Lifeboat (18 Jul. 2003)

While exploring an crashed alien ship full of passengers in cryostasis, an alien force has downloaded a number of their consciousnesses into Daniel.

Director:

Peter DeLuise

Writers:

Brad Wright (developed for television by), Jonathan Glassner (developed for television by),

Stars:

Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Richard Dean Anderson	...	Colonel Jack O'Neill
Amanda Tapping	...	Major Samantha Carter
Christopher Judge	...	Teal'c
Don S. Davis	...	Major General George Hammond
Michael Shanks	...	Dr. Daniel Jackson / Sovereign Martice / Tryan / Keenin
James Parks	...	Pharrin
Gary Jones	...	Sgt. Walter Harriman
Teryl Rothery	...	Dr. Janet Fraiser
Travis Webster	...	Tryan
Ryan Drescher	...	Young Keenin
Kimberly Unger	...	Infirmary Nurse
Rob Hayter	...	Orderly
Colin Corrigan	...	Team Leader

Storyline

While investigating a crashed ship, SG-1 finds hundreds of inhabited stasis pods. While doing a thorough count, they are all knocked unconscious by an alien force. When Teal'c wakes Dr. Jackson, Daniel is terrified of him. Upon returning to the SGC, Daniel insists upon getting back to the ship and appears to not know where he is nor who anyone else is.

---

Plot Keywords:

title spoken by character

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

---

Details

Release Date:

18 July 2003 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

MGM Worldwide Television Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Did You Know?

Quotes

Teal'c: Daniel Jackson's preliminary electroencephalogram proved anomalous.
Colonel Jack O'Neill: I dare you to say that again.

---

Soundtracks

"End Title"
Written by Joel Goldsmith

User Reviews

Wonderful piece(s) of acting

A good episode, whose major quality and major flaw both are that it completely rests upon Michael Shanks's shoulders. Don't get me wrong: he is absolutely amazing. Granted, we've already seen him play several characters at the same time (Ma'chello, for one) but the episode really ups the ante by having him play *half a dozen* characters, almost at the same time. However, the episode focuses on this feat so much that the rest of the team are left aside for most of it.

Still, the core idea is good, and puts a twist on a rather familiar sci-fi plot (the whole population of a dying world is put in stasis and evacuated aboard spaceships). I really appreciate how the "lifeboat" in the title can be interpreted several ways. (Fyi, the French title is "Phantom ship", which is quite good as well). Once again, the plot is not revealed in a straightforward manner, which leaves some opportunity for mystery and emotion.

In a way, this is too good a plot for a mere 40-minute episode, as the resolution occurs much too fat to my taste. I wish we could have spent more time with Pharrin, who turns out to be a real hero in his own way, and whose final fate remains very unclear.