User Reviews

Great episode. But I didn't find old Ernest very believable. For once where did he bade? And it stands to reason that someone who has been in isolation for 50 years would forget how to speak or at least I would expect muscle atrophy of the vocal cords.

But the main thing was the fact that the energy staff wouldn't have enough power for the stargate, but a lightning strike would? A Lightning strike has 1 to 10 billion joules of energy. That sounds like a lot, but if you convert it to kWh it's only 1150kWh which isn't a stellar amount. Lightning is powerful and destructive, but only because an average lightning strike lasts only a about 60 microseconds and channeling that amount of energy in such a short amount of time heats materials up to enormous temperatures. But a stargate has to have enough power to keep the wormhole open for at least 30 seconds to be useful in traveling home. In my mind it just doesn't add up. Either the Energy staff would have been plenty to power it, or the lightning strike wouldn't have had enough. Also apparently, according to an SG-1 forum, in a future episode they will manage to activate a Stargate and go through it using two truck batteries. So seems to me that the energy source in the energy staff should have been able to do the trick just fine... o.O

Interesting episode.

He was alone for 50 years. How could he survive, i could not understand but he used a imaginary friend around her, catherine to be strong.

Now we saw there are 4 developed races in all universes who contacted each other probably. It is interesting.

Like "Thor's Hammer", this is a very important episode in the development of the series' mythology as it establishes the the existence of the Alliance of the Four Races, who were identified as the Asgard, the Nox, the Furlings and the Ancients in Season Two's "The Fifth Race", and the "meaning of life" stuff. As the first episode to visit a planet not listed on the Abydos cartouche, it's also significant as providing definitive proof that the Goa'uld did not create the Stargate network, something which was first theorised in the previous episode.

It also delves into the history of the Stargate programme before Daniel was able to turn the Gate on in the film, which was only hinted at in the film itself, with the revelation that the US government not only conducted experiments on the Stargate in 1945 but were able to turn it on and send Ernest Littlefield through. Ernest therefore holds a special place in "Stargate" history as the first person to travel through the Earth Stargate since the rebellion against Ra in 2995 B.C. Both versions of Ernest are well characterised with the 1945 version (played by future "Atlantis" stalwart Paul McGillion) possessing an insatiable curiosity about the Gate and the universe which, as Catherine says, is very reminiscent of Daniel's personality. On the other hand, the 1997 version (played by the late Keene Curtis) regrets that his obsession with the Stargate prevented he and Catherine from growing old together as they should have done, having realised that what he had was of more value than what he was seeking.

Catherine (who seems to have lost her Swedish accent since the movie!) is another great character who should have been featured more often on the series. Elizabeth Hoffman's performance is wonderful as you can really sense her mixed emotions upon learning that Ernest was alive and well after thinking that he was dead for half a century. She is at first greatly upset by the thought that Ernest seemingly chose his work over her and didn't even discuss the risk involved. Though she eventually forgives him, she clearly blames him for denying her the life that she could have had. Great stuff.

Thus is an odd episode. There are numerous goofs (most are noted). I one that isn't is how did Ernest survive? For example, what did he eat and drink? Worse is the overacting of "General Hammond" (Don Davis) and (as always) remember Michael Shanks was primarily hired because he looked like actor James Spader who played "Daniel Jackson in the film this show us based on: "Stargate" (1994). All this aside, the plot of this is good. Unfortunately, the direction is not.

Daniel discovers that the stargate was already discovered in WWII. By accident one young professor went through the stargate but could never return. Some research tells Daniel that the fiancée of the professor is still alive so it also could be that the professor is still alive. Together with the team the fiancée is ready to go through the stargate in search of the lost professor.

Immediately they come across a naked aged man. It's the professor but he discovered the contains the secrets of an Ancient alliance. But there's more going on, being in a decaying fortress and a storm taking place outside it's ready to collapse. SG-1 has to see that they are leaving before the stargate is destroyed by falling stones.

Being a bit of a love story and not that much going on this episode wasn't really my thing. The aged professor appearing naked looked a bit goofy because he was wearing some kind of shoes. Carter turned her face away when she sees him walking towards SG-1 and that's the only thing she does here. It's really an episode of Daniel and the older couple.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 1/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5

This is a fan favorite from the somewhat mixed bag that is season one (though I love 'em all and am watching the entire series through for the sixth time). Don't get me wrong. The premise is fascinating and terrifying. As others have noted, imagine being alone, on another planet, for fifty years. Sadly, though, I put "Torment" in a SG category I like to call the Stand-Around-And-Talk episode. Most of "Torment" is limited to a single set piece (yes, I am aware that budgets limit world building and that so many SG worlds are not much in scope), but, honestly, not much happens. The set-up is terrific, but once SG-1 arrives on Ernest Littlefield's "home" planet (where he's been marooned for half a century), things grind to a halt. Everyone shuffles around. Daniel becomes obsessed with a room. Ernest's isolation is addressed, but not with the brutal honesty that such a reality would have engendered. The episode is fair, definitely one that I sort of eye the clock to see how many minutes remain. An interesting bit of trivia is that future SGA actor Paul McGillion (Dr. Carson Beckett) plays the young Ernest, something that I did not know until very recently.

What an unlucky guy. But I would think as a master scientist he should have been able to figure out how to get back... or why didn't his team go back for him?