While O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) continues to recover from his staff blast wound he received in Heroes, the rest of SG-1 is sent to Los Angeles to consult on a mass murder case. Why? Because there are a number of Goa’uld artifacts, and the NID are involved.

Written by Michael Shanks and directed by Amanda Tapping, the episode feels a bit like a cross between The X-Files and Silence of the Lambs.

Carter (Tapping) pairs up again with Agent Barrett (Peter Flemming), while Teal’c (Christopher Judge) and Daniel (Shanks) dig into the recovered artifacts. There’s a strange woman, Anna (Kristen Dalton) being held in a Hannibal Lecter cell, and an untrustworthy doctor, Keffler (Brad Greenquist) involved in the story, and SG-1 is going to have to figure out how the pieces fit together, and what it all means.

Among the artifacts is a bomb that has been activated and Carter learns something revealing about the NID, the Goa’uld and Anna. Can Daniel discover Anna’s true nature and find a way to stop the bomb before it goes off? And what is the connection between Anna and Keffler, and what will it mean for those involved?

Dr. Lee (Bill Dow) shows up to help as he can, but in the end it’s an interesting tale between Daniel and Anna, with some solid performances, and a solid directorial debut from Tapping – something she would do beyond Stargate.

It’s a different kind of episode, and the only one of the series directed by a woman. That seems like something that should have been fixed a lot sooner than season seven.

Inauguration follows the new president, Henry Hayes (William Devane) and his vice president, Kinsey (Ronny Cox) getting the latest briefing (read as clip show) to bring Hayes up to speed on the Stargate program.

And Kinsey wants his agenda seen to.

First broadcast on 5 March, 2004 it was written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie (along with excerpts from almost everyone who has penned an episode). This is the penultimate story of the seventh season. The finale will be an epic two-parter not only setting up season eight, but season one of Stargate: Atlantis.

Hayes gets his brief. He’s a little dumbstruck at first, thinking it’s a joke, but soon, the evidence and reveals begin to pile up. As Woolsey (Robert Picardo) goes into detail, Hayes learns all about Stargate Command, and Kinsey wants his way on it. He wants the staff replaced, with his own recommendations. General Maynard (James McDaniel), however, believes that Hammond (Don S. Davis) and the rest of the people at the SGC are doing exactly what they need to be doing to protect the Earth.

What side will Hayes come down on?

Did we need another clip show? No, but at least when they come along, the series is intent on using them to advance the series storyline. It’s also a great way to bring everyone up to date on all the important and continuing narratives, characters, and where they are all heading as we race towards the conclusion of season seven!