Enemy Mine (Stargate SG-1)

Plot

On a distant planet, a Stargate Command survey team led by Colonel Edwards determines the site contains significant Naqahdah, crucial for Earth's interstellar battleships. Lieutenant Ritter is dragged away by an unseen being while conducting a geological survey. SG-1 is called in to search.

Daniel Jackson examines artefacts and concludes they belong to an Unas, urging Edwards to shut down operations, but Edwards refuses. Teal'c and Major Lorne discover an Unas structure and later find Ritter's dead body strung up. Edwards orders his men to find the Unas, against Daniel's objections.

A search party fights a large group of Unas; both sides take casualties. Daniel pleads in the Unas language for the being to stop, and the Unas withdraw. O'Neill orders everyone back to Stargate Command.

Production

Peter DeLuise was keen to follow up on his story from "Beast of Burden" and revisit Chaka. Executive producer Brad Wright also wanted the character's return. DeLuise pitched the episode, but it was shelved because a Chaka story without Daniel Jackson, played by Michael Shanks, did not make sense, as Shanks was no longer part of the main cast. After the show was renewed for a seventh season and Shanks returned, DeLuise pitched the episode again and was given the go-ahead.

Executive producer Robert C. Cooper said the question of where Earth's naquadah resources come from was part of the story's inception, which DeLuise combined with the return of the Unas. DeLuise drew inspiration from the 1996 film The Ghost and the Darkness, imagining Unas attacking mining personnel. He wanted difficulty communicating with the Unas at the story's heart, expanding the Unas language by making up about twenty-five words.

Release

"Enemy Mine" aired on the Sci-fi Channel on July 25, 2003, earning a Nielsen rating of 1.2, down 0.3 from the previous week but remaining the channel's highest-rated show. In US syndication in November 2004, it earned a 2.2 rating, viewed in approximately 2.4 million households. In the UK, it first aired on Sky One on November 10, 2003, and later on Channel 4 on October 17, 2004, viewed by 2.019 million households. In Canada, it first aired on Space on October 21, 2004.

Reviews were mixed: Brigid Cherry of Dreamwatch praised Daniel Jackson's interactions with the Unas and O'Neill's conflict with Edwards. David Richardson of Starburst called it "mundane fare." Julia Houston of About.com found it "okay-but-not-great" with heavy-handed writing, but enjoyed early scenes between Daniel and Jack and the interplay with Chaka. Keith R.A. DeCandido of Tor.com wrote that the Unas still weren't interesting.

Jan Vincent-Rudzki of TV Zone gave it 6 out of 10, citing "Star Trek syndrome." Fan response on Gateworld was mixed, with Alli Snow awarding 1 star and Lex awarding 3 stars. The episode won the 2004 Leo Award for Best Make-Up in a Dramatic Series.