Fragile Balance (Stargate SG-1)

Eventually "Fragile Balance" was redeveloped as part of season 7, exploring themes such as alien abduction, human cloning as well as expanding upon the Asgard mythology.

Major Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) is called by General George Hammond (Don S. Davis) to investigate an intruder who's attempted to gain access to Stargate Command by using Colonel Jack O'Neill's Air Force ID badge.

However, with the arrival of Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) and Teal'c (Christopher Judge, the boy rattles off facts about each of them, causing SG-1 to reconsider his claim.

After using the ship to communicate with the Asgard, Thor arrives and helps bring the regular O'Neill back, giving him the choice of whether or not to keep his clone.

Back on Earth, the two O'Neill's go their separate way, with 15 year old Jack deciding to re-enter high school and agreeing it's best they don't keep in contact.

The following year, it was reported that the episode would further the Asgard storyline as well as introducing a new character and would be going before cameras after the cast and crews summer production hiatus as part of season 5.

[1][2][3] Pre-production had started on the episode, with art director Brentan Harron developing concept drawings for visual effects and the production design team.

[7] An earlier iteration of DeLuise's story imagined "Old O'Neill jumps into his younger body, a la Quantum Leap" and would have seen the character back at boot camp.

[7] By season 7, Richard Dean Anderson's availability had become a key consideration for everyone involved in Stargate SG-1, with the actor now working 3-day weeks in order to spend more time with his daughter back in Los Angeles, United States.

Welch, who was living in Los Angeles at the time, recorded a video audition for the role, and having not seen the show, performed the character "like it was written" as a "dry, sarcastic, very in-charge and in control of himself kind of guy".

[15][16] When deciding who to cast, DeLuise and Kindler later commented that there were a number of other actors who more closely resembled Richard Dean Anderson, however they felt Welch best embodied the role.

They also felt Welch brought a somewhat "nerdy" and "vulnerable" quality to the character, which Kindler wanted in order to forward the notion that O'Neill did not have the best memories of being a teenager and would therefore hate being stuck in the body of his 15 year old self.

[13][15] Watching the tapes in preparation, Welch recalled he "rewound them a hundred times, and I was up all night studying this guy", going on to describe the process as "very challenging.

[13] Michael Shanks also provides the voice for the Asgard Thor, whilst other reoccurring characters include Dr. Janet Fraiser and Jacob Carter, played by Teryl Rothery and Carmen Argenziano.

[20] Shooting took place across a number of different locations; with production using the reoccurring private residence in Fairmont Road, North Vancouver as both O'Neill's house as well as redressing the exterior to serve as a ranch.

[13][21] Other locations included a sushi café opposite The Bridge Studios on Boundary Road, which was redressed as a liquor store, Adanac Park Lodge in Burnaby, which was dressed as the fictional "Mountain Springs High School" and finally a woodland stream in Mosquito Creek, North Vancouver.

[22] In July 2003, writer Joseph Mallozzi commented that there had been discussions about following-up on the character of Young O'Neill in the later part of season 7, but ultimately a story was not put together in time.

[23] The following year, Greenburg and DeLuise came up with a sequel to "Fragile Balance" as part of the shows eighth season, which had the working title "You Ain't Jack".

[17][25][26][11] "Fragile Balance" premiered on June 20, 2003 on Sci Fi in the United States, and achieved a 1.8 Nielsen rating, once again making it the channels most watched broadcast that week.

Dearsley felt that Welch had perfectly captured "every single one of Richard Dean Anderson's mannerisms", going on to comment "it's down to his believability that this episode works so well".

Whilst praising Welch's performance, contributor Alli Snow felt as though young O'Neill's behaviours and actions were not in keeping with the established character, such as escaping Stargate Command and proceeding to go for a beer and questioning "would Jack really be so willing to leave behind the fight against the Goa'uld, the S.G.C., his friends and his entire life ... all for the chance to go to high school again?".

[41] Derek Lowe shot and produced a behind the scenes look at the episode, "SG-1 Directors Series: Fragile Balance", which was released as part of DVD sets.