Warning
This Post will contain spoilers
I will start by stating that I have the DVD Boxset for Season 1 of SGU and as such I have an extended version of the Pilot episodes. As such I am going to be reviewing the extended version of Air with all 3 parts as one episode, unlike the original Syfy (America), Space (Canada) and Sky1 (United Kingdom) Broadcasts of parts one and two and then a week later part three. On the Syfy broadcast I know that parts one and two were shown as one episode and the Sky1 Broadcast they were shown as 2 separate episodes but shown back to back.
WRITTEN BY – Brad Wright & Robert C. Cooper
DIRECTED BY – Andy Mikita
Air Part 3 – 103
The episode opens with the Kino on the Planet and we then see the Stargate. The team the starts to arrive and the Gate shuts down 1st Lt. Matthew Scott (Brian J. Smith) gets Dr Jeremy Franklin (Mark Burgess) to dial back to make sure that they can. Dr Andrea Palmer (Christina Schild) notices that the sand looks like Gypsum which is an indicates that what they need is on the planet, The sand dissolved but it isn’t useful for CO2 scrubbing. that is a shame as it is covered in sand. They move out across the planet.
Destiny – Added Scene – Colonel Everett Young (Louis Ferreira) is looking for Chloe Armstrong (Elyse Levesque) He finds 2nd Lt. Vanessa James (Julia Benson) standing in the corridor, he asks her if she has seen Chloe and James tells him that she is till on the observation deck, Young then asks if James knew how Chloe was and then James goes off on one, saying how her family might as well be dead seeing as they are “Stuck in a galaxy that only God knows about”, Young tells he to pull it together. Young then finds her and tries to make her feel better. Young mentions the Communication stones and Chloe wants to go and tell her mother.
Earth – Washington D.C. – The Pentagon – Communication lab – Colonel David Telford is sitting at the stones, he has been there since Dr Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle) made contact in Air Part 2. Young swaps with Telford, and requests that Dr Mehta (Sandy Sidhu) use a stone as well so that Chloe can swap with her. On Destiny, in Young’s body Telford is on the floor, due to the injuries that young sustained in Air part 1, 1st Lt. Tamara “TJ” Johansen is looking after him, at this time Dr Mehta is next to useless as she has no idea what is going on.
Earth – Chloe and Young are in Lt. General Jack O’Neill’s (Richard Dean Anderson) office. O’Neill is saying that the knew Chloe’s father and that the sod some of his favorite arguments with him, he tell her that Major Green (Mar Andersons) will escort her to see her mother and he asks Chloe to give her his condolences. Young fills in O’Neill about the problems with Destiny, and Young requests that every one should have the chance to say goodbye to their family.
Planet – the team has had no luck as yet. They are still looking but there is nothing promising. Eli Wallace (David Blue) make a reference to Planet of the Apes, he says that for a second he thought he saw the Statue of Liberty sticking out of the sand, he then quotes “Damn you, Damn you all to hell.” This element relieves the tension of their failure a little. (In the Fandemonium book Air by James Swallow there is reference to other Sci-Fi franchises
“After all, there was no telling what other things could be out here. Tusken Raiders, giant sandworms, a double-decker bus…” Stargate universe: Air by James swallow
I liked the reference to the Doctor Who special “Planet of the Dead” in the book as I am a big Doctor Who fan also.
Scott suggests that they break into 2 groups, Scot is going with Rush and MSgt. Ronald Greer (Jamil Walker Smith) and he sends Eli with Franklin, Curtis (Bradley Stryker) and Palmer. Eli and Franklin are opposed to this idea, Eli wants to stay together where as Franklin has given up and wants to go back to the Gate. Rush is all for the idea as it means that they are able to cover more ground. Each group goes in a different direction Eli’s group goes “West” and Scott’s goes “East”.
Earth – Chloe(in Dr Mehta’s body) is going to see her mother. Green tells her to wait in the car whilst he fills her mother in on what is going on. Chloe’s Mother (Anna Galvin) runs to the car on hearing that Chloe is there to see her, when she discovers that it the is in a different body she recoils. Chloe fills he mother in on what is going on and that her father is dead and that he died to save the crew of Destiny, her mother breaks down on hearing this news.
Destiny – TJ is showing Telford and Dr Mehta around the ship, they go to the Gateroom and the gate shuts down. Adam Brody (Peter Kelamis) is working in the Gateroom and is perplexed by the use of the stones. He fills Telford in on the goings on on the planet and then Telford orders him to keep communications open with the planet. Lisa Park (Jennifer Spence) informs him on the power issues and that it is a drain on resources. There is about 9 hours before Destiny jumps back to FTL. Telford is in pain due to Young’s injuries, he wants something for the pain.
Planet – Scott’s team – Still no luck finding the Calcite, Rush wants to slow down as he is finding it hard to keep up and he is not wanting to die in the planet. Scott sees something moving in the sand, a Dust Devil, he dismisses it and thy move on. We then see the Dust Devil move towards the water that Rush discarded for the test.
Destiny – TJ gives Telford, what he thinks is painkillers, and he then passes out, she gave him a sedative that they are low on. she did it so that young can come back to a body that still works. Dr Mehta is opposed to her doing that and saying that she is out of line, TJ corrects her by saying that she is the senior medical officer, TJ just leaves Telford and Dr Mehta in the room where Telford is out cold.
Planet – they are still walking, Scott is preoccupied, probably with what he saw earlier, Rush stops to test. Extended scene – Palmer has tested the sand again, still no luck. Curtis and Franklin are working on the Kino remote/dialing device, Eli tells than that there is no luck and are moving on, they have other ideas, they want to go to one of the other planets in range, they don’t trust Rush. Palmer is also with the idea of Franklin’s and Curtis’, Franklin wants the Kino and Eli wont give it to him, until Curtis aims his gun at him, Eli claims that this is mutiny, Curtis also tell Eli that he can tell Scott if he wants as his Radio isn’t working, they all head back towards the gate. Rush gives Scott his canteen of water, Rush is going to head back to the gate and Scott orders Greer to go with him, Eli then radios in and then Scott tells Greer to stop him is they can.
Earth – Extended Scene – Chloe is talking to her mother. in a wide shot we see Chloe on the couch with her mother and then in the reflection in the table we see Dr Mehth in Chloe’s place. Then Green shows up and says that Chloe will have to go in a short time. Chloe’s Mother Orders Green to get her home otherwise she will go public with all of what she knows.
Planet – Scott is walking by himself, he sees the Dust Devil again and he follows it. He pours a small amount of water onto the sand and the Dust Devil comes over and appears to drink it. Where the Dust Devil was the sand starts to move away and then a face is reveled, Scott recoils in fear and shock and the face is then gone. Is Scott seeing things due to the heat? Greer and Rush are nearly bask at the gate, they are arguing about their personal lives, about being poor in their past, they start fighting and the roll down a dune, Rush wants water and Greer wont give him any, Greer then thresher Rush with a gun. Back at the Gate Curtis Palmer and Franklin have dialed a planet, the atmosphere is breathable, Eli tries to stop them but Curtis and Palmer walk through. there is then a shot from a gun, Greer shot at the ramp to stop Franklin from walking through the gate. Franklin tries to go through the gate again, Rush tells Greer to shoot him, Greer dose and Franklin falls to the ground and the gate shuts down. it is Half time there is only 6 Hours till Destiny jumps.
Scott is still walking and he is following one of the Dust Devils and we see a Priest behind him he is the man who Scott saw in the sand, Scott is talking to the priest, he seems to be someone from his past. Greer is going to find Scott, he tells Rush to get Franklin back to the ship and he gives Eli a gun, Eli thinks that this is cool, Greer also tells Eli to wait for him.
Destiny – Young comes too and comments on feeling Drugged, TJ tells him that he was, Young is now using a Gun as a crutch. Rush comes back with Franklin and tells them that Greer shot him, He then asks for water and Sgt. Hunter Riley (Haig Sutherland) hives rush his Canteen.
Planet – Scott is still walking, Just, he takes his Gun off and he back pack. he collapses and in the Mirage of the heat we see a Cross in the sand, we then see a much younger Scott (about 16) in a church Talking to the Priest, Scott is upset, he has Sinned. Eli has dialed the planet that Curtis and Palmer went to, her is trying co contact them via radio, with no luck, something has happened to them. Back in the church we find out that Scott got a girl pregnant and he is questioning his faith, the priest dissolved into sand and back on the planet a Dust Devil is helping Scott, it erupts water and wakes Scott up, Scott has found the Lake bed, he has found the Calcite but he has very little time to get back. James and a team come through the gate and James has a Kino for Eli, She asks which way and Eli points her. Scott is still walking with a bag full of the Calcite, Greer is running to find him. on Destiny they are trying to find a solution and are working on the processing node. TJ is helping Franklin and is seen removing the bullet from his solder. The Air on Destiny is getting really thin now, young is waiting for the team to get back. Scott is exhausted and collapses, Greer finds him and motivates him to carry on. The time is running out, only 3 minutes, Eli dials in and sends James through, Eli stays on the planet and uses the kino to look for them, he sees them and there is now only 60 seconds left, Rush tells Eli to put his arm in the Event Horizon, Eli reluctantly does it and it gives them the time they need as there is a safety protocol, they did it, they got back. Destiny then jumps into FTL.
They put the Lyme in the processing node and Air starts to circulate again. Over the last few minutes of the episode is a piece of contemporary music, “Breathe” by Alexi Murdoch. we next see Scott in his room and he is then joined by Chloe. Scott tells her about his parents and how the died in a car crash when he was 4 and the priest raised him until he was 16 because the priest drank himself to death.
The shot pulls out of the window and to the exterior of Destiny, and there is a ship attached and it is not of Ancient design it detaches from the hull. What was it? Whose is it? Why was it there?
This part was a great conclusion to the pilot and it was the first time that they have had a 3 part pilot. This episode was all about finding a solution to the problem. We also learn a great deal about the characters during the course of this part and it left us with some questions that hopefully will be answered over the course of the season.
Stargatefreek
(“Don’t forget to Breath” – Alexi Murdoch)