Stargate SG-1: Prometheus

“Spare me the supervillain riff. We’re on the clock, here.”

• Release Date: 23rd August 2002
• Season 6
• Episode 11
• Director: Peter F. Woeste
• Writers: Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie

As Carter is getting into her car after the gym, she gets accosted by a reporter called Julia Donovan. She asks her questions about a multi billion dollar project called Prometheus, which Sam denies all knowledge of. Julia is concerned about how this money is being used without proper oversight. She also shows a vial – she claims it contains Trinium, a metal alloy completely unknown on Earth. Sam stays calm and says she has nothing to say.

She lets Hammond know and, while she can’t confirm that the Trinium is real, the fact that she knows the name indicates a major leak. Major Davies finds Julia in her limo, but she’s not intimidated and refuses to back down. She does reveal that her reports state that Prometheus is some kind of fusion reactor. He reports back to Hammond, who contacts the president on how to proceed.

Julia enters an office to find her boss, Martell, with Carter and Davies. Martell says the story has been cancelled (the President personally requested the owner of the network to do so), but has a compromise: let them film whatever Prometheus is so that they can be first to report it when the secret is finally revealed to the public. Julia says she could go foreign, but her boss says she could be charged with treason. Back at Stargate Command, the team discuss it, with Jack thinking it is a terrible idea. Hammond tells Carter and Jonas to liaise with the reporter and her team.

Carter and Jonas escort Julia and Martell (along with the film crew) to a small building in the desert, taking a lift underground. There they reveal project Prometheus, also known as the X-303: a large human-made spaceship. It looks great and very advanced. During the tour, Julia mentions that this whole thing is impossible and would never reach orbit. Carter explains that it uses alien technology, gathered from a UFO that crashed in Alaska in 1978. I do find it odd that, as they’re keeping the Stargate a secret, that someone from another planet is showing the reporter around. Won’t she figure out quite easily that Jonas doesn’t exist?

She shows them the bridge of the ship, where the film crew sets up then heads to the engine room, explaining that a number of support systems are still being assembled, and that it has sublight and hyperdrive engines. While they’re away, the camera crew on the bridge stun the guards with Zat guns while they start trying to take control of the ship. Carter notices a diagnostic has been stopped and, when she can’t contact the bridge, heads up to see what’s wrong. She encounters the camera crew, who pull out guns, but Carter manages to shut herself into a small cargo hold, but the hijackers are able to seal it completely.

Jonas notices on the computer that the ship is going into lockdown mode, so he turns on a full diagnostic to slow it down, removing the control crystal. It’s not long until the hijackers notice and a few are sent down to the engine room, holding Jonas, Julia and Martell hostage. Martell quickly gives in and says where the control crystal is. The ship is locked down and the hyperdrive engines are activated – but with nowhere to place a window, they’ll overload and take out the entirety of Nevada. The hijacker says that it won’t come to that if their demands are met.

In a tent outside the facility, Major Davies is in charge of the negotiations when Jack and Teal’c arrive. Davies tells Jack that the terrorists informed them about their intentions to blow up the ship. They call again, saying that they’ve had time to verify the hyperdrive and are ready to give their commands: they want the Colonel Frank Simmons and Adrian Conrad (or the Gou’ald controlling him, he’s never named) delivered to the ship or they’ll blow it. After they cut off the call, Carter manages to get through using a radio in the cargo room, letting them know the camera crew had zats (so likely NID, which makes sense with their demands) and confirms that the ship could fly (if it doesn’t fall apart). She’s near a vital component for the engines, so she says she’ll use a plasma cutter to try and get out in time to damage the system.

In the engine room, Jonas and Julia are on the floor while Martell is with the terrorists. Julaia asks him what is going on and he says he’s getting paid a lot of money. When Jonas mentions there’s no escape, one of the terrorists says that they don’t plan on leaving. The tech trying to control the ship says something has changed in the system and she needs the details. When Jonas refuses to say, the terrorist threatens Julia with a gun. Martell protests harming anyone, so the terrorist shoots him – Jonas gives the information they need.

Simmons and Adrian are brought and are sent to the ship. Simmons heads to the bridge while Adrian heads to the engine room – he’s planning to make the final touches to the hyperdrive so they can get a long way from Earth. Davies and Jack discuss the lack of time, with Davies pointing out that the section of the ship Carter is in isn’t finished – if the ship reaches space, she’ll die. Simmons tells them they have 30 seconds to retract the roof or the ship will be detonated, so they have no option but to comply.

We see the ship leave the facility, looking massive and very impressive, and fly up into orbit. Teal’c does have an idea – the ship has a docking bay for the X-302 fighter. None are ready to fly, but they do have a spare death glider from Apophis (although those were both torn apart, so I’m sure they meant from Anubis, from when they escaped the underwater ship). The radar system isn’t finished, so they can access the lower docking bay without being detected.

Jonas and Julia are put into a storage room and Simmons visits them – he’s a fan of Julia’s work. He also mentions that Jonas is an alien, much to the surprise of Julia. He also tells them that Carter is dead, but we cut to Carter reaching the safe area of the ship. We also see the Death Glider dock, meaning that all of SG-1 are now on board. Carter manages to snip a wire to mess with the engines and the ship loses altitude – so Simmons gets them to activate the hyperdrive, going to co-ordinates the Gou’ald gave them.

Two of the terrorists are sent to hunt down Carter and manage to find them, before getting stunned by Jack and Teal’c behind them. As Carter can’t shut down the hyperdrive, they decide to look for anyone on the ship. On the bridge, Adrian attacks Simmons, but Simmons manages to shoot him. Jack, Teal’c and Carter arrive shortly after, finding Adrian’s body. Carter stays on the bridge while Jack and Teal’c head to free Jonas. 

On the way, Simmons attacks – and Adrian’s Gou’ald is now in control of him. The fight is a bit odd, with a strange slow motion effect that’s quite nauseating. With the Gou’ald getting the upper hand, Jack manages to open the airlock – Teal’c realises what is going on so he and Jack hold on while Simmons is blown out into space – he won’t be a menace to them any more.

Everyone gathers on the bridge and Carter says she has no idea where they are. The terrorists’ tech says there should be a planet here, one mentioned in a tablet that should have Ancient weapons and technology hidden. However, nobody accounted for the naquadria (the Gou’ald controlling Adrian probably didn’t know), so they’ve ended up in the wrong place. Without knowing where they are, they can’t plot a course back.

After checking their measly food supplies, they realise they’re in deep trouble. However, an Asgard ship appears, and Thor beams over (with a new clone body). Thor explains that they monitor all hyperspace activity near Earth, so has been tracking them. However, he’s not here to take them home, but to ask for help: the replicators have taken over their homeworld.

This is a great episode and a big leap for the show, introducing Star Trek style spaceships to Earth’s resources, creating new revenues and less reliance on other groups helping them.