Season Three of SG-1 got underway on 25 June 1999 with Into the Fire. Written by one of the showrunners, Brad Wright, General Hammond (Don S. Davis) learns that SG-1 is being held captive by Hathor (Suanne Braun). While Major Davis (Colin Cunningham) stays at the SGC, Hammond joins Teal’c (Christopher Judge) and Bra’tac (Tony Amendola) on Chulak, where the jaffa are trying to raise forces to help rescue SG-1.

O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) is chosen by a goa’uld to be a host, while Carter (Amanda Tapping) and Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) escape when Colonel Makepeace (Steve Makaj) leads an assault on Hathor’s base.

But how did Makepeace know where SG-1 was being held? And how will O’Neill be saved? The answer to both is the Tok’ra. It seems they have a spy in Hathor’s ranks in the form of Raully (Samantha Ferris).

And now the battle continues!!

Hammond joins Teal’c in a stylized death glider, and helps, personally, to rescue SG-1! And it looks like this is the end of Hathor. Oh well.

It’s a great season opener, lots of action beats, lots of fun character beats, and I love that we have so many recurring supporting characters now, It’s a full world, and continually growing.

Let’s see where Season Three takes us! And Anderson is fully embracing his gray now!

SG-1’s other show runner Jonathan Glassner wrote Seth, which debuted on 2 July, 1999.

Jacob/Selmak (Carmen Argenziano) comes to Earth at the behest of the Tok’ra. He’s here for a dual reason. Selmak is insistent Jacob make amends with his son, Samantha Carter’s brother, as it is weighing heavily on his conscience. The other reason drives the main plot for this epiosde: The Tok’ra believe there may be a goa’uld hiding out on Earth, and he may have been here for centuries.

Seth (Robert Murray Duncan) is a religious cult leader, Jackson tracks him down, and the group is ready to go in and put Seth down once and for all, and hopefully break the goa’uld’s sway over his followers.

Unfortunately, things get complicated when SG-1 finds themselves clashing and having to work with ATF and Jacob and Daniel come up with a plan, that exposes them to a dangerous gas that will infect Daniel, O’Neill and Carter and turn them into cult members. But Jacob has devices implanted in them that should snap them out of the control.

When they are awakened, things escalate quickly, and SG-1 is able to save the day, Carter is able to use goa’uld technology to vanquish Seth, and everyone is freed.

There’s connective tissue between the two stories as another father (Greg Micheals) is hoping to rescue his estranged son, reminding us of Jacob’s own strained relationship with his son.

There’s a fun moment when Teal’c shares a Jaffa joke, that no one but him seems to get and enjoy. It’s these little character beats that really make the show shine, as it fills it out, and elevates the characters even when the stories don’t always work, which is few and far between.

And this one is solid, and shows that the series has no sign of stopping! Let’s see what happens next!