Stargate DVD Vol22

This DVD is a must have for all Stargate fans.
Between Two Fires:- Great episode involving the Tolan who get themselves into trouble with the Goa'uld again. This time though they have pu the whole Earth in grave danger. It is always nice to see the Tollan getting themselves into a pickle as they think the yare so great.
2001:- SG-1 find another ally they think they can get technology off but fail yet again, much to the annoyance to senator kinsey.
Desperate Measures:- A great episode with the main eye on Sam Carter and her symbiot. Maybourne again gets involved in his own devious way.
Wormhole X-Treme:- If you buy this DVD for any reason att all let it be this episode. the famous 100th Stargate episode. You get to see a spoof TV show of Stargate. Full of comedy and of course Martin Loydd.

Good Episodes

In a season that has taken a marked change from the Season 1-3 style, a little of the old spark actually appears in some of these episodes. Proving Ground is the strongest episode of the four, ironically putting back in the old team sparkle we saw in the first couple of seasons without the Big Four even necessarily being together, and the new recruits were pretty interesting in their own right, which definitely helped. 48 Hours is possibly the weakest, mainly because I've found one of the strengths of Stargate over most Sci-Fi is that there's less emphasis on technobabble, and when it's required it's usually got a solid base in reality, or at least the reality of real life theoretical science.

In 48 Hours, however, one or two of the explanations came across as slightly more Star Trek than Stargate but without going completely down that long, dark road. It does have some very good Jackson-Davis-Chekov dynamics that more than make up for the slightly lowered quality of technobabble.

Summit is a good Daniel episode, although Jacob fans might be a little frustrated at the relegation of his role to"getaway driver", there definitely could have been more from him given the reasons for him being present in the first place. However, Daniel being chosen did make perfect sense, and it was nice to see him struggling to make the right decisions when morality and necessity conflict, especially when he's forced to think on his feet whenever anything unexpected happens. It's even nicer to see that Jacob knows him well enough by now to actually have some doubts as to whether he can trust Daniel to actually carry through the Tok'ra's morally ambiguous plans as well.

The Goa'uld known as Yu is intriguing as always, but I find the Tok'ra sections of Summit to be the weak link. That's not to say they're bad, they're just not as great as they could be. This problem does improve in Last Stand, which is the second half of Summit.

Sixth Season of Stargate SG-1

I was a little disappointed with this season, it seemed to have lost something of the humour of the previous seasons... Still some good story telling, but not the best season...

A very interesting DVD that has very good episodes on it

Into the fire, Seth, Legacy, Fair Game are all interesting episodes that are well rated by me for any Science Fiction Fans

Great Episodes

This disc includes the episodes: 'Rules of Engagement', 'Forever in a Day', 'Past and Present' and 'Jolinar's Memories'. All are excellent episodes, and if you're an SG-1 fan like I am, you should add this DVD to your collection.

Stargate SG-1 Season 7 Volume 33

Volume 33 continues the excellent introduction to Season 7, with thoughtful, engaging episodes, stunning visual and audio quality and worthwhile bonus features that add an extra dimension to the series.

705 Revisions

Beautifully directed by Martin Wood, this standalone episode sees the SG-1 team endeavouring to assist a small, apparently idyllic community with a sinister secret.

^^A good episode for someone new to Stargate to be introduced to at this late stage. Why? Because it requires no previous knowledge of story arcs or other cultures previously featured in SG-1. This is a true"standalone" episode, which, while nothing new, features some good character interaction (we see each team member doing what they do best), fantastic direction, good storytelling, convincing guest cast and subtle, seamless visual effects.

706 Lifeboat

Discovering a crashed ship on P2A-347, SG-1 are attacked by an unknown assailant, rendering them unconscious. Teal'c, being the first to recover, ensures the safe return of the team to the SGC, but not without some drastic effects upon Daniel Jackson.

^^Lifeboat provides some good, old fashioned, moral dilemmas and tells a compelling story that leaves the viewer really questioning what was the right thing to do.The episode features some superb performances from actors Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson) and Teryl Rothery (Dr Janet Frasier). Both give such convincing and emotional deliveries and Shank's characterisations really help to drive the story and make Jackson's - and his"passengers" - situation very believable. I immediately had an emotional investment and this helped to keep things interesting.

707 Enemy Mine

While surveying for Naquadah on P3X-403, a member of the SG team disappears. SG-1 are called in to investigate the disappearance. O'Neill and Teal'c investigate the missing member's last position, Jackson inspects some artefacts discovered by the survey team. What he finds alerts him to the possible dangers faced by all on the planet...

^^Enemy Mine is a thoughtful story, drawing much from our own history of putting needs of many ahead of the rights of a smaller minority. This episode had a"cowboy and Indians make peace" feel to it, but it was well executed. Direction was excellent as usual and the prosthetics and sheer numbers of Unas were fantastic. I thought the 5.1 surround sound was put to good use in this episode, particularly the surrounding roars of the angry Unas and made for an excellent and tense climax to the episode.

707 Space Race

The Serakkin Warrick, previously rescued by SG-1 requests the help of Carter in a race in exchange for technology that Earth can study in their fight against the Goa'uld. Carter agrees and helps to integrate a Naquadah generator into Warrick's ship, the Seberus.

^^I enjoyed this episode. This is definitely a Sam-centric one, but entertains all the way. We get to see a different side to her character and you can tell that Amanda Tapping enjoyed every minute! It is good to see continuity with Warrick appearing in the Space Race, while not requiring the viewer to be fully aware of previous events. One of the real pluses of this episode is the Visual Effects. The production team really went to town on this one and the results put some feature films to shame. This, coupled with well mixed sound, makes for an exhilarating and slightly lighter story.

Bonus Features

Continuing documentary series: SG-1 - Directors Series
Audio commentaries featuring directors, cast and crew
Production Stills Gallery
WWW Featurette

I enjoyed the features on this disc and there were plenty of them, although there is no"Beyond the Gate" section as there was on Volume 32. Instead, there are two directors series features for this disc feature Martin Wood and his work on Revisions and Andy Mikita's work on Space Race. Both give a different insight into what goes into making an episode, although I felt they were both a little short.

Directors Series

The Martin Wood commentary affords us some heartwarming interaction between the principle cast members (in this case, Christopher Judge, Amanda Tapping and Michael Shanks) and the crew. Having worked on amateur productions and semi professional shoots in the past, it is always interesting to see the rigs and shots they choose - it also helps you to appreciate what is involved in a shot that we hardly notice. This feature last just under 8 minutes.

In just over 4 minutes, Andy Mikita also shows us how things such as choice and composition of film can affect the way a director shoots and lights a scene and the results of both. We see some great and amusing moments from actors Alex Zahara & Patrick Currie (Warrick and Eamon in Space Race) as well as some shots of the construction of the Seberus set - complete with moving platform. Star Trek eat your heart out.

Commentaries

Commentaries again offer sometimes anecdotal views of what goes into making each episode and the challenges of such.

Production Stills Gallery

There is also a production stills gallery which further adds to the value of this DVD. There are 56 images here, taken from all the episodes, either screencaps, design sketches or photographs of set construction. Most interesting were the ship and insignia designs from Space Race.

Again, an interesting and worthwhile bonus feature, particularly for those interested in how the concepts and finished product we come to see on the screen are arrived at and the sheer amount of work involved in the design elements for one episode.

WWW

The WWW feature on this volume is a 30 second plug for the Stargate Fan Club. If you are not aware of it, this little data blast may be of interest to you.

Conclusion

Another quality product from the MGM stable. Volume 33 impresses in technical quality and in bonus features. Some of the episodes on this release are fairly standard compared to Stargate SG-1's best moments, but they are entertaining and far better than most other sci-fi currently available nonetheless. They also afford an opportunity for those not familiar with the ongoing story arcs to enjoy SG-1 without having to watch the last 6 Seasons or so.

It's a shame not to have a"Beyond the Gate" feature on this disc, but the two Directors Series material are a good substitute. Overall this release represents good value for money and plenty of features - a must for all diehard fans and probably those new to the show too.

Further review and DVD information at www.stargatesgc.com

Weakest set of episodes since Season 1

'Disclosure' is the poorest episode to date. Only of interest to those who are totally unfamiliar with Stargate's earlier seasons.
'Forsaken' is OK, but it becomes ever clearer that scripts are still being written for"Dr. Jackson", rather than"Jonas Quinn". In general, the personal interaction that made Stargate's 2nd through 5th seasons so special is missing in Season 6.
The Changeling' will be fine for Teal'c fans, but isn't anything special.
'Memento': the best episode, by far. And the only reason I didn't feel the disk was complete waste of money. Good storyline, and it introduces more facets to the Stargate universe with the crew of the ship.

New beginning for the old favourite

To begin with, the previous reviewer who gave this one star is being somewhat unfair to the series. It's not SG-1's fault he had to pay extra postage...
Anyway, to the 9th season. Many changes have taken place. In a neat twist to real life, with the discovery of Atlantis, much of SG-1's budget has gone to the new expedition. (Unfortunately, this was also the case behind the cameras. Many of the episodes are earthbound, but when the effects are used, as in the season finale, all I can say is Wow.) Daniel, Sam and Teal'c have moved on to other projects, as has Jack, now succeeding Hammond at Washington. Command of the base has been given to General Landry, who receives Colonel Cam Mitchell("Mitch") as the new team leader of SG-1, at Jack's request. Cam's back story is that he was a pilot in the season 7 finale"Hidden City" during the battle with Anubis,and being decorated for valour, was promised any assignment, and chose this.
This season also introduces the new bad guys, the Ori, bent on domination using their Priors as missionaries. Although the season takes a while to kick in, due to the inevitable reset required to establish the new team, it's still an engaging romp, with Ben Browder as Mitchell capably stepping into Jack's shoes. Claudia Black also returns as Vala Mal Doran, and although the sparks are between her and Daniel, rather than Mitch, which would have neatly mirrored their previous roles on"Farscape", there's still some great one liners, excellent SFX and continuing plot lines. As mentioned above, the season finale is excellent, and sets up Season 10 neatly, which would prove to be the last, as we are now promised straight to DVD movies.
All in all, a very good reset for the long running franchise. The new themes are engaging and Browder and Black fit seamlessly into the family. Roll on Season 10 and the movies!

A decent group of episodes

The episodes in this volume are honestly what really counts, unlike the previous reviewer's rants about money. If you can be bothered to spend money on volumes instead of waiting for the entire season to come out (which is alot cheaper) then do so.

200 is possibly the most hilarious episode in SG1 to my recollection since the infamous Window of Opportunity and will guarentee laughs and a nice calm before the storm of the rest of the volume and the battling with the Ori

Great entertainment for everyone

I can recommend this episodes to anyone who enjoys watching scifi. I has got a great stoyline and excellent caracters. A great ride.

Standard 'gate adventures

Now, i really like stargate. Ive been a fan since it first came out at the movies. But, i have noticed a slight lag in quality in the last season. dont get me wrong, i still really enjoy SG-1 and i will still keep this dvd and rewatch it, but just not as much as i will some really classic episodes."The warrior" and"menace" are the better episodes on this dvd by the way, and"fail-safe" really does let the disc down. Still good gating though. Extras just keep on getting better as well. Keep up the good work MGM!!

SG-1s 10th season starts in good forms

Episode 10.1 (Flesh And Blood), continues directly on from the season 9 finale Camelot and reintroduces Claudia Black as Vala Mal Doran now a regular cast member, as well as introducing the new face of the Ori army, Adria. In a episodes that has a lot of action and thrills, the SG-1s writing show how cleaver they can be, in the way it provides the answers to who survives the space battle in Camelot and at the same time setting the seasons storyline. Episode 10.2 (Morpheus), continues SG1's attempts to find Merlin's weapon. Although on the surface the episode, seems to be a continuation of the Ori story line with an interesting premise. The episode just happens however to be a filler in order to set up the following episode. Episode 10.3 (The Pegasus Project) sees an SG-1-Atlantis crossover, in which the SG-1 team travel to the Pegasus Galaxy to find Merlin's weapon and to stop a greater Ori fleet. As probably one of the most anticipated episodes of SG-1, dose live up to the hype, providing some classic Mckay-Carter and Daniel-Vala moments and also provides some valued explanation to Merlin's motivations. Its only a shame that Daniels first trip to Atlantis is to further the story line. Episode 10.4 (Insiders) sees the return of classic villain Baal. Although the episode mite seem like a standalone in term of the ark of the season so far, building on the Baal clone storyline. This enjoyable episode, however allows for a good pay off later in the season. All in all the 10th a final season of SG-1, delivers in quality entertainment.

Regarding the Other Review

You are correct in the spelling of"General" no disagreements there. However, at the end of Season 7 was the Finale of the Ancient weapon fired with the help in defense of the X-303 and X-302. Jack is not General there and is put in Stasis... Unless of course you meant after series 8 (Series 9)

Excellent contribution to the SG1 series

Being an SG1 fan it's hard to be too objective but I have to say although the first season had the odd not so good episode, since then it's come on leaps and bounds. The first episode on this DVD 'A Hundred Days' is not an action packed episode but more of an O'Neill character build but does give insights in to Carter's feelings towards him. The second 'Shades of Grey' is one of my all time favoutites where O'Neill turns traitor - won't spoil it for you. Next up is 'new Ground' which is where SG1 get captured and have to deal with how they impact the beliefs of humans on another planet. Finally we have 'Maternal Extinct' which sees the return of Braytac to assist SG1 is finding the Harsesis child. Daniel wants to get him to Earth before Apophis gets his hands on him. Frankly even if the episodes were totally rubbish, they'd still be good - with scripts, stories and acting like this, roll over Star Trek and play dead because your time is up.

Start of Season 4

This DVD is great!

Small Victories: Continues the storyline from finale of season 3 what happens to Thor's ship and that one remaining replicator that made it too earth.

The Other Side: Guest Stars the guy who plays Odo in Star Trek Deep Space Nine. But not even he can pull this episode up as it gets tedious at some points, although there are some good CG point in this episode.

Upgrades: Is a funny episode as Carter, Jack and Daniel get Goa'uld strength arm bands but they turn out to be more toble than there worth when SG-1 find out that they could die if they use them any longer

Crossroads: Is it something to do with the name 'Crossroads' that makes things rubbish, as this is by far one of the worst episodes in Season 4. This episode is about Teal'c learning how to control his Goa'uld ('Junior' as named by O'Neill)

Buy this DVD I know I will.

Nemisis is wicked :) When is the release of dvd 14 ?

On this dvd, there are only two episodes. These episodes are also the last one of the third season.

The first episode is: Chrystal Skull. They discover a piramide and within it a huge cave with a crystal skull. Daniel recognizes this skull, because his grandfather Nick has found a simular skull in 1971 on Earth. Nick claimed that the cave was build by aliens, but nobody believed him. Daniel disappeares in front of SG1 and Jack O'Niell and his team go to Nick to ask for advice. This episode isn't full of action, but it's a good story which won't bore you.

The second episode, Nemises, is great! Jack O'Niell is kidnapped by the Asgards. Thor needs his help with the fight they have with the replicators (replicators are a kind of nasty little intelligent mechanical bugs, just think of our own bugs and then remember how hard it is to get rid of them, I think you get the point here). The special effects are great. The story is exciting, it will keep you sitting on the egde of your seat from the beginning and beyound the end of this episode.

Besides the two episode there's also a Behind the scenes called"Timeline to the future". It gives you an inside story about the characters and everbody involved in making this great series. This feature is 60 minutes long.

One of the best

I can say Stargate is one of the best scifi shows ever and that all episodes are excellent but if I would have to rank them, these episodes would go on the top of my list. The caracters are great and the storyline holds a lot of unexpected twists to keep you occupied till the gripping final of season two. Well worth seeing over and over again.