Product Description
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The final Season comes to DVD! In season 10, Vala, a former
Goa'uld host turned freedom-fighter, joins SG-1 in their battle
to defend the galaxy from the holy war of the Ori. Meanwhile,
relations between the Jaffa and Earth continue to be strained. It
all comes to a sizzling end on the finale.
.com
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If this five-disc, 20-episode, tenth season set really is the
end of Stargate SG-1--and considering the number of reprieves the
show has already had and the rumors of various movie spin-offs,
not to mention the fact that the final installment is entitled
"Unending," who knows?--then the folks responsible for this
durable sci-fi series can be proud that they finished it off in
style, with a run of episodes that are for the most part highly
entertaining, exciting, and fun, offering resolution if not
complete closure. And if sharks were jumped, at least they were
small ones. As was the case in Season 9, and to a large extent in
Season 8 as well, original series star Richard Dean Anderson is
little in evidence here. Portraying Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell,
Ben Browder, who came to Stargate SG-1 from the underrated
Farscape, is now entrenched as leader of SG-1, the Stargate
project's ace team in the field, joining series veterans Amanda
Tapping, Christopher Judge, and Michael Shanks (as Samantha
Carter, Teal'c, and Daniel Jackson, respectively). Most notably,
fellow Farscape alum Claudia Black has an ever-expanding role as
Vala, whose cheeky wit and irreverence bring a consistent spark
to the proceedings. The big, bad villains known as Ori are back
as well. We still can't see them--they are, after all, "ascended
beings," represented by the blind, monk-like Priors, who roam the
universe intoning "Hallowed are the Ori" and ensuring that all
will submit to their will (the element of y religious
fanaticism remains as relevant as ever). But the Ori are also
still the most implacable, irresistible force our heroes have
ever encountered; nothing less than the e of the entire galaxy
is at stake (again)! And now there's an added twist: the Ori have
a frontwoman, if you will, whose powers make the Priors look like
pikers. Known as Adria (or "the Orici" to believers), this
beautiful young woman (played by Morena Baccarin) also happens to
be the daughter of Vala, whom the Ori chose to bring their demon
seed into the world; the uneasy (to say the least) Adria-Vala
relationship provides many intriguing moments. On the minus side,
the show tends to break its own rules (for instance, for a
character who's supposed to be invincible, Adria often seems
awfully, well, vincible), and the commingling of Arthurian
legend, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian myth, magic, and other sources
is occasionally over-the-top, even for this franchise. Some
episodes are plot-heavy, bogged down by too many characters (past
bad guys like the Goa'uld, and Ba'al reappear, as do several
Stargate Atlantis principals in one episode) or excessive
techno-rap about time dilation fields, flux capacitors, and
something called the Clava Thessara Infinitas (don't ask).
Episodes in which the writers move away from the central Ori
theme are less than stellar; "200" exists mostly as an
rtunity to make fun of the TV business and is as irrelevant
and silly as "Citizen Joe," the worst episode from Season 8. And
finally, without revealing details, suffice to say that
"Unending," which offers a possible e for our heroes before
totally pulling its punches, may frustrate some longtime
adherents. By and large, though, Stargate SG-1 has all the
elements--humor, action, great effects, good story-telling and
acting, characters you care about--to more than justify its
ten-year run. It will be missed. Special features are again
bountiful, including audio commentary on all episodes, various
featurettes, and five "directors series" entries devoted to
particular episodes. --Sam Graham