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Gallery Episode Transcript

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 and Michael Shanks as Daniel Jackson with the movie also featuring a special appearance from 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.

Synopsis[]

When the ceremony to extract the symbiote from the last Ba'al clone ends in disaster thanks to the original Ba'al putting a fail-safe plan into action, Colonels Cameron Mitchell and Samantha Carter and Dr. Daniel Jackson finds themselves being forced to flee to Earth back through the Stargate as they watch the reality that they know fall away while their teammates, Vala Mal Doran and Teal'c both mysteriously disappear into thin air with General Jack O'Neill also dying in the process. Now, trapped in an alternate timeline where their lives have taken different paths due to the Stargate itself never reaching the United States and ultimately the Stargate Program and Stargate Command never existing, Mitchell, Sam and Daniel must convince the government in that reality that they can change the past but the government are not so willing to help, forcing the three remaining members of SG-1 to take matters into their own hands as they attempt to repair the timeline and set things right again but time is running out while Ba'al's Queen, Qetesh has plans of her own..

Plot[]

SG-1 is planning 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.

Tok'ra homeworld

The Tok'ra homeworld.

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.

Con Activated Naquadah Bomb

Ba'al activates a Naquadah bomb on the Achilles.

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 the Bosun to check the cargo after the ship starts to shake. The 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.

Stargate Continuum 1

Teal'c disappears in front of the team

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.

Wormhole 4

The timeline begins changing.

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's lower left leg was submerged in ocean water while on board, and out on top of the exposed icepack the limb quickly gets incapacitated by frostbite and he is unable to walk. Jackson tells Mitchell and Carter to leave him behind to get help.

Arctic

Carter and Mitchell in the Arctic.

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 submarine U.S.S. Alexandria, which had picked up Jackson earlier. He was treated, but unfortunately his lower leg will have to be amputated: nevertheless, he considers that to be an acceptable trade-off for survival.

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 over a breakfast in the hangar, 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. He points out how everyone rather likes how their timeline is: what they are proposing is changing around 80 years of history, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. Although the team would rather fix things, they cannot really blame them if the situation was reversed, and know nothing they say will sway them otherwise.

Stargate Continuum 2

The team wonders what will happen next.

From Alaska, the team is separated and provided with new identities, as in this timeline astronaut 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. While they are supported in every way by the government as long as they keep quiet and to themselves, they can take jobs if they want but due to potential public exposure, to her frustration Carter is not allowed to work in any scientific areas.

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. He gets permission to look around inside. 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 (by presuming correctly that he would stay at the same hotel that he has), and tells him not to give up hope. Jackson's double promptly hangs up on him. Soon after, out on the street Carter notices an Al'kesh flying above her, and the farmer calls Mitchell over to witness the live news on television. Jackson is called and informed, and the three are eventually called in 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; as Hammond had recently passed away, the team is heartened to see the Lt. General, but become sober when he doesn't recognize any of them. 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. The teams' five days of debriefing was documented into very thick reports, and the government has made use of them; 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. The team quickly determine that 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, which will then wipe out the fleet. However, they must act quickly, as they detected the fleet just exited hyperspace and spread out in orbit.

Goa'uld siege of Earth

The massive Goa'uld fleet arrives over Earth.

System Lords

Left to Right: Ra, Camulus, Yu, Cronus, and Nirrti

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. After a smart remark from Camulus, Ba'al tells Teal'c that Camulus has "generously offered" half of his future realm of Australia for the Free Jaffa Nation. In private with Qetesh, Ba'al has his Jaffa bring a Satellite phone he had in stasis 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 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. After this is done, on his return Teal'c notices Qetesh's intentions. Qetesh kills Ba'al and tries to kill Teal'c with a kara kesh, who manages to escape.

Back on Earth, Hayes is on the phone with the Russian president explaining how their work at McMurdo may help when Hammond reports that the Antarctic base has been bombarded; Hayes has to convey the bad news. 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 enter hyperspace. Teal'c plans to reach the planet Qetesh is heading for before she does, which contains Ba'al's time-machine. They go down to Earth to find a Stargate. Though Teal'c ordered the Stargate destroyed, he reveals that there is another one.

Goa'uld siege of Earth 3

Ha'tak vessels bombarding Earth.

Con Hatak Bombarding Washington DC

Washington DC being destroyed by Ha'tak bombardment.

The Ha'tak vessels starts firing on all major cities, including Washington D.C.. Hayes convinces his Russian counterpart to tell him if he has another "artifact": turns out they do. Hammond relays that "the Russians have the other one" to the F-15s and open orders to do what they must when he, Hayes, and everyone with them become trapped in the bunker, the elevator shafts having collapsed.

Having just finished their midair refueling, 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. While their escorts peel off to take out as many as possible, they are unable to shake them and things are looking bleak 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. One of the pilots welcomes them and says they were expecting them.

Con Alkesh extended shields

Teal'c's Al'kesh with extended shields around the Anchor research facility.

Con Portable Stargate DHD

Tea'lc uses a portable DHD to power the Stargate.

The Russians have managed to retrieve the Stargate from the wreckage of the Achilles and stored it in a research facility 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.

Baals Time Machine

Ba'al's time machine utilizing solar flares.

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.

Cameron Mitchell Continuum

Mitchell prepares to hold off Qetesh' forces.

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, dying instantly 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 they are about to be boarded and hands him a Thompson submachine gun. They take cover one on each side of the hold and watch the gate activating. They easily kill the Jaffa in a crossfire the second they step through. The real Ba'al arrives seconds later, only to discover his Jaffa have all been killed. Mitchell kills him with a shot to the head. 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 it's "a long story."

Alt Cameron Mitchell

Mitchell standing along his grandfather.

Last of the Goauld

Last Ba'al symbiote dies.

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 and the Goa'uld dead on the floor (which all happens quite fast in comparison with the list of crimes, much to Mitchell's surprise), O'Neill says he'll buy lunch for everyone and he and Carter walk away talking about the plans for the new Lunar Base. Vala says she will stay and help Ba'al's host with the first stage of recovery.

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 next to the Achilles, a picture Mitchell had previously mentioned as showing just his grandfather.

Appearances[]

Appearances for Stargate: Continuum

Locations

Events

Items

Vehicles

Sentient Species

Creatures

Languages

Organizations

Mentioned

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 Tok'ra homeworld 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 wack job 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, whose 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.

The Cast[]

Continuum

An alternate, unused, cover for the film.

Notes[]

  • The submarine that surfaces in the Antarctic is the real USS Alexandria. The interior scenes were also filmed on board the real submarine. All of the crew, including the captain, were part of the real Alexandria's crew at the time.
  • When Carter, Mitchell and Jackson are relocated by the U.S. government, Carter is likely sent somewhere in western Washington State, as she is seen riding a McChord Air Force Base bus and exiting a Rainier Cab. Jackson is sent to New York City, as shown in the establishing shot before he calls his other self.
  • The blurb on the back of Daniel Jackson's book "The Truth about the Pyramids" reads "This book is completely devoted to the Pyramids of Egypt. The major premise - that the archaeological record bears witness to an evolution of pyramid design, construction and function from beginning to end of the Pyramid Age - is demonstrated brilliantly and completely." The second paragraph is the same as the first, from "The major premise..." onwards.
  • Apparently Hathor and Osiris had no major effects on Earth and are not mentioned in this alternate timeline. This means they were either: not discovered yet and remained entombed, were discovered and killed before effecting any major changes (possibly in secret by Ba'al), or were discovered but chose to remain in hiding (with Hathor no longer having access to a usable Stargate and Osiris possibly using their hidden ship to leave and rebuild elsewhere). Setesh was also not mentioned and was likely to have continued his cult practices or been killed by Ba'al in secret. In a similar vein the Asgard are also not mentioned. Assumedly they continued their studies of humanity, possibly were confronted by Ba'al over the Protected Planets Treaty, and if they still survived eventually committed suicide due to their inability to find a cure for their degenerative cloning.
  • Due to the non-existence of the Stargate program in this alternate timeline, Martin Lloyd was likely still a conspiracy theorist being drugged by his crewmates.
  • This film was leaked on the Internet on July 2, 2008.
  • The film had a budget of $7 million. A typical 44-minute episode costs $2 million.
  • During the "montage" about 36+ minutes through the movie when Jackson, Carter, and Mitchell are being interrogated by the Air Force, Mitchell states "Stargate Command is a branch of the Air Force, started in 1997/4, I forget the exact year." There is a slight audio slip as he says 1997, and a 4 is said almost during the 7. This is a nod to the original movie, which was created in 1994, and the show began in 1997.
  • The film is dedicated to the memory of Paul McCann, 32, and Anthony Huntrod, 20, of the HMS Tireless, who died during the filming. Their deaths were caused by the explosion of an oxygen generator that was unrelated to the production.
  • In the scene in the arctic where Carter and Mitchell first meet up with Colonel Jack O'Neill, there are brief cameo appearances by Director Martin Wood and Props Master "Evil" Kenny Gibbs. No extras were available due to the isolated shooting location.

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.
  • It's never revealed how Teal'c knew of the Stargate in Russia nor to go to Praxyon to avenge Ba'al, particularly as Ba'al had thought that particular Stargate destroyed and only instructed Teal'c to find the Beta Gate.
  • 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 strudel formation in the rear of the gate. This would be consistent with the timeframe of the device's activation.
  • 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.
  • 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 predicament 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' original taking Vala as a host is a mystery, so the alternate timeline Qetesh taking Vala as a host would have happened differently.
  • The conversation between Captain Mitchell and Bosun is different in the alternate and current timelines with lines missing the second time and no scene change to account for it.
  • Captain Mitchell reaches the cargo hold much faster the second time around despite not leaving fast enough to have made it there that fast as seen from the first time around.
  • Qetesh is listed as Quetesh in the credits.

Awards[]

  • Won Leo for "Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama" (Michael Shanks)
  • Won Leo for "Best Screenwriting in a Feature Length Drama" (Brad Wright)
  • Nominated Leo for "Best Cinematography in a Feature Length Drama" (Peter F. Woeste)
  • 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 Sound Editing in a Feature Length Drama" (Jay Cheetham)

Soundtrack[]

Main article: Stargate: Continuum soundtrack

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

Other languages[]

  • Hungarian: Stargate: Continuum (dubbed in English)
  • Czech: Hvězdná brána: Návrat (Stargate: The Return)

Sources[]

  1. SCI FI Weekly "Continuum character made to suffer", John Sullivan, May 26, 2008.

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