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ladyjax? I think you'll enjoy this episode. A lot. As in, a lot of a lot. :)episode reaction
Lovely dramatic opener. I was a little worried when I first heard about this episode - I thought that maybe they were going to do something terrible to Caldwell. After all, it's not exactly uncommon for recurring characters to be used to kick the emotional bucket of the fans by being killed off in inventive and not-so-inventive ways.
So I was relieved to discover this wasn't going to be one of those episodes.
Hee, John and Rodney. I hate McShep, but I do love these two as friends, they play off each other very well.
I heard that Teyla actually gets to do something in this episode...which would be cool. Wow. she thinks to check the captain's log! That's a start!
One thing I'm slightly disappointed by in this episode is that they didn't encounter more 'other versions' of people they knew, whether themselves or other Stargate regulars. That would have been cool.
Yay Lorne! Definitely Major Cutie.
Okay, so I've been lightly spoiled by assorted people, and the AU jumping is pretty cool. As
greenconverses pointed out in her post, it's interesting to see who worries/thinks about their AU counterparts, and who says "they're not us" and gets over it.Ronon is the best BFF ever! I love the Teyla&Ronon friendship, really I do. They're just the friendship of Awesome, and their lower-key interaction balances out the John&Rodney dynamic beautifully.
Hee. Teyla took lessons with Major Marks. Although I'm questioning the "last time the Daedelus were in orbit"
ZOMG. Teyla learned how to use technical stuff. In canon. With a clear mention of her learning it (although it's way way way past time). You'd think that, Teyla being Teyla, she would have learned this stuff, oh, two years ago back before she had a child and no time or sleep.
I think I'm just going to retcon canon a little: in my head, Teyla learned technology back two years ago, around the time of Aurora, and has been taking quiet lessons with Major Marks every time the Daedelus is in orbit.
Ooh! Alternate reality with another Atlantis and a war going on! Do they talk? Do they talk to themselves? Let them talk to themselves, please!
*disappointed*
To be honest, when they pulled up the ship's log, I would have liked to see Carter, maybe someone else we know from the Stargate universe, as the person who was in charge of the ship. Now, I was hoping they'd talk to someone else they know...
You know, one thing that I really really like about this episode? Rodney isn't annoying me. RODNEY ISN'T ANNOYING ME!!! *lifts hands in benediction* HALLELUJAH!! RODNEY ISN'T ANNOYING ME! Although the tendency of John, Teyla, and Ronon to move in clumps is impractical. Why are they doing this? John and Ronon could scope out the situation, with Teyla remaining in the bridge... Oh. Okay. They needed someone else to be 'technical' and Teyla's it.
Ronon and a shootout with an alien! Honestly, I was hoping that the aliens would turn out to be people they know. Where's the fun of an AU if you don't get to see just how AU things have turned out?
(Peeve: John and Teyla stand and look at the door. Don't just effing look to the door, go and help him!)
Rodney and Teyla are working on the problem. Hee.
And John and Ronon go out shooting. Those two are awesome buddies.
See,
ladyjax? you wanted more more Teyla and Rodney together - I think you've got it. :)I know I've said that Rodney isn't my favourite character. Part of it is that there's only so much of him I can take. But whatever the writer of this episode did, they've made him likeable. And I'm impressed. I'm seriously, seriously impressed.
I like this Rodney. He's not quite so insecure, although he still has his moments of panic and OHNOES!!11! It's a pleasant change. All things considered. And Teyla's the one who provides encouragement.
LOL Ronon being frustrated and hitting the console.
*LAUGHS* It's a John Sheppard pat-on-the-back session! His team are not going to let him forget that. And, of course, they can't get to the 'jumper before the last jump.
That is an awesome moment of team. Rodney gets shot, they snap into action. Okay, see, this is the kind of team cool I like. THIS IS THE KIND OF TEAM I LOVE!
It's the B-team! Go Lorne! Go Radek!
And, of course, Rodney wishes to meddle with that which should not be meddled with.
That baby is adorable. I love the little face in proximity to Rodney. Although the tendency to swaddle the child in a million layers is annoying...
You know why, though? It's probably because they only have a few shots with the baby, so it's easier to swaddle a dummy than carry an actual baby around for the shoot and re-shoots of the scenes.
I'd have preferred a 'whole team' ending to the episode, but I guess Jason was off shooting for Broken Ties.
--
Alan McCullough is so totally my hero among the Stargate writers.
thoughts on the directions of S5
All right. So, it's quite clear from this episode that the viewers have slipped into an alternate reality, one where TPTB write about the team, where Teyla is allowed to have practical technical experience , and Ronon is permitted to fire Earth ship weapons.
Frankly, I'm quite impressed with this reality. I'll keep it, thanks!
They're doing some great stuff with the interrelational dynamics this season. Since I'm (mostly) about the team, I'm a happy little Stargate Vegemite!
thoughts on the episode
Some really good John&Rodney, Teyla&Rodney, John&Ronon, Teyla&Ronon moments. There's even some Lorne&Radek friendship - at the start, when Rodney's complaining about Teyla, Lorne and Radek precede Rodney and John onto the stairs, but divert off to the Gateroom, while John and Rodney head for the control room.
I'm hoping that the episode with Ronon and Rodney stranded gives both some Ronon&Rodney dynamics as well as John&Teyla dynamics.
Well, we can hope.
Anyway, I really, really enjoyed this episode. Teyla got to have technical expertise, Ronon got to fire Earth weapons, John got to talk to himself, Rodney got to save the day - but he wasn't the Great And Egotistical Rodney McKay Saviour Of The Galaxy.
My main beef is that, other than Sheppard, they didn't get to meet anyone else that they already knew. It would have been cool to have the AUs populated with other characters that they already knew.
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But, so far, they've started quite strong. Whether they can continue that...is questionable.
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i wouldn't be surprised if the second half of the season feels like a letdown given their track record with certain characters and plot holes. i've learned to just say fuck it and watch. bastards still have my money for the DVDs though.
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Might be a good time to send them a gift right now...while they're shooting the 2nd half...
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So true! And when you said that, I immediately thought "IDK, my BFF Ronon." (I don't know if you have those Cingular commercials in Australia, but they always amuse me for some reason.) Now I really need a Teyla icon with that on it. :D
Teyla got to have technical expertise, Ronon got to fire Earth weapons, John got to talk to himself, Rodney got to save the day
It was nice that everyone had a hand in saving the day and that the action and heroism was spread evenly. And that we finally found out that John's #1 fan is...John. ;)
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we finally found out that John's #1 fan is...John. ;)
LOL.
That's just asking for a missing scene where AU FlightCommander!John goes back to Atlantis and [person of choice] points out that he was talking to himself. And his team affectionately tell him he's an idiot.
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LOL. Me, too. OMG, that was hilarious, as well as John's resultant, "Those buttons are your friends!"
I was strangely impressed with this ep as well. I also felt like I was watching an AU of the show. Teyla was awesome for suggesting the auxiliary diagnostic thingamajig on the sublight systems, and Rodney being all impressed with her knowledge. :)
It was a really great team ep all around. :)
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Truly; it was like all the little things that I've been nagging Joe Mallozzi about for the last two years in a single episode.
Naturally, they overdid it on the technospeak for Teyla (and I bet there are already people complaining of 'SuperTeyla' taking the limelight away from Rodney the way people complained of 'SuperSam' in Season 4 SG1), but it was such a nice touch!
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I agree, I would also have liked to see more of the AU realities, but the heavy action/excitement nature of the ep just wouldn't fit with that. I think it would have been really awesome if they'd kept jumping realities for several episodes (with longer stretches between jumps). Like that show Sliders before it started sucking. That would have been cool. Maybe it could have been one of their 3-part season finale/openings. Maybe someone will do an AU fic series!
I liked the concept of the ep as it was, too, though. I thought the shifting to different realities was cool and the dangers they faced were diverse enough to keep things interesting without feeling like the writers were going "Okay, what else?" and just piling things on. The abandoned Daedalus and the discovery of their dead doubles was really creepy in a quiet way, and each challenge from there ramped up the tension a little more.
I liked Teyla being useful in a somewhat new capacity (although we've seen her use Atlantis tech before, just not in ship-related situations). It's not like she magically had McKay-level, or even Sheppard-level, familiarity with the systems simply for plot purposes. She was familiar enough to be useful, but she's still in the process of learning so there are things she didn't know and had to ask help for (like a grown-up, without hesitation or shame!), which is something I found believable.
And yes, I have already seen people complaining about that, saying it's so unbelievable. One "generous" soul was gracious enough to allow that even though it was a little unbelievable, it was kind of nice to see Teyla in a capacity other than "hot alien chick." It's a really, really good thing you can't stab people in the face over the internet, because my fuse is extremely short these days. The next time someone says something stupid like that, do you mind if I link to this old post of yours about how it's fandom that really defines Teyla as T&A, rather than the show (http://tielan.livejournal.com/152403.html#cutid1)?
Anyway, as always, Ronon was completely awesome with what little he had. I loved how he quickly and calmly talked Teyla down when she was headed toward getting herself all angsty about alternate universe Torrans. I liked how he pistol whipped that one alien guy. And I loved how he got frustrated and started banging on that console, then yelled at Sheppard.
McKay was typical "OMG, we're all going to die!!!1eleventy! Oh, wait, I fixed it." But I enjoy McKay, so that doesn't actually bother me. David Hewlet sounded like he was having a touch of sinus problems, though. Poor guy. His "I got shot!" was hysterical. He always sounds so disbelieving when stuff like that happens.
Shep was really hot in this episode. I liked the bit with him and his double. It was obvious to me that his double had figured out who he was and had some vague idea about what was going on (like, "Yeah, that's definitely me over on that ship. Oooo-kay."). It really subtly underscored his intelligence, which can get lost sometimes.
So in conclusion: Yay, show!
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True, it would have been more believable to have her mention the series of lessons she took from the Major over the years, but Teyla has previously shown technical proficiency - it's quite possible that she's picked up quite a bit over time, and Major Marks 'certified' her in Daedelus operations, so to speak.
And, yes, you can link to my post. Anyone is free to link to anything in this journal - unless it's under f-lock, in which case I expect people to observe the lock and not copypasta it around.
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Yeah, that's true. And my personal fanwank is that since the systems used by the Atlantis expedition and on the Daedalus were all probably designed by the same group of people, there's bound to be lots of similarities in their structure. Like, I can generally feel my way around a brand new Microsoft application just because I'm familiar with many of their other ones.
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But, so far, they've started quite strong. Whether they can continue that...is questionable.
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i wouldn't be surprised if the second half of the season feels like a letdown given their track record with certain characters and plot holes. i've learned to just say fuck it and watch. bastards still have my money for the DVDs though.
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Might be a good time to send them a gift right now...while they're shooting the 2nd half...
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So true! And when you said that, I immediately thought "IDK, my BFF Ronon." (I don't know if you have those Cingular commercials in Australia, but they always amuse me for some reason.) Now I really need a Teyla icon with that on it. :D
Teyla got to have technical expertise, Ronon got to fire Earth weapons, John got to talk to himself, Rodney got to save the day
It was nice that everyone had a hand in saving the day and that the action and heroism was spread evenly. And that we finally found out that John's #1 fan is...John. ;)
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we finally found out that John's #1 fan is...John. ;)
LOL.
That's just asking for a missing scene where AU FlightCommander!John goes back to Atlantis and [person of choice] points out that he was talking to himself. And his team affectionately tell him he's an idiot.
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LOL. Me, too. OMG, that was hilarious, as well as John's resultant, "Those buttons are your friends!"
I was strangely impressed with this ep as well. I also felt like I was watching an AU of the show. Teyla was awesome for suggesting the auxiliary diagnostic thingamajig on the sublight systems, and Rodney being all impressed with her knowledge. :)
It was a really great team ep all around. :)
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Truly; it was like all the little things that I've been nagging Joe Mallozzi about for the last two years in a single episode.
Naturally, they overdid it on the technospeak for Teyla (and I bet there are already people complaining of 'SuperTeyla' taking the limelight away from Rodney the way people complained of 'SuperSam' in Season 4 SG1), but it was such a nice touch!
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I agree, I would also have liked to see more of the AU realities, but the heavy action/excitement nature of the ep just wouldn't fit with that. I think it would have been really awesome if they'd kept jumping realities for several episodes (with longer stretches between jumps). Like that show Sliders before it started sucking. That would have been cool. Maybe it could have been one of their 3-part season finale/openings. Maybe someone will do an AU fic series!
I liked the concept of the ep as it was, too, though. I thought the shifting to different realities was cool and the dangers they faced were diverse enough to keep things interesting without feeling like the writers were going "Okay, what else?" and just piling things on. The abandoned Daedalus and the discovery of their dead doubles was really creepy in a quiet way, and each challenge from there ramped up the tension a little more.
I liked Teyla being useful in a somewhat new capacity (although we've seen her use Atlantis tech before, just not in ship-related situations). It's not like she magically had McKay-level, or even Sheppard-level, familiarity with the systems simply for plot purposes. She was familiar enough to be useful, but she's still in the process of learning so there are things she didn't know and had to ask help for (like a grown-up, without hesitation or shame!), which is something I found believable.
And yes, I have already seen people complaining about that, saying it's so unbelievable. One "generous" soul was gracious enough to allow that even though it was a little unbelievable, it was kind of nice to see Teyla in a capacity other than "hot alien chick." It's a really, really good thing you can't stab people in the face over the internet, because my fuse is extremely short these days. The next time someone says something stupid like that, do you mind if I link to this old post of yours about how it's fandom that really defines Teyla as T&A, rather than the show (http://tielan.livejournal.com/152403.html#cutid1)?
Anyway, as always, Ronon was completely awesome with what little he had. I loved how he quickly and calmly talked Teyla down when she was headed toward getting herself all angsty about alternate universe Torrans. I liked how he pistol whipped that one alien guy. And I loved how he got frustrated and started banging on that console, then yelled at Sheppard.
McKay was typical "OMG, we're all going to die!!!1eleventy! Oh, wait, I fixed it." But I enjoy McKay, so that doesn't actually bother me. David Hewlet sounded like he was having a touch of sinus problems, though. Poor guy. His "I got shot!" was hysterical. He always sounds so disbelieving when stuff like that happens.
Shep was really hot in this episode. I liked the bit with him and his double. It was obvious to me that his double had figured out who he was and had some vague idea about what was going on (like, "Yeah, that's definitely me over on that ship. Oooo-kay."). It really subtly underscored his intelligence, which can get lost sometimes.
So in conclusion: Yay, show!
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True, it would have been more believable to have her mention the series of lessons she took from the Major over the years, but Teyla has previously shown technical proficiency - it's quite possible that she's picked up quite a bit over time, and Major Marks 'certified' her in Daedelus operations, so to speak.
And, yes, you can link to my post. Anyone is free to link to anything in this journal - unless it's under f-lock, in which case I expect people to observe the lock and not copypasta it around.
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Yeah, that's true. And my personal fanwank is that since the systems used by the Atlantis expedition and on the Daedalus were all probably designed by the same group of people, there's bound to be lots of similarities in their structure. Like, I can generally feel my way around a brand new Microsoft application just because I'm familiar with many of their other ones.
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