Window of Opportunity (406)

[Animalian]

Ok you know what had me laughing? First was the:

"Right in the middle of my back swing?!"

But then what really had me falling of my foam chair laughing was this:

TEAL'C: O'Neill? Should we not be assisting DanielJackson with the
translation?

JACK: I'm taking this loop off. (He starts squirting ketchup and mustard onto the plate) I'm tellin' ya, Teal'C, If we don't find a way out of this soon, I'm gonna loose it. (Teal'C cocks his head looking confused) Lose it? It means go crazy ... nuts ... (He gets progressively louder and faster in his talking. All the while squirting that ketchup and mustard) insane ... Bonzo ... No longer in possession of one's faculties ... Three fries short of a Happy Meal ... WACKO!!

The image shown on the plate....

[Elwe Singollo]

That was so funny , 'take the loop off', thats halrious.

[DanielFan]

I think Jack's synonyming is alot of fun. If I remember correctly, Jack did the same thing in Urgo, just with "ciao".

[Andy867]

Yea, that was hilarious when he was explaining to Teal'c the meaning of Ciao and all of the words that meant another term, and after walking through the stargate saying means and back into the SGC, he says goodbye?.

[SeaBee]

This ep. proves that Jack isn't as thick as he looks. Given enough time he can even learn the Ancients language, without having it put there by alien tech.

[SGSlugger]

Both Jack and Teal'c learned it. But what happened to the knowledge? Did they just forget it?
It appeared that they learned it better than Daniel did, so they would be a great translating tool.

[Andy867]

well, the thing with languages is that unless you keep practicing and are exposed to it, the less you remember, and with that being back in Season 4, and now us going into Season 8, without the repository or constant studying, Jack (more than Teal'c) will have forgotten almost everything. Teal'c, like all Jaffa, have exceptionally good memory, as noted by Bra'tac when they were visiting the rebel Jaffa warriors that were being led around by the minor Goa'uld Imhotep. So, he probably would remember it more, or retained more of the Latin language.

[greytop]

I heard, or read, that one of the cast had said that they tried to a fun episode every season. This the one for this season. It is also one of my favorites.

[LoneStar1836]

I love this episode, but here are a few random thoughts that I have about it. If this was discussed on the old forum, then I’m sorry for the repetition, but I only stumbled across the old forum about a month before it moved.

I have always wondered if the language written on the chalkboards that Daniel, Jack, and Teal’c were translating was already written out before the time loop or did Daniel have to redo it every loop? I’d find that very time consuming if it had to be redone every loop. I guess Daniel could have already been working on it using the info SG-15 brought back, but then why would he be taking rubbings of the writing in the opening sequence if SG-15 had documented the site. (Daniel said they took photos that were somewhat equivalent to 400 pages of alien text.) If it had been written out before the loop started, don’t you think Daniel would have already been working on the translation? He lives to translate stuff so I could see him forgoing sleep to work on that especially since it was Ancient (or a variation of). I know I’m being a little nitpicky, but it makes me wonder.

I’ve also wondered why do Jack and Teal’c have to actually learn Latin. I mean Daniel already knows how to speak/translate Latin, I assume. He corrected Malaki on the planet when reading a panel on the pedestal. The writing on the chalkboard was not Latin, but when spoken it is similar to Latin. Therefore, couldn’t Daniel just read it to himself and translate as he went. I guess he could have been using Jack and Teal’c to look up Latin words for clarification to save him some time. Jack and Teal’c couldn’t be helping because they can’t read Ancient (unless Daniel has an Ancient to Latin to English reference book), thus they can’t speak it as Latin, so how are they going to know what word to look up in Latin For the Novice. My rambling probably makes no sense. So basically what I’m saying is I don’t see why Daniel needs Jack and Teal’c help. All Daniel needs to do is work on translating the writing to English, and then an hour or so before the loop is to restart, Jack and Teal’c show up and memorize what Daniel has translated so far. Then when the next loop starts, and they’ve convinced Daniel to work on translating, Jack and T just tell Daniel what they know so far, and Daniel can pick up and go from there. I know it's just a TV show and this was part of the plot, but logically why would Daniel need their help because wouldn't they just slow him down?

Here’s another one for you. I saw this particular one mentioned on someone’s nitpick site. On this thread, the question has been asked what if Jack or Teal’c die, will they come back the next loop? This other site raises the question and suggests that the answer may have already been given with Daniel being the proof. It posed the possibility that maybe Daniel died the first time when Malaki shot him (though Carter didn’t look overly concerned when she checked on him, IMO). Their theory was based on dialogue at the end of the episode.

Daniel: “Malaki, the device doesn’t work.”

Daniel (cont’d): “It never did.”

Malaki: “It never did? You’re living proof.”


Is Malaki suggesting he killed Daniel when he shot him? I just ran across the site that suggested this yesterday and had never myself considered that maybe Daniel died. How many times does that make? Since the episode tips its hat to “Groundhog Day” (Btw I love that movie. “Don’t drive angry." ), I have always figured anyone who died within the loop would return when it was reset, even Jack and Teal’c. Who knows how many times Bill Murray killed himself in the movie.

Okay last one. Did Jack and Teal’c require any sleep during all that looping? I’ve seen it mentioned elsewhere. I guess since time resets itself, then their bodies reset themselves, too, but wouldn’t that feel weird to never sleep for over three months or more. I mean Jack and Teal’c would be consciously aware of that fact.

Oh and where did they get the golf clubs and clothes, whose bicycle is that, where is that potter’s wheel, … I could go on and on, but I’ve got four hours of driving ahead of me tomorrow and I guess I need to go to sleep.

I love this episode for its infinite rewatchability. (Is that a word?) If forced to pick one episode as my favorite of the series, it would have to be this one, but I hate to do that because I like so many others, each for different reasons.

(P.S. Well, seeing that I can't access the forum now (at 3:22 am CST, July 1) to post this, I guess I'll just have to e-mail it to myself and post it when I get back to Texas tomorrow. Thank goodness I wrote this on MS Word first. I've typed other posts in the reply box and go to post and it erases what I wrote b/c it logged me out or it can't access the site anymore and I can't remember what I wrote. I try not to make that mistake again if I'm going to write anything of length.)

Just remembered I never got around to posting this.

[Anubis]

WOW! Certainly a long and detailed post


Let me think. Well, if Daniel did actually die, it wouldn't be the first time and probably not the last!

However, if you know the device doesn't work, why bother trying to fix it?

[AgentX]

This is just a massively entertaining episode. That can be watched again and again. It is one of, if not, the most rewatchable episode in the entire series.

[Anubis]

I love it. Espically what happens to Teal'c everytime the loop restarts

[AgentX]

Yes, that part is amusing. I also like the part where Daniel questions Sam's thought that Jack read the report: "Maybe he read your report?" All with a questioning look on his face. Brilliant.

[Anubis]

I liked the smile that Jack gave at the end also. Priceless

[sgeureka]

I love this episode

So do I

I have always wondered if the language written on the chalkboards that Daniel, Jack, and Teal’c were translating was already written out before the time loop or did Daniel have to redo it every loop?

Daniel would have to redo each blackboard in each loop (remember the voice recorder) but I think after translating a few, O'Neill and Teal'c would have remembered enough to go on to the next few (new) blackboards.

I’ve also wondered why do Jack and Teal’c have to actually learn Latin.
<snip>
All Daniel needs to do is work on translating the writing to English, and then an hour or so before the loop is to restart, Jack and Teal’c show up and memorize what Daniel has translated so far. Then when the next loop starts, and they’ve convinced Daniel to work on translating, Jack and T just tell Daniel what they know so far, and Daniel can pick up and go from there.

Basically you are right, but I think it's easier to remember something when you're there when it is translated. So while Daniel is translating, Teal'c and O'Neill are there to "help" with the translation and to remember (maybe O'Neill was just looking through the Latin book becuase he was bored. Who knows )

On this thread, the question has been asked what if Jack or Teal’c die, will they come back the next loop?

I would say it doesn't matter whether you die or not. The device sets everything back to the way it was at the beginning of the timeloop. All the smashed bugs would be alive again, all the slaughtered animals that were about to be fed to humans would be alive again, and so all humans would be alive again.

Is Malaki suggesting he killed Daniel when he shot him?

I've never heard about that. I may have to think about that for a little while

Did Jack and Teal’c require any sleep during all that looping?

Probably not. See above.

Oh and where did they get the golf clubs and clothes, whose bicycle is that, where is that potter’s wheel, …

From the production office upstairs. Just kidding