Stargate SG-1, Season 8 will be out on DVD on October 4, 2005.

Complete Season: 

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Stargate Atlantis, Season 1 will be out on DVD on November 15, 2005.  The pilot episode, Rising, has already been released on DVD.

Complete Season: 
Pilot Episode:  

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Battlestar Galactica, Season 1 will be out on DVD on September 20, 2005.  It will also include the miniseries pilot episode that was already out on DVD.

Complete Season: 
Miniseries: 

When Nerus, a minor Goa'uld, requests an alliance with Earth, Gen. Landry and SG-1 don't need Vala to warn them that Nerus can't be trusted. Vala warns them anyway, but Landry decides to risk inviting Nerus to Stargate Command.

Nerus explains that a mysterious force field has appeared on the planet Kallana. The field surrounds Kallana's stargate and periodically increases in size. Worse, the stargate hasn't shut down for two days, which violates all known laws of physics. Worst of all, there's a Prior of the Ori on the scene. The team is forced to agree with Nerus's frightening conclusion: The Ori must be establishing a beachhead from which to launch their invasion of our galaxy.

Because nothing but time will dissolve the link between them, Daniel and Vala are forced to remain together at Stargate Command. But when Vala learns that P8X-412 is one of 43 planets already visited by a Prior of the Ori, she persuades Mitchell to help the villagers of that primitive world resist this new danger.

Mitchell, Daniel and Teal'c accompany Vala to the planet, where they discover the real reason for Vala's special interest: The villagers there worship her as the Goa'uld god Quetesh. Vala was once host to the real Quetesh, and after she was freed of the symbiote, she discovered that the people of this isolated planet hadn't heard that their god was dead. She continued posing as Quetesh, and the villagers showered her with the few riches they had. Now she's back to collect her loot. She also thinks she can simply order the villagers to reject the Prior.

Vala/Quetesh:  There point in lying to your god.  I am all-knowing as well as all-beautiful.

Mitchell:  And we do not want to get into a god-off.

Although the bracelets are gone, their effect remains, perhaps because the Ancient communications device augmented their power. Whatever the reason, Daniel and Vala will die if they are separated. Until they can find a way to break the link, their lives are still bound together.

When Vala admits that Arlos Kadavam, the scientist from whom she stole the bracelets, might know the answer, a highly motivated Daniel insists that they visit the man immediately. With Mitchell, he and Vala head through the stargate to Arlos's laboratory.

Arlos agrees to help, on one condition: Vala must return the heirloom necklace she also stole from him. Unfortunately, Vala already sold that necklace to an unscrupulous Jaffa trader named Inago. And before Inago will sell it back, he wants the power coil he sold to her.

They follow the trail of Vala's ill-gotten gains to a cargo ship that is now in the hands of the Lucian Alliance, a dangerous gang of smugglers and mercenaries. Bottom line: If Daniel and Vala want the link broken, they'll have to steal back the cargo ship.

Positively the best episode of the season thus far.  In order to find out how to break the transferred powers of the bracelet, Vala has to ask the person she stole them from for help.  However, at the same time she stole the bracelets, she stole his mother's necklace.  Sold the necklace and bought a obsolete power coil.  Sold the power coil and stole a crystal.  The guy that she stole the crystal from had previously loaned her his smuggler ship since he no longer needed it.  This ship is now in the hands of the Lucian Alliance, a band of mercenaries.

Following the bouncing ball, they have to uncoil the chain of transference and get everything back to who it came from, starting with retrieving the cargo ship.  Of course, the cargo ship is in the possession of the smugglers she and Daniel screwed over in "Prometheus Unbound" last year.

Very enjoyable episode, but then again, I really like the Vala character ever since she her one-episode role last year.  Apparently I'm not alone and they decided to sign her as a recurring character.

Landry:  Walter, don't make me promote you.
Walter:  Oh, no sir.

Vala:  We could be partners.  Split everything down the middle, 60-40.

Daniel:  I need some help.  Go to the panel by the rear exit.  OK,  stay there, shut up, and let me finish.

Daniel and Vala have been saved from the fanatical Ori followers, but — because their savior is an Ori priest and they're still trapped in "borrowed" bodies in a distant galaxy — they're not exactly home-free. Instead, the priest transports them to the Ori's holy realm of Celestis, where Daniel begins to uncover the secrets of the mysterious gods.

What he learns is not reassuring. The Ori seem to be Ascended beings who believe that they deserve unquestioning worship and devotion from all humans. They also consider the more benevolent teachings of their Ascended rivals, the Ancients, to be evil.

For millennia, the Ancients have protected the humans of the Milky Way from domination by the Ori, but Daniel's activation of the communications device has alerted the Ori to the vast numbers of unbelievers in Earth's home galaxy. As a result, the Ori have begun to send out missionaries, called Priors. Armed with the power of their Ascended masters and convinced that heathen lives are worthless, the Priors' goal is to convert the entire galaxy to the worship of the Ori — by any means necessary.

The main base plot of the series from this point on was succinctly put by a Doci of the Ori:

Great holy armies shall be gathered and trained to fight all who embrace evil.  In the name of the gods, ships shall be built to carry our warriors out amongst the stars and we will spread Origin to all the unbelievers.  The power of the Ori will be felt far and wide and the wicked shall be vanquished.

General Landry's answer:

Let them bring it.  We'll use our strengths against their weaknesses.  That's a pretty good strategy for any kind of business you are in.

 

Trapped along with Teal'c and Vala far beneath England's Glastonbury Tor, Daniel and Mitchell have only seconds to outwit the Ancient snares in which they're caught. Once they succeed, they have to handle only one or two more small details — such as a near-impossible swordfight with an inhuman knight — before they win access to the cave's vast treasure.

Amid the standard-issue gold and jewels, Daniel uncovers a horde of books apparently written by the Ancients. They tell a fantastic tale: The highly advanced Ancients may have once called themselves the Altera, and may have evolved in a far distant galaxy. The crew excavating the treasure also finds a piece of Ancient equipment, which Daniel believes is a communications device.

Daniel and Vala find themselves inhabiting the bodies of two married villagers on a distant planet. Being married to Vala — in even the remotest possible sense — gives Daniel the creeps, even before he learns that the villagers are devout worshippers of all-powerful and unforgiving beings called the Ori. What's worse, the two people whose bodies Daniel and Vala are inhabiting are suspected of heresy against these mysterious gods.

Vala (comforting):  I didn't hear any screaming or squishing sounds.

Landry:  Always do everything you ask of those you command.
Michell:  Patton.
Landry:  Very good.
Mitchell:  Good movie.

With the departure of Gen. Jack O'Neill, Stargate Command enters a new era. That said, Stargate Command's new commanding officer, Gen. Hank Landry, and SG-1's new leader, Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell, barely have time to settle in — let alone inaugurate a new era — before the sudden return of the beautiful thief Vala.

Motivated by her insatiable appetite for ill-gotten gain, Vala has come bearing a stolen tablet that only Dr. Daniel Jackson can decipher. She is convinced that the tablet holds the secret to an incredible buried treasure, while Daniel is convinced that some way, somehow, she's going to make his life miserable. At Mitchell's request, however, he consents to a meeting with her.

Unfortunately, the tablet isn't the only artifact Vala has stolen. She has also brought along some insurance — two ancient Jaffa bracelets that Teal'c explains were once used to bind prisoners to their guards and thus prevent escape. Before Daniel has a chance to argue, Vala clamps one of the bracelets onto his wrist and the other onto her own.

After Dr. Lee tries and fails to remove the shackles, a resigned Daniel complies with Vala's demand and cracks the tablet's code. His translation leads the pair, along with Mitchell and Teal'c, into a deep and ancient cavern under Glastonbury Tor in England. With the treasure just out of reach, they find themselves trapped. Unless they can solve a series of complicated riddles, they will never find the treasure — and, worse, they'll never get out alive.

Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell lead the fighter squadron that accompanied the Prometheus in the battle over Antarctica at the end of Season 7 ("The Lost City") when SG-1 was finding the Ancient Outpost.  During the episode, Mitchell wasn't ever shown, his part in the battle was recreated for Season 9 to make Michell a hero.  He was given the Congressional Medal of Honor, and given his choice of tours.  He chose to join SG-1 and work with the best.

When he arrived at the SGC, he finds out that it's just "SG-me."   Teal'c had returned home to help the Free Jaffa build a system of self-government.  Samantha Carter transferred to a lead position at Area 51 to study and develop the alien technology that has been retrieved.  And Daniel Jackson is going to ride with Daedalus to Atlantis -- "The City of the Ancients."

We are re-introduced to Vala Malduran who will be joining the series as an on-going guest character.  She brings a tablet that is rumored to tell the location of a vast treasure.  She also brings some bracelets that she attaches to herself and Daniel which links them together.  When they are separated for a period of time, both of them fall ill.

Michell:  Well, Walter, it doesn't look like we are getting the band back together.

Landry:  A general is only a good as the people he commands.
O'Neill:  Who said that?
Landry:  I just did.

Michell (to Daniel):  Or you are just going to have to marry that chick.
Vala:  Yeah!  Let's make babies!

Vala:  Try playing "hard to get"
Michell:  Yeah, look who's talking.

Vala:  I haven't been this disappointed since Daniel and I had sex.

Daniel (to Vala):  I'm sure if there is a monster down here, it's much more scared of you than you are of it.  Especially once it gets to know you.

Vala:  What?  We are already trapped in here, how much worse can it get?
[Ceiling starts to lower]
Vala:  I knew it was a mistake the moment I said it.

While in hyperspace, the Prometheus receives a distress call from 50 light-years away (20 minutes' flight time) from what sounds like a human female. Daniel suggests they check it out. Upon arrival, they find two Goa'uld vessels adrift, a cargo ship and an Alkesh. The scenario looks suspicious; a human distress call from a Goa'uld ship? Reynolds and SG-3 ring over. They find four dead Jaffa. Suddenly the ring transporter is activated: A Goa'uld super-soldier leaves the Alkesh and boards the Prometheus. Hammond and the crew are overpowered by the super-soldier, transported onto the Alkesh and stranded as the Prometheus goes into hyperspace — with Daniel still aboard.

Tied up on the bridge of the Prometheus, Daniel tries to communicate with the super-soldier, who removes her helmet to reveal herself as a beautiful woman, named Vala (Played by Claudia Black). Getting right to the point, she demands the access code to the Prometheus' hyperdrive.

SciFi.com has this episode listed as SG1-811, swapped with "Gemini", although by my count it is 812.  In Gemini, they made some references that do place it before this episode, so I'm guessing they just have a typo.  Otherwise I'd have to guess that this episode and Gemini were shown in opposite order in the UK or something, but no reference to the numbering was found on the message boards.

This is the first time that I remember ever seeing Dr. Lindsey Novak, although she may have been in the background of another episode.  Dr. Novak is halarious because she is shown having a disorder, so that she hiccups every time she gets nervous.

After General Hammond rings over to a dead ship without air and makes it back, the soldier hesitates and procrastinates giving him mouth to mouth.  Just before he gives in, Hammond gasps for air and the soldier says "Excellent waking up sir!"

Daniel spends the episode going back and forth with the Gou'ald Super Soldier that turns out to be a sexy, curvy woman with a strong libido. During all of the sexual tension and innuendo, they spend pretty much the entire time hitting each other.

Daniel: It's kind of "kill-first-and...."  No, no, that's generally it, just the killing.

Daniel: You kept the wrong guy, cause I don't know anything about the ship.
Gou'ald Super Soldier: But you are very attractive.
Daniel: What?  Hey, Big Guy, I'm flattered.  But you aren't my type.  And I'm more than a little disturbed that I might be yours.

Unscheduled offworld activation: Lt. Col. Carter's IDC comes through, but it's an old one. A text message follows: "Send M.A.L.P." The M.A.L.P. telemetry shows that the person sending the transmission is Carter. But Carter is in the control room at Stargate Command.

The Carter on the other side explains that she was made in Samantha Carter's image. She is a Replicator, created by Fifth, the Replicator leader smitten with Carter. Struggling to reconcile the original Carter's copied feelings and her own Replicator programming, Carter 2 asks that she be destroyed via the disruptor — the only weapon effective against her kind.

Not a very exciting episode, although we do get to see Samatha disrobed.  I guess that's a good way to raise ratings for what otherwise is a poor episode.

SciFi Channel announced that both Stargate SG-1 (blog) and Stargate Atlantis (blog) will be back for new seasons.

This will make SG-1 tie for the longest running Sci-Fi series with The X-Files at 9 seasons.  I would have to bet SG-1's popularity will give it a good shot to go for the record with a 10th season.  They have the vehicle to break it, why not go for it.  The only question would be if the original crew, especially Jack O'Neill will hang around to see it through.

Both Stargate series have only aired less than half of their current season episodes.  It seems odd that SciFi would contract the Atlantis series this early before seeing if there is any staying power.  But with 4.2 million viewers, I'm betting that it can.

So welcome to the tie, SG-1, and welcome to the world, Atlantis.  Hope to be seeing you both around for a long time.

As the teenage Cassandra ("Singularity") enters puberty, an electromagnetic field is triggered within her. SG-1 and her adoptive parent Dr. Fraiser fear they may not be able to stop the life threatening changes caused by this legacy of the Goa'uld Nirrti's genetic experiments.

  

SG-1 are welcomed on K'Tau by the planet's religious leader who takes the reddening sky concurrent with their arrival as a sign from their Gods. In reality it is a solar reaction caused by SG-1's wormhole that spells death for the planet.

  

Pinned down by enemy fire, O'Neill stays behind on an alien world to tend to the wounded Lt. Tyler, the newest member of SG-1. Back on Earth Hammond informs the team that Tyler doesn't exist! Col. Simmons of the Pentagon wants to use this latest case of alien mind games to close down the SGC as a safety risk.

  

While investigating an alien device Carter is found unconscious. Resting from suspected exhaustion, she is visited by an invisible being who holds vital secrets to the device and more. But how does she convince SG-1 that she is not delusional?

  

Teal'c has been saved from death on Apophis' ship, but mentally remains loyal to his old master. Bra'tac suggests an ancient Jaffa ritual called M'al Sharran- a process which could bring Teal'c back from the abyss, but could also kill him.