The Serpent's Lair

DVD. Stargate SG-1 S2 (The Serpent's Lair)

Unsurprisingly there's a lot more energy and verve to the season opener than there was in the cliffhanger ending at the end of Season One. There are some ups and some downs, including the occasionally dodgy CGI, which improves dramatically before the closing credits. The opening titles have barely been altered which is a shame as it's always good to see an updated opening sequence.

They don't stint on the continuity, with various characters reappearing, several others garnering a mention, and references galore. The best reintroduction is master Bre'tak who proves a worthy ally once again. Does make you wonder what the Bre'tak of the alternate universe was doing, that he couldn't save Earth, but you can put that one down to the changes in that universe. It does seem serendipitous that the old man managed to gain Apophis' trust in time for the attack on Earth, but we can pass on by such possible flaws because he's such a good character!

There was one surprise for me, since I'd forgotten about the sarcophagus on the ship, and really thought Scarra was gone for good last season. So it was a nice surprise to see he was back and fighting to get through his alien suppressor, and it seems he and 'Father' Apophis will be back to cause more trouble since they escape using the snappily named 'Ring Transporter'. Nothing like 'Star Trek's' Transporter, at all. Because it's got Ring in front of it. See what they did there? But it's a good effect either way, and they might as well use the best stuff if they're going to loot sci-fi's best franchise for inspiration!

I'm not clear why Jack was fine with leaving Daniel to die, and Carter and Teal'c don't bat an eyelid... almost as if they'd seen the last page of the script... Maybe it was because they all thought they were about to die, whichever ship they were on, but at any other time O'Neill wouldn't leave a man behind, even if he had to be carried. I could complain about some of the timing too - Daniel doesn't take long to recover in the sarcophagus (how did he even operate it on his own?), and calling up the Stargate in the final seconds was the quickest gate response ever! Also I would have expected some debris to fall through the wormhole behind Daniel, especially as the gate stays open behind him.

Nitpicking aside, this gets back to the humour and movement that was drowned in budget-skimping and creeping round the same corridors over and over in part one of this story. They still creep through the same corridors, but it's done in a more exciting way, and with Bre'tak along for the ride you know it'll be more fun. For those keeping track we hear mention of Teal'c's son Riach, Mayborn, and Senator Kinsey, though strangely no talk of Sharray from Daniel. The team's back together, the season has hit the ground running, and hopefully we can expect good things.

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