Stargate: Continuum

Stargate: Continuum is the second Stargate film to be released on DVD following the end of Stargate SG-1. It is written by Brad Wright, directed by Martin Wood, and stars Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Christopher Judge,Claudia Black, Beau Bridges, with Michael Shanks as Daniel Jackson and a special appearance by Richard Dean Anderson. Continuum was released as a Region 1 DVD on July 29, 2008. British Sky One broadcasted the film on August 12, 2008, followed by the Region 2 DVD release on August 18, 2008 with the Region 4 DVD release on August 6, 2008.

thumb|250px|right|Stargate Continuum Trailer.

The Plot
SG-1 plans to go to the Tok'ra homeworld, where SG-3 and Major General Jack O'Neill have sent the last of the Ba'al clones for a symbiote extraction. The Free Jaffa Nation has an entire fleet to prevent Ba'al from escaping. Vala Mal Doran decides to bring in an X-699, which she claims is a precaution. However, Colonel Cameron Mitchell takes it away from her. They invite Major General Henry Landry to join them, who declines saying that he has to go through some paperwork.

When they arrive at the Tok'ra homeworld, SG-1 and O'Neill listen to the Tok'ra chant all of the crimes Ba'al committed during his reign, a list that lasts for three hours. During that time, Dr. Daniel Jackson notices that Vala has disappeared, but assumes that she did not want to watch the extraction, as she went through it herself whilst she was a host to Qetesh. Eventually, Ba'al is taken out of stasis and escorted to the extractor. There, he approaches the team and gloats that he is merely the last clone, and that the real Ba'al has a failsafe plan in the works.

Back in 1939, somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean, the freighter Achilles is traveling on a zig-zag course to avoid German U-boats. Captain Mitchell (Cameron Mitchell's grandfather) asks Bosun to check the cargo after the ship starts to shake. Bosun approaches the container, only to be vaporized by the unstable vortex of an incoming wormhole. The "real" Ba'al, along with a few Jaffa, secures the vessel and massacres the crew. Ba'al and the Jaffa depart through the Stargate and leave behind a bomb to destroy the ship, as well as the Stargate. However, a mortally wounded Mitchell is able to drop the bomb into the ocean before it detonates. At some point shortly after that, Mitchell dies.

Back in 2008, Daniel becomes concerned over Vala's disappearance, as no one had seen her leave: it was as if she vanished into thin air. Then, just as Teal'c begins to talk, they see him disappear also. Many of the Tok'ra then begin to disappear. O'Neill confronts Ba'al about this, but he frees himself and uses the extractor to kill O'Neill. Mitchell then kills Ba'al, firing on him with a FN P90 Personal Defense Weapon. Mitchell, Jackson and Colonel Samantha Carter are able to reach to the Stargate, as the skyline of the Tok'ra homeworld vanishes. However, just as they enter the Stargate, the wormhole briefly changes purple/pink before turning blue again.

The team goes through the gate, only to find themselves in a dark room, covered in ice and frost. After the gate deactivates, Carter notices that the temperature is rapidly dropping. They try to discover where they are and Jackson soon finds lifejackets which indicate that they are in the cargo hold of the Achilles, the ship that carried the gate from Egypt to the United States in 1939 to prevent the Nazis from getting their hands on it. However, the ship is now in the Arctic, meaning that the ship never reached the United States. Mitchell eventually manages to blow a hole in the ice using C-4. They manage to escape the ship before it sinks into the ocean. However, in the process, Jackson gets frostbite on his lower left leg, and is unable to walk. Jackson tells the rest to leave him behind to get help.

Mitchell and Carter speculate what happened. Carter suggests that Ba'al must have altered the timeline and created an alternate one in which the Stargate Program never existed. They are eventually found by three figures, which turn out to be Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Wood and one other. They take Carter and Mitchell to the U.S.S. Alexandria, which had picked him up Jackson earlier. He was treated, but unfortunately had to have his leg amputated.

The submarine takes the team to Alaska to be debriefed. The team explains the Stargate program, but nobody seems to believe them. Eventually after five days, they get frustrated and demand a halt to the questioning. The team then meets with Major General Henry Landry, who seems to agree with them. They propose that they should change the timeline back to how it's supposed to be. Landry promptly refuses the request. Eventually the team is separated and provided with new identities, as in this timeline Carter was killed on a space mission, Jackson resides in Egypt due to being ridiculed because of his theory that the pyramids were landing sites for alien ships, and Mitchell doesn't exist since he is a literal Grandfather Paradox.

A year later, Mitchell repairs his car and drives to Auburn, Kansas to visit the house he grew up in, only to find that a farmer has lived there for 35 years. Carter is frustrated with the fact that she can't work in any scientific areas. Jackson gets a prosthetic leg and enters a book shop and sees the alternate Jackson's book "The Truth About the Pyramids", which is selling at a 70% discount. He later finds a way to call his alternate self in Egypt, and tells him not to give up hope. Jackson's double promptly hangs up on him. Soon after, Carter notices an Al'kesh flying above her. The rest of the team are made aware of the event and are called to Washington D.C.

Meanwhile in another part of space lies a massive fleet of Goa'uld Ha'tak vessels and a sovereign flag ship, which turns out to be Ba'al's. There, he has Qetesh as his queen and Teal'c as his First Prime. He has managed to defeat the other System Lords and has made himself the ruler of the galaxy. Teal'c brings in Apophis, whom Ba'al had ordered him to capture with a promise that the Jaffa would eventually be free. Ba'al executes Apophis. Later, Cronus informs Ba'al that he has scouted Earth and discovers that the planet has billions of Humans but no defenses against the Goa'uld armada. The fleet jumps into orbit above the planet.

In Washington, the team are reunited and meet up with President Henry Hayes and Lt. General George S. Hammond in an underground bunker. The team warns them that the scout ship will send a fleet and that they have no chance to defend themselves and will all be either killed or turned to slaves. Hayes informs them that the Navy wasn't able to recover the gate under the Arctic, but did find the Beta Gate in Antarctica, and sent it to McMurdo Air Force Base. A team has also almost drilled to the Antarctic outpost, where they would be able use the Drone weapons to destroy the fleet. However, they must commandeer a space ship and fly to Taonas to grab the Zero Point Module and gate back to Earth, power the control chair and wipe out the fleet. However, they must act quickly, as they detected the fleet just exited hyperspace and spread out over the planet.

Ba'al meets with Cronus, Nirrti, Yu, Ra and Camulus to decide the fate of Earth. Qetesh and Nirrti propose to wipe out the Tau'ri to the brink of extinction. However, Ba'al has other plans. In private with Qetesh, Ba'al has his Jaffa bring a Satellite phone he had in stais and he calls President Hayes, and claims that they come in peace. After the other System Lords leave, Qetesh's suspicion gets the better of her and she betrays him, and she drives a sword through his chest. She asks him how he knew exactly how to defeat his enemies and how he knew about the untouched Earth. Teal'c enters and Qetesh orders to attack the Antarctic base. Eventually, Teal'c notices Qetesh's intentions and Qetesh kills Ba'al with a kara kesh and tries to kill Teal'c, who manages to escape.

Back on Earth, Hayes hears the news that the Antarctic base has been bombarded. The team, who are in a flight of F-15s are ordered to turn around, as the plan has failed. Qetesh later orders the Goa'uld to bombard the Earth. Teal'c escapes on a cloaked Al'kesh with a few Jaffa and sees the sovereign ship exit into hyperspace. Teal'c plans to reach the planet Qetesh plans to reach before she does, which contains Ba'al's time-machine. They go down to Earth to find a Stargate.

The Ha'tak vessels starts firing on all major cities, including Washington D.C.. Hammond receives a communication and hears that "the Russians have the other one." He relays the message to the F-15s before Washington is wiped out. The F-15's KC-10 tanker is destroyed by Ha'tak weapons fire. The fighters head towards Russia. However, on the way there, they encounter a squadron of Death Gliders. They are unable to shake them and are about to be destroyed when Carter detects a group of six Russian MIGs coming straight at them. Jackson explains their identity over the radio to the MIGs and ask for assistance; the MIGs destroy three of the six Gliders and engage the remainder.

The Russians have managed to retrieve the Stargate from the wreckage of the Achilles and stored it in a bunker near a major city (possibly Moscow), which is being bombarded by weapons fire. SG-1 arrives and notices that the Russians can't find a way to power the gate, as main power has been lost during the bombardment. An Al'kesh lands above the bunker and Teal'c and two Jaffa exit. The two teams encounter each other which results in a standoff. Mitchell, Jackson and Carter realize that they are after the same thing, namely to stop this from ever happening. They form a truce and decide to work together, as Teal'c is passionate about the Jaffa becoming free. They activate the gate using a small Goa'uld device that powers it, and go through the gate before a Ha'tak destroys the complex.

They arrive at a solar observation outpost on the planet Praxyon, which was how Ba'al was able to alter the timeline. The outpost receives information from hundreds of satellites orbiting stars and monitoring their solar flare activity. Carter just has to find a star that can take them back to 1939 and stop Ba'al from ever altering the timeline.

However, several Jaffa come through the Transportation rings. Mitchell, Jackson and Teal'c easily kill them all, but more waves of Jaffa keep coming down. Eventually Carter finds a suitable star, but the problem is that the flare will take them to 1929 instead. They decide to take it. However before they can dial the gate, Jackson is shot and killed by staff blasts. Mitchell orders Carter to dial the gate but just as she is finished dialing she is shot as well and Teal'c is shot shortly thereafter. Mitchell steps through the Stargate and gates to Earth in 1929.

Immediately Qetesh rings down and sees a dying Teal'c, who after a brief conversation with Qetesh says "I die free," and subsequently activates an explosive device, killing himself, Qetesh and the Jaffa, as well as destroying the entire outpost.

Back in 1939, Captain Mitchell orders Bosun to investigate the cargo. There, he hears the chevrons encoding. At that point, a bearded Cameron Mitchell tells Bosun to stay down and hands him a Thompson submachine gun. They take cover and watch the gate activating. They easily kill the Jaffa the second they step through. The real Ba'al arrives seconds later, only to discover his Jaffa have all been killed. Mitchell then shoots him in the head, killing him. A last Jaffa, with the explosive device, steps through and he too is killed. The timeline is restored. After the gate shuts down, a confused Captain Mitchell shows up and Cameron Mitchell explains himself away as a "friend of the family" and that its "a long story."

Back in the present of the now-restored timeline, SG-1, completely oblivious of the previous events, watch the extraction proceed without incident. When it is done, which happens quite fast, much to Mitchell's surprise, Jack O'Neill says he'll buy lunch and he and Carter walk away talking about the plans for the new Lunar Base. Back on Earth, Daniel wonders what Ba'al meant by his failsafe, but they decide not to dwell on it. The final shot shows a close-up of a picture in Mitchell's locker, which has his alternate self standing alongside his grandfather.

Notable Quotes
Mitchell: Sure you don't want to come along sir? Might never be another one of these.

Landry: As tempting as it is I'll be doing paperwork the whole time you're gone. Besides one general looking over your shoulders is plenty.

Jackson: Yes. Speaking of Jack...

Landry: He went ahead with SG-3 to officially hand over the prisoner.

Carter: I guess he knows who we're dealing with.

Teal'c: Such precautions are unnecessary. Half of the free Jaffa fleet stands guard over the Tokra home world to ensure that the execution of Ba'al takes place as planned.

Vala: You know better than anyone, Muscles. This is an extraction, not an execution.

O'Neill: Never, in the history of boredom, has anyone been more bored than I am right now.

Carter: C'mon sir, it's only been— woo.

Jackson: It's almost over. The crimes they're listing are starting to sound familiar.

Mitchell: I keep wondering what Daniel was going to say.

Carter: When?

Mitchell: Back on the ship he got all excited and he said "Do you realize what this means".

Carter: Well obviously that Ba'al had gone back in time and stopped the ship that was carrying the Stargate from ever reaching the United States.

Mitchell: By sending it to the North Pole?

Carter: Yeah apparently.

Mitchell: Carter, that is a terrible plan.

Carter: But you have no problem with the fact that he went back in time.

Mitchell: I'm just saying, why not sink the damn boat.

Carter: I think the bigger problem here is that Ba'al has rewritten history.

Landry: I take it that in your timeline you're not a discredited wackjob living on the fringes of society.

Jackson: That really depends on who you ask.

Ba'al: Apophis. Last of the System Lords to stand against me. What have you to say to your sovereign?

Apophis: May your reign last days and your death years.

Ba'al: That's actually rather good. Isn't it? Had you planned to say that when you walked in— or was it just off the top of your head?

Mitchell: Teal'c?

Teal'c: How do you know my name?

Mitchell: I can do better than that. You're from Chulak. Your best friend goes by the name of Bra'tac and you're the first Prime of— Jackson, who's mark is that?

Jackson: Ba'al.

Mitchell: What'd he promise to win you over?

Teal'c: The freedom of my people.

Mitchell: Give him credit for knowing which button to push.

Teal'c: Ba'al is dead. Slain by his queen.

Jackson: Oh don't tell us. Qetesh.

Teal'c: Indeed.

Jackson: Why?

Teal'c: That is none of your concern. Allow us passage through the Chappa'ai and your lives may be spared.

Mitchell: Or: you tell us what you're up to and your lives will be spared.

Teal'c: My only concern is my mission.

Mitchell: Which is?

Jackson: To avenge Ba'al's death. Final task of a First Prime.

Teal'c: Indeed.

Mitchell: That sounds great. We'll help out. Right guys?

Carter: Sure. Why not.

Jackson: I'm not busy.

Mitchell: Let's do it.

Teal'c: I do not require your assistance.

Goofs

 * Major Paul Davis' Service Dress Uniform was incorrectly prepared with rank cloth shoulderboards on his coat's epaulets instead of metal pin-on rank insignia. His coat is also missing his brushed metal name tag, a mandatory item (again) only since October 2002 and therefore absent for the first 5 seasons.
 * Consistency errors: The location in the Arctic is specified as "above the Arctic Circle", but in this area, the sun does not rise as quickly as shown. Dr. Daniel Jackson also seems to be unaware of the fact that in the polar region, the sun only rises once per year, when stating "Once that sun rises, it's gonna warm right up," though this is probably meant to be a joke.
 * When Teal'c dials the gate in Russia using the handheld device to power it, he sticks the device to the inner ring of the Stargate. When the Stargate starts dialing, the inner ring does not move, although the sounds of dialing can be heard.
 * When the Stargate activates on the Achilles (both times) the container it is in has a circle disintegrated on both sides of the event horizon. Stargate canon clearly states that the vortex only shoots out one side. Though this could be explained by a strudle formation in the rear of the gate. This would be consistent with the timeframe of the device's activation.
 * Daniel says that Charlie O'Neill died eleven years ago (which would make it 1997) when in reality it was twelve years ago (1996).
 * After the "One Year Later", when Colonel Samantha Carter is shopping in the grocery store, she picks up a box of "Frootees" according to the front, although "Rice Krispies" can clearly be seen on the side, as well as several boxes of Life cereal.
 * Shortly before Vala Mal Doran disappears in the beginning of the movie, the jacket she is wearing is the only one without two buttons on the right side of the collar.
 * While Carter theorizes that SG-1 was spared from the time changes by being en route through a wormhole, the time changes actually began before they entered the Stargate (and interestingly, caused them to do so). This conflicts with previous examples of time travel in the Stargate universe, in which an alternate reality is generally created, separate from the parent timeline "Moebius, Part 1", "Moebius, Part 2", "2001", "2010", "The Last Man", "Time". One exception being in the SG-1 episode "1969" in which a seemingly stable time-loop was maintained.
 * Colonel Cameron Mitchell gates back to 1929, but we do not see where the Earth gate is at this time. It had only been dug up in 1928, so how Mitchell exits the gate at the Earth end of the wormhole is a mystery.  Although in the film it is shown that the Stargate was pulled to a standing position and was possibly left like that while they studied it so he would have been able to exit the Stargate without incident.
 * After Qetesh stabs Ba'al, she refers to him having kept her at his side for 50 years, but in "Family Ties" Vala's father Jacek is a key character and speaks of Vala's much more recent childhood. However, it is possible that she was 'at his side' for some years before she took Vala as a host. If this is correct, it would lead to an interesting prediciment in the idea that Qetesh might have been forced by Ba'al to leaving her original host and taking Vala as her next host. Qetesh's original taking Vala as a host is a mystery, so the alternate timeline Qetesh taking Vala as a host would have happened differently.
 * In the credits, Amanda Tapping and Ben Browder are listed as Lt. Colonel but according to Joe Mallozzi both had already been promoted to a 'full bird' Colonel after the events of Stargate: The Ark of Truth.
 * Similarly, in the credits Don S. Davis's character is listed as 'Major General George S. Hammond,' however in the film his three (not two) general stars are clearly visible, suggesting his actual rank is that of a Lt. General.

Wins

 * Won Leo for "Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama" (Michael Shanks)
 * Won Leo for "Best Overall Sound in a Feature Length Drama" (Paul A. Sharpe, Iain Pattison and Graeme Hughes)
 * Won Leo for "Best Screenwriting in a Feature Length Drama" (Brad Wright)

Nominations

 * Nominated Leo for "Best Cinematography in a Feature Length Drama" (Peter F. Woeste)
 * Nominated Leo for "Best Costume Design in a Feature Length Drama" (Christina McQuarrie)
 * Nominated Leo for "Best Direction in a Feature Length Drama" (Martin Wood)
 * Nominated Leo for "Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Feature Length Drama" (Amanda Tapping)
 * Nominated Leo for "Best Picture Editing in a Feature Length Drama" (Brad Rines)
 * Nominated Leo for "Best Production Design in a Feature Length Drama" (James Robbins, Mark Davidson and Robert Davidson)
 * Nominated Leo for "Best Sound Editing in a Feature Length Drama" (Jay Cheetham)
 * Nominated Leo for "Best Visual Effects in a Feature Length Drama" (Michelle Comens, Stephen Bahr, Christopher Stewart, Krista McLean and James Kawano)

Death

 * Ba'al

The Cast

 * Ben Browder as Colonel Cameron Mitchell and Captain of the Achilles
 * Amanda Tapping as Colonel Samantha Carter
 * Christopher Judge as Teal'c
 * Michael Shanks as Dr. Daniel Jackson
 * Beau Bridges as Major General Henry "Hank" Landry
 * Claudia Black as Vala Mal Doran and Qetesh
 * Richard Dean Anderson as Major General Jack O'Neill/Colonel Jack O'Neill
 * William Devane as President Henry Hayes
 * Cliff Simon as Ba'al
 * Don S. Davis as Lt. General George S. Hammond
 * Steve Bacic as Camulus
 * Gary Jones as CMSgt. Walter Harriman
 * Jacqueline Samuda as Nirrti
 * Peter Williams as Apophis
 * Darcy Cadman as Russian Officer
 * P.J. Prinsloo as Alex
 * Jean Daigle as Bosun
 * Corey Turner as Achilles Helmsman
 * David Ingram as Air Force Major
 * Dan Shea as MSgt. Sly Siler
 * Martin Wood as Major Wood
 * Derek Peakman as Tok'ra Elder
 * Juan Llorens as Cab Driver
 * Ron Halder as Cronus
 * Alison Matthews as Interviewer
 * David Kaye as Interviewer
 * O.L. Bramble as Jaffa Leader
 * Reese Alexander as Jaffa Pilot
 * Mark Pawson as Jaffa Pilot
 * Tracy Trueman as Heather
 * Jason Benson as Officer
 * Kirsten Williamson as Officer
 * Campbell Lane as Older Man
 * Vince Crestejo as Yu-huang Shang Ti
 * Jay Williams as Ra
 * Lebrone Flippin as Ba'al's Jaffa
 * Duke Shoebotham as Ba'al's Jaffa
 * Mike Roselli as Qetesh's Jaffa
 * Rob Boyce as Qetesh's Jaffa
 * Colin Cunningham as Major Paul Davis
 * Adrian Hughes as Peltac Jaffa
 * Jacqueline Becker as Lady Shopper
 * CDR Michael Bernacchi as Commanding Officer
 * CMDCM(SS) Wesley K. Koshoffer as COB
 * LCDR Jason M. Geddes as Officer of the Deck
 * LTjg Alan M. Roche as Officer on Guard
 * Barry Campbell as Crewman on Sail

Soundtrack
The Stargate: Continuum soundtrack was released on August 12, 2008.