|
|
Aurora Novarum episode rating:
very good |
 |
|
. |
This episode was enjoyable from
Col. Mitchell's driving up the
cabin in his Mustang to the
final scene. It caught what
Stargate: SG-1 does best,
balancing the wink and nod
without dropping completely into
camp. The plot fell into the
cliche of horror monster movies
while providing a bit of a
unique twist that kept it
interesting. The mutation, false
leads, and eventual discovery
and resolution were timed well
within the episode.
Nods to continuity abounded. The
Sodan were kept "alive", even if
only through the use of their
cloaking devices, and an oblique
reference to the "Sight Unseen"
machine from Season 6. The
xenology doctor was a pleasant
addition–knowledgeable in her
area, but still believably
surprised at the mundane
extra-dimensional discussion. It
kept the requisite exposition
more interesting.
Although Barrett's recovery was
terribly ex deus machina, his
offscreen involvement kept that
storyline continuation. (Why a
Goa'ulded trust was not a "big
fish to fry" however...but
Tapping and Judge's facial
expressions there were gold).
Both Lam and Daniel Jackson were
also kept alive off-screen in a
plausible manner without being
overwrought. As someone who's a
fan of the Daniel character, I
will admit missing his presence
in the final scene, but the
interactions of everyone else
were fantastic (this review is
remaining vague in case you
haven't seen it yet, but Sam and
Teal'c's moments were especially
sweet in the end as well).
Teamy moments abounded in the
episode. Mitchell and Vala as
the new kids to the group, Vala
and Teal'c, Vala and Sam, Sam
and Teal'c. Vala and Reynolds (Yay!
Reynolds). Even Jack was homaged
in the setting so connected to
him, despite the confusing
apparent relocation of the cabin
from Minnesota to Colorado for
this ep. Vala's attempted
integration into the SGC, and
the fact that it isn't smooth
sailing is winning over this
not-exactly-Vala's fan. I'm
finding the awkwardness
believable, and the SGC's
reactions counter the over the
top presence of her character.
But the true relationship that
worked in "Uninvited" was
Mitchell and Landry. Their
"bonding" was fascinating and
perfectly played by the actors.
Bridges dry delivery and
Browder's body language added
nuance to the clever dialogue.
It was nice to see Mitchell in a
more casual setting, and for
almost the first time. It was
good to get more insight into
Landry's backstory as well. The
best moment of course was the
duck call. The pair appeared
barely be able to remain in
character...and yet that worked
as well, at least from what
could be seen after wiping my
eyes from the laughter.
Bad points. The monsters were
pretty awful CGI. Their
scariness was offset by the
laughable nature of them. Also,
Mitchell spouting off a bunch of
classified info to a guy who may
have just been an out of the
loop lackey (he wasn't but
still). Also odd was Sam and/or
Reynolds running the SGC with
Landry gone. This is a personal
pet peeve. For all that
paperwork, potato choice etc, it
should be some administrative
brass, not a field unit person.
And who ran it when Reynolds and
Sam were in Minnesota/Colorado?
Walter? But sacrifices are made
all the time between reality and
the story, and since it was so
cool to see Sam running the
place, the nitpick wasn't
worrisome.
Unlike last week, overall, the
episode moments and overall
plot, including the balance of
humor and drama offset the minor
glitches. After a long hard
week, "Uninvited" made a
pleasant enjoyable hour of
television. Because of the
suspense, the mystery, the humor
and the characterization, I'm
rating the episode "very good." |
|
