Overall Rating: 6.3
A rather ho hum episode punctuated by a few interesting personal tidbits from the histories of Jack and Daniel and a couple of mildly amusing moments.
Plot Synopsis:
On a routine survey of an idyllic looking hideaway designated P7J-989, SG-1 finds an apparently advanced looking structure that is completely out of place given the lack of nearby civilization and investigates. There they discover a series of strange looking chairs and before they can react, wires and tubes jump out and ensnare all four. They are flung into a virtual world run by a control freak calling himself "The Keeper." There they relive moments in Jack's and Daniel's past experiences that are quite horrific.
Jack and Teal'c loop through Jack's memory of a botched black ops mission in East Germany during which his friend John was killed due to faulty intelligence about the East German troops protecting the soviet official they were after. Jack is more than a bit frustrated with having to play through this disastrous mission from 1982 repeatedly. Daniel and Sam relive a traumatic moment in Daniel's childhood in which he witnessed the deaths of his parents at the Museum of Human History in Chicago. All four quickly grow tired of the game and demand answers. The Keeper emerges and explains that his residents have grown terribly bored and need new experiences to entertain them. It seems they've been in suspended animation replaying their own memories and ideas for a thousand years before the Keeper has mislead them into believing their planet - destroyed by their own technology in the distant past - is still unsafe. Jack and Daniel are both *really* pissed and try to tell the residents that they're being lied to but the Keeper sends them away, apparently releasing them from the machines. No one on the team is truly buying it.
When they return to the SGC, Hammond orders them to re-enter the virtual world to gather intelligence and Jack flips his lid - Hammond would never give that kind of order and he knows it. They're still in the simulation. They decide to go back through the imaginary Gate to P7J-989 to show the residents that their planet is indeed lush and beautiful again and the Keeper tries to stop them, but they inadvertently stumble on an escape route. Having witnessed their exit, the rest of the residents follow them out and a very annoyed Keeper watches as they emerge and start picking his flowers.
Writing: 5.0
I always enjoy learning new things about the histories of my main characters, but this story is a little...eeehhh....inelegant. The problem I have is that the writers couldn't decide whether they wanted to make this story a comedy or a drama, and the mixture just felt a little inappropriate...a little cheap. We've got Shanks and RDA trying to muster up the dramatic energy to portray how intensely painful it would be to relive the worst moments of your life over and over again, and then we've got Jack playing with Hammond's ears and demanding to know where the edges of the mask are hiding and the Keeper bumbling around like a buffoon begging people to stop ruining his garden. And in between they through in Daniel somehow being calm enough to very carefully analyze and understand why the Keeper is desperate to retain them...it's a mish-mosh and it's hard to enjoy the result on any one level.
Acting: 7.5
I actually think RDA and Shanks did everything they could to resuscitate this script. When the moment called for drama, Shanks and RDA played the drama very well. All four members of SG-1 did their jobs about as well as they could be done, especially when it came time to start clamoring for their freedom and the freedom of the residents. The Keeper himself was rather unconvincing, unfortunately, which kind of killed this episode from an acting perspective.
Message: 6.3
A small positive bonus for emphasizing that living in the real world is a heck of a lot better than living in the past or in some virtual reality...but this concept has been done to death in science fiction throughout the modern era and has rather lost its appeal. Otherwise this is your standard Stargate episode.
Highlights:
DANIEL: Of course...you must be incredibly desperate...
JACK: Daniel?
DANIEL: Well think about it. What if you were locked in a room for a thousand years with just a TV, VCR and 5 movies? How many times could you watch those movies before you were bored to tears? (so true...LOL)
JACK: That does it. 'Scuse me, sir!
HAMMOND: Colonel, what the hell are you doing? (O'Neill is playing with Hammond's ears, tilting his head, moving his jaw, etc)
JACK: Oh...just...looking for the edges of the MASK! (ROTFL!)
HAMMOND: You're out of line!
JACK: The jig's up there ole' Mr. Keeper man! You're not the General Hammond I know!
KEEPER: Doorways like that one were always open. The residents could leave at any time.
JACK: Oh course, they only know that if you tell them.
KEEPER: And now they have seen you leave. You have ruined everything! (residents begin emerging from the game room)
(a bit later)
RESIDENT: Thank you for everything you've done for my people. We have a whole new world to explore.
JACK: It was our pleasure.
RESIDENT: There is much work to do.
DANIEL: We can't stick around to see how it turns out, but we'll send you some supplies to help get you started.
KEEPER: Do not touch those flowers! Stop it right now! (sees Jack and stalks over angrily) All my work is ruined, thanks to you! Do you know they're actually picking my flowers! It's going to happen again...today the gardens...tomorrow the entire planet! (LOL)
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