Watergate

"Watergate" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of Stargate SG-1.

Synopsis
Stargate Command is unable to activate their Stargate. They soon discover that the Russians have their hands on one, after they recovered one from the wreckage of the crashed Biliskner. Another problem is that their Stargate is somehow still activated indefinitely.

Plot
SG-1 is about to go on a mission to scout a planet for the a possible new homeworld for the Enkarans but the Stargate won't connect. Stargate Command realizes they can't use the gate because the Russians have recovered the Stargate that was onboard Thor's ship, the Biliskner, when it crashed on Earth from a Replicator attack. The Russian gate is "stuck" on an outgoing wormhole, preventing the American gate from being activated.

At the request of Dr. Svetlana Markov, SG-1 is sent to investigate why this is. SG-1 and Markov fly to the Russian base and enter the facility. During the search, they discover that all base personnel are dead from nerve gas. After failing to turn off the Russian Stargate, it is discovered that the radio signal from the Nuclear powered reconnaisance drone is keeping the gate open and cannot be shut down from this side.

Markov, Dr. Daniel Jackson and Major Samantha Carter go through to the Water planet to turn off the drone, while Colonel Jack O'Neill and Teal'c search the base. They manage to find Colonel Harold Maybourne in a freezer, but when they take him out, he is miraculously revived, and small, watery alien beings come out of him. The water vapor alien then enters Teal'c, and use him to go to the Stargate. O'Neill attempts to stop him, but Teal'c opens the gate, and the aliens come out of Teal'c and go through the Stargate.

Meanwhile, on the other side, it is discovered that the water that has submerged the civilization are actually aliens, the same kind that infected Maybourne. After the beings go through the Stargate to their homeworld, Markov, Jackson and Carter are sent back to Earth, having had their sub crushed and having been captured by the aliens. The Russian Stargate program is then shut down and Maybourne is arrested.

Notable Quotes
Carter: There was a minor seismic event that matches the time in our power log exactly.

O'Neill: (looking at the map) Is that Siberia?

Carter: Yes sir. And there's only one explanation I can think of.

Jackson: The Russians have a Stargate?

Carter: How do you know about the SGC?

Markov: I have read extensive files on all of you.

O'Neill: The question was: how?

Markov: I learned to read English at the age of 6, it's not difficult.

O'Neill: Russian humor...

Co-Pilot: Sir, we have a visual on the runway. It appears to be iced over and there's no response from the control tower.

Markov: We're going to have to jump.

Jackson: Out of the plane?

Markov: I'm going with or without you, Colonel.

O'Neill: I suppose you expect my manly bravado to kick in right about now.

Markov: I've read your file.

O'Neill: No mention of bravado, eh?

(SG-1 is on board the airplane to the russian base.)

O'Neill: Stu, gear 'em up... for a jump.

(Brief pause)

Teal'c: I do not understand, O'Neill.

O'Neill: It's called a "parachute."

Carter: It slows your descent after you jump out of the plane.

Teal'c: This device seems to be poorly designed to provide such a function.

O'Neill: It opens after you jump. Don't worry about it, I've done it hundreds of times.

Markov: I assume you brought HazMat.

O'Neill: Yeah... we thought somebody should be prepared.

Markov: Is he always like this?

Carter: Actually, this is quite charming.

(The moment before jumping)

O'Neill: It's easy, just jump and pull this.

Teal'c: It does not seem wise, O'Neill.

O'Neill: I said it was easy, not wise.

Markov: If we get separated, we'll rendezvous at the base.

(Markov and Carter jump)

Teal'c: This does not seem wise!

(O'Neill pushes Teal'c off the plane)

Markov: It's gone!

O'Neill: If I ask what, and you say it's classfied, I'm gonna shoot you.

Markov: The sub is Swiss.

Jackson: So they occasionally catch fire, but they keep perfect time. (she's silent). Sorry. I've been hanging around Jack O'Neill too much.

Teal'c: Do not humans usually die when they are frozen?

Goofs

 * At the start of the episode when the Stargate fails to lock in the point of origin, it shows: 0Ega.svg instead of 0eb.svg. The Alpha Gate (0Ega.svg) should be the one the Russians have and the SGC gate should be the Beta Gate (0eb.svg). Since SG-1 teleported the Alpha Gate into Thor's Ship which crash landed into the ocean allowing the Russians to retrieve it.
 * Dr. Svetlana Markov is clad in a "rain" pattern camouflage parka during the parachute jump. While several Warsaw Pact countries (such as Poland, East Germany, and Bulgaria) did issue this pattern, neither the USSR nor the Russian Federation ever did.
 * Dr Samantha Carter mentioned "Our depth is constant and pressure should be relative to depth". The swiss submarine must have very sophistcated equipment on board as a depth gauge is a pressure gauge with a different scale. Ultrasonic or surface level sonar would be an option, but it would not look like a normal depth gauge.
 * The common TV radio trope Over and out which Svetlana uses to end her radio conversation, is one example of an oxymoron quite common place in TV. 'Over' is a word used to end your statement and await a response. 'Out' is a word used to terminate all radio contact. Therefore having them both stated one after the other is contradictory and thus not actually used in radio telecomunications.

In other languages

 * French: Eaux troubles (Troubled Waters)
 * Italian: Watergate
 * Spanish: La Puerta Acuática (The Aquatic Gate)
 * Czech: Vodní Brána (Watergate)
 * Hungarian: Víz alatt (Underwater)
 * German: Planet des Wassers (Planet Of The Water)