Ranking the Episodes: Season by Season - Stargate: SG-1

I was itching to express my thoughts on the series...and as we prepare for what may be the last offering of this television maverick...I think a healthy and complete revisit of the series in total could be a good thing:

Anyway...on with the list...beginning in SEASON ONE:

Ah, the early days...when continuity was fluid, when effects and action was gimmicky...when Showtime brought us nudity...did anyone really think this show had a chance on a premium network?

Let's just say that for a couple triumphs, there are some real stinkers in season one...making it at best a mediocre season...not the worst, but certainly not much cream rising to the top in this tankard.

Jedimarine Ranks:

1.101: Children of the Gods (I like pilots...there is genuine love in them)
2.117: Solitudes (O'Neill/Carter moves to the launch pad)
3.105: The First Commandment (Policing our own teams 5 eps in...sounds like America!)
4.109: Thor's Hammer (the mystery of the Asgard was just awesome)
5.102: The Enemy Within (a serviceable follow-up to the pilot...Teal'c was good)
6.121: Within the Serpent's Grasp (Part 2 of 3) (decently large scale for a season finale)
7.119: There But For the Grace of God (I hate time travel, but love "mirror universes")
8.118: Tin Man (alright...sure)
9.110: The Torment of Tantalus (meeting room, good, not much else)
10.111: Bloodlines (Bra'tac, good, not much else)
11.115: Cor-ai (this episode is better after Teal'c's speech in 'Ark of Truth')
12.113: Hathor (Hathor's hot, not much else)
13.106: Cold Lazarus (ah...a case against cloning...or was that Tin Man?)
14.108: Brief Candle (sheesh, it's like an episode of Star Trek)
15.104: The Broca Divide (just weird and one of the "cheese" episodes of season one)
16.114: Singularity (only the fact that it's story persisted to the future saves this one)
17.116: Enigma (I HATE THE TOLLAN)
18.107: The Nox (Talk about a forgotten subject)
19.112: Fire and Water (Eesh...I prefer this plot when they use Chaka)
20.103: Emancipation (I can't get past the dude who was Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat)
21.120: Politics (Part 1 of 3) (Recaps are junk)


I encourage others to post similar lists...I'll move on to season 2 as time and the conversation permits.

At the end, I'll attempt the GRAND LIST...doing every single episode.

Remember, please keep the conversation on "the lists"...as in merits of episodes over others...In-depth discussions of episodes themselves or the series overall should go here.

Happy Listing!

 

Include as part of the SE?

I dunno...I think it works because COTG is a pilot and not a movie...if it was a self-contained film, then sure...but since this episode would likely run into another episode, it adds a nice "cliffhanger" to get people to tune in to episode 2...and once you get folks to sit down 2 weeks in a row...you start to develop a viewing habit.

I'm curious if they did it that way just in case the pilot audience didn't care for Teal'c?

sometimes with pilots, if you pay close attention, you can tell how they've crafted the piece together in sections with different characters as part of different sections...if it's not a popular "section" they can cut it or rework it and not have to reshoot a whole pilot.

If you watch COTG, you can see some of these sections...the "movie references" section...the "Carter" section...the "Hammond" section...about the only 2 characters that are vital through the whole pilot are Jack and Daniel...but then they are the premise taken from the original film...you lose them, you lose the show...at least when talking about the early days.

 

Season 2

This season progresses a little...a little less stage work...a little more real world...a little less awkward cast moments...this season is considerably stronger then season one...though I'd argue the beginning and ending of this season are rather weak.

Jedimarine Ranks


1.215: The Fifth Race (a fun episode which becomes simply awe inspiring at the end)
2.220: Show and Tell (fantastic new creatures...great action...touching Jack/Charlie moments...a winner)
3.206: Thor's Chariot (The Necessary backend of ?Thor?s Hammer?...The Asgard ship was just nuts)
4.207: Message in a Bottle (An overused premise...but the twist makes it pretty cool...some Jack/Sam stuff)
5.216: A Matter of Time (The weird stuff about Jack?s history seems disjointed, but the premise and the execution of this episode are top notch.)
6.214: Touchstone (NID! The real birth of the ?earth? plots)
7.201: The Serpent's Lair (Part 3 of 3) (really the end of season 1...it?s ok...but probably the least spectacular ?Earth save? of the show).
8.208: Family (Family, Politics, Betrayal...the Zat solution is a little cheap though)
9.217: Holiday (MACHELLO! Cantankerous old coot...becoming what you hate is a lesson for everyone.)
10.203: Prisoners (Another interesting twist to an old story...SG-1 as prisoners...surprise!)
11.204: The Gamekeeper (Different...provides some excellent backstory...kinda of ?trekish? though.
12.211: The Tok'ra, Part 1 (of 2) (Not bad episodes...just never liked the Tok?ra...except Jacob)
13.212: The Tok'ra, Part 2 (of 2) (Not bad episodes...just never liked the Tok?ra...except Jacob)
14.209: Secrets (this is about where the whole ?Sha?re? thing started to wear on me...Daniel?s character suffers as a result.)
15.213: Spirits (The Native American motif was different...but doesn?t save the episode.)
16.202: In the Line of Duty (ugh...Carter is under a foreign enity?s power...part 1)
17.218: Serpent's Song (SHOOT HIM...BURN HIM...Blow the ashes through the gate at Sokar! There is a difference between stooping to kill the defenseless and justly sentencing the wicked. This is why such decisions would never be in the hands of the SGC to make.)
18.221: 1969 (not a bad time travel episode...funny...but still a time travel episode...bah!)
19.205: Need (kind of hokie...has a very ?season 1? vibe about it.)
20.222: Out of Mind (Part 1 of 2) (Another clip show...at least it?s a little creative...get the cool new gadget)
21.210: Bane (I have seen this episode fewer times then ANY other episode...it?s a ghost.
22.219: One False Step (yeah...suck)

 

Season 3.

Ah, the series comes into it's own!

There are a couple rough moments where relapse was possible...but by the time we reach the midseason 2 parter the awesomeness is established and doesn't fade for many many seasons.

This is in the running for best season ever...and certainly ranks no lower then 4th.

Jedimarine Ranks:

1.312: Jolinar's Memories (Part 1 of 2) Probably the best 2 parter of the show.
2.313: The Devil You Know (Part 2 of 2) Ditto.
3.314: Foothold A fantastic episode with a great sweep to it.
4.305: Learning Curve Touching and a unique idea. Morality tales are interesting.
5.308: Demons A great episode...who's side is who on and for how long...loved it.
6.319: New Ground A cautionary tale about the politics of fear. They retread this one in season 6 with Memento. Still good...but this one was better.
7.309: Rules of Engagement Decent Idea...well executed...wonder why there aren't similar attempts made on the SGC.
8.320: Maternal Instinct Kheb is cool...the monk is a moron...Oma rocks...and Bra'tac is super sharp in this episode.
9.306: Point of View Mirror Universes rock. Jack/Sam time! Good Stuff.
10.317: A Hundred Days Anything that comes between Jack and Sam bad...but possibly being marooned with a chick like that ain't SOOO bad. Loved the premise of this episode.
11.322: Nemesis (Part 1 of 2) When the replicators were original...*sigh*
12.318: Shades of Grey Best part of this episode was how O'Neill uses the planet from A Hundred Days to get offworld...that was the episode before...great continuity move!
13.307: Deadman Switch One of the first episodes I seriously watched. A classic story...and well played.
14.304: Legacy MACHELLO! what a cool idea.
15.302: Seth Alright...but the Goa'uld on Earth idea never worked for me.
16.316: Urgo Ah Peter...couldn't keep Daddy off the set.
17.303: Fair Game Learn a little about the universe's politics...decent Teal'c story.
18.310: Forever In a Day Man, there is one of these a season for the first couple. Pew.
19.301: Into the Fire (Part 2 of 2) yeah...this is season 2 stinking up season 3.
20.315: Pretense Ok...but then, i hate the Tollan...and Skara was getting old too.
21.311: Past and Present this is a yawner.
22.321: Crystal Skull oh come on...how small is the universe...I buy destiny...but come ON! This one is an epic fail.

 

Season 4:

If it's not the best season of the show, it's at least my personal favorite...the mix of light hearted adventures, tough combat scenarios, and touching character pieces, loft this season into rare air, with only a couple sub-par episodes...and at this stage, it's not because of the cast...the fluid back and forth is established...the shows chemistry is peaking.

And best of all...this season begins and ends WELL.

Jedimarine Ranks:

1. 406: Window of Opportunity For the dedicated fan of the show...there is none better.
2. 403: Upgrades Fantastic premise, great laughs, good use of larger cast.
3. 405: Divide and Conquer Connecting back to "Upgrades" and adding the "scene" was one of the best ideas in tv history. A Brilliant move.
4. 410: Beneath The Surface It was them, and yet not...this episode truly shows how the cast connect...even moreso then the "hinting" that the script called for. Fantastic Jack/Sam stuff.
5. 419: Prodigy What a fantastic, exotic, semi-whimsical and yet still exciting ideas.
6. 422: Exodus (Part 1 of 3) A great "build up" episode...encapsulating much of the seasons plots to prepare for the start of season 5.
7. 401: Small Victories (Part 2 of 2) A Great followup on the Replicators...Love the "O'Neill".
8. 404: Crossroads Great Teal'c episode...sets up much of the season's underlying plot with the Tok'ra.
9. 414: Serpent's Venom visually stunning episode. Fun too.
10. 407: Watergate Didn't need Deanna Troi...but still a unique mission.
11. 415: Chain Reaction DON'T ^#$( WITH HAMMOND, BABY!
12. 416: 2010 When everyone else has gone to sleep...JACK IS ON THAT WALL FOR ME!
13. 412: Tangent I think this episode would have been better with some more jokes...it's very "science heavy" and then gets bleak...some jokes would've helped make it more enjoyable.
14. 418: The Light Kind of a "early season" premise...but not bad.
15. 421: Double Jeopardy Dealing with Cronus was good...Duplicate arc closed.
16. 417: Absolute Power Daniel behaving un-Daniel like...surprise!
17. 408: The First Ones I love the set up for the Chaka arc...but not the best episode itself.
18. 402: The Other Side Odo is scum...interesting premise though. Great ending.
19. 409: Scorched Earth I used to really like this one...but it gets old fast.
20. 411: Point of No Return Similar to the Chaka arc...love the introduction to the further stories...but not the best episode itself.
21. 413: The Curse Another "small world" concept...sheesh.
22. 420: Entity Carter possessed by Alien Again! This time goes Stephen Hawking for effect! *hurl*

 

I'm a bit late but here's my Season 1

1. There But For the Grace of God (Alternate dimension stuff always gets me)
2. Torment of the Tantalus
3. Children of the Gods
4. Thor?s Hammer (Norse mythology!)
5. Cold Lazarus
6. Within the Serpent?s Grasp
7. Enigma
8. Brief Candle
9. Tin Man
10. Solitudes
11. The First Commandment
12. Bloodlines
13. Emancipation
14. Cor-ai
15. Fire and Water
16. The Broca Divide
17. Politics
18. Hathor (This isn't last, because Hathor was smoking)
19. The Nox (For some reason I've never really cared for the Nox)
20. The Enemy Within
21. Singularity

 

welcome to the party!

Interesting list...certainly shows that their is wide range of interests from episode to episode amongst the fans.

I'll post my season 5 ranks sometime next week, hopefully.