Stargate SG-1: Season 07 (2003-04)

SG-1: Season 07 (2003-04)

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

Like the previous year, a significant personnel change had a dramatic impact on the core team.

It limits what I can say without diving into spoiler territory. To do the job properly, therefore, I'll need to drop some broad SPOILERS hereafter.

Unfortunately, even for those who stopped reading before now, the opening credits give the game away before the first episode has even begun, revealing the 'new' member of SG-1.

For a time it works well as a five-man team, but the writers chose instead to push out Jonas Quin (Corin Nemec), who spent much of the previous year finding and establishing his unique role.

Thereafter things progress steadily, with the search for new alliances and advanced technology that can be used and/or adapted to combat the diabolical Goa'uld System Lords, who remain the primary threat for the Tau'ri.

In many ways it feels like a new creative team at the helm. I don't know if there was or wasn't, I've not researched it, but there's some noticeable differences in tone and content; e.g. there's a peculiar emphasis on Major Samantha Carter's (Amanda Tapping) relationship status, even going so far as to give her an out-of-work romance. I like the character and support any beneficial deepening of her person, but it's so badly done that it feels more like a Hallmark movie of the week than a Stargate story. The pairing gets all but forgotten in subsequent episodes, which is for the best, but it makes me wonder why it was deemed worthy of the show in the first place.

"I've run every test I could, but I can't cure a teenager's attitude."

Sam isn't the only one to get hit by Cupid's arrow. A colony of female Jaffa offers an opportunity for Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form new bonds (in an episode notably written by Judge).

Elsewhere, there's a distinct lack of Colonel Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) onscreen for most of the season, although that was reportedly a personal decision of the actor's own and he continued to be an Executive Producer of the series - as he had been since Season 01.

It's arguably not a good idea to overuse the main antagonist(s) in such a long-running series, but nor is it wise to keep them out of the action for too long a time, lest they lose their threatening presence. A beneficial balance between the two can be achieved, but Season 07 fails to find it. And among the story arc episodes to look out for are a fair number that have a decent Plot A but a dire Plot B, or vice versa, making them a semi-chore to get through:

Eps 01 + 2: Fallen + Homecoming: the prodigal team member returns.

Ep 09: Avenger 2.0: has one of the 'Other' guys (S06: Ep 08). It's a crap episode but has something that becomes relevant in later seasons, so I guess it deserves a mention.

Eps 11 + 12: Evolution: Parts 1 + 2: a new type of warrior is seen for the first time.

Ep 15: Chimera: is a further step toward finding the Lost City of the Ancients, but it has some dire Sam romance stuff that I never want to endure again.

Ep 16: Death Knell: the Alpha Site and the shaky Toc'ra / Jaffa / Human alliance are in trouble.

Eps 17 + 18: Heroes: Parts 1 + 2: the first part is pretty awful, but the second part has an event that fans of a certain secondary character at SGC will most likely want to see.

Eps 21 + 22: Lost City: Parts 1 + 2: is presented as one double-length episode on the UK R2 DVD set. Together they have the most onscreen Jack O'Neill of the entire season, and they're as action-packed as they are revealing. Oh, and the Castle Grayskull nod was pretty great, too.

An extra special shake of the head to Ep 20: Inauguration, which is again relevant but equally awful, being a semi-clips show that takes a clip from the previous clips show! Admittedly, it was one of the previous one's new scenes, but it's still like adding insult to injury.