Entertainment
Sci-Fi's Best Ever Anniversary Episode Mocks Its Own Series
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Comedy is hard to do right. Miss the mark and the audience is laughing at you, not with you, or even worse, not laughing at all. Stargate SG-1 is one of the rare long-running sci-fi shows that managed to find a balance between the comedic and dramatic.
“Wormhole X-Treme!” celebrated 100 episodes on September 8, 2001, by making fun of the show itself, with the backstage crew getting a chance to be on camera as Stargate Command investigates a new show that’s a little too close to the Stargate Program. It’s a fun, light-hearted celebration of everything that fans loved about the series, and it was crammed with jokes and inside references,s resulting in one of the all-time greatest episodes of any sci-fi series.
Wormhole X-Treme Is Everything Great About Sci-Fi
The actual plot of “Wormhole X-Treme!” centers on the returning Martin Lloyd (played perfectly by the late Willie Garson), a humanoid alien who stayed behind on Earth following the events of Season 4’s “Point of No Return,” and again, he’s lost his memory. Martin is seemingly trying to piece together his missing memories by working as a consultant for the low-budget series Wormhole X-Treme.
Jack O’Neil (Richard Dean Anderson) is sent to the Vancouver studio to investigate what’s going on when a ship appears near Earth bearing the same energy signature as Martin’s species. That’s the loose plot excuse of Stargate SG-1’s 100th episode celebration, which was elevated to greatness by everything else going on.
“Wormhole X-Treme” is a love letter to Stargate SG-1, even if, as the episode reminds fans, there’s a lot that never made sense and plotlines that ended up going nowhere. The best reference is to the phallic Zaknitel sidearm, or “Zat” which functioned as follows: One shot stuns, two shots kill, three shots make it go away. Finally, thanks to the crew of “Wormhole X-Treme” someone gets to say, “that’s stupid.” It was. No one knew how long a victim would be stunned; no one knew the timeframe that “reset” the counter. It was a stupid weapon, and thankfully, someone finally said it.
One of the best meta jokes comes from the studio president providing a note that Wormhole X-Treme needs a sexy female alien. It’s delivered by Hank Cohen, the actual president of MGM Television at the time, and the same person who made that suggestion. Thanks to him, Stargate SG-1 added Anise (played by Vanessa Angel) to the cast, and just as quickly, the Tok’ra archaeologist was removed when the show’s ratings remained unchanged.
The end of the episode featured the cast of Wormhole X-Treme, and includes what may be the best line in the entire franchise, thanks to the many layers it includes: “I’m Christian Bocher. I’m portraying the character of Raymond Gunne, who portrays the character of Dr. Levant, which is based on the character Daniel Jackson, portrayed by the actor Michael Shanks, originally portrayed by the actor James Spader…in the feature film.”
A Major Syndication Milestone
Making it to 100 episodes was a major milestone for shows back in the days of syndication. 100 was the minimum number of episodes required to qualify for syndication, which allowed the studio to make major profits. Stargate SG-1 started on syndication thanks to Showtime, but reaching 100 episodes proved it was a hit series, and no one could have imagined it would keep defying the odds and reach another 100.
“200” brought back Martin Lloyd and featured the crew pitching their ideas for a sci-fi movie, including Vala’s suggestion that sounds suspiciously like Farscape. By then, both Claudia Black and Ben Browder were part of the SG-1 cast, making it another brilliant meta joke and proving that even 200 episodes in, the writing room had more ideas than they knew what to do with.
Stargate SG-1 remains beloved by fans 25 years after “Wormhole X-Treme” first aired. Since then, there have been two well-received spin-offs, tv movies, and a new series in the works from Amazon. Will the new show make it to 100 episodes? No, no it won’t, but if it has even a fraction of the lasting impact of the original run, it will be another sci-fi success.
Entertainment
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 19, 2026
The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you have a sweet tooth.
Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
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Yellow: Lippy
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Green: Gowns
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Blue: Played in Vegas
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Purple: Sweet treats
Here are today’s Connections categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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Yellow: Cheeky
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Green: Dress measurements
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Blue: Cards in Texas Hold ‘Em
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Purple: Last words of candy brands in the singular
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections #1043 is…
What is the answer to Connections today
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Cheeky: ARCH, FRESH, SASSY, WISE
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Dress measurements: BUST, HIPS, LENGTH, WAIST
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Cards in Texas Hold ‘Em: FLOP, HOLE, RIVER, TURN
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Last words of candy brands in the singular: CAP, DUD, KID, MINT
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today’s puzzle.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for April 19, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you’re constantly changing.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Small change
The words are related to changes.
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Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe fine-tuning.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is vertical.
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is There I Fixed It.
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NYT Strands word list for April 19
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There I Fixed It
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Adjust
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Modify
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Alter
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Improve
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Tweak
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Refine
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.
Entertainment
Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 19, 2026
Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you can never sit down.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Where did Wordle come from?
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.
What’s the best Wordle starting word?
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
What happened to the Wordle archive?
The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.
Is Wordle getting harder?
It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.
Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:
To rise.
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Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?
There are no recurring letters.
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Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…
Today’s Wordle starts with the letter T.
The Wordle answer today is…
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
STAND
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.
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