Lost City

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S7 (Lost City)

Someone was right about one thing (whoever it was that said it): it wasn't the best time for a change in Stargate leadership! This episode seems to go in circles, in that we don't find what we were looking for (beyond an immediate defence of Earth against Anubis' fleet), and it sags in places, though much happens. We have Hammond replaced, O'Neill once again using his head (in the most literal sense), and an actual attack on the planet. There's talk of full disclosure to the people about the SGC, a sense of things coming to an end, and the genesis of new beginnings. I'm not surprised they chose to put it out there as a feature-length episode rather than the usual two-parter, but I wasn't expecting it until I fired up the DVD! When it was shown on TV I saw it as two individual episodes, and while I sometimes think a feature-length works better than a split, I'm not sure in this case. Regardless, it was a good, solid story that ends a good, solid season. I'm glad they had everyone back together for this season, with Daniel's return, Dr. Fraiser alive for most of the season, and Hammond there in the backup position for his last year in command - even Jonas came back. Nowhere is that sense of family more evident than when Carter, followed by Daniel and Teal'c (brandishing doughnuts like a sacred password), followed by Hammond, show up at O'Neill's delightful house for an impromptu gathering - one last time for the five original members of the cast, as I believe this is where General George Hammond finally bid adieu to the series.

He may appear again, I don't know, but I remembered that he left the series, and since he's been reassigned by no less than President Hayes himself, it feels pretty final. His stint as Captain of the Prometheus, I imagine, was only a stopgap measure, his experience used to its full in defence of his world. I'm not sure the usual Captain would be too pleased to be stepped over at the time of greatest need, but as Dr. Jackson says to Dr. Weir, he's a great man. I'm not sure if he had the obvious experience in commanding a space vessel, but he's had plenty commanding a space crew, as his SG teams have gone into and through space many times, and no doubt combat experience counts for something. The real reason is to give Don S. Davis something special to do in his last episode as a cast member, so I can forgive any incredulity I may feel, and he gets to show Hammond's mettle by having the man order Prometheus into an attack run: if they're going to go down, they're going to take Anubis' ship with them! Of course, it may be that after this taste of battle, Hammond can retire in peace, something that he wanted to do before being co-opted by Hayes. It would be nice to think he'd stay around the White House as a sort of liaison/expert, that way they could bring him back for guest shots whenever needed. What am I saying? The series ended years ago, but I suppose I still think of it as coming out, from my point of view, especially as the next season was as far as I got on TV.

Space should be given for Hammond's successor, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, who immediately appears likeable. It's difficult introducing a new character in a series, especially this late in the day, but she quickly appealed - when I first saw her I thought it was Carter, but if anything, her hair's even wilder than the Major's! I wonder if they picked someone who looked similar to Carter to make things more interesting for O'Neill? I found myself hoping she was going to be a new cast member for the spinoff series, 'Stargate Atlantis,' as I imagined we'd be meeting some of them here, when in fact there's no connection to that series (as far as I know), except for the obvious of searching for Atlantis. Weir came across as capable, balanced, intelligent, assertive of her own views, but ready to listen, and you can't ask much more from a leader. There wasn't a lot of time to get to know her, what with events that called for even the President's handling, and that everyone's operating off their own back: Teal'c goes off with Bra'tac to find Jaffa willing to defend Earth (I thought he'd end up separated from the others as that tends to happen at the end of seasons), and most notably, Jack 'does it again,' by having his head filled with the Ancients' download device. You've got to credit his logic: Carter's brain is far too important, as is Daniel's, who was needed to translate, and Teal'c, well he's plenty deep. But Jack, well, he's got the emptiest head, so why not fill it with magic!

This, for me, is where things went round in a bit of a wild goose chase: they go to a planet where the download device is, Jack has it downloaded into his brain, then they blow it up (the device, not his brain), and as expected he starts to say weird stuff (weirder stuff than normal, I mean), and doing things on autopilot, taking them to another planet with the use of the ship Bra'tac procured (from Ronan, too easily as it turned out), all for the sake of a power unit from one 'outpost,' to take back to Antarctica, where they assume the Lost City will be, except it's just another 'outpost,' and we still don't know where the City is. I really thought it would be found, but I suppose you've got to have something for the 'Atlantis' pilot to do. Or the start of 'SG-1' Season 8. I like Super O'Neill, with his magical healing touch - I was in two minds as to whether Bra'tac would really die, as I'm always half expecting it, and it was a good setting: hovering in a ship over a lava planet, having it out with a spy of Anubis', Ronan (played by Marc Worden), seemed a little too eager to please, his voice too silky to be trusted, so I was ahead of them there. A good twist that he stabs Master Bra'tac in the symbiont, instead of the heart, and now that Bra'tac doesn't have one (a symbiont, not a heart), it's not so damaging to him. It still handicapped the old guy, but even with a bleeding wound, he was more than a match for the young pretender! I don't feel like we've seen enough of Bra'tac this season, so I was gratified by his involvement. And it makes a change from Jacob, who usually turns up piloting one of these ships!

It's a question who's the cheesiest baddie out of Anubis and Kinsey. If only the now-Vice President wasn't so snarling and obvious, preferring to use charm and wit to take people under his control, he might have a bit more success in that area. But both Hayes (who asks for his resignation), and Weir, are quick to realise what sort of man he is, and his threats fall on deaf ears, only securing his position as someone not to trust in their eyes. He tries ever so hard to get in early and direct Weir against SG-1, even admitting he wants them all out, but he picked the wrong woman in her - she hasn't had so much success brokering peace deals between nations for the UN to be easily bullied into decisions, as Kinsey finds out, and skulks off once again, snarling empty threats and slinking away like a beaten dog. The fate of Anubis is less clear. Did he get annihilated when his mothership went up in flames, or is he impossible to kill because he's not really there… A couple of times he pulls a 'not really there' trick in this reality, using holograms to dismay his enemies, but, like Kinsey, no one takes him for real. He's definitely an evil being, having his Kull Warriors mow down a troop of Goa'uld soldiers who failed to prevent SG-1 from destroying the all-important Ancients device, but he doesn't have a big voice in proceedings. And when he does speak, it's very theatrical… and cheesy. It was a great moment when O'Neill's automatic shenanigans controlling Ancients tech unleash golden jellyfish of death upon the enemy, with both the Warriors and Anubis' ships suffering.

I wonder how the jellyfish knew who to attack and who to spare? Was O'Neill in full control all the time, like a glorified gun? Whatever, he was very useful, even if he was strangely reticent about Carter, not encouraging her in her quest to say what she really feels. Maybe he's just embarrassed, or knows he'd probably have to resign if fraternisation occurred. What happened to her new boyfriend? Did he get scared off by all the weird stuff that happened earlier in the season? I have a feeling we'll be seeing him again. Actually, O'Neill did resign, but whether he meant it just for that particular mission, to put Carter in charge while he was unfit for duty, or permanently, is uncertain. I'm pretty sure he's in the series for Season 8, though probably leaving during or after that. Sticking him in a block of ice in the final moments was an odd way to end, reminding me more of a 'Smallville' season-ender than this series, but I suppose his brain had to be preserved for the time being, since the Asgard were nowhere to be found. I wish we'd at least had a reason for their lack of intervention, as that was the whole reason why Earth couldn't be attacked before - all they needed to do was have Thor send a message that the Replicators had overrun them, but that would have complicated matters. There is a line about all their alien allies being unreliable of late, so that gives us something to go on, and they didn't do a bad job recently of upsetting the alliance between the Tok'ra, Jaffa and Tare, so they must have been anticipating the dramatic need for Earth to stand alone here.

What more to say? The idea of telling the people of Earth about the existence of the 'gate, aliens and all, doesn't sit well with me. I prefer the mysterious, clandestine operation of the SGC program that it's always had, as it's harder to believe in a world where we all know. The President didn't get a chance to make his grand speech this time, but I fear it's only a matter of time. There's some nice little moments of action (the aforementioned knife fight between Bra'tac and Ronan; the attack on SG-1, and that other team, when attempting to retrieve the Lost City info; and the big battle over Antarctica), but it was the characters being together and being especially at home with each other that shone out. I liked Weir, I like the President, I like Kinsey being put in his place. It's all good, and for the time, the battle between Anubis and Jaffa ships was dramatic and fast. The mysteriousness of the Ancients' outposts was also suitably well shot, and I love that music which reminded me of the inside of a 'Zelda' or 'Metroid' Temple. Having the band back together certainly helped the episode, and the season in general, and while there seemed to be less emphasis on the ongoing System Lords/Anubis ramifications, I think that was good for giving the series a greater sense of reality as those bad guys so often come across as old-fashioned moustache-twirling villains. They also did a good job of continuing so many stories, and I look forward to seeing how things continue, due to my limited memory.

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