Classics: SG1 3:21 - Crystal Skull

Overall Rating: 9.2

A gentle, joyful, and heartfelt episode that succeeds in a very understated way - Stargate would have done well to do more scripts like this when it was looking for filler material to save budget room for the big space battles. :)

Plot Synopsis:

A probe of an alien world trains its focus on a gigantic Mayan ziggurat. Carter detects traces of rare high energy particles called leptons and insists that SG-1 be sent to investigate the source of that energy. When they arrive at the center of the structure, they find a crystal skull identical to one found by Daniel's grandfather Nicolas Ballard found in Belize in 1971. But when Daniel approaches the pedestal to investigate the skull, it begins produces dangerous radiation in a visible field that frightens the team. They tell Daniel to back away, but he's locked in some sort of freeze frame and Teal'c panics, firing a zat at the skull. This stops the visible field, but has the affect of making Daniel invisible. Carter then notices that radiation levels are going off the scale just before she passes out from the exposure and Teal'c and Jack drag her out there, leaving Daniel unconscious. When Teal'c later returns to retrieve the skull, Daniel awakes and learns of his invisibility (Teal'c cannot see or hear him). He squeaks through the gate unnoticed as Teal'c returns with the skull.

The team believes Daniel to be dead or somehow transported elsewhere and they order Robert Rothman to examine the skull to learn how it works. Meanwhile, Daniel desperately tries to get everyone's attention, only to discover that his body can pass through solid matter. Sam, out of clever scientific ideas, recommends that the team visit Nick Ballard, who both Daniel and Dr. Fraiser realize is in a mental ward - having committed himself after failing to recreate the transportation he claims to have survived involving his crystal skull. When they arrive, Ballard is uncooperative at first, but as the invisible Daniel begs him to help his team, Nick seems to come around. He asks to go with them to examine the skull. There, he recounts his story. He recalls looking into the eyes of the skull, being transported to a giant ziggurat and seeing gigantic misty aliens who repeated a phrase in Mayan: "Uy ah ual ing ual ing wetail." - the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Rothman, in utter frustration, reports that he can find no evidence that the skull is anything but a beautiful paperweight. This gives Daniel the idea that the skull does nothing without the pedestal and the surrounding energy field on the planet. When Daniel follows Nick back to his VIP quarters, Nick apologizes to Daniel for not having adopted him when his parents died (fearing he was insane) and at this point, Daniel realizes that he is VISIBLE to Nick, who mistakenly believed him to be an hallucination. Daniel now gets Nick to act as a go-between and through Nick, convinces Hammond to authorize a return trip. He thinks his being out of phase has been caused by the skull not being allowed to complete its' transport. When they return, Ballard replaces the skull, the transport is completed and all but Teal'c are sent out of phase, where they encounter the giant aliens. Daniel tells the misty beings that they are enemies of the Goa'uld and the aliens make an offer to Ballard - stay and teach them about Earth and learn about the wonders of the universe. Daniel wants to go too, but Nick insists he has to do it alone. Reunited, they hug goodbye and Nick promises to tell Daniel all about it when he returns.

The Skinny:

SABR Matt - This episode is filler "done right." It's a completely tangential plot, it's relatively low-budget (only some CGI effects and a fake ziggurat backdrop on a green screen), and it tells a very sweet story that leaves the audience feeling all warm and fuzzy. Daniel had a lot of tough breaks as a kid and harbored some apparent bitterness over not being taken in by his like-minded grandfather after the untimely death of his parents (as seen in "The Gamekeeper"). However, after his own career went up in smoke because of similar "crackpot" theories about the pyramids being alien landing pads, he and his grandfather have a LOT to talk about - things SHOULD end well for these two...they SHOULD understand each other better. It's a feel-good story that returns us to those moments in "The Torment of Tantalus" when Stargate was about plucky human explorers seeing the wonders of the universe with wide-eyed optimism and an explosive thirst for understanding.

Not to take anything away from the Stargate franchise's later seasons and incarnations, but the show has re-invented itself at least four times, and I have to say...I liked the first rendition of its' concept the best (though the execution of that concept was not always very well done)...we lose Daniel's youthful, geeky fascination with history and the wonders of the unknowable cosmos and the show gathers much larger stakes and a much more impersonal feel as the years progress. It's nice to be reminded of how things were before "Forever in a Day."

Minor scientific note: why does every sci-fi show out there have people going out of phase and passing through solid matter...except the floor where they're standing? Shouldn't Daniel have flown off the surface of the planet...I mean if you don't obey the laws of matter, there's no gravity, right? Or...if there is gravity, shouldn't he have been pulled to the center of the planet's core? :)

Stephanie S. - We also see Daniel sitting on top of one of the gate's big mainframe computers without, you know, falling through it - AND we see him leaning against the wall in the mental hospital. Something tells me the powers that be didn't really think through the premise of this episode when they blocked it. :)

Still, there is something strangely poignant about this story - something that goes beyond the reconciliation between Daniel and Nick, which, granted, is touching in itself. While he's out of phase, Daniel is also given an opportunity to be a "fly on the wall": he sees how his colleagues react to his disappearance and, in the process, learns how very much they all care about him. The scene that really stands out for me is General Hammond's phone conversation with his granddaughter. Observe Daniel's face after Hammond tells Kayla that he can't come to her play because his "close friend" is "lost"; you can tell Hammond's willingness to sacrifice family time for Daniel touches Daniel deeply. Also nice is Daniel's earlier scene with Teal'c; there too, you can see Daniel is impressed that Teal'c would risk his life for him. Bottom line, this is indeed "filler done right" because it is, at heart, a character-driven episode.

The Ratings:

Writing: 9.0 / 9.0

Several of the major scenes that occur between Daniel and Nick are genuinely human feeling and the basic concept is what good optimistic science fiction is all about.

Stephanie S. Chimes In: The other cast members are also given very human moments that are equally worth mentioning. I particularly like what is done with Hammond.

Acting: 9.5 / 9.5

Jan Rubes' Nick Ballard was very well done...he introduced a lot of quirks to his character (which is hard to do in only one script) and he played off of Michael Shanks perfectly.

Message: 9.0 / 9.0

There is a subtle undertone involving the importance of forgiveness - we might not all have nervous breakdowns that explain our worst mistakes like Nick Ballard, but we do all have weaknesses and forgiving our imperfections can only help both us and those we might have unintentionally wronged. There is also that lovely Platonic quest for knowledge and understanding that powers the imaginations of most sci fi geeks like us at Right Fans...both well worth the viewing experience.

Highlights:

CARTER: This IS a major find...I have to see this!
JACK: Care to explain?
CARTER: Sir, these are leptons!
JACK: Get out! (LOL)
CARTER: It means that whatever's in this pyramid is affecting the flow of neutrinos. Normally, neutrinos will pass right through solid matter, no matter how dense. I mean, something like a hundred million billion just passed through you!
JACK: No matter how dense. (HA!)

FRAISER: I have no way of knowing what kind of affect radiation like this will have on a human body. I recommend limited exposure, sir. Ten, fifteen minutes tops.
DANIEL: Wait a minute, that's not enough time. I mean there has to be some sort of suit...
JAKC: Hey! If you'd been listening, you'd know that Nintendos pass through everything. (gets funny looks) Everything...or something...(ROTFL!)

JACK: Look, I'm sick of lyin' around here waiting...help me up, Teal'c.
TEAL'C: Dr. Fraiser believes you are not yet ready to undertake such a mission, Colonel.
JACK: Yeah whatever. (tries to get up and immediately falls on his face...LOL!)
TEAL'C: (with perfect deadpan) Dr. Fraiser is usually correct in such matters. (hehehehe...he flips Jack back into bed face down)
JACK: (muffled through bedding) Thank you.
TEAL'C: You're welcome. (LOL!)

DANIEL: Look, I know you can't hear me...but I would still be stuck on that planet if you hadn't come back for me. I know that was a risk...and I just wanted to say thank you. (aww)
TEAL'C: (sensing a presence in his heightened state of awareness) Is there someone present?
DANIEL: Yes, Teal'c...it's me! I'm here. Just...don't...walk...through me...it's very disconcerting. (heh)

HAMMOND: Colonel, there is no greater secret in this nation than the Stargate Program.
JACK: I know that, sir.
HAMMOND: Bringing this man here goes against every regulation...
JACK: So we keep him clear of level 28.
HAMMOND: This man? A civilian who's spent the last twenty years of his life in a mental institution?
JACK: Exactly! Who's gonna believe him if he talks?
HAMMOND: Colonel, you walk a fine line.
JACK: Thank you, sir! (LOL)

HAMMOND: (on phone) Hello? Absolutely, put her through.
DANIEL: General, I know you can't hear me, but thank you.
HAMMOND: Well hello, sweetheart...isn't this past your bedtime? (laughs) You lost another tooth. Well, you just put it under your pillow, Kayla...I bet your sister Tessa wishes she had one. (frowns) I'd love to come see you in your school play, dear, but can't. (sighs) Well...a very close friend of mine is missing and he needs my help. Yes, he's a very close friend. Well I hope so too, honey. (awwwww)

JACK: Wow...that's...giants you say.
SAM: So you were transported to this cavern and back again without ever knowing where it was? In Belize?
NICK: It was as if I'd never left...the ground was shaking like in an Earthquake and I just grabbed the skull and climbed out and the whole thing collapsed.
SAM: So I'm guessing you couldn't take us there, either?
NICK: I tried to locate the temple, but it was as if it had never existed. Can you imagine going on the greatest journey of your life...and having no one believe you? (yep...they sure can)

NICK: I am sorry.
DANIEL: For what?
NICK: For not adopting you when your parents died.
DANIEL: You were traveling all over the world.
NICK: It wasn't your fault.
DANIEL: I was eight years old, how could it be my fault?
NICK: I'm sorry I allowed my obsession to drive me to madness. Would you forgive me? (aww...he turns to face Daniel waiting for an answer)
DANIEL: (realizing Nick can see him) You can see me?
NICK: Yes, Daniel, I can see you.
DANIEL: Why didn't you SAY something?!?! (LOL)
NICK: You're not real, so it does not matter. (how wrong)

NICK: Forgive me...he insisted.
HAMMOND: Who?
NICK: Daniel...he is here.
JACK: Here?
DANIEL: Repeat what I'm saying. I'm standing right beside you.
NICK: He's right beside me.
JACK: He's lost a few pounds.
DANIEL: Jack, don't be an ass. (LOL)
NICK: Jack, don't be an ass. (ROTFL!)