O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) Carter (Amanda Tapping), Teal’c (Christopher Judge) and Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) find themselves in a penal colony on an unknown planet after unknowingly violating local law and aiding someone in need, who turned out to be a murderer.

Prisoners was written by Terry Curtis Fox and was first broadcast on 10 July, 1998.

In prison, the group needs to acclimate to the structure and rules, and make a possible deal with Linea (Bonnie Bartlett), who seems to be in charge of her fellow prisoners, or at least in a leadership position. She may have a way to help power the gate, and a deal is reached when she reveals that she has technological insight that could help save Earth’s environment.

They clash with the local thugs, Vishnoor (Mark Acheson) and things get violent, but the real threat may be Linea. Who is she?

Hammond (Don S. Davis) has his first journey through the gate as he goes to negotiate with the unseen justice tribunal and make overture for future negotiations.

When Daniel figures out what planet to dial up, Linea is able to power up the gate and they escape, but is that a good thing? Simian (Michael Puttonen), who was also a prisoner, escaped through the gate at the same time as SG-1, reveals that Linea is brilliant, but she’s also quite mad, creating diseases and biological warfare just to experiment on people. He calls her the Destroyer of Worlds.

And now she’s in the SGC. She gets access to all manner of information and technology and then effects an escape.

She’s out there now, and SG-1 let her loose. Will we see her again?

The Gamekeeper sees another recognizable guest star joining the Stargate universe, this time Dwight Schultz shows up as the titular gamekeeper. Written by Jonathan Glassner from a story he developed with Brad Wright, this episode was first broadcast on 17 July, 1998.

When SG-1 starts investigating a strange planet, and a lovely garden, they end up trapped in machines that put them into the memories of their own past, forcing them to relive traumatic moments over and over again. O’Neill and Teal’c end up in one of O’Neill’s memories from a mission that went disastrously wrong in 1982.

Daniel and Carter end up in Daniel’s memory of the death of his parents in an accident that claimed them while they were setting up an exhibit.

As the go through these things over and over again, other people start to appear, watching the memories, as it’s new to them. The Keeper advises them to let the memory play out to fix it, to treat it as a game.

When the four of them refuse to play the Keeper’s game, they try to explain that they have no desire to relive the horrors of their past and demand to be released. They slowly begin to figure out not only why the Keeper wants them to relive their memories, but also why he doesn’t want to let them go.

Can SG-1 find an equitable way to save the planet and its inhabitants, or is the Keeper going to keep them forever? But even if they get out, are they really out?

Of course, things will work out towards the end, and freedom is restored, and a balance with the Keeper is found.

It’s always fun to see Schultz, and hey look, Jay Acovone is back as Kawalsky!

It’s a fun episode, and the series is just rockin’ along. I am having so much fun on this rewatch, and can’t way to get to some of my favorites and explore the whole franchise.