Stargate: SG1, season 7

FOUR STAR - none
NOTEWORTHY
-Fallen ***
In a moment the like of which was all too infrequent, Jack's humor rises to a level of genuine funniness! The team discovers that Daniel has been deposited on an alien planet, his memory, ascendance, and clothing gone. There's some way-too-Star Wars action as Jack and Carter destroy Anubis' super space-weapon.
-Homecoming ***
A well-made adventure that can't rise above the fact that Jonas' character is being "made redundant" (or whatever euphemism they're using these days). Corin Nemec, come back soon.
-Revisions ***
As blisteringly brilliant as any second-rate product can be, and a thoughtful, understated example of something that's a bit rare in the world of televised sci fi - actual science fiction. No blasters or explosions, no mustache-twirling enemy (or mustache-twirling supercomputer), no soap opera romance...just a simple story about the remains of a civilization on a radiated planet living in an environment bubble, hooked up by neural interfaces to a computer that constantly adjusts their memories to keep them alive and happy. They are oblivious to the fact that their thoughts are being controlled, and their population slowly reduced as the bubble shrinks. A nuanced performance by Christopher Heyerdahl, who would go on to be the most resonant recurring actor in ATLANTIS.
-Lifeboat ***
Is it actually conceivable that i'm glad Michael Shanks is back? It is indisputable that he became a capable actor sometime around season 3. He delivers a brilliant turn here, as he has multiple alien consciousnesses uploaded into his brain. He plays a blustering tyrant, a level-headed technician, and a scared child all with equal aplomb.
-Enemy Mine **
I wish this entry (starring uber-supporting actor Michael Rooker - JFK, TOMBSTONE) had something noteworthy about it so i could dazzle you with the tagline "Here's Rookin' at You, Kid". Ah, here it is...the STARGATE debut of future ATLANTIS stalwart Kavan Smith, as Major Lorne.
-Birthright ***
An okay effort made magical by...Jolene Blalock!!! Sorry, i get a little excitable around ENTERPRISE's T'Pol. A community of free jaffa warrior females enlist the aid of SGC. They prey on jaffa any time they need a replacement symbiote. Earth offers them a chemical way to be free of the symbiotes, but old ways die hard. Teal'c and Jolene have an affair (if i had written the episode, Mr. Judge, that would have been my move too). It doesn't fizzle, nor does it quite sizzle. O'Neill gets a great penis line.
-Evolution ***
I may lose sleep over not giving this one four stars. Airtight, visually arresting, and atypically gritty. An army of programmed super soldiers impervious to traditional weapons is created by Anubis. One is captured by dumb luck. The hunt for technology to combat this menace leads to the trail of the Fountain of Youth. Jackson is captured by honduran rebels. Carter, Teal'c, and Jacob go on a mission to destroy Anubis' soldier factory, while Jack heads to the jungle, where he's guided by an embittered former comrade (Enrico Colantoni - GALAXY QUEST, JUST SHOOT ME!). This is what living up to one's potential feels like.
-Grace **
A passable episode of Carter stranded in space alone on a ship. Her hallucinatory conversations with manifestations of herself are actually well-made, with some depth.
-Fallout ***
Welcome back, Jonas! The instability of the naquadriah deposits on Kelowna are about to destroy the planet. He, Carter, Teal'c and a scientist (Emily Holmes) must take a subterranean vessel 20 km down. The scientist, whom Jonas had been romantically involved with, is exposed as a goa'uld. It's the most "human" any goa'uld has ever been. Nicely done.
-Chimera **
When push comes to shove, Carter CAN pull off sexy.
-Death Knell ***
A well-balanced blend of character and action. Hammond and Jacob negotiate to prevent the tok'ra/jaffa/human alliance from disintegrating, while Carter, alone and wounded, struggles against a super-soldier. This is some of the best writing that Carmen Argenziano has ever had, and he's up to the moment. His name has to be considered in any discussion of SG1's most valuable supporting actor.
-Heroes ***
Tantalizingly good. One dreams of that missing STARGATE writer who could have done one final edit of every script, and pushed the series into greatness. This one has the outgoing President commission a documentary made of the SG program. The filmmaker (the wonderful Saul Rubinek - UNFORGIVEN, TRUE ROMANCE) is an independent. His work will go into mothballs indefinitely, but he's still given the cold shoulder. Adam Baldwin (FIREFLY) gives a cheeky, satisfying performance as an SG team leader. Robert Picardo (VOYAGER) debuts as Richard Woolsey, who would become a regular on ATLANTIS. On a planet where the remains of an ancient city are discovered, the goa'uld attack. There's an extremely-effective fakeout in which you're led to think that Jack has died. Rather than being given some miracle healing or other cliche, we learn that it's Dr. Frazier (Teryl Rothery) who has died...just after she got her only romance of the show, with Saul. This two-parter veers from greatness to clunkiness, but is usually closer to the former. It's surprisingly character-driven, and does a wonderful job capturing moral ambiguity.
-Inauguration ***
A new President (William Devane) is elected, and Vice-President Kinsey (Ronny Cox) loses no time in attempting to further his anti-SGC agenda, with the help of his lapdog Woolsey. What a wonderful moment in time...for a few minutes, you fall into the dream of a STAR TREK/WEST WING magical swirl (no doubt helped by the presence of Cox and Devane, who logged memorable appearances on those respective shows, and Picardo, who did time on both). The fourth actor in this (oval) office drama is James McDaniel (NYPD BLUE). A few show clips are sprinkled in. Picardo loses faith in Kinsey. The writing is more obvious than a true synthesis of those shows would be...but with delightful performances aplenty, you can mostly forget all that.
-Lost City ***
Anubis' invasion fleet is finally at the doorstep, while SG1 seeks to discover Atlantis, the lost city of the ancients. They find the next best thing, a planetary defense system left by the city's makers. Were you to see this episode as a standalone, having only seen the movie, you might imagine that the series had spent seven years living up to its promise. Gripping action, augmented by burst-out-loud laughter. Its only weakness is that it's perhaps a trifle easy...but it's so much fun, you don't really care. Sacrificing himself, Jack downloads ancient knowledge into his overmatched brain. The world saved, he gets frozen in stasis.