Overall Rating: 8.0
This show sparked a series of fandom squeals of joy heard round the world - especially for those who particularly liked Teal'c. It's a very sweet and humorous script with some light-hearted "meta" mixed in along the way.
Plot Synopsis:
A good summary can be found at the Stargate Wiki.
The Skinny:
Willie Garson is not the biggest name Stargate has ever attracted to play a key comedy relief role when they've gone for high humor, but he more than holds his own with the likes of Dan Castelanetta (D'OH!) and Dom DeLouise. That said, the real center of the comedy here is Chris Judge as the silent straight man and RDA in his usal role as the voice of annoyed reason. :) The vast majority of the giggles here come from watching Teal'c (er...Murray) intimidate the crap out of Martin and Jack unwillingly play along with some of Marty's more nutty thoughts.
At its' core, this is basially a story about well-intentioned people doing what they feel is right in the face of disaster. And we certainly approve of those kinds of stories here! Yes, most of this is fluff (very entertaining fluff!), but when the big reveal happens at the end, there's an odd poignance to it all. The creepy folks who'd made Martin so paranoid were just looking out for their friend all along, and Martin - now homeless, is left to think about what to do next.
From the "you can't judgea book by looking at the cover" department, this one hits home fo Jack too - and RDA does a nice job making this obvious in his facial expression once they reach the planet. Once again, the senseless destruction wrought by the Goa'uld has cost another man his happiness and his very identity - Jack can relate.
Writing: 7.0
There are lots of amusing moments here, but I do feel that if the writers were going for comedy (as it seems they were with some of their choices - sch as Teal'c enjoying the magic finers or locking Martin in the bathroom and holding him there using only a glare...LOL), they rather missed on the net tone...it was a bit subdued ad understated.
Acting: 9.5
On the other hand, Willie Garson, RDA and Chris Judge act this one out perfectly - really the only hole here, IMHO, is the flat performance given by Martin's associates - all of whom woul have been much more interesting if they'd haveshown SOME emotion over the whoe defection and subsequent destruction of their world.
Message: 7.5
This isn't meant to be a super-message-heavy episode, but it delivers a bit of a lesson in personal responsibility if viewedin the right light. i would argue that Martin was more likely to have come to terms with the loss of his world if he'd understood the truth rather than hidden from it, though the show's writers chose to make him forget again in the subsequent (HILARIOUS) episode "Wormhole Xtreme!" Eh...can't stretch too far for this one...it is hat it is. Just enjoy it.
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