Ex Deus Machina (907)

[JanusAncient]

Okay, this is my take on the episode. Teal'c was brilliant, his strategy as a politician, was exactly how Teal'c should conduct operations, after all that he has learned. Mitchell, bringing the team back together, and saving the day, with an obvious but appropriate idea. The part where Sam said "not exactly," was interesting, I admit I wanted to know what she meant by that comment.

Gerak, this guy is really beginning to annoy me, sending ships to Earth, endangering civilians, as if he did anything to free the Jaffa, Sg-1 did more than all the Jaffa combined in that respect, so that guy needs to hurriedly get his just desserts. I did feel sorry about the Jaffa who were needlessly killed, because of Gerak's need for more power.

Now, I will move on to Ba'al. He was well played by Cliff, that woman, his assistant was very nicely prepared, lol. The clones, what I am trying to figure out is, not if one the clones in that room was the original Ba'al, but if he is actually on Earth, or in the system that Teal'c mentioned in the episode, I mean if he can make clones, why contain them to one planet, why he is conquering Earth from within, more clones can be attempting to regain his power from other worlds.

Loved this episode, especially the new woman, she was just fantastic.

[FoolishPleasure]

The good side:

Good Teal'c scenes. . finally!

Gerak. . I believe we are SUPPOSED to be irritated with him. Like Kinsey. At least that is how I'm taking it. He certainly has a "dark" side to him which makes him a bit more interesting.

I like Ba'al - interesting without the Gou'ald accent. Would love to see him working with Kinsey down the road (I know that stinker is alive out there somewhere).

The blonde chick with Ba'al. My husband wants her phone number.

The down side:

While I like Ba'al. . .a little goes a long way. As it stands now, Ba'al could die every week and we would still have. . .Ba'al. Yawn.

Carter. . I've always liked your hair, but. . .a little lighter on the gunky gel next week. The head looks like it hasn't been washed in a month. And we had to be subjected to that awkward convo about Pete.

Mitchell. . .PLEASE!! TPTB hired a very good actor for this part. .GIVE HIM SOMETHING TO DO!!!

We "beam up" a huge building in the middle of a city and no one notices? Gas explosion? Yeah right. That was just plain BAD folks.

Grade: C (which is better than BSG's episode, which was riddled with more holes than swiss cheese). SGA was best tonight.

[Seastallion]

Baal clones? Wonder which one is in charge? Only one babe for all those clones?

Yeah, I noticed that too...! I guess Ba'al is one really kinky Goa'uld...

On another note... I thought it was just shameful how that Hak'til Jaffa lady stabbed Teal'c in the back like that...! The Tau'ri helped her people far more than most Jaffa... Shame..! (maybe she was standing in for Ishta... or perhaps Ishta didn't want to be on the High Council.) Either way... That was just wrong... she could have let Teal'c in on what was going on. Instead she led him into a trap... and I used to like her. Bad lady..!

Sorry... just had to vent. I really loved this episode. *Thumbs Up*

[whatswiththehairtealc]

Mitchell though..he seems to serve no purpose in the plot. He only gets the lines that could be given to anybody, and he doesn't really do anything. He's just kind of there. Mitchell needs to do something!! If he's going to be a half-worthy character. He has as much characterization as Ford did in the first season and as much of a role in the plot.

I know i keep seeing him and thinking. HUH!! look! jon Criteon did get home! and now hes a col in the airforce!! but seriously, they really need to give him a personality, so we can see him as someone other than a RDA replacement.

[Maj_Cliffhanger]

First impressions... Good episode with a classic feel, despite the lack of Jack. Daniel and Sam both did the exposition number, Teal'c was wonderful. And Mitchell finally had something to do. (Strange how some people see that and others don't?)

Ba'al was a treat. We saw four at the end, but how many are there really? Is Ba'al even actually on Earth? Remember, Teal'c said he was spotted in another star system a week before. It won't take too long for poor (not!) Garak to be terribly embarrassed if there are Ba'al's running all over the galaxy! LOL! 'Course, myself, I'm thinking the original is on Earth and probably the one in the end that the VP/girl brought the drink to on the couch. And you just know the real Ba'al has some hold over all his clones... If TPTB try to make out the girl is a goa'uld too, I'll be upset because Sam should have sensed it when they were together.

Okay, well I need to sit down and watch it again, then I'll give a proper review...
_
Maj_Cliffhanger

[Osiris-RA]

I'm beginning to believe that TPTB are unconsciously sabotaging thier own show. At the slightest hint of action and interesting-ness (aka Ba'al) TPTB go into full force attack, sniffing out the interestingness with big guns, big action, big time, forcefully and purposefully dredging out the source of coolness and exterminating it.

Well, apparantly, they caught themselves in time cause this one rocked! Ba'al really spiced things up but I'm just sayin - why can't they leave the guy alone??? The world needs more big-time business tycoons like that! He just want's to make money! Is that a crime??? I thought it was a free country for cryin out loud!!

Anyway, the ending was great - I mean, who wouldn't want clones of ones favorite former Goa'uld lord? Heck, if they'd make a few of Apophis, that'd be great too. Tonights ep just showed that the Goa'uld and Stargate were meant for each other. A baddie that gets on SG1's nerves, teached them morals whilst torturing them, smiling cockily as they escape near doom at SG1's hands. I mean, they're like an ex-husband and wife who keep bumping into each other and even they hate each other like Kane and Abel, they LOVE to hate each other! They're real character's together and while they whump it out, cuss it out and blast it out, we just feel their charisma together crackle off the screen! Not like those crusty ol Orii who have a real communication problem far as I'm concerned. I mean, Sg has NO compatibilty with the Orii far as I'm concerned.

See, baddies and Goodies are like an old married couple. Sure, they get on your nerves, but you still love 'em! SG1 and the Goa'uld are like chocolate and coconut, Peanut butter and Jelly, Shrimp and A1 steak sauce, Frick and Frack, Black and Blue, Adam and Eve, Bugs and that 'wascawwy wabbit' guy, Air and lungs, bread and crust, shall I continue? Or do you all get the picture? Ok then. Anyway...

A few nitpicks however.

1. No stargate in sight on 'Stargateg1'
2. They beamed the builing up, right? That's not exactly a cover-upable...is it? I mean, it beamed up. Disappeared. There was no explosion. I don't have to be Mulder to see it was beamed up. Even Scully wouldn't be that daft. am I missing something?
3. The "P" word was mentioned. I hate the "P" word. It's annoying. And was that agent coming on to Sam?? HANDS OFF BUBBA, SHE'S THORS, CAPISCE???
4. The General decided to move in kinda fast didnt he? At MY old school... (magic school bus joke )
5. Gerak SUCKS!!!! But that's a good thing in his case.
6. darn, I just forgot. Well, it'll come to me...

Nicepicks:

1. Looks like Sam's hair is taming itself. Good work!
2. Daniel SHAVED!!!!
3. T SPEAKS!
4. Daniel SHAVED!!!!!!!
5. OMG, BUILDING BEAM UP AND GO PLOOIE IN SPACE, YEE HAW.
6. Ba'al still sounds hot dude. (though now that I hear him a second time, he seems a tad nasal...BUt anyway...)
7. Ba'al as business tycoon...oh, that'll be a great season arc! WHOOT!
8. Daniel SHAVED!!!!! (though now his contacts/glasses thing is annoying me...)
9. The greatest part of it all? CLONE BA'ALS! Oh yeah....we need more clones'n'things. Mm hmm. Great stuff.

So, waaaaaayyy better than most of the eps of S9.

[Mongo's Girl]

I loved it to. The patch scene was great, especially the extra pat on Sam's arm. I was so happy for Mitchell in that moment.

This was Teal'c's ep to me. He really shined. I loved his comment to Landry about if Ba'al was dead, there wouldn't be any issues with the counsel.

I think the nod to Jack/Sam was just perfect.

They called the Chief sergeant again. That bugs the crap outta me!

I don't know if I can wait 2 weeks for the next episode.

[AGateFan]

I'm beginning to believe that TPTB are unconsciously sabotaging thier own show. At the slightest hint of action and interesting-ness (aka Ba'al) TPTB go into full force attack, sniffing out the interestingness with big guns, big action, big time, forcefully and purposefully dredging out the source of coolness and exterminating it.

Well, apparantly, they caught themselves in time cause this one rocked! Ba'al really spiced things up but I'm just sayin - why can't they leave the guy alone??? The world needs more big-time business tycoons like that! He just want's to make money! Is that a crime??? I thought it was a free country for cryin out loud!!
.

Hes an illegal alien....hahahahahahahahahahaha.... alien get it hahahahahahahahahahaha ILLEGAL ALIEN hahahahahahaahahaha........... I crack myself up ....ok maybe its not that funny

[Nienna]

Poor Teal'c. I got the feeling at the end of the ep that he was grieving for what had become of his people. From noble warriors with pride (even as slaves) to elitist bullies and puppets to a dictator. What a heartbreaker.

"So, you're single now?"
"Not really"

Now, I'm a shipper, but did anyone else read this as, "you're a nice guy but I'm just not interested right now, I have my work." Or was it just me?

Cloned Ba'al. Not sure what I think of this. Now, I like Ba'al, but not that much.

Mitchell hasn't had much to do true, but I kinda like this slow move of him into the team. I love Ben as an actor, but one of my biggest peeves is when a new character shows up and instantly gets major story time at the expense of the veteran characters. Now if it stays this way the rest of the season, then I'll be annoyed.

Garak is an overblown windbag and a xenophobic bully, who hopefully will politically hang himself given enough rope. I just hope he doesn't do too much damage in the process.

[mo24]

I really liked the episode as a whole. I thought the feel of the show was very well done. It's a tough call, but I think this one might be my favorite episode of all of S9, and possibly even S8 too.

It was good to see Baal again. He was one of my favorite system lords, and wearing a tie and suit just seemed to fit his character perfectly in tonight's episode. Smugness, ambition, and self preservation all characterize Baal to the T. The same could be said about many corporate CEOs which Baal seems to emulate in the episode.

When I watched the beginning of the episode, the covering of the topic of the NID being compromised immediately caught my interest. I'd been hoping they would finish that story line off, since they never really fully completed it in the prior seasons as far as I know. But instead of concentrating on that, the show instead seemed to center almost entirely on Baal. Other than him and the woman and the Goa'uld the Jaffas captured, little else was said on the subject. Maybe it was just due to the time constraints on the show.

There were a lot of improvements in the tonight's episode compared to previous episodes. Mainly, the writers were representing SG-1 as a team much more than they had been lately. It's no longer "The Daniel and Vala" show, and they appear to be getting it back down to its roots, spreading a significant amount of air time between all members of the team, and doing it in a way that fits great into the story. The story also had a lot of twists and turns in it that really kept it interesting, and that's always a big plus.

The ending was well done, but the showing of the clones at the end really surprised me. By the way it ended, it would appear that they are breaking the season up into two different storylines: one with the Ori abroad and one with Baal & friends on Earth, something that I don't believe the SG-1 series has done often, if ever. It should be interesting to see how both are played out as the season progresses and which one becomes the predominant story.

[majorsal]

really good ep!

poor teal'c... he's finally gotten the dream of all jaffa (freedom from the goauld), and then he has to watch his ppl fall apart by the hands of someone almost as bad as the goauld.

baal on earth. ha! i wonder just how many of him there are? and just why did he clone himself???

i have a feeling baal's existance on earth is going to be a major player somewhere down the line.

so, once again barrett wants to ask sam out. and once again, sam turns him down because SHE'S WITH SOMEONE. hmmm, wonder who?.... *whistles the s/j happy tune*

one thing i don't really understand is why sam, teal'c, and daniel decided to officially rejoin sg1? mitchell just decides to give them the patches, but how did he 'know' they wanted to rejoin? we find out officially why sam left the sgc (taking care of cassie), so is cassie's prob over with then? did daniel say he wanted back? and teal'c? i would have liked to have seen the scene where they made this decision. well, maybe sam deciding to stay on at the sgc was what made mitchell... yeah, i'm remembering the way he handed sam the patch, and her nodding sweetly that she'd accept the patch and offer to rejoin. so i guess daniel and teal'c just follow? (still would have liked sam leading sg1... )

so all in all, a pretty good ep. i can say without a doubt my fave part was sam's confirmation that she's not single (again). yeah!


sally

[Dave Thomer]

This episode does seem to rely more on previous backstory than the other episodes so far this season. Since I'm about 1/2-3/4 familiar with that backstory, I could keep up, but it didn't have the "It's a whole new show!" feel. Which, I'm sure, a lot of the long time viewers are happy to see.

I do like the way the Goa'uld are being treated here - not a super-major threat anymore, but not something to be ignored. It's a nice way of letting that part of the story evolve into something else.

Teal'c's tension within the council is a great plotline, but I think that the producers are dropping the ball with it a little bit. It just doesn't feel right to me to see Teal'c accept an SG-1 patch from Mitchell and make his home on Earth in the very episode where he's trying to maintain some level of influence in the council. I don't blame the other Jaffa for thinking he has divided loyalties - he does!

And count me in as someone who likes the way Mitchell has been gradually introduced. He has taken a leadership/command role on a number of occasions, he's come up with solutions to problems, and he's built/developed connections that helped him bring SG-1 back together. It works for me. Do I want to see more of him? Sure, since he's the guy who doesn't have eight years of backstory behind him. But I'm cool with where we are for now.

[macktheknife]

This was a headspin episode. In a good way. Awesome ep. Ba'all all round! That was crazy fast episode.

Even if they did beam a giant building away, and have 2 people run over a jaffa, and have a firefight inside an office building. I wonder what happened to that guy playing poker or blackjack or whatever it was.

[kadosho]

What to bring up first..

(1)Team
Noted- "Patch Scene", it felt like a mini-tribute was happening. Plus it signified the team was back together. Even though this ep everyone had to work as a tag team, the decision paid off. And it gave us a new look at what's going on and personality.
*Daniel as we know is a bit impatient with waiting too long..
*Sam's noted relationship, few key hints. But its great that its being mentioned
*Teal'c can be a trustworthy leader & speaker. An avatar for his people, even though some may not listen.
*Mitchell, good egg, cracks under pressure. (but crack, as in wisecrack)
(we're just totally missing this character's depth, we really want to know more about Mitchell.)


(2) Enemy
+Between Gerak & Ba'al, its difficult to decide on who's a better opposition.
+Gerak's position carries huge influence, and pushing aside Teal'c's discussion's. Put matter into his own hands to gain acclaim for his actions.
-we saw what that lead to
+Ba'al's return, most excellent. There is so much to be said. For one, he is a dignified character, and could very well blend in. Its surprising just how he came up with the idea.

(3)Clone a lil dream of me
Its something how such an idea can push things further. Maybe its a takeover, or another plan at hand. But can't deny, it must be pretty cool to have a few extra versions of yourself, to handle the dirty work. Hey, at least its easier than having servants die.

But it also seems that Ba'al has resolved to a somewhat normal life. Far different than the rest of the fallen lords. Honestly wondering what his agenda might be on Earth. If its to reconcile, or sinister.

[GatetheWay]

Weird... Thats what this episode was. I mean the whole Jaffa thing on Earth seemed really stupid and made the Jaffa look stupid. I mean they were trying to do this coverly without the Tauri knowing so they send fully alienly armoured Jaffa (forhead showing and all) with STAFF WEAPONS to take out Baal. Wouldn't the more logical choice of been Tauri clothing with hats and zats instead and keeping their cargo ships cloaked?!

Why couldn't Promie spot a WHOLE building with naquidah mixed right in to it's frame work? That was never explained.

Why did Baal even bother to tell them WHERE the bomb was? He already had his threat over their heads, he could of just given them the count down and that would of been it.

Was the NID originally infultrated by Baal?

How come Sam did not sense all the Goauld's in the building when she was there? Unless that ability is gone now, Jolinear was awhile ago.

How did no one notice a huge building disapearing in a great flash of white light in the middle of urban Seatle? And for that matter it appears that nothing is too big for the Asgard transport beams making them an ex deus machina indeed.

If Baal was truely a buisness man now, why did he plant the bomb in the United States? If it had gone off he would still have to live there and a terrorist act like that could not been good for the economy.

And finally the thing that really just pushed me over the edge with this episode (which says a lot since I'm VERY forgiving to TPTB) were the Baal clones. What a dumb and cliche way to end the episode. I've always had a problem with clones in scifi. Writers always treat then like props and ignore that they are human beings that have the same desire to live like any other. Considering Baal's personality, I doubt those clones would be so gracious to just be used and sacrificed by the real Baal.

These are only the things I can think of off the top of my head.
So over all the more I think about this episode the more I loath it. It's probably one of the worse SG episodes though some in seasons 7 and 8 were pretty bad. Things I liked: Seeing Baal again, was great with out his voice too and the Teams back! Yay! ... Thats about it.