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Stargate SG-1 1016 The Bad Guys

Hah! SG-1 can still try to be funny and actually succeed – not like last week. Well done, guys! As usual, mostly comments as I went along, with a few things added afterwards.

Stargate SG-1 1016 The Bad Guys

So, Daniel is willing to forge blindly forward – armed only by his keen sense of smell, no doubt – because if the stuff is out there, someone has to get it, and why not them? While I’m a little saddened that Daniel is now the one after the big honkin’ space guns, I will allow that this does fit him – pursuit of knowledge, at any cost.

Sam isn’t going coming this time, because she’s in Washington discussing the AU from The Road Not Taken. Um, why now, so long after the fact? Let’s see, handwave, handwave… Oh! Got it. The Pentagon was badly shaken by the huge security breach from last week’s stupidity and are actually considering going public! And since Landry is horrified at the idea, he quickly sends Sam to Washington so she can spin a worst-case scenario and convince them that no, it’s really worth it to keep the Stargate as their super sekrit program! Okay, that’ll do.

ETA: Checked a few reviews and laughed. I am such a hopeless gen girl that I would have never dreamed of associating Sam’s trip to Washington with Jack. I salute the Sam/Jack fans for their eternal optimism and enthusiasm, even if I’ll never like the pairing myself. :)

They gave us wormhole effect! Yay! It’s the SGA one. Boo. :(

Only their second musuem, in ten seasons. Last time didn’t work out too well. Time for some foreboding, especially considering the name of the ep?

Flourescent lighting off-world. Oh, set dressers. Could you please try a little harder?

Mitchell’s speech was a little hard to take, considering just how many cultures the SGC has blithely invaded over the years. I think he’s quoting the official handbook instead of telling Vala about what’s really happened all along.

DHD is a fake! Nice twist, and goes quite well with the musuem motif.

Daniel’s back-and-forth with Vala was not supposed to be cute, I hope. It just irritated me.

“Seaweed?” “Don’t even go there.” Hee! Shoutout to Mitchell the SG-1 fanboy, and hoo boy does Daniel have unhappy memories of Hadante. They’ve been giving us a lot of nods to earlier seasons in these last episodes, and I’m enjoying every one of them.

And SG-1 doesn’t duck out of sight… why? There certainly was enough time.

Screaming woman made me laugh, because why not? It’s a perfectly normal reaction, and I loved what an utter idiot she was. It did have to happen eventually. And she kept screaming under the table. Heh.

Whoops! Alarm hit. People trapped. Hostage situation that they didn’t want. Uh oh.

Okay, this is going to be the ep-of-stereotypes, right? We’ve got the inept guard with delusions of grandeur, the screaming damsel in distress, the posturing politician, the earnest scientist seeking a peaceful solution... OTOH, we’ve got SG-1 forced to pretend to be rebels, so I think this is going to be a case of kick back, relax, and just have fun.

Daniel trying to be rebel leader had me giggling. Asking the politician politely to get back on the ground, and almost saying “thank you”? And I love how there is NO SUCH THING AS A CHAIN OF COMMAND on SG-1. No one even blinked when Daniel took on the role of rebel leader. Poor Mitchell. :)

Loved Daniel’s frustration – he doesn’t want to do this. He does it anyway because everyone convinces him it’s the only way out (although I think they might have managed otherwise, but never mind). And he does it so badly.

So, Daniel does the humanitarian thing, and it backfires. Oops. This is the first time in quite a while that Daniel gets whumped as a random member of SG-1, rather than being whumped because he’s specifically targeted (a la Adria). Heh. It actually gave me nostalgia.

I really liked this Quartus guy, or however it’s spelled. Intelligent, annoyed by idiots. :) It doesn’t matter if he jumps to the wrong conclusions, because he’s dealing with what he knows.

Cicero reminds me so much of early season Daniel that it almost hurts. I didn’t care for Vala’s sarcasm, because I don’t think Daniel likes to be reminded of where he once was, and the comment was really rather nasty. Something tells me that the writers of this ep don’t care very much for Daniel/Vala shipping. Good thing, as far as I'm concerned.

“You take all the time you need! We’re not gonna hurt them…” Oh, Daniel. You are so bad at this. Teal’c was practically rolling his eyes after a while.

And here’s the inept guard again, and I was right about Quartus and his intelligence. We’re going to run into some slapstick, aren’t we?

Catfight in the middle of a hostage situation, and Daniel loses it. I loved it – he’s just so frustrated. “If I have to play this stupid part, you people better play it, too, especially because you’re the stupid screaming idiot who set this all off in the first place!” Daniel whapping his gun like it’s just a prop: “There’s rules, there’s a whole school of etiquette to this! ….Don’t eyeball me.” I know that MS mentioned on his blog that there’s a missing scene, and that the scene made this one make much more sense. But really, I had no trouble accepting this.

So, Cicero, Mitchell, and Vala go strolling down the halls of the museum, which looks suspiciously look the halls of Mitchell’s school. Sigh. They did, didn’t they? I guess that explains the flourescent lighting.

Now, see, this is the Vala we should see more often – open about her background and skills, superbly confident. And I loved Cicero’s calm acceptance that his guests from another planet include thievery on their list of valuable skill sets.

In fact, I’m liking Cicero more and more with every scene. He was great in dealing with the inept guard, taking everything so calmly. He reminds me more and more of early season Daniel. They’ll be taking him with them, won’t he? Nyan needs some help in Daniel’s department!

“Murderous rebels. Come in, please.”

Daniel’s face is utterly priceless. “…Speaking?”

Daniel doesn’t get Die Hard, but Teal’c does, and saunters casually past Daniel as he explains. LOVE it. Daniel did get the reference to the Amsel Adams the photographer early on in the ep, but didn’t get the more common, popular culture one. Love that even more! :)

The guard is one big cliché, isn’t he?

Teal’c and the zat and his “Please remain calm” had me giggling. Teal’c is awesome and I find it difficult to imagine any circumstance in which he fails to be less than fantastic.

Vala activates the bomb and plays directly into the guard’s paranoia. And then she really did activate it. We can either look at this as Vala being foolish or as Vala being calmly pragmatic. She’s right – they did need to know it wasn’t another facsimile. OTOH, activating something she can’t turn off? Not brilliant.

So, Cicero pulls a Daniel and tries to use out-of-the-box thinking to try and resolve the situation peacefully. I’m charmed at both his intentions and his unbelievable naivete in this case.

Loved the image of Daniel perched on the staircase next to the big statue of whatever.

“Yeah, 100% chance we should’ve brought someone who knows what they’re doing.” Whew! Who wrote this? A major anti-Daniel/Vala shipper, that’s for sure. I’m not complaining about the attitude, mind – but this entire ep’s interactions is a little sharper than I would expect Daniel or Vala to be towards each other.

Quartus suddenly reminds me very much of the characterization of the general in Ethon, who I also liked quite a lot. Erm. It’s not the same actor, is it? With Stargate’s fondness for recycling guest stars, you never know.

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of that either.” Heh. Neither do I.

When did they figure out the point of origin?

“I suggest you stay on the floor with your hands on your head until your police have figured out you’re not the bad guys.” Hee! Oh, Daniel. And cue the screaming woman. I knew it. Hope the police find her equally as annoying.

Cicero walks in and sees the active wormhole, and his eyes light up like Daniel’s in Torment of Tantalus. I really like this guy.

I don’t care too much for Mitchell’s speeches, I see. The one to Vala at the beginning took too long. This one does, too. Except for this part: “I admit our first contact was not ideal. In fact, it may be our worst…” Looks at Daniel, who wiggles his hand at him. “Eh, not so much.” I’d say he’s thinking of Bedrosia. Or maybe the Rand Protectorate, and remembering they set the fuse that ended up destroying that world.

They left Cicero behind? And he’s going to have to live with that knowledge, and keep it secret, for the rest of his life? …Oh. I can’t help imagining that happening to Daniel. Imagine if he hadn’t been allowed to go through with Jack in the movie, and Jack et al never came back, because he’d set off the bomb, and Daniel would have to live with his disgraced reputation and the knowledge that something is out there that he’s never going to be able to touch…

I understand Quartus and his reasoning, but my heart aches for Cicero, and their world. And now I’m thinking a little too bleakly about the awful meta of the actors finding out, during the filming of this ep, that SG-1 was canceled. It fits in a little too neatly.

So. A rather sad note to end upon. But on the whole, a seriously entertaining fluffy episode, with no repercussions beyond the ep itself. An hour of fun with the gang… Yeah, I can get behind that. :)

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I agree that Daniel losing it makes sense even without the missing scene. He's not only frustrated, he's downright pissed off at being forced to do something he knows is a really bad idea. But still, I want to know what was in that scene!

I've watched this episode several times, and slasher that I am, it wasn't until I watched it again yesterday that the ship scenario popped into my mind. I'll bet the shippers had a field day with that.

I love Daniel to bits, but he really is the Worst. Terrorist. Ever.

I don't think the ship scenario would have ever occurred to me if I hadn't seen it mentioned in other reviews. And I don't mind shippers leaping on things like this or Sam's password of "fishing," even if fishing=teamy goodness in my personal book. Because really, isn't subtle hints a thousand times better than blatant in-your-face that gen fans (or not shippers of that particular pairing) simply can't ignore?

I love Daniel to bits, but he really is the Worst. Terrorist. Ever.

Word. Oh, YES. :)

Daniel just cracks me up in this. He's SO bad at it all. It's great. The whole premise of them being all experienced at this now, but still getting it utterly, utterly, wrong is very appealing to me. And yeah, it's great when they get the chance to do something a bit lighter, with so much comedy.

Daniel was a bit rude to Vala though, which I didn't like. She was doing her best! BTW, Ben Browder and Martin Gero wrote it. Martin Gero usually writes excellent McKay eps, and funny "teamier" eps on SGA. He's a bit nuts.

Cicero is adorable - a double bundle of squee for me because he was a cast member of "The West Wing" for four years. We'll just ignore the fact that he looks a bit like a frog...

Ron Canada (who played Quartus) turns up in EVERYTHING. He hasn't been in either Stargate before, but he's been in Babylon 5, Next Generation, DS9 and Voyager, AND The West Wing. Heck, the man's been on "Ugly Betty"! For some reason I get him mixed up with James Earl Jones. I think it's the great diction...

Teal'c hasn't been getting much screen time of late, (less than usual, I mean) but when he does say something it just KILLS. Chris Judge is AWESOME.

Hee! on the icon! And hey, thanks for chiming in! You're always welcome, y'know. :)

I think you've pinpointed exactly why this ep is so entertaining - they've been doing this for so long, they're such experts, and it's still so easy to mess things up utterly. Good for them, and for us, not to get complacent!

I take it you're a Daniel/Vala fan, then? I am most emphatically not, but I still thought the two of them were a little too hostile to each other in this ep. And Ben Browder wrote it! Huh. Maybe he'd rather have Mitchell/Vala shipping, then. :)

I watch very little television, so I don't have problems with actors hopping from one fandom to the next. It's when really successful guest stars are then featured again on the same show that I run into trouble. Narim, frex, turned up as Weir's ex. Or the guy who played Hanno, and dealt a lot with Teal'c, ends up as Simon, also with longish hair, who... deals a lot with Teal'c.

Heh on the "looks a bit like a frog." The very fact that he's not overly good looking added to Cicero's charm. And I think that the ending is actually a tragedy for the poor guy. If only they'd let him go through, and then invented the scenario with one person dead... Sigh.

Awesome. Teal'c. Yep, those go together nicely. :)

Hey, I'm just amazed to get here before everyone else did!

I am a fan of scenes with Daniel/Vala interaction. I love their friendship/antagonism. I'm not, however, a rabid shipper. A little bit, yes - I'm a romantic at heart, but I don't NEED it like many, many others do.

Ben wrote the story, and Gero the actual screenplay, so we can probably attribute any OTT tension to Gero not Ben. I'm delighted that Ben didn't do the usual that Stargate actors who write a episode do - and give themselves some romance and/or the leading role. I'm impressed.

Is that Simon from "Demons"? Coz he turned up in Atlantis too. As did the bad guy in "Demons" (he's so slimy, I can't stand him). The worst was recycling the actress who played the young Linea as a goody. I sit there screaming - "Don't trust her, she's the Destroyer of Worlds"! You just can't DO that.

Yeah, poor Cicero. His froggishness is part of his charm. He's cute. Awww...

(As far as I'm concerned, Daniel is the original gorgeous geek. A few more have made themselves known, but Daniel was my first love...)

"SG-Yum"? Hee! Where do you get your icons from? Are they yours?

Yes, I was talking about the guy from Demons. And LOL about Linea/Kera. Except they do that a lot, they really do. Frex, the doctor that dies in Morpheus also played Malakai in Window of Opportunity. Minor guest star recycling is on thing, but a character that's become such a huge part of our fannish consciousness? That's just ouch.

His froggishness is part of his charm.

Well, yes, it was. Because they can't all be as gorgeous as Daniel. :)

Ten years. And how many half-decent actors *are* there in Vancouver, anyway? You do the math. *g*.

Fortunately, I'm awful with faces, so I never have the least clue about these. "You think he looks familiar? Nah, never seen him before." (I'd make the worse eyewitness *ever*. :P)

Okay, I can accept that. But there are choices - and choices.

Frex, the kid from Bane. (Allie? I want to write "Aylee," but that's because I was reading Sluggy earlier.) She went on to become teenaged Cassie. I had no problem with that.

Cam's teenaged sweetheard, aka PDL's wife. Eurondan bad guy six seasons ago. I actually recognized her, but I still had no problem with it.

Then there's the Hanno/Simon guy. Now that one was a problem for me, because the actor played, in both cases, a long-haired guy that dealt with Teal'c and guilt and a trial of some kind, and ended up helping SG-1. That's too close of a similarity.

Narim as Weir's ex. Bad move. Bizarre, even. If you watched SGA and the actor who played Jacob Carter turned up as Ancient or something, wouldn't you be completely thrown out of the story? As for Malakai/Doctor who gets killed in Morpheus - the problem is that WoW is such a fan favorite, and Malakai such a beautifully played role, that the actor stays solidly in our consciousness. Not such a good move.

I understand the small actor pool and the need for rotation. But c'mon, guys, do it with a little discretion. :)

Yes, I made the icons. Those season 10 cast photos were just so gorgeous. If you want one grab it.

Yeah, the actor recycling is good in one way - because it shows support for the actor, but you're so right about the fannish conciousness. I'd forgotten about Malaki/Dr. Whasisname. "Window of Opportunity" is so loved that it wasn't a great move. Same with Narim/Simon. It works if they're Fifth one episode and wearing tons of make up the next, or their name is Christopher Heyerdahl, who has played 4 different characters - at least - in the Stargate Universe, (he was the computer "dad" in "Revisions"). Somehow he manages to carry it off.

Oh, yes, make-up can make quite a difference! The nice-looking black guy from The Fifth Man, who was the Reeol or however you spell that? He also played Chaka. I really don't think that would be a problem. :)

Dion Johnstone. He also was the Jaffa dude in "Rules of Engagement", and was the captain of the Seberus in "Forsaken" (but not in Space Race). We play Spot Dion as part of the drinking game.

I don't think the negotiator was in SG-1 before, but I could be wrong.

Teal’c was practically rolling his eyes after a while.

Practically?! He so WAS rolling his eyes. Hee hee.

I didn't have an issue with Daniel's 100% snark at Vala, they were worried about blowing up at the time...he's been much worse to her before in crises--Company of Thieves?

I did have an issue that they DID have someone who knew what they were doing. Teal'c had disarmed the first bomb with Lee. Aha! They needed Bill Lee! :-D What?

I love this episode--I think I mentioned I grade it on a curve because of the cancellation anyway.

My understanding is Browder basically pitched the idea. Gero is the one who wrote it.

But he was rolling his eyes so politely. :)

Vala and Daniel snarking - I dunno. In Company of Thieves, he sniped at her, "You stole this ship last time without any trouble, why is it taking you so long now?" That's a vast difference from slapping her down when she reasonably points out that the SGC can send them a generator, and snapping that "100% we should've brought someone who knows what we're doing." And Vala's observation about Cicero that Daniel has found a kindred spirit - not after he mentions his theories, but after he mentions that he's considered a joke? Not very nice.

Yay for Bill! :) But to be fair, Teal'c didn't even see the bomb until after the Gate was activiated - it's not as if they got on the radio and described it to him so that he should realize it's the same one.

Not so sure it needs the curve, actually. I have a lower approval threshold for S9-10 (sticks out tongue in friendly way) and by that scale, as a one-off, this episode was quite entertaining. I did miss Sam, though.

Yay for Bill! :) But to be fair, Teal'c didn't even see the bomb until after the Gate was activiated - it's not as if they got on the radio and described it to him so that he should realize it's the same one

Hee. I thought they were standard issue--if you've seen one Goa'uld naquadah bomb, you've seen them all. Of course, maybe that's why Vala couldn't get it to work.

Huh. Daniel and Vala's snarking in this episode didn't bother me. They bothered me a lot in some other episodes (looking at you early season 9), but here it didn't strike me as bitter as it did you.

I figured Daniel's snapping at Vala was mostly because he's already stressed, totally frustrated with what he's having to try to do, and because gosh darn it, if they'd had Sam along, maybe this would be getting resolved quicker! :-)

Very amusing episode, indeed. Very weird to see Josh Malina playing Cicero, as I know him from The West Wing, and this season as AUSA Meeks from Numb3rs.

Hee! The Sam and Daniel friendship fan in me loves that explanation!

Now, see, there are advantages to not watching too much television! Nearly all guest stars are complete strangers to me - unless, of course, they're getting recycled from previous SG-1 eps, which certainly happens often enough. :)

You just know what had to have happened...and what was Cam thinking leaving Daniel and Teal'c to it (well, other than maybe, sending Daniel and Vala would be both trouble and they'd sure as hell get distracted by something)...

"Daniel Jackson..."

Daniel stopped, turned back, jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "I'm just going to go talk...."

"You may not."

"Not?"

"These people are our hostages. They must view us as a menacing presence."

"Y'know, that just sounds too much like what they used to tell me my first year as a TA. But a few questions--hey, it'll seem like an interrogation?"

"And with the questions you will start to sympathize."

"But--"

"Are you certain you wish to become involved in yet another planet's unstable political conflicts?"

"Well--" Daniel thought that one over, had to admit it never worked out, but there was always that chance. "How about I just ask about the museum?"

Lifting an eyebrow, Teal'c glanced at the people huddled on the floor. Daniel followed the look, had to admit the impractical clothes didn't exactly indicate anyone who'd come for more than food, drink, and a chance to make out in dark halls. Daniel let out a sigh, looked at Teal'c again.

"So, uhm, go...be menacing, hun?"

"I have done this many times. There is a ritual to these situations."

Daniel shrugged, decided he'd have to settle for that. But those three in front were whispering again, and wasn't that just like his first year teaching. He'd loathed lecturing the unwilling. And not one of the exhibits here so far looked like anything more than second rate reproductions. God, he'd be glad when they could get out of here.

"These people are our hostages. They must view us as a menacing presence."

"Y'know, that just sounds too much like what they used to tell me my first year as a TA."

those three in front were whispering again, and wasn't that just like his first year teaching

Hah! Oh, that made me laugh. And flashed right back to my own early teaching years. Daniel's tantrum suddenly makes a lot more sense. :)

And yes, I'll bet his frustration at the exhibits (snickers) being "second-rate reproductions" - YES I can see him muttering that - would make it even worse!

Cicero was SO Daniel. After we watched, my mom was flailing about why Cicero would have left like that to talk to the authorities and think they'd be believe him, but I pointed out that it's EXACTLY what Daniel would have done - that belief that if you just tell someone the truth, they'll know it for truth (hell, you saw that in Shroud).

I really wanted them to take Cicero with them too and now I'm wondering if they tacked that ending on (about the 'gate probably being buried) after they learned they were cancelled.

Daniel was just so adorably bad at being a rebel and Teal'c was, well, awesome as only Teal'c can be (especially with the Zat!)

I swear you could hear Daniel wishing Sam was there for the entire episode - both for technical stuff and for keeping Mitchell slightly in line and, well, just because.
*sigh* yay fun episodes!

my mom was flailing about why Cicero would have left like that to talk to the authorities and think they'd be believe him, but I pointed out that it's EXACTLY what Daniel would have done

YES! My heart really broke for poor Cicero - left behind, knowing that there are wonders out there that he will never, ever be able to see or touch. I wanted Daniel to grab him by the collar and drag him back through the Stargate with him! Nyan probably could use some extra help, anyway...

you could hear Daniel wishing Sam was there for the entire episode - both for technical stuff and for keeping Mitchell slightly in line and, well, just because

Heeee! Oh, yes! Because he knows Sam is so much better at being mean when she needs to be than he is, and she would definitely have helped keep things calmer!

Fun episodes are good, even if they're shallow. And pretty. :)

Oh, no kidding! I've always been really sad we don't see Nyan again (okay, the actor appeared on an Atlantis episode playing a scientist with a different name who was fun and somewhat brave until the Wraith sucked away his life) but Cicero and Nyan would get along so well!
(and now I'm really amused at the idea of Daniel reaching out, grabbing Cicero's collar, and dragging him through the 'gate. Also, I'm wondering why they named him Cicero)

Yep. Sam would have been fun in this episode. Oh well.

(and now I'm really amused at the idea of Daniel reaching out, grabbing Cicero's collar, and dragging him through the 'gate. Also, I'm wondering why they named him Cicero)

Except if he'd done something that could so easily be interpreted as aggressive, SG-1 might've gotten shot. So probably not much choice. But I do wish Cicero could've gone with them, somehow.

Why Cicero? It's a nice Greek-sounding name, I guess, to go with the Athena theme. At least it's not Charlie, or Jonas. ;)

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