Memento

"Memento" is the twentieth episode of the sixth season of Stargate SG-1.

Synopsis
Having finally been upgraded, the Prometheus launches, going through a shakedown cruise with SG-1 on board. The trip later becomes an intense quest when the hyperdrive's Naquadria becomes unstable, forcing the crew to eject it which ultimately causes the ship to suffer great EM damage. Prometheus then lands on Tagrea and as SG-1 makes contact with the locals in hope of convincing them to use the Stargate, it soon becomes a battle for survival when Teal'c and Jonas are taken hostage by the planet's military commander who has other plans in mind...

Plot
In orbit around Earth, the Prometheus, now finally having undergone upgrades and also been completed detects a Goa'uld Ha'tak vessel and prepares to attack it.

Colonel William Ronson, the ship's C.O. orders Major Erin Gant to sound general quarters as the ship prepares for battle.

However, the situation is nothing more than a battle simulation drill to help the ship and its crew prepare for the real-life battles it will go through someday once its shakedown cruise is complete.

On board the ship are SG-1 and Colonel Jack O'Neill isn't too happy about the constant drills. He and Teal'c of Chulak head to the bridge with O'Neill talking to Ronson before eventually relenting, enabling the drill to go on. O'Neill contacts Major General George S. Hammond, believing that SG-1 are getting in the way. Despite O'Neill's misgivings, Hammond believes that having SG-1 on board is the best option, considering how SG-1 has valuable experience with both hyperspace travel and the Prometheus itself.

Hammond advises O'Neill to enjoy the journey before ending the call.

Later, the Prometheus, having received a go from Vandenberg Air Force Base goes into hyperspace for a shakedown cruise mission to P7X-009.

Ronson tells Gant he wants another battle drill to begin at 0500. As Gant heads off, O'Neill and Ronson meet in the elevator; Ronson tells O'Neill that the Prometheus's crew needs to be able to count on Ronson himself and each on other once SG-1 has left.

Suddenly, the ship drops out of hyperspace.

Concerned, Ronson heads off while O'Neill summons Teal'c and Major Samantha Carter to the bridge.

After some investigation, the crew finds out that the reactor's buffer overloaded because they came in contact with a gravitational wave from a star while in hyperspace.

In addition, they are unable to repair the buffer. Jonas Quinn identifies—from the cartouche—the gate address of a nearby planet, P3X-744, which is only 0.38 light years away. They decide to fly there, using the hyperspace engines for a short jump, to find a Stargate.

After the short flight they establish an orbit around the planet, but the Naquadria reactor suddenly overloads, forcing the crew to jettison it.It detonates in a massive explosion, discharging an electromagnetic pulse that damages the ship, even through its Asgard shields.

After determining the damage, they detect long-range ballistic weapons, originating on the planet below and heading their way. They conclude that the hyperspace engine explosion could have been construed as an attack against the planet. Since they have no other available options, the crew contacts the planet and O'Neill asks them to disengage the rockets. The rockets ultimately self-destruct 17,000 meters away from the ship. Afterward, the ship is contacted and given landing coordinates on the world, which is named Tagrea.

The Prometheus lands and SG-1 leaves the ship. Upon going outside, they are confronted by a large army and forced to disarm. They are brought into a city, where they meet Chairman Ashwan and his council. The team tells him about the Stargate but it turns out that the council believes it's a myth.

After SG-1 leaves, the chairman talks with Commander Kalfas, who is skeptical of SG-1’s account of events.

Back on the ship, the team looks over several historical documents, given to them by the council, but find nothing regarding the Stargate. Teal'c and Jonas then get access to the archive of the Tagreans (after inviting them to a dinner, over Colonel Ronson's protest) but again turn up empty-handed. However, they notice that a strange man (Tarek Solamon) has watched and followed them. He clandestinely tells them that he can help. Meanwhile, on the ship, O'Neill and Carter lead Ashwan and Kalfas on a tour. During dinner, it is revealed that the recorded history of the Tagreans only goes back 300 years because there was once a "dark age" (speculated by SG-1 to be when a Goa'uld controlled the planet) that the Tagreans want to forget ever happened.

In his office, Tarek shows Jonas and Teal'c relics from ancient times and believes their creator and god to be Heru'ur. Thanks to an old document, they also find out where the Stargate may lay. Jonas and Teal'c are then taken to the Wastelands of Anhur by Tarek (although Kalfas has an argument with Ashwan about this), where they uncover the Stargate. After unearthing the device, however, they are attacked by Kalfas, who takes them prisoners.

When Kalfas ignores Ashwan's orders to release them, Ashwan convinces the soldiers manning the batteries surrounding Prometheus to stand down, allowing it to launch and fly to the location where Kalfas is holding Jonas and Teal'c.

As they prepare to ring off the ship, Sam wonders if Ashwan is ready, stating that things could get bad. Ashwan assures that he isn't afraid and that he should have done this a long time ago.

Thanks to the help and courage of Ashwan, who convinces Kalfas' soldiers to stand down, Kalfas is arrested.

SG-1 uses the Stargate to bring back equipment from Earth to repair the Prometheus. Jonas says goodbye to Tarek and SG-1 heads home.

Notable Quotes
Teal'c: Have we not been assigned to participate in the damage control effort?

O'Neill: Yes. And if there's ever any damage I'll do my best to control it.

Ronson: Weapons officer. Prepare to fire on my command.

O'Neill: (to Teal'c) He's a weapons officer. You'd think he'd already be prepared.

Teal'c: Indeed.

Ronson: The bridge isn't exactly where you're supposed to be during a battle drill.

O'Neill: No. I've been meaning to talk to you about that.

Ronson: Can it wait until we are not in the middle of a drill?

O'Neill: When are we not in the middle of a drill?

O'Neill: Teal'c, prepare to assist in damage control.

Teal'c: I am prepared, O'Neill.

O'Neill: See how melodramatic that sounds? It's unnecessary.

Carter: (referring to the problem) It's like a light bulb that's burned out. You can't just fix it.

O'Neill: Do we have any extra bulbs?

Ronson: There's no redundancy for that particular system.

O'Neill: So you're saying there's no redundancy.

Kalfas: They seek the Ring of the Gods.

O'Neill: If that's what you want to call it. Ring of the Gods is good.

Ashwan: Please understand, this device you seek—the Stargate. I regret to tell you—

Kalfas: It's a myth.

Ashwan: There has never been a shred of evidence to prove its existence.

O'Neill: Have you looked around?

Ronson: We will do this little barbecue of yours, but that's as far as I go. (he storms off)

O'Neill: Do we... have a barbecue?

Goofs

 * The Colonel rank insignia on William Ronson's uniform are affixed upside down on his shoulders.
 * During a battle drill at the beginning of the episode, the weapons officer is ordered to be prepared. When he appears, you can see the folds in the curtain that the show uses to make it look like Prometheus is in space.
 * When the Stargate is being hoisted from the ground, the machinery lifting it has an operating instruction saying "FREE SPOOL"... in English. Previously in the episode, it was established that the Tagreans have their own written language. However it is possible that the winch was from the Prometheus, given the limited cooperation by Kalfas.
 * At the end of the episode, when Major Samantha Carter opens the Stargate, the sound of it opening can be heard but at the top corner of the screen it can be seen that the Stargate is not active.
 * When the SG1 leaves Prometheus for the first contact with Tagreans, in the back of the stage, there are some cars from a highway.
 * In the description on the box of the DVD, the X-303 is incorrectly written as the X-53.
 * When dining on the Prometheus, Ashwan marvels at the food they're eating, remarking at how amazing it is to be eating food that was produced millions of light years away. However it was stated by the flight crew on board the Prometheus that they were only approximately 4-5 light years from Earth. It is worth noting, though, that Ashwan was not privy to this information and was likely assuming that their visitors were from much further away.
 * At the end of the episode, as Sam is dialing the gate, the glyph key to the immediate right of the activation button is caught on the on the activation button itself, and is depressed with the button as Carter activates the gate.

Characters

 * Colonel William Ronson
 * Major Erin Gant

In other languages

 * French: En Quête du Passé (Seeking for the Past)
 * Italian: Il Ricordo (Memento)
 * Spanish: Recuerdo (Memento)
 * Czech: Svědek Minulosti (The Witness of the Past)
 * German: Vergangenheit (Past)