Stargate SG-1 (Season 4)

At this point, Stargate SG-1 has settled into being a bit of a comfort show. It rarely blows me away and never surpasses my favorite sci-fi series but the likable cast and breezy feel make it an easy watch. It also helps that each season has been improving on the one that came before it and Season 4 only continues that steady climb in quality. 

Season 4 of Stargate SG-1 has a strong sense of dread to it. Both SG-1 and Apophis spend much of the season preparing for what seems like an increasingly inevitable war, between the former spending more time with the Tok'ra and the latter killing off System Lords to take their armies. Because of this focus on building up to a big event, Season 4 doesn't have too much in the way of an overarching story, but the payoff in the finale definitely makes it worth it. There are still plenty of solid subplots in the background, though, like the Russians getting a Stargate after the battle with the Replicators or the purposefully obstructive Tok'ra scientist Anise. The only running storyline I didn't really like is the heavy increase on romantic storylines between O'Neill and Sam. I don't dislike the idea of giving SG-1 a romantic subplot, but it felt like it came out of nowhere only to get multiple consecutive episodes dealing with it (Divide And Conquer, Window Of Opportunity, Beneath The Surface). 

Where Season 4 lacks in plot, it actually manages to make up for with a surprisingly solid lineup of standalone episodes. There may not be as many hits as Season 3 had, but there also aren't really any low points. From fun high concept episodes like Upgrades and Window Of Opportunity, to more intellectual fare like The Other Side and Tangent, to character-driven episodes like Divide And Conquer and Chain Reaction, it feels like SG-1 finally found a formula that works for them. The one-offs in this season are fun, varied, and consistently entertaining, not relying on aping Star Trek or the same trope all over again. My one gripe here is the fact that the season kinda runs out of steam near the end, the last few episodes are easily the weakest of the bunch, but even then, they still don't reach the lows of Seasons 1-3. And of course, the aforementioned finale makes up for it.

Highlights:

Window Of Opportunity: Window Of Opportunity is one of the weakest time-loop episodes I've seen yet. Of course, that's an incredibly high bar and it's still the best episode of Stargate so far by a longshot. O'Neill and Teal'c are easily the show's most successful pairing and it feels like the writers realized it this season because this episode is almost exclusively those two. The iconic "do anything in a time loop" feels like RDA and Judge riffing and goofing off, and it's great.

Chain Reaction: I really like the NID stuff, because of course our government would prioritize getting weapons and literally nothing else. Chain Reaction shows the NID at their most ruthless though, as they threaten Hammond's family to get him to retire. Thankfully, it leads to a fun buddy cop-esque teamup between O'Neill and Maybourne, an even more crippling defeat for the NID than last season's, and an encapsulation of why Hammond is such an important part of the SG-1 team.

2010: Bad future episodes usually tend to take place in a grim post-apocalyptic setting where everything's edgy and destroyed. 2010, on the other hand, takes the approach of showing off a false utopia, a future that seems bright and happy at first only to have that facade slowly pulled away throughout the episode. It's a super fresh concept that we rarely get to see from this type of episode, and it lets us witness both a potential happy ending and a potential tragic ending for SG-1's fight with the Goa'uld at the same time.

Exodus: Blowing up a goddamn sun is the coolest thing SG-1 has ever done, bar none. Exodus is pure spectacle and it makes for easily the best finale so far. It helps that it also has the best cliffhanger so far, between Teal'c potentially dying, and SG-1 being flung into another galaxy with Apophis.

Overall, Season 4 is definitely the strongest season so far, with a strong build-up to a great finale and plenty of consistently fun and creative standalone episodes. While it has its weak points like the romantic subplot and a rough final few episodes, this was yet another big improvement for Stargate SG-1.

4/5 Stars