DVD Stargate SG-1 Season 2, Vol. 3
Teal'c gets stung by a giant insect in "Bane," and Colonel Jack O'Neill is crippled in "Spirits." The best episodes are the two parts of "The Tok'ra." Captain Samantha Carter's estranged father is dying of cancer, but her obligations sway her toward saving a member of the Goa'uld renegade Tok'ra who is also dying. Although the resolution may seem apparent a mile off, the series takes one of many brave steps in not chickening out at the last moment. There may only be preliminary goodwill established between Earth and the rebels, but the dangling thread bodes well. In "Touchstone" the team is accused of stealing a gem from the planet Madrona that controls its climate. The revelation of who really stole it causes ripples in the pond back on Earth. --Paul Tonks |
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Review(s): DVD Stargate SG-1 Season 2, Vol. 3 | |
| Carter's relationship with her father comes to a head |  |
You have to take the good and the bad with Volume 3 of Season 2 of "Stargate SG-1," which has already convinced me that when I start naming the best shows on television it should be included in the fingers on the first hand that I use. The good has to do with Captain Carter and the bad has to do with Colonel Maybourne:Episode 10, "Bane" (Written by Robert C. Cooper, Aired by September 25, 1998) is the one where Teal'c (Christopher Judge) gets stung by a giant insect and starts turning into something else. To make things worse, Colonel Maybourne (Tom McBeath) takes Teal'c away from Stargate Command because he wants the infection or whatever it is to run its course, so that means SG-1 to the rescue. Unfortunately "Bane" has a couple of mine, the first being that Jack has not decked Maybourne yet, and the second being any episode of any science fiction series where the characters start mutating. I buy the mutating part, but the getting back to genetic square one at the end of the episode always bothers me. Three Stargates. Episode 12, "Spirits" (Written by Tor Alexander Valenza, Aired October 23, 1998) finds SG-1 visiting a planet inhabited by Native American Indians, who claim to be protected by spirits who turn out to be advanced alien shapeshifters. To make things more interesting, O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) gets hit by an arrow shot through the Stargate, so Captain Carter (Amanda Tapping) gets to be in charge of the mission. This episode has some interesting ideas but when General Hammond (Don S. Davis) decides to repeat history and advocates taking the trinium they want, that seems a bit much. Fortunately, the spirits are a lot stronger this time around. Four Stargates. The relationship between Samantha Carter and her father, Jacob (Carmen Argenziano), who is dying of cancer, is at the emotional heart of the two-parts of "The Tok'ra." For the first half of Season 2 there have been several awkward encounters between Carter and her father, with him trying to pull strings to get her into the astronaut core and her refusing to give up her work without being able to explain she to her father that she has already done more than all of NASA's astronauts combined. In Episode 11, "The Tok'ra, Part 1" (Written by Jonathan Glassner, October 2, 1998) SG-1 makes contact with the Tok'ra, the Goa'uld resistance movement that opposes the System Lords, and tries to make an alliance. However, the Tok'ra not only reject the idea, they will not let SG-1 and SG-3 return to Earth, where Sam's father is dying. Pretty good, and it gets better. Five Stargates. Episode 12, "The Tok'ra, Part 2" (Written by Jonathan Glassner, October 10, 1998) centers on trying to resolve the impass between the SG teams and the Tok'ra, which comes down to Carter finding out that the symbiote can cure cancer. Besides having a rather satisfying emotional payoff to the relationship between Carter and her father, there are some long range implications to the conclusion of this one. This was is more an important episode than a classic "Stargate SG-1" episode, but there is nothing wrong with that. Five Stargates. Episode 15, "Touchstone" (Written by Sam Egan, Aired October 30, 1998) has Maybourne back causing trouble again for the second time on this DVD. SG-1 is accused of stealing an weather-controlling device that is wrecking havoc on a planet, but it turns out that whoever did it went through the other Stargate on earth. Gee, whoever could be doing that? Even on the dark side of U.S. policy the government has to go behind its own back. Another episode that has long range implications for the series. Five Stargates. Overall this volume has episodes that are clearly more important in terms of Stargate's mythology than being classics per se, but there are some important things that happen here, especially for Captain Carter.
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| great stories, great DVD | |
I bought this disk just to have the 2 episodes about the Tok'ra but it has some other great episodes too.
Ep. 10, Bane, is about Te'alc being stung by a giant insect. Yeah, right, sounded hokey to me too. But the NID twist & the ever resent Col. Mayborne makes this a good story.
Ep. 11 & 12, The Tok'ra parts I & II. More information on the mysterious, good-guy Gou'alds. But more importantly the story behind Capt Carter's dad, Jacob Carter, becoming a Tok'ra host.
Ep. 13, in Spirits, Native Americans on another world have been adopted by aliens impersonating the spirits of the native american religion. A mediocre story line with a weak ending.
Ep. 14, Touchstone. The Touchstone, an alien weather controlling device, is stolen by someone impersonating the SG team. Don't let the title fool you, the real story is less about an alien device and more about mystery & intrigue. Spies, espionage and that pesky Col. Mayborne again make this episode a favorite. It also continues the story of the 2nd stargate discovered in the Antartic in the Season I episode, Solitudes.
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| Solid Entertainment | |
I have the Stargate SG1 DVDs for both season 1 and 2 and I am eagerly, if not impatiently, awaiting the release of the other seasons.I have had them now for about 3 weeks and have watched all of them at least 3 times. I highly recommend this series to everyone. The storylines, the cast, the props and the presentation are all excellent. I am hoping that the producers will produce some feature length movies with the same cast and characters (with some new story lines of course). I have some favorite episodes: The Nox, The Enigma, etc.
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