|
By
WAYNE KLEIN
It was the best of times, it
was the worst of times and everything in between
during the 10th season of "Stargate: SG-1."
By the
way, this ISN'T the end of SG-1 as two
direct-to-video TV movies are due in 2008 with
stand alone storylines. During the 10th season we
get to see the resolution of the conflict between
the alliance and the Ori, the end of the
Asgardians and the continuing blossoming romance
between Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) and
Vala (Claudia Black). The show went through a lot
of change during the last three seasons as
storylines were wrapped up, new storyarcs
developed and new characters such as Lt. Colonel
Cameron Mitchell (Ben Browder well known to sci-fi
fans from "Farscape")and Vala (Claudia Black
anther "Farscape" alum)providing the show with an
additional injection of energy. Beau Bridges came
on board adding spark to the show as well. Richard
Dean Anderson is missed during the 10th and final
season but his spirit is kept very much alive by
Browder and Black in their roles. Amanda Tapping
and Christopher Judge proved to the the strongest
link in the chain between the old Stargate and
new.
The story arc episodes are among the best while
some of the stand alone episodes are (with the
exception of a few) probably the weakest of the
10th season seeming like filler at times. The
stand-alone episodes may or may not appeal to you
like those on "The X-Files" and "Farscape" these
episodes stand or fall based on the strength of
the plotting and how realistic the wrap up is
within 45 minutes. Some episodes as a result are
better than others with some abrupt resolutions
using the old ex deus machina (represented as help
from Stargate Command or other sources sometimes
unexpected)where more time could have been devoted
to the story expanding it over more than one
episode. As a long time "Farscape" fan I was happy
to tag along after the cast changes and found that
if you gave the final two seasons a chance, they
were extremely good at the best of times.
The show experienced a lot of change during the
last three seasons which would make one expect
them to be lesser seasons than the previous 7.
Nothing could be further from the truth. With the
introduction of Both characters were perfect
additions to the show adding after the departure
of Colonel Jack O'Neil (Richard Dean Anderson).
The addition of Beau Bridges as Major General Hank
Landry to replace long time cast member Don Davis
who played Major General George Hammond and
various guest stars (Fred Willard, Robert Picardo
a regular on "Star Trek: Voyager") helped spruce
up the last season of the show. It also helped
that the Ori story arc was nicely resolved during
the last season as well.
The show looks pretty good but there are some
digital artifacts evident in the transfers. Most
of you won't notice them or care but for those
that do keep in mind the amount of information
packed on each disc. The 10th season has been
packaged in the slimline packaging that was rolled
out with season 8.
The DVD has commentary tracks for every episode
except one (and I suspect that was probably an
accident as one episode has TWO commentary tracks.
They probably scheduled the wrong episode for the
second commentary track), deleted scenes,
featurettes in the Director's Series focusing on 1
director for 1 episode of each disc. We also got
the usual assortment of photo and production
galleries included as well. There is a trailer
that for the first of the two Stargate
direct-to-video movies "Stargate SG-1: The Ark of
Truth" (the second one also coming in 2008 is
"Stargate SG-1: Continuum" involving time travel
and reportedly will feature Richard Dean
Anderson).
The 10th season varies but overall it's a good one
that SG-1 fans will enjoy. |
