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The long stuff:
Stargate Atlantis 2.09 - Aurora
This shall henceforth be known as: Stargate Atlantis: The Matrix Episode. I can't be the first person to think it.
Overall, I enjoyed this episode and give it the description of 'fluff, but sad fluff.'
There was, alas, no way that Sheppard and his team were going to get their hands on that intel about the Wraith drives. The Stargate TPTB are excellent at dangling the carrot and then yanking it away. Look at how long it took for SG-1 to get hold of Asgard technology that they could keep! Anyway, TPTB have had many years practise on that front. So the question in my mind was simply, "What is going to happen to prevent them from getting the intel?"
One of my common issues with the scenarios depicted is the lack of use of other team members apart from Sheppard and McKay. Granted, I enjoyed watching Teyla and Ronan stalling - although echoing each other was stupid - makes it really sound like they're co-ordinating their stories on the go (which they are, they just shouldn't make it so damn obvious), and they do put up a very good 'solidified front' together. It's still not enough to convince me that they're ZOMG soul mates or a good couple, just a pair who are very comfortable with each other. And Teyla is still very much the leader and initiator of action - the senior - in the pair.
I'm waiting for the 'action twins' scene to show up in an episode: the two of them raising hell and kicking ass while Shep and McKay are all, "Whu?" and arguing with each other.
Anyway, they could have sent Teyla or Ronan into the Matrix and left McKay out to have his panic attacks and included a bit more team-ness at the same time. Granted, the Shep/McKay slashers love seeing their favourite pair bicker, grumble, snark, and argue with each other - I don't mind a little of it, but there are times when those two need a quick slap upside the head and a reminder that they're running off a timer. In particular, it exasperates me when McKay wastes precious seconds going 'oh no!'
Ah well. Dramatic licence, overpracticality in a sci-fi show, etc, etc, etc. Shoot me. Shoot me now.
It was obvious that the First Mate was the plant once they found the Wraith, although when I first laid eyes on her, I expected her to be the weakest link (Shep and his thing for the pretty girls) in the ship.
I like the way they've been emphasising the team dynamic these last two eps: last ep, Shep's team rallied around Buggy!Shep, hanging out together to wait for the bad news, now they're covering for each other againstbig bad Colonel Caldwell. And I like how Teyla is taking on a 2IC kind of role in the team: covering Shep's ass and looking after her team. Go girl!
Teyla has the maturity and perspective to keep the team grounded and together, more than McKay (who is very self-involved) and Ronan (who's a newbie), and even Shep (who's something of a loner when it comes to leaping into the action). Sad as it is, Ford could never have managed this. I hope to God they don't kill him in 'The Lost Boys' and sequel ep. Ford got upgraded from 'eh, reasonable' to 'whoa, cool' when he turned Wraithy, and the value of having one of their own just a little bit on the whacked-out side? Priceless.
On the whole, a good episode, showing that the Ancients really did have warships (and yes, Sheppard is really very Pavlovian in his responses) that virtual environments are not just the province of the Gamekeeper, and hinting that the Wraith have a weakness - as well as a continued desire to get to Earth.
Does anyone else have the desire to watch a Wraith/Orii showdown at the Stargate corral, or is it just me?
To be honest, the bit that filled me with most glee was the scene between Ronan and Liz at the start of the episode. They were highly amusing in that scene, with Liz opening her mouth and inserting her foot faster than Ronan could say, "Is that okay?" Yes, I am a Liz/Ronan convert. And dear God, it's fun - to say nothing of funny!
Although it strikes me that, for a negotiator, Liz isn't all that good at interpreting non-verbal cues. In this instance, we can argue that it's because Ronan isn't giving off 'Earth human' cues - or even 'Athosian' cues which Liz would have learned to read while dealing with Teyla and Halling. So she hears the words, "I'm leaving," applies it to the bigger picture and has the panic attack.
I'm not sure whether to retrofit Liz's behaviour to the situation and who she's talking to, or smack TPTB about for bad writing. Given her actions in 2.08 - Conversion, I'm tempted to go the smackdown. Given this week...we'll hold off and see what happens in 2.10 - The Lost Boys.
The short stuff on 2.09 - Aurora:
Storyline? Good. Team? Yes. Rewatchable? Quite. Ending? Sad but sweet. Believability? Good - for Stargate.
Stargate Atlantis 2.09 - Aurora
This shall henceforth be known as: Stargate Atlantis: The Matrix Episode. I can't be the first person to think it.
Overall, I enjoyed this episode and give it the description of 'fluff, but sad fluff.'
There was, alas, no way that Sheppard and his team were going to get their hands on that intel about the Wraith drives. The Stargate TPTB are excellent at dangling the carrot and then yanking it away. Look at how long it took for SG-1 to get hold of Asgard technology that they could keep! Anyway, TPTB have had many years practise on that front. So the question in my mind was simply, "What is going to happen to prevent them from getting the intel?"
One of my common issues with the scenarios depicted is the lack of use of other team members apart from Sheppard and McKay. Granted, I enjoyed watching Teyla and Ronan stalling - although echoing each other was stupid - makes it really sound like they're co-ordinating their stories on the go (which they are, they just shouldn't make it so damn obvious), and they do put up a very good 'solidified front' together. It's still not enough to convince me that they're ZOMG soul mates or a good couple, just a pair who are very comfortable with each other. And Teyla is still very much the leader and initiator of action - the senior - in the pair.
I'm waiting for the 'action twins' scene to show up in an episode: the two of them raising hell and kicking ass while Shep and McKay are all, "Whu?" and arguing with each other.
Anyway, they could have sent Teyla or Ronan into the Matrix and left McKay out to have his panic attacks and included a bit more team-ness at the same time. Granted, the Shep/McKay slashers love seeing their favourite pair bicker, grumble, snark, and argue with each other - I don't mind a little of it, but there are times when those two need a quick slap upside the head and a reminder that they're running off a timer. In particular, it exasperates me when McKay wastes precious seconds going 'oh no!'
Ah well. Dramatic licence, overpracticality in a sci-fi show, etc, etc, etc. Shoot me. Shoot me now.
It was obvious that the First Mate was the plant once they found the Wraith, although when I first laid eyes on her, I expected her to be the weakest link (Shep and his thing for the pretty girls) in the ship.
I like the way they've been emphasising the team dynamic these last two eps: last ep, Shep's team rallied around Buggy!Shep, hanging out together to wait for the bad news, now they're covering for each other against
Teyla has the maturity and perspective to keep the team grounded and together, more than McKay (who is very self-involved) and Ronan (who's a newbie), and even Shep (who's something of a loner when it comes to leaping into the action). Sad as it is, Ford could never have managed this. I hope to God they don't kill him in 'The Lost Boys' and sequel ep. Ford got upgraded from 'eh, reasonable' to 'whoa, cool' when he turned Wraithy, and the value of having one of their own just a little bit on the whacked-out side? Priceless.
On the whole, a good episode, showing that the Ancients really did have warships (and yes, Sheppard is really very Pavlovian in his responses) that virtual environments are not just the province of the Gamekeeper, and hinting that the Wraith have a weakness - as well as a continued desire to get to Earth.
Does anyone else have the desire to watch a Wraith/Orii showdown at the Stargate corral, or is it just me?
To be honest, the bit that filled me with most glee was the scene between Ronan and Liz at the start of the episode. They were highly amusing in that scene, with Liz opening her mouth and inserting her foot faster than Ronan could say, "Is that okay?" Yes, I am a Liz/Ronan convert. And dear God, it's fun - to say nothing of funny!
Although it strikes me that, for a negotiator, Liz isn't all that good at interpreting non-verbal cues. In this instance, we can argue that it's because Ronan isn't giving off 'Earth human' cues - or even 'Athosian' cues which Liz would have learned to read while dealing with Teyla and Halling. So she hears the words, "I'm leaving," applies it to the bigger picture and has the panic attack.
I'm not sure whether to retrofit Liz's behaviour to the situation and who she's talking to, or smack TPTB about for bad writing. Given her actions in 2.08 - Conversion, I'm tempted to go the smackdown. Given this week...we'll hold off and see what happens in 2.10 - The Lost Boys.
The short stuff on 2.09 - Aurora:
Storyline? Good. Team? Yes. Rewatchable? Quite. Ending? Sad but sweet. Believability? Good - for Stargate.
no subject
You know you were the first thing I thought of when I saw that scene. It was a great moment where I couldn't help but laugh. Moments of imperfection like that make Weir much more endearing.
I would love to see more Weir/Dex scenes. Does that make me a convert as well?
And as far as the Wraith/Ori showdown -- I'd want to see it if the Wraith won. The Ori are my least favorite villains.