‘Arthur’s Mantle’ puts twist on familiar tale

This week’s new episode of Stargate SG-1 weaves together two tales, writer Alan McCullough told TV Zone magazine. One of the storylines in “Arthur’s Mantle” puts the team into a familiar situation, though with a bit of a twist.

Beware of spoilers below!

“This story opens with Colonel Carter, who, along with Dr. Lee, has been trying to figure out how to operate one of the Ancient’s devices found in the Glastonbury cave [‘Avalon, Part 1’],” McCullough told TV Zone. “Unfortunately, they haven’t been successful and are about to ship the device off to Area 51 when Carter triggers something and she and Mitchell are transported to another dimension. They’re still on the base, they just can’t make themselves seen or heard.

“In the meantime, the S.G.C. receives a message from the Sodan warriors saying they’ve been attacked by an unknown enemy, so Teal’c and another SG team go to investigate. Unbeknownst to anyone, Mitchell tags along and ends up getting stranded with Teal’c and the others.

“As in ‘Stronghold,’ these two storylines eventually join up and play out in the end.”

Michael Shanks (“Daniel Jackson”) also enjoyed the episode’s challenges. “‘Arthur’s Mantle’ was in some ways deja vu for me,” he told the magazine. “It had elements of [Season Three’s] ‘Crystal Skull’ only this time around it’s Carter and Mitchell and not Daniel who are out of phase and trying to communicate with the rest of the S.G.C. personnel.

“It was especially tricky working with Amanda and Ben in this episode because Daniel isn’t supposed to acknowledge their characters’ presence. There were scenes, however, where Carter and Mitchell are having a conversation with each other and Daniel is in the same room and talking with someone as well. We had a few good guffaws where Ben would improvise a line that I wouldn’t expect, so I’d just sort of look at him and say [jokingly], ‘Shut up already.'”

Look for the new, 130-page TV Zone Special #67 now on news stands! The magazine features a preview of the second half of Seasons Nine and Two, and interviews with Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge, Michael Shanks, David Hewlett, Lexa Doig, Gary Jones, Brandy Ledford, and David Nykl.

In the U.S., the magazine can often be found at major booksellers such as Borders and Barnes & Noble.

“Arthur’s Mantle” premieres Friday, February 24 at 8 p.m. Eastern/Pacific on The SCI FI Channel in the U.S., and Tuesday, February 28 on Sky One in the U.K. Learn more about the episode and check out preview photos in GateWorld’s episode guide.