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The team discover an underground laboratory that contains
a man frozen in a stasis pod - Khalek, a prisoner of the long
since dead Anubis. But Khalek was not his prisoner - he was
Anubis's creation. Daniel's instinct is that if Khalek can't
ever be confined safely, he should be killed before he can
complete his evolution...
Prototype
is as close as Stargate has got to paying homage
to Silence of the Lambs. Some of the scenes with Khalek
strapped to his interrogation chair are obviously inspired
by the Hannibal Lecter scenes in Silence of the Lambs.
In fact, in the featurette SG-1 Directors Series: Prototype,
director Peter DeLuise admits as much.
There
is plenty of suspense in this episode and I was impressed
to see that Daniel was quick to point out their best option
is to kill Khalek. At last Stargate is turning into
a series where the good guys use some common sense - and they're
not afraid to use one of the main characters to voice a controversial
issue.
This
episode also sees Robert Picardo (who Star Trek: Voyager
fans will remember as the holographic doctor) make an appearance
as Richard Woolsey.
Carter is determined to design a weapon that can defeat
the Prior's superhuman powers. Daniel and Mitchell must track
down a Prior, then hope that Carter's weapon really can suppress
a Priors' powers. If it doesn't, and they fail, Earth's entire
population will die with them...
The
Fourth Horseman - Part 1 sees an immanent threat to the
population of Earth as members of the SGC bring back a lethal
virus after an off-world mission. Before they know what has
happened the virus rapidly spreads across America killing
numerous civilians.
This
episode sees Gerak (Louis Gossett, Jr.) being sucked into
the Ori religion. The great thing about this is that Gerak
really believes that he is doing the best thing for his people
- that the Jaffa will ascend to the next plane of existence
by following the Ori. Because of this, you really feel for
the character.
Orlin,
who fans with long memories will remember appeared in an earlier
episode as Carter's love interest, makes a return appearance.
However, there certainly won't be any funny business going
on this time around as Orlin has had to take the form of a
young boy. Poor guy. The things he does for lust and he's
still managed to get nowhere with Carter.
This
episode also sees Don S Davis return as General Hammond in
a brief cameo.
Landry
begins to fear that SG-1 may be soon facing a global pandemic.
Mitchell and Daniel return with a dazed Prior in tow. The
team is shocked to receive the worst news yet when the captured
Prior reveals the Oris horrifying master plan: to completely
obliterate the Ancients...
The
Fourth Horseman - Part 2 is certainly an episode of some
merit. Firstly it's packed with plenty of amazing cameo appearances
(Tony Todd, Willam B Davis and Don S Davis) but what really
sold this to me where three incredibly moving scenes.
Firstly
we have a very touching scene with Landry and his daughter,
a moving segment with Teal'c and Garek and finally a nice
little nostalgic nod from Hammond as he enters the SGC briefly.
The
virus continues to spread around the globe, and I loved the
fact that for once the real world is actually touched by the
consequences of the SGC. Thousands of innocent humans die.
Now, while I'm not a sicko who finds this fact entertaining,
I did enjoy this twist as it makes the episode appear more
realistic.
Extras
include audio commentaries on all three episodes (while entertaining,
the most interesting snippet of information was that Chris
Judge's brother, Jeff, starred in The
Fourth Horseman - Part 1); Inside
the Stargate Special Effects Department
(19 minute featurette which explains what the term "special
effect" means); SG-1 Director's Series: Prototype
(14 mins behind the scenes featurette with director Peter
DeLuise); and Photo and Production Design Gallery.
Inside
the Stargate Special Effects Department
has
a lot of interesting insights, but my favourite sequence interviews
the stunt woman who played Vala in Avalon
- Part Two. It also shows
us behind the scenes footage of her being set on fire. I was
surprised at how long she actually burned for - and her scared
hands and face show that her job is not one that many people
will envy.
Forget
the fact that this volume contains only three episodes - when
they are as entertaining as this who cares? Another entertaining
collection of first rate episodes.
Darren
Rea
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