| "200" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stargate SG-1 episode | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 10 Episode 6 | ||
| Directed by | Martin Wood | ||
| Written by | Brad Wright,Robert C. Cooper,Joseph Mallozzi,Paul Mullie,Carl Binder,Martin Gero, Alan McCullough | ||
| Production code | 1006 | ||
| Original air date | August 18, 2006 (2006-08-18) | ||
| Guest appearances | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| Stargate SG-1(season 10) | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"200" is the sixth episode of the science fiction television seriesStargate SG-1'stenth season, and the 200th episode of the series overall. Unlike the more serious nature of the season's story arc, "200" is a light-heartedparody of bothStargate SG-1 and othersci-fi shows, as well as popular culture likeThe Wizard of Oz.
"200" won the 2007Constellation Award for Best Overall 2006 Science Fiction Film or Television Script,[1] and was nominated for the 2007Hugo Award forBest Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.[2] The episode also marks the first time original SG-1 memberJack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) is seen since the beginning of Season 9.
The episode received a 1.9 average householdrating, one of the few episodes of the season that surpassed the average rating ofStargate SG-1'sprevious season. "200" also received near-universal praise for its humor and writing. Despite the strong performance of the episode, theSci-Fi Channel announced soon after the episode's airing it would not be renewing the series for another season.
Martin Lloyd (Willie Garson), anextraterrestrial turned Hollywood writer, returns toStargate Command looking for assistance fromSG-1 with his script for the movie adaptation of the television showWormhole X-Treme,[3] based on the exploits of the Stargate Program. The team, especiallyLt. Colonel Mitchell (Ben Browder), is reluctant to help. Mitchell is excited about his next off-world mission because it marks his 200th trip through theStargate. Technical glitches prevent the team from setting off on their mission.General Landry (Beau Bridges) orders SG-1 to help Lloyd, as the government believes a successful science fiction film about intergalactic wormhole travel will serve as agood cover story to keep the real Stargate program a secret.
The notes session devolves into the team members pitching their own versions of a successful sci-fi film, including azombie invasion (from Mitchell), a previously unseen mission where O'Neill became invisible (fromCarter), "tributes" toThe Wizard of Oz andFarscape (fromVala), andTeal'c as a private investigator (from Teal'c himself). Also featured are a vignette of the team's mental image of a "younger and edgier" SG-1 (sparked by the studio's suggestion to replace the originalWormhole X-Treme cast), a suggested scene by Martin that turns out to be both scientifically inaccurate and highly derivative ofStar Trek, a re-imagined version of theSG-1 pilot episode where all the characters are marionettes in the style of the television seriesThunderbirds, and an imagined wedding that features the return ofGeneral O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson). The studio decides to cancel the movie in favor of renewing the series. The end of the episode shifts ten years into the future, where theWormhole X-Treme cast and crew celebrate their 200th episode, as well as renewed plans for a movie.
Most of the episode is devoted to references and allusions to other works, as well as the show itself. The title sequence is deliberately shorter than most other episodes, poking fun at shows likeLost as well as theSci-Fi Channel itself,[4] which had shortened SG-1's Season 9 opening but changed it back after fans demanded it.[5] When Martin learns that his main actor has backed out of the movie, the SG-1 team offers various suggestions for how to replace him or work around his non-availability—a reference toMichael Shanks's absence from the sixth season ofStargate SG-1.[4] Anderson references the ending of the eighth-season episode "Moebius", which was intended to be the series finale ofSG-1 before the ninth season was announced.[6] The final scene of "200", which features interviews with theWormhole X-Treme cast, was added as an afterthought,[6] and contains comments from the real cast used out of context as an inside joke.[6]
The episode also riffs on other science fiction shows. Early in the episode, Dr. Jackson asks why anyone would make a movie version of a TV series that lasted only three episodes—Teal'c responds that it had strong DVD sales. This is a reference to the seriesFirefly,[7] which Fox executives decided to cancel after airing only three episodes. The high number of DVDs of these episodes that sold afterwards justified making a feature film based on the series,Serenity.Firefly is again referenced when Lloyd refuses to use footage from theWormhole X-Treme series for the movie, saying that "it's a movie, not a clip show," alluding to a similar comment fromFirefly show runnerJoss Whedon. Another sequence is a parody of the originalStar Trek series, with SG-1 standing in for the crew of the StarshipEnterprise.[4]Brad Wright, the co-creator of the series, fills in as the engineerMontgomery Scott.[6] Another sequence makes fun of the seriesFarscape, including its habit of inventingswear words.[4]Stargate: SG-1 actorsBen Browder andClaudia Black had both starred in the earlier series. Several other shows and movies are parodied, includingThe Wizard of Oz, with the story re-told with the members of the SG-1 team as the adventurers in Oz. The writers based the parody on a fan painting they had hanging in their office.[4] The episode also makes fun of24's "ticking clock of jeopardy",[4] and an entire sequence is enacted with all the characters played bymarionettes, in the style ofThunderbirds andTeam America: World Police.
"200" follows up on the events of the Season 4 episode "Point of No Return" and the Season 5 episode "Wormhole X-Treme"; the episodes feature the character of Martin and are self-referentially written. In comparison, "200" riffs on science fiction and genre television more broadly.[8] In comparison to attitudes that fans are largely powerless and in opposition to producers, the episode posits fans as empowered shapers of entertainment.[8]
Executive producerRobert C. Cooper originally proposed they write a normal script for the 200th episode, but deciding who would have the privilege of writing the episode proved awkward. This led to the idea to create asketch episode in the manner ofSaturday Night Live, with each writer creating avignette.[9] The episode took shape when the writers thought to bring backWormhole X-Treme and the character of Martin, and frame the whole episode as a notes session.[4] By the end of the writing process the episode had turned into "an homage to the cast, crew, and die-hard fans."[9]
Stargate producers were not sure actor Richard Dean Anderson would return for the episode, so they devised many scenes where Anderson was "in" the episode but not actually shown.[4] However, Anderson was willing to return and appeared in several scenes. In the DVD specialStargate SG-1: Behind the 200th Cooper said, "it was a big deal for us to have [him] back for the 200th episode. We obviously didn't think we could do it without him."[9]
"200" took no longer to shoot than a normal episode, mainly because much of the filming took place on the briefing room set;[10] on the other hand, the episode was markedly more expensive than a typical one, due to the unusual sequences. Themarionettes were created by theChiodo brothers, who also made the puppets forTeam America: World Police; each puppet was expensive, and the wires pulling each puppet had to be re-added bycomputer-generated imagery in postproduction because they did not show up well enough on camera.[6] Several existing sets were used as stand-ins; for example, the bridge of theOdyssey was used for theStar Trek spoof, while a set from the sister productionStargate Atlantis was used as the chamber of the Wizard of Oz.[6]
In an interview about the tenth season ofStargate, Cooper and series co-creator Brad Wright stated that there was a fine line between the humor of regular episodes turning intocamp. While jokes for the joke's sake are usually limited in normal episodes, the line between humor and camp is deliberately crossed frequently in "200". The producers even talked about recreating a part ofBlazing Saddles that breaks thefourth wall, but they could not afford the horses.[11]
The producers made sure that the episode was well-publicized, dropping hints that Anderson's character O'Neill would return for the episode.[6] Joe Mallozzi, executive producer for the series, also hinted that series fans would finally meet theFurlings, an enigmatic race referenced in the second-season episode "The Fifth Race" but never seen.[6][12] Despite the outlandish scenes filmed for the episode, many of the writers' favorite moments did not make it to production due to time constraints, including aGilligan's Island skit.[4]
The episode won the 2007 Constellation Award for Best Overall 2006 Science Fiction Film or Television Script,[1] and was nominated for the 2007Hugo Award forBest Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.[2]Richard Dean Anderson also won aSyFy Genre Award for his guest appearance in the episode.
The episode was generally well received.IGN declared the episode "one of the smartest and funniest hours of television to grace the small screen yet this season."[13] They went on to applaud the decision not only to parody other works but the show itself.[13] Maureen Ryan of theChicago Tribune agreed, but also noted that "you don't need to be a longtime fan of the long-running program to enjoy its jibes at sci-fi clichés or expedient writing."[10]Eclipse Magazine noted that although the episode was "not a work of comic genius", "200" was the best comedy episode of the series.[14]
The highly publicized debut of the episode garnered a 1.9 average household rating, a 36% jump from the previous episode, and the first episode of the tenth season to reach or exceed the previous season's rating of 1.8;[15]Stargate SG-1 at that point was averaging about 3.3 million viewers per regular episode in the United States.[16]
Shortly after this episode was aired,Gateworld announced that theSci-Fi Channel had decided to not renewStargate SG-1 for the coming year.[17] The Channel later confirmed this decision, at the same time announcing thatStargate Atlantis had been picked up for another season.[18] Many fans denounced Gateworld's cancellation announcement, both the timing of it (apparently it had been made while the cast and crew were celebrating the episode's airing)[17]—and the decision itself, on the ground that, while ratings were not as high as they had been in previous seasons, the series was still drawing an audience of a respectable size. (For example, it had a season average of 2 million viewers in Australia, half of them in the 18–49 demographic.) Sci Fi responded that the cancellation decision had not been based on ratings so much as a feeling the series had run its course.[19] Some of the main characters inSG-1 re-appear later in episodes ofAtlantis andUniverse and in the direct-to-DVD sequel films,Stargate: The Ark of Truth andStargate: Continuum.[20]
