Ripple Effect (913)

[Formerhost]

Great episode!

9/10

[Zoser]

I was so hoping that there was going to be another twist in that the black SG-1 turned out to be the real SG-1 instead of going with the standard "black is bad" routine.

I adored that Janet was back and that she mentioned Jack. Was not amused as the near Sam/Martouf kiss. That was just wrong on so many levels. So much for "Not Exactly."

But when Marty kisses Sam she turns her head and he gets a cheek! Maybe she came to her senses and remembered that this is the only reality of consequence.

[MasySyma]

Let me start by saying that I like Season 9, and I love AU/Time loop style episodes, particularly 2010, 1969, and Moebius Part 2; however, I think Ripple Effect just made my short list of detestible SG-1 episodes.

The episode wasted everyone's time, lacked everything, and did nothing but harass the shippers and muddle character development: (in no particular order)

1. Why was the "evil" SG-1 here? They want our ZPM. They didn't choose to arrive in Atlantis why? They clearly know of it, and Mitchell's parting shot implies that they may be a bit ahead of us, so they seemed to want to protect both planets well and just ruin ours. That would be ok if I could see the character development of the evil SG-1, but no, we get an evil Mitchell, a loyal Sam, a mute Daniel, and a slightly amusing Teal'c. These good people who have rescued millions of others agreed to let one universe go down. I just can't see SG-1 doing that without a good reason. Too bad, the episode forgot to tell the viewers what that is.

2. The multiple Carter scene was cute, but Carter's technobabble went way too far this episode. When I start to feel like Jack, it's a problem. Additionally, why didn't we see a room of Daniels and Teal'cs. Surely, Sha're survived in one universe; Gerak won; the Ori lost entirely; etc. People were not sharing trade secrets (unless they could share with Janet), Why?

3. The romantic moments of the episodes did nothing other than to bait, annoy, and show a lack of regard for the shippers (any camp). One Sam was married. To whom? Jack, Pete, some guy named Bob we've never met? The attempt at detail failed to provide depth for the episode's structure. One Sam was on maternity leave. She obviously picked a partner earlier; again, whom did she choose? Can we assume that Teal'c is the father then? Did she marry the guy who died in 2001. To make matters worse, our Sam has an insatiable desire to kiss Martouf, which is only interrupted by an extremly "helpful" Asguard. What does that mean? Does that mean that the end of Threads was a bunch of bunk? Was Sam's depression in Beachhead due to having to break up with Jack? Personally, I don't care who Sam dates anymore, but I want a straight answer. This ploy of teasing the shippers is beginning to appear as a disrespect of many fans and did little for the episode.

4. Janet and Martouf were poorly used. My home PC doesn't have sound, so I'm hoping to watch the deleted scenes on Monday. Maybe, I'll see some needed explanation because Janet was incredibly calm for a woman who just learned of her death given that she has a child. She didn't even ask about Cassie. No one thought to ask if her Cassie was sick. No one thought to check if she had a Cassie. Why make people miss Janet again? Her presence served no purpose. Martouf, apparently, existed to provide eye candy, and while the character is quite attractive, he should have been left out instead of taking up space in the episode.

5. Thanks to the 12,000 Carter's, the plot cleaned up too easily, and frankly, the episode passed slowly. The alternate SG-1's should have interacted, traded notes, and helped each other. If this isn't possible because of a secret rule of the cosmos, then, one of the Carters should have said something.

The only good moment of the episode was the green wire remark because of its "Lady and the Tiger" elements.

Overall, I probably won't watch this one during the rerun cycle. The episode was poorly structured, messy, careless handled, and boring.

[IMForeman]

1. Why was the "evil" SG-1 here? They want our ZPM. They didn't choose to arrive in Atlantis why? .

Because they don't have a ZPM to power a trip to Atlantis...

[AGateFan]

Because they don't have a ZPM to power a trip to Atlantis...

How did they get the power to come to our AU at all. Was this mission approved by the Asgard in their universe or did they just steal the gear they needed? Is SG-1 = NID\Trust in their AU?

[golfbooy]

All right, settle in. This one is liable to take awhile.

I'm going to begin by saying that Ripple Effect was by far the best episode of the season to date. This is the closest that they've come so far to capturing the tone and humor of "old Stargate". I usually hate to use superlatives when writing, but Carter/AT was awesome in this one. There was a lot to like about the episode. If the rest of season nine can be this good (and I'm not too sure it can), then perhaps there is hope for the future. But I'm not going to bet the farm on it just yet.

Anyway, I thought that the premise for the episode was an interesting one. Personally, I didn't like the idea of having another time travel or alternate universe story so soon after Moebius, but I was pleasantly surprised by Ripple Effect. To me, it felt more like a "problem story", and it featured the Stargate, to boot. How could I possibly complain about any plot that features the oft forgotten major premise behind the series? I found the solution to defeating the bad SG1 a little trite and too easy, but am willing to forgo those rather petty complaints. Seriously though, Mallozzi could have done a little better than "We just imagined what we would do if we were in your situation! Ha, take that you evil, black-wearing SG1!"

As has been mentioned already, I love how Carter was so in charge in this one. This one was up to her to figure out. She knew it, and so did everyone else at the SGC. Why there is this co-command farce in the first place still boggles my mind. Anyway, Amanda Tapping was terrific in this one. And the scene with 16 Carters was very, very cool.

All that goodness aside, though, this episode wasn't perfect. It could have been, but it wasn't. I'm going to start by asking a question. Why, why, why, WHY was Martouf in this episode? I hate, and I mean really, irrationally, vehemently hate that Martouf was there. And it's not because of the not-kiss. That was just a little sad on the writer's part. No, I'm rather angry that Frasier seemed to have so little presenece in the story. And I can't help but feel that Martouf is the main reason for that.

I'm one of those fans who didn't terribly moan over Frasier's death simply because it was handled so well in Heroes. To this day I still think that Heroes is one of the best episodes of the series. However, seeing Frasier back last night really made me wish that she was still involved with the show. As I said above, Ripple Effect came really close to feeling like "old Stargate", and for me, that was almost entirely Frasier's doing. I haven't been a detractor of Lexa Doig or Dr. Lam, but after getting Teryl Rothery back even in this small regard, I have to say that Lam is a poor replacement for Frasier. I want Frasier back. And I wanted Frasier to have something, anything to do with Carter. How Joe and the others came to the conclusion that it would be better to include Carter in meaningless scenes with Martouf and not in a single one with Frasier completely escapes me.

And while I think most fans would agree that the near kiss with Martouf was bizzarre and out of place, that it survived the editing process in lieu of any number of the cut scenes Joe wrote up is retarded. Seriously retarded. You cut out a scene where Alternate Janet is concerned for our Cassie and where Cassie's life/career/relationship with Sam is discussed for an oddball Sam/Martouf nothing? You cut a scene where Alternate Daniel talks about Sha're and Skaara? You cut a scene between ours and Alternate Teal'c? Cripes, it's like Joe's "cliched TV writer brain" took over, saw a man and a woman in the same scene, and just couldn't help itself. All joking aside, TPTB really should have found a way to keep the Cassie scene in this episode. Again, just poor decision making on the part of TPTB and one reason why my confidence in them is at an all time low.

I also thought that TPTB finally used the Prometheus like it always should be used--as a tool to further the story. They've developed the nasty habit of using the Prommie as the setting for entire episodes rather than as a supplement to their tale. I understand that the standing sets are great for episodes on the cheap and for really easy, pre-established blocking and filming, but I'll take episodes like this one, Memento, and Unnatural Selection over Prometheus Unbound or Beachhead any day.

And the real kicker for this episode is that the team finally clicked better than it has previously. I don't know if it's quite there yet, but there's no denying that the characters were far more comfortable and far less stilted around each other in Ripple Effect. My hope, this being the first episode shot after hiatus, is that this is the way things will be from now on.

As for the characters, I feel like they were all included reasonably well in the episode. Especially noteworthy for me is that I believe this to be Mitchell's best episode to date. He's still the jokester as far as TPTB are concerned, sadly, but he certainly felt like one of the team here and not someone on the outside looking in. I whole-heartedly enjoyed the two Mitchell's talking with each other in the commissary; his crack about getting to second base, not so much. And his reaction to an Asgard was just dumb. Joe could have been a bit more original than just reusing a bad joke from Atlantis. Teal'c was a riot, and Chris Judge manages to again make or break scenes with a single phrase or look. Daniel worked in this one, too. I loved the scene with Frasier, and truly do wish that evil-Daniel would have had the chance to raise an objection to the evil plan. I'm going to stop there in order to avoid gushing over how fantastic Amanda Tapping was in this one. She, Michael Shanks, and Chris Judge continue to be the only reasons why I tune in each week. They are astoundingly good at portraying their respective characters. Lightning in a bottle, indeed. Watching the three of them interact in this episode, it was easy to remember why I got hooked in the first place, and why the show has become the hit that it has.

Again, just in case I haven't said it enough already, Ripple Effect is the best of the year so far. And for me, one of the main reasons for its success is that it uses and incorporates the history of the show so effectively. It's the same reason I enjoyed Prototype so much. SG-1 has been through nine years of crazy, amazing adventures. To completely ignore those experiences and that history when developing, pitching, and writing new stories is foolhardy. Ripple Effect was a full, richly layered story because of the show's history.

And, as a last word, let me just say that the persistent effort not to address the Carter/O'neill situation has become quite tiresome. There is no point in dragging it out any longer, other than to allow the writers to wallow in their own cowardice at actually altering the characters to any lasting effect. I'm not a "shipper" by any means, but I hate to see the characters held back simply for the sake of not changing the them too much. It's well past time that that aspect of Carter's and O'neill's characters was finalized, be it one way or the other.

All joy over Ripple Effect aside, I'm beyond excited for Stronghold. The Goa'uld are still the best enemy we've got. Atlantis proved that with Critical Mass. They could only be so lucky to have more Goa'uld on that show. Bring it on.

[Zoser]

snipped

Martouf's teeth were going to give me skin cancer from the light shining off those chompers. Drink some coffee man!! Tone down those teeth!!

Same reaction to Marty's Ipana smile, But then again I never liked him - too oily for me.

[SimilarCadence]

Surely, Sha're survived in one universe.....

Maybe, I'll see some needed explanation because Janet was incredibly calm for a woman who just learned of her death given that she has a child. She didn't even ask about Cassie.

In Joe's transcripts of deleted scenes (at the top of GW's homepage), both of those situations were addressed. Addressed, then sadly deleted..... Like I said in my post, I can think of a couple of scenes from Ripple Effect that I would've removed in order to show those particular deleted scenes.....

[Zoser]

How did the Black Alternate reality know that the Green alternate reality had a ZPM at Atlantis? Did they have some way of looking at the different AUs and determining this one had the "spare" ZPM sitting at Atlantis? I mean if they had a ZPM in Atlantis in their own Universe why not just take that one?
And if they dont have a ZPM in Atlantis in their Universe why assume this universe does?

Just wondering.

I thought the black team was taking a lot for granted. Had they scouted out our universe and if so how?

[Angelique]

Shudder. Kinsey?? Shudder.

Okay, potential candidates for marriage/fatherhood

Jack
Pete
Bra'tac
Kinsey (euee)
Agent Barrett
Joe Fallon
Martouf
The milkman
General Hammond (yes!)
Major Davis
Orlin
Siler
Daniel
Teal'c

Well, hey, any unattached male, or heck, even a woman (since pregnancy can be done other ways).

Thor. Yeah, Thor. Sneaky little guy....

*cough* Baal clone. *cough*

[LoneStar1836]

Just watched it this morning. Great episode.

I was really looking forward to this one after seeing the commercials for it. Course I was excited about Collateral Damage and came away from that one disappointed so....

Felt like the old Stargate formula was back. Though it will never return completely because no one can fill RDA’s shoes when it comes to the feeling that his character added to the show and the way he played it.


LOL! Loved the Asgard what’s-his-name. It would have been nice to have seen Thor, but I liked this one’s attitude.

Nice to see Martouf and Janet again, even though I wanted Sam to have some more screen time with Janet. I always liked her and Martouf, but come on Janet was her best friend....not just one of many Carter/person ships that came and went.

Yay! I didn’t see the little twist that Black SG-1 purposefully caused the rift. Of course the previews (green Mitchell getting nearly zatted) ruined the part about the black team being quasi “evil”. (Yeah I know they were just doing something that our team might very well would have considered in their position so they’re not really evil.....but they were dressed in black. ) I’ll be waiting to see what green wire Mitchell has to eventually snip or don’t snip...uh can’t remember which he said. Wonder if that plays into why Black SG-1 had to create the rift in the first place in order to obtain a ZPM. At first they threw me off in thinking they needed the ZPM because they were behind in the time line and only on Lost City’s events (It’s possible Mitchell could have taken command of the team earlier than in our time line thus negating that whole unnecessary Medal of Honor, he’s the hero so accept it bit from the battle over Antarctica. ) but instead they must be ahead of the present time line.

I wonder just how different our reality and Black SG-1's reality was. If there was very little deviation, then they should have had their own ZPM on Atlantis to use for whatever they were needing a ZPM for (otherwise how would they have know there was one on Atlantis to begin with. (Unless they were winging it and then someone on our end mentioned that Atlantis had a ZPM so Black SG-1 decided to then go steal it. Eh, so many possibilities I guess....). Did they create a rift to steal another ZPM to avoid using their own or had they already used theirs and were in desperate need of another? I hope they carry through with the possible foreshadowing hinted at in this episode (but with a descent story and not some over-the-top implausible scenario), but not to the extent that we need another AU episode. They have already used up their quota of one AU episode per season. Now if that whole green wire thing has to do with

Spoiler:

Prometheus begin destroyed in some upcoming episode

then I guess it doesn’t leave for much mystery then in our reality regarding what Black Mitchell said. It just leaves us with the hanging questioning of why Black SG-1 felt the need to do what they did.

I do feel really sorry for AT though. Ship seems to be the only thing they got going for her character. It seems that in EVERY AU episode her relationship with some man is always brought up. And I don’t know how many times it was brought up in this one. I think I lost count.... Of course I interpreted it as the ship I dread most on the show, but I did get a chuckle out of reading how, in a deleted scene, PDL interpreted those not so subtle hints as possible Sam/Cam ship...a ship I actually wouldn’t be totally opposed to .....in ANOTHER universe. Please not this one though.

Pity they couldn’t have kept more of the deleted scenes. Some of them sounded fitting...like the ones with Daniel. LOL! At the one having them come through the gate and Mitchell say “frak” or “frell”.

Hehe. I did have to laugh at Mitchell pantless though. Ben’s pose reminded me of the Farscape episode Scratch & Sniff (one of my fav eps). All that was missing was D’Argo. And the fishnet stockings of course.


I just ignored the plotholes and tuned out the technobabble and went with the flow making this an enjoyable, fun episode. My favorite of the season so far. Wow. I haven't had that much nice stuff to say about SG-1 in a long while (not to mention the fact that I posted here before posting comments about last night's BSG). Guess I really liked the episode. Nothing profound about the ep. but nice nonetheless.

[Seshat]

Pity they couldn’t have kept more of the deleted scenes. Some of them sounded fitting...like the ones with Daniel. LOL!

I just ignored the plotholes and tuned out the technobabble and went with the flow making this an enjoyable, fun episode. My favorite of the season so far. Wow. I haven't had that much nice stuff to say about SG-1 in a long while (not to mention the fact that I posted here before posting comments about last night's BSG). Guess I really like the episode. Nothing profound about the ep. but nice nonetheless.

I wondered if anyone else thought that particular deleted scene would have been a hoot!! I know I sure did.

I agree, don't look too closely at the plotholes and just go with it and the ep makes for a really fun time.

[Quinn Mallory]

That was extremely entertaining. I do have one problem which may have been pointed out already by others. How does the "black uniform" SG-1 know that they would end up in a universe which has a ZPM? I guess that was just a risk that they were willing to take.

[FallenAngelII]

This started out great but then fizzled out a bit. Too little attention was being paid to the alternate teams. All we got to see were brief glimpses a room of Carters.

I mean, we should've seen more of Janet and Martouf!

And the original poster is right, Landry is a moron for not noticing that the 1st Alternate SG1 was wearing completely different uniforms (WITH the SGC insignia!!!!).

AND, when the 2nd Alternate SG1 stepped through the gate, after Alternate Mitchell 2 asking what's the hold up, everyone went "Whaaaa?!". What, did they expect SG134?

BTW, the lack of cascadal whatever entrophy was explained by something along the lines of the proximity of some crappy things. So they mentioned it and that there was a reason why it wasn't happening.

I still wanted more Janet!

Also, the Alternate SG1 (the 1st one) wasn't technically evil. Just really really really really desperate. I mean, the SGC once wanted to take those Indians' thingies by force! That or they could all have simply shaven off their goatees to disguise themselves.

Though Mitchell did mention the lack of goatees and that it must mean that the alternate SG1 must not be from the Evil Twin universe. I like the room full of Daniels, BTW. Now do one with Jonas! And Mitchell! And all 3!

[Nightspore]

After reading everyone's responses, ...ok, not everyone's...I feel like I'm alone on this. I pretty much totally HATED this episode. It was a disastor from start to finish. Easily the first episode of season 9 I would say I didn't like let alone hate. Summary...if I even hear a hint of the words "alternate reality" I'm going to turn off the TV.

I don't know if that was supposed to be an Asgaard or not because I don't remember the Asgaard being a comedy troop that talks down to people or makes stupid noises and jokes. Call me silly but I remember when talking to the Asgaard was talking to a superior race, socially and technologically. At least I saw Underworld:Evolution tonight or else this would've driven me to despair.

Martouf's teeth were going to give me skin cancer from the light shining off those chompers. Drink some coffee man!! Tone down those teeth!!

You're not alone. While I didn't hate this episode, I did think it was pretty bad. Ditto on the Asgard. And the scene between green Mitchell and Black Mitchell yucking it up talking about Aunt Em? or something was so bizarre, IMO. Out of place; Ben played it like he was drunk. Too much silliness about Sam's love life; just once I want to see Teal'c in a regular long sleeved t-shirt instead of his muscle shirt; Daniel mostly stood around being sarcastic and making his 'confused' face; Landry was a jerk, Lam still is as stiff as wood; I didn't understand half of what Carter was babbling on about -- I do think they could have cut that exposition quite a bit.

Gotta laugh about your remark on Martouf's teeth. Exactly. I kept wondering if they were real or crowned. Whatever, it is almost a distraction to see teeth that white.

Sharks are really really circling, IMO.