Hi everyone. For the first time ever, that's right, EVER, I am watching SG1 on DVD. I've never seen the series on television apart from the Kurt Russel film back in the mid 1990's which I saw at the pictures and enjoyed. Since then i've devoted my time to Doctor Who and Star Trek. But, i've become curious and want to cross through the gate. This thread will be dedicated to my entire journey through SG1. I will try and restrain myself by watching 1 ep per week. So far, i've seen three.
Here we go:
1.1/1.2: Children of the Gods (2 part pilot)
It was interesting to see that they actually continued the story some time after the movie was set rather than re-writing the movie as the pilot. This generally worked quite well, though I felt some times there were too many references to the film, more than was necessary for existing fans to establish the link. I think for a casual viewer, this may have been a little esoteric and vague. But it was generally handled quite well.
All round, performances were quite good. Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks worked off one another quite convincingly as former collaborators. Amanda Tapping did a good job of breaking up the masculine dominance of the military without being *****y or whiny. Instead, she undermined them with her professional background and wit.
The CGI still looks quite good. When compared to an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or Voyager, SG1's CGI looks more realistic and less "plasticated" when combined with real filmography.
Overall, an enjoyable first episode which would have no doubt been difficult to write and piece together.
4 out of 5.
1.3: The Enemy Within
This episodes follows from the events of Children of Gods where it was revealled at the end of the mission, Kawalsky was infected with a Goa'uld. Kowalsky is a very likeable character and I felt a lot of empathy for him while in his condition. While the story at times was predictable, I was genuinly surprised when the Goa'uld seemed to be removed. There was much to like and dislike about this.
I liked the idea of the Goa'uld being defeatable and I also liked them being more of a menace than they originally presented themselves to be. The episode leaves SG1 with an impression that they still have much to learn about their adversaries and no matter how talented they are in their roles, they are all defeatable. As a negative, I was disappointed to see Kowalsky killed off this early in the peace. It seemed like a waste of such a good character that was set up in the pilot episode. However, I suppose that this does represent the Goa'uld as a new threat to Earth which weren't to be taken lightly.
Finally, I also felt that Kowalsky's death was sudden and moved on a little quite. Although Jack states "my friend died on the operating table", they just seemed very quick to move onto the next thing. WHile I wouldn't want them to dwell on it, I think this would have been a great opportunity for character development in terms of their attitudes toward the Goa'uld.
Overall, a great episode.
4 out of 5.
1.4: Emancipation
This is where the series takes a break from the Earth/Goa'uld situation and focuses more on the exploration side of things. This episode deals with the concept of interfering with the development of other cultures and the role of gender in society.
The SG1 team arrive in a Mongolian type world where women are seen as second rate and do not share the same privilleges as men. They are either slaves or commodities for trade. Upon their arrival, Samantha Carter is given first hand experience of what this is like. The story follows her capture and journey through this system to which she eventually challenges it in the hope of bringing change.
The episode carries a very promising concept. Does the team sacrafice the life of 1 to save many or do they intent to bring a change to the development of a culture that they have never met? This is certainly a big question. Though the decision was reached at a little suddenly, it did allow Samantha Carter's character to blossom somewhat and show her less professional side and instead accentuate her compassionate, feminine edge.
The episode was also well written and directed. There was just the right amount of action and dialogue. Though more debate about the role of the SG1 team in the situation would have been welcome rather than the "no, we really can't do this", "no, we really should" type of approach. However, in the 45 minutes that they had to tell this story in, it satisfies quite well and shows that there is more to the series than simply Human v Goa'uld.
4 out of 5
(Terribly consistent so far, isn't it? )
Here we go:
1.1/1.2: Children of the Gods (2 part pilot)
It was interesting to see that they actually continued the story some time after the movie was set rather than re-writing the movie as the pilot. This generally worked quite well, though I felt some times there were too many references to the film, more than was necessary for existing fans to establish the link. I think for a casual viewer, this may have been a little esoteric and vague. But it was generally handled quite well.
All round, performances were quite good. Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks worked off one another quite convincingly as former collaborators. Amanda Tapping did a good job of breaking up the masculine dominance of the military without being *****y or whiny. Instead, she undermined them with her professional background and wit.
The CGI still looks quite good. When compared to an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or Voyager, SG1's CGI looks more realistic and less "plasticated" when combined with real filmography.
Overall, an enjoyable first episode which would have no doubt been difficult to write and piece together.
4 out of 5.
1.3: The Enemy Within
This episodes follows from the events of Children of Gods where it was revealled at the end of the mission, Kawalsky was infected with a Goa'uld. Kowalsky is a very likeable character and I felt a lot of empathy for him while in his condition. While the story at times was predictable, I was genuinly surprised when the Goa'uld seemed to be removed. There was much to like and dislike about this.
I liked the idea of the Goa'uld being defeatable and I also liked them being more of a menace than they originally presented themselves to be. The episode leaves SG1 with an impression that they still have much to learn about their adversaries and no matter how talented they are in their roles, they are all defeatable. As a negative, I was disappointed to see Kowalsky killed off this early in the peace. It seemed like a waste of such a good character that was set up in the pilot episode. However, I suppose that this does represent the Goa'uld as a new threat to Earth which weren't to be taken lightly.
Finally, I also felt that Kowalsky's death was sudden and moved on a little quite. Although Jack states "my friend died on the operating table", they just seemed very quick to move onto the next thing. WHile I wouldn't want them to dwell on it, I think this would have been a great opportunity for character development in terms of their attitudes toward the Goa'uld.
Overall, a great episode.
4 out of 5.
1.4: Emancipation
This is where the series takes a break from the Earth/Goa'uld situation and focuses more on the exploration side of things. This episode deals with the concept of interfering with the development of other cultures and the role of gender in society.
The SG1 team arrive in a Mongolian type world where women are seen as second rate and do not share the same privilleges as men. They are either slaves or commodities for trade. Upon their arrival, Samantha Carter is given first hand experience of what this is like. The story follows her capture and journey through this system to which she eventually challenges it in the hope of bringing change.
The episode carries a very promising concept. Does the team sacrafice the life of 1 to save many or do they intent to bring a change to the development of a culture that they have never met? This is certainly a big question. Though the decision was reached at a little suddenly, it did allow Samantha Carter's character to blossom somewhat and show her less professional side and instead accentuate her compassionate, feminine edge.
The episode was also well written and directed. There was just the right amount of action and dialogue. Though more debate about the role of the SG1 team in the situation would have been welcome rather than the "no, we really can't do this", "no, we really should" type of approach. However, in the 45 minutes that they had to tell this story in, it satisfies quite well and shows that there is more to the series than simply Human v Goa'uld.
4 out of 5
(Terribly consistent so far, isn't it? )
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