Babylon

DVD, Stargate SG-1 S9 (Babylon)

If Tony Todd's in an episode, doesn't matter what series, be it Trek, 'Smallville,' or this, it's like a seal of quality, a guarantee that you're in for a good'un. Is that because he was wise in his choices and only agreed to do scripts he saw were worthwhile, or is it just a fluke that he seems to appear in some of the best episodes of a number of sci-fi TV shows? It's not like he had a tour de force performance to give in this tale of an almost mythical offshoot group of Jaffa, but his steady presence is enough to ensure the drama works, and works very well. That Cameron Mitchell's at the heart of it all is a testament to some good writing in that he's naturally the character I'm least interested in just because of his status as interloper on this series, no matter the fact that he's been arranged and marketed to be the New Star to fill out the old team. It's not that I don't like him, but so far we haven't had that much to make us care, and just as the three main characters weren't exactly chomping at the bit to return to their roles under his leadership, I haven't come to accept him as the bona fide leader when we know the others so well, what they've been through, almost like good friends. With this episode that changes, finally we see something of the Mitchell that we saw in those other characters way back when. A personal optimism, a dedicated will to survive, not just corny witticisms and offbeat snark, though we get those as well!

I didn't know what to expect at first. We have SG-1 creeping through a forest on an alien world and it's like a traditional 'SG-1' episode. Even more when we meet this Jaffa group, the Sodan, and they kidnap Mitchell and take him back to their peaceful, agrarian village. So far, so 'SG-1.' And so I like. It even has elements of past episodes, such as the times they've helped or hindered various Jaffa groups, got involved in ritual combat and explored their heritage and culture. The surprise comes when the modern angle takes hold. You think because this village is so secret and unknown, hidden to the average person because of some Transporter technology, as well as other things that make it secure and untraceable, that the Ori wouldn't be showing up here. But even this grassy, thatched, wooden-club-battling, and scything community has been approached by a Prior. It's almost too good to be true that Mitchell, an avowed enemy of these wandering doom-merchants, should be there at such a crucial time. Sadly, he comes too late to change the thinking of their leader, Haikon (Todd), but is able to make progress with the warrior who trains him for the ritual combat to the death.

Though I laud Tony Todd, it is the interplay between Mitchell and this warrior that is the real success of the story. You get all the cool moves and whirling blades, the gradual acceptance and realisation of the one that this puny human has some nerve, and of the other, that his teacher isn't a mindless worshipper. It all looks beautiful, with a detailed weaponry, style and impression of history to the fighting form, as well as the lush green outdoors with its blue skies and wooden huts - surely that village wasn't created especially for this one episode, it looked far too detailed and extravagant for just that. If it means we return here in future then I praise this episode as even greater, because far more than the dull Jaffa political grumpiness on the roiling, ugly red planet of Takara, this setting and situation is far more welcoming both to the eye and the mind. What a great idea to discover a long-lost branch of the Jaffa warrior heritage, these Sodan are revered, having risen up against their false Goa'uld gods five thousand years ago and set the precedent for the current success. It's only a shame that they hadn't been referenced many times before (except we'd probably have seen them long ago, and then they couldn't have played their unique part here), especially in the light of the uprising in recent seasons that eventually freed all Jaffa. They have no scars, tattoos or mark of their false gods, but interestingly they have gone down the path of deifying The Ancients in place of the Goa'uld, even despite using their technology, such as the personal cloaks that have greatly assisted in maintaining their mystery and legend.

There was room for more discussion and exploration of The Ancients being just another set of Goa'uld to these people, as they're almost as in the wrong as their less fortunate brethren had been for millennia, but it was enough to show that despite living a mostly isolationist existence, had journeyed down a similar path. It means it's difficult for Mitchell to go against the obvious signs of power shown by the Ori through their Prior: it's no wonder The Ancients, not being gods, nor concerned with the lives of mortals, the 'un-ascended,' haven't shown themselves to their loyal followers over the centuries so that Haikon is almost desperate to believe in the signs and wonders of the evil version. Because as we know, the Ori are a kind of Ancient, but it's all the same in his mind. Mitchell has the impossible task of fighting off false religion using false religion, because he points to their faith of the last five thousand years, which existed without Ancient intervention, where now they run to the mere sight of 'magic tricks' as he calls them. It's a no-win scenario, and that's why he can't win. It wasn't a surprise to me that he didn't defeat his opponent, or that that opponent turned out to be the very tutor in the stick arts that trained him for the battle, because that was telegraphed from the beginning. As soon as you see two names in the opening credits that both have the same surname and are guest stars, you assume they must be brothers. Surely that's what they expected us to think, especially as they looked so alike, the trainer and Volnek, the warrior Mitchell thought he killed in the initial ambush. Yet the reveal was made as if it was supposed to be a big surprise, so maybe the tone needed ironing out one way or the other in another draft?

It was still a good fight! And I was left wondering how they were going to get around this quandary without Mitchell somehow beating his superior opponent. I was expecting the Prior to show up and shake the ground, or SG-1 to come in blazing, or the Prometheus 'rings' him to safety in the nick (or after the nick, seeing that gash in the leg!), of time. Instead they pull the 'Star Trek' trick from 'Amok Time' where Kirk is injected with a drug that simulates his death so that Spock doesn't actually kill him - I liked that they even referenced it in the most oblique way that was also very recognisable if you know Trek, a nod that was very much appreciated. The brother, interrogated back at the SGC, and now free of needing a symbiote thanks to Tretonin (it's said they survive by raiding un-hosted symbiotes during transportation to ensure their supply of the creatures, which was as good an explanation as any, and proves their highly advanced guerilla tactics compared to most idiot Goa'uld foot soldiers), had less screen time and less of a story, but it makes me strongly hope that we meet this group and those specific three characters again, because it was really good stuff. Haikon seemed like the perfect man to oppose Gerak for leadership of the Jaffa Council, but would Tony Todd have agreed to a role over multiple episodes? I can but hope, and even if this is all we see of the Sodan, it was well worth it for Mitchell coming into his own on the series, away from the other characters, which could have been a disappointment if not for the sympathetic writing and positive direction. Well done! Oh, and I only noticed for the first time that the episodes no longer start with the roaring MGM lion logo. Wonder why?

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