Spirits (213)

[Matt G]

After missing out on Tok'ra part 2 it was back on Sunday afternoon for one last S2 ep to catch up on.

1. Was interesting to see Sam in temporary charge of SG1, of course I didn't know aboutRDA's commitments at this point.

2. Was even cooler to see Jack effectively running the base though. You forget that in the early seasons of SG1 he wasn't just SG1's CO, he was also XO of the entire SGC!

3. Overally though this ep was a bit of a "meh", never bothered to catch it again untill now.

4. And yeah, I have trouble buying Jack and Sam being that indignant. I mean, they needed more of the trinium than they'd get naturally. I mean, I can't blame the Spirits for doing what they did "you mess with our crew, you get your butt kicked" but our guys were needing the trinium to help defend Earth for crying out loud.

[Starscape91]

The only thing I liked about this episode was the fact that Sam got to lead Sg-1 offworld for once.

[Skydiver]

it was very 'green', as in respect the environment etc. That said, it also pointed out and illustrated just how many things they have to juggle. And how much pressure they have on so many fronts...keep their superiors happy, not get aliens ticked off at them, keep with their morals but still do their jobs.

and if they do mess up, it's not their superiors that pay the price, it's them. perhaps literally and with their lives

[jelgate]

It seems S1 is a lot of hit and miss while S2 is more of a meh attitude. Spirits follows this trend. Thier is nothing awe inspiring about this episode. The planet is a routine SG1 pepisode. SG1 goes to planet and discovers problem and solves it. You just knew something was off in the ease of how the SG team came back. Furthermore I was unimpressed with Sam as the leader. Her in charge instead of Jack is barely adressed and seems the writers just crossed off O'Neill's lines and wrote Carter. Thier seems very little difference between the two in command.

The saving grace that makes me not just downright hate this episode is the moral implications that it shows. Even the kindest of societies are self-centered to their people first. And that shows in how the SGC was going to undermind the Native American people and steal trinium. Sure it was a no brainer moral lesson but I still liked it showing how selfish people can be with proper motive. THe people being the Pentagon

[Skydiver]

that's cause that's what they did.

rick's girlfriend Apryl was going into labor/was scheduled to be induced, something, rick wanted to go spend time with his new baby, so jack got shot to write rick out so he could go down to LA. And i'm sure many of his lines were tweaked and given to Sam.

the same thing happens in Matter of Time...Daniel was off world because MS went to spend time with his new baby. (Matter of Time was more planned I believe, while spirits was a spur of the moment thing)

[SaraBahama]

HAMMOND:
Nothing sinister, Captain. The NID has a proposal before the Pentagon suggesting that when the Salish migrate south, we send another SG team to the planet to continue extracting samples and leave again before the Salish return.

O'NEILL: You mean steal it.
CARTER: I'm not comfortable with that, sir.
HAMMOND:
I don't like the idea of lying to Tonane's people any more than you do, but the next time the Goa'uld attack, we might not be so fortunate. We need whatever military advantages we can find. If that means Trinium…

CARTER: Sir, I am all for getting the Trinium, but there has to be an alternative.
O'NEILL: Is anyone at the Pentagon or along the chain of command remotely concerned about their aboriginal rights, repeating history, that annoyingly pesky moral stuff…

HAMMOND: That's enough, Colonel.
CARTER: With respect, General, I think he's right.
O'NEILL: Yeah, what the hell? Worked before.
HAMMOND:
I've got assurances that it will only be a small exploratory operation with much less damage to the mountainside, and hopefully, what they don't know won't hurt them. Dismissed.

This just bothered me. It just seem OOC for the Hammond I know -I've always loved Hammond because he was the father figure who made you want to do the right thing so that he would be proud of you.

I just can't see Hammond going along with orders to do something that he knows is morally and ethically wrong (and not resisting -he seems to justify the actions right along with the Pentagon). Especially when Jack and Sam are reminding him how wrong it is.

[Skydiver]

Sometimes I think hammond was written to facilitate the plot....ie they needed the spirits to be ticked off so they'd start attacking the SGC.

other times...well chances are the CO would never fully tell his people how pressured he is to make things happen. If hammond was under orders, he was under orders.

[discodiva]

I've just finished watching this one again on an early-morning re-run and I have to say that it still ranks as one of my favourite S.2 episodes....I love the Salish history and, having visited Vancouver and Vancouver Island and absorbed a lot of that culture whilst there, I think they treated it well and sympathetically...I LOVE the man who played Tonani and thought that, although RDA was in in a reduced role, the relaxed humour between him and MS in the Jack and Daniel exchanges was great..."Are you, you?" etc...

All in all, very enjoyable and I'm glad I watched it again.....

Next up...Touchstone and the deliciously naughty Harry Maybourne....or should I go do the house cleaning?...


Deeds xx

[lostmonkey70]

Two thoughts: Sam's first command and they get captured easily. And Tonane is the most laid back man in the universe.

[kimberlyrose]

This just bothered me. It just seem OOC for the Hammond I know -I've always loved Hammond because he was the father figure who made you want to do the right thing so that he would be proud of you.

I just can't see Hammond going along with orders to do something that he knows is morally and ethically wrong (and not resisting -he seems to justify the actions right along with the Pentagon). Especially when Jack and Sam are reminding him how wrong it is.

I didn't have a problem with how it was written, because I think Hammond really was in a very unenviable position a lot of the time. There's the right/moral/ethical thing to do, and there are orders to be followed, and sometimes there's a conflict. If Hammond consistently disobeyed orders, he'd likely be removed from command, with his replacement probably being someone more easily controlled. (Case in point: Chain Reaction.) He'd have had to choose his battles, and because this didn't have a clear victim--no one would die or suffer--I could see where he'd decide to follow these orders, even though he didn't agree with them. I got the feeling that when he said "we'll have to hope what they don't know won't hurt them," he was trying to convince themselves.

What I find annoying is Jack and Sam getting all up in arms about Hammond's decision. I get the feeling that they have no idea how much Hammond protects them and their actions.

[Brother Freyr]

Well said

[Dimes]

I nearly start crying every time something happens to the SGC, interesting episode though.

[hedwig]

Daniel must be planning a take-over of the SGC. I notice that at the meeting at the beginning of the episode, Daniel has appropriated General Hammond's chair at the table.

[Sam-n-Jack-in-<3]

I have only three things to say about this one...
1.) Woot! Dances With Wolves actor!
2.) That wolf (dog?) is GORGEOUS!!!!
3.) The real form of the spirits...I dunno, they just look....weird. They remind me of an old episode of The Twilight Zone, where that lady is supposedly disfigured and when the bandages are taken off she looks normal but everyone else is ugly.

Best line:
Sam: "My, what big teeth you have."

[Falcon Horus]

Not much to say about this really...

Tonane is a funny guy.

Sam's "My what big eyes you have." -- yup, very convincing.

The dog was very beautiful. So was the raven.

Not one that I would watch over and over again. Feels like filler to me. However, I must add that the prop-department did an outstanding job with the props and statues.