Stargate SG-1--"The Nox"

The albino Dee Snider up there is played by none other than Quark himself, Armin Shimmerman. He is the first of many Star Trek alumni to make an appearance on Stargate SG-1. For those suffering from Star Trek withdrawal, the plot of “The Nox” closely resembles that of TOS’ “Errand of Mercy,” wherein the heores attempt to protect a seemingly primitive, pacifist society only to learn in the end they are far more than they appear.

Under increased pressure from the Secretary of defense to bring back more useful technology from their expeditions, SG-1 travels to the planet Gaia on Teal’c’ advisement there is an animal native to the world that can turn invisible. After the SG-1 tram arrives on Gaia, the stargate disappears behind them and they are killed by Apophis and his men., who just happen to be there hunting the invisible creature as well. Great minds think alike, I guess.

The SG-1 team awakens in an Ewok village surprised to learn they are not dead. The village belongs to the Nox, primitives whom nevertheless have some medical skill that can apparently raise the dead, thereby making them a prime target for Goa’uld enslavement. The SG-1 team offers to capture Apophis and take him away in order to keep the Nox’ existence a secret, but they refuse to return SG-1’s weapons because of their pacifist beliefs. The Nox want them to go back to the stargate and leave forever.

In the interim, a captured Jaffa named Shak’l who was also returned from the dead kills a Nox woman and a young boy attempting to track down Apothis himself is killed. Both are brought back through the same process as SG-1 and Shak’l. They are vulnerable during the ceremony. Jack surmises Apothis’ plan was to kill the boy and attack the Nox during the revival process. The Sg-1 team builds bows and arrows to defend the Nox whether they want it or not.

During the battle, the Nox make apothis disappear before Jack can kill or capture him. The Nox refuse to suffer any further violence. They escort SG-1 back to the stargate with the promise they will bury it once they have returned to Earth. Before leaving, SG-1 learns the Nox live in a highly advanced city in the sky. The primitive village is merely a ruse to trick enemies. Had Sg-1 trusted the Nox instead of fighting apothis, a cooperative friendship could have been formed/. Alas, with the stargate buried, such cannot happen. Bridge burned, lesson learned.

I am not sure how much I buy into said lesson. There is something to be said for sending your enemy back home with his ears pinned back that feels much more effective than hiding. One wonders if the Nox might feel that way if they could not easily bring their victims of enemy attacks back from the dead. Suffering loss of innocent life but doing nothing about it is more cowardly than principled. The scenario brings up the question of where would pacifists be if there were not someone with a big stick behind them keeping either cheek from being slapped. I am in the mindset that one cannot be a pacifist until everyone else is, that is a discussion for another time.

A couple of the names used in ’The Nox” beat you over the head with their meanings. The Nox live on Gaia, which is a word for Earth, but has modern connection with the environmentalist movement. You know, the types who live in harmony with nature because of spirit animals and such. The Jaffa is named Shak’l, like shackle, to denote he is a slave to the Goa’uld. Of course, the Nox live in an invisible foating city, so they are not necessarily faeries of the forest. Considering Richard dean Anderson’s heavy involvement in environmental causes, the message Shak’l is a slave to the Goa’uld but the Nox are not slaves to extreme environmentalism is not there. You can make up your own mind.

“The Nox" originally aired as the eighth episode of the first season. It was rushed due to a tight production schedule, so several intended scenes were not in the aired cut and some dialogue from Apothis was edited out because the actor’s voice was not computer enhanced. The DVD episode not only corrects these issues, but moves it back in sequence to the thirteen episode. I am unsure whether there is any impact story arc wise. “The Nox” is contrived, preachy in parts, and very much “Errand of Mercy’ sans Kirk and, but it is still difficult to fault a whole lot. It reminds me of something TNG would have done in its first season before the show found its own voice.

Rating: *** (out of 5)