Season Seven saw the end of the main SG1 story, and a more in-depth Atlantis storyline. This penultimate season will see the end of what we've come to know as Stargate, there will be one more season but it will mostly feature entirely new characters, and it is hella darker than what we've experienced so far. So enjoy this final fun sci-fi season with O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Weir, Sheppard, McKay, Mitchell, Hammond, Harriman, et. al

801: Midway
(Carter,  Teal'c, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex, Lee, Chuck, Kavanaugh)

Wraiths on a plane! Ok, in a stargate. This might have been a sort of ho-hum formulaic Atlantis adventure except for the first time Teal'c meets Dex and the two of them don't precisely hit it off. There's also the fun, never before been explored interactions between Sheppard, McKay, and Lee from SG1, but the Teal'c/Dex interactions are the true highlight. If they'd killed every other character in the universe off and turned the final Atlantis season into a Teal'c/Dex buddy cop show, they would have been renewed for an additional ten seasons.


802: Last Man
(Carter,  McKay, Sheppard, Dex, Woolsey, Keller, Lorne, Todd )

Sheppard gets lost in the future during a rescue mission, and history looks...bad. Can he be brought back in time to fix the timeline?


803: Search & Rescue
(Carter,  McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex, Woolsey, Keller, Caldwell, Lorne)

Atlantis crew members get trapped under rubble during a mission, Michael's hybrids attack, Teyla is having her baby, and Carter is replaced as Atlantis's first in command. Her replacement is familiar but unexpected. Dun dun dun?


Episode 4: Daedalus Variations
(McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex, Zelenka, Lorne)

Continuing with alternate timeling adventures, a small crew of SGAtlantis finds an alternate version of the Daedalus ship and hop on it, only to find that it's continually jumping to different dimensions. Can they get back to original flavor Atlantis, or will this be used as a cool device to bring back Weir, Carter, and other characters who have moved on from the series?


805 & 806: The Ark Of Truth
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Hammond, Mitchell, Vala, Landry, Harriman, Ellis, Merlin, Adria)

The end of the Ori storyline! This is sort of a neat little bow to the final few seasons of SG1 with a bit of fan service. It's pretty good, but not the stellar ending that the series deserved. Still, it's nice to know how the storyline would have panned out if they'd had another season.


807: Ghosts In The Machine
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex, Woolsey, Zelenka, Chuck)

Oh shit! Weir IS back. Kind of? Maybe? Ummm...Replicators are certainly back.


808 & 809: First Contact/The Lost Tribe
(Jackson, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex, Woolsey, Caldwell, Keller, Zelenka, Todd)

All Daniel Jackson has wanted to do since season four is get to Atlantis. And while he did get to spend some time there in season six, this is his first adventure with members of the Atlantis staff. And they discover a whole new alien race who will change every...aren't there only a couple of episodes left? Wouldn't this be easier if they turned out to NOT be an entirely new race? Oooh, ooh! Or they could be the blue people from Deadalus Variations. Who even were those aliens?


810: Prodigal
(McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex, Woolsey, Zelenka, Lorne, Michael)

Michael the Hybrid has been a pain in the tuchus since his inception. He's now invaded Atlantis to steal Teyla's baby. I mean, also to destroy Atlantis, and kill everyone, but mostly to get the baby.


811 & 812: Continuum
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Hammond, Mitchell, Vala, Landry, Harriman, Apophis, Ba'al)

This is the sendoff SG1 deserved. The Jaffa track down the final Ba'al clone and invite SG1 for the ceremony where they remove and kill the final Goa'uld symbiote. But, uhhh...Ba'al had some serious plans for this, yo. It's an alternate timeline/time travel adventure with all of the major players from the series except Bra'tac. It's hugely fun with a definitive ending that isn't doom and gloomy nor does it completely shut the door on the characters if they ever decided to do have another run at it.


813: Vegas
(McKay, Sheppard, Woolsey, Zelenka, Lorne, Todd)

This is a weird episode. I mean Very Weird. Especially so late in the series. Instead of a Stargate episode, it's a CSI Las Vegas episode.  No, really. The zippy transitions, rock and roll cliche soundtrack, the visual flash over the clues. It's totally CSI Las Vegas but with Sheppard as the detective, Kellar as the morgue technician, and McKay and Woolsey as FBI agents. It's completely weird. But it does involve the Wraith, and it does have very severe consequences that set up the final episode. But, like, imagine if the second to last ever episode of the X-Files had been Law & Order Area 51 with Mulder as the district attorney, Scully as the morgue technician, Skinner as a judge and The Lone Gunmen as the detectives who find the body of Cigarette Smoking Man. It would have been weird, right?


814: The Enemy At The Gate
(Carter, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex, Woolsey, Beckett, Harriman, Zelenka, Caldwell, Ellis, Lorne, Kavanaughm, Todd)

This is it. The end of Stargate Light. Thanks to the wacky Las Vegas episode, the Wraith learned the location of Earth, and they're going there for a feeding frenzy unless the Atlantis crew can stop them. Or if Carter can stop them from Earth's Stargate Command. Someone has to stop them or the whole Stargate franchise will be forced to become all mopey and dark.

701: 200
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Hamilton, Mitchell, Val, Landry, Harriman)

Less a traditional episode and more a series of vignettes in the vain of a clip show but featuring only new material. This is a fun way to open the season, including some nods to other roles various actors have played on television.


702: Counterstrike
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Bra'tac, Mitchell, Val, Landry, Harriman, Adria)

Having spent the previous six seasons fighting for their freedom from the Goa'uld, the Jaffa have decided they are not going to sit around and wait for the Ori to enslave or kill them, and they're not going to wait for us Earthlings to act, either. Is this the end of the alliance?


703 & 7041: The Quest
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Val, Merlin, Adria, Ba'al)

Is this the beginning of a new alliance? The weapon necessary to defeat the Ori is protected by a...dragon?A super unlikely teamup with The Most Cloned Goa'uld Ever and Val's Very Difficult Daughter get together. Maybe there's hope for the future?


705: Sunday
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex,  Zelenka, Chuck, Lorne)

It's a nice and calm day with no Wraith or Replicators. Just the residue of something Ancient that certainly won't blow up in their faces. At least not literally. 


706: The Shroud
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Val, Woolsey, Landry, Adria)

The Ori colonize planets by sending Proctors with doomsday messages to convert the natives. But there's a new proctor with a new approach making the rounds. It's....Daniel Jackson? Are we in dark time line territory?


707: First Strike
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex,  Zelenka, Keller, Chuck, Lorne, Ellis, Oberoth)

Pre-emptive strikes are usually bogus reasons for going to war with a perceived threat. So when a new ship arrives from Earth and tells Weir and Atlantis they're going to launch a pre-emptive attack on The Replicators, they are not welcomed as heroes. 


708: Bad Guys
(Jackson, Teal'c, Mitchell, Val, Landry)

A treasure hunt goes awry, giving the appearance that SG-1 is a group of terrorists, and they decide...to go with it?


709 & 710: Adrift/Lifeline
(Carter, Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex,  Zelenka, Keller, Lee, Ellis, Chuck, Oberoth)

The....uhhh....pre-emptive attack didn't go well, and now Atlantis is at war with The Replicators, and they're going to need to find an entirely new way to defend the city.

​
711: Dominion
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Val, Landry, Adria)

A "chicken cordon bleu of enemies" is created when Adria is captured by Ba'al and implanted with a Goa'uld symbiote. We don't know whether or not the Ori were destroyed by Merlin's weapon, but a new superrace of two of Earth's largest threats can't be good.
 

712: Unending
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Val, Landry, Harriman, Thor)

The Asgard are ready to ascend their entire race, which means they are finally willing to give all of their technology and knowledge to Earth. Unfortunately, right after the exchange is made, the Ori show up. This was the last ever episode of SG1, though there are two movies, and several cameos of the original cast waiting in season eight.


713: The Seer
(Carter,  McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex, Woolsey, Keller, Chuck, Todd)

Carter is the new head of Atlantis. Teyla is pregnant. The Wraith are still a threat. So Teyla brings a pyschic to see how Atlantis can survive going forward.


​714: Be All My Sins Remembered
(Carter, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex, Zelenka, Keller, Caldwell, Ellis, Chuck, Todd)

We end the season with the alliance between Atlantis and a faction of The Wraith against, well, other factions of The Wraith. It wouldn't have been a bad ending for the entire series, but we still have two more seasons to go.

601 & 6021: Allies/No Man's Land
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ford, Dex, Beckett, Zelenka, Caldwell, Chuck, Michael)

Michael's back with a proposed alliance with...the...Wraith? Yea, apparently the Wraith are in a series of civil wars and Michael's faction would like to conquer the other Wraiths.

 
603: Ripple Effect
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Frasier, Martouf, Harriman, Landry, Lam, Lee, Ksavir)

My favorite episode ever. That whole black hole suctioning the Stargate from season one is still causing problems. This time, it's allowing SG1 teams from multiple dimensions to end up in the main universe. So many Carters, Jacksons, Tealcs, Mitchells, and even some familiar faces who died in previous seasons. 


604: Sateda
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex, Beckett, Caldwell, Chuck)

Khal Drogo's tragic backstory is revealed when he is recaptured by the Wraith and returned to his life as a runner.


605: Crusade
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Vala, Landry, Harriman, Chekov)

I've avoided some of the tropiest of episodes, even though they are often fan favorites. This episode features a good old fashioned Freaky Friday body switch between Vala and Jackson, as we learn more about the Ori's plans. Oh, and the Russians want their Stargate back.


606: Camelot
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Vala, Landry, Harriman, Chekov, Merlin, Ba'al, Adria)

We're Knights of the Round Table,
We dance when ere we're able,
We do routines and chorus scenes
With footwork impeccable.
We dine well here in Camelot,
We eat ham and jam and spam a lot. 

The team find the planet of Merlyn
They send his defenses swirlin'
Mitchell has to fight
The Damned Black Knight
before the plot starts unfurlin'.


607: Flesh & Blood
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Vala, Bra'tac, Landry, Harriman, Woolsey, Chekov, Adria)

It's a baby shower for Vala's rapidly aging Orichrist! And there's a whole fleet of Ori ships in our galaxy to help us celebrate!


608: Progeny
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex,  Zelenka, Chuck, Oberoth)

Wraith wraith wraith. Wraith wraith wraith. Wraith Genii Wraith. Wraith wraith rut. Atlantis needs a new enemy. SG1 had a really cool backup alien race for when the Goa'uld saga got boring. Atlantis decides to visit the Ancients to get cool new enemies of their own.


609: Common Ground
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex,  Beckett, Chuck, Kolya, Radim, Todd)

Those damned Genii rebels capture Sheppard and put him in a cell with his new prison buddy, Todd The Wraith. 


610: McKay & Mrs Miller
(Carter, Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex,  Zelenka, Chuck)

I tend to skip episodes that focus on Rodney McKay, as he's easily the most annoying main character in Stargate history, but the story about his sister's achievements is fun, as it includes a less annoying alternate version of Rodney McKay because Stargate loooooooooooves alternate versions of main characters.


611: Pegasus Project
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Vala, Weir, Mckay, Harriman, Woolsey, Zelenka, Merlin, Emerson, Chuck)

The first full crossover of the two Stargate shows! (Carter helped McKay in the last episode.) Daniel Jackson finally gets to Atlantis while searching for Merlyn's weapon. Both the Ori and the Wraith wreak havoc on opposite sides of the supergate.


612 & 613: Return 
(O'Neill, Harriman, Woolsey, Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Lee, Dex, Beckett, Zelenka, Chuck, Radim, Todd)​

The Ancients return to reclaim Atlantis, and they want Stargate Command gone. This episode also serves as a crossover as a long unseen SG1 character returns to end the season.


​614: The Tao Of Rodney
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Dex,  Zelenka, Beckett, Chuck)

Will they mercifully kill off the series most annoying character, or will they allow him to ascend to The Most Important Person In The Show?

If I were going to compare Stargate to another sci fi franchise, I wouldn't. It evolved in a way that many sci-fi series don't. Not just by expanding their universe but also by defeating threats, making them obsolete to the larger story, and moving on to newer, more massive threats that have some connection to the original. While I wouldn't compare this to Star Trek in general, I would say it was a lot like Deep Space Nine as the changelings brought in the Jem'Hadar, the Weyoun clones, and ultimately the Breen while also moving the Klingons and the Cardassians around the board. 

With the Goa'uld and Replicators defeated last season, we have some new enemies put on the board. And this season, we see two major warfronts, as both SG1 and Atlantis begin focusing on being more of a miltary drama. Think of the evolution from Star Trek The Next Generation to Star Trek Deep Space Nine.

501 - 503: Seige
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ford, Beckett, Zelenka, Chuck, Caldwell)

The Wraith have discovered the location of Atlantis, and are now searching for Earth, so it's up to the Atlantis crew to either destroy the Wraith, or themselves.

504: Runner
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ford, Beckett, Dex, Caldwell, Lorne)

You know all those 21st century YA novels and film franchises where there is a corrupt government who hold sporting events where they force children to try and escape death while running away from their deathtraps? Well, it's that story but with The Wraith instead of a corrupt government, and with Khal Drogo/Aquaman as the dude trying not to die.


505 & 506: Lost Boys/The Hive
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ford, Dex, Caldwell, Zelenka, Lorne, Chuck)

During the seige, Ford became addicted to Wraith enzymes, and fled Atlantis. In fact, the whole last episode only happened because they thought Aquadrogoman was Ford. Well, now they have found Ford and his gang of Wraith enzyme-addicted Genni, who are determined to take out a Wraith ship and get in the good graces of Atlantis.  

507 & 508: Avalon
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Vala, Landry, Harriman, Lam, Lee, Merlin)

It's retcon time! Remember last season when all was doom and despair and O'Neill and SG1 saved the universe from the Goa'uld, and there was champagne and fireworks, and probably a baby boom nine months later? Well, one of the major players in that episode was Cameron Mitchell. Don't remember him? Well, that's because he wasn't in the original episodes. But now he's been selected to create a new SG1 team. All he wants is the old SG1 team, but Teal'c is now a politician, O'Neill has been promoted beyond the Stargate program, Carter is working for Area 51 in space, and Jackson still wants to go to Atlantis. Also, Val has come looking for Jackson...and treasure...oh, and there's a whole new race of fake gods trying to dominate the universe.  Can Mitchell get the original SG1 team back together?


509: Coup d'Etat
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ford, Dex, Beckett, Lorne, Chuck, Cowen, Radim)

You know how there are a billion SG teams that we never get to see on SG1? Well, it's less true on Atlantis, but there are still a bunch of teams. When one of them goes missing, our usual characters go off in search, only to find themselves in the midst of a Genii political upheaval featuring the guy who is always trying to kill them, and one of the crew who laid seige to Atlantis during the hurricanes last season.


510: Beachhead
( Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Mitchell, Vala, Landry, Harriman, Gerak)

The war with the Ori has officially begun, as the Ori have sent a Prior to destroy a Jaffa homeland, and even a surviving Goa'uld puts its snakey fingers into the brimming pot of fuckery. Plus, we're not just dealing with Stargates anymore, there are now Supergates!


511: Michael
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ford, Dex, Beckett, Michael)

Atlantis thinks they've developed a vaccine that can evolve Wraith into humans.


512: Inferno
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ford, Dex, Beckett, Zelenka, Caldwell, Chuck)

With the Wraith being the only big threat left after the Genii coup, the SGA team has more time to explore other planets, and ohhhh shit, have they found another planet of The Ancients? *Spoiler alert* Not precisely.


513 & 514: Fourth Horseman
(Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Bra'tac, Mitchell, Vala, Landry, Harriman, Lam, Lee, Chekov)

The Proctors of the Ori have unleashed a plague intended to wipe out every non-believer. Also, one of Tealc's rivals for control of the Jaffa government has become a prior of the Ori himself.

One of the things that made Stargate stand out against a ton of other intriguing but ultimately disappointing scifi series of the early twenty-first century was their willingness to take big risks with cast changes, spinoffs, and regularly poking fun of themselves in a very meta-fashion.

As a regular viewer, it was thrilling to see the series spin off an entire new cast and succeed in making an interesting show within the Stargate universe but that felt genuinely different, with different enemies, different plot devices, and different interpersonal character development. In this season, we meet the new cast members and see them completely diverge from the main cast. For Now.

401 & 402: Lost City
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Harriman, Bra'tac, Weir, Anubis)

At the end of season one, O'Neill merged with technology and met the Asgards who were able to seperate him from the technology before it killed him. So it's deja vu all over again with the added pressure of an imminent attack on Earth by Anubis. Also, the lost city of Atlantis is...across the galaxy? in Antarctica? Oh, and Hammond has been promoted, and the new head of SGC is...a bureaucratic doctor?


403 & 404: New Order
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Harriman, Weir, Thor, Fifth)

With O'Neill indisposed, Weir and SG1 have to deal with the post-Anubis Goa'uld system lords while Carter and The Asgardians deal with the time-distilled Replicators.


405 & 406: Rising
(O'Neill, Jackson, Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ford, Beckett)

Weir hands over control of the SGC back to O'Neill, and takes a whole new crew to the lost city of Atlantis. But the trip requires so much power that it might be a one way trip. Particularly after the technology keeping Atlantis running starts to fail.  Oh, and they meet The Wraith who are more sharpy goth vampire than the Goa'uld, Asgardian, Jaffa, or Replicators.


407: The Storm
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ford, Beckett, Zelenka, Cowen, Kolya, Radim)

The Wraith aren't the only problem in the new universe, there's also the Genii, a race of humanoids intent on dominating the galaxy through war, oh, and there are hurricanes. Giant hurricanes threatening to destroy Atlantis.


408: The Eye
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ford, Beckett, Zelenka, Kolya, Radim)

A group of Genii soldiers have invaded Atlantis, and Sheppard is alone on the front lines against them. Also, those hurricanes are still bearing down on the city.


409: Prometheus Unbound
(O'Neill, Jackson, Hammond, Harriman, Novac, Vala)

Problems on Atlantis have reached the ears of the SGC, so Hammond, Jackson, and Harriman take a crew onboard the Prometheus bound for the other Stargate show, but their voyage is derailed by one of those there Goa'uld super solidery things, which hijacks Prometheus but, for some reason, doesn't kill anyone.


410: The Defiant One
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ford)

On a routine mission, Sheppard and McKay run into a seemingly abandoned Wraith ship on a desolate planet. Perfect opportunity for some calming research into their technology.


411 & 412: Reckoning
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Carter/Selmac, Bra'tac, Harriman, Thor, Replicarter, Ba'al, Yu, Anubis)

The Replicators, commanded by Replicarter have become such a threat that the Goa'uld have asked to form an alliance with humanity and the Jaffa in order to destroy them. The Jaffa appear to have found a weapon powerful enough to end the conflict once and for all.


413: Before I Sleep
(Weir, McKay, Sheppard, Teyla, Ford, Beckett, Zelenka)

Those wacky ancients left behind a city rife with problems and the crew at Atlantis keeps having problems figuring out how the city works. Luckily, they discover that the Ancients left behind someone to help them out. But that someone is...Dr. Weir?



414: Threads
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Carter/Selmac, Bra'tac, Harriman, Ba'al, Anubis)

Fallout from Reckoning means that the survivors have to deal with what to do now that the major war they've been fighting since the first season appears to be over. Meanwhle, Daniel might be ascending again, but until he figures out what to do, he's cursed to spend the rest of the time in...the set to Dead Like Me?

301: Meridian
(O'Neill, Jackson,Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Quinn, Frasier, Jacob/Selmak, Harriman, Oma)

While helping the Kelownans figure out how to weaponize naquadria, Daniel Jackson is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation. Luckily, he's a main character, so he's obviously not going to die, right?


302: Revelations
(O'Neill, Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Thor, Anubis)

SG1 is called in by the Asgard to rescue Thor from Anubis's ship. Can they handle the situation without Daniel Jackson?


303 & 304: Redemption
(O'Neill, Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Quinn, Bra'tac, Harriman, Rya'c, McKay)

Anubis has a new superweapon and SG1, including new member Jonas Quinn, must stop them without the aid of The Tok'ra or The Asgard.


305: Descent
(O'Neill, Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Quinn, Jacob/Selmak)

A Goa'uld ship crashes into the ocean, and SG1 needs to salvage Thor's consciousness from its computer.


306: Abyss
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Quinn, Frasier, Harriman, Ba'al)

In order to survive a deadly virus, O'Neill is now host to a Tok'ra. Unfortunately, that Tok'ra has walked him into the clutches of Ba'al. While he is prisoner, the ascended form of Daniel Jackson tries to help him escape.


307 & 308: Prometheus/Unnatural Selection
(O'Neill, Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Quinn, Harriman, Thor, Fifth)

After a hostage situation involving a TV crew filming a space station, The Asgard trap the Replicators in a time dilation device. Unfortunately, the Replicators used the time to evolve. SG1 goes into the bubble to see if they can find a way to keep them trapped longer.


309: Full Circle
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Skaara, Hammond, Quinn, Harriman, Thor, Anubis, Yu, Her'ak)

Ascended Daniel Jackson  and SG1 are, separately, trying to keep Anubis from destroying Abydos using the Eye Of Ra, as we reach all the way back to the first episode to tie up some loose continuity threads.


310 & 311: Fallen/Homecoming 
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Frasier, Quinn, Harriman, Anubis, Her'ak)

In order to stop Anubis, Jackson (who is no longer ascended) and Quinn break into his ship. When Quinn is captured, Anubis changes his plans and heads to the Kelownan homeworld to get his hands on their naquadria.


312 & 313: Evolution
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Jacob/Selmak, Bra'tak, Anubis)

The Goa'uld have developed a new superwarrior to replace and destroy the Jaffa, but it has no problem taking out humans and Tok'ra if they get in the way.


314 & 315: Heroes
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Frasier, Harriman)

A documentary crew is filming the day-to-day work of Stargate Command and SG1 while the Jaffa and some SG teams battle the Goa'uld. Nobody is terribly excited about it, especially when the mission goes horribly wrong.

Episode 1: Checkpoint
(Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Anya, Joyce, Tara, Dawn, Ben, Quentin, Glory)

While the Scoobies are trying to figure out how to handle Glory, The Watchers' Council shows up in Sunnydale to evaluate Buffy's job as The Slayer.


Episode 2: Crush
(Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Anya, Joyce, Tara, Dawn, Ben, Spike, Drusilla, Harmony)

We're back to the whole Fangtastic gang from last season, as we see how awful love is for pretty much everyone in the show.


Episode 3: The Body
(Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Anya, Joyce, Tara, Dawn)

In a show dedicated to the dead and undead, we finally reach an episode dealing with grief. Don't watch before a big date or...leaving the house even.


Episode 4: Through The Looking Glass
(Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, Groosallug)

Things are too sad in Sunnydale. Even LA isn't far enough away, so let's go to Lorne's home dimension and meet the newest member of Angel Investigations.


Episode 5: Lullaby
(Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, Darla, Gavin, Lilah, Sahjhan, Holtz)

At the end of last season I said something happened between Angel and Darla that was going to change the game. Well, this is the episode where the fallout hits. 


Episode 6: Intervention
(Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Anya, Tara, Dawn, Ben, Spike, Glory)

Buffy is lost, Spike is creepy, Glory is a god, and somehow it seems like things just might work out.


Episode 7: Sleep Tight/Forgiving
(Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, Lilah, Sahjhan, Holtz)

This season is going to close with a bunch of misunderstandings about prophecies. Over in LA, Wesley learns of a prophecy that suggests that Angel is unlikely to win Father Of The Year, so he decides to do something about it.


Episode 8: A New World
(Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, Connor, Groosalugg, Lilah, Holtz)

Oh, cool. The prophecy was wrong, Angel's son is totally fine, he's just uhhh...well, he's a teenager who grew up in a Hell dimension. I'm sure that's fine. Everybody can go back to being friends and stuff now, right, guys? Right...guys?


Episode 9: Tomorrow
(Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, Connor, Groosalugg, Lilah)

Yea. Totally fine. Father and son fight demons together, Wesley gets a new job. Everything is sunshine and rainbows in LA. Even Cordelia is, ummmm, moving on. What a great way to leave the gang until next season.


Episode 10: The Gift
(Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Anya, Tara, Dawn, Ben, Glory)

Meanwhile, everything in Sunnydale is just going to go great, too. Sure, there's a prophecy about how one of the Summers family must die in order to vanquish Glory, but we've already lost one this season, so obviously the gang will figure out a way to beat a god without a single one of them dying. Obviously.

Episode 1: Darla
(Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Spike, Drusilla, Darla, The Master, Lindsey, Holland)

There is a lot of backstory in this episode as Darla was brought back by Wolfram & Hart between seasons, and it's up to Angel to save his fellow vampire with a soul.


Episode 2: The Trial
(Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Drusilla, Darla, Lindsey, Holland, The Valet)

Darla is dying fom syphilis, so, natch, Angel has to keep her alive. But Wolfram & Hart has other plans.


Episode 3: Reunion
(Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Kate, Drusilla, Darla, Lindsey, Holland, Lilah)

Whelp, Darla and Drusilla are back to being a pair of superbad vampires with the power to wreck lives. Is Team Angel powerful enough to survive them?


Episode 4: Real Me
(Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Joyce, Anya, Tara, Riley, Dawn, Spike, Harmony)

While Darla & Drusilla reign chaos in LA, Sunnydale has grown calm, so calm that their biggest threat appears to be...Harmony? Things have gotten so chill, they're even letting Buffy's sister Dawn join in on the fun...wait...Buffy has a sister?


Episode 5: No Place Like Home
(Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Joyce, Anya, Tara, Riley, Dawn, Ben, Spike, Glory)

It's the newest biggest bad so far in Buffy history, as Glory shows up. Also, Buffy learns an important secret about her sister, who most Buffyfans Hate.


Episode 6: Family
(Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Anya, Tara, Riley, Dawn, Ben, Spike, Glory, Harmony)

For the first time, we get an episode mostly centered on Tara, whose family tends to go all demony when they reach the age of...ohh...you know...the age Tara is now. Can the Scooby gang prevent the transformation while still fending off Glory?


Episode 7: Fool For Love
(Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Anya, Joyce, Tara, Riley, Dawn, Ben, Spike, Drusilla, Darla, Harmony)

More backstory and more Darla and Drusilla badassery as Buffy asks Spike to explain how he has previously killed slayers so that she can prevent her own death at the hands of vampires.


Episode 8: Redefinition 
(Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Drusilla, Darla, Lindsey, Lilah)

Angel fired everyone at the end of the last episode, so the gang must try and figure out their place in the LA demon scene without him. Meanwhile, Angel is still trying to stop Wolfram & Hart's dynamic duo of Darla and Drusilla.


Episode 9: Reprise
(Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Kate, Darla, Lindsey, Holland, Lilah)

Are they called the Scoobies on Angel? Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn try and run a successful demon hunting business despite a skeptical human populace as Angel goes house on Wolfram & Hart who appear to have been abandoned by Darla & Drusilla.


Episode 10: Epiphany
(Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Kate, Darla, Lindsey)

Team Angel Investigations must work together again as Angel and Darla have done something that is going to seriously destroy the status quo of the Buffyverse.

201 & 202: Into The Fire
(O'Neill, Jackson,Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Bra'tac, Davis, Harriman, Hathor)

Hathor has has captured SG1 and implanted O'Neill with a symbiote. Meanwhile, Teal'c is back on Chulak, trying to start a Jaffa rebellion army.


203: Pretense
(O'Neill, Jackson, Skaara/Klorel, Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Narim, Zipacna)

The Tollan have taken Klorel prisoner, and have decided to hold a trial to determine whether the host (Skaara) or the symbiote (Klorel) will be allowed to live.  SG1 is chosen to represent Skaara while Zipacna of the Goa'uld represents Klorel.


204: Window Of Opportunity
(O'Neill, Jackson, Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Fraser)

It's a time loop episode! It's always fun to see a bunch of scientists become aware of a time loop and then break out of it, right?


205 & 206: Nemesis/Small Victories
(O'Neill, Jackson,Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Bra'tac, Thor, Davis, Harriman)

While the team is supposed to have some down time, Thor gets O'Neill to help battle a new alien threat that's taken over his ship. The Replicators are the new alien threat, and at least one has arrived on Earth.


207: The Other Side
(O'Neill, Jackson,Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Harriman)

A new alien race requests Earth's help, offering massive technological advancement in exchange for the American military's assistance in defeating their enemies. But...are they the good guys?


208: Point Of No Return
(O'Neill, Jackson,Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Frasier)

A conspiracy theorist in Montana knows a bit too much about The Stargate, so SG1 goes to investigate .


209: 2010
(O'Neill, Jackson,Carter, Teal'c, Frasier, Harriman)

When this episode aired, 2010 was the future. Earth had been technologically advanced by a race called the Aschen, who came to Earth after meeting SG1. O'Neill had some reservations about the alliance and his distrust is contagious.


210: Double Jeopardy
(O'Neill, Jackson,Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Cronus)

SG1 arrives on a planet and are informed that they help drive away the Goa'uld. But they don't remember ever having been to the planet before. This is tied into an earlier episode that didn't make the chronology, but I think this episode is actually enhanced by not having seen the setup.


211 & 212: Exodus/Enemies
(O'Neill, Jackson,Carter, Teal'c, Jacob Carter/Selmak, Harriman, Apophis, Tanith)

A Goa'uld mothership is spotted over the Tokra homeworld. Surprise! It's SG1 in the ship they got in the last episode. The Tokra/Goa'uld war and the Asgard/Replicator wars intersect for the first time.


213: Proving Ground
(O'Neill, Jackson,Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Elliot)

SG1 is training the next generation of SG teams when an alien race takes a foothold on Cheyenne Mountain. It's, naturally, up to the new kids to save the day.


214: Menace
(O'Neill, Jackson,Carter, Teal'c, Hammond, Harriman)

When a young girl is discovered on a desolate world, she is brought to SGC where they discover her connection to one of humanity's biggest foes.

In the first two seasons, we witnessed every major character be both hero and villain. We saw a slayer and a vampire fall in love, we saw a couple of slayers die, we saw some fan favorite vampires staked, we saw one come back to life and move to LA! What else is there to be done? It's time to get Tropey and Weird.

Episode 1:  The Initiative
(Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Riley, Forrest, Walsh, Miller, Harmony, Spike)

There's a new demon fighting crew in town. A professor at Buffy's college is running a morally questionable paramilitary outfit, and they've captured Spike! Are they allies or  the new Big Bad?
(Tropes: rival characters could be friend or foe, mentor with ulterior motives)


Episode 2: Pangs
(Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Anya, Riley, Forrest, Miller, Harmony, Spike)

It's Thanksgiving and the gang battles...Native...Americ---that can't be right, can it? Have the Scooby Gang become the bad guys? Also, why is Angel back in Sunnydale?
(Tropes: White guy writes Native American mythology where Native Americans talk like mid-century Western stereotype, Native Americans are magical)


Episode 3: Something Blue
(Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Anya, Tara, Riley, Spike)

Drunk Willow casts a truth spell that fucks evvvvvvvvvvvvvrything up for everyone.
(Tropes: Wish fulfillment goes awry, heartbroken woman causes chaos)


Episode 4: Hush
(Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Anya, Tara, Riley, Forrest, Walsh, Spike)

Shhhh...it's the quietest episode ever. The Gentlemen pay a polite visit to The Hellmouth.
(Tropes: Mostly silent episode)


Episode 5: I Will Remember You
(Angel, Buffy, Cordelia, Doyle, The Oracles)

Concerned about his previous visit to Sunnydale, Buffy goes to LA and discovers that Angel is now human.
(Tropes: Ex lovers are totally not over each other but wish to convince each othey they are)


Episode 6: Hero
(Angel, Cordelia, Doyle)

Angel is a vampire again. Doyle leads him and Cordelia in a battle against a group of demons called The Scourge.
(Tropes: Sacrifice/martyrdom)


Episode 7: Parting Gifts
(Angel, Cordelia, Doyle, Wesley, The Oracles)

Sunnydale's least impressive watcher joins the crew, after Cordelia is granted visions from The Powers That Be.
(Tropes: Formerly normal character gets powers they don't want, nerdy outsider redeems himself)


Episode 8: This  Year's Girl/Who Are You
(Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Anya, Tara, Riley, Joyce, Forrest, Miller, Spike, Faith, The Mayor, Adam)

Faith is out of her coma and out for revenge against The Scoobies. Or is Buffy out of her coma and out for revenge? It's slayer vs slayer vs everyone. Also, the blandest season-long villain makes an appearance: Adam. Despite his awesome name, his arc is unfulfilling, so this will be the only time you see him.
(Tropes: Body swap!, identity confusion)


Episode 9: New Moon Rising
(Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Oz, Anya, Tara, Riley, Forrest, Miller, Spike, Adam)

Ok, Adam's sort of in this episode, too. But the real story is....Oz is back! And he's totally got the whole werewolf thing figured out. Too bad for him that Willow has got the whole lesbian thing figured out.
(Tropes: werewolves, ex returns precisely when one starts a new relationship)


Episode 10: Five By Five/Sanctuary
(Angel, Buffy, Cordelia, Wesley, Faith, Darla, Lindsey, Lilah)

After her disastrous time in Sunnydale, Faith gets hired by Wolfram & Hart to kill Angel. After a few dangerous interactions, Buffy shows up to try and help solve the problem.
(Tropes: Redemption!, wuv twianlge that isn't weally weal)

Episode 1: Becoming
​Buffy, Angelus, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce, Merrick, Kendra, Spike, Drusilla, Darla, Snyder

Despite all of the horrible things he's done since his transformation, Buffy is determind to return Angelus's  soul to him. Kendra returns to stop them all, and a vampire with a dodgy sense of allegiance is dodgy in their allegiance.


Episode 2: Faith, Hope & Trick
​Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce, Faith, Snyder, Trick

Remember how when Buffy died for a minute, a new slayer came to take her place. Welp, some slayer must have died because here's another new slayer, and she comes with some ancient vampire nemesis baggage. 


Episode 3: The Wish
​Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce, Harmony, Jonathan, Larry, Anya, The Master

​Anya the vegeance demon grants Cordelia a wish that exposes an alternate Sunnydale timeline where things are much worse. It's kind of like Community's darkest timeline or the 2018 we're currently living in. 


Episode 4: Bad Girls
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce, Faith, Wesley, Trick, The Mayor

Buffy has a new watcher, and Faith is still around helping out. So...vampires...and the reveal of a new Big Bad.


Episode 5: Consequences
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Joyce, Faith, Wesley, Trick, The Mayor

Due to an accidental death in the previous episode the police are actually investigating one of the many, many murders that take place in Sunnydale. WIll the bad guys keep getting away with being hugely evil demons because a slayer killed the servant of a demon?


Episode 6: Dopplegangland
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce, Faith, Wesley, Anya, Snyder, The Mayor

While the Scoobies investigate The Mayor, Anya returns, desperate to get her amulet back. While performing a spell to help her, Willow accidentally brings the alternate version of Willow from "The Wish" into the main reality.


Episode 7: Earshot
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce, Wesley, Jonathan, Larry, The Mayor

After getting demon blood on her, Buffy briefly gets telepathic powers. During this time, Buffy hears that someone in the school is planning on committing mass murder of the student body.


Episode 8: Graduation Day
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce, Wesley, Harmony, Faith, Snyder, The Mayor

Buffy is scheduled to play slayer out of town during Sunnydale High's graduation. It turns out that both The Mayor and Faith also have been big plans for the day. 


Episode 9: City Of
Angel, Cordelia, Doyle, Lindsey

Buffy's favorite vampire leaves Sunnydale for Los Angeles, where he and the fame-seeking Cordelia team up with a demon named Doyle to help people with supernatural problems. They quickly make enemies with a demonic law firm (I know, I know, it's redundant) called Wolfram & Hart.


Episode 10: The Harsh Light Of Day/In The Dark
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Oz, Anya, Harmony, Spike

Spike is back in Sunnydale, looking for an amulet that allows him to go out in the bright light of day. Buffy relieves him of the gem and sends it, via Oz, to Angel in LA, where Spike decides to go next.

I'm the midst of coming up with a Stargate In Significantly Fewer Seasons. But, much like when I did Star Trek In Significantly Fewer Seasons, my unfamiliarity with the series makes creating anedited season challenging, as I have to watch every episode before I can figure out a good bar for quality. I wished there was a series that I was more of an expert in, whose entire run I had seen at least two or three times alr...Buffy!

There are 254 episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. I have whittled it down to the 80 best. Buffy and Angel seasons each tended to be defined by a Big  Bad, where each season had one main enemy. I've ditched that, and tried to end each season on the series' biggest emotional beats.

Season One introduces us to "The Scoobies": Buffy and the friends who surround her and help her fight vampires and demons. 

Episode 1: The Chosen One
Buffy, Merrick, Amilyn, Lothos, Pike

Much like the Stargate continuity, we start with a movie that features none of the actors from the tv series, but a fun background to the series featuring over-the-top acting. In this case, we get Dylan from 90210 (or Archie's dad from Riverdale, if you prefer) vs. Pee-Wee Herman, and one of the most epic death scenes ever. Buffy is just your average high school cheerleader who is born to fight vampires and demons with the assistance of her watcher, Merrick.   (90 minutes)


Episode 2: Harvest
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Joyce, Harmony, The Master, Darla, Collin

After the ending of the movie, Buffy Summers moves to Sunnydale, where, unfortunately, there are loads of vampires attracted to the town due to something called The Hellmouth. After meeting her new watcher, Giles, and accruing some friends, Buffy learns of a very old vampire called The Master, who intends to open a portal and unleash Hell on Earth.


Episode 3: Angel
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Joyce, The Master, Darla, Collin

Three vampire warriors are sent by The Master to take vengeance on Buffy by targeting her family and friends, and framing Angel. Giles learns that Angel is, in fact, a Very Bad Vampire.


Episode 4: Nightmares
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Joyce, Hank, The Master, Collin

Each member of The Scoobies is confronted by their worst fear, as Buffy has its very own Nightmare On Elm Street episode.
 

Episode 5: Prophecy Girl
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Joyce, Jenny Calendar, The Master, Collin

According to an ancient prophecy that Giles discovers, The Master's plan to open a portal and destroy Sunnydale will fail. Unfortunately, the prophecy states that, for The Master's plan to fail, Buffy must die.


Episode 6: School Hard
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Joyce, Jenny Calendar, Snyder, Spike, Drusilla, Collin

The Scoobies have a big problem. Two new badass vampires have come to town to fill the void left by The Master. They, too, have big ties to Angel. Unfortunately, Principal Snyder thwarts Buffy's plans to go out slaying.


Episode 7: Halloween
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Joyce, Jenny Calendar, Oz, Larry, Snyder, Spike, Drusilla, Ethan Rayne

It's time for Giles's past to bite everyone's bottoms, as one of his old friends moves to town and opens a costume store just in time for Halloween. When his costumes transform the people wearing them, it's up to the non-Trick-or-Treat crowd to try and save the day.


Episode 8: What's My Line
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Kendra, Oz, Jonathan, Larry, Spike, Drusilla

When a slayer dies, a replacement is sent to carry on the legacy. So when Buffy briefly died in "Prophecy Girl", Kendra The Vampire Slayer was called to Sunnydale. While two slayers seems nice, in theory, Kendra's approach and her unfamiliarity with the way The Scoobies operate threaten to destroy the status quo.


Episode 9: Surprise/Innocence
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce, Jenny Calendar, Spike, Drusilla

For her 17th birthday, Spike and Drusilla have hired The Judge to dispose of her, her friends, and her family once and for all. To celebrate everything going right in the end, she and Angel decide to become intimate, which, unfortunately, makes everything Go Wrong.


Episode 10: Bewitched, Bothered, & Bewildered/Passion
Buffy, Angelus, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce, Jenny Calendar, Harmony, Spike, Drusilla

We end the season with looooooooooove, as Xander decides to get back at Cordelia by having a witch cast a spell to make Cordelia love him. It goes....awry. Then Giles and Jenny Calendar make romantic plans now that Jenny has figured out a way to restore Angelus's soul. But...uhhh...that goes awryer.