Korolev

So, my mom and I watched SG-1 pretty much religiously while I was still at home.  It was a fun show, even if the first few seasons were kind of campy.  Thankfully, it got momentum and the longer story arcs made life more interesting in general...and they even let Teal'c be more than a robot/klingon!

We'll just skip over his gold makeup phase...

Sure, he's laughing now, just wait until the pics resurface.

One arc the show ran with was how the SGC (Stargate Command) had to interact with other parties that were in the loop on their "secret."  Most notably, the Russians.  Seeing as how the show centers on a USAF organization filled with personnel that operated during the Cold War, the interactions were generally tense.  As in, things almost always went south in a hurry.

For the Russians.

What's that?  There are two Stargates on Earth?  Cool beans!  Oh, the Russians have the other one?  And they're using it?  Let's check in on them...oh, look, they're all dead for reason-of-the-week.

It made me a little sad, really...they really tried to get their own program off the ground, they tried to work with the SGC, and every time you see them...at least one of their guys bites the dust.  They're actually being pretty efficient, after a while, their avatar in the series (Col. Chekov) going so far as to explain their methodology to another country's representative: we (Russia) partner with them (USAF), we learn how they do it, then we mimic all that for a fraction of the cost after they've worked out the bugs the hard way.
And it's not a bad plan, especially when you take into account that the SGC doesn't even want them around in the first place, going so far as to try and turn down free manpower while trying to fight an interstellar war.

But, hey, the SGC throws them a bone at the end of Season 9 and gives them their own damn ship, the Korolev.  What a deal!

It has that "new ship" smell and everything!

It's the latest in human technology, and they get to break it in by helping to spearhead a joint operation with ships from the free Jaffa (long story, they're good guy aliens) in an unprecedented effort to SAVE THE GALAXY!

The battle starts, and the ship and crew are awesome!

For about five minutes...before the writers blew them the hell up.  Seriously, look at that screencap.  That's an energy blast going clean through the ship and its shields.  But, hey, it's alright because the American personnel on board managed to escape just in time.  

I was honestly kind of pissed at that last part.  Out of the entire crew of trained personnel, the American archaeologist escaped.  Col. Chekov always made for some great dialogue about the status quo with the military and its dealings with outside influences, so using the brand-new Russian ship as cannon fodder to add weight to the story was just depressing.

Maybe the next great sci-fi series will be a bit kinder to you.