Forever in a Day

This might be the quintessential Daniel episode. The entire story took place in a few seconds while Sha’uri was scrambling his brain. We learned a lot more about Daniel’s thoughts and his relationships.

The plot was driven by two big events. Teal’c killed Sha’uri, which saved Daniel but might have prompted him to leave the stargate program. Sha’uri also told Daniel where to find her child, which gave him a reason to continue. It ended as he said goodbye to Sha’uri in a touching scene.

My favorite parts of this episode were the interactions between each team member and Daniel. Sam let her soft side out. There were a number of moments when she had tears in her eyes, and she gave Daniel a big hug. I was heartbroken when Teal’c asked Daniel for forgiveness. Jack did his best to express his repressed emotions, and it showed just how much he would have missed him.

My Rating: 8/10

Secrets

Holy cow, there were a lot of very good plotlines crammed into this episode. Daniel returned to Abydos, a reporter learned about the stargate program, Sam’s dad made his first appearance, Sha’uri was pregnant, and Heru’ur planned to steal the baby. Exhale. 

Teal’c and Daniel discovered Sha’uri had been living on Abydos with a little bun in the oven. Her goa’uld relinquished control of the body to protect the unborn baby, but would revive after the birth. Apophis was the proud papa and planned to use the resulting child as his future host. How creepy is that? 

Heru’ur didn’t like that idea and sent his Jaffa out to find Sha’uri. She gave birth to a little boy while they were searching. Teal’c was in charge of the postnatal care and decided to shoot Sha’uri with a zat gun. Obviously, they have health care issues on Chulak. 

Sam and Jack were in Washington, DC while all that was happening. They were supposed to meet the president during a medal ceremony. General Jacob Carter, Sam’s dad, came to the party with some good news and some bad news. The good news: Sam can quit her boring job and join NASA. The bad news: He had cancer. For the love of God, somebody better give Sam a hug. 

A reporter with leaked information about the stargate program accosted Jack for a comment. Jack played it cool and denied everything with his characteristic charm. After a second meeting with Jack, the reporter died after he either accidentally walked into traffic or was purposely run over by a government goon. 

I’m sorry. I can’t resist a truly bad pun. “That’s one way to kill a story.” 

I’ll get my coat. 

One last note: Apophis was really pushing the limits of Goa’uld fashion in that final scene, but he was totally outclassed by Sha’uri’s headdress. I sort of wish everyone dressed like that in real life.

 My Rating: 9/10

The Original Movie

It wouldn’t be fair to write about the two spin-offs without mentioning the movie. So, that’s where we’ll start. My DVD is the “Ultimate Edition” with an “Extended Cut.” Which, presumably, means it is longer and much more ultimate than the version shown in theaters. 

There are a plenty of continuity issues between the original movie and the shows, but I’m willing to forgive these sins. The movie holds up very well by itself, and it gets the ball rolling for the main story arcs in Season One of Stargate SG-1. We manage to decipher an ancient artifact, go to Abydos, and blow up a space pimp named Ra. It’s a good way to start.

While the movie is packed with action and adventure, the true focus is centered on a memorable and haunting haircut. Specifically, Kurt Russell’s rather extreme take on the flattop. It has been rumored that engineers used test screenings of this film to calibrate laser levels. The movie simply would not have been the same without that rigid form triumphantly crowning our box-headed hero as he shouted, “Give my regards to King Tut, Asshole.” How that haircut did not win an Oscar is beyond me.

With the exception of a few people from Abydos, just about all of the characters were recast when the television show started. Some of these changes were for the better, some of them for the worse. Clearly, the best casting decision the producers of SG-1 made was to distance themselves from all things French Stewart. In the movie, he plays the least believable member of the Air Force in the history of motion pictures. There’s something about his smug face that just begs to be punched. I wish they could have found a way to kill him off in a horrific, painful death scene.

I was kind of disappointed the producers changed Sha’uris on us. The original Sha’uri was much hotter than the Sha’uri in SG-1. I probably would have stayed on Abydos and endured having to eat sand with every meal if it meant more makeout time with the original Sha’uri. I would have been looking for the first gate back home if I accidentally married the new Sha’uri.

One of the great hidden gems in the movie takes the form of a gruesome sweater. There are very few things in life that can draw a smile from my lips as reliably as a hideous sweater. The fact that this particular sweater was worn by Richard Kind, an actor who later shows up in Season Three of Stargate Atlantis as a creepy rapist, seems to hint at a grand master plan. Is it possible this ugly sweater was an act of foreshadowing twelve years in the making? Was it a dire warning to be wary of men in Cosby sweaters? I like to think so.

My Rating: 8/10