Stargate Archives

Stargate SG1 Fire And Water

Daniel is Dead.

Yes you heard me, Daniel is dead, again. Not just reported dead as in the original mission to Abydos but burnt to a crisp in front of the remaining members of SG1, or is he?

Fire And Water deals with the psychological ramifications of the loss of Daniel in what amounted to a simple unforeseen incident on an alien world. What should have been a simple mission underlined the inherent dangers in exploring the unknown and the impact it can have on teams who may not be considering the consequences in the same manner as if on active military duty in an Earth based war zone. Of course it soon becomes apparent that Sam, Jack and Teal'c are dealing with something other than survivors guilt, flashbacks and what are considered to be triggers when returning to the world is mentioned indicates there is more to the story, The clinching piece of data is the experienced timeframe, the team were missing for hours where as they thought they had been gone for far less. Hypnocise reveals some of the missing memories and SG1 return to the world in the hopes of finding Daniel.

Meanwhile Daniel.....

Fire And Water was not a bad episode although it suffers from the lack of impact once you know what is going on let alone repeated viewing removes the "what if" of losing a major character early on in a series. The prosthetics for Nem were very nice when in his world, lighting and camera worked hand in hand with makeup no doubt but not so good when in daylight. Gerard Plunkett as Nem didn't have a lot to do but did it with style and allowed Michael to "act" against him. The rest of the cast delivered solid performances and great to see Janet holding her own against the General.

My thanks to Ian for joining me this week and he'll be back when we cover Hathor, hope you'll join us for that and as always ratings, reviews and plain old comments would be most welcome. Follow us on twitter, tumblr or Google+ and join the facebook group if you wish.

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Stargate SG1 Bloodlines

Teal'c awakes from a nightmare where he saw a young boy being implanted with a symbiote, he reveals to Jack that when he informed the SGC he had no further ties to Chulak he had been less than honest. It turns out that Teal'c is married and has a son and it is the time for his boy Rya'c to undergo the Prim'ta ceremony and receive his first symbiote. Teal'c is going to prevent this at all costs and General Hammond eventually assigns SG1 to help in this endeavour.

The team disguise themselves as priests accompanied by Teal'c in his armour and eventually secure themselves on Chulak. They find the home of Teal'c burnt to the ground and on one remaining wall the symbol of a traitor (Shol'va). It's here that an older warrior makes his appearance, he embraces Teal'c and is introduced as former first prime Bra'tac. He does not seem to amused to see SG1 but confirms that Rya'c and Drey'auc are both ok but living as outcasts. The group split with Carter and Jackson going to secure the gate while Jack, Bra'tac and Teal'c head for the camp. Teal'c gets there in time to prevent the implantation but is then attacked, his wife as it turns out who screams at him that Rya'c is ill and the symbiote was the only way to save him...

Bloodlines secures its place in Stargate history by introducing us to the one and only Bra'tac wonderfully played by Tony Amendola, the character will become a staple of the show as the battle between the Goa'uld and the Tau'ri rages. It's debatable if the revelations of his family makes Teal'c a better character but it certainly does no harm to add a little more depth to the man. Of course Bra'tac steals the show and will continue to do so everytime he appears in an episode, writing and casting created a master piece in this grizzled veteran of a warrior.

My thanks to Tim for joining me on this podcast, the recording went on for quite a bit longer than expected and the resulting podcast length is a little longer as you would expect, we did ramble at times. As always love to get more people on the show so get in touch if you want to join me and an itunes review/rating would be most welcome. The next show should be Fire And Water but best laid plans and all that :)

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• Uncharted Territories
• Partial Nerdity

Stargate SG1 The Torment of Tantalus

After Daniel receives old files and transferred video footage from the early days of the Stargate program he is shocked to see that the scientists at the time were able to create a wormhole, to his horror he sees a man in a deep sea diving suit enter the gate and it then shuts down severing the connections. The man in question (Ernest Littlefield played by Paul McGillion) was the fiance of Catherine Langford who had been told he died in an accident on the base, Daniel takes it upon himself to reveal this to her and since they have the address then they go and get him. As you would expect General Hammond is not happy by this breach of security despite Catherine being high up the pecking order during her time but after blowing off some steam he gives a green light to the mission.

Upon arrival they find themselves in a sort of castle, very run down and looks abandoned until of course a very naked Ernest appears unable to believe his own eyes. It takes some time for everyone to get their bearings especially between him and Catherine, he had imagined her with him for the last 50 years, it kept him sane. The big revelation is a fully functional alien device in a room which has its walls covered in alien writings, the Asgard and Nox are there which may indicate this was some sort of meeting/conference facility. The device contains scientific data on atoms and Daniel believes it's a primer for ultimately being able to communicate but time is critical as storm season is upon them and the castle is structurally unsound. This is most evident when the DHD falls through the floor and the team have to jury-rig a solution using the copper helmet as a lighting rod and while Daniel wants to stay behind and learn all he can he eventually sees sense and he and Jack make it through the gate as the castle crumbles.

The Torment of Tantalus is one the best episodes from the first season and lays more groundwork in terms of the big picture landscape that humanity has found itself inhabiting. We also get a very funny episode, the late Keene Curtis played older Ernest to perfection and brought a level of empathy alongside the humour, not an easy thing to achieve. It was great to see Paul McGillion long before he joins Stargate for the spin off series Atlantis and with Stargate Origins on the horizon there must be elements here that will play a part.

My thanks to Brad for being up nice and early to record with me, a trooper. The next episode will probably be Bloodlines and as always if you want to join me on the show please get in touch. 

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• The Lost World Minute Podcast

Daniel believes there is evidence of alien influence on humanity outside of the Goa'uld appropriation of our mythology if indeed the myths came first or the Goa'uld did. Regardless Daniel has evidence based upon Norse legends that their gods may have been more "helpful" to humanity and Teal'c chimes up that he recognises one of the symbols as a gate address which they are forbidden to access. Of course that is all Jack and the General need to green light a mission and SG1 gate to what they come to know as the planet Cimmeria only to be faced with some easily amused natives who chant "thor, thor, thor" as an Obelisk powers up and fires a beam of light at the team. It focuses on Teal'c and his symbiote and as it reaches a crescendo Jack throws himself towards Teal'c and then they both vanish. The two men later awake in a dark, dank cavern and come across a hologram of a Viking warrior who proceeds to tell them that they came to a protected planet and are in violation of a treaty, there is a way out but only if the symbiote sacrifices itself. Meanwhile Sam and Daniel meet a local leader named Gairwyn who understands who and where they come from and takes them to meet the only person who has been taken by the obelisk and returned to tell the tale.

Jack and Teal'c soon learn that they are not alone in the cavern/cave system, a very old Unas one of the first hosts of the Goa'uld symbiotes remains active and is very hungry and the two men have to fight off the James Earl Jones voiced alien while trying to reach the hammer and freedom. Sam and Daniel meet Kendra ( Galyn Görg ) who after asking for guidance from the gods agrees to take them into the mountains to find the exit of this trap.

Thor's Hammer is one of the first and most important cornerstones of the Stargate mythology, the existence of an alien race and treaty which protects some human worlds kinda derails the notion that the Goa'uld are unstoppable. We will learn far more about Thor's people as the seasons go on and while their story doesn't end that well the adventure is one of the high points of Stargates seventeen seasons. Galyn is also one of the performers who only appears once on the show but whose role and presence makes her appearance memorable.

As always my gratitude to Brad for getting up nice and early to record with me and he'll be back, put money on that. The next episode will probably be The Torment of Tantalus and of course as is the norm I'd love to get more people on the podcast so drop me a line if you are interested. You can join me in the regular rewatch or pick a favourite episode, I'm not going to be to fussy since I've covered all 17 seasons on the Gatecast.

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• The Lost World Minute Podcast

On the planet Argos the team find a small community surrounding an impressive temple like structure devoted to a "god" named Pelops. Their first interaction is with a couple ( Alekos and Thetys ) who are in the process of giving birth, Daniel turns out to have the most experience of being a midwife and soon a newborn's cry echoes throughout the temple. They are invited to what appears to be a celebration and a very attractive young woman named Kynthia ( Bobbie Phillips ) seems to take a shine to Jack and offers him so cake/pizza/foodstuff and of course he accepts and hilarity ensues. Jack is led away and then Kynthia performs a dance for him, Jack's vision seems to blur and he then finds himself some time later sharing a bed with Kynthia and devoid of everything but his dog tags. 

It turns out that these people initially age very quickly (the baby from the day before it now a well developed toddler) and the natural lifespan is just one hundred days but certainly lived to it's full extent. A further complication emerges as Jack didn't use protection when he was with Kynthia and the technology the Goa'uld controlled these people with is now infesting Jack. He begins to age and soon becomes the oldest person in the community thanks to the partial manipulation of his genetics by what turns out to be a nano type virus engineered by Pelops in the hopes of creating a perfect host. Jack orders the team to leave him behind and he tries to come to terms with his fate with Kynthia at his side but he still finds time to lead a revolt against the dictates of Pelops.

Brief Candle is a tale of two halves, the story has potential for some serious depth but a single episode doesn't really have the time to tell the tale and the budget alas worked well on the location shooting but the temple itself was pretty cheap looking. Old age makeup for Jack was pretty good and well Bobbie as the temptress Kynthia was impressive so overall an above average first season episode which never really reached it's potential.

Many thanks to Jeff for making his first appearance on the Stargate Archives after being a feature on the Gatecast over the years. If you want to join me for an hour and talk Stargate then please get in touch, currently exploiting the old contact list but would love to get some new voices on the show. As always any ratings and reviews on itunes would be most welcome and continued thanks to everyone that shares the show info on social media.

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Secretary of Defense David Swift visits Stargate Command and is impressed with the operation but raises the point that they are not bringing home the technology that will allow Earth or more importantly the US government to makes leaps and bounds in their development. It's pointed out that creating allies amongst races far more advanced (and some not) will pay off in the long run but the Secretary is not convinced. Teal'c suggests a visit to a world which has been put on a Goa'uld "blacklist" which is supposedly the home of a creature that can become invisible at will, the mission is a go.

Upon arrival they are surprised to find that the Stargate and MALP have vanished and that Apophis (Peter Williams) with an honour guard is also hunting this creature. SG1 decide to capture Apophis instead of the creature but their ambush is weak to say the least and well everyone but Teal'c is killed. Of course this is scifi so a few minutes later they are all alive once more and meet the natives of this world who seem to be very simple and spiritual folk at ease with the natural world. This is not quite correct as Jack and Apophis come to learn but each of them take something very different away from meeting members of The Nox.

The Nox is a very entertaining episode and is an excellent example of the positives when SG teams meet alien races are so far in advance of us there is little cross over to make a workable dialogue. Anteaus (Armin Shimerman) often speaks as if to SG1 being children and in this regard humanity is like kids running around the galaxy with big weapons but SG1 show potential and ultimately a secret is revealed which could in time be significant.

My thanks to Brad for joining me this week and for his continued willingness to get up very early in the morning to talk with me for an hour or so. If anyone wants to talk Stargate with me for use in the podcast I would love to hear from you, don't be shy :)

I would love to get a few more itunes ratings/reviews but I can not be anything but grateful for the support via likes/tweets and +1's on the various social media portals, links are all around. Not sure what we are covering next, it'll probably be Brief Candle if nothing else crops up that nudges it out of the queue so please stay tuned and keep enjoying Stargate.

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Stargate Atlantis Midway

The IOA are flexing their bureaucratic muscles as Teyla and Ronon are forced to undergo interviews and debriefings to validate their commitment to Stargate Command despite their past endeavours. Teyla returns to Atlantis after two days in interviews and reveals to Sam and John that she may not return to field duty after the birth of her child. There are some concerns over how Ronon will react to a probing interview and Sam asks Teal'c to provide some insights into dealing with the "suits", Ronon does not appreciate his presence or input.

The two men enter the Midway system which takes them to the space station in the void between the Milky Way and Pegasus but unbeknown to them the Wraith are hacking the network and soon send an assault team to take the station. After heavy fighting Midway is now under Wraith control and they dial Earth and send a device through to the SGC which stuns the entire base allowing a squad of Wraith to storm the complex. Ronon and Teal'c follow close behind and thus a running and violent battle continues as the two men fight to save the SGC and by extension the entire population of the planet.

Midway is a fantastic episode of Stargate Atlantis both in terms of story and action but also the very welcome presence of Christopher Judge. Teal'c and Ronon were in essence the same character, an outsider learning to fit in but bringing skills and insights which the SGC can not do without out. The decision to have Ronon to view Teal'c in a very negative way was inspired, it made for a lot of humour but set up the bonding process as the two warriors did what they do best, saving lives with extreme skill and dedication. 

My thanks to Alan for joining me on the podcast and the Stargate Archives is not going to worry too much about jumping around the original broadcast schedules, if a guest wants to talk SG1, Atlantis or Universe then we can do that. Of course it makes it easier when the Gatecast went through sequentially so if anyone out there wants to join me then get in touch and we can talk Stargate.

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Stargate SG1 Cold Lazarus

A mission off world leaves Jack alone on the planet when SG1 return to the SGC unaware the Jack that was accompanying them was an imposter. The crystals they retrieved from the planet have some unusual properties and they discover that they were struck by staff weapon fire and they crystals themselves are a manifestation of a sentient life form. Fake Jack however is out and about and armed with pictures of his dead son and family home returns and confronts his ex-wife and father in law. They are both concerned over Jack's apparent mental condition and when he convulses with energy rippling through his body he is taken to a local hospital, SG1 are now aware of the switch as the real Jack gated in and they confront the alien.

Cold Lazarus is a Jack back story I am not sure we really needed at least not for anyone familiar with the movie although we know his personal history is not common knowledge. There were some good moments as the alien in the form of Charlie was able to give some closure but that was kinda negated with the rather clumsy interaction with Sara played by Harley Jane Kozak. That said Teal'c got in some good lines and expressions in the episode and I did like the visuals of the alien world but overall an average season 1 episode.

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Stargate Origins Discussion

We first got a hint that something was on the horizon when the Stargate Command mailing list appeared along with confirmation of a Stargate panel at the 2017 SDCC. Obviously a new series was the favoured and most hoped for announcement and while that's not quite what we got the decision to produce a web based 10 episode series was perhaps more than we could have hoped for not that long ago. The choice to look back at events as they surround Catherine Langford is interesting, there are certainly time periods where she was aware of the artifact and of some of it's properties which were never covered in any of the series. A prequel show/mini-series can be tricky when you have pussyfoot around continuity but I think they have the breathing room to do just that, no doubt we will find out soon.

My thanks to Alan and Stephen for a last minute podcast recording session in which we have a casual chat about the potential of Origins and what we may end up with and the decision for it to be a feature of a MGM subscription based digital portal for the franchise. Fingers crossed that in years to come we can look back at say this is where the rebirth of Stargate began.

Stargate Command  IMDB

Stargate SG1 The First Commandment

Two men dressed in Stargate Command uniforms flee through the forest pursued by natives armed with blow darts, one man is wounded and falls yet urges the other on to the Stargate. The wounded man is surrounded by natives and others seemingly dressed in SGC kit while in the distance the gate activates, at least one man has escaped. The wounded man is then executed and his body burnt.

SG1 gate to the planet to investigate SG9 who have been on the world for some time, they come across the man (Lt. Connor) who activated the gate and he reveals that his SG team leader Captain Jonas Hanson has gone rogue and is playing God with the native population. Jack attempts to order both Connor and Carter (former fiance of Hanson) to return to Earth but both refuse and later that night their camp is attacked and Connor taken. The team infiltrate the local settlement and see hundreds of people mining the local rocks under armed oversight, we learn that Jonas wants them to build a temple and he is willing to let them work under the lethal daylight to achieve his desires. Naturally SG1 are opposed to this and find support amongst the locals first through a young man named Jamala who reveals that their "god" has promised to protect them from the sun with a golden shield, it sounds familiar to Teal'c. Sam meanwhile has attempted to directly contact Jonas but has only got herself captured and when Jack is taken and used as leverage to get Sam to fix the shield device things start to come together and offer a chance for rebellion.

The FIrst Commandment is a solid first season episode, not sure Sam's backstory with Hanson really worked well but we see how all of the SG1 are unwilling to turn their back on each other and others that require help. We will see similar plot points in many future episodes most of them written better but again first season and everyone is still finding their footing. Also worth noting this is an early appearance by Roger Cross who appears later in the show as the same character and is a very in demand actor in television.

Thanks to Jeff for joining me for this episode of the archives, he will return to make up for his too few appearances in last year or so of Gatecast. Thoughts and comments are most welcome and itunes reviews/ratings would be appreciated, so until next time which should be a look at Cold Lazarus take care and keep watching Stargate.

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