Overall Rating: 6.5
The creators of this episode admit that they stole their action plot from Star Wars...but it was still cool. :)
Plot Synopsis:
The full details of this cast-rebuilding Star Wars tribute (or...rip-offery), can be found here.
The Skinny:
So there are two plots to discuss in this episode. An action plot in which our plucky and outgunned humans try to arrange the destruction of Anubis at the hands of Yew (and Yew welshes on the deal because his brain is mush), culminating in the destruction of his super-weapon in a spectacularly similar sequence of events to Star Wars: Episode IV, complete with rebel bases being targeted for destruction, needing to do spectacularly dangerous flying through enemy X-wings...er...death gliders, and needing to hit an exhaust pipe a few meters wide with a missile from point blank range in order to overload a power core. Yes, really. The other plot was the return of Daniel Jackson. They brought him back without any memory and after two months living among a simple nomadic tribe, SG-1 finds him and he gets his memory back in a jiffy. One I liked, and one I felt was really REALLY cheap. Guess which one is which?
If you guessed that I liked the Daniel plot and thought the rip-off of Star Wars was cheap...you're absolutely WRONG. :) I love a good homage, and this one was fun to watch. No...I'm afraid I can't get past how easy it was for Daniel to come back after he broke every rule the ancients had and died of radiation poisoning beforehand. He's back...his memories are all peachy-keen...reset button pressed, baby! Not that I mind having Daniel and Jack back to bantering like the days of old...I love that part of the show...but they really needed to earn that. And they failed.
Writing: 8.0
The action plot didn't require a lot of creative writing skill, and the personal story for Daniel certainly wasn't well constructed. This episode gets a small bonus credit for having a lot of very amusing dialogue and for being fast-paced enough to be entertaining.
Acting: 5.5
Shanks is still a consummate pro and RDA is fun i this episode as usual...but I can't get too thrilled here. I think part of the reason Daniel's return carries so little weight with me is that Shanks gives his scenes almost no emotional gravitas. He plays everything way WAY too calmly. If I were discovering that my life was extremely important...that I was part of an intergalactic power struggle the likes of which couldn't possibly be imagined by normal men...I think I might muster up a little...um...BLIND PANIC?? Or...at least...I might sort of...care? A little? No? Hm...interesting choice, Michael.
Message: 6.0
No real message to be found here...this is just the episode that establishes the new status quo ante. Fun...but nothing special.
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