Customer Reviews

Stargate SG-1: Season 2

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Season Two is by far the best - the 'jewel in the crown' being Episode, '1969' - worth the price of the entire DVD! An absolute panic to watch for those of us growing up in the 1970s. Gee, so this is what our parents were up to! Richard Dean Anderson makes this show - in his - like totally groovy 'skin.' Nuff Said.

When we last left Our Heroes, they were on Apophis' ship, facing the impending destruction and/or enslavement of everyone on Earth.

So unsurprisingly, the second season of "Stargate SG-1" can only get better from there on. In fact, this is when the clever, innovative sci-fi series really started to gel together, with more intriguing storylines, character arcs, and some new alien allies -- basically, it all blooms.

Intending to blow up Apophis' ship, our heroes get captured by the Jaffa and thrown in a cell -- only to be unexpectedly rescued by Bra'tac (Tony Amendola), Teal'c's old teacher. As Earth mounts a pitiful defense against the Goa'uld, SG-1 joins with a small band of rebel Jaffa to stop Apophis' invasion -- but they may have to leave one of their number behind.

Obviously the Goa'uld make things awkward throughout the season, with the second episode featuring Sam (Amanda Tapping) being possessed by a Goa'uld during a rescue mission -- but it seems that it's part of a rebel Goa'uld faction called the Tok'ra. Teal'c's (Christopher Judge) son is kidnapped and brainwashed, and Daniel (Michael Shanks) finds that his beloved wife is pregnant with Apophis' child.

And of course, SG-1 has to deal with lots of other stuff -- insectile transformations, black holes, prison planets, Native American "spirits," invisible bugs, hostile alien orbs, reliving their most traumatic memories in a VR world, and time traveling to 1969. And O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) gets an ancient repository of knowledge downloaded into his head -- and he'll die if they can't reverse it.

"Stargate SG-1" really got into its stride in the second season -- the basic Air-Force-versus-evil-headsnakes story gets expanded out into a bunch of arcs. We get new villains, some surprising new allies, hints about the true origins of the Stargates and the human race, and corrupt factions on Earth who use the spare Stargate for evil ends.

The writing gets even steadier and the alien worlds more interesting -- even stuff that sounds goofy, like the planet of singing mushroom-people, somehow works. The drama is stronger, and the sci-fi usage of the Stargate ever more creative, such as when a black hole's gravity well keeps the gate open, and is slowly sucking Earth through the wormhole. Good, tense stuff.

Of course, all the action and sci-fi is heavily tempered with comedy. Even in grim situations, there's usually at least a few funny moments, such as Daniel's tour of the custodial closet. And of course, the dialogue is priceless -- most of the good stuff comes from O'Neill ("That's between you and your god. Oh, wait a minute! You are your god! That's a problem"), but Teal'c ("In my culture, I would be well within my rights to dismember you") and the others usually get some good ones as well.

Of the main cast, Amanda Tapping gets the juiciest role in this season -- Sam deals with the impending death of her father, becoming a Goa'uld host, and trying to deal with the feelings it left behind. Including a cute Tok'ra boyfriend. Yet when we see Sam's vulnerable sides, Tapping never lets her character be anything but a strong, capable military woman.

But the other actors aren't neglected -- Shanks' Daniel grapples with the news that his wife is pregnant with Apophis' baby, while Teal'c faces losing his entire family. Anderson is brilliant as the quirky, capable O'Neill, but he really gets brilliant when Jack's brain is being overwritten -- he has to emote and communicate without a comprehensible word.

The second season of "Stargate SG-1" is where the story began to really get great, building up a series of strong story arcs, funny dialogue, and strong characters. Definitely a must-see.

Being a huge fan of Stargate SG-1 since the beginning, I had to purchase this season to add to my collection.

This show had a great idea to have a stargate that let's you travel through many dimensions and galaxies. The unusual storyline and cast is excellent! Whether you like sci-fi or not, this is fun to watch since it touches a lot of issues such as dealing with different kinds of nations and their beliefs, friendships, enemies, adventures and even comedy.

You will see the characters develop over time, the quirky unexpected humor, the use of an alien who doesn't fully understand human life on earth, the struggle of the oppressed, the lengths humans go in order to survive, politics and government bureaucracy.

This show is awsome on many different levels. On top of it all, they always keep the price very affordable. Money well spent.

Incredible follow up to its debut season. Every episode continues to build on a incredible legacy that Stargate SG-1 has now formed. Nearly all of the episodes in season 2 are worth watching with barely none making you ask yourself "what were the writers thinking?."

Episodes like "The Fifth Race" and "A Matter of Time" are incredibly original and enjoyable to watch. "1969" is a time travel story with a twist and one of the most memorable of the season.

For a show in its second season it did extremely well compared to some star trek shows' whose second season's were an incredible bore at times.

The only gripe I have is about the packaging i wouldn't have minded paying a little more for some fancier packaging and special features.

Otherwise...Awesome Show!...Great Price!...A Classic in the Making!

I'll save the same for every single season... richard dean anderson is the life of the show. Love it.

I love every season of SG1, but season 2 was hands down the best. The thing that makes SG1 better than all other SciFi is continuity. The story lines are far reaching and many of the best story lines started in Season. In fact, I am looking at the episodes of season 2 and I believe every single on is contunued or refered to in future episodes. What an amazing series from just an OK movie.

The first season of Stargate: SG-1 was very good. It had good stories, but it also had great potential to become something better. Season 2 has begun to realize said potential. Many of the episodes this season expanded on ideas and arcs from the first season, as well as introducing new ideas, characters, and locations. For example, we meet Thor (in his true form), as well as some of the other Asguard, a powerful alliance with the Tok'Ra is formed, the NID storyline is taken in new directions, and we learn about the builders of the Stargate system as well as the origins of the intergalactic U.N. from the first season episode, "The Torment of Tantalus". We also meet some new Goa'uld system lords, as well as see the destruction of an old enemy.
The actors (Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Don S. Davis, and Teryl Rohtery) all grew in their roles as Col. Jack O'Neill, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Capt. Sam Carter, Teal'c, Gen. George Hammond, and Dr. Janet Frasier. Not only did they prove their worth as their own characters, some of them got the chance to play others as well in the episode, "Holdiay". I'm sure that Judge liked that one because he got to play O'Neill, who is Teal'c's polar opposite.
The storylines were improved this year (not that they were bad last year), with some great examples being: "The Serpent's Lair", "In the Line of Duty", "Prisoners", "Thor's Chariot", "Secrets", "The Tok'Ra, Pts. 1 and 2", "Spirits", "Touchstone", "A Matter of Time", "The Fifth Race", "Serpent's Song", "Holiday", "1969", and "Out of Mind". There were a few groaners, such as "One False Step", but overall, this was an awesome season.

Season 2 of stargate sg1 picks up were season 2 left off and brings even more memorable episodes like 1969 where the team goes back in time and we get to see where the tok'ra were first introduced and THOR! =D and of course theirs several 2 part episodes and the whole series this season is pretty much hard to stop watching - I knocked this whole season out in 2 days only because I didn't buy it till after lunch that first day -

Technical aspects of this wonderful series

16x9 video looks so sweet on my widescreen high def TV!
Little grain and great detail.

The audio was upgraded from season 1 to 5.1 Dolby digital and trust me when the ships fly passed you you'll notice! The sound effects are just amazing throughout this whole series and truly make my speakers shine.

All in all stargate is an amazing show and is now the second longest running sci-fi show ever (second to only x-files) and the DVD transfers are great. Only compliant is not enough extras! Give us some documentaries!

As I noted in my Season 1 review, I had to watch this series in bits and pieces until (a) these DVD sets came out and (b) SCI-FI Channel picked up the series and delivered it to the masses.

Season 2 REALLY reveals a lot more of the important plot lines which, thankfully, have been faithfully carried through Season 7 (or 8 -- SCI-FI really messes with season numbers). You will absolutely benefit from watching this set from start to finish, as it will reveal the To'kra relationship from the beginning, including the introduction of Sam Carter's father (who takes on a To'kra as a carrier). The episode from the 60s is great too (EVERY sci-fi series has a time travel episode or two, right?!).

I have not yet had a chance to look over the DVD featurettes, but I can tell you that having 5.1 surround sound on this set is MUCH BETTER than with Season 1. I tried out Season 1 on my new Sony HTIB system (5.1/DTS/Dolby Digital -- nothing fancier than a standard HTIB), and I was really hating the fact that it didn't have surround sound. The Season 2 set has Dolby Digital compliance, I believe, and it sounds much richer.

I will note that the 5.1 effects are NOT "woosh - bam - whizz" sweet like in recent DVDs like T3 or Finding Nemo. You really cannot HEAR the effects of bullets or staff weapons moving behind you. I've checked all the discs and my HTIB, and it just seems to be that the DVDs are encoded 5.1 but without any tremendous directional effects.

Ain't it great that the content makes up for the lack of sound effects? On to Season 3!

Stargate seems to be of the hit or miss, love it or hate it variety. Well, I love it, baby! The intiresting plotline which threads through each of the seasons is intriguing and fun at the same time. Combined with the great acting of Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks, Christopher Judge, Amanda Tapping, etc, this season exemplifies some of the finest episodes yet put together.