Enemies

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S5 (Enemies)

Personally, I wouldn't have started the season opener so slowly as they do in this season. I was glad of the recap as I'd forgotten exactly how Season 4 ended even though it wasn't that long ago that I watched it. It may have been the logical way for the cliffhanger to be resolved, but I just felt they needed to get on and do something instead of huddling round the ship's control console talking about stuff. I also didn't feel the situation was used to its full potential: they've been knocked into an unknown part of space, another galaxy in fact, and it's going to take them centuries to get home even at maximum speed, yet by the end they've been whisked back to a familiar landmark (Sokar's planet), and the feeling of isolation and completely being at the mercy of the unknown that seemed to be the promise of the episode degenerates into a bug-blasting exercise and one that is rarely surprising.

I was surprised that Teal'c really had been brainwashed into becoming Apophis' First Prime again and waited for him to reveal his double-bluff and apologise for punching Jack on the nose, so I'll give them that one. The CGI Replicators still look like they're actually there which is great. Pretty much everything else was by the numbers sci-fi adventure with very little of the necessary flair as if it was enough that the series was back. Maybe I'm being unfair and they had budgetary issues, but the same ship sets being run around didn't help present the scale they were trying to achieve. It's strange to think this was contemporary with 'Enterprise' as that was so much more exciting in its first year. Maybe it had more money to throw around and it is unfair to compare the first year of one series to the fifth of another, but the distance between the two is immense. I've come to expect an underwhelming beginning or ending to a 'Stargate' season and usually there are more interesting episodes once they've got back into the rhythm of it, so I wasn't really surprised that my engagement by the episode was low.

There were things I enjoyed about it, and although I say it degenerated into bug-blasting, I've got nothing against that part of the story, I just meant it didn't go anywhere. Apophis showing up could have been interesting as he has them at his mercy, and I was intrigued by this mystery ship that comes in and attacks him giving SG-1 the chance to escape. At first it seemed like it might go in an interesting direction - the thought of this little Goa'uld cargo ship alone in a new galaxy trying to survive from week to week, appealed to me. I wouldn't have expected it to last more than a few episodes, but I was hoping they'd have to live off their skills, scavenging and living off the 'land' as it were, of that region, never knowing what aliens might be around the next corner. But it didn't go like that and I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything less than the resolution of the situation by end of episode.

Another moment that began to capture my imagination was when they return to Apophis' ship to see how the battle went and find it eerily empty of life signs. I was looking forward to a series of scenes where they creep around the deserted hulk and uncover the answer to its emptiness, but that too was soon scuppered by the quick reintroduction of everyone's 'favourite' alien race, the Borg. Sorry, the Replicators! I don't hate them, and actually the scenes where the team let rip as they have to escape the buggy hoard are some of the best moments of the episode, with O'Neill dramatically sliding into the Ring Transporter (the visual effects of which look fantastic and are easily overlooked), as he shoots, and later when he, Carter and Daniel have to methodically cover each other as they retreat to Jacob's escape ship. Exciting stuff in an episode which is mainly exposition.

I love the characters, but I didn't feel the sense that they'd really accepted the death of Teal'c from last season, so when he returned they weren't that shocked. It seemed like the banter and the interaction was all running at half speed as if they needed to wind the dynamo a bit more before they really got going. I didn't remember when Apophis was written out of the series so I wouldn't be surprised if this was his last appearance, his personal forcefield smothered by Replicators as his ship burns up on impact. Then again, he's had so many 'last' appearances that he can never be discounted, but they did mention the political situation of the Goa'uld was turmoil and I certainly remember all those episodes where the various factions vie for control so perhaps we're getting to that period this season.

No doubt Teal'c's mind will be the subject of the next episode and it will all be resolved quickly, but wouldn't it be interesting if it was explored and used instead of being a way of bringing him back in to resolve last season's cliffhanger. My biggest problem with the episode is how easily they returned to 'home' space. The deus ex machina of the Replicators somehow being able to modify the engines of Apophis' ship to go hundreds of times faster than it could before was atrocious, real head in hands stuff. If they could make that one ship reach such speeds why aren't they spread all over our galaxy? Why haven't they sped in and devoured all? It was the same problem they had with the Borg on 'Star Trek' - how do you make an unstoppable enemy beatable, especially once you find out they can travel so fast they can zap to anywhere in seconds! If you're going to do the Replicators at least make them a real threat, don't destroy them easily as they did here. What I'm saying is that all similar sci-fi ideas have the same problems, and it's how you deal with these things that sets your series apart from the others. I hope 'Stargate' tries to set itself apart in a good way this season.

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