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Stargate SG-1 Season 7 DVD Boxset
01/05/2007 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
region 2 DVD: pub: MGM 10005026 M21. 6 DVDs 18 hours 21 episodes with loads of extras. Price: £24.97 (UK) if you shop around a bit). stars: Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge and Don S. Davis and many guest stars. Buy Stargate SG-1 Season 7 in the USA - or Buy Stargate SG-1 Season 7 in the UK  check out website: www.mgmuk.co.uk/stargate-sg1
The odd thing about watching a DVD boxset of 'Stargate SG-1' is that with all the commentaries and such it can take a serious two months to work your way through a season making it very good value for money. The director commentaries, especially Martin Wood, give some insight into the demands on the eye in bringing a script to life and are actually educational enough to apply and worth learning from for all you neo-writers out there for prose let alone potential scriptwriters.
Season 7 could also be called the Richard Dean Anderson lite-year as the actor now wanting to spend more time with his young daughter is distinctly missing a lot of the time. Watching all the episodes in succession makes it far more obvious than being spread out one a week and even then, on its original UK showing, you couldn't help noticing anyway.
As the producers were always second-guessing that each season was likely to be their last and being called back to do another one, this must have caused no end of problems, especially as Sci-Fi Channel and MGM also wanted to ensure Anderson stayed as the masthead. Oddly enough, the rest of the cast do carry the lite episodes rather well anyway and it might have made more sense to have confined Anderson to specific episodes rather than the odd minute here and there.
When you consider that the two-parter 'Heroes' was recorded over several months, all things would have been possible. Having the team stay more around Stargate Command a lot more was probably a need to cut back on budget to make up for the expense on some of the more off-world adventures. Even the commentaries point out how much of what was actually going on was mostly from discussions around the briefing room table than be shown. If anything, that is more a testament to production and cast that you're just as happy hearing about events as much as seeing them. Then again, the money shots are also there when they are needed.
Saying all of that, 'Stargate SG-1' still manages to progress and develop without the need for a reset button. Daniel Jackson returns unexpectedly resulting in Jonas Quinn needed back on his home planet. I have to confess to not liking stories, even with trapdoors, playing fast and loose with death and resurrection and am still not happy about it. With only one reference and episode of remembering something from that time later, things got back to normal rather too quickly. Then again, there is little given to the time frame. It is always assumed that the event of a season of any series denotes a year in the life.
The Goa'uld Anubis takes over as being the real baddie appearing all overt the place and with a brand new warrior to take over from the Jaffa as they break away from their former 'gods'. In some respects, its unfortunate that this wasn't explored more. To have the Jaffa be so loyal for centuries and then to turn on their leaders clearly indicates there was some dissent already brewing although as with all such things, some will stay loyal to the last. If anything, the Goa'uld themselves are largely at fault for being so complacent and probably not looking after their troops. Just as well really or the Earth would have been toast in this reality.
A lot of this season was also used to tie up loose ends as well with cast like Judge and Nemic, contributing scripts, to directing as with Amanda Tapping this time. Even the drawing to the conclusion where there was a gateway, literally, to a different Stargate series with 'Atlantis' also gave some of the feeling that production was also seeing this as the final season.
This isn't to say there aren't some very good episodes in here. In fact, some of the best ones are the most surprising ones like 'Fragile Balance' with a junior O'Neill and 'Inauguration' led fantastically well by William Devane (and using the film X-Men 2 White House sets no less). More dubious is 'Space Race' largely cos this is the first time we learn of Carter's passion to race once and then heard of no more. The sub-plots do show her and other members of the team do have some sort of life outside of the SGC has always been hinted at and still brings some more dimensions out.
No doubt the more die-hards amongst you already own Season 7 on DVD. For those of you who've been patient like myself for the price to drop, get it while its still out there.
GF Willmetts
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