"Wormhole X-Treme!" is an episode from Season 5 of the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, ...

''. The title also refers to a

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

fictional science fiction series named ''Wormhole X-Treme!'', a

show-within-a-show A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes ...

that is portrayed in the episode. This was the 100th episode of ''Stargate SG-1'', and as such was produced as a "special" episode laden with large numbers of

in-joke An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or a private joke, is a joke whose humour is understandable only to members of an ingroup; that is, people who are ''in'' a particular social group, occupation, or other community of shared interest. It ...

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

s, and heavy use of

metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction which emphasises its own narrative structure in a way that continually reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and stor ...

al elements for comedic effect.

Plot

This episode is a continuation of the Season 4 episode "

Point of No Return The point of no return (PNR or PONR) is the point beyond which one must continue on one's current course of action because turning back is dangerous, physically impossible or difficult, or prohibitively expensive. The point of no return can be a ...

". A spaceship that had been hidden in the outer solar system activates and begins approaching Earth, and its energy signature is matched to that of Martin Lloyd's escape pod suggesting that this is its mother ship. The military tracks down Lloyd (played by

Willie Garson William Garson Paszamant (February 20, 1964September 21, 2021) was an American actor. He appeared in over 75 films and more than 300 TV episodes. He was known for playing Stanford Blatch on the HBO series ''Sex and the City'', in the related f ...

) and discovers that he has become the creative consultant for a television series whose concept he sold to a Hollywood studio, ''Wormhole X-Treme!''. The parallels between ''Wormhole X-Treme!'' and the real SGC are clear. The

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

had decided that while being a breach of secrecy, the show could prevent any future leaks of information about the Stargate program from being taken seriously.

Jack O'Neill Jonathan J. "Jack" O'Neill is a fictional character in the MGM's military science fiction franchise ''Stargate'', primarily as one of the main characters of the television series ''Stargate SG-1''. Richard Dean Anderson played O'Neill in all t ...

is given the position of the Air Force technical advisor to the show in order to covertly confront Lloyd about both the secrets he has leaked and the approaching spacecraft. He discovers that Lloyd has resumed using memory suppressants and does not consciously remember his previous encounter with them or his own extraterrestrial origin. O'Neill initially suspects Lloyd's associates of drugging him again, but in fact Lloyd started taking them on his own so that he could feel more comfortable with living on Earth. Lloyd's associates are indeed nearby, however, as well as another secret government group called the NID that wishes to seize the ship's technology for themselves. Lloyd has in his possession the remote control device necessary for boarding the empty ship when it arrives, thinking it merely another of the many functionless science fiction props used on the show, and both parties want to recover it. His associates kidnap O'Neill and Lloyd, injecting Lloyd with a memory-restoring drug. Before they interrogate him, however, O'Neill and Lloyd escape. O'Neill and Lloyd recover the remote control just as the spacecraft arrives, with the NID and Lloyd's associates in close pursuit. O'Neill gives the remote to Lloyd's associates allowing them to flee Earth, both because he sympathizes with their plight and to deny the ship's technology to the NID. Lloyd decides that he is comfortable with his new life and remains on Earth to continue consulting for ''Wormhole X-Treme!''. At the end of the episode there is a "Making of ''Wormhole X-Treme!''" featurette with interviews of several of the actors from the fictional show. ''Wormhole X-Treme'' is mentioned again in the season 8 episode " Citizen Joe", which reveals that the fictional show ran for one episode before being cancelled, though Mitchell later claims it ran for three episodes. Martin Lloyd returns in the milestone episode "

200 __NOTOC__ Year 200 ( CC) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 ''Ab ur ...

" in season 10, trying to write a TV film based on the fictional show. The latter episode stated that ''Wormhole X-Treme'' ran for ten seasons prior to cancellation.

Production

"Wormhole X-Treme" features many cameos by the crew of ''Stargate SG-1''. The director of this episode,

Peter DeLuise Peter John DeLuise (born November 6, 1966) is an American actor, television director, television producer, and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Officer Doug Penhall in the Fox TV series ''21 Jump Street'', and for directing and writing ...

, also played the director of ''Wormhole X-Treme!''. Writer and executive producer Robert C. Cooper played a ''Wormhole X-Treme!'' writer. Further cameos include

Joseph Mallozzi Joseph Mallozzi (born 16 October 1965) is a Canadian writer and producer. He is most noted for his contributions to the '' Stargate SG-1'', '' Stargate: Atlantis'' and '' Stargate Universe'' television series and as showrunner of ''Dark Matter ...

(who co-wrote this episode), producer

N. John Smith N is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet. N or n may also refer to: Mathematics * \mathbb, the set of natural numbers * N, the field norm * N for ''nullae'', a rare Roman numeral for zero * n, the size of a statistical sample S ...

, and ''Stargate SG-1'' writer Ron Wilkerson as ''Wormhole X-Treme!'' crew members; ''Stargate SG-1'' property master David Sinclair as the ''Wormhole X-Treme!'' assistant director; make-up artist Jan Newman as a make-up artist; director

Andy Mikita Andy Mikita is a Canadian television director and producer. He has worked in the TV and film industry for over 30 years. Mikita is best known for his work as a director and producer for '' Stargate SG-1'', and its sister shows '' Stargate At ...

and producer John Lenic as the characters being beaten by Col. Danning; ''Stargate SG-1'' director Martin Wood as an NID agent; and several more.List of major and minor cameos on
/ref> The two executives who commented on the unrealistic look of Lloyd's spacecraft are played by ''Stargate SG-1'' executive producer Michael Greenburg and executive producer/co-creator

Brad Wright Brad Wright (born May 2, 1961) is a Canadian television producer and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of the television series ''Stargate SG-1'' (with Jonathan Glassner), '' Stargate Atlantis'' (with Robert C. Cooper) and '' Sta ...

. Within the fictional show ''Wormhole X-Treme!'', the four primary characters of SG-1 each had a representative character within the show-within-a-show. The characters, actors, and their counterpoints are:

References

External links

Wormhole X-Treme!
at mgm.com *
Wormhole X-Treme!
at

scifi.com Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

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