okay, my level of curiosity has won out and I'd like to try watching some Stargate, but I'm worried about diving head in and burning out (which is what happened when I tried watching West Wing). I'm fairly certain that you've reblogged a list or put together one of your own for must-see episodes? Or maybe a must-avoid episodes list?
I don’t think I ever have made that list of Stargate SG-1 episodes, actually! I will do so now. :) I’ll rec episodes on the basis of which ones are kind of important to understanding what’s going on, and/or ones I personally found the most enjoyable. So you—and anyone else who finds this list—should certainly feel free to take this list with many grains of salt, and feel free to disagree with me.
Honestly, there aren’t many episodes in this season that don’t give you some background on the characters, or that do some major worldbuilding. So keep that in mind.
1.01-1.03 (Children of the Gods and The Enemy Within) introduce the main characters and set the foundation for the show.Â
1.04 (Emancipation) is considered by many to be one of the weakest episodes of the series, so you could skip it. Also, it’s got a gross white Savior thing going on. (That said, I have a lot of affection for this episode anyway, because it’s kind of the one episode in which they address the fact that Samantha Carter is “the girl” on the team, and she refuses to be seen as only “the girl,” and then she kicks some bad-guy ass. After that, she’s never treated as anything less than the complete equal of anyone else at Stargate Command.)
1.05 (The Broca Divide) is entertaining but skippable.
1.06 & 1.07 (The First Commandment & Cold Lazarus) explain some of Sam’s and Jack’s backstory.
1.08 (The Nox), 1.09 (Brief Candle) and 1.10 (Thor’s Hammer) are probably all skippable. Characters or planets from all three of these episodes are mentioned later, I think, but in a pretty minor way that probably won’t confuse you too much.
1.11 (The Torment of Tantalus) has the backstory of the Stargate program.
1.12 (Bloodlines) explains some of Teal’c’s backstory and introduces an important recurring character.
1.13 (Fire and Water) introduces a recurring theme but it’s skippable.
1.14 (Hathor) is skippable. It’s one of those episodes that the show itself likes to pretend doesn’t exist, and they poke fun at it several times in later episodes. (It’s a pretty meh episode, but the plot does involve all the women at the SGC banding together to save the day. So, you know. YMMV.)
1.15 (Singularity) introduces a supporting character who will pop up again a few times.
1.16 (Cor-Ai) has some good team moments, but it’s probably not essential.
1.17 (Enigma) introduces some recurring characters, but it’s not one of my favorite episodes and I usually skip it on rewatch.
1.18 (Solitudes) is NOT one you should skip, I just wanted to point out that it’s my very favorite episode of the whole series, and it’s also the episode that really made me go “Okay, this show has GOT me, I’m IN.”
1.19 (Tin Man) is kind of existentially horrifying if you think about it too hard, but it’s also a really enjoyable episode, and introduces some characters who pop up again later.
1.20 (There But for the Grace of God) is a great episode and important to the show’s mythology.
1.21 (Politics) is basically a clips episode, but it introduces an important antagonist. And there’s a funny moment early on. So watch the first 5-10 minutes and then skip the rest.
1.22 (Within the Serpent’s Grasp) is the first part of a two-part cliffhanger. Definitely worth watching.
