A few new spoilers for Season Nine
Executive Producer Joseph Mallozzi has been keeping us up to date with all of the movies he’s watching in his new home theater, which flavors of ice cream are his favorites, and which television shows he enjoys in his new blog at Gateworld. In addition to answering questions in his “Ask Joe Mallozzi” thread, he places notes of his progress as writer and producer for the Stargate franchise.
His latest entry, dated May 27, has the following to say about production of Season Nine: “As I expected, it was a busy week. We prepped the big mid-season SG-1 two-parter – The 4th Horseman I and II. The show’s 9th season continues to add to its already impressive list of guest stars. Watch for ex-X-Files semi-regular William B. Davis to make a couple of appearances as well as the very talented Cameron Bright (who you may recognize from his performaces in Godsend opposite Robert DeNiro, and Birth opposite Nicole Kidman).”
Although we’ve gotten the titles for thirteen episodes, we think, of Stargate SG-1‘s ninth season, the episode order is still up for grabs. The relatively unknown “The Order” doesn’t seem to have a place, so it gets shuffled around quite a bit. Mallozzi did mention, however, that Vala and Carter appear together in “Beachhead”, and Executive Producer/Writer/Show Runner Robert C. Cooper mentioned only six episodes in his recent Cult Times interview, so “Beachhead” will most likely be the sixth episode rather than the seventh as previous assumed.
Mallozzi continued in his blog entry: “We cut Ex Deus Machina (Chris Judge did such a great job that I immediately went down to set after watching the Director’s cut and told him as much) and Paul cut Instinct [Stargate Atlantis episode] while I started beating out an outline for our next script (tentatively titled “Convergence”) that, if all goes as planned, may see the return of a much-loved, sorely-missed character. Over on the Babylon location, Ben Browder continues to impress, insisting on performing his own stunts and taking a beating (quite literally) for his troubles.”
In “Ex Deus Machina”, the Free Jaffa are tracking down the whereabouts of former System Lord Ba’al. Intelligence gathered by Gerak (played by Lou Gossett, Jr.) had that Ba’al had been hiding on Earth ever since the defeat of the System Lords at the end of Season Eight. Gerak sent a Jaffa to Earth secretly and that Jaffa ends up dead (he was formerly under the service of Lord Yu). Gerak challenges the relationships among the Jaffa, Tau’ri and Tok’ra and that very challenge brings Teal’c’s loyalty under question.
In “Babylon”, Mitchell finds himself in a major fight with the Sodan Jaffa, a group of Jaffa who sought Kheb five thousand years ago, but found a different planet instead. The Sodan worship the Ancients as gods, until a Prior of the Orii happens to make his vie. The leader of the Sodan, Lord Haikon (played by Tony Todd), thinks he has found the true gods in the Orii and Mitchell attempts to tell him otherwise. Mitchell is captured by the Sodan after the fight and is then trained in the fighting practices of the Sodan, just so he may participate in a ritual fight to the death.
Lord Haikon is due to make a reappearance in the season two-parter, “The Fourth Horseman”.
Speaking of “The Fourth Horseman”, Mallozzi advised fans in his Q&A on May 22: “Check out the big mid-season two-parter, The Fourth Horseman, in which a certain someone from her [Samantha Carter] past drops in to lend a hand – with poignant consequences.” This sounds like Orlin might indeed return as originally thought. Mallozzi didn’t mention Sean Patrick Flanery, who originally played the role in “Ascension”, so it is possible that Orlin might return in another form, much like Oma Desala did for Daniel (such as in “Maternal Instinct” and “Meridian”). No word one way or the other has been confirmed, so this is mere speculation at this point. [Edited to add: Mallozzi posted on his Q&A after this article was first released: “We know now that Sean Patrick Flannery will not be playing Orlin again in The Fourth Horseman I and II. Instead, the part will be played by the terrific Cameron Bright. How is this possible, you’re no doubt asking. Well, there’s a very good reason Orlin’s appearance has changed…”]
So, here are the 13 episodes we have thus far — remember the order is still tentative:
9.01 “Avalon Part 1”
9.02 “Avalon Part 2”
9.03 “Origin Part 3”
9.04 “The Ties That Bind”
9.05 “The Powers That Be”
9.06 “Beachhead”
9.07 “Ex Deus Machina”
9.08 “Babylon”
9.09 “The Order”
9.10 “The Fourth Horseman Part 1”
9.11 “The Fourth Horseman Part 2”
9.12 “Collateral Damage”
9.13 “Convergence”
Season Nine on the Stargate SG-1 Solutions Wiki (StargateWiki)
GateWorld: Joseph Mallozzi’s Blog and Q&A