Overall Rating: 6.0
*yawn* Not an unpleasant episode to watch...but a bit...erm...slow.
Plot Synopsis:
The SGC is test flying a new unmanned aerial vehicle designed for long range probing of planets through the gate that ground teams couldn't possibly conduct when it fails and crash lands, taking out a strange plant. Carter wants to recover the flight recorder to determine what went wrong, but the mission gets the green light when an alien bi-pedal species approaches the UAV and starts poking around. SG-1 is dispatched to recover their equipment and make contact with the locals. What they find there is a group of undeveloped primitive beings who have barely begun to master communication and who, shortly after contact is made, begin to become ill and die.
At first, we think we've introduced a pathogen and conduct a series of medical experiments to try to find the disease while Daniel is trying to communicate with them. Things take a turn for the stranger when Daniel and Jack become extremely irritable while on the planet, eventually leading to a hilarious argument (and Jackson-style temper tantrum), concluding with a big headache. They think they're infected and head back to the base, but their symptoms immediately disappear once they're home. While studying the footage from the UAV, they become irritable again...and it's then that they realize the problem is infrasound...sound waves they can't hear but that mess with their health. Having made this realization and observed the strange behavior of the plant life on the planet - not to mention observing one alien react with extreme pain when Fraiser tries to give it an ultrasound, Daniel puts the pieces together. Their UAV crashed into a plant and damaged it, throwing the natural sound balance out of whack and severely impacting the alien life forms. They create a recording of the sound the plants generated before one of them was damaged and blast it over the big speakers, allowing the aliens to sing their beautiful song and bring balance to their ecosystem.
Writing: 5.5
The script is technically flawless and the plot concept is actually kind of cool in terms of high concept science fiction. The way it ends is also quite striking and I recall, after having watched the episode for the first time, thinking, "Aw...that was nice!" But, when you get right down to it...the execution of the script - particularly the dialogue - is not all that interesting. In a season with 22 episodes, like a golf course with 18 holes, they can't all be eagles or holes in one. Sometimes laying up and taking your par is a fine choice. From a writing standpoint, this episode is certainly that.
Acting: 7.5
There are some nicely done moments between RDA and Michael Shanks in an episode that is, otherwise, pretty much par for the course acting wise too. The script is - not surprisingly, given the alien of the week - relatively limited in verbal power, so the strength of the acting is in the reacting. The deadpan looks RDA gives while Daniel is communicating with the aliens, filming a plant, and throwing a temper tantrum are priceless. :) Chris Judge actually has a few nice reaction takes as well, particularly in response to Jack's request that Teal'c walk silently.
Message: 5.0
The minor downfall of this episode may be in the not-terribly-subtle attempt by the writers to craft a parable about the delicate nature of Earth's biosphere. Perhaps I'm reading too much into a light and not terribly significant episode, but if, indeed, the writers wanted us to think about what one false step might topple our delicate ecosystem, they're (understandably, given the state of natural science education and environmental media coverage) playing to a half-truth. The Earth's biosphere is actually stunningly resilient. Throughout history, mass extinctions have occurred at fairly regular intervals. Each such calamity has wiped out anywhere from 20 to 95% of all genealogical branches on the great tree of life, and each time, life has come springing right back.
To take this one step further, the argument is often made that even if life survives, humanity may not. However, humanity - Earth's more resilient life form thanks to our evolutionary advantages of sentience, intelligence, and survivability - has in fact survived natural disasters far worse than what is implied in this epiosde. The explosion of Tambora roughly 80,000 years ago took out the vast majority of humans. Radical changes in ice cover and global climate destroyed Neanderthal while humans prospered onward. We have a history of underestimating our own ability to adapt and think our way out of problems - from a famous London scientific paper proclaiming that in 50 years (this was written in 1807), England would not have enough food and resources to sustain its own population to today's dire predictions about the lack of drinkable water or the threat of over-fishing hundreds of species into extinction (now partially conquered by human-run fish farms). I can't clobber the SG1 writers too harshly here...this is a trope that has taken on a life of its own, and if that was their message, it was very gently delivered with no heavy-handed scolding. Still, I don't think the message is this episode's strength.
Highlights:
This one isn't vocal - but it's freakin' hilarious. While attempting to communicate with these non-verbal aliens, Daniel play-acts like the UAV, complete with airplane noises and arms as wings. Later they bring him the wreckage of the UAV and his reaction is priceless.
DANIEL: Yes! Yes!! The...yes!! This is a major breakthrough. (Jack's unimpressed expression is great here too)
JACK: Ah ah ah! Stay inside! (the aliens ignore him) Fine...fine...don't listen to me. Go outside and play. Just...don't forget your sunblock. (to Daniel) Why aren't you helping me?
DANIEL: Oh it's no use...they don't understand. They want to be with each other.
JACK: Well we're not just going to do nothing.
DANIEL: I'm not doing nothing...
JACK: You're videotaping a plant.
DANIEL: Well I think this might be important.
JACK: Well I think you might be losing what's left of your mind!
DANIEL: What's that supposed to mean?
JACK: It means that on your best day, you can be a little flaky.
DANIEL: And on your best day, you can be a little ignorant and condescending.
JACK: Not condescending. You're obviously misreading a basic philosophical disagreement on how to handle a crisis.
DANIEL: Oh please! We have a basic philosophical disagreement on everything!
JACK: For example?
DANIEL: Uh...I don't know! Pick something! How about...mythology?
JACK: Rumors, lies, fairy tales?
DANIEL: Ya see! See! See!! SEE!!! (hopping up and down and spinning in a circle - ROTFL) This is exactly what I'm talking about! Mythology is one of the primary motivators for cultural development!!
JACK: Well maybe it is! What's THAT got to do with FILMING A PLANT!
DANIEL: I DON'T KNOW!!! (LOL!!! Alright, boys...you both need time out. :) )
JACK: Daniel...we can't always expect things to go the way we want them to.
DANIEL: Go the way we want them to? I mean...one little mistake, one false step...and an entire world gets wiped out? We are KILLING A WHOLE RACE OF PEOPLE HERE! HOW CAN I NOT CARE?? (realizes he's losing his mind again)
JACK: What?
DANIEL: My head hurts again. (and the critical discovery is made)
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