DVD
Stargate SG-1
Volume 33

Starring: Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge and Michael Shanks
MGM
RRP: £19.99
10001051
Certificate: PG
Available now


Six thousand light-years from Earth, O'Neill and his crew discover a devastated universe where the inhabitants must live in a protective dome. They survive through an all controlling computer system called the "Link." But is it truly their saviour... or their curse?...

Revisions represents one of the most visually stunning episodes of this season to date. Shot mainly on location, the director of photography has made exceptional use of the environments he has been given. The village location is of particular interest - with it's narrow passage ways and an almost Toy Town feel to it.

This is one of the few stand alone episodes in this season and harks back to the shows origins (with it's planet and alien race of the week). From that point of view it is a welcome change of pace. Not only that, but it is also a well acted and plotted episode.

 

Answering a distress beacon on an uninhabited planet, SG-1 finds a crashed spaceship containing hundreds of people in a cryogenic sleep. Stunned by an unseen weapon, the team is struck unconscious and, upon awakening, discovers that several of the frozen personalities now inhabit Daniel's body...

The success or failure of Lifeboat depended, for the most part, on the acting ability of Michael Shanks. During this episode he is required to portray a number of different characters, all of whom are trapped in his body. It's a credit to his acting ability that he not only makes you believe that he is the vessel for a host of aliens, but that you actually feel for them - especially the scared young child. James Parks also puts in a fantastic guest star role as one of the crew of the ship.

It's also time to get out the old book of clichés too. This is not a complaint, just an observation. It seems to be an unwritten rule that every time there is a group of people being transported while cryogenically frozen, that at least one of the pods will fail - resulting in a pod with a skeleton in it (Planet of the Apes, Star Trek: The Next Generation's The Neutral Zone and Star Trek: Voyager's The Thaw are other examples of this).

This episode builds well, to a satisfactory conclusion.

 

An SGC Naquadah mining operation on a distant planet is attacked by a native tribe of Unas. SG-1 is sent to protect the miners and discovers that the Unas are guarding land they believe is sacred. Daniel races to negotiate with them before the Pentagon demands their complete destruction...

Enemy Mine is a Daniel Jackson based episode, in which he must make contact with the Unas tribe in order to assure them that SGC means them no harm - all they want to do is mine the Naquadah. Jackson employs the help of Chaka, the Unas he previous met in The First Ones and Beasts of Burden. Translation scenes are always difficult to convey to the audience. However, using Daniel's limited Unas vocabulary helps to get the message across without seeming too contrived.

This episode also sees Michael Rooker (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer) as Colonel Edwards. And X-Files fans will be pleased to see the inclusion of Steven Williams as General Vidrine. A good all round episode which is entertaining.

 

The Serakkin Warrick, whom SG-1 rescued on a previous mission, proposes to share his planet's technology with Earth in exchange for Carter helping him win a space race. Carter eagerly agrees and co-pilots the craft through a perilous obstacle course... only to discover that the race isn't without risks and could be more than she bargained for...

Space Race sees the return of Warrick, who we last saw in Forsaken. And I couldn't help notice that he seems to have a nose that Michael Jackson would be proud of.

This episode has so much going for it. Firstly the special effects represent some of the best that SG-1 has to offer, and secondly it is one of the shows most amusing episodes. It also deals with race issues (excuse the pun there), which is an interesting slant. The information, on the audio commentary, that the spoof TV commentary scenes were only added as an afterthought is also interesting. These segments offer some of the shows funniest lines. I loved the way that they have a retired competitor of previous races adding his input on who will win. And, just as in the real world of sports commentary, his predictions are pretty poor.

This couldn't possibly have been any better.

 

Extras on this collection are a little lighter than what we've come to expect. They include audio commentaries for all four episodes; SG-1 Directors Series: for Revisions and Enemy Mine; and some production stills.

Darren Rea

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