lorne goes to lead the team to the place where the missing guy was last seen and leads them straight by a table full of artifacts. And thus, Lorne learns never to piss off an archaeologist.
Daniel: "Artifacts?"
Lorne: "Yes." (He clearly knows Daniel's not happy here.)
Daniel: "You found all this, and you didn't contact me?"
Lorne: "We were going to."
Daniel: "They've been moved."
Lorne: "They were in the way."
Jack: (quickly intervenes) "Daniel, go to your happy place."
You should also know that this scene gave me enough fodder to become a Daniel/Lorne shipper.
After Daniel uncovers evidence of Unas in the area, he and Edwards hit an impasse. Violence between the SG teams and the Unas ensues, and to solve the situation, Daniel calls in his old friend Chaka.
I love all the Chaka episodes. Whenever we see Chaka, we get to see Daniel actually get to show his linguist mojo as he attempts to negotiate with a limited vocabulary in a tense environment. It was reminiscent to the early attempts at communication between Daniel and the people of Abydos during the original film.
The negotiations between the Unas on the planet and Daniel and Chaka were beautifully done and gave us a lot of information about the social structure of the Unas.
So another great episode. Since I've gotten verbose again, I'll wrap this up.