Fair Game

This is Stargate SG1 For the First Time! From the creators of Babylon 5 For the First Time, Jeff Akin is watching this iconic show for the first time while Brent Allen, who has seen it at least 47 times, is watching for the first time for those sci-fi messages that hold a mirror up to society or show us how to be better human beings.

Fair Game - Season 3, Episode 3

Visit https://www.babylon5first.com/ for more!

This show is produced in association with the Akin Collective, Mulberry Entertainment, and Framed Games. Find out how you can support the show and get great bonus content like access to notes, a Discord server, unedited reaction videos, and more: https://www.patreon.com/babylon5first

Special Thanks to all who support our show through Patreon, including:
Executive Producers:
Andrew
Andrew Black
Anthony Powell
Becky Sparks
Calinicus
Chris Langston
ClubPro70
Colin 3of5
Commodore Trev
DAG
Demi-DW
Duane Brown
Fabio Kasecker
FellKnight
Frankie
Gregory Christ
Ian Maurer
Jack Kitchen
James O'Keefe
Jeffrey Hayes
Joel Townsend
Joey Pomeroy
kat
Katerina Kalinevich
Kenny A Karyadi
Martin Svendsen
Matt Ion
Mattie Garcia
Mike Hagon
Mr Krosis
Neil Moore
Nia is framed
NJRetiredLEO
Peter Schuller
Rob Bent
Ron H
Snatcher42
Starfury 5470
Stuart Hepworth
Suzanne Egg
Terrafan
The_Space_Pope
Thomas Monk
Timo Hakala
TrekkieTreyTheTrekker
Todd "Canuck" Schmuck

Producers:
David Blau
Guy Kovel
John Koniges

Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BabylonFirst
Visit https://www.patreon.com/byenerds to join the Patreon for full, unedited videos and an incredible community.

Transcript

SG1_303 Fair Game

[0:00] Music.

[0:15] Welcome to Stargate SG-1 for the first time, still not a Star Trek podcast.
My name is Jeff Akin, and I'm watching Stargate SG-1 for the first time.
And I'm Brent Allen, and I'm also watching Stargate SG-1, but I'm watching it for the 47th time.
However, for the very first time, I am looking for what Stargate is trying to teach us.
I'm watching through that lens of what's the show trying to say.
What are those sci-fi messages holding up mirrors to society, giving us hope that things can be better in the future?
Or can we just plain be better human beings to one another?
Brent, this week we're going to watch Stargate SG-1's version of Take Me Out to the Holosuite. This is fair game.
This is going to be the sports episode of SG-1.
We'll find out here in a few minutes. Why don't you tell us about fair game?
Yeah, sure. Sure. So this is third episode of season three fair game original air date, July 9th, 1999, right in the middle of summer.
You know, so Stargate wasn't necessarily, I guess, one of those kick it off in September and run through April type of shows.
You know, they took advantage of the off seasons for all the network stuff.
Right, right. Very much so.
Today's episode is written by Robert C. Cooper, directed by Martin Wood.
Two names you should be very familiar with. Jeff, I have a list of notes prior to watching the episode.

[1:34] They're all going to have to wait till we're done though. Oh, wow. Bunch of stuff to talk about. Some fun stuff. Fun little tidbits to go through.
Didn't Martin Wood, didn't Martin Wood direct just like two episodes ago?
He was out of mind, I think was the last one he did.
Yeah. Martin Wood directs like some stupid number of episodes.
Yeah, he is. And Robert C. Cooper writes some stupid number of episodes.
Like that's, there's a few guys I'm going to point out every time.
Peter Deluise, Robert C. Cooper, Brad Wright.

[2:04] These are the guys I'm going to point out. Everybody else is just sort of the jobbers coming in and out, you know? Right, popping in.
But with that, Jeff, why don't we go ahead and jump into this episode, fair game, and find out exactly how high we can run up this score.
Oh, I get it. I was like, what score? Oh, because the sports episode.
Yeah, it's the sports episode.
Here's a question. If they were going, okay, so there's the Niners.
Yep. And then there's the Fivers.

[2:31] Are these guys the Wonders? They're the Wonders. the oneeders the oneeders yeah okay all right let's go watch this episode hey listen if you guys are joining us for the very first time first of all welcome you're amazing you're awesome thank you guys so much we try to make this up front as short as we possibly can i'm making it longer by talking about how short we try to make it here's what we're gonna do we're gonna watch this episode we're gonna do it right now if you're watching us right now uh that means you're either on youtube or patreon or some other video streaming platform uh if you're on youtube you're gonna catch us doing the reaction we're going to get that kind of chopped up piece uh that's all nice and good and pretty if you want the full unedited behind the scenes version head over to our patreon page at patreon.com slash bye nerds and you guys can catch all of that action over there if you're listening on an audio pod catcher that's what they call those things but a podcast app you're about to gate into the future where you're going to hear my for the first time reactions you're going to hear the sci-fi messages that brent found also the massive list of notes that he's already teased So why don't you join us on the other side as we watch fair game?

[3:40] Music.

[3:57] All right jeff you have just finished watching fair game for the very first time i've watched now for the 48th time looking for messages you get to take us through your first time viewing experience let us relive it through you buddy what was it like well it wasn't a baseball episode there were no sports in this one truth a little disappointed about that but you know what you You know what I love?
I love bureaucratic episodes where like, oh gosh, you would, wouldn't you? I yeah, totally.
Oh, that's like, so your thing TNG's ensigns a command, right?
With the shell yak and they're like diving into their treaty and everything.
I love that stuff. And they did a great job with this one.

[4:36] This was, I, I, I love this episode. This was great. It had intrigue. It had politics.
It had a promotion. promotion we got major Sam Carter now which is pretty exciting yeah we met three new system Lords we met Kronos you and nirty who Jack calls nerdy pretty great too and we learned a whole lot we had Thor on board as well and we learned about this uh protected planets treaty and the Asgard are trying to help get Earth under it yeah gosh there are just so many even as I'm talking there's There's so many layers to this, this episode.
So for, for the record, I do think we've heard of the protected planets treaty for everyone out there who's watching.
I fully confess this might be just what's in Brent's head, but I do believe the planet of Samaria, which is where we first met Thor or the old Viking planet.
I believe that is part of the protected planets treaty, which is why they had Thor's hammer on that planet to protect the planet. planet.
I believe I could be wrong, but I believe that that was a part of the protected planets treaty. And, uh, I did misspeak earlier.
I don't think it was during the episode of, of Korai where we learned that Kronos killed Tilk's father. I think it actually might've been this episode where we learned that we killed his father.
Weird that I hadn't heard that then. I, I, I would be surprised if Samaria was part of the protected planets treaty because my, and this is just my understanding.

[6:03] They wouldn't need Thor's hammer there to protect them because they have the the treaty yeah and you know and as soon as that hammer was down the gould were they were in they were they were attacking and so i mean that would completely violate the treaty as i understand my limited understanding of you're you're right about that you're right about that and that's why i say i think i think it is but you know as as shows often do sometimes you know sometimes he turns into a she all of a sudden why not and i don't mean that i'm sorry i don't mean that disrespectfully to any of our trans friends out there that's not please don't take that that's that's not what i meant for that well if anything else i think it's validating right because yeah.

[6:41] What happens yeah well in this case i'm literally just talking about the transition between nearty who was referenced as a he and all of a sudden near he's a she that's all i'm talking about the retcon just the the unspoken retcon go ahead a one letter retcon yeah add an s there you go it happened to spot many times yes yes give me a buzz we got a lot of buzzes in this one like we good thing we're not playing the rule three anymore we would have lost it within the first like eight minutes of the show right so as i'm thinking about this and talking about it like there's more and more layers to this and like the complexity of the episode is really starting to like i'm really starting to notice it because on it on the surface this is a direct follow-up from what we saw with uh with last week with hathor killing hathor and so oh my gosh you killed hathor you're for real's threat so the system lords are coming for you they're going going to take a break from their infighting.
Cause I, one of my notes was like, they're always fighting each other all the time.
How are they such an intergalactic threat when they're always fighting each other?
And we got a little bit of an answer on that and that the Asgard have a greater enemy in their galaxy, so they're like, yeah, we can't do anything, you know? I mean, good luck.

[8:01] Imagine the Gould, if they were aligned, like if they had one system Lord and they they united them.
It doesn't matter if you have five races, they're going to bowl over everybody.
Well, and, and that's what they, and that's what Thor said. Like their greatest fear is that the gold would unite under a single system Lord or tilks at that or something like that. So on the surface, yeah, they're coming to blow up earth and thor comes around to say hey there's this treaty we can negotiate our way to some peace and it's a pretty crappy uh negotiation where it's all you know hey you can give up this and give up this and give up that also give up both of your stargates and then hey we probably won't attack you so how do you go and so that's that's the surface level of this but then you have this other layer in here of the infighting of the system lords going on that that just played out as the three representatives that were negotiating.

[8:53] Another layer of, we didn't get confirmation on it, but what I believe was Thor testing, not only J not only humanity, Thor testing, not only humanity, but Jack specifically.
The last time we saw the Asgard fifth race right here, you are, you're gonna be, you're on your way, you have great potential and Jack's like, bro, we're already out there, we're doing this. this now, the Asgard are like, can we, can we engage?
Are you ready for that next step? Right, right. Right.
And so I believe that he intentionally set up just this crappy deal for them that like nobody in their right mind would take just to see if Jack had the guts to stand up and say, no, or even better what happened here, figure out a way to get everything you want.
So we had this, this whole, I mean, God, it was just great.
Excellent Jack episode. he shined in this whole thing so here's a question here's a question near t never confessed to being the one who got chronos right like as far as we know it just so happens she has a technology to make herself invisible which she showed us and then she went a little crazy and tried to run away but there was never a okay yeah i did this so was it thor that did that was it actually thor, you know and near t was just running because she freaked i love it creating the situation and everything, what's Jack gonna do.

[10:18] When I put this thing into play? I love that idea.
And the validation we have of that. That would be antithetical to who Thor is as a person, as a character.
Would it? I'm telling you that, that it would be antithetical to Thor, but it could happen. I mean.
He, it was clear to me that he is, he's Thor, he's the God of Thunder.

[10:38] But there's also a council an asgard council that kind of tells them what's up and what to do maybe this wasn't yeah they're like hey go go do this thing we need don't kill them right just just go knock them out see what happens create this situation to just like where are these people in in their development the validation we had that might have happened was before the attack thor's like hey i'm out i gotta head back home there's some stuff going on and then the episode ended with him leaving so he stuck around the whole time to watch what i'm excited about now is like.

[11:15] Earth is in the intergalactic politics now not only are this this force that are popping up on planets and causing problems for the gould they're a force to be reckoned with they outwitted the gould yeah who cares if nirti did it or not jack made a huge kirk level bluff that not only paid off it paid off to the point that like they almost killed like you and nirti almost killed each other it was perfect i'm i'm sorry i'm gonna take that back this was not kirk level this was sheridan level oh yes can't say it any better than that maybe maybe even sinclair level i mean that was That's pretty good.
It was pretty good. It was amazing. Yeah.
Yeah. So this was a great episode. I, I had a couple other little notes on here, just like, uh, Thor pulled the whole star Trek thing of, Hey, they're coming to blow you up, but we're the only ship in the sector, so you're not gonna have a lot of help from us.
And my thought was like, if this is such an existential crisis for the potential fifth race.

[12:13] Where are the knocks where are the furlings right like there's these these other races that we were told about and i can understand the knocks they're non-violent you know but but hey bring them in and maybe help them come up with a thing what about the tolan what about the tolan what about any of these people that we've made friends with this could have been that episode where they all come together and then we get a big fight i like though what we got better than that at this point there's whole thing about tilk and his dad took really this was like we've been seeing a lot more emotion out of tilk he's been getting fired up things like that and here we saw him i mean he he didn't do anything wrong but he refused to support uh the the the gould that were coming on board he refused to give up his his weapon there's my little thumbs up for people because i'm now you know i'm on a mac no this was this was i i really and the more i talk about the more i talk about this episode So the more I really, really liked it.
We even introduced a politician, Secretary of Defense Sims, and he wasn't like just this horrible, evil bad guy.
Like, how amazing is that? So I love this one.

[13:19] Brent, what sci-fi? Well, first, you have a list of notes to share, and then I want to know your sci-fi thoughts after that.
Yeah, so a short little handful. One, let's do our update our count here.
We got one for crying out loud in this episode. Yep. Yep.
And uh, that is gonna bring us up to 16 for crying out louds by our count.
We also have five, five Daniel deaths on screen. Five. Okay.
I think I said three. There's been five.

[13:47] That's a lot of times die in less than two, three seasons. Do we wanna count his butt hairstyle as it like that finally died?

[13:57] Hopefully that was permanent i gotta tell you when you watch the show and you go back to the beginning and you see that hairstyle and you're like oh my gosh uh and we still have one tilkin deed so those are those are our three tracking pieces right now uh yeah a couple of notes uh we do note sam got her promotion to major sorry harry kim you still have to wait we mentioned near t everything going on with that what i love about the near t thing and and even a few of the other things we've seen in this particular episode even bringing back thor more of the system lords which jeff i know you've wanted to know more about the system lords this has been a thing that you've you've uh yep said i told you there's an episode coming up this season that's going to give you some answers and more insight into something you've been wondering about and this this is what i was referring to but i i love this just goes back to prove that so you had that cassandra episode which seemed very episode of the week here's this person how many times have you seen cassandra since then twice maybe three times and in pivotal stuff that was pretty cool thing right but it's not like she's like a part of the cast now and a part of the story right but all of a sudden we bring back nerity so we're we're bringing back we're interconnecting things a little bit more making more connections uh which i love quite a bit but uh the other thing is uh We brought back the Kronos is the Asherah or the gold who sent the Asherah to kill Jolinar.
Yeah. That sort of stuff. Just the show is connected.

[15:24] It's not serialized, but things do matter and come back again.

[15:29] But the other thing, too, there are things I mentioned this during the watch through.
There are some things, Jeff, that I would love to just sit back and be like, I'm going to not mention that or bring that up.
And I'm going to let you catch it on the second watch. launch you remember in season two of deep space nine when we first got the mention of the dominion yeah there's a little a little throw throwaway line little throwaway line that had nothing to do with anything else right you got one of those lines in this episode actually i think they mentioned it twice it's the it is the enemy of the asgard in the other galaxy i'm positive of that yeah that's exactly what it is uh that we are going to meet them later i'm not going to tell you who they are or what they are but we we are going to meet them later and this is that sort of reference they're already seeding that idea you know uh which is which is pretty cool uh okay on to um onto our messages i i really enjoyed this episode watching it for messages this time, in a way that i never have uh before i i love this line if you jack asked the asgard if you have the technology to stop them how did you let these evil ones get so powerful.

[16:35] And and his answer was like we're not really proud of it but we're kind of dealing with our own stuff off to.
And basically, we're bluffing because we don't really actually have that power.
I don't know that there's so much a message as much as that is.
A lot of times, the mirror of society, there are things like, there are things we would love to stop, evil that we would love to stop from around the world.
But it turns out we got our own crap we're dealing with.
What is that own crap we're dealing with? Well, I think it might be reflective.

[17:00] A lot of mirrors here, Jeff, more reflective of what's going on with the system lords.
The system lords are at the mercy of the Asgard, not because the Asgard are actually that powerful but because they're fighting themselves yeah right jeff i dare say you could put this probably into any just about any political situation out there across the globe the reason certain people are in power is because everyone else is too busy fighting themselves as long as you can be keep people fighting themselves you can stay in control of them because what is the thing that they fear the most that we would unite under a single banner nothing more powerful nothing more More powerful, you know, and that's not just political.
That's not just country. Think about unions. Yeah.
And how that works with, you know, if they freaking would just unite under one deal, look what can happen. Look what can happen.
But bigger than all of that, Jack is asking Thor, what do I do?
Thor won't tell him. I love what you said, Jeff.
I've never thought of it before that this is actually a setup from the Asgard the entire time, a testing, if you will.
I've never thought of it. that way i never thought of the ship flying away at the end is actually they're sitting there watching the entire time and he's like you have it within you to make the right decision and in the end guess what jack and jack's the one who comes up with the idea.

[18:20] He does jack does have and and at the beginning of the episode what do we see jack's like no no don't choose me don't choose me it can't be me we've got other people and then thor's like no no it's you buddy it's you i've got you and then thor later goes yeah i'm not telling you the right answer you've got to figure this one out on your own and he's leading him he's pushing him forward.

[18:40] And you know at the end chronos turns around is like if you continue to use your stargate when we meet you we'll show you no mercy and jack's like whatever yeah we'll get you you stop it we'll get you okay well i guess it just makes it more interesting while we're out there say hi to raw or apophis or hathor or how they do it or seth when you see them like whatever we could have let you go but we didn't but i i just i there's such a uh hope that we can be better in the future we're getting there go back you've referenced it multiple times today jeff you are the fifth race.
You have the potential. You're getting there. And Jack says, we're there now. This is going on.
Hope for being better in the future. You know why you can have hope that you're better in the future? Because right now you're better than you think you are.

[19:30] Think about it. Think about it. Jeff, this one to me, out of seven, five Chevrons.
Five Chevrons. Five Chevrons. You could possibly talk me into going a little higher, but I really like it. I actually have four written down in my notes, but I just said that line right there, which I hadn't even thought of until in the moment.
That's getting a fifth Chevron. Let's go. I love it. That's great.
I had a whole thought additionally on there's a great undertone.
I don't even know if it's a big part of the story of vengeance, right? These things happen.
I'm going to seek out vengeance, but everything that you said is so much better than that. I think five Chevrons is a great call on this one.
All right. Well, Jeff, I do the rating. You do the ranking where do you place this one in our season three 100 completely definitive ranking of sg1 currently our uh season ranking is number one into the fire number two seth where do you place number three fair game, Well, it's going to be a top five episode. I can promise you that much, bro. This is, this is probably going to upset some people.
This is our new number one episode. It should be. Yeah, I agree. I agree.

[20:34] I love, I love this episode. I thought you would.
I really, there are sometimes Jeff, I just, I like Jeff's going to like this episode and I'm just excited for him to get to this episode because I think he's going to like it. Totally one of them.
Well, speaking of that, Jeff, uh, that is going to wrap up this episode.
Fair game. game. Next time we are watching an episode called Legacy.
Legacy. What is Legacy about, Jeff? What do you think?
Legacy is going to, if I think about a legacy that exists in Stargate that would be meaningful to the show, I think about the Stargate program itself.
We got a glimpse into some of that history in Torment of Tantalus.
We got the tiniest look in 1969 to some of the personnel and things like that so i think that this is going to go back even further right because the torment of tantalus showed when we discovered the stargates but they were here for a long time so i think this is going to be some we're going to meet somebody to get some retrospective we're going to hear about the history of the stargates on earth interesting you're a good guesser oh sure and we'll find out next time right here on stargate sg1 for the first time actually i already know No, Jeff doesn't though.
We'll figure it out. Thank you guys for joining us. Don't forget wherever you guys get this show, please be sure to like, subscribe, rate, review, all those sorts of things.

[21:56] And please, please do share this show with somebody that you know who loves SG1 or is in dire need of getting into the gate, just like my good buddy, Jeff over there.
So with that being said, until next time. Hey, Brent.

[22:13] Jeff. Yes. What's up, pal? Hey, I, I don't think we can release this episode.
Okay. Why not? So I was, I was looking over here at the, uh, our charter that we wrote for our, our podcast here.
And according to section four, four, seven subsection alpha Bravo line four, two, we're not gonna be able to take any of this stuff, use it online because the, the pair crying out loud.

[22:37] Music.