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Stargate SG-1
Episode 5.19, "Menace"
Original Air-Date: 4.26.02
Directed by Martin Wood
Written by Peter DeLuise & James Tichenor
I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather have watched SG-1 last week then seen Traffic on it. I don’t get that movie, it seems like if a Director shoots a movie that’s confusing or with an odd camera look they get hailed as a genius. Give me my SG-1 Showtime! At least it’s back this week with an episode about the replicators, so I’m back as well. /grin/
The replicators are probably my least favorite thing in the SG-1 universe. Sure they look very cool but I have just never much cared for the idea of them. It seemed way too ‘borg-like” to me. (I sure hope we don’t see Apophis of Borg like I’ve been dreading all this season) So imagine my surprise when I saw an episode with replicators that actually makes me re-evaluate my stance on the little guys. The episode starts up with SG-1 exploring a planet through the gate and they come across a civilization that has been wiped out. They enter into a building and find a deactivated android. Somehow Carter is able to figure out how to get a power supply to restart her and we suddenly get the cutest looking android this side of Rommie from Andromeda on the small screen.
Now this android (Reese), is able to speak English immediately? Hmmpf. Can’t we at least let Daniel Jackson do a translation thing again? Bah… We begin to notice that despite being an android Reese is pretty emotionally immature and acts like a child. She throws tantrums, and keeps asking where her Father is. Reese lies to SG-1 about what happened on her planet and they pick up on it so they decide to go investigate further. They turn-up some broken replicators in the chamber that Reese was found in. The replicators are those little metallic things fighting the Asgard.
So SG-1 returns back from the planet with the evidence and discovers that Reese has made a gift for Daniel. His very own personal replicator! Of course Daniel isn’t happy because he wanted a tricycle so they put the little replicator into an acid-proof case. The team slowly unravels the mystery behind this girl. It turns out that Reese is the one who started the replicators. She has an understanding of manipulating things at a molecular level and made some replicators as friends, then as the people of her planet became frightened of her she had the replicators protect her until she lost control and they wiped out the planet and are now roaming the galaxy.
So that re-evaluation of replicators? Well it comes from how they started. I actually kinda dig that this android started them just to have some friends. We know their origins, something Star Trek never did with the Borg(my bet is on V’Ger) and we see how this android is easily capable of creating them but not controlling them once too many of them are made. The Stargate Command tries to contact the Asgard but it turns out they’re not answering so maybe the little guys are having a tougher fight against the replicators out there.
The major disappointment in the episode comes with another ‘taking over of the base.’ We’ve had it happen in every season I think and here it is now with Reese sending the replicators out to protect her and to use the stargate to leave the base. We get a really cool scene with General Hammond (in body armor and all!) nailing one of the replicators with a shotgun as Carter is setting the self-destruct for the base. Daniel heads into the gate room to try and talk down Reese and manages to begin to get through with her, but Reese is also losing control of the replicators as they are starting to act on their own. Jack comes barreling into the room and shoots Reese, ending the replicator threat.
I was a little confused as to whether Reese is dead, destroyed, or just powered-down. Daniel was upset with Jack since he said he was getting through and that Reese was shutting down all the replicators so that would indicate destroyed but unless the memory is stored in her chest I’d wager on her getting fixed. She has valuable information that the Asgard should be able to extract and find a better way to fight the replicators. All in all a pretty enjoyable episode with some more back-story on the replicators and a cute-lookin’ android too. Still no LT Hailey though! /sigh/
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