February 4th, 2020, 11:08 PM
(This post was last modified: February 4th, 2020, 11:09 PM by Michael.)
When I rewatch old shows I occasionally notice things that I never paid much attention to in the first place. Random thoughts run through my mind and I think about writing them down for a Website.
Well, that may never happen but I'll post some thoughts here as I can think of them.
There will be spoilers aplenty in what follows so if you've never watched these shows and may want to watch them unspoiled, stop reading now.
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"UNENDING" - The last episode of Stargate SG-1
The series ran for 10 years and the last 2 seasons introduced major cast changes. Don S. Davis and Richard Dean Anderson both left the regular cast for personal reasons after seasons 7 (Davis) and 8 (Anderson). They both returned to make appearances in subsequent seasons and both appeared in the final direct-to-DVD movie.
Beau Bridges stepped into the shoes of "the General" as General Landry.
Claudia Black joined the show as Vala Mal Doran (a character that had been introduced in season 8). She was a former Goa'uld host who had been freed by the Tok'Ra.
In "Unending" the General leads SG-1 to visit the Asgard on Orilla (in "the Asgard galaxy"), where the Asgard announce they are about to commit mass suicide and hand Earth all of their knowledge. The Ori then attack out of nowhere in three motherships and nearly destroy the Earth Deep Space Carrier Odyssey.
So, note number 1 - I have only just tonight realized fully that these spaceships were formally designated Deep Space Carriers. I came to that long-overdue realization by studying the mission patch on the uniform of Colonel Whats-his-name in the previous episode, "Dominion".
In "Unending" the Odyssey (under General Landry's command) destroys 2 Ori ships but the 3rd ship manages to get off a final shot that will destroy our brave heroes. Sam immediately and miraculously uses the newly acquired Asgard technology to launch a time dilation field. That allows Landry and SG-1 to survive for 50-70 years in "local time" while they figure out a way to escape the Ori blast.
Landy dies along the way, Sam learns to play the Cello, and Daniel and Vala form a committed relationship. Sam eventually figures out how to save the ship and everyone aboard it. All they have to do is reverse time in the time dilation field.
But there's a catch - someone has to stay outside the time reversal process to convey to Young Sam how to use the Asgard technology to save the ship. So Teal'C (who has "many years left to live") volunteers. And so la-de-la-de-da.
To make the miracle happen, Sam defies the laws of physics and sends the ship back in time a few seconds (maybe up to a minute) prior to the moment she activates the time dilation field.
So why couldn't they contrive to send a message back in time with a drone that said, "Sam, I will plug myself into the Asgard core and change everything so you survive"???
This was a bit of weak writing (in my opinion) in what is otherwise one of the top 5 episodes of Stargate Sg-1. It was a great way to end the show but I feel like they had done the time travel thing often enough to not have to sacrifice so many years off anyone's life.
IMPORTANT NOTE - Near the end of the episode the aging SG-1 members are eating a meal together (prior to the time travel sequence). Colonel Mitchell (Ben Browder) says, "All we need is for Superman to fly around the ship and reverse time". To which Sam (Amanda Tapping) replies, "Do you have any idea of how ridiculous that is?"
This is a common misconception about the first "Superman" movie starring Christopher Reeve (1978 - which technically is NOT the first "Superman" movie - that honor goes to "Superman and the Mole-Man" from 1951).
In 1978's "Superman" he is so filled with grief over Lois Lane's death in an earthquake that Superman begins flying around the Earth at super speed. Many people - unfamiliar with the comic books' depiction of time travel up to then - incorrectly assumed Superman was making the Earth spin backwards so that it would go back in time.
In fact, all he was doing was flying backwards through time faster than the speed of light, and the Earth appeared to reverse its motion because of his time travel.
So, the final episode of Stargate SG-1 managed to perpetuate a myth about the first Christopher Reeve "Superman" movie.
Well, that may never happen but I'll post some thoughts here as I can think of them.
There will be spoilers aplenty in what follows so if you've never watched these shows and may want to watch them unspoiled, stop reading now.
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
P
A
C
E
"UNENDING" - The last episode of Stargate SG-1
The series ran for 10 years and the last 2 seasons introduced major cast changes. Don S. Davis and Richard Dean Anderson both left the regular cast for personal reasons after seasons 7 (Davis) and 8 (Anderson). They both returned to make appearances in subsequent seasons and both appeared in the final direct-to-DVD movie.
Beau Bridges stepped into the shoes of "the General" as General Landry.
Claudia Black joined the show as Vala Mal Doran (a character that had been introduced in season 8). She was a former Goa'uld host who had been freed by the Tok'Ra.
In "Unending" the General leads SG-1 to visit the Asgard on Orilla (in "the Asgard galaxy"), where the Asgard announce they are about to commit mass suicide and hand Earth all of their knowledge. The Ori then attack out of nowhere in three motherships and nearly destroy the Earth Deep Space Carrier Odyssey.
So, note number 1 - I have only just tonight realized fully that these spaceships were formally designated Deep Space Carriers. I came to that long-overdue realization by studying the mission patch on the uniform of Colonel Whats-his-name in the previous episode, "Dominion".
In "Unending" the Odyssey (under General Landry's command) destroys 2 Ori ships but the 3rd ship manages to get off a final shot that will destroy our brave heroes. Sam immediately and miraculously uses the newly acquired Asgard technology to launch a time dilation field. That allows Landry and SG-1 to survive for 50-70 years in "local time" while they figure out a way to escape the Ori blast.
Landy dies along the way, Sam learns to play the Cello, and Daniel and Vala form a committed relationship. Sam eventually figures out how to save the ship and everyone aboard it. All they have to do is reverse time in the time dilation field.
But there's a catch - someone has to stay outside the time reversal process to convey to Young Sam how to use the Asgard technology to save the ship. So Teal'C (who has "many years left to live") volunteers. And so la-de-la-de-da.
To make the miracle happen, Sam defies the laws of physics and sends the ship back in time a few seconds (maybe up to a minute) prior to the moment she activates the time dilation field.
So why couldn't they contrive to send a message back in time with a drone that said, "Sam, I will plug myself into the Asgard core and change everything so you survive"???
This was a bit of weak writing (in my opinion) in what is otherwise one of the top 5 episodes of Stargate Sg-1. It was a great way to end the show but I feel like they had done the time travel thing often enough to not have to sacrifice so many years off anyone's life.
IMPORTANT NOTE - Near the end of the episode the aging SG-1 members are eating a meal together (prior to the time travel sequence). Colonel Mitchell (Ben Browder) says, "All we need is for Superman to fly around the ship and reverse time". To which Sam (Amanda Tapping) replies, "Do you have any idea of how ridiculous that is?"
This is a common misconception about the first "Superman" movie starring Christopher Reeve (1978 - which technically is NOT the first "Superman" movie - that honor goes to "Superman and the Mole-Man" from 1951).
In 1978's "Superman" he is so filled with grief over Lois Lane's death in an earthquake that Superman begins flying around the Earth at super speed. Many people - unfamiliar with the comic books' depiction of time travel up to then - incorrectly assumed Superman was making the Earth spin backwards so that it would go back in time.
In fact, all he was doing was flying backwards through time faster than the speed of light, and the Earth appeared to reverse its motion because of his time travel.
So, the final episode of Stargate SG-1 managed to perpetuate a myth about the first Christopher Reeve "Superman" movie.
