SG-1 Season 4 Analysis Part 3

Here we go into the middle of the season...

8. The First Ones

An enjoyable if flawed episode. There are many interesting things here such as aboriginal Goa'uld! However, what I must mention above all else is the introduction of the P-90. Anyway, regarding the episode itself, it is good but not outstanding. 

Rating: 7 / 10

9. Scorched Earth

An okay episode; the conflict between Jack and Daniel stemming from "The Other Side" is back, but by no means in full force. That said, parts of the episode were very well done.

Rating: 6 / 10

10. Beneath the Surface

Some improvements could have been made with this episode. The premise of SG-1's lost memories is not milked to its fullest extent, in my opinion. I liked what we got, but there should have been more. The resolution seemed lacking, as well. Another slightly above average but essentially okay episode.

Rating: 6 / 10

11. Point of No Return

Parts of this episode were great and other parts were generic, making the episode unbalanced. Tanner and his henchmen were not interesting to me, but the episodes had glimpses of brilliance. "Magnets" make their return from "Window of Opportunity" and as the image here indicates, Murray was great! Rating: 7 / 10

12. Tangent

A well-constructed triumph, unlike the X-301 itself. All of that "no joy" was certainly supplanted by a healthy amount of "joy" at the very end! Random comment: the matte of the planet's surface that Carter and Daniel find Jacob on is reused from "Need".

Rating: 9 / 10

13. The Curse

The look and feel of this episode is commendable. The story itself didn't carry its momentum to its fullest potential, but overall I enjoyed it. This is one of about two times that we see a Goa'uld in Egypt. An episode like this brings Stargate back to its roots in a lot of ways.

Rating: 8 / 10

14. The Serpent's Venom

"The Serpent's Venom", after "Upgrades" before it, emphasizes Apophis' rise to dominance. This is one of my favorite things about Season 4; Apophis' growing power makes Season 4 not only my favorite season, but my favorite era.

That said, the torture could have been a little better, but for the cause of the Jaffa Rebellion, it can be deemed necessary.

Rating: 9 / 10

15. Chain Reaction

There are a few questionable things about this one, but they are squeezed in between such great little moments as SG-1's triumphant return and General Hammond's farewell that I count it as firmly belonging in a stretch of great episodes.

Rating: 8 / 10

Many of these episodes were flawed but good. This marks the overall quality as less than the first third of the season, but the middle of the season is still a triumph even after a less than great stretch at its beginning. Even the less-than-outstanding episodes had considerable merits.

In Part 4, I'll go straight through the rest of the episodes.