The Road Not Taken (Stargate SG-1)
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| “The Road Not Taken” | |
|---|---|
| Stargate SG-1 episode | |
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| Episode no. | Season 10 Episode 13 |
| Guest stars | David Hewlett as Rodney McKay Don S. Davis as General Hammond Kavan Smith as Major Lorne Bill Dow as Bill Lee |
| Written by | Alan McCullough |
| Directed by | Andy Mikita |
| Production no. | 1015 |
| Original airdate | January 23, 2007 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Line in the Sand" | "The Shroud" |
| Episode chronology | |
"The Road Not Taken" is an episode from Season 10 of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter is examining Merlin's phase-shifting device in one of the SGC's isolation rooms in hopes the device can create a large phase-shifted field. Mitchell enters and informs her that a recent sighting of Daniel Jackson was a false alarm. Mitchell asks her to go to lunch with Teal'c and himself so they can discuss the mission report. Carter wants to run one more test, and tells Mitchell that he can watch from the observation room.
Carter activates the device and phases. While phase-shifted she hears a strange sound. The device emits a strange glow which quickly encompasses the phase-shifted isolation room. As the glow subsides Carter reappears to the sound of blaring sirens. Mitchell is not in the observation room, and there are signs of an explosion on the floor. Carter lowers the force field as Dr. Lee enters. He asks Major Carter if she is all right. Carter, speechless, is further puzzled when Major Lorne, leader of SG-1, enters the room.
Carter suspects she has somehow entered a parallel universe. She asks to see the footage of the incident in the lab. General Hammond, watching through video link, tells Dr. Lee to show her the footage. The video depicts Major Carter's power capacitor experiment. A sudden power spike in the experiment leads to an explosion and results in loss of the video feed. Dr. Lee then entered the room and found the Lieutenant Colonel. Carter asks for what purpose the power capacitors were designed. Lee replies that they were used to extract energy from parallel universes.
Three years ago when Anubis attacked Earth, the President of the United States revealed the existence of the Stargate program to the world. A month ago the Ori attacked. The lone Ori ship was destroyed by the Ancient outpost in Antarctica, but the ZPM was depleted. Reports indicate five Ori battle cruisers are on course to reach Earth in five days. They need her help to finish Major Carter’s work in order to power the Ancient outpost.
Realizing Major Carter's work is incomplete and unable to catch up in time, she shows them the phase device. Carter tells them she was working on the device in her world to hide Earth from the Ori. Without the ZPM she needs an alternate source of power. Hank Landry, the President of the United States, promises Carter will get all the power she needs. Carter estimates her needs are about 80% of the entire United States power grid.
After a few days of feverishly working on Earth’s defense, the Ori ships appear. Energy is redirected to the device and the United States plunges into darkness. The power level increases to 93% before time runs out, and Carter activates the phase-cloak. Earth vanishes in a flash of light. The Ori ships, assuming Earth is still there, open fire but hit nothing. Landry congratulates Carter on a job well done.
A celebratory party is interrupted by a protester chanting “No security without freedom.” Goa’uld torture devices neutralize him. Landry and Carter are beamed onto Air Force One, Prometheus. Carter learns The President instituted martial law and is disliked by many people. Later at the SGC, Carter watches the news and sees an F-302 bombing a Irish village. Hammond reinforces they were bombing terrorists. Angry, Carter accuses that the 302’s are being used against political enemies. Hammond replies that the “threat is still out there” to which Carter replies “that’s the problem; the threat will always be out there”.
Wanting to return home, Carter seeks out Rodney McKay for help with Major Carter’s inter-universe bridge. Meanwhile, Hammond and Landry have a brief discussion, agreeing they cannot afford to lose Carter, nor can they let her knowledge of advanced technology disappear. Dr Lee finds a device in a cave in Glastonbury and tells Landry. Lee informs him they don’t know anything about it, but Carter would. Carter returns to the SGC to find her equipment has not returned. Landry tells her the timing is not good for her to go back as they had to cancel elections due to widespread unrest that it is an inside vote.
Cater visits Mitchell, now in a wheelchair. He was used as a tool to boost national morale. As punishment for sticking to his principles, he lost his position, his pension, and medical treatment. Carter spots a black car with tinted windows on the street. She calls Landry’s assistant Charlie and tells him she’ll play ball. Landry arranges for Carter to deliver a televised interview. During her speech Carter states that as Presidential advisor she will push for the restoration of civil liberties. Charlie orders the broadcaster to cut the transmission.
Afterwards, Carter is attacked and rendered unconscious by secret service agents. She awakes on Air Force One before Landry. In a talk with her he says that public relations and the phase technology are important, that her world still has freedom and the Stargate program is one of the greatest secrets that the government has even known. She then talks about General Hank Landry and how he would not allow the rest of the galaxy to fall to the Ori.
McKay is working on the device discovered at Glastonbury. He has also replaced Carter as special adviser to the President. McKay informs her that they are going to build the inter-universe bridge. Carter tells McKay to nudge the president about galactic threat.
Back in Lieutenant Colonel Carter’s world, Dr Lee uses a sound device to scan the isolation room. Carter suddenly reappears behind him in a flash of light and goes unnoticed until she says his name. Back in her lab, Carter talks with Vala, Teal’c and Mitchell. She has been gone for two weeks and no information about Daniel has surfaced.
[edit] Notes
- This episode marks the final appearance of General Hammond on the series.
- When Carter is first showing Mitchell the device the generator's revolving blue lights were added by F/X and appear to hover above the generator. In future shots it appears they remembered to turn the lights on and didn't need to add them.
- This is the fourth Stargate episode to feature an alternate McKay, the others being "Before I Sleep", "Moebius", and "McKay and Mrs. Miller".
- Carter's first journey to an alternate universe parallels Daniel Jackson's, There But For the Grace of God.
- This is the second appearance of Major Lorne in Stargate SG-1, his first appearance being in the season 7 episode Enemy Mine.
- The piano music playing at the reception for Colonel Carter and President Landry, prior to the protester's invasion, is the Stargate SG-1 theme in a simple melody.
- The title of this episode is the same as a poem by Robert Frost
- The episode premise follows a storyline covered in other media, for example Justice League's episode "A Better World"
