Episode of the Week: ‘Out of Mind’

Jack O’Neill, Samantha Carter, and Daniel Jackson awaken from cryo-stasis in what appears to be the S.G.C. — almost 80 years in the future, where they are asked to recall key events from their journeys.

“Out of Mind” Facts:

• “Out of Mind” wasn’t the first clip show that Stargate ever did (that honor belongs to Season One’s “Politics”) — but it was the first and only time that a clip show was ever made to serve as a season finale. (Fortunately that big closing scene made it worth the wait.)
• Clip shows allowed the show’s producers to save money and spend more on the season’s bigger episodes. This episode also saved money by being shot entirely on SG-1‘s standing sets.
• This episode and its sequel make for the only Stargate appearances of veteran Vancouver actor Tom Butler (as General Trofsky). His long list of genre credits also includes The X-Files, Sliders, The Outer Limits, Poltergeist: The Legacy, First Wave, Dead Like Me, Blade: The Series, Painkiller Jane, Supernatural, The Secret Circle, Fringe, Intruders, and a recent appearance on The Flash.
• This episode introduces the memory recall device — developed by the Tok’ra (but here used by a Tok’ra posing as Hathor’s scientist pretending to be a human who got the technology from the Tok’ra … let’s just say it’s complicated). The tech would play a significant role in the future of the series, from “Jolinar’s Memories” to “Divide and Conquer” to “Chimera.”
• This is the episode that first explained just why Sam Carter’s being host to a Tok’ra symbiote left her able to use Goa’uld technology and feel the presence of a symbiote nearby. When the symbiote died it left naquadah — the mineral the Stargate is made of — in her bloodstream, hinting that the mineral became a part of the Goa’uld physiological makeup at some stage in their development.

“Out of Mind” on GateWorld:

• Episode Guide
• Photo Gallery
• Screencap Gallery
• Discussion Thread
• Season Two Podcast

Download “Out of Mind” now from Amazon or iTunes!

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

We’re rewatching all of Stargate’s season premieres, finales, and mid-season 2-parters! Watch with us this week and join in the fun.