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SG-1's sudden appearance sparks a civil war on the planet
Tegalus, whose inhabitants were unaware of the Stargate's
true nature. Intent on easing the situation, Jackson stays
behind as the team returns to Earth... but finds himself pitted
against a tyrannical religious leader with no tolerance for
those who don't share his beliefs...
Icon
is an interesting episode. The opening sequence reminded me
of Back to the Future. Daniel Jackson wakes up in a
strange bed to find a woman watching him. This almost mirrored,
shot for shot, the scenes in Back to the Future where
Marty wakes up in a strange bed in the past to see his younger
mother watching him.
I
had a few problems with this episode (although they are really
anal and very minor ones). Firstly I didn't understand why
humans that were raised on a different planet would have exactly
the same fashion as we did in the '40s. And also this episode
illustrates why O'Neill is not really suited to the role of
commander of the SGC. Sure he's funny, but he is way too flippant
and in instances where diplomacy is called for he wades in
there and rubs people up the wrong way.
Otherwise,
this is an solid story that examines a problem that hasn't
been tackled on SG-1 before - how a race of religious
people react to the Stargate being activated.
A
virtual reality training scenario goes terribly wrong when
the simulation begins to learn from Teal'c, trapping him and
endangering his life. Jackson volunteers to enter the simulation
on a rescue mission. But will he be able to rescue Teal'c
or become a victim himself?...
Avatar
drags,
kicking and screaming, that old sci-fi cliché out of
the woodwork - technology gone bad. Yup, plug someone into
a computer, tell everyone it's perfectly safe and... oh, no!
Everything goes pear shaped.
Remember the Star Trek: Next Generation episode Elementary,
Dear Data? Well the bare bones of this episode are not
dissimilar - asking a computer to defeat Teal'c in the same
way as the Enterprise's computer was asked to defeat
Data. This
episode also has an element of Groundhog Day added
to the mix. The
virtual reality equipment is actually the same kit that the
SGC acquired in Season Two's The Gamekeeper.
It's
not in Teal'c's nature to quit, so when the big fellow realises
there is no way to defeat the simulation there is something
quite moving about the way he just sits there and lets the
events unfold around him again and again.
A
great episode that will please fans.
Given
clearance to live off-base, Teal'c tries in vain to blend
in as an ordinary civilian. But when his unwavering ethical
code compels him to help ordinary people in trouble - specifically,
a neighbour with an abusive boyfriend - he soon finds himself
thrust into the spotlight as the prime suspect in the boyfriend's
murder...
Affinity
is
another Teal'c episode and sees him attempting to fit into
a 'normal' way of life. However, his constant insistence on
doing the right thing ends up getting him into trouble as
he turns into a bit of a vigilante. His
new neighbour, who is in her 20's but looks about 16, takes
an instant shine to him. But her old, abusive, boyfriend is
still on the scene.
This
episode is interesting for the way it leads you on a bit of
a wild goose chase. Teal'c is wanted for questioning when
the abusive boyfriend turns up dead. All the evidence points
to someone with immense strength being the murderer and another
neighbour heard Teal'c threaten that he would kill the dead
man.
Affinity
also tackles racism - there are racist remarks made towards
Teal'c due to the fact he is an alien. No matter what he may
have done for this planet in the past, he is an alien and
there are questions as to his motives based purely on his
race.
There's
also a pretty major plot development for Carter's character
- one that should prove interesting in later episodes.
Christopher
Judge once again proves what a fantastic actor he is by carrying
the weight of this episode on his shoulders. And I loved the
way that the opening scene has him pay homage to Shaft.
When
a billionaire industrialist threatens to reveal the existence
of alien life at a press conference, SG-1 is charged with
the job of keeping him quiet. Carter, who has worked with
him in the past, tries to explain that the information will
cause panic, but ultimately she must decide how far she is
willing to go to stop this threat to national security...
Covenant
shouldn't
really work as well as it does. The premise has been done
before (Season Four's Point of No Return), although
this time around it is a powerful billionaire who wants to
blow the cover on the SGC and not a crazy guy who believes
he is an alien from another planet.
There
are plenty of problems with this episode if you scrutinise
it closely. Firstly (as is pointed out in the episode) why
does billionaire Alec Colson insist on getting the government
to come clean when he knows that it might mean that the jobs
and lives of his employees are at risk - an argument he later
uses to protect himself from another problem? A billionaire
that doesn't have skeletons in his closet that the SGC can
rattle around to discredit him? Does that seem likely? And
if he is that passionate about telling the public everything,
surely the very first thing he would do after going off world
would be to release all his information and tell them about
the Stargate project (although I suppose that would make him
look like a nut).
However,
despite my nit-picking, I really enjoyed this episode. It
would have fallen flat on its face if the actor playing Colson
was not up to the task. Thankfully Charles Shaughnessy is
believable, and likeable, in the role.
Extras
include a 25 minute featurette called Opening the Iris
- a repeat really of everything that was said in Volume
38's (Season 8 - Volume 1) featurette The Lowdown;
The Director's Series: A behind the scenes look
at the making of Covenant with director Martin Wood;
plus photo and production galleries.
It's
a real shame that there are no audio commentaries for this
season. But, otherwise this is another excellent collection
of episodes.
Darren
Rea
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