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The Priors have become engaged in an ongoing conflict between
two civilisations: Rand and Caledonia. Kane, a Rand representative,
and Daniel are thrown in jail. The SG-1 team attempts to destroy
Rand's weapons but their efforts are misconstrued as a hostile
attack. The Caledonian government steps in with an intriguing
bargain...
Ethon
is a information heavy episode - at the beginning at any rate
- so if you are not paying full attention you can quickly
lose track of what is going on. To be honest a lot of this
dialogue is unnecessary. While some fans may not remember
Jared Kane, it wasn't really necessary to explain that much
about their last meeting. It could have been left at the fact
that SG-1 had visited his planet before and now he needed
their help.
There's
also a great in joke where Kane asks Daniel: "Do you
ever give up?" To which he replies: "Not until I'm
dead... and sometimes not even then." This of course
is a reference to the fact that Daniel has already died in
the show and was then resurrected.
In
the audio commentary Damian Kindler, the writer on this episode,
explains one of the production reasons behind what happens
to the Prometheus. Obviously this wasn't the main reason,
but it does make sense when you consider that they couldn't
really justify the budget of two sets (Prometheus as
well as the Daedalus). To be honest though, this commentary
is not overly interesting. The other person giving input is
Barclay Hope, who played colonel Pendergast in the episode.
It's obvious that Hope hasn't seen the episode before and
so Kindler spends much of the episode recapping for him, or
describing what's on screen.
The
episode, while not overly original, is entertaining enough.
The team learns of an addictive crop called kassa, and Mitchell
suggests that they try and find out where this product is
being grown. On arriving at the planet SG-1 is shocked to
find they are stranded. Someone has stolen more than a dozen
Stargates for reasons unknown. SG-1 launches a plan to recover
the stolen property...
Off
The Grid sees the very welcome return of Maury Chaykin
(playing Goa'uld Nerus). Here he proves that he is a glutton
(pun intended - I'm afraid) for punishment as he plays into
the hands of the SGC when he admits to knowing something about
the stolen Stargates and who is behind the well planned thefts.
There
is also a great moment where Mitchell is captured with
no possible way of escape. The next scene shows him running
from his captures. When his team ask him how he escaped he
simply explains that he'll tell them later.
Alan
McCullouch (writer) and Jim Menard (director of photography)
provide the audio commentary - the only really stand out topic
of interest was the problem they had with the scene in Nerus's
cell. Apparently not everyone was happy with the fact that
food (and what to me looked like vomit) was smeared all over
his cell bars and other surface areas.
This
is an entertaining episode that rattles along at a breakneck
pace.
SG-1 is forced to act as a tour guide for a group of foreign
ambassadors. The off-world mission looks run-of-the-mill,
but these things never are. The group is introduced to a scientist
who is studying a unique species of insect. But, when he is
bitten by one of the carnivorous insects and dies, the bugs
begin a rapid mutation and destroy the research site. If the
team does not escape, they will become the insects next meal...
The
Scourge takes elements from a combination of sci-fi movies.
But the most obvious is the carnivorous scarab bugs from The
Mummy. There is also an element of Jurassic Park -
as the visitors are trapped in an environment where danger
lurks around every corner. Robert
Picardo makes a welcome return as Richard Woolsey - watch
out for his amazing running action sequence.
The
audio commentary is with Joseph Mallozzi, executive producer
and writer, and Michelle Comens, visual effects supervisor.
This is by far the most interesting commentary on this collection.
We learn that Claudia Black is to be a regular character in
the show's 10th Season; the fuss that resulted in Internet
chatrooms when it was a women who twists her ankle in this
episode (although it was originally scripted that the English
Ambassador would fall); and Mallozzi reveals that if he has
a chance he will get rid of the subcutaneous transmitters
and the Ancients.
To
be honest, he does have a point with the transmitters. They
were only introduced in the previous episode, and already
they have been used twice to transport SG-1 out of danger.
There's
an awkward, and very funny, moment at the end of the commentary
where Comens asks Mallozzi when she will be invited to one
of his movie evenings that he occasionally hosts. Without
turning her down, he tries to side-step the issue.
A
great episode that, while pinching ideas from all over the
place, still manages to entertain.
Additional features include Stargate SG-1 Director's Series:
Ethon featuring Ken Girotti. Photo and Production Gallery;
and trailers for totally unrelated DVDs.
The
featurette with Girotti is interesting. I've never seen Girotti
on any of the extras before and he certainly has a lot of
energy - and clearly has a lot of fun on set.
Darren
Rea
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