Starring: Richard Dean Anderson as Col. Jack O'Neill Michael Shanks as Dr. Daniel Jackson Amanda Tapping as Capt. Samantha Carter Christopher Judge as Teal'c Don S. Davis as Gen. George Hammond Guest Stars: Elizabeth Hoffman, Keene Curtis Written by: Robert C. Cooper Directed by: Jonathan Glassner Transcribed by: Amanda Ohlin Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, nor do I own any rights whatsoever to the TV show "Stargate SG-1." That show and all related indicia are copyright MGM/UA and Showtime Inc. I am receiving no profit whatsoever from the creation and posting of this transcript. This is not a novelization or a script. It's a straight and mostly dry transcript of the episode "The Torment of Tantalus." It also includes descriptions of action scenes, camera angles, and blocking that I felt were necessary. The format of this transcript is not original; it was blatantly ripped off of AleXander Thompson's excellent (and now shut down) transcripts of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." But I did get permission to use it. I did try to transcribe the dialogue from this episode accurately. If you see any errors or corrections, feel free to e-mail me and I'll update as time and Real Life permits. rev 1.31.01 This episode was originally broadcast on October 3, 1997. Copyright (c) 2001 Amanda Ohlin. * * * An old warehouse, an undisclosed location. The time of the scene is obviously in the past, as indicated by the almost sepia-toned lighting and the series' usual background music played in a jazz style. The Stargate is set up in the middle of the warehouse. On a stepladder, a man in a tan jumpsuit is turning the Gate by hand, while an older man in a suit and glasses watches intently below. Older Man: Now! Stop! The other man steps back from the Gate, and a younger man with dark hair and a lab coat joins the suited man. He turns back to a group of men handling the generators. Young Man: Charge! Older Man: First lock engaged. The first man resumes slowly turning the Gate by hand. Nearby, a young officer in uniform is recording the whole thing on film. Cut to a shot of the actual film on a screen. There's no sound as another chevron is locked and the camera pulls back to show the television screen. Daniel is watching the film intently in the SGC briefing room. Behind him, O'Neill walks in; Daniel is so wrapped up in his viewing he doesn't notice until O'Neill speaks. O'Neill: (loudly) You know, we're supposed to be at that physical assessment thing. Daniel: (without looking up) Oh, yeah. I'll go, I'll go, just, um, let me finish this reel. O'Neill comes to stand behind him, watching the film over his shoulder skeptically. O'Neill: You know, you seem a *tad* obsessed with this stuff. Daniel: This was transferred from a film of experiments done on the Gate in 1945. You don't find that the least bit intriguing? O'Neill: Oh, yeah. Nothing piques my interest more than repeated failure. Daniel: Look at them. They're turning the Gate manually, for God's sakes. Incredible. He's gaping at the screen, entranced - a fact that O'Neill notices. O'Neill: How many hours of this stuff have you looked at? Daniel: There's no conclusion in the file. There's no summary, no notes. No reason to explain why they gave up. O'Neill: Whole boxes of material could be missing. Daniel: No. The Pentagon said this was everything. O'Neill: Oh, please. The Pentagon's lost entire countries. (pats Daniel's chair) Come on. (turns and starts for the door) The doctors have two days of tests planned for us. (sarcastically) Wonderful tests. He stops and turns around. Daniel is still glued to the screen, but this time something genuinely interesting is happening. The film shows that the Stargate wormhole was indeed turned on. Daniel: Uh, Jack... O'Neill moves closer to get a better look, surprised. On the screen, the older man is adjusting a diving helmet on someone wearing an old diving suit. O'Neill: That's impossible. Daniel: Obviously not. This doesn't make any sense. Why wouldn't someone have told us this? I mean, uh - why would they stop their research if they actually managed to turn it on? Cut back to the screen. O'Neill and Daniel watch in shock as the man in the diving suit steps up to the Gate and actually steps into the wormhole. The wormhole suddenly shuts off, and one of the technicians picks up a length of tubing - the remnants of the explorer's air tubing, severed by the shutdown of the wormhole. A second later, the film runs out. O'Neill: Holy cow. Opening credits roll. Main theme plays. * * * Cut to the exterior of Catherine Langford's home, day. Inside, the maid opens the door and Catherine, a woman in her mid-seventies, enters. Catherine: Hello, Martha. Martha: (closes the door) Miss Langford, there's a young man waiting for you in the kitchen. Catherine: You let a strange young man in the house? Martha: Yes. I'm sorry. He said he knows you. (takes her coat) Curious, Catherine walks into the kitchen, and stops short. Her face lights up with a delighted smile as she sees who it is. Catherine: (surprised) My God! Startled, Daniel turns. He is holding a knickknack that he has been inspecting. Daniel: Hello. (puts the knickknack back on the shelf) Uh... sorry, I hope you don't mind. She certainly doesn't, opening her arms wide for a hug and moving to embrace her old friend with a smile. Catherine: How long have you been back? (laughing) Oh! (pulls away, suddenly serious) My God, *why* are you back? Colonel O'Neill said you'd stayed on Abydos. Daniel: I see you - you got the amulet. She looks down, fingering the amulet on a chain around her neck. Catherine: Yes, of course. I never take it off. (curious) Why are you avoiding my question? What's this all about? Daniel looks fairly apprehensive. * * * Stargate Command. In the briefing room, O'Neill is flipping through boxes of files as General Hammond enters. Hammond: (irritated) Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson was supposed to be briefing SG-4 this morning. He's not here and he's not answering our pages. Any idea where he is? O'Neill: I haven't seen him in a while, sir. Hammond turns and stalks out. * * * Catherine's house. An angry Catherine stalks from the kitchen into her living room, with Daniel right behind her. Daniel: Catherine, I couldn't tell you. Catherine: Why not? Daniel: They wouldn't let me! Everything was - was classified. You know... She bends over the tea tray, her back still turned to him. Catherine: (coldly) When did you become an upstanding member of the military? Daniel: I'm not... exactly. That's why I'm here. Catherine: (bitter) I'll make you some tea. Then you can go back to your Stargate Command. Thousands of Stargates. Planetary shift. Didn't anyone think I *might* be interested? Daniel: (slowly, frustrated) That's why I came. Catherine: Now, six months later. You could have told me sooner. Daniel: Yes... just like you could have told me there were experiments done on the Gate in 1945. Hearing that, Catherine sets down the tea. She sighs and sits down on the piano stool, finally facing him. Catherine: My father headed up a research team that worked on the Gate during the war. Actually, they didn't know what it was then. President Roosevelt was like that... curious. They suspected the Gate was a weapon, or could be used as one. Nothing ever came of it, though. How do *you* know? Daniel: (sits down on the back of the couch) The Pentagon has recently been declassifying old materials. They ran across a number of fileboxes that dealt with the old experiments and they sent them to us. Catherine: Really. Daniel: You weren't involved in the research? Catherine: Oh, no. The military had very little use for a twenty-one- year-old girl at that time. Neither did my father. I only know what little I overheard him and Ernest talking about. Daniel: I'm sorry, who's... Ernest? She does not reply, but looks past him towards the fireplace. The camera pans across the room, following her gaze as it dissolves from present day to 1945, where a younger Catherine is sitting beside the fire with Ernest, rubbing his shoulders. Ernest: They get as far as turning the fifth symbol and then the whole room starts to shake. (sits up, turns to her) Today, one of the generators exploded from the feedback. Catherine: Are you going to talk to my father? Ernest: Oh, he knows. He was there. Catherine: (smiles) I meant about us. Ernest: Oh. Yes, I will. Catherine: Maybe it's supposed to do that. Ernest: What? Catherine: The ring. Maybe it's supposed to shake. Ernest: (chuckles) I don't think so. Catherine: Are you using alternating or direct current to charge it? Ernest: Alternating, I think. Why? Catherine: Try using direct. It might prevent the charge from bouncing back to the generator. (smiles) And you *should* talk to my father. Ernest: I will, I promise. Catherine smiles, and they kiss. Cut to the present day, as Daniel absorbs exactly what Catherine is telling him. Daniel: So... you didn't know the government kept the files from the original experiments? Catherine: I had my father's notes. He told me that was everything they had. (stands, goes back to the tea) Do you know how many administrations I had to petition to get this program started up again? Forty years had passed. The information was classified and buried. I never asked for any files because I thought I had them. (pours a cup) General West never offered because he probably didn't know they existed. (pours another cup) Daniel: So... you don't know that they turned the Gate on in 1945. Catherine: (turning, shocked) What? Cut back to Catherine's memories. Ernest and Dr. Langford are sitting at the dining room table. A pile of open books are laid out before them. Ernest: There must be over a hundred million possible combinations. If it's merely a combination lock used to turn it on, then why thirty-nine symbols? Why not six? Dr. Langford: What are you saying? Ernest: (excited) They're not combinations. They're destinations. (taps his notes with a pen) And we just found one. Dr. Langford: A "doorway to heaven" could mean any number of different things. It could simply mean that anyone who passes through there will die. He trails off as Catherine enters with a tea tray. Dr. Langford: For example... Catherine sets the tray down and smiles at Ernest, who looks mildly uncomfortable. Dr. Langford lights his pipe. Dr. Langford: Catherine, we have a maid for a reason. Catherine: I wanted to do it. She gives Ernest a look, inclining her head towards her father as if to say, "Tell him already!" Ernest still looks apprehensive, and after a moment Catherine sighs and goes back to the kitchen. Dr. Langford glances at Ernest speculatively before reaching over and dropping a sugar cube into his cup of tea. Cut to the present as Catherine drops a sugar cube into her tea, seemingly mimicking her father's action. Catherine: (shakes her head) No. I never knew they turned it on. My father never told me. It wasn't in his notes, either. Daniel: Then there's something more you should see. Cut to the VCR as Daniel puts in a tape and presses the Play button. He sits down on the couch beside Catherine, who puts her glasses on. Daniel: Here, watch this. Catherine watches the reel in utter shock. Catherine: Oh, God. Cut to the film, which is showing the diving helmet being placed on the explorer's head. Even with the low quality of the video, it's clear that the man who went through the Gate was Ernest. Cut to his exit through the wormhole, the shutdown of the Gate, and the discovery of the severed air tubing. Catherine is stunned. Flashback. The younger Catherine and her father are standing in the dining room. Dr. Langford: There was an accident today. An explosion in the lab. Catherine: Ernest? Dr. Langford: (shakes his head) I'm so sorry. Catherine lowers her head and starts to cry. Cut to present day. Daniel: So the man who went through the Gate was Ernest. Catherine: (removes her glasses) Yes. My father must have lied to me. He said Ernest died in an accident. An explosion. Daniel: Why would he do that? Catherine: He probably thought he was protecting me. Daniel: From what? Catherine: From knowing that the man I was supposed to marry... chose to risk his life and go through the Stargate without even talking to me about it. He chose his idea, his work... over me. Daniel: Um, I'm sure that he believed he would - he would come back. Catherine: He was so young... so full of passion. (looks at Daniel) Like you. You reminded me of him when I first saw you. That's why I knew you'd solve the mysteries of the Gate. She smiles, but her expression turns sad again and she looks away. Daniel: (makes a decision) Catherine... (pauses, sets the videotape down) I wasn't supposed to show you this. (opens a box on the coffee table and pulls out a manila envelope) Actually, I wasn't supposed to show you any of this, but now... He pulls out several printouts from the folder and hands them to her. Catherine puts her glasses back on as she studies them. Daniel: (explaining) Computer enhancements from the film footage. Catherine flips through the photos, which show blown-up portions of the Gate. Beside each photo is a diagram of the chevron displayed. Daniel: I was able to isolate the chevrons that were locked in before Ernest went through. Catherine: Not Abydos? Daniel: No. Another planet with similar coordinates. (pauses as she flips through the photos) And... we can go there. Hearing that, Catherine looks up in surprise. * * * Cheyenne Mountain Complex, day. An army truck drives into the entrance to the mountain. Hammond: (voiceover) Have you completely lost your mind? Cut to the briefing room. Daniel and Catherine are looking out the glass partition as an irate Hammond storms into the room and past them. Hammond: (to Daniel) Who authorized you to reveal classified information to a civilian? Daniel: (following him) Sir, if you will just let me explain... Hammond: (stops and turns) This is a serious breach of protocol. These rules exist for a reason, Doctor. Do you think you're above them? Daniel: (flustered) No! No, I - I-- He is temporarily saved by O'Neill and Teal'c, who come up the stairs from the control room. O'Neill: Catherine! Catherine: (smiles, reaches across table to shake his hand) Hello, Jack. O'Neill: It's good to see you again. (releases her hand, looking pointedly at Hammond) I trust the General is making you feel right at home? Catherine: So far, he actually sounds worse than General West. O'Neill: Aah, he's a teddy bear. Hammond: (not amused) Colonel, did you authorize Dr. Jackson to reveal classified information to this civilian? O'Neill: Absolutely not, sir. In fact, I advised him not to say anything to her. Despite the fact that she used to run the program and is responsible for most of our current knowledge about the Gate. Hammond: I'm aware of who she is, Colonel. Teal'c has been standing beside O'Neill in silence. Daniel: (attempting to change the subject) Catherine, this is Teal'c. Teal'c, this is Catherine. Catherine: (reaches over to shake his hand) Daniel's told me all about you. Such a pleasure. (smiles) Teal'c takes the offered hand, nodding respectfully. Hammond: Colonel, are you aware of the request (sits down) that Dr. Jackson has currently tabled? O'Neill and Teal'c look at Daniel, who looks uncomfortable. O'Neill: You got to go that one step further, don't you? He sits down, and Teal'c follows suit. Catherine sits as well, leaving Daniel the only one standing. Daniel: The man who entered the Gate in 1945 was Catherine's fiancee. Now I have the address of the planet he went to, and we can go there. Catherine: And I'm coming with you. Both Teal'c and O'Neill look surprised at that. Daniel: General, we know where Ernest Littlefield went. He could still be alive. A man who had the vision to see the Gate for what it was half a century before anyone else. O'Neill: He sounds like a bona fide American hero, sir. Carter enters at that moment. Carter: Sir, there may be another reason to go to this planet. Catherine: (turns) Samantha! Carter: (leaning down to hug her) Catherine! Hammond: (impatient) Captain Carter? Breaking off the hug, Carter stands up. Carter: Yes, sir. It seems the planet in question is close to Abydos, so it uses many of the same points in space as locators. Which explains why the team in '45 could coincidentally dial in without compensating for planetary shift. But, sir, the planet in question is not on the cartouche we found on Abydos. Catherine: What's the significance of that? Carter: The Goa'ulds haven't charted it. They may not even have been there. Daniel: If the Goa'ulds haven't been to this planet, and there's already a Gate there, then we would have unquestionable proof that they didn't originally build the Stargates. Teal'c: The Goa'uld are scavengers. Since they have not already traveled to this planet, we may find technologies we can use against them. Catherine: (mildly surprised) You speak? Teal'c: When it is appropriate. She smiles, and Hammond can't help but smile a bit as well at the exchange. Hammond: Thank you. Thank all of you for your very thorough analysis of the situation. But I was already convinced by Dr. Jackson's initial argument. Ernest Littlefield could still be alive, and we should try to find him. * * * |