"You're just along for the shakedown cruise. My crew needs to be able to count on me and on each other after you're gone."
— Col. William Ronson
SG-1 is tasked with overseeing the shakedown cruise of the Prometheus, but when a problem with the hyperdrive forces the ship to make an emergency landing on another planet, the team must negotiate with the wary locals to try and find the stargate or risk being stranded there indefinitely.
"Memento" provides examples of the following tropes:
- Both Sides Have a Point: Carter says something to this effect in an attempt to defuse the growing tension between Col. Ronson and Commander Kalfas.
- Continuity Nod: After the ship falls out of hyperspace, O'Neill complains that the naquadria was supposed to work this time.
- Conveniently Close Planet: After the hyperdrive fails, marooning our heroes at some random point in space yet again, they just so happen to find themselves a short hop away from a (mostly) friendly planet with a working Stargate.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Lampshaded:Ronson: There's no redundancy for that particular system.O'Neill: So you're saying there's no redundancy?
- EMP: One results due to the explosion of the naquadria reactor in space, causing the failure of various systems on board the Prometheus and on the planet below.
- Explosions in Space: Happens when the naquadria reactor is jettisoned from the ship.
- First Contact: The arrival of the Prometheus is this from the Tagreans' perspective.
- Going Critical: The naquadria reactor powering the Prometheus's hyperdrive begins to overload after the ship passes through a gravity well on route to its original destination.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: Chairman Ashwan and Commander Kalfas, respectively.
- Gunship Rescue: The end of the episode has the Prometheus coming to the rescue of Teal'c and Jonas after they're taken hostage by Kalfas.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Col. Ronson and Commander Kalfas, as pointed out by Col. O'Neill.Ronson: I just don't like the idea of giving a guided tour of the Prometheus to the same people who've got gun batteries aimed at us.
Jack: We'd do the same damn thing. - Overt Operative: When Teal'c and Jonas first notice Solamon attempting to spy on them while they're in the library.Teal'c: We are being watched.Jonas: What, the guy half-hiding behind the bookshelf? He's been casing us since we got here.(Solamon tries to retreat and knocks several scrolls to the floor in doing so)Jonas: ... And not very well, either.
- Passive-Aggressive Kombat: Most of the interaction between Ronson and Kalfas at the dinner.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Ashwan, despite being a
One-Episode Wonder, is arguably one of the biggest in the series. He overrides Kalfas' ordered strike on the helpless Prometheus, before consistently being helpful and courteous to SG-1 and the crew of the Prometheus in their quest for Tagrea's stargate, ultimately putting his own life on the line to aid a Gunship Rescue by the Prometheus and gives a Rousing Speech to convince Kalfas's followers to let the team go and support opening relations with Earth. - Rousing Speech: Chairman Ashwan gives one of these at the end of the episode, to convince Kalfas's followers to let the team go.
- Shout-Out: To A New Hope. Col. Ronson almost quotes Han Solo word-for-word when he hopes that Chairman Ashwan is right that the gun batteries won't fire on the Prometheus.Ronson: Let's hope the old man is right, or this is gonna be a short ride.
- Unperson: The Tagrean ancestors attempted to do this to Heru'ur, the Goa'uld who used to rule their planet. The result is that their modern descendants have only the most recent three hundred years of their history.
- Year Zero: Used by name In-Universe. Kalfas (inaccurately) states that the Tagreans "believe that what came before Year Zero has no intrinsic value to our society".
- Zeppelins from Another World: The weapon batteries aimed at the Prometheus are suspended by balloons.
