THE FAILURE OF THE S.G.C.
WARNING: This article contains spoiler information for episodes through "Upgrades," the third episode of Season Four. Proceed at your own risk!
 It is ironic that one of the greatest enemies of Stargate Command, Colonel Harold Maybourne,may be doing more to accomplish one of the S.G.C.'s purposes than they are. Through his position at the NID, his rogue Stargate teams and his recent dealings with Russia, Maybourne has acquired more advanced alien technology than more than a dozen SG teams -- and in half the time.
Flash back three years to the formation of the S.G.C., and remember the original, three-fold purpose of the Stargate program:
to perform reconnaissance and determine alien threats to Earth
to make peaceful contact with the peoples of other worlds, and establish diplomatic relations
to acquire advanced technology to help defend against the Goa'uld and other alien threats
While the first two have been successful, the final mission -- acquiring new technology -- has been a dismal failure. And as the S.G.C. enters its fourth year of existence, it is becoming painfully clear that they have little more than a few zat guns to show for it.
Granted, the alliances with the Asgard and the Tok'ra have proved invaluable. But what about the technology? Time after time, SG-1 has encountered technologically advanced cultures, but failed to acquire any of their technology.
 THE NOX. SG-1 encountered this advanced species, and quickly learned that they were once part of an alliance of four great races. They have a great ability to heal, and to make things invisible (from Stargates to ion canons to large cities) through illusion and mastery of the mind. Yet the Nox are pacifists, and refuse to share their advanced abilities ("The Nox").
 THE TOLLAN. A race of humans transplanted from Earth thousands of years ago, the Tollan are quite advanced. They do not even consider the Goa'uld a threat, and proved their ability by blasting two of Heru-ur's motherships out of their space ("Pretense"). But because the Tollan once shared their technology with disastrous consequences, it has become in irrefutable law that they not do so again ("Enigma") -- even though SG-1 saved their planet from invasion.
THE ASGARD. The Asgard alliance has been incredibly beneficial, leading to Earth's non-agression treaty with the Goa'uld System Lords ("Fair Game"). But again, the S.G.C. has not acquired any advanced technology from this race.
 THE BEDROSIANS. Not only did SG-1 not even come close to acquiring technology from this group of advanced humans, but they barely escaped with their lives when the people refused to believe they were from another world ("New Ground").
 THE EURONDANS. O'Neill successfully negotiated access to all the advanced technology of the Eurondans, and at a very low cost. But when he learned that they were engaged in a war of genocide, O'Neill took the moral high ground and left the Eurondans for dead ("The Other Side"). None of their technology was acquired, because the true price was too high.
 THE ATONEIKS. When the Tok'ra brought SG-1 armbands from the extinct Atoneiks, it seemed like the break they had been waiting for. The devices gave the wearer superhuman speed and strength, and enhanced all other natural abilities. But the gift was fleeting: the devices eventually fell off, leaving SG-1 their normal, human selves ("Upgrades").
Many other adventures are noteworthy: SG-1 brought back alien technology in "Message in a Bottle", only to have the time capsule device nearly destroy them. They most likely acquired several of Machello's inventions after his death ("Holiday"), but have been unable to figure them out.
A bright spot in their jaded history came from the Orbanians, who delivered to the S.G.C. naquaada reactor technology ("Learning Curve"), which has come in handy on at least one occasion.
But overall, SG-1 and the other teams in the S.G.C. have failed to acquire the means to help them fight a war against the Goa'uld -- a war that is surely coming.
A year and a half into the program, SG-1 discovered that a rogue team from Earth was using the second Stargate to steal advanced technology from other worlds ("Touchstone"). The gate was recovered and the Touchstone was returned to its rightful owners, but the rogue team escaped to another planet. The question was thrust to the forefront of the S.G.C.: to what lengths should Earth go to acquire new technologies?
 The rogue team reappeared a year later. O'Neill learned that they have continued to operate from an offworld location, stealing technology from many planets and sending it back to Colonel Maybourne on Earth. And although O'Neill had to expose and arrest them, he knew that they were accomplishing something he could not.
They were patriots, trying to best defend Earth against the Goa'uld. Their mission, in the end, was the same as SG-1's.
Jack O'Neill believes in the SGC's way of doing things -- through diplomacy, not theft. But his patience is wearing thin, and in the case of the Eurondans his desperation became obvious. Jack was willing to ignore any concerns about who it was the Eurondans were fighting, or what their war was about. It was only when Alar thrust his racism into Jack's field of vision that the colonel started asking questions, and gave up hope of acquiring Eurondan technology.
Will Earth fall to the Goa'uld because the S.G.C. cannot secure advanced technology? (The team has witnessed this very thing in multiple alternate realities.) Or will Hammond and O'Neill be forced to rely on their relationships with the Asgard and the Tok'ra to save them, when Apophis comes knocking again?
These are not easy questions. But the team continues to do their duty morally and ethically, as they should -- fearing that, in the end, the "moral" choice might not have been the "right" choice for Earth.
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