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I'm skipping Travellers, This Mortal Coil, and Harmony this time around.
The Seer
Plothole 1. Teyla doesn't sense the Wraith at the meeting?
Plothole 2. Sam's seen premonition before - in the SG1 S6 episode Prophecy. I was hoping they'd at least reference them.
Nice way to boost the Atlantis expedition's importance to Pegasus. "They can't take care of themselves, but you will take care of them. In a toally, non-colonial way that is respectful of their offerings and their traditions." As Rodney says in the next ep: "What wonderful land of unicorns and magic creatures are you living in?"
Schroedinger's cat: to see or not to see?
Conclusion: I felt that this was more a setup episode than anything else - How Todd Came To Be Among The Expedition. And it had less Teyla than I'd been led to believe would be there. Plus, everything was scattered everywhere - again, the women and Pegasus population took a backseat to the Important Things Rodney Is Doing!
Miller's Crossing
Plothole #1: surveillance equipment. It would be up the wazoo in any security cell. Why do the McKays not realise this?
Let me guess: they activate the nanite connections and the girl becomes a replicator? Or does that happen in Outcast?
Several thoughts on Shep. He's career military. He did time in Afghanistan - at least as a pilot, but, judging from Phantoms on the ground as well. What the hell do people think he was doing in Afghanistan? Putting up houses and petting fluffy little bunnies while playing the guitar as his fellow unit members danced in fields of poppies? There's a reason the military take the spec ops away and break them down so they can kill complete strangers: when civilians kill complete strangers, we call them sociopaths.
Shep's killed people in cold blood before: The Eye and The Storm when the Genii were in Atlantis. Kolya in Irresponsible comes to mind, too. Whether you think the ep was stupid, or Kolya was evil, John went out there with a single intent: to shoot a man while looking him in the eye in what should have been a fair gunfight.
And that's not dark enough for you?
By comparison, his presentation to Wallace seems reasonable to me. Rodney's sacrifice is unacceptable to John; he will accept no losses to that which he's claimed as his. See The Ark and The Real World for further details. Hell, isn't the premise of The Last Man/Search And Rescue that John won't go quietly into the night without fighting back against the fate that cheats him of his 'family'?
So, Rodney is not to be sacrificed, and John looks for other options. He does so coolly and calmly, and Wallace is there, alone, and with nothing left to live for. Permanent imprisonment where he has to relive every day what he did for his daughter, only to lose her, too? John may not be the most emotional of men, but it's not that he doesn't know how to feel, just that he's not good at emoting. Wallace has lost his entire world, and I think John knows what that feels like. Difference is, Wallace is older than John and his fate is a lot more fixed than just flying 'copters in Antarctica.
I'm not sure I get the "dark John Sheppard" angle in this episode. He presented Wallace with the options rather than just marching him in there to be fed on. He gave Wallace an opportunity to redeem himself for what he did to Jeannie.
Maybe that makes me cold, too.
Conclusion: Eh. Rodney-centric episodes leave me cold. I like Jeannie, but my major problem is that Rodney-centric episodes seems to equal no-Teyla-or-Ronon. Rodney-centric episodes are written in such a way as to eliminate the Pegasus people from the story (if not from the episode entirely) only perpetrates the colonial bigotry of an Earthnocentric view of Stargate where only humans from Earth are worthwhile and capable - both in fandom and in the Stargate Universe - and this is amplified by Jeannie's presence.
Outcast
You know what could have been really cool? Using Teyla like a brain-net to sense human/non-human thoughts. But that might be, you know, using Teyla a little too much. More than just the convenient Wraith-sensor.
You know, those five city blocks look an awful lot like Sateda. And rather like the outside of the warehouse where the Genii were hiding in Coup d'Etat...
Do machines ever have a moral code? Or are moral codes reserved for humans only?
Hope for a twist: the girl turns out to be a replicator as well? OH, DID I CALL IT OR DID I CALL IT??
Question: wouldn't Replicator Boy be able to sense and map the lifeforms around him?
Question: couldn't Replicator Girl connect with Replicator Boy to find out where he is?
It was good to see Bates again - they seemed to be really hauling on the guest stars this season. But I would have liked one line from each of John, Ronon, and Bates.
John: Teyla whacked him one once.
Ronon: Just once?
Bates: She got the jump on me, too.
Ronon: She does that.
Conclusion: I liked this better than Miller's Crossing. Maybe that makes me Contrary Little Fangirl #1 and means I am Not Suitable To Associate With among the Rodney-ravers, but...this one bothered me less than Miller's Crossing. Even if I think they could have worked Teyla's name somewhere into the scene, or had Teyla come and offer her condolences to John - one fucking scene. But then, I am not thinking of Teyla in the appropriate category for coloured alien woman, am I? Suitable in canon and throughout fandom for background only, never to be used or mentioned unless we just can't avoid it. Bad fan! NO BIKKIT!
Trio
Rodney presses something that sets off a device that counts down to something?
Flares? Rodney tosses the grapple up into the air...and it comes down and knocks him out? Alas, no. Okay, so, let me get this straight... When it comes to flinging the grapple, Rodney makes it entirely about his pride and his ego and his ability to do everything perfect, when it's about his life and the lives of the two people with him...and this is okay with Sam Carter, who should know better than to let Rodney near anything that isn't a computer and only then with reservations?
Whoever wrote this story needs a whack upside with someone's vacuum cleaner shaft.
Why don't they call the kids back and get them to drag it over and anchor it to something? And now I'm thinking of Antarctica and the broken leg that Sam had to set. What goes around, comes around...
Not a bad ep. Would have been better with less Rodney dialogue. I know he's the meat and two veg of the Stargate universe. I guess the problem is that I've never been a meat and two veg kinda girl.
If there'd been less Rodney grandstanding, I'd have enjoyed it more, I think. As it was, it was okay.
So, I think I've watched all the eps today that didn't contain any Teyla at all. Out of them, I think I liked Outcast and Trio the best, with The Seer feeling a little too 'bridge-y' and Miller's Crossing just...not getting me.
Note: While I can comprehend that RL needed time off for her pregnancy, the other side of the equation is that she was missing from the scripts for more than one month's worth of shooting. There were less random scenes involving her than there could have been - no wonder Amanda Tapping got prior billing: she had way more lines than Teyla this season - heck, even Season Three had her appear at the end of various episodes rather than excise her completely.
And, frankly, whatever JM is saying, I don't trust Season Five.
BUH. Nasty place to be.
The Seer
Plothole 1. Teyla doesn't sense the Wraith at the meeting?
Plothole 2. Sam's seen premonition before - in the SG1 S6 episode Prophecy. I was hoping they'd at least reference them.
Nice way to boost the Atlantis expedition's importance to Pegasus. "They can't take care of themselves, but you will take care of them. In a toally, non-colonial way that is respectful of their offerings and their traditions." As Rodney says in the next ep: "What wonderful land of unicorns and magic creatures are you living in?"
Schroedinger's cat: to see or not to see?
Conclusion: I felt that this was more a setup episode than anything else - How Todd Came To Be Among The Expedition. And it had less Teyla than I'd been led to believe would be there. Plus, everything was scattered everywhere - again, the women and Pegasus population took a backseat to the Important Things Rodney Is Doing!
Miller's Crossing
Plothole #1: surveillance equipment. It would be up the wazoo in any security cell. Why do the McKays not realise this?
Let me guess: they activate the nanite connections and the girl becomes a replicator? Or does that happen in Outcast?
Several thoughts on Shep. He's career military. He did time in Afghanistan - at least as a pilot, but, judging from Phantoms on the ground as well. What the hell do people think he was doing in Afghanistan? Putting up houses and petting fluffy little bunnies while playing the guitar as his fellow unit members danced in fields of poppies? There's a reason the military take the spec ops away and break them down so they can kill complete strangers: when civilians kill complete strangers, we call them sociopaths.
Shep's killed people in cold blood before: The Eye and The Storm when the Genii were in Atlantis. Kolya in Irresponsible comes to mind, too. Whether you think the ep was stupid, or Kolya was evil, John went out there with a single intent: to shoot a man while looking him in the eye in what should have been a fair gunfight.
And that's not dark enough for you?
By comparison, his presentation to Wallace seems reasonable to me. Rodney's sacrifice is unacceptable to John; he will accept no losses to that which he's claimed as his. See The Ark and The Real World for further details. Hell, isn't the premise of The Last Man/Search And Rescue that John won't go quietly into the night without fighting back against the fate that cheats him of his 'family'?
So, Rodney is not to be sacrificed, and John looks for other options. He does so coolly and calmly, and Wallace is there, alone, and with nothing left to live for. Permanent imprisonment where he has to relive every day what he did for his daughter, only to lose her, too? John may not be the most emotional of men, but it's not that he doesn't know how to feel, just that he's not good at emoting. Wallace has lost his entire world, and I think John knows what that feels like. Difference is, Wallace is older than John and his fate is a lot more fixed than just flying 'copters in Antarctica.
I'm not sure I get the "dark John Sheppard" angle in this episode. He presented Wallace with the options rather than just marching him in there to be fed on. He gave Wallace an opportunity to redeem himself for what he did to Jeannie.
Maybe that makes me cold, too.
Conclusion: Eh. Rodney-centric episodes leave me cold. I like Jeannie, but my major problem is that Rodney-centric episodes seems to equal no-Teyla-or-Ronon. Rodney-centric episodes are written in such a way as to eliminate the Pegasus people from the story (if not from the episode entirely) only perpetrates the colonial bigotry of an Earthnocentric view of Stargate where only humans from Earth are worthwhile and capable - both in fandom and in the Stargate Universe - and this is amplified by Jeannie's presence.
Outcast
You know what could have been really cool? Using Teyla like a brain-net to sense human/non-human thoughts. But that might be, you know, using Teyla a little too much. More than just the convenient Wraith-sensor.
You know, those five city blocks look an awful lot like Sateda. And rather like the outside of the warehouse where the Genii were hiding in Coup d'Etat...
Do machines ever have a moral code? Or are moral codes reserved for humans only?
Hope for a twist: the girl turns out to be a replicator as well? OH, DID I CALL IT OR DID I CALL IT??
Question: wouldn't Replicator Boy be able to sense and map the lifeforms around him?
Question: couldn't Replicator Girl connect with Replicator Boy to find out where he is?
It was good to see Bates again - they seemed to be really hauling on the guest stars this season. But I would have liked one line from each of John, Ronon, and Bates.
John: Teyla whacked him one once.
Ronon: Just once?
Bates: She got the jump on me, too.
Ronon: She does that.
Conclusion: I liked this better than Miller's Crossing. Maybe that makes me Contrary Little Fangirl #1 and means I am Not Suitable To Associate With among the Rodney-ravers, but...this one bothered me less than Miller's Crossing. Even if I think they could have worked Teyla's name somewhere into the scene, or had Teyla come and offer her condolences to John - one fucking scene. But then, I am not thinking of Teyla in the appropriate category for coloured alien woman, am I? Suitable in canon and throughout fandom for background only, never to be used or mentioned unless we just can't avoid it. Bad fan! NO BIKKIT!
Trio
Rodney presses something that sets off a device that counts down to something?
Flares? Rodney tosses the grapple up into the air...and it comes down and knocks him out? Alas, no. Okay, so, let me get this straight... When it comes to flinging the grapple, Rodney makes it entirely about his pride and his ego and his ability to do everything perfect, when it's about his life and the lives of the two people with him...and this is okay with Sam Carter, who should know better than to let Rodney near anything that isn't a computer and only then with reservations?
Whoever wrote this story needs a whack upside with someone's vacuum cleaner shaft.
Why don't they call the kids back and get them to drag it over and anchor it to something? And now I'm thinking of Antarctica and the broken leg that Sam had to set. What goes around, comes around...
Not a bad ep. Would have been better with less Rodney dialogue. I know he's the meat and two veg of the Stargate universe. I guess the problem is that I've never been a meat and two veg kinda girl.
If there'd been less Rodney grandstanding, I'd have enjoyed it more, I think. As it was, it was okay.
So, I think I've watched all the eps today that didn't contain any Teyla at all. Out of them, I think I liked Outcast and Trio the best, with The Seer feeling a little too 'bridge-y' and Miller's Crossing just...not getting me.
Note: While I can comprehend that RL needed time off for her pregnancy, the other side of the equation is that she was missing from the scripts for more than one month's worth of shooting. There were less random scenes involving her than there could have been - no wonder Amanda Tapping got prior billing: she had way more lines than Teyla this season - heck, even Season Three had her appear at the end of various episodes rather than excise her completely.
And, frankly, whatever JM is saying, I don't trust Season Five.
BUH. Nasty place to be.
no subject
My main problem is my favorite character is Teyla and Ronon and neither of them are used enough.
John after TRAVELERS started to irritate me.
Rodney, well every time he opens his mouth I just want to shove a lemon down his throat. (It really ticks me off that he's Canada's representative to the galaxy)
Ronon and Teyla, underused, Teyla more so. She's a great character, a strong woman who still has a soft side. She can kick ass but without making her (you'll have to forgive the term) butch. Yet the writers don't use her.
The whole show irrates me lately. They need new writers (maybe a woman or two) before the show can be fresh and new.
no subject
Yeah, I get you completely on that aspect. Neither of them are used enough, either in canon or fanon - although I think that Ronon gets a better run than Teyla, mostly because he's a guy.
Do you have an email address?
no subject
bittybye2000@hotmail.com
no subject
Watch "Outcast" and "Midway". Srsly. Even if you're not all about the John/Ronon love, both of those eps have some really good work from Jason Momoa
and Outcast has some nice shots of Jason's ass in tight jeans.no subject
When Rodney insisted on trying the grapple, I honestly wanted to hit with something heavy and hard. Sam? You're in charge, this is a practical decision, why are you cowed by a moron? I mean, the writerly reason was it was supposed to be funny, but within the SGA universe it just felt like an unpleasant cultural gender thing.
Also the ep was astonishingly boring. They get stuck in a room and try unimaginative escape plans. It was like a rough draft of a fic before the writer does the research. There wasn't even an ongoing mystery plot about what the room was for.
The only thing I liked was the implication that Keller, while shy and awkward according to herself, was more of mainstream party girl than our other nerds and at least a little boy crazy. Also that they kept dropping Sam from taller and taller heights. 1) HEE. 2) That's usually the treatment they reserve for sexy (male) hero. So. I was happy.
...initially, this comment was "Hey, don't skip mortal coil! It has a good John and Elizabeth friendship scene! It was kind of neat! Except the end! Also Teyla exists to respond to Ronon having actual reactions/opinions about the situation. Hrm." But I couldn't tell if you just weren't reviewing the ep, and anyway, my rec wasn't all that strong. XD
no subject
Too much Rodney, not enough sanity. Yeah, that bugged me, too.
I'm not particularly sold on Mortal Coil. The only "bonus" I can see is that it has "a cool twist" and "Elizabeth". I already know what the "cool twist" is, and right now, I'm not in a mood for Torri Higginson. I'll leave it for a while longer.
And, no, I haven't watched the eps. Each season, it seems that my list of 'unseen' episodes gets longer. S1 it was Sanctuary, S2 it was The Tower, S3 it was ages before I saw McKay and Mrs Miller, The Tao Of Rodney and The Game. S4, I'm just skipping episodes everywhere.
Except the last four, because, hey, Ronon interaction and possible Teyla storyline! Oh. My. Gosh. Stop the presses!
no subject
Killing a man in cold blood is quite different from convincing a man to die, even making it seem heroic, the honorable thing to do. Most killers who have to be executed would rather get life imprisonement. It's a human instinct, we seek to survive. That's why Sheppard, goes to see him with the pictures and his would-be neutral tone. And it's why he denies it when Rodney brings it up later.
But I do agree with you,that it's not a surprising aspect of his character. Sheppard is a soldier and has a tendency to go the extra mile (overboard). He gets stuff done. Period.
Like a lot of you guys, I've overdosed on Rodney. Every time he opens his mouth, I go into 'patience' mode. I count the seconds till he shuts up and even better, is off the screen. I also blame him for his bad influence on my John Sheppard.
Rodney makes him common and trite, their relationship's become a sort of safehaven for the writers. They know they've written them being funny and now they just try too damned hard! An episode lilts a little bit... "hey,let's add banter, it'll tie us over!" But most of fandom laps it up so...
no subject
Exactly. It's what's expected of a man who's a) military, b) spec ops (implied).
"Not surprising" - that's a good take on the character.
Trio
That would be Martin Gero.
I loathed this episode with the fire of a thousand suns. I really hate the "let's make fun of how fat and out of shape Rodney is"--if he were really in such bad shape, he wouldn't be on a gate team, okay! And I want to hit Martin Gero with a 2x4 for the whole "Rodney sexually harrassing his boss = LOLtastic!" thing.
no subject
I think the angle comes in due to the way it was shot: we see him giving Wallace the opportunity, then it cuts to the mop-up without ever clearly showing Wallace accepting. I think he probably did, but the directing (or editing) made it ambiguous and didn't entirely rule out the possibility that Wallace didn't become an entree of his own free will.
no subject
My main problem is my favorite character is Teyla and Ronon and neither of them are used enough.
John after TRAVELERS started to irritate me.
Rodney, well every time he opens his mouth I just want to shove a lemon down his throat. (It really ticks me off that he's Canada's representative to the galaxy)
Ronon and Teyla, underused, Teyla more so. She's a great character, a strong woman who still has a soft side. She can kick ass but without making her (you'll have to forgive the term) butch. Yet the writers don't use her.
The whole show irrates me lately. They need new writers (maybe a woman or two) before the show can be fresh and new.
no subject
Yeah, I get you completely on that aspect. Neither of them are used enough, either in canon or fanon - although I think that Ronon gets a better run than Teyla, mostly because he's a guy.
Do you have an email address?
no subject
bittybye2000@hotmail.com
no subject
Watch "Outcast" and "Midway". Srsly. Even if you're not all about the John/Ronon love, both of those eps have some really good work from Jason Momoa
and Outcast has some nice shots of Jason's ass in tight jeans.no subject
When Rodney insisted on trying the grapple, I honestly wanted to hit with something heavy and hard. Sam? You're in charge, this is a practical decision, why are you cowed by a moron? I mean, the writerly reason was it was supposed to be funny, but within the SGA universe it just felt like an unpleasant cultural gender thing.
Also the ep was astonishingly boring. They get stuck in a room and try unimaginative escape plans. It was like a rough draft of a fic before the writer does the research. There wasn't even an ongoing mystery plot about what the room was for.
The only thing I liked was the implication that Keller, while shy and awkward according to herself, was more of mainstream party girl than our other nerds and at least a little boy crazy. Also that they kept dropping Sam from taller and taller heights. 1) HEE. 2) That's usually the treatment they reserve for sexy (male) hero. So. I was happy.
...initially, this comment was "Hey, don't skip mortal coil! It has a good John and Elizabeth friendship scene! It was kind of neat! Except the end! Also Teyla exists to respond to Ronon having actual reactions/opinions about the situation. Hrm." But I couldn't tell if you just weren't reviewing the ep, and anyway, my rec wasn't all that strong. XD
no subject
Too much Rodney, not enough sanity. Yeah, that bugged me, too.
I'm not particularly sold on Mortal Coil. The only "bonus" I can see is that it has "a cool twist" and "Elizabeth". I already know what the "cool twist" is, and right now, I'm not in a mood for Torri Higginson. I'll leave it for a while longer.
And, no, I haven't watched the eps. Each season, it seems that my list of 'unseen' episodes gets longer. S1 it was Sanctuary, S2 it was The Tower, S3 it was ages before I saw McKay and Mrs Miller, The Tao Of Rodney and The Game. S4, I'm just skipping episodes everywhere.
Except the last four, because, hey, Ronon interaction and possible Teyla storyline! Oh. My. Gosh. Stop the presses!
no subject
Killing a man in cold blood is quite different from convincing a man to die, even making it seem heroic, the honorable thing to do. Most killers who have to be executed would rather get life imprisonement. It's a human instinct, we seek to survive. That's why Sheppard, goes to see him with the pictures and his would-be neutral tone. And it's why he denies it when Rodney brings it up later.
But I do agree with you,that it's not a surprising aspect of his character. Sheppard is a soldier and has a tendency to go the extra mile (overboard). He gets stuff done. Period.
Like a lot of you guys, I've overdosed on Rodney. Every time he opens his mouth, I go into 'patience' mode. I count the seconds till he shuts up and even better, is off the screen. I also blame him for his bad influence on my John Sheppard.
Rodney makes him common and trite, their relationship's become a sort of safehaven for the writers. They know they've written them being funny and now they just try too damned hard! An episode lilts a little bit... "hey,let's add banter, it'll tie us over!" But most of fandom laps it up so...
no subject
Exactly. It's what's expected of a man who's a) military, b) spec ops (implied).
"Not surprising" - that's a good take on the character.
Trio
That would be Martin Gero.
I loathed this episode with the fire of a thousand suns. I really hate the "let's make fun of how fat and out of shape Rodney is"--if he were really in such bad shape, he wouldn't be on a gate team, okay! And I want to hit Martin Gero with a 2x4 for the whole "Rodney sexually harrassing his boss = LOLtastic!" thing.
no subject
I think the angle comes in due to the way it was shot: we see him giving Wallace the opportunity, then it cuts to the mop-up without ever clearly showing Wallace accepting. I think he probably did, but the directing (or editing) made it ambiguous and didn't entirely rule out the possibility that Wallace didn't become an entree of his own free will.