Revisiting Stargate

I dusted off my Stargate DVDs this week. Boy, I'd forgotten how bad some of the season one episodes are! There are some gems in season one, too, and those I remember. But on re-watching it's the bad that stands out. Stargate SG-1 went from strong to outstanding before it began to decline as any long-running series always does. But - with the caveat that I never saw the later seasons, so can't be sure - I doubt it ever got as bad as the worst of season one.

All the fans slated Emancipation but there's actually the core of a good idea in there. The basic theme of culture clash and cultural relativism vs right and wrong reappear in several of the early episodes (and indeed, throughout the seasons). I even find its punch-bag-style feminism kinda endearing. I bet it looked fabulous on paper. There's just something in the execution that doesn't really work. At all.

But I can find no such redeeming potential in The First Commandment. So bad I'd evidently blocked it from my memory and all I can say now is "what were they thinking?"

Ah, well. I'm past the worst of it now. No, wait. I still have the super-STD episode coming up. Eek.
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