Line #18 Recap/StargateSG1S1E20Politics


1	Remember the invasion Daniel warned everybody about last episode?
2
3	[[CassandraTruth Well, no one believes him.]]
4
5	First appearance of [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Senator Kinsey]].
6	----
7	!!"Politics" provides examples of the following tropes:
8	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Hammond briefly laughs at O'Neill's idea for holding a car wash charity to fund the Stargate Program
9	* AndYouWereThere: Snarkily referenced by O'Neill when Daniel tries to explain the [[Recap/StargateSG1S1E19ThereButForTheGraceOfGod alternate reality]] to the others.
10	* ArbitrarySkepticism: Considering everything else they've been through so far, it seems a little odd that the rest of the team are so unwilling to believe that Daniel could have experienced an alternate reality, especially given that he came back with an otherwise-unexplained injury and an [[OminousMessageFromTheFuture ominous message]].
11	* ArtisticLicencePolitics: Invoked, with O'Neill saying he's not familiar with politics, but asks why the President can't simply overrule Kinsey because O'Neill thinks the former outranks the latter. The U.S. President doesn't "outrank" a U.S. Senator, as they're in separate branches of government, and while the President commands the military, Congress controls its funding. For better or worse, a Senator managing to tank a President's chosen agenda is a feature, not a bug, in American federal politics.
12	* BreatherEpisode: Largely a filler episode to bridge the gap between the [[Recap/StargateSG1S1E19ThereButForTheGraceOfGod previous installment]] dealing with alternate realities and the SeasonFinale.
13	* ButNowIMustGo: When Kinsey states his intentions to close the gate for good, Teal'c announces that he needs to return home, as his place can't be with the people of Earth if they don't intend to continue the fight against the Goa'uld.
14	* CassandraTruth: Daniel spends much of the episode trying to convince everyone else that he really ''did'' go to an alternate universe and there really ''is'' an attack headed for Earth. Naturally, none of them believe him, although the rest of SG-1 at least do appear to be coming round by the end of the episode.
15	* ClipShow: The first of five that would be used throughout the series.
16	* ContinuityNod: Given the [[ClipShow nature of the episode]], there are frequent references to events that took place throughout the series.
17	* DraftDodging: It's heavily implied Kinsey was one during the Vietnam War. He mentions a 'medical condition' which robbed him of the chance to serve in the American military... which is an excuse common to many Vietnam-era politicians.
18	* EasilyThwartedAlienInvasion: Kinsey thinks that this will be the case if Earth is ever attacked. [[JerkassHasAPoint He's not]] ''[[JerkassHasAPoint completely]]'' [[JerkassHasAPoint wrong about that]], but he does seriously underestimate the advanced technology of the Goa'uld and seems to think they'll be no match for the good old United States military.
19	* {{Flashback}}: Several flashbacks to previous episodes are used as a framing device as the corresponding mission reports are read aloud.
20	* TheFundamentalist: Kinsey seems to have Christian fundamentalist leanings, though [[NoPartyGiven it isn't explicitly stated which political party he belongs to.]]
21	* JerkassHasAPoint: Kinsey in this episode isn't exactly wrong about how SG-1 has essentially gotten both the United States and the entire Earth into a [[SecretWar shadow war]] that could very well lead to the entire planet being destroyed. Not to mention, he's still within his rights as a Senator to wonder why all this money is going to a secret Air Force project; it's part of his job to hold the military accountable for their spending on behalf of his constituents.
22	* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Kinsey decides to shut down the program at the worst conceivable time.
23	* PrecisionFStrike:
24	-->'''Daniel:''' With all due respect, the Senator is an ''ass''.
25	* SealedEvilInACan: Kinsey thinks the stargate itself is one, likening it to PandorasBox. The team points out that they've ''already'' opened the box and at this point the smart thing would be to prepare themselves as best they can by using the stargate to gather resources and intel.

Context Recap / StargateSG1S1E20Politics