Stargate SG-1: Tin Man

• Release Date: 13th February 1998
• Season 1
• Episode 19
• Director: Jimmy Kaufman
• Writers: Jeffrey F. King

SG-1 arrive inside some industrial building. It looks like our level or tech, but seems extremely old. They try to access a computer and get knocked out by a security system, waking up in a strange lab with new clothes on and no equipment, they’re greeted by an eccentric man saying “Comtrya” claiming that they’re all “better”. Despite Harlan’s protests, SG-1 gets some of their equipment back and head back to SG-C.

Because they don’t know what happened to them, Dr Fraiser checks them out, Jack has no heartbeat, just mechanical sounds. He cuts his arm open and discovers that he’s a robot – all of SG-1 are. Fraiser pulls the alarm and they’re locked away until they can figure out what is going on, but Hammond sends them back through the gate when they start losing power.

Harlan explains that he is the last of his people, who transferred themselves to androids to save something of themselves since the surface was destroyed. The androids have been breaking as the person that invented the tech was the first to die. He says SG-1’s original bodies have been disposed of, and they they need the power source of the building to survive.

Parts of the complex start to break,so Harlan heads off to fix it. Jack goes to find out more about the original bodies while Teal’c walks off to have a meltdown. Sam and Daniel look for him but bump into Jack and Harlan instead, they all help repair the complex – the specs have been added to their minds – but Teal’c attacks Jack, with Harlan vaporising him at the last minute.

Harlan goes off to make a new Teal’c, saying he made a mistake by putting both his and the Gou’ald’s mind in the android body, which allowed it to take over. The rest are suspicious about how he can do this without the original body. Harlan admits that their consciousness wasn’t transferred – it was copied. The original members of SG-1 are still here, very much alive.

The android copies wake up the originals and explain the situation to a very confused human SG-1. The androids realise that they truly are stuck there, and android Jack says he’ll bury the gate so they can’t send a bomb to deal with the security issue. SG-1 head back.

It’s a silly episode, but also a ton of fun. I love it. As with the previous episode, it would be nice for how the Gou’ald ignored another advanced planet to be explained, but it’s great to see what the characters had to go though and their reactions to each revelation.