Chimera

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S7 (Chimera)

This is the series doing romance. 'Stargate' was never geared towards doing romance, and I had the feeling with this episode that they'd listened to some focus groups. 'We want to see more of the characters' private lives, we want to see their lives outside of work, at home, chilling out. We want to see them interact with outsiders.' Maybe this never happened and there were no focus groups, but that's the impression I got, that they were trying to do some things they had a perception the audience wanted. And perhaps some viewers did? The problem is, with half the episode, nothing really happens. As it happens I do like to see a bit of their lives, and you can point out parallels between the two plots, with Daniel having dreams of when he first met Sarah Gardner (who eventually became Osiris), and we, the audience, meeting Pete Shanahan, Carter's new boyfriend - yes, they got me, I bought into the fact that this guy, a complete stranger, was just bugging her, and didn't realise they had any prior connection until it became obvious. Either it was a well written and performed scene, or I'm not very perceptive, but it was a good introduction, and the awkward scene in the lift as O'Neill pries into Sam's private life was a great and natural follow up. Her humming of the 'SG-1' theme tune was weird, a bit like when they used the original 'Battlestar Galactica' theme in the pilot of the 2003 reimagining - at least in that case it was part of a documentary or show that suited the inclusion, this was purely breaking the fourth wall. But when you get to seven seasons of a TV show I guess it's okay to have a little fun.

Pete has the quirky nature (for example, taking Carter to an old people's ballroom dance), that a bland person like Carter could mix with. I don't mean she's not an interesting character, but she does tend to be focused on her work (like that big, imagined telescope she supposedly looks through all day - shouldn't she be working at night if that was her cover story?), even to single-mindedness, which may have been why a personification of her Father suggested she might not be happy in the recent dream experience she went through in 'Grace.' Jack's quite a quirky type, too, so perhaps they decided to write someone in who was of a similar style. Shanahan is a cop, so he knows about dedication to duty, putting your life on the line, etc, so it was obvious he was going to have to be initiated into her lifestyle sooner or later. I just didn't expect it to be in the same episode we first met him! Actually, his curiosity, stretching to contacts in the FBI (so maybe he's more than just a cop?), began to make things interesting. At first I suspected conspiracy, but his conversation with his mate on the phone was so open and nothing was played in a sinister way that you have to assume he just wants to know what Sam does and isn't there to infiltrate the SGC through her.

Someone that does aim to do some serious infiltration, and succeeds, is the evil Osiris, back to cause Daniel sleeplessness by beaming into his house in the middle of the night and inflicting some kind of mind probe on him to get him to dream the location of the lost city of The Ancients that may be lurking in his subconscious (presumably further setup for the coming spinoff series, 'Atlantis'). It was good to see their first meeting, even if it was only as a dream and we can't be sure how close to the reality of the situation it was since even when awake Daniel recalls that things weren't quite right. Still, it made a change to see Anna Louise Plowman playing the character before Osiris took over, and origins are always fascinating to me. Trouble is, we know Sarah's evil, even if she isn't supposed to be, because we've seen Osiris so much and associate that face with bad news. I couldn't help but see her smile in a sinister light, and her movement as spider-like. Not very complimentary, I know. It's not the most original idea to have an alien appear in someone's sleeping quarters or bedroom at night in order to do something to their mind or body, but it got Daniel to the point where he could almost present the coordinates of the lost city, and in a believable way. I couldn't remember them ever stating previously, definitively, that Oma wiped his mind of the experiences he had while ascended, but they do that here, and you can believe he would have all this untapped information in his mind ready to come out any time the writers need it to, which adds another level to the character.

The sting to capture Osiris was what made the episode worth watching, even if you can't help but think of Pete as a rather stupid fellow. He's either a cop with connections, or an FBI man, and yet he's happy to blunder into what is clearly a delicate operation in a neighbourhood. Did they teach him nothing at police school? Okay, so it's because he cares, but interfering in an active operation with no real reason to do so except curiosity makes him look rather foolish. Well, love is blind they say… I would have expected Carter to bawl him out, angrily questioning why he would pop up like that (she could have shot him!), and perhaps covering her own guilt at not being able to tell him, but she's quite calm. And so, because he witnessed a Goa'uld in action he's allowed to know everything? We have to assume the SGC, and perhaps even Carter herself, were diligent in checking out his background, just as he attempted to do with her, but even so, to infiltrate the SGC, one of the toppest secretest government facilities on Earth, all he has to do is follow Carter, get caught in a firefight, and boom, all the doors are opened! While I'm nitpicking, I'd also question the difference between a bullet and a dart in the context of a Goa'uld personal shield. Pete's bullets can't penetrate it, but the team's darts do? Has this ever been explained, is it sensitive to metal, or what? And wouldn't a van exploding in the middle of a suburban street get some of the neighbours out? It was also a long shot for the team to work out the origins of Daniel's sleep patterns. Teal'c cocks an ear, suggests his dreams could be Goa'uld controlled and everyone agrees! Time is of the essence, but after carefully constructing a believable reason why and how these events would happen they just jumped to conclusions too quickly.

It might have been better if we hadn't known Osiris was behind it from the start. They obviously made it clear so they could end on a mini-cliffhanger and show her leering face just before the opening credits so we could get excited about the character returning, but I suspect anyone who cared would have known before the episode aired, and if you tuned in just to see the opening it wouldn't particularly make you commit to watch the episode. But if it had been an uncertain reality, a bit like Carter's in 'Grace,' or Teal'c's alternate world last season, it would have had an air of mystery and suspense. Maybe they felt they'd used that plot style too often (doesn't usually stop them!), but I'd have preferred some ambiguity. The same with Pete and his motives. I didn't expect to see him as an all-round good guy, despite his research into Carter's background, which could have been played creepy. It could be they wanted us to warm to the guy since it would be easy to find him an irritating outsider encroaching on one of our main characters, especially with O'Neill waiting in the wings. I remember not particularly liking the guy when I originally saw the episode, and I felt neutral this time as I couldn't remember him being in it for long. Mind you, I think I only saw as far as the end of the Season 8, so there's plenty of time yet, but anyone who used to watch 'Starsky & Hutch' can't be all bad! He's just taken his first step into a larger world, inaugurated into the bizarre realities of the 'Stargate' universe. Let's hope he's not simply there as soap relief for Sam. Oh, and Teal'c's not going to keep that physique if he carries on with the doughnuts - he doesn't have a symbiont any more to counteract the effects sugar can have on a healthy body. Perhaps the greatest threat to Earth isn't alien after all?

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