The Gamekeeper (204)

[yenny8a]

I enjoyed this episode, the first time I watched it. But when I went back and watched it again recently I found myself thinking that perhaps they had the Gamekeeper character wrong. He seemed a little too wimpy.

I reckon they got the Gamekeeper 100% right. It's his comical character which makes him so funny. Sometimes I just don't understand why people don't find these marvelous subtelties funny at all.

[Anubis]

I love the scene at the end where all the people are in his garden moving the plants and stuff. His reaction was so funny

[VirtualCLD]

I thought he was pretty funny.

[Asgard Buddy]

I was just so annoyed that the Gamekeeper had kept the truth from his people for so long. They should have stuck him in one of those things as punishment.

Although, I think I would have liked the episode better if Daniel and Jack were re-living happy memories. Then it would be a lot harder to get them out. And why was that memory Jack's strongest? What about the time when Charlie killed himself. Wasn't Jack and his wife right outside at the time?

[Uncle Dick]

Wish we could have also seen something from Carter's or Teal'c's past.

At this point in the show, Jack and Daniel were still the main characters. Since this episode dealt with incidents intially established or suggested in the Stargate feature, it made sense to focus on those two.

Although, I think I would have liked the episode better if Daniel and Jack were re-living happy memories.

The episode would have lost much of its edge if that were the case. The Keeper's disinterest in the fact that his "games" are causing severe emotional distress to SG-1 is one of the creepier aspects of the character that prevents him from becoming an ineffectual comic figure like, say, Martin.

What about the time when Charlie killed himself. Wasn't Jack and his wife right outside at the time?

The Hammondkeeper mentioned Charlie at one point, but I don't think it would have worked at all on screen. For one, watching a child repeatedly kill himself probably wouldn't be enjoyable television. Jack already dealt extensively with the death of Charlie in "Cold Lazarus". Another episode dwelling on his death seems excessive.

The morph effects are top notch. No wonder it's my favorite episode.

[sueKay]

Good ep, but nothing special

I've met the Gamekeeper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ehm

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...

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Alright. I met Dwight Schultz ie. Barlcay and Mad Dog Murdoc!!!

4 out of 9 chevrons.

[Liv]

I really like this episode, I think it's a good mixture of comedy and drama. Dwight Schultz is great fun (loved him on the A-Team show *nostalgia*) and I think he fits in nicely with the episode. He's supposed to be a bit dense and not quite understand what it is he actually puts them through.

Some good (and highly emotional) insights into Jack and Daniel's past.

And of course Teal'c - with hair! Somehow, that feels familiar...

Also good to see Kawalsky again, even if he isn't real, this time around.

And I love the scene in the debriefing room where Jack catches on to the fact that they're still inside the game and starts to look for the edges of a mask on Hammond!

Jack: "You're obviously not the real General Hammond."
Hammond/Gamekeeper: "Sit down, Colonel."
Jack: "I don't think so, bucko. The jig's up, we're on to ya."

Loved this too:

Daniel: "Where are we going?"
Jack: "Back through the 'gate to show them what their planet looks like... in our memories... before the virtual reality... leave me alone."

And yes, that last bit was funny too:

Gamekeeper: "Do NOT pull that!" You are ruining the garden!"

[Lugal]

I really like this episode, I think it's a good mixture of comedy and drama. Dwight Schultz is great fun (loved him on the A-Team show *nostalgia*)

You've just dated yourself there (and yes I remember "Howlin' Mad" Murdock, too)

Daniel: "Where are we going?"
Jack: "Back through the 'gate to show them what their planet looks like... in our memories... before the virtual reality... leave me alone."

One of my favorite lines.

[Daniel's_twin]

Daniel didn't listen, did he?

[Lord Zedd]

Did you know that the gamekeeper is Dwight Shultz?? He played the crazy Murdoc on the old serie the A-team

[greytop]

Wish we could have also seen something from Carter's or Teal'c's past.

I believe that it has something to do with Junior and Carter having that certain protein marker in her blood. So, the Gamekeeper had them share memories of the others.

[Elite Anubis Guard]

interesting episode and some nice development into jack and danny!

[zats]

To be completely honest (which I am rarely reported to be, but that's neither here nor there), I really don't like this ep. But me being me, I'll get into the good stuff first...

a. Good emotions. MS plays distraught/going smack out of his mind really well, so any ep where he's two steps short of going totally over the edge is always delicious. And of course RDA is magnificent, but that's standard.

b. Premis. Very Matrix (although I'm still waiting for them to get a "dodge this" into an ep somehow). Although I didn't like the episode overall, I think that more could have been explored with it.

c. The Gamekeeper himself. Look, I'm mixed on this one. On the one hand, he's delightfully hateable (one I love to hate, etc.). On the other...he reminds me a lot of my da, especially when it comes to fiercely defending the garden. For some reason, said parental unit didn't find this particularly amusing when I shared this observation with him. Anyway, I spend most of this episode split between laughing and wanting to bean him with a two-by-four. But c'est la vie. (no spellchecking allowed).

d. Hammond. It's always fun to see He with the Crown of Marble going a little bonkers.

What wasn't so good:

a. This is fairly minor, but it still bugs me: the point of origin for the garden planet. It looks very industrialized, which doesn't really mesh with the other stargate glyphs. They look more lyrical. This PoO looked like the logo of an insurance company or something.

b. I do wish that we could have seen Sam and Teal'c's 'one thing they could live over's. The naquada/symbiote is a plausible enough justification for why the Gamekeeper couldn't access their minds, but it still struck me as a bit of a cop-out. One of these days I'll sate my dissatisfaction and write an AU fic where we see Teal'c and Sam's memories.

c. Daniel. I'll likely get ripped to bits for saying this, but Daniel's not one of my favorite characters. He's always seemed too predictable; he's too good. Same for Teal'c--he's very static. I like Jack and Sam because they're harder, inconsistent (which usually indicates layers) and always seem like they'd have more demons. Which is why I like Sam/Jack (preferably both)-centered eps. Seeing Daniel burst into tears over...and over...and over again got old very fast.

Overall, it's been a while since I've seen this one. Forgive me for being too specific on some points and not thorough enough on others: little incidentals have an odd way of sticking in my mind, whereas the big stuff flits in and out as it pleases.

Agree? Disagree? Please no rotting vegetation w/out providing protective clothing for intended recipient.

[Elite Anubis Guard]

is it me or was the gamekepper barcely/sherlock holmes and was dannys dad seth?

[JackDaniels]

is it me or was the gamekepper barcely/sherlock holmes and was dannys dad seth?

The Gamekeeper was Dwight Schultz, who played Barclay in TNG (and Voyager) but Daniel's dad was not Seth.

Anyway, watched this episode again today as it was shown on UK tv Sky One. This is not one of those episodes that I think about very often or go to my DVD collection to hunt out if it comes into my mind. Like a lot of the other posters it was slightly annoying that there was no Carter or Teal'c, and although issues with their blood and 'junior' were brought up, after watching S8 'Avatar' (spoilers below)

I find it curious that they had a record of Teal'c mind and his thoughts and feelings from his time in the chair from this time and yet they were not able to access his mind. Are the two not connected, i'm sure there would have been many things he would have wished to have chnaged and if they knew that in hsi mind at this point he did not believe the goa'uld could ever be defeated, them would some scenarios highlighting this have been particularly good?

Just a little rant. Apologies to those who have not seen Avatar, but when someone has maybe they can give me an answer. Watching old episodes often brings up new questions!