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    Stargate SG-1 volume 36 Reviewe. Spoilers for the end of season 7!!!

    Stargate SG-1 volume 36 - Released on Monday May 31st.

    Generally this was not a disc that I was looking forward to seeing. The two-parter sees one of my favourite characters killed off, Inauguration is a clip show, and resurrection is directed by Amanda Tapping, someone with absolutely no previous directing experience! But boy was I wrong! This disc is like the Holy Grail of Stargate SG-1 volumes. Honestly its by far the best disc of SG-1 in my opinion since season three’s amazing volumes 10&11, which you kind of have to count as one because of the two-parter that spans both. But even then you have eight pretty great episodes, but here you have four episodes which blow them out of the water. And so, on to my review.

    Heroes - Part 1 & 2

    Plot

    There’s a camera crew on the base to chronicle the day to day running of the Stargate Programme. An odd situation to say the least, but the old presidential administration feel that when the programme becomes public knowledge it would look bad if they were shown to have covered the whole thing up, without the intention of revealing the programme to the people of America/The Earth. Meanwhile, on P3X-666 (I wonder if the name was intentional?), an SG team comes across the ruins of an Ancient city, and are suddenly attacked by an odd, hovering probe. They contact the base to send backup as they are attacked by droves of Jaffa. O’Neill is shot and seriously wounded when sent in as backup, but will he survive to fight another battle?

    Review.

    Most of the story is told from the camera crew’s point of view. Saul Rubinek does a great job of playing a frustrated media mogul and Don S. Davies turns in a spectacular performance opposite. Amanda Tapping’s performance is powerful and emotional in the second part, and there is a lovely little moment between herself and Christopher Judge. Even though one of the most beloved cast members is lost in battle in this episode, the departure is handled with great care and respect.

    There is an absolutely amazing battle sequence at the beginning of the second episode during the battle as O’Neill is shot. Everything slows, and the sound fades. Carter runs towards him. Very shippy, but hey, who cares!

    Watch out for Dr. Frasier reading a list of O’Neill’s injuries. Very funny (and accurate)!

    Best line
    “So hoe do any of you have a personal life?”
    “We don’t really. I spend most of my time outside work with my daughter”
    “Oh. So you’re married
    “No. She’s adopted”
    “Oh”
    “She’s from another planet”

    Best Line 2.

    Is that who I think it is?
    It’s Colonel Jack O’Neill
    Colonel O’Neil. Hi
    I like vanilla over chocolate, my favourite colour is peridot, I think Tibet should be free,and if I could have dinner with anyone in the world it’d be Mary Steenburgen.
    Mary Steenburgen?
    She’s nice.

    Trivia on Mary Steenburgen.
    Mary Steenburgen, best supporting actress 1981 for “Melvin and Howard”
    Was in the movie Philadelphia opposite Tom Hanks.
    Played Clara Clayton in Back to the future III (the one who married Dr. Emmett Brown at the end)
    Married to Ted Danson.


    Resurrection.

    The plot.

    It’s a wee bit complicated but here’s the gist of it. SG-1 (minus O’Neill) are called in to help Agent Barrett with a case involving more than thirty deaths, with only two survivors. One is a young woman, Anna, who is kept in a glass cage, the other the son of a convicted Nazi war criminal (who smokes)! A search of this facility reveals both a science lab, and a room full of artefacts. In the science lab, Carter is able to hack into the computers and discovers Anna to be a Goa’uld human hybrid, and the one who killed 32 innocent people! Meanwhile Daniel and Teal’c discover an arc (which turns out to be a bomb) which has been ticking for some time!

    The Review.
    Credit where credit is due. Amanda Tapping does an amazing job of Directing this one. it’s the first time she’s ever directed, and she’s only the second member of SG-1 to have done it (Michael Shanks directed Double Jeopardy way back in season four). But oddly enough she’s the last member of SG-1 to have done any behind the scenes work, what with Richard Dean Anderson having been an Executive Producer since the pilot, Michael Shanks having directed and written a couple (including this one!), and Christopher Judge having written a couple of episodes too. She does a great job and uses a ton of style, and ends up delivering an extremely elegant and stylised episode, with Michael Shanks providing one of the most memorable stories this season.
    The plot may sound a bit complicated, but trust me, stick with it an you will be rewarded with a great, impressive episode of SG-1.
    Oh, and look out for the opening shot. Notice that its one single shot with no cuts which lasts for a whopping one minuet forty-one seconds. You might not notice it without being told, but…Wow!!

    Best line
    Anna -
    “If it were up to me, given the chance, I would rip the beating heart from your chest and feed it to you!”


    Inauguration.

    There’s a new president in the White House. Its his first day, and its time for him to be briefed about a top secret project being run out of Cheyenne mountain. Needless to say he’s reluctant to believe at first, but when he comes around to believe, he’s got a few choice words he would like to share with his Vice President, Robert Kinsey!

    Review.

    The impossible has been done! The creators of this episode have cracked the code! They have made a clip show that isn’t boring! And it doesn’t star any of the regular cast. The closest you get is General Hammond. Its actually a really nifty idea, mixing clips from SG-1 with a bit of West Wing feel thrown in for good measure. The idea of tying a clip show into the act of bringing the President up to speed on the SGC was absolute genius! There are some really funny moments in this one. The president refusing to believe the existence of the Stargate programme, and its really weird to hear Kinsey being referred to as “Bob” by the president. There’s really not much more I can say apart from “watch it”! even if you hate clip shows, I think you’ll like this one. It stands up as an episode in its own right, the amount of clips shown is minimal. Definitely the best clip show of this series’ history.


    Best line (not so much a line as a best bit of dialogue).

    The chairman of the Joint Chiefs -
    Mr President, I’m here to bring you up to speed on a programme we’ve been running out of Cheyenne Mountain for the past seven years.

    President -
    I’ve already had my top-secret briefing.

    The chairman of the Joint Chiefs -
    Yes, Mr President, but not this. Mr President, for the last seven years, the United States Air Force has been sending teems to other planets, by means of an alien device known as the Stargate.

    President - laughs
    That’s funny. That’s very funny. My first day. This is a joke, right? I have a great sense of humour. I didn’t know that you had one, but this is good, we’re finding out about each other. Now I have to call the ex-president of Togo, and when I’m done, apparently, the rest of the world is coming to an end.

    The chairman of the Joint Chiefs -
    The ex-president of Togo will have to wait, sir. This is not a joke.

    President -
    The united states air force has been sending people to other planets?

    The chairman of the Joint Chiefs -
    Yes, Sir.

    President -
    For the last seven years?

    The chairman of the Joint Chiefs -
    That’s correct.

    President -
    By means of an alien device?

    The chairman of the Joint Chiefs -
    Known as the Stargate.



    Special Features.

    SG-1 Beyond the Gate: Amanda Tapping

    First off. Wow! She’s got new hair! She looks awesome! I’m saying no more. You’ll have to buy the DVD to see it!
    Its Amanda Tapping comes out with some great lines in this short, for example
    “I used to do Shakespeare. Now I do Techno-babble!”
    And
    “Ok, I’m Stargate Barbie and we’re dead!”
    So, so funny!
    She talks about directing, and later her life off set saying
    “I’m not a big party girl. I don’t go to the club scene…unless I go out with Christopher Judge. Which happens once a year - cos that’s all you can handle.”

    Running Time of just under 12minuets.
    ***** 5/5


    SG-1 Directors Series: Heroes with Andy Mikita.

    The one hundred and fiftieth episode! Who would have thought it? This insightful look at the battle field sequence of the episode is pretty great
    Running Time 6minuets 47seconds.
    ***** 5/5

    SG-1 Directors Series: Resurrection with Amanda Tapping.

    Amanda Tappings’ first ever directing credit it chronicled in this amusing and insightful short. Amanda is funny and goofy as ever. A must see!

    Running Time almost 9minuets.
    ***** 5/5

    Production design and Photo gallery.

    Interesting enough, though it doesn’t add much to the package. 67 pictures are in this one as opposed to the stingy 13 of the last disc.

    Brand new Online Fan Club advert.

    I hadn’t actually noticed it on Volume 33 or 34 but yes, after all of those years there’s a new fan club spot. Refreshing after however many years of “Hi, I’m Amanda Tapping…”

    Lack of trailers!!!

    This is the real disappointment for season 7 DVDs. There are no trailers for the episodes which will appear on the next DVD. I know its only a small thing, but that’s what kept me going from one month to the next.

    Multiple language choice
    Not that interesting for most people, but I like it. If you click on a language other than English at the first menu then you can see what they call the episodes in either German or Spanish (trust me you get some strange results sometimes)!


    Commentaries.

    Heroes part 1
    Commentary by Director Andy Mikita and Director of Photography Andrew D. Wilson.
    Heroes part 2
    Commentary by Director Andy Mikita, writer and executive producer Robert C. Cooper and Director of Photography Andrew D. Wilson.


    Resurrection

    Commentary by Director and actor Amanda Tapping and camera operator William Waring

    Inauguration

    Commentary by director of photography Peter F. Woste and Executive producer Michael Greenburg.

    Well it all really depends on whether you’re a fan of Audio Commentaries. I am as it goes, and so absolutely love listening to whatever that cast and crew have to say. Sometimes you get some funny little anecdote, sometimes its all a load of technical stuff. In my opinion, the ones to look out for are the ones featuring the actors, and those featuring Peter DeLuise (Director, Writer) and/or the cast. As it goes the best one here is on the episode Resurrection. Amanda Tapping is as always one of the funniest people to listen to, and its great to here her talking about her Directorial debut.


    ***** 5/5





    Picture and Sound Quality.

    Well there’s not much to say really. Picture and sound quality are both always top notch on these DVDs.

    ***** 5/5

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