Ten Stargate: SG-1 Episodes I Love
Done for the Ten Things I Love About You challenge at scifiland for Team Anti-Hero:
1. “The Fifth Race” - Over the years, Hollywood and urban legend has popularized the idea of the Little Green Men-the prototypical alien. Well, Stargate: SG-1 riffed off of that idea and introduced us to the Asgard, who were not little green men, per se, but little gray men. And boy, did those little guys mark a turning point for the series. Earlier in the series, we had been introduced to the idea of four great races, one of which had been the Asgard. We’d even gotten a brief glimpse of the race in the Season 1 episode “Thor’s Hammer.” But in Season 2 episode “The Fifth Race,” the Asgard suddenly became a very real part of the larger mythology of the series. Their presence changed everything. The represented a more benevolent side of the universe-a clear contrast to the conquest-minded Goa’uld. They gave Earth a potential ally and would later provide a critical leg-up, so to speak, in technology. And perhaps most importantly, they connected Earth to a larger destiny.
2. “The Road Not Taken” - Stargate: SG-1 did a lot of alternate reality episodes over its ten seasons, and I love them all. I find the idea of “what could have been” playing out on screen to be incredibly provocative. In “The Road Not Taken,” Sam is thrust into a world where the Ori are a much more immediate threat to the survival of the human race, and the world has become a much different place because of it. This reality has a lot of fun differences. First of all, Major Evan Lorne and his dimples are the head of SG-1, and this Lorne seems to have had a close relationship with his reality’s Sam Carter. Also, that reality’s Sam Carter is divorced… from none other than Rodney McKay, who has no connection with the SGC at the beginning of the episode. We also learn what could have happened to Cameron Mitchell if the USAF hadn’t taken an interest in his care (he becomes embittered and reclusive). Overall, the whole thing is just fun. I would have loved it if we’d gotten to play in that world a little more.
3. “Enemy Mine” - The premise of this is easy enough-a mining team encounters a tribe of Unas who don’t want them mucking around in land their people hold sacred. After a member of the mining team is killed, Daniel comes up with the idea of bringing Chaka, his Unas friend from “The First Ones” in to help negotiate and ultimately resolve the situation. The episode holds a special place in my heart because it features the first appearance of Major Evan Lorne (and his dimples). The character seemed to be a one-off, but he later resurfaced during the second season of Stargate: Atlantis, where he became a recurring character. Also, the episode addresses the potential problems SG teams would encounter as they set up shop on all these different planets. The SGC needed Naquadah, but how far should they go? Do our needs trump the impulse of the Unas to preserve their native culture?
4. “Bounty” - This episode is just a lot of fun. The members of SG-1 manage to tick off the Lucien Alliance and get a bounty put on their heads. Shortly thereafter, they all go off to do their own thing for a while-Daniel to a library, Sam to a science conference, and Cam (with Vala in tow) to his high school reunion. Little do they know that bounty hunters are tracking the all down. The most fun part of me was watching Cam try to introduce Vala to his family and friends. Also fun was the fact that we got to see Cam’s high school crush, Amy Vandenberg.
5. “Torment of Tantalus” - In this episode, we see the return of Catherine Langford, the woman who originally recruited Daniel, and we learn that Daniel wasn’t the first person to turn on the gate. Not only does this episode bring back Catherine Langford, it also introduces a vital plot point-an alliance of four great races (the Asgard, the Ancients, the Furlings, and the Nox). While we never meet the Furlings, and the Nox only play a small part in the mythology of the series, both the Asgard and the Ancients later become major players in the Stargate franchise. This episode also shows us Daniel’s desperation to understand these four great races-to figure out the meaning of life. He’s so desperate, in fact, that Jack has to physically pull him through the gate to keep him from getting killed.
6. “Abyss” - This was Michael Shanks’s first appearance as Daniel after the character had been killed off/ascended at the end of Season 5. He showed up to bring comfort to Jack, who was being tortured by Ba’al. Jack, fearing he was close to breaking, begged for death or rescue, while Daniel wanted to help Jack ascend. The episode is a beautiful look at their friendship, as well as at Jack still-unresolved grief over losing his friend. It also offers a rare chance to see Jack being vulnerable and exposed.
7. “Fragile Balance” - Jack is abducted and cloned by the Asgard, and because of a glitch, the clone is 17 years old. When the 17-year old Jack wakes up thinking he’s the real thing, hijinks ensue. The placement of this episode was especially interesting, because Daniel had just recently returned the land of the living. Now suddenly, he was faced with a cranky teenaged version of his closest friend. Michael Welch was hysterical in the role of a young cloned Jack. We learn more about the cloning problems being faced by the Asgard, and we get to meet rogue scientist Loki.
8. “The Curse” - I’m a sucker for episodes where we get a peek at Daniel’s backstory. In this episode, we finally get to see some of the people from Daniel’s academic background-including an ex-girlfriend, Sarah. The aforementioned ex-girlfriend is nice enough, but she falls victim to a Goa’uld and thus becomes a recurring villain. She also becomes the latest in a long line of Stuff Daniel Feels Guilty About. Another thing I like about the episode is that we get to see Sam and Janet away from the SGC, as the accompany Daniel to Egypt.
9. “Crystal Skull” - This is another Daniel-centric episode. It introduces us to a real live relative of Daniel, his grandfather. Ironically, Daniel is embarrassed about his grandfather’s weird ideas about crystal skulls and aliens. But at the same time, when he finds a crystal skull on another planet, he can’t resist checking it out. During the mission, Daniel is zapped by the skull and shifts to another dimension where the rest of the team can’t see or touch him. The episode features some lovely moments, as Daniel and his grandfather make peace with each other, and as Daniel’s grandfather is able to finally see his own ideas proven to be accurate.
10. “Cold Lazarus” - This episode is a heartbreaker. Jack is accidentally injured by a crystalline alien, who is afraid Jack’s team will seek vengeance. So the alien assumes Jack’s appearance in order to “heal him.” The alien doesn’t understand that Jack’s greatest pain is the loss of his son, Charlie. The alien goes to visit Sara, Jack’s ex-wife, and we get to see a glimpse of what Jack’s relationship with her was like before Charlie’s death. I always wanted to see Sara recur. Her relationship with Jack intrigued me-particularly the way she dealt with the crystalline version of Jack, who reached out to her to cope with a grief he didn’t understand.
1. “The Fifth Race” - Over the years, Hollywood and urban legend has popularized the idea of the Little Green Men-the prototypical alien. Well, Stargate: SG-1 riffed off of that idea and introduced us to the Asgard, who were not little green men, per se, but little gray men. And boy, did those little guys mark a turning point for the series. Earlier in the series, we had been introduced to the idea of four great races, one of which had been the Asgard. We’d even gotten a brief glimpse of the race in the Season 1 episode “Thor’s Hammer.” But in Season 2 episode “The Fifth Race,” the Asgard suddenly became a very real part of the larger mythology of the series. Their presence changed everything. The represented a more benevolent side of the universe-a clear contrast to the conquest-minded Goa’uld. They gave Earth a potential ally and would later provide a critical leg-up, so to speak, in technology. And perhaps most importantly, they connected Earth to a larger destiny.
2. “The Road Not Taken” - Stargate: SG-1 did a lot of alternate reality episodes over its ten seasons, and I love them all. I find the idea of “what could have been” playing out on screen to be incredibly provocative. In “The Road Not Taken,” Sam is thrust into a world where the Ori are a much more immediate threat to the survival of the human race, and the world has become a much different place because of it. This reality has a lot of fun differences. First of all, Major Evan Lorne and his dimples are the head of SG-1, and this Lorne seems to have had a close relationship with his reality’s Sam Carter. Also, that reality’s Sam Carter is divorced… from none other than Rodney McKay, who has no connection with the SGC at the beginning of the episode. We also learn what could have happened to Cameron Mitchell if the USAF hadn’t taken an interest in his care (he becomes embittered and reclusive). Overall, the whole thing is just fun. I would have loved it if we’d gotten to play in that world a little more.
3. “Enemy Mine” - The premise of this is easy enough-a mining team encounters a tribe of Unas who don’t want them mucking around in land their people hold sacred. After a member of the mining team is killed, Daniel comes up with the idea of bringing Chaka, his Unas friend from “The First Ones” in to help negotiate and ultimately resolve the situation. The episode holds a special place in my heart because it features the first appearance of Major Evan Lorne (and his dimples). The character seemed to be a one-off, but he later resurfaced during the second season of Stargate: Atlantis, where he became a recurring character. Also, the episode addresses the potential problems SG teams would encounter as they set up shop on all these different planets. The SGC needed Naquadah, but how far should they go? Do our needs trump the impulse of the Unas to preserve their native culture?
4. “Bounty” - This episode is just a lot of fun. The members of SG-1 manage to tick off the Lucien Alliance and get a bounty put on their heads. Shortly thereafter, they all go off to do their own thing for a while-Daniel to a library, Sam to a science conference, and Cam (with Vala in tow) to his high school reunion. Little do they know that bounty hunters are tracking the all down. The most fun part of me was watching Cam try to introduce Vala to his family and friends. Also fun was the fact that we got to see Cam’s high school crush, Amy Vandenberg.
5. “Torment of Tantalus” - In this episode, we see the return of Catherine Langford, the woman who originally recruited Daniel, and we learn that Daniel wasn’t the first person to turn on the gate. Not only does this episode bring back Catherine Langford, it also introduces a vital plot point-an alliance of four great races (the Asgard, the Ancients, the Furlings, and the Nox). While we never meet the Furlings, and the Nox only play a small part in the mythology of the series, both the Asgard and the Ancients later become major players in the Stargate franchise. This episode also shows us Daniel’s desperation to understand these four great races-to figure out the meaning of life. He’s so desperate, in fact, that Jack has to physically pull him through the gate to keep him from getting killed.
6. “Abyss” - This was Michael Shanks’s first appearance as Daniel after the character had been killed off/ascended at the end of Season 5. He showed up to bring comfort to Jack, who was being tortured by Ba’al. Jack, fearing he was close to breaking, begged for death or rescue, while Daniel wanted to help Jack ascend. The episode is a beautiful look at their friendship, as well as at Jack still-unresolved grief over losing his friend. It also offers a rare chance to see Jack being vulnerable and exposed.
7. “Fragile Balance” - Jack is abducted and cloned by the Asgard, and because of a glitch, the clone is 17 years old. When the 17-year old Jack wakes up thinking he’s the real thing, hijinks ensue. The placement of this episode was especially interesting, because Daniel had just recently returned the land of the living. Now suddenly, he was faced with a cranky teenaged version of his closest friend. Michael Welch was hysterical in the role of a young cloned Jack. We learn more about the cloning problems being faced by the Asgard, and we get to meet rogue scientist Loki.
8. “The Curse” - I’m a sucker for episodes where we get a peek at Daniel’s backstory. In this episode, we finally get to see some of the people from Daniel’s academic background-including an ex-girlfriend, Sarah. The aforementioned ex-girlfriend is nice enough, but she falls victim to a Goa’uld and thus becomes a recurring villain. She also becomes the latest in a long line of Stuff Daniel Feels Guilty About. Another thing I like about the episode is that we get to see Sam and Janet away from the SGC, as the accompany Daniel to Egypt.
9. “Crystal Skull” - This is another Daniel-centric episode. It introduces us to a real live relative of Daniel, his grandfather. Ironically, Daniel is embarrassed about his grandfather’s weird ideas about crystal skulls and aliens. But at the same time, when he finds a crystal skull on another planet, he can’t resist checking it out. During the mission, Daniel is zapped by the skull and shifts to another dimension where the rest of the team can’t see or touch him. The episode features some lovely moments, as Daniel and his grandfather make peace with each other, and as Daniel’s grandfather is able to finally see his own ideas proven to be accurate.
10. “Cold Lazarus” - This episode is a heartbreaker. Jack is accidentally injured by a crystalline alien, who is afraid Jack’s team will seek vengeance. So the alien assumes Jack’s appearance in order to “heal him.” The alien doesn’t understand that Jack’s greatest pain is the loss of his son, Charlie. The alien goes to visit Sara, Jack’s ex-wife, and we get to see a glimpse of what Jack’s relationship with her was like before Charlie’s death. I always wanted to see Sara recur. Her relationship with Jack intrigued me-particularly the way she dealt with the crystalline version of Jack, who reached out to her to cope with a grief he didn’t understand.