Prodigy

From SGCommand

SG-1 Season 4
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Prodigy is the nineteenth episode of the fourth season of Stargate SG-1.

[edit] Plot

While Col. O'Neill and Teal'c are visiting an off-world research facility on a moon and Daniel is on a mission with SG-11, Major Carter is sent to the Air Force Academy to give a lecture on wormholes. During her stay, Carter meets Jennifer Hailey, a cocky, insubordinate, brilliant cadet, who even finds a mistake in one of her equations. Carter believes that Jennifer would be a great asset to Stargate Command and tries to convince Jennifer to stay in the academy, although she always gets in trouble and even is threatened with expulsion for punching another student.

O'Neill and the scientists stationed at the facility in the meantime begin to butt heads. The scientists are irritated that O'Neill seems paranoid about everything, while O'Neill believes that the scientists are not being careful enough in their research. While exploring the planet, the team discovers an alien life form similar to a Will o' the wisp that can fly, phase through solid matter and act intelligently. Despite O'Neill's protests, the scientists capture one for further study. The scientists believe that it may be an energy based life form and that it would be one of the greatest discoveries for mankind.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Carter discovers that most of Jennifer's negative attitude stems from boredom and frustration with the courses she is taking. Jennifer is so brilliant that none of the classes at the academy challenge her. However, Jennifer is also angry about being constantly compared to Carter. Carter gets permission to reveal to Jennifer her work and gives her a tour through the SGC, as well as her first alien world. They arrive at the same planet as the research facility where O'Neill and Teal'c are located.

At the facility, things are not going well. Two scientists venture out into the forest to find more wisps, but the wisps are apparently aware that one of their numbers had been captured, and the scientists are mercilessly attacked. One scientist is killed when the wisps pass through him several times and every time they do so burn the person. The other is injured, but manages to run and warn the others. The team on the moon is forced to hide in a large metal building. Carter runs an electric current through the walls of the facility to keep the wisps out, but nobody can remember when the power generator was last fueled and it could run out of gas at any minute.

There Carter and Jennifer clash about what to do. Carter thinks the wisps are angry at one of their number being imprisoned; Jennifer thinks they turned violent as a result of substantial changes in the magnetic field present around the moon, caused by its polar orbit about the parent planet. Finally O'Neill decides to let himself be Zatted, so that for some time he will be immune to the wisps and can run to the Stargate to open it. That done, the team run for the gate, with SG-1 holding off the wisps with their Zats. SG-1, Jennifer, and the remaining scientists make the escape to Earth, and an excited Jennifer decides to stay in the Air Force to work at the SGC.

[edit] Notes

• During the DVD commentary for this episode, director Peter DeLuise sings lyrics he made up to the tune of the show's theme.
• This is the first episode in which Daniel Jackson does not appear.
• Elisabeth Rosen appears as Cadet Jennifer Hailey, who will appear again in the Season 5 episode "Proving Ground".
• This episode marks the first appearance of Bill Dow as Dr. Bill Lee on the series; Dr. Lee will return as a recurring character throughout the remainder of Stargate SG-1 and several episodes of Stargate Atlantis.
• This episode marks the appearance of Gen. Michael E. Ryan, the actual Air Force Chief of Staff at the time, playing himself.
• When Carter and Jennifer travel through the Stargate, Carter enters the gate to Jennifer's left, while she is on her right when they arrive at the destination gate.
• When the scientists discover the swarm of the alien beings, a minivan can be seen driving by in the background.

[edit] Sources

• Screenplay (PDF). Distributed by MGM. Prepared by Casablanca Continuity (2000-12-05). Retrieved on October 15, 2006. Linked to from Official Stargate SG-1 site. Also see Google's cache
• Summary from GateWorld. Visited May 7, 2006.
• Review from GateWorld. Reviewed by Debra Kraft. Visited May 7, 2006.

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Prodigy (Stargate SG-1). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with SGCommand, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.