Stargate S.G. 1 - Series 3 - Complete (Box Set) (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Good
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Charactor classics
Disadvantages:	you want more

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

At first i thought to myself why the hell aint no-one writtern a review on stargate season 3. I am disapointed on the fans (shame on you) haha. I must say this is one of my fav boxsets due to the fact the writers concetrate on the characters which appeals to the veiwer that so much more, ok i will begin

Standard intro: Stargate SG-1 is about an Air Force team that, through the use of a large metal hoop found in the Egyptian desert that opens wormholes to other gates on different worlds, is exploring the universe. Jack O'Neill, who is a good leader, but not the smartest guy in the group, leads the team. Samantha Carter is a brilliant physicist and warrior woman. Daniel Jackson originally found the gate in the desert making him the foremost expert on it. He also happens to be a (miraculously) gifted linguist. The 4th member of the team is Teal'c. He's an alien. This series is endorsed by the Air Force.

This disk is really a good one because it contains one of my favorite shows from the season, which is saying something considering how many episodes I really like in this season.

This is a good disk with 4 good shows. I'd like to say it's the best of this set, but I can't because this set has a lot of really good shows on it.

Episode 1: Into the Fire
"Previously, on Stargate SG-1…" Hathor has managed to capture Jack, Sam and Daniel (but not Teal,'c though she might have rejected him because she couldn't mess with his mind as easily.) She almost had them convinced that everyone else on the team was dead and that s/he held vital information from the last mission, but our heroes aren't so stupid. Oh, and Daniel has a stupid new haircut. On of the other teams comes across some information revealing where the SG-1 is being held and by whom. General Hammond decides to commit all the resources at his command to the rescue effort. Overall, it's a good, tight action episode. Plus, I think it's worth the whole episode to see Teal'c say (about Apophis) "A false god. A dead, false god." He's completely intimidating and I'm sitting in my living room on a sunny May Saturday, and I'm on his side!

Episode 2: Seth
SG-1 is hunting for a Goa'uld hiding out on Earth leading his own cult. The team ends up working with law enforcement who are trying to breach the cult. They also come across a father whose son is on the inside. Another action episode. And Seth is sort of interesting as a Goa'uld. He's stupid, he's vicious, he thinks he knows everything (hey, he sounds like my boss!) A pretty good episode, not one I'd hunt out on its own.

Episode 3: Fair Game
Since the Goa'uld have not been especially successful in destroying Earth through military means, they attempt legal means. They set up a negotiation with the Asgard that will force Earth to surrender its Stargate (both of them.) Three Goa'uld are coming to the negotiations and 2 of the three bring baggage. Yu, who founded the first Chinese dynasty, is most in favor of settling and seems to be the least evil of the bunch. Niirti is an Indian Goddess of some sort and she was responsible she what happened to Cassandra in the episode Singularity (season 1 volume 4). And Chronos who, in addition to sending an assassin after Jolinar (In the Line of Duty season 2 volume 1), also happened to be the false god responsible for the death of Teal'c father. Chronos is attacked in his room and Teal'c is framed. At this point it becomes a parlor mystery and a pretty darn good one. Overall, a very tense, well done episode.

Episode 4: Legacy
The team visits a deserted Goa'uld base and find 9 long dead bodies locked in a room. It's creepy and all, but they leave. Unfortunately, whatever was haunting that room seems to have followed Daniel home. So either Daniel is being haunted or he's going nuts. What do you think? It a tight, interesting episode, well worth seeing. (Plus, this is the first appearance of the Stargate writers' love affair with schizophrenia.) Michael Shanks does a really wonderful job of going crazy too.

Special Features: Secret Files of the SGC - Colonel Jack O'Neill
With this disk they tried to be cute with the features, better than commercials, but pretty cheesy never the less. They run these little bookend clips with Hammond and the doctor that look like they were shot on a Sony handycam. The actual "documentary" is interesting and gives some background on how O'Neill became involved with the Stargate Project (the second time, after the events of the movie) and how Richard Dean Anderson became involved with the show (with nods to Kurt Russell who played the character in the movie.) If you're into the show it will be interested

Episode 5: Learning Curve
The team is already on Orban working with the denizens who for some reason are all about 11. They are really smart, really serious 5th or 6th graders and they seemed to be smarter than the adults. The Orban send one of their people through the gate with a sci-fi reactor which is a snazzy box (it glows when it's on) that Carter doesn't know how to work. Maran, a kid, offers to teach her how to use it and in conversation they realize that the Orban have no idea what fun is. The kids don't seem to have any childhood at all. This deeply offends O'Neill and he causes a diplomatic incident by teaching her about fun. This is more of a character show about O'Neill. From the backstory, we know that O'Neill's son accidentally shot himself with Jack's service revolver and he's got a soft spot for children. While I think it's a fundamentally flawed idea, it is a good idea. I'm also puzzled by the idea that, while these people are quite Anglo-Saxon looking, they are supposed to be from Pre-Columbian Central America. And then there's the fact that the Orban vanish from the overall story line. Still, a good, challenging story.

Episode 6: Point of View
An alternate universe Kawalsky and Carter come through the mirror the team found in the first season cliffhanger. This is sort of a problem because in our universe Kawalsky is dead and in theirs Sam is not in the service and is married to Jack. Plus, in their universe, the Goa'uld have attacked Earth and won. This is essentially the Star Trek: Next Gen episode "Yesterday's Enterprise." Stargate's interpretation is also quite good and very interesting. This episode also showcases Amanda Tapping playing 2 different Samantha Carters confronting each other. She does a wonderful job.

Episode 7: Deadman Switch
The team is captured by a bounty hunter who is trying to make a two-fer and grab a fugitive Goa'uld also on the planet. The team bargains to help the bounty hunter if he promises not to kill them (you know, living to fight another day, yada, yada.) However, things being the way they are in the Stargate universe we find that things are not as clear cut as they seem. The fugitive Goa'uld is really Tok'ra (therefore, one of the good guys we don't want to see in the hands of the Goa'uld) and the bounty hunter is not working for the Goa'uld because he wants to but because he is hooked on a drug he can only get from them. It's messy and hard to see a simple solution. Oh ye of little faith, this is television. A solution is found in this action packed and quite ethical show. The presence of the bounty hunter also put a whole new dimension on the universe. Sadly,(at least as far as season 6) the bounty hunter (or any other bounty hunters) have not reappeared. You know I think with the bits of plot the writers discard you could start a whole new show.

Episode 8: Demons
The team arrives on a planet that appear to have a society of Medieval Christians on it, but no one can figure out which Goa'uld would be nice enough to want to play God (even the Old Testament God was fair if not super benevolent. I knew that Catholic School education would come in handy some day.) Well, the Goa'uld isn't playing God, he's playing Satan and he demands regular sacrifices. In addition, the bishop has a nifty little ring that can bring down lightening. He decides that Teal'c is a witch and does the tests including tossing him in a pond. If he floats, he must be a witch, if he sinks he was pure, but alas he's dead. Bummer. But the village priest asks for their help. This is one of my very favorite episodes. The medieval milieu is my cup of tea anyway and this is well done (I can turn a blind eye to the anachronisms.) I'm especially impressed with the music. Whoever composed the music took pains to make it sound medieval. They may do this every time, but I happen to recognize this and it really adds to the ambiance of the show. Not to be missed. If you see one show from season 3, let it be this one.

Episode 9: Rules of Engagement
The team arrives in the middle of a battle between an SG team they don't recognize and a Jaffa army and the good guys are losing. Acting on the idea that it could be the missing SG-11, they step in and find out that, no, it isn't a missing SG team at all, but a training exercise for Apophis' army and they don't know he's dead. They have to make the trainees understand that Apophis is dead before the trainees decide to off SG-1. This show isn't particularly great at anything in particular, but it is a very good show never the less. As an added bonus it explains much of the "story so far" without a single flashback or info dump. If you want to introduce someone to the show, this is a good spot to start.

Ok im done now but please keep buying stargate it might pursuade the writers to keep showing stargate in the future as we all know they plan to pull the plug after season 10 (Bucky cries and rolls around on the floor)

I hope this was the more information my readers were loooking for!!

regards

Bucky