Reflecting back on SG-1’s tenth and final season…
COMPANY OF THIEVES (1009)
The Lucian Alliance return in fine, occasionally over-the-top fashion – in contrast to their later appearance on Stargate: Universe. Damn, what I would have given to have snuck Tenat or Jup into the team that invades Destiny at the end of SGU’s first season. I imagine Brad’s head would have exploded if our favorite rubber-faced aliens had ambled through the gate. Cue sing-song delivery: “Helloooo Coolonel Yooouuung!”.
Major Marks who was, essentially, first officer aboard Odyssey was, episodes earlier, promoted to Major. Why? Well, we didn’t want the ship’s captain calling someone else “Captain”, so he got the bump and was hitherto referred to as “Major”.
In this episode, the Odyssey is forced into a mine field – which became a sort of running joke because, while pitching the scene, either Brad or Robert suggested “A dangerous mine field.” (as opposed to, say, any other kind). From that point, whenever someone in the room pitched out a mine field, it was always: “A dangerous mine field…where the mines are really close together!”
THE QUEST (1010)
I love episodes in which unlikely alliances are formed – and none more unlikelier than the ones in The Quest I in which SG-1 must team up with two of their greatest enemies – Baal and Adria – in their quest for the Sangraal. Overall, I liked this episode a lot but there were a few little things that really, REALLY bugged me. The first was in the scene in which the Ori soldiers descend on the town while SG-1 is hiding in the tavern. In one unscripted beat, an unarmed villager (apparently suicidal unarmed villager) charges toward an Ori soldier and gets blasted. Bad enough, but the blast catches him in the shoulder, initiating a ridiculous backward flip before hitting the dirt. Another bump I had with the episode was the time distortion field. I LOVED the idea – so much, that I didn’t heed my writing partner Paul’s warning that it would be difficult, if not impossible to pull off. I dismissed his concerns and figured we could cut around any movement on the part of the frozen travelers – which proved easier said than done. A blink here, a waver there, and I found myself pulling my hair out in the editing suite. The final issue I had with the episode was the dragon. Overall, pretty cool but what was with those gimpy legs?
This was also the episode in which the beautiful Morena Baccarin, playing the role of Adria, experienced problems with the colored contacts, necessitating our crack VFX crew touch up her eyes. Did you notice?
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