Ultra-advanced aliens call on our heroes to fight space cockroaches with humanity's main weapon -- a lack of sophistication. Season premiere offers great special effects, humor and maybe even a moral lesson.
(originally aired June 30, 2000)
Written by Robert C. Cooper
Directed by Martin Wood
GUEST STARS
Dmitry Chepovetsky - Boris
Colin Cunningham - Major Davis
Gary Jones - Technician
Yurij Kis - Yuri
Dan Shea - Sergeant Siler
WHAT HAPPENED
Our return to SG-1 begins beneath the sea with Teal’c dramatically intoning the words "The Conclusion" -- to last season's
.
Deep in the ocean, a Russian submarine patrols. Two uniformed officers notice a problem with some of the controls and discuss it in Russian, but the lack of subtitles prevents us from knowing exactly what they are saying.
One hears something -- a chattering sound -- inside a pressure tank. The two officers peer in the dark rusted tank using a flashlight. A solitary replicator bug observes them, and then jumps out and attaches itself to the closer sailor’s face a la Alien. (more
)
ANALYSIS
This is the type of episode you wait for and use to compare to other shows.
Among the highlights: great emotional interplay between the characters. I found repeat of the lab scene with Jack and Sam subtle and fun, while Daniel’s feeling of uselessness was a great counterpoint to the tense twin action story threads of the sub bug hunt and the Asgard invasion.
But of course, my favorite aspect of this episode -- and of the series in general -- is the humor. When Thor told Sam it was "her stupid idea," I fell off the couch.
Beyond that, "Small Victories" had good believable tech and really nice effects.
And you animators out there: the Asgard world looked great, guys; keep up the good work.
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK
Humanity's prestige in the alien community takes another step forward when aliens beg us for help against their enemies. All this, in "The Other Side".
What do you think? Send your comments to the
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