| Revision as of 15:48, 1 February 2008 edit161.73.36.159 (talk) →Production← Previous edit | Revision as of 00:02, 13 February 2008 edit undoSgeureka (talk | contribs)Administrators34,687 edits →Plot: further trimNext edit → | ||
| (13 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown) | |||
| Line 14: | Line 14: | ||
| | Next = ] | | Next = ] | ||
| }} | }} | ||
| "'''Window of Opportunity'''" is |
"'''Window of Opportunity'''" is the sixth episode from ] of the ] ] '']'', and first aired on ] on ], ]. The episode is based on a '']'' time loop scenario, with ] unit members ] and ] repeatedly reliving the same ten hours after a mission on a planet. The rest of their team and all personnel at ] are unaware of the happenings and don't remember time resets, forcing O'Neill and Teal'c to find a solution to their problem on their own. | ||
| Penned by ] and ], "Window of Opportunity" was the writing duo's second script, and their first episode to air. Mallozzi and Mullie would later become executive producers of both ''Stargate SG-1'' and '']''. To compensate for the shortage of footage during the filming of the episode, director ] shot additional unscripted scenes, many of which were humorous. "Window of Opportunity" is widely regarded as a fan favorite. | |||
| == Plot == | == Plot == | ||
| {{Plot|date=November 2007}} | |||
| SG-1 is currently assigned to P4X-639, a planet currently experiencing a ] from its sun, causing a ] that ] is measuring. ], meanwhile, is currently examining the writing on a device in line with the Stargate with an alien archaeologist named Malikai. Daniel observes that the writing on the device is similar to ]. While he is thinking aloud about the nature of the machine itself, Malikai urges Daniel and his teammates to leave due to the incipient emission. | |||
| On a mission on P4X-639, a planet in a star system with strong solar activity, the ] team encounters an alien archaeologist named Malikai. When a ] hits its peak, the ] activates simultaneously on the planet and on Earth. A flash strikes Malikai, ] and ] near an altar with ] symbols. Moments later, O'Neill finds himself in the ] cafeteria in the middle of a conversation with ] and ], who claim to have no knowledge of the planet. In the following briefing about an upcoming mission to P4X-639, O'Neill and Teal'c express familiarity with the events and correctly predict SG-12's return to Earth. After ] confirms O'Neill's and Teal'c's perfect health, ] puts SG-1 back on active duty, but an unscheduled offworld activation is accompanied by familiar flashes, and O'Neill is back at breakfast in the SGC. | |||
| A sensor device that Malikai is holding suddenly alerts him that the geomagnetic disturbance has reached its peak and that he has to act immediately. He pulls out a concealed weapon and stuns Daniel before starting the machine. Carter, meanwhile, has finished the preparations for her readings and ] calls for Daniel, who fails to respond. Suddenly the Stargate activates behind them and they duck out of the way of the ]. Meanwhile, on Earth, the Stargate has activated at the same moment, causing a series of electrical arcs around the Stargate. On P4X-639, O'Neill and ] go to Malikai while Carter tends to Daniel, but after a moment a flash strikes the three at the altar and the scene flashes into white. | |||
| The briefing, SG-12's return and the examination by Dr. Fraiser follow as before, but Daniel is able to make first progress in the decryption of photos of the planet's writings. Hammond allows SG-1 to return to the planet where Malikai at first feigns ignorance. Malikai makes a slip when the altar activates, and a flash transports O'Neill back to breakfast. Teal'c and O'Neill take the initiative in the briefing, explaining that they are stuck in a ], but Carter's plan to prevent an incoming wormhole and thus the time loop does not work. Daniel attempts the translation of the altar's writing loop after loop until O'Neill and Teal'c realize the only successful solution is to learn and remember the ] themselves. After many loops of teaching, Daniel makes an offhand remark about loops causing no consequences, which inspires O'Neill to try pottery and bicycle through the base. In other loops, O'Neill golfs with Teal'c through the Stargate and resigns his commission from the Air Force to kiss Carter. | |||
| Suddenly, O'Neill is sitting at breakfast with Daniel and Carter, in the middle of Daniel asking O'Neill his opinion of something. He asks them if they had just been on another planet, to which the others say no, and say they're going to be late for their briefing. | |||
| Daniel is able to reconstruct P4X-639's Ancient history with the finished translations. The Ancients had attempted to escape an unidentified disaster by building a time machine, but they abandoned the project as they never got it to work properly. SG-1 returns to the planet, and in attempting to talk Malikai into shutting down the machine, he reveals the story of his wife's death that he wishes to undo through time looping. O'Neill's experience of his son's death convinces Malikai to shut down the device before a new loop can start. Back at the SGC, O'Neill, Carter, and Daniel have their first breakfast after the loops which Carter believes to have lasted for at least three months. Daniel asks O'Neill about any unusual activities in the loops without fear of consequences, and the episode closes with O'Neill giving a long look at Carter. | |||
| The briefing is about the upcoming mission to P4X-639, which SG-15 had visited two weeks earlier, measuring the solar activity. Teal'c and O'Neill both observe that they've already been through this briefing, to go to the planet and set up a remote observatory, which according to them they had just been doing. The others are skeptical about his foreknowledge of the briefing, except for Daniel who observes that O'Neill never reads the reports ahead of time. At that moment, an unscheduled offworld activation occurs, and Teal'c and O'Neill both give details about what is about to happen: SG-12 is returning ahead of schedule and one of their number has been injured. | |||
| ⚫ | ==Production== | ||
| O'Neill and Teal'c are both inspected by ] while they relate the details of the mission that has not yet happened. Based on the odd occurrences, ] decides to postpone the mission until they know what's going on. Daniel stops O'Neill in the hallway afterward to ask about details of the ruins, whereupon he is run into by Sgt. ], which O'Neill implies he'd known would happen and did not stop. Some time after this, Hammond confirms that O'Neill and Teal'c are in perfect health, but before they can be put on active duty there is an unscheduled offworld activation, accompanied by the same arc lightning effect seen before. A moment later, there is a flash of light and O'Neill is again at breakfast at the same moment Daniel asks his original question. | |||
| "Window of Opportunity" was the second ''Stargate SG-1'' script by ] and ], and their first episode to air. The writing duo's first script, {{sgcite|Scorched Earth}}, would air three episodes later.<ref name=ac_406_pdl /> Choosing "Ad Inifinitum" as the episode's working title,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gateworld.net/news/archive/001119_1.shtml |title=Joseph Mallozzi chat transcript |publisher=gateworld.net |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-02-01}}</ref> Mallozzi and Mullie originally pitched "Window of Opportunity" as a darker story from the finished episode. SG-1 would encounter a world whose scientists work hard on preventing an imminent apocalypse, but after being unable to find a solution in time, they initiate a time loop that would trap the SG-1 team in the process. ''Stargate'' writer ] however suggested a lighter direction similar to the feature film '']'', which O'Neill briefly references in the episode.<ref name=jm_blog_071209>{{cite web |last=Mallozzi |first=Joseph |url=http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/2007/12/09/december-8-2007/ |title=Thoughts and Tirades, Rants and Ruminations – December 8, 2007 |publisher=josephmallozzi.wordpress.com |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-02-01}}</ref><ref name=gw_jm1>{{cite web |url=http://www.gateworld.net/interviews/joseph_mallozzi_1.shtml |title=Interviews: Joseph Mallozzi |publisher=gateworld.net |date=May 2006 |accessdate=2008-02-01}}</ref> To simplify continuity in the shooting process, ''Stargate SG-1'' executive producer ] encouraged ]-type fluctuations in the story as early as in the episode's concept meeting.<ref name=ac_406_jt /> The prop department glued ] to O'Neill's breakfast spoon to have the same loops in the same spots in each take.<ref name=ac_406_pdl>Director ]. DVD audio commentary for "Window of Opportunity".</ref> | |||
| They once again go into the briefing, with O'Neill unsuccessfully trying to convince them he knows what they will say (which are all obvious statements in context) until the return of SG-12. They are once again examined by Dr. Fraiser, whereupon Hammond walks in, but O'Neill forestalls him before he can postpone the mission this time. O'Neill then again meets Daniel in the hallway, where is once again run into by Sgt. Siler, but this time before that happens Daniel reveals that the writings are a variation of ]. Teal'c and O'Neill then visit Hammond, this time successfully convincing him to let them return to the planet. | |||
| The off-world scenes were filmed on an interior sound stage, using occasional lens flares and off-camera fans to simulate weather.<ref name=ac_406_pdl /> The in-house VisFX department designed a matte painting as a sky replacement. The ]-based company GDFX was responsible for almost all visual effects shots, some of which were re-used within the episode to save money. Other visual effects clips were re-used from previous episodes. "Window of Opportunity" was the first episode to feature a rear-screen projection in the briefing room.<ref name=ac_406_jt>Visual Effects supervisor ]. DVD audio commentary for "Window of Opportunity".</ref> Scenes were filmed in blocks instead in a story-chronological order to save time for shooting, and short sequences were re-used to help the audience with a visual recall in new scenes.<ref name=ac_406_pdl /> The impression of the Ancient altar being made of stone when it was made out of wood in real life, was achieved by sound effects.<ref name=ac_406_jt /> | |||
| Once they are on the planet, they encounter Malikai, who at first feigns ignorance. While examining Malikai's bag, O'Neill sees an image of the man's wife. Before they can get further, however, the machine activates automatically, and Malikai makes a slip, giving Carter's name before he's been told what it is. O'Neill orders Malikai to shut it off but he refuses, and Daniel has no idea how, even though he can read Ancient. Before they can continue, however, there is a flash of white and O'Neill is once again at breakfast with Daniel and Carter. | |||
| One of the producers had had the idea to show someone golfing through the ] for some time, but the opportunity did not present itself until principal filming for this episode indicated a shortage of footage.<ref name=dvd_s3 /> To not break the US$ 100,000 Stargate prop, there were preliminary discussions to ] the golf ball, but the producers decided to go practical in the end.<ref name=ac_406_jt /> Many of the other humorous scenes in "Window of Opportunity" were improvised on set during filming.<ref name=ac_406_pdl /> With juggling being one of Richard Dean Anderson's earlier careers,<ref name=approaching /> director Peter DeLuise filmed the juggling sequence in a last effort to fill the episode's time slot.<ref name=ac_406_pdl /> "Window of Opportunity" has no deleted scenes.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mallozzi |first=Joseph |url=http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/2007/02/24/february-23-2007/ |title=Thoughts and Tirades, Rants and Ruminations – February 23, 2007 |publisher=josephmallozzi.wordpress.com |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-02-01}}</ref> | |||
| When Teal'c and O'Neill get to the briefing, they take the initiative of explaining that they're in a ] and try to get out of being examined by Dr. Fraiser this time (unsuccessfully). O'Neill and Teal'c then meet Daniel in his office, presumably at the time of the accident in the hallway in previous loops, and they stress him translating the writing on the altar, but he points out that that wouldn't allow them to operate the machine. In a briefing with Carter immediately after, she hypothesizes that since the arc lightning energizing the gate was transferred to Earth via the Stargate, they should attempt to dial out before Malikai can dial in. They attempt to do so but cannot dial out, and while they are attempting to find the problem, the incoming wormhole activates and the loop begins again. | |||
| O'Neill and Teal'c experience loop after loop. They are seen in Daniel's office attempting to get him to translate the writing on the altar, but he explains that he can't translate it in less than a day. O'Neill attempts to play a recording he made of the same conversation in the last loop, but the recording ceased to exist when the loop began again. Daniel points out that the only way they can help is by learning and remembering from one loop to another. | |||
| Carter, meanwhile, has discovered that the Ancient device on P4X-639 simultaneously activates 14 Stargates, including Earth and ], the planet SG-12 had been stationed on, cutting them all off from the normal flow of time in the rest of the universe. | |||
| O'Neill and Teal'c begin learning Latin so that they can begin learning Ancient, and O'Neill mentions to Teal'c that Daniel always asks a question but he hadn't been listening the first time. Teal'c points out that he also has to "endure some discomfort." The loop begins again, whereupon it is shown that at the moment of the loop's start, Teal'c is hit in the face by an airman opening a door. In one loop Teal'c finally vents his frustration by slamming the door back on the airman. | |||
| There is a montage of scenes from various loops: O'Neill and Teal'c correct Daniel's translation, then O'Neill takes up juggling, then Teal'c does. Jack finally "takes a loop off" and tells Teal'c that if they don't get out of it soon, he'll go crazy. In a loop after this, while O'Neill and Teal'c are in charge of the translation, Daniel makes an offhand remark that the two of them could do anything they wanted with no consequences since the loop would reset at the end anyway. Getting an idea, they both suddenly leave. | |||
| For several loops, the two indulge in whatever behavior they feel like. O'Neill tries pottery, bicycles through the base, golfs with Teal'c to Alaris through the gate (and shouting at Gen. Hammond for interrupting his back swing), and resigns his commission from the Air Force so that he can kiss Carter. | |||
| Finally, Daniel has finished the translation and confirmed that the planet was once an Ancient outpost but wiped out by some unidentified disaster at some point in the past. In order to avoid this, the Ancients on the planet built a time machine to go back and change their fate, but the machine never worked properly, only creating a loop repeating over and over. Faced with this, the Ancients shut down the machine and let the end come. | |||
| SG-1 returns to the planet to break the loop, but Malikai is expecting them and has the altar blocked by a Goa'uld force shield. In attempting to talk Malikai into shutting down the machine, he reveals that the reason why he's doing it is to see his wife again, who died twelve years earlier. However, since she died of a congenital heart condtion there is no way to save her. O'Neill tells him that he wouldn't be able to stand going through her death again, telling him of the death of his son and that he could never go through that again. Malikai agrees and shuts down the device before it begins again. | |||
| Back on the base, O'Neill, Carter, and Daniel are at breakfast. O'Neill comments on how the oatmeal he is enjoying is a nice change of pace from the ] he has been eating. Carter informs them that the ] had been trying to reach them for over three months but the loop could have lasted for longer, there is no clear indication how long exactly it had lasted. Daniel asks O'Neill if he ever did anything "crazy" without fear of consequences while trapped in the loops. O'Neill states that he asked that before, but instead of elaborating he gives a long look at Carter and continues eating. | |||
| ⚫ | ==Production== | ||
| * To simplify ], the prop department glued fruit loops to O'Neil's breakfast spoon, so that in each take, the exact same loops would be in the same spots.<ref>{{cite video | year = 2003 | date= September 2 | title = Stargate SG-1 Season 4 | medium = DVD | publisher = MGM | accessdate = 2007-07-12 }} (episode commentary)</ref> | |||
| * In an interview, the producers indicated that they had been looking for some time for a chance to show someone "golfing through gate." When principal filming for this episode was complete and they realized they were short of footage, they seized the "opportunity" to depict this along with the other humorous clips. The producers also said in the interview that they enjoyed this episode, because instead of the usual intellectual combination of Carter and Jackson solving puzzles, it instead was up to Teal'c and O'Neill to find the solution. <ref>{{cite video | people = Brad Wright (producer of Stargate SG-1) | title = "Secret Files of the SGC - The Stargate Universe" | medium = DVD - Stargate SG-1: Season 3 (Vol. 3) | publisher = MGM Home Entertainment | date= 1999 }}</ref> | |||
| * The book Jack and Teal'c use to study Ancient is ''Latin for the Novice'', by Dr. Joseph Mallozzi. In reality, ] co-wrote (with Paul Mullie) the episode. | |||
| * Peter DeLuise, the show's director, briefly appears as an unnamed airman who helps Dr. Daniel Jackson recover from being repeatedly knocked down by Sgt. Siler in each loop. | |||
| * '']'' is a movie in which a man is forced to relive the same day over and over. In fact, O'Neill even makes a brief reference to the movie in the episode. | |||
| *"]", a '']'' episode, had a similar premise. | |||
| As the first episodes of Season 4 addressed the attraction between O'Neill and Carter, its aftereffects were chosen to be still noticeable in "Window of Opportunity".<ref name=ac_406_jt /> The progressing frustration of Teal'c, "the man of infinite patience",<ref name=ac_406_jt /> is shown by his Kel'no'reem'ing (a fictional medital state) during the briefing. The episode's only guest star was ] as Malikai; Mossley would later appear in the Season 10 episode {{sgcite|Morpheus}} as a different character. Several crew members make ]s in "Window of Opportunity". The brief scenes of Malikai's wife on a photographic device were played by Nicole Forrest, the show's head of accounting and director ]'s wife. Bill Nikolai, one of Anderson's ] on ''SG-1'', played the technician in the corridor when O'Neill rides the bike. ], the show's director, briefly appears as an airman who helps Daniel recover from being repeatedly knocked down by Sgt. ] in each loop. Siler himself is played by stunt coordinator ], another stand-in of Anderson. The name of writer Joseph Mallozzi appears as the author of the book that O'Neill and Teal'c use to study the ].<ref name=ac_406_pdl /> | |||
| {{sect-stub}} | |||
| ==Reception== | ==Reception== | ||
| In his book ''Approaching the Possible'', Jo Storm saw the episode's title hinting at an "inevitable" story line about the sexual tension between O'Neill and Carter that has been looming since the beginning of the series. The characters "break the rules of conduct for their jobs" (]) made the episode "seem completely unnatural", while it allowed the writers to explore possibilities in the narrative. Jo Storm also credited the writers for breaking the "boring" convention of getting either only one or all teammembers caught in a time loop.<ref name=approaching>{{cite book | last = Storm | first = Jo | title = Approaching the Possible: The World of Stargate SG-1 | publisher = ECW Press | location = Toronto, Canada | date = 2005 | pages = 268–270 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=T196lU-jXI8C&hl=de&sig=mWvOnd7b6Kgru829GLVX6hSxyps#PPA268,M1 | isbn = 1-55022-705-X }}</ref> The producers enjoyed this episode, because instead of the usual intellectual combination of Carter and Jackson solving puzzles, it instead was up to Teal'c and O'Neill to find the solution.<ref name=dvd_s3>{{cite video | people = Brad Wright (producer of Stargate SG-1) | title = "Secret Files of the SGC - The Stargate Universe" | medium = DVD - Stargate SG-1: Season 3 (Vol. 3) | publisher = MGM Home Entertainment}}</ref> Peter DeLuise acknowledged the episode as "funnier" and "more lightheartened" than usual episodes.<ref name=ac_406_pdl /> | |||
| In a fan poll conducted on ] website, this episode was voted as their favorite episode.<ref>http://www.scifi.com/stargate/countdown/bestepisode/</ref> It is also widely considered to be one of the most lighthearted episodes of Stargate SG-1 ever alongside the season 3 episode, ].{{Fact|date=November 2007}} | |||
| A season 4 DVD review by digitallyobsessed.com gave "Window of Opportunity" as an "enjoyable", "charming", and "unique" episode 4 out of 5 points, calling it "one of the series' most entertaining stories".<ref>{{cite web |last=Heaton |first=Dan |url=http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showrevpdf.php3?ID=5294 |title="Stargate SG-1: Season 4" |publisher=digitallyobsessed.com |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-02-01}}</ref> Heather Hunt called the episode "a fine example of SG-1 at its humorous best".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.absolutewrite.com/novels/stargate-sg.htm |title=Inside the Cover Book Reviews |publisher=absolutewrite.com |date=2005 |accessdate=2008-01-02}}</ref> The 2000 XPose Yearbook ranked "Window of Opportunity" as the second best episode of science fiction television in the year 2000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gateworld.net/news/archive/010206_1.shtml |title=Genré magazines interview SG-1 stars |publisher=gateworld.net |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-02-01}}</ref> In a fan poll conducted in 2007 on ] website, this episode was voted as their favorite ''SG-1'' episode.<ref name=scifi_best>{{cite web |url=http://www.scifi.com/stargate/countdown/bestepisode/ |title="Best episode ever" |publisher=scifi.com |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-01-02}}</ref> A 2007 fan poll on ] Canada came to the same conclusion.<ref>{{cite web | last=David |first=Greg |url=http://entertainment1.sympatico.msn.ca/TV_Guide/Interviews/Insider/Articles/070621_amandatapping_GD |title=Goodbye 'Stargate SG-1' |publisher=msn.ca |date=], ] |accessdate=2008-02-01}}</ref> | |||
| {{sectstub}} | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| {{reflist}} | |||
| <references /> | |||
| == External links == | == External links == | ||
| {{Wikiquote|Stargate SG-1/Season 4#Window of Opportunity .5B4.6.5D|Window of Opportunity (Stargate SG-1)}} | {{Wikiquote|Stargate SG-1/Season 4#Window of Opportunity .5B4.6.5D|Window of Opportunity (Stargate SG-1)}} | ||
| * . ]. Visited June 8, 2006. Most of site requires ]. |
* . ]. Visited June 8, 2006. Most of site requires ]. | ||
| * {{cite web | url = http://media.dave.tv/sites/stargatesg1/screenplays/s04e06.PDF | title = Screenplay | date = ] | accessdate = 2006-10-15 | format = ] | publisher = Distributed by ]. Prepared by Casablanca Continuity}} | |||
| * {{cite web | |||
| | url = http://media.dave.tv/sites/stargatesg1/screenplays/s04e06.PDF | |||
| | title = Screenplay | |||
| | date = ] | |||
| | accessdate = 2006-10-15 | |||
| | format = ] | |||
| | publisher = Distributed by ]. Prepared by Casablanca Continuity | |||
| }} Linked to from . Also see . | |||
| <!-- * from StargateWiki. Visited May 13, 2006. --> | |||
| * from GateWorld. Visited May 13, 2006. | |||
| * from rdanderson. Visited May 13, 2006. | |||
| * from GateWorld. Reviewed by Debra Kraft. Visited May 13, 2006. | |||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 00:02, 13 February 2008
Television episode| "Window of Opportunity (Stargate SG-1)" |
|---|
"Window of Opportunity" is the sixth episode from Season 4 of the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1, and first aired on Showtime on August 4, 2000. The episode is based on a Groundhog Day time loop scenario, with SG-1 unit members Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c repeatedly reliving the same ten hours after a mission on a planet. The rest of their team and all personnel at Stargate Command are unaware of the happenings and don't remember time resets, forcing O'Neill and Teal'c to find a solution to their problem on their own.
Penned by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, "Window of Opportunity" was the writing duo's second script, and their first episode to air. Mallozzi and Mullie would later become executive producers of both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. To compensate for the shortage of footage during the filming of the episode, director Peter DeLuise shot additional unscripted scenes, many of which were humorous. "Window of Opportunity" is widely regarded as a fan favorite.
Plot
On a mission on P4X-639, a planet in a star system with strong solar activity, the SG-1 team encounters an alien archaeologist named Malikai. When a geomagnetic disturbance hits its peak, the Stargate activates simultaneously on the planet and on Earth. A flash strikes Malikai, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c near an altar with Ancient symbols. Moments later, O'Neill finds himself in the Stargate Command cafeteria in the middle of a conversation with Dr. Daniel Jackson and Major Carter, who claim to have no knowledge of the planet. In the following briefing about an upcoming mission to P4X-639, O'Neill and Teal'c express familiarity with the events and correctly predict SG-12's return to Earth. After Dr. Fraiser confirms O'Neill's and Teal'c's perfect health, George Hammond puts SG-1 back on active duty, but an unscheduled offworld activation is accompanied by familiar flashes, and O'Neill is back at breakfast in the SGC.
The briefing, SG-12's return and the examination by Dr. Fraiser follow as before, but Daniel is able to make first progress in the decryption of photos of the planet's writings. Hammond allows SG-1 to return to the planet where Malikai at first feigns ignorance. Malikai makes a slip when the altar activates, and a flash transports O'Neill back to breakfast. Teal'c and O'Neill take the initiative in the briefing, explaining that they are stuck in a time loop, but Carter's plan to prevent an incoming wormhole and thus the time loop does not work. Daniel attempts the translation of the altar's writing loop after loop until O'Neill and Teal'c realize the only successful solution is to learn and remember the alien language themselves. After many loops of teaching, Daniel makes an offhand remark about loops causing no consequences, which inspires O'Neill to try pottery and bicycle through the base. In other loops, O'Neill golfs with Teal'c through the Stargate and resigns his commission from the Air Force to kiss Carter.
Daniel is able to reconstruct P4X-639's Ancient history with the finished translations. The Ancients had attempted to escape an unidentified disaster by building a time machine, but they abandoned the project as they never got it to work properly. SG-1 returns to the planet, and in attempting to talk Malikai into shutting down the machine, he reveals the story of his wife's death that he wishes to undo through time looping. O'Neill's experience of his son's death convinces Malikai to shut down the device before a new loop can start. Back at the SGC, O'Neill, Carter, and Daniel have their first breakfast after the loops which Carter believes to have lasted for at least three months. Daniel asks O'Neill about any unusual activities in the loops without fear of consequences, and the episode closes with O'Neill giving a long look at Carter.
Production
"Window of Opportunity" was the second Stargate SG-1 script by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, and their first episode to air. The writing duo's first script, Template:Sgcite, would air three episodes later. Choosing "Ad Inifinitum" as the episode's working title, Mallozzi and Mullie originally pitched "Window of Opportunity" as a darker story from the finished episode. SG-1 would encounter a world whose scientists work hard on preventing an imminent apocalypse, but after being unable to find a solution in time, they initiate a time loop that would trap the SG-1 team in the process. Stargate writer Robert C. Cooper however suggested a lighter direction similar to the feature film Groundhog Day, which O'Neill briefly references in the episode. To simplify continuity in the shooting process, Stargate SG-1 executive producer Brad Wright encouraged chaos-theory-type fluctuations in the story as early as in the episode's concept meeting. The prop department glued Froot Loops to O'Neill's breakfast spoon to have the same loops in the same spots in each take.
The off-world scenes were filmed on an interior sound stage, using occasional lens flares and off-camera fans to simulate weather. The in-house VisFX department designed a matte painting as a sky replacement. The Vancouver-based company GDFX was responsible for almost all visual effects shots, some of which were re-used within the episode to save money. Other visual effects clips were re-used from previous episodes. "Window of Opportunity" was the first episode to feature a rear-screen projection in the briefing room. Scenes were filmed in blocks instead in a story-chronological order to save time for shooting, and short sequences were re-used to help the audience with a visual recall in new scenes. The impression of the Ancient altar being made of stone when it was made out of wood in real life, was achieved by sound effects.
One of the producers had had the idea to show someone golfing through the Stargate for some time, but the opportunity did not present itself until principal filming for this episode indicated a shortage of footage. To not break the US$ 100,000 Stargate prop, there were preliminary discussions to computer-generate the golf ball, but the producers decided to go practical in the end. Many of the other humorous scenes in "Window of Opportunity" were improvised on set during filming. With juggling being one of Richard Dean Anderson's earlier careers, director Peter DeLuise filmed the juggling sequence in a last effort to fill the episode's time slot. "Window of Opportunity" has no deleted scenes.
As the first episodes of Season 4 addressed the attraction between O'Neill and Carter, its aftereffects were chosen to be still noticeable in "Window of Opportunity". The progressing frustration of Teal'c, "the man of infinite patience", is shown by his Kel'no'reem'ing (a fictional medital state) during the briefing. The episode's only guest star was Robin Mossley as Malikai; Mossley would later appear in the Season 10 episode Template:Sgcite as a different character. Several crew members make cameo appearances in "Window of Opportunity". The brief scenes of Malikai's wife on a photographic device were played by Nicole Forrest, the show's head of accounting and director Peter Woeste's wife. Bill Nikolai, one of Anderson's stand-in on SG-1, played the technician in the corridor when O'Neill rides the bike. Peter DeLuise, the show's director, briefly appears as an airman who helps Daniel recover from being repeatedly knocked down by Sgt. Siler in each loop. Siler himself is played by stunt coordinator Dan Shea, another stand-in of Anderson. The name of writer Joseph Mallozzi appears as the author of the book that O'Neill and Teal'c use to study the Ancient language.
Reception
In his book Approaching the Possible, Jo Storm saw the episode's title hinting at an "inevitable" story line about the sexual tension between O'Neill and Carter that has been looming since the beginning of the series. The characters "break the rules of conduct for their jobs" (fraternization) made the episode "seem completely unnatural", while it allowed the writers to explore possibilities in the narrative. Jo Storm also credited the writers for breaking the "boring" convention of getting either only one or all teammembers caught in a time loop. The producers enjoyed this episode, because instead of the usual intellectual combination of Carter and Jackson solving puzzles, it instead was up to Teal'c and O'Neill to find the solution. Peter DeLuise acknowledged the episode as "funnier" and "more lightheartened" than usual episodes.
A season 4 DVD review by digitallyobsessed.com gave "Window of Opportunity" as an "enjoyable", "charming", and "unique" episode 4 out of 5 points, calling it "one of the series' most entertaining stories". Heather Hunt called the episode "a fine example of SG-1 at its humorous best". The 2000 XPose Yearbook ranked "Window of Opportunity" as the second best episode of science fiction television in the year 2000. In a fan poll conducted in 2007 on SciFi Channel's website, this episode was voted as their favorite SG-1 episode. A 2007 fan poll on MSN Canada came to the same conclusion.
References
- ^ Director Peter DeLuise. DVD audio commentary for "Window of Opportunity".
- "Joseph Mallozzi chat transcript". gateworld.net. November 19, 2000. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Mallozzi, Joseph (December 2008, 2007). "Thoughts and Tirades, Rants and Ruminations – December 8, 2007". josephmallozzi.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Interviews: Joseph Mallozzi". gateworld.net. May 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
- ^ Visual Effects supervisor James Tichenor. DVD audio commentary for "Window of Opportunity".
- ^ Brad Wright (producer of Stargate SG-1). "Secret Files of the SGC - The Stargate Universe" (DVD - Stargate SG-1: Season 3 (Vol. 3)). MGM Home Entertainment.
- ^ Storm, Jo (2005). Approaching the Possible: The World of Stargate SG-1. Toronto, Canada: ECW Press. pp. 268–270. ISBN 1-55022-705-X.
- Mallozzi, Joseph (February 23, 2007). "Thoughts and Tirades, Rants and Ruminations – February 23, 2007". josephmallozzi.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Heaton, Dan (October 21, 2003). ""Stargate SG-1: Season 4"". digitallyobsessed.com. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Inside the Cover Book Reviews". absolutewrite.com. 2005. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
- "Genré magazines interview SG-1 stars". gateworld.net. February 6, 2001. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ""Best episode ever"". scifi.com. June 19, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - David, Greg (June 20, 2007). "Goodbye 'Stargate SG-1'". msn.ca. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- Official Stargate SG-1 site. MGM. Visited June 8, 2006. Most of site requires Flash.
- "Screenplay" (PDF). Distributed by MGM. Prepared by Casablanca Continuity. 2000-06-26. Retrieved 2006-10-15.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)