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 ow in its seventh season, "Stargate SG-1", based
on the premise of the original movie starring Kurt Russell and James Spader,
will be confounding to anyone not familiar with the series since its
introduction to TV via the Showtime channel 7 years ago. Now in its second full
year on the Sci-Fi Channel, "SG-1" returns Daniel Jackson (Michael
Shanks) to the regular cast with the first episode, "Fallen". The
title refers to Daniel's return to mortality, having become a "higher
being" in the events of season 5.
"Fallen" continues where the final episode of
season 6 left off, with the SG-1 team, led by the headstrong Jack O'Neill
(Richard Dean Anderson), trying to cope with the emerging dominance of powerful
Gou'ald System Lord Anubis and his super duper ship. With Daniel back in play,
but having lost all of his memory and Godlike powers, the team hatches a risky
plan to destroy Anubis' new weapon by teaming up with Gou'alds equally
threatened by Anubis' ship. O'Neill isn't thrilled with the idea of trusting the
power-mad Gou'alds, but egghead Sam Carter (Amanda Tapping) believes it can work
-- maybe. And oh yes, they try to get Daniel to remember who he is.
"Homecoming" refers to Jonas Quinn (Corin Nemec),
who had taken Michael Shanks' place as the team's empathetic intellectual,
returning to his homeworld under strenuous circumstances -- as a prisoner
onboard Anubis' ship! Asked for help by the people of Jonas' world, O'Neill and
Carter travels via stargate to assist, while former Jaffa-turned-rebel leader
Teal'c (Christopher Judge) attempts to convince a Gou'ald System Lord's First
Prime to help him battle Anubis.
It's easy to see why the producers lumped the two episodes
together. "Fallen" is more drama and comedy, with spurts of action
toward the end, while "Homecoming" is nearly all action as Anubis
attacks Jonas' planet in search of powerful new weapons. Newcomers to the series
will be hopelessly lost, just as Daniel seems to be when O'Neill tells the
amnesiac about who they are and what they've done over the last 6 years. It's a
lot to take, to be sure, which is why I believe only real fans of the series
will tune in to this premiere.
As a fan of the series, I'm used to the lackluster way
"SG-1" goes about business. Which is to say the show has never
generated a lot of excitement. Don't get me wrong. The series has a lot of
action and a lot of really good CGI and special effects. But there's none of the
"I must see it!" factor involved. It's hard to explain, but watching
"SG-1" has become an ordinary thing for me. Not that the show itself
has become a chore to watch, because it's still immensely enjoyable. There's
just no "Oh my God that was so good!" inherent in the show's episodes.
"SG-1" has always been very continuity-heavy,
with shows from as far back as season one returning to have major impact on
later seasons. More often than not entire seasons contain one underlying
storyline, such as SG-1's battle with a particular Gou'ald or some Earth-bound
enemies. Which is why it's so hard for anyone who hasn't seen all, or most, of
the episodes to really get into the "flow" of the series. This is one
series where daily visitations really pay off.
I can't say that I'm disappointed by the two-episode
premiere, mostly because I'm so used to the way "SG-1" goes about
business. I wasn't blown away, but then again I didn't expect to.
Although I have to say that the series treated newcomer
Corin Nemec rather shabbily. You'll know why I say this at the end of
"Homecoming".
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