Prometheus Unbound (Stargate SG-1)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Prometheus Unbound” | |
|---|---|
| Stargate SG-1 episode | |
 |
|
| Episode no. | Season 8 Episode 12 |
| Guest stars | Claudia Black as Vala Mal Doran Don S. Davis as General George Hammond Ellie Harvie as Dr. Lindsey Novak Gary Jones as Walter Harriman Eric Breker as Colonel Reynolds Morris Chapdelaine as Tenat |
| Written by | Damien Kindler |
| Directed by | Andy Mikita |
| Production no. | 812 |
| Original airdate | December 21, 2004 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Gemini" | "It's Good to Be King" |
| Episode chronology | |
"Prometheus Unbound" is an episode from Season 8 of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1.
[edit] Plot
The episode opens with Daniel Jackson and Gen. O'Neill arguing about whether or not Daniel can go on the upcoming mission to Atlantis. Daniel desperately wants to go, insisting that he is needed in Atlantis, and even threatens to quit. O'Neill is not swayed in the least. Upon reaching O'Neill's office (as he is now the General in charge of the SGC), the two find General Hammond sitting in O'Neill's chair. Hammond solves the issue by telling O'Neill that Daniel will in fact be taking part in the mission, as Hammond himself is going to be in command of the Prometheus, and therefore, the mission. Walter Harriman will also be going.
On board the Prometheus, Daniel briefs the command crew on where they're going. He meets Dr. Lindsey Novak, who apparently turned down the opportunity to go on the first mission to Atlantis. As they are talking, an alarm goes off on the ship. Daniel goes to the bridge, where they are picking up a distress call. They decide to see if there's anything they can do to help.
They drop out of hyperspace, and find a suspicious-looking Al'kesh, sitting dead in space. A team is sent to investigate and if possible, to salvage the Al'kesh. They find a number of dead Jaffa, and while they are exploring the inside of the ship, something or someone uses the rings to transport back onto the Prometheus. The rings on the Al'kesh are disabled, stranding the away team. The section of the Prometheus which holds the ring transporter has somehow been cut out of the system, preventing the bridge from closing off the area. Daniel and a number of security officers make a run for the section, and find one of Anubis's Kull Warriors, wielding a Zat. After disabling all of the security officers with the Zat, the Warrior rings them back to the Al'kesh. The Kull Warrior makes its way to the bridge, and once there, pulls a Zat on the bridge crew. It rings them all to the Al'kesh (without shooting them). The disenfranchised crew makes it to an observation window on the Al'kesh just in time to watch the Prometheus pull away (with Daniel still hiding out on board). Hammond wants to give chase, but the Al'kesh appears to be very much out of commission.
Daniel finds his way to the bridge, having grabbed a P-90 with the Kull Disruptor embedded in it. He is able to sneak up on the Kull, but the disruptor appears to be of no use. He is subsequently Zatted by the Kull Warrior.
The crew, formerly of the Prometheus, begins working on the Al'kesh attempting to get it up and running again.
Daniel wakes up on the bridge of the Prometheus, tied up in the command chair. He attempts to talk with the Kull Warrior, but it appears to be very untalkative. Daniel remarks that it is very odd that the Kull Warrior was nice enough to not kill the crew or himself. The Kull Warrior finally responds, saying that Daniel may prove to be useful. Daniel comments that the Warrior has kept the wrong guy, because he doesn't know anything about the ship. The Warrior responds, in a very deep, masculine voice, "But you are very attractive." Daniel is very disturbed by this idea, but the Warrior removes "its" helmet, and reveals "itself" to be a very attractive woman. She tells him not to worry - that she isn't going to hurt him...much.
Apparently, this woman (first name of Vala) had planned the entire thing in order to commandeer a ship, although the Prometheus is even larger than she had expected. She sends a message to someone, telling them that she will meet him at the designated coordinates. Further attempts to get at control systems on board the Prometheus fail, however, and as Daniel does not know any of the command codes, she tries and fails to extract them from him in a bizarre shoot-heal-seduce sequence which leaves him more than a little confused. She ends up appearing somewhat vulnerable.
General Hammond rings over to a cargo ship which has been similarly abandoned, in the hope of finding crystals with which to repair the Al'kesh. He rings over knowing that life support in the vessel is severely limited. He barely manages to get the crystals into the rings before collapsing. When a rescuer comes to get him, the crystals are transported, and then the rescuer manages to bring him back. Hammond is not breathing, and Reynolds is within moments of having to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when Hammond begins to breathe again.
Meanwhile, Daniel frees himself from the command chair and regains control of the situation with Vala's Zat. However, the computers have been programmed to accept commands only from Vala, and an Al'kesh suddenly appears on their radar. Vala explains that she has commandeered the vessel only as a means of helping her people, whose very existence is being threatened. Taking advantage of Daniel's preoccupation with the Al'kesh, she kicks the Zat out of his hands and manages to temporarily regain control. Finally, when she believes that he is down and out, she turns her back, and he shoots her with the Zat.
The Al'kesh is, in fact, the crew of the Prometheus, and they have caught up to their ship. Hammond orders them to take out the Prometheus's sublight engines, but they have arrived too late, as the Prometheus jumps into hyperspace.
Daniel puts her in the brig, and returns to the bridge, but he cannot figure out how to access the navigational controls. When she wakes up, he tries, unsuccessfully, to get her to tell him how to turn the ship around. When the ship arrives at the given coordinates, Daniel disembarks, only to find out that there are no refugees at all. Apparently, Vala is some sort of trader (and obviously a thief) who was supposed to trade a ship for a large quantity of refined, weapons-grade Naqahdah. While Daniel attempts to explain the situation to Vala's trading partners (members of the Lucian Alliance), a pair of Death gliders begins strafing their position. Daniel is forced to Zat the two traders and return to the Prometheus.
Daniel is forced to allow Vala out of her cell so that she can fly the ship. They lift off, and attempt to go to hyperspace, but the hull has taken too much damage. They raise the shield and activate the automatic weaponry, but the shields soon fail when more Gliders and some Al'kesh arrive. As they are running out of ammunition, they notice that one of the Al'kesh is firing on the other ships. It proves to be the crew of the Prometheus. Daniel persuades Vala to unlock the rings, and they ring aboard.
Vala asks Daniel what he intends to do with her, and he admits that he's not sure. However, as she begins to make some conciliatory remarks, he shoots her with the Zat again, being tired of her lies.
Later, we learn that the Prometheus has sustained too much hull damage to make the trip to Atlantis. They plan to return to Earth to effect repairs. As this discussion concludes, another alarm sounds, and an announcement is made that Vala has escaped. She rings to the Al'kesh, and escapes into hyperspace before anything can be done to stop her.
[edit] Notes
- On the European and Australian DVD release of Season 8, this is the 11th episode, not the 12th.
- This episode does not feature a Stargate.
- This episode marks the first appearance of Vala Mal Doran (Claudia Black) on the series.
- Lindsey Novak (Ellie Harvie) later became a recurring character on Stargate Atlantis.
- Amanda Tapping and Christopher Judge do not appear in this episode, as it occurs within the same time frame as Gemini. While Daniel was asking to go on the Prometheus to Atlantis, Teal'c and Carter were dealing with RepliCarter on the Alpha Site.
- Gary Jones' character's name is confirmed to be Walter Harriman, changed from Walter Davis as established in previous episodes.
- The two aliens that were originally supposed to deal with Vala will reappear later in The Ties That Bind.
- One can see, when Daniel Jackson is shown watching Vala Mal Doran eat, that behind him the screen is showing news stories from Earth. It is unclear whether this was intentional, or an oversight.
[edit] External links
- Official Stargate SG-1 site. MGM. Visited June 8, 2006. Most of site requires Flash.
- Screenplay (PDF). Distributed by MGM. Prepared by Line 21 Media Services Ltd (2004-10-19). Retrieved on October 29, 2006.
- Episode guide from Skyone. Visited June 4, 2006.
- Summary from SciFi. Visited June 4, 2006. Requires Flash.
- Review from GateWorld. Reviewed by Lex. Visited May 7, 2006.
