Revisions

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S7 (Revisions)

It's a kind of basic story that goes back at least to sixties 'Star Trek,' but it's also the traditional style of episode for this series: the team go to an alien world and find everything is fine. That doesn't make for great drama, so something must go wrong, and it's usually to do with the townspeople or the savages or whatever level the race is at technologically. This story also uses the trope of a computer system at the heart of the problem, and also the solution. But far from this being a malevolent, self-aware computer that can be talked into a logic problem that destroys it and frees the populace, it's actually more sinister because it's a faceless, characterless computer programme that's just doing its job. But because it's a computer programme and can't reason like a biological brain, it keeps the protective dome of the inhabitants' home from failing by ordering individuals out to their deaths. Trouble is, like the Borg they're all linked by a mental internet that erases memories and plants new ones so the missing people are never missed, the houses change position and nobody's the wiser. Clinical, logical survival, but at the cost of longterm growth for the community that has gone from a hundred thousand to almost a thousand in four hundred years as the dome shrinks due to the power weakening. It's not a bad story, ever more apposite for today's world with wearable tech and closer and closer brain and computer interaction. We don't know enough about the human brain to be able to control it, but that's what sci-fi is all about: showing the potential, both for good and ill.

The theme is a worthy topic to investigate, and there's a spooky, chocolate box quality to the setting that is just too perfect to be real. Lush gardens, tall trees, old-fashioned lamps and brick architecture - these people live in a kind of idealised world where technology is so integrated it barely shows, yet is at the root of everything. This is the problem and gives us some interesting questions to explore, most notably in Pallan who doesn't really want to remove his neural interface device as he thinks it will kill him instantly - I thought at first this was a continuity error as earlier his wife had happily taken it off to offer to Daniel (who wisely didn't plug in!), but like everything else it was part of the revisions of the title, with memories and behaviour altered to ensure the continuation of the dome. Because there was no 'bad guy' at the bottom of it all, not even a computer to spar with, it feels more abstract than usual. The direction emphasises this with sweeping shots and smooth motion, wide angle lenses as Daniel jogs through the maze-like streets after Evalla, or when Jack and Teal'c flee from the pursuing villagers. But there's never any violence, in keeping with the flowing nature and beauty of the place, and perhaps that's one of the reasons I wasn't as drawn to it as I was on first viewing. Now I tend to appreciate the continuity episodes a little more, so to have a standalone like this which bears no connection to anything felt a little strange. Like going back to Season 1 when they did this sort of thing all the time.

At the same time, like the equivalent episodes of 'TNG' when they would go down to a planet and calmly explore, find a problem, solve the problem and leave, it was like slipping into a warm bath. The eeriness wasn't really played up, Carter was barely out of control of the computer for a few seconds, so there was no desperate struggle against the villagers under the influence and no creeping tension or dawning horror. Maybe that hurt the potential of the story a little. Back when I first watched it I preferred these one-off episodes with the team working together and basically doing a Trek landing party on an alien world that isn't so unrecognisable, but now it feels a little out of place, as if the series had moved on. I still like seeing the four of them doing their thing, with barely a sign of the SGC, but again, though the stakes are high there was never much feeling of risk as they were allowed to contact home any time they wanted and only needed their environmental suits to leave. Pallan wasn't a bad character, giving us a sympathetic person who is coaxed and convinced into a radical action by Sam (she's the Captain Kirk figure who has to persuade to make a change), and it does leave us with a bittersweet ending as, having experienced the joys of working something out with his own mind, he asks Carter to tell him of the wife that was wiped from his memory. This has a much stronger parallel now as many people have smart phones and the capability to instantly look up any piece of information they want or need at any time, rather than trying to remember for themselves or look deeper than what could be false information.

The total sum of the episode doesn't quite do it for me, not having enough fear factor and physical danger for SG-1, though I suppose it wouldn't have looked very good for them to have been beating up or shooting these poor, deluded townsfolk who couldn't do anything else until they were forced to think for themselves. And it does look good. And it does have a happy ending with the team able to find a new place to relocate the survivors - it's just a shame Daniel couldn't have somehow followed Evalla outside the dome when she'd gone through the brick wall, as he might have been quick enough to save her.

**

Affliction

DVD, Enterprise S4 (Affliction)

Section 31, Klingon boarding parties and the launch of a new Starfleet ship: how much more intrigue can be crammed into an episode? The answer is a fair bit more as the writers juggle interpersonal problems, kidnappings, and the potential dispersal of this crew we've grown to know. Everything about this episode is confident, slick and tight. It's like they finally got the stabilisers off and were taking the NX-01 and its crew for a proper spin. Not to say the series hadn't felt like this before, but it rarely carries it off through the entirety of an episode ('Regeneration' is one that does it expertly, as did some parts of the Xindi arc). It's refreshing and exciting, with particular strengths being the direction and music, both promoting and underlining a tense and mysterious sequence of events and giving everything an aura of power and confidence in its storytelling. I'd like to say that having Klingons helped, but the truth is they've done some Klingon stories before that felt a little lightweight, and the Klingon scenes in this tend to be some of the more contemplative and sedate parts of the drama, just to be different! An example of how well everything is coming together is the step up in quality of the Targ which we see in a couple of scenes: taking some meat from just in front of the camera, and badgering (or 'Targing'), Dr. Phlox. Compare this to the basic interaction of the Targs in Season 1's 'Sleeping Dogs' and you see a strong indication of how far the effects technology had come in just four years!

What is more impressive is the use of the full cast in a true ensemble piece with all of them looking as if the group could be broken up at any time, mainly thanks to Trip following through with his request to transfer to the NX-02 Columbia, but we also hear that Phlox has been requested to take up a new position by the Interspecies Medical Exchange. And with Reed shown the brig in disgrace after apparently turning traitor, things are looking grim. The only one who didn't look like he'd be going anywhere was Travis, but they'd probably have difficulty prying him out of his seat the way he spends so much time there - I reckon he even sleeps there (could he secretly be an android?). I jest, of course, but as usual he's the only one that doesn't get anything meaningful to do, marginally more than the various extras - take the poor medical officer filling in while Phlox is incommunicado, who doesn't get a word to say, it being left for T'Pol to state the obvious and reveal that the captured boarder is in fact Klingon. Sometimes you need to give a line to an extra to make sense. Just a small niggle. There were others, of course: while it's nice to see Hoshi's combat training pay off as she takes on Rigelians, I was a bit confused about their language. We don't have Universal Translators universally, which is why Hoshi's so valuable being the human equivalent, yet the Rigelians first speak in English when addressing Phlox (unless they were speaking Denobulan and we just heard a translation…), but as they escape Hoshi catches something in their own language which is the clue to unravel the situation. I assume they knew some English and reverted to their native tongue in the heat of the moment.

One thing that was cunningly thought of before anyone could start to wonder, was why the Klingons didn't just kidnap Arik Soong, as he'd know all about the Augment virus. Aside from the fact of budget making it unlikely they'd bring back Brent Spiner again in the same season (though his contribution to the series wasn't quite finished), the Klingons admit they tried to get him, but he was too heavily guarded. So Phlox was only second choice! I like it, it makes sense and calls back to recent events in a cool way, something the series has done really well this season. It's been less saturated with a serialised continuity than Season 3, but has been at just the right level, like 'DS9' used to be, where things would have importance, but wasn't necessarily entirely relied upon for continuing drama from week to week. The Klingons are presented very well, with a rare glimpse into their caste system which is fascinating, but is has always been practically smothered by the attention given to the warriors. Yet we know a little about the differences in birth and vocation from here and there - this time we hear of the difficulty the scientists have, their work not considered as important as fighting and conquering, which is why Dr. Antaak has to stoop to the dishonourable practice of thieving in order to get his work done (though we've seen plenty of warriors do the same thing, and call it legitimate pillaging!).

Phlox stands up as much as he can to his Klingon captors, bravely accepting death rather than help create Klingon Augments, having experienced the human ones. The whole situation is brilliantly devised as a solution to the longterm question of how the Klingons on 'The Original Series' became the bumpy heads of the film series. Various pieces of the puzzle came to light over the decades, notably characters from 'TOS' showing up on the later series' with full-fledged bumps where before they'd been smoothies in the forehead department, as well as the issue being addressed 'head-on' in the wonderful 30th Anniversary tribute 'Trials and Tribble-ations.' Or not addressed, to be precise, as though Worf admits it's an issue, it's one they don't share with outsiders, a clever explanation for why no one talks about it in the 24th Century! 'Enterprise' itself gave us a few questions when it premiered with bumpy Klingons, a century before Kirk and the smoothies, thus explaining that it was indeed how they were meant to look, not the cheaper makeup used in the sixties show. But how to get them to and from that blip of oddness in their continuity? Enter this two-parter, late to the party, but better than never. And it does make sense that the Klingons would respond to the Eugenics-created Augments with the desire to make their own. It doesn't sound very honourable for a species that prides itself on its superior hand-to-hand combat and verve for battle, but pride is the operative word. As we've seen all too often a lot of Klingons talk the talk, but not so many walk the walk!

What this boils down to is that Khan was ultimately responsible for the Klingon transformation. But then isn't he always at the bottom of everything (these days, anyway!). You want to know something else that's always at the bottom of key events? Section 31. Now it isn't mentioned by name in this episode, but by piecing together selective data we can come to the conclusion that it is that nefarious, secretive agency that Reed is working for, and, more shockingly, has a prior connection with (he refers to it as a 'section,' but it's the dead giveaway of the portly Pierpoint as Harris, dressed in those shiny black suits so beloved of Sloan in 'DS9'!). Again, it's a twist on the expected coupled with the unexpected - if they were going to do 31 on the series they were sure to make the British Malcolm Reed the agent (just like Dr. Bashir), but we'd never have guessed that he was under the organisation's wing (or should I say talons), long before he joined Enterprise. One of the advantages of the characters having generally clean slates when it comes to their backstories, is that someone could come along and chalk in some detail, and while those are sparse, they give the impression there's a big story going on. When I first saw these episodes I think I was a little disappointed by the Section 31 part of the plot as in no way was it anywhere as clever as when the organisation was first introduced (in real world production chronology), for 'DS9.' Sloan was such a superb character, and Harris is just a man in black who sits in an office. Now I'm not too bothered as I've seen it done much worse, pretty much in name only ('Star Trek Into Darkness'). At least this really affects the story and has a place.

Reed having built up such a trust with Archer means his lack of cooperation is perplexing and a complete betrayal, especially after all they've been through together. Perhaps Malcolm's tight-lipped style helped him become a candidate for Section 31, the buttoned-up attitude and refusal to talk about himself ideal for such an operative. This, added to his natural shyness may have been why he was so reserved in the early part of the series, holding his Captain at arm's length because he may one day be asked to work against him by the organisation? I'm not saying this was definitely his thought, but it may have existed in his mind as a possibility. It's not yet clear how much work he's actually done for them, but you can imagine him making little adjustments to missions while he's been on Enterprise. Then again, if you look at the ham-fisted way he covers his tracks, I'm not sure how good he really was, and it's likely he hadn't done anything while serving under Archer. On the other hand, the ease with which T'Pol unmasks his deception could point to a wish to be found out, as it's not in his nature to lie to his Captain. Perhaps subconsciously he needed to be uncovered for his own sake?

T'Pol does some good detective work in the style of Tuvok, but the one area she can't fathom is Trip! She outs Reed and mind melds with Hoshi in order to recall her vague memory of an alien language being spoken after the attack on her and Phlox (why didn't he do his bloat fish head trick?), but she doesn't understand why Trip's leaving. The dream or vision sequence was mighty intelligent, neatly segueing from her meditation into Trip's daydream so that we don't really know whose mental experience it was, and likely points to both of them since Hoshi had the same dream, after her meld. It's another, and different way of approaching the mind meld (I liked that the Vulcan is unsure of it and it's Archer who can guide her in the practice after his encounter with Surak's katra!), at the same time as addressing the couple's connection. No scene is extraneous, it all gives us something about the story or about the characters, and makes the episode a fully rounded production in the manner of the previous and better TV series' it followed. An imaginative technique to have the attack replayed with T'Pol there to see what happened and advise Hoshi as events play out again.

It also looks gorgeous, with all those bright lights in dark rooms, night time shooting for outside the restaurant, even some more contemporary shots included, such as during the investigation right after the kidnapping incident where the camera's sort of hovering around and moving between people. It shows that such a style doesn't have to be used the whole time (see most modern films), but can inject some energy and tension when used in moderation. The camera's also fairly free in other scenes, such as the bridge, and it's good that it hasn't replaced the more traditional static camera shots we're so used to, but everything's being used to compliment the story. Just as the Targ looked better than ever, the Columbia is beautiful as it hangs in space-dock, the lighting giving it a silvery sheen. I wasn't so keen on the big 'warp pulse' lights at the back of the bridge, denoting the hum of the warp drive (or so I interpreted), as they could be an annoyance, but they needed something to make the distinction between Columbia and Enterprise's bridge clearer so that when we eventually see the two in action cutting between them doesn't become confusing or show up the fact that they're both the same set. Interesting that it doesn't have a situation room at the back like NX-01, maybe they've got one off to the side or somewhere else - I'd love to know about the design ethics applied to this second prototype following what they learned with Enterprise. As always, if the series had continued we'd no doubt have found out more, and who knows, maybe even a Columbia spinoff? I could have lived with that!

Captain Hernandez looks pretty cool, and has all the hallmarks of a good Captain: she listens, weighs up Trip, but so far hasn't told him what to do or how he should run Engineering. I think she'd have made a great recurring character or the star of her own series. It's a delight to see her ship set out for the first time, adding to Starfleet's power and influence in space (opening up the imagination of what could happen now, just as when we heard of other teams in 'Stargate SG-1'), since we hardly ever hear of other Earth vessels out there - we hear her last ship was the Republic, and I assume this was a space-going vessel, but we're left in the dark about whether it was non-Starfleet or a lesser warp capable ship in their fleet. I think more pomp and ceremony might have been in order with such a long-awaited ship, and it certainly doesn't have the emotional punch of the launching of the NX-01, but then this isn't 'Star Trek: Columbia' so maybe they didn't want to steal too much thunder from the main star. Even so, this doesn't happen very often, and this is one reason the episode isn't quite as terrific an episode as it could have been, despite hitting many of the details it needed to (Hernandez pointing out Trip's now redundant NX-01 patch; a subtle, but snazzy new warp effect to go with the new ship). Trip's absence also brings in the new Chief Engineer for Enterprise in Commander Kelby, someone sneakily added into the cast who'd play a key role in the very near future. I like that they introduced him in such a logical and low-key way, just another little deftness of story threading that peppers this episode.

Casting is a big deal with this one, continuing the greatest hits of Trek guest stars of the past that this season has ramped up a notch or two: James Avery hadn't been in Trek before, but he was always such a great presence and was an ideal choice to play a Klingon General, though I'm not sure he was as commanding a presence as I expected, perhaps because he shared most of his scenes with John Schuck who had pedigree with the race going back to the eighties - he was the Klingon Ambassador in both the fourth and sixth films, and had been in both of the previous two Trek TV series'. He gives Antaak a very Klingon attitude, yet also an atypical one that we rarely see: the scientist. His character has the strange conflict of ideas that some races display (saving lives is more important to him than honour, yet he is also has no qualms about euthanising a live soldier for the cause, something that Phlox speaks out about, though the argument is made moot by the General killing the man!), and this adds depth to the race in this series which was so common in 'DS9' but felt dumbed down in 'Enterprise,' where they returned pretty much to 'TOS' or 'TNG' portrayals (excepting certain individuals such as JG Hertzler's role as advocate Kolos). It's this element that adds another positive to the experience of watching this episode, which is also helped by crowd-pleasing references to both the planet Tiburon and that this plague is the greatest crisis to the Empire since the Hur'q invasion, a piece of Klingon history we'd love to have more information on!

Schuck wasn't the only familiar Trek face, as we also got Eric Pierpoint, who'd previously been in 'Rogue Planet,' one of the few who could lay claim to the accolade of appearing in all four of the modern series'. Then there was Brad Greenquist as a Rigelian kidnapper - he was used to prosthetic heads having played alien characters on 'DS9,' 'Voyager' and the 'Dawn' episode of this series. And lastly, we have Marc Worden returning to his Klingon heritage as a prisoner (though I'm not sure which, as there are several Klingons that fit that category!), previously he'd been the older version of Worf's son Alexander in two episodes of 'DS9.' So quite a nice selection, all adding to the fun factor for those keeping track of these details, and I do like to do that! One character we have yet to see is the much mentioned Admiral Gardner, the replacement for Forrest, who seems to be the point of contact for the NX-01, as Archer is often off to talk to him. I'm not sure if we ever did see him in the remaining episodes, but we shall see…

Other threads of interest running through the episode range from minor points to appreciate (Klingons speaking their language with subtitles - never fails to be a wonderful thing!; another mention for the Royal Navy, part of Reed's proud family tradition, though it starts me on the line of wondering who's King or Queen of England at this time?), to passing fancies that provoke questions (the Klingon test subject says his death sentence had been commuted - would this species have a death sentence? Surely living with dishonour is more of a punishment for a Klingon, and if they do have it, surely nothing would prevent it happening immediately!), to wondering about the age of Targs (Antaak has had Boshar since he was a boy, and now he seems pretty old - I wouldn't have thought such an overly energetic creature, presumably with a high metabolism, would live so long, but it suggests that they do, unless he just replaces it with a new one and pretends it's the same one because he's sentimental?), to the alternative style of Section 31's involvement (unlike Bashir, Malcolm's already on the inside, so his conflict of duty comes on much more strongly). The only other thing of note is the strange way the episode ends, with the Enterprise speeding through space. It was a sort of cliffhanger in that they appeared to be going faster than they wanted to (good visuals of the ship travelling ever faster, almost stretched by the angle of travel), but it wasn't completely clear, and it might have been better to make it a feature-length episode as they used to do on 'Voyager.' But otherwise, strong and pleasing - hopefully part two lived up to this one!

***

Orpheus

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S7 (Orpheus)

I'd forgotten that Teal'c no longer has a symbiote any more, though I can't recall when he lost it. I think it was 'The Changeling,' the one in which he dreams he's in another life, with Daniel Jackson coming to help him through it, as in reality he's dying by the side of Bra'tac on an alien world. That was probably the best episode of last season, and it's what Teal'c refers to when talking to Daniel. That was one of the first things I thought about this episode as I watched it (along with the thought that Teal'c's collapsing over backwards after being shot in the 'gate room could be construed as humorous if not done right), as once again it's about the big guy in danger of dying. Except in this case it really wasn't about that, but it's good that the connection was made with the earlier episode as both have the same themes of the proud Teal'c having to accept something, whether that's death (either a stray blast in the 'gate room or an execution from the camp commandant), or a lessening of his abilities. You could look at his loss of pride as a comment on growing older, out of the first flush of youth and strength, having to accept that you may not be able to do the things you used to, or at least, as easily as they were done before. What I really like about this episode, though, is that it tackles both Teal'c and Daniel in parallel, addressing both their stories in a beautifully played and subtle drawing together of the two characters.

While Teal'c has lost his pride and belief in himself thanks to the effect tretonin, the replacement drug for symbiotes, has had on him, Daniel struggles with his previous existence in ascended state. Like Teal'c he couldn't do what he wanted to do, which was help his friends, but thanks to his desire to support Teal'c in his time of self-doubt, he stirs flashbacks in his mind to a time when he was with Bra'tac and Rya'c, providing vital information for a rescue mission. Without his mysterious memory resurfacing no one would even have known the pair had been captured and were being forced to work as slave labour on a bleak world (that bears more than a passing resemblance to a quarry - what exactly were the pair of them tasked with, as they seemed to be whacking stones with metal sticks!). For once (see previous episode for contrast), everyone's quick to believe Daniel's visions (probably because they were so atmospherically shot - the series continues to look beautiful and moody on location!), with Hammond stating that after all the things he's heard while sat behind that desk, it wasn't difficult for him to accept. So why did he take so long to come around to the bizarre last episode?!

Regardless of inconsistencies, this episode is a strong one because it deals well with the characters and their motivations, it's not about any old aliens or planets, political problems or threats from the System Lords - and the series always does these large scale rescue or liberation sequences with panache. I suppose they've done it so many times that it comes naturally to all involved. But it's due to the character stakes that this is more than a simple rescue mission, as his son Rya'c means more to Teal'c than anything, even his own pride, and he'd gladly sacrifice himself in Rya'c's place, as he nobly tries to do here. The message gets a little lost in the balance, but Bra'tac's wise advice was for his former apprentice to remember that a warrior's strength comes from the heart and mind, not his muscles (a bit like Morpheus in 'The Matrix'), although it takes Teal'c having the opportunity to take down the commandant in battle for him to regain his composure and self-belief. As usual, the bad guys make the mistake of letting the good guys live long enough to overthrow them - after proving how brutal the overlords are by killing workers that weren't doing a good enough job (despite looking pretty young and healthy), for some reason (i.e: plot), the tortured Teal'c, Rak'nor, and ill Bra'tac are allowed to lie in their tent, attended by Rya'c, rather than being executed. No scouts appear to be sent out to discover if these rebels came alone or not, and overconfidence lets the bad guy side down once again.

I was wondering if the actual execution of the three remaining prisoners (after one tries to run for it), was avoided on screen for style reasons or for sensitivity, and my question was answered later by the fact that we see Teal'c snap the commandant's neck on camera - definitely a style choice, then! I suppose it's moments like that which give this season a 15 rating. Not that I minded, it was just something that made me think. Which is more than can be said for the commandant's minions: what do they do when they see their mothership starting to fall to the ground, but rush towards it. What did they think they were going to achieve? Catch it with their bare hands? I also felt Carter and Daniel were being a little overcautious when stuck aboard the ship - they could easily have mown down the Goa'uld guards standing in the ring room, as they were all bunched up close enough together that spraying the area with bullets from their automatics would have settled the matter before the staff weapons had time to be manoeuvred into position. The Goa'uld are always at a bit of a disadvantage, it seems to me, since they use such clumsy weaponry.

Obi Ndefo was back as Rak'nor again, and it's good that they have a recurring character as a face and voice for the Jaffa liberation movement, as it helps to remind us that this group are real people beyond just Teal'c and Bra'tac. What works best, as ever, is the interaction between the characters, though. Bra'tac holds so much weight, being someone we've known since Season 1, and his mix of mentor and brother to the much younger Teal'c is always a delight to see. Every time he speaks he has so much gravity and strength. It was also important to see Daniel and Teal'c - I don't think we really knew that Jackson never felt like he belonged before, and now he does, seeing that his life was too important to leave behind. It was interesting to hear that he's recovered almost all the memories of his life before ascension, though ascended life remains unclear, leaving the possibility that he could come up with further revelations or motivate the plot again, meaning his time as an ascended being wasn't a waste from the point of view of the series. I hope they play with it more, and I'm sure they will. So with a good opening in which SG-1 warn the SGC of their retreat, a look at the SGC's gym, and a character-driven rescue mission that reiterates where the characters stand, this is the best of the first few episodes. I wasn't sure what the connection with Orpheus was, from the title, but I may just be a bit slow! And Carter's hair still looks like she just got out of the shower…

***

Fragile Balance

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S7 (Fragile Balance)

It's a really strange one, this. It starts well, with a well-worn sci-fi staple, but there's a reason these sci-fi staples are well-worn, and that is they're always interesting speculation. I could say it was done better on 'TNG,' and it was, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with a familiar idea being recycled for different TV series' or for different characters within them - you can do the same story a multitude of ways, depending on who you use, what angle you take, and what you choose to get out of it. This last point is where I felt this version of 'one of our characters has reverted to childhood' lost out: they didn't examine the idea in a compelling and thought-provoking enough way. There are plenty of questions to be delved into, but instead it becomes about another sci-fi staple, the clone. But even here we aren't afforded the most engaging of analyses, and it ends with O'Neill dropping his young clone off at High School! I mean, forget the ethics of cloning a human, what about the ethics of letting a hormonal Jack O'Neill onto campus complete with middle-aged mind? Forget for the moment that Jack has quite a juvenile attitude in a lot of ways (that's part of his charm), but is it safe to allow this clone of an Air Force Colonel into society at all, let alone High School! How did they wangle it with the Principal, would Jack be able to take instruction when (to him), he's been giving orders until recently? He's never been great under authority, and can you imagine him actually doing any work? It's weird to think of him mixing with young girls, too… There are plenty of body-swap or de-ageing films, and they often are a bit creepy and wrong when you think about them!

What about the security risk with all young Jack knows about the Stargate programme? How could he possibly fit into a mundane life, even with the desire to do it differently a second time? So you see that despite working as a neat tie-off for the episode, it really just opens a massive can of worms. That's before we've got to the ethics of cloning and whether you'd be comfortable knowing there was a duplicate you out there, even a few decades younger. Such things are glossed over - of course Jack isn't going to say 'sure, kill the clone' or 'let it die,' because he's the good guy. The fact that it takes a few seconds for him to decide is more to do with the fact he's only just woken up after seven days of sleep, hasn't had his coffee, and is suddenly in a completely weird situation. I was just waiting for that "Why are you in my bedroom?" But that's the 'Stargate' way. They generally prefer humour over depth, and it's one reason why the stories aren't as strong. I suppose it was a good thing that it took a sidestep into cloning rather than just being reversion to childhood (or young adulthood, you could say), but it still doesn't fully address the issues and we spend far too long getting to the point, when you realise that was the story.

After all the bizarre phenomena, the SGC has encountered, you'd think they'd have been a little quicker on the uptake, when in fact it's a while before they start to believe in young O'Neill. In later series' of 'Star Trek' where characters would start to tick off a list of possibilities we'd seen before when they found themselves in an unreal situation, and Daniel does the same here, mentioning several past incidents which were as strange, if not more so, than the Colonel becoming a teenager. Obviously they had to check out his story, the strong resemblance to speech patterns, dialogue and mannerisms not enough to give them a hundred percent confidence in the boy's claims. But even so… Hammond shows himself to be the good soldier man, not having enough imagination to think that this is anything more than a prank or a threat. Which may be why he's the one that liaises with the President and sends out the teams rather than actually going with them! I have to say I was somewhat disappointed in how easily Daniel has slotted back into the team. I was hoping his disorientation and unique situation of slowly remembering more of his corporeal life would continue well into the season, but it's as if he never left, now. They missed a trick there, wanting to get back to the status quo too soon.

It is good to see him and Teal'c going off together to interview those who have claimed to have been abducted by aliens, though that side of the story didn't really go anywhere either - did those people ever discover what really happened to them? I doubt it, as the SGC doesn't want people to know the truth about what's out there. And it helps give the series its feeling of exclusivity: these are the people in the know, and the ones that secretly protect the Earth. They were trying to tie into the fad of UFO sightings and experiences, as no doubt there is a part of this audience that believe or want to believe in such things. I suppose it was kind of harmless in the same vein as 'DS9' having the Ferengi turn out to be the large-headed aliens of Roswell and Area 51 in 'Little Green Men.' In this, however, Loki's unsanctioned experiments on humans ("You mean there are sanctioned ones?"), had very little impact beyond a slight ingenuity in further tying the Asgard into being the little grey aliens of modern mythology. There was the fun of having Producer (and sometime Director), Peter DeLuise as the voice of Loki, as well as Michael Shanks once again as Thor, especially as Daniel Jackson was in the room at the same time, and I could recognise both voices without needing to see the credits!

I would have thought O'Neill would have instantly recognised his teenage face staring back at him, but again, he'd just been awoken from a week's hibernation, and he's never the quickest on the uptake! Which is why I couldn't help but be amused by the concept that he's considered an advanced human by the Asgard and a potential solution for their cloning problems (turns out that second one he's not). Really? Jack O'Neill the next stage of advanced humanity? If I didn't know better I'd have said both Loki and Thor were having a joke, though I could buy that he's a legend among their people. It was this and other points already raised that stopped the episode from reaching its potential. I will give credit to Michael Welch (who actually has a Trek connection, having played Artim in Star Trek: Insurrection), who did an incredible job of recreating O'Neill's every thought and gesture, in fact I would even say he got too close, if that's possible, so that the usual little attitudes and asides that Jack's famous for, became slightly irritating! But O'Neill can be quite irritating in his sarcastic tone, which can grate, so maybe it doesn't pay to show it in a young version! Jacob also pays a visit to offer the Tok'Ra's technological assistance, though as Jack says, he's not going to accept another symbiote after the last experience. There were some good lines and moments (the briefing where they all sit up straight upon realising this really is O'Neill!), but the fun of the idea wasn't truly utilised, as when Jack escapes the confines of the SGC with very little to show for it. Could do better, I'd say of the episode.

**

The Aenar

DVD, Enterprise S4 (The Aenar)

Pardon the pun, but I was left cold by this to begin with, and it didn't become a suitable successor to the good, then great first two episodes until it became personal, with Shran's first conversation with Jhamel. We don't see him talk to other people much, it's mainly Captain Archer he interacts with, which makes sense as he's usually there to service their friendship. Here, we see him differently, perhaps more receptive to a lonely female thanks to Talas' recent death, perhaps his nobler instincts awakened, but either way he seems drawn to the Aenar girl and feels sympathy for her plight. You could see what was coming, by the fact the Romulans sent two drone ships this time - what else but the pilot, Gareb, turning them on each other. There was no way to save him, either, being in the heart of Romulan space, a place that no alien eyes would see at pretty much any time, save perhaps Jean-Luc Picard's. So his fate was sealed from the off, but, as his sister said, at least he didn't die alone, as she was able to telepathically communicate with him before the end. His situation does, however, leave many questions: how was he kidnapped in the first place? Do the Romulans have silent strike teams all over the quadrant, waiting to snatch unwitting species? Or did they deliberately seek out an Aenar, perhaps desiring to confirm the myths about them being such strongly telepathic beings? Why did Gareb help them anyway? Was it all coercion, or in revenge for lies they'd told him about being the last of his kind?

The story isn't the best conclusion to the trilogy, not least because it was already, for the most part, concluded in the second, superior part. Only the relatively unnecessary inclusion of the Aenar pilot in the first place gave them a thread to follow. And it leads to a strange place. I'm not talking exclusively about the long overdue first in Trek of a visit to the Andorian homeworld, or the ice caves of the Aenar, a subspecies that were all but legend to the blue-skinned inhabitants of that world until a few decades before. No, as interesting as that was (and as impressive a job as the production crew made of turning the familiar cave set into an icy wonderland!), it was Trip's destination at the end of the episode that was unexpected. He doesn't admit that it's his problems with T'Pol that have initiated it, but he does ask for a transfer. Like William T. Riker before (or after), him, he's previously twice turned down an offer from the NX-02 Columbia, to join them as their Chief Engineer, and now, like Riker and his USS Titan, he wants to take up the offer. But it's not for the right reasons, even if it does give us a handy and unexpected cliffhanger.

Instead of keeping strictly to the two- or three-parters, they have allowed little continuing arcs to slip through, which is good to see, though I was never in favour of Trip and T'Pol's illicit pairing. I did like Dr. Phlox' knowing conversation with him about his lack of concentration, and appreciated T'Pol's more stoic attitude and lack of understanding for how Trip is reacting, as this is more the alien Vulcans that we should have seen from the beginning, when in fact she fitted in fairly well, as if her arc of becoming part of the crew was simplified. When Trip asks her to recall an example of facing the likelihood of death, I was hoping she would tell us of a time before Enterprise, as it would have been an ideal time to learn more about her secret agent duty for the Vulcans in her earlier career. It was these issues of a personal nature that hold the attention more than the exploration of a new, but familiar (in name), planet. You can have all the physical exploration you want, but if it's not backed up by identification with characters, it may as well be a cold and detached scientific documentary.

We did uncover a fair amount of new information about Shran's people, their cohabitants, and even wildlife ('ice bores' - little worms that move through the ice). Shran's stubborn pride injures him when he falls down ice-hewn stairs and skewers his leg on an ice stalagmite, but this does result in him meeting Jhamel, so there was a point to it beyond showing his arrogance again - he actually sounds slightly rueful when he admits to her that no one's ever in any doubt about what he's thinking, and this softness adds ever more depth and subtlety to a character who often seems little more than a loudmouth, incendiary type, but who, as we've seen over the course of his various appearances, has a lot more to him. It's a shame we were only able to scratch the surface before the series ended prematurely, but at least this wasn't his final appearance. We're also afforded a little more personal time with the two main Romulans, Valdore and Nijil, even if it came a bit late. We hear of Valdore's disgrace, how he was forced to step down from being a Senator many years ago for daring to suggest expansionism might not be the best course for his people. In Nijil we see a much more humanitarian persona, one who is doing it for science, but abhors the violence in respect to Gareb, forced to work almost to death. Valdore, on the other hand is bitter from his previous fall, and has no mercy in him. His second major fail leaves me wondering why Romulan ships of the 24th Century are named after him, and it's only a guess, but I imagine, had we had continued with the Romulan storyline, including the war, characters like him would have recurred as we'd need to see the opposing side lest it became all the alliance's point of view against a faceless enemy.

I would also say the direction was artistic, with certain shots standing out in my mind - none more than the beautiful use of the circular window as framing device for the casual conversation between the two Romulans, but also the closeup 'in-headset' views of Gareb and Jhamel, with the operational blinkies sweeping across their faces as they communicated through the telepresence devices. The Aenar side of things was almost (again, pardon the pun), a blind, and something that could have done with more explanation, but at the same time we barely know anything about the Andorians themselves, so introducing a subspecies only begat more questions! Still, that's the mark of a thriving creative force: able to juggle existing canon without being hampered in developing the new. It's something we love about Trek in general, because the universe is forever unfolding, (mostly) logically, expanding the knowledge we have of these races, and turning their makeup and model ships ever more into living, breathing alien societies. The same fault of this series I keep returning to, is once again apparent, unfortunately, with Hoshi not even allowed to speak - you can't focus on every character ever week, but it is a problem when characters are all but excluded consistently. And just while I'm being picky, it was a little ugly to have the exit from the caves appear (after being hidden by the Aenar to prevent escape), so close to where they'd been, as it made the set look small! But in all, this trilogy was the best of the season, and remains so in my estimation.

***

Interstellar

cinema, Interstellar (2014) film

Christopher Nolan has made a name for himself for making films that don't rely on explosions, fist fights and chases, and for giving us proper stories, not narrative connections bridging the action scenes: giving us something to think about. Yet he also frequently manages to give us the ride expected of visiting the cinema, and doesn't preclude the use of explosions, fist fights and chases if they serve the story and are entertaining. He's not likely to make a film set in one room to bombard us with philosophical ideas because he seems to enjoy the scale and visual potential of the medium. Not to say a film in a room can't work - watch '12 Angry Men' to see it compellingly done. But he likes to mine all the streams of filmmaking in order to give us a complete production, from visuals to sound, colour to scale, and 'Interstellar' is no different. And, like first flipping open the cover of a classic book you've never read, it's best to experience it with as little foreknowledge as possible. I went in with a slight vision of what it might be about, it's hard to avoid every scrap of advance data that rains down on you like a vast wave: I knew it was about a catastrophe for the Earth that had to be averted; it was about a Father saving his daughter; and that it would include some of those Nolan likes to use like a repertory company (though I was surprised by one addition); and I knew it was a space film about an astronaut. Conditioned as I was by most film stories, I had in mind a comet heading for Earth that must be dealt with, but it was more imaginative than that, and if not a more immediate threat, one no less devastating for the species.

First impressions were that the story would fit within my preconceived notions about a former NASA astronaut having to go into space one more time because he's the best there is, while having to deal with an accident from his past. In fact, things didn't follow this predetermined route, and ghosts from the past were the least of his worries (more like ghosts from his future!), with no qualms about taking on a mission upon which would hang the survival of the human race. The only psychological problem he had was in leaving a young daughter who was angry at him for taking on a mission that would take years to reach completion. And we feel the full force of this decision thanks to the ability of Earth to send messages to the Endurance, the craft undertaking this vital quest. The film isn't about space, despite giving us a real, believable environment and taking the time to build the story from the ground up instead of rushing headlong into adventure. It's about the bonds of family (though perhaps potential parallels were lost with the Brands, who go through a similar experience to the Coopers, but in opposition, yet the same care was not afforded that particular bond, I felt), but even more than that, and this is the theme I felt was central, was time. Murphy, Cooper's daughter is resentful of the time she lost with her Father, because when she eventually does choose to send a message, unlike her brother who's always communicated, it is to chastise him for breaking his promise that he'd see her again by the time she was his age. She's reached that age, and no sign. She doesn't even fully believe he'll receive the message, and the film successfully represents the vastness of space and time, and that the lives of humans of so much meaning to us, are like the drop in an infinite ocean.

Cooper's son is quite different, much more inward-looking to Earth as it is, not having vision for the need or possibility of escaping the doomed planet. From boyhood he was happy to take over his Father's farm, proud of his Dad's work, which Cooper himself has never liked, being a man that looks outward, with an engineer's brain and little to use it for: wasted potential. Tom seems more comfortable with the past and solid matters of soil and crops, the immediate solution to the world's survival, not seeing beyond this as Murph does. She's always been fascinated by the space missions and her Father's role, so much so that she gets into trouble at school for challenging the now-held belief that the Apollo missions were faked, a belief designed to keep children grounded so they won't have dreams of space and technology, everything on Earth turned inward toward farming to stave off destruction. It is a blight that threatens existence, not some celestial body, and only a lone voice exists to see beyond this view: NASA itself. It continues to exist in secret with two plans to secure survival: find a planet and either settle it with embryos, or harness the power of gravity in order to lift the massive complex that is NASA HQ into space to provide an escape for the people. I sympathised with Tom, in a way, even though he was pigheaded, not allowing his wife and son to leave the farm despite their obvious lung damage from the dusty environment, perhaps seeing it as his sister, who never believed in the farming way, trying to force her views on him, and attacking the family unit he's built, while he's tried to continue what he sees as his Father's work. That's how I interpreted his character, anyway.

I wondered why they had Cooper living with his Father-in-law rather than his own parents (from a story choice - in that world I think both his parents were dead), but if he'd had somebody to confide in on a deeper personal level (there's a slight distance between the pair that might not be there with a parent), rather than someone to share a beer with, it might make him less his own man and emphasised his own bond with Murph. Not that Donald doesn't have a view on things - he gives Cooper wise words on a reason for doing something. Cooper wants to go to space because he feels it's right, it's what he's always wanted to do, but Donald tells him that just because it's what he wants doesn't mean it's right. He calls back to a time (our world), where everyone was intent on getting the latest thing, and that now, where things are simpler due to the needs of survival, things might, possibly, be better. Selflessness and selfishness are another big theme of the film. Is making a selfless act the better way than choosing what you want? What Donald doesn't know, however, is that the last crop that isn't afflicted by the blight will eventually succumb, as Professor Brand has already predicted (though be careful in trusting what he says!), so is that saying that doing what you want could be the right way after all? Another support of this reading could be Brand's method of persuading people to work for the survival of their species: he believes it can only be done if people are thinking of their own personal survival, which is quite a negative idea, and may undermine what some may see as a humanist tone in the film.

Donald's words are expressed by Cooper to the younger Dr. Brand when she admits her choice of the second of three planets to visit is motivated by attraction to Dr. Edmunds, the pioneer sent to test that planet for suitable colonisation. They only have enough fuel to go to either this or Dr. Mann's location, if they want to also return home, the reason the plan was initiated - Cooper never loses sight of a return to Earth, by which time Professor Brand will have solved the equation to unlock gravity. But just as young Brand's reasoning was affected, her Father's was too: he didn't believe the main mission, 'Plan A' could succeed, because the equation didn't work, gravity couldn't be controlled with their level of understanding. 'Plan B,' to colonise a planet and restart the human race with the embryos they carry on Endurance, was the only solution. So he's lied to Cooper, and even his own daughter - they'll never return to Earth, they must begin again. But this isn't the last lie: the group votes to go to Mann's planet because the data is much more promising, but in a cruel twist, Mann himself has falsified the data to make them come and rescue him, loneliness having driven him almost mad. He cites the survival instinct, and yet he puts the future of humanity at risk by attempting to maroon those who came, almost derailing the whole mission. If Cooper is selfless, giving up his life and family (even to do what he wants to do), Mann is the epitome of selfishness, caring more for his survival than anything else. He claims he'll complete the mission, but I have difficulty believing anything he says.

So selfishness is punished, but that doesn't stop Dr. Brand from wanting to go to Edmunds in the first place, and if she had got what she wanted, none of that would have happened. We also see selflessness vindicated, when Cooper apparently sacrifices himself to get the vital data from the black hole, pushing Brand out of the pull in which Endurance is trapped, so she can slingshot around it and use the last remaining fuel to go off to Edmunds. In doing this, Cooper is truly selfless as he never wanted to give up his life and any chance of seeing Murph again as he promised, but to save his daughter and the Earth, the information must be retrieved. I'm not sure how he thought the information would get back to Earth, as Brand was heading to Edmunds… In the end, of course, he solves the riddle of the ghostly presence early in the film, the genesis of his involvement, being sucked into the 'tesseract,' which he realises was built by advanced humans from the future, the same benevolent beings who sent a wormhole through which humankind could be saved, and seeing time in three dimensions, sending the message to his daughter, then being flung into space so he could be one day found, rescued, and meet Murph on her deathbed (I appreciated them using an old actress to play her rather than makeup, though of course they'd already done this once by showing her go from girl to woman), the mission a success, he who was willing to give up his life, regained it, and he who tried to save it (Mann), losing it, which is very Biblical.

See what I mean about making you think? It does a great job of that, which so many films completely gloss over, or throw in an idea, never to speak of it again. But this film has continued with me, the succeeding days after I saw it, making me ponder its meanings and motivations. It may not have been one hundred percent engaging, as sometimes there were parts that were too slow, but those moments don't stay in the forefront of your mind - it's the themes that stick. A judge of a good film for me, is whether I'm tempted to look at my watch during the showing, and although it had a long running time, I never had that thought, and even after it finished I was talking about it through the credits and walking through town until I parted from my cinema buddy, because there was much to discuss. Sometimes I've come out of a film (for example, the first of 'The Hobbit' films), irritated and unsatisfied, but if anything, it was difficult to explain all that had just happened, and though I talked a lot it was more surface material and reactions I could speak of, because you need time to mentally digest this film.

All this sounds as if there was no degree of feeling to the story, beyond sadness at death or betrayal, but there were thrills of danger and horror to be had, too. There were wonders to behold, the incredible and humbling spacescapes and amazing phenomena, a sense of awe at the size and scope that we know is out there, but rarely connect with. The closest we can come with our own eyes is seeing the stars on a clear night, and if you look up and see all those points of light you can become dizzy with the impossible distances and scale. We're afforded beautiful vistas, with the Endurance only a speck across the bulk of Saturn, or hovering over new planets, but these things could also be said to be distancing and cold. What really matters to us is personal danger, as when they set down on the watery planet of Miller, but are those distant mountains we see? They aren't mountains, they're a huge wave sweeping in from the horizon, and Dr. Brand's insistence on recovering the black box from Miller's crashed ship almost gets her killed. I got a slight sense of this early on when Cooper goes off road into a field of crops to chase down a rare flying drone - I wasn't sure entirely what to think, as I hadn't quite grasped the state of the world at that point, and it was supposed to be fun, and there was a sense of excitement and wonder, but I was also wondering if it was dangerous. Well, that impression planted the seeds of trepidation (perhaps seen from a child's view, and also showing Cooper is a safe pair of hands, as well as his need for adventure), that fully blossomed on Miller.

It wasn't just the approaching destruction that held an awe of horror about it, but that going down to Miller, time was much different, so an hour on the planet would be seven years of Earth time, and at that point Cooper was still expecting to get back to see his daughter before too long had passed. It just goes to show that that old saying of 'things always take longer than you expect' should be taken to heart exponentially when dealing with the physics of space. This concept of time moving at different rates for different people was fascinating as we see it in action, and when they do eventually return to Endurance aboard their shuttle, Romilly, the man they left behind, intending to be no more than four years for him, has waited over twenty! I would have liked to explore this concept much more, I'm not exactly sure how in the context of the story, but I wanted more. Still, my expectations continued to be incorrect as I thought the film would follow a structure of visiting each of the three chosen planets, and having adventures on each, and that 'They' would turn out to be aliens, whether benevolent or with hidden menace, but none of this came true, which is good, as it shows that it wasn't travelling a well worn plane of stories.

One reason the film could be slow was because it took things seriously, it wasn't frivolous or silly, but took care with real science, or at least the appearance of real science, and because of that it made me think of 'Star Trek' which used to do that so well. Not only was this the style I felt the modern Trek films should emulate, but it was pretty true to a vision of a hopeful future (eventually), and that good people would survive, working for the greater good - even when Cooper knows the original plan was a lie, he also knows that the data inside the black hole could make it happen, so if he can make his last act one that will hopefully grasp it, it will be worthwhile. I'm wishing Nolan would do a Trek film! To make things seem more real we don't just rush around from necessarily the most interesting moment to the next, time is taken to build the world, and even though perhaps the same level of detail and approach may not be as true of the characters, despite not knowing all of them as well as we might, when they're in danger it makes us feel for their plight, partly because of the overwhelming force they face (the wave), and partly because of personal betrayal (Dr. Mann). You care about what happens because this isn't a superhero film, and these people can't just fly out of harm's way or use superior strength. But they do have help…

The robots deserve special mention, and if there's one surprise in the film that was the most subtle and unexpected for me, it was the revelation of these machines! At first sight they are box-like, and very old-fashioned in design, like something from a seventies space film (perhaps not without purpose as there are several things about this film that speak to that decade). They walk about awkwardly, are never fully on camera, as if it was difficult to make them work, so you're not given a full picture of how exactly they move. I thought they were a bit daft, to begin with, but it was all a blind. Nolan was saving them for a flourish where the veil drops, like a magician's sleight of hand that you don't see coming. On Miller's world, TARS is ordered to rescue Brand from the towering wave that rumbles towards them, and this previously clunky object that had been kept in the background, shows what it's capable of in spectacular fashion: it splits into a wheel-like structure and rolls over to her, before picking her up with extendable arms and hurrying back as fast as it could walk. We were lulled into the pace and feel of an old space film, and allowed to forget what is possible today! It was magnificent, in the best tradition of R2-D2's heroics: a complete servant to human masters, but not without its own ideas, far more developed than the boxy casing told. Instead of the stereotypical monotone voice, they had normal voices with character and humour - and just as in the other horror aspects of the film, we feel safe with them, and then one proves fatal thanks to the evil of Mann.

Because this is demonstrably not an action-packed film, and has more attention set on grandeur and spectacle, I was beginning to think there wouldn't even be one punch thrown in the course of the story, but there was: Mann surprises Cooper and a vicious struggle for survival ensues. Because Mann had been happy to leave Cooper dying I was also worried for the other team members, thinking he might just go and kill them if he was capable of this, so there was great tension in the whole sequence, far from the unconcerning and aimless battling in many films. Knowing that McConaughey was playing the main character and Michael Caine was in it (I'm not sure if I knew Anne Hathaway was in the cast before I saw it), I wasn't put off by there being no opening credits, so often the case now - at least the title came up at the beginning, which wasn't so in his Batman films! Consequently, I wasn't thinking about actors or casting, just watching the story unfold, so I was most surprised when who should pop up out of the stasis tube than Matt Damon!

It felt like it was supposed to be a surprise, as there was a feeling of expectation engendered (I don't know if his casting had been kept secret), and though this hadn't been a horror film as such, to that point, I wasn't sure where it might go, so was half expecting some gory remains or something strange about the face being unzipped. That it was Matt Damon was enough! I think he was cast because he's so often the good guy, the trustworthy all-American guy (like Jason Bourne, his most famous role), you can depend on. Who better to be a double-crossing murderer! It was disappointing, in a way, that Nolan deigned to stoop to the use of such a character since there was inherent drama in the whole situation, but he wasn't reinventing the wheel. I'm not really sure why Mann was so intent on escaping, because even when they uncovered his lie, they wouldn't have left him behind. The worst that would happen is he'd be considered a criminal, perhaps, but in the precarious insurance of life they'd need every man available. Loneliness had addled his mind, I think we can take that from his actions, and the instinct he cites of preservation had taken over to form logic only he understood. This is an example of the film's theme about love, because we see existence without it, and it's not pretty, this in reverse of Cooper and Murph's love, or Brand's love for Edmunds, though I felt that theme wasn't as complex as some others in the film (Professor Brand's selfless love for the race, sending his daughter knowing he'd never see her again wasn't really explored), but maybe it didn't need to be?

Not everything made perfect sense, even if it can be said to be up to your imagination and interpretation. The solutions were a little tenuous, such as Cooper being able to send the presumably deeply complex data TARS was able to transmit to him, via binary code to the watch. How long would it have taken to do that, and what was he actually sending Murph? If Brand was heading to Edmunds, what was the point of trying to retrieve the data from the black hole, since they couldn't transmit it to Earth - if it hadn't been for the tesseract, Cooper's sacrifice would have been a waste as he'd have been unable to send the data out and would have died in there. Shouldn't Plan B, the idea of starting again and leaving Earth behind, have meant more women should have been on the mission - on Noah's Ark, everyone was a married couple to be able to continue the race. It makes me feel uneasy for Brand, as there could have been fighting over her, in spite of having the embryos. Why couldn't they build space stations like the one seen at the end? Well, that last question is easy to answer, because they needed the ability to manipulate gravity before they could get such an enormous structure into space, though that doesn't explain why they couldn't have shipped up smaller parts and assembled it in orbit, though I suppose the logistical scale would have been almost impossible to cope with thanks to the level of technology and resources at that time. And talking of technology, why did the mechanical harvesters stop working and congregate at the farm near the beginning? Was this further tinkering by future Cooper as a sign he should stay, or was it 'They' who did that? It was never referred to again!

When he slid into this clearly constructed creation in the middle of the black hole, as abstract and inventive as the whole sequence was, it did start to lose me a little. I suppose I assumed he was destined to die since a sacrifice is often the way to create a bittersweet ending, but we got both, thanks to this completely unexpected twist, so it was probably more to do with my expectations being confused, and a little less to do with a slightly pat ending in that he doesn't face the consequences of sacrifice (unless you count seeing his daughter about to die). I never guessed it would be Cooper himself pushing the books off Murph's shelf, as I was still assuming alien intervention since we knew there was a 'They' out there which had sent a wormhole, but when Cooper's flying through space and his ship disintegrates around him as he ejects I wasn't sure if this was some kind of memory we were seeing or if he was dying, or, as I said, aliens. I'm sure Gene Roddenberry would have approved, but it was a bit too airy-fairy for me, even though the multiple time zones of Murph's room stretching into infinity was a dazzling effect and an incredibly executed idea. But that the story rested on the concept of future 'evolved' humans who had learned to incorporate the fourth dimension of time into three dimensions was a little excessive for me, even though it did lead to something of a happy ending, and more importantly, a hopeful ending, both for the human race as a whole, and for Cooper individually as he goes off to rescue Brand from Edmunds' planet.

There's no last scene in which he lands there and finds (as we saw), she's had to bury Edmunds, but the romantic side of the film was thankfully understated in the extreme. You could guess where Cooper and Brand would end up as the hero and heroine usually find true love, but they didn't fling each other into each other's arms as soon as they boarded Endurance, their respect growing naturally from shared experiences. And you can't get more respect for someone than if they sacrifice their life to save you! I was glad the usual tropes of film were circumvented like this - though there was a fight, it was a shocking betrayal, not an expected showdown that was built towards; there was affection between the two main characters, but Cooper's love was more reserved for his daughter and the life without each other that they missed (it was about saving her, but more about sacrificing the time they could have had), leaving him free to go after Brand once Murph had died, symbolically ending that love and beginning a new one for him. Nolan's films have often been criticised as being cold and emotionless, and it's almost as if he was responding to that by making this a heartfelt film with a central character very much affected by events. Dr. Brand, and some of the others still come across as remote and scientific, but then they are all scientists and intelligent people ruled by their minds, whereas Cooper is more of an everyman, the commoner who also has special skills required to increase the mission's likelihood of success, but is still rooted in the old-fashioned heroic mould of adventurer.

He proves himself on more than one occasion: while it is the robot that rescues Brand in the first action sequence, it is Cooper's daring and piloting skills that are put to the test when he must dock with the spinning Endurance as its orbit decays after Dr. Mann's misguided attempt to escape, which resulted in explosion of one of the modules and the potential end of the human race. The real feeling of space and being in that empty, hostile environment is shown superbly in this sequence by the rapid rate of the shadows dancing violently across the Endurance. Unlike most sci-fi, you don't have many external shots of the spacecraft, though there are some exceptions when we see it as a tiny object dwarfed by the celestial phenomena around it, but it's mostly seen from onboard cameras as a real spacecraft would be, and is, with the craft stationery on screen, but the light and planets revolving around it.

The score is not one I would probably enjoy away from the film, as I prefer a strong theme, but of the films I've seen from Nolan, he tends to go with a tone or sound rather than the traditional rousing orchestral piece. And it does suit this film's style to have the organs that recall a seventies space documentary or the pulsar of tones, as they draw you hypnotically into more belief in the vastness and wonder of space and the tiny struggles of the humans. It was very much in the way of 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture,' slow and deliberate, and many other space films of the era - you can see these were a big influence on the Director, and something he wanted to recreate again in an age where things tend to be fast and flashy. But it's just this careful and thought-provoking approach that makes any moments of jeopardy so much more real. The world we're seeing is solid, scientifically accurate, with even the 'out there' solutions (a construct in a black hole), using speculation on dimensions to work. You can do anything in storytelling, but there has to be a price, there has to feel like there are rules that it costs you to get around, otherwise everyone is Superman and can do anything without fear. Space is vast. It's empty but for these great wonders, and doing things in space isn't easy, it's a trial. Nolan is calling back to the pioneers of the space programme and asking us to think of the future, too.

In surface impressions, I have to admit I couldn't always catch what was being said, a bit like Bane in 'The Dark Knight Rises,' but as with that film I was quite happy with that, as I got the gist of it and it added to the realism that not every word was sharp and clear. The only instance that really stood out for me were Professor Brand's last words, which I didn't catch. It was the same with the music: in space scenes we were often given silence, as that's what it would be like in that environment, but at other times we did hear music, because the film's story came first above slavishly following accuracy of reality: they're all tools in the filmmakers toolbox. I felt the use of strong language wasn't necessary, though it was used mostly in times of great stress rather than gratuitously. I just felt the sense of awe and panic sufficiently conveyed the emotions without it, and might have made it a lower certificate. A few times I saw faces of actors I recognised, but couldn't place until the credits (John Lithgow, of course!), but generally the casting was ideal. When we first meet Michael Caine's Professor I thought he was doing an American accent, but then he sounded English the rest of the time, so I don't know what was going on there, and unlike the other characters he didn't seem to age in the twenty-odd years, but maybe I missed how much younger he was supposed to be when we first met him? Hathaway was fine, but I can't say anyone jumped out at me, despite this being a very personal tale, and I certainly wouldn't suggest the effects and scale of the endeavour outpaced the characterisations, but I was left thinking it would have made a good TV series, perhaps a one-season epic as is possible now, which would have given more time to the characters.

I was also interested to see this was a co-production from Warner Brothers and Paramount, which was interesting. But this was not a 'Star Trek' film. There is a hopeful future, but it's arrived at in spite of lies and cowardice. Perhaps it's more realistic in that way than Trek (although even in that we have to go through a third World War to reach utopia!). The problem of the film is as simple as humans making their own mess, and my own first thought was to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, which was later mentioned. Reading up on it, I found the old people speaking in documentary style were real, from an actual film about that time (explains why they seemed so genuine), and rooting the story in an emotive and difficult period for the nation that also created space exploration was a deliberate ploy, as it shows both the highs and lows of human life. I'd have liked to learn more about the world, and its curious disbelief in the achievements in space of the past, but there wasn't time. The film may not have been flashy, but it had beautiful moments. It wasn't full of action, but that only emphasised the moments we saw. It could be slow, but the atmosphere drew you in. And it was all based around people, not mighty heroes we can't identify with, but real people and their reactions to the potential end of humankind. Not going softly into this good night. So the film may not be as optimistic as you might think, but it's also true to the savage survival instinct of the species. It's something that's kept me thinking long after the experience ended, and the more I think about it, the more I want to see it again, which is a good way to come off of a film. Most these days aren't worth the admission fee, but this one most definitely was.

***

United

DVD, Enterprise S4 (United)

If you're ever unsure of whether 'Enterprise' can hold up years after its production, just put this episode on! It has everything a great Trek episode needs, and while we weren't served up this level of rightness anywhere near as regularly as on the other Trek series', now and again they turned out a real gem like this. The characters are used effectively (even Travis and Hoshi!), there are space battles, cool ship designs, nice little links to Trek history, humour, action, mano-a-alieno duelling, and even a surprising cliffhanger that stayed with me ever since I first saw this episode almost a decade ago, to this moment when I saw it again: the pilot of the Romulan drone ship was none other than what appeared to be a white, blind Andorian! That really hit me on first viewing, and even though I know what it's all about now, it still makes for a visual to stick in the mind. We've never even seen a white Andorian before, and why would it be working for the Romulans? These and other questions would be dealt with in the third and final part of the trilogy.

Up until that ending I felt this could comfortably have been a two-parter, as all the conflict is resolved, the drone ship is left to limp back to its masters on Romulus, and all is right with the alliance. I wonder if it had originally been designed for two parts, but they were enjoying playing in the sandbox of Andorian culture so much that they stuck a third on the end? Once again, if people decry Trek's canon as two big an obstacle to work within, you only have to find a race like the Andorians, as they did in this series, one that hasn't been extensively explored, and you have free rein to delve right in there! And there are plenty of familiar races for which this could have, and could be, done even now! Even this series hadn't ice-picked their way into the caverns of Andorian life as much as it could have, and no doubt if Shran had joined the cast as was planned for Season 5, we'd have learnt so much more about his species, not to mention the Tellarites, who could have done with much development. That's not a criticism of this episode, just an observation that they were almost as close to a blank slate as an alien of the week. Here, however, both are used very well, and it's a thrill to see the fruits of Earth's, and in particular, Archer's labours: a combined fleet of Vulcan, Tellarite and Andorian ships join Enterprise during their skirmish with the drone vessel. Wow!

Setting the various races against each other and destabilising the quadrant may have been the Romulans' intention, but it had the opposite effect, binding those uncertain allies closer in an effort to smoke out the intruder that manipulated them. Adversity bonded them in a natural way, but only thanks to the tireless and selfless heroism of good Captain Archer. I would put some small question towards Scott Bakula's choices in this episode, as although the character comes across well, broadly speaking, I felt he was a little too shouty when he didn't need to be, and jovial when seriousness was called for. It's nitpicking, I know, but in such a strong episode I'd have liked everything to be perfect: when he's lecturing (quite rightly), Gral and Shran on the need to put aside their differences, to stop the threat, he ends up sounding like a school teacher warning that they're about to get detention, more than an experienced starship Captain, advising them to discard their personal feelings and get to the table. And as T'Pol tries warns him against taking the Tellarite's place against Shran in combat, he seemed to take things a little too lightly, as if he had a trick up his sleeve. Maybe he did? Was it always the plan to whip off Shran's antenna to humiliate rather than kill him? Which brings me to Travis' story - just how did his Dad deal with a similar challenge, as we were taken out of the scene before he revealed the punchline? I assume it was the same as Archer's solution, but if so, I'd have liked to see him thank Travis and Hoshi for finding the loophole, to make it clear it was their plan.

I must say I was surprised when Talas, Shran's chosen mate, actually dies from the graze inflicted from the phase pistol. I thought she was the woman he settles down with for the rest of his days and has children with, but it was not to be. What was to be, were Shran's best scenes of the series: a touching bedside reassurance for Talas from a man so often brutal in his movements and attitudes, a soldier whose pride in strength and honour are both his best and worst qualities at the same time. It was also touching to see him reiterate his friendship with Archer, they don't even do the 'You owe me!' recurring joke any more, as Shran openly calls him friend. I loved that scene in Archer's Ready Room with Shran looking at the illustrations of past Enterprises and asking if Archer had captained them all. It would be a sensible question to him, not knowing the history of Earth - but those images have gone down through real history, too, first shown in 'The Motion Picture,' and tying the NX-01 to the greater, rich tapestry of Enterprise lineage. They may have tied back to the very first Trek film, by focusing on those ever-present parts of Archer's background, but they also connected with the latest film of the time, 'Nemesis': Remans! It's such a disappointment to me that the aliens in the opening two-parter of the season were said not to be Remans, despite their very similar look, but it makes up for it somewhat by having real Reman heavies as part of the sinister and threatening presence of the Senator overseeing the drone ship's operation.

It's good to see that Valdore has his superiors to bow and scrape to (not that he does), and that the Senate is mentioned, and that we're allowed to see out of the window of the drone relay 'bridge' now that we're in on the secret that it isn't the actual drone-board location. And the Senator even gives us a Jolan Tru to be done with, too! I loved seeing the Romulan text come up on screen as Malcolm and Trip try to take control, but more than that, I loved the whole ambience of the sequence, with the Romulan addressing them each individually as he tries, as usual, to manipulate events out of his control, by pulling the strings to make people do as he commands. Or so he thought - as Reed said, Trip's good at fixing things, he's good at blowing things up, and that's exactly what he did to save them, giving us our first (as far as I can remember), self-destruct of a Phase Pistol. I was starting to wonder why the Romulans didn't just self-destruct their own ship as it was about to fall into enemy hands and it sounded like they had others, but even that little question was quickly answered: the destruct system was being repaired. Although… if you're going to be picky you could point out that this is usually the most hardy and (ironically), indestructible part of a ship, since it has to be able to work even after vast damage. And just as the artificial gravity is usually the last system to go, so too is the self-destruct. But then this isn't a Federation ship, and it ain't the 24th Century, so I'll give them credit for even mentioning the fact.

The calm, familiar way Valdore talks with these trespassing strangers was off-balancing, and more chilling since you know with the slightest advantage he'd flush them out or leave them to die of radiation poisoning without compunction. It made me think of 'Civil Defence' on 'DS9' where the computer activates booby traps and takes over the station. They do spend the whole episode aboard, but it's only a B- or C-plot, but being trapped on a remotely operated ship could easily have been the main story of an episode. But that's the delight of this episode: so much to like, and not at the expense of character. T'Pol gets less than usual, but continues to display a more appropriate level of Vulcan restraint than she used to, while also friendly concern for Archer. Phlox has to break the bad news to Shran. Hoshi and Travis work together to find a loophole in the rules of the Andorian duel (odd that the woman on the bridge at the station in front of Travis didn't even look up when he called across to Hoshi - he didn't say a name, so she should have looked up as he called from behind her!). Travis also came up with the sensor net plan to track the drone ship, one of the more unlikely moments - when did he come up with this? I wondered why he stared so intently at his controls every week, now we know: he formulates plans! This time he was listened to, for once. It's more something T'Pol would propose, but I wouldn't penalise their use of a character so often sidelined, and it was interesting to note the similarity between this and 'Redemption II' when such a strategy was also used against the Romulans!

If we're talking about good character scenes, none are better served than Shran. He reaffirms his and Archer's historic friendship, grieves over his dead mate, and battles the Captain in the Ushaan, ultimately shaking the hand of his racial enemy, the Tellarites, and helping to usher in a new era of peace, brokered by Archer. When he enters the conference room, claiming he only wants to talk, the tension can be felt as he stalks round the table at which the killer of his mate sits, like a tiger with its claws just below the surface. Knowing he's not the sort of person to talk, but one to take action, we're just waiting for him to do something, and it's a very well choreographed scene. So we see many sides to this Andorian, beyond what we've seen before, and he only goes up in our estimation. As does the Captain - he takes a risky course of action, gambling that if he is killed by Shran the alliance will continue as Starfleet won't withdraw from it. The actual duel itself looked real, and in the finest tradition of Starfleet officers, such as Kirk taking on Spock, or Worf taking on Duras. It looked like Archer was really sliced up there, too, not just a ceremonial little cut, strategically placed on the cheek to look scarred without the nastiness of deep damage - Shran digs into his leg, and you can see later, on the bridge, he's still got a slight limp. That's the difference with this episode, though: it has and deals with repercussions. It ripples down through history, taking in the future of ships named Enterprise, and the whole Federation itself.

It gets the surface jazz on target with a nifty and breathtaking aerobatic display from the drone ship, and is excellently directed by regular master, David Livingston, who injects urgency even into the static talky scenes by circling the speakers and keeping things moving visually without resorting to shaky-cam overdrive. What more? Oh, there's a great shot of the NX-01's bow as it sails majestically into frame above the helpless forms of Reed and Tucker, and the episode has a number of moments that almost make you want to cheer - that mini-fleet of allied ships that warps into the area before warping off after the drone, is just one of them! The Romulans also mention their distant brothers, which threw me for a second as I'm sure Spock was unfamiliar with them being related when it was first revealed in 'TOS,' but, just as V'Las knew of and wanted reunification, it can be explained away as only the top members of each species knowing the truth. Leaving aside unification, though, this is all about uniting. The episode could have begun with the title 'Disunited' as they're about as far from proving an effective partnership as can be, but in true and time-honoured Trek tradition, by the end of the episode, its title says it all, and the pride, vengeance, anger and bitterness has been turned around into a force for good and cooperation. On my 1000th blog post I included a list of my top 'Enterprise' episodes, but I mistakenly put 'Babel One' down when I meant this one - this is my fourth favourite episode of the series, without a doubt.

****

CyClones

DOSBox, CyClones (1994) game

You could do a lot worse if you're looking for a first person shooter to play that costs nothing, than have a go at this. After trying out various genres on DOSBox, I fancied an FPS, just to see what was possible back then. While it could never compete with the seminal experiences I had with such greats as 'Goldeneye 007' and 'Perfect Dark' on the N64, or 'Metroid Prime' and 'Turok Evolution' on GameCube, it was a good-sized game with twenty-one levels of varying environmental style (to a degree - more on this later), some fairly enjoyable weapons, and… not much else. The game's story I never really followed with my full attention as it was presented in text that was very militaristic in format, speaking to you as the walking weapon that you are. I read it all at the start of each level, but precious little stayed in my mind, and as every level was pretty much the standard formula of these kinds of games (shoot nasties; pick up items to progress), it wasn't necessary. So I never really felt the impression of one lone drone on its own against an infestation of evil, that was so well done in 'Metroid.'

If there was a game I could compare the experience to, it would be 'Hitman 2' on the 'Cube. Why? The irritating controls. I'd never played an FPS in the 'pure' way of mouse and keyboard before, and maybe I didn't find the right setup to best feel the control, but for whatever reason, just as 'H2' was an enjoyable game, taken down a few pegs by ill-designed control methods, I would have enjoyed the game far more if I'd been able to have the precise and perfect response I had with the Nintendo Controllers while playing shooters on their systems. What may be a realistic addition, in the unreliability of your weapons, proved thoroughly distressing on multiple occasions as I found the mouse changing to movement when I was in the midst of pitched battle, meaning my gun would either stop firing, or keep firing and use up more ammunition than necessary! It was like my gun jammed, and in this futuristic weaponry, out of place. And yet I'm sure it was just my control that was at fault, not a deliberate in-game malfunction designed to set you on edge.

Other irritations were that the cursor turned pink whenever you touched the edge of the screen, and because you were always looking for hidden doors discovered by your cursor turning pink, you were forever having to stop and check if you'd missed something, or you might well miss some because you assumed a false alarm! The hidden doors could be a bit of a pain, as progression too often relied on locating these, and searching for them could get boring, especially as some of the later levels were quite maze-like. I will give them this credit, though: with relatively small resources and power for the time this came out, they still managed to pull off varied environments which used topography to good effect, whether that were slopes or multi-levelled areas. The first level you're out in the open with a starry sky above you, and you traverse all kinds of internal locations, from stone-hewn caverns of varying hues, to high-tech alien facilities, to swampy or slimy areas, to places of wood or metal or alien surfaces. So you don't get tired of the visuals except for the fact that it's all in a very blocky style, laid out in squares and rectangles, but that's to be expected given the time it came out.

Okay, so control far from ideal, visuals pretty good, how about the sound, so integral in creating mood? Another negative for me, I'm afraid, with 'music' that is truly terrible blinky-blorky and interminable, unchanging from level to level. As much as I tried to turn it off, it didn't seem to be affected, which could be annoying, but the sounds of the weaponry were reasonably meaty until you got to later levels where your suit has upgraded nicely (a la 'Metroid'). Oddly, the fact that you have a more powerful arsenal at your disposal doesn't mean a meatier sound: to begin with your default, non-ammunition weapon is a sabre glove with two nasty spikes, which makes a nice slashing noise through the air. Later you get a whirring power saw, buzzing with teeth. But you finish up with 'enhanced fists' which zap an enemy into vapour with one handy slash. The difference is, no matter how much more powerful and empowering it is, it sounds like a zip being pulled or a faulty firework poofing on the ground. And instead of holding a meaty rocket launcher, by then you have a tiny little box held in the palm of your hand that sounds like a stapler being fired across a classroom! Again, the sound is the only thing at fault here, the weapons are reasonably varied and good to use.

I played the game on 'Medium' difficulty, the default choice I always make (it should give enough challenge not to dissuade you from completion, and if you like it enough you still have the harder difficulty to play). If it weren't for the controls I'd say it would have been a lot closer to easy, as there are plenty of medkits, shields and ammunition to pick up, usually behind hidden doors, but also in the general areas you explore. I wouldn't say it was too easy, but I didn't find it tough, and that goes for the final battle with the Mother creature, too. All you need do is shoot the 'barrels' holding up her forcefield a few times, while also being wary of approaching enemies, and then you can rush to the escape pod by the side and you're done. Not that I was expecting a vast boss creature like 'Zelda' or 'Metroid,' but I was surprised it didn't take many attempts to defeat. Still, the size of the game meant it was more than a short-lived experience, and certainly gave you enough time to get into it, and appreciate the changes as you progressed. The enemies weren't bad, with the robotic Johnny 5 things on tracks, and the flying drones, among the more difficult to take out, though most opponents were standard run-and-gun sorts, before enemy AI had reached a level of deviousness I'm more used to.

The other thing is, you can save at any time, there are no rushes to get to the next save point as your health depletes, which can create some great tension. It was a useful function, but the downside was that you couldn't revisit any levels at all as you could only have one save file, overwritten when you saved. Not that it was such a well-designed game that you'd want to revisit levels as you might other games, but it would have been nice to have that option - perhaps you wanted to explore something you didn't have time to before. This is only a small criticism, however, and for the most part I would say this is worth playing. It may not have provided the challenge in quite the way I expected, and battling controls drags it down a point, but within the limitations of the time, blocky sprites, and not exactly pushing the genre (except for the power of flight, which may well have been a new level of freedom at the time), it remained something I wanted to reach the end of. But on the other upgraded hand, I wouldn't likely return to try the next difficulty level.

***

Homecoming

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S7 (Homecoming)

There's not a lot to write about this episode, not because it was bad, but it's really just stuff happening rather than a real story. I suppose that's the criticism you could level at most 'Stargate' episodes, but what pulls it through and makes it watchable, even on occasion more than enjoyable, are the characters, and this one is no exception. While the creeping around in the bowels of Anubis' ship is okay, it's Daniel and Jonas having a conversation that sticks in the memory after watching it. It's good to see the old Daniel continuing to return, where he at first seems surprised that they carry out these kinds of missions on a regular basis, but by the time he's finished that thought he's realising it's actually what he likes. It was also pleasing to see the team effort at the end, as O'Neill and Carter show why they're soldiers, Teal'c why he's a warrior, and Jonas gets his chance to pay back Daniel for sacrificing his life, by pushing him out of the way of a staff weapon's deadly blast. I'm glad it was only a moderate wound that Jonas suffered, rather than heroically being sacrificed in what is his last episode, as it gives him the opportunity to return. And I really like Corin Nemec and his performance as Jonas Quinn, the alien who sees the galaxy for the first time, proves himself to his fellow SG-1 team members, and returns to Kelowna a respected mediator, needed for all the experience he gained on his year out.

I think the reason he works is what Daniel says: he's 'up.' He's an optimistic character in the best 'Star Trek' tradition, interested and excited to explore, useful in a fight, but someone who thinks, and it would have been a cruel irony indeed had Anubis ended up destroying his home planet after using the mind probe alerted him to their use of naquadria, considering he left so he could help his people by gaining the knowledge of the wider universe. So it all ends happily with a touching farewell in which he isn't rushed off the series, but, like Daniel's reintroduction in the preceding episode, is allowed time with each character. And because we've seen him come and grow, and become a likeable member of the team over the course of Season 6, it's really quite sad to see the back of him. It's impressive that they managed to create another main character who could replace a much-loved staple since the beginning, in Dr. Jackson, making him similar, but so different, and all without upsetting the team dynamic. I'd have happily let Jonas stay on the series - as Jack said, he earned it. But I suppose budgetary constraints ruled the day. At least I assume that was the reason they didn't have more than five main cast members. Perhaps when one or two of the others left they should have brought him back permanently, but instead they were to raid the 'Farscape' store cupboard of discarded actors. But that's all in the future, in seasons I've never seen, so I'm hopeful that he'll at least show up again sometime.

As for the bulk of the episode it's all a bit pulp sci-fi, with the usual 'evil villains' saying the usual 'evil villain pitches' (even some 'Star Wars' moments: Anubis getting Jonas to look out at his home planet, which you could equate with either Leia at Alderaan, or Luke watching the fleet during the battle of the final Death Star; as well as the crooked Commander, who says he's made another arrangement, like Lando Calrissian before he sells out his allies!), and even the interesting political discussions such as those between Teal'c and Yu's servant, were fairly brief. I suppose this is the beginning of Baal's paltry reign, though why they picked him out of the selection I don't know. He certainly had fun rushing in and pulverising Anubis' great vessel (which looked like the alien ship hovering over an American city in 'Independence Day'). There could be some mileage in the Yu thing: that he's the oldest and so his symbiont is basically going senile, regardless of what host it could be in. It shows that the System Lords have their limits, if you don't mind waiting a few thousand years.

What could happen with the situation of their alliance may have potential, though if past history is anything to go by they'd quickly be at each other's throats. The political situation on Kelowna was also ripe for more stories, though it sounds like they got their problems sorted out, and are ready to move forward. I couldn't really remember how much the general populace knew about aliens and the outside galaxy, but the other leaders didn't know about the Stargate, so it's easy to assume they were new to everything, so again, that could be interesting to see, since having your planet invaded would be a talking point, and there would certainly be no hiding the facts. But I suppose with Jonas requested (in fact a condition of the three countries meeting), their problems were going to be talked through and as they're not that important to the series, it's unlikely we'd see how events unfolded, it being enough to have an upbeat ending of hope, and a good reason for Jonas to return home for a new mission.

**