Season eight of SG-1 had a lot to live up to considering how great season seven was. At the same time, season eight was a transitional year for SG-1. Jack O’Neill was promoted to General and given command of the SGC, which removed him from the SG-1 team. It was also the first season of SG-1 to run alongside the SG-1 spinoff “Atlantis,” which could have burnt some folks out (it didn’t me; I’d love to have all three shows airing weekly right now).
Last time around I said that season seven really was the end of “classic SG-1” as we had come to know it. In fact, season seven could have been a great series finale (though I’m glad it wasn’t). Season eight on the other hand really was the transitional year that wrapped up “classic SG-1” stuff. By the end of the season, the Jaffa have won their freedom and both the Replicator’s and the Gou’ald have been defeated. Everything we had come to know from SG-1 wraps up with this season.
This season isn’t quite as good as season seven, due in large part because it has more episodes that aren’t so good (Zero Hour, Icon, Affinity, Full Alert, and Citizen Joe). Of course the season also has some really good and great episodes (New Order 1 &2, Avatar [a favorite of mine], Covenant, Endgame, Prometheus Unbound [I’m a Claudia Black fan, and this episode introduced us to her Vala Mal Doran character], It’s Good To Be King [as I’ve said in past QDR’s, I’m a big fan of Maybourne], Reckoning 1 & 2, Threads, and Moebius 1 &2).
The season ended with the two part Moebius, which was a classic Stargate time-traveling episode. It was a fun way to really bring the show full circle with the movie; SG-1 inciting the rebellion in Egypt that forced Ra to leave Earth and the Stargate be buried. In a sense, these two episodes could have served as the perfect finale for SG-1.
It is a really good season, but the dynamic of the show just didn’t work as well with O’Neill as head of the SGC instead of a member of SG-1. As much as I like Richard Dean Anderson and the O’Neill character, season eight served more as a good season sandwiched in between two great season’s (seven, O’Neill’s last season as a member of SG-1, and nine, where O’Neill wasn’t around except for a few cameo appearances). Definitely a season worth watching numerous times though, so it should certainly be in your collection.
Stargate SG-1 Season 8 gets a four out of five: GREAT.
