Sun 11 Aug 2013
A TV Review by Mike Tooney: STARGATE SG-1 “Collateral Damage” (2006).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , TV Science Fiction & Fantasy[7] Comments
“Collateral Damage.” From Stargate SG-1: Season 9, Episode 12 (185th of 214 installments). First aired: 13 January 2006. Regular cast: Ben Browder (Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell), Amanda Tapping (Lt. Col. Samantha Carter), Christopher Judge (Teal’c), Beau Bridges (Major General Hank Landry), Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson), Gary Jones (Chief Mst. Sgt. Walter Harriman). Guest cast: Anna Galvin (Dr. Reya Varrick), Warren Kimmel (Dr. Marell), Benson Simmonds (Dr. Amuro), Ian Robison (Frank Mitchell), William Atherton (Emissary Varta). Writers: Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie. Director: William Waring.
Our galaxy is on the verge of complete destruction, as a race of super-powerful beings called the Ori equipped with hypertechnology have begun their campaign to force all sentient beings to succumb to their will or be exterminated . . .
. . . but you’ll see none of that in this particular show. Instead, “Collateral Damage” is one of those series episodes which back away from the main story arc to do a little character building. The character being built in this case is Colonel Mitchell. He is, in fact, the focus of the entire show.
Mitchell and his SG-1 team are on another planet trying to establish diplomatic relations in hopes of stopping the Ori advance. These people have developed an educational device which could drastically reduce learning times — and its potential for military use against the invasion isn’t lost on the Earthmen.
The very first scene, a flashback, however, shows Mitchell committing a cold-blooded murder and being arrested for it. The victim is the very research scientist who developed the learning device, only to have it taken away from her by her government — specifically, by the military. Mitchell is sympathetic to her situation, and it isn’t long before he and this woman become romantically involved.
The next morning the SG-1 team is informed that the colonel has been taken into custody, with the victim’s blood on him, his fingerprints on the murder weapon, and a confession on his lips.
Although Mitchell instinctively knows better, he must reluctantly admit that he remembers killing her, but his hosts want only to send him back home to Earth. Incensed, he stubbornly refuses their offer to sweep the whole disruptive thing under the rug and demands the matter be cleared up, one way or another.
Exactly how the crime was committed and how well the actual killer’s identity is submerged will come to light only when, in a nice bit of irony, the victim’s learning machine is employed to ferret out the real murderer.
The whole plot of this show is an ingenious riff on detective fiction’s Golden Age trope of “the least likely suspect,” and in this instance could only be played out in a science fictional setting.
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IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0709060/
Transcript with SPOILERS: http://www.gateworld.net/sg1/s9/transcripts/912.shtml
And here is a review by someone who didn’t like it, also with a SPOILER alert:
http://www.gateworld.net/sg1/s9/reviews/912.shtml
August 12th, 2013 at 9:01 pm
I was a long time follower of this series when the main character was Jack O’Neill, played by Richard Dean Anderson. Previously, I had followed him in the short-lived series “Legend” where he played a dime novel writer. Oddly enoough, I never saw an episode of “MacGyver” until after it went into syndication. Stargate SG-1 is aired on Sundays on ThisTv and I had begun catching up on episodes missed that way or on DVD. I have often found the standalone episodes like “Collateral Damage” to be more satisfying than those that belong to the main story arc.
August 12th, 2013 at 9:32 pm
I seem to have stopped watching the show while Richard Dean Anderson was still the star, and I’m not sure why, since I remember enjoying it. Perhaps though, once I stopped for whatever reason there was at the time, there wasn’t enough oomph to it to get me started again.
I’ve never see any of the Ben Browder episodes, although this certainly sounds like an interesting one.. I enjoyed Farscape, the earlier Sci-Fi series Browder was in, a whole lot more, but I never watched that to the end either. Maybe there’s something wrong with me.
August 12th, 2013 at 11:10 pm
No Steve, there is nothing wrong with you. I suffer from the same affliction and often start off watching shows with enthusiasm but then after awhile I lose interest and stop watching. I’ve wondered about this and I think it’s because of a number of reasons.
First of all, I eventually become jaded with many TV series and after awhile I may even start hating the characters and plots. An example was the show 30 SOMETHING, which lasted 4 seasons. At first the show interested me alot and I could identify with the plots and characters. But by the end of the show I actually hated practically everyone in the show.
I also started off watching FARSCAPE, BABYLON 5 and STARGATE. I can’t say I ended up hating them but I did stop watching them.
In addition to becoming jaded, the shows themselves often are at fault by simply going on and on and on. As long as the ratings justify it, they will beat the subject to death and eventually I say “Ok, enough!”
There are exceptions. So far I like BREAKING BAD but I’m glad it’s ending now. I like HELL ON WHEELS, an excellent western and JUSTIFIED. I can recommend THE WIRE and HOMICIDE, LIFE ON THE STREETS. But every series hits a sell by date where they should wind it up and end things. And quite a few shows go beyond the sell by date and end up exasperating the viewer.
I guess at 71 I’ve seen a hell of alot of films and read alot. I’m now looking for the unusual, the different and the quality show. Just being ok doesn’t cut it for me and I want to see and read exceptional films and books. I guess I’ve been this way for many years now.
August 13th, 2013 at 10:14 am
Though the addition of Browder and Claudia Black from FARSCAPE to the STARGATE SG-1 cast did seem to rejuvenate that series for a while. (Or at least my interest, in part because I do enjoy watching Black work.)
August 13th, 2013 at 10:58 am
Seasons 9 and 10 of SG-1 are essentially a different series from the easrlier seasons even with a handful of members from the original cast. I find that watching the episodes in the correct sequence and not skipping any (as often happened when I watched them over the air) has helped me to make some of it make more sense this time around. The 200th episode where they lampoon everything about the series is not to be missed. In case you wonder which one that is it is just called “200.”
August 13th, 2013 at 11:05 am
Equally effective is “Ripple Effect” in which an alternate reality sends clones of the SG-1 team through the gate every 10 minutes until you can’t tell who is real and who is not. The scene with a room filled with Samantha Carters is a hoot.
August 13th, 2013 at 12:19 pm
Sounds like a must see!