Stargate SG-1 went off the air in 2007. Two TV movies, which aired on SyFy and remain available for purchase on DVD, soon followed. And while SG-1 was accompanied by Stargate Atlantis, which bowed in ’09, and the short-lived Stargate Universe, which lasted just two seasons and exited the airwaves in ’11, it’s safe to say that to this day it’s the flagship show that gets the most praise overall. And that makes sense — with 214 episodes and the aforementioned TV movies, the show’s writers had time to explore myriad facets of this intriguing setting. Narrowing down 10 unforgettable episodes is a daunting prospect, so naturally, I’m doing it.
Before We Begin
Before our formal start, allow me to pen a couple of quick notes here. First, I’ll be ordering these chronologically, so it isn’t a ranking list. It can rightly be argued that these are, in one author’s opinion, the 10 best outings. But they’re all equally precious in their own right. They are 10 Stargate SG-1 episodes that cannot be forgotten — because they’re good! — and that’s all that needs to be said.
One more thing. If you’re new to Stargate SG-1, don’t treat this as any kind of curated list. While it can be argued that there are some episodes new viewers can skip, the vast majority of them play together to forge a tantalizing number of years-long subplots. This wasn’t exactly as serialized a series as, say, Battlestar Galactica, but it’s far more arc-based than it seems early on. My advice? Watch them all.
10.) Season 1: “The Torment of Tantalus”
It’s easy to forget that SG-1 started as a direct sequel to the 1994 film starring Kurt Russell and James Spader. I was but a wee lad when the show started, so I’m not sure how film fans initially reacted to the roles of Jack O’Neill and Daniel Jackson being recast, but as far as I’m concerned Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks hit it out of the park from the get-go. Of course, since the show was only just starting, the writers needed to pay homage to the movie so that their work felt properly connected.
Enter “Torment of Tantalus,” the first episode of Stargate SG-1 that is truly unforgettable. The ten episodes that precede it range from solid to dreadful, but this one brings back Dr. Jackson’s dear friend Catherine Langford in a story that is at turns heartwarming and gut-wrenching. What makes “The Torment of Tantalus” tick is how important it is to the overall Stargate mythos; the “meaning of life stuff” Daniel comes upon is the first step in a long journey toward countless revelations about humanity’s place in the cosmos.
9.) Season 2: “The Fifth Race”
Long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe cemented mainstream minds with the notion of Thor being a brawny Chris Hemsworth — though admittedly long after Stan Lee conceived of the hunky man in comic form — Stargate SG-1 creators Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner envisioned the thundering lad as the little grey alien you see above. I can’t say he’s as hot as Hemsworth, but I promise you he’s smart and sassy. Episode after episode, SG-1 Thor is an unforgettable delight.
Stargate SG-1‘s Jack O’Neill is sarcastic, witty, utilitarian, and straight to the point. He’s stalwart and determined but cracks jokes like they’re going out of style and doesn’t care nearly as much as Daniel about solving the riddles of the universe. In short, he’s a terrific leader, but hardly who you’d typically want to have the collective wisdom of an advanced alien race implanted into his head. For much of “The Fifth Race,” O’Neill is going nuts, and Anderson sells it well. But when the crazed Jack realizes what he needs to do, what follows is another of Stargate SG-1‘s most iconic moments: humanity’s first meeting with the Asgard, an ancient species whose guidance (and tough love) will prove invaluable for the remainder of the franchise.
8.) Season 2: “1969”
You know, the weirdest thing about time is that it keeps on keepin’ on. Stargate SG-1‘s fittingly unforgettable 1960s episode, “1969,” originally aired in 1999. The writers of ’99 were having fun with what was three decades in their past. Weirdly, if you’re reading this article in 2021 you’re living in a world when 1999 is nearly as far away. Read it years from now and it will only get stranger.
What I’m trying to say is that”1969″ is a time capsule within a time capsule. And in that regard, it works almost as well as Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. But almost as well as Star Trek IV still means damn impressive. We get to see the team let their hair down, figuratively and in some cases literally. We watch Jack fit right in because this was the decade of his upbringing; Daniel’s wide-eyed wonder also works, and Samantha Carter impresses the locals because she’s a scientific genius and a career-minded woman at a time when that was less common. Teal’c, of course, steals the show; just look at that screenshot and try not to laugh.
7.) Season 3: “Jolinar’s Memories”/”The Devil You Know”
Yes, I am listing two-parters together. Go on, sue me. (Please do not sue me. I promise you I’m not worth the effort.) One of the few true weaknesses of Stargate SG-1 is that its typically all-male writing staff seldom knew what to do with series heroine Samantha Carter other than hooking her up with people, because you know, 1990s television and all. And technically, that’s still the case with her bizarre pseudo-past-life connection to a Tok’ra named Jolinar (it’s a sci-fi thing, just roll with it), but at least in this case it’s meaningful and drives the plot forward.
And boy, does it ever. The third season’s double whammy, “Jolinar’s Memories” and “The Devil You Know,” pits SG-1 against a recurring antagonist named Sokar only for them to discover that their former nemesis, Apophis, is back on the block and scarier than ever. The set design is suitably hellish and Apophis’ long-running actor, Peter Williams, turns in his best performance. By the end of the story, the Stargate SG-1 core narrative has shifted extensively and every character has been put through the wringer in this unforgettable episode. Er, episodes.
6.) Season 4: “Window of Opportunity”
I generally refrain from making judgmental statements, but if you’re a Stargate SG-1 diehard and you don’t rank “Window of Opportunity” highly, I don’t know you. As the series goes on, its writers and actors realize that it’s often at its zenith when humor is injected liberally into its scripts and performances. The result is several full-fledged comedy outings, although “Window of Opportunity” isn’t necessarily one of them — the center struggle is about a relatable antagonist who keeps resetting time’s clock because he misses his deceased wife and the resolution involves Jack leveling with the guy about the death of his son and the need to move on.
Sounds rough, right? But there’s something clever afoot. Jack and Teal’c have no choice but to relive the same daily cycle dozens, if not hundreds, of times to learn an alien language bit by bit, thereafter relying on the dozens, if not hundreds, of Daniels and Sams to help them break the cycle. But this isn’t Trek, and yet another unforgettable episode of Stargate SG-1 makes that patently clear. Rather than facing the crisis entirely professionally, Jack and Teal’c use their excess “time” to juggle, to play golf directly into the open Stargate, and in Jack’s case even to admit his feelings toward Sam (something that, much to the chagrin of a certain portion of the fandom, never happens in full otherwise).
“Window of Opportunity” is funny, then it’s sad, then it’s funny, then it’s hilarious, then it’s wacko, then it’s sad all over again, and in true Stargate fashion, it ends with more fun.
5.) Season 5: “Meridian”
It’s 2002. Showtime’s five-season run for Stargate SG-1 is nearly at its end. Daniel’s actor, Michael Shanks, is thinking of moving on even though the Sci-Fi Channel has picked the show up for at least one more season. (In the final telling, they ended up producing five seasons, just like Showtime.) What better way for Daniel to go out than doing something good and paying the price for it, but in so doing, quite literally ascending human form? His soul, so to speak, thus moves on into the great unknown and he’s given a one-way ticket to learning all that “meaning of life” stuff firsthand.
Of course, Daniel returns (with Shanks still in the role) not just twice in the sixth season but full-time for the remainder of the show’s run. Yet “Meridian” is an unforgettable enough episode of Stargate SG-1 that it still manages to land with us emotionally even despite later plot developments. I’m mentioning Star Trek too many times for what is ostensibly an article about Stargate, but it’s a little like how Spock’s death in The Wrath of Khan still hits us even though he returns in the following movie.
And that good thing that Daniel does, that lands him in such a physically fatal situation? It’s a savvy way to introduce his temporary cast replacement, Corin Nemec’s Jonas Quinn.
4.) Season 7: “Heroes Part 1” and “Heroes Part 2”
Stargate SG-1 is hardly the only geeky drama to do an episode in which a documentary crew films the main characters for some sort of feature production. It’s smart writing to occasionally examine a long-running story from an entirely fresh perspective, after all. Hugo-award-winning “Heroes” starts innocently enough; Saul Rubinek’s intentionally annoyingly written journalist Emmett Bregman shows up unwelcome to film the team’s missions and day-to-day life so that one day when the Stargate Project is made public, the world can see these heroes firsthand. But he’s pushy, he’s a braggart, he’s flirtatious, and he irritates Jack so much he won’t even go near the guy.
And then everything flips and we’re suddenly watching a heavily emotional farewell to the character of Janet Fraser, Stargate SG-1‘s chief physician for most of its run. Her death, in the line of duty, not only leads to several stellar scenes as the SG-1 team breaks down in an appreciably realistic fashion, but it even softens Bregman into realizing the true weight of the world these people carry on their shoulders. Even the music knows when to call it quits; composer Joel Goldsmith’s soundtrack grinds to a halt for much of the second part, giving “Heroes” a vibe that feels strangely modern all these years later.
3.) Season 8: “Threads”
It’s 2005. Stargate SG-1 has lasted a whopping eight seasons. Star Richard Dean Anderson has been notably less present of late as he seeks ways to spend more time with his family. (Actors and actresses in long-running shows with such taxing filming schedules are naturally going to want to step back over time.) It feels like the right place to close things out, and though the producers (thankfully) elected to move forward with a revamped continuation instead, that doesn’t stop the last five episodes of season 8 from feeling like a wild ride and ultimately a beautiful coda to all that came before.
“Threads” is the speculative meat sandwiched between two thick slices of hearty bread that couldn’t taste more different from each other if they tried. There’s the first piece of bread; “Reckoning, Parts 1 and 2” wraps up major arcs in spectacularly explosive fashion. And then there’s the second; “Moebius, Parts 1 and 2,” tell a fun alternate-reality tale that concludes with the most meaningful fishing scene in sci-fi history. “Threads” wraps up the more character-centric arcs that “Reckoning” is too dynamite to handle. Each of the main protagonists deals with their own sobering journey, though Daniel’s is the one with the most weight to it.
Picture it: a 1950s-style cafe that happens to be the ultimate battleground between the forces of good and evil. A self-conscious and irreverent newspaper keeps a troubled archaeologist apprised of galaxy-shaking events. It’s all a bit much in true SG-1 fashion, but it hits the list as an unforgettable episode smack dab in the middle of chapters that are almost as golden.
2.) Season 10: “200”
Fans are of split opinions on the last two seasons of SG-1. With the show’s constant threat, the Goa’uld, brought down low some felt as though Stargate SG-1 had run its course. The full-fledged departure of Richard Dean Anderson was sad but understandable; the arrival of Farscape star Ben Browder as Colonel Cameron Mitchell was odd but reasonable; and the new villains, the Ori, excited some viewers while boring others to tears. (For my money, I like them a lot, but I get that they’re far less individually entertaining.)
There’s a lot that I could say about the ninth and tenth seasons, and much of it would in fact be positive. Were this a top 50 list, you’d see a ton of representation from the relatively short-lived semi-reboot… thing… that these seasons represent. But we’re talking top 10 unforgettable Stargate SG-1 episodes, and next to the rest of these giants there is but one that stands as tall: “200.” It’s the show’s 200th episode (natch) and the increasingly lampshade-happy writers want to go big. Enter an absurdist in-universe TV pitch from recurring weirdo Martin Lloyd, who wants to revive a bad ripoff of the SG-1 team’s adventures. Now let loose all inhibitions and prepare for something that is as amusing as it is absurd.
There’s a segment that parodies Ben Browder and Claudia Black’s prolific years on Farscape. There’s a part with Teal’c as a film noir private detective. There’s a bunch of Wizard of Oz weirdness. There is — see above — a vaguely horrifying homage to Team America: World Police. (Whether or not it was supposed to be intentional is another question entirely.) There was almost a Gilligan’s Island sketch, but I guess we can’t always get what we want.
Love it or hate it, and I would suggest that you love it, “200” is an utterly unforgettable Stargate SG-1 episode.
1.) Stargate: Continuum
Hey, I think I might have cheated again? Stargate: Continuum is the second of the show’s two follow-up TV movies, after all. Does that count as an episode? Strictly speaking? No. Is it on this list anyway? Obviously.
Continuum had the freedom to do something fresh and fun because the first of the two TV movies, The Ark of Truth, wrapped up the Ori storyline in decent, if a tad rushed, fashion. (That’s what happens when your incredible ten-season run somehow manages to get canceled unexpectedly. Imagine. A decade of surviving the ax and then suddenly there comes the scythe. Stupid Sci-Fi Channel.) Ahem, I digress. Continuum! Right. So, Continuum technically resolves a different arc, that of fan-favorite Goa’uld mischief-maker Ba’al. Played by the late, great Cliff Simon, Ba’al was one part Loki, one part James Bond baddie, and at least three parts sexually motivating.
Stargate loves its time travel stories almost as much as it loves its alternate reality stories, so what better way to go out than with both? Continuum challenges Ben Browder with a narrative that finally gives Cameron more to chew on, but Daniel and Sam get plenty to work with as well. Jack is back, though he and Teal’c are from a parallel timeline; it’s up to Daniel, Sam, and Cameron to… well, not to kill Ba’al, but to irk Claudia Black’s stunningly evil Qetesh into killing Ba’al herself, then to run away as Teal’c blows Qetesh up alongside himself, then to warp to 1929, then to kill Ba’al in 1939.
Yeah, it’s crazy. It sounds convoluted, and maybe it is convoluted, but it’s a fantastic final chapter to the Stargate SG-1 logbook and a truly unforgettable episode.
Need More Trips Through the Gate?
For years, Stargate SG-1 creator Brad Wright has been working on a treatment for a new show that would be set in the same canon as SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe. He’s hopeful that Amazon’s recent purchase of MGM has occurred at least in part because of the inherent value of the decade-dormant Stargate brand name.
The fans, myself included, haven’t missed a beat. A new campaign is making the social media rounds to rally for Wright’s prospective continuation. Hop aboard with those hashtags if you’d like, and here’s hoping we get definitive news on the next chapter of the wonderful star franchise that is neither that one nor that other one. It exists just beneath them, but never count out the underdog.
…especially in a world where Mad About You of all things got a brief revival.