Stargate SG-1/Brief Candle

Brief Candle
Season 1, Episode 9
Airdate	September 19, 1997
Teleplay by	Katharyn Powers
Story by	Steven Barnes
Directed by	Mario Azzopardi
← 1x08 The Nox	1x10 → Thor's Hammer
Stargate SG-1 — Season One

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Brief Candle is the ninth episode of the first season of Stargate SG-1.

Richard Dean Anderson (Colonel Jack O'Neill), Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson), Amanda Tapping (Captain Samantha Carter), Christopher Judge (Teal'c), Don S. Davis (Major General George S. Hammond)

Bobbie Phillips (Kynthia), Teryl Rothery (Dr. Janet Fraiser), Harrison Coe (Alekos), Gabrielle Miller (Thetys), Gary Jones (Technician)

Plot Overview

O'Neill and the SG-1 team travel through the stargate to Argos, where they come across a young woman giving birth. After Daniel delivers the child, the team is invited to a festival, where they find a civilization of beautiful, happy people who celebrate while the sun shines and mysteriously drop to sleep the minute that it sets. More mysteriously, they seem to age very rapidly - a lifetime is 100 days - an effect that O'Neill unwittingly inherits when he is seduced by Kynthia, a stunning Argosian woman. As O'Neill's hair turns grey and life races past, the rest of the team return to base to try to discover a cure for whatever is making O'Neill and the Argosians grow old so fast. Dr. Samantha Carter discovers the culprit: nanocytes or microscopic robots that circulate in the blood stream, apparently placed there as part of a cruel experiment by Pelops, a Goa'uld whom the Argosians worship as a god. But, the team can't figure out how to turn them off, and unless they can, O'Neill will soon be dead.

Trivia

The Show

• Syndication airdate: October 19, 1998.

• Argos was designated P3X-8596.

• Argos was an actual city in Greece.

Allusions and References

• Episode title:

The title of this episode comes from the Shakespeare play Macbeth as part of Macbeth's lament for his wife suicide and his realisation that life is ultimately futile.

• Goa'uld: Pelops

In Greek mythology, Pelops was mortal, not a god. He was killed by his father and served to the gods for dinner. They restored him to life (except for his shoulder, which Demeter had eaten). Besides this, he was best known for the tragic chariot race which resulted in a curse upon his offspring. This episode expands nicely on the curse of his "children". Note also that the statue of Pelops before the stargate portrays him as a charioteer.

Quotes

• Daniel: A hundred day celebration? I guess we should pace ourselves.