Topic: Stargate: SG-1 - Season 4.

[6pairsofshoes]

I don't remember the reference to the Ikea rugs, but that's hilarious.  I once saw a really bad sci fi movie with mutant wolves that appeared to have been German shepherd with rugs on their backs.  It was on Mystery Science Theatre 3000.  I used to be quite the fan of those kinds of shows, either MST3k or just regular Bad Movies, the kind that are on once a month at midnight and draw from the worst science fiction imaginable, like "Attack of the Mushroom People."  That was one for the ages.

I watched a second episode last night.  Down in the boiler room of a domed city being slaves to a two tier society that the slaves didn't know existed.  Another reference to strong feelings between O'Neill and Carter that gets neutralized by duty when they go home.

[8ullfrog]

I liked how his fondness for Hammond and The Simpsons bled through the mind stampage.

That's also the one where the baddies are armed with Nintendo zappers, I wonder what they stuck in the one that actually fired.

[6pairsofshoes]

Osiris is back and boy is s/he pissed.  Move over Erik von Daniken!

Daniel is handcuffed/silenced by the Official Secrets Act.  But had he been able to share this info with the other archaeologist, it's less likely that she would have become a host to a Gou'ald.  Oh well, many more seasons to go and you have to do something to advance the plot.  I wonder if Capn O'Neill caught any fish.  Apparently, Richard Dean Anderson is actually from Minnesota, hence the desire to go fishing on the lakes up there.  Minnesota is pretty but it's cold. Prince is from Minnesota, too.

[6pairsofshoes]

There are zippy little bits of light that hum like mosquitoes and bite, leaving nasty burn marks that in quantity have the potential to be fatal. 

Then there's the Gou'ald orgasmitron that showers everyone with addictive light.  That's another fun encounter.  I left off tonight with 4:20.  That's the next episode.  Really?  More than 20 episodes in a season?  Amazing.

[8ullfrog]

I'm pretty sure Sarah was snaked before Daniel went back to town. Goauld get all your memories, and covering up a possession seems as simple as avoiding Sam Carter.

Osiris is a fun baddie though. And a legitimate threat in her own right. Anubis was poo, Osiris was legit.

[6pairsofshoes]

Double Jeopardy.  The robot doubles of the SG1 team show up on some letter number combo planet that the real guys had visited and Kronos is back.  Stealing a name from the Greek pantheon for reasons not explained, he's still a nasty piece of work, like a hair metal guy gone to seed.  The nice people on the planet had buried their stargate only to be invaded by the evil snakey guys with Kronos in charge.  They figured, wow, "bright light in sky frighten inhabitants in sectors 4 & 5"  they must be gods.  So when robot guys show up they are less than impressed, pissed rather (in the American sense of angry, not drunk).

The rest of the episode consists of the robots getting rid of the problem with SG1 reals.  So O'neill is talking to his expiring double at the end and it sort of just peters out.  WTF?  No resolution here.  Problem solved, robots dead, I guess.  End of story.  No repair shop?

[8ullfrog]

I think that's like the sarcophagus thing, they figured having RDA dye his hair for a few scenes was enough.

I once read a fanfic where Spock used every "miracle cure" of the original TOS series and essentially rewrote the timeline because the author didn't like the JJ verse, it was pretty good.

But it also illustrated why, when O'neill got nanite aged to 90, they didn't take a few years off the odometer, because RDA didn't want to dye his hair.

The knee thing is real though, RDA messed up his knee one year, and they did a lot of scenes in the X fighter, so he had to jump in and out of the stupid thing, so it became part of "O'neill".

I was mad at how robo SG-1 was treated when they came "home" to earth, but that was an entirely appropriate response by the base.

Still felt cold as hell.

And yeah, they ran their own mission from robot warehouse planet. I wonder how many Goauld they zapped.

So yeah, robo SG-1 dead, for good. We don't even get an answer on how they fixed the robot Teal'c.

[6pairsofshoes]

It also defies logic that the stargate program wouldn't jump at the chance to have robot substitutes put in harm's way instead of human beings.  There are so many advantages, but they don't even explore them.  This, from a group of people who wouldn't dream of visiting another planet via its stargate unless they sent a MALP through first.  Go figure.

Not to mention the sad state of their inventor who came up with them so he'd have some companions on his lonely planet.  That's entirely lacking in compassion, not to attempt to restore the robots.  Maybe Trump achieved his dreams of immortality and managed to get himself named Emperor in eternity.  That might explain things.

[6pairsofshoes]

I'm on season 5.  Teal'c has trouble getting back to his old self after apophis messed with his head.  That ate a couple episodes then Carter got an alien boyfriend, but he got killed trying to save humans who couldn't resist firing a new weapon from getting destroyed.  Bummer.  He was like the totally cute surfer dude.

Then chameleon gets close to SG1 and/but nobody can see him.  O'Neill helps out and makes sure he escapes the Gou'ald.  Hooray.  As they kept blasting the Goua'ld/Jaffa warriors, I was thinking of the Hollywood stunt people who got paid to leap from blasts and yell as they were being struck down.  I'd expect that to be a satisfying role for an actor.  You practice yelling "Gah!!" in front of the mirror and leaping to land in a heap on the ground because you just got zapped  with some plastic explosive or some other ass kicking method.

[8ullfrog]

I'm glad Orlin died, he was a bless'ed creeper.

They do have fun with those blasts, they had a spring board to launch the guys. I feel like the DVD may be the superior experience, but I obviously don't expect you to go out and buy them.

I was shocked how low tech most of the effects were. Dig hole, fill hole with gasoline. Boom!

As to the Harlan class robots, I imagine they don't want to make more, considering they died nameless.

It's like when that guy wanted to take Data apart, or the geth from mass effect.

The geth were your standard cylon type. A labor class to replace the labor class. Then one had the temerity to ask "Does this unit have a soul".
As bad as some of the writing was in Mass effect was, that line still hits me. Harlan... wasn't exactly compassionate himself.

[6pairsofshoes]

Harlan is comic relief.  Like Philip K. D'ick lite.  "Replicants?  Ha Ha Ha Ha.  They don't mind.  They're machines!"

And give Orlin some leeway.  After all, I'm sure it's hard to figure out good lines for women after you take on human form after being all squiggly-luminous and powerful.  Besides, he made her dinner!  I like a man who cooks.  Apophis probably would make her cook and then clean up before making her bow down and worship him.  And he relies on tech for his power.  Orlin just gets all squiggly luminous and does cool stuff without demanding worship.  Bonus?  No symbiotes!   

[8ullfrog]

Yeah, but he thought he was entitled to a relationship because he looked at her. And a lot of his behaviors were straight up abusive. "Oh, you can't use the phone now, I'm talking" "Oh you can't warn your friends about me because I can just vanish" "What do you mean you aren't instantly in love with me the way I like you".

If he'd been even slightly more malicious, Carter could have found herself sectioned. Then again, the SGC seems to give their people a bit more leeway when it comes to insanity.

I got to the branching point where Stargate became two shows, and watched half the spinoff movie. I was too tired from the fire to finish it.

But yeah, we can jump to five now. You're catching up to me!

Also funny you mention a Goauld being rude about food, we actually get to see that a bit further down the line.

[6pairsofshoes]

Yeah, but he thought he was entitled to a relationship because he looked at her. And a lot of his behaviors were straight up abusive. "Oh, you can't use the phone now, I'm talking" "Oh you can't warn your friends about me because I can just vanish" "What do you mean you aren't instantly in love with me the way I like you".

If he'd been even slightly more malicious, Carter could have found herself sectioned. Then again, the SGC seems to give their people a bit more leeway when it comes to insanity.

Yeah.  He was sort of naive in that way.  I chalked it up to his not being an earthling.  Had he been a regular guy, I'd agree with you completely.  Who knows how luminous squiggly things are supposed to react when affection is offered?  Maybe instant reciprocal love is the done thing.  Who can say.  But the not letting your friends know you are here seemed a bit weird.  Maybe he was afraid of how they'd react.  It's hard to draw the line between extraterrestial inexperience and pushy men sometimes.

[8ullfrog]

He was smug about that too.

I actually reviewed these episodes as I watched them in notepad, and I didn't like him much then either.

The episodes you've reviewed are all on the first disc of five, but I'm not a cop.

I have to say when they were doing the fighting retreat against the replicators, the sheer number of those erector set bugs made my skin crawl.

They also forgot to speed up one of the action scenes, or left it slow for stylistic reasons. I imagine the fact that they were firing real weapons, albeit with blanks meant that the action coordinators had them move very slow, and then sped up firefights in post.
You may have noticed they switched from MP-5's to P-90's. German to Belgian. It's a good choice. You've mentioned annoyance at the lack of force the MP-5 had against Jaffa armor, and the P-90 was developed to shoot people in vehicles.

They couldn't get enough blanks for the P-90's because of Iraq and Afganistan, so Carter eventually gets a custom chop gun, called the Carter Special. They also recycle old sound effects of weapon fire. Waste not, want not!

[6pairsofshoes]

I did notice the change in weapons.  Much more like rapid fire automatic weapons.

And, yeah, the alien did take a great deal for granted, but don't most men?  Maybe I've become desensitized to the whole business through years of experience.  As for reviewing.  I have not reviewed any of these episodes.  I'd never watched the show before, and remember it as one of those programs that was syndicated in reruns on the lower budget UHF channels when we had dial tv.  Ha.  Remember dial tv?  In the ancient years before remotes?  Gak I feel old.  I just did a tax return and did not get to pass out enough candy.  Where are those blasted trick or treaters.  I gave away about a half of a giant bowl of treats. I'm praying for the 14 year old thugs without costumes to save me.  You know the ones...they show up at 9 and just want candy.  And I just don't care about the rules enough to deny them.  In fact, I'm happy to give it away.  I may just march across the street with a bag for the 16 year old who used to come over when he was a small child for Honey Nut Cheerios and sit to watch PBS kids with my parakeet in the afternoon.