Evolution (Stargate SG-1)

Believing that the Goa'uld Anubis has created this enemy using Ancient technology, Dr. Jackson (Michael Shanks) travels to South America to investigate a similar device mentioned in legend.

Meanwhile, the rest of SG-1 along with their allies Bra'tac (Tony Amendola) and Jacob Carter (Carmen Argenziano) hatch a plan to capture one of the soldiers alive.

Teal'c (Christopher Judge) and Bra'tac (Tony Amendola) have travelled to a planet to investigate the meeting between two opposing Goa'uld's, Tilgath and Ramius.

Initially the soldier seems impervious to their weapons, but is eventually killed by Teal'c and taken back to Stargate Command where they inform SG-1 and General Hammond (Don S. Davis).

Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) recalls that his grandfather, Nicholas Ballard, had conducted research on the supposed location fountain of youth, linking it to the Maya civilization.

Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), Samantha, Teal'c, Bra'tac and an SG team travel to a planet held by the Goa'uld Ramius.

Hoping to find the Telchak device, Dr. Jackson, along with Dr. Lee (Bill Dow) have travelled to Honduras, where Rogelio (Zak Santiago), a guide, takes them into the jungle in search of the temple described in Ballard's notes.

After locating the device and escaping the temple as it floods, the group are captured by Honduran revolutionaries who believe them to be thieves they can hold for ransom money.

In the rebel camp in Nicaragua, Daniel is questioned by their leader Rafael (Frank Roman), but refuses to tell him who they work for or what the device is that they recovered.

After O'Neill says goodbye to Sam, she, along with Teal'c, General Hammond, Jacob and Bra'tac hatch a plan to use the stolen Goa'uld cargo ship and armour of the Super Soldier to infiltrate Anubis' base of operations on the planet Tartarus.

Meanwhile, in the rebel camp, Lee tells Daniel that he gave into their torture and told the revolutionaries everything he knew about the device, which Rafael activates.

They plant explosives on the queen and continue exploring the base until they find a room with thousands of Super Soldiers being addressed by Anubis.

Showrunner Robert C. Cooper felt that the Jaffa were no longer imposing, nor enough of a threat as a villain due to how frequently SG-1 successfully defeated them.

[7] Influences from Mary Shelly's Frankenstein's monster and James Cameron's Terminator were noted by Deluise in what they hoped to meld in order to create their new foe.

[8] Prior to completing the script for "Evolution", the writers took their ideas to Art Director James Robbins, who worked a conceptualising the look of the villain.

[13] Payne, Cooper, DeLuise and John Lenic then spent time developing the way in which the being would move and interact with things, as well as its general demeanour.

Eric Breker, Bill Dow, Dan Shea, David Palffy also reprise their characters of Colonel Reynolds, Dr. Lee, Sergeant Siler and Anubis.

[9] A gun range outside of Burnaby was redressed as the Honduran cantina visited by Dr. Lee and Jackson whilst various creatures and animals were also bought into all of these locations, including chickens, donkeys, cockroaches, snakes and a tarantula.

Visual effects Bruce Woloshyn supervisor noted that the special effects team used CGI to expand upon the physical sets as well as create the lava-covered alien planet exterior, commenting "we were not only able to expand and show the massive scale of the rest of the interior of the structure, but totally tie the architecture of both the inside and outside of the fortress together in a very stylized design".

[24] "Evolution" part 1 was first broadcast on August 22, 2003, on the Sci-Fi Channel in the United States, with the show then taking a four-month mid-season break.

During this break, broadcasts of Stargate SG-1 Season 7 on Sky One in the United Kingdom caught up and overtook those in the US, with part 2 of "Evolution" airing first in the UK on December 14, 2003.

[27][25] TV Zone editor Jan Vincent-Rudzki was critical of what they called "too many coincidences", referencing Teal'c and Bra'tac's fight with the "indestructible" super-soldier, that happens to show weakness at just the right time and that "Daniel happens to have the information ready to hand about the 'Fountain of Youth'".

[32] Reviewing for About.com Julia Houston praised the episode for "capitalizing" on previous plot points, writing "the buildup to the big confrontation with Anubis is progressing nicely".

Houston also singled out Enrico Colantoni's guest performance as Burke, calling him "extremely likable", as well as highlighting her appreciation of Richard Dean Anderson's increased screen-time as Jack O'Neill in the episode.

[33] Writing for Stargate fansite Gateworld.net, Alli Snow praised the first part of "Evolution" as being "entertaining", but did highlight the unexplained absence of Richard Dean Anderson's Jack O'Neill for the first 20 minutes of the episode.

[34] Reviewing the second part, Snow felt that too much of the episode was cantered on the character of Burke (Enrico Colantoni), which they found to be superfluous to the plot and was critical of the constant shifting between the different storylines, believing it disrupted the tension.

[35] Writer and director Peter Deluise described "Evolution" part 2 as his favourite episode to write for on Stargate SG-1, specifically creating the character of Burke.