Jack O'Neill: [shouting back] In the middle of my backswing? They are once again examined by Dr. Frasier, whereupon Hammond walks in, but O'Neill forestalls him before he can postpone the mission this time. [16] A sampling of fan opinions on space.com in 2001 showed the episode as a "clear favorite". Jackson: (writing on the chalkboard)of the machine itself. When O'Neill golfs through the gate, he asks about the distance his ball made; Carter claims that there is no way to determine how long the Earth was stuck in the time loop. O'Neill: Lose it. [3] Executive producer Brad Wright however noted the similarities to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Cause and Effect",[4] and writer Robert C. Cooper suggested a lighter direction similar to the feature film Groundhog Day,[5] which O'Neill would briefly reference in the episode. Teal'c takes revenge upon the Airman who opens the door in his face by violently slamming it back on him. SG-1 goes to the planet and again meets Malikai, who claims to have never met them before. [1] A matte painting by the in-house visual effects department later served as a sky replacement for the used greenscreen. On a routine mission to P4X-639, SG-1 meets an alien archaeologist Malakai operating an Ancient device. Stargate Watch Order: Three Ways To Enjoy The Entire Franchise, Jewel Staite's New Legal Drama Is Coming, Stargate's Original Audio Dramas Are Coming Back, Here's Proof That Brad Wright's New Stargate, Producer reveals alternate ending for SGU finale, Jackson tells Malikai that he had the opportunity to hear the Ancients' language spoken aloud. Teal'c points out that he also has to "endure some discomfort." Dr. Daniel Jackson, meanwhile, is examining the writing on a device in line with the Stargate with an alien archaeologist named Malakai. Teal'c and O'Neill then visit Hammond, this time successfully convincing him to let them return to the planet. (Gestures to Teal'c) Faced with this, the Ancients shut down the machine and let the end come. The walls on P4X-639 contain an ancient history of the people who lived there: a colony of the Ancients. The correct term would have been "mess hall" or "dining facility.". O'Neill and Teal'c are both inspected by Dr. Janet Fraiser while they relate the details of the mission that has not yet happened. O'Neill: Yes we have. Production Mallozzi and Mullie later became executive producers of both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. [8] This was contradicted by Script coordinator Cath-Anne Ambrose who said "I had to get Froot Loops cleared [by the company that makes them], and so the guy calls me back and says, 'Well how do you feel about Eggo Waffles? Many centuries ago, the colony was struck with some sort of cataclysm (perhaps a disease, perhaps something else). It is therefore unlikely that Jack would not have knowledge of or display indifference towards an astronomical event such as a coronal mass ejection. I KNOW!! In a briefing with Carter immediately after, she hypothesizes that since the arc lightning energizing the gate was transferred to Earth via the Stargate, they should attempt to dial out before Malakai can dial in. O'Neill: (Shouting) In the middle of my back swing?!?! Written by He activates an alien machine a stone altar just a few yards in front of the Stargate which causes abeam to shoot out and hit the Stargate. How far is Alaris anyway? Though this could be because it is linked to 14 different Stargates at the same time, so an entrance might not be able to be established. Jackson: Uhh.. Credit EP Ron Cooper with steering it in the more humorous direction. They gave up. A real meteorological data collection system would not get proper readings.

O'Neill and Teal'c are caught in a time loop in the S.G.C., and must relive the same 10 hours over and over again. Malakai: You can't!! (O'Neill and Teal'c trade off at the blackboard. I mean, if you know in advance that everything is always going to go back to the way it was, then you could do anything, for as long as you want, without having to worry about consequences. On P4X-639, O'Neill and Teal'c go to Malakai while Carter tends to Daniel, but after a moment a flash strikes the three at the altar and the scene flashes into white. We saw scenes from about 22 of those. For how long was Earth trapped in the time loop?

How would you rate SG-1's "Window of Opportunity? with the news that they've been trying to contact them for than three months. SG-1 return to the planet where Malikai lets slip he too remembers what's happening, but O'Neill finds himself back at breakfast before the altar's activation can be stopped. ", To simplify continuity, the prop department glued, In an interview, the producers said that for some time theyhad been looking for achance to show someone ", According to the commentary, although this was the second episode after", This was the last episode Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie were credited as co-producers. Back in Daniel's office, their translation work is done. Daniel attempts to translate the Ancient text. "[19], 6th episode of the fourth season of Stargate SG-1, "Thoughts and Tirades, Rants and Ruminations December 8, 2007", "January 15, 2009: Writer/Executive Producer/Notorious Recluse Paul Mullie Answers Your Questions! Those planets with Stargates (Earth and 13 others inside the bubble) were able to access other gates within the bubble, but nothing outside of it. Finally, Daniel has finished the translation and confirmed that the planet was once an Ancient outpost, but was wiped out by some unidentified disaster at some point in the past. Back on Earth, the Tok'ra contact the S.G.C. No!' (During the second loop) A moment later, there is a flash of light and O'Neill is again at breakfast at the same moment Daniel asks his original question. Credit my writing partner Paul Mullie for the dip and kiss. "Window of Opportunity" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of Stargate SG-1. Won't star charts be thrown completely off? They discover that he is trying to go back many years into the past, before his wife died.

Jackson: (surprised) Good. O'Neill and Teal'c then meet Daniel in his office, presumably at the time of the accident in the hallway in previous loops, and they stress him translating the writing on the altar, but he points out that that wouldn't allow them to operate the machine. "Watergate". I know what its like. [7] The progressing frustration of Teal'c, "the man of infinite patience",[7] is shown by his Kel'no'reem'ing (a fictional meditational state) during the briefing. Did Teal'c and O'Neill require sleep at all? Teal'c who has entered each new loop getting hit in the face with a door slams it on the airman who continually hits him. O'Neill's experience of his son's death convinces Malikai to shut down the device before yet another new loop can start. Upon returning to the planet, SG-1 learn of the death of Malikai's wife, whom Malikai wants to visit in the past with the help of the time machine. The episode's unique story style caused an unexpected shortage of footage during filming, which director Peter DeLuise compensated for by shooting additional scenes, many of which were humorous. The Meteorological data collection system is installed too low to the ground close to the ruins. (Flash of another loop occurring.) They believe that if he can translate the inscriptions on the altar device, Daniel can turn off the machine. During the briefing about setting up the remote observatory, Jack displays ignorance of Carter's plans to observe the coronal mass ejection. Ultimately, O'Neill and Teal'c realize the only solution is to learn and remember the alien language themselves. However, since she died of a congenital heart condition there is no way to save her. Carter: What are you smiling at? [17] In a fan poll conducted in 2007 on the Sci-Fi Channel's website, "Window of Opportunity" was voted the "best episode ever" out of thirty-two preselected Stargate SG-1 episodes,[18] and the majority of participants in a 2007 SG-1 fan poll on MSN Canada named the episode their "favourite of all time. The pair play golf through the active Stargate (much to General Hammond's irritation in at least one loop), Teal'c takes action against the painful starts of his loops by slamming the door back in the face of the airman who accidentally hit him with it in the beginning of each loop, O'Neill tries pottery-making (clearly improving with each progressive loop), bicycles through the base, and just before the end of one loop, resigns from the Air Force whilst wearing an outrageous sweatshirt for the sole purpose of grabbing Carter and kissing her in the seconds before the loop resets. It's Fruit Loops! Penned by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, "Window of Opportunity" was the writing duo's second script, and their first episode to air. I could never live that over again.

Hammond: Colonel, what are you doing out of uniform? At that moment, an unscheduled off-world activation occurs, and Teal'c and O'Neill both give details about what is about to happen: SG-12 is returning ahead of schedule and one of their number has been injured.

So I go to these guys [the writing department] and ask, 'How do you feel about waffles?' It is incorrect for Carter to say "we have been sitting in the commissary." O'Neill: (Looks at watch) Handing you my resignation. The loop will be broken, or at least Earth will be left out of it. It's a time loop! Since time is measured in terms of rotations of the Earth and revolutions around the sun, will there be any cosmological side-effects of the subspace bubble? O'Neill comments on how the oatmeal is a nice change of pace from the Froot Loops he has been eating. He appears human, and possess advanced technology. Other visual effects clips were re-used from previous episodes. O'Neill: Ah, yeah. Indeed, this was his goal.

Getting an idea, they both suddenly leave. No!' This is the first of seventy-four episodes of. Daniel observes that the writing on the device is similar to Latin. The afternoon mission to P4X-639 is cancelled. With recurring use, the machine surrenders to the rigors of time. Again, Jack and Teal'c must convince Hammond, Jackson and Carter that they are all stuck in a time loop though only Jack and Teal'c are aware of it. Siler in each loop. The photo of Malikai's wife is really that of, "I had to get Fruit Loops cleared [by the company that makes them], and so the guy calls me back and says, 'Well how do you feel about Eggo Waffles? Was the rest of Earth's solar system affected as well? Original air date Would you consider using Eggo Waffles instead of Froot Loops?' They spent loop after loop trying to perfect it, but it did not work. However, it could actually be calculated quite easily by determining how much time had passed on the Tok'ra homeworld since they last. The alien device is powered by the planet's geomagnetic storms, which are caused by the sun's unusual coronal mass emissions (giant solar flares) approximately once every 50 years. Could you? Jackson: On the other hand, it it's kind of an opportunity. After many loops of teaching, Daniel makes an offhand remark about events that occur during each loop having no consequences once the loop is over, which inspires O'Neill and Teal'c to indulge in wildly outrageous behavior as a means of dealing with the boredom and frustration of being caught in repeating time. Specifically, Jack and Teal'c who, in past episodes, have relied on Carter and Daniel to handle the science and Ancient, and suddenly find themselves having to step into their team members' shoes. SG-1 returns to the planet to try and reason with Malikai who in the many loops since has erected a force shield around the altar device. "[9], The off-world scenes were filmed on an interior sound stage, using occasional lens flares and off-camera fans to simulate weather. Carter: Resigning? Also according to the commentary, because so many of the scenes were repeats, the shooting days went very quickly - the crew had less set-up to do between shots with most scenes being the same, and the actors only had to deviate from their previous take/scene slightly. O'Neill: Bad example. SG-1 has encountered it twice before ("The Torment of Tantalus", "The Fifth Race"), and Jackson knows that it is linguistically similar to Latin. Back on the base, O'Neill, Carter, and Daniel are at breakfast. Daniel tells Malikai about their discovery: the people who built the machine couldn't ever get it to work. The name of writer Joseph Mallozzi appears as the author of the book that O'Neill and Teal'c use to study the Ancient language. After they predict the unscheduled arrival of SG-12, General Hammond and the others are convinced they are not delusional. [11] The producers enjoyed having O'Neill and Teal'c instead of the usual intellectual combination of Carter and Daniel solve the puzzle. That's what you were gonna say. WACKO!! They invented the time device to try and alter their history, but could never get it to work. [7], It became evident by the third day of production that the episode was going to run significantly short, partly caused by the time-efficient filming style. They attempt to do so but cannot dial out, and while they are attempting to find the problem, the incoming wormhole activates and the loop begins again. According to the commentary, because so many repeated scenes are stripped down to their basics once the setting has already been established, the director was finding this episode coming up short of a regular 42 minute episode. [1] Sound effects were later added to give the wooden altar prop the impression of being made of stone. Waffle sales were down. It's Froot Loops! It was established from the first episode of Stargate SG-1 that Jack is a keen amateur astronomer; the airmen who came to his home to take him to the Stargate HQ found him on his roof using a telescope. The episode is based on a time loop scenario, with SG-1 team members Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c repeatedly reliving the same ten hours after a mission on a planet. Stargate SG-1 WACKO!". They are seen in Daniel's office attempting to get him to translate the writing on the altar, but he explains that he can't translate it in less than a day. ", "We had no idea this episode would become so beloved by fandom and yet, looking back, it's easy to see why. Everyone was enjoying going home at the end of the day on time or early during this episode. SG-1 arrives on P4X-639, an abandoned, desolate world with a blazing hot sun overhead and ancient ruins surrounding the Stargate. Carter tells him about her theory: the device is simultaneously accessing 14 Stargates, causing time to loop for billions of people. What for? The episode's main guest star was Robin Mossley as Malikai; Mossley would play a different character in the season 10 episode "Morpheus". [10] Preliminary discussions about computer-generating the golf ball to not break the US$100,000 Stargate prop were later overturned, and the actors used a real golf ball. Jack becomes increasingly frustrated with repeating the same 10 hours over and over again:the same Fruit Loops, the same conversations, the same task of convincing Hammond, Carter and Jackson that they are all stuck in a time loop. O'Neill: [bored] Been over this. Furthermore, convincing the rest they are trapped in a time loop and that they have to return to the planet to stop it proves difficult when the same few hours from breakfast to the mission is repeated over and over again. (O'Neill and Teal'c are attempting to convince Hammond) And they're like, 'No! [13] Other reviewers found the episode "hilarious"[14] and "a fine example of SG-1 at its humorous best". Once they are on the planet, they encounter Malakai, who at first feigns ignorance. Preceded by They are checked out by Dr. Janet Fraiser and given a clean bill of health. It's one of those fun episodes with a fairly straightforward premise that allows our characters to shine in ways unexpected. Carter, meanwhile, has discovered that the Ancient device on P4X-639 simultaneously activates 14 Stargates, including Earth and Alaris, the planet SG-12 had been stationed on, cutting them all off from the normal flow of time in the rest of the universe. Col. O'Neill and Teal'c realize they and their friends are trapped in a time loop. The Stargate would simply be unable to establish a wormhole through the bubble's edge. (Confronting Malakai) Teal'c and O'Neill both observe that they've already been through this briefing, to go to the planet and set up a remote observatory, which according to them they had just been doing. He asks them if they had just been on another planet, to which the others say no, and say they're going to be late for their briefing. The beam hits the Earth gate again, and everything starts over again. But the move does little good. Teal'c: O'Neill, should we not be assisting Daniel Jackson with the translation? (Malakai deactivates the machine and lowers the force shield), O'Neill: Well, General, you know what they say: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try, try, try again. Where Can I Watch Stargate Online in 2022? [1] "Window of Opportunity" has no deleted scenes. Have there been any significant developments in the struggle against the Goa'uld during those months? Malikai lets her go, and deactivates the machine. 'No we haven't.' [1], In his book Approaching the Possible, Jo Storm saw the episode's title hinting at an "inevitable" story line about the sexual tension between O'Neill and Carter that has been looming since the beginning of the series. Some time after this, Hammond confirms that O'Neill and Teal'c are in perfect health, but before they can be put on active duty there is an unscheduled off-world activation, accompanied by the same arc lightning effect seen before. Several crew members make cameo appearances in "Window of Opportunity". When a geomagnetic disturbance hits its peak, the Stargate activates simultaneously on the planet and on Earth, and a flash strikes Malikai, Colonel O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and Teal'c (Christopher Judge) near an Ancient altar. O'Neill tells him that he wouldn't be able to stand going through her death again, telling him of the death of his own son and that he could never go through that again. VOTE! O'Neill: C'mon, is this the face of a crazy man?! A US military commissary is a grocery store/supermarket. Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie Moments later, O'Neill finds himself in the Stargate Command (SGC) cafeteria in the middle of a breakfast conversation with Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) and Major Carter (Amanda Tapping), who claim to have no knowledge of the planet. The Vancouver-based company GDFX was responsible for almost all visual effects shots, some of which were re-used within the episode to save money. Before they can get further, however, the machine activates automatically, and Malakai makes a slip, giving Carter's name before he's been told what it is. The fruit loops on O'Neill's spoon were glued in place to ensure continuity between takes/time loops, which is why he never eats that spoonful of cereal. Teal'c: That is incorrect, Daniel Jackson. They've already tried that. 4.06 Was it something that even the Ancients and their advanced allies could not overcome, or was the colony cut off from the rest of their race? O'Neill and Teal'c begin learning Latin so that they can begin learning Ancient, and O'Neill mentions to Teal'c that Daniel always asks a question but he hadn't been listening the first time. Peter DeLuise I'm telling you Teal'c, if we don't find a way out of this soon, I'm going to lose it. While examining Malakai's bag, O'Neill sees an image of the man's wife. (Daniel turns around in surprise.) That'll play. The loop begins again, whereupon it is shown that at the moment of the loop's start, Teal'c is hit in the face by an Airman opening a door. O'Neill: I've lost track. And although it was a nightmare to relive the same 10 hours hundreds of times, O'Neill and Teal'c had one heck of an opportunity to do the things they never could have done before. O'Neill tries pottery, bicycles through the base, golfs with Teal'c to Alaris through the gate (and shouting at Gen. Hammond for interrupting his back swing), and resigns his commission from the Air Force so that he can kiss Carter. Chronology Would you consider using Eggo Waffles instead of Fruit Loops?' Jack tries his hand at pottery. Daniel stops O'Neill in the hallway afterward to ask about details of the ruins, whereupon he is run into by MSgt. Director Peter DeLuise briefly appears as an airman who helps Daniel recover from being repeatedly knocked down by Sgt. It's a time loop! The following scenes are comprised of amusing montages involving O'Neill and Teal'c explore this new found "freedom".). And Jack, who understands Malikai's pain all-too-personally (having lost his own son), convinces him that he does not want to watch his wife die again. [7] Many of the other humorous scenes in "Window of Opportunity" were improvised on set during filming. O'Neill: Listen to me. Loop after loop after loop, Jack and Teal'c study Latin and help Daniel to translate the inscriptions on the altar and the walls surrounding it making a little progress each time. ", Gateworld.com, Window of Opportunity Episode Guide, "Thoughts and Tirades, Rants and Ruminations February 23, 2007", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Window_of_Opportunity_(Stargate_SG-1)&oldid=1091161841, Television episodes about multiple time paths, Short description is different from Wikidata, Television episode articles with short description for single episodes, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 2 June 2022, at 15:41. Before SG-1 can resume their planned mission to the planet, an unscheduled offworld activation of the Earth Stargate, accompanied by flashes, transports O'Neill back to breakfast. O'Neill then again meets Daniel in the hallway, where is once again run into by Sgt. This was about a year and a half ago, when O'Neill had the knowledge of the Ancients downloaded into his brain (. By the next episode to air, ". Daniel asks O'Neill if he ever did anything "crazy" without fear of consequences while trapped in the loops. Jo Storm also credited the writers for breaking the "boring" convention of getting either only one or all teammembers caught in a time loop. Episode Major General George Hammond: [shouting] Colonel O'Neill, what the hell are you doing? He and Teal'c are both experiencing the same day over again. O'Neill and Teal'c realize they and their friends are trapped in a time loop. From what planet is Malikai? O'Neill and Teal'c realize they and their friends are trapped in a time loop.Col. They once again go into the briefing, with O'Neill unsuccessfully trying to convince them he knows what they will say (which are all obvious statements in context) until the return of SG-12. It accessed 14 Stargates around the planet simultaneously, according to Carter's theory, generating a subspace bubble. See production, box office & company info. O'Neill: I LOST MY SON!! In attempting to talk Malakai into shutting down the machine, he reveals that the reason why he's doing it is to see his wife again, who died twelve years earlier. The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in July, New & Upcoming Superhero Movies and Series. Usually episodes need to be edited down for time, taking out shots of people entering rooms, etc. [Jack's hitting golf balls through the Stargate]. O'Neill states that he asked that before, but instead of elaborating he gives a long look at Carter and continues eating. He pulls out a concealed weapon and stuns Daniel before starting the machine. With the help of O'Neill's and Teal'c's explanations, Carter devises a plan to break the time loop by preventing an incoming wormhole, which fails. O'Neill: Oh, yeah!! But it isn't long before he gives himself away; Malikai is caught in the same loop, but remembers previous loops. After what is later believed to have been at least three months, Daniel is finally able to reconstruct the planet's history with the finished translations: the Ancients had attempted to escape a mysterious plague by building a time machine but never got it to work properly. Nicole Forrest, the show's head of accounting and director Peter Woeste's wife, appears as Malikai's wife on a photographic device. SG-1 would encounter a world whose scientists work feverishly on preventing an imminent apocalypse, but after being unable to find a solution in time, they initiate a time loop that would trap the SG-1 team. Directed by The briefing is about the upcoming mission to P4X-639, which SG-15 had visited two weeks earlier, measuring the solar activity. Jackson: That must be frustrating. Back at the SGC, O'Neill, Carter, and Daniel have their first breakfast after the loops, and O'Neill answers Daniel's question about unusual activities in the loops with a long look at Carter. The team may never be sure how much longer than that they were caught in the loop. Carter: We haven't been to P4X-639. O'Neill sits down next to Jackson, stretches and utters something like "ewch gawkh" in frustration after multiple rounds of working on the translation, during which the passage of time was indicated by both O'Neill and Teal'c learning to juggle.) Suddenly, O'Neill is at breakfast, eating Froot Loops, and is sitting with Daniel and Carter, in the middle of Daniel asking O'Neill his opinion of something. To create a time loop, the alien time device uses the Stargate's capability of generating a subspace field. (Teal'c turns from the blackboard where he's been working to look at them.) O'Neill: That's gotta be a record. When a wormhole is established with Earth's Stargate, SG-1 witnesses the energy beam hit the gate. Seconds later, Jack is back in the commissary with Carter and Jackson, eating his cereal. Since there is noway for Daniel to accomplish such a feat in less than a day, he enlists Jack and Teal'c to help him translate the markings. "Window of Opportunity" was the second Stargate SG-1 script by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, and their first episode to air.

And the both of them hit golf balls through the Stargate, despite General Hammond's livid protests. Hammond: (Angry) Colonel O'Neill, what the hell are you doing?! Siler, but this time before that happens Daniel reveals that the writings are a variation of Ancient. Waffle sales were down. It doesn't take Jack long to figure out that he's been thrown back in time, roughly 10 hours. Before Jackson knows what's hit him, Malikai pulls a weapon and shoots him. Since the rest of their team and all personnel at Stargate Command are unaware of the happenings and do not remember the time resets, O'Neill and Teal'c are forced to find a solution on their own. O'Neill orders Malakai to shut it off but he refuses, and Daniel has no idea how, even though he can read Ancient. "Window of Opportunity" is widely regarded as a fan favorite. Finally, before going back to studying, Jack finishes a loop by handing the general his resignation and kissing Carter passionately. ". SG-1 returns to the planet to break the loop, but Malakai is expecting them and has the altar blocked by a Goa'uld force shield. Suddenly the Stargate activates behind them and they duck out of the way of the kawoosh. For several loops, the two indulge in whatever behavior they feel like. ("Shoeleather", they call that footage), but for this one they had to add more scenes - many of the light-hearted scenes (the juggling, the pottery, golfing through the Stargate, biking through the base, O'Neill's "condiment face" art) were added to extend the running time to full-episode length. Based on the odd occurrences, Major General George S. Hammond decides to postpone the mission until they know what's going on. 406 I believe that every once in a while even the most serious TV series needs to take time out to explore aspects of the characters that have nothing to do with any of the running plot lines. "Divide and Conquer" [7] Director Peter DeLuise asked the prop department to glue the Froot Loops to O'Neill's breakfast spoon to have the same loops in the same spots in each take.