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As their battle with the Ori continues, the SG-1 team
struggles to reunite and formulate a plan to defeat their
enemy. Vala gives birth to a young girl who is of Ori decent
and ages years in a matter of hours. As the Ori invade Chulak,
Teal'c and the SGC have some serious decisions to make...
Flesh
and Blood is a pretty interesting way of kicking off
Season 10. It resolves all the problems that the script
writers had forced the show into at the end of Season 9,
without looking like a cop-out. All the regular SG-1 team
members managed to survive (unsurprisingly), Vala gives birth
to an Ori child and the Ori decide to attack Chulak.
This
episode also sees Jodelle Ferland (Tideland)
appear as Adria (Age 7) one of the three versions of the character
in this episode. Other notable guest stars include Tony Amendola
(Bra'tac) and Robert Picardo (Richard Woolsey).
One
thing that lets this episode down is the Asgard Krasit - they
really should do away with these lame puppets. There is a
particularly bad scene which really should not have been left
in the finished cut. I could almost imagine Keith Harris stood
behind him with his hand up his backside - that should give
you some kind of indication of how poor it is.
Robert
C. Cooper (executive producer), Willliam Waring (director)
and Jim Menard (director of photography) provide an insightful
commentary. They reveal that they secretly uses the term IOA
(which in the show stands for the International Oversight
Advisory organisation that Woolsey works for) behind the scenes
to refer to the people higher up the food chain who oversee
the show. They also reveal their issues with Chris Judge's
hair in the opening episodes of this season.
On a mission to find a weapon that will defeat the Ori,
SG-1 travel to a planet whose inhabitants were killed by a
mysterious illness, and unwittingly fall victim to the virus
themselves. Meanwhile, Vala is given a psychiatric test to
determine if she can be trusted to remain at the SGC...
Morpheus
is an entertaining enough episode. While the planet virus
idea has been done before (and better) it's Vala's b-plot
that really raises this episode up a notch or two. She over
prepares for her psychiatric evaluation - to the point where
she is just spouting clichéd rubbish in a vain attempt
that she will appear "normal". Some of these scenes
are incredibly funny and it was interesting to hear, on the
audio commentary, that some of the funniest moments were down
to Claudia Black improvising.
Joseph
Mallozzi (executive producer) and Andy Mikita (director) provide
the audio commentary for this episode. It was interesting
to hear that the Blade Runner homage (which was scripted)
had an improvised ending provided by Black. It was also interesting
to learn how they don't always get on with their guest stars
and it's always a joy to work with considerate actors like
Robert Picardo.
SG-1 travels to the Pegasus Galaxy and the city of Atlantis
in hopes to find a clue to a weapon that can destroy the Ori.
Daniel and Vala use the Atlantis's database to search for
the location of the planet where the weapon has been hidden,
while Sam and Mitchell join forces with Dr. McKay in an effort
to prevent the Ori from using their supergate...
The
Pegasus Project is
an Atlantis crossover episode which is obviously designed
to ease unconverted SG-1 fans over to Atlantis.
With Season 10 being the final season for SG-1
(with production switching over to TV movies) this makes perfect
sense. However, more use should have been made of John Sheppard
and Elizabeth Weir (not to mention the other main cast members
who don't even get to appear) as SG-1 fans are already
familiar with Rodney McKay.
There
are plenty of great moments here, including the revelation
that McKay is allergic to citrus fruits (which is why Sheppard
always carries a lemon around with him) and Vala's argument
with Daniel about what to ask the interactive database for
while looking for the planets. Daniel has convinced himself
it will be a long and arduous process, whereas Vala has one
simple suggest that might work.
William
Waring (director) and Peter F. Woeste (director) provide the
worst commentary on this DVD. Firstly they rather thoughtlessly
provide a needless spoiler about the future fate of a recurring
character, and secondly there are a few too many quiet sections
where they can't think of anything to say.
A Goa'uld Alkesh ship is shot down as it approaches the SGC.
Inside the crashed ship is the old System Lord Ba'al, who
has a serious proposition for the SGC. In return for hunting
down his clones, the captured Ba'al will tell the SGC where
Merlin's weapon is located...
Insiders
is a great episode. Cliff Simon's Ba'al has to be one the
greatest Stargate villains of all time - and this episode
sees at least 20 versions of him gathered together. The visual
effects shots are pretty impressive in this episode. Despite
the fact that a lot of effects work has had to be engineered
in order to have Ba'al and his clones in the same location,
at no point does the director show this off (with the possible
slight exception of when two captured Ba'als are brought through
the Stargate). Instead the story, not the effects, take centre
stage. This means that instead of being distracting, whole
scenes can go by without you thinking: "Oh look, another
visual effect". Which is a refreshing change.
The
only scene I found a little confusing was where Carter tends
to an injured colleague (I won't spoil the plot by giving
any more away). She checks them and then looks at another
guard and shakes her head in dismay (in much the same way
as clichéd sequences indicate to the audience that
the person she is checking is about to breathe their last
breath). She then helps this person to their feet and they
walk away. I was glad that I wasn't the only one who was confused
by this, as on the audio commentary the writer and director
are also unclear as to what this sequence meant. It transpires
that Carter was shaking her head because the other guard (who
is off camera) has just informed her that yet another guard
in the same room is dead.
Alan
Mccullough (writer) and Peter F. Woeste (director) provide
an interesting audio commentary (although in one short section
the volume levels between the audio commentary and the episode
sound is pitched at the same level - making it hard to hear
what is being said). Their reflection on the studio's insistence
that no Ba'al jokes were to be cracked in the episode obviously
(thankfully) fell on deaf ears. Yes, they are corny, but they
are still very funny.
Extras include the four audio commentaries mentioned previously;
SG-1 Director's Series: Insiders - Featuring Peter F. Woeste
(12 mins behind the scenes look at the episode Insiders);
The Ori: A New Enemy (18 min featurette that looks
at the Ori. Why they are billed as a "new" enemy
is anyone's guess - they've been around for a year now, but
still an interesting extra); and Photo Galleries (split
into Photo and Production segments).
A
promising start to SG-1's final season.
Darren
Rea
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