Season 4, Episode 19 - Prodigy
Original Air Date: February 2, 2001

Carter tries to motivate a brilliant, but rebellious student by taking her through the Stargate. But a routine excursion takes a deadly turn when they are attacked by beings of pure energy. The colonel orders everyone back to the Stargate for an immediate evacuation, but a swarm of the life forms block their path.

i liked this episode cause it made me think of when i first started training to be in th air force i was alot like that young girl at first.

I like a few things about this episode. I like that Carter got proven wrong. I like the girl's attitude. I just overall liked the episode.

yeah but cadet jennifer hailey got on my nerves in some bits

Did anyone notice that when Carter and Hailey travelled through the Stargate their positions were reversed?

At the SGC, Carter was on the left of Hailey, but a few moments later she was on the right.

Also, in reply to an earlier comment Carter was not proven to be wrong it was just that the two theories, her's and Hailey's, were not mutually compatible. They just didn't hang around to find out who was right and who was wrong.

True, but Carter was prepared to be proven wrong - this is the sign of a great mind. It was a bit silly though that they look to Jack to decide who's right, as if he would. But of course his decision (risk own life rather than risk all) is the Jack we all know afterall.

I loved the episode, one of my all time favourites, hard to say why though.

yeah i dont think jack will ever change will he

I liked that carter was challenged and might have been wrong.

no we cant torture her in atlantis.
sorry i dont like atlantis

Yeha I agree hailey will be the next carter! she is well clever!

You must all agree on that!

What I thought most amusing about this episode was the fact that O'Neill was speechless when confronted by the AF Chief of Staff - and note that this was the REAL Chief of Staff for the USAF playing himself. It was not an actor.

I also liked the fact that SC was open to being wrong. As AOT says, this is the sign of someone who is very intelligent. Hailey could not believe that she could be wrong. She still has a lot to learn in that area - as well as regarding the responsibilities of command. She couldn't understand why O'Neill would sacrifice himself, even though I'm sure that's something they covered in the AF Academy. Guess she wasn't paying attention in that class.

I think that it was also neat that O'Neill did get to prove the scientists wrong, but didn't rub it in their faces. He was just his usual self. Wish I knew more people like that myself. Most people I've met tend not to be too humble when proved right.

I thought the character of jennifer hailey was a good thought of how to introduce a conflicting character but that she never went anywhere with it. You could see the gleem in her eyes when she arrived and even when she confronted Teal'c but then it just sort of tapered off and never went anywhere.

From reading some of the production notes etc., they really wanted to make this two separate episodes, but simply weren't able to do it for budgetary reasons. Prodigy is one of those episodes where they try and use relatively inexpensive sets in order to save money for other episodes in the season. So this was almost two separate 20 minute episodes that became one episode on the show, and that did limit how much they were able to develop the Hailey character.

On the other hand, you see her come back in Proving Ground in season 5, so it's not unreasonable to expect that she may show up in a future show as an actual part of an SG team, or perhaps even assisting SC in some sort of research.

I can't really see how it is rebelic to point out errors in a calculation after class, if that's the deal with us air force I foresee there demise
Here if the teacher writes something wrong (n.b. math or such) the ideal is that the class corrects the teacher like "hey you missed a '2' there" or such

In calculations there is a absolute truth (even thus the real world hasn't any), and therefor you can find errors and that shouldn't be an issue, when a non-calc subject in discussed there are no absolute truths and pointing out errors might become an issue (esp. when the argument is 'that gay thought...' )

Of course SC was holding a lecture on the dimansionally of the universe and there you have to base your calcs on something, like superstrings or some symmertic. If you attac that of course the teacher might be offended, but she pointed in the middel of a calculation

it's just a geek thing.

anyway, i kinda liked this ep, it gave a little insight into where the stargate program will be going in the future, as well as (of course) a few humorous moments. i'm jealous of those guys that get to live offworld and study everything there over an extended period of time. i think that's pretty cool.

i just have one question: Rocco?

QUOTE (ussshorty @ Jan 12 2003, 07:21 AM)

yeah but cadet jennifer hailey got on my nerves in some bits

Yes...good...thank you...Someone else who was annoyed by her a bit.

I thought the pacing was a bit slow..if memory serves, it took quite a while for those homicidal lightning bugs to get medievil on the humans living around them.

Poor Jack got zapped by Teal'c, then runs out to the DHD to dial and starts getting bit anyway cause the charge from the zat didn't quite last long enough. Man, that sucks.

This post has been edited by mithwriter: Apr 28th 2003, 6:33 PM

I liked this ep, but i absolutley hated that cadet, I think it was the size of her nostrals that did it.

a few things-

...wow emmaloo- the deepness of your case against Hailey in brilliant hoe long did it take for you think of that?

I actually found myself disliking carter slightly in some parts but i agree with what was said earlier- that she shouldn't of been punished for correcting a mathematical fault.

and lastly- is that what the actual airforce cadets have to learn? i know pilots have to be smart but did you see the equation Carter had writttten up there? talking about blowing your mind?

Why do assume that all Air Force officers are pilots? If I recall right, less than 10% are pilots.

I like this epiode, though i'm not overly impressed with the character of cadet Hailey. I think it portrays Hailey as the cadet Carter never was. By this I mean, you get the impression that Carter was a "goody goody", assignments would have been handed in on time (probably early) and she would have shown the utmost respect for the superiors- the model pupil.
Hailey on the other hand is as academically orientated as Carter but with an edge. Sort of like a mirror image of Carter but with the less-militarily acceptable traits of O'Neill.

Lol, the nostral thing isnt the only thing i didnt like. She was such a smart ass and i dont generally like that in a person.

But come on people....the size of those nostrals!! Heh, when she tilts her head back i bet BATS fly out of them!!

The writers claim the equations were real and copied directly from some sort of text book dealing with that type of subject matter... And the mistake was real too.

If you have the season 4 DVD and you haven't listened to the commentary track yet, do it now! The opening credits of this episode is where I learned the words to the theme song. They actually sing them.

They mention the mix up in the matter stream, that the General in the opening (4 star) is the real air force top general 'that reports directly to the president of the United States of America'. They mention how liberal they are with zat stun times to make them fit what they need. There are a lot of gems in this commentary.

PS I can't disagree with the nostril comments either. If she ever get taken over by a Goa'uld, it will enter through those spacious, cavenerous nostrils.

LOL, I've never heard the lyrics before. That was funny!