Generic SG-1 questions

[Batman]

Tele5 has had daily SG-1 reruns for the last few months (starting from the word go to boot) so I'm finally able to catch up on all those episodes I missed
(which turn out not to be all that may so far) and there's been a number of things I couldn't fail to notice.
1. Is there any in-universe reason SG-1 is the worst-armed of the SG teams? Nevermind there being just the four of them, every other team has assault shotguns, M4/M16s and SAWs. Hell even Teal'c carried a SAW on occasion in the early days. Then they switched to all MP-5s/P-90s (except for Teal'c's staff weapon).
2. The 'Oh noes! unexpected activation form outside' reception committee. There's a set of HMGs if not autocannon (do we know for a fact what they are? They look 20mm-ish to me but I can't really place them) plus a truckload of people with assault rifles covering the gate. Why, exactly, do they put a number of grunts with Valendamned M9s among them?
3. Tracking objects during gate transit. How pray tell does that work?
4. The Goa'uld are much more advanced than us? Don't make me laugh, they apparently haven't even invented the wheel. I have yet to see a Goa'uld/Jaffa land vehicle (if there ARE such I'll gladly conceed but I DO think I've seen the majority of SG-1 and there weren't any so far). They're always either on foot or air/spaceborn.
5. To some extent of course that goes for the SG teams, too. Other than for the MALPs (what does that stand for anyway?) and them equipment wagons they don't seem to use wheeled vehicles either, apparently.
6. During the Antarctica episode a power surge switched an incoming wormhole to the second gate. Fair enough. The later one where that Bad Guys from the IND stole that weather control thingy, they reasoned they'd need ANOTHER power surge to achieve that again. Why? The SG-1 gate if no other seems to be externally powered, so why not just pull the plug for a while to access the second gate? Go to planet takeyourpick, pull the plug on the SGC gate for 10 minutes or so, dial back to Earth during that time period. Presto, you go to the second gate.
7. In the episode where O'Neill gets the Ancient Encyclopedia Britannica dumped in his brain, they need seven spacial coordinates to get to the Asgard homeworld, on account of it being in another galaxy. Err-no?
Or is that later explained in a way to make Carter's 'the prefix changed' make sense?

[Destructionator XV]

1. Is there any in-universe reason SG-1 is the worst-armed of the SG teams?

Maybe because they are a more diplomatic team and don't figure they need such firepower when just talking and exploring. They often don't shoot to kill anyway, and when they need more guns, they call in a specialized team.

3. Tracking objects during gate transit. How pray tell does that work?

The gate sends various signals to the DHD / Earth computers updating it on its current status. That might be something like debugging info.

4. The Goa'uld are much more advanced than us? Don't make me laugh, they apparently haven't even invented the wheel.

They never seem to travel more than 10 miles from the gate anyway. That is within walking distance. Also, putting in things like roads would require maintenance and they probably don't feel it is worth it.

5. To some extent of course that goes for the SG teams, too.

Same thing, I would think. Short distances and small villages everywhere, so no need to go nuts.

But funnily, in the SG-A episode with the RepliAncients, John does comment that no alien race seems to have invented the car while walking through the Atlantis sister ship.

Other than for the MALPs (what does that stand for anyway?)

Mobile Analytic Laboratory Probe

Why? The SG-1 gate if no other seems to be externally powered, so why not just pull the plug for a while to access the second gate?

The incoming wormhole will power the receiving gate.

7. In the episode where O'Neill gets the Ancient Encyclopedia Britannica dumped in his brain, they need seven spacial coordinates to get to the Asgard homeworld, on account of it being in another galaxy. Err-no?

Remember those coordinates are based on constellations in the Milky Way - it couldn't point outside the galaxy on their own. So the area code thing tells it to go further in that direction outside the galaxy.

[Batman]

1. Is there any in-universe reason SG-1 is the worst-armed of the SG teams?

Maybe because they are a more diplomatic team and don't figure they need such firepower when just talking and exploring. They often don't shoot to kill anyway, and when they need more guns, they call in a specialized team.

All of the SG teams are diplomatic teams (there's frequent mentions of other SG teams making first contact and establishing relations with other cultures). Yet even when it is KNOWN that SG-1 will go back into a likely hostile environment, they stick to their SMGs.

3. Tracking objects during gate transit. How pray tell does that work?

The gate sends various signals to the DHD / Earth computers updating it on its current status. That might be something like debugging info.

Works for me.

4. The Goa'uld are much more advanced than us? Don't make me laugh, they apparently haven't even invented the wheel.

They never seem to travel more than 10 miles from the gate anyway. That is within walking distance. Also, putting in things like roads would require maintenance and they probably don't feel it is worth it.

That's what 4WD and tracks are for. C'mon, the entire population of the planet resides within ten miles of the Stargate?

5. To some extent of course that goes for the SG teams, too.

Same thing, I would think. Short distances and small villages everywhere, so no need to go nuts.

As long as everybody lives within walking distance of the stargate, anyway.

Other than for the MALPs (what does that stand for anyway?)

Mobile Analytic Laboratory Probe

Ah. Thank you.

Why? The SG-1 gate if no other seems to be externally powered, so why not just pull the plug for a while to access the second gate?

The incoming wormhole will power the receiving gate.

Which will not be receiving power on account of being offline.

7. In the episode where O'Neill gets the Ancient Encyclopedia Britannica dumped in his brain, they need seven spacial coordinates to get to the Asgard homeworld, on account of it being in another galaxy. Err-no?

Remember those coordinates are based on constellations in the Milky Way - it couldn't point outside the galaxy on their own. So the area code thing tells it to go further in that direction outside the galaxy.

In that case a single additional coordinate isn't going to give you jack shit.
What it COULD do is as per Carter's prefix analogy access a different subset of the Stargate system's adress directory.

[Destructionator XV]

All of the SG teams are diplomatic teams (there's frequent mentions of other SG teams making first contact and establishing relations with other cultures).

How often do we see them on these missions? Perhaps they also take different weapons depending on their objective.

Yet even when it is KNOWN that SG-1 will go back into a likely hostile environment, they stick to their SMGs.

I don't really know here. They seem to be pretty effective though against most their opponents.

C'mon, the entire population of the planet resides within ten miles of the Stargate?

Yeah. There seems to be no evidence to show otherwise on most planets. They seem to be just a small number of scarcely populated villages close to the gate. Given that they use the gate for most their trade economy and likely were brought to the planet as a new colony through the gate, this makes some sense.

And if they did live further out, they would probably have aircraft, ships, or cars. We never see any of these except from the Goa'uld, who might not want them to spread out either, since they are easier to control when closer to the gate.

Which will not be receiving power on account of being offline.

They can connect to gates that aren't attached to anything on other planets. If neither has a DHD attached - both are completely unplugged, they cannot control what gate will be used at all.

It might be random, it might not work at all, or it might just go to the default gate (meaning whatever one was there first or something). We know having a DHD attached to the gate when there are two will always override where it goes, but if there is nothing attached on both, there is no knowing what it will do.

What it COULD do is as per Carter's prefix analogy access a different subset of the Stargate system's adress directory.

Yeah, that does make sense.

[LadyTevar]

1. Is there any in-universe reason SG-1 is the worst-armed of the SG teams?

Maybe because they are a more diplomatic team and don't figure they need such firepower when just talking and exploring. They often don't shoot to kill anyway, and when they need more guns, they call in a specialized team.

All of the SG teams are diplomatic teams (there's frequent mentions of other SG teams making first contact and establishing relations with other cultures). Yet even when it is KNOWN that SG-1 will go back into a likely hostile environment, they stick to their SMGs.

Sorry Bats, not all SG teams are diplomatic. There are specialized SG teams that are mostly scientists, and then there are the Marine Fire Teams.

Nitram: The Marine SG units should be called F.E.A.R (First Encounter Assualt Recon) missions: To boldly go where no Tau'ri has gone before, to encounter new life and civilizations, and to shoot it in the face.

[Hotfoot]

Sorry Bats, not all SG teams are diplomatic. There are specialized SG teams that are mostly scientists, and then there are the Marine Fire Teams.

Very true. If you look at the SG-1 RPG, it defines several types of teams, with the most common being "exploration", which are general purpose.

Nitram: The Marine SG units should be called F.E.A.R (First Encounter Assualt Recon) missions: To boldly go where no Tau'ri has gone before, to encounter new life and civilizations, and to shoot it in the face.

I just call them SG-14, though they tend more towards high explosives than just guns.

And by high explosives, I mean nukes....

[Batman]

All of the SG teams are diplomatic teams (there's frequent mentions of other SG teams making first contact and establishing relations with other cultures).

How often do we see them on these missions? Perhaps they also take different weapons depending on their objective.

WHENEVER we see them, they're better armed than SG-1. Sorry, to me that means that SG-1 gets shafted for some reason.

Yet even when it is KNOWN that SG-1 will go back into a likely hostile environment, they stick to their SMGs.

I don't really know here. They seem to be pretty effective though against most their opponents.

DESPITE their lack of firepower, not because of it. Imagine what they could do if the had M4s instead of MP-5s (or *gasp* M203s on top of it).

C'mon, the entire population of the planet resides within ten miles of the Stargate?

SNIPPY
I'm generally conceeding this point since we are NOT talking about a natural planetary population but a transplanted one usually, but even when exploring supposedly uninhabited planets SGC can't be arsed to send over a Humvee or two?

Which will not be receiving power on account of being offline.

They can connect to gates that aren't attached to anything on other planets. If neither has a DHD attached - both are completely unplugged, they cannot control what gate will be used at all.
It might be random, it might not work at all, or it might just go to the default gate (meaning whatever one was there first or something). We know having a DHD attached to the gate when there are two will always override where it goes, but if there is nothing attached on both, there is no knowing what it will do.

Um-the same goes for the power spike. Besides, there WAS a DHD attached to the second gate.

What it COULD do is as per Carter's prefix analogy access a different subset of the Stargate system's adress directory.

Yeah, that does make sense.

Well I'm glad we agree about something.

[Ra]

While it would be very nice for SG-1 to have some vehicular support (hell, even some Humvees or Delta Force dunebuggies would work for most applications), they have that little problem of the Gate being inside a deep missile-test silo in Cheyenne Mountain, so getting vehicles to the Gate is virtually impractical, which is really ashame.

Thinking about it, however, a few M1A2's stowed away aboard a modified Daedalus-class would be a nice nasty surprise for Jaffa or Ori footsoldiers, along with some Avenger air-defense Humvees. Stingers usually make meat of Death Gliders and Darts; a vehicle with a whole load of them would be death on four wheels. The Daedy lands and dislodges the land vehicles, with some F-302's flying cover for the starship, and presto.

[frigidmagi]

I feel I should point out that the SG teams are trying for a low footprint and are striving to avoid notice. Humvees on planets that haven't discovered combustion engines draw notice. Lots of Notice.

It is also harder to hide a humvee then it is harder to hide 4 people.

I always just assumed that combined with the sheer difficulty of getting vehicles into the bloody gate room that stealth was judged to be more importent then speed or ease of travel.

[Batman]

While it would be very nice for SG-1 to have some vehicular support (hell, even some Humvees or Delta Force dunebuggies would work for most applications), they have that little problem of the Gate being inside a deep missile-test silo in Cheyenne Mountain, so getting vehicles to the Gate is virtually impractical, which is really ashame.

Yet despite the SGC being able to get MALPs and the aforementioned freight wagon across they can't be arsed to give the SG teams wheeled transportation.

[frigidmagi]

I don't remember the freight wagon but MALPs are quiet a bit smaller then a Humvee. Some bikes would be nice though.

[Batman]

I don't remember the freight wagon but MALPs are quiet a bit smaller then a Humvee. Some bikes would be nice though.

The freight wagon is my term for it, it's that wheeled vehicle (which incidentally is about the same size as the MALP) they use when the can be arsed to actually USE vehicles to carry stuff across. And unless I'm severely misjudging the size of the Stargate there's nothing keeping them from sending Hummers across in one piece (assuming the can get them to the Gate in on piece in the first place but given they can get MALPs there...)

[frigidmagi]

It's not the size of the gate no, but the bloody awkwardness of getting a humvee down the missile silo Bats, as we've been saying.

Also there are logistic concerns. How do we find more gas for the Hummer over there? Spare parts? Hell what if the tires blow out or it gets stuck then what? Kinda hard to call for a tow from the other side of the galaxy ain't it? Meanwhile the freight wagon and the MALP are small enough that if we have to we can just divide up or bury what it was carrying and keep moving if it breaks.

Remember they're trying to stay low drag here the more crap you bring the bigger the supply tail you need.

[Hotfoot]

In my alt-history stargate timeline that I use for my stargate RPGs, I did add a buggy to the arsenal of the SGC, because of its relatively small size.

I also included a class of ship between the 302 and the 303/304, similar to the Al'Kesh in function.

I also added a new class of probe, so that million-dollar MALPs wouldn't be at risk from dead gates.

[frigidmagi]

You think we could make something cheaper then MALPs wouldn't you?

[Hotfoot]

Well, yeah. Something that just checks if the gate is working BEFORE sending the big expensive probe to the other side and potentially wasting millions of dollars. A simple camera on a ball or something would be fine. Hell, a simple radio transmitter would be enough. You can get that for like, what, ten bucks?

[Elheru Aran]

2. The 'Oh noes! unexpected activation form outside' reception committee. There's a set of HMGs if not autocannon (do we know for a fact what they are? They look 20mm-ish to me but I can't really place them) plus a truckload of people with assault rifles covering the gate. Why, exactly, do they put a number of grunts with Valendamned M9s among them?

The machine guns are pintle mounted .50 caliber Brownings with shields. The guards seem to be equipped with M16's for the most part, A1 and A2's both, although M4 carbines have been appearing fairly frequently especially in the latter few seasons. Presumably the ones with pistols are just normal security guards from the corridors who ran down to the gate room when the red alert sounded and didn't have time to grab a rifle; SGC uses armour-piercing ammunition ever since they encountered the Jaffa, and any extra firepower's useful enough given a staff blast will easily one-shot most humans not protected by character shields.

Of course, that's no help if Mr. Goa'uld decides to fire a Ha'tak through the gate...

As for Goa'ulds' seeming lack of technology:

They're quite advanced indeed, to the point where they have cheap anti-gravity technology (witness the seemingly disposable Death Gliders and al'kesh cargo ships). Ergo, wheels=unnecessary. They also have the reliable enough ring transport system (which can operate without rings at the receiving end provided the ship's at range; note a tel'tak bomber ringing down Jaffa to bare ground in The Other Guys). Energy weapons, personal shielding devices (admittedly rare and limited to Goa'ulds' personal use as far as we've seen), healing devices, et cetera...

The simple fact is that most of this technology is strictly restricted to the System Lords and their followers. Also, most of it isn't that impressive; the Goa'uld resistance (damned if I can remember their name!)'s crystal-tunnel technology doesn't look like much when the SG team is walking through the tunnels, does it? You don't see it in action too much, either, aside from the ships flying through the air and the rings doing that doo-wop thing.

[Batman]

The machine guns are pintle mounted .50 caliber Brownings with shields. The guards seem to be equipped with M16's for the most part, A1 and A2's both, although M4 carbines have been appearing fairly frequently especially in the latter few seasons. Presumably the ones with pistols are just normal security guards from the corridors who ran down to the gate room when the red alert sounded and didn't have time to grab a rifle

OK, I guess that makes sense. I hadn't counted on the corridor guard.

As for Goa'ulds' seeming lack of technology:
They're quite advanced indeed, to the point where they have cheap anti-gravity technology (witness the seemingly disposable Death Gliders and al'kesh cargo ships). Ergo, wheels=unnecessary.

I'd tune my sarcasm detector if I were you.
The fact is that DESPITE being technologically advanced, they always WALK places. Even if it's only a few miles how about a hovercar, some sort of countergrav sled or something if not for the lowly Jaffa then at least for their God?

The simple fact is that most of this technology is strictly restricted to the System Lords and their followers. Also, most of it isn't that impressive; the Goa'uld resistance (damned if I can remember their name!)'s

That'd be the Tok'ra (no clue WRT the spelling)

crystal-tunnel technology doesn't look like much when the SG team is walking through the tunnels, does it?

When you actually DO see it in operation it actually does, and I find the very fact that they CAN do it impressive enough.
Look nobody's arguing they don't have impressive technology. But they seem to use in a pretty inefficient way.

EDIT: And somebody tell me that team armament was a one-shot for this episode. All MP-5s/P90s was bad enough and now they're switching to MP-7s? With Teal'c going Gun-Fu with two of them? ARGH!

[Elheru Aran]

EDIT: And somebody tell me that team armament was a one-shot for this episode. All MP-5s/P90s was bad enough and now they're switching to MP-7s? With Teal'c going Gun-Fu with two of them? ARGH!

SGC now uses G36's and MP7's in addition to their normal arsenal. The 'gun-fu' incident was thankfully limited to that episode, but given Teal'c's better-than-human strength it's not too implausible given all he basically did was step into the corridor and spray down both ends.

I think it was a good move frankly (the switch to more weapons)-- it gives the team more flexibility, as well as more modern weapons that are also easier to pack (the MP-7 especially as you can carry it in a holster, not too unlike an oversized pistol). No knocks on the MP-5, mind you, it's a great weapon... but it's, what, 20-some years old? You know these television shows always gotta have the latest and bling'est...

[Batman]

EDIT: And somebody tell me that team armament was a one-shot for this episode. All MP-5s/P90s was bad enough and now they're switching to MP-7s? With Teal'c going Gun-Fu with two of them? ARGH!

SGC now uses G36's and MP7's in addition to their normal arsenal. The 'gun-fu' incident was thankfully limited to that episode, but given Teal'c's better-than-human strength it's not too implausible given all he basically did was step into the corridor and spray down both ends.

I agree Teal'c might be capable of it but again, he could have done a lot more with a SAW, again.

I think it was a good move frankly (the switch to more weapons)-- it gives the team more flexibility,

Hey, you're talking to the man who was clamouring SG-1 was underarmed in the first place.

as well as more modern weapons that are also easier to pack (the MP-7especially as you can carry it in a holster, not too unlike an oversized pistol).

Exactly. Use them to replace the M9s they carry. DON'T swap the MP-5s/P90s for it.

No knocks on the MP-5, mind you, it's a great weapon... but it's, what, 20-some years old? You know these television shows always gotta have the latest and bling'est...

Yeah, I know. I guess that's TV for you.