Upgrades

The magic armbands were silly, but I was able to overlook them enough to enjoy the episode. Both General Hammond and Dr. Fraiser had big roles. We also saw the Tok’ra don’t always have our best interests in mind. The team even managed to blow up one of Apophis’s ships along the way.

Eh, Anise. She might be the ultimate foxy space lady. I actually thought she was an interesting character, but yeah, her outfits were over the top. They made her a distraction and hurt the show. I can’t believe I’m arguing against a scantily clad, highly attractive woman.

Jack was in fine form. It was good to see Teal’c and him boxing again. I loved how he kicked out a chunk of Hammond’s office. My favorite line: After Anise determined he had five times a normal human’s strength, “So, no increase then, huh?”

There were two things that bothered me about this episode. The first was Sam’s face when she realized she couldn’t take the armband off. It struck me as one of those unintentionally funny and overly dramatic moments. The other was how the bar fight started. Some guy called Daniel a geek, which was odd, because that might have been the hippest Daniel ever looked. Plus, who calls someone a geek?

My Rating: 6/10

The Fifth Race

This episode is one of my perennial favorites. There was practically no action in it, but the plot was compelling, dramatic, humorous, and uplifting. I always felt like this episode defined the ultimate story arc for the series. It made the show about something grander than just blowing up evil spacemen and gave the audience hope for the future. Yes, I’m gushing. 

Jack managed to get his head stuck in an Ancient Repository of Knowledge. After he passed out and was transported back to Earth, he seemed to be his normal, grumpy self. However, he slowly started to use alien words within his normal speech. He then reprogrammed the base’s computer system to add a set of new stargate addresses and built what appeared to be a humming nightlight. 

Jack had little control over his actions, and he eventually lost the ability to communicate. As the computer automatically started to dial an eight-symbol address, Jack hooked his nightlight into the base’s electric system. The extra power allowed him to travel to a different galaxy for help. 

Jack made contact with the Asgard, who removed the overwhelming information from his head. They explained that humans had great potential and were impressed that Jack could subconsciously control the Ancient database. They even suggested that humans could one day join the Asgard, the Nox, the Ancients, and the Furlings as the fifth race. 

The little moments were great in this episode, too. Teal’c learned about boxing while Jack danced around in a codpiece. Daniel and Jack had one of their silly “No, I didn’t/ Yes, you did” moments, but you also saw how much Daniel cared for and trusted Jack. And I loved the little shoulder shrug Jack gave Sam when his plans fixed the DHD.   

My Rating: 10/10