Wasn't the season not supposed to resume until next year, or something? I didn't know this episode was out until I stumbled upon it at one of the BitTorrent sites where I download TV shows.
Anyway, we get Beckett saying "I'm a bloody medical doctor, not a magician". Had we had our requisite "I'm a doctor, not a" line from this series yet?
I don't really keep track too well, so maybe we've already seen this, but the control room has a widescreen version of those little PDA/tricorders that detect lifesigns.
Sheppard is quite clearly not at all squeamish about killing bad guys. He takes out between 60 and 70 Genii, 55 of them all in one go (he raised the gate shield while they were coming through and locked out the controls).
With Steve dead, that cell has probably just been languishing empty. But no more! They have a new prisoner: that hot Genii chick whose father screwed up the mission on the Wraith ship. She stayed behind when the rest of her people left, so she could try to kill Teyla. In a knife fight. (Hint: Teyla's knifing skills are better.)
Oh, and Sheppard is apparently a very good shot with a P-90.
Posted by deadcujo (Member # 13) on :
The second half of Atlantis started airing in Canada recently, so that's where it came from.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
(*must not read spoilers*!) So why is it that Canada is getting BSG and SGA ahead of us when they're Sci-Fi channel owned shows?
B.J.
Posted by deadcujo (Member # 13) on :
I'm not sure, but I'd guess it's a perk of both shows being filmed there.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
We might be getting Doctor Who ahead of you guys too, thanks to a preferential arrangement we have between our government-sponsored channels.
It's not really a perk - otherwise we'd be getting SG-1 in first-run along with Skiffy. We're JUST going through Season 7 in syndication now. And we're not getting BSG, are we? I thought it was the Brits only. SPACE isn't getting BSG until January (and they're really hyping it on their ads).
Mark
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
Well, SOMEONE is getting BSG ahead of Sci-Fi, judging by the threads in this forum. I've just avoided them like the plague to avoid getting spoiled.
B.J.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Oooooohhh... Dr. Who. I want to see the new series, but I doubt I'll be able to get it where I am.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
"We might be getting Doctor Who ahead of you guys too..."
If we get it. They still haven't said. If anyone here carries it, I'd guess it would be PBS, since they were the ones who aired the old episodes. And, even then, I think individual PBS stations in each city decide which shows they air in their area.
I suspect I'll be only seeing it through the kindness of the Internet, like most of my television viewing.
Posted by deadcujo (Member # 13) on :
It seems Movie Network in Canada gets early dibs on Atlantis, and Sky One--after putting up lots of money for it--gets BSG.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 24) on :
$ $ $
A few observations:
- "What would McKay do?" Heh, I thought he was about to pull out a chocolate bar or something
- The Manarians(?) who took in the Atlantis personnel and tipped off the Genii. Did we ever find out if our heroes ever found out they tipped the Genii off?
- Good old "hide propped up to the ceiling" tactic
- The Genii really get dumb in the second half. How could they *not* notice that McKay was leading them on constantly, or forget to guard the shield for the Stargate, etc.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Caught up with this one too. God, it's good to have Atlantis back! Between this, SG-1 and the much better season of Trek, Sci-Fi televsion watching hasn't been this good in a while.
-First off, and as an aside, I've leafed through the new Stargate Magazine and finally gotten a decent look at the Atlantis mission patch. It's a gate chevron in the background, with a stylized Pegasus over it: white wings are across the top of the logo, and the front half of an angular horse body rears facing left. I want one.
-The production team placed plants outside the upper deck stained glass windows and lit and waved them around in a classic "Hey, there's a storm outside" motif. Probelm is, I don't remember there BEING plants out there. Last time anything organic was mentioned, all the plants on Atlantis were dead. Did them import them from the mainland?
-"Die Hard" episodes like this are a good excuse for us to them to use (and re-use) the standing sets, and this really showed how big the place looks. They really manage to create a sense of size and variety with the corridors that they rarely do with "traditional" curved sci-fi hallways. It can certainly be done poorly, for example with the Andromeda corridors. God, I hate that set.
-"REALLY REALLY DANGEROUS - DON'T TOUCH", signed McKay. When did he find time to write that one?
-The one hunter who stayed with the jumper was using a crossbow once seen on SG1.
-There's a REALLY cool and subtle sequence as Sheppard walks into a transporter in one section of the city, the camera pans around him for only a couple seconds, then he exits the booth in a different lit and furnished section of the city - all in one shot. SG1 has done this on occasion, and once again techniques like this sell the idea of how big the place is despite having only so much set to work with, especially when coupled with the excellent exterior storm shots. Bravo.
-Also, when Sheppard transported, we didn't see any light or VFX display. It looks like the transporter takes the whole booth and not simply the contents. I guess it makes sense, in addition to working as an elevator.
-Ford finally has something really cool to do, being the military commander in charge of Beckett and Teyla. He certainly can handle the role - I hope he'll be doing that more, especially since we're not sticking with the regular SG team structure from the other show.
-Ford also refers to SG1 "Torment of Tantalus", a first season show where the team uses lightning to power a stargate. If it worked for one Ancient device...
-Great little moment as McKay asks Weir for her command codes. She gives him her five-number code... And he keeps asking for it. So she makes up five more numbers... And he asks for the second sequence. Cute.
-The Genii did manage to swipe some of the stuff they were after, but we aren't told what. I suspect they may have enough to construct a primitive atomic device, which we'll be getting back to later.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)