Prototype (909)

[Sela]

Loved Prototype. Enjoyed Daniel's, "Hey, New Guy!" It cracked me up.

With that, the conference room speech and the ending, did anyone else get chills watching Daniel channel Jack O'Neill?

(I had a flash of Jack sitting in his office in D.C. doing paperwork, getting a "someone walking on my grave" type shudder and then looking aorund to see if anyone else was in the room.)

[golfbooy]

Weekly blithering about Stargate to follow. Be advised.

As most others have said here, Prototype was excellent. It certainly did have that Stargate feeling to it, something that has been sorely lacking during many instances this season. Vala had something to do with that, but so too did the static nature of the storytelling in the first half of the season. With Sam back the writers have in four episodes (Beachhead, Ex Deus, Prototype, and Fourth Horseman) managed to finally move the story along a good bit. It feels like stuff is happening now, not just in the galaxy but to SG-1 as a team as well. Those earlier episodes just felt too empty. SG-1 (the show), especially during the past few years, has always managed to cram far more into their episodes than other shows are wont to do, and with Prototype season nine finally had that feeling to it. At no point did the story lose momentum or the characters merely stand around and watch.

The actor cast as Kalek also did well. The role was nicely played, and without being too over-the-top to boot. He certainly carried off the sinister presence of the character well, especially considering he was confined to a chair for most of the story.

Most annoyingly about this episode, and season nine more generally, is the continual tapdance being done around the command issue on SG-1. The writers were always going to be challenged to justify Cam's role as team leader over Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c, so it appears as if they're not even going to try. Instead we get this little two-step, where any number of decisions have been made to muddy the waters. I won't go into the details, but it's not just actions I'm talking about. It's also the way scenes are blocked, inflection in dialog, and the way characters interact. I recognize that this is obviously a hot button issue, so if you see what I'm talking about, great. If not, that's great, too. I guess.

Robert Picardo's return as Richard Woolsey was perfectly executed. Again, as before, he plays the role of good-guy antagonist expertly. You really feel for the guy at the end of the episode, and you really do understand his position. At this point I'm inclined to hope that one of these days he ends up on the clear right side of a debate, and earns himself a measure of vindication. He deserves it.

Beau Bridges seems to be becoming more comfortable in his depiction of General Landry. He fits himself into the story in this one without the gruffness that has defined his character so far. A bit of credit in that regard goes to his increased screen time with Carter, Teal'c, and Daniel, who always manage to make those around them more comfortable in a Stargate environment.

Dr. Lam also continues to get some screentime, illustrating just how desperately the show missed having a doctor last year. It is a vital component to the show's storytelling, allowing the science aspect of Stargate to be presented a bit more credibly. Lexa Doig appears to be a comfortable fit for the show, and her continued presence will add to show's narrative.

It's nice to see Daniel's abilities to read Ancient and his experience with Anubis pay such high dividends for the show. Michael Shanks plays his scene with Kalek with a tired resignation to the eventual outcome, and with appropriate familiarity to such situations. I've read where some are displeased to see the character recommend and then resort to the willful killing of another, but I disagree. Daniel Jackson is much older now than he was when the series began, far older than the years that have elapsed. The character has grown as most people do--stronger, more knowledgeable, but more cynical and less idealistic as well.

Sam comes away from Prototype in fine form. Her return to the story with such a direct role in the action is welcome, as is the show's ability to run its progression through her character. I've always felt that Stargate stories were told either through Jack or through Sam, and with both gone earlier this year the show suffered. Prototype is what results with her presence. Add whomever you like, take away whomever you like, but if SG-1 loses both Carter and O'neill the show should call it a day.

Lastly, there's Mitchell, who managed to both fit into the story and to isolate himself as well. Perhaps it's my own perception and no one else sees things this way, but it doesn't help to have Daniel calling him new guy and to have Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c devising plans without him. Throw in his solo act at the base while the others are out and about, and I can't help but feel that we'll never get that same comfort level that existed on SG-1 previously. Still, aside from his blunder with the stasis pod, Mitchell plays the good soldier well. He takes orders unquestioningly, he stands guard nicely, and he plays well with others. There's just not that much to distinguish him from others at the base, except that he tags along with SG-1. Er, I mean he's on SG-1. Umm, I mean he leads SG-1. I guess. In the gee, do whatever you want while I stand here kind of way, that is.

And lastly (ha, I said lastly before, but I fooled you), kudos to integrating a number of elements from the show's past into the story. Woolsey's inclusion, Anubis' lab and son, and the DNA machine from Metamorphosis all serve this episode well. This show's mythology is vast and deep, and it got that way by building on itself expertly. Prototype does just that, and it's a big part of the reason why so many liked this one. Peter DeLuise gets a mention, too, for his fine direction of the closing scene with Kalek. It must have sounded rather ordinary on paper, but the direction elevates it greatly, adding excitement, tension, and gravitas to Kalek's killing.

Bring on The Fourth Horseman. Oh, wait they already did, didn't they. Well then bring on Part II.

[wolverine_nl]

Actually, i like season 9 untill now, I liked Prototype, classic display of a SG1 episode with a good viewingrythm to it!

[Mio]

Didn't the spoilers say that Anubis was planning any army of these guys? I didn't hear anything about that in the episode, or what the spoilers said Anubis planned to do with them: Destroy the Ascended Ancients.

[Jonzey]

Was a brilliant episode. Really dramatic in places. Was kinda expecting them to find a hidden chamber in the lab filled with rows of thousands and thousands of the clones in stasis pods. IMO that's the only thing which would have made it better.

[jyh]

"Ascendometer"!!!!!


Love it!!!!!

[Neetz]

Hey, lookie. I’m posting! I’ve lurked and read on this board for a long time now, but I finally decided to break my silence with this episode. First, I must say, I’ve really enjoyed Season 9 as a whole and feel the development of the new team dynamics and new challenges have been well handled.

Now, for “Prototype”: Two things come to mind when I think of this episode: symmetry and irony.

I think the main focus of this episode was the real conclusion of the Daniel vs. Anubis story. From “Full Circle” on, I always had a feeling that there was a very personal antagonism between Daniel and Anubis that was almost a classic good vs. evil scenario. But Anubis was never really Daniel’s devil so much as he was Oma’s, and in the grand balance, it had to be Oma who dealt with him. Still, the conflict between our peace-loving archeologist and the half-ascended Goa’uld was very real, and with Oma taking Nubie out, it left Daniel without real closure. Kalek provided that closure.

It was a very powerful moment in the conference room when Daniel made it clear he believed Kalek should not be allowed to live. When Daniel Jackson advocates killing someone, it makes everyone sit up and say, “whoa!” The look on everyone’s faces perfectly illustrated this (great direction and non-verbal acting in this scene). This set up was wonderfully followed through with the “confrontation” between Daniel and Kalek. And, yes, when Kalek tells Daniel that one of them would have the “pleasure” of killing the other, I was pretty sure I knew how this one would end.

Daniel knows this villain well. Drawing not only on his experience with Anubis, but from Shifu’s teaching dream, Daniel knows that no human, no matter how advanced, can resist when they have the genetic memory of the Goa’uld. There is no doubt in his mind that Kalek must die. I enjoyed the fact that it was Daniel who thought to have Sam rig the gate to “call forward” back to Earth in anticipation of what Kalek might do. And the final moment, when it is Daniel’s shot that seals Kalek’s fate marks the moment when Daniel has finally defeated the hated Anubis, but his own demons from the Shifu dream as well. The classic symmetry: Oma (the “mother”) vs. Anubis, and Daniel (her surrogate son) defeating Kalek (Anubis’ offspring).

Now, as to the irony in the episode:

Most obviously, is the fact that Daniel, the last person you’d expect to advocate for the death of another living being, is not only the first one to see the necessity, but realizes, I think, from that first confrontation, that he will ultimately be the instrument of Kalek’s death. I don’t see it as out of character for Daniel at all. He isn’t as innocent as he once was; how could he be after all he’s seen. But that doesn’t mean the idealistic Daniel isn’t still there. We saw that clearly in “Avalon” earlier this season. And we see very clearly at the end of the episode how heavily the decision weighed upon his conscience. And yet it was something he knew he had to do. It was the right thing to do, no matter how hard. The greatest irony is that in this instance doing the right thing (a VERY Danielesque trait) was to kill.

Not only in Daniel do we get to see irony, but also, strangely enough, in Woolsey. I really like Woolsey. Okay, yes it’s kind of a love/hate relationship, but… Someone earlier called him an antagonist, and I believe that’s an important distinction. He isn’t a villain. He’s a man with a conscience who is trying to do the right thing, but is innately flawed in his judgments. He’s so determined to prove that he’s right, but deep down I think this is a VERY insecure man. His saving grace is, he has a conscience. Unlike Kinsey, he isn’t an evil, power-hungry man. And that makes him much more interesting. It provides an excellent counterpoint in this story with Kalek who is purely evil.

It’s highly ironic that in this episode, he is promoting the very thing he took General Hammond to task over: unacceptable risk to human lives. This time, he is the one advocating taking the chance to gain knowledge. His conflict with Daniel in this case is almost a direct opposite of the one in the interview room in “Heroes.” I think perhaps this irony isn’t lost on either of them in the elevator scene at the end of the episode.

I must give kudos all around for this episode. The story was wonderfully crafted for action and character development and the direction was executed to maximize both. The acting from Michael Shanks and Robert Picardo was outstanding. The rest of the cast also rose to the challenge. There were a lot of subtle moments that made the story work. And Neil Jackson was satisfyingly creepy in his portrayal of “son of evil.”

Now you see why I don’t post very often. I get very longwinded! Hopefully my analysis was worth the read. Thanks for your time.

[Amakusa]

I think about how this episode ended, and how similar it was to the ending of that one episode with the girl that made the Replicators. Cam channeling Jack and shooting without hesitation, and Daniel not bothering to try and reason with the ultimate evil. Then I think back to the Recliner of Rage and how much that isn't true anymore.

This might be the first time in a long time where I can actually appreciate the character of Dr. Daniel Jackson.

[White Knight]

Woah! Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah!
That was intense! Definatly the best episode of the season, and one of the best in a long while. The actor who played Khalek was brilliant, delightfully snooty and evil. It was good to see Woolsey back ("Can I call you Dick?") and hope to see more of him this season. And throughout the episode, I honestly couldn't guess how it was going to end. It was dramatic, it had thrills, it had action...9 out of 10. Definatly the best episode of the season.

And Neetz; good analysis. I hadn't thought of the episode like that, but now I see the parallels and ironys...good job.

[Pharaoh Atem]

[SIZE=5]this was a very well done episode i think the reason daniel was acting like jack because this would had been a good episode for jack and there needed someone who would give it that feel or maybe daniel is so worried about making things worse that he could only think about what would jack do

[warmbeachbrat]

Does anyone know if Altman was among those killed? Stargate has such a wonderful batch of recurring supporting characters, and I thought he would make a great addition. I could see him being a nice backup to Sam and Dr. Lee when they are tinkering with new technology.

[AGateFan]

Does anyone know if Altman was among those killed? Stargate has such a wonderful batch of recurring supporting characters, and I thought he would make a great addition. I could see him being a nice backup to Sam and Dr. Lee when they are tinkering with new technology.

I think the only ones killed were unnamed SFs.

[Droops]

I really liked this episode. I like Woolsey and he plays a great character in this episode. He's a straight shooter, trying to do what's right. He isn't always right but he's willing to admit his mistakes. Great recurring character.

Wonderful team dynamic. Everyone was doing what they should be doing. I still think that AT is a bit off, but not much. Everyone was great.

Daniel being hard-core was a welcomed change, and I loved the way MS played it. He knows, he understands, and he was willing to make the hard choices. Great stuff.

I wasn't as interested in the Goa'uld stuff as I was learning more about the Ancients and ascension. Given the next episode, this was important buildup and explanation.

My only nit is that Khalik said that one of them (he or Daniel) would experience the pleasure of killing. Well they both did. Small plot hole.

Otherwise, great stuff.

[jyh]

My only nit is that Khalik said that one of them (he or Daniel) would experience the pleasure of killing. Well they both did. Small plot hole.

Otherwise, great stuff.

I agree that this episode was EXCELLENT. Kudos to the writers, and KEEP IT UP!!!

As for the "plot hole," I think what Khalik meant about the "joy of killing" was in DELIBERATELY killing someone. The killing he did at the SGC was simply because the Air Force personnel got in his way and he had to deal with them. Most of the time he didn't kill anyone, he just "flung" them away. On the other hand, Daniel did DELIBERATELY and INTENTIONALLY kill Khalik, as Khalik predicted one of them would.

One thing, though... we didn't see it, but did Khalik make those soldiers outside the gateroom shoot themselves? All we could hear was shooting and screaming. If that's what he did, that was deliberate, and he might have gotten some jollies from that, but even if he did, those jollies turned to confusion when he found he'd been shot & was getting lead pumped into him. Go, Daniel!!!

I loved the fact that SG-1 was a team again, even if Daniel & Teal'c spent more time on the planet than Carter & Mitchell. Loved Daniel's "new guy" comment, and my son had to pause the episode because he & I were laughing so hard at "ascendometer."

Was it my imagination, or did Khalik only "hear" Carter & Daniel once he was attached to the ascendometer? That's when we first saw it, anyway. I would think that he would have been so inundated by hearing everyone's thoughts and conversations that he would have been distracted or overwhelmed.

[macktheknife]

Could have used a darker ending, example:

After he gets returned.

Mitchel shoots and gets his shots blocked, he gets flung down.

Khalek looks down, sees the blood etc etc.

Daniel keeps shooting, and Khalek goes down and Daniel goes to check he's dead, and he gets Throat grabbed, and Khalek says something to the effect of "do it, you know you have to", and then daniel aims the pistol at Khaleks head then cut away and boom.