Season Five Episode Reviews

5X22    Revelations  
Plot:  SG1 aids an Asgard cloning laboratory under siege by Osiris' superior forces.

Always wonderful to have the Asgard around, and against the Gou'ald too.  The mystery of Anubis' advanced technology is really great, as is Anubis' identity and physical presence.  It's really cool seeing the Asgard fighting with SG1 against the Gou'ald.  Jack and Teal'c sneaking around a Mothership with Sam's Asgard map was pretty neat too.  The revelation that Asgard are asexual and dying and seeking reproduction through their old bodies is extremely interesting.  I love that "Menace" was directly dealt with, and that it might have made a difference.  The new CGI Asgard look great, and the new Asgard character was interesting.  Too bad there wasn't a cliffhanger or an actual all out fight between Asgard and Gou'ald ships though!

5X21    Meridian 
Plot: Daniel is exposed to lethal radiation while trying to prevent a world from creating a weapon of mass destruction.

Nothing worse than a bunch of people sitting around watching a loved one die.  Ugh.  That said, I liked them running down the possibilities of curing him, and Jacob Carter appearing (briefly).  Ascending with Oma Desala is as good a way as any to go out, but it wasn't terribly exciting.  I'd much rather him go out shooting.  The subplot introducing Jonas Quinn was much more interesting, though still not stellar.  Quinn seems enjoyable enough, and the WWII situation on his world was vaguely interesting if not terribly original.

5X20    Sentinel 
Plot: SG1 must recruit the incarcerated NID team to repair a world's defense system under invasion by the Gou'ald.

Great off-world action episode!  It's always fun to see SG1 dealing with a full force Gou'ald invasion from space on an alien world.  And I loved bringing back the NID team from "Shades of Grey", delightful continuity as always.  The dilemma of fixing the Sentinel along with convincing the innocent leader to evacuate his people was good stuff.  Using a UAV to paint targets for firing missiles out of the SGC was absolutely incredible, and damn brilliant, and I want to see this a heck of a lot more!  The final solution of the Sentinel was clever if a little obvious.

5X19    Menace 
Plot: SG1 discovers a sentient android on a destroyed world who is the original creator of the Replicators.

Really great to learn the origin of the Replicators and meet their creator, but the first half is way too slow.  I do appreciate the relationship that Daniel builds with Reese, and she was a well developed and emotional character.  Fighting off the Replicators inside the SGC and seeing Hammond blasting away with a shotgun was pretty awesome!  Too bad we didn't see the Asgard in person or get more resolution.  It's a shame we don't learn what they did with Reese, hopefully cart her off to the Asgard for study.

5X18    The Warrior
5X17    Fail Safe
5X16    Last Stand (part 2 of 2)
5X15    Summit  (part 1 of 2)
5X14    48 Hours 

5X13    Proving Ground 
Plot: SG1 trains a new team of military recruits when the SGC falls under alien attack.

A very interesting look at how the SGC trains new recruits, and also a "Lower Decks" look at SG1.  I'm a little disappointed that the whole episode really was just a training session, but it's much more plausible this way.  They went a bit overboard with the non-endings though.  Nice to see Hailey back, and Elliot was an interesting character.  I'm delighted to see the Intars from "Rules of Engagement" finally used!

5X12    Wormhole X-Treme! 
Plot: Martin ("Point of No Return") makes a parody television series of the team.

Disappointing for a 100th episode spectacular, the Galaxy Quest type parody doesn't work that well, it's way too over the top though it does warrant a few chuckles.  Martin was much more interesting in this appearance.  Why did they feel the need to make a sequel to the very boring "Point of No Return" though?!  The one truly funny thing about the episode is when they address all the major nitpicks of the actual series within this faux tv show.  Martin's space ship looked really cool, and it was great to see NID involved (what about all the witnesses?).

5X11    Desperate Measures 
Plot: Jack recruits Maybourne when Carter is kidnapped by a millionaire seeking to live via a Gou'ald symbiote.

Great to see a continuation of the NID, Mayborne, Simmons, and Russian Gate plots.  The Russians nabbing a Jaffa was a pleasant surprise, and Mayborne was actually a pretty credible character for one (maybe it's the beard...).  Simmons was his usual excellence, and that twist ending when he shoots Jack to capture the Gou'ald, offering *something* in return for his genetic knowledge, was a massive plot twist that I can't wait to see a follow up on (I'm convinced Simmons is a good guy and this is for the betterment of humanity!).  The notion of using a Gou'ald Symbiote to cure a dying millionaire is a clever and logical one, as is kidnapping Carter.  What's up with that ten minute chase sequence through an empty building, did they run out of plot or something?!  And where did they get their Gate intel?  Same as Martin did last year?

5X10    2001 
Plot: SG1 encounters the Aschen without knowing their true nature.

A worthy sequel to "2001" that creates a great problematic situation and yet another clever solution.  The offer to trade gate addresses for the technology and bioweapons, and those incredibly cool floating Harvestors that dump grain through a horizontal Gate, was great.  Also intriguing was that the treaty would have to have been signed with all of Earth necessitating public disclosure.  Senator Kinsey makes a great if brief appearance where he comically blames Jack for it just to keep him out of the Presidency.  The 1910 era city that encounters the Aschen was a really interesting concept.  Carter and Joe Faxon revealing the truth to the Aschen was a great scene, as was Carter's escape scene, and Jack giving them the Gate address to the black hole Gate and other worse ones was a hilariously brilliant solution.

5X9    Between Two Fires 
Plot:  The Tollan suddenly offer Earth technology for mysterious reasons.

Spectacular episode!  The Tollan are one of our coolest alien allies but we never see them, so it was great to spend all this time dealing with them and their culture!  The only possible negative on this episode is the mystery investigation leaves all the good stuff to the end.  Earth getting offered ion cannons is of course extremely interesting (sucks we didn't get any!).  It's funny how they bring back Omac only to kill him.  The question of putting cannons on Earth was great to deal with, of course this would involve the public being told of the SGC and how could trust all these foreign nations with the cannons and so on.  It's great to learn about Tollan culture, see what their life is like, see security guards running through walls, get Narim some character development.  Of course the real slammer is the mysterious Gou'ald that Tanith is working for, who has shields impervious to Tollan ion cannons!  This is building a Big Bad to be a real danger, mysterious and arcane, unlike with Apophis and Sokar, good work.  It was great to see Tanith again in all his regal splendor.  The Tollan collaborating with Tanith to build phase-shift bombs is shocking but logical for them, and it's a real tragedy that the Tollan got wiped out by the Mysterious Gou'ald, but at least some of them got away (hopefully to return and share their surviving tech with Earth!).  How cool that they were specifically making phase-shift bombs to travel through the SGC Gate Irisis, destroying us without breaking the Protected Planets Treaty (but why the huge grudge with us??).

5X8    The Tomb 
Plot: SG1 and a Russian SG unit are trapped in a Babylonian ziggurat and attacked by a monster.

Good episode!  Great to see SG1 having to team up with a Russian unit and all the mistrust involved therein, and it's wonderful to get a glimpse at what the Russians have been doing in regards to the Stargate program.  Best of all is their attitude of outrage that the US is presuming to represent all of Earth to alien allies, which is an extremely legitimate concern.  Getting trapped in a spooky Babylonian ziggurat and chased by a monster was a really cool action/horror plot, though it's a shame the monster was so lame.  The sets were stupendously atmospheric and scary looking.  Using Babylonian mythology was a great idea.  Dealing with Gou'ald possession in a trapped space was another good (if perhaps overused by now) element, especially a Gou'ald inhabiting an animal.  Getting trapped with a Gou'ald with a Ribbon and Shield was great.

5X7   Beast of Burden 
Plot: SG1 must save Chaka ("First Ones") from an Unas slaving pre-Industrial society.

Decent but not spectacular moral issues show.  Considering how unimpressive "First Ones" was it's surprising to see a sequel to it.  Unas slavery by humans is an interesting moral quandary, and I particularly appreciated that the humans weren't simply evil or anything, but had a decent motivation for their ways, and weren't hostile to SG1 until they were threatened.   The episode suffers from slow pacing, though there are a few nice action bits (especially since they're trying very hard not to kill anyone which I appreciate).  The Unas rebellion is an interesting (and worrisome) development, will they win, turn out to be savages, etc.  But let's not waste another episode on it!

5X6    Rite of Passage 
Plot:  Cassandra ("Singularity") becomes ill and develops super powers, as part of Nurrti's genetic experiment.

A little slow but an interesting plot.  It's great to finally see Cassandra onscreen again, she's been sorely missed considering that Fraiser is her adoptive mother (which was a really interesting relationship, hope to see more of this).  Once again this is a great extension from previous continuity, and it was great to see Nurrti again sneaking around the SGC (but I thought "Show and Tell" installed safeguards against cloaked beings from leaving the Stargate!).  Nurrti using the children to make a telekinetic host is cool, and it explains her actions in "Singularity" was well.  Nurrti getting caught was an unfortunately brief but cool scene, as was Fraiser holding a gun on her.  Releasing Nurrti in return for Cassandra unfortunately does make sense because of the Protected Planets Treaty.

5X5    Red Sky 
Plot: SG1 accidently dooms an Asgard protected world

Spectacular Asgard involvement elevates an already decent standalone science plot.  It's great to finally see what an Asgard Protect Planet looks like, what the people are like (but why are the Norse like Amish?).  The problem of their wormhole poisoning the star is an interesting one, as were the two solutions (once again demonstrating the show's brilliance for logical conclusions based from continuity).  The really amazing part was O'Neill meeting with the Asgard High Council though!  A massive chamber filled with Asgard!  The SGC dealing with their alien allies has always been my favorite part, so this was spectacular.  The Asgard protect their beliefs and normal development, as the Protected Planets Treaty means they can't intervene on their planets or it's annulled and all can come under attack, which was really the perfect solution to not having the Asgard involved to great extent in the future.  It was also really cool that the SGC was assembling an entire rocket through the gate to launch into the sun, and it was one hell of a plot twist when the local yokels blew it!   Jack telling them the Asgard were aliens pissed me off though, he needs to learn to be more diplomatic quick...  Gotta love that mysterious ending where the Asgard use the SGC as cover to fix it.

5X4    The Fifth Man 
Plot: O'Neill is stranded by a Jaffa army with a 5th team member nobody's ever heard of.

An average plot, some great action, and a stellar subplot.  It's great to see O'Neill eluding a Jaffa army all by his lonesome, and there are several great action sequences (not the best they've ever done, but good).  The concept of the alien with its chemical defense mechanism is interesting, too bad Tyler was so horribly uninteresting himself though.  The real winner here is the subplot with this Col. Simmons, spectacularly played by John De Lancie, questioning the security of the SGC and SG1 in particular.  Sure we've heard all the arguments before, but De Lancie did an incredible job at it and gave it real emotion, this guy is ten times better than Maybourne ever was, he's not blatantly slimy or evil, he's a military man trying to do the right thing.  I look forward to seeing him in the future as our NID guy!

5X3    Ascension 
Plot: Carter is followed home by a smitten non-coporal alien.

Slow-paced lame alien romance, but there's a few redeeming bits.  Orlin just was not a particularly interesting or memorable character, and the pseudo romance with Carter didn't work particularly well.  But having him be from Oma Desla's race was a great continuity twist, and it was nice to get a little info on that race.  It was very interesting to see Carter's (lack of a) home life, her house, and so on.  This was a great episode to show Carter's character.  Teal'c showing up in a whacked-out cowboy outfit saying he's seen Star Wars nine times was a laugh riot!  John De Lancie briefly appears as Col. Simmons, but doesn't get much of anything to do.

5X2    Threshold (part 3 of 3) 
Plot: Bra'tac restores Teal'c, recalling his past life as First Prime to Apophis.

A horribly botched presentation ruins a potential classic.  Tragically with a century of backstory to tell in Teal'c, half the episode gets wasted on pointless scenes with SG1 and the brainwashed Teal'c.  It's ridiculous and pointless, and gives little time for the backstory to have any real relevance.  In a condensed way, the episode tells a very interesting story about how Teal'c came to disbelieve in Apophis, from questioning his father's death to sparing his friend and not being discovered for it.  Unfortunately we don't see Teal'c killing Val'ar, which is absolutely ridiculous since it's one of the pivotal moments of the story.  That said, the rest of the backstory is well done.  The look is very good, and Bra'tac gives his best and most substantial appearance yet.  We even get to see Shau'nac his wife, and I really appreciated the offscreen war between Apophis and Ra.  Bra'tac's speech to Teal'c about secretly saving lives as First Prime was particularly moving, as was the intercutting with the pilot, giving that particular plot twist a lot more relevance.  Too bad we didn't learn *how* Apophis brainwashed Teal'c that fast!  It's funny to learn Bra'tac will die in two years... right when the final season of the show ends.

5X1    Enemies (part 2 of 3) 
Plot:  Stranded in another galaxy, SG1 and Apophis tangle with Replicators.

A spectacular action and surprise packed season opener that impossibly managed to match and maybe even top "Exodus", the best episode yet!  SG1 has always done good season premieres, but this is the best yet.  I was positive it would cop-out by them getting rescued by the Asgard or some other advanced aliens, but having the Replicators appear and be their indirect salvation was absolutely brilliant!  It's plausible since the Replicators are all over the place, and throwing them against Apophis is just brilliant.  Their first appearance makes for quite a shocker, and the running fight scenes with the Bugs are even better than the ones in "Nemesis"/"Small Victories"!  Teal'c turning out under Apophis' control and taking over the ship is another shocking twist.  The Jaffa fighting the Bugs to ill effect was very neat (too bad we didn't see the initial attack on Apophis' ship though!).  The Mother Bug was a great elevation of the Replicator threat (also a plausible explanation for how they get home!).  The final running fight with the Bugs was under-cranked which gave it a tremendous look (they should do this more often!).  Apophis meeting his end was extremely surprising, especially at the hands of the Bugs.  While it's a shame Apophis got killed, perhaps its best in the long run as his character doesn't have much to do.  Perhaps Tanith (who unfortunately escaped off-screen) will replace him.  It's also nice that Teal'c didn't get his brainwashing fixed off screen.  The entire episode was extremely complimented by Jacob Carter, one of my favorite characters, and the usual excellent blend of humor and realism.