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.

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