Fallout (Stargate SG-1)

Plot

Jonas Quinn arrives at Stargate Command seeking help for his home planet Langara. He informs SG-1 and General Hammond that Kelownan scientists have discovered that naquadria, a powerful mineral found on Langara, was created by a Goa'uld who transformed the planet's naquadah into naquadria. This transformation is ongoing and threatens to destroy the planet. Samantha Carter travels to Kelowna, where Jonas introduces her to his assistant Kianna Cyr.

Meanwhile, representatives of Langara's three major powers come to Earth and learn that the catastrophe will originate in Kelowna but render the entire planet uninhabitable. They also learn that a previous Kelownan test of a naqahdriah bomb triggered the chain reaction causing the transformation, leading to outrage among the delegates until Jack O'Neill loses patience. Carter devises a solution requiring a large explosion near the naqahdriah. Jonas shows her a digging vehicle, and with Tok'ra tunnel crystals, they plan to tunnel deep into the planet.

Teal'c goes to the Tok'ra to obtain crystals. While inspecting the digger, Carter talks with Jonas about Kianna, who secretly injects herself. Carter later discovers the digger uses Goa'uld technology and that Kianna is a Goa'uld working for Ba'al, though she also wants to save the planet. Simulations with the digger fail, so they decide to let the Goa'uld help modify it during operation.

On Earth, the delegates face the possibility of Ba'al arriving because the Goa'uld in Kianna has not contacted him, but they focus on evacuation. Due to continued bickering, O'Neill tells them Earth will not help.

Production

The episode's story was conceived by actor Corin Nemec, who played Jonas Quinn, with co-producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie writing the teleplay. Nemec had been a main cast member the previous season and was encouraged by executive producers Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper to pitch story ideas. Nemec left the show in the episode "Homecoming" but had a three-episode contract. Having no prior television writing experience, the writing team provided Nemec with their beat sheets and assistance.

Nemec pitched three to five ideas to Cooper, one with the working title "Deep Core." He originally envisioned the story on Earth, but Cooper felt it resembled another story in development and suggested setting it on Jonas's homeworld. Nemec worked with Cooper to refine the story, removing a subplot involving Daniel Jackson in a coup d'état because it made the episode too large. Nemec assembled the basics of a story as beats and moments with no dialogue, which Mallozzi and Mullie then turned into an episode.

Writer Paul Mullie considered the Kelownans having built a digger to tunnel into the planet's core a big buy given their technology level. Mullie described steps that came quickly during writing, making the drill more plausible. A major change was that the drill would only tunnel a few miles, not to the core. The writers introduced a Goa'uld inhabiting Kianna Cyr, who improved the digger, but they felt it still was not sufficient, so they added Tok'ra tunnel crystals as an extra alien technology element.

Release

"Fallout" first aired on Sky One in the United Kingdom on January 6, 2004, watched by about 760,000 viewers, making it the eighth most popular broadcast on Sky One that week. It debuted in the United States on Sci Fi on January 23, 2004, earning a Nielsen rating of 1.9, approximately 2.3 million viewers. In Canada, it first aired on SPACE on December 9, 2004. Syndication in the United States began the week of January 24, 2005, achieving a 2.2 household rating, about 2.4 million viewers.

A deleted scene featuring Jonas, Carter, and Hammond was posted on the official Sci Fi website on January 24, 2004. Reviews were mixed. Jan Vincent-Rudzki for TV Zone gave it 9 out of 10, calling it a pleasure to see Jonas but a pity only he and Sam spend much time together. Jayne Dearsley for SFX awarded 4 out of 5, praising the return of Jonas and calling it a good yarn with tense moments and humor, but criticized the lack of Teal'c and the poorly executed threat.

Paul Spragg for Starburst gave 2 out of 5, describing the story as people sitting and talking, becoming soporific, and lamenting the lack of visual effects for the drilling. Alli Snow for Gateworld called it refreshing and fun, a nice mixture of action, intrigue, and humor. Reviewers noted similarities to the 2003 film The Core, with Dearsley calling it remarkably similar on a smaller scale and Vincent-Rudzki writing that despite a lesser budget it is more exciting.