Stargate SG-1--"Cure"

I am not certain what to make of “Cure.” The premise--a newly contacted alien race has a mitracle cure all they are willing to share--has to wind up a dud by the conclusion. Since we already know that is going to happen, the journey there has to be the interesting part. The journey in this case revolves around the mythology of the Tok’ra. Maybe I am not geeky enough to care much, but the trip to the predictable end is not much of a thrill.

The SG-1 team visits Pangar, a planet of humans who enjoy perfect health and are willing to trade the miracle cure all for stargate addresses. The Panger have a dark secret, however--the cure is derived from what is believed to be a captured Goa’uld queen whom they have been forcing to make offspring for over fifty years. After a Panger is accidentally blened with a symbiote, SG-1 call on the Tok’ra for help removing it. After further digging, it is discovered the queen is not Goa’uld, but Tok’ra.

The Tok’ra demand she be freed so her symbiotes can repopulate their race, the Panger refuse. If the people who have been taking the cure stop, they will all die. The queen herself is now dying, as well. In recent years, she has been pumping out defective symbiotes to make the cure more ineffective in the hopes the Panger would stop using it. As her dying act, she devises an antidote so those who have to stop taking the cure may live on.

I am really not all that interested. There is nothing to ‘Cure” other than the revelation the queen is Tok’ra, not Goa’uld. Her true identity has implications for the Tok’ra--had she survived, their dwindling numbers could be replaced--but I cannot muster much of an emotional response about it. It does not hwlp the tok’ra involved do not get as fired up about the desperate situation as one would expect. It is not like they can just get another queen. It means their near genocide if they do not, but they seem about as upset as watching an old family pet being pit to sleep.

For about two minutes, there are hints of a budding romance between Jonas and a woman named Zenna. Since she is only marginally involved in the story, the romance subplot means very little. Perhaps even less so considering Jonas is not a character who has reached out and grabbed the audience yet. He has not grabbed me, at least. He is steal talking about that freaking bomb his people built. But at least he has stopped talking about Daniel’s sacrifice.

The Panger are kind of cool with their combination of 19th century style of dress and 21st century technology. It is not exactly steampunk, but it is a neat approximation. the atmosphere reminds me of Firefly.

You have to be absorbed into the Tok’ra’s story in order to like “Cure.” Unfortunately, I am not as intrigued as I need to be in order to appreciate it. There is nothing to the episode secret unraveling the mystery, and if you do not care, it is not for you. Perhaps if the Jonas/Zenna romance had been more well executed. Would have, could have, should have. I have to rate what is on the screen.

Rating: ** (out of 5)