“The Broca Divide”
Episode 5
Broadcast Date: August 15, 1997
Syndication Broadcast Date: October 5, 1998
Plot Outline:
SG teams 1 and 3 discover a planet with two separate populations. A civilized and
an uncivilized population. The civilized portion of the population inhabit the light side
[day at all times] of the planet. Meanwhile, the second half of the population calls the
dark side [night at all times] home. The people on the dark side of the planet are infected
with a disease which causes the stricken to revert back to a primitive state. According to
Dr. Jackson, the infected population is a parallel to Earth’s Pre—Stone Age. However, the
Uninfected population is illustrative of Earth’s Bronze Age. The planet, itself, is
representative of Pierre—Paul Broca’s Broca Divide. Both SG teams 1 and 3
unknowingly bring the contagion back, with them, to the SGC. The disease rapidly
spreads throughout, almost the entire, SGC. General George S. Hammond (Don S. Davis)
gives the order to seal off the base to prevent the further infection of Earth. Dr. Jackson
and Teal’c returns to the planet to obtain a blood sample from one of the uninfected
people. Dr. Jackson contracts the disease during the second mission to the planet. O’Neill
decides to take an experimental drug synthesized from the blood sample brought back
by Teal’c. The drug is a success and cures O’Neill. SG-1 retrieves and cures Dr. Jackson.
Both the planet and the SGC, thusly Earth as well, are freed from the contagion’s hold. à Plot Outline by Chad C.
Guest Cast:
· Gary Jones as Technician Walter Harriman
· Teryl Rothery as Dr. Janet Fraiser
· Steve Makaj as Col. Makepeace
· Danny Wattly as Lt. Johnson
· Gerard Plunkett as Tuplo
· Nicole Oliver as Leedora
· Roxana Phillip as Melosha
Recurring Actors & Characters:
· Gary Jones (Walter Harriman) à [Episode 4]
· Teryl Rothery (Janet Fraiser) à [Episode 1]
· Steve Makaj (Makepeace) à [Episode 1]
· Gerard Plunkett (Tuplo) à [Episode 1]
Production Crew:
SG Teams:
· The SG-3 Marines commanding officer is Col. Makepeace. A member of team SG-3 is Lt. Johnson.
· Both SG teams 1 and 3 are jointly assigned to the mission on planet P3X–797.
Historical Reference:
· Dr. Pierre-Paul Broca (1824 to 1880) was 56 years old when he passed away. Broca, a well known medical scholar both in his day and even now, was a very smart man who began medical school at the age of 17 and graduated at the age of 20. One of his most important additions to the knowledge of neurological medicine was Broca’s finding the location for the human brain’s speech control center – now called Broca’s area. He initiated the Paris Society of Anthropology as a result of his intense enthusiasm for physical anthropology. Broca was also a prime member of the French Association for the Advancement of Science.
The title of this episode, “The Broca Divide,” is a reference to Dr. Broca’s statement regarding the separation of the light and dark aspects of human culture.
Destination:
· Land of Light --- The SGC computer designation is P3X–797. The planet is replete with woodland areas near the Stargate. At times, the planet’s population represented both the Pre–Stone Age and the Bronze Age periods in Earth’s natural history. The people living on the planet refer to their home as the “Land of Light.”
Actor Tracker:
· Actor Gerard Plunkett (Tuplo), from this episode, will next appear in the episode “Fire and Water” as the character of Nem.
· Actress Teryl Rothery (Dr. Janet Fraiser) from this episode and many more episodes will portray the voice of the Asgard Heimdall in the episode “Revelations”.
Plot Outline is copyright 2002 by Sci-Fi Corner.
Stargate SG-1 is copyright 1997 -- 2007 by MGM Corporation.