Nemesis (Stargate SG-1)
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"Nemesis" is the last episode from
season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...
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 unive ...
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 television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
''
Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrigh ...
''. Written by
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 ...
and directed by Martin Wood, the episode first aired in the United Kingdom on
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
on February 11, 2000, and had its American premiere on
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
on March 8, 2000. The episode sets up the Replicators as a new major enemy, ending in a cliffhanger that is resumed in the season 4 premiere "
Small Victories "Small Victories" is the first episode from season four of the science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1''. Penned by Robert C. Cooper and directed by Martin Wood, the episode first aired on the American subscription channel Showtime ...
". "Nemesis" was the first ''SG-1'' episode to be filmed entirely on 35 mm film before the series switched from 16 mm film to 35 mm film for all purposes in season 4. A visual effects milestone for the series, the episode was nominated for an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
in the "Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series" category, and won a
Leo Award The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...
for "Best Overall Sound in a Dramatic Series".


Plot

The
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 ...
team gets leave time as Daniel Jackson (
Michael Shanks Michael Garrett Shanks (born December 15, 1970) is a Canadian actor, writer and director. He is best known for his role as Daniel Jackson in the long-running military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1'' and as Charles Harris on ...
) had his appendix removed. Just after Major Carter (
Amanda Tapping Amanda Tapping (born 28 August 1965) is a British-Canadian actress and director. She is best known for portraying Samantha Carter in the Canadian–American military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1,'' ''Stargate Atlantis,'' and ...
) declines Colonel O'Neill's (
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 ...
) invitation to go fishing, O'Neill is beamed aboard the cloaked
Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...
ship ''Beliskner'' orbiting Earth. Encountering bug-like robots, O'Neill learns from the dying Asgard,
Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
, that the creatures are called Replicators. They ingest the ship's alloys in order to self-replicate and will eventually land on Earth in the search of more raw material. O'Neill contacts
Stargate Command Over its decade of existence, science fiction TV series ''Stargate SG-1'' developed an extensive and detailed backdrop of diverse characters. Many of the characters are members of alien species discovered while exploring the galaxy through the S ...
with a request to beam up explosives, however, General Hammond (
Don S. Davis Donald Sinclair "Don" Davis (August 4, 1942 – June 29, 2008) was an American character actor best known for playing General Hammond in the television series ''Stargate SG-1'' (1997–2007), and earlier for playing Major Garland Briggs on t ...
) also sends along Carter 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 modifi ...
(
Christopher Judge Douglas Christopher Judge (born October 13, 1964) is an American actor best known for playing Teal'c in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1,'' and Kratos in the 2018 video game ''God of War'' and its ...
) against O'Neill's wishes. An Earth shuttle may be sent to pick them up later. SG-1 plan to steer the vessel towards Earth to vaporize it during
atmospheric reentry Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. There are two main types of atmospheric entry: ''uncontrolled entry'', such as the entr ...
. Because the Replicators prevent SG-1 from retaking the bridge, Carter and Thor suggest placing an elementary naqahdah-enhanced bomb on the deceleration drive. When Teal'c leaves the spaceship to place the bomb on the outside of the hull, his airtank blows, however, Carter manages to beam him back on board. Thor, whose vitals crash at this moment, is put into a stasis pod to preserve his life. While SG-1 waits for the right time to detonate the bomb, they must devise a plan to get off the ship. They eventually beam Stargate Command's Stargate on-board and intend to travel to the planet P3X-234 before returning home using Earth's secondary gate (" Touchstone"). After Teal'c has dialed the gate manually, O'Neill detonates the bomb, crashing the ship in the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. The last shot of the episode shows a Replicator crawling on remains of the sinking spaceship.


Production

The season 3 finale "Nemesis" was written by
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 ...
and directed by Martin Wood. After the first three seasons of ''Stargate SG-1'' had been filmed on 16 mm film (although scenes involving visual effects had always been shot on 35 mm film for various technical reasons), "Nemesis" was the first episode filmed entirely on 35 mm film. ''Stargate SG-1'' switched to 35 mm film for all purposes at the beginning of season 4. The visual effects team used the episode to experiment with the design of the Replicators, a new recurring enemy to whom the character Thor had first alluded in the early season 3 episode " Fair Game". "Nemesis" featured more visual effects than any previous episode, but was excelled by the season 4 premiere, "Small Victories", which showed the best computer-generated shots of "Nemesis" in its "Previously on" segment. Visual effects supervisor James Tichenor considered the few episodes with big visual effects budgets the most likely works to contain visual cues that impress
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the television industry in the United States. It is a 501(c)(6) non-prof ...
(Emmy Awards) voters. Tichenor claimed that effective visual effects do not call attention to themselves and instead rely on the actors' reactions to nonexistent things. Daniel Jackson's
appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...
reflected
Michael Shanks Michael Garrett Shanks (born December 15, 1970) is a Canadian actor, writer and director. He is best known for his role as Daniel Jackson in the long-running military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1'' and as Charles Harris on ...
' real-world condition at the end of season 3. During the last shooting day of "
Crystal Skull Crystal skulls are human skull hardstone carvings made of clear or milky white quartz (also called "rock crystal"), claimed to be pre-Columbian Mesoamerican artifacts by their alleged finders; however, these claims have been refuted for all of th ...
", Shanks suffered an appendicitis attack, which he had first misinterpreted as food poisoning from
Thanksgiving dinner The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States and in Canada is Thanksgiving dinner (informally called turkey dinner), a large meal generally centered on a large roasted turkey. Thanksgiving could be considered the largest ...
. While Robert C. Cooper desperately tried to rewrite the script of "Nemesis", producer
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 ''Stargat ...
contrived elaborate storylines to reduce Shanks' involvement in the episode. Cooper eventually decided to use a common health issue to explain Daniel's absence from the episode's action scenes. Shanks appeared in four scenes set at Stargate Command, although he also provided the voice of the Asgard Thor in post-production. Although much of Daniel's and O'Neill's exchange in the infirmary was improvised, critic Jo Storm speculated in his book ''Approaching The Possible'' that Daniel's question in the infirmary bed to O'Neill ("Did you get a haircut?") may reflect the actors' hairstyles which had significantly changed since the season 2 finale; the lines may have been added to appease the many viewers who had commented on the characters' new looks on the online boards. "Nemesis" was the last episode before actor
Christopher Judge Douglas Christopher Judge (born October 13, 1964) is an American actor best known for playing Teal'c in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1,'' and Kratos in the 2018 video game ''God of War'' and its ...
started sporting a small blond beard for several episodes in season 4.


Reception

"Nemesis" first aired in the United Kingdom on
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
on February 11, 2000, and had its American premiere on
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
on March 8, 2000. In Germany, "Nemesis" was held back from season 3 and aired as the first hour of the season 4 premiere. Airing in American
broadcast syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...
during the 2001 May
sweeps Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, "Nemesis" had a 2.7/2.8 household rating, which helped ''Stargate SG-1''s placement as second among first-run entertainment hours (a second airing after a premiere on an American subscription channel is not regarded as an off-network rerun) and placed fifth overall in the U.S. syndication market. "Nemesis" was nominated for an Emmy in the "Outstanding Special Visual Effects" category in 2000, but lost to the '' X-Files'' episode "
First Person Shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eye ...
"; the other competitors were '' Star Trek: Voyager'' episodes " Life Line" and " The Haunting of Deck Twelve", and the ''X-Files'' episode " Rush". "Nemesis" won a
Leo Award The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...
for "Best Overall Sound In A Dramatic Series" in 2000. Jo Storm wrote that the "cleverly disguised action mini-arc" gives insight into the imperfection of the Asgard and that the "foreign, creepy" Replicators are "conquerors who make the Goa'uld look nice by comparison". She felt that the episode had "all the classic elements of fiction", and lauded Robert C. Cooper's storytelling idea to take the Stargate from the SGC and Don S. Davis's following "best nonspeaking moment". In Storm's mind, the visual effects were well-placed and did not overthrow the story, but she wondered about the "ubiquitous Sam/Jack interest". If not interpreted as "flirtatiousness", Carter could be "truly touched at being let into the 'inner circle' of 'Neill'slife, and finally being 'one of the guys'".


References


External links

*
Nemesis
at mgm.com * *
Nemesis
at scifi.com * (
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), distributed by
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nemesis (Stargate Sg-1) Stargate SG-1 episodes 2000 American television episodes