"Stargate SG-1" Review Season 01, Episode 21, Within the Serpent's Grasp

"Stargate SG-1" Review Season 01, Episode 21, Within the Serpent's Grasp

9/10

6th March 1998
Written By: James Crocker, Jonathan Glassner
Directed By: David Warry-Smith

In an act of desperation, SG-1 follows the information Doctor Jackson gained in an alternate reality and seeks out the source of the future Goa'uld attack in an effort to head it off before it can begin.

This episode introduces a Goa'uld weapon not previously seen in the series; the Zat'nik'tel: a relatively small weapon which causes great pain with its first hit, kills with its second, and disintegrates with the third. It is not very powerful or explosive compared to the staff weapon, but will be seen more often from this point as a form of Jaffa side arm.

Another piece of technology introduced is the Long Range Visual Communications Device; a sphere of a bulky size which will transmit real time from one to another across interstellar distances. Teal'c compares it to the television.

A third introduction is that the Goa'uld, or more likely only Apophis, has improved the mother ship travel speed and are capable of reaching Earth within one day as opposed to the months or years previously thought.

The episode also introduces the concept that a stargate does not have to be on a specific point on the surface of a planet in order to work, but can be in orbit as well and still have the same address.

The plot is good, the acting talent is good, the special effects are a bit more elaborate than usual.

Link to Series Review:
Stargate SG-1