Earth (episode)

"Earth" is the seventh episode of the first season of Stargate Universe.

Synopsis
IOA scientists have hatched a plan that could return the crew to Earth. But the plan is far from foolproof and carries potentially deadly consequences. General O'Neill and Homeworld Command instruct Colonel Young to implement their orders, but he's not convinced, and buys time to consult his comrades.

Prologue
A group of around 80 unprepared soldiers, scientists and civilians evacuate Icarus Base to the Ancient spaceship Destiny, located several billion light years from Earth, and are trapped there; the ship doesn't have enough power to dial such distances. They are able to bring a Long-range communication device with them to make contact with Earth, by taking a host body back home. Chloe Armstrong lost her father, and told her mother about this. Also, Everett Young is having problems with his wife, Emily...

Plot
Lieutenant Tamara Johansen is checking up on Colonel Everett Young. During the check up, Young tells TJ that she is beautiful, and that he is sorry he hurt her. At first, TJ doesn't want to talk about it, but they inevitably kiss. This turns out to be a dream; Matthew Scott wakes him up, and tells him "they" are waiting for him. After looking at his watch, he gets up and enters a room with Camile Wray.

The two place two communication stones into the long-range communication device. Young and Wray end up on the bodies of Hamilton and Baldwin respectively in Homeworld Command, at the Pentagon. Colonel David Telford is expecting them. He escorts them to a meeting room to see a number of scientists, IOA personnel, including Carl Strom, and General Jack O'Neill; they are also expecting them. Telford announces that they may have found a way to bring the people on the Destiny home.

Sometime later, a young scientist, Williams has just given details of the plan. He explains that the power flow issues are the biggest variable, but the simulations prove encouraging. Though Strom and the IOA support the decision, Wray and Young have their skepticism, believing the plan to be dangerous, though Telford believes it may be worth it. When Young continues to show his doubts, O'Neill sends him to his office. There, he lectures Young that Colonel Samantha Carter saved his life several times with "all kinds of whacky science" he didn't understand, and that since Young is in charge of the ship, he should play it out rather than see what everybody on the ship thinks. He also reminds him that Senator Armstrong is dead with his daughter and dozens of other people trapped aboard Destiny. Even though the President wants this done, Young still insists on letting him know his decision by tomorrow.

Wray joins Strom in the park, who is buying a hot dog. He compliments Wray on her work so far. However, she knows he is holding off on the conversation, and wants him to get to the point; he wants her to make the plan happen by using her influence among the rest of Destiny's expedition. He wants the plan to work so Earth engineers could use the data to re-engineer the process on one of the Daedalus-class ships, so they can dial Destiny without another Icarus-type planet, and hopefully send the right people. He then admits that he didn't want to talk to Nicholas Rush, since the IOA is not convinced he wants to return home.

In Destiny's Mess hall, Eli Wallace talks with Scott, TJ, Chloe Armstrong and Ronald Greer. He says that the ship hasn't enough power to Gate to Earth, but they could do it if they drain all the power and use the ship as a conduit to get into the next star, though that part is difficult. It will also take months to drain the power, but Adam Brody, who is listening in, suggests they drain it up faster. He seems in on the idea, but wants to consult with Rush first.

In the control interface room, Rush talks with Wray and Young back in their own bodies. Rush believes the plan they are suggesting on Earth is dangerous, which could lead to the ship exploding. Sometime later, Young, Eli and Chloe plan to use the communication device. Eli seems weary using it for the first time, not knowing what to say to his mother. The three then put on their stones to the pad, and they switch bodies with three people. Eli occupies Williams' body, Chloe has swapped with McCormack's body, Young occupies Telford's body. Eli seems excited to be back on Earth, and in someone another persons body, noticing he is wearing a suit. Williams, meanwhile, doesn't approve of Eli's dress sense. Telford visits Rush, and explains that he will be taking over from Young, and wants the proposed plan to go ahead.

Young learns that Telford is taking over, as O'Neill doesn't want to wait. He tells Eli and Chloe about it. However, they can see their families as long as they follow the rules. Eli is concerned about what would happen if Destiny explodes in the test; Young believes they will die, so Eli decides to "live it up" while they can. Meanwhile, Telford arrives at the mess hall to meet Greer. His first order of business is to confine him to quarters, to either carry out his punishment or in case he would assaulted again. He later joins McCormack and Williams with several personnel to inform them of the plan. They do have doubts, but the three tell them that due to the ship's condition, it may experience a fatal breakdown at any time. Telford admits that they may not be sent home, but assures them that the plan is worth a try. Telford later joins Rush in the Observation deck. He has heard the plan, and still thinks it's impossible, since they barely have access to everything on the ship, and that although firing its weapons may drain the power, there is still a big risk.

On Earth, Major Green drops Eli off at his mother's house. However, since he's in a different body, he has no idea what to say to her. However, he knocks on the door. When Maryann answers the door, Eli says that his name is Philip Fry, and he recently became close friends with Eli. She invites him over, wanting to know how her son is doing. "Philip" explains he is on a "crash diet" (considering Destiny has scarce supplies, but she doesn't know what her son is going through) and that he is doing fine. When he mentions that "Eli" told her she makes chocolate chip cookies, she offers to make some so "Philip" can send them back to Eli. While he helps out, Maryann admits that it was partly her fault Eli didn't apply himself even though he was intelligent, and that she's worried about him, since he doesn't call. "Philip" puts her mind at ease when he tells her Eli is doing good, and misses her. Meanwhile, Chloe talks with her mother, who is starting to get a little comfortable about seeing her daughter in other people. The two are still trying to deal with the loss of their husband/father.

On board Destiny, Brody and Hunter Riley are in space suits, working on some pipes for the plan. They are able to fix it. However, Telford feels that this is taking too long, but Rush says they need to do it to understand more about the ship first. He later sends the power through the pipes, but there appears to be a coolant leak. However, since it is so close to the hull, it could explode, and the decompression while in FTL will likely destroy the ship. Against Brody's wishes, Riley goes back to repair the leak. Unfortunately, the pipes ignite; the force of the explosion seriously injures Riley.

TJ is checking up on Riley in the infirmary, and tells Rush and Telford that it is "touch and go", leaving his fate unknown. Telford later tells Rush that they are proceeding with the plan, even though Riley nearly died. Telford claims Rush put Riley's life in danger, and that after more talking, Telford believes Rush has doubts about the plan because if it does work, Rush may never return to the ship.

Back on Earth, Chloe calls Eli about their visits. Eli admits he told his mother he was a co-worker, and Chloe tells him that she told her old friends that she is Chloe's "Cousin Liz", and that they are planning on taking her to see Janelle Monáe, and invites Eli. Meanwhile, Emily Young arrives home to unpack her shopping. Young, who is in Telford's body knocks on the door; she closes the door after seeing him, and threatens to call the Police if he doesn't leave. Young tells her he won't leave, and talks to her through the door. He says that the only thing keeping him from losing it on the ship is her, and even that makes him crazy after what he did to her, and wants her to forgive him. He also believes Emily is afraid that he would die, and that all he wants is to come back home to her. After a moment, he leaves. However, what Young said got through to Emily, who opens the door, and forgives him with a hug.

Eli and Chloe enter the nightclub Janelle Monáe is attending. An attractive young woman, Mindy approaches Eli for some small talk. Amazed that a woman is talking to him, he offers her to dance, which she accepts. Meanwhile, Chloe notices a couple, Celina and Josh, and is somewhat disgusted by them. The reason is that Josh was Chloe's ex-boyfriend, and believes Josh left her for Celina. Chloe tries to take her mind off it by buying a drink, but runs into Celina. Their conversation turns into a heated argument, since Celina was her best friend, and just realized she is seeing Josh.

Young and Emily are in bed, making love. Meanwhile, Destiny drops out of FTL. This apparently disrupts communications for a short time, placing Young, Eli and Chloe in their own bodies again. In that time, Telford is in shock to discover that Young was using his body to have sex with Emily. Seconds later, they swap bodies again. Both Telford and Young in particular shocked. Telford learn that in the few seconds, Young wants to remove the stones, but Telford overrides it.

Eli discovers that Chloe is drunk, partly because of finding out about Celina and Josh, and feels like punching the latter. Knowing she had too much to drink, Eli takes Chloe out of the nightclub and take her back home. Although she had a terrible time, Eli had a good time, noting that he got the e-mail address from the same girl he danced with earlier. Once they get in the car, Chloe starts crying, stating that her life was bad even before she began working for her father. After saying that Mindy only gave hims the e-mail address because she was referring to Williams, the body Eli is occupying, he has a fantasy where Chloe kisses him. After a while, she wants him to return her home.

Wray joins Rush in the Observation deck. It seems she also has concerns of the plan. Just then, the ship's weapons start firing, which is starting to drain the ship's power. Greer observes also, and asks Scott to turn off the stones, and wants Young to be the commander again, so he can get out of his quarters. However, Scott says the communication room is guarded 24/7. As the weapons continue firing, the ship loses most of its power. In response, the ship jumps into FTL, causing another communication disruption. At that time, Young was having a drink with Emily, who talks about the situation being awkward since Young is with "her" on the ship, implying he had an affair with that woman.

Destiny drops out of FTL to the nearest star in range. Eli is starting to grow frustrated about the unforeseen body swapping, before going back into Williams' body. Later, everybody on board converge in the Gate room to witness the plan taking action. They are going to use the sun's power to dial the Stargate to Earth. Three chevrons engage successfully before the room starts to shake. By the time the fourth chevron is engaged, power starts coursing through the Stargate. The capacitors are starting to overload. To compensate, Williams brings down the power flow. However, the more time that passes, the more violent the shaking. Rush also notes that shields are starting to fail. Frustrated, Telford is forced to abort. However, Williams cannot make the systems respond. Telford signals to Williams and McCormack that they need to leave, stranding the others behind.

Scott wants Rush to do something; he picks up a radio. Meanwhile, Telford, McCormack and Williams deactivate the communication device. After Eli, Chloe and Young return to their respective bodies, Brody radios Rush, saying that they're gone. After hearing the news, Rush shuts down the power, meaning the whole scene was set up all along, just to get rid of them. He announced to everyone that they won't go home. Despite setting up the whole thing, he knows that the plan will not work and they'd all die even if he didn't stage the malfunction. He also couldn't risk warning anyone because he didn't know who to trust.

Young is able to report to his superiors at the Pentagon, and tells them that Rush was able to stop the ship from being destroyed. He also came to scold Telford, who thought his sense of command was all but gone, and that when he couldn't figure out to resolve the problem, he cut and ran. He does expect that there would still be personal visits for those on the ship, which O'Neill accepts, though Strom doesn't feel as highly.

When Young returns to Destiny he makes a speech to the rest of the crew, saying that they will make it home, but the it may take longer than they thought, and that they'll make it through. This speech was recording on the Kino. After seeing this, Young asks Eli to do something; he wants to analyze the data from the dialing attempt, and see if Rush was hiding something from them.

On Earth, Emily is at her home, drinking coffee. She is interrupted by a knock on the door. She comes to open the door. The one who is visiting her is Colonel Telford.

Notable quotes
(Young enters a room full of people) O'Neill: Thanks for joining us, Colonel. Young: Sorry, sir. I wasn't expecting a party. Telford:' We may have figured out a way to get you home. O'Neill: Surprise.

Rush: Given how little we know about this ship. Wray: Can't we at least try it, and abort if something goes wrong? Rush: Well, unfortunately, the "something goes wrong" part would most likely mean the ship exploding.

(Eli is sitting in a nightclub, when an attractive woman, Mindy, talks to him) Mindy: Hi. Eli: Me? Mindy: What's your name? Eli: Phil. Can I buy you a drink? Mindy: I have one. Eli: Yes, you do. Wanna dance. Mindy: Sure. Eli: Oh my God, this is awesome.

(Eli visits Chloe to see her intoxicated) Chloe: You see those two over there? My best friend Celina and my ex-boyfriend. Eli: You could do better. D'you wanna dance? Chloe: I think I wanna go over there and punch him in the face.

Eli: D'you know the last time a girl that hot told me I was cute? Never.

(Destiny drops out of FTL, causing disruption in the communication stones, Eli ends up in his own body) Eli: All right, this is ridiculous. Jumping back and forth without any warning is completely un... (switches back to Williams' body) acceptable. Seriously...

Greer: So you're saying that the ship is not gonna explode? Rush: Oh no, we would most definitely all be dead had I not put certain limits in place.

Background notes

 * The name Eli Wallace chose to give his mother, Philip Fry, is a reference to the main character of the TV show, Futurama.
 * In the episode, Emily knows of an extramarital affair Young had at Icarus Base, and that she is also trapped on Destiny, even though the affair was over. The dream sequence in the beginning of the episode implies that he had the extrmarital affair with Tamara Johansen. In fact, in a Moviehole interview with the cast, Alaina Huffman confirmed that the two were having an affair.
 * In "Darkness" and "Light", Destiny dropped out of FTL about a day before entering the star. In this episode, the ship exited FTL a lot closer to the star, due to the fact that it had more energy in its reserves - as it had recharged itself recently.
 * Three kino webisodes are related to this episode; "You Okay?", "Do I Look Stupid?" and "All Telford's Fault". The webisode "All Telford's Fault" explains Brody's motives to work with Rush to rid of Telford and the IOA scientists.
 * Since-released production notes have revealed that the address to Earth from Destiny is a nine chevron address. This implies that Destiny was capable, at one time, of storing power on the level of an Icarus-type planet to allow for the dialing.

International airdates

 * Canada: November 6, 2009 (Space)
 * United Kingdom: November 10, 2009 (Sky1)
 * Australia: November 13, 2009 (Sci Fi Australia)
 * Poland, Romania and the Balkans: February 11, 2010 (Sci Fi Channel)

Production

 * This was the second episode to be scripted.
 * Richard Dean Anderson guest appeared as Jack O'Neill.
 * Grammy Award nominated Janelle Monáe appears in this episode as herself, where she performs the songs "Many Moons" and "Sincerely".

Ratings

 * United States: 1.626 million viewers, equals a 1.1/2 Household rating/share (0.7/2 18-49 rating/share). Also the fourth most viewed programming for Syfy the week it aired.
 * United Kingdom: 939,000, the most viewed programme for Sky1 the week it aired.