The Worst Episode Of Stargate SG-1, According To IMDb
Lots of TV series struggle to find their footing during their first season. As charming as the first season of “The Simpsons” is, for example, the show really didn’t hit its stride until the second season, and depending on who you ask, only really got going around season four. So, if a show as universally celebrated as “The Simpsons” needed a little time to really come into its own, you better believe the same can be said for “Stargate SG-1.”
Fans of the series will surely agree that season 1 has its fair share of bad episodes, but none are so universally reviled as episode four, “Emancipation.” This infamous installment in the series has been ridiculed since its August 1997 air date, and not just by fans. In a 2009 interview, “SG-1” co-creator Brad Wright even said in response to a fan question, “Sometimes things get made that shouldn’t. Emancipation.”
What’s so bad about this particular episode? Well, beyond the fact “SG-1” was still very much in the stage where it was finding its footing, “Emancipation” seems to have irked fans for some of the worst writing in “SG-1” history, an offensively didactic plot, and bad characterizations of the central characters. No wonder, then, this episode is the lowest-rated of the entire series on IMDb.
Emancipation was an all-time low for Stargate SG-1
“Stargate SG-1” writers received their fair share of pushback throughout the series run. But “Emancipation” is so bad it seems as though fans simply like to pretend it doesn’t exist. The episode sees the “SG-1” crew visit the planet Simarka, where they meet a group of nomads called the Shavadai, who are descended from Mongols. Unfortunately for Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), the Shavadai aren’t the most progressive bunch. They consider women to be inferior and treat females as property. As the episode goes on, Carter is forced to don a ridiculous outfit at the behest of the Shavadai, before being sold off to an enemy tribe and its heartless warlord leader, Turghan. Ultimately, Carter beats Turghan in a fight, apparently teaching the unsophisticated people of Simarka about women’s’ rights in the process.
If that all sounds a bit silly, the IMDb ranking agrees. “Emancipation” is the lowest-rated episode of “Stargate SG-1” on the website, with an overall rating of 5.9 out of 10 stars. A quick look around the internet will give you an idea of why this installment is so reviled. Over on Reddit, users have decried the writing, the latent suggestion that these distinctly non-Western tribes people are inherently just a bit backwards, and Samantha Carter’s inability to fight her way out of captivity before the very end of the episode. As user Lurkerlisk wrote, “The Sam we know could have freed herself from the boy, but, then again, Sam really wasn’t Sam in that episode. Her dialogue and the actions of the entire team were frustrating and out of character.”
What’s more, while the outfit Samantha was forced to wear in this episode wasn’t as revealing as it could have been, Showtime notoriously pushed for more nudity on “SG-1,” prompting a backlash from Tapping who convinced the network to back down. But one can’t help but feel this particular episode pushes the limits as much as it can with the Shavadai’s objectification of Samantha and her being forced to dress a certain way to please the male-led tribe.
Emancipation recalled an equally terrible episode from another series
Interestingly enough, the writer of “Emancipation” seems to have a knack for displeasing fans. Katharyn Powers also co-wrote the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode “Code of Honor,” which is similarly viewed among fans as the worst installment in the series history — perhaps, as a Den of Geek review puts it “the worst piece of ‘Star Trek’ ever made.” The storyline of “Code of Honor,” which aired ten years prior to “Emancipation” closely mirrors its “SG-1” counterpart, too, with Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) being taken captive by a regressive leader of a tribe called the Ligonians.
This is the episode of “The Next Generation” that Jonathan Frakes wants removed from streaming, owing to its racist overtones. In particular, the Ligonians’ dress was a little too close to stereotypical ideas of “African tribesmen.” But “Code of Honor” was also full of the same kind of misogyny showcased in “Emancipation.” For whatever reason, Powers decided to retread the same material a decade later, and the results were not much better. Thankfully, “Stargate SG-1” survived such a dud and went on to run for a full 10 seasons (though “SG-1” was almost axed after season 8).
