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Every TV series stumbles a bit as the cast and crew gain control over the story they want to tell and how the characters should behave in various situations, and sci-fi giants are no exception. Star Trek: The Next Generation came across Season 1 Episode 4, “Code of Honor” and the worst episode Stargate SG-1 came early with the first season of “Emancipation”. As it turns out, both episodes share the same writer, but he’s directly responsible for setting the underrated sci-fi franchise up for greatness.
Emancipation Is The Worst Stargate SG-1 Episode
Labeling any episode as the “worst” usually leads to wild debate among fans, but when it comes to Stargate SG-1 fan base is concerned, is “Emancipation” really that bad. The episode opens with the crew stumbling upon a planet where women aren’t allowed to show their faces or dress like men, which sounds awful at first, but gets worse as Amanda Tapping’s Samantha Carter is forced to dress as one of them. their wives and become the property of the tribe. Worse, none of the SG-1 crew protested and actually like the new outfit.
By the time Carter was sold to a local warlord for 300 gold pieces, whatever message “Emancipation” was trying to get out was lost. Beneath Carter’s objectification lies the core of a clever story, namely how militaristic SG-1 reacts to different cultures, since this was, after all, their very first mission to another planet through a stargate. Without a basic directive to guide them, “Emancipation” could have been a great episode to show how the show differs from Star Trekbut instead the worst happened Stargate SG-1 and left everyone involved shaking their heads in amazement and disgust.
It’s not just the fans who hate it
In later interviews, Amanda Tapping was kind to the worst Stargate SG-1 episode by politely saying that it simply “missed the mark”. At the time, the reception of the episode was so bad that the producers and writers buckled down and reworked the character of Samantha Carter, transforming her into the smart, capable and multi-faceted character that fans have come to know throughout the rest of the series. If not for “Emancipation,” Carter may have been reduced to the token “hot girl” role common to most shows that somehow finds herself in a different cosplay outfit every other episode.
It’s not just about the fans who consider “Emancipation” to be the worst episode Stargate SG-1but also writers. In the back half of Season 1, you can tell the actors are getting to grips with their characters and the odd moments like Jack O’Neil (Richard Dean Anderson) and Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) peeking at Carter. This misstep had to happen in order for everyone involved to learn the right notes to hit, it’s just ironic how similar Star Trek: A new generation Season 1 debacle.
Code of honor and emancipation are the same
“Code of Honor” features the crew of the Enterprise encountering the foreign a culture influenced by an ancient culture, in this case Chinese, compared to Stargate A Mongolian woman with officer Tasha Yar, believed to be the consort of a local warlord. Both episodes feature a knife fight in which a woman comes out on top and changes the alien civilization forever. Both the worst Star Trek: The Next Generation and Stargate SG-1 the episodes end with the acquisition of a local plant that promises a breakthrough in medicine.
Katharyn Powers went to two different ones science fiction show and wrote the exact same third episode for both, but broke her streak by writing a “past prologue” for Star Trek: Deep Space Ninethe episode that introduced the world to Garak, a simple tailor. At least you can make a little case for her streak of worst episodes ever by saying that when they were written, the characters of both A new generation and Stargate SG-1 they were not yet established, so it was impossible for them to behave wildly and inappropriately. And then you can say that the episodes were so bad that it forced the characters to settle down very quickly to ensure that nothing as embarrassing would ever happen again.
It led to the best of SG-1’s stargate
If the fans didn’t experience the worst Stargate SG-1they would never be able to enjoy the best episodes, from “Heroes” to “Windows of Opportunity” or even “200,” which manages to be one of the best broadcast celebrations of the show. “Emancipation” had to happen and we can’t all be as classy as Amanda Tapping, but she managed to get out of Samantha Carter letting a stranger study her every pore before selling her for Samantha Carter’s gold. from “Space Race,” which saw fans embrace her need for speed, to “Death Knell,” which thrusts her into the center of the action. Every show stumbles, but not every show becomes an all-time classic.
