Teal'c

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Teal'c [ˈtiːəlk] is a fictional character in the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Teal'c is a Jaffa who is one of the leading authorities on Goa'uld on Earth. Once serving the System Lord Apophis as his First Prime, Teal'c defected in the first episode of the series after Colonel Jack O'Neill convinced him that he could save all the people in the prison with them. Teal'c turned his weapon on his fellow Jaffa and, with the help of SG-1, freed the humans. In the fourth-season episode "The Light" Teal'c states that he is 101 years old.

In the Jaffa language, 'teal'c' means 'strength'. His father was once the First Prime of Cronos, a rival System Lord. However, when his father retreated in a battle that could not be won, Cronos personally executed him for failure. The procedure was painful, as Cronos reached into the prim'tah (symbiote carrying pouch all Jaffa have) and crushed the larval Goa'uld. Teal'c and his mother fled to Apophis' territory, and Teal'c joined his army. Under the direction of Bra'tac, the then First Prime, he learned the ways of a warrior and rose in the ranks to become Apophis's new First Prime. Although Apophis was very fond of him, the lessons he learned from Bra'tac's wisdom and his own personal experiencs led him to disbeleive the divinity of the Goa'uld. Unfortunately, he was unable do to anything about it without the certainty of execution as a traitor, until he encountered SG-1.

Teal'c has since proven his loyalty and martial skill to Stargate Command on numerous occasions. From saving members of the SGC, to providing critical intelligence on Goa'uld System Lord and troop movements, he is the one person the SGC can count on to continue the fight, no matter what happens.

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He has amazing self-control, restraining himself to calm actions when others would often become extremely angry, but he has been known to lose his temper when his close friends and family are threatened. He places his honor and duty above his own personal welfare and would gladly give up his life if it meant freedom for the Jaffa and the continued existence of Earth.

Teal'c recently lost his symbiote, and now relies on the drug Tretonin to sustain him.

Teal'c is terse, and prefers short phrases such as "Indeed" or "I see" over full sentences.

Teal'c later led the Jaffa Rebellion to victory over the Goa'uld at Dakara.

He is currently a member of the Jaffa High Council and a leader of the liberal faction that supports Tau'ri-based representative democracy for the new Free Jaffa Nation, opposed to the traditionalist faction headed by Gerak. Since Gerak's death, it would appear that Teal'c has supported Bra'tac's as an interm leader before a type of government is solidified.

1 Family and Love Life
2 The Prototypical Jaffa
3 Weaponry
4 Trivia

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Family and Love Life

Teal'c was married to Drey'auc of the Cordai Plains and they had a son, Rya'c. He left his family behind when he betrayed Apophis, and they were forced to live as pariahs. He returned to Chulak to prevent his son from being implanted with a symbiote, but Rya'c was too ill and finally Teal'c gave him his own symbiote. He got a new young one ("Bloodlines").

After he left again, Drey'auc married Fro'tak to give her son a better life. When Teal'c returned, Apophis captured Rya'c and brainwashed him into publicly denouncing his father. Teal'c thought his son was only playing along. The SG-1 rescued him and brought him and Drey'auc back to Earth (Fro'tak had being killed when trying to betray them). Once there, however, they discovered Rya'c was really brainwashed and conditioned to immolate himself to destroy the Stargate Command. Teal'c had to shoot him with the zat to break the conditioning. Rya'c and Drey'auc went to live to the Land of Light after that ("Family"), though eventually moved to a Jaffa rebel camp.

Drey'auc died when she refused to take a new larval symbiote when hers matured, not wanting to deprive another Jaffa of life ("Redemption, Part 1").

Shan'auc of the Red Hills was a Priestess on Chulak and was an old love of Teal'c. They rekindled their feelings when she reappeared in his life, but she was killed soon thereafter ("Crossroads").

Ishta is the leader of the female Jaffa in Hak'tyl. They rebelled against the Goa'uld Moloc, because he ordered the murder of any female Jaffa baby. She thought the Jaffa rebellion was useless, and that put a strain on their relationship for a while. They still keep in touch months later, however. His son told him than things would be easier for everyone else if he and Ishta just admit they love each other ("Birthright, Sacrifices").

He was against his son's marriage to Kar'yn, a student of Ishta, believing he was too young. But finally accepted it ("Sacrifices").

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The Prototypical Jaffa

Like Worf did for the Klingon race in the Star Trek series, Teal'c transformed his race from virtually anonymous villains (in the early seasons of the show) into a rich society further developed by the writers of each episode. In the process, both characters have come to symbolize their respective races as their cultural perspectives become key points in story plots throughout the series they are involved in.

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Weaponry

Originally, Teal'c used the traditional Jaffa Staff weapon and a Zat'nik'tel, or a "Zat gun". However, he is now often seen wielding a P90, typically taking advantage of his superior arm strength by weilding it one-handed.

In the Stargate SG-1 Episode "Off The Grid" Teal'c wields two MP7s, whilst Samantha Carter and Daniel Jackson both use single MP7s, leading some to speculate that this weapon would replace the FN P90 as the main weapon for the team, along with the G36K which Cameron Mitchell uses; however, with the return of P90s in "The Scourge", it appears that only Mitchell will continue to use the new weapon.

Teal'c has also been seen with a M249 in Season 6's episode Full circle and with two P-90's in Arthur's Mantle and even two staff weapons in Sacrifices.

In one episode with an alternate universe involved, an alternate Teal'c carried a minigun.

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Trivia

Teal'c once drank half a gallon of steaming hot coffee in a single swallow while under the influence of an alien implant ("Urgo").
According to the episode The Other Guys, Teal'c believes that "the Canucks of Vancouver are superior warriors."
While trapped in a time loop in "Window of Opportunity", Teal'c learned juggling and Latin out of boredom.
Teal'c actually does have a sense of humor, just a different one from his Earth friends, as evidenced by his example of "Jaffa jokes" in the episode "Seth".
When off-duty, Teal'c is frequently seen wearing Hawaiian-style aloha shirts.
In a handful of episodes, Teal'c wears a floppy-brimmed hat and goes by the nickname "Murray" when trying to pose as human.
Christopher Judge, who plays Teal'c, has appeared in more episodes of Stargate SG-1 than anyone else. The only episode thus far in which he does not appear is "Prometheus Unbound".
Teal'c has read the Bible ("Demons") and has seen Star Wars at least nine times ("Ascension"). It is presumed that he has seen the entire series, as in the episode "Crusade" he knows of Darth Vader's origins. Apparently, he desires a greater understanding of Earth humor, and had decided he wanted to watch Old School for what seems to be a weekly movie night for SG-1; he was overruled by Mitchell, who declared that they would be watching Starship Troopers ("The Scourge")
In the episode "Avatar", Teal'c comments that he plays Def Jam Vendetta. Christopher Judge was the voice actor for D-Mob, the main villain of the game.