Stargate SG-1: Season 7 (Vol.35) [DVD]

"Grace" is the pick of the bunch, managing to sustain suspense and interest despite the largely static storyline. It feels almost more like a play than tv, with its emphasis on the psyche of a single character and its confined setting. Some interesting insights and character development for Sam Carter, although I didn't really rate the SGC scenes.

"Fallout" sees the return of Jonas Quinn, but unfortunately I found the episode rather boring, and once more the key actors were split, with Jack and Daniel each alone and Sam and Teal'c with Jonas. In fact, as is typical of this season, Jack has little to do in this episode and appears infrequently, which is unfortunate as without his humour the show loses one of its vital elements. The episode bravely tries to deal with the intricacies of politics, and succeeds to some extent, but it failed to draw me in.

"Chimera" personifies the central weakness of season 7: the lack of interaction between the core characters, especially O'Neill. It consists of two separate story strands, one for Daniel and one for Sam, which don't intersedt at all until the climax, and even then it feels somewhat contrived. The Daniel storyline could have done with having an episode to itself, with more input from the other characters and more development; it feels rather like an afterthought to the Sam storyline. The few scenes shared by Sam, Daniel and Teal'c (but not O'Neill) feel somewhat irrelevant and tacked on. The ideas were excellent, but the execution just wasn't there.

Finally, "Death Knell" sees Sam and Daniel each separated from the team once more, and although O'Neill has something to do this time, there's little to be seen of his trademark humour, and he barely speaks to Teal'c. The episode has a fair bit of action and suspense, but sadly, that's just not enough to sustain it.

All in all, there's nothing wrong with the ideas behind the episodes on this volume, but only one of them manages to execute those ideas in a manner that can be compared with Stargate seasons 1-5. I hate to say boring, but. Boring.

'Grace' is an interesting episode - a little disjointed in places - and I couldnt help but think 'Star Trek' all the way through whilst watching it.

'Fallout' is a slightly better episode - Jonas Quin fans will be pleased at his guest appearence (and new haircut), though they have added a (temporary) love interest for his character. (Albiet a very attractive one!)

In 'Chimera' there is more love interest introduced - this time for Sam Carter. Also the return of Daniel's archialogical friend, Sarah. This is an unfortunate episode where not much happens in terms of plot, except for a few references to the Lost City of the Ancients.

By far the best episode on this DVD is 'Deth Knell' - Sam Carter, running from one Anubis's Warriors, and struggling to survive. A well played out episode with action and suspense in all the right places. Worth buying for this episode alone.