(S10E20) So, here we are. After ten seasons as the longest-running, first-run American science fiction program Stargate SG-1 is finally coming to end. Well, at least as a first-run series since there are a number of direct-to-DVD movies in the works. Also, technically, it's the official end for only us late-as-usual Americans, since the finale aired already in other parts of the world. And, hey, while it hasn't been as hyped up as the series finale of The Sopranos, there are still many, many people who are extremely sad to see it go. Including myself.
To celebrate this momentous occasion, we're going to have a chatroom live for all of you to join in on as the show goes on and share your theories, reactions, and opinions in real-time. Shortly after the finale you'll be able to read a review of the show here. You can read the review after the jump. And, the chatroom is still open to express your opinions and feelings on the series finale.
You can enter the chatroom here.
I have one word to describe this Stargate SG-1 series finale: predictable. Okay, really I have two words: extremely predictable. Except for the little twist in the end involving Teal'c (more on that later), you could pretty much chart the direction that this story line was going towards. The most likely reason for that is the premise of the episode has been done to death in nearly every single science-fiction series ever made (well, for the exception of the new Battlestar Galactica, perhaps).
In fact, to take it one step further, the entire plot seemed extraordinarily similar in tone to a two-part episode of Star Trek: Voyager named 'Year of Hell'. In that episode the crew of the Voyager spent a year battling a powerful enemy only to be returned to the point that it all began once Captain Janeway collided with a temporal ship that started all of the problems in the first place. As history repeated itself the decisions that were made previously were reversed, sending Voyager in a different path. Didn't the same happen in this episode to the SG-1 team?
It just wasn't original enough. You would think that the producers would have had something bigger up their sleeves to close out a show that has been very important to a lot of people. Heck, even Seinfeld did something drastic in its series finale. Granted, it sucked, but at least they tried. I would have even accepted ties into the direct-to-DVD movies coming out. Instead, the finale of SG-1, which should have been stunning, turned out to be a bit bland.
There were some good points to the show. I liked how the team was shown reacting to their, basically, imprisonment on the ship. Mitchell had the hardest time because, as an Air Force pilot, he was used to plenty of open space. I also enjoyed the scene where Daniel and Vala have it out about their relationship. I didn't like the way Daniel reacted to Vala's feelings (frankly, he pissed me off . . . wanted to reach into the screen and slap him upside his head), but I found Vala's emotional response interesting. With this episode you could tell that she had really grown as a character.
Another good part, even though it was predictable, was when Teal'c decided to sacrifice himself for the cause. Here he was, fifty years older like the rest of the team, and he was going to remain that way in order for him to reach his past counterparts and prevent the time fluctuation from occurring. Now, he has 50 years of secrets (and a bright shock of white hair) to keep with him and not anyone else know about.
It could have been better, I've got to tell you. Stargate SG-1 has so much history and such a fanbase that something a bit stronger should have been put on the screen. Instead, we got a mediocre finale that sort of plodded along to its conclusion. One can only hope that the DVD movies pick up the pace a bit in the storytelling field.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
6-22-2007 @ 9:09PM
David said...
Out of all the episodes that were meant to be SG-1 series finale that was the worst one.
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6-22-2007 @ 10:44PM
Eric said...
predictable
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6-23-2007 @ 3:21AM
Patrick Wynne said...
"Predictable" pretty much describes how I've felt about the entire SG-1 series and why I quit watching it years ago.
The premise should have been the springboard for some really fantastic episodes and a truly epic storyline. Instead, week after week it was predictable, run-of-the-mill, mediocre sci-fi tales that other shows had already done to death and usually much better.
The chemistry between the actors was never quite capitalized on to the fullest extent, with very little growth or realization of potential. Not even the addition of Ben Browder and Claudia Black could reverse the trend of lackluster interactions that have plagued the show for a long time.
SG-1 always felt to me like a squandered opportunity and after a while, I just got tired of the same old weak storytelling week in and week out. This show should have been put out of its misery long ago. The apparent weakness of its series finale is just the culmination of the problems that have been inherent in the show since the very beginning.
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6-23-2007 @ 3:22AM
Kaydee said...
While I've never found the Stargate series all that interesting - despite some bright moments, a few excellent scripts, and the addition of the outstanding Bem Browder - I tuned in to the finale and discovered it to be more of the same. The finale was watchable and enjoyable but nothing special. I suppose the writers are going to save the really incredible stuff for the movies.
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6-23-2007 @ 6:02AM
Bash said...
Spot on Kaydee.
First of all I wonder how you can expect this series to wrap up with a storyline that has anything special to it. They were telling us right after they cancelled the show that they would move Major Carter to "Atlantis" - so nothing can happen to her. Also they told us that there would be TWO direct-to-DVD movies. So nothing can happen to the others either.
Now, just like with the "Lost" flash forward and the "Heroes" jump to the future by Hiro, we were able to see how things could develop if the protagonists are left alone for a while. This episode wasn't that original. OF COURSE it was more of the same.
But honestly, after about 350 episodes of Star Trek and about 280 episodes of Stargate alone, not to mention all the other Sci-Fi shows out there, how can you judge a story anyway anymore? OF COURSE it was "more of the same". Hell Andromeda was more of the same for five seasons. What makes Stargate so good (for me) is the likeable characters and how you feel for them. This is what made Voyager suck for me - I simply didn't believe in any chemistry between the characters. I do in Stargate and that's why I like it.
Now this wasn't a great "final episode" but how can you compare this episode to any other series finale when you know that new material will be published as soon as a regular next season would have gone on the air?
This wasn't a final episode at all. There are four additional episodes left to be enjoyed (two 90 minute movies) so please don't judge this episode as if it were something like a series finale.
And honestly, for me it wasn't as much of a letdown as the "Heroes" finale for Stargate wasn't such a high profile show anymore anyway. After O'Neill left this was more like "Farscape" for me or "Andromeda". Not that big of a deal anymore but still enjoyable.
I give it a 4 out of 7
By the way, where's your rating, Richard? Not using that neat little 1 to 7 scale anymore? ;-))
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6-23-2007 @ 7:43AM
Jason C said...
I think the DVD movies and Amanda Tapping joining Atlantis are somewhat irrelevant to discussion about Unending as a "series finale." If the movies are successful, then there will be more movies, and there's no finality there. Certainly more eventful scenarios, but it's not the same as the finale of the TV series.
Of the "series finale contenders", I actually think this one makes for the better send-off. Full Circle did a great job of, well, going full circle to the beginning, and Lost City was certainly excellent, but they left the fates of characters hanging... Moebius was fun, but it didn't really have much of "the team", mostly alternate versions of them. Of course, you can ignore Moebius and count Reckoning/Threads as tying up every loose end that exists, and that would work well too. But Unending, it featured everyone being themselves, and say what you will about their chemistry, but the series wouldn't have lasted as long if something didn't click, and it's nice to see a finale essentially pay tribute to the characters. And then they ride off into the event horizon, to continue fighting the good fight, unending.
Obviously, they wanted to end the 10th season with a cliffhanger and continue with an 11th season, until Scifi nixed that, but despite that they managed to come up with an excellent capper for the series. "But that's just how I feel about it, what do you think?" *chews fruit loops*
Also, lumping Andromeda with Farscape, or merely mentioning them in the same breath makes me ill. Andromeda was never "more of the same", it was "more of the worst", as it got more random, incoherent poorly scripted and plotted as time went on. "More of the same" is too nice to use for Andromeda. I suffered through it! I know!
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6-23-2007 @ 8:34AM
Denji said...
My biggest problem was that the faces of the old age crew looked like burnt plastic.
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6-23-2007 @ 8:59AM
tozmervo said...
Well, at least the comparison is to what was actually a fantastic episode of Voyager (despite the reset button).
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6-23-2007 @ 9:17AM
Discosis said...
Wow, it must be cool to be down on Stargate now.
SG1 always trod the same path as its scifi stablemates, so the plot of this episode wasn't surprising ... nor was it original. But as with all the scifi cliches SG1's used over the course of its 10 seasons, the resolution was interesting and different.
Where the episode shone was where SG1 has always shone, and especially so in the last few years - character moments. Daniel and Vala, Mitchell's grudging acceptance of the situation, Sam's cello lessons, Landry's garden. Everyone got something character related to do and every character got a chance to shine.
It wasn't a big bang episode, and it didn't need to be.
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6-23-2007 @ 9:52AM
Mandy said...
If there's one thing I have learned in recent years, it's that series finales don't make anyone happy. If they are predictable like this one, fans complain. If they are different like The Sopranos or Seinfeld, people complain. Damned if you do and damned if you don't, I guess.
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6-23-2007 @ 10:16AM
FAP said...
It's sad when a Series Finale feels like a filler episode.
Came in with bang went out with a whimper. So long SG1.
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6-23-2007 @ 10:29AM
tricia said...
I didn't expect this episode to go out with a bang, as the previews indicated. But I was not disappointed at all, in fact, I wish that it had been a two hour episode! I liked the fact that the crew aged 50 plus years, and would have liked to have seen more of what they did to occupy themselves. I cannot wait for the DVD movie, to see how they further the storyline. But again, it is a television show. These actors are people - in fact, I was thinking about how many children have been born to the cast and crew in the last ten years, and wondered if they all "got together" to celebrate the last episode. But, when it was over, I paused the TiVo and went and fed my animals, got myself some ice cream with chocolate syrup, and surprisingly, nothing has changed in my life this morning as I drink my first cup of coffee! It is a television show that I totally enjoy, nothing more, nothing less. I think they did a great job in last night's episode, and I thank them for ten, fun years.
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6-23-2007 @ 10:53AM
superbagman said...
I enjoyed the episode, even if it was a bit predictable (But considering that I've been able to predict the ending of nearly every episode of Atlantis, I've gotten used to the feeling). I was just happy that they gave us a modicum of resolution to the Asgard storyline.
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6-23-2007 @ 10:56AM
Alicia said...
The episode was true SG1.
The only thing that really upset me was...
NO ANSWER WITH JACK AND SAM. *grr*
But I liked the Vala/Daniel thing..... said from the beginning... that was going to happen.... and I liked it.
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6-23-2007 @ 11:38AM
JohnS said...
I liked the episode. I don't think the finales are meant surprise, I think they are suppose to give the viewers what they were expecting all these years. We didn't get that here because there are going to be movies after the show, but it was close enough. They focused in the characters we learned to love and I think that's enough. Goodbye to my favorite TV show of all time.
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6-23-2007 @ 11:53AM
Sverre said...
I loved this episode, and those who complain about the fact that they didn't go out with a bang totally missed the point. Even if the setting of the episode has been done before, this wasn't about a novel idea, or wrapping up the story, or anything like that. This was all about the characters, and the character moments were beautiful. In SG-1's 10 year history I don't think we've ever seen scenes quite as emotional as these, and it brought tears to my eyes, especially Daniel and Vala.
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6-23-2007 @ 1:14PM
Tod said...
We've been able to anticipate SG1 would have a poor ending ever since they announced ten episodes to go and then failed to create a compelling story arc. This is particularly disappointing given that two years ago they created a truly compelling enemy in the Ori. The Ori weren’t just snakes pretending to be Gods. For all intents and purposed they were Gods. Further the obvious parallels to radical Islam, ‘Believe as we say or be destroyed.’ made the story line even more interesting. Yet when the time came to end the series, the writers basically punted.
If you want to see how this could have been done well, go back and watch the last two seasons of Star Trek Deep Space Nine. The war and ensuing power struggles just kept building and building. Then the war was finally won and there was a two hour wrap up episode that tied up the character story lines. SG1 utterly failed in its efforts to provide a compelling finale.
What a shame.
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6-23-2007 @ 1:34PM
Will said...
I didn't even watch the show except for an occasional episode here and there since last fall. I didn't even know that the finale was last night. However, when I saw this headline I was saddened. Maybe I'll watch the entire series one day.
http://www.longklaw.com
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6-23-2007 @ 5:21PM
Morjana Coffman said...
That whole scene between Vala and Daniel was so terrible, I was quite miffed when Vala didn't
bitch slap Daniel into the next galaxy/century/made-for-tv-movie-on-
sci-fi-channel!
I love Claudia Black...but I don't care for Vala. Her character was in search of redemption (a main theme of SG1)... but I think she took the wrong fork in the road somewhere along the way.
Morjana
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6-23-2007 @ 6:42PM
Man said...
My main problem with this not-so-great finale is the plot hole, literally.
Why not just cut a hole in the ship. If done right it might take a few months but the ship will be saved and the beam go right through.
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