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ast season saw the biggest changes yet for Stargate SG-1, with the loss of Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks), who ascended to a different plane of existence, and a move for the series from Showtime to the SCI FI Channel. The sixth season premiere episode, "Redemption—Part 1," opens with yet another new SG-1 team member washing out and Col. Jack O'Neill (Anderson) ordered to add a "socio-political nerd to offset our overwhelming coolness."
Unable to return to his planet after he supplied SG-1 with some of the powerful naquadria, Jonas Quinn (Nemec) has spent the three months since he came to Earth studying all of Dr. Jackson's work and committing most of it to memory. What he really wants, however, is to join SG-1 to explore new planets, continue Dr. Jackson's work and rid the galaxy of the Goa'uld. However, O'Neill and Carter (Tapping) aren't receptive to the idea, even though Teal'c (Judge) has an open mind about Jonas joining the team.
When the team returns, Teal'c is called away, due to a family emergency that brings him face to face with his angry son. After Teal'c's departure, a strange incoming wormhole begins to build energy in the stargate. Unable to shut down the wormhole, Carter and the other "eggheads" realize that while it may take days, the energy buildup will set off an enormous explosion in the stargate, eventually leading to the destruction of all life on Earth. Worse yet, Carter has no idea how to stop it.
Earth's only hope may well be an untried human-built interstellar spacecraft called the X-302, which they hope to use to contact the Asgard to ask for help. But even as O'Neill and Carter ready the craft, they know that time is running out, and while the Asgard might be willing to help, it may well end up being too late to save mankind.
A new season, a new star
Over the years, you might come to the conclusion that Earth would have been way better off if the stargate had never been dug up or those pesky Earthlings had been too stupid to figure out how to make the darn thing work. So far, the human race has nearly been destroyed by replicating mechanical spiders, killer asteroids, a black hole and sterilization. There are more, but it's hard to remember all of them. It's actually surprising it took the writers this long to have one of the bad guys use the actual stargate itself as a weapon against those annoying Earth people.
While it would seem a better plan for the Goa'uld just to send a fleet of ships off to Earth (after all, they almost got us last time) and it's easy to complain that too many of the planets look alike and appear under-peopled, Stargate SG-1 has a likeable cast, a rich mythology and interesting stories.
As Stargate SG-1 enters its sixth season, Dr. Daniel Jackson has ascended oddly at just about the same time as Cordelia did on The WB series Angel. While Daniel did it with a bit more class, he unfortunately ended up looking like a big glowing octopus. He didn't even get to take his glasses.
Nemec's Jonas steps into Daniel's big shoes in "Redemption—Part 1" with a characterization that looks a lot like an early Dr. Daniel Jackson. He's less of a nerd, but just as curious, intelligent and gentle of spirit. Since he's an alien, he can ask cute questions and examine the oddity of human behavior in a way that Teal'c has always been too cool and too silent to do.
Just as Shanks took over the role from James Spader (in the film Stargate) and made it his own, Nemec's Jonas will most likely grow until the character develops his own uniqueness. Nemec has the appropriate likeability factor and should give the increasingly grumpy O'Neill someone to play off.
As for the rest of "Redemption's" storyline, it's a relief that Carter finally doesn't know how to save the Earth this time and other scientists are at least working on the problem. Also, the underused Teal'c gets some screen time in a moving story involving his son. Yes, it would be nice if Teal'c wasn't defined only by his Jaffa stories, but Teal'c fans will have to take what they can get.
While this sixth season may or may not be its last, Stargate would be a better show if the characters were allowed to stretch and if the writers focused more on the exploration of other planets and less on trying to figure out unique ways to endanger the human race. It's a good enough show. It just could be so much better. — Kathie
Also in this issue:
The X-Files Season Five DVD Collection
and
Farscape Season Four Premiere
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