It now seems clear that season 5 of Stargate SG-1 will be remembered as the one in which something went awry with Daniel Jackson. Lots of behind-the-scenes rumors fueled the idea of cast tension, but whatever the problem, ... more »his sudden departure from the show was obviously through a quickly contrived scenario. In retrospect, there must have been a problem for some while before the weird penultimate episode ("Meridian"). Michael Shanks looks frequently bored in his rare moments of individual screen time as he infiltrates a Goa'uld meeting and even when making friends with a creature everyone else wants dead. In fact, there's only one point when everyone really seems to be having fun, and that's in the spoof 100th episode "Wormhole X-treme!" Most shows go through a run-around, skin-of-their-teeth period awaiting renewal, and it certainly seems to have affected storylines this year. For example, a next generation of younger SG teams is introduced. Replacements? The most unfortunate aspect of things, however, was that not a single episode managed to stand alone on its own merits. Every single story was dependent on a part of the greater interwoven warring-species threads. Some of the one-off tales were terrific in and of themselves, but it was as if the writers fell into the trap of having to refer to as much backstory as possible, perhaps to ensure loose ends could be easily wrapped up? Ultimately none of this mattered since the show went on for quite a while. --Paul Tonks« less
Great Sci-Fi Alien entertainment and continuation from the Stargate Movie!
Movie Reviews
Ignore the 'Amazon.com essential video' review at the top
A. Niebruegge | 12/20/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Forget TITANIC, the unquestionable champion of most oscar-honored film (11 in all) belongs to 1959's BEN-HUR. It is the pinnacle of all biblical epics. Critics and viewers alike have to admit that this film, telling about the adventures of a Jewish aristocrat in the time of Christ, is SOMETHING of a milestone, whether they love it, hate it, or feel it overrated in its acclaim. In my opinion, the belief that this film is overrated is simply not justified. Thanks to William Wyler, it avoids the handicap of some sword and sandal movies by successfully fitting both the dramatic and spectacular elements together, resulting in many memorable scenes of visual and emotional power: The nativity prologue, Messala's march into Jerusalem, the conflicting relationship between Judah and Messala, Christ giving water to the despairing Judah, the sea battle (even though you can tell those ARE model ships, the scene is still well done), Arrius' triumphant entry into Rome, the cleansing of the lepers, and, of course, the great Chariot Race. The production is excellent, the sets and costumes looking lavish and realistic at the same time, with the immortal epic music by Miklos Rosza playing throughout. As for the acting, for someone whose acting ability has been labeled wooden and stiff, Charlton Heston gives a great performance as the tortured title character. He is well matched by the superb Stephen Boyd as the ruthless and power-intoxicated Messala. The supporting cast is also fine, with Haya Hararret as Esther, Jack Hawkins as Quintus Arrius, and the delighful Hugh Griffith as Sheik Illdrean. All associated have truly made BEN-HUR an epic to beat all epics."
One of my personal favorite seasons
Nielsen | Rome, GA United States | 12/06/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I know this isn't everyone's opinion, but for me, each season gets better and better. Writers and actors get to know the characters and a story more when they've made over 100 episodes with them. (Episode 100 is included in this set, an episode where the writers just decide to mess around and have a good time)Season 5 introduces some very key characters and situations:
--Colonol Frank Simmons
--Explanation of the ascended being ("Ascention" and "Meridian")
--The jaffa rebellion ("The Warrior")
--Further Russian entanglements including the fate of the Earth DHD ("48 Hours")
--The introduction of Anubis ("Last Stand," "Revelations")
--The fate of the Tollan ("Between Two Fires")
--The temperary departure of Michael Shanks ("Meridian")
--The method of Asguard reproduction ("Revelations")
--Jonas Quinn ("Meridian")All of these situations play key in the epic saga of the Stargate universe, providing for plot variations and new ideas in later seasons. The new ideas are still there. The humor is still there. Over 100 episodes in, Stargate is still going strong in this collection.I am looking forward to adding this 5th boxed set to my other four boxed sets.I enjoyed Season 6 even better. Season 7 is still blowing my mind. Let's have those as boxed sets soon as well."
SG-1 Season Five
cyclista | the Midwest | 01/13/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I think you're right, Selune, Jonas Quinn's first appearance was Season 5 in "Meridian". Jonas is unable to return to his own people after he discloses that Daniel became irradiated when he stopped a chain reaction that would have destroyed the planet. For those who liked Daniel, there is a featurette about him on this DVD set.The video is just as good as Season Four, and seeing SG-1 in widescreen anamorphic format is a dream. The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio is great. During some of the fights, I really feel as if I'm sitting right in the crossfire!"Wormhole Extreme!", which several have already mentioned is a tremendous episode, features cameo appearances by actual crew members as crew in the episode. If you're curious, here's the list:
David Sinclair, Prop master: Bill the assistant director
Hank Cohen, MGM executive: studio executive
Herbert Duncanson, stand-in for Christopher Judge: Doug Anderson\Greel the Robot
Jan Newman in make-up: make-up person
Joseph Mallozzi, supervising producer & writer: crew member asking about doughnuts
Martin Wood, director: NID man
Michael Greenburg & Brad Wright, executive producers: in final walkaway
N. John Smith, co-executive producer: second crew member asking about doughnut
Peter DeLuise: director
Rick Dean, chief lighting tech: crewman that doesn't like Teal'c food
Robert Cooper, executive producer & writer: the writer
Ron Wilkerson, story editor: in limo with Cohen Extras:
=>Commentary for each episode. Don't miss the one for "Wormhole Extreme!"
=>"Video Diaries" (3 diaries, about 10 minutes each) Three cast members, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, & Michael Shanks, shot some footage for the DVDs in what they call "video diaries".
=>"Inside the Tomb" (6 minutes) Peter DeLuise examines the episode and the set of "The Tomb".
=>Dr. Daniel Jackson - A Tribute (6 minutes) Highlights from Dr. Jackson's time with SG program.Wasn't there a Part 1 of 3 parts documentary "Timeline to the Future" on Season Four? I would think that Part 2 would be on this DVD set and I don't see it. I wonder if MGM/UA will follow up on this. Otherwise, this SG-1 Season Five DVD set is great, highly recommended to any SG-1 fan."
Parker Lewis Can't Lose :)
A. Niebruegge | Troy, IL USA | 12/23/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I agree with previous reviews that certain aspects of this season dragged a bit. However, I can understand the trepidation with which this season was made and some of the stresses they may have been under. Whatever the case, Stargate remains one of the best programs on television. Even the worst episode of Stargate (and there aren't that many) beats anything else on TV at any given time. One of the things I loved about this season was the introduction of Jonas (that was this season, right?). I loved him back on Parker Lewis Can't Lose and thought it was great that he was back on television. His part seems well scripted and the character has a wry humor that permeates each episode he is in. I love Daniel, but I love the character of Jonas, too. Not to mention, he's also easy on the eyes. ;)If anything, this entire box set is worth it for Wormhole X-Treme. I love that episode so much. The ending "outtakes" are just hilarious!!! It's funny to see the Delouis (spelled?)brothers both goofing around. Like the line "but I'm getting paid real money, right?" or something like that. Priceless.Stargate shows everyone that a science fiction show can be thought provoking and genuine in it's character development. It will always be a standard to which other sci-fi shows strive to meet, in my opinion.Anyway, take a look and enjoy. Even if it isn't the best season, it's worth the price to get it."
Relapse
Andrew | Chicago, IL, USA | 05/08/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Sadly, the fifth season of Stargate: SG-1 broke the streak of progressively better seasons that had been going on ever since the first season. The year began with a cool premiere, "Enemies", but the next couple episodes sucked. For example, the episode "Beast of Burden", which deals with Daniel Jackson's (Michael Shanks) Unas friend, Chaka, was terrible. Personally, I also hated the episode "The First Ones" from last year which began the Chaka thread. I mean, I haven't seen episodes this bad since Season 1 (many of the Season 1 episodes, while good, are far inferior to the episodes of Seasons 2-4). Once you reach the third disc, beginning with the episode "Between Two Fires", the episodes become good again. However, the bad episodes weren't the only problems that this season faced. Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) seemed to regress a little bit because he seemed a lot less tolerent of Daniel than he had been in the last two years (he does, however, reveal his true feelings about Jackson in the episode "Meridian"). Teal'c (Christopher Judge) and Dr. Janet Frasier (Teryl Rothery) were underused, as were the Asgard, who seem to have put politics ahead of real problems.
However, when this season was good, it was REALLY good. There were some amazing story developments this year, beginning with the final demise of Apophis (Peter Williams), the Goa'uld System Lord who has been making life difficult for the SGC ever since the first season. Next, the Tollan, an extremely advanced race of humans who are allied with Earth, begin acting suspiciously, the SGC begins recruiting new officers, the motives of the Aschen from last season are revealed, the Tok'Ra are nearly destroyed, and the Jaffa rebellion begins to truly become a problem for the System Lords. And then, Daniel is brought to a System Lord summit where he has the chance to wipe out the Goa'uld threat forever, that is until he learns of the return of Anubis, an ancient System Lord who was banished for his horrific crimes. Also, we finally learn the origins of the Replicators. Finally, SG-1 must endure a change that they never thought would happen in the episode "Meridian", and then, Anubis and Osirus (Anna-Louise Plowman) reveal plans to attack the Asgard. But the most pivotal plot twist involves the new series-within-a-series, WORMHOLE X-TREME!!! Just kidding.
This is a very important season, so despite its poor opening, I still reccomend it. Just be ready to be underwhelmed by the first few episodes. But after you get past those, enjoy! Some good episodes include: "Enemies", "Threshold", "Between Two Fires", "2001", "Wormhole X-Treme", "Proving Ground", "Summit", "Last Stand", "The Warrior", "Menace", "Meridian", and "Revelations"."