SG-1 is given a babysitting detail when the International Oversight Advisory committee wants to visit the Gamma Site. Mitchell (Ben Browder), Carter (Amanda Tapping), Daniel (Michael Shanks) and Teal’c (Christopher Judge) are less than impressed. As often happens, things will go sideways and everyone, including Woolsey (Robert Picardo) will be glad SG-1 is there.

Written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, The Scourge first aired on 17 February, 2006.

At the site, being held in the one of the labs is a carnivorous bug that Daniel believes may be related to the Ori. A follow-up to their viral plague. Is it a surprise that they escape at some point and put the entire planet and team at risk.

The base and the gate are locked down. And SG-1 needs to find a way to stop things, and get home before Landry (Beau Bridges) authorizes a release of a deadly neurotoxin to flood the planet and wipe the bugs out.

Not only that, the team has to stay on the run from the bugs as they travel underground (a cost-saving measure) and then attack and feed on base members. It’s a race.

I’m sure it was because of the cost of the bugs that they were never brought back, despite planting the seed that this may be the next step in the Ori assault.

Mullie and Mallozzi have written so many episodes at this point, they’ve got the patter down, the required beats, as well as a sense of fun. Their episodes usually work on a couple of levels, the surface fun aspect of another adventure with SG-1, and then the underlying themes. They have cranked out some solid episodes, and this is yet another strong entry from them.

Arthur’s Mantle looks like we’re starting the run-up to the season finale. First airing on 24 February, 2006 it was written by Alan McCullough.

Teal’c goes off to investigate a distress call from a Jaffa planet, but before that… Carter is able to activate the device found under Glastonbury, and she and Mitchell are phase-shifted. No one can see them, though they’re around.

Dr. Lee (Bill Dow) and Daniel may have a solution, but Daniel ends up phased as well. In this altered state they are able to access the information left by Merlin. There may be a weapon to fight the Ori. The information was shifted to another phase, so that Merlin could access it, but also keep it hidden. And tucked in that information… a gate address.

And somehow, all of this may be connected to what is going on in the Jaffa story thread, because Mitchell goes off-world to ‘help.’. And it also lets us check in on Tony Todd’s Haikon again. It seems the Ori are reanimating some of the slain Jaffa, something we’ve seen before.

This was a fun one, reminding us of the threat of the Ori, checking in with secondary characters and setting things up for the season finale. That’s a lot to get done in a fun story, but it works.