Stargate SG-1/Discuss episode of the week

[Juliette]

As many of you, I will say it was not my favorite episode..
But as the 2nd episode of the series, it was still needed to establish the tone of the series and the story as well.
Where the pilot was more like a sequel to the movie, this episode introduces us to many things we'll see during season 1 (and later): it has fun parts, emotional parts, and the two storylines are what the show is based on: the goa'uld and their symbiotes, and Teal'c becoming part of SG-1 to fight against the goa'uld.

So, definitely not the best episode, but still needed to understand what will come next


And yes, thanks JK for the screencaps, it helps remember the episode without taking out the DVDs each time (they are never far away from me though )

[NiLa]

Many of you said that "The Enemy within" is not one of your favourite episodes. I although like it.

It showed nicely with how much caution the military reacts toward Teal'c. Just declaring his allegiance to this world isn't enough for them. They hope to get intel from him about the goau'ld.

Jack O'Neill trusts him of course, because Teal'c had saved his life back on Chulak. So he tries his best to protect Teal'c against the military and get him on his team.

The other storyline about Kawalsky and his struggle against the goau'ld is thrilling; that he looses the fight is very sad in my opinion. One scene shows how ruthless the military is regarding their goal to get intel. As the colonel suggests not to try the surgical removement of the symbiote in the hope they could extract information from the goau'ld inside Kawalsky. And I love the reaction General Hammond gives in that situation.

All in all a good episode in my opinion.

Anja

[bftlovesRDA]

Appreciate your comments on "The Enemy Within" very much, Anja.

It's Friday so it's time to start discussing the next Stargate Episode......"Emancipation".

I'll let others start the discussion.,....enjoy!

[bftlovesRDA]

Doesn't someone want to start the discussion of "Emancipation" ?

I will just say that I thought it was pretty neat that the writers wanted Amanda Tapping to have a "starring role" in an episode so early in the series.

Now, others can chime in about this episode.....it's a good one on which to make your comments. Go for it.

[NiLa]

In "Emancipation" you can see that the SG1 still has to find it's relations to one another.

The come across a Mongol tribe, where women have to live hidden from the men. They have no rights and aren't even allowed to speak without permission. When SG1 rescues Abu, the tribe's leader's son, they are invitated to their village.
Although the leader thinks about to change the laws in time, because he feels they are not right, he is not willing to let Sam walk around in the village, only the men. And she must wear indiginous clothes.
Why do Jack, Daniel and Teal'c agree that Sam has to wear that ridiculous blue dress? They even seem to have fun with her when she is not very amused about it.
They leave her in the tent and only they have a look at the indiginous medicine (although she is the team's scientist) and in the evening they go to a feast and still let her alone.
I think later on in the series something like that wouldn't have happened. They would have sticked together.

When she is abducted and sold to a rival tribe's leader, Turghan, they "buy" her back.

When they get to know, that a young girl is about to be killed because she wanted to flee from her father Turghan and live with Abu, Sam demands on helping her. Colonel O'Neill doesn't want to risk to start a war between the tribes. But Daniel figures a way out to help the girl; they force Turghan by using an old law into a fight about the life of Nya, his daughter.
Sam volunteers to fight Turghan and defeats him. Nya is free to live with Abu, Turghan has to promise not to take revenge on the Shavadai and Sam is free to go, too.

I was a bit surprised, that O'Neill doesn't know about the hand to hand combat skills Sam really is. Isn't that his job as her commanding officer? Clearly he still thinks of her as "just another scientist". When he isn't so sure about her skills, why does he allow Sam to fight Turghan? Even not knowing exactly what awaits her....a fight to the death. That was something Daniel...as the cultural expert....had to have figured out before they challanged Turghan.

Great part was Sam. She turned out to be a kick-ass-soldier with great skills in hand to hand combat. She beat Turghan and saved the girl's life!

Way to go girl! I was cheering on my couch the first time I saw that!

Very nice also the ending, as the Shavadai leader changes the law and frees all the women. Well done, Carter!

Anja

[bftlovesRDA]

In "Emancipation" you can see that the SG1 still has to find it's relations to one another.

I was a bit surprised, that O'Neill doesn't know about the hand to hand combat skills Sam really is. Isn't that his job as her commanding officer? Clearly he still thinks of her as "just another scientist". When he isn't so sure about her skills, why does he allow Sam to fight Turghan? Even not knowing exactly what awaits her....a fight to the death. That was something Daniel...as the cultural expert....had to have figured out before they challanged Turghan.

Anja

Great summary, Anja, of Emancipation!

When Sam is first put in that blue dress, and Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c and Abu are looking at her with glee, and Jack says = "I don't know, it kind of works for me." and then both Daniel and Jack say, "It's you...." - I love that scene!......Jack later says, "You look great." so we can wonder if all this time, Jack has wanted to see Sam in something other than her uniforms......just a thought.

I was surprised first that Jack didn't volunteer to fight Turghan himself or at least keep Sam from fighting him and then, like you, I was also surprised that Jack didn't seem to know about the level of hand to hand combat skills of Sam. I guess this was because the writers really wanted this to be a Sam-centric episode.

Also, thought it was neat at the end when the women all lowered their facial veils and the old Chief said, this is how we will remember you, Carter.....thought this was a women's rights program right at the start of SG1 (well at the 3rd episode).

Finally, at the very end when they are all walking to the Stargate and Daniel was talking about the medicine they were taking back from the village and was saying we can't tell anyone where we got it....Jack says: "Damn, guess I'll have to cancel that Oprah interview." and Teal'c says, "What's and Oprah?" = thought that was funny and cute.

All in all a dramatic episode that didn't include much action for Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c but a LOT of action for Sam. As I said, it was remarkable to me that the writers wanted Sam to have this level of "action" right in one of these earliest episodes and that they wanted to show off Sam's (Amanda Tapping's) undeniable beauty.....and it worked out well!

[Juliette]

Yes great summary Anja
I didn't have time to watch it again yet, but you described it well

Yes their relationships were different at that time. Apart from Jack and Daniel, the team didn't know each other yet. I think at this moment they were just a group of people going on missions together. The team didn't have the sense of family that they had later on the show, which we are used to by now

Overall I think it was a great episode, I really like the episodes where they discover a society and its operation, drawing parallels with our societies of the past and our current one. That's one of the things I really like about SG-1: the cultural aspects of the different societies they encounter, which very often makes us think about our own, sometimes even question it

[Jerseycoconut]

This episode is close to my heart.
If each episode had an award for 'the most valuable player' - this MVP would go to Sam Carter.

Events: SG-1 being sent to a planet where women are enslaved to men (from our own history), Sam stays true to herself, her team, and shows a nation of bonded women how to gain freedom & the respect of men.
Sam puts on an absurd dress at the request of her male team members, taking off her uniform (the identification of her job) . She could have requested the team return home to earth.
Sam gets left behind in a tent alone (at the risk of what ever the barbarians can do), while the male SG-1 members party .
Kidnapped, sold as property to another tribe, she waits for her team to rescue her. She does try to do it on her own, but the white knights will have to come.
Knowing she could be killed just for speaking, she stays true to being a woman and voices truth.
Women can be strong warriors, doctors, scholars, leaders.
SG-1 buys back Carter. While returning, her kidnapper begs for help to rescue his love who is sentenced to death for having her own opinion. Carter forgives her kidnapper and convinces the team to return to assist in the rescue.
The warrior she is, she fights her oppressor and wins. She frees the girl, frees the village women and stops the war between villages.
The village women show their emancipation, honoring and remembering Carter by dropping their vails.

Of all the holidays the USA honors, none I can remember are for women. Perhaps the "Me 2", "Times Up" movements will move us all a little more forward in time (most have already dropped our vails).
There is a lot of Same Carter in each of us.

Jerseycoconut

[bftlovesRDA]

Yes great summary Anja
I didn't have time to watch it again yet, but you described it well

Yes their relationships were different at that time. Apart from Jack and Daniel, the team didn't know each other yet. I think at this moment they were just a group of people going on missions together. The team didn't have the sense of family that they had later on the show, which we are used to by now

Overall I think it was a great episode, I really like the episodes where they discover a society and its operation, drawing parallels with our societies of the past and our current one. That's one of the things I really like about SG-1: the cultural aspects of the different societies they encounter, which very often makes us think about our own, sometimes even question it

Well said, Juliette!

[bftlovesRDA]

This episode is close to my heart.
If each episode had an award for 'the most valuable player' - this MVP would go to Sam Carter.

Events: SG-1 being sent to a planet where women are enslaved to men (from our own history), Sam stays true to herself, her team, and shows a nation of bonded women how to gain freedom & the respect of men.
Sam puts on an absurd dress at the request of her male team members, taking off her uniform (the identification of her job) . She could have requested the team return home to earth.
Sam gets left behind in a tent alone (at the risk of what ever the barbarians can do), while the male SG-1 members party .
Kidnapped, sold as property to another tribe, she waits for her team to rescue her. She does try to do it on her own, but the white knights will have to come.
Knowing she could be killed just for speaking, she stays true to being a woman and voices truth.
Women can be strong warriors, doctors, scholars, leaders.
SG-1 buys back Carter. While returning, her kidnapper begs for help to rescue his love who is sentenced to death for having her own opinion. Carter forgives her kidnapper and convinces the team to return to assist in the rescue.
The warrior she is, she fights her oppressor and wins. She frees the girl, frees the village women and stops the war between villages.
The village women show their emancipation, honoring and remembering Carter by dropping their vails.

Of all the holidays the USA honors, none I can remember are for women. Perhaps the "Me 2", "Times Up" movements will move us all a little more forward in time (most have already dropped our vails).
There is a lot of Same Carter in each of us.

Jerseycoconut

Good summary, Jerseycoconut. And I agree with your conclusion - there is a lot of Sam Carter in each of us.