Tangent

First off, I’m sure you noticed the new header. Isn’t it pretty? I deserve none of the credit. Erica had some free time and made it out of the goodness of her heart. How awesome is that?

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“You can’t just slap a US Air Force sticker on the side of a death glider and call it yours.”

This episode reminded me of “Solitudes” a little. Jack and Teal’c were stuck on a death glider, and the rest of the team tried everything possible to save them. Luckily, Jacob Carter was close by on a mission for the Tok’ra.

I thought the strength of this episode came from all the different character interactions. I loved the moments between Sam and Jacob. His little rant and her outraged response felt like a typical argument between a father and a daughter. Teal’c’s speech and Jack’s subtle humor perfectly fit the situation. I also like the desperation of General Hammond and Major Davis.

To me, this episode showed that Earth could rival the Goa’uld one day. They still had a lot to learn, and they were playing with technology they didn’t understand. However, it’s that sense of adventure that makes the show so much fun.

Bonus point for Daniel’s Wizard of Oz reference.

My Rating: 8/10

Urgo

“Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me…”

I love this episode. Every time I watch it, I have a goofy smile on my face from the time Teal’c chugged his coffee to the very end. The show was so well done and so silly that I’m tempted to watch it again right now.

The most important event in this episode might have been that we saw Sam eat blue jello for the first time. Yummy. There was a lot of pie, too. 

I love how Sam grew attached to Urgo. It’s so fitting with her personality. We should meet her Uncle Irving.

Here’s a partial list of my favorite Urgo-isms:

• “He gets confused. By the way, who is Mary Steenburgen?”
  
• “Woof”
  
• “It’s death or me. You have to decide. Me or death.”
  
• “I’m melting, I’m melting.”
  
• In a mocking tone: “Parasite, like Goa’uld”
  
• “As handsome as he is evil.”
  
• “Dad”

My Rating: 10/10

Prisoners

A lot of people associate Stargate with The Wizard of Oz. Strangely, this episode reminded me of that disturbing show that used to run on HBO called Oz. We see the rough and tough dramas of a prison. Teal’c even got shanked. Luckily, we were spared from a shower scene. 

Linea was an interesting character. She was a nice old lady who happened to enjoy the occasional genocide. Living in Florida, I know many people just like her. 

What was up with that hairy diplomat guy from the SGC? We can add him to the list of people Hammond should have kidney punched. 

My Rating: 6/10

Politics

The opening scenes of this episode were surprisingly good, and Jack was in fine form. Within the first ten minutes, he made a Wizard of Oz reference, called someone Sparky, and got General Hammond to laugh. After that, it was just a clip show. 

Senator Kinsey made the interludes interesting. He was infuriatingly self-righteous and smarmy. Like Colonel Maybourne, he’s one of the villains everyone loves to hate. Sadly, he seemed like he would fit perfectly in the current Senate. 

The show ended after Kinsey decided to stop funding the stargate program. All operations were to be stopped immediately. 

My Rating: 4/10

The First Commandment

This episode was the first to hint at Sam’s many dating issues. We meet Jonas, Sam’s sunburnt ex-fiancé, after he has enslaved a race of cave dwellers and declared himself a god. He is in the process of tyrannically working his followers to death in an effort to construct a temple. To be fair to Sam, I doubt any of this was in his Match.com profile when their relationship began.

While Sam and Jonas were getting reacquainted, Jack got caught in the middle of a rather pathetic rescue attempt. Daniel and Teal’c used their time more productively and solved the mystery of the orange sky. They used this information to expose Jonas as a false god and prevent Jack’s execution. The cave dwellers weren’t particularly impressed with the whole working-them-to-death routine, so they threw Jonas into a wormhole to be splattered against the stargate’s iris. 

I liked the unintentionally funny warriors in this episode. They looked like a bizarre cross between Mr. Potato Head and Dark Helmet. Not very intimidating.

This episode also gets bonus points for a few Wizard of Oz references.

My Rating: 6/10

The Enemy Within

Kawalsky ended the last episode with a larval Goa’uld in his head. After the Goa’uld took control of Kawalsky’s body in this episode, he started acting like a big, mean jerk and demanded to be sent back to Chulak. Why did the Goa’uld have such a bad attitude? I’m guessing he was not content wearing that drab military uniform. He would have felt much more comfortable in a robe fashioned out of a 1970’s loveseat. Maybe something with a little fringe.

The team tried to remove the parasite from Kawalsky, but ultimately it was too late. After a brief struggle with Teal’c, the back of Kawalsky’s head was snipped off when the wormhole disengaged. This was accentuated with a dramatic eye twitch and what appeared to be an overcooked dumpling that fell to the floor. Kawalsky was dead. We hardly knew him.

A couple interesting things happened in this episode. Jack made his first Wizard of Oz reference. “That’s right Dorothy, it was all a dream.” The franchise also started its tradition of killing doctors, as Dr. Nimziki was on the receiving end of a broken neck. Poor guy never saw it coming.

Teal’c decided to try something a little different this episode and wore his tattoo upside down for a while. I bet that hurt.

My Rating: 7/10