posted
Atlantis has resumed in Canada this week, so the reviews start up again. I only managed to watch the first half or so, but I wanted to write down some notes before I forgot them.
-The returning team comes through the gate and takes fire from Asurans hand weapons. When the gate activates, it's a stock shot: note the Atlantis security guy pointing his P90 at it.
-In the first five minutes, our heroes cause more damage to their main set than the Wraith managed to do in the two previous years combined. With their one little bomb (which looks like a car battery), whole parts of the main tower are blown clean off the superstructure! And the puddle jumper they come in backs out of the room THROUGH THE WINDOW BEHIND THE GATE, leaving a PJ sized hole in the place.
-The Asurans say that all the Lanteans were dead. Only O'Neil and Woolsey are still alive, hiding in sections of the city where the internal sensors had been damaged. I think that the corridors are newbuild, due to the previously unseen wall sections; this corridor was probably sitting on top of the submerged part of the set Jack swims in later. Note the big, comfy couch cushions used as rubble.
-Heading for orbit, the gang retrieves Niam, who's been floating there in the month since the Asurans attacked (why wouldn't they have cleaned him up in the interm? They have the PJs AND the Daedalus, after all).
-Powering Niam up just enough for a Borg-esque Achilles' Heel attack, they head back to Atlantis and are attacked by drones. Unable to shake them all, Shep hits the water and submerges the PJ; the drones don't follow. So, air and space are okay for these things, but not water? Or did they think that the PJ had been destroyed?
-And how do the Asurans control the drones, anyway? They don't have the Ancient gene... Mind you, they can FLY a copy of the damn city in the first place...
-Shep lands the damaged jumper in a submerged room they THINK is a jumper landing bay. Does this mean that they don't know what's inside? There are at least two more puddle jumpers soaking in the bay, which I suppose add to their inventory.
posted
Drones: They must have assumed that they were destroyed, afterall, the drones were used in the water to destroy the stardrive
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
True, now that I've see the rest ot the episode.
-They also miraculously rebuild the gate room by using the raw materials from the unseen Asuran ship. The gang certainly didn't PLAN on that being done, so one wonders what they would do with the new windows in the set had the Asurans not fixed the place by the time they all got destroyed? And did the Asurans get around to fixing any of the other major damage done to the city over the years?
-I must admit I didn't see the con the gang was pulling until we see Shep smirk.. I knew something was wierd with McKay telling O'Neil and Wolsey the whole plan, and weirder still when Ronon dropped his ARG and used his own gun when the troops showed up. All in all a satisfying plan - and a neat way of showing it, by "rewinding" back to the start of it.
-Did the actor for Niam get paid full guest star rates for basically lying on his back for most of the episode, then waking up and saying one line before getting killed?
-The ARGs were pretty cool but under-used, and purposefully so. Can they be re-tuned a la phasers for when the Asurans adapt to the resonance frequencies? Does the original ARG used by SG-1 have to be retuned?
-So, the Asurans are dead, their ship is dismantled, and... ATLANTIS SHOULD HAVE THREE ZPMs! There was no dialogue saying that any were lost, but presumably they had all the power they needed to fly the city back to their home planet. So for teh first time, Atlantis should be fully powered and able to run the shield, the cloak, and all the weapons systems with power to spare. Too bad they don't have a stardrive anymore, as the Asurans will doubtless send another force to capture or destroy the place before the end of the season.
-This was a strangely Jack-heavy episode, with him running around, diving, and delivering oodles of his trademark quips. A pity he wasn't doing this on his original show, which had him in a relatively small role in "200". Oddly, he mentions Carter a lot, but not Daniel or Teal'c. He also threatens to fire Shep twice, but doesn't follow through.
-So, will Teyla's people move back to the Atlantis planet? They're arguably safer where they are, as safe haven on Atlantis is a quick hike to the gate, rather than hours ferrying via jumper.
posted
I was wondering about the status of the ZPMs as well. Hopefully they'll address that in the next episode...
Teyla's group should probably stay where they are, 'specially since it will help with Atlantis' cover of being destroyed. I just wonder how long it'll be before the Genii get wind of these latest events � they were actively recruiting Ronan and Teyla in the cliffhanger, remember.
One thing I was wondering... why the heck would they need a Mark IX nuke to destroy Midway station? Wouldn't a regular nuke do the same job? Or does Dr. Lee just like to think big?
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
Just destroying the station doesn't help if the gates are still intact. The gates worked before the station was built.
-------------------- "This is why you people think I'm so unknowable. You don't listen!" - God, "God, the Devil and Bob"
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Oh, right. The Mark IX is the "Gatebuster" bomb.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
Registered: Nov 2000
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