Episode of the Week: ‘Fail Safe’

Earth finds itself threatened by something even larger than the Goa’uld when the team learns that an asteroid is on a collision course with the planet.

“Fail Safe” Facts:

• “Fail Safe” made for a pretty exciting “bottle episode” — filmed entirely on the show’s standing sets, without the need for location shooting.
• Though they are credited together as a writing team, producer Joseph Mallozzi tells fans that his partner Paul Mullie ended up responsible for this episode from start to finish.
• Shooting in the space suits proved exceptionally grueling for actors Richard Dean Anderson and Christopher Judge. The actors reportedly tried to minimize their time in the suits and get out of them as quickly as possible.
• This episode brought one of the many Goa’uld attacks directly on the planet Earth, with the team becoming convinced that Anubis had set the naquadah-heavy asteroid on a collision course with the planet. In this case, however, viewers never actually see any Goa’uld in the episode — and the theory remains just that.
• “Fail Safe” is one of the last episodes in which SG-1 has to rely on a recovered Goa’uld ship in order to accomplish their mission. With the introduction of the Prometheus in Season Six, the ol’ stand-by cargo ship would play a much-reduced role on the show.

“Fail Safe” on GateWorld:

• Episode Guide
• Episode Review
• Photo Gallery
• Screencap Gallery
• Discussion Thread
• Season Five Podcast

Download “Fail Safe” now from Amazon or iTunes!

Rewatch “Fail Safe” this week! Then post your comments below, or head over to the “Fail Safe” discussion thread and see what people were saying back in the day. What are your favorite moments?

Each week we’re highlighting a favorite episode from Stargate’s 17 seasons. Watch the episode with us this week and join in the fun!