8.08 "Covenant" Episode Guide

Précis

When charismatic billionaire Alec Colson threatens to expose the existence of alien life to the world, Carter attempts to intervene and convince him the Stargate program is worthy of secrecy…and of his protection. However, a secretive organisation known as the Trust has its own agenda: to discredit and silence Colson at all costs.

Guide | Transcript

SciFi.com Official Summary

The truth is out there, and Alec Colson, CEO of the global conglomerate and defense contractor Colson Industries, is going to make sure the truth goes out to the world. Claiming he has shocking proof that the government is covering up a liaison with aliens, and that Earth was almost destroyed by an alien invasion, Colson gives all nations involved 24 hours to come clean or he'll do it for them.

Brian Vogler, Colson's COO, right-hand man and best friend, begs Colson not to go ahead with this plan. For the sake of the spread-thin company's stock, Colson can't afford to lose credibility or to have the government, their best client, against him. But Colson's determined.

At Stargate Command, Brig. Gen. Jack O'Neill, Lt. Col. Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c watch Colson ramble on TV. Carter had worked with Colson briefly on the F-302 space-jet's control systems (though he didn't know what it was for). She tells O'Neill that Colson owns several Earth-observer and weather satellites. It's possible they could have photographed Anubis' fleet in orbit, or the battle over Antarctica. O'Neill sends Daniel and Carter to convince Colson to back off. It doesn't work.

Time's up. Colson shows the world his evidence that aliens exist: Into the press room walks … an Asgard!

Carter confers with Earth's alien ally Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet, who says that no Asgard is currently on Earth. That plus the fact that this one didn't speak and looked vacant suggests it isn't an Asgard. But what is it?

Daniel does some digging and discovers that Biovail, a Colson biotech research company, received a copy of Asgard DNA for sequencing when the SGC was trying to help the Asgard with their cloning problem. They weren't told the DNA was alien. It was supposed to be a blind study. But they obviously took their research a little further than the contract specified. Carter clarifies that Asgard DNA is programmed to allow clones to grow to maturity in just a few months, but they are essentially an empty shell until an existing consciousness can be transferred into them.

O'Neill says this has gone far enough and calls in Thor, who has the clone and all the corresponding research beamed out of Colson's lab. Colson, enraged, flies to Washington. Carter, though she doesn't like discrediting a man who has a right to know the truth, goes on WNN News with reporter Julia Donovan, who has to go along with SGC's plan to discredit Colson since she'd signed a nondisclosure agreement after the Prometheus incident. On TV, Carter tells the public that Colson's alien was a product of 3D VR and advanced holographic projection. Her visual aid is Thor, who beams his hologram into the studio and talks to the viewers as Carter passes her hand through him.

After the broadcast, Colson's plane goes down. Colson is fine but it looks like sabotage. This is getting serious. Carter then suggests that, as they'd done with Donovan, they tell Colson the truth. Having a man of his resources on their side could be a good thing.

As Colson prepares to go on air with satellite pictures of the alien ships and all his other proof, he's suddenly beamed to SGC, where Carter introduces him to Thor. Thor tells Colson that the Asgard he cloned will have a consciousness transferred to his body, so all is well in that regard. He departs, and Carter gives Colson the whole tour—including a trip through the Stargate to the new Alpha site, planet P4X-650, some 640 light-years away. She also flies with him in the F-302, to let him see his handiwork fully. But she fails to convince him how important it is to maintain secrecy lest the public panic. She also tells him about The Trust—rogue former agents of the National Intelligence Division (NID) who want control of the Stargate and think they can protect the world better than SGC can. They'll never gain that control if the Stargate becomes public knowledge, and she suggests it was probably they who tried to kill him with the plane crash.

Colson is still intent on revealing the truth of the Stargate, but back at SGC, a news report says investigators now believe that Colson created the alien hoax in order to divert attention from his corporate financial problems. Colson is stunned—what financial problems? It gets worse: He's being framed for securities fraud. He has been publicly discredited and will soon be financially ruined. And it was Brian Vogler, who was threatened by the Trust six months earlier, who sold him out. Vogler is ashamed of his actions, and Colson convinces him to wear a wire the next time he talks to the Trust. But Vogler hangs himself in his bathroom before that can happen.

After hearing this news, Carter offers Colson, who is about to commit suicide as well, a way out. He can still be of help to the planet, but not on this planet. He'll go to the Alpha site where he can help the SGC. He agrees, but is sad no one will ever know of the sacrifice he's making to help make a difference. Carter welcomes him to her world.

Cast

• Richard Dean Anderson as Brig. Gen. Jack O'Neill
• Amanda Tapping as Lt. Col. Samantha Carter
• Christopher Judge as Teal'c
• and Michael Shanks as Dr. Daniel Jackson

Guest Stars

• Charles G. Shaughnessy as Alec Colson
• Tom O'Brien as Brian Vogler
• Kendall Cross as Julia Donovan
• Chris Sheilds as Capt. Mike Shefield
• Ingrid Torrance as Staffer
• Todd Masters, Paul Hoosen, Brad Proctor, Morris Chapdelaine, George Grove, and Nicolas Podbrey as Thor Puppeteers
• Todd Masters, Paul Hoosen, Brad Proctor, and Morris Chapdelaine as Colson's Asgard

Production

• Story by Ron Wilkerson
• Teleplay by Ron Wilkerson and Robert C. Cooper
• Directed by Martin Wood

Related Articles

Keywords

• Alpha Site (P4X-650)
• Antarctica
• Anubis
• Asgard
• Biovail
• Colson Industries
• F-302
• National Intelligence Division (NID)
• Prometheus
• Stargate
• Stargate Command (SGC)
• The Trust
• Thor

Other

• Season Eight Episode Guides
• Episode Guides
• Transcripts
• 8.08 "Covenant" Transcript
• Previous: 8.07 "Affinity" Episode Guide
• Next: 8.09 "Sacrifices" Episode Guide

Related Links

Official

• Official MGM Stargate SG-1 Website
• SciFi Channel 8.08 "Covenant" Episode Guide

Fan

• Solutions On-Site Forum: Season Eight Discussion Board
• Solutions LJ Companion Site
• Stargatefan Season Eight (Episode Guides, Transcripts, Multimedia, Missing Scenes)
• SG-1Web: Nitpicker's NetGuide Season Eight
• Stargate Screencaps: Season Eight

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--Kylie Lee 08:46, 28 Aug 2004 (PDT)