Lost City, Part 1

| Analysis | Production | Transcript | Review

O'Neill goes to great lengths to keep the Ancients' knowledge from falling into Goa'uld hands when the team discovers a second repository. Meanwhile, the President replaces General Hammond with a civilian diplomat.

RATINGS SCORECARD
OUR RATING -
FAN RATING - 8.87 
NIELSEN - 1.7 
EPISODE #721
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 03.12.2004
SYNDICATION AIR DATE: 05.09.2005
DVD DISC: Season 7, Disc 5
WRITTEN BY: Brad Wright & Robert C. Cooper
DIRECTED BY: Martin Wood
GUEST STARS: William Devane (President Hayes), Jessica Steen (Dr. Elizabeth Weir), Tony Amendola (Bra'tac), David Palffy (Anubis), Gary Jones (Technician), Ronny Cox (Vice President Kinsey), Eric Breker (Colonel Reynolds), Jason Howell (Major Harper), Jerr Weddell (Jaffa Commander), Igor Morozov (Russian Man), Mark Pawson (Secret Service Man), Dee Jay Jackson (Cab Driver), Ron Blecker (SG-3 Airman), John Prowse (Colonel Pearson), Holly Dignard (President's Aide), Dan Payne (Kull Warrior)
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ANALYSIS

  • How does the Stargate know when to shut down, and when to stay open? Usually the wormhole stays active exactly as long as the episode's writer needs it to ... but in this case the team made a strategic decision to keep the wormhole open as long as possible. When Anubis begins his attack on the planet where the Ancient repository was found, Colonel Reynolds orders his men to use a steady radio signal back to Earth to keep the gate active as long as possible. Otherwise, without anyone stepping through for several minutes, the Stargate could shut down.

    Of course that's to facilitate SG-1 and the other teams' evacuation under fire. But dialing the gate and keeping it active also prevents the enemy from dialing in -- a strategy commonly used by the Goa'uld.
  • After he first meets Dr. Weir, Daniel tells her that he remembers staring at the Stargate for hours back when they were first trying to get it working. His not-so-subtle reminder that he's been with the program from the beginning is, of course, a bald-faced lie: viewers who remember the original feature film know that Daniel cracked the secret to dialing the Stargate before he ever laid eyes on it, or knew of its existence.

PRODUCTION NOTES

  • "Because of the pick-up for Season Seven, the movie has been pushed back and, as a result, the story that was to be told in the movie will now be told as the two-part season finale to Season Seven." (Co-executive producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a chat at StarGateNews.De)
  • "There was a point in the series when Rick was scaling down his appearances on SG-1, resulting in quite a challenge for the writing department. I remember Don coming up to the production offices one day and volunteering to have his character retire so that O'Neill could take over as the commander of the S.G.C. and thus make things easier from a creative standpoint. That was typical Don. Incredibly generous. We didn't take him up on his kind offer but, later on down the line, that more or less became the scenario that was adopted. To my recollection (again, I wasn't privy to these discussions), the call to have Hammond reassigned was a mutual decision on the part of Don and the show's executive producers. He enjoyed a semi-retirement of sorts, focusing on his art but still finding the time to do the occasional guest spot for us." (Writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a post at his blog)
  • "The plan (actually 'plans' since it was fast becoming a habit) was to wrap up the show and then cap it with a movie. 'Lost City' was going to be that movie – until we got the eighth season pick-up, at which point it was rewritten and turned into our two-parter season finale. This episode saw the introduction of Dr. Elizabeth Weir. Blonde in 'Lost City' I and II, she goes brunette by the time the Atlantis expedition gets underway in 'Rising' I and II (in case you failed to notice).

    "One of my favorite moments of this season comes when all of SG-1 gathers for what they think may be the last time. With Jack facing an uncertain future, Sam unexpectedly drops by for a visit. As they sit down for a beer, there's a knock. O'Neill opens the door to discover Daniel at his front door. Not long after, Teal'c comes a-calling. As much as I enjoyed the show's high-adventure, I especially enjoyed these scenes – moments that brought the team together, demonstrating that they weren't just teammates but good friends as well." (Writer / producer Joseph Mallozzi, in a post at his blog)