Stargate SG-1 (TV Series) Unnatural Selection (2002) User Reviews

Saving humanity ?

[owlaurence · 9/10 · 11 June 2010]

Although the episode picks up right where "Prometheus" ended, there is little connection between both eps. Instead of Goa'ulds and NID traitors, we're now dealing with the Asgaard's favorite toy robots, the Replicators. There is a rather lengthy bit of catching-up as Thor explains the current situation, then the real action starts. It's rather fun to see how blasé the SGC crew have become with the Asgaard's rather cavalier interferences. Saving galaxies is now something they do at lunchtime --if they don't have an appointment to kick some Goa'uld butt first.

Anyway, the second part of the episode is much more disturbing as we discover what the Replicators have been up to. It also raises a lot of fascinating questions about what humanity is... but regrettably, once again one episode is much too short to properly deal with them. The interesting point is that even though SG-1 obviously get away with it, they don't exactly do so with honours. (Daniel would never have agreed.) And even though O'Neill has repeatedly denied that robots might be treated as humans, he clearly feels bad at having "done the right thing".

Now I hope that there will be some follow-up on that story, as it concludes a really huge arc and could have major repercussions on both the series and its ethical stance. But maybe that's too much to ask.

Best scene IMO

[andrewfarmer2010 · 8/10 · 5 July 2021]

During the first part of the episode, we are treated to Jack, Jonas and Teal'c eating Ben and Jerry's. Through Jonas' exposition of why he finds the replicators 'fasinating' we see Jack trying to sample the pint that Teal'c had. The look of 'i will stab you with this spoon' Teal'c gives is hilarious and gives rise to a question of how many times has this happened to warrant that look.

So Far The Best Episode

[claudio_carvalho · 10/10 · 21 May 2017]

The X-303 is located in an unknown part of the universe and Sam does not know how to route to return to Earth. Out of the blue, Thor appears at the bridge and tells that the Asgardian are monitoring Earth and it was possible to follow the X-303. He asks for help to O'Neill and the SG-1, since Asgard has been overrun by the Replicators. They used the android Reese to summon all the Replicators in the universe to trap them in a time dilatation device. However their plan failed and now they want to use the SG-1 and the X-303 to activate a time device to return to the original plan. O'Neill succeed to get authorization to proceed the mission and on the arrival, they learn that the Replicators have reverted the dilatation device and six of them have evolved to the human form. Now they want to explore the SG-1 minds to learn their knowledge and life experience. What will happen to the SG-1?

"Unnatural Selection" is so far the best episode of "Stargate SG-1" with a great story. The plot is highly attractive and O'Neill's unethical and Machiavellian decision in the end is logical despite the moral dilemma of Carter and the group. Fans will certainly be disappointed since Five's humanity could be a hope to save the universe from the Replicators. His surprise with Sam's attitude and this action may bring consequences to the SG-1 in the future episodes is the great question. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Unnatural Selection"

Glimpse of the Future

[mkvonbergen · 8/10 · 31 March 2013]

Great episode. If you're watching the Stargates in order, the writers reveal a fairly big plot shift as far as the Replicators are concerned. Surprises aside, the episode also tackles the same question that they raised in the episode with Reese: Are there moral limits to what we can do in order to protect ourselves? Or the human race? Jonas steps into Daniel Jackson's shoes nicely here, as the voice of the conscience; Jack, of course, reprises his role as the military man whose main priority is self-protection.

Okay, spoiler time. Seriously, stop reading here.

The second half of the episode absolutely screams Battlestar Galactica. Since Classic BSG does NOT feature humanoid Cylons (just the shiny toaster version), Reboot BSG is strikingly similar to this episode. Machine-based humanoids that call each other by numbers? Check. Machine-based humanoids that create additional versions of each other? Check. Organic humans who wonder about the humanity of the machine-based ones? Check. Plot tension hinges on the survival of the human race? Check. Even the way that the Replicators carry themselves predicts the Cylons: They line up, with the speaker in the middle, facing other people. They refer to each other by their number, not their names: "Fifth" and "Sixth" is an easy transition to "Five" and fan favourite "Six". Plus, "Helo" shows up as a Cylon - oops, sorry, a Replicator. Especially for fans of both shows, the similarities make it that much more fun of an episode.

I like it

[Easygoer10 · 8/10 · 3 May 2019]

There is far too much gimpy conduct at the end of this episode. O'Neill was 100% correct in using "Five's" humanity" (an oxymoron, since he is a robot) against them. Carter & Jonas get "weepy" over it. The bottom line is, if it had gone down any other way, the replicators not only would have taken over the galaxy, they could (eventually) have taken over the entire universe, theoretically.

A Very Intelligent Episode

[Easygoer10 · 8/10 · 27 March 2019]

I really liked this show, and you can tell it was Andy Mikita who directed it, not Martin Wood. Wood durected more shows in this series than anyone else; plus subsequent "Stargate" based series. He is much more simpliatic in his shows; they are really fir the teenage crowd. Contrarily, Andy Mikita does much more heady work, as evidenced here. Tge primary difference between the 2 directors is Wood is into tge same old, same old. He is responsible for all the snappy quips which ultimately got so very boring. On the other gand, Andy Mikita uses humor much mire sparingly. The shows he directs are "headier", much more thoughtful and appealing. Thus is a perfect example. The guest cast is quite good; several of whom have gone on to better and more work. Martin Wood's hallmark is typically a lot of snappy not funny comments, an over tge top antagonist, and a simple ending. He churns out the same thing again and again. His pineapple joke is not funny, either. That's his "easter egg"; all shows he directs have a pineapple sitting on a table or shelf. Ha ha. A real kbee slapper. Compared to Mikita, he is as shallow as a dried up pond.

A quandary

[Calicodreamin · 7/10 · 16 March 2022]

This episode presents an interesting moral dilemma that has become a reoccurring theme for the show. The storyline was well developed and the acting decent.