Stargate SG-1: Menace

“I taught my toys to make more of themselves.”

• Release Date: 16th January 2002
• Season 5
• Episode 19
• Director: Martin Wood
• Writers: Peter DeLuise & James Tichenor

SG-1 are investigating a ruined planet. There are no signs of survivors (or bodies). Carter does detect some faint energy readings. In some kind of temple, they discover a young woman, seemingly dead but perfectly preserved. Carter confirms that the energy readings are coming from this girl. They call Stargate command, saying that this appears to be a robot of some sort. They get permission to bring it back to Stargate Command.

Dr Fraiser and Carter study it. The robot seems to have nanomachines, but they disable themselves when they leave the body, they suspect it’s some kind of self repair mechanism. They also work out where the power core is, opening a slot in her neck. In a briefing, Carter says she thinks she can turn the robot on, and that perhaps the robot can help teach her how it functions.

They turn it on and it takes a little bit of time to boots up, but it does mimic breathing, a pulse and a heartbeat – it all mimics human behaviour extremely well. She wakes up and asks where she is, and Daniel introduces everyone to her. She says her name is Reece and asks to know where her father is. She asks how she got there and Daniel says her civilisation was destroyed. Reece says that all she knows is that her father told her to go to sleep. Carter starts asking about her functions but when Reece seems to be confused, Daniel takes her aside.

Daniel doesn’t think that Reece knows that she’s a robot. When Jack questions how that’s possible, Daniel reminds them that their robot clones had no idea they weren’t the real SG-1. She’s just found out that everything she knows is gone, so telling her that she’s not human might be a bit too much. Carter agrees, and Jack is fine with playing along for now. Carter does voice her concern with how this planet was wiped out and some advanced technology was just left behind.

Daniel has a long chat with Reece, who is curious and wants to explore the planet. She doesn’t understand why she has to be locked up in the room. Jack takes SG-3 back to the planet to look for more evidence. A member of SG-3 shows him a piece of metal which may be irrelevant, but he was told to look for absolutely anything out of place. He shows Jack – it’s a block from a Replicator. 

The Replicator block is analysed and is inert. This raises the question of why the Replicators didn’t use her as material, especially with how advanced she is. It’s suggested that she may have some defence against them (either on purpose or coincidentally). Daniel says he’s getting nowhere. Not only does her mind wander, but she seems to be hiding something. It’s time to tell her the truth.

Daniel does this (in a very long winded way) and Reece attacks him, shoving him into a wall. In the corridor, they speculate that it could be a defence mechanism to prevent her from acknowledging that she’s not human. Daniel goes back in and she apologises and accepts his apology, saying that Daniel attacked her and they should just move on from it. She has a surprise to show Daniel, a toy that they can play with: it’s a Replicator.

They quickly put the replicator in an acid resistant glass case (unsure if it will actually hold it). They look at the camera footage and see her transforming metal objects into replicator blocks. Daniel and Jack speak with her, telling her what the replicators are and what they’ve done – they’re responsible for destroying her planet. She says that the people said she was made wrong and they started destroying her toys. She told them to make more of themselves and to defend both them and her – which led them to wipe everything out. She tried to tell them to stop, but they had stopped listening.

SG-2 return from trying to speak to the Asgard (you’d think they’d add a Hall of Wisdom to Earth by now) but they’re not responding. Hammond is concerned that they may have lost their battle with the replicators right as they’ve found their origin, and the Asgard might be able to use Reece to stop them for good. They decide it is time to shut Reece down until they can contact the Asgard.

As SG-1 head to the observation room, it seems that there are a lot more Replicators, which are attacking SGC personnel. The base is sealed off and everyone is put to sweeping the building. With the power systems down, Carter locks the computer to try and prevent the Replicators from dialling out. Replicators start to enter the control room, so they start to retreat – but spot Reece in the gate room.

They all discuss a plan. Daniel wants to try and talk to her again, and Carter says if he can get close enough to Reece, he could potentially power her down, hopefully shutting off the Replicators. She’s currently in control of them, which gives them a chance. Hammond is willing to give him a chance. 

Daniel goes to Reece, and says he wants to be her friend and show her the world. She’s receptive, but realises what he is trying to do when he reaches for her neck, which makes her quite angry and she says that nobody will ever hurt her. Jack starts working with a crew to break through the gate room door while Hammond and Carter go to set off the self-destruct as they can’t risk the Replicators escaping the base.

As everyone shoots Replicators, Reece feels pain. She yells for it to stop and Daniel tells her that only she can stop it all. He says they don’t want their world to be destroyed like she destroyed hers – she’s still in denial and says it wasn’t her fault. He says she could have stopped them before they lost control. Hammond and Carter spot a reluctant replicator entering the bomb room. Daniel carries on, but the replicator attacks on her own – she’s starting to lose control.

Just as Daniel seems to be getting through to Reece, with her saying she doesn’t want him to die, Jack makes his way through and shoots her. The replicators all fall apart, and Jack removes the power pack just in case. Daniel is extremely annoyed, saying that Reece was shutting them down. Jack says he has no way to know for certain, and that they were losing control anyway. There was no other option available to them, with Jack showing some sympathy as Daniel is distraught. 

It’s definitely interesting that the Replicators were made by a lonely android who just made some toys and told them to make more of themselves – a menacing threat from something so innocent. It would have been nice for some of the gaps to be filled in – like how they ended up in the Asgard galaxy or why they left the Milky Way, but it’s still a fascinating origin story for them. It’s also great to see Hammond in army gear and using a shotgun. Also, does this mean that the Replicators are Reece’s pieces?