Stargate SG-1: Cold Lazarus

 "Your world is a strange place..."

Concept-wise, this is pretty simple- the gang explore a world and find some crystals, some of the crystals disguise themselves as Jack. So, early on in this series, this seems to be another example of an episode in which the point is not so much exploring the Stargate but rather with a threat which they bring back to Earth with them.

Except there's more. This episode deepens the series not so much by exploring the lore as exploring character, as the crystal entity is introduced to Jack's tragic backstory- the fact that he carelessly left his gun around, that his son thereby accidentally used the gun to tragically shoot himself, leading to devastation and the collapse of the marriage.

This episode uses the conceit of the crystal entity to explore this, as we meet Sara, Jack's ex-wife, and the two reconcile against the odds, with it looking as though they may even get back together. It's well-handled, well acted, and it's clever how Sara interprets the entity's clueless statements and questions as being deeper than they are.

And yet... it may hit differently in the USA, with its extremely permissive gun laws but, to me, there can be no forgiving what Jack did. You can't have guns in a domestic setting, and leaving it lying around for kids to find is utterly beyond the pale. Yet Sara is not angry at him...?

Still, the episode is well done, and there are consequences perhaps for Jack's personal life but also in that the team now all know of his dark past. As ever, it's fascinating in these early episodes seeing the series explore what it wants to be. 

Stargate SG-1: The Broca Divide

 "You referred to me as Lucy!"

It's fascinating seeing these early episodes and seeing what the format's going to be. This is, of course, an American network show from 1997, so there are twenty-odd episodes a season. So not every episode can be part of the arc where we learn more about the Stargates, the Goa'uld, and all that lovely lore stuff. We're going to get episodes of the week, like the last one. And like this.

This episode is entertaining, yes. but it can be summed up pretty simply- the team explore a new world, which is interesting, with areas of permanent day and permanent night. The culture seems to be descended from that of the ancient Minoans. And... there's this plague that turns people into wild, unhinged hominids which infects most of the team, until a cure is found. That's pretty much it.

Yet, more importantly, it further develops the relations between the characters. It establishes yet again that not every episode (perhaps not most?) will involve the Go'auld. And it's established- from the president, no less (Clinton, presumably), that the team are in fact expected to study the cultures they find. It's a good episode, but perhaps more important for the subtle things it establishes about how this show is going to be.

And yeah, I didn't expect to see General Major Briggs like that... 

Stargate SG-1: The Enemy Within

 "That's right, Dorothy. It was all a dream."

This may, perhaps, have been a bit of a breather, an episode to slow down a bit after the eventful and no doubt expensive pilot... indeed, this is almost a bottle episode as, unlike the pilot, it takes place wholly on the existing sets, with no location filming at all. And the premise- Major Kawalski is infected by a Go'auld that seeks to destroy the team from within, and the ensuing ethical dilemma of how to deal with him- is an intrinsically good one.

Yet the execution (SPOILERS) is even better. There's lots of tension. Colonel Kennedy is used as an antagonist so that none of the regulars have to show disloyalty to their friend. The operation seemingly going well offers hope, of course, for the team's missing friends. But the final twist- the Go'auld remained in Kawalski's brain even after the op- is a deeply effective shock, as is the very early death of what seemed set to be a series regular, reminding me of Jesse from Buffy.

Again, the use of Colonel Kennedy also allows the episode to deal with the question of how teal.c is to be treated, going from prisoner and potential lab rat to trusted team member. I notice also that he's an ever-convenient source of exposition, but he's also beginning to learn more about his ancestral homeworld.

A bottle episode, then, but one that has some massive twists and is vitally important for setting up our initial staus quo. I'm still very much enjoying this. 

Teal'c also as exposition. 

Stargate SG-1: Children of the Gods

 "Many have said that. But you are the first I believe could do it."

Yes, I know. After a few months of not blogging much, then of not blogging much telly, I'm back, so much so that I'm starting another show. And why not? After all, I enjoyed the film and recently found out that my wonderful partner has seen this. So here goes.

First impressions are how very '90s television sci-fi this is, from the cinematography to the orchestral theme to the amusing fact that both Colonel Jack O'Neil and Daniel are now played by much cheaper actors. There's a new scientist character, Captain Samantha Carter, so cue some very '90s battle-of-the-sexes dialogue. It all looks cheaper than the film, as you'd expect, although it's impressive for '90s telly. And, from the evidence of this pilot, at least, we're looking at a slow, unfolding story arc rather than the story of the weewk format one might expect in 1997.

Oh, and the new general is Major Briggs from Twin Peaks! I'm minded to refer to him as General Major Briggs from now on. 

This pilot was double length and establishes lots of further lore in order to justify a long running series. Hence we have a huge map of potential stargate locations, and we discover that Ra is just one of many Go'auld, who are nasty creepy crawly things that burrow into the intestines of human servants called Jaffa, which is... uuuurgh, especially if one happens to have had surgery for umbilical and inguinal surgery in recent weeks...!

Yes, we as viewers damn well know that the gang were always going to get through the stargate in the very nick of time at the end, as that trope is always compulsory. But this is a strong pilot in terms of cast, world building and big, big ideas. Let's see where this goes...

Twin Peaks: Double Play

 "I will return. Until that time, I will be in the shadows until you need me."

Relatively speaking, I suppose, Twin Peaks is undergoing a bit of a lull. Yet we still have so much cool stuff going on. Cooper's explanation of the backstory behind the "genius" Windom Earle, and how he ties in with Coop's lost love. The slasher movie type jump scares as the recovered Leo menaces Shelley. Leo, in the woods, ending up in a cabin with Earle. And the owls.. oh, the owls!

We also have some comic relief sub-plots, with the Black Widow and Little Nicky, to lighten the tone. But so much is happening... Pete learns that Andrew is alive, Josie doesn't know, and Josie is bait for Eckhart, who has just arrived in Twin Peaks... and he's David Warner!

Then there's the revelation that James was always going to be set up for the abusive husband's murder. The magnificent weirdness of literally everything Major Briggs says. Ben Horne continuing to be completely hatstand... although it's notable that, in 1991, it was not yet beyond the pale to support the South in the American Civil War because, you know, yes it was literally about slavery and only slavery.

The season is treading water a bit- 22 episodes always was too many- but I'm still having fun.