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**entil2001** · 19 August 2006, 10:12 AM

This is the kind of episode that is quite impossible to review, because the plot is merely a device for celebration of an unusual and amazing accomplishment. Considering how close the series has come to cancellation over the years (essentially, every season since the fifth season), who could have predicted that 200 episodes would be a possibility? And really, how else to celebrate, if not by tongue-in-cheek self-mockery?

Inevitably, there will be complaints. Some will complain that Jack should have been around more, or that Mitchell and Vala were still prominently in the episode. Those would be the fans who would have rather seen the series end than continue on with new characters. Of course, the writers and producers manage to make light of their own decision to keep going. Relatively few targets are left untouched, from the cast, writers, producers, and network. Even so, I’ve seen some who feel deeply insulted by the episode. It’s hard to understand why, and I would have to wonder if those fans missed the point.

A lot of the sketches are hit-or-miss, as one would expect when nearly every writer on the staff gets to play. For my part, I loved the “Thunderbirds/Team America” version of the team, complete with the biting mockery of the dialogue. By the time Daniel was scribbling all over the computer screen, I was laughing hysterically. The Star Trek and Farscape vignettes were also highly appreciated, and I loved the end of the episode, with the writers really giving it to the cast (and from what I hear, it was all taken in good fun).

If anything, I was sad to see it all come to an end. Some of the sketches could have been longer; I’d love to see the outtakes from this episode! From my perspective, the only way to make something so off-format work is to ground it heavily in the continuity (the excellent “Buffy” extravaganza “Once More, With Feeling”) or make it something completely stand-alone (the banner “X-Files” episode “Jose Chung’s ‘From Outer Space’”). “200” definitely falls into the latter category, and it does a nice job of it.

With this celebration out of the way, there’s every reason to believe that the season arc will return with a vengeance in the next episode. I look forward to it, since this has been one of the most consistent seasons of the series, in terms of plot arc progression, since the series began. When the episodes have strayed, the results have been mixed. This is the rare exception: a stand-alone that tries to be nothing but entertaining and celebratory. I feel that it more than met that goal, and I congratulate the cast, crew, and production staff on a banner achievement.

**Gategoer101** · 19 August 2006, 02:15 PM

Episode "200" showed audiences how fun and creative Stargate SG-1 could be, however, since all writers wrote this episode, there were some parts in which became boring or not humorous at all.

Starting off, the Previously on episode "200" was great. I love how they brought back "Wormhole X-Treme" and Marty to refresh the audience on what this episode was going to be about. Then, it jumped into a mission to the Furling's planet and how SG-1 screwed up their planet big time! As soon as Daniel was shaking the hand of a Furling I had to think, did I miss an episode or something? Then, I realized they made it all up, that was creative and funny! Cameron's storyline about the zombies was good, but not really that humorous. I found that O'Neill being invisible was cool! It was entertaining and enjoyable, it shown how O'Neill used to get along with the rest of SG-1 in the classic episodes.

Throughout the episode, though, it kind of became a bit boring. Most of the time, SG-1 and Marty were just sitting there thinking of ideas. I was kind of hoping for SG-1 to go to the "Wormhole X-Treme" set or to another planet with Marty in order to help him with his movie. I found that the characters just sitting there most of the time slowed the episode and caused a few new viewers to switch the station, who saw it advertised in TV Guide. Overall, though, it was creative and entertaining.

Two thumbs up for the 200th Episode Special before the SG-1 Episode came on. I loved the humor between Walter and all the cast and crew, now that's great writing! I wished that writer wrote a few more scenes in the episode itself.

I felt that the puppet scene with Don S. Davis, on "200" was the most creative above everything else. I know those puppets cost between $600 and 1,000 dollars a piece and using them to spoof "Team America" was an awesome surprise! Some mentioned it was too long, but I felt that it was written the best out of it all. Also, the "Star Trek" scene, "Shaggy Dog" Scene, and "Wizard of Oz" were pretty decent too. The Wedding Scene finally showed how Carter felt about O'Neill visually and I loved how she was late; this, leaving Daniel feeling worried about others thinking he was actually marrying O'Neill, fun spin! I felt the ending was corny, but the gate music made up for it. I felt the worst part of the entire show was the "Wormhole X-Treme" cast/crew interviews. They were a lot, funnier on the 100th episode; this time they seemed bored and the cursing and bleeping didn't help! I would have loved to either see the 200th party on the other side of the gate.

Overall, the episode really was an SNL that was just okay and not on the floor laughing humor. I honestly expected more because of the advertising everwhere but it was alright. I love corny comedy, but this might have been a bit over the top. I'm glad they all expressed themselves, including the writers, but they could have honesty have come up with something better. Having the SGC taken over by aliens and having Marty and O'Neill save SG-1: then use that as a movie idea; or have SG-1 play extras as the movie is being made; or even have Ba'al kidnap General O'Neill and have Marty accompany SG-1 on a fun and hilarious rescue mission, similar to "The Other Guys". Long story short, it was creative and fun to watch, but there should have been less board room talking and more fun skits on the way!

**Carl** · 22 August 2006, 01:43 PM

This episode will go down in Stargate history as personifying everything that SG-1 does and always has stood for over the past decade. Watching it today was made even more difficult by the news that SG-1 has now been cancelled and the news also gave me the ability to read into a few of the lines and scenes and wonder if TPTB already knew their series was coming to its end when writing it.

It is impossible to review this episode by plotline, story or character development as there simply isn't any to hear of. Instead what you have is a collection of weird and wonderful scenes, each written by a different member of the SG-1 writing staff. Each and every one, in my opinion, had its own great qualities and the humour was endless. My favourites though would have to be the Furlings, puppets and Farscape scenes. The puppets scene was brilliant simply for the way it was executed and the way it perfectly presented the early years of the show and the shape its taken since. Also, theres just no denying that the General Hammond puppet was absolutely adorable, as was his personality.

As well as these glimpses into the world of SG-1 there was non-stop jokes, puns and remarks concerning the series, its writers, actors, history and so much more. The writing here doesn't display excitement, action or emotion but a wonderful ability to capture the most quirky aspects of SG-1 and use them in a subtly humorous way. This was done throughout the entire 40 minutes and most were easily capable of putting a grin on the avid fan's face if not making him/she laugh out loud. Among my favourites in that regard were Vala's "sexy alien" remarks, the opening sequence, Jack O'Neill's "invisibility" and the explosion discussion.

Finally on the "plus side" - the ending of the show was brilliant. I am not ashamed to say I had a couple of tears trickling down my cheek when they all walked up the ramp. Seeing the REAL & ORIGINAL SG-1 go first, followed by the later additions, was the icing on a very tasty cake and really got me going. I hope they repeat something of this sort for the end of the series.

All that said, I would never say that I can't see where the dislike for this episode is coming from. The episode does restrict its audience by stretching itself into the totally bizarre a little too much. There are some fans, especially those who haven't seen every episode 10 times, who just couldn't connect with this episode on the same level that I did. You had to be someone who visited Gateworld and took part in discussions concerning plot holes, explosions, characters, stories etc. etc. in order to understand a portion of the comments... and had to watch the SG-1 behind-the-scenes material and know a good deal of the series history to understand the other portion. It is a shame that the writers didn't consider a two-part 200th episode celebration and done this one as well as an EPIC and plot-progressing episode to keep fans happy and give one up to the "new" SG-1.

When all is said and done, this episode is brilliant. It seemed like such a wild idea but I am so glad that the SG-1 team decided to stick with it and do it in order to celebrate the record milestone in a way that no other sci-fi series ever could. It is SG-1's link to realworld Earth that allowed this 200th episode to be so unique and that is why it is better than a "slightly-above-average" episode which blends in with all the others.
With SG-1 ending at the end of series 10 [maybe..] its nice to know that us fans will have some frame of reference for all that Stargate is and will be - episode "200." It allows us to laugh at the series along with its creators, allows us to see things in a new and totally hilarious way and allows us to witness things we could never witness in a real episode [i.e. marriage of Jack & Sam, Furlings]. Episode "200" is a wild success... if you are willing to go and along with it, enjoy it and reminisce with it.

Rating: 10/10 - A perfect way to mark the last decade of SG-1 in all its glory, humour and sci-fi cliche. A shame the Ori or Ancients didn't make a cameo appearance but it doesn't really damage this ocean of laughs and fond memories. Long Live SG-1!!

**Rachel500** · 23 November 2006, 07:38 AM

In light of the recent cancellation news watching SG1’s 200th episode was a bittersweet experience with the jokes of TV movies and cancellation/renewals of a TV series seeming oddly prophetic even though the reference is to SG1’s past not future. Setting this aside, 200 provides an amusing summary of the show’s history while poking fun at itself and its fans on one hand, and at the television business and sci-fi in general on the other. However, in delivering nicely executed individual set pieces it fails to deliver a cohesive whole with a disappointing ending.

200 is definitely an individual experience; the viewer is either going to love it or hate it depending on their own personal preferences and sense of humour. Having always sat in the camp which would have preferred the milestone episodes to be spectacles that showcase what great stories Stargate SG1 can tell, the news that 200 was to be another comedy piece with reference to the Wormhole X-treme nonsense of the 100th show filled me with trepidation, so I was somewhat surprised to find myself actually enjoying it.

The montage of sketches is well done within its flimsy excuse of giving advice to Martin Lloyd on his Wormhole X-treme movie script. There are a lot of pot shots at the show and its fans packed into the scenes; the convenient use of beaming, the cell phone coverage in the mountain, body-swapping, Mitchell single-handedly saving the planet, not mentioning the departed lead character, the inclusion of a sexy alien female, Sam’s technobabble, the long wait for Sam and Jack to finally get together…the list is endless and as a fan, there was a tremendous amount of satisfaction in identifying and getting the references and hence the joke.

The sketches themselves are well-executed; the attention to detail tremendous, the scenery and costumes fantastic and the cast and crew seem to have had tremendous fun putting them together. Some of them are just plain laugh out loud funny although this is a matter of personal taste; Teal’c as PI and the whole puppet sequence, but especially Don S Davis’s performance as General Hammond, get my vote as the funniest.

On a slightly more serious note, there were two sequences that showcased SG1 as a team; the original team dynamic was shown to perfection in the Invisible!Jack sequence and brought back a wave of nostalgia for the old days while the new team dynamic was equally highlighted in the Punk’d sequence and provided hope for the continuation of the team-feel that they have established this season so well. It was also great to see both versions of the teams united for the power walk through the gate and I admit to a warm, fuzziness when they all disappeared into the blue horizon.

The next reaction however was to look at the time and utter the word ‘huh?’ That moment had such a powerful emotional tug that it was a complete surprise that it wasn’t the end. The last segment of Wormhole X-treme cast and crew interviews was a little jarring; it detracted completely from the warm fuzziness of the ending with the SG1 characters going through the gate and instead created irritation with the Isaac Asimov quote an abrupt serious ending to what was otherwise complete silliness. Further, it made the whole episode, which was already clinging to the thin thread of movie advice to give it some semblance of cohesion by the skin of its teeth, feel incredibly disjointed. It’s a shame because that ending gives the impression that it wasn’t written with entertaining the audience in mind but actually primarily for the cast and crew. As a viewer I feel a little cheated; as a fan it feels a little churlish to moan over the makers of the show using some time on their 200th outing to have a moment of fun just for themselves.

The whole of 200 is not meant to be anything but fun. All is done with tongue firmly in cheek, although some bits with more love than others, and with the knowledge that nothing is to be taken seriously; not the sketches nor the seemingly ‘real’ bit of the team giving Marty feedback. Indeed, the show breaks down the suspension of disbelief at various times; the SG1 theme used as background music in the wedding sequence, the references to trailers, commercials, jumping the shark, the sudden wardrobe change of Walter. With this in mind, perhaps it doesn’t matter that it does feel disjointed and that the ending is a whimper rather than a bang.

The episode does showcase Stargate SG1 – maybe not in the way some including myself would have wanted but it does showcase it. It stands completely outside of the normal Stargate universe for me and viewing it as such allows me to enjoy the silliness and the underlying fondness for the show and its characters inherent throughout. In the end, perhaps the best response is to simply say thank you to cast, crew and all involved for 200 hours (and more) of entertainment.

**Madeleine** · 24 November 2006, 05:40 AM

Any 200th Episode is special by definition. It won't automatically be memorable though; to make an episode memorable takes hard work. And not all memorable episodes are momorable for the right reasons.

The 100th episode Wormhole X-treme! was memorable, in many fans' eyes, for ignoring four fifths of the regular cast at the expense of a handfull of guests-of-the-week. It was memorable for spoofing Star Trek not as well as Galaxy Quest did. And for those who were in the know, those who dabbled in online fandom or read the odd copy of TVZone or Dreamwatch, it was memorable for being a feast of in jokes and backslapping for the people known as TPTB. There were several good jokes, but a limp plot and the very memorable flaws kept the episode from approaching the sort of quality that should have shone from an ordinary episode of Stargate, let alone a hundredth episode.

And 200 was announced as a sequel to that. A sequel with puppets. It did not bode well.

But before the first scene was over, it was already clear that one of the most significant flaws of WX was not there to marr 200. That the Stargate characters were going to spend the episode spoofing themselves, and not be spoofed by actors playing actors we didn't have a reason to care for, was the essence and the brilliance of the entire show. Throughout 200 each character had chance after chance to play themselves in the most sublime and ridiculous situations, including several - such as the wedding and the meeting with the Furlings - that have been on assorted fans' wishlists for what seems like aeons.

As SG-1 romped from one sharp but fond parody to the next, with Landry, Thor, Walter and eventually the much missed Jack O'Neill along for the ride, the show was an opportunity for each character to remind us just why we love them so much. Even the back and forth discussion in the SGC's briefing room shone a light on each one; a delightfully snarky Daniel making no secret of his disdain for the task, Sam hiding her reservations behind her customary perky enthusiasm right up until Martin's faux science becomes too much for her; Vala taking to plagarism as naturally albeit not so successfully as to theft; and Teal'c nursing dreams of being Shaft.

Since the failure of WX to utilise the main cast was a large part of the reason for its mediocrity, it's interesting that in 200 some truly inspired humour came from the two sequences where the actors were replaced. When Martin's idea of 'younger, edgier' actors translates to the screen the resulting vapid, venal and hormonal Nu-SG-1 are a scream. The puppet sequence was over-long, but worthwhile for the predictable but hilarious denouement alone.

While references to other shows were scattered liberally throughout, we were never in any doubt this time that Stargate was the main attraction. It was fitting that two of the three SF&F recreations on the show were The Wizard of Oz, source of so many lines in the previous 199 episodes; and Farscape, the obscure little show that Martin had never heard of but which was mocked so lovingly in just a handful of jerky murky frames. And the third recreation was Trek, but hey, it's the godfather of US TV SF so it can't be begrudged its own brief scene.

There was certainly an element of self-indulgence here. Many jokes referred to behind the scenes goings-on, or were the sort of thing that brought a smile to the face whilst breeding the suspicion that if you were some sort of TV executive you'd be not just smiling but roaring with laughter. Still, with the endless supply of jokes that required no special knowledge to enjoy and the myriad references to the show's recent history, these nods to TPTB did not feel intrusive. This was clearly a treat for the actors at least as much as for the writers, and that's good news for viewers. Self indulgence isn't necessarily a bad thing; not if you are indulging everyone else as well.

The plot was not so much threadbare as threadless. You get more plot in a five minute episode of Teletubbies. Does it matter? Not really. We've had nine years of plots, arcs, and stories, so an episode with none of that and lots of fun and frolics can't hurt us this once.

The lack of significant plot freed 200 to go in whatever direction the writers could think of that might provide three or four scenes of entertainment. Many previous comedy episodes have had limited success, tending to rely on a single amusing idea and milking it, sometimes very skillfully; but to base comedy on a single idea is risky and will always alienate the portion of viewers who find the premise unfunny. The beauty of this celebration episode is that if one series of jokes falls flat, there'll be another along in a few minutes that work differently.

It was nice to see nods to the past, notably the re-creation of a scene or two from the movie that spawned the series. And above all, Richard Dean Anderson's return. The delicious Invisible Jack sequence was reminiscent of Window of Opportunity's breezy montage of Jack at play, but his physical presence in the episode was always going to be vital to its success. To have Don S Davis in the show, albeit only his (very distinctive) voice, was an extra treat. But afficionados of the show's early years may have wished for more references to lost characters, such as Janet, Jonas or Apophis; and it's easy to see what should have been cut to let them have what could have been their last, brief, moment in the Stargate canon....

The final act. It was superfluous. It added nothing to the episode, and was laboured, repetitive and unfunny. Happily it was only a few minutes long, but after such a thrilling ride as the first four acts it felt like a hopelessly flat ending, that was just barely salvaged by a quote from Isaac Azimov. Perhaps each of the four spoof actors could have had a single line during the end credits; that wouldn't intrude on the celebration of Stargate that had been the point of the episode.

Nevertheless, the many gentlemen credited as writers gave us a tribute to the show that could entertain long time fans and new recruits alike, and that could be enjoyed by every sector of the fractured Stargate fandom. Not to mention the actors, who were clearly having the time of their lives.

200 will be remembered, and for all the right reasons. Though no episode so funny and so suffused with joy could be memorable enough that I won't feel the need to watch it again, and again, and again. In fact, I'm sure I'll be rewatching this one long after I know every line by heart.

Madeleine W

**The Doctor** · 11 February 2007, 08:22 AM

Well, it's taken me some time to get back into writing reviews but I'm back! First off, 200. Not my best ever, but hope you enjoy it anyway!

Well, the 200th episode which just so happens to be called ‘200’ (those writers are just teeming with creativity). A great episode! I haven’t laughed like that in a long time. But how do you review it? This episode has no storyline to speak off and is simple an excuse for the writers to make fun of everything and everyone. I guess I’ll just take it one scetch at a time.

First off, the main storyline. It’s nice to see Marty again and Willie Nelson portrays him as funny as ever. I really liked the idea of Wormhole X-treme being made into a movie after “it performed well on DVD”. Nice little wink to Firelfy/Serenity, which was of course horribly mistreated for such a fantastic and original show.

So, we finally got to see The Furlings...and blew them up. This was the perfect chance for the writers to make fun of the stupid name and finally put the whole thing to rest. Some might still hope to see the Furlings in the future, but I’m guessing the writers will never mention them again. Rightly so, we have enough interesting species flying around and there’s no time to work another one into the show.

So, Mitchell’s little fight with the zombies. Not really all that funny and definitely not the best one, but the shot of Cam right after the scene made it worth while.

Over to invisible Jack. I loved how Mitchell suggested ‘simply’ replacing the leading man and the rest running with it by mentioning him all the time or talk to him on the phone. The inivisibility was a great idea and who better to run with it than SG1? All three characters did really when acting into thin air, with the best part being Teal’c: “I assume I’m staring at you stoicly.” Of course, it’s always great to have Jack in an episode, even if we can’t see him. I absolutely loved his dry remarks and humour in this scetch and later in the episode.

The big Replicators+Jaffa+ten seconds scene didn’t really add much to the episode, but fortunately it didn’t last that long. Loved the guys bashing the clicking-clock idea. Same goes for the whole Wizard of Oz thing. Quite cute, but not fantastic. Blowing up Cheyenne Mountain: was nice to see it happen at some point, but again not terribly funny. But these were three short clips that do add something and are definitely not a waste of the time.

Then comes the Star Trek scetch, which was absolutely hilarious. I loved Chris’ look when he sees his shirt, but the rest of the scene was just as funny. It felt like Star Trek, especially Ben’s line “can you reverse the...polarity?”. Everyone really seemed to have fun playing a Star Trek character and everyone was so completely over the top, I almost fell out of my chair laughing.

In between, another great line for Teal’c: “I do not understand why everything in this script must inevitably explode...” By the way, Stargate OC? Really funny!

Then comes the most ‘obscure’ reference of the episode: Farscape. I adored it! Originally both Ben and Claudia would take on their old parts, but Michael and Ben decided to switch at the last second. Great call, especially with that look between Claudia and Michael. And didn’t Amanda look really hot as Chiana?

The comes SG1 as Team America. Best thing about this one was definitely Gen. Hammond. The whole thing was worked out so well, making fun of everyone and everything. By the time Daniel was scribbling on the screen, I was laughing so hard my roommate thought something was wrong. Best lines (both Don): ‘we found a ring in the sand”, after Daniel going on about piramides as landing platforms and stuff and off course “I’m the general, I want it to spin! Spinning is so much cooler than not spinning!”

So, Teal’c would like to be a PI? Okay.... The wedding scene was off course for the shippers, but I kind of liked it as well. Mostly because of Daniel’s comment while waiting for Sam to show up. So, after that all you can do is make fun of everything and everyone. Which is always a good thing, because that’s what the SG1 cast and crew do best.

Overall, everyone did an amazing job on this episode. All the actors were at the top of their game and it was quite clear that they were having a great deal of fun! It was an absolute joy to see RDA again shining as the Jack we all know and love. He was being dry, sarcastisch and really funny! I was hoping for some more banter with Daniel, but the one line during the wedding scene completely made up for it. Speaking of Daniel, Michael was also being absolutely hilarious in that sarcastic way he’s picked up since RDA left. Amanda was looking lovely as ever and clearly had fun with her scenes and like I said, Chris had several amazing lines that he delivered with perfect timing. Everyone else did a great job as well and everyone seemed to have been given at least a couple great moments and lines. Even Walter and Siler got some funny lines.

The special effects also looked amazing as well, like we’re used to. I also really liked the different costumes everyone was wearing in the different scenes, both adding another layer of greatness to this episode.

Overall, 200 is a fantastic episode. In the end, Walter and Gen. Landry get to go through the gate and Jack finally gets his cake. I give this episode 8 zombie-Silers out of a possible 5 (yes, it’s that good!)

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