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Thank God that there are humanoids throughout the cosmos. Otherwise, the production budgets of every science fiction show in production would sky rocket. The fifth season of SG-1 resolves the cliffhanger from season 4; Apophis who has tried to dominate much of the known galaxy and destroy O'Neil's (Richard Dean Anderson) Earth team from SG-1 (Michael Shanks, Amada Tapping and Christopher Judge) is trapped hundreds of light-years from home (the result of a last minute escape from a supernova). They must rescue their team member Teal'c (Christopher Judge) from Apophis and try to get home themselves. ***

The fifth season despite demonstrated a sag in the energy and creativity seen in the previous three seasons. While that's no surprise given the fact that the show faced cancellation from Showtime (prior to being rescued by the Sci-Fi Channel), many of the best shows rank with the best of the first four seasons. Richard Dean Anderson's acerbic wit as O'Neil keeps even the most mundane show entertaining and the regular cast provide more than ample back up with stellar performances. ***

Despite the fact that a major character is killed off during this season (I'm not going to reveal who that is just in case there are fans who are only familiar with the show from reruns on Sci-Fi or the DVDs), the writers/directors and producers managed to inject a number of memorable surprises into each episode during this transitional season. The creative casting of the program also injected the show with much needed energy; guest star John DeLacie ("Q" from "Star Trek: The Next Generation") and Henry Gibson in a rare role helped keep the series' momentum going until its stunning season conclusion.

The sharp, crisp image quality indicates an exceptional transfer. While it does occasionally suffer from edge enhancement issues on a couple of episodes the picture quality was transferred with great care in most cases. The colors are vibrant and crisp while the blacks are rock solid. The sound is equally good although not as much use of the rear speakers was used as I would have expected. The mix is unusually crisp sounding as well. --- Despite the fact that a major character is killed off during this season (I'm not going to reveal who that is just in case there are fans who are only familiar with the show from reruns on Sci-Fi or the DVDs), the writers/directors and producers managed to inject a number of memorable surprises into each episode during this transitional season. The creative casting of the program also injected the show with much needed energy; guest star John DeLacie ("Q" from "Star Trek: The Next Generation") and Henry Gibson in a rare role helped keep the series' momentum going until its stunning season conclusion.

SG-1 is an example of how a contemporary television series should be released on DVD. Each boxed set has improved with successive seasons and this one is no exception. We get two featurettes plus three "Video Diaries" performed in character featuring the regular cast. The later is an extremely creative way to provide value added bonus features for fans of the show. There are only so many times you can watch a particular featurette on optical effects but these diaries almost act as extensions of the show and are quite entertaining. The two main featurettes are a look at the episode "The Tomb" with director Peter DeLuise (who has written and performed on the show and a creative consultant). The other is a clip heavy look at the character of Dr. Daniel Jackson. ***

Although this isn't an extra per se, each disc is enclosed in a plastic snapcase with an insert card with credits for each episode. Additionally, the back of each snapcase has a synopsis of each episode so that fans can jump right to their favorites as soon as they open their purchase. This is really how most boxed set DVDs should be packaged. Oh, and more importantly, SG-1 is one of the most reasonably priced boxed sets around. ---

One of the most reasonably priced boxed set series available, SG-1 comes loaded with a number of interesting features. In addition to all 22 episodes of season five, you also get two fine (although short) featurettes and three original "video diaries" that provide an interesting insight into the characters of the show. ***

More importantly, each and every episode comes with a commentary. In that respect, SG-1 is similar to the extras heavy Farscape DVDs that have been trickling out over the last couple of years. The packaging is sturdy and, more importantly, Richard Dean Anderson and the witty writing make even the weakest episodes worth watching. While not all the commentaries are enlightening or essential, they provide another reason to view many of the best episodes and also provide an interesting look behind the curtain of making a television series.