Why Hammond?

[Vapor]

Forgive me if this was asked somewhere else.

In "Home" everyone was greeted by the illusion of General Hammond, welcoming then back to what they thought was the SGC on Earth. My question is: Why did they do that?

Everyone that went back (except Teyla) already knew that Jack was in command. Yet they all seemed perfectly fine when they saw Hammond there, saying hello.

Now, it could be argued that this was just their ideal universe, so the Mist guys just put him there to fulfill that "perfect world" for them. But then, that makes it look like all of them would prefer to have had Hammond welcoming them back than O'Neill.

I just find this odd.

Can somebody help me understand this? Did I miss sumthin?

[Major Fischer]

Well, Jack is in charge of the SGC, but the Altantis Expedition is an outgrowth of the Antartic Outpost which is part of Hammond's overall command and not Jack's.

That's the technical answer, but there are two other answers to your question that i think are probably equally important.

Richard Dean Anderson's time to SG1 is valuable and limited and they did not want to waste it on an Atlantis episode when they could bring back an old friend like Don S. Davis.

.... and Home

Spoiler:

there were many things subtly wrong in the Myst world. The fact that Hammond was there and not Jack is simply one slight tweek that eventually lets our heroes know they aren't really home. Like Walter being insubordinate to an officer (Ford), Weir's boyfriends kiss being off, and Sheppard being treated like a returning hero and not a maverick.

[Gregorius]

Spoiler season 8

Spoiler:

Hammond is in charge of homeworld defence, so it makes sense for him to come to the SGC when the SGA team would come back, because the might brought new weapons with them. And they're under his department.

[Vapor]

I see... Well, that makes sense enough for me.

[Gothann]

We also have to consider the "Newbie Effect".

Most people who don't know the series will find it spoilerific to see O'Neill at the head of the SGC, especially people who live here, in Canada, who HAVEN'T SEEN SEASON 8 YET.

[Manic]

But from the first episode, we know that Jack has been promoted to General, and he saw the Atlantis team off with Hammond nowhere in sight. That would imply Jack had some significant command at the SGC, even if viewers weren't entirely sure Hammond had left.

[Erik Pasternak]

Keep the "Newbie Effect" in mind before asking a few SG-1 reference-oriented questions. Namely: how much would someone understand had they not seen SG-1?

Maybe it's TPTB way of attracting more viewers to SG-1, just so they can find out what Hammond was talking about.

[Gothann]

But from the first episode, we know that Jack has been promoted to General, and he saw the Atlantis team off with Hammond nowhere in sight. That would imply Jack had some significant command at the SGC, even if viewers weren't entirely sure Hammond had left.

For anyone who's seen the movie, and only the movie, then decided to watch SG-A, skipping, SG-1, it's just normal to see that O'Neill is a General, seeing as how it's been 10 years after we last saw him as a Colonel.

Now, spoilers to ep. 108: Home.

Spoiler:

Now, let's go back to the episode "Home". They don't explain much that is self-referencial to SG-1, only that there is this big baddie called the "Goa'uld" that SG-1 ticked off after their first mission.

There's no reference of Teal'c or Sam. In fact, the only three things in that episode that refer to SG-1 (that are self-referencial, of course) are General Hammond, the Prometheus, and the mention of Goa'uld.

Keep the "Newbie Effect" in mind before asking a few SG-1 reference-oriented questions. Namely: how much would someone understand had they not seen SG-1?