Urgo

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Urgo - Season 3, Episode 16

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Transcript

[0:00] Music.

[0:35] 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. You know, those lessons that hold up a mirror to society, give us hope that things can be better in the future, or just show us how to be better human beings to one another, and sometimes big old handfuls of all of them all at the same time.

[0:59] We'll see if that happens again in the 16th episode of the third season that we're about to watch right now. Ergo with a u not an e it's not even a real word in fact i think it's going to be somebody's name my prediction said this is going to be a water episode they're going to be like on a boat with a captain ergo guy and i am a very good guesser and let's find out if it's even almost a tiny teeny bit true as you brent tell us a little bit about this episode jeff this is the 16th episode season three ergo original air date january 26 2020 that.

[1:35] Was on sky one over in england actually here in america it was on january 28th two days later so we're in that kind of vein uh right here this is a peter de louise joint so keep an eye out for that cameo jeff i am going to tell you something about this episode that i usually reserve for the end all right i love this episode oh wow no pressure this this is the scene i have seen this episode the single most amount of times out of any star trek stargate episode i've ever seen really this is number one on my rewatch list every single time you've seen this one 470 times maybe more wow it's it i love this episode 100 percent it's not a water episode um i yeah this episode checks all the boxes for me am i gonna say that it is the single best episode of stargate in the entire franchise it might be oh my god.

[2:38] It might be i love this episode um, i don't know there's another one too there's another one that i like a whole lot too uh you guys know the one um, yeah i'm not gonna say anymore i'm just letting you know all right i have to say i have to say it straight up i'm so giddy to get to this episode the good news is i'm not afraid to tell you i hate it if i hate it yes in fact i almost true i almost want to now like well it's it's it will now well so here's the thing and i did i said this on purpose because now i have.

[3:20] Set a bar for this episode that you don't usually have going into an episode exactly and this episode's either going to hit that bar or it's not and you're going to let me know one way or the other yeah so i hope this one sucks however this is to our patreon folks who have been a part of an ongoing conversation that has been happening within this show for patreon exclusive this is why jeff and i have recently done what we've done because i had to do this episode had to get to it it makes total sense now i had to get here uh so with that jeff uh let's go watch this episode i want to get into it uh if you're joining us for the very first time first of all welcome you're amazing it's a great show you go all the way back but listen serious stay for this one because this one's great um the way this works is jeff and i are going to go watch this episode right now we have not watched this episode prior and then come in with a bunch of notes to discuss it no we're going to watch it right now if you're hanging out with us on youtube stick around you are going to catch the reaction version of this and if you want the full unedited version ever to patreon where not only do you get the full unedited cut of our reaction you also get the full unedited cut of the entire video and then you get all the behind the scenes conversations that jeff and i have as well with entirely different storylines and everything exactly if you're listening to us on a podcasting app you're about to join us in the future on the other side of the episode where i'm going to share my first time reactions brent's going to share any of the sci-fi messages he found.

[4:49] Brent uh let's dive into one of your favorite episodes ergo.

[4:55] If this doesn't come out as number one for you at the end, I'm done with the show. Oh.

[5:16] Water indicates sustainable atmosphere. Temperature, 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Barometric pressure is normal. No obvious signs of civilization. P4x884 looks like an untouched paradise sir appearances may be deceiving let's go touch it one man's ceiling is another man's floor a fool's paradise is a wise man's hell never run with scissors one man's ceiling is another man's floor spoiler alert that's gonna be my my feeling on this episode listen i'm just saying i when i was doing beat me up with matt it happened more than once and i was like this is like the best episode ever and he was like meh so he was always kind about it which was nice yeah yeah yeah are you trying to make a point major yes sir we should perform a standard recon mission mineral and biological survey to determine if 884 is a viable site for a research colony very well you have a goal mineral survey my favorite colonel i know General, it's all fun and games until someone breaks a nail.

[6:27] Those silly kids. It's been a while since we've gotten a good Hammond episode. I am unfamiliar with that tone of you. It's French. It means ciao. Ciao. It means adios. Vita Zaynara which all very loosely translated me.

[6:59] Music.

[7:41] So, yeah, that truthfully, that does that just sets the scene for you a little bit. Doesn't give you a whole lot into the episode. Not a lot. It makes me think of Mass Effect three. They oh, gosh, I'm not going to say too much. I don't want to spoil anything for you, but they find a thing and it's one of those. Hey, for this person, it's been like, well, for us, it's been this big chunk of time for this person. It's been like a minute and that whole thing happens out of it. But it's very different situation wasn't that the the plot line of flight of the navigator, i don't think so but that's a great movie the kid had like the thing right they flew the ship do you know where the ship is right now it's in tomorrowland on top of a coca-cola building it's been redressed what yeah really it's the movie prop is now just a building thing in the middle of the magic kingdom can you get in it and like put your hand on the things that he flew with? It's not that big. It's not that big. No, that sucks. It's kind of cool.

[8:44] Blood work is normal. So far, you check out fine. What about the lost time? Could we have been drugged with something that leaves no trace? Externally, there's no new marks or bruises on your skin to indicate injections or any kind of struggle. What's the last thing you remember? Walking through the gate. We were walking up the ramp. O'Neill was explaining the meaning of chow. We stepped through, we stepped back through. That's what happened as far as we're concerned. When you didn't come back on schedule, we sent a second mouth. But all it showed was the same image of the alien planet we saw before. There was no sign of you, no response to our radio call. It's just a painting on the other side. Both came back just before you arrived. We assumed you sent them. It wasn't us, sir.

[9:41] This is the Mark II Mounts transmission. That's what we saw major yes sir same as the first except where is it if this is the second map's transmission we shouldn't be able to see the first map somewhere here near the stargate, isn't that thing supposed to probe a little well then there'd be tracks sir there are none at least nowhere in this image watch what happens when you run the playback frame by frame, there oh hello what is it i'm not sure sir their technology appears to be advanced beyond ours then the previous image was faked there's no other explanation sir the initial images portraying this planet as a paradise seem to have been manufactured and then broadcast back to us through the mouth. Why? Possibly with the intended purpose of luring us into this room. See? I knew it was too good to be true. It's an alien abduction episode. Coffee's great. I was just thinking that. Yeah, is that cinnamon? It's a chicory. Chicory.

[11:07] Teal'c? Isn't that hot? Extremely. Indeed. Just stay on the base. We're going to need to keep an eye on you for the time being. Hammond's like, that was weird. As do I, Daniel Jackson. For someone who just drank half a gallon of steaming hot coffee.

[11:41] Music.

[11:46] This is a whole episode of them drinking coffee, eating stuff in the mess. God, this tastes so good. At least you get to see the mess for the first time here. Nice tablecloths. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I don't know. Wherever they went they got a big dose of mdma and they're just like god this feels so good it It tastes amazing. Oh, my God.

[12:41] Music.

[12:51] This computer screen looks like one of those magic eyes. Oh, yeah. Try the pie.

[13:03] So I'm running a full diagnostic on that. Wow. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. The best part of the hub. Well, what's so different about it? Same old pie. Here's the most satisfying. Why does it taste so good? I don't know. Looks really good, too. All I do know is, I don't even like you.

[13:36] How about Med Lab 3 reports to us? Mm-hmm. That lady's staring at the table. Whatever. The scans have a certain percentage of error. Basically, it looks like an errant pixel. But it's in the exact same place on each of the scans. Yeah, thank you. So I had to run a comparative analysis on the computer to be sure. It's in the exact same spot in each of your brains, but... You're talking about something smaller than the head of a pin barely large enough to show up on an x-ray right which is why i also needed to run an electron resonance scan this is uh magnified several thousand times sir well they're still using old light boxes and x-rays that thing's in all of us, I'm afraid so. All ball with little Nero connector things. Mm-hmm.

[14:44] It looks like a snitch. Can these devices be removed? Not without causing irreparable brain damage, sir. What's the downside? How they were implanted without any external marks or injury to the cortex is beyond me. Can we determine what threat they pose? Apparently all desserts on base are in grave danger. We've determined that there is a barely measurable electromagnetic field being emitted by the devices, but I'm not sure what that means. Well, so far all we've noticed are some cravings and a certain increased acuity in our senses. Especially taste and smell. Until we find out the true purpose of these objects, I'm quarantining you in the Level 22 isolation quarters with a 24-hour guard. Can you quarantine us in the mess? We won't go anywhere. At least get room service. Can we at least get room service, like, on demand? We don't have to demand it. Just keep it coming. Uh-huh. Pretty nice isolation quarters. That's boring. You said that wasn't me. What do you say we all go do something? Is this ergo coming up?

[15:58] Dielk? Did you hear that? I did. Indeed. Who's there? Okay. I'll make it so that you can all see me, but only because you asked. Recognize the voice. Is it Mel?

[16:18] You all can see me, right? Apparently. Oh, good. I'm so glad. Is that Dom? Hello, hello, hello. That's dad. It's his dad. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yeah. He looks great. He's got to be like 70 in this. Probably. He's certainly alive still in this one.

[16:41] So I just, I'm going to tell you this right now throughout the course of this episode. Dom DeLuise is here. He is Dom DeLuise. He's basically going to ad lib every single one of his lines. They're just like here you keep that in mind as you watch this episode okay okay he's just ad-libbing his life now is that is that just him being like yeah he gave me a script whatever i'm dumb de louise i'm gonna do what i want or is that like what they wanted him to do i don't know but his son is directing the show fair the episode so it's probably like hey dad, here here's the idea i need you to get across so they can respond go like i got this yeah there's probably there's probably something in the script for it just go dad do your thing um there i will i a thousand percent know the cameo in this episode there's a spot where you know he starts flashing and looking like different people and one of the people he looks like is his son okay and that's that's the the peter deluise cameo so it's literally like dom flashes into his peter right boom boom yeah yeah yeah huh now you will say it hello ergo do you know that you're all outside than you are on the inside on the inside it's so complicated oh please.

[18:08] Airman.

[18:14] Do you see an intruder in this room anywhere, i like how they're totally self-aware like they know they're tasting things they shouldn't be tasting they know that this is a hallucination or whatever right, all right what are you ergo which might explain why we all just said hello ergo no you are not dreaming you read our thoughts don't panic just the thoughts you're having at the moment of course, you're actually in our heads aren't you you are so smart samantha i love that about you carter The technology implanted in our brains, sir. It's ergo. We're looking at some sort of visual communication interface. Controlled hallucination. So, I... What? He gets confused. By the way, who is Mary Steenburgen? This is incredible. The devices must be linked somehow. Dr. Fraser said they're emitting a small EM field, like radio frequencies. Are you saying the devices in our brain are some sort of wireless computer network? Yeah, an incredibly sophisticated one.

[19:35] Obviously able to work over significant distances. I mean... He's like, I am incredibly sophisticated. That's why we were all drawn to the commissary when Colonel O'Neill was eating dessert. He can make us do stuff? No, never. In spite of what you're thinking, never. But you can make suggestions, can't you? Hmm. And enhance our sensory perception of experiences. Like making things taste better. Didn't it? Why not? I mean, he's tapped into our brains. He's making us all see and hear him. Boring. By the way, who decorated this room? It is so plain. Please don't tell me that your whole planet's like this. Not the whole planet. Hey, couldn't we go someplace else that's not here? Someplace, you know, that's not here. Cree. Anywhere. Cree. Boring.

[20:32] Okay, so what does he look like? A famous tenor. Pavarotti. What's this? And you're seeing the exact same thing at the exact same time? Yep. What is this? It's a defibrillator. Ah, interesting. Thank you. Is it defibrillating now? He, uh, it seems to crave new experiences. You use the paddles to administer an electric shock to people whose hearts are beating irregularly ah and then they feel better does it feel good does it hurt oh it hurts i would think so let's try it no i don't think so why not it's not gonna kill you is it or is it, it talks to you i think it's experiencing things through us using our senses to collect information Try the paddles So do you experience any Physical Oh no, Tug's gonna do it, hey Teok would you loosen up hey I'm loose.

[21:49] He doesn't have total control over us just the power of suggestion he also seems to be able to enhance our enjoyment of certain experiences in order to motivate us really he appears unresponsive to direct questioning no no that's not true oh I'm picking your brains you can pick my brains I'll tell you anything you want to know ask me ask me anything what what tell us how to remove you from our brains oh except that he said anything wait a minute why do you want to remove me from your brains don't you understand i'm in your brains i know you like me what are you trying to you can't fool me no ergo we don't like you oh admit it tough guy a smidgen no smidgen no smidgen i wouldn't blame you i have a lot of endearing qualities He will not cooperate, O'Neal.

[22:36] Years from now, when you're thinking about me, you're going to say, how did I ever get along without that wonderful constant companion? Woof! Years from now? Woof? There is no way to remove me from your brains. Forget about it. Forget about it. What are you doing in our brains in the first place? Well, ha ha ha, she got it, you got it. I'm here to learn, I'm here to experience your world. so we've been tagged. Like we do with animals in the wild and we want to study them. We are not wild animals. Speak for yourself, big fella. Hang on a second. The race who created you and put these things in our brains, they're going to want the information you're collecting at some point. I suppose. So how do they get it? You don't want to know. Let's say I do. Don't worry, you will never have to find out. Aren't you programmed? I mean, how can you defy your creators? Because they're evil. They're really scary evil, and we don't want anything to do with them.

[23:43] So maybe if we contact whoever created the technology... That would be bad. Very bad. Why should we listen to you? Okay, I know that you only like me a little bit, but I like you a lot. And I do not want you to die. Die? Yes, as in dead. They're gonna kill you? They'll open your brains with a big giant can opener, and then they scoop me out with a big scoopy thing. That's how it works. It's death or me. Me or death. You have to decide. Me.

[24:24] So there's a there's a thing in this episode jeff you will almost never see teal and ergo or chris judge and dom de louise in the same shot okay because chris judge apparently could not stop laughing really yep yep so yeah like he was there he just couldn't stop laughing And like, like this scene in particular, there's a lot of really interesting cuts and an editing process that is probably just Chris judge, like cracking up, busting out laughing. Yeah. And the whole rest of the cast too. I'm sure. I got to say though, for a dude who's just ad libbing this whole thing, he has a deep understanding of who his character is. Well, I, again, I'm sure he's got, you know, a guide because he can't ad lib and have them respond on script and just have him ad libbing the whole thing. Like, he's got to be able to lead them somewhere or go somewhere. But clearly, he said something, and, you know, Richard Dean Anderson responded like a smidgen or whatever he said. Like, there's clearly some sort of something.

[25:32] Responsing. Yeah, yeah. Which, you know, the rules with television and especially with Star Trek and B5 was like this as well. Like, you don't ad lib. Yeah. What's on the script is what's on the script. And there's reasons for that. There's stories about how, hey, it says go over there, but I really should say come over here. And that's like a three-hour meeting with the writers to determine if the actor can make that level of a change. Whereas here, curb your enthusiasm meets Stargate. Right? Here we go.

[26:12] Well? We're thinking. Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, Please.

[26:49] Music.

[26:55] So this technology is living vicariously through you. I say we risk it all and go back to the planet. Well, what if he's telling the truth about it? I'll take it. There's no way to get him out of us here, right? No, no way. No. See? She knows. Maybe there's another way. I haven't had much time to study the technology, but I could at least try to figure out a way to turn him off. EMP. Turn me off? Poof, please. You're wasting your time. It's impossible. Hey, I got an idea. What do we play? Hide and seek. You hide, and I'll, you know, I'm not going to cheat. You know, because I have, but I'm not going to. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

[27:59] I like how he can move the chair. Right? Yeah, yeah. Like he gets a little in the chair and everything. I don't have time to play, Ergo I don't care if I'm it Because I have work to do No, I am not hungry Look, go eat pie with Colonel O'Neal I'm very busy right now Major? I was just talking to Ergo, sir She's like, I know. All I do is watch you now. This is hilarious. Janet, as much as I appreciate it, please. Ergo, that is rude. What did he say? Uh, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Doctor, are we entirely sure that the member's best you want, or what's the word? Sane? It's the one. Yes, sir. Remember, everything we hear or see is processed in the brain. Ergo is creating an image of himself that they're responding to just like they would you or me. If you say so.

[29:07] Way off. Not even close. Not a chance. Forget about it. I believe I have a solution, sir. Please. The electromagnetic field these devices generate indicate they're still based on electronic principles. So smart and yet so wrong. He's just so lonely. He's just desperate for interacting with people. Ergo, that's hot! I didn't mean to. Yes, you did. Now stop it. fact is sir ergo's been trying to distract me like this since i first started thinking about it so i'm probably on the right track i hope i didn't hurt you i'm really sorry i'll live she forgives me a strong enough em pulse can knock out most electronic-based technologies it would be harmless to us but it should render ergo impotent could you uh phrase that, do it oh please oh please don't do this hey listen i didn't mean to stall you i like you i really really do uh please it was an accident.

[30:16] This room is shielded so it won't affect any of the basis technology don't do this please what can i do to make you like me, You're sure this won't hurt us? No. No, it's gonna hurt me. We won't even feel it. But I will. I throw myself at your mercy. Please have mercy. Oh, I know. I can be smaller. How's this? Ready? I'm here. Look how teeny weeny I am. You're kind of cute. How could anything this teeny weeny hurt anybody? Wait, I can be dull. Want me to be dull? What a nice shade of gray. How about some white bread with mayonnaise? Want to watch golf on television? Will you flip that switch? No. Oh, how about this? Oh, there he is. It's great because like his facial expression is like that's yeah you can see the resemblance don't do that oh sucker blue i'm melting i'm melting where's your walls reference what a world pulse hasn't gone off yet ergo it's on a timer oh how much time Oh.

[31:43] My God. mm-hmm that's it yep just like that i feel no differently listen what exactly, way to go sam, daniel's eyebrows look really weird there we'll see very painted on, Like, not a good job. The devices are still present, but the EM field that was being emitted by them is gone. Everything else checks out to me. Request permission for SG-1 to go back to work, sir. Are we going to set off the metal detectors in airports now, or are we cool? Give it a week. A week? That seems like a long time. Very long. 48 hours, 72 hours. And especially a week, probably in that room the whole time. It's not like get shore leave or anything like that. Everything looks normal. Yep. How are you feeling? Great. I just want to get back to work. Well, assuming you are clear by next weekend, Cassandra and I are going to the lake and we are going to rent a rowboat. Would you like to come along? Yeah. Water episode. Great. Can you send Daniel up next? Yeah. Row, row, row your boat. 100% chance that skeleton's going to come into play somehow.

[33:08] I don't know any physician, by the way, who has a full-on skeleton hanging out in their personal office. If you did, they are in their evil laboratory. Truthfully, I don't know too many physicians who actually have a personal office. They're doing it in round. That's good. I'd know if I was singing. I don't even know the words to Roro. Okay. If you call that singing.

[33:56] Marco. I couldn't help myself. I was so sure it would work. Oh, it did. Don't feel bad. It did work for a while. Everything went away. It was very sad. Very, very sad. And then all of a sudden I was back in your brains where I belong. The system must have some sort of reset. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, too. Because as long as that device is capable of influencing you in any way, you're relieved of activity. You are grounded. General, is that really necessary? It can't leave. I believe it is. whether you admit it or not you've been compromised the fact is an alien entity has control over you however limited we don't know what it's capable of well he can't actually make us do anything we don't want to sir then why did i have to treat your arm for a burn didn't you say ergo was responsible i didn't mean to sang real well with your boat not his intention.

[34:54] I trust i've made my point come on ergo be a mensch how do we get rid of you i have no idea i really i just don't know he really may not know sir how could he not know he's just the program program i'm just saying that your software doesn't know how your computer works hey my software doesn't make me sing row row row your boat please please don't fight i'm here what's the difference how look i'm not gonna make another noise not a peep nothing i'm gonna be quiet like a A little tiny mouse, not a peep. Watch. I got an idea. Why don't we play a game, some sort of a wonderful game, something with a dictionary. It's so much fun. You know, you get a word, and then you write what you think the word is. Oh, it's a lot of lips. And educational. It's really nice. I think you'll like it. We don't get it for crying out loud in this one.

[35:53] Music.

[36:00] Locked. I really miss gate guy. Yeah. Gate technician. Being such an iconic guy, he was only in like one season. Oh no, he's coming back. He better come back. Well, what's that? Actually, it's our version of you. But not as suave as sophisticated as Bob. It's equipped with sensors, video camera, microphone. We use it to explore in much the same way that you do. Carter. Sir. I don't know why I was telling him that She can be friendly Because you compromised, Oh, how beautiful Can we go there? It's an illusion Your creators do this in order to lure people into their trap See, I told you they were mean That's mean, It's just him He just wants friends this is general hammond of the planet earth we know the images being transmitted to us are false we request a dialogue please respond why is he doing that we're trying to communicate with your creators no bed no it's our last alternative before we resort to actually going back there, you know you were just thinking of that island maui with the big beaches and the little bikinis Well, that's what we should go, because it's very nice and warm there. Instead of being here.

[37:29] Music. We're up. This is Dr. Daniel Jackson. We don't mean to challenge you. We've discovered the devices you implanted in our brains, and we'd like you to remove them him him ergo how do you know this name he told us, he interacts with us he's driving us crazy, that is an error return the subjects ergo will be removed.

[37:32] I have a feeling this is going to end like this. That voice, that's him. Dr. Jackson.

[38:27] You heard the man sir we could be risking our lives, okay let's ask the question do we want to give up sg1 and walk around the rest of our lives with him yapping away in our heads? Yes. Say yes. Or do we take the risk and try and find a way to get rid of him so we can get on with our lives? What if this is a Trelane situation where, like, he's the kid, Togar's like the parent, and he's just trying to get out and experience stuff? That's good enough. If we are to remain in the service of this world, Ergo must be removed. Sam. Sammy, you like me. I remind you of your Uncle Irving. Remember? Yeah, I guess you do a little. Carter. Sorry. I guess I say we and we go. Then it's settled. Aw. The guy just wants to play with his friends.

[39:44] He's legit like concerned. I suppose Togo really meant by an error. I suppose he meant Ergo wasn't supposed to be interacting with us. Oh, please, please don't go. He's going to kill you. He really will. He's nasty. It'll be a painful and awful death. Honest. What if we just send one of us to see what happens? Okay, fine. He's going to kill me. You heard him oh you people for crying out loud oh for crying out loud I'm counting it cause he's in Jack so it's a thing that Jack was thinking I'm counting it, Why do you humor him? He's obviously programmed for self-preservation. Sir, that voice, Togar. Look at him. Look at him smile. Did you see that? You're not even supposed to know he's here. Oh, I'm definitely going back for that. You aren't supposed to know. Like, he's not even hiding it at this point. Okay. Okay, fine. He's going to kill me. You heard him? Oh, you people, for crying out loud. Don't you have any feelings?

[40:50] Do you? Carter. Why do you humor him? He's obviously programmed for self-preservation. Sir, that's what the toads are. I said that this was an error. We're probably not even supposed to know he's here. You aren't supposed to be interacting with us, are you? Well, um, actually, when I first, uh, and we got to be, you know, technically? No. Can you describe how you're feeling right now? Me? Nervous? Agitated? A little hungry. Afraid? Oh, sure. Okay. Of what? Oh, going away like last time, not experiencing, not being here with you. Of death? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, sure. Big time. He's gonna kill me, and that's why that death thing keeps popping up. Store him in the program in limbo. Sir. Experiencing nothing. Wait a minute, Jack. But tracking time. By definition, what constitutes a sentient life form? Self-awareness, consciousness. I'm me. No doubt about that. What else? The ability to think independently. I'm independent. I just, you know, like company. Fear of death. I got that too.

[42:11] You're not going to convince me it's alive. Look. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. He's not really here. He's here. He's here. In our heads. There are plenty of life forms that require other life forms to live. Then you are a parasite. Like the gold. Gold parasite. Like a gold. A laugh. A laugh. Tok'ra. I mean, just being parasitical by nature doesn't make you inherently bad. It's a machine. That hurts. Sir, he's artificial intelligence, but just because somebody made him doesn't mean he isn't alive. Listen to her. So what do you say? I'm just saying that we should consider it i mean maybe this error wasn't really an error at all but rather some kind of higher technological evolution the birth of a whole new life form, i can't believe i'm saying this but i think i agree with sam what well sir it's no, hammond said it we've been compromised now we explained the situation to this, toga guy and we let him deal with hugo once he's out of our heads ergo ergo.

[43:18] Music.

[43:46] That was quick. I hate when that happens. They're getting used to having their weapons deactivated or taken from them. This is weird. This is very weird. Very weird. Do not move, or I will render you unconscious, if necessary. You're Togar? Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Yes, Togar. As handsome as he is evil. There is no reason to fear us. I fear you not.

[44:58] He's a madman. He's an evil, terrible madman. Run for your lives. I hear you. Be silent. Wait. You hear him? Yes. Hear and see. Then you should be able to see that he's afraid Relocate, While I'm being silent, Holgar I'd like to point out that when I called you a madman I meant it in the nicest possible way, Come Come forward Come forth Come forth.

[45:40] Music.

[46:01] That thing seriously seems like a prop from Men in Black. I was just saying, is this a Farscape? Yeah.

[46:12] The specimen is unharmed. As you will be. What about Ergo? it will be destroyed say oh what i tell you please don't let him do this to me tilt help, creed go on double the technology you invented is very advanced yes it's because they're all too scared to go out and experience things for themselves enough look we're very grateful that you're willing to take Ergo out of our minds. The point is, we think Ergo may actually be alive. He is an error. Maybe he is, but another word for it might be miracle. That is ridiculous. Well, what you call an error has somehow resulted in life. I mean, he's self-aware, he's acting and thinking independently, he's afraid of his own death. By any definition, he's acting alive. All we're saying is that maybe there's a way of doing this without killing. There is not. Okay, had to ask. I don't understand. Why not? The unit must be in a life form. It cannot exist on its own. There has to be some way. You created it. You'd be killing something that you gave life. Dead. Dead.

[47:41] This is a terrible idea i'd rather die a painful and horrible death, it's just a thought i want to live i want to experience the universe and i want to eat pie enough babbling explain i was just thinking that maybe you'd want to put ergo in you no no i wouldn't do that i'd rather be in that little with the eyes and no the purpose of the technology is to observe and explore but the technology is different now look we don't know you very well but i get the distinct feeling that ergo is everything you're not you're gonna say that again but i think that he's everything you wish you were outgoing adventuresome annoying, Look, it would be a chance to change. To maybe experience some of the things that you're afraid to do yourself. No, not afraid. Why do you not explore worlds through the Stargate yourself? It could help me learn how the error occurred. Then you'll do it I could try help me out I don't want to do it he's mean and boring and mean we're giving you a chance here.

[49:08] Music. Okay. I'll do it. Urgo thinks it's a great idea, and I'm sure you'll enjoy his presence as much as we have. See, I knew it. I knew you liked me. Ha, I was.

[49:13] Him or death no I death or him oh dear well I'm thinking, He's so, so, uh... Mean? Yeah. Boring? No. So change him. Me change him? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

[49:53] Music.

[50:38] Thanks for your hospitality we appreciate it i will return you to your planet now wait togar, how do we know that ergo's really alive i'm here i'm here tell him tell him i will as soon as you are quiet ergo says goodbye and i say thank you bye ergo, i was thinking now that we've gotten to know each other and helped each other out Maybe we can share some information about our respective... Ouch! I'm gonna miss him. Still pretty advanced technology. No, it's really fun and exciting. No. Are you sure that we're thinking the same thing?

[51:28] Music. Stand down. It's got to be welcoming. Pretty pointing the guns at you. Was the mission successful? What mission? General, didn't we just... You've been gone over 10 hours, Major. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Oh, boy. Report to the infirmary. Here we go again. Yes, sir. So in sucking that Ergo out, did he put another Ergo in just because? Without telling him? Or did he just take that experience away from him?

[51:28] Positive. But you don't know what you're missing. Yes! Good!

[52:29] All right, Jeff. Well, we have just seen Ergo. It's one of my favorite episodes of the whole series. Jeff, tell me, as a first-time watcher, Does this episode hold up to the billing or where are you on this episode? This episode, uh, there's a really cool sci-fi thread through this episode that like made it worthy of being in a sci-fi show. Does that make sense? Like it was what it was. It's, you know, it's fun and all this stuff, but it had is really what turned out to be kind of a cool sci-fi thread through the whole thing that gave it legitimacy. But for me, this, this.

[53:18] I almost just want to read my notes in a sense here. So I started off like immediately knew that beach scene was just a picture. It was just a painting or something of some kind. It was pretty obvious when they showed it the second time. And then I was like, oh, it's an alien abduction episode. They have missing time. And okay, I want, I want what happened to them. I want to taste and experience things like that. Here we go. Ergo. Oh, I kind of hate episodes like this. At least this episode knows exactly what it is. And then I realize this is the key thing. I start realizing this is just a bunch of other episodes of TV that I have thoughts about. This is Stargate's Voyager, someone to watch over me, right? Where I'm just going to go experience all these things and over and done. I mean, there was a TNG episode, I think, that was the same. They did that.

[54:15] I don't remember what it was called, but either way. If I may, Jeff, I'll save it for later. Okay. Keep going. This guy, this is really honest. This guy is almost as bad, not as bad, but almost as bad as bad as that stupid AI computer thing they did in Babylon 5. Oh the harlan ellison voice guy yeah oh and here's the thing about that oh you liked that you did i i hated that thing you were wrong no you're wrong objectively i am correct that was stupid it was just dumb no oh you keep saying that word i do you're not think that word means what you think it means but here's where i start to turn a little bit oh i get it they're they're trying to redo the idea they had in the gamekeeper just this time they're doing it well.

[55:03] Like bro just wants friends you know and and that's what the game key is just trying to find people and to take care of his people dom de louise was great do you do you also because there's there's we've seen this before too you remember this guy come try right exactly same thing yes, then i started to like get the episode and a lot of this like what kept me going through this and made it better than the harlan ellison thing made it better than i was at scott thompson and someone to watch over me was dom de louise like just the experience the fun that he brought to this role like he clearly knowing his son was directing this and knowing what you shared about how he was ad-libbing basically everything this was just a good time for him hang out with your kid do a job watch your kid do his thing like this will be great he was having fun and it showed and it really came through in the character and i think the other actors like you said chris judge couldn't keep a straight face through the whole thing they were having a good time yeah that really pulled this one out of the fire for me but.

[56:13] This episode to me and i don't know if if you'll dive into this at all it's not so much a message It's just that it is a theme, but this hammered home to me that there's a theme in season three of Stargate SG one. And I don't know if it's intentional or not, but a number of times we've had this exact conversation, even just in the last episode, what makes you, you. What qualifies an individual to be an individual? Last week it was, hey, the body is extra. You got Scara. You've got Chlorelle. Those are the beans. In this one, you've got two Dom DeLuises, which is exactly one Dom DeLuise. Too many for this world, by the way. That guy is a big force of personality, especially in the roles he's played. But they needed each other to be them. So what was them right who is him yeah when he's in their brains you know who is him so i think that this asked some really great sci-fi questions that posed it in a really good way, but the road to get there brent it wasn't great.

[57:29] I didn't not like this episode i also really didn't like it that much, you're awful of when tilk when tilk takes that that coffee urn and just downs it like wasn't that hot he goes extremely that was epic absolutely this has great scenes great moments this isn't.

[57:51] This isn't an episode i'll necessarily not watch again right like in fact this is one um you you this is more than a laundry episode for me you would use that to describe a lot of if i'm doing Laundry it's on the background it's more than that I don't think I'm ever going to seek this one out this is one that if it's on I'm going to be like oh cool yeah I'm going to watch this one.

[58:13] But I think I think there's just a type of ep and that type of episode really and it's, it's either super Brooklyn guy super Jewish guy, super whatever who's just over the top and ridiculous that episode exists in a lot of different not even sci-fi it's even in a lot of other comedies and dramedies and sitcoms and i just don't like that episode very much i don't think i like that archetype is the thing for me so i've said a few times this is the single episode i've seen the most of in stargate yeah right i set the bar high on purpose because i wanted to see where you went because i really wanted to know is it just me or is it the episode does the episode hold its own deal here's i know why i like this episode so much yeah i know why it's the episode i've seen the most you wonder why it's a great one-off episode yeah totally self-contained you know what i mean there's a beginning middle and end this episode you're never going to see dom de louise again in stargate you're just not this is one shot he's come try a guy just there's your your shot there it is um this episode is light-hearted it's not that serious It does not take itself that serious, but it does as you get to the end. It's got a great site. I said last week that, that pretense was Stargate's measure of a man.

[59:38] Yeah, this was more measure of a man than that was. Yeah, what is life? Artificial life form. It's self-aware. It's conscious. It's scared of its own death. It wants to preserve itself. What is life? Did we just create life? Sam said, there's life. There it sits. You just created a new life. It's not an error. It's a miracle. It's amazing. I almost think it's, you know, one of the things, and we talked about this on Be Me Up when we charted some courses for Voyager, how Voyager a number of times took a TNG episode, shook it up a little bit, did it a little bit differently. Sometimes better, sometimes just as good, whatever. But it had its Measure of a Man episode with the Doctor, right? In season seven, what was it called? Was that author, author?

[1:00:26] I think it was called, I forget. Either way, is the Doctor a sentient life form? Can he own his own works, you know, as he's writing these holo novels? It did a really good job and i almost think this is the voyager version so we had measure of a man last week yeah this week we have the voyager version boom boom both done really well slightly different i think this one interrogated the question much better than it did last week it just explicitly did it yeah so you know when i'm sitting around and like i've got a little bit of time to kill maybe i'm just going to drift off to sleep i don't need to pay super close attention into an episode i just want to laugh and kind of chuckle have a good time through an episode, this is what i'm gonna throw and that's the why i've actually seen this episode more so it's not that i do enjoy this episode i i truly love this episode is this the best episode of the series, no no there's a lot better episodes of the series there's a lot more poignant episodes of the series there's a lot more um well done episodes of the series but when it just comes to to sheer enjoyment like if you can make me laugh if you can make me happy you you said it the cast the crew peter his dad were clearly having so much fun making this episode and it came through the screen.

[1:01:53] You let me have that kind of a fun through an episode and guess what? I'm probably going to like it. Yeah. I think regardless of anything else, I'm probably going to like it. You say that really makes a lot of sense to me because I think what I really enjoyed in the episode was the cast. Like they just showed up in a different way. They were having fun. And I think like what I said in the beginning, this episode knows exactly what it is and it's not trying to be any, that's the thing that I'm already coming to appreciate about SG one. It doesn't try to be something it's not. i think didn't i tell you this that haven't haven't i like stargate is a show that knows exactly what it is it doesn't take itself too seriously but it does take itself seriously it's legit sci-fi yeah this is legit telling a story building a world building a universe all that kind of stuff and it's not afraid to make fun of itself exactly and i think that i think the fact that it just did that right little sci-fi thread through it that was interesting but knows what it is cast is having fun we saw tilk doing stuff we'll never see you know again what is a lot of fun i think it's just that archetype for me is so over the top and annoying i just i just it's funny it's neat to watch some of it but it's just it was too much.

[1:03:07] That's fair that's fair i'm looking forward to one thing though in this we get to update our tracking board we had it for crying out loud in this one we did and it sort of by way of ergo himself but it definitely was a jack for crying out loud wouldn't have.

[1:03:24] Been there otherwise and another wizard indeed got another wizard of oz episodes or uh reference as well i'm melting i'm melting okay here's the thing so because we're going to account for crying out loud and he's in daniel or he's in in jack's head are we going to count a daniel death because we saw him die on screen and he was in daniel's head did we see him die though well we saw this be out and he said it worked he just came back because of you know sci-fi yeah does that count as a daniel death i don't think so michael shanks did not die on screen that's that's usually that's our litmus test for that right yeah all right so i i i dove in my first time reactions on this one did you find any sci-fi messages in this you know i just talked about it it's the it's the whole idea of measurement what is life where does it have value what can you do i i like what you said you really dove into the i guess the piece where where daniel says to to trogar or trogar trogar he's like i think he's everything that you're not and everything you want to be and you kind of need each other to become more and to go past what you you guys have gotten so advanced i mean togar society is clearly tolan level yeah type of a society whatever they are is he the only one who exists there maybe maybe not i don't know um.

[1:04:52] But they've gotten to that spot where they're not going out and exploring. They're letting these other people go do it and they bring it back to them. Why? Because that's how it works. Or it's just him or whatever. You know?

[1:05:11] So, yeah. Is there a message here? Absolutely. Is it the thrust of the episode? Is it what everything's about? Everything points to it. It just does it in a super fun way. Um, does it discuss it? Yeah, it does. It weighs it out. Well, is, is he, or isn't he, is he just a machine? Is he just a device or is he actually alive? And what do we do? Do we provide an answer for it one way or the other? Well, we're going to let him live and he's here. He's not there. Oh, he's talking to him. So yeah, that must mean he's alive. There you go. Uh, and he, and he goes off. So how strong though that, that, that, that, That becomes the question, right? How strong is the message? The message is there. Unlike last week where last week was just here's this and here's this and here's this and this big pebble. This is one. What is life? As annoying as it is, what is life? Right?

[1:06:12] So cannon shot to the heart intentionality of the episode brings it back. Jeff, this could have been a Star Trek episode. You know what this could have been? This could have been a Lower Decks episode. Okay yeah perhaps even a strange new worlds episode i think this was a tng episode with what they would do stuff like this in tng not as well but they would do it, i met and i know i can measure compared to measure measure of man was so, heavy and well it was well done it was well acted it's probably the first truly great episode of next generation um.

[1:06:52] It's not an episode I want to watch a whole lot because it doesn't make me feel good. You know, it's not it's not enjoyable. I have a crap ton of respect for it. This one, like I said, it's light. It's airy. I get that same sci-fi message out of it. So to me, I it checks all the boxes. I'm hemming and hawing on the chevrons because I I don't feel like I can give it seven chevrons. Jeff, I agree with that. But i but it's checking all the boxes of what a sci-fi episode does and and and, it goes there so if you were let me ask you this jeff if you were rating this episode, where would you rate it so i think that i think that it has great science fiction in it and it has a message but i don't think that it shows us how we can be better i don't think it gives us hope or anything like that. It doesn't show us how to be better humans. It helps define what makes a human, right? That's a sci-fi question, not necessarily a message. To me, this is, I don't know, maybe a three Chevron episode.

[1:08:07] Except for it defines life. It actually defines it. And like I said, the litmus test that we use is not the only test of what a sci-fi message is. I said this last week. The fact that they clearly define life has feelings. It's self-aware. It's afraid of death. It's thinking and acting on its own. That is sentience. That has created new life. And it's worthy of living. Worthy of protecting even if it's annoying uh jeff i give this one five chevrons really i'm going up on it yeah yeah because it is it is a strong it the message is the back like 10 minutes of the episode yeah it's a it's a it's not just hey they got to the last like two or three minutes and then they wrapped it up they spent a significant chunk of time talking about life i think it's a five chevron episode just couched in a real cushy kitschy way that jeff just doesn't enjoy because he's got a heart that is two sizes too small because i got rid of my ergo part of me here's the message brent you're talking about it and everything we need all of our parts.

[1:09:26] So much of we're just i'm gonna call it out right like and we i don't want i don't want to make this the conversation because I'm just going to state it and move, but we are in the middle of a mental health pandemic and crisis in this country and probably this world. And my belief is that a big reason for that is many of us have done what Togar did and we're suppressing parts of ourselves. We're not engaging with parts of ourselves. I've received a tremendous amount of therapy over the last couple of years. And some of the most effective kind for me has been what's called internal family systems where you identify different parts of you and you engage with them and, you know, sort of, sort of ways. And that's what we need. We need all of us. Dude was happier, even if he was a little annoyed by it, but dude was more complete when he got ergo with him and brought in all of his parts. So even if you're annoyed by your parts, scared of your parts, intimidated by them, you need them. There's the message. Five chevrons make sense with that.

[1:10:33] I might have rated this one a little higher than you would, Jeff, but I'm curious and I've got a feeling you're going to rank this one a lot lower than I would have. It will not be number one, like you said at the very beginning of this. So this is the last episode with us together, apparently. So I don't even know where to start. I don't know if I should go from the top down from the bottom up or where. However, you get to place this one, Jeff. I actually don't have a say in it. You just get to do it. You're going to place this in our 100% completely accurate definitive ranking of season three of Stargate SG-1. Jeff, talk us through it. Where do you put this one? So I definitely have a range for this one, and it's not going to be low. Like, oh, you know, it's not low. I'm not going to bury this. It's not number 22. Like I said or anything like that it is though, I'm looking at my notes some of the other episodes right now okay.

[1:11:42] I think i have a guess of where you're gonna put it okay i where do you think, i think you're gonna put this as our new number nine you're wrong, okay so i'll tell you that was my range i was looking at like seven eight nine at first and i went back and for the record for the record uh currently in our list eight is legacy that's the the ghost michello episode and the dead man switch that's the um flash gordon real american hero guy yeah uh flash gordon um is between those two episodes but you say it's not there so where are you putting it i am going to put this one just above into the fire brent this is our new number seven episode i don't disagree okay okay okay yeah i felt at first i was like i was like into the fire i really liked that one and then i went and looked at my notes i did it was and i think too i've said this a couple times on season three it's it's deceptive when you look at the the rankings here because you see the top five and you're like oh those are all good six through like.

[1:12:49] 13 are still really good 14 which is seth isn't bad it's just not great and then there's past and present which it was okay like it was actually sorry linnea is just yeah never actually to be honest i think i think past and present actually made me really mad now that i remember so there's one in this whole whole season that's not good everything else in here is totally watchable and good yeah learning curves the one about the little kids yeah we get the little that was such a cool sci-fi concept too like that one just really nailed it on a lot of their in a lot of a lot of the high sci-fi concept yeah you know and here's the thing personal enjoyment of an episode does not necessarily, make a phenomenal episode true you know so i like i personally enjoy a lot of terrible episodes.

[1:13:40] I'm not going to say it, but if people are thinking of three letters from Babylon five right now, it's not a terrible episode. Yeah, it is. Actually, no, it's not. It's not a terrible episode. It's really not. And everybody said, oh, well, that part's bad. But this other part's really good. They're both great. Yeah. One is greater than the other one, but they are both. Great 17. Great 17 is another one that's pretty good. I didn't hate the episode. No. Anyway, people are like, why are you talking about Babylon five? This is a Stargate episode. Well you know why because we're done talking about this episode i'll tell you why also, yes like it uh that is gonna do it for ergo next time jeff we get another episode that i will tell you a thousand percent is gonna be this is stargate's version of slide in a star trek episode okay okay all right name of the episode is a hundred days jeff what you got a hundred days, 100 days first thought is day in the life kind of a thing but that's a very specific amount of time 100 days um i was gonna say a person but i've learned to not be too specific all the time someone is they're gonna go off on a mission they're going to inadvertently break a law.

[1:15:08] It's a Jack episode. I'll tell you that too. Oh, that makes sense. I don't even mind telling you that it's a Jack. I totally see Jack going in and doing something that he shouldn't do, not being aware of it. He basically is going to be, uh, arrested, maybe jailed, maybe stranded for a hundred days. We're going to get a hundred days of Jack on his own for some, He messed up in some way. Not 30. Like, is he sitting in a gel cell and writing a letter back to Sarah, his wife, or somebody? And he'd take a pip off when he's done. Apparently, it's 100 days. So the title gives us not much. Throw him in the brig, man. Yeah, I think it's going to be on another planet. It's going to be a cultural thing of some kind. Oh, no, no. Okay, okay, no. He's going to get lost. Yeah. They're going to think he's dead.

[1:16:09] Hammond is going to be, we're done. He's gone. Keep going. Yeah. Oh my God. He's gone. We're finished. And then Sam is going to be like, no, no, he can't. And then she's going to convince Daniel the whole time. Tilk is going to say, well, you know, these things happen and blah, blah, blah.

[1:16:21] And then they're basically the episode is going to be a one story is in the SGC of the, the, the, let us go back and find him.

[1:16:30] No, we're moving on. He's gone. and then we're going to get him in the wastes you know or whatever jeff jeff did we not do this with fire and water in season one when daniel's with little fish dude yeah that's exactly the story yeah it's good it's a good story you're a good guesser jeff i'm gonna go back and just say it's the one where he gets arrested i'll say it's that one so okay all right well we'll see you next time right here on stargate sg1 for the first time hey listen thank you guys so much for joining us we really appreciate you guys you guys are amazing you guys make the show what it is thank you so much for commenting down below that's a big thing those of you guys are hanging.

[1:17:15] Out with us on discord jeff and i love getting to talk with you over on discord except jeff doesn't get to talk sg1 with you guys only me oh there's a whole section on discord jeff's not even allowed into it you're just it's just me you're hanging out with me which let's face it is the prize in and of itself totally yeah uh anyway listen don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcast your channels your entertainment and while you're there please don't forget to leave us a rating and a review and please above all else share the show with somebody that you know who loves stargate or like jeff over there needs to get into it for the very first time so until next time folks i'm brent that's jeff hey brent we're gonna get out of here.

[1:18:01] Hello ergo it's decision time i need you to make a very important decision right now, okay me or death me me me me me me me or death, You, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you.

[1:18:30] Music.