Lifeboat (Stargate SG-1)
Whilst exploring, the team are knocked unconscious and upon awakening discover that several of the ships passengers have somehow been downloaded into Daniel Jackson's (Michael Shanks) body.
Soon Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) discovers a pod that has failed, when suddenly a bright burst of energy courses throughout the ship knocking SG-1 unconscious.
Dr. Janet Fraiser (Teryl Rothery) conducts an EEG of Jackson which suggests he is in a coma whilst a number of personalities now appear to inhabit his body.
Back at Stargate Command, Pharrin has agreed to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save his people, restoring Daniel Jackson and permanently removing the other souls from inside of him.
[3][4][5] Wright did however want to pen "a few episodes", which would ultimately end up being "Lifeboat" and the season finale "Lost City", which he co-wrote with Cooper.
[10][11] In the episode, twelve different personalities are downloaded into Daniel Jackson's (Michael Shanks) body, three of which are concentrated on: Tryan, who is a loyal engineer on board the Stromos, Martice - the Sovereign leader, and Keenin - who is a young boy.
[13][14] In order to make the different characters stand out, Shanks used a number of different methods in constructing his performances, looking to "attach a recognisable quirk or trait to each of them" as well as borrowing "from other different shows that I had watched".
Shanks felt Drescher "had given such an interesting read" and studied his audition tapes, attempting to copy certain mannerisms that he was able to find in his performance and apply them to his own depiction of the character.
[21] For the interior of the crashed alien spaceship Stromos, production designer Bridget McGuire explained "After doing a very stark Sci-Fi type of set in "Revisions", I wanted to go completely in the other direction and create a space that was more traditional and warm, almost Jules Verne-like".
[24] Originally, the Stromos interior was expected to feature far less, with only four pages of the script taking place there and only calling for a set wall that would be covered in suspended animation pods.
[22] Once background actors were put inside the pods DeLuise recalled that one extra had a panic attack from the enclosed space, whilst another fell asleep.
[22] In order to still feature Jack O'Neill, Anderson's stand-in Bill Nykolite was used where possible, whilst DeLuise limited his use of wider group shots.
[22] The episode was first broadcast on July 18, 2003, on the Sci-Fi Channel in the United States, earning a Nielson rating of 1.7 and remained the networks highest-rated program.
[30] In the United Kingdom the episode was first shown on Sky One on November 3, 2003, attracting 670,000 viewers and was the channels seventh most popular program that week.
[35] Jan Vincent-Rudzki for TV Zone praised Michael Shanks acting performance in the episode, but was critical of the lack of urgency displayed "despite the fact that there seems to be a time limit on how long these 'souls' can stay in Daniel".
[39] Writing for Starburst, although David Richardson noted the premise was a "sci-fi cliché" he enjoyed the episode, proclaiming that it "boasts superb work from Shanks".
[40] Writing for Stargate fansite Gateworld, Ali Snow acknowledged that whilst using possession as a storytelling device was something the show had frequently explored, he felt this episode was "far more poignant" than previous stories.
Snow praised the "superbly handled" performances of Michael Shanks and Teryl Rothery, although did feel that some of the split personality scenes were "a bit overdone".
