SG-1 stands outside the Stargate, and Carter’s going on about having to time the ‘Gate exactly right, and she’s going on about solar flares and…
Oh, hee hee. I know where this is going.
Hammond hands her a strange note. Hm…
They step through the Stargate… and out into the… hangar? Suddenly the room fades away to what looks like a shuttle bay. They find themselves in the same room as a Titan Missile about to do a test burn when Teal’c fires the Zat gun and stops it from working.
So, they’re alive, but then they’re all ordered onto their knees by military personnel, maybe air force.
One of the personnel has a bit of a Texan accent, and he pulls out the note Hammond gave to Carter from her jacket (since all their equipment has been taken away) and reads two dates on it, as well as the words “Help them”. And what’s that on his nametag? Hm…
In a holding room, SG-1 tries to figure out what’s going on. I can see this going really badly. I mean, you can’t just explain away someone like Teal’c, especially if he goes through some kind of physical exam. “Oh, yeah, that little worm, it’s just a… parasite, nothing to worry about.”
Anyways, they get into a debate about time travel capabilities and how they should or shouldn’t use them. Jackson of course loves the historical possibilities, but Carter fairly points out that if they change one tiny little detail, everything could go wrong. The world that Jackson saw a season ago could be a reality, and we wouldn’t want that, because Teal’c as one of the good guys is the greatest. And I still am bothered by that weird hair thing he had goin’ on.
Eugh.
A few of the air force people come into the room, and one asks Jackson (in Russian) if they’re Soviet spies. Jackson naively responds in the same language that they are not. (Smart, Jackson, smart.) They take O’Neill away and start asking him awkward questions.
(Oh wow, this is Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home all over again! Like that scene between Chekov and the Navy guard. I think he was a Navy guard.
“What’s your name?”
“My name?”
(Sarcastically) “No, my name.”
(Sarcastically) “No, my name.”
“I do not know your name!”)
In the interrogation room, O’Neill jokingly says that he is, “Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise,” which I don’t get since by ’69 Star Trek at least had a cult following, but it’s funny nonetheless to hear the Major (Thornbird) call him “Kirk”. He asks O’Neill about the zat’n’ktel and also if he’s, again, a Soviet spy.
You know, this almost feels like a parody to me. They always assume time travelers back to this era are Soviet spies. It’s so cliché it’s almost hysterical.
Back on base, Hammond seems to know something about this whole thing that’s going on with SG-1. He says this is “one mission they’re on their own”. Hm…
They’re all thrown into a truck and are being carted off to somewhere. Suddenly a tire pops and the Lieutenant who saw the note to Carter climbs in back with them and shuts the door. He is, indeed, Hammond, only thirty years younger (I knew I recognized that voice! And that nametag!) and he knows that he wrote the note because it’s in his handwriting. They prove to him that they are from the future.
And then we see how this works.
Lieutenant Hammond sees the cut on Carter’s hand which she got in “One False Step”. The General saw this, too, right before they shipped out.
They work out a plan where they zat two of the guards and destroy the two crates of equipment with a few sharp blasts from the zat gun it’s all gone. They swear the Lieutenant to secrecy, and then zat him once just so he looks like the victim.
They plan to get to the Stargate and then ‘Gate back home. There’s the note that Carter had, but it doesn’t give them much to go off of.
Carter goes up to the highway and sticks her thumb out to hitchhike and hopefully catch them a ride. Jackson thinks they should go to New York and talk to Catherine. Teal’c runs out in front of a hippie van (oh my god this is going to be good) and they stop. The man and woman, too, are headed to New York (all the way from Colorado? What a nice coincidence) and they all hop in.
ROOOOOAD TRIIIIIIIIIIIP!
Carter, O’Neill, and Jackson are in back with a young woman, Jenny, and they talk about how the each have issues with “the establishment”… I find it funny she believes them, considering they all are wearing military uniforms. But, hey, whatever, it’s all good.
Teal’c has taken shotgun with Michael, Jenny’s fiancé, and per usual he’s both trying to protect his identity and understand what’s going on. This funny conversation ensues between the two:
"Hey, we're cool. After the concert, me and Jenny, we're even thinking of crossin' the border up to Canada."
"For what reason?"
"You know, man... the war."
"The war... with Canada?"
"...No."
"Hey, we're cool. After the concert, me and Jenny, we're even thinking of crossin' the border up to Canada."
"For what reason?"
"You know, man... the war."
"The war... with Canada?"
"...No."
Oh, Teal’c. If only you knew of the epic awesomeness which would emerge from Canada just four; five years later.
Oh my god you guys. This episode even has the music of the time. The team gets some pretty sweet clothes to fit right in with the hippie culture (Teal’c has an afro wig and pink headband… haha) and they each take turns driving. The corny map follows them all the way to the northeast, where we get… a campfire scene! Yay, campfires and ‘60’s clothing!
Around the fire, Carter has an epiphany that something must’ve happened with a solar flare that caused them to slingshot around the sun (my inner Trekkie is dying of laughter right now; this is so exactly like Star Trek: TVH it’s not even funny… except it is) while traveling through the ‘Gate. She figures out that the two dates on the note are the dates of the next solar flares, and therefore of the time they can get home.
Jenny and Michael overhear this whole conversation and… oh man. O’Neill quickly develops a story that they are actually aliens who need to get home. He proves their at least “foreign” presence by zapping the fire with the zat gun. The two agree to help them get home, and now it feels like E.T. Also, no whales.
Jenny and Michael overhear this whole conversation and… oh man. O’Neill quickly develops a story that they are actually aliens who need to get home. He proves their at least “foreign” presence by zapping the fire with the zat gun. The two agree to help them get home, and now it feels like E.T. Also, no whales.
MORE SIXTIES MUSIC!
They make it up to New York and drop Teal’c and O’Neill off at the observatory to take a peek at the sun. They check, and indeed, there’s evidence of a flare soon to occur.
Right on!
Meanwhile, Jackson and Carter go to Catherine Langford’s house. Jackson puts on a pretty convincing if not amusing German accent and reveals that he somehow knows about the ‘Gate. He gets her to reveal the location of the armoury in which the Stargate resides… here we go!
SIXTIES MUSIC TIME AGAIN!
They travel to D.C. and thank Michael and Jenny for their kindness. They want to go with them, primarily because Michael got drafted into the war.
Oh… that’s why they want to go to Canada.
They say goodbye to each other and SG-1 goes into the base.
It’s showtime!
They unlock the cover of the ‘Gate and it falls open. They rig up the trucks in the hangar to the Stargate to power it, and then start to manually turn it until it locks on the seventh chevron. Just then, a guard walks in and starts shooting. However, they make it through the ‘Gate…
…but it doesn’t look quite right. Aw man!
An elderly woman walks out and she knows all of them. It’s Cassandra! She explains to them how they stepped in a few seconds too early, so the flare flung them into the future. Cassandra touches a device on her wrist, and the wormhole establishes. They walk through the Stargate and…
…They’re back in the right time! Yay!
Hammond confirms the “cut” theory, and teases O’Neill that he owes him over five hundred dollars… with interest.
Oh, you!
Final thoughts… This episode was so goofy, and so non-serious, and maybe not even really well-done, but it was so entertaining! It was absolutely hysterical to see these four military buffs (yeah, Jackson, too) prancing about in colourful, psychedelic clothing. (Teal’c with the pink shirt and afro wig, Carter with her awesome skirt I kind of want, Jackson with those epic shades, and O’Neill with the leather jacket… gotta love it!!) That, and a lot of the observations and theories reminded me a lot of the same Star Trek movie I’ve been blabbing about all review. Besides, sometimes it’s nice to just have a fun episode. In any case, I have no doubt the season finale’s going to be in-tense… So I guess I better gear up for it.
PREDICTION/REFLECTION THINGY
(SG-1 predicts their impending doom.)
O’Neill: So we got to gallivant around the 1960’s for a little while. That was fun.
Jackson: That also can’t be good.
Carter: Why?
Teal’c: I presume Daniel Jackson is referring to the fact that ‘all good things must come to an end’.
O’Neill: Hey, that’s a great Star Trek episode.
Carter: Jack, don’t change the topic. Why would good things have to come to an end right now, though? Can’t we just have a little break? A breather?
Jackson: No rest for the weary, Sam. No rest for the weary…
"They always assume time travelers back to this era are Soviet spies. It’s so cliché it’s almost hysterical."
ReplyDeleteYour age is showing. It may be cliche, but it's true--back then, they would've been suspected to be soviet spies.
Did you notice young Hammond has brown eyes and Our Hammond has blue?
Seaboe
I can't help it. I know this isn't the greatest episode of the series, but it's one of my absolute favourites. Like you said, "but it was so entertaining!" - this episode never fails to make me grin and be happy. From Teal'c standing in front of that bus to Daniel's German accent. You know, "Far out!". It's awesome. (And yes, I major in English and it's done wonders for my vocabulary, hehe). It's happy-go-lucky episode and fun!
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