Stargate Archives

The members of SG1 attend a memorial for Omoc the Tollan who they encountered a few years earlier. They were surprised to be invited but find out from Narim ( Garwin Sanford ) that despite his rather gruff personality Omoc respected them. Even more surprising to Jack and company is the revelation by High Chancellor Travell ( Marie Stillin ) that her people are reviewing their willingness to supply Earth with military hardware, Narim is quite shocked at the turn of events but as is pointed out Omoc was one of the hardliners when it came to restricting technology and now he’s gone….

When they return to Earth Sam reveals a device that Narim secretly handed to her, a small holographic image conveys a warning that Earth in in danger. General Hammond and his superiors are keen to explore the possibilities of trade with the Tollan but as the current situation with these people is explored more and more questions are posed. Alas as light is shed on the investigation a startling even shocking glimpse at the truth is revealed which explains the decisions being made by those in charge of the Tollan.

Between Two Fires is the third episode which concentrates on the Tollan people (Enigma & Pretense being the first two) and as we learnt they are safe from the Goa’uld thanks to a few centuries of technological development whose pinnacle is the ION cannons. Behind these weapons their world is safe but as Anubis begins making moves the knowledge he brings to the galaxy is tipping the balance. To save a world’s population what isn’t too far fetched for a leader to consider?

It is a question Narim has to find an answer for and maybe not being at the highest political level allows him to see more of the details those in power may be willing to overlook. Travell despite knowing that the Tollan weapons will be used to kill millions is willing to put her people in servitude to the Goa’uld even to the point of taking drastic action within the Tollan society. Narim has throughout supported the choice to not spread their technology amongst people who could use it for extreme violence so making the choice he does fits his character even though it condemns his people to their fate but alas a fate the would eventually have come at the whim of a System Lord.

Many thanks to Tim for joining me on this episode of the podcast and choosing an excellent episode to discuss. It’s been a while since I’ve talked Stargate on the podcast and it’s well past time I got back to the core intent of the show. The upside is also watching more Stargate so wins all round. If you want to join me on the podcast then please get in touch, I currently use skype and a headset to record so as basic as it gets and once you choose and episode then an hour or so chatting about it is easy to do. You can contact me via any of the usual social media portals as well as email etc. If you’ve listened via a podcatcher/streaming service that has a rating/review system then a positive comment would be most welcome. So until next time keep listening, watching and enjoying Stargate.

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Here we are for the final episode of Legend the 1995 single season (half at that) which starred Richard Dean Anderson and John de Lancie. In this concluding episode entitled “Skeletons in the Closet” we see the Professor experimenting with moving pictures using a zoetrope with Ernest aka Legend as his star although that’s after using the young female school teacher. All is going well until they discover a skeleton buried in scrub brush, he obviously died a while back but with a unique ring on one of his fingers. Ramos takes the skeleton into the nearby town of “Bell” but runs into indifference it not outright hostility from the sheriff.

Ramos is troubled by the way he and by extension his people are treated especially the dead and leaves the service of the Professor and goes undercover as an itinerant worker for Seamus Calhoun (John Vernon) who is known to be a collector of Aztec and Mexican artifacts. The Professor and Ernest naturally search for Ramos and after a not too pleasant meeting with the sheriff they make enquiries with the locals who reside in town. As you would expect they discover that greed and desire for the artifacts drove someone to murder and soon they too become the target for the villains gun wielding enforcers.

Oh, worth mentioning that Lara Flynn Boyle makes an appearance on this episode.

Skeletons in the Closet takes a dark turn and is perhaps the most serious of the season as well as giving Mark Adair-Rios (Ramos) plenty to do as he carries the episode. Throughout the season the show has attempted to represent the native cultures in a positive light (with various degrees of success) and again the message is clear thanks to the violence, intimidation and legal indifference in this script. It would have been interesting to see where the second half of the season went but perhaps the mix of light fluff and delivering social observations is a hard trick to master. At the end of the day I’m thankful we got this show, it was a lot of fun and in hindsight a stellar list of guest stars from the old school (movies and tv) and fresh faces that went onto bigger things.

My thanks for listening to the show and especially my coverage of Legend and the plan is to get back into talking about Stargate. There were a few episodes of SG1 and Atlantis that I was not present for when recorded for the Gatecast so I might find a guest and record shows for them. If you want to be on the podcast then you can contact me through the usual social media or email etc and all you need is a headset/mic and access to the likes of skype and we are in business. So until next time once again thanks for listening and if you have a minute a rating or review on whatever podcatcher/streaming service you used would be most welcome.

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During an epic experiment the Professor is interrupted by the arrival of a woman who is looking for the services of Nicodemus in an attempt to find her family, she had been found as a young girl in the plains by a local tribe and raised to womanhood. Ernest takes some convincing as he was looking forward to vacationing in Chicago but a trip to San Francisco with Paytents ( Molly Hagan ) could provide a wealth of ideas for his next novel.

Upon arrival the group are mobbed by the press but finally make it to the family home of Ernest Pratt and we are introduced to his mother Delilah Pratt ( Janis Paige ) and her eclectic assortment of guests. As the investigation continues we learn that someone is strongly motivated to get Paytents and Ernest out of the city even threatening his mother with eviction. Ernest has a close encounter with the agents of the “bad guy” and returns home to find Paytents has been kidnapped but the Professor has a few ideas. Eventually as you would expect the mystery of Paytents is revealed as is the motive for the actions taken against Ernest and we also learn a lot about the boy that became the man that became Nicodemus Legend.

Clueless in San Francisco was a rather different episode compared to the rest of the season, there seemed to be a real effort to flesh out Ernest as well as put in a healthy dose of social commentary. There were laughs of course and great performances from everyone involved, seriously they were all great and sold their characters well especially as some were painted a little on the large size.

If you fancy joining me on the podcast then you can get in touch over any of our social media portals or via email and we can arrange a chat about Stargate using a basic mic/headphone and suitable app which is likely to be skype (old reliable). We are now also carried by Tune In and Amazon Music so more ways to listen to the podcast. Alas only one episode in the Legend series left and that should be my next show before we go back to concentrating more on Stargate so stay tuned and enjoy.

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On this latest new episode from the Stargate Archives we’re back in the wild west for episode 9 of the one and only season of the Richard Dean Anderson show “Legend”. In this episode Ernest is pressured by his publisher to host a hunt for Ludwig Hauptman (Reiner Schöne) a visiting dignitary from Europe, given money is involved Ernest is eventually persuaded to lead the hunt for Buffalo.

Ernest together with Bartok and Ramos venture into the plains secretly hoping they do not encounter any Buffalo but alas they do but before their guests can slaughter a few harmless beasts a local tribe intervene taking everyone prisoner. Ernest is able to talk himself out of being killed and eventually comes to an agreement with the leader of the Arapaho band named Towashie (Rodney A. Grant) to free everyone. The fabled Buffalo spirit is brought to life thanks to Bartok and it’s presence scares off all the intruders but a few weeks later Ludwig returns with more armed men…

Revenge of the Herd is once again an entertaining hour of television, Richard Dean Anderson is naturally excellent alongside and abled supported by John de Lancie. The guest stars especially Rodney and Reiner were very good easily falling into the more farcical side of this show.

It also has to be said that for a 90’s tv show there were willing to push or at least comment on some of the political and social issues inherent with white colonialism and the treatment of native populations. Just having Native American actors playing their people (if not always of the same tribe) is a step up from use of brown face on many movies and tv shows before and of that era.

Once again many thanks for listening and if you want to be on the podcast get in touch via any of the usual ways, pick a Stargate episode and we can chat about it for an hour or so, it’s as easy as that. Until next time take care.

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Bone of Contention

We return to the world of Ernest Pratt aka Nicodemus Legend as he gets himself involved in the conflict between the pursuit of science and the pursuit of money when Dinosaur fossils are discovered near Sheridan soon followed by death and betrayal.

When a man dies bringing a dinosaur fossil to the Professor the search is on for the location of the find and who is responsible for his death. After Ernest is knocked unconscious he wakes much later with Beth McMillan (Beth Toussaint) watching over him, some mild and unsuccessful flirting later he along with Bartok are tasked to solve the mystery of her dead brother. Naturally things get complicated when a mysterious stranger appears in town who may or may not be a Federal agent but his allegiance is questioned after some vigorous investigation by our dynamic duo. Ultimately the race is on to discover the exact location of the dinosaur and for the truth to be revealed.

Bone of Contention was a lot of fun, we get Ernest suffering from writer’s block and having strange dreams, a mystery involving a dinosaur and a young woman in need of assistance and quite a few twists and turns on the way to the resolution. No outstanding performances in this episode but all the guest actors played their parts well in this entertaining and well written episode.

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The Gospel According to Legend

Religion comes to Sheridan when an old nemesis of Ernest arrives leading a revival ministry and posing as a preacher. Naturally Ernest is sceptical but is he any different after all he makes most of his income while pretending to be someone else….

Ernest attends the first sermon and it soon becomes apparent that Mordechai ( Robert Englund ) has an agenda beyond preaching the good book and Professor Bartok is the key to whatever scam is being run. As the mystery deepens Ernest and Bartok travel to Denver in search of some information on who is funding Mordechai but find themselves in dire straits hogtied as the mob complete with burning touches seek to cleanse the Professor by fire.

Well that was an intense episode, a fantastic performance by Robert as he chewed up the scenery something this show does require from its guest stars. The story itself didn’t follow the plot I had imagined and that was refreshing and there was some great writing especially the speech from Bartok in regards to freedom and tolerance provided by living in America. Overall great fun and well worth a watch.

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Hathors Hosts

Simone Bailly

Cattle rustlers are becoming a nuisance and Legend is tasked to capture them but gets distracted when a woman (Laura Davenport) comes into town seemingly a fan of both Legend and Ernest with a small favour to ask and which she will be very grateful if it could be granted. As it turns out her son (Ben) is living his life in the footsteps of Legend and needs a talking to, her husband having passed and thus Ernest gives him some sage advice, gets his photo taken and returns to the matter of the missing cattle.

Naturally Laura ( Mary-Margaret Humes ) is not quite on the level, it turns out that she has an agreement with the publisher of the Legend novels to add a spin off character namely the son of Legend and young Ben is playing the part. Ernest is not pleased to say the least but is kinda cornered due to pressure from Laura and his publisher so the cattle rustling certainly looks more appealing. The Professor has devised a cow shaped surveillance device and by some miracle they manage to capture one of the rustlers but his brother gets away. Looking to retrieve his brother from custody the kidnapping of Legends son is put into motion and Ernest despite seeing the positives of Laura and Ben being out of the way can do nothing but fly to the rescue…

Knee-High Noon was an amusing episode from the fake cows to the legend that is Legend nearly being brought to its knees by lawyers and contracts. Ernest surely will learn that allowing your creation to legally be in the hands of someone else is not good for creative freedom. A tip of the hat to Mary-Margaret who put in an excellent performance of a character both as clever as any but with a devious dark side and the bad guys where very well played as well. Oh, I really did not like young Ben so credit there as well.

I’ve got some more episodes of Legend to watch so I may be covering them in the short term but as of now I have no Stargate chats in the can so will have to address that as well. In that regard if you want to join me on the podcast then just get in touch and with your chosen live action episode from the franchise we can have a chat for an hour or so and hey that’s all it takes. Reviews/Ratings are always welcome as is simply helping to promote the podcast on social media so until next time stay safe and enjoy Stargate.

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A routine MALP transit to P9C-372 does not go well when the remote device suddenly begins to float away and high energy discharges are observed, a feedback signal is also detected which grows in strength at which point Jack manually shuts down the systems but people are still hurt as the overload peaks.

Sam and Walter are taken to the infirmary but are not badly injured and in a later briefing they confirm that a signal from P9C-372 has “infected” the computers and a decision to shut down, purge and reload code is decided upon. However the “entity” has been watching and makes plans to isolate itself in a MALP running off the emergency power, a clever idea which is successful. When the events in the MALP storage area is discovered Sam interacts with the workstation and is taken over by the malicious code but we learn that this visitor was responding to the “attack” on its world and alas it can not return to the machine now it is housed in the brain of Carter. Daniel is keen to keep negotiating but Jack is more belligerent, he threatens to launch more MALPS to the planet unless the entity releases Sam and when backed into a corner it flees in Sam’s body forcing Jack to shoot her twice with a Zat….

Entity was chosen by first time guest Bryn who really enjoys Amanda’s performance in the episode which on the surface doesn’t require a lot of effort but when you watch the episode you realise she is interacting without talking and with minimal facial expressions. Granted Jack in particular provides a sounding board but no denying for such little dialogue the “entity” persona works well. The episode overall has the feel of a bottle show, main cast and existing sets but give this was also the first HD filming experiment the investment could have been significant. A good stand alone episode of SG1 with the main cast front and center and some spooky Terminator 3 / Farscape vibes were felt but that could just be me.

Many thanks to Bryn for getting in touch via twitter and agreeing to come on the show, we had some technical issues but resolved them and ended up chatting for a couple of hours with her episode front and center. If anyone fancies coming on the podcast then please get in touch via any of the usual social media portals, pick any episode from any of the live action series and we can chat over skype (or other app) and it is that easy.

Ratings and Reviews are most welcome but as always keep watching Stargate and don’t be afraid to shout your love of the fandom from the highest tower, one day we may just get more Stargate.

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In honour of the birthday of French Stewart we’re releasing the Gatecast bonus episode of Third Rock From The Sun entitled “Auto Eurodicka” in which the family look to purchase a car and Dick makes a new friend. The episode also features a number of the DeLuise family.

In Auto Eurodicka we find Dick Solomon going to watch a movie recommended by Mary Albright, he meets Anita and he quickly enters into a casual sexual relationship with her, being Dick he can’t keep his mouth shut about it and has no shame in sharing the details until in the middle of class he reveals her name and finds that she is the mother to one of his students. The “B” plot of the episode deals with Sally and her infatuation with a Dodge Viper and her attempts to acquire the car.

Third Rock from the Sun was an excellent American sitcom, I own the DVD boxset and you can dip into the show anywhere you want for a few laughs. As you’ve seen there is plenty of Stargate links in this episode and the series as a whole (thanks to French Stewart) but we also got William Shatner making a very memorable appearance from the fourth season onwards.

Links…

• Auto Eurodicka IMDB

• Third Rock from the Sun Wiki