Stargate SG-1: Season 04 (2000-01)

SG-1: Season 04 (2000-01)

Dirs. Various | 22 episodes, approx 44 minutes each.

Unlike the first female soldier that we saw in the SG-1 series (in the pilot episode), who single-handedly reinforced the blonde stereotype, Major Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) is the most comprehensively educated member of the team, with a range of unsurprisingly handy skills.

Not characterised as non-feminine, Sam still has compassion and a motherly instinct (kind of like Jack's paternal one), but it's not to the detriment of her role as a respected authority figure.

Now seems like a good time to mention my respect for the show's only other regular female cast member, Dr. Janet Fraiser (Teryl Rothery). When the teams get battered, bruised, or taken over by an alien intelligence, etc, it's the quick response of Dr. Fraiser that more often than not saves the day - ofttimes working alongside Sam.

The SGC is very male-dominated, but without the ladies being there to pull the hairy man-asses out of the fire there'd be a lot more singeing and tears. In short, without the women of the SGC to keep things on track, the men would've probably blown up the gate (and themselves) already.

- Actually, sir, I have a few projects on the go. -

Of no real consequence, but which I'm going to mention anyhow, is that fans of Star Trek TNG and DS9 will spot a couple of familiar faces in guest star roles. There's a story with no gate-hopping action, which, I think, is the first time that happens. We witness archaeologist Daniel Jackson at an actual archaeological dig! While the man behind the character, Michael Shanks, directed his first and only episode of the show's entire run (Ep 21). And Teal'c grows a goatee.

Of more importance are the episodes that seem to be crucial to the ongoing arc; they include:

Ep 01. Small Victories is the second part of the Season 03 cliff-hanger (Nemesis).

Ep 04. Crossroads concerns a larval Goa'uld symbiote and the origin of the Tok'ra. Plus, we find out a little more about Teal'c's past.

Ep. 05. Divide and Conquer blends professional and personal matters, with potential consequences for future SG events arising from both aspects.

Ep. 13. The Curse has Daniel getting up close to some ancient Egyptian artefacts.

Ep. 17. Absolute Power heavily influences Daniel's journey, being both a partial conclusion and a new beginning to his ongoing mission and spiritual evolution. There's a character who speaks in a koan-esque manner (Zen riddles), which may annoy some folks, but I enjoyed it.

Ep. 21. Double Jeopardy sees the return of something from Season 01, and is also an important one for a particular Goa'uld System Lord.

Ep. 22. Exodus. Besides the expected problematic and/or perilous situations that are typically part of a season finale, it has a great scene with Teal'c that deserves special mention.

Overall, taking into account the ups and downs, I'd rate Season 04 on par with both Seasons 02 and  03. It has a few well-worn sci-fi clichés, but generally it makes them Stargate-specific; e.g. Ep 06. Window of Opportunity has two members of the team zapped back in time by six hours, repeatedly - the kind of story that many long-running sci-fi franchises play around with at least once, but SG-1's version has a pleasing level of character-centric comedy that sets it apart.