Overall Rating 4.5
This was me while watching this episode:
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Cut for Spoilers (aw darn...you might learn that NOTHING friggin' happened this week!)
Plot Synopsis:
We experience a day in the life of a stranded crew. The Destiny spends the entire episode in FTL drive mode so there's nothing to do for anyone but read, work out, have sex, scheme over how to gain control of the ship (if you're Dr. Rush or IOA delegate Wray) and lose their mind in the case of at least one airman. The fractured state of mental health aboard the ship is explored by TJ (as much as possible with the entire crew avoiding her as soon as word gets out that she's doing psych evaluations...hey TJ, the ship is finite...yo are ordered to do psych evaluations...grow a pair, find these people and make them comply...thank you).
Meanwhile, people take turns going back to Earth via the ancient communication stones - Lt. Scott goes home in response to a letter for a former lover of his. It turns out, he's got a kid! The news is earth-shattering to Scott, who arranges to have his monthly air force pay checks sent to the woman's home to help her care for the boy (who she named Matthew after his father), but he's heartbroken when the woman declines to use the opportunity to pursue her dreams and instead chooses to continue stripping for a living (and we care about this...why exactly?). Camille Wray goes home to her lover and we bask in the extreme awkwardness that is two people being romantic even though one of them is in the wrong body - sorry but I don't buy it. I don't care how deep the emotional connection goes...it would be far too weird for me if my girlfriend came back after disappearing and was in a different body each time! And what about the poor host! Did they consent to have their bodies used for sex? Oh mon dio! Or right...this is supposed to be a plot synopsis...I can't help myself...too much to rant about in this episode.
Meanwhile, Colonel Young learns that Colonel Telford has been visiting his wife...they're "just friends" but Telford has been lying about Young seeing another woman and trying to turn her against him. Young tries to confront Telford directly, but the coward pulls his communication link to escape a beating. So Young returns, pretending to be another Destiny crewman, and beats the living crap out of Telford - very mature, my man...not that I entirely blame you.
On the ship, Dr. Rush discovers an ancient repository of knowledge - a primitive version of the library that nearly killed Jack O'Neill twice. He is desperate to get at the knowledge it contains but Young orders that the chair be made off limits. Rush then makes up a miracle planet that they will reach in about a year to create some urgency to get the ship's master code so that he can control it and Eli discovers his deception. Young is PISSED and the two fight over whether the chair should be used, culminating in Young daring Rush himself to sit in the chair. Rush being a selfish coward refuses to take the risk. All in all, nothing important happens other than Rush being a douche...which he already is, so I'm not sure why this episode was necessary.
Writing: 5.0
I suppose the script isn't hideously awful...but it's sophomoric. The writers just seem to have a huge desire to give everyone a burning love life and a reason for us to not like them much. Nothing of consequence seems to be happening with the characters even when they take an entire episode to talk about the freakin' characters! The only people I am interested in following right now are Eli and Rush. That's it. Well...and maybe Chloe, but only as she relates to Eli. LOL Still no intergalactic bad guy...still no reason to be drawn into the characters...still no reason to care. And it's worse...here's a tip for you Stargate writers...season one is TOO EARLY for a "day in the life" story. Before you've given us a reason to be emotionally invested in your characters, we're not gonna give a crap about poor Camille forgetting the row boat in her drawings of her lover's home or Scott having a kid he didn't know about. They should have called this episode "Days of our Lives" instead of "Life".
Acting: 5.0
No one really stands out much. Ferreira does a decent job in Young's scenes aboard the Destiny, especially interacting with Carlyle. Otherwise, it was Ming-Na's job to make us care about the romantic story in the episode and she failed...as did the guest star playing her lover. There was no real chemistry there - I certainly wasn't inspired watching them prattle on for 20 minutes.
Message: 3.5
I just cannot stand these ancient communication stones. It's too damned weird. People need to stop raping their hosts!! Yes...that counts as rape in my book...it's completely wrong and horribly selfish.
The bottom line is...I'm really REALLY bored with this show at the moment. They'd better act fast or I'm out. It would help if their characters were even remotely likable. SG-1 and SGA were BURSTING with pathos. We related with the characters, we loved the characters, we cheered for their successes. This cast of jerks, philanderers, psychos and floozies is depressing to watch each week so I'm not going to start rooting for them in their personal lives. Bring back the magic in the next half-season or this series will be dropped.
No highlights today...I was awake for the whole episode only because I was at a friend's house watching with him.
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