Solitudes

"Solitudes" is the eighteenth episode of the first season of Stargate SG-1.

Synopsis
After fleeing from a planet full of Jaffa, a mysterious power surge from the Stargate separates Dr. Daniel Jackson and Teal'c from Captain Samantha Carter and Colonel Jack O'Neill. Carter and O'Neill discover they've ended up on an ice planet. Little do they know, they are actually closer to home than they think.

Plot
Just as Stargate Command has an unscheduled activation and receive a GDO signal, Dr. Daniel Jackson and Teal'c come flying through the Stargate. A surge of energy follows, and the gate shuts off without Colonel Jack O'Neill or Captain Samantha Carter coming through. Jackson and Teal'c do not understand: they were in a group.

Initially unconscious, O'Neill and Carter wake to discover themselves in an icy cave. O'Neill is suffering from a broken leg, and Carter splints it with some difficulty. With O'Neill only able to move short distances, Carter begins to explore the cave and notes that she can see light at some of the fissures in the roof, indicating they are not buried very deeply, although the fissures are too narrow to reach their ends. With limited supplies of food and fuel, survival will be short. Adding to the problem is that they have a small number of batteries for their flashlights, and there is not enough light to move about easily without them.

At the SGC, Dr. Jackson and Teal'c theorize that since SG-1 was taking fire from a group of Jaffa as they tried to get back to earth, several staff weapon blasts may have struck the gate, causing the surge of energy. This created a malfunction and caused the wormhole to jump to a nearby gate, which Dr. Jackson theorizes is somewhere along the line between the planet, P4A-771, and Earth. O'Neill and Carter are trapped "somewhere out there." Several SG teams are sent to try to find the two, to no avail. Major General George S. Hammond informs Jackson that he regretfully has to declare them MIA and stop the search, as they cannot endlessly search for them.

Meanwhile in the icy cave, Carter and O'Neill attempt to sleep. They have to combine body heat to make it through the night. Which is hard to do with O'Neill's broken ribs. They start discussing they won't have any regrets except dying.

Meanwhile, in the icy cave, Carter finds the gate's Dial Home Device embedded in ice and they begin to chip it out. O'Neill has trouble doing this, and reveals that he also has a broken rib. They eventually unearth the DHD, but when Carter tries to dial Earth, the Stargate does not activate.

Back at the SGC, Jackson realizes that there was one planet they had dismissed and they shouldn't have - Earth. Remembering that the first time they opened the gate, it used to shake a lot. A check of recent seismic activity across the globe reveals rumblings in Antarctica at precisely the same moment SG-1 returned, and these rumblings would be explained by the activation of a second Stargate on Earth in Antarctica. The gate cannot be dialed from the Stargate at the SGC because the addresses are too similar, the gates can only dial to other worlds, not to another gate on the same planet. Even if the seventh symbol looked different, the coordinates would be exactly the same. The same problem is preventing Carter from activating their gate. She keeps getting a busy signal.

In the icy cave, O'Neill tells Carter to climb out of the cavern and attempt to find shelter. With some difficulty, she climbs out only to discover ice plains as far as the eye can see. Discouraged, she radios O'Neill saying, "It's an ice planet!" She returns and the two of them fall unconscious, only to be re-awakened to the sight of SGC members. It turns out, the Stargate did malfunction, but the wormhole jumped to a previously unknown second Stargate in the ice of Antarctica. The second Stargate is later secured.

Notable Quotes
Jackson: (to Teal'c) What happens when you dial your own phone number?

(Teal'c opens mouth to respond)

Jackson: Wrong person to ask! (turns to Hammond) What happens when you dial your own phone number?

Carter: Try to stay put, Sir, I think your leg's broken.

O'Neill: No, my leg's definitely broken. What's the bad news, 'cause unless they've redecorated the Gate room, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.

Carter: Is this your first broken bone?

O'Neill: Ah, ah... no... this, this would be... uh... nine, if you count skull fractures.

Carter: How'd you manage that, sir?

O'Neill: Little parachuting mishap over the borders of Iran and Iraq back in... '80...

Carter: This is going to hurt, sir.

O'Neill: Ah, I know, I know, I know, I know.

Carter: So, what happened?

O'Neill: I hit the ground, go figure.

Carter: If we don't make it, I won't have any regrets. You?

O'Neill: I'll regret...dying.

Carter: What's wrong with your chest?

O'Neill: I think I cracked a rib too.

Carter: Why didn't you say something?

O'Neill: I was afraid you'd try to put a splint on it.

(Carter and O'Neill lay against each other to share body warmth)

Carter: ....oh, Colonel...?

O'Neill: It's my sidearm, I swear!

Goofs

 * Major General George S. Hammond, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c managed to get to Antarctica from Colorado, USA in an incredibly short period of time. Even if they were put on supersonic military jets and there were an aircraft carrier or air field where those planes could land, it would still take a day for them to reach Captain Samantha Carter and Colonel Jack O'Neill. Certainly rescue teams would arrive there quicker than them.
 * When the gate is fixed after the overload, Stargate Command redials P4A-771 to search for Carter and O'Neill, but on the dialing computer the chevrons dialed are those for Abydos and not that of P4A-771.
 * In the opening scene, MSgt. Walter Harriman informs Hammond that SG-1 is returning through the gate before the gate has opened (and thus before they could be positively identified). Hammond states that no teams are scheduled to return for 24 hours, so it seems unlikely that Harriman would jump to that conclusion.
 * Behind the beta gate, there are two walls of ice with a large hole cut into them. It could be assumed that these holes were caused by the vortex when it erupts from the gate. However, the gate was clearly facing the other way, as the cheverons were seen glowing and the inner ring was clearly visible from the side with the DHD. (this could be a reference to the vortex cone shown in the movie that was discontinued in the series) (some theories beleive that the cone is only caused when a long disused stargate is reactived for the first time)

Character

 * MSgt. Sylvester Siler

In other languages

 * French: Portés Disparus (Missing)
 * German: Im ewigen Eis  (In the Eternal Ice)
 * Italian: Naufragio Planetario (Planetar Wreckage)
 * Spanish: Soledades (Solitudes)
 * Czech: Osamění (Solitude)
 * Hungarian: A jég foglyai (Captives of Ice)