SETH

03.02 Episode 46 (#6530)
Airdate: July 2, 1999

Jacob Carter returns to the SGC seeking help to eliminate the Goa'uld Seth, who has been hiding on Earth for thousands of years. The team traces Seth to a religious cult in a heavily armed compound near Seattle. The ATF has also been investigating the cult, and ATF Agent Hamner reluctantly cooperates with SG-1's plan to infiltrate the compound. Once inside, O'Neill, Carter, and Daniel must overcome the brainwashing effects of Seth's biological weapon, nish'ta. The team succeeds in rescuing the cult members, and Seth meets his death when Carter realizes the ability to activate the Goa'uld ribbon device.

Written by: Jonathan Glassner
Directed by: William Corcoran

Guest Starring: Carmen Argenziano as Jacob Carter/Selmak, Robert Duncan as Seth, Mitchell Kosterman as Special Agent James Hamner, Stuart O'Connell as Tommy Levinson, Lucia Walters as Disciple, Greg Michaels as Jason Levinson, Rob Morton as Sheriff

Reference: Jacob Carter, Mark Carter, James Hamner, Holographic Projection, Jason Levinson, Tommy Levinson, Nish'ta, Ribbon Device, Setesh Guard, Seth, Shock Grenade, Tok'ra, Zat'nik'tel

DESTINATIONS & INHABITANTS

NOTES OF INTEREST

• Carter's brother Mark in San Diego had been estranged from his father for a long time, and she hadn't seen him since his two children were born.
• There are only dozens of Goa'uld at the rank of System Lord, thousands of Goa'uld in general.
• Seth, also known as Setekh, Set, Seti, Setesh, is the ancient Egyptian god of chaos, the embodiment of hostility and outright evil. He tried to overthrow Ra, and both the System Lords and Tok'ra want him dead. The record of Seth on Earth ended when the Earth gate was buried in Egypt, and he has been hiding out here. He could remain alive with a sarcophagus, or if he changed hosts approximately every 400 years.
• Setesh was represented by an animal that is either fictitious or extinct. For this reason, the helmets of the Setesh guard continue to be the source of many jokes among the Jaffa.
• There has been a cult of Setesh in some form since around 1000 BC. Set and his minions were supposedly killed in Egypt. A similar god called Typhon showed up in Greece, who killed 300 followers and then disappeared. In the early 1800's a new cult arose near Stonehenge in England, under a leader named Seth, until all his followers slit their own throats.
• The ATF webpage shows a cult leader named Seth who has about 50 followers ready to die for him in a fortified compound outside Seattle. Vital information listed: Name: Seth Fargough, DOB: 1962(?), Height: 6'0", Weight: 190, Marital status: N/A, Criminal record: None.
• Nish'ta: a biological compound that once inhaled infects all body tissue and makes the mind extremely pliable. It may have been used on Rya'c, and is similar to, but stronger than the organism used by Hathor. Its effects can be reversed by an electrical shock after it has infected all tissues (approximately 1 hour). Once reversed, the host becomes immune.
• Carter has retained the ability to use the Goa'uld ribbon device.

MEMORABLE REMARKS

• You guys are the talk of the Tok'ra water cooler, kicking some major Hathor behind. [Jacob]
• Kind of gives "needle in a haystack" a whole new meaning. [O'Neill]
• Jaffa jokes? Let's hear one of them. [O'Neill]
  A Serpent guard, a Horus guard, and a Setesh guard meet on a neutral planet. It is a tense moment. The Serpent guard's eyes glow. The Horus guard's beak glistens. The Setesh guard's nose drips. [Teal'c]
• AK-47s, couple Uzis. Anyone think they observed the requisite 15-day waiting period for those weapons? [O'Neill]
• Does the concept of "overkill" mean anything to anybody? [O'Neill]
• You have a rather insubordinate subordinate, General. [Hamner]
  He's not insubordinate to me. Only to people such as yourself. Saves me the trouble. [Jacob]
• My first order of business. Get me one of those cool jackets, extra large. Double XL, if you've got it. [O'Neill]
• Eunuchs, as in snippity-doo-dah? [O'Neill]
• I hate when that happens. [O'Neill]
• Well, I'm Larry, this is Moe, and of course everyone's favorite, Curly. [O'Neill]
• So help me, if I wake up, and I'm singing soprano... [O'Neill]

FOR THE RECORD

• Sweet: 2
• Injuries:
  • O'Neill: infected with nish'ta, knocked out by a ribbon device
  • Daniel: infected with nish'ta, knocked out by a ribbon device
  • Carter: infected with nish'ta
• Popular Culture References:
  • The Three Stooges
    • Well, I'm Larry, this is Moe, and of course everyone's favorite, Curly.
  • The Wizard of Oz
    • Hail Dorothy