The saga started in the movie continues.

Cast

Richard Dean
Anderson as Colonel Jack O’Neill
Michael Shanks
as Dr. Daniel Jackson
Amanda Tapping
as CaptainSamantha Carter
Christopher
Judge as Teal’c
Don S. Davis as
Major General George S. Hammond
Teryl Rothery as
Captain Janet Frasier
Numerous notable guest stars

Crew

Numerous directors and writers. The IMDB page that
lists them can be found here.

Original Airdate

The second season aired during the summer of 1998.

Synopsis

These 22 episodes deal with numerous one-shot stories, the fall of
Apophis, and the introduction of a civilian faction that has been
making use of the second stargate. Summaries of the individual
episodes are available from the official
site.

If there are more important milestones in this season that I missed,
please let us know in the comments. (I’m only following the show on
DVD.)

High Point

Episode 14 – “Touchstone.” This had very stylistic direction and
photography, an Earth-based plot which was a nice change from the
ordinary, and an honest-to-goodness mystery with a very real time
limit. The human elements on Earth seem more realistic when you see
groups outside the SGC reacting to the discoveries made.

Low Point

The inconsistency in Carter’s intelligence. The puzzles in
Holiday and Out of Mind should have been solved by
her much more quickly, given the evidence presented to her. (It’s
possible that the extra drugs she received in Out of Mind
explain her lack of mental abilities there, but the problems in
Holiday were solved ten broadcast minutes later than they
should have been.)

The Review

This season’s originality was dampened by the use of some
“classic” sci-fi plot devices, many of which were used on Star
Trek: The Next Generation. They did, however, try to take those
devices in new directions. (A Matter of Time did an
excellent job with black hole physics; the explanations of the current
theories were perfect, and the deviations from that which were
necessary to the drama were regarded as unexplained deviations from
theory. Very well handled.) I give it 4 out of 6.

The effects were usually excellent. The opening sequence of
Spirits was particularly convincing. I’m still not sure how
they did it. The accretion disk in A Matter of Time was
consistent with the current theoretical understanding of such things,
rather than giving into some artistic urge to make it “prettier.” I
give it 6 out of 6.

The stories told in each episode were generally well formed
and plotted. There are few plot holes. (One was a big one though:
wormholes started in the SGC are outgoing wormholes only. How did
mother open the wormhole for Charlie in Show and Tell?) Some
of the episodes were poorly paced, though, with solutions coming too
long after the relevant data. The long-term story arcs were well
integrated into the weekly episodes, as well. I give it 5 out of 6.

The acting from the regular cast was very good. (The episode
Holiday did a nice job of demonstrating just how different
the characters and actors are.) Richard Dean Anderson has excellent
comedic timing. I give it 5 out of 6.

The emotional response this produced varied by episode, as
you’d expect. Touchstone really held me there by production
alone; the great script was icing on the cake. Most of the weekly
episodes were not thrilling, and the season finale was rather boring
for the first 40 minutes or so. Clip shows should not be season
finales; it’s all old stuff. At least the first season’s clip show
was done a few episodes earlier, and made an effective summary for new
viewers. I understand that they probably do them because they’ve
blown the season’s budget getting the previous episodes right, but
it’s still irritating. I give it 3 out of 6, because the crucial
episode in a season was so weak, and most of the weekly episodes were
only mediocre.

The production was excellent, especially in
Touchstone. If Showtime can make a show this expensive and
keep it on the air, why can’t Fox manage with Firefly? I
give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, this was a good season of television. I regret
losing track of this show in its initial run, but I’ll keep buying the
DVDs if they stay this good. I give it 5 out of 6.

In total, Stargate SG-1: Season Two receives 33 out of 42.