The Torment of the Tantalus

“This is meaning of life stuff.”

Wow, everything about this episode was so good. There was a great team dynamic, the story about Ernest was intriguing, the element room was beautiful, and there were a number of touching and humorous moments woven into the story. Hell, Sam even looked a little bit cuter than she normally does. I loved this episode. 

It starts with Daniel watching experiments the government did on the gate in 1945. To his surprise, they managed to activate and send a scientist through the gate fifty years ago. He decides to ask Katherine why she didn’t tell him about this before. 

Katherine didn’t know the 1945 experiments had succeeded or that her fiancé, Ernest Littlefield, was the one who went through the gate. She was told Ernest died in an accident and the program was shut down. With the old film footage, the team is able to determine where Ernest went. Then they convinced General Hammond to let Katherine accompany them on the mission. 

The emotions were just right throughout this episode. Katherine was excited about seeing Ernest again, but her excitement was tempered by the somber reality of his disappearance. The interactions between Jack and Daniel were great examples of each character’s best attributes. Jack was a pragmatist and thought about the team’s safety, while Daniel was captivated by the possibilities of their discovery. Poor Ernest could hardly believe his visitors were real and saved Daniel from making his mistake. Sam and Teal’c were involved in some comical moments that nicely counterbalanced the poignant story. 

Yes, this was classic Stargate SG-1. 

My Rating: 10/10