The Scourge (917)

[MasterPower]

Sucked? No way! I thought it was pretty good.

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

A good ep. Lots of tension. The bugs and their effect on "meat" was suitably frightening without going gruesome. Their situation put me constantly in mind of the fanfic Night Terrors... though the ep wasn't nearly as good as that fic, mind you.

The opening scene didn't inspire me with confidence. All that exposition and swaggering and talk of babysitting; gah! I hate it when they do that.

I did throughly enjoy the little convo between Daniel and the Chinese liason, and then Cam saying,"that's not funny" (I assume?) in flawless(to me) mandarin.

But the absolute high point for the entire ep had to be Sam talking to Wolsley. FINALLY! It's about time that character got dialogue with a backbone to it. This is how I've always seen Sam, in my mind. Please, boys at Bridge, give us more of this Sam!

I liked the Gamma site staff, the soldiers and the scientists, and it's always a treat to see Lee.

Movie night, huh? Kwel!

[DragonGate]

I liked this one pretty well over-all, thought Landry's line about keeping them up past ten and reading a bedtime story wa funny.

But the scene with Daniel and the Chinese ambassador, I saw it differently. It came across to me as Cameron tried to say something in Chinese and it ended up being a bad word, from the way they looked at him.

[Daniel's_twin]

I got the feeling that they had said something kinda mocking about him, thinking he knew nothing, and then he came back at them with something mocking about them, too. They were just shocked, and a little embarassed.

[PG15]

Ack! I hate bugs! But they were used to great effect in this episode. No super-grossouts, just fun little creepy crawlies.

Overall, solid episode. 4/5

[binkpmmc]

Did they all have to fire at once? Couldn't they conserve ammo?

Oh, yeah, that was another thing Mom and I were both saying about the ammo. Which is funny because Mom usually nods off and doesn`t really watch the show but stayed awake for whatever reason this time. And we both said, after the big BOOMs with the C-4, that should do for a bit, but they were blazing away with the guns also. Didn`t seem very prudent after the "almost out of ammo" comment.

That last scene of them defending the research tent threw me off because even though Carter had been inside most of the time and was not shooting near as much as Daniel, Teal'c and Mitchell her gun just happened to run out of ammo at the same exact time as the others so they all had to use their sidearms (and how convenient that this time around they all had handguns as opposed to the zats that the Carter and Teal'c usually have in every episode I can remember since they found the Zats, at least until this one). Plot devices, lazy writing, lack of continuity, convenience, it really doesn't matter anymore because, in addition to the big messes there are, it is clear to me that TPTB are missing something this season.

[binkpmmc]

Another thing I noticed that made Ethon look even sillier was that the Colonel at the Gamma site was clearly in charge and made the decisions and ordered SG1 and others when necessary. On the Prommie in Ethon that whole scene with Carter and Mitchell and the indecision while Daniel was on the planet was just so contrived, looked ridiculous and was out of character for everyone and made no sense since Pendergast should have been the one in charge - he was the full bird and he was the Commander of the Prommie and just like the Colonel in charge at Gamma site, Pendergast should have made the decisions in Ethon, just like he has always been in charge on the Prommie in past eps he and the ship appeared in. Again, lazy, plot device, contrived writing by these guys - it is sad to watch as they move from episode to episode these days and write to contradict themselves all over the place and to contradict canon and history because it suits them and makes it easier to be a lazy writer.

[uknesvuinng]

Well, the episode brought the entertainment. The story was lacking, but it was entertaining. But that may be the result of me lowering my expectations and just wanting to laugh.

Now, about the story... WHY DID THEY BLOW UP THE F-302's? That could have been a wonderful escape not involving beaming. But no, they blow it up 5 minutes after suggesting it, and revert to beaming them out at the last second, AGAIN. It's not good when beaming out is used in 2 episodes when the ship involved has only been around for as many episodes. Will they beam out every episode now? Maybe we can start having a pool, wagering on when they will beam out in each episode.

Mitchell was smart for once, but that seemed to require other characters to become extremely stupid. Especially the French ambassador. In that position, I would have been sorely tempted to chunk him out of the cave and tell him to make his own way out. He might have served as a useful distraction, and towards the end when he was throwing his tantrum, I don't think anyone else would have complained.

[Scarym1]

Even tho I hate bugs with a passion, I loved this ep. I love the whole team interaction. I found this ep to be quite exciting. The bugs were super creepy. Dr. Lee rocks!!! I really like the scene at the end when Daniel asks if they are still on for movie night. I hope Mitchell was joking when he said STARSHIP TROOPERS because that movie REALLY, REALLY SUCKED.

[DEM]

Now, about the story... WHY DID THEY BLOW UP THE F-302's? That could have been a wonderful escape not involving beaming.

Nah, that would have involved actual intrigue and peril. Plus it would have been harder to write.

Maybe we can start having a pool, wagering on when they will beam out in each episode.

Hey! We should do this! Can we do this? Anyone? Bueller? :crickets:

[RealmOfX]

A watchable episode, not great but watchable - I'll give it 3 out of 5 stars.

What I liked :
- Good acting from everyone
- Good directing (didn't this guy do Ethon too?)
- Tree ferrets !!!! Loved that Mitchell line to the token idiot french guy and Sam's reaction to it.
- Woolsey and Sam interaction
- Polite but snarky Sam. Especially with Woolsey but also after the tree ferret bit where she snuck an extra "we're almost there" to annoy the french bloke.
- Dr Lee (I look forward to his occasional appearances)
- Tamlyn Tomita - but when I saw those heels <Yes Fargater I saw them too> I just knew a busted ankle was in the future. Nobody but Scully can run in the bush with heels like that!! Actually I'd like to see more of this character and maybe further development of the Chinese interests in the Stargate.
- Landry. The general is shaping up into a decent character.

What I didn't like :
- Ho hum story line - I am really tired of "These week's homage to ......". So this week it was "The Mummy" with a nod to "Tremors" and maybe "Aliens".
- no subtitles for the exchange in Chinese. Did they actually want the fans to get the joke?? Or were they hinting at unknown Mitchell capabilities?
- where's the staff weapon for Teal'c and zats as side arm's?????? Are they trying to play down Goa'uld influences or were the Earth weapons necessary to support the weak "concussive force of our weapons" plot line. Damn - they were down to empty pistols by the time they were beamed out just in the nick of time.
- pathetic Gamma Base self destruct. Anyone remember when the Alpha Site went kablooey in season 7????? Now that was a blast!

what I'm fence sitting on :
- Mitchell. He was much better in this episode, very toned down. Still don't like what they are doing with him, but he is improving.
- the murky chain of command. If I didn't know that Mitchell was the leader of SG1 I wouldn't have been able to see it. (NO I don't subscribe to the co-command BS that JM fed us here at Gateworld - no such thing). There was one subtle part during the tree ferret bit (Yes I really liked the ferret comment - it really appealed to my warped sense of humour), Sam glanced at Mitchell. Now was that a (1) do you want to handle this idiot or do I glance or was it (2) I'm not in command but can I handle this situation please glance? Option (2) was something Sam occassionally did with O'Neill and Hammond, where she felt she had info/experience to handle a question/situation but technically she should not speak out of turn. How did other people see it?

And lastly another question :
Anyone know what the red shirt passed to Sam at the beginning of the walk to the research station? Looked like papers of some kind.

[Dani347]

There was one subtle part during the tree ferret bit (Yes I really liked the ferret comment - it really appealed to my warped sense of humour), Sam glanced at Mitchell. Now was that a (1) do you want to handle this idiot or do I glance or was it (2) I'm not in command but can I handle this situation please glance? Option (2) was something Sam occassionally did with O'Neill and Hammond, where she felt she had info/experience to handle a question/situation but technically she should not speak out of turn. How did other people see it?

Do you mean the fleeting smirk she gave him after the tree ferret comment? I thought it was her not laughing at him making up a predator just to get the French guy up and moving. "You came up with tree ferrets?"

I have a question. Right when Sam went outside to help with the shooting, what did the French guy say to her? All I could make out was something about the bugs.

[PG15]

I have a question. Right when Sam went outside to help with the shooting, what did the French guy say to her? All I could make out was something about the bugs.

I think it was "How long do you think they can hold back the bugs?"

[AGateFan]

Do you mean the fleeting smirk she gave him after the tree ferret comment? I thought it was her not laughing at him making up a predator just to get the French guy up and moving. "You came up with tree ferrets?"

I have a question. Right when Sam went outside to help with the shooting, what did the French guy say to her? All I could make out was something about the bugs.

Baubuauau ba?
Thats what I heard.

[JUNIOR]

This Episode was definitely good in my opinion but I would had like to have seen some of the other projects that they were working on.