Hello and welcome to another installment of the Stargate Atlantis Rewatch! Today's episode for discussion is season two's "Conversion." There will of course be spoilers, but if you are not deterred by that, brave reader, then let us proceed!
What Happened
"Conversion" starts right where "Instinct" left off, with the team returning to Atlantis after their confrontation with Ellia. Carson has Sheppard on a gurney and is wheeling him into the infirmary to get a look at the injury on his arm where Ellia tried to feed on him. Rodney follows behind grumbling about the preference Sheppard is getting over him, and is reminded that he only has a splinter. As Carson cleans off the blood on Sheppard's arm, he gives the colonel a hard time about acting like a manly man and pretending that it doesn't hurt. Sheppard insists that it doesn't and to the surprise of both of them, when the blood is wiped clean, it is revealed that the wound has already healed completely. Unsure what to make of this, Carson wants to run some blood tests on Sheppard. Since Sheppard seems otherwise fine, he releases Sheppard to go about his day while the tests are processing.
Sheppard and Ronon decide to go running together, and Sheppard is surprised to find that he is outpacing Ronon the whole way. He says normally he can barely keep up with the Satedan and asks what is wrong with the other man. Ronon responds that he is fine and asks what's wrong with Sheppard. Sheppard is ready to keep on running but, completely winded, Ronon is done and tells Sheppard to go on without him. Later Sheppard is sparring with Teyla and once more he seems to have the upper hand where normally he is the one getting his butt kicked. Teyla remarks that he must have been practicing, but he denies it. Still, she notes, he is showing a very big increase in skill. He gets the advantage and pins her against the wall. Instead of letting her go, despite her obvious discomfort, he engages in some really weird and creepy flirting and then kisses her. AWKWARD ZONE ENTERED! He steps back, confused, unsure of why he did that, and before they can really discuss the matter, Carson calls him on his radio, asking him to report to the infirmary immediately. Teyla, flustered, encourages him to go with relief.
In the infirmary, Carson reveals the test results to Sheppard and Elizabeth. The good news is that they can confirm that Ellia didn't manage to drain any of his life. Unfortunately, due to the massive dose of the retrovirus she had just taken, she did manage to introduce it into Sheppard's system. Carson is unsure of what this will do to Sheppard, as it was never intended for human use. He wants to keep Sheppard under supervision, with check-ins every six hours to monitor the effects of the drugs. Elizabeth also recommends suspending all off-world activity for Sheppard until they are sure that everything is alright. Sheppard agrees to these measures and heads out.
Later that evening, Colonel Caldwell comes across Elizabeth in her office, remarking that she is working late. She responds that she isn't really, and sheepishly admits she is actually just playing solitaire on her tablet. She says she thought he was already headed back to Earth, but he replies that he postponed the return trip when he heard about Sheppard. Figured he should stick around until they know everything is okay, in case she needs him to step in and take over Sheppard's duties while he recovers. She looks a little surprised, but says she'll think about it. Caldwell then asks if her tablet has chess and she says, why yes, it does. Presumably the two begin a game.
Returning to his quarters, Sheppard discovers a weird scaly bluish spot on his arm, in the place where Ellia had attacked him. He radios Carson and says he thinks they need to move up his check-in. Shift to the infirmary, where Sheppard is lying on one of the beds and Carson is filling Elizabeth in on the situation in the semi-privacy of his office. He tells her that the retrovirus isn't breaking down in Sheppard's system as he had hoped it would, but is instead altering his DNA. Possibly related to the incident in season one where Sheppard was attacked by an iratus bug, the retrovirus seems to be turning him into something very similar to the creatures. Carson says they only have a matter of days until Sheppard's DNA is completely rewritten.
Elizabeth goes to talk to Sheppard and see how he is doing and he tries to shrug it off. He admits that even though he should be freaked out, he really isn't. He says he can feel the changes and he thinks he feels like Ford did when he got the wraith enzyme in his system. Elizabeth assures him that this isn't the same thing at all, but Sheppard isn't so sure. She tells him it will be fine and they will figure it all out. Sheppard is skeptical but goes along with it, knowing there is little else he can do but hope Carson comes up with a cure. Elizabeth asks Caldwell to temporarily take over Sheppard's duties while they work on a solution, and he readily agrees.
Carson assembles the medical staff for a brainstorming session to try to come up with a solution. Two of the doctors seem to be disagreeing on one of the suggestions--to try overriding the rewrite by introducing more human RNA into Sheppard's system. One of the doctors argues that this will only give the retrovirus more fuel and speed up the conversion. Carson still thinks it is their best bet, but he thinks what they need to do is use iratus stem cells instead of human. They can program the iratus cells with human RNA and therefore sneak it past the retrovirus and allow it to do its work. Everyone agrees that this could work. The only problem is that their iratus bug cell samples are not gonna cut it, since they are old. Carson agrees, saying they will need fresh iratus eggs--which means sending someone to get them.
Carson and Rodney bring in Lorne and run their idea past Elizabeth. Rodney explains that there is plenty of information in the Ancient database about the iratus bugs, so they should be able to find a nest on the planet where they originally encountered the creatures. The tricky part will be actually getting the eggs, but Lorne tells Elizabeth that everyone going is aware of the risks and he believes Sheppard would do the same for any of them. Elizabeth gives them a go and Lorne tells them to gear up and meet back at the gate in an hour. Shortly afterwards, Sheppard comes by Elizabeth's office, guard in tow, and asks to be part of the mission. His mutation has progressed, now his entire right hand and arm are blue and scaly, with claws on his finger. The blue can also been seen creeping out of his shirt and up his neck. She flat out tells him no, but he tries to persuade her. When he is unsuccessful, he angrily punches the window to her office, shattering it. This seems to bring him back to himself and realizing he has lost all chance of going on the mission, he turns and heads back to the infirmary.
Meanwhile Caldwell has been a busy little bee. In the course of an hour he has sent out a city-wide memo instituting big changes to the security procedures and protocol in the city. He also has started trying to rearrange how the gate teams are configured. Elizabeth finds him to confront him about this, seriously pissed off. He says that Sheppard has mostly done a good job but has made some rookie mistakes and he is taking the opportunity to correct them. When Elizabeth is clearly still angry he asks which changes in particular she objects to. She tells him that's not the point. He goads her by saying that they both know it is unlikely Sheppard will be returning to active duty and that he will probably be around for the long haul so she might as well get used to it. Elizabeth says that she doesn't have a problem with the changes themselves, she has a problem with his timing. He should have waited a day or even a week before doing that. By acting as he has, he has sent the message out to everyone in the city that Sheppard won't be coming back, no matter what they do. It sends the message that they should just give up on trying to save him.
After bitching out Caldwell, Elizabeth heads to Sheppard's quarters to check up on him and to give him an update on the mission to collect the iratus bug eggs. He is sitting in the dark moping and we eventually see that the mutations have spread even further. His eyes have changed and become very cat-like, and there is more visible blue scaliness. He says that the inhibitor Carson has him on isn't slowing the retrovirus' progress, it is only just barely keeping him lucid, and even that is starting to wear off. She needs to increase the security detail on his room. Elizabeth tries to tell him that's not necessary but he insists, and as she leaves, she tells the soldier on duty to double the guard.
Unfortunately the mission to recover the iratus bug eggs is not a success. They find the cave and then the iratus bug nest without any trouble, but the place is crawling with the bugs. Despite Carson's cleverness in shooing them away with saltwater (which we learned in "Thirty-Eight Minutes" that they definitely do not like), they still attack the team once it becomes evident that their eggs are in danger. Two of Lorne's men are killed while providing cover fire for the retreat, and in the end Lorne has to throw a grenade in the cave to keep the iratus bugs from following the rest of them. He pulls the plug on the mission and takes them back to Atlantis. Rodney starts to protest but Lorne tells him until they have a viable way to get to the eggs, there is no point trying again, more of them will just get killed.
Sheppard is less than pleased when Elizabeth tells him the mission failed. His conversion has progressed even more, and he is barely holding himself together. He tells her she needs to try again and she refuses, saying they lost two men and she won't risk any more lives. Sheppard says she should just kill him then, because he won't be himself for very much longer. She refuses that as well and he grabs her by the throat and pins her to the wall, but she stands firm. Before she can react, he lets go of her and makes for the door to his quarters, knocking out both guards and escaping down the corridor.
Rodney and Carson get the city's biometric sensors online so they can track Sheppard. Caldwell organizes a group of search parties and sends them out to bring him back, telling them to use whatever force they deem necessary. Elizabeth, angry, tells them such force should only be a last-resort measure. Caldwell tells her she needs to accept that Sheppard isn't Sheppard any more but she's still not quite ready to give up. Teyla and Ronon's team manage to find Sheppard first. He is climbing the walls like a bug and manages to take a hit from a wraith stunner without so much as blinking. Thankfully, Ronon's gun on its stun setting is enough to knock him out.
Carson puts Sheppard in a medically induced coma so they don't have to worry about him trying to escape again. Carson tells Elizabeth they have less than twenty-four hours before Sheppard is completely lost to them. Ronon wants to go back to the cave alone and get the eggs but Elizabeth doesn't want him going on a suicide mission. She is clearly on the verge of giving up when she receives a call on the radio from Carson, who has had an idea. Carson has realized that Sheppard is actually emitting the same pheromones as the iratus bugs at this point. They can use that to get close enough to the eggs without being attacked by the bugs. There is no time to manufacture more of the pheromone, however, so that means that Sheppard himself will have to go in. Elizabeth realizes it is their only hope of saving and agrees to the mission.
They give Sheppard a massive dose of the inhibitor to allow him one more hour of lucidness, enough time to hopefully get to the cave and retrieve the eggs. His team and Carson escort him to the cave and from there he must go on his own. He is able to walk right in to the cave but it quickly becomes clear that he is barely holding it together. Still, he manages to get the needed eggs and get out of the cave just before he goes all wild once more. Ronon is ready though and stuns him again. Back in the infirmary, Carson reports that he has given Sheppard the treatment and though it might take some time to fully turn him back, it has already started to work. Sheppard should be back to normal before too long.
Indeed, a few weeks later, he is up and about, almost completely back to normal. There is still a bit of blue on his arm but his DNA results show he is one hundred percent John Sheppard again. He finds Teyla training with another Athosian and after she is done he tries to apologize for his "out of character" behavior when he was changing (i.e., kissing her). She tells him to give it no further thought, indicating that he is forgiven. She also says that it is nice to have him back, and the two walk off together.
Commentary
I think there are some people who might disagree, but in my mind it is this episode that finally closes the door on the possibility of a romance between Teyla and Sheppard. As much as she tells him not to think about it, he will always remember the circumstances of that kiss and I think that would taint future romantic endeavors. Also, she was visibly flustered by the whole thing, and not in the good butterflies, melty knees sort of way. While she understands logically that he was not himself at the time, she was still afraid of him in that moment. That would complicate things I think. Anyhoo, it is clear that both value their friendship, and I think this is where they both decide that it would be better by far to just keep it that way than to risk losing it altogether as a consequence of pursuing a romance likely to just sour their relationship. Could be just me, but that's how I see it at any rate.
I don't really know what the point of this episode was in the overall scheme of things. I think it is just a filler episode. It does serve to lay the groundwork for a few things that will happen on later in the season, but I won't go into them now because, well, spoilers for what lies ahead.
They did seem to ramp up the competition between Caldwell and Elizabeth in this episode, while at the same time giving them this oddly flirtatious vibe with each other. It is very clear that Caldwell thinks he could do a better job running Atlantis than Sheppard could, and while he seems willing enough to work with Elizabeth, he also doesn't have any problem overriding her if she turns out to have been "compromised" by Sheppard's style of leadership. Elizabeth just as clearly views Caldwell as an attempt by the SGC to "rein her in" and make sure she tows the company line, rather than letting her use her own judgement to run things. She resents that they seem to resent being forced by the IOA to put a civilian in charge of the expedition, and as such she is much more comfortable with Sheppard, who has a tendency to flaunt the rules.
On a slight tangent, I often refer to the transcripts for episodes over at Gateworld when I write these up. It helps if I have forgotten a one-shot character's name or want to confirm a detail I missed because I was being kicked by a two-year old. It made me giggle reading the transcript for this episode where the writer makes note of "toy envy" in the fandom when mentioning Elizabeth's tablet. So true. I have seriously been looking for a similar device ever since I started watching this show, and still can't find anything as cool or functional (because it's on television, and therefore not real, no matter how close to actual technology it might appear, I know). It was just an amusing moment for me.
Favorite Quotes
"I know I should be in pain or at the very least freaked out by this, but hey! I'm not...and that freaks me out more than anything." (Sheppard)
"You are just keeping Sheppard's chair warm, Colonel, don't lose sight of that." (Elizabeth)
"How are you?" (Elizabeth)
"My body's mutating into a giant bug. How are you?" (Sheppard)
"Maybe we should make a diversion?" (Rodney)
"Are you volunteering?" (Lorne)
"I'll shut up." (Rodney)
"I'm not good at sitting still." (Ronon)
"Did Ronon shoot me?" (Sheppard)
"You had it coming." (Elizabeth)
That's it for today folks. See you back here next Monday for a super nifty episode, "Aurora."
Showing posts with label Gateworld. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gateworld. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
SGA Rewatch: Underground
Hello and welcome back to my Stargate Atlantis rewatch! Today we'll be talking about the season one episode "Underground."
As always, spoilers for the episode and any that came before, with mild references (but theoretically no spoilers) to Stargate SG-1 from time to time. Now, on to the episode!
What Happened
The episode starts off with Teyla (with a lovely new haircut) briefing Weir and the team about a trading partner of the Athosians, a people who call themselves the Genii. She describes them as a simple, shy people, not very technologically advanced. They are an agricultural society. Basically, they are Amish. Atlantis is approaching a food shortage and the crops on the mainland are nowhere near close enough to being ready for harvesting, so Weir is very interested in seeing if Atlantis can broker a trade deal for food with the Genii. (Side note: That is an interesting aspect to interplanetary trade, you don't have to just depend on the growing seasons of your own planet, at any given time there is likely to be another planet with fresh food available for trade.) Sheppard and Ford both feel that they should be looking for allies who can help them defend Atlantis, but Weir feels that this mission takes precedence, so off they go.
On the Genii homeworld, they are met by a man named Tyrus and his (grown) daughter Sora, long acquaintances of Teyla's. Tyrus is suspicious of the Lanteans at first, especially because they are armed and he sees Teyla is dressing like they do now, rather than as an Athosian, but Teyla reassures him. She promises that she would not have brought them to meet the Genii if she did not feel them worthy. He agrees to take them to their village and while Sora is leading them on, he hangs back, speaking into a decidedly non-Amish communicator device on his wrist (which was hidden by his floppy sleeves).
The negotiations don't seem to be going very well. Atlantis is offering medicine in return for a portion of the Genii's staple crop, tava beans. The leader of the Genii, a man named Cowen, seems to be trying to make things extra difficult, stating they will need much more medicine than offered and telling the Lanteans they can just leave if they don't like the terms. Teyla is surprised at his unwillingness to bargain, as her people have always had very fair dealings with the Genii. Cowen explains that the Lanteans are asking for a substantial portion of their harvest, which means his own people will have to plant new crops, clear new land, etc. Very hard, laborious, time-consuming work.
Sheppard thinks to aid negotiations by offering the Genii a much quicker and easier way to clear their lands. They go outside to an old tree stump and Ford uses C4 to blow it up. Cowen is suitably impressed by the C4. He says if the Lanteans can provide a sufficient quantity, along with the medicine, they will gladly give them the amount of food asked for. Sheppard says he needs to go run the new terms by his boss and he and McKay head back to Atlantis to talk to Weir. Teyla and Ford stay behind to hold down the fort and Cowen says they will have a Harvest Ceremony that afternoon. Teyla looks nonplussed at this suggestion.
Weir is not happy that Sheppard has essentially made himself an arms dealer, but he argues that the intended use for the C4 is innocent enough and they do need the food. Weir reluctantly agrees and sends Sheppard and McKay back to seal the deal with Cowen. On the way back, Sheppard deviates from the path (preferring to go in a straight line) and they get lost. McKay's scanner picks up a strange energy signature and they go to investigate it. They discover a hatch hidden in an old barn, and the energy signature is coming from the hatch, so they decide to check it out. Down the hatch, they find themselves in what appears to be an underground bunker. McKay remarks that the construction is definitely beyond the capabilities of the Genii. As they explore, they wonder if maybe the Genii are unaware of the bunker, which leads them to a vast underground complex. Just as they discover the complex, they are surrounded by heavily armed soldiers.
Back at the Harvest Ceremony, Teyla lets Ford unwittingly take a big gulp of moonshine and she and the Genii laugh at his surprise. Other than that, it seems like a very boring event. Someone comes up to Cowen and whispers in his ear and he tells Teyla and Ford that he must excuse himself.
Back underground, Sheppard and McKay, under guard, speculate that maybe the two societies exist separately, unaware of each other's existence. This idea is quickly put to pasture when Cowen enters the room, dressed in the same uniform as the other soldiers. Cowen goes through their things, trying to decide what to do with them. He tells them that normally they would have already been shot for having discovered the complex, but their advanced weapons and possession of C4 makes theirs a unique situation (the Genii level of tech is about 1940s or so). Sheppard guesses that Cowen doesn't actually want the C4 to clear stumps, and Cowen agrees, stating they have a more "sophisticated" purpose in mind for it. Sheppard puts himself out there and says that his people are looking for allies against the Wraith, implying that the Genii might be as well.
Back on the surface, Teyla and Ford are starting to get a really weird vibe from their hosts. They decide to try to leave and see if they can make contact with Sheppard and McKay. Tyrus and Sora stop them however, stating that a Wraith ship has been sighted in the area and no one must leave or they will draw the Wraith's attention. Teyla, with her spidey-sense, knows this to be a lie. She and Ford try to leave anyway and the Genii start to surround them when Tyrus gets a call on their communicator. A shocked Teyla watches as all of the Genii pull out guns and tell her that she and Ford must relinquish their weapons. They are then escorted to the bunker where Sheppard and McKay are waiting.
Everyone is eyeing each other uneasily and trying to size one another up, deciding if an alliance will work or not. McKay deduces that the Genii are trying to build atomic bombs to use against the Wraith. They think the C4 will solve the current roadblock in their project. Cowen is surprised and impressed that McKay figured this out and asks if the C4 will do what he thinks. McKay says that it probably will, but it all depends on their design. Cowen takes them to the lab where the bombs are being built so McKay can check it out. He points out to Cowen that radiation is a risk they need to be aware of. Cowen seems flippant about this, says his scientists have assured them that it's not a problem. McKay tells him he is wrong, but assures Sheppard that as long as they are only down there a couple of hours the team should be fine.
Before McKay can go too far on explaining to the Genii what they need to do to fix their project, Sheppard asks if they are allies or still prisoners. A tentative alliance is struck between the two groups, but it is clear that there is still not a lot of trust on either side. Cowen and Tyrus reveal that their plan to defeat the Wraith is to sneak the bombs aboard all of their hive ships while they hibernate and detonate them simultaneously, vaporizing them while they sleep. Thinking they have decades before the next big culling, their plan is to test their first bomb in five years. Seeing the obvious flaw in this plan (the Wraith are awake), Teyla reveals to them that their plan may no longer be possible. She explains what happened and that the Wraith are now starting to wake up. Cowen is furious and storms out, with Sheppard chasing after him.
Sheppard manages to talk Cowen out of taking his team prisoner and interrogating them before leaving them out for the Wraith to find. He explains that what they have with them is just the tip of the iceberg in their arsenal. He still thinks they can take out the Wraith, but only if they work together. He tells Cowen about the puddle jumper (making it sound like they only have one) and believes that with that they stand a real chance. Mollified, Cowen returns to the meeting to find Tyrus and Sora arguing with the rest of Sheppard's team. Cowen tells them that Sheppard has convinced them that working together is still in everyone's best interest. McKay says he can help them get their bomb program back on track and easily make up for the lost time.
Cowen then shows them the crucial bit of the next step of their plan. Generations ago some Genii managed to shoot down a Wraith dart, from which they recovered a data device (the Wraith equivalent of a flash drive). Tyrus and Sora were able to access the data on the device using some really primitive computers. From the device they learned the location of a nearby hive ship, as well as its layout. Their plan was to infiltrate that ship, use the device to interface with the ship's mainframe, and learn the location of all of the other hive ships so that they would know how many bombs to make and where to take them. With the Wraith awake, infiltrating the ship would be almost impossible--except for the puddle jumper. Sheppard goes back to Atlantis to update Weir and get a jumper so they can do the mission. Weir is pissed, understandably, but realizes that at this point they really have no choice but to go through with it.
The mission does not go very well. Tyrus and Cowen go with Sheppard's team in the jumper. They get onto the hive ship alright and then split up: Teyla and Tyrus head back to the ship to keep an eye on it, Cowen, McKay, and Sheppard to go hook up the device and download the data. McKay manages to get the data they were looking for, but as Teyla and Tyrus are heading back to the jumper, one of the people coccooned for later feeding breaks through his containment and begs for their help. Teyla goes to help him but Tyrus stops her, stating that the Wraith can never know they were there. The man in the cocoon starts making even more noise and, irate, Tyrus shoots him to shut him up. Of course, this attracts the Wraith's attention (smart move, there, Tyrus). He is shot as they are running away and Teyla cannot get to him before the Wraith and she has to leave him behind.
Back on the Genii homeworld, Cowen pulls a double-cross as soon as they land. He tells Sora (already pissed that she had to stay behind) that Teyla killed her father and tells Sheppard that the Genii will be keeping the data device (which the two peoples were to share) and the puddle jumper as well. Sheppard, however, was ready for something like this and had two cloaked jumpers waiting in the air. He has them materialize and his team takes the data device and leaves. Cowen says that the Lanteans do not want to make an enemy of the Genii and Sheppard responds that it works the other way too.
Back on Atlantis, Grodin manages to crack some of the data on the device and finds that there are at least something like sixty hive ships, spread out all over the galaxy. Many of them are already on the move. Even if the ships had all been still in hibernation, there were far too many for the Genii to ever have been able to attack simultaneously. Their plan never would have worked.
The episode wraps up with Weir informing Sheppard that while he was gone Bates managed to secure a deal for food with a group of traders called the Menarians. They then discuss the implications of the information they found, worried about what they will have to face in the future.
Commentary
Amish Nazis. This is what science fiction is all about, folks. Make no mistake about it, the Genii were definitely intended to be comparable to the Nazis. From their level of technological advancement to their belief that they should be the ruling power in the galaxy. Even if the mission had gone off as planned, even if Sheppard had never woken up the Wraith, I doubt the Genii would ever have played nicely with the Lanteans. They are an untrusting bunch to begin with and their superiority complex would never have stood up well to being in the shadow of the Lanteans. They also come across as very isolationist, by choice. Even their closest trading partners (like the Athosians) know little to nothing about their true nature. Only when it is of benefit to themselves do they allow someone who discovers their secret to live.
Cowen's closing words? So true, folks. We have not seen the last of the Genii. Not by a long shot.
Hearkening back to my last post and all of the Star Trek references, "Underground" really ramps it up with the casting of Colm Meaney as Cowen. That was a connection that initially went over my head, as I wasn't aware that Meaney was a Trek alum until well after I had fallen in love with Stargate Atlantis.
Ah, and once more, we have Sheppard trying to solve the galaxy's problems with C4.
Another thing established in this episode is Sheppard's absolutely terrible sense of direction when on the ground. Guy can fly like it's nobody's business, but he can't get from point A to point B on his own two feet without a guide, I swear.
We continue to see the banter between McKay and Sheppard level up in this episode as well. It is also quite interesting to see how shaken Teyla is to discover how wrong she was about the Genii. I think this does a lot to establish how her character grows and progresses throughout the series, even though it is a small moment overall.
Favorite Quotes
"I know. It's getting desperate, we're almost out of coffee." (McKay)
"Well maybe you should stop drinking eleven cups a day." (Sheppard)
"You have no idea which way to go, do you?" (McKay)
"Just trying to get my bearings." (Sheppard)
"Translation: I'm lost." (McKay)
"Define strange." (Sheppard)
"You don't know what strange means?" (McKay)
"You know, if people could just learn to keep their secret underground hatches locked..." (McKay)
"You know how to make an A-bomb?" (Sheppard)
"Major, most of my high school chess team could design an A-bomb." (McKay)
"I built an atomic bomb for my grade six science fair exhibit." (McKay)
"They let you do that up in Canada?" (Ford)
And that's all for today. See you back here next Monday for "Home."
Also, in related news, Gateworld is starting its Stargate rewatch next week, with the original movie. So head on over to that site to find out what that's all about if you are interested. They aren't doing episode-by-episode posts, but they will be hosting forum discussions and having podcast discusssions and such. Their goal is to do a season a month, starting with SG-1 and then moving on to the other series after that. It's not a pace I could possibly keep up with, otherwise I would blog along with that, but if you just want people to watch the episodes at the same time you do and talk about them with afterwards, that is definitely the place to be hanging out!
As always, spoilers for the episode and any that came before, with mild references (but theoretically no spoilers) to Stargate SG-1 from time to time. Now, on to the episode!
What Happened
The episode starts off with Teyla (with a lovely new haircut) briefing Weir and the team about a trading partner of the Athosians, a people who call themselves the Genii. She describes them as a simple, shy people, not very technologically advanced. They are an agricultural society. Basically, they are Amish. Atlantis is approaching a food shortage and the crops on the mainland are nowhere near close enough to being ready for harvesting, so Weir is very interested in seeing if Atlantis can broker a trade deal for food with the Genii. (Side note: That is an interesting aspect to interplanetary trade, you don't have to just depend on the growing seasons of your own planet, at any given time there is likely to be another planet with fresh food available for trade.) Sheppard and Ford both feel that they should be looking for allies who can help them defend Atlantis, but Weir feels that this mission takes precedence, so off they go.
On the Genii homeworld, they are met by a man named Tyrus and his (grown) daughter Sora, long acquaintances of Teyla's. Tyrus is suspicious of the Lanteans at first, especially because they are armed and he sees Teyla is dressing like they do now, rather than as an Athosian, but Teyla reassures him. She promises that she would not have brought them to meet the Genii if she did not feel them worthy. He agrees to take them to their village and while Sora is leading them on, he hangs back, speaking into a decidedly non-Amish communicator device on his wrist (which was hidden by his floppy sleeves).
The negotiations don't seem to be going very well. Atlantis is offering medicine in return for a portion of the Genii's staple crop, tava beans. The leader of the Genii, a man named Cowen, seems to be trying to make things extra difficult, stating they will need much more medicine than offered and telling the Lanteans they can just leave if they don't like the terms. Teyla is surprised at his unwillingness to bargain, as her people have always had very fair dealings with the Genii. Cowen explains that the Lanteans are asking for a substantial portion of their harvest, which means his own people will have to plant new crops, clear new land, etc. Very hard, laborious, time-consuming work.
Sheppard thinks to aid negotiations by offering the Genii a much quicker and easier way to clear their lands. They go outside to an old tree stump and Ford uses C4 to blow it up. Cowen is suitably impressed by the C4. He says if the Lanteans can provide a sufficient quantity, along with the medicine, they will gladly give them the amount of food asked for. Sheppard says he needs to go run the new terms by his boss and he and McKay head back to Atlantis to talk to Weir. Teyla and Ford stay behind to hold down the fort and Cowen says they will have a Harvest Ceremony that afternoon. Teyla looks nonplussed at this suggestion.
Weir is not happy that Sheppard has essentially made himself an arms dealer, but he argues that the intended use for the C4 is innocent enough and they do need the food. Weir reluctantly agrees and sends Sheppard and McKay back to seal the deal with Cowen. On the way back, Sheppard deviates from the path (preferring to go in a straight line) and they get lost. McKay's scanner picks up a strange energy signature and they go to investigate it. They discover a hatch hidden in an old barn, and the energy signature is coming from the hatch, so they decide to check it out. Down the hatch, they find themselves in what appears to be an underground bunker. McKay remarks that the construction is definitely beyond the capabilities of the Genii. As they explore, they wonder if maybe the Genii are unaware of the bunker, which leads them to a vast underground complex. Just as they discover the complex, they are surrounded by heavily armed soldiers.
Back at the Harvest Ceremony, Teyla lets Ford unwittingly take a big gulp of moonshine and she and the Genii laugh at his surprise. Other than that, it seems like a very boring event. Someone comes up to Cowen and whispers in his ear and he tells Teyla and Ford that he must excuse himself.
Back underground, Sheppard and McKay, under guard, speculate that maybe the two societies exist separately, unaware of each other's existence. This idea is quickly put to pasture when Cowen enters the room, dressed in the same uniform as the other soldiers. Cowen goes through their things, trying to decide what to do with them. He tells them that normally they would have already been shot for having discovered the complex, but their advanced weapons and possession of C4 makes theirs a unique situation (the Genii level of tech is about 1940s or so). Sheppard guesses that Cowen doesn't actually want the C4 to clear stumps, and Cowen agrees, stating they have a more "sophisticated" purpose in mind for it. Sheppard puts himself out there and says that his people are looking for allies against the Wraith, implying that the Genii might be as well.
Back on the surface, Teyla and Ford are starting to get a really weird vibe from their hosts. They decide to try to leave and see if they can make contact with Sheppard and McKay. Tyrus and Sora stop them however, stating that a Wraith ship has been sighted in the area and no one must leave or they will draw the Wraith's attention. Teyla, with her spidey-sense, knows this to be a lie. She and Ford try to leave anyway and the Genii start to surround them when Tyrus gets a call on their communicator. A shocked Teyla watches as all of the Genii pull out guns and tell her that she and Ford must relinquish their weapons. They are then escorted to the bunker where Sheppard and McKay are waiting.
Everyone is eyeing each other uneasily and trying to size one another up, deciding if an alliance will work or not. McKay deduces that the Genii are trying to build atomic bombs to use against the Wraith. They think the C4 will solve the current roadblock in their project. Cowen is surprised and impressed that McKay figured this out and asks if the C4 will do what he thinks. McKay says that it probably will, but it all depends on their design. Cowen takes them to the lab where the bombs are being built so McKay can check it out. He points out to Cowen that radiation is a risk they need to be aware of. Cowen seems flippant about this, says his scientists have assured them that it's not a problem. McKay tells him he is wrong, but assures Sheppard that as long as they are only down there a couple of hours the team should be fine.
Before McKay can go too far on explaining to the Genii what they need to do to fix their project, Sheppard asks if they are allies or still prisoners. A tentative alliance is struck between the two groups, but it is clear that there is still not a lot of trust on either side. Cowen and Tyrus reveal that their plan to defeat the Wraith is to sneak the bombs aboard all of their hive ships while they hibernate and detonate them simultaneously, vaporizing them while they sleep. Thinking they have decades before the next big culling, their plan is to test their first bomb in five years. Seeing the obvious flaw in this plan (the Wraith are awake), Teyla reveals to them that their plan may no longer be possible. She explains what happened and that the Wraith are now starting to wake up. Cowen is furious and storms out, with Sheppard chasing after him.
Sheppard manages to talk Cowen out of taking his team prisoner and interrogating them before leaving them out for the Wraith to find. He explains that what they have with them is just the tip of the iceberg in their arsenal. He still thinks they can take out the Wraith, but only if they work together. He tells Cowen about the puddle jumper (making it sound like they only have one) and believes that with that they stand a real chance. Mollified, Cowen returns to the meeting to find Tyrus and Sora arguing with the rest of Sheppard's team. Cowen tells them that Sheppard has convinced them that working together is still in everyone's best interest. McKay says he can help them get their bomb program back on track and easily make up for the lost time.
Cowen then shows them the crucial bit of the next step of their plan. Generations ago some Genii managed to shoot down a Wraith dart, from which they recovered a data device (the Wraith equivalent of a flash drive). Tyrus and Sora were able to access the data on the device using some really primitive computers. From the device they learned the location of a nearby hive ship, as well as its layout. Their plan was to infiltrate that ship, use the device to interface with the ship's mainframe, and learn the location of all of the other hive ships so that they would know how many bombs to make and where to take them. With the Wraith awake, infiltrating the ship would be almost impossible--except for the puddle jumper. Sheppard goes back to Atlantis to update Weir and get a jumper so they can do the mission. Weir is pissed, understandably, but realizes that at this point they really have no choice but to go through with it.
The mission does not go very well. Tyrus and Cowen go with Sheppard's team in the jumper. They get onto the hive ship alright and then split up: Teyla and Tyrus head back to the ship to keep an eye on it, Cowen, McKay, and Sheppard to go hook up the device and download the data. McKay manages to get the data they were looking for, but as Teyla and Tyrus are heading back to the jumper, one of the people coccooned for later feeding breaks through his containment and begs for their help. Teyla goes to help him but Tyrus stops her, stating that the Wraith can never know they were there. The man in the cocoon starts making even more noise and, irate, Tyrus shoots him to shut him up. Of course, this attracts the Wraith's attention (smart move, there, Tyrus). He is shot as they are running away and Teyla cannot get to him before the Wraith and she has to leave him behind.
Back on the Genii homeworld, Cowen pulls a double-cross as soon as they land. He tells Sora (already pissed that she had to stay behind) that Teyla killed her father and tells Sheppard that the Genii will be keeping the data device (which the two peoples were to share) and the puddle jumper as well. Sheppard, however, was ready for something like this and had two cloaked jumpers waiting in the air. He has them materialize and his team takes the data device and leaves. Cowen says that the Lanteans do not want to make an enemy of the Genii and Sheppard responds that it works the other way too.
Back on Atlantis, Grodin manages to crack some of the data on the device and finds that there are at least something like sixty hive ships, spread out all over the galaxy. Many of them are already on the move. Even if the ships had all been still in hibernation, there were far too many for the Genii to ever have been able to attack simultaneously. Their plan never would have worked.
The episode wraps up with Weir informing Sheppard that while he was gone Bates managed to secure a deal for food with a group of traders called the Menarians. They then discuss the implications of the information they found, worried about what they will have to face in the future.
Commentary
Amish Nazis. This is what science fiction is all about, folks. Make no mistake about it, the Genii were definitely intended to be comparable to the Nazis. From their level of technological advancement to their belief that they should be the ruling power in the galaxy. Even if the mission had gone off as planned, even if Sheppard had never woken up the Wraith, I doubt the Genii would ever have played nicely with the Lanteans. They are an untrusting bunch to begin with and their superiority complex would never have stood up well to being in the shadow of the Lanteans. They also come across as very isolationist, by choice. Even their closest trading partners (like the Athosians) know little to nothing about their true nature. Only when it is of benefit to themselves do they allow someone who discovers their secret to live.
Cowen's closing words? So true, folks. We have not seen the last of the Genii. Not by a long shot.
Hearkening back to my last post and all of the Star Trek references, "Underground" really ramps it up with the casting of Colm Meaney as Cowen. That was a connection that initially went over my head, as I wasn't aware that Meaney was a Trek alum until well after I had fallen in love with Stargate Atlantis.
Ah, and once more, we have Sheppard trying to solve the galaxy's problems with C4.
Another thing established in this episode is Sheppard's absolutely terrible sense of direction when on the ground. Guy can fly like it's nobody's business, but he can't get from point A to point B on his own two feet without a guide, I swear.
We continue to see the banter between McKay and Sheppard level up in this episode as well. It is also quite interesting to see how shaken Teyla is to discover how wrong she was about the Genii. I think this does a lot to establish how her character grows and progresses throughout the series, even though it is a small moment overall.
Favorite Quotes
"I know. It's getting desperate, we're almost out of coffee." (McKay)
"Well maybe you should stop drinking eleven cups a day." (Sheppard)
"You have no idea which way to go, do you?" (McKay)
"Just trying to get my bearings." (Sheppard)
"Translation: I'm lost." (McKay)
"Define strange." (Sheppard)
"You don't know what strange means?" (McKay)
"You know, if people could just learn to keep their secret underground hatches locked..." (McKay)
"You know how to make an A-bomb?" (Sheppard)
"Major, most of my high school chess team could design an A-bomb." (McKay)
"I built an atomic bomb for my grade six science fair exhibit." (McKay)
"They let you do that up in Canada?" (Ford)
And that's all for today. See you back here next Monday for "Home."
Also, in related news, Gateworld is starting its Stargate rewatch next week, with the original movie. So head on over to that site to find out what that's all about if you are interested. They aren't doing episode-by-episode posts, but they will be hosting forum discussions and having podcast discusssions and such. Their goal is to do a season a month, starting with SG-1 and then moving on to the other series after that. It's not a pace I could possibly keep up with, otherwise I would blog along with that, but if you just want people to watch the episodes at the same time you do and talk about them with afterwards, that is definitely the place to be hanging out!
Monday, July 11, 2011
SGA Rewatch: Hide and Seek
Hello and welcome back to my Stargate Atlantis rewatch! Today we'll be talking about the second episode in season one, "Hide and Seek."
As always, spoilers for the episode and any that came before, with mild references (but theoretically no spoilers) to Stargate SG-1 from time to time. Now, on to the episode!
"That was a Hail Mary!" (Sheppard to Teyla about McKay's "play.")
As always, spoilers for the episode and any that came before, with mild references (but theoretically no spoilers) to Stargate SG-1 from time to time. Now, on to the episode!
What Happened
Everyone is starting to get settled in to the Ancient city of Atlantis, Earthling and Athosian alike. Things are not completely gelling between the two groups (more on that in a bit), but mostly all is well. They have been in the city for about three days, and Rodney McKay has volunteered to act as the first human trial of Dr. Carson Beckett's ATA gene therapy. This therapy, if successful, will activate the ATA gene in Rodney, allowing him to access the technology in the city coded exclusively to the Ancients. Between Beckett and Grodin (the head gate technician for the city, think Walter, SG-1 fans) we get a bit of a primer about the Ancient technology. Almost all of it is coded so that it has to be activated by someone with the gene, but once initialized, most of the tech can be used by anyone. Since the gene is so rare naturally, this will be a great help to the expedition.
The therapy does work on Rodney and before long he is testing out his first piece of Ancient tech, a personal shield device he discovered in the city. He is, in fact, testing it by having Major Sheppard throw him off the balcony from the control room into the gate room. Weir and Grodin come upon this just as Rodney goes flying over the edge and race to the gate room only to find Rodney bouncing back up, unhurt, and declaring his invulnerability. Weir is understandably outraged at the careless way in which Rodney has decided to test this advice, and he reassures her that this isn't the first thing they tried. "I shot him!" Sheppard declares, grinning widely, only to amend, "In the leg!" when Weir shoots him a withering look. That bit right there is just absolutely positively 100% classic Stargate Atlantis. If that scene doesn't have you at least chuckling a little bit, well, this series really isn't for you. In fact, I am not sure I want to know you anymore if that is the case...
At any rate, Rodney is fine and Weir is glad to see that Carson's gene therapy seems to be working. She tells Rodney to take the shield off so they can have their meeting and...Rodney utterly fails to remove the shield. He tries and cannot get through the shield to remove the device (attached to his chest). Uh oh.
Weir sends Rodney to the infirmary to see if Carson might have some luck getting the device off, and she proceeds to the meeting with Sheppard and Teyla. We learn that the expedition and Athosians are only occupying a small central section of the city, mostly to minimize the power-strain on their generators. Sheppard is organizing teams to explore the rest of the city as well as security patrols around the inhabited sections, just in case. Teyla offers the help of the Athosians for this but Weir quickly turns down the offer (though graciously), saying they will find other ways for Teyla's people to contribute. Teyla is concerned that Weir does not trust her people, but Sheppard and Weir quickly assure her that it is a matter of training her people in the Earth weaponry and not a matter of distrust. (We learn a little later though, that Weir thinks it was probably one of the Athosians who alerted the Wraith to the Earthlings' presence on Athos in the last episode, so she is playing her cards as close to the chest as possible when it comes to the Athosians. She does trust Teyla, but she knows that Teyla also trusts her people and would be offended to learn of Weir's suspicions. To which I say, "duh.")
After the meeting Weir heads down to speak with Carson about McKay's situation. We have learned that Rodney can't eat or drink anything while the shield is active, so he is engaged in full Rodney-panic mode, freaking out that he will starve to death. Carson is worried that the device won't shut down because Rodney's gene is artificial, but Weir thinks it may just be Rodney subconsciously wanting the protection the shield offers, given the expedition's precarious situation. Most Ancient technology has a mental component and Weir truly believes that the Ancients would not have made a personal shield that could kill its wearer. She thinks that once he finally gets hungry enough, the device will shut down. Her faith in the Ancients makes me want to smack her, but that is probably due to the benefit of hindsight and is neither here nor there.
We get a bit more exposition as the senior staff gathers around the control room, putting a self-destruct in place for the city. As far as the expedition team is aware, Atlantis is the only city in the galaxy that is capable of dialing Earth, so if the Wraith do decide to attack or use the city to get to Earth (because they want that new rich feeding ground), they can/will destroy the city to protect home.
Cut to Sheppard telling a story to a bunch of Athosian kids. Before long it is clear that he is telling them the story of Halloween, but as he gets to the scary reveal about the hockey mask, he is derailed by the kids asking what a hockey mask is, then wanting an explanation of the game. Sheppard gets a little grumpy and says that hockey isn't really his thing and they would like football much better instead. Teyla and Halling come in during this and usher the kids off to bed. Sheppard remarks that he hopes he didn't scare them too much and Halling just kind of rolls his eyes, saying he doubts it. Teyla then asks Sheppard to tell her more about this game football that he loves so much and he does her one better. He brought a video of a famous game as his "one personal item" (I call shenanigans on this "one personal item" rule, because Sheppard also brought a book along and it is never clearly defined what qualifies as a personal item, but whatever). Sheppard gathers up the team (Ford, Teyla, and Rodney) and they make some popcorn and kick back with the game. If I actually cared about football, I might know what game it was, but I don't, so I don't. In the game the team wins with a Hail Mary pass and Sheppard is trying to explain the whole concept of a Hail Mary to Teyla, and failing miserably, which in and of itself was pretty amusing. He does refer to the whole expedition as one big Hail Mary though.
Meanwhile, Jinto and Wex have snuck out of their quarters after bed time to play (Wraith and Major Sheppard) and Jinto has disappeared. Sheppard organizes teams to search for him, and the city starts experiencing strange power fluctuations. An Athosian girl comes forward and states that she saw a "shadow" (one of the illusions that Wraith create while culling humans in order to distract and disorient them) in the city. Teyla cannot sense any Wraith in the city though (Teyla can sense the presence of Wraith, I don't think I mentioned that last week, but it is important).
Some of the more superstitious Athosians (*cough*Halling*cough*) are worried that they have upset the spirits of the Ancestors (which is what they call the Ancients) by inhabiting their city. It turns out that Jinto, hiding in what he thought was a storage closet, managed to activate one of the city's transporters that no one realized existed and found himself in a lab. Where of course he touched the one thing he definitely should not have touched and managed to release an energy being the Ancients had been studying way back before they left the galaxy.
The entity is not only made up of energy, it also feeds on it. The power fluctuations the city was experiencing were due to the entity feeding on the generators. Once the scientists figure this out, Grodin sets up the sensors to track the being and remotely shuts down the generators as it approaches them, keeping it going in circles while they figure out how to get rid of it. Unfortunately, Ford finds out the hard way that the being is definitely harmful to humans when he encounters it in a corridor. He gets knocked out and it is as if he has been hit by lightning. So they definitely need to get rid of the thing. Rodney goes through the data in the lab where Jinto found the entity and realizes that the Ancients had captured it as part of their studies on Ascension (the entire race eventually evolved into higher forms made entirely of energy, it's a whole thing). The "box" that the entity had been trapped in was actually the Ancient equivalent of a raccoon trap, designed to attract the being and then keep it there for study.
It should be a simple matter to just turn off all of the power in the city and turn the trap back on to get the entity contained once more. Someone has to stay to press the button, however, and Sheppard volunteers. Weir suggests that McKay should do it, since he still has the shield on, and the shield immediately shuts off. There is mocking and then they get back to business. Sadly, once Rodney initialized the shield it became encoded specifically for him, so no one else, like, say, Sheppard, can use it at this point. Unfortunately, the entity doesn't fall for the trick a second time and refuses to get in the box. Teyla then suggests that maybe the thing wants to leave. So they attach a generator to a MALP (a remote controlled probe vehicle that they send through the gate ahead of time to make sure it is safe for exploration) and try to get the entity to follow the generator through the gate. Unfortunately, the entity catches up just before it goes through and the power in the MALP is drained, so the being just sits in the gate room, draining the generator, getting bigger. There is some panic here, because once the generator has been drained, the entity could start feeding off the energy from the gate itself and that would be catastrophic for everyone in the city.
Realizing that there's really no option left at this point, Rodney puts the shield back on and walks into the mass of the entity, grabbing the generator off of the MALP and tossing it through the gate. The entity thankfully follows and the gate shuts down to reveal a passed out Rodney on the floor of the gate room. His shield was drained by the entity but he is otherwise unharmed. All's well that ends well.
Commentary
As I said, this episode is pretty much classic Stargate Atlantis. Our heroes are in way over their heads and they can only get out with the cooperation of the whole team. There is also the banter between McKay and Sheppard falling into place almost without effort. A lot of fans will argue that their friendship is the heart of the show, and here you can really see it solidifying.
Still being early days, there is also a lot of exposition to get across some of the ideas from SG-1 that carried over into Atlantis, such as ascension.
As minor as it is, I still giggle at Weir's comment about the 10,000 year old dead plants, and then Jinto and Wex using one of those plants to play with later on. It's a weird little bit of detail that adds a nice touch to the setting, I think. Upon watching this for the umpteenth time, I also noticed quite a few details that I never caught in previous viewings. We get a really nice look at how the Athosians live within the city, for example. I also finally, finally, caught a glimpse of the point-of-origin symbol for Atlantis when we are shown the dialing sequence to let the entity out of the city. Seriously, I have been wondering what that symbol is for years, since it wasn't exactly incorporated into the expedition's uniforms the way Earth's point-of-origin symbol was at the SGC. (If you're curious, you can see it on this screen capture. It's in the third row from the top, eighth from the left.)
Something that this episode made me think about this time around was also the fact that Jinto managed to use a piece of Ancient tech, the transporter, that the ATA-positive members of the expedition had not yet initialized, not realizing what it was. He also managed to release the energy being, and I have a hard time believing that particular device would not have been coded for the Ancients only. So that brings up the question, does Jinto have the gene? It is never addressed in the show, but now I have to wonder. It also reminded me that mentions of people actually native to the Pegasus galaxy with the ATA gene are few and far in between and I wonder if that was intentional on the part of the writers or just an oversight. That could have made for some very compelling episodes, certainly. I may have to cave in and send a question to Mallozzi about that...
Something that this episode made me think about this time around was also the fact that Jinto managed to use a piece of Ancient tech, the transporter, that the ATA-positive members of the expedition had not yet initialized, not realizing what it was. He also managed to release the energy being, and I have a hard time believing that particular device would not have been coded for the Ancients only. So that brings up the question, does Jinto have the gene? It is never addressed in the show, but now I have to wonder. It also reminded me that mentions of people actually native to the Pegasus galaxy with the ATA gene are few and far in between and I wonder if that was intentional on the part of the writers or just an oversight. That could have made for some very compelling episodes, certainly. I may have to cave in and send a question to Mallozzi about that...
Also, I love the way Sheppard is getting a crash course in anthropology. The Athosian kids aren't even remotely scared by Earth's horror stories because they've been facing the Wraith all of their lives. Trying to explain something as simple as a football play to Teyla gets exponentially complicated because she has no familiarity with the game, with our predominant religions, with our expressions, etc. These are wonderful details that help to make this show so much fun.
I was quite impressed with how much groundwork is laid out for things to come later in the season (and series). Little asides here, a quick mention of something there. It's all important and easy to miss if you're not paying attention, although it doesn't lessen your enjoyment later if you missed it. I love that kind of storytelling!
Favorite Quotes
"We've got to trade on that while we can, before they discover that we're actually not cool." (Rodney, talking about hitting on the Athosian women.)
"I wouldn't have thought you'd believe in ghosts." (Weir)
"I never used to. Then I learned about things called Wraith that can suck the life out of you with their hands. What the hell is that?" (McKay)
"I passed out...from manly hunger." (McKay, after fainting, and arguing over terminology.)
"I only know one thing for sure and that is Flying Darkness That Eats Energy can only be very, very bad." (McKay)
"Must be a transporter." (McKay)
"We can name it later." (Sheppard)
"I think we're gonna need a bigger boat." (Sheppard)
"Size doesn't matter." (McKay)
"That's a myth." (Sheppard)
"You must have passed out." (Sheppard)
"Thanks for not saying the other thing." (McKay)
"That was a Hail Mary!" (Sheppard to Teyla about McKay's "play.")
That's it for this installment. See you back here on Wednesday for "Thirty-Eight Minutes."
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Clearly, That Was Not the Correct Decision
Man, I am doing my replay of Dragon Age: Origins and it is going pretty well so far except for in one area: the relationships.
I was bound and determined not to romance Alistair this time around. Not because I didn't enjoy the romance in the first play but because there are a few options there and I wanted to try something different. So I went for Leliana instead. Then Zevran showed up and I had forgotten how flirty and fun he is. Sigh. So, my mage has been building a true romance with Leliana, flirting with Zevran for fun, and trying to be buddies with Alistair. Okay.
Except, the game doesn't really have any shades of grey in this particular aspect. Even without hitting on Alistair, if you are just nice to the poor guy, he ends up a little besotted. Then Leliana gets jealous. Then you try to smooth things over with Leliana and Alistair gets pouty. Jeez. Funnily enough, no one seems to care what you are doing with Zevran, even though he seems to think things might be going somewhere sweaty. Hmm.
So the other day my character had to have "the talk" with Alistair. You know the one. The "let's just be friends" talk. Sigh. Damn near broke my heart. I wanted to hug him. But the game doesn't let you do that, also, he's not real. So now I am stuck with Leliana, and as nice as she is, I can't help feeling that maybe I've made the wrong choice. That's what I get for trying something different, I guess. I think it's safe to say that all of my future playthroughs (as a girl character anyway) will involve romancing Alistair. As I told my husband, it would be nice if my character could play matchmaker for the other characters that she doesn't hook up with. Then I could help Leliana and Zevran get together. I don't see why my character should be the only one getting any loving. I guess I'll have to settle for helping Oghren reunite with his ex-girlfriend now that his wife is dead.
Of course, when I hit Dragon Age II up again I will certainly be going down a different path. Anders isn't getting a second chance from this gamer. Not gonna happen. Of course, the only character I actually want to romance in that game isn't available to be romanced, so I still don't know how that's gonna go. I mean, I guess I could play it without that element, but where's the fun in that, eh?
Other than that, however, the game is going really well. I've gotten all of the main treaty quests completed and cleared all of the walking dead out of Redcliffe. Yay! I actually waited to do that bit this time around because the first time through I did that right after Lothering and got my behind handed to me. That was when I had to go ahead and put the game on easy. This time around though, it was much, much better. Part of that is having a more experienced character, part of it is remembering what kind of baddies are where, and yet another part of it is that I am actually a better gamer than I was the first time around. Nevertheless, I have yet to have needed to put the game on easy this far, and my character didn't die once during the whole Redcliffe broohaha. Excellent.
I also managed to complete Morrigan's companion quest without killing her mother. That was kind of an accident, but so far it hasn't had any sort of negative impact on things. I wonder if it will come back to bite me in the butt though, as well as how it will affect a certain storyline in Dragon Age II. Though the XP from fighting the dragon would have been nice, I have to say any scenario where I can not kill the dragon is kind of appreciated.
I am already thinking about my next playthrough though, beyond just the romance aspect. I am looking forward to trying it out as a rogue this time I think. I may or may not do so as an elf. Haven't decided that bit.
Um, I think it might be fair to say I may never actually need to buy another video game (until the third game in the franchise comes out anyway). Seriously, I love playing this game, even when I hate it.
In Stargate news, looks like I am not the only one with a rewatch on the brain. Gateworld announced that they are going to be starting/sponsoring a rewatch of the entire franchise beginning in August. I don't think I am going to alter my plans any, but if you wanted to start your rewatch with SG-1 rather than Atlantis the details are here.
Well, that's all I've got for you today folks. Now, if you don't mind, I am off to kill some darkspawn.
(Insert epic battle soundtrack here.)
I was bound and determined not to romance Alistair this time around. Not because I didn't enjoy the romance in the first play but because there are a few options there and I wanted to try something different. So I went for Leliana instead. Then Zevran showed up and I had forgotten how flirty and fun he is. Sigh. So, my mage has been building a true romance with Leliana, flirting with Zevran for fun, and trying to be buddies with Alistair. Okay.
Except, the game doesn't really have any shades of grey in this particular aspect. Even without hitting on Alistair, if you are just nice to the poor guy, he ends up a little besotted. Then Leliana gets jealous. Then you try to smooth things over with Leliana and Alistair gets pouty. Jeez. Funnily enough, no one seems to care what you are doing with Zevran, even though he seems to think things might be going somewhere sweaty. Hmm.
So the other day my character had to have "the talk" with Alistair. You know the one. The "let's just be friends" talk. Sigh. Damn near broke my heart. I wanted to hug him. But the game doesn't let you do that, also, he's not real. So now I am stuck with Leliana, and as nice as she is, I can't help feeling that maybe I've made the wrong choice. That's what I get for trying something different, I guess. I think it's safe to say that all of my future playthroughs (as a girl character anyway) will involve romancing Alistair. As I told my husband, it would be nice if my character could play matchmaker for the other characters that she doesn't hook up with. Then I could help Leliana and Zevran get together. I don't see why my character should be the only one getting any loving. I guess I'll have to settle for helping Oghren reunite with his ex-girlfriend now that his wife is dead.
Of course, when I hit Dragon Age II up again I will certainly be going down a different path. Anders isn't getting a second chance from this gamer. Not gonna happen. Of course, the only character I actually want to romance in that game isn't available to be romanced, so I still don't know how that's gonna go. I mean, I guess I could play it without that element, but where's the fun in that, eh?
Other than that, however, the game is going really well. I've gotten all of the main treaty quests completed and cleared all of the walking dead out of Redcliffe. Yay! I actually waited to do that bit this time around because the first time through I did that right after Lothering and got my behind handed to me. That was when I had to go ahead and put the game on easy. This time around though, it was much, much better. Part of that is having a more experienced character, part of it is remembering what kind of baddies are where, and yet another part of it is that I am actually a better gamer than I was the first time around. Nevertheless, I have yet to have needed to put the game on easy this far, and my character didn't die once during the whole Redcliffe broohaha. Excellent.
I also managed to complete Morrigan's companion quest without killing her mother. That was kind of an accident, but so far it hasn't had any sort of negative impact on things. I wonder if it will come back to bite me in the butt though, as well as how it will affect a certain storyline in Dragon Age II. Though the XP from fighting the dragon would have been nice, I have to say any scenario where I can not kill the dragon is kind of appreciated.
I am already thinking about my next playthrough though, beyond just the romance aspect. I am looking forward to trying it out as a rogue this time I think. I may or may not do so as an elf. Haven't decided that bit.
Um, I think it might be fair to say I may never actually need to buy another video game (until the third game in the franchise comes out anyway). Seriously, I love playing this game, even when I hate it.
In Stargate news, looks like I am not the only one with a rewatch on the brain. Gateworld announced that they are going to be starting/sponsoring a rewatch of the entire franchise beginning in August. I don't think I am going to alter my plans any, but if you wanted to start your rewatch with SG-1 rather than Atlantis the details are here.
Well, that's all I've got for you today folks. Now, if you don't mind, I am off to kill some darkspawn.
(Insert epic battle soundtrack here.)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Stargate Tuesday: Common Descent
Be warned, there are spoilers ahead. For the story and the mood, unfortunately.
So, first things first. Word came down over the weekend, from the mouth of Brad Wright that with the end of Stargate Universe's second season, the Stargate franchise as we know it will officially be dead. All plans for direct to DVD movies across the franchise (the already written scripts for Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis as well as a Stargate Universe movie to conclude the story arc) have permanently been shelved. Even the eleventh hour story idea combining all three shows in one movie has been scrapped. Joseph Mallozzi confirmed it in his blog as well.
Bummer doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about this. It sucks, to be quite frank. We have three more episode of Stargate Universe and then that's all she wrote, folks.
Fandemonium has already embarked upon their own attempt to tie up loose ends with the recently begun post-series finale set of Stargate Atlantis books. I can only hope they continue the venture for many years to come, possibly giving us some closure for the Stargate Universe story as well. Perhaps these books will stand to broaden and expand the world of Stargate in much the same way the Star Wars expanded universe books have done. I dearly hope they do so.*
There is always the chance that a few years down the road MGM will license the rights to someone else and we'll get a reboot. That is, after all, what happened from the original motion picture to Stargate SG-1. It might be awesome. It won't be the same though. So farewell to my beloved Stargate. I will miss you more than I can even begin to say. But I will never forget. Don't for one second believe those DVDs sitting in my front room will not continue to be viewed over and over again.
But on to last night's episode.
"Common Descent" hearkened back to earlier in the series when the crew of Destiny attempted to dial Earth from within a star and all sorts of time-traveling complications ensued. The general assumption was that the crew died in the unstable wormhole, but we learned last night that this was not so. Instead, they were sent back in time about two thousand years and, since there was no Destiny at that location two thousand years previous, the wormhole jumped to connect with the nearest gate.
The crew (all except for Rush and Telford) was deposited on a planet they ended up naming Novus. Against all adversity they managed to thrive (eventually splitting into two distinct cultures, which over time rose into two different nations). About thirty years prior to present day, worrying seismic activity on Novus caused the people of at least one of the nations to send out expeditions in search of a new habitable planet.
So, present day. Destiny is plugging along and we learn that a lot of people are suffering from headaches and nausea. Seems like the CO2 scrubbers are running low on lime once more and the air is getting yucky. The ship drops out of hyperspace and there seem to be two planets within range, only one with a gate they can access. They send a kino through and preliminary surveys suggest that they should be able to replenish many of their supplies (as well as lime) there. Eli tells this to Chloe and Wray, and they remark that they hope the team finds some more of a purple fruit they had previously found. Eli remarks that those tasted terrible and they agree and start giggling. They are in the midst of refusing to tell him why they would want more in that case (I suspect that perhaps they were cucumber shaped) when out the window they see quickly approaching lights.
It turns out that the drones from the mid-season premiere have been tracking them across the system somehow and have finally caught up. The ship is able to take out several of the drones but not before the command ship appears and also attacks. Young wonders if the drones tracked them by the drone they have been studying aboard Destiny and orders it to be jettisoned and destroyed. Then he orders them to force a jump into FTL and get the heck out of there, hoping they can lose the drones for good this time.
En route, the ship wants to stop as soon as it gets in range of more planets. The scientists convince Young to let this happen, because they do desperately need more lime at least, not to mention other supplies. Scott and Greer take a team to the planet to scout it out and run into a couple of kids around Scott's age or younger who recognize the pair of them and claim that they are the descendants of the crew.
After the initial WTF moments, there is a lot of exposition learning the history of the colonists and of the original Destiny crew that founded their civilization. The colonists explain that shortly after arriving on the planet they lost contact with Novus and have not been able to make a connection since then. They ask the crew of Destiny to take them back to their planet so they can learn what happened to their civilization.
Young is reluctant to do this (as is Rush), due to the lack of resources available and the strain that many extra people will put on the ship. His hand is forced, however, when the drones show up and launch simultaneous attacks on the planet and on the ship. Most of the colonists are evacuated to the ship, but then a drone takes out the gate, stranding Eli, Wray, Scott, and Greer on the planet, along with the remaining survivors of the attack. It looks pretty certain that the crew is stranded until Eli figures out a way to use the gate's sub-space network connection to send a message to Destiny. He can't figure out how to do more than turn the thing on and off, but Scott realizes this is a perfect way to send a message via morse code. Destiny gets the message and returns to the planet to pick up the survivors, then decides to head on to Novus to check things out, since there's really no way the ship can hold that many people for very long.
Along the way, Rush and Eli figure out that the drones must have been tracking them using the stargates themselves--activation of a stargate is a major sub-space event, apparently, and would stand out like a beacon to anyone looking for it. This means no using gates until team science figures out a way around that problem.
On Novus Scott takes a shuttle down and finds a massive modern looking city, completely intact and completely empty. The atmosphere of the planet is filled with smoke/dust/ash and it is crazy cold. They fear that nuclear winter has set in, meaning the two nations had finally gone to war with each other, but there is no sign of radiation or any electronic signals at all. They deduce that the seismic activity likely caused a super-volcano to erupt, which caused an extinction level event and explains the ash cloud and winter conditions, as well as the lack of any and all life signs.
Next week, the crew investigates the city of their descendants.
This was, once more, a completely awesome episode. There were so many little details that were wonderful touches and made the story work quite well. The two nations the crew split into? One was led by Young and another was led by Brody, who claimed that Rush was still on the ship and would figure out a way to come back and save them all one day. This resulted in one nation that over two thousand years came to believe in Rush as some sort of deity (and was named after a font), and one that saw him as some sort of demon, hell-bent on stealing people's souls. This led for some wonderfully awkward moments when some of the colonists (all from the Team Young country) met the real live Rush. I did find it interesting, and a little odd, that the first baby born on Novus (we got to see the kino footage of it) was the child of T.J. and Young. I guess getting stranded on a planet thousands of years in the past rekindled their relationship? It was a good contrast to now, when T.J. and Varro are just starting to build a relationship, and had a very interesting "road not taken" perspective to add to the episode.
I do have to wonder how Wray had descendants, seeing as how she is not interested in the guys. I guess she decided it was her duty to help perpetuate the species? Hmm. I dunno. I am still not sure there were enough people on the ship to create a sustained population, but to find out would require research I don't feel like doing.
It was amusing when Greer got all chuffed by the old lady telling him how handsome he is. I love Greer.
I'll be very curious indeed to see how this story plays out/wraps up next week, to be sure.
Sigh, only three more to go folks, and I have a feeling they are just getting started.
As I said, bummer doesn't even begin to describe it.
Until next time.
*Of course, you know that fan fiction isn't going anywhere.
So, first things first. Word came down over the weekend, from the mouth of Brad Wright that with the end of Stargate Universe's second season, the Stargate franchise as we know it will officially be dead. All plans for direct to DVD movies across the franchise (the already written scripts for Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis as well as a Stargate Universe movie to conclude the story arc) have permanently been shelved. Even the eleventh hour story idea combining all three shows in one movie has been scrapped. Joseph Mallozzi confirmed it in his blog as well.
Bummer doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about this. It sucks, to be quite frank. We have three more episode of Stargate Universe and then that's all she wrote, folks.
Fandemonium has already embarked upon their own attempt to tie up loose ends with the recently begun post-series finale set of Stargate Atlantis books. I can only hope they continue the venture for many years to come, possibly giving us some closure for the Stargate Universe story as well. Perhaps these books will stand to broaden and expand the world of Stargate in much the same way the Star Wars expanded universe books have done. I dearly hope they do so.*
There is always the chance that a few years down the road MGM will license the rights to someone else and we'll get a reboot. That is, after all, what happened from the original motion picture to Stargate SG-1. It might be awesome. It won't be the same though. So farewell to my beloved Stargate. I will miss you more than I can even begin to say. But I will never forget. Don't for one second believe those DVDs sitting in my front room will not continue to be viewed over and over again.
But on to last night's episode.
 |
| This Stargate fan will never stop showing off her love of the franchise. |
"Common Descent" hearkened back to earlier in the series when the crew of Destiny attempted to dial Earth from within a star and all sorts of time-traveling complications ensued. The general assumption was that the crew died in the unstable wormhole, but we learned last night that this was not so. Instead, they were sent back in time about two thousand years and, since there was no Destiny at that location two thousand years previous, the wormhole jumped to connect with the nearest gate.
The crew (all except for Rush and Telford) was deposited on a planet they ended up naming Novus. Against all adversity they managed to thrive (eventually splitting into two distinct cultures, which over time rose into two different nations). About thirty years prior to present day, worrying seismic activity on Novus caused the people of at least one of the nations to send out expeditions in search of a new habitable planet.
So, present day. Destiny is plugging along and we learn that a lot of people are suffering from headaches and nausea. Seems like the CO2 scrubbers are running low on lime once more and the air is getting yucky. The ship drops out of hyperspace and there seem to be two planets within range, only one with a gate they can access. They send a kino through and preliminary surveys suggest that they should be able to replenish many of their supplies (as well as lime) there. Eli tells this to Chloe and Wray, and they remark that they hope the team finds some more of a purple fruit they had previously found. Eli remarks that those tasted terrible and they agree and start giggling. They are in the midst of refusing to tell him why they would want more in that case (I suspect that perhaps they were cucumber shaped) when out the window they see quickly approaching lights.
It turns out that the drones from the mid-season premiere have been tracking them across the system somehow and have finally caught up. The ship is able to take out several of the drones but not before the command ship appears and also attacks. Young wonders if the drones tracked them by the drone they have been studying aboard Destiny and orders it to be jettisoned and destroyed. Then he orders them to force a jump into FTL and get the heck out of there, hoping they can lose the drones for good this time.
En route, the ship wants to stop as soon as it gets in range of more planets. The scientists convince Young to let this happen, because they do desperately need more lime at least, not to mention other supplies. Scott and Greer take a team to the planet to scout it out and run into a couple of kids around Scott's age or younger who recognize the pair of them and claim that they are the descendants of the crew.
After the initial WTF moments, there is a lot of exposition learning the history of the colonists and of the original Destiny crew that founded their civilization. The colonists explain that shortly after arriving on the planet they lost contact with Novus and have not been able to make a connection since then. They ask the crew of Destiny to take them back to their planet so they can learn what happened to their civilization.
Young is reluctant to do this (as is Rush), due to the lack of resources available and the strain that many extra people will put on the ship. His hand is forced, however, when the drones show up and launch simultaneous attacks on the planet and on the ship. Most of the colonists are evacuated to the ship, but then a drone takes out the gate, stranding Eli, Wray, Scott, and Greer on the planet, along with the remaining survivors of the attack. It looks pretty certain that the crew is stranded until Eli figures out a way to use the gate's sub-space network connection to send a message to Destiny. He can't figure out how to do more than turn the thing on and off, but Scott realizes this is a perfect way to send a message via morse code. Destiny gets the message and returns to the planet to pick up the survivors, then decides to head on to Novus to check things out, since there's really no way the ship can hold that many people for very long.
Along the way, Rush and Eli figure out that the drones must have been tracking them using the stargates themselves--activation of a stargate is a major sub-space event, apparently, and would stand out like a beacon to anyone looking for it. This means no using gates until team science figures out a way around that problem.
On Novus Scott takes a shuttle down and finds a massive modern looking city, completely intact and completely empty. The atmosphere of the planet is filled with smoke/dust/ash and it is crazy cold. They fear that nuclear winter has set in, meaning the two nations had finally gone to war with each other, but there is no sign of radiation or any electronic signals at all. They deduce that the seismic activity likely caused a super-volcano to erupt, which caused an extinction level event and explains the ash cloud and winter conditions, as well as the lack of any and all life signs.
Next week, the crew investigates the city of their descendants.
This was, once more, a completely awesome episode. There were so many little details that were wonderful touches and made the story work quite well. The two nations the crew split into? One was led by Young and another was led by Brody, who claimed that Rush was still on the ship and would figure out a way to come back and save them all one day. This resulted in one nation that over two thousand years came to believe in Rush as some sort of deity (and was named after a font), and one that saw him as some sort of demon, hell-bent on stealing people's souls. This led for some wonderfully awkward moments when some of the colonists (all from the Team Young country) met the real live Rush. I did find it interesting, and a little odd, that the first baby born on Novus (we got to see the kino footage of it) was the child of T.J. and Young. I guess getting stranded on a planet thousands of years in the past rekindled their relationship? It was a good contrast to now, when T.J. and Varro are just starting to build a relationship, and had a very interesting "road not taken" perspective to add to the episode.
I do have to wonder how Wray had descendants, seeing as how she is not interested in the guys. I guess she decided it was her duty to help perpetuate the species? Hmm. I dunno. I am still not sure there were enough people on the ship to create a sustained population, but to find out would require research I don't feel like doing.
It was amusing when Greer got all chuffed by the old lady telling him how handsome he is. I love Greer.
I'll be very curious indeed to see how this story plays out/wraps up next week, to be sure.
Sigh, only three more to go folks, and I have a feeling they are just getting started.
As I said, bummer doesn't even begin to describe it.
Until next time.
*Of course, you know that fan fiction isn't going anywhere.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Reports of the Death of Stargate Could Be Exaggerated
Well, maybe. Possibly. Joe Mallozzi says he won't say it's dead until he can for sure say that it is dead. Brad Wright is fighting for the franchise as well from the reports that are making the rounds. So rather than considering Syfy's cancellation of Stargate Universe (and the horrible, horrible way it was announced to the public--if ever I needed further reason to dislike Twitter, this was it) as an early and rather unthoughtful Christmas present, I am instead accepting the hope granted to us 'Gaters from Mallozzi and Wright. It may be a slim hope, and it may be that nothing will pan out, but I'll take it nonetheless.
Already the internet is rife with gloating that such a supposedly awful show was finally canceled (just check the comment threads on any of Gateworld's stories regarding the matter). What a lot of Stargate Atlantis fans (those who oh so vocally detested poor SGU) either fail to understand or just flatly refuse to believe is that if SGU is really and truly dead, so is Stargate in all of the forms that have come before. That means SG-1. And Atlantis. Mallozzi has flat out said that all progress on the Atlantis movie (which was finally starting to gain a little bit of headway with MGM's recent resolution of its financial issues) has now been halted, specifically because of the cancellation of SGU. If there is a third Stargate movie at this point, it will be for SGU, not Atlantis or SG-1.
But why?!?! This is the collective cry going up wherever I look. But I have pieced together bits picked up here and there from Mallozzi, as well as from stories on Gateworld and other venues and think I have sussed out a reasonable answer to this question. Ah, reason. Something we fans seem to forget about completely when it comes to our franchise of choice. I digress. Right, answer. So. Here's the thing, or, things, I guess:
1. SG-1 has already been given closure in the form of The Ark of Truth. The story that the writers wanted to tell has been told.
2. Atlantis's storyline may not have official closure, but Fandemonium just recently released the first book in their new Legacy series, which picks up where season five of the show left off. It is a multi-novel arc intended to close out the story. While true that it is not considered canon by the show writers, it is still one avenue of closure. The first book, Homecoming, is available now. Also, and canonically, in the yet-to-air back half of season two of SGU, we do get some explanation of what is going on with Atlantis beyond season five with the episode that will feature McKay and Woolsey.
3. This is the most important one: Stargate Universe is the most recently aired series in the franchise. People are still grumbling that we didn't get closure to Atlantis, sure, but it has been a few years now. More people are screaming that they want to find out how SGU wraps up. Simple truth, whatever the internet would have you believe. More significantly, the writers have written the story of closure for Atlantis already. They haven't done so for SGU, so that's the story they are going to fight to get to tell. People may be pissed about that, but, well, if there's any chance we get a movie, it will be because the people who are going to make it want to make it hard enough to fight for it. So let's let them get on with that and keep our fingers crossed, shall we?
If we get an SGU movie (and Wright and Mallozzi seem to be first and foremost fighting to get a full third season before shooting for a movie), and if it does well, then we have a chance at the Atlantis movie, and possibly that SG-1 film as well. But. If we don't get that movie. If whatever Wright is working on fails, and this truly is the end of SGU, then we are not going to get any more SG-1, Atlantis, or SGU. MGM, while doing better, is just now starting to move forward. If they are going to invest in a new straight-to-DVD movie, they are going to do it for the one that is freshest in the consumers' minds. The more time that passes, the lower the chances get. MGM is going to be taking very few risks in the coming years, you can count on that. It sucks, but there it is.
Sigh. I could get on a soap box and rant for hours about this, I really could. I have already gone on at more length on the topic than I really intended to. Here's what it comes down to: If SGU is truly dead, then so is Stargate, at least in the terms that we know it today. There is always the possibility that down the road somebody, whether it is Wright and Cooper or someone new entirely, will come up with a new spin on the franchise and we'll get a new series or a reboot. But that will not be any time soon. No one currently working on Stargate has been working on a fourth series, there isn't one in any state of development, because they were hoping and planning for at least a five season run for Universe, and wanted to get that story told before they moved on to a new idea. Honestly, if Stargate does end here, I am okay with it. I will be really surprised to see anyone currently involved in it become part of any future iterations--because let's face it, seventeen years on one franchise is a long, long time, especially in the world of television.
I truly honestly and fervently hope that this is not the end of Stargate as we know it, but I am okay if it is. I have all of all three series on DVD to watch over and over at my leisure. I have many, many books from Fandemonium to read whenever I want. I probably won't ever have Stargate Worlds, but I've already come to terms with that. If I need more than what I already have, I also have fan fiction. There is a slew of it out there, beyond the ridiculously enormous amount I already have saved away for a rainy day. The fans aren't going to stop writing it just because the shows aren't on the air any more. So if this is the end, I will say a tearful goodbye and then move on with my life. But, God, I hope this isn't the end.
A few quick words of advice (from people who actually know about these things, not me), if you do want to get involved with a save our show campaign.
1. If you are going to write in to Syfy, be polite, be clear, make sure your spelling and grammar are exemplary. Give logical, and fiscal, reasons to keep the show alive, not emotional pleas.
2. Don't start your own campaign, join the biggest one you can find that already exists. Lots of small campaigns have a much slimmer chance of being heard or noticed by the right people than one massively huge one.
3. For Pete's sake, watch the rest of season two live when it airs!! Figure out who the advertisers are and go buy their products, then write in to those advertisers and let them know how much you love the show and appreciate their support (and that you are giving them money).
So that's all I've got. I will say that Stargate Wednesday will not be disappearing on this blog once SGU ends its run (be that this year or five years from now). It may move to another day of the week, but once season two has ended, I am going to start a rewatch of Atlantis for you guys. I'll probably then do a rewatch of SG-1 (starting with the movie). After that, heck, I may move on to the books. I am a Stargate fan. I always will be. So as long as I am blogging, I will be sharing that love with anyone who cares to read about it.
Already the internet is rife with gloating that such a supposedly awful show was finally canceled (just check the comment threads on any of Gateworld's stories regarding the matter). What a lot of Stargate Atlantis fans (those who oh so vocally detested poor SGU) either fail to understand or just flatly refuse to believe is that if SGU is really and truly dead, so is Stargate in all of the forms that have come before. That means SG-1. And Atlantis. Mallozzi has flat out said that all progress on the Atlantis movie (which was finally starting to gain a little bit of headway with MGM's recent resolution of its financial issues) has now been halted, specifically because of the cancellation of SGU. If there is a third Stargate movie at this point, it will be for SGU, not Atlantis or SG-1.
But why?!?! This is the collective cry going up wherever I look. But I have pieced together bits picked up here and there from Mallozzi, as well as from stories on Gateworld and other venues and think I have sussed out a reasonable answer to this question. Ah, reason. Something we fans seem to forget about completely when it comes to our franchise of choice. I digress. Right, answer. So. Here's the thing, or, things, I guess:
1. SG-1 has already been given closure in the form of The Ark of Truth. The story that the writers wanted to tell has been told.
2. Atlantis's storyline may not have official closure, but Fandemonium just recently released the first book in their new Legacy series, which picks up where season five of the show left off. It is a multi-novel arc intended to close out the story. While true that it is not considered canon by the show writers, it is still one avenue of closure. The first book, Homecoming, is available now. Also, and canonically, in the yet-to-air back half of season two of SGU, we do get some explanation of what is going on with Atlantis beyond season five with the episode that will feature McKay and Woolsey.
3. This is the most important one: Stargate Universe is the most recently aired series in the franchise. People are still grumbling that we didn't get closure to Atlantis, sure, but it has been a few years now. More people are screaming that they want to find out how SGU wraps up. Simple truth, whatever the internet would have you believe. More significantly, the writers have written the story of closure for Atlantis already. They haven't done so for SGU, so that's the story they are going to fight to get to tell. People may be pissed about that, but, well, if there's any chance we get a movie, it will be because the people who are going to make it want to make it hard enough to fight for it. So let's let them get on with that and keep our fingers crossed, shall we?
If we get an SGU movie (and Wright and Mallozzi seem to be first and foremost fighting to get a full third season before shooting for a movie), and if it does well, then we have a chance at the Atlantis movie, and possibly that SG-1 film as well. But. If we don't get that movie. If whatever Wright is working on fails, and this truly is the end of SGU, then we are not going to get any more SG-1, Atlantis, or SGU. MGM, while doing better, is just now starting to move forward. If they are going to invest in a new straight-to-DVD movie, they are going to do it for the one that is freshest in the consumers' minds. The more time that passes, the lower the chances get. MGM is going to be taking very few risks in the coming years, you can count on that. It sucks, but there it is.
Sigh. I could get on a soap box and rant for hours about this, I really could. I have already gone on at more length on the topic than I really intended to. Here's what it comes down to: If SGU is truly dead, then so is Stargate, at least in the terms that we know it today. There is always the possibility that down the road somebody, whether it is Wright and Cooper or someone new entirely, will come up with a new spin on the franchise and we'll get a new series or a reboot. But that will not be any time soon. No one currently working on Stargate has been working on a fourth series, there isn't one in any state of development, because they were hoping and planning for at least a five season run for Universe, and wanted to get that story told before they moved on to a new idea. Honestly, if Stargate does end here, I am okay with it. I will be really surprised to see anyone currently involved in it become part of any future iterations--because let's face it, seventeen years on one franchise is a long, long time, especially in the world of television.
I truly honestly and fervently hope that this is not the end of Stargate as we know it, but I am okay if it is. I have all of all three series on DVD to watch over and over at my leisure. I have many, many books from Fandemonium to read whenever I want. I probably won't ever have Stargate Worlds, but I've already come to terms with that. If I need more than what I already have, I also have fan fiction. There is a slew of it out there, beyond the ridiculously enormous amount I already have saved away for a rainy day. The fans aren't going to stop writing it just because the shows aren't on the air any more. So if this is the end, I will say a tearful goodbye and then move on with my life. But, God, I hope this isn't the end.
A few quick words of advice (from people who actually know about these things, not me), if you do want to get involved with a save our show campaign.
1. If you are going to write in to Syfy, be polite, be clear, make sure your spelling and grammar are exemplary. Give logical, and fiscal, reasons to keep the show alive, not emotional pleas.
2. Don't start your own campaign, join the biggest one you can find that already exists. Lots of small campaigns have a much slimmer chance of being heard or noticed by the right people than one massively huge one.
3. For Pete's sake, watch the rest of season two live when it airs!! Figure out who the advertisers are and go buy their products, then write in to those advertisers and let them know how much you love the show and appreciate their support (and that you are giving them money).
So that's all I've got. I will say that Stargate Wednesday will not be disappearing on this blog once SGU ends its run (be that this year or five years from now). It may move to another day of the week, but once season two has ended, I am going to start a rewatch of Atlantis for you guys. I'll probably then do a rewatch of SG-1 (starting with the movie). After that, heck, I may move on to the books. I am a Stargate fan. I always will be. So as long as I am blogging, I will be sharing that love with anyone who cares to read about it.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Why the Hate, Fans?
Happy Monday folks. I thought I'd kick off this week by talking about something that has been bothering me for a while now: Fandom gone bad. I'm sure it's nothing new under the sun, but since the start of the series Stargate Universe, I've really started noticed this phenomenon a lot more.
What I've noticed is that online there is a huge presence of people who claim to be fans of a particular franchise (the two in particular that I see this in are Stargate and Star Wars, but then again, those are the two that I follow most closely online) very vocally bashing the hell out of a specific part of that franchise. I'm not talking about the loving kind of bashing either, in the "we know you're capable of being or doing so much better, so why aren't you?" type of way. That generally falls under the category of constructive criticism, and that I am fine with most of the time. It's a necessary part of the creative process. No, what I am talking about is the type of bashing that consists of people yelling at the top of their lungs (so to speak) online that whatever part of their beloved franchise they don't like not only sucks (in their opinion, though they rarely bother to clarify that point), but has also completely "ruined" the franchise. Not "ruined the franchise for them" specifically, but that somehow one part of the whole has undone whatever good existed in the other parts in the first place.
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.
I do not get this. At all. Let's take a look at Merriam-Webster's definition of the word fan as it applies here:
Probably short for fanatic? Okay, let's check out that one too:
I have to say, I am more than a little amused that the example used in the definition of fan specifically mentions science-fiction fans. I didn't plan it that way, true story. I also think it's very interesting that the definition of fanatic includes the phrase "uncritical," because that kind of gets down to the heart of the matter of what I mean.
Probably the most obvious example of what I am describing is the Star Wars prequels. Star Wars fandom (already beginning to fracture with the release of the special edition versions of the original trilogy) was forever divided by the arrival of the sequels. There are people that will no longer have anything to do with Star Wars because they hated the prequels so much. Okay, and let's be honest, George Lucas has clearly realized that he can do whatever he wants to this franchise (which, admittedly, he can, because he created it) and millions upon millions of people will still give him money hand over fist. This tends to produce a lot of less than stellar quality items. But that's not really my point.
The rallying battle cry of the haters among the Star Wars fan community is "George Lucas raped my childhood!" And dude, that's just not even funny. I will admit, I kind of used to think it was a little funny, just because it is such a ridiculous thing to say, but then I realized that it's so not funny, not one little bit. Because these people are serious. They really think that what Lucas has done in releasing new versions of the original movies and releasing new movies, and changing cannon when he feels like it, has actually somehow lessened that original enjoyment that they once had upon watching Star Wars. And they are equating it with rape of all things, one of the most horrible violations any person (man or woman) can experience. Maybe it's lessened your memory of that enjoyment, or made you somehow ashamed that you once loved Star Wars so purely. And if that's the case, I truly feel sorry for you, I really do. But it has in no way actually violated your soul, and it is physically impossible for anyone to go backwards in time and take away that initial joy you had. I have two suggested solutions for these sad individuals:
a) Man up and admit to yourself that deep down you still really love at least that part of Star Wars and just feel ashamed to admit it now that all of your friends/colleagues/online associates spend so much time trying to convince you that all of Star Wars now sucks. But you still like it, so maybe you should just avoid the specific parts about it you don't like, or avoid the people who make you feel bad for being yourself.
or
b) Do some soul searching and realize that while past you did like Star Wars, present you no longer does. This occurred through the combination of seeing the newer material and not liking it, and the events of your life between those two points. As we grow up and go through life, our worldview changes, our interests change, things we once liked no longer appeal to us. It is kind of the natural order. It is OKAY to admit that you are no longer a fan of Star Wars. Please do so and go away so I can continue to enjoy it in your absence.
But people seem unwilling to do either of these things. Instead, they walk around telling anyone who will listen how they're such a big fan and Lucas has ruined everything and anything that's not the Holy Original Trilogy (or whatever part of the franchise they loved so much) is just absolute crap. But that's not enough. In this lovely day and age we live in, there is also the INTERNET. Oh these hater fans love the internet. They go online and find perfectly innocent and pleasant discussions about some aspect of Star Wars and then proceed to rip everything everyone else has said to complete shreds. Usually in an extremely rude and derogatory fashion. Also usually, and even more sadly, once one person does this, a whole bunch more, who were maybe just lurking and thinking of it quietly in their heads, get the nerve to join in. Pretty soon the discussion is completely ruined for anyone who was just trying to have a nice chat about what they like about Star Wars, and not only that, if they are normal humans with normal human reactions, they end up walking away from their computer with a big seething ball of hurt, frustration, and anger. You can only imagine how that goes on to influence the rest of someone's day.
Look, at the risk of someone jumping in with the "free speech argument" here, I completely agree that everyone is entitled to have and even express their own opinion about the quality or validity of any particular aspect of Star Wars (or whatever franchise is applicable). What I can't approve of, and what I honestly don't understand is when people who claim that they like, or even love, a franchise, are so determined to trash it at every opportunity just based on one part of it. It's not just that, it's that they make the effort to go up to a group of people (online or otherwise) who clearly enjoy what they are discussing, and barge in to start telling them all that they are wrong, and then go on to elaborate why.
Dude. They're not wrong. Enjoyment is a subjective feeling. They enjoy something, you don't. Respect that and move on.
Why, why, why would anybody spend so much time and energy thinking about and discussing something they don't like? Wouldn't it just be more enjoyable and better for your soul to find something you do like and get on with enjoying that instead? (I will point out here that I am also completely perplexed by internet trolls. How anyone gets enjoyment out of that kind of behavior perplexes and worries me.)
What's even worse is that, given how vocal these people are, they not only tend to bring little black rainclouds wherever they go, they also have a really good shot of hurting the franchise as a whole. You know, that thing they claim they love, and would love so much more if it wasn't for this one glaring flaw? I mean yeah, let's face it, Star Wars the franchise is pretty much unsinkable at this point, but other franchises aren't.
This is where I get into Stargate. I'll be honest with you here. While the bashing of Star Wars still pretty much baffles me (not that I don't think it has flaws, just, as I've said, I don't understand why people are wasting their time obsessing over the flaws), it has such a global fan community, literally spanning generations, that the law of averages says there's probably going to be quite a few nutjobs running around in that crowd.
But the Stargate fan community lately? There I am not only baffled, I am just plain disappointed. One of the reasons I have always so loudly proclaimed my allegiance as a Stargate fan is that all of the people I have dealt with online, these have always been extremely polite to and respectful of one another.
Enter Stargate Universe.
If you read this blog with any regularity, you know that I really enjoy SGU. I think it's a pretty darn good show. Is it different from Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis? Heck yeah. Is it any better than those shows? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I still maintain that the season one episode "Time" is at least in my top three favorite episodes of Stargate anything and might actually hold the number one spot. But SGU got a bad rap from the start.
The announcement that it would start filming for the next television season wasn't just announced around the same time as the announcement that Atlantis had been canceled but in the same press release. This led a lot of fans to believe that Atlantis was canceled in favor of SGU, which wasn't the case at all. Not only did the two decisions have nothing to do with each other, they weren't even made in the same time periods--it's just that they were announced together.
To add another series of slaps in the face to dejected Atlantis fans, press releases for SGU often contained worrying marketing babble about aiming for a younger demographic with a much younger cast (earning the show the unfortunate nickname of Stargate 90210) and about changing up the formula by adopting a completely new tone, radically different from the previous two series. Once the premise of the series was announced, a lot of people started referring to it as Stargate Voyager, which set off a whole new round of worries. There were also lots of hints about trying to draw in a new crowd of viewers altogether, which a lot of people took to mean that the existing fanbase wasn't valued rather than that the network was trying to add to the existing audience by broadening the appeal.
There was some violent online backlash at this point, with a lot of people vowing they would never watch anything on the channel again after it canceled Atlantis, and a lot of people griping that they didn't want anything to do with the new show. But for the most part, a lot of us adopted the "wait and see" strategy. After all, the only way to find out if the show was going to be any good or not would be to actually watch it, right?
So the show aired, and lots of people liked it. Lots of people didn't. In an ideal universe (or at least one that made a bit more sense), the people who didn't like it would either give it a few more episodes to see if it would grow on them and then drop it when it didn't, or would stop watching it after the first episode and leave it at that. Either way, that should have been the end of the story for those people. Perhaps they might make the occasional comment online, when the topic came up, that they don't watch the show because it never really appealed to them, and that would be that.
Instead, the people that didn't like SGU took to the internet in droves. They griped about the lack of strong female characters in the show (even though off the top of my head I can think of five who are in just about every episode, when at any given time on either of the other two shows there were never more than two female leads floating around). They griped about sex in supply closets and one character starting up a new relationship upon meeting someone new and more interesting to him than his current casual fling. They said it was trying to be too much like Battlestar Galactica and not enough like Stargate. They griped that it wasn't as funny as the other shows, even though the situation the characters find themselves in really isn't one that lends itself to levity.
Then they got really nasty. They started making online attacks on the actual actors, rather than the characters they played. There was a plethora of disparaging remarks about one of the actresses (not her character, but herself) simply because she happens to be well-endowed. The mother of Brian J. Smith, one of the lead actors, who has always been very gracious and polite to fans online, had to stop reading anything about the show online because it was so hurtful to her to read what people were saying about her son--not his acting, not the show he was in or the character he played--but actually about him.
The comments on every article on Gateworld about the new show devolved into a list of who could outnasty who and say the meanest things. I'm not talking about reasonable, well thought out, well argued discussions. There were no agreements to disagree. It was just a whole lot of "I'm right and you're wrong," with the trolls absolutely trying to hammer their point home and get in the last word. Honestly asked questions of "If you don't like the show, why are you still watching it?" were met with derision and cries of "free speech, bitches." Well, yes, free speech, but not really. It is a moderated website, designed for fans of the franchise. People who are not fans really have no place there, not if they aren't willing to express their own opinions in a respectful manner. This was usually responded to with an even more immature reply.
As I said before, constructive criticism is fine, and necessary. Lively discussion is welcome, but is only possible if all parties respect the rights of the others to their opinions. But that is not what this was. Gone was the friendly, open, and polite community I found when I first stumbled into Stargate fandom. It got to the point where the Gateworld moderators had to issue a change in policy. They no longer tolerate those kinds of comments. Any found or reported are deleted immediately. They are not censoring all criticism, but they did put their foot down at the absolute lack of respect for all opinions.
Of course, this prompted those who just wanted to bitch about SGU to create their own freaking website, just to get together and bitch about SGU. More power to them, I guess. I am glad that they are there and that is not a website I am ever likely to stumble upon, so I don't have to read it, yay! It's totally their right, but again, I just don't get it. Why go to all of that effort. If you don't like something, why do you care so much that other people do? What am I missing here?
Apparently, one of the self-proclaimed goals of this website/community is to get SGU canceled. I have seen more than one delusional comment on several websites that maybe if SGU gets canceled, Syfy will finally "wise up" and brink back Atlantis. Sigh. Not gonna happen folks. Life doesn't work that way. And that goes doubly so for network television. Jericho and Family Guy were happy flukes, but flukes they were.
And these people who have started their own website to get SGU canceled claim that they love the Stargate franchise and want to get rid of this blot on its record so that we can get something better, like a new series, or the revival of Atlantis, or at least the release of the two DVD movies for SG-1 and Atlantis that are hanging out in development hell due to the MGM bankruptcy fiasco. Sigh. Life doesn't work like that either, folks.
If it gets canceled, it gets canceled, and that would suck, but a lot of people involved with Syfy and with SGU have gone on the record explaining that the cancellation of SGU would pretty much be the end of the franchise. We might, might still get the DVD movies that have already been scripted, but that would be it. No new series. And no, Atlantis isn't coming back.
Look, I love Atlantis. It is still my all-time favorite television show, and unless they make a new iteration of Stargate that is all Lorne, all the time, (with a healthy dose of McKay and maybe some Zelenka and Sheppard thrown in for good measure), it's going to remain my favorite iteration of the Stargate franchise. But it's not coming back. Buy the DVDs, invest in some of the audio plays and tie-in novels (a lot of them are actually really great), and read or write some fan fiction to get your fix. But give up the ghost.
And in the meantime, can you please not ruin it for the rest of us who are actually enjoying SGU? If you're not a fan, you're not a fan. Might I humbly suggest you find something new to be a fan of and go obsess about that instead? It will do wonders for the world. And probably for you, too.
Word Count Update: 26,782 out of 50,000 (Past the halfway point, woohoo!)
What I've noticed is that online there is a huge presence of people who claim to be fans of a particular franchise (the two in particular that I see this in are Stargate and Star Wars, but then again, those are the two that I follow most closely online) very vocally bashing the hell out of a specific part of that franchise. I'm not talking about the loving kind of bashing either, in the "we know you're capable of being or doing so much better, so why aren't you?" type of way. That generally falls under the category of constructive criticism, and that I am fine with most of the time. It's a necessary part of the creative process. No, what I am talking about is the type of bashing that consists of people yelling at the top of their lungs (so to speak) online that whatever part of their beloved franchise they don't like not only sucks (in their opinion, though they rarely bother to clarify that point), but has also completely "ruined" the franchise. Not "ruined the franchise for them" specifically, but that somehow one part of the whole has undone whatever good existed in the other parts in the first place.
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.
I do not get this. At all. Let's take a look at Merriam-Webster's definition of the word fan as it applies here:
Definition of FAN
1: an enthusiastic devotee (as of a sport or a performing art) usually as a spectator2: an ardent admirer or enthusiast (as of a celebrity or a pursuit) <science-fiction fans>
Origin of FAN
probably short for fanatic
First Known Use: 1682
Probably short for fanatic? Okay, let's check out that one too:
Definition of FANATIC
1: marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion <they're fanatic about politics>
I have to say, I am more than a little amused that the example used in the definition of fan specifically mentions science-fiction fans. I didn't plan it that way, true story. I also think it's very interesting that the definition of fanatic includes the phrase "uncritical," because that kind of gets down to the heart of the matter of what I mean.
Probably the most obvious example of what I am describing is the Star Wars prequels. Star Wars fandom (already beginning to fracture with the release of the special edition versions of the original trilogy) was forever divided by the arrival of the sequels. There are people that will no longer have anything to do with Star Wars because they hated the prequels so much. Okay, and let's be honest, George Lucas has clearly realized that he can do whatever he wants to this franchise (which, admittedly, he can, because he created it) and millions upon millions of people will still give him money hand over fist. This tends to produce a lot of less than stellar quality items. But that's not really my point.
The rallying battle cry of the haters among the Star Wars fan community is "George Lucas raped my childhood!" And dude, that's just not even funny. I will admit, I kind of used to think it was a little funny, just because it is such a ridiculous thing to say, but then I realized that it's so not funny, not one little bit. Because these people are serious. They really think that what Lucas has done in releasing new versions of the original movies and releasing new movies, and changing cannon when he feels like it, has actually somehow lessened that original enjoyment that they once had upon watching Star Wars. And they are equating it with rape of all things, one of the most horrible violations any person (man or woman) can experience. Maybe it's lessened your memory of that enjoyment, or made you somehow ashamed that you once loved Star Wars so purely. And if that's the case, I truly feel sorry for you, I really do. But it has in no way actually violated your soul, and it is physically impossible for anyone to go backwards in time and take away that initial joy you had. I have two suggested solutions for these sad individuals:
a) Man up and admit to yourself that deep down you still really love at least that part of Star Wars and just feel ashamed to admit it now that all of your friends/colleagues/online associates spend so much time trying to convince you that all of Star Wars now sucks. But you still like it, so maybe you should just avoid the specific parts about it you don't like, or avoid the people who make you feel bad for being yourself.
or
b) Do some soul searching and realize that while past you did like Star Wars, present you no longer does. This occurred through the combination of seeing the newer material and not liking it, and the events of your life between those two points. As we grow up and go through life, our worldview changes, our interests change, things we once liked no longer appeal to us. It is kind of the natural order. It is OKAY to admit that you are no longer a fan of Star Wars. Please do so and go away so I can continue to enjoy it in your absence.
But people seem unwilling to do either of these things. Instead, they walk around telling anyone who will listen how they're such a big fan and Lucas has ruined everything and anything that's not the Holy Original Trilogy (or whatever part of the franchise they loved so much) is just absolute crap. But that's not enough. In this lovely day and age we live in, there is also the INTERNET. Oh these hater fans love the internet. They go online and find perfectly innocent and pleasant discussions about some aspect of Star Wars and then proceed to rip everything everyone else has said to complete shreds. Usually in an extremely rude and derogatory fashion. Also usually, and even more sadly, once one person does this, a whole bunch more, who were maybe just lurking and thinking of it quietly in their heads, get the nerve to join in. Pretty soon the discussion is completely ruined for anyone who was just trying to have a nice chat about what they like about Star Wars, and not only that, if they are normal humans with normal human reactions, they end up walking away from their computer with a big seething ball of hurt, frustration, and anger. You can only imagine how that goes on to influence the rest of someone's day.
Look, at the risk of someone jumping in with the "free speech argument" here, I completely agree that everyone is entitled to have and even express their own opinion about the quality or validity of any particular aspect of Star Wars (or whatever franchise is applicable). What I can't approve of, and what I honestly don't understand is when people who claim that they like, or even love, a franchise, are so determined to trash it at every opportunity just based on one part of it. It's not just that, it's that they make the effort to go up to a group of people (online or otherwise) who clearly enjoy what they are discussing, and barge in to start telling them all that they are wrong, and then go on to elaborate why.
Dude. They're not wrong. Enjoyment is a subjective feeling. They enjoy something, you don't. Respect that and move on.
Why, why, why would anybody spend so much time and energy thinking about and discussing something they don't like? Wouldn't it just be more enjoyable and better for your soul to find something you do like and get on with enjoying that instead? (I will point out here that I am also completely perplexed by internet trolls. How anyone gets enjoyment out of that kind of behavior perplexes and worries me.)
What's even worse is that, given how vocal these people are, they not only tend to bring little black rainclouds wherever they go, they also have a really good shot of hurting the franchise as a whole. You know, that thing they claim they love, and would love so much more if it wasn't for this one glaring flaw? I mean yeah, let's face it, Star Wars the franchise is pretty much unsinkable at this point, but other franchises aren't.
This is where I get into Stargate. I'll be honest with you here. While the bashing of Star Wars still pretty much baffles me (not that I don't think it has flaws, just, as I've said, I don't understand why people are wasting their time obsessing over the flaws), it has such a global fan community, literally spanning generations, that the law of averages says there's probably going to be quite a few nutjobs running around in that crowd.
But the Stargate fan community lately? There I am not only baffled, I am just plain disappointed. One of the reasons I have always so loudly proclaimed my allegiance as a Stargate fan is that all of the people I have dealt with online, these have always been extremely polite to and respectful of one another.
Enter Stargate Universe.
If you read this blog with any regularity, you know that I really enjoy SGU. I think it's a pretty darn good show. Is it different from Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis? Heck yeah. Is it any better than those shows? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I still maintain that the season one episode "Time" is at least in my top three favorite episodes of Stargate anything and might actually hold the number one spot. But SGU got a bad rap from the start.
The announcement that it would start filming for the next television season wasn't just announced around the same time as the announcement that Atlantis had been canceled but in the same press release. This led a lot of fans to believe that Atlantis was canceled in favor of SGU, which wasn't the case at all. Not only did the two decisions have nothing to do with each other, they weren't even made in the same time periods--it's just that they were announced together.
To add another series of slaps in the face to dejected Atlantis fans, press releases for SGU often contained worrying marketing babble about aiming for a younger demographic with a much younger cast (earning the show the unfortunate nickname of Stargate 90210) and about changing up the formula by adopting a completely new tone, radically different from the previous two series. Once the premise of the series was announced, a lot of people started referring to it as Stargate Voyager, which set off a whole new round of worries. There were also lots of hints about trying to draw in a new crowd of viewers altogether, which a lot of people took to mean that the existing fanbase wasn't valued rather than that the network was trying to add to the existing audience by broadening the appeal.
There was some violent online backlash at this point, with a lot of people vowing they would never watch anything on the channel again after it canceled Atlantis, and a lot of people griping that they didn't want anything to do with the new show. But for the most part, a lot of us adopted the "wait and see" strategy. After all, the only way to find out if the show was going to be any good or not would be to actually watch it, right?
So the show aired, and lots of people liked it. Lots of people didn't. In an ideal universe (or at least one that made a bit more sense), the people who didn't like it would either give it a few more episodes to see if it would grow on them and then drop it when it didn't, or would stop watching it after the first episode and leave it at that. Either way, that should have been the end of the story for those people. Perhaps they might make the occasional comment online, when the topic came up, that they don't watch the show because it never really appealed to them, and that would be that.
Instead, the people that didn't like SGU took to the internet in droves. They griped about the lack of strong female characters in the show (even though off the top of my head I can think of five who are in just about every episode, when at any given time on either of the other two shows there were never more than two female leads floating around). They griped about sex in supply closets and one character starting up a new relationship upon meeting someone new and more interesting to him than his current casual fling. They said it was trying to be too much like Battlestar Galactica and not enough like Stargate. They griped that it wasn't as funny as the other shows, even though the situation the characters find themselves in really isn't one that lends itself to levity.
Then they got really nasty. They started making online attacks on the actual actors, rather than the characters they played. There was a plethora of disparaging remarks about one of the actresses (not her character, but herself) simply because she happens to be well-endowed. The mother of Brian J. Smith, one of the lead actors, who has always been very gracious and polite to fans online, had to stop reading anything about the show online because it was so hurtful to her to read what people were saying about her son--not his acting, not the show he was in or the character he played--but actually about him.
The comments on every article on Gateworld about the new show devolved into a list of who could outnasty who and say the meanest things. I'm not talking about reasonable, well thought out, well argued discussions. There were no agreements to disagree. It was just a whole lot of "I'm right and you're wrong," with the trolls absolutely trying to hammer their point home and get in the last word. Honestly asked questions of "If you don't like the show, why are you still watching it?" were met with derision and cries of "free speech, bitches." Well, yes, free speech, but not really. It is a moderated website, designed for fans of the franchise. People who are not fans really have no place there, not if they aren't willing to express their own opinions in a respectful manner. This was usually responded to with an even more immature reply.
As I said before, constructive criticism is fine, and necessary. Lively discussion is welcome, but is only possible if all parties respect the rights of the others to their opinions. But that is not what this was. Gone was the friendly, open, and polite community I found when I first stumbled into Stargate fandom. It got to the point where the Gateworld moderators had to issue a change in policy. They no longer tolerate those kinds of comments. Any found or reported are deleted immediately. They are not censoring all criticism, but they did put their foot down at the absolute lack of respect for all opinions.
Of course, this prompted those who just wanted to bitch about SGU to create their own freaking website, just to get together and bitch about SGU. More power to them, I guess. I am glad that they are there and that is not a website I am ever likely to stumble upon, so I don't have to read it, yay! It's totally their right, but again, I just don't get it. Why go to all of that effort. If you don't like something, why do you care so much that other people do? What am I missing here?
Apparently, one of the self-proclaimed goals of this website/community is to get SGU canceled. I have seen more than one delusional comment on several websites that maybe if SGU gets canceled, Syfy will finally "wise up" and brink back Atlantis. Sigh. Not gonna happen folks. Life doesn't work that way. And that goes doubly so for network television. Jericho and Family Guy were happy flukes, but flukes they were.
And these people who have started their own website to get SGU canceled claim that they love the Stargate franchise and want to get rid of this blot on its record so that we can get something better, like a new series, or the revival of Atlantis, or at least the release of the two DVD movies for SG-1 and Atlantis that are hanging out in development hell due to the MGM bankruptcy fiasco. Sigh. Life doesn't work like that either, folks.
If it gets canceled, it gets canceled, and that would suck, but a lot of people involved with Syfy and with SGU have gone on the record explaining that the cancellation of SGU would pretty much be the end of the franchise. We might, might still get the DVD movies that have already been scripted, but that would be it. No new series. And no, Atlantis isn't coming back.
Look, I love Atlantis. It is still my all-time favorite television show, and unless they make a new iteration of Stargate that is all Lorne, all the time, (with a healthy dose of McKay and maybe some Zelenka and Sheppard thrown in for good measure), it's going to remain my favorite iteration of the Stargate franchise. But it's not coming back. Buy the DVDs, invest in some of the audio plays and tie-in novels (a lot of them are actually really great), and read or write some fan fiction to get your fix. But give up the ghost.
And in the meantime, can you please not ruin it for the rest of us who are actually enjoying SGU? If you're not a fan, you're not a fan. Might I humbly suggest you find something new to be a fan of and go obsess about that instead? It will do wonders for the world. And probably for you, too.
Word Count Update: 26,782 out of 50,000 (Past the halfway point, woohoo!)
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Huzzah For New Stargate!
If you haven't figured out already, I am a HUGE Stargate fan. While Stargate Atlantis will always be nearest and dearest to my heart, I truly do enjoy the entire franchise. I have particularly been enjoying Stargate Universe, which kicks off its second season tonight, picking up right where the crazy season one cliffhanger (of course) finale left off. Though the survival of most of the characters seems more or less guaranteed, I am still eager to see exactly how that survival is achieved, and what will transpire next.
Gateworld posted a great article last week to help get people pumped up for the new season. It is a very good read. Check it out here.
In other news, Tuesday truly is my favorite day of the week. Largely because it is new DVD day (and new CD and video game and book day), but also because of television related things as well. While I didn't get any new DVDs today (I have had to cut back substantially since Baby Girl's arrival, but thank goodness for Netflix), I did get my paperback copy of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. I am very excited about this one. Should be a fun read, I hope, and one that Baby Girl will enjoy down the road--it's a Newberry winner so definitely one that will get read to her. I also got four boxes of tea (2 of Chai, 1 of Earl Grey, and 1 of Ancient Cherry Green Tea) along with a super spiffy made for tea travel mug. Good times.
And then, if that wasn't enough, Tuesday also means new episodes of The Guild!! Are you watching this? You totally should be! These people are so socially awkward they make me feel like a social butterfly, and that is seriously saying something. Here's this week's episode, enjoy.
Well, it's Jeopardy! time, so I need to skedaddle. I will leave you with this final piece of joy.
Where is this kitty when you need him, huh? Happy Tuesday folks.
Gateworld posted a great article last week to help get people pumped up for the new season. It is a very good read. Check it out here.
In other news, Tuesday truly is my favorite day of the week. Largely because it is new DVD day (and new CD and video game and book day), but also because of television related things as well. While I didn't get any new DVDs today (I have had to cut back substantially since Baby Girl's arrival, but thank goodness for Netflix), I did get my paperback copy of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. I am very excited about this one. Should be a fun read, I hope, and one that Baby Girl will enjoy down the road--it's a Newberry winner so definitely one that will get read to her. I also got four boxes of tea (2 of Chai, 1 of Earl Grey, and 1 of Ancient Cherry Green Tea) along with a super spiffy made for tea travel mug. Good times.
And then, if that wasn't enough, Tuesday also means new episodes of The Guild!! Are you watching this? You totally should be! These people are so socially awkward they make me feel like a social butterfly, and that is seriously saying something. Here's this week's episode, enjoy.
Well, it's Jeopardy! time, so I need to skedaddle. I will leave you with this final piece of joy.
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| More LOLcats can be found here. |
Where is this kitty when you need him, huh? Happy Tuesday folks.
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