Stargate SG-1--"Prometheus"

“Prometheus” is a nifty, action oriented episode in which Sgc finally becomes space faring. With the introduction of the title ship. There is yet again another vibe running throughout that the story is designed to wrap up dangling plot threads from the Showtime era. In this case, col. Frank Simmons and Adrian Conrad/Goa’uld meet their fates. ’Prometheus’ is considered the first part of a two part story, but considering how its tying up of loose ends has little to do with thor arriving to request help in defeating the Relicators, one wonders how dubious the connection between the two episodes is.

Julia Donovan, a journal who will become a recurring character throughout the rest of the series, catches a tip the government has built a spaceship using alien technology. She knows enough for the president to pull strings and get the story cancelled, but in order to find out who Donovan’s leak is, SGC agrees to give her a tour of the facility and ship in exchange for revealing her source. The plan is to destroy all evidence of Donovan’s story once her source has been exposed.

The SGC gets double-crossed before it can double-cross Donovan. Her film crew turns out to be rogue NID agents who hold everyone on board Prometheus--that would be Sam, Jonas, and Donovan--and threaten to blow it up unless col. Frank Simmons and Adrian Conrad/Goa’uld are brought to them. The two are, and thanks to Adrian Conrad/Goa’uld’s special knowledge, they get the ship hyper drive up and running.

Jack and Teal’c sneak onboard using one of the Death Gliders swiped from Anubis before the Prometheus engages its hyper drive. With sam’s help, they overpower the skeleton crew which has already been softened up by Adrian conrad/Goa’uld’s desire to get ri of them and take the ship for himself. In a move that should not surprise anyone, Simmons is blendeed with the Goa’uld after he kills Adrian conrad. From the briefest of moments, it looks like Teal’c has run into an opponent he can defeat, but he gets his rear end handed to him. Jack success spaces Simmons/Goa’uld. It is a much more fitting end than his simply being arrested like last time.

Alas, Sam has no bearings on where they are, so she cannot plot a course back to Earth. Thor shows up, seemingly to save the day, but in reality to request help. The Replicators have overrun the Asgard homeworld. To be continued…

Julia Donovan is played by Kendall Cross. Cross had a minor roll in Snakes on a Plane in 2006. Although that is four years after “Prometheus,’ one cannot help but be amused of Adrian Conrad’s Goa’uld, essentially a snake, hijacking the Prometheus. Snakes on a Spaceship, folks. One of the hijackers reveals they want the ship because an ancient tablet maybourne’s rogue NID team’s stole told of a large cache of weapons hidden somewhere…out there. This may be the first reference to Atlantis. Or it could be a throeaway line. I have no idea at this point.

“Prometheus” is fun and exciting. I enjoyed the sense of high adventure without any Tok’ra or Jaffa politics involved or heady moral issues. Simmons and Adrian Conrad/Goa’uld got a much better send off than what went before. I am especially happy to see simmons go out in a blaze. John de Lancie beautifully with a far less over the top menace than that Star Trek he is more famous for playing. I dig the cliffhanger, too. You have to love the promise of more Asgard and Replicators. “Prometheus” does a fine job as an episode on its own, which is more than you usually get from the beginning of a two episode story.

Rating: *** (out of 5)