COLLATERAL DAMAGE

09.12 Episode 186
Airdate: January 13, 2006

On the planet Galar, Mitchell regains consciousness as officers inform him that he is under arrest for the murder of Dr. Reya Varrick. Only 24 hours before, SG-1 had been welcomed to the planet and Mitchell had volunteered for a demonstration of new Galaran technology which allows an individual's memories to be spliced into the mind of another. Anxious to open a relationship with Earth, the Galarans had invited SG-1 to a reception that evening, from which Mitchell had escorted Reya Varrick home. However, when Mitchell awakened the following morning with blood on his hands and memories of a violent confrontation, he confessed to the murder.

SG-1 suspects that Mitchell's memory of the murder was implanted, and the Emissary is willing to drop all charges, but Mitchell insists on an investigation that will clear him and identify the real killer. Dr. Amuro and his colleague Dr. Marell, who had been Reya's husband, agree to use the implant technology to detect false memories, but after three trials, the analysis indicates that Mitchell's memories are genuine. Only by drawing upon a memory with similar emotional resonance, a tragic incident years before in which Mitchell's bombing raid had unintentionally targeted a civilian convoy, are the scientists able to prove that the memory was implanted.

Determined to find Reya Varrick's murderer, Mitchell again submits to the technology as the scientists seek anomalies that would target the killer. As he relives the murder again in his mind, Mitchell glances at himself in a mirror, but the face he sees is that of Dr. Marell. Stunned, Marell professes his innocence and agrees to the procedure himself. However, the analysis indicates that Marell had spliced his memory of the murder into Mitchell's mind and then erased it from his own. The device can also remove the violent memory from Mitchell's mind, and he is free to go, as Dr. Marell returns to his research. With no memory of the incident, his crime will be forgotten.

Written by: Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie
Directed by: William Waring

Guest Starring: Anna Galvin as Dr. Reya Varrick, Warren Kimmel as Dr. Marell, Benson Simmonds as Dr. Amuro, Gary Jones as Sergeant Harriman, William Atherton as Emissary, Ian Robison as Mitchell's Father, Maximillian Uhrin as Young Mitchell, Brian Drummond as Security Officer, John Treleaven as Colonel

Reference: Dr. Amuro, Colonel Davidson, Emissary, Galar, Galarans, Dr. Marell, Memory Implant Device, Cameron Mitchell, Frank Mitchell, Reya Varrick

DESTINATIONS & INHABITANTS

NOTES OF INTEREST

• Galar was originally occupied by the Goa'uld but has been under the protection of the Asgard for many generations.
• Mitchell's father was a test pilot who had lost both legs at the knee in an accident when Mitchell was about 10, a few months before the launch of the first space shuttle.
• As a captain, Mitchell had been a fighter pilot with the call name Mustang Three. His target was a three-vehicle convoy, he was cleared to fire, then lost confirmation after it was too late to abort, and the target, a group of refugees, was destroyed. He almost resigned his commission, but his commanding officer, Colonel M. Davidson, tried to reassure him that it wasn't his fault.

MEMORABLE REMARKS

FOR THE RECORD

• Injuries:
  • Mitchell: unconscious by electrical charge, implanted with a false memory