Posted By
Heather On 27 Dec 2009. Under
2008,
3 Stars (Fantastic),
Science Fiction,
SyFy Originals Tags: Amanda Tapping, Ba'al, Beau Bridges, Ben Browder, Brad Wright, Christopher Judge, Claudia Black, Cliff Simon, Colonel Cameron Mitchell, Colonel Carter, Continuum, Dan Shea, Daniel Jackson, Don S. Davis, Ga'ould, Gateworld, General George Hammond, General Hank Landry, General Jack O'Neill, Hammond Of Texas, Jaffa, Martin Wood, Michael Shanks, President Henry hayes, Qetesh, Richard Dean Anderson, Robert C. Cooper, SG-1, Sgt. Siler, Stargate, Stargate Command, Stargate Continuum, Teal'C, Time Travel, Vala Mal Doran, William Devane
Written By: Brad Wright and Jonathon Glassner
Staring: Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Ben Browder, Christopher Judge, Michael Shanks, Beau Bridges, Don S. Davis, Claudia Black, William Devane, Cliff Simon and Dan Shea
That is why we’ve come all this way. Why we had to endure all that singing. Get rid of the last bad guy, then there’s…cake. -General Jack O’Neill
Stargate Continuum was another success from my point of view in the Stargate DVD movie collection verse. That being said, I’m going to get my major criticism immediately out of the way. The Ark Of Truth did an excellent job closing up SG-1’s tenth season cliffhangers, but also evolving it on a much larger scale than a regular two part episode, but as BIG as Martin Wood promised Continuum to be, it simply wasn’t. It had all the feeling and best elements of a season three or four finale episode but it never translated into feature film epic. This is not an out and out complaint, but it was a little bit dejecting because it was built up so much by the director, producers, and Stargate community. That icky little criticism aside Continuum made for an nostalgic return to days of early SG-1.
Some of the most perplexing SG-1 episodes and years involved the paradox of time travel and the most fun villain ever on the show: Ba’al. Continuum took our favorite big bad and made him alter time, by returning to the past to make sure the Stargate program never began. I believe it was Season 8 where that future also happened and Oneill, Teal’C, Daniel Jackson, and Carter had been stuck back when “Ra” had enslaved humanity. A different version of SG-1 returned to help adjust what went wrong over those years. This similar concept but told in another way is what Continuum offered. No matter how many times Stargate touches on the complexities and possible universes from the time travel department, the possibilities leave an endless array of conceivable altered futures and pasts. Even when the ending is often predictable, it’s this comfort that makes the far fetched existences and plots that much more fun.
Who can complain if SG-1 is involved? No matter what they do together it’s the chemistry that the original four began that carried the show into the most successful science fiction series ever on television. Even with the replacement of O’Neill with Ben Browder and the addition of the quirky Vala the essence of the show remained and it was and still is why it’s success is continually complimented.
The appearance by Richard Dean Anderson and the mutual disdain his character O’Neill and Ba’al, played by the brilliant Cliff Simon, have for one another had the exact same tension and charisma as it did in the many seasons before it. With a familiar storyline and the character of O’Neill actually being tangible rather than just periodically mentioned was a wonderful addition to the story, giving it the same fun bravado RDA carried for so many seasons. Don S. Davis also returned to give the story the old feel of SG-1, but was also bittersweet knowing it was his last performance as General Hammond as he passed away recently. Hammond of Texas will forever be missed. Vala and Teal’C disappearing and playing very different roles as their futures were altered made it fun to watch them a little bit different. The remaining triangle of Carter, Mitchell, and Daniel Jackson became the heart and thrust of the story and our main character’s did not let us down to for a second. It’s truly a wonderful cast.
This one just as much so as Ark Of Truth is more geared towards committed fans of the show rather than making the attempt to recruit new viewers. That being said you wouldn’t have to had watched the entire series to “get” Continuum, but to appreciate it for what it was, you would. It was a little bit of a let down for me in some ways, but also a comforting piece of SG-1 nostalgia in another respect as it followed the same great elements of some of the original seasons. It again let’s me hope that this isn’t the end of SG-1 movies entirely, but one never knows. Either way Continuum was a fun addition to one of my favorite science fiction universes.
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