Season One Episode Reviews

1X1/2    Children of the Gods 
Plot: O'Neill returns to Chulak when a Gou'ald attacks Earth but they are captured by Apophis.

1X3    The Enemy Within 
Plot: The military interrogates Teal'c while Kawalsky is possessed by a Gou'ald.

I actually enjoyed this episode much more than the pilot.  It gave a great series establishing concept as well as introducing lots of elements to the series.  I particularly love the scene where Teal'c explains the nature of the Gou'ald to the military.  It's interesting to see the military looking to use Teal'c while O'Neill defends him.  The Kawalsky plot is also great pathos, particularly since Kawalsky is alive for it and he's such an enjoyable character.  It's absolutely shocking that they killed them, a great plot twist that totally alters the series and shows that they're willing to take big risks and the change the status quo.  Bravo!

1X4    Emancipation 
Plot: SG1 encounters a Mongol civilization and Carter is sold into marriage.

This was a pretty good standalone, it was really interesting to deal with the Mongols.  I also really liked Carter getting stuck in female slavery, it could have been preachy was handled very well.  It was also nice that the local ruler was trying to change these customs, and that they were born out of the Gou'ald diaspora.  The Romeo-Juliet angle was a little lame though.  Carter's ending knife fight with the warlord was pretty cool.  Lots of nice humor in this one, and great location shooting with made up cities.  An excellent first standalone.

1X5    The Broca Divide 
Plot:  SGC falls under an alien virus that turns the members into violent savages.

Well the caveman stuff was a tad silly, but it was interesting (and realistic) to see SGC fall under an alien virus.  Dr Fraiser gets a good introduction.  I liked the stuff with the light-dark world and the Minoan civilization.  Cave-Carter trying to rape O'Neill was pretty funny.  Teal'c got some good screen-time.  The cure wasn't total technobabble.  I appreciated seeing the interaction with another SG team and the Air Force Marine rivalry.  A pretty decent if sub-standard episode.

1X6    The First Commandment 
Plot: SG1 finds an SG commander who thinks he's god for a group of villagers.

This is a pretty horrible ep with little to recommend it.  The commander becoming god for villagers isn't exactly the most original idea in the world, and it's handled very poorly here, nothing is very interesting.  There isn't even a lot of good banter or revelations or anything.  There isn't a lot of action, and Carter was insanely stupid not to just shoot the guy in the knee or something.

1X7    Cold Lazarus 
Plot: An alien crystal replicates O'Neill who reunites with his former wife.

Most of the episode isn't so hot but the ending is surprisingly touching when the faux-O'Neill talks about trying to heal his pain by bringing back Charlie.  It strains credibility that the faux-O'Neill could escape SGC without anyone becoming suspicious of his behavior, and they spent way too much time with Sara and the faux-O'Neill.  It's nice to get to see O'Neill's former wife Sara and get some reference to Charlie, thought hopefully it won't happen too often.  The concept of living crystals was an interesting one, I like how the Gou'ald wiped them out.

1X8    The Nox 
Plot: SG1 encounters the faery-like Nox after running into Apophis.

This was a great standalone with an extremely interesting alien race and an encounter with Apophis.  It's very cool to see Apophis going after another alien race, and I liked SG1's attempt to ambush and kidnap him.  The Nox  were great characters and had an interesting visual look, not to mention the huge story implications of encountering an alien race so much more powerful than the Gou'ald.  It's also interesting to see that the government is dissatisfied with SGC not procuring any alien technology. All in all a pretty important episode!  Teal'c attempting and failing to convert his old soldier mate is also interesting.

1X9    Brief Candle 
Plot: O'Neill is struck with advanced aging on an alien world.

Another horribly boring episode with almost no redeeming features.  About the only interesting thing was the talk about early Grecian culture and the unknown language, and the concept of a nice Gou'ald.  Unfortunately that's about the only worthwhile thing, the celebrating and Jack inexplicably banging some alien chick and Jack's aging and comedic old-voice are are just very very bad.  Let us never talk of this again!

1X10    Thor's Hammer 
Plot: Thor's Hammer traps Jack and Teal'c in a labyrinth with a creature.

Another interesting episode that hints at the greater story line.  We get an interesting introduction to the Asgard in absence, which nicely builds up the drama and mystery to them.  Thor's Hammer is an interesting concept as the Unas, the first of the Gou'ald hosts.  There's some nice action with Jack and Teal'c fighting the unstoppable Unas.  The Norse people were interesting, it's a shame we didn't see more of them.  Once again the writers start writing themselves out of 'nothing of the host survives' for Sha're and Skaara.

1X11    The Torment of Tantalus 
Plot: SG1 learns a 1945 experiment on the Gate trapped a man on an alien world alone for 50 years.

Great episode that made some major revelations about the storyline!  It was really interesting to see Catherine again and get a view of the 1945 government attempts with the Stargate.  The meeting place of four advanced races promising great secrets about the universe was a major twist, and I liked the way Daniel wanted to risk his life to learn from it.  The guy being trapped alone fifty years was a horribly tragic situation, though personally think he would have been a raving lunatic after that time (and what did he eat anyway?).  I was shocked when it turned out they didn't have a DHD to get home, and their solution was ingenious.  Catherine is a fun character.

1X12    Bloodlines 
Plot: SG1 returns to Chulak to find Teal'c wife and son who are outcasts.

Another good storyline episode.  It's great to return to Chulak and meet Teal'c mentor, wife, and son.  I particularly Bre'tac he's a great character with a wicked sense of humor plus he kicks ass.  I especially like his disdain for SG1 and O'Neill in particular.  Lots of great action.  It was a great idea to have Carter and Daniel off stealing Gou'ald larvae, and Daniel murdering a bunch of them against Carter's wishes.  It's great to get a Teal'c heavy episode.  I really liked his wife and son.  Teal'c giving up Junior was a surprising twist.

1X13    Fire and Water 
Plot: Daniel is believed dead by the SGC while he is held captive by an alien.

Decent episode.  Daniel being 'dead' was a nice shocker and the grieving stuff was interesting.  I really liked Daniel being stuck with this fish alien.  The makeup was incredibly on the fish guy, and I liked that he was a good guy just looking for his mate.  It's always good when the good guys can win by talking and making an ally.  Great material for Daniel.  Sure it lacks any action at all but it's still pretty interesting.

1X14    Hathor 
Plot: A Gou'ald Queen is discovered and takes over SG1.

Great action suspense episode!  Hathor was a really cool villain and taking over the SGC men was a very serious threat.  I like how all the women had to form up and free the guys and that one hilarious Carter-Fraiser exchange.  Daniel becoming a pawn was interesting.  O'Neill becoming a Jaffa was pretty damn shocking.  I like the use the Sarcophagus and the Ribbon Device.  Interesting to learn that Gou'ald Queens produce the larvae and create Jaffa!  Can't wait to see Hathor again!

1X15    Singularity 
Plot:  SG1 finds a sole survivor on a planet as part of a Gou'ald attempt to attack Earth.

Decent episode.  The medical plague situation was fortunately avoided as well as the eclipse thing.  Sending a girl with a bomb in her heart was a really horrible strategy, and it made for a pretty heart-wrenching situation, especially when Carter locked her alone in the missile silo.  I especially loved the sequence where Jack and Teal'c discover the Gou'ald Mothership hiding in orbit and are chased by the firing Death Gliders!  Nice to have an episode about the Gou'ald attempting to destroy our Stargate, it certainly makes sense.

1X16    Cor-Ai 
Plot: Teal'c is held captive for trial of his past crimes; the rest of SG1 defends his case.

Decent courtroom drama.  It's good that Teal'c has to face up for his past crimes and that he'll run into people from his past life who hate him for it, and I really like how willing he was to accept their punishment even if Jack didn't.  The courtroom arguments to defend Teal'c are interesting and clever, particularly Daniel testifying about working with Teal'c after what he did to Sha're.  The Gou'ald attack at the end had some very nice action in it, and the victim changing his mind was believable.

1X17    Enigma 
Plot: SGC takes on advanced human refugees who refuse help while NID demands their imprisonment.

Decent episode with some interesting new characters and returning old ones.  The Tollen make for a future major race and Nerim is a nice character, especially for the romance with Carter.  The leader made some very relevant points about the humans and their inferiority, and the Tollen had some really cool technology.  Col Maybourne and NID also get their slimy introduction.  Some great continuity when teh characters from "Broca Divide" and Nya from "The Nox" return; I particularly loved Nya casually disarming the soldiers to let the Tollen through.  It's nice to see Earth being so helpful to refugees.

1X18    Solitudes 
Plot: O'Neill and Carter get stranded on an ice world while SGC searches for them.

Excellent bottle show!  One of the more interesting dilemmas to solve, we learn a lot about the Stargate, and the twist of having a second Gate on Earth is very surprising and cool.  The O'Neill Carter stuff is very funny and touching.  The SGC attempts to find them are good.  I particularly though the ending solution, tracking seismic activity from the Gate shaking, was very clever.

1X19    Tin Man 
Plot: SG1 is replicated into androids by an alien caretaker.

Pretty uninteresting on the whole.  Once we learned these were just android replicates of SG1 it became a situation of 'who cares', and them just running around this stupid factory most of the episode was very uninteresting.  About the only worthwhile stuff was the initial revelation and SG1 meeting their androids at the end; Jack meeting Jack was particularly funny.

1X20    There But For the Grace of God 
Plot: Daniel accidentally enters an alternate reality where the Gou'ald invade Earth.

Incredible episode! The ultimate what-if story!  It was just incredibly cool to see the Gou'ald invade and conquer Earth and the beleaguered final defense at SGC.  I also love their reality where Catherine is still at SGC and O'Neill is in charge. The whole situation is very epic and moving, though I really wish we could have seen some of the space battles.  I'm glad that Teal'c didn't defect and in fact tried to kill everyone, that could have been a little cheesy.  This is a great ominous story lead-in!

1X21    Politics 
Plot: A Senator reviews the SGC planning to end the program.

Pretty damn good for a clip show!  Closing the SGC is a very cool dramatic move and the arguments with Senator Kinsey made a lot of sense, once again a very intelligent show.  The building of Gou'ald invasion continues very well.  Nice to see Samuels again.  The clips were nice.  Quite a shocking cliffhanger, they're gonna close the SGC!

1X22    In the Serpent's Grasp 
Plot: SG1 defies the government and attempts to sabotage the coming Gou'ald invasion of Earth.

A thrilling action piece with every second being suspenseful!  I just love characters sneaking around in an enemy stronghold taking out patrols, and who knows what's gonna happen next.  Very cool to see Apophis and Skaara again.  This is really the ultimate storyline, the Gou'ald invasion of Earth!  Very exciting through and through.  Plus we get the introduction of the zat guns, I love those things!