Example 11: Allusions to the Odyssey - Stargate SG-1

Stargate SG-1: Season 1 Episode 11 is called "The Torment of Tantalus".

Obviously, as you can probably tell by the name, this is a reference to the story of Tantalus (a story which we haven't encountered yet in the Odyssey, I believe it is a few books later), but it also has allusions to other elements of the Odyssey.

In the episode, a scientist was stranded on a distant planet after having traveled a great distance through the stargate and was unable to reactivate the gate to return home. The scientist was engaged, and throughout all these years his fiancée had been told he died on that trip. The SG-1 team travels through the gate, along with the scientist's fiancée to find the scientist trapped on a deserted planet, where he lived for more than 50 years. After arriving on the planet, Daniel Jackson finds a ancient device which holds a great amount of knowledge, possibly even the meaning of existence of humans. When the team is ready to leave (after Macgyvering the gate in to a working condition) Daniel almost refuses to go, wanting to study the ancient device. The scientist finally convinces Daniel to leave with the rest of the team by using his life as an example of what could happen if Daniel stayed.

I like how this episode incorporates many plot elements of the Odyssey, such as the story of Tantalus - the scientist is so close to returning home, but can't reactivate the gate, and can learn the knowledge from the ancient people but have no one to share it with, the similarity to Odysseus' journey - being stranded on a far away uninhabited planet (island) wanting to return to his home and fiancée (wife), and the allure of the ancient device which almost succeeds in stranding Daniel on the planet alone (the lotus). Also, while the elements a present, it doesn't feel as though they are obvious - somebody who hadn't read the Odyssey would not feel as though this story was an awkward combination of elements from another story.

The episode is available for streaming on Netflix, and you can probably find it online elsewhere. I've included just the preview of the episode below.