Classics: SG1 6:15 - Paradise Lost

Overall Rating: 6.0

The very definition of an unnecessary diversion, albeit not a horrible one by any stretch.

Plot Synopsis:

The recap can be found at the Stargate Wiki, though I'm not sure you need this much detail to get the gist.

The Skinny:

Maybourne acts like a moron AGAIN...it bites him in the ass AGAIN...and Jack gets bit by proxy AGAIN.  The two work well together (and always have - which is why Jack comes out of retirement to deal with Maybourne in "It's Good to be King" two years from now.  But this episode doesn't feature their witty repartee as well as others, and the plot is entirely tangential (and slow).  It's not painful to watch or anything; it's just kind of...there.

The good things in this episode:

• There's a very sweet scene between Sam and Teal'c where we get to see the softer side of Chris Judge's acting range and Amanda Tapping actually convincingly pulls off the lovesick and heartbroken "survivor."  Jack and Sam shippers spooge all over this one, for obvious reasons (right up there with "Ariel" - which I find unwatchably boring and confusing)...in this, the romantic (and sentimental) stuff works.
• It makes sense that Maybourne would be the dumbass to just start eating crap he hasn't tested and go crazy as a result.  He is, as Sam put it, an idiot eight days a week. :)
• I actually like that Jack takes pity on Maybourne and lets him retire on a cozy little alien planet.  That seems to be a fitting end to their adversarial relationship.

The bad things:

• They BADLY whiffed on a chance to actually make the paranoia believable.  It would have been an interesting episode if they had brought up all of the bad blood between the two of them in ways that would make you wonder whether or not their battle was legitimate or drug induced...and then concluded the episode with Jack realizing his mistakes and convincing Maybourne (and himself) to put those squabbles in the past.  Instead we got noises in the woods and a fight over the extra pistol...whoo.
• They also developed the jeopardy MUCH too slowly.  For the creeping doom to work, they would have had to leave us in suspense over something...but...it was just bickering and inanity.  So what we got was a slow episode.

Writing: 4.0

Most of the problems with this episode can be traced to a lack of ambition - a common problem in the weaker Gate episodes.  The rest of the production is fine.

Acting: 8.0

I dare say that Tom McBeath should have been used a little more often in ways not always linked to evil NID business.  It would have been better if he was ambiguously evil for a while before "Shades of Grey"...because McBeath is an awesome actor.  He and RDA did their jobs, as did Amanda Tapping and Chris Judge.

Message: 6.0

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