Stargate SG-1: The Nox Rewatch
September 11, 2024 10:58 AM - Season 1, Episode 7 - Subscribe
With the Stargate program in danger of being terminated, the team is under pressure to find new technology. Visiting a planet where they believe there is a creature that possesses the secret of invisibility, they encounter Apophis and his guards. Both sides receiving mortal wounds, they are aided by the planet's inhabitants, the Nox, a gentle people with a very large secret.
The Nox raise a lot of questions. Is this small family unit given a caretaker position out in the woods to watch over the flora and fauna? Do they represent some kind of weird back to nature aspect of the Nox, who chose not to live in the giant floating ship/city? Despite these questions, I always appreciated the message of pacifism and the underline that humans venturing out into the gate network are essentially children. It's a nice contrast to running into less advanced societies like they have so far and will in next week's episode.
I liked the very small touch of Jack reacting strongly to the Nox kid wanting to touch a weapon.
Christopher Judge embodied the role of Teal'c so well, that I don't know if someone else could have come along and done it better. Sort of in a manner, only Brent Spiner could play Data or Leonard Nimoy could play Spock (granted - there's been some enjoyable Spocks sense Nimoy - though they have leaned into his creation). It's probably not a coincidence that later down the road, a stand in for Teal'c in a fictitious tv show, is offered the opportunity to explain some of the most endearing and lasting attributes of why SG-1 was and is a great show. SG-1's big strength is that they found just the right mix of characters and actors to play them. Each brings strengths to the roles.
One thing I like about this episode is that we do get to see Teal'c actively try to bring his fellow Jaffa around to his enlightened understanding that the Goa'uld are not gods, but aliens who have enslaved their people through religion and worship.
Lastly, Apophis is just kinda here for this episode. It's sort of funny. There he is walking around. There he is reacting. There is he complaining about people just vanishing.
Bonus point: For Star Trek: DS9 fans, the leader of the Nox is none other than our favorite Ferengi, Armin Shimerman.
posted by Atreides at 11:51 AM on September 11 [6 favorites]
I liked the very small touch of Jack reacting strongly to the Nox kid wanting to touch a weapon.
Christopher Judge embodied the role of Teal'c so well, that I don't know if someone else could have come along and done it better. Sort of in a manner, only Brent Spiner could play Data or Leonard Nimoy could play Spock (granted - there's been some enjoyable Spocks sense Nimoy - though they have leaned into his creation). It's probably not a coincidence that later down the road, a stand in for Teal'c in a fictitious tv show, is offered the opportunity to explain some of the most endearing and lasting attributes of why SG-1 was and is a great show. SG-1's big strength is that they found just the right mix of characters and actors to play them. Each brings strengths to the roles.
One thing I like about this episode is that we do get to see Teal'c actively try to bring his fellow Jaffa around to his enlightened understanding that the Goa'uld are not gods, but aliens who have enslaved their people through religion and worship.
Lastly, Apophis is just kinda here for this episode. It's sort of funny. There he is walking around. There he is reacting. There is he complaining about people just vanishing.
Bonus point: For Star Trek: DS9 fans, the leader of the Nox is none other than our favorite Ferengi, Armin Shimerman.
posted by Atreides at 11:51 AM on September 11 [6 favorites]
The conceit that an "advanced" race like the Nox would pose as "primitive" in order to hide always struck me as strange, although it's a perennial idea in science fiction (the Ba'ku on Star Trek, the Wakandans). I mean, if you pose as underdeveloped or whatever, everyone is going to want to walk all over you, enslave you, steal your resources, and take your land (cf. history). Not the best strategy. I guess it's an intriguing thought because there is no real-world analog that I can think of for this stratagem in history (that we know of, haha). I would rather pose as a more advanced race. Maybe Earth should make some moon-sized Mylar props of giant battleships in case imperialistic aliens do ever show up. I think maybe there was a Cordwainer Smith story like that.
posted by jabah at 4:40 PM on September 11 [1 favorite]
posted by jabah at 4:40 PM on September 11 [1 favorite]
Is this small family unit given a caretaker position out in the woods to watch over the flora and fauna? Do they represent some kind of weird back to nature aspect of the Nox, who chose not to live in the giant floating ship/city?
It was their summer cottage.
Kids are out of school, traffic is bad commuting between orbiting metroplexes, cloaking device repairman has missed 3 appointments.
Time to get out of the (floating) city and take it easy for a bit.
posted by madajb at 7:58 PM on September 11 [3 favorites]
It was their summer cottage.
Kids are out of school, traffic is bad commuting between orbiting metroplexes, cloaking device repairman has missed 3 appointments.
Time to get out of the (floating) city and take it easy for a bit.
posted by madajb at 7:58 PM on September 11 [3 favorites]
It's not so much that the Nox masquerade as primitives as that they remain completely hidden. The Goa'uld have apparently been coming to this planet to try and track down the secret of the invisible stuff forever and have never even realized that the Nox are there. (Until SG-1 comes along and fucks that up, of course.)
I liked this one, once I got over noticing that that was Quark with a bunch of sticks and moss in his hair playing at running some zen hippy commune in the woods. Agree that Judge is doing a fine job with Teal'c despite not getting a lot of backstory to work with. Or at least we haven't been let in on it yet.
A couple nice character touches w Jack as well - as noted above, the bit where the kid wants to check out the weapon. (See, it can be done. There are things to work with re Jack which is why it pisses me off that we're apparently never going to see his wife again as that gave them a really great opportunity to explore that part of him.)
Maybe not a perfect episode, but all in all, thumbs up for me on this one.
posted by Naberius at 9:07 AM on September 13
I liked this one, once I got over noticing that that was Quark with a bunch of sticks and moss in his hair playing at running some zen hippy commune in the woods. Agree that Judge is doing a fine job with Teal'c despite not getting a lot of backstory to work with. Or at least we haven't been let in on it yet.
A couple nice character touches w Jack as well - as noted above, the bit where the kid wants to check out the weapon. (See, it can be done. There are things to work with re Jack which is why it pisses me off that we're apparently never going to see his wife again as that gave them a really great opportunity to explore that part of him.)
Maybe not a perfect episode, but all in all, thumbs up for me on this one.
posted by Naberius at 9:07 AM on September 13
To look out for in the next episode (1.8): freeze frame on the baby at 4.30 and it is the spitting image of General Hammond.
posted by biffa at 7:22 AM on September 15
posted by biffa at 7:22 AM on September 15
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I do enjoy the parallels though of the kid being infatuated with SG-1, showing that this is a culture, not some racial trait that these types of shows can also fall into. Also, the young not doing the right thing message can apply to humans as well, so a nice comparison.
Teal'c has some nice moments, I'm continuing to be struck by much I find him the heart of this first season, it's small moments usually, but he's pretty great in a role that could otherwise be thankless.
posted by Carillon at 11:22 AM on September 11 [2 favorites]