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The Torment of Tantalus

Daniel discovers that there was a previous Stargate explorer - Dr. Ernest Littlefield, who went through the Gate in 1945. But he never returned, so SG-1 sets out to recover him.

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Episode Discussion

StevenJDickie posted 3 months ago

Goofs... 

After finding the damaged DHD Catherine states to Ernest, "that's why you never came back;" in reality, even if the DHD was functioning, he would have had no idea of the address.

StevenJDickie posted 3 months ago

Goofs... 

When Catherine says there are only 111 elements on the periodic table, Ernest retorts that there were only 90 when he last looked. In 1945, there were 94 elements on the periodic table, Promethium being the most recent. It may have been a general statement to point out that more elements were discovered after he disappeared, though.

StevenJDickie posted 3 months ago

Goofs... 

Catherine Langford mentions she is 21 years old in 1945. However, in 1928 when the gate was found, Catherine is at least 10 years old if not older. That would make her at least 27 years old in 1945 or older.

StevenJDickie posted 3 months ago

Goofs... 

While reading Dr. Ernest Littlefield's journal, Jackson reads aloud Littlefield's supposition that the meeting place was like a United Nations. The United Nations Charter was signed June 26, 1945 and entered into force on October 24, 1945, suggesting Littlefield went through the Stargate after one or both of these dates that year, otherwise he could not possibly have known of the organization. While the term "United Nations" was in use as early as 1942, it then referred to the Allies of World War II, rather than the current intergovernmental organization which Littlefield describes. Even if Littlefield did go through the Stargate after the formation of the UN, it still would have been very new; as such, his more likely analogue should have been the League of Nations (1920-1946), with which he would have been much more familiar.

StevenJDickie posted 3 months ago

Goofs... 

Dr. Daniel Jackson mentions that he can tell that the holograms of the elements are certain elements, because the number of electrons determines the element. The number of protons determines the element. The number of electrons can vary for a given element, giving a different ion. Then again he is not a physicist and may thus either not know or not care about the correct definition. Furthermore, assuming all the elements are atoms as opposed to ions, the electron could be used to determine the element as in atoms there are an equal number of protons and electrons.

StevenJDickie posted 3 months ago

Goofs...

After the rocks have fallen down in front of the Stargate, Colonel Jack O'Neill steps on one of the rocks, revealing that it's fake as it is light as a feather.
 

StevenJDickie posted 3 months ago
Paul McGillion, who played the young Ernest Littlefield, went on to play the main character of Dr. Carson Beckett in Stargate: Atlantis.
StevenJDickie posted 3 months ago
This is the first of two episodes of Stargate SG-1 directed by creator and executive producer Jonathan Glassner.
StevenJDickie posted 3 months ago
Lt. Aiden Ford would later refer to SG-1 using the power of a lightning strike to power a Stargate in the Stargate: Atlantis episode "The Eye".
StevenJDickie posted 3 months ago
Catherine mentions that President Franklin D. Roosevelt was "like that, curious." This could be a reference to his penchant for treasure hunting.
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