It's starting to feel like there was some kind of revolt midway through season 3, where the actors threatened to strike unless the writing stopped sucking. I expected the run of goodness at the end of season 3 to be a fluke, but...the quality level in 4 stays at that level somewhat relentlessly. The reason seems to be largely attributable to one person - Peter DeLuise. This season marks the start of his run as the show's creative consultant (in addition to directing 56 episodes and writing 18).
FOUR STAR - none
NOTEWORTHY
-The Other Side ***
A tight, dangerous trip that focuses on the give and take of morality vs. self-interest. SG1 meets a technologically superior people who are willing to offer all their advances in exchange for the heavy water needed to end a war. In a surprisingly effective performance, Jackson is the lone voice of moral objection (Shanks has turned his personal corner, giving solid performances regularly now). Perhaps a touch obvious at the end...if these people didn't turn out to be so "evil", Earth's moral dilemma would have cut deeper. Well-lifted by Rene Auberjonois (M*A*S*H, BENSON, DS9) as the alien leader.
-Upgrades ***
Fun. The tok'ra supply SG1 with alien armbands that increase their abilities exponentially. Vanessa Angel (SPIES LIKE US, KINGPIN) is the tok'ra you can't decide whether to trust. The armbands make the team act irrationally, as they go rogue to try to destroy a new goa'uld supership. Teal'c saves the day.
-Crossroads ***
Now, Mr. DeLuise, don't give directors who are willing to dial up the sexy a bad name by simultaneously dialing down the intelligence. We suspect you're better than that; we certainly loved you on SEAQUEST. This one's actually very good until a confrontation between Teal'c and a goa'uld infiltrator comes off childishly, as they both indulge in "menacing" acting when their characters would never be so obvious. A former goa'uld high priestess (Musetta Vander, OH BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?) convinces everyone she has learned how to communicate with her infant symbiote, and taught it to hate goa'uld oppression. She and Teal'c fall in love. Musetta and Vanessa are spilling sexy all over the place. That's a good thing, but...to suddenly have Vanessa dressing like a Robert Palmer video girl, when every other tok'ra dresses like a jedi...as much as we appreciate the intent, it just shows a lack of imagination. Perhaps some more creative way could be found to employ her sexiness...some more, what's that word, "organic" context? Perhaps involving a gymnasium, or a waterfall? Or a gymnasium under a waterfall? I'm just spitballing here.
-Divide and Conquer ***
A well thought-out, well-crafted entry. Sam and Jack fail a lie detector test designed to sniff out goa'uld agents. Have they been programmed to kill the President? Can they be stopped from committing suicide if they're thwarted? Ultimately, they realize that they failed the test because they were suppressing feelings for each other. A major step in SG1 character development...but is anyone (including these two) really feeling the chemistry? Goodbye to Vanessa Angel...which is sad, because we love the way she kissed O'Neill and presented an alien (and of course, healthier) approach to sexuality. Also the bloody death of JR Bourne's Martouf, who had lent a likable, strong presence to the tok'ra.
-Window of Opportunity ***
The SGC find themselves in a six-hour time loop, centered on an SG1 mission. Jack and Teal'c are the only ones who remember the previous loops, and must learn latin to operate the machinery that will free them. After a couple months, they start to go loopy (haha...loopy, get it?) and engage in some sophomoric pursuits. This is the first time SG1 has ventured into what can only be called mild self-parody. The purist in me is suspicious...but i can't deny my smiles. This is the second time it's occurred to me to pair an SG1 episode with a TREK ("Cause and Effect", TNG). I'm not quite there, but i'm one step closer.
-Watergate ***
Actually a clever title, and nothing to do with corruption. SGC discovers that their original stargate was recovered by the russians. They were able to get it going, but a disaster brings a call to the americans. SG1 finds a siberian compound where everyone is dead, and the gate locked open into an undersea world. Sam, Daniel, and the sole living russian (Marina Sirtis, STAR TREK TNG) take a sub into the waterworld. Jack and Teal'c must deal with a retrieved water sample, which it turns out is alive and capable of inhabiting people. High marks for unpredictability. Marina is the closest we've come to TREK royalty on SG1...she acquits herself, and sci fi, well.
-The First Ones ***
Why haven't we had more episodes (or any) that put Daniel in a life or death situation where he needs to understand an unfamiliar language? On the goa'uld homeworld, Daniel is captured by an adolescent unas. The planet's waters are teeming with larval goa'uld, which present quite a hazard to the rescue team.
-Scorched Earth ***
Another SG1 that feels like legitimate sci fi. A refugee population has been relocated to a friendly planet. An alien ship appears in orbit, burning away all life below. SG1 discovers that the ship is terraforming the planet, to seed the DNA of a peaceful, extinct race. There isn't time to relocate the entire population. A hologram is created to speak on behalf of the ship, which can find no way around the dilemma, as the ship doesn't have the resources to start its mission elsewhere. Jack disobeys orders, to attempt to destroy the ship. Jackson goes against Jack's wishes, staying onboard to seek another solution. Look for a nice lil' slice of Alessandro Juliani (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA).
-Beneath the Surface ***
Yet ANOTHER episode that cries out to be paired with a TREK ("Workforce", VOYAGER). Of course, such viewings might only serve to remind one how derivative post-TREK sci fi can be...but then, whoops, "Workforce" aired five months AFTER this one. So there, it's TREK that rips off other sci fi! Of course, with only five months difference, the similarity was probably just fluky coincidence...indeed, given the circumstances, can it be entirely coincidence that one of the characters in "Workforce" is named Jaffen? SG1 find themselves working as alien industrial slave labor, with no memory of their former lives, except for Tuvok...i mean, Teal'c...and they struggle to overcome memory-manipulation. The writers missed a great chance for more humor, in the lines where the team get their real life memories wrong (or half-right). But overall, well done.
-Point of No Return ***
Willie Garson (SEX AND THE CITY) plays an erratic individual who contacts the government with information about the stargate. Who is he? Is someone drugging him? Silly fun...and look for Matthew Bennett (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA).
-Tangent ***
Stargate meets Apollo 13. Teal'c and Jack are adrift in space in an experimental flyer adapted from goa'uld gliders. It's overdue that an episode point up how helpless humans are space-wise, using technology way over their heads. Conventional rescue is impossible, and only one tok'ra ship can save them, but it's out of reach and undercover. Recurring character Major Davis (Colin Cunningham, BEST IN SHOW) is in no way flashy, but doesn't fall prey to any SG1 acting/writing flaws. Anderson's character has never been fully realized, but for one moment he nails a line that is worthy of the best Kurt Russell or MACGUYVER, with his delivery of "We could do better".
-The Curse ***
Will you STOP IT with this unending run of good episodes? You've accustomed me to a certain level of crap, SG1, and you're failing to deliver. This makes about twenty in a row. A treat for Egyptologists who may have loved the movie, but been disappointed by the series. Daniel learns that the archaeology professor who trained him has suddenly died. He returns for the funeral, and picks up the abandoned research thread with the help (and antipathy) of two formerly close research assistants. This episode touches on how achingly hard it must sometimes be for the stargate crew to never tell anyone in the outside world about what they do. An idea that needs to be explored further...
-Exodus ***
A righteous season finale. It rises above that "TV" feel, just a lil'. SGC and the tok'ra hatch a plan to use Kronos' stolen mother ship to ignite a star, destroying Apophis' fleet.
No comments:
Post a Comment