200 (Stargate SG-1)
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"200" is the sixth episode of the science fiction television series '' Stargate SG-1''s tenth season, and the 200th episode of the series overall. Unlike the more serious nature of the season's story arc, "200" is a light-hearted
parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
of both ''Stargate SG-1'' and other sci-fi shows, as well as popular culture like '' The Wizard of Oz''. "200" won the 2007
Constellation Award The Constellation Awards were a set of Canadian awards given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The event was founded in 2007. Constellation Awards are the only Canadian sci-fi award wher ...
for ''Best Overall 2006 Science Fiction Film or Television Script'', and was nominated for the 2007
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...
for
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both ...
. The episode also marks the first time original SG-1 member
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 th ...
(
Richard Dean Anderson Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950) is a retired American actor and producer. He began his television career in 1976, playing Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series ''General Hospital'', and then rose to prominence as the lead a ...
) is seen since the beginning of Season 9. The episode received a 1.9 average household
rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, quantity, or some combination of both. Rating or ratings may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness of an individual, c ...
, one of the few episodes of the season that surpassed the average rating of ''Stargate SG-1''s previous season. "200" also received near-universal praise for its humor and writing. Despite the strong performance of the episode, the
Sci-Fi Channel 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. Launc ...
announced soon after the episode's airing it would not be renewing the series for another season.


Plot

Martin Lloyd (
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 fi ...
), an extraterrestrial turned Hollywood writer, returns to Stargate Command looking for assistance from
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, is ...
with his script for the movie adaptation of the television show '' Wormhole X-Treme'', based on the exploits of the Stargate Program. The team, especially Lt. Colonel Mitchell ( Ben Browder), is reluctant to help. Mitchell is excited about his next off-world mission because it marks his 200th trip through the
Stargate ''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the Stargate (film), film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien E ...
. Technical glitches prevent the team from setting off on their mission. General Landry (
Beau Bridges Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor and director. He is a three-time Emmy, two-time Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nominee. Bridges was a ...
) orders SG-1 to help Lloyd, as the government believes a successful science fiction film about intergalactic wormhole travel will serve as a good cover story to keep the real Stargate program a secret. The notes session devolves into the team members pitching their own versions of a successful sci-fi film, including a
zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
invasion (from Mitchell), a previously unseen mission where O'Neill became invisible (from
Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter, ...
), "tributes" to '' The Wizard of Oz'' and ''
Farscape ''Farscape'' is an Australian-American science fiction television series, produced originally for the Nine Network. It premiered in the US on Sci-Fi Channel's SciFi Friday, 19 March 1999, at 8:00 pm EST as their anchor series. The series was c ...
'' (from Vala), and
Teal'c Teal'c of Chulak is a fictional character in the 1997 military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1''. Portrayed by Christopher Judge, Teal'c is a Jaffa warrior from the planet Chulak. As a Jaffa, Teal'c is a genetically modified hu ...
as a private investigator (from Teal'c himself). Also featured are a vignette of the team's mental image of a "younger and edgier" SG-1 (sparked by the studio's suggestion to replace the original ''Wormhole X-Treme'' cast), a suggested scene by Martin that turns out to be both scientifically inaccurate and highly derivative of ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'', a re-imagined version of the SG-1 pilot episode where all the characters are marionettes in the style of the television series '' Thunderbirds'', and an imagined wedding that features the return of General O'Neill (
Richard Dean Anderson Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950) is a retired American actor and producer. He began his television career in 1976, playing Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series ''General Hospital'', and then rose to prominence as the lead a ...
). The studio decides to cancel the movie in favor of renewing the series. The end of the episode shifts ten years into the future, where the ''Wormhole X-Treme'' cast and crew celebrate their 200th episode, as well as renewed plans for a movie.


Production

"200" follows up on the events of the Season 4 episode "Point of No Return" and the Season 5 episode "Wormhole X-Treme"; the episodes feature the character of Martin and are self-referentially written. In comparison, "200" riffs on science fiction and genre television more broadly. In comparison to attitudes that fans are largely powerless and in opposition to producers, the episode posits fans as empowered shapers of entertainment. Executive producer
Robert C. Cooper Robert C. Cooper is a Canadian writer and producer best known for his work in the ''Stargate'' franchise. He was formerly an executive producer of ''Stargate SG-1'', ''Stargate Atlantis'' and ''Stargate Universe''. He also co-created both ''Star ...
originally proposed they write a normal script for the 200th episode. However it soon became clear that deciding who would have the privilege of writing the 200th episode would be awkward. This led to the idea to create a sketch episode in the manner of ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'', with each writer creating a
vignette Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...
. The episode took shape when the writers thought to bring back ''Wormhole X-Treme'' and the character of Martin, and frame the whole episode as a notes session. By the end of the writing process the episode had turned into "an homage to the cast, crew, and die-hard fans." ''Stargate'' producers were not sure actor Richard Dean Anderson would return for the episode, so they devised many scenes where Anderson was "in" the episode but not actually shown. However, Anderson was willing to return and appeared in several scenes. In the DVD special ''Stargate SG-1: Behind the 200th'' Cooper said, "it was a big deal for us to have imback for the 200th episode. We obviously didn't think we could do it without him." Despite the markedly different content of the episode, "200" took no longer to shoot than a normal episode, mainly because much of the filming took place on the briefing room set. On the other hand, the episode was much more expensive than a typical one, due to the unusual sequences. For example, the marionettes used in an elaborate spoof of the series were created by the Chiodo brothers, who also made the puppets for '' Team America: World Police''; each puppet cost about US$25,000, and the wires pulling each puppet had to be readded by CGI in post production because they didn't show up well enough. Several existing sets were used as stand-ins; for example, the bridge of the ''Odyssey'' was used for a '' Star Trek: The Original Series'' spoof, while a set from the sister production '' Stargate: Atlantis'' was used as the chamber of the Wizard of Oz. In an interview about the tenth season of ''Stargate'', Cooper and series co-creator Brad Wright stated that there was a fine line between the humor of regular episodes turning into
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 ...
. While jokes for the joke's sake are usually limited in normal episodes, the line between humor and camp is deliberately crossed frequently in "200". The producers even talked about recreating a part of ''
Blazing Saddles ''Blazing Saddles'' is a 1974 American satirical western black comedy film directed by Mel Brooks, who also wrote the screenplay with Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Alan Uger. The film stars Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder. ...
'' that breaks the
fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...
, but they could not afford the horses. The producers made sure that the episode was well-publicized, dropping hints that Anderson's character O'Neill would return for the episode. Joe Mallozzi, executive producer for the series, also hinted that series fans would finally meet the Furlings, an enigmatic race referenced in the second-season episode " The Fifth Race" but never seen. Despite the outlandish scenes filmed for the episode, many of the writers' favorite moments did not make it to production due to time constraints. For example, Cooper noted that a ''
Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells. It aired for thr ...
'' skit was cut from the script.


Cultural references

Most of the episode is devoted to references and allusions to other works, as well as the show itself. The title sequence is deliberately shorter than most other episodes, poking fun at shows like ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' as well as the
Sci-Fi Channel 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. Launc ...
itself, which had shortened SG-1's Season 9 opening but changed it back after fans demanded it. When Martin learns that his main actor has backed out of the movie, the SG-1 team offers various suggestions for how to replace him or work around his non-availability—a reference to Michael Shanks's absence from the sixth season of ''Stargate SG-1''. Anderson himself also pokes fun at the ending of the eighth-season episode "
Moebius Moebius, Möbius or Mobius may refer to: People * August Ferdinand Möbius (1790–1868), German mathematician and astronomer * Theodor Möbius (1821–1890), German philologist * Karl Möbius (1825–1908), German zoologist and ecologist * Paul ...
", which was intended to be the series finale before the ninth season was announced. The final scene of "200", which features interviews with the ''Wormhole X-Treme'' cast, was added as an afterthought, and contains comments from the real cast which were used out of context as an inside joke. The episode also riffs on other science fiction shows. Early in the episode, Dr. Jackson asks why anyone would make a movie version of a TV series that lasted only three episodes—Teal'c responds that it had strong DVD sales. This is a reference to the series ''
Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
'', which Fox executives decided to cancel after airing only three episodes (although 14 episodes had been filmed, and 11 of them were actually aired—8 more after the cancellation announcement had been made). The high number of DVDs of these episodes that sold afterwards justified making a feature film based on the series, ''
Serenity Serenity may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Serenity'' (2019 film), a thriller starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Diane Lane * Sailor Moon (character), also known as Princess Serenity and Neo-Queen Serenity, in the ' ...
''. (''Firefly'' is again referenced when Lloyd refuses to use footage from the ''Wormhole X-Treme'' series for the movie, saying that "it's a movie, not a clip show." This is an allusion to
Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...
's insistence that the movie ''Serenity'' would not use footage from the original series because it is "not a
clip show A clip show is an episode of a television series that consists primarily of excerpts from previous episodes. Most clip shows feature the format of a frame story in which cast members recall past events from past installments of the show, depicte ...
".) In addition, one of the sequences is a parody of the original ''Star Trek'' series, with SG-1 standing in for the crew of the ''
Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...
''. Brad Wright, the co-creator of the series, fills in as the engineer Montgomery Scott. The episode also pokes good-humored fun at the series ''
Farscape ''Farscape'' is an Australian-American science fiction television series, produced originally for the Nine Network. It premiered in the US on Sci-Fi Channel's SciFi Friday, 19 March 1999, at 8:00 pm EST as their anchor series. The series was c ...
'', including its habit of inventing swear words. The ''Farscape'' sequence itself is an in-joke, since the Stargate: SG-1 actors Ben Browder and Claudia Black had both starred in the earlier series (and indeed Black reprises her original role of
Aeryn Sun The television series ''Farscape'' features an extensive cast of characters created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. The series is set aboard a living spacecraft named Moya of the Leviathan race. The physical, racial and species-specific cultural characte ...
, though Browder plays a different character, Stark, while Michael Shanks portrays Browder's Farscape character,
John Crichton John Crichton may refer to: * John Crichton (designer) (1917–1993), New Zealand furniture and interior designer * John Crichton (Farscape), a character on the TV series ''Farscape'' * John Crichton, 3rd Earl Erne (1802–1885), Anglo-Irish peer ...
). Several other shows and movies are parodied, including '' The Wizard of Oz'' (the story is re-told with the members of the SG-1 team as the adventurers in Oz. The writers based the parody on a fan painting they had hanging in their office). The episode also makes fun of '' 24s "ticking clock of jeopardy", and an entire sequence is enacted with all the characters played by marionettes, in the style of '' Thunderbirds'' and '' Team America: World Police''.


Reception

The episode won the 2007 Constellation Award for ''Best Overall 2006 Science Fiction Film or Television Script'', and was nominated for the 2007
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...
for
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both ...
.
Richard Dean Anderson Richard Dean Anderson (born January 23, 1950) is a retired American actor and producer. He began his television career in 1976, playing Jeff Webber in the American soap opera series ''General Hospital'', and then rose to prominence as the lead a ...
also won a SyFy Genre Award for his guest appearance in the episode. The episode was generally well received.
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
declared the episode "one of the smartest and funniest hours of television to grace the small screen yet this season." They went on to applaud the decision not only to parody other works but the show itself. Maureen Ryan of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' agreed, but also noted that "you don't need to be a longtime fan of the long-running program to enjoy its jibes at sci-fi clichés or expedient writing." ''Eclipse Magazine'' noted that although the episode was "not a work of comic genius", "200" was the best comedy episode of the series. The highly publicized debut of the episode garnered a 1.9 average household rating, a 36% jump from the previous episode, and the first episode of the tenth season to reach or exceed the previous season's rating of 1.8; ''Stargate SG-1'' at that point was averaging about 3.3 million viewers per regular episode in the United States.


Cancellation

Shortly after this episode was aired, Gateworld announced that the
Sci-Fi Channel 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. Launc ...
had decided to not renew ''Stargate SG-1'' for the coming year. The Channel later confirmed this decision, at the same time announcing that '' Stargate Atlantis'' had been picked up for another season. Many fans denounced Gateworld's cancellation announcement, both the timing of it (apparently it had been made while the cast and crew were celebrating the episode's airing)—and the decision itself, on the ground that, while ratings were not as high as they had been in previous seasons, the series was still drawing an audience of a respectable size. (For example, it had a season average of 2 million viewers in Australia, half of them in the 18–49 demographic.) Sci Fi responded that the cancellation decision had not been based on ratings so much as a feeling the series had run its course. Some of the main characters in ''SG-1'' re-appear later in episodes of ''Atlantis'' and ''Universe'' and in the direct-to-DVD sequel films, '' Stargate: The Ark of Truth'' and '' Stargate: Continuum''.


References


External links


200
at mgm.com *
200
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. Launc ...

Screenplay
{{DEFAULTSORT:200 (Stargate Sg-1) Stargate SG-1 episodes 2006 American television episodes