Zero Hour (804)

[Livi2Jack]

Couldn't he potentially get Hammond in trouble by doing that? Or did he take Gilmor to be a sincere convert to the Cult of Jack Worship and trusted him not to tell his superiors that "Hammond warned him"?

Oh c'mon, of course he knew it would be repeated. He has played the system by sending the message back that he KNEW...can't put one over on General Jack!

The surest way to know it would be repeated was to ask that it NOT be repeated.

[Nikkirose]

Spoilers for Zero Hour (duh)
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Ok here goes my take on last night's episode(its gonna be kinda long so bare with me)

Liked it a WHOLE lot better than Lockdown(plus it had a lot more Jack in it and thats always a great thing!!).
LOVED the Walter scenes with O'Neill (I agree it was just like how Radar/Blake were)
Glad to see Davis back, Dr. Lee was good too.
Loved all of Jack's lines mostly (I know most of these have been mentioned):
-Its a plant!
-Snippiness!
-It's that damn plant!
-'Ol Camel A$$! (had me laughing the rest of last night into today. My coworkers thought I had finally lost my mind from all the stress! I so wanna know who's idea it was to put that in the script!)
-Ba'al, of course I dare mock you!!
-It's what I do. (LOVED that)
-sizable...and shiny shoes.
-Cammy
-Oh pishaw(sp?)!
-Teal'c said you were an animal. (ok mind went into gutter with that comment between J/S).

That plant idea was great, I liked how it wasnt just a plant episode (I think it would have 'warn out' its welcome after a while, meaning on screen)
Even though I knew O'Neill wasnt gonna retire, I still for some dumb reason thought he was gonna do it! We need to see more of Siler and Walter in future episodes they were both just too funny! Ok Teal'c and his smiling all though welcome, kinda creepy when they were in Carter's office!

[DarkQuee1]

Well, first off... WELCOME!
LOL, way to start out! Start an argument with your first post

Except I actually agree with you... I was thinking the same thing - how come we get all this RDA when he's only on set 3 days 3 weeks a month?? (keep it up!). I'll take as much Jack-out-of water as I can, saving up for later in the season.

Because he's going to be a two-minutes or less presence in at least the next four eps.


J.

[DarkQuee1]

Loved it!
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Best ep of the season so far (I needed this to keep me going through at least the next 4. I may be pleasantly surprised, but right now they sound boring, unoriginal, going nowhere and way too Jack-lite). Like NO, this again reminded me that a strong Jack O'Neill presence is integral to the success of the show (and an ep) for me.


Loved the plant. Too bad we can't send *that* to the Goa'uld. (Liked the "Urgo" music playing over some of the plant scenes.) Loved the "Seymour" reference!

It's clear that Jack has instilled a certain, um, "respect" in his subordinates: neither Lee nor Gilmore particularly wanted to beard the cranky, two-days-without-sleep lion.

"He's not like other people." (Way to go, Walter!)

Got pretty ticked with SG-1 in general (and Daniel in particular) at the beginning. SG-1 seriously needs to get over itself. They were quite able to see that Jack was on the red phone, meaning he was talking to someone in Washington. Maybe he should have told the President or the Pentagon to buzz off, so that SG-1 wouldn't have to wait. And not only was Daniel "snippy", but he also jumped right over Sam when Jack addressed the question to her (as she is the CO of the team). At the very least, that was rude, and Sam did not seem too happy about it.

Interesting change in Jack the General from Jack the Colonel, who would probably also have been pushing to go sooner. Jack's learning caution.

Liked that Sam felt insecure after Jack wouldn't let them go through without SG-3 (and I liked that Teal'c and Daniel tried to help)--I suspect that Jack, sending SG-1 on what was probably it's first mission without him, was being a tad overprotective--and I think that Sam's actions on the planet were a reaction to these feelings. At the end, she indicated that she realized her mistake ( and, (a) I suspect it will never happen again, and (b) I'm glad that the writer recognized the problem) and I think this was the reason she didn't get reamed out by Jack. (Who actually got to say, "Pshaw.") That and the way she handled the ambush.

"Teal'c says you were an animal."

The scene between Jack and Sam was one I really liked. As I liked the scene in the gateroom with Reynolds and the base personnel. Very touching.
Also, the scene between Jack, Reynold and Davis, which emphasizes that Jack knows his stuff when it comes to military situations, the demands they entail and consequences of various actions in response.

Liked the letter to Hammond. "I would have tried *harder*."

Liked Jack's switch on the ZPM. Nailed Cammy, didn't he?

Overall, a very enjoyable episode.


J.

[elhSG1]

This was a great episode, nice to see what Jack's day as a general is like, I'm sure it was the same for General Hammond as well when he was in charge. I liked how Jack was writing to Gen. Hammond sort of makes you feel like he is still on the show in a way. Also liked how Sergeant Chevron Guy err... I mean Walter had so many lines, that was cool! The scene at the end with Jack and Sam was nice, looks like they're both confident now in their new positions. I know I won't get too comfortable with Jack being on all the time because that will soon change, darn.

[Ugly Pig]

I'm arriving late to the discussion, because - as usual - I didn't get to see last nights new episode before just now. I've tried to avoid reading anything that's been said about it since it aired, so everything I mention in this post has probably been debated to death already. Nevertheless:

PIGGY'S USELESS OPINION
of 'Zero Hour'

So: What does 'zero hour' mean, anyway? Must me some sort of term I'm not familiar with. Curse the non-English speaking ways of my people! (Not really.) No matter, the 'days' countdown was kind of neat if not very original (which was probably not the point anyway).

I was surprised at just how Jack-heavy last week's episode was. I wouldn't have guessed that this next one would be even more so. The entire episode revolved completely around General Jack. SG-1 were hardly even in it... Has there ever been an episode this Jack-centered?

Not that I'm in any way complaining. The episode rocked! Lots of 'life-around-the-SGC', we got to see how Jack is doing in the 'General' role, we got Baal (who prompted my favorite O'Neillism of the episode: 'Baal, come on. You should know. Of course I dare mock you.'), we got a surprise appearance by Dr. Lee (well, it was a surprise to me!), a brief surprise appearance by Major Davis (which I had definately not expected) and a darkly lit SGC overgrown with a weird-ass green alien plant. What's not to love here?

Another thing, though I expect everyone caught this already, was a line of dialogue which seemed to indicate that Earth still has regular contact with both the rebel Jaffa and the Tok'ra. Not bad. I guess that alliance is not completely dead. I wonder if we'll get to know more about this situation this season? Also of note regarding the Tok'ra: Earth has the Goa'uld symbiote poison, apparantly. Since this was mentioned and didn't really go anywhere, I wonder if this will play a larger part later on... Hmmm...

Well, that's enough rambling about my immediate post-viewing reaction. SG-1 rocked this week (in fact, every episode has rocked thus far this season! Yay!) and I have a new Atlantis episode to watch tomorrow. Life is good!

[Major Fischer]

[QUOTE=Ugly Pig]So: What does 'zero hour' mean, anyway? [QUOTE]

It's a reference to the time of the President's visit, not explained well in the episode, don't feel like you should have got it.

[Ugly Pig]

Y'know, after the disaster that was last season, I wouldn't have thought it possible for the show to be able to recover, but I'm really liking S8 so far.

Maybe season 7 was bad* because the series got renewed too late for the writers to properly plan it. With season 8, they knew it was gonna happen before season 7 even aired.

* Of course, I know season 7 wasn't bad. I'm just playing into your delusions.

It's a reference to the time of the President's visit, not explained well in the episode, don't feel like you should have got it.

Ahhh. Thanks.

[ShadowMaat]

From dictionary.com

zero hour n. The scheduled time for the start of an operation or action, especially a combat operation of great size. Also called H-hour.

n. The time set for the start of an action or operation

[Ugly Pig]

zero hour n. The scheduled time for the start of an operation or action, especially a combat operation of great size. Also called H-hour.

n. The time set for the start of an action or operation

Ahh. Well, that makes sense. And the "operation or action" in this case was obviously the President's visit. Got it now.

[ShadowMaat]

Ahh. Well, that makes sense. And the "operation or action" in this case was obviously the President's visit. Got it now.

Just to put it in context for you. It's military slang.

As for the "poor planning" of S7, I still say that excuse only works for so long... and it doesn't explain why, with few exceptions, the entire season was weak. My opinion, of course, but there ya go.

[Tokraed]

The way the scene played I got the feeling Jack was fibbing....that he had figured it out but he laid it on Hammond for telling him. All through the episode they would cut to Jack when the asst. would ask something Jack thought was a bit off. So my first thought was once again Jack was letting someone think he wasn't as clever as he really is.

I can see Hammond telling Jack that there was someone coming to evaluate him for the President. Jack is, after all Hammond's protege. He wants Jack to succeed and knows Jack can do the job. However, I don't think Jack knew about it until he got that call from Hammond just before the briefing with SG1, though I think Jack was naturally suspicious when he was assigned a CIA spook by Hammond.

Maybe it's just me ... and it probably is ... but I have never seen Jack as being dumb. His quick wit and sharp tongue throughout the entire series is proof of his intelligence and cleverness. Playing dumb, goofy or even provoking someone -- in some instances -- is a good way to size up a person and Jack is very good at measuring people.

As long as things are in his area of expertise, Jack is extremely quick. If it's out of his field, it takes him a while to pick up on things. Remember, he is the commanding officer and in charge of the entire team. He doesn't HAVE to be up on the last developments in the field of astrophysics or study ancient languages and cultures. He delegates that authority to the authorities, which is Sam and Daniel. Jack's job is to separate the wheat from the all the technobabble chaff in order to get the job done. During the course of the series, Jack has started to pick up more and more on what Sam and Daniel are doing, but he still has to balance that with the needs of the entire team and the mission.

The problem with Jack as General O'Neill is that he's now stuck with all those boring, dull, tedious jobs that make sure all that chaff is properly swept up and that the wheat is put to good use, which is all the things he used to play dumb about to get out of doing when he was just a Colonel.

This was a great episode for Jack's character development. He was thrown into the deep end of the Responsibility Pool. SG1 couldn't help him out and Hammond couldn't shield him. I thought one of the best bits in the show [and the show was fantastic] was Jack's writing the letter to Hammond and being called into the Gate Room to find out he had the support of the entire SGC, no matter what he chose to do.

[ShadowMaat]

OK, did I miss something or is the info on eBay wrong?

Stargateprops/Legends Memorabilia has another Stargate auction going. One of the items being auctioned is a distressed technician's costume. It says it's from Zero Hour, but I'm guessing it might be from Avatar, so I'm gonna include SPOILER SPACE for that ep just in case.
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The item description reads:
This terrific costume was one of two received from the SG-1 costume department with the following identification 'EP 805' Zero Hour ' B Camera Roll ' Piere Bernard ' Technician #2 ' Blasted & Bloody'. As we have only a preliminary outline of this episode, which indicates Piere Bernard portrayed character 'Sergeant O'Brien', we can offer no additional information on the character or scene(s) in which this costume was utilized. The costume is a navy blue overall complete with adjustable waist, multiple pockets and zippers. Velcro areas for patches are evident, but no patches were received. As both costumes was received 'distressed' with faux blood and multiple bullet/blast or knife holes, we presume that both were definitely screen used.

Piere Bernard was the Recliner of Rage guy, right? And he was in Zero Hour? But did I fall asleep and miss his climactic death scene or is this from another ep? I know (or suspect) there are a lot of people getting "killed" in Avatar. Is it possible that Piere is gonna be in TWO eps, or is this maybe someone else's uniform? Like Wally's?

Either that or there is some very interesting stuff cut out of Zero Hour.

[Major Fischer]

He was killed in a skit for the Conan O'Brian show, not in Zero Hour. It could be seen in the Lowdown special. All he got to do in Zero Hour was say "Unschedualed Offworld Activation."

[chevron57]

Miiiiiild spoiler for Zero Hour
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OK, early on, Walllll-ter guiding Jack through his daily agenda.... Jack and Wallll-ter walk in on a couple of Air Force blues and a guy in a suit. Jack says something like, John, don't you know this is the most secure military facility on the planet? "John" says, well actually sir there are still a few issues to be resolved. Walllll-ter says, 10-hundred hours.

OK, are we supposed to be puzzled by this or do we know what this is about? Is it about the zero hour visit and the bunting and all that?

Thanks.