History Recap / StargateSG1S1E10TheTormentOfTantalus

* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: "Torment" retroactively became one of the most important episodes of the entire series, let alone the entire franchise. The SGC uncovers the first evidence that the Stargate Network predates the Goa'uld, thus planting the very first seeds for the Ancients (though they won't be named until [[Recap/StargateSG1S2E15TheFifthRace "The Fifth Race" next Season). While there will be some more groundwork laid here and there over the next few Seasons, these seeds will only really begin paying off in the second half of ''SG-1'' (and will go onto provide the catalysts for ''Atlantis'' and ''Universe'').

* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: "Torment" retroactively became one of the most important episodes of the entire series, let alone the entire franchise. The SGC uncovers the first evidence that Gates predate the Goa'uld, thus planting the very first seeds for the Ancients. While there will be some more groundwork laid here and there over the next few Seasons, these seeds will only really begin paying off in the second half of ''SG-1'' (and go onto provide the catalysts for ''Atlantis'' and ''Universe'').

* InnocouslyImportantEpisode: "Torment" retroactively became one of the most important episodes of the entire series, let alone the entire franchise. The SGC uncovers the first evidence that Goa'uld did ''not'' build the Gates and that the Network predates them. Thus, the very first seeds are planted for the Ancients. While there will be some more groundwork here and there, these seeds will only really begin paying off in the second half of ''SG-1'' (and provide the catalysts for ''Atlantis'' and ''Universe'').

Daniel meets up with Catherine Langford, the old lady who acted as his {{Herald}} in [[Film/{{Stargate}} The Movie]]. She tells him all about the experiments performed on the gate by her daddy and her beloved fiancé Ernest Littlefield. Catherine never knew they turned it on (they basically shut her out and told her to StayInTheKitchen) so Daniel shows her the tape, which is now edited differently. Turns out the man sent through the gate was Ernest and Catherine's dad lied to her about that in order to protect her from the AwfulTruth.

* TheOtherDarrin: Catherine Langford is played by a different actor than in the film.

[floatboxright:
Series: Series/StargateSG1\\
Episode: Season 1, Episode 10\\
Title: "The Torment Of Tantalus"\\
Previous: "Thor's Hammer"\\
Next: "Bloodlines"\\
Recapper: @/InsertWittyNameHere]

* WritersCannotDoMath: In this episode, Catherine says that she was twenty-one in 1945, which would make her about four years old in 1928. In the original movie's flashback to 1928, she is clearer much older than that, around ten or so. Later on, ''Series/StargateOrigins'' portrays her being around twenty in 1938-39, which is consistent with the movie, but inconsistent with "The Torment of Tantalus".

* WhamEpisode: Relatively subtly done by the standards of most such episodes, but this episode reveals for the first time that the Goa'uld didn't create the Stargate network when the SGC realise that the address Ernest dialled isn't on the Abydos cartouche, establishing that the Stargate network was established by someone else.

Somewhere or Other, 1945. A bunch or workers are rotating the Stargate around while Professor Langford watches. He's apparently rather hands-on as he stands there and tells them when to stop over a particular symbol. He then gives a little nod to some guy, indicating it's time for an electric charge. The first chevron is now engaged. Yes, EngagingChevrons took even longer in those days.

Cheyenne Mountain, 1997. Daniel is watching old footage of this experiment when Jack enters. Jack tells him it's time for some exciting physical assessments, but Daniel is watching the tape in total awe and insists that he finish this reel first. Apparently, the tape was included without any notes so the only way to find out why they gave up is to watch the whole thing. The reason they gave up, however, soon becomes very clear. It turns out they actually managed to turn the gate on and send a man through wearing an old-fashioned diving suit, but the gate shut off after he entered it. The footage ends. "Holy cow," Jack mutters. Cut to TitleSequence.

Daniel meets up with Catherine Langford, the old lady who acted as his {{Herald}} in [[Film/{{Stargate}} The Movie]] except now she [[TheOtherDarrin looks different and has a different accent]]. She tells him all about the experiments performed on the gate by her daddy and her beloved fiancé Ernest Littlefield (the young Ernest seen in {{Flashback}}s is played by a pre-''Series/StargateAtlantis'' Paul [=McGillion=]). Catherine never knew they turned it on (they basically shut her out and told her to StayInTheKitchen) so Daniel shows her the tape, which is now edited differently. Turns out the man sent through the gate was Ernest and Catherine's dad lied to her about that in order to protect her from the AwfulTruth.

Back at the base, Hammond has been handed a ConflictBall and is ''outraged'' that Daniel would dare tell top-secret information to a civilian, even one who already knows all about the gate and, in fact, used to run the entire program. He gets over this rather quickly though and agrees that a rescue mission should be mounted. Sam informs us that the address Ernest went to was not on the Abydos cartouche which she takes to mean the Goa'uld haven't charted it since an ancient list of Stargate addresses on some remote planet ''obviously'' comprise the entirety of Goa'uld knowledge. The mission is a go and SG-1 heads to the planet with Catherine, who they evidently somehow managed to convince Hammond to let them bring along.

They arrive in an abandoned castle perched precariously on a cliff overlooking a stormy ocean. Ernest shows up and he's not only old, but totally naked as well. He's overjoyed to encounter real people (he at first thinks they're hallucinations), but he reacts blasély to seeing Catherine. Ernest, after being convincing to get dressed, explains that "she found me long ago". Apparently he's been hallucinating that Catherine was with him all this time and he went so far as to recount her feelings about the proceedings in his journal. A storm approaches, so Jack decides it's time to go home, but it turns out the [=DHD=] has been damaged. Now they're all stuck, this being before they had naquadah generators.

Sam and Teal'c set about trying to fix the [=DHD=] while Ernest shows Jack, Daniel and Catherine a room filled with writings from four different alien races, which, we will discover in later episodes, include the Asgard, the Nox, the Furlings and the Ancients. The room also has a holographic display of all the atomic elements, including some which haven't been discovered yet. Daniel excitedly gushes that this is "a true universal language" and that it may record [[Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy The Answer To Life The Universe And Everything]]. Of course, Ernest hasn't figured out how to read this language in the fifty-two years he was stuck there, but Daniel isn't deterred.

Unfortunately, the [=DHD=] falls into the ocean and so the hunt is on for a new power source. Much to Daniel's chagrin, they try to get at the power source of the hologram machine, but it turns out to be impenetrable to Teal'c's staff weapon. Therefore, they decide to harness [[Film/BackToTheFuture 1.21 gigawatts]] from a bolt of lightning as lightning bolts are flashing around the castle in abundance. It's about here that the JacobMarleyWarning comes into full fruition. If Daniel doesn't tear himself away from this latest discovery, he might not make it to the gate before it falls into the ocean, leaving him trapped on the planet just like Ernest. "No prize is worth attaining if you can never share it," Ernest tells him, "There would be no point. Believe me... I know!"

Daniel still doesn't want to leave, even after they get the gate activated. At the last minute, Jack convinces him to leave and they make it through JustInTime. After getting back to the base, they have Walter redial the planet, but he can't get a lock. (Ernest must be ''really'' lucky that they figured out what happened to him ''just'' before that particular storm came through.) "Look at it this way," Ernest says sagely, "if you ever run into those aliens that made up the language you can ask them what it means." (They [[AbortedArc never do this]], by the way, even though they do meet those aliens.) The episode ends with Jack and Daniel looking on as Ernest and Catherine hug.

Unfortunately, the [=DHD=] falls into the ocean and so the hunt is on for a new power source. Much to Daniel's chagrin, they try to get at the power source of the hologram machine, but it turns out to be impenetrable to Teal'c staff weapon. Therefore, they decide to harness [[Film/BackToTheFuture 1.21 gigawatts]] from a bolt of lightning as lightning bolts are flashing around the castle in abundance. It's about here that the JacobMarleyWarning comes into full fruition. If Daniel doesn't tear himself away from this latest discovery, he might not make it to the gate before it falls into the ocean, leaving him trapped on the planet just like Ernest. "No prize is worth attaining if you can never share it," Ernest tells him, "There would be no point. Believe me... I know!"

* ImprovisedLightningRod: SG-1 ends up trapped in an alien castle with a broken dialing device, rendering them unable to get home. [[spoiler:They end up sticking a metal frogman's helmet on the roof and wiring it to the gate, drawing lightning into the gate and allowing them to dial out by rotating the ring manually.]]

* AnachronismStew: Ernest's notes make reference to the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations. While the U.N. was founded in 1945, it was founded after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII ended. Since the 1945 gate experiments were conducted during the war in an effort to find a weapon, Ernest could not have known about the U.N. when he went through the gate.
** Strictly speaking, "the United Nations" was used as a term to describe the Allies in WW2 while it was ongoing, but Ernest clearly meant the latter 'place for global treaty discussions' incarnation.

* TitleThemeDrop: In the opening 1945 flashback, the background music is the ''Stargate'' theme played }} [[{{Retrauxin the style of 1940s jazz]].

* TitleThemeDrop: In the opening 1945 flashback, the background music is the ''Stargate'' theme played in the style of 1940s jazz.

* ThemeTuneCameo: In the opening 1945 flashback, the background music quotes the ''Stargate'' theme, playing it in the style of 1940s jazz.

* AnachronismStew: Ernest's notes make reference to the UsefulNotes/UnitedNations. While the U.N. was founded in 1945, it was founded after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII ended and it's made clear that the gate experiments took place while the war was still going on.

* StayInTheKitchen: The attitude of Catherine's father and the 1940s military in regards to her interest in the Stargate. Although given his objection to her acting as a maid, he ironically wanted her ''out'' of the kitchen in the literal sense of the term.

They arrive in an abandoned castle perched precariously on a cliff overlooking a stormy ocean. Ernest shows up and he's not only old, but totally naked as well. He's overjoyed to encounter real people (he at first thinks they're hallucations), but he reacts blasély to seeing Catherine. Ernest, after being convincing to get dressed, explains that "she found me long ago". Apparently he's been hallucinating that Catherine was with him all this time and he went so far as to recount her feelings about the proceedings in his journal. A storm approaches, so Jack decides it's time to go home, but it turns out the [=DHD=] has been damaged. Now they're all stuck, this being before they had naquadah generators.