Small Victories

Plot

After the destruction of Thor's starship in "Nemesis", SG-1 returns home through the second Stargate at Stargate Command. They soon learn that a Russian Foxtrot class submarine has been hijacked by creatures matching the Replicators. Thor arrives and asks SG-1 for help against the Replicators in the Asgard galaxy. Colonel O'Neill, Daniel Jackson and Teal'c go to deal with the submarine, while Major Carter accompanies Thor.

O'Neill, Daniel and Teal'c attempt to gather intelligence on the Replicators in the submarine but are forced to fall back. Daniel theorizes that the Replicators are made of the same materials they consume, suggesting they could be eliminated by sinking the iron submarine if the surviving Replicator from Thor's ship is destroyed first. Meanwhile, Carter witnesses a battle in the Asgard galaxy where five Asgard ships are lost. Noticing the Replicators' attraction to new technology, she proposes using the incomplete Asgard ship O'Neill as a lure to draw the Replicators into hyperspace and destroy them via self-destruct.

Thor accepts, the Replicators take the bait and are destroyed. On Earth, O'Neill and Teal'c find and destroy the original Replicator in the submarine. When the other Replicators take full control, O'Neill orders the submarine destroyed, but Thor beams the team to his ship before the explosion. Thor promises that when the Asgard defeat the Replicators, he will assist Earth against the Goa'uld.

Production

The season four premiere of Stargate SG-1, "Small Victories," picks up directly from the cliffhanger ending of the previous episode, "Nemesis," and references that story multiple times. The episode begins on a Russian submarine, where a crew member speculates in Russian that the noise in a torpedo tube might be caused by "one of the bugs from the other episode," a joke left intentionally unsubtitled. Daniel Jackson's appendicitis attack, first seen in "Nemesis," continues here, a plot point inspired by Michael Shanks' real-life appendicitis during the filming of the penultimate season three episode.

The episode also further develops the relationship between O'Neill and Carter by mirroring a similar scene from "Nemesis." Visual effects supervisor James Tichenor approached producer Robert C. Cooper after "Nemesis" wrapped, expressing confidence his team could handle a water-based episode; Cooper had already written the outline for "Small Victories" as the season opener. Christopher Judge, who played Teal'c, returned from hiatus with a small blond chin beard, as producers had not allowed his character to have scalp hair until season eight.

Judge shaved the beard off several episodes later, acknowledging it looked silly. The official Showtime website initially listed Jay Acovone as a guest star, but this proved incorrect. Like most SG-1 episodes, "Small Victories" was filmed over seven days. After "Nemesis" was shot entirely on 35 mm film as a test, season four adopted the new gauge for all filming.

Reception

"Small Victories" aired on Showtime on June 30, 2000. Visual effects producer James Tichenor believed big-budget effects episodes were the best bets for Emmy recognition, but worried the 2000 submarine movie U-571 could dampen those hopes. The episode, along with the season 4 finale "Exodus," received a 2001 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series, but Star Trek: Voyager's "Endgame" took the prize. It also earned nominations for a Gemini Award and a Leo Award in Best Visual Effects, without winning either.

In Approaching the Possible, Jo Storm described the episode as "one of the most enthralling," noting it made viewers forget its premise closely matched "Nemesis." Storm highlighted the Sam/Jack dynamic, calling it a tightrope between teasing and real chemistry, praised Amanda Tapping's comedic moments, and pointed out Daniel Jackson's growth in a military setting compared to his earlier attitude in "Thor's Hammer."

Did You Know?

• The episode was originally written to take place on a fishing trawler until the producers got access to the decommissioned Russian Foxtrot-class submarine B-39, brought from Vladivostok to Vancouver Island in 1996.
• Michael Shanks, who provided the voice of Thor in post-production ADR, read some of Thor's lines for Amanda Tapping on-set during filming.
• A blooper occurred when puppeteers raised Thor's hand to touch Amanda Tapping's behind; she instinctively slapped the expensive prop, then knelt and apologized to the puppet before realizing the silliness.
• The CGI version of Thor walking down the Stargate ramp was intercut with filmed shots of the puppet put on a trike.