Jun 282014
 

avatar2 SG1 continue their search for the weapon mentioned by Merlin when as an Ancient he went against the wishes of his people to search a way to protect not only the Milky Way but the Ancients themselves. Arriving on a world whose address was given within the Mantle they discover a low technology community whose inhabitants call it Camelot and within one dwelling are the hidden treasures of Merlin including a holographic message, database and another Knight created as a guard to protect the knowledge from the unworthy. Daniel manages to access some of the data but has to sacrifice the machine to protect Cameron who is battling one of the Knights and even with another of the fables swords from the stone he is on the verge of failure before Daniel saves the day. The Odyssey takes SG1 to the location of a recently discovered Supergate with Jaffa forces already present standing guard, Teal’c leaves the fleet on a secret mission and Sam comes up with a means to dial the gate to the Ori galaxy to prevent an incoming wormhole but they are too late, the gate activates and four Ori starships arrive and the battle is joined. The Odyssey and the newly minted Russian 304 Korolev along with a number of Jaffa Ha’tak and Asgard ships engage the Ori vessels but the invaders have superior shields and fire power, Sam floating near the gate can only watch in horror as the first battle is easily won by the Ori despite Teal’c bringing 3 more Lucian Alliance Ha’tak to the party.

Guys, you need more ships!

Guys, you need more ships!

Camelot is a fantastic season finale, we get a very good combination of location work at the village known as Camelot and of course John Noble guest starring which was and still is quite an achievement,  Katharine Isabelle also guest stars in the episode and it was a nice idea to have one of the local young women seemingly the strongest and most competent fighter despite tradition giving that role only to the men. It was a pity they didn’t have Valencia fight the Knight rather than just draw the sword from the stone and throw it to Cameron to do the day and then he only survives thanks to Daniel. In a full 180 we then have the other half of the story dealing with the very high tech side of the franchise, lots of very impressive CGI work and full use of the standing Daedalus (redressed) sets and the Gou’ald sets not to mention throwing in an Asgard just to spice things up a but. The battle once joined looks stunning and it is rather disturbing to see how easy the Ori cut through the lines of the defenders and are so strong they can casually leave survivors behind who can then spread the glory of Origin.

Thomas joined us for Camelot the season 9 finale of SG1 and we thank him for spending some of his day off work with us, not always easy arranging a time to bridge the USA, UK and Finland over Skype but we can always get it done and we are rewarding with good conversation, the same applies to our other guest hosts both previous, current and future:) We got some feedback for last weeks Stargate Atlantis episode Inferno over on our G+ and Facebook page as well the always busy Twitter so many thanks for that and touchwood we get to hear your thoughts on Camelot. This weeks promo is for the Resurrection Revealed Podcast which deals with the recently aired ABC series Resurrection a show I only just watched and thoroughly enjoyed and the podcast just added icing. Next week we are going to be discussing the Stargate Atlantis season 2 finale “Allies” and Brad will be joining us for that, we hope you all join us as well.

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Jun 142014
 

avatar Vala returns to the SGC although only her mind and she takes great delight in occupying Daniels body especially when her first port of call is the mens locker room. Anyhow when Sam realises what is happening and they get to debrief Vala (no not in that way) and she tells them of her appearance in the ORI galaxy in a small village, her friendship and romance with a native of that world and ultimately the bombshell that she is pregnant. If that wasn’t enough to drop on SG1 and the General she then reveals that the ORI ships are ready to go and filled with soldiers ready to fight and die in a religious war against the inhabitants of the Milky Way. Oh and in the meantime the Chinese have made their play for access to the Russian Stargate currently leased to the US.

The Will of the Ori

The Will of the Ori

Crusade marks the return to Stargate for Claudia Black and yes she was heavily pregnant at the time and that worked so well with the story the writers created around her return, the consequences of this story will play out in the tenth season but for now the structure of this episode allows Vala to take center stage without putting too much pressure on Claudia although there was no question that she was giving 100% with the scenes in the village and her acting opposite Tomin played by Tim Guinee. Once again the standing village set is redressed to provide a unique location without requiring huge investment which allows for strong guest actors including Tim as mentioned and of course Michael Ironside who can tick another genre show off his to act in list:)
I really enjoyed Crusade, Claudia was excellent as was Tim and the whole weaving of the Ori story which was basically clips/flashback and exposition was delivered to the viewers in a entertaining and fast paced manner, the threat of the ORI is now really becoming clear and puts pressure on the SGC to handle the local political fall out after the games the Russians were playing and the threat given that the ORI have proved to have weapons tech far in advance than even the Asgard.

Many thanks for the feedback this week and our Facebook, Google+ and Twitter have been very active and lets not forget that we are on a very gratifying number of listener lists over on Stitcher, wouldn’t say no to another itunes review though:)

This weeks promo is for the Sci-Fi Movie Podcast and next week we return to Atlantis for the episode Inferno with our guest Thomas once again joining us for an episode he asked to do a while back, hope you can join us for that and don’t forget we are keen to get more voices on the show, why not get intouch and join in watching and talking about an episode of Stargate SG1 season 10 and Atlantis season 3.

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May 312014
 

avatar While experimenting with a device taken from the caverns beneath Glastonbury a flash of light envelopes Sam and Cameron, minutes later Dr Lee enters the room and totally fails to see the pair of them just standing there and it soon becomes clear by means of this Ancient technology they have been phased out of the plain of existence the rest of the planet exists in. While the search for Sam and Cameron continues the Stargate activates and a garbled message is received along with a strike against the Iris, further investigation indicates it was a message from the Sodan calling for help as they are under attack. Teal’c takes SG12 and they find almost total devastation, it seems every single member of the Sodan have been slaughtered including the non-combatants and many shows strikes against their symbiote pouches. They do find Arkon barely alive grimly hanging on to his life and he tells them that while on a trading mission Volnek met a Prior and a few days after he returned he fell ill and turned into a unstoppable killing machine and wiped out the settlement before searching further afield for the women and children who were sent away. Dr Lee is having the time of his life mucking about with the ancient device which we now know belonged to Merlin and it was used to hide his experiments from the eyes of his people but things take a turn for the worse when Daniel is zapped out of phase and Cameron goes to help Teal’s on the Sodan homeworld. Volnek appears and it’s believed the Ori have used a similar technology that Anubis used to create his super soldiers giving them eternal life and enhanced combat abilities and maybe the only way to kill him will be to literally shred his entire body and that’s what two Claymore mines will be used for. Daniel eventually manages to deactivate Arthur’s Mantle bringing them back into phase but alas that also means Cameron returns to normal at a most inconvenient time but never fear the trap is sprung and Volnek is blown to bits.

Zombies with Guns !

Zombies with Guns !

Arthur’s Mantle combines both humour and drama, no question once Dr Lee is in the mix there is always going to be a lot of fun and with the “brains” of the operation in and out of phase it’s giggles all the way, loved the poking which was done twice and Stargate has never shied away from a little physical fun. It was significant that we also lost the Sodan, obviously they defied the Ori but it seemed short of a planetary strike they were able to hold their own against the local Prior and his plans but one of their own was the key to their downfall. I liked the filtering of the phased scenes, really added to the presentation and while I’m sure Volnek and many of the Sodan could have added more to the final season of Stargate still to come but at least their story got wrapped up.

This weeks promo is for Pulp Audio Weekly and next week we have guests for the Stargate Atlantis episode Michael, hope you join us for that.

We are still looking for guests for Season 10 of SG1 and Season 3 of Atlantis and hand on heart we would love to hear what you think about the episodes we cover, we’re thankful for the regulars who post/tweet but we know Stargate has many more fans and speaking of that how about the news that MGM and Warner have green lit a new reboot trilogy of the original theatrical feature, let us know what you think:)

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Feb 222014
 

avatar As Gerak serves the will of the Ori it is left to the remaining Jaffa who see the threat to their hard won freedom to rally against their leaders. In a desperate all or nothing move they offer Gerak and the council a simple choice, reject Origin or slaughter thousands even millions of free Jaffa who are offering no direct resistance. As trouble is approaching over Chu’lak the SGC have deployed their anti-prior device and captured a servant of the Ori and taken a blood sample with the hope it will lead to a cure for the plague sweeping across the globe. However Orlin who is rapidly losing his mental capability fails in his task but when asked by Gen Landry for one last effort he travels to the Sodan world and faces down the Prior who reveals the intentions of the Ori in the Milky Way, convert the peoples and then strike directly at their former brothers and sisters now known as the  Ancients.

Together they are Strong

Together they are Strong

The Fourth Horseman Part 2 is an excellent conclusion to this two parter, both of the main stories are wrapped up well with suspense and a significant emotional aspect which is one area where Stargate always does well. The sacrifice of Gerak after his face to face with Teal’c was an exception scene for both actors and huge praise to the simple yet oh so effective locations and props which helped to set the scene. Orlin played by Cameron again worked well within the story, his grand gesture in return to human form ultimately paid off but not in the way he intended, it was perhaps a little cop out to have the boy surviving and shades of the episode Learning Curve but The Fourth Horseman is at the end of the day about the hope that can now be drawn for a minor victory in this grade endeavour.

He used to smoke 4 packs a day!

He used to smoke 4 packs a day!

We’ve included some feedback for last weeks show and of course a few of the more notable Stargate related birthdays for the upcoming week and also a book review of the novel Houdini & Lovecraft, The Ghost Writer written by Ron Wilkerson. This weeks promo is from our friend Nuchtchas with her show Nutty Bites and next week we are looking at the Atlantis episode The Hive which is it’s conclusion to their mid-season two parter. We’d love to hear from you about anything Stargate and/or Gatecast related including the opportunity to join us for an upcoming episode, let us know if you are interested and we’ll see what can be arranged:)

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Feb 082014
 

avatar2 A recon unit return from an undercover mission on a planet which is being visited by a Prior of the Ori, the men soon become ill and reveal one of them was touched by the Prior during a religious service and in hindsight it was easy to see the Ori knew who they were and used them to carry a plague back to Earth to decimate the heart of the potential resistance in the Milky Way.  As Sam investigates the possibility of developing an anti-prior weapon based on the knowledge they gained from the scans of Khalek back on Dakara a Prior is working his magic on Gerak who is embracing the concept of enlightenment which is worrying Bra’tac and Teal’c. Orlin returns to the corporeal world as a young boy, his explanation being the younger brain would be more adept at retaining the knowledge required to cure the plague but it’s a one way trip, for Sam and her world he is willing to sacrifice everything. Gerak is showing some resistance to the demands of the Prior but is then taken to Celestis and when he returns it seems the Ori now have a key player for the invasion of the galaxy.

TFH1 (44)

That can’t be good.

The Fourth Horseman Part 1 is an excellent episode in it’s own right let alone the first half of a two parter, with a restricted tv budget and resources the producers manage to convey the potential disaster of a global pandemic and the galaxy wide ramifications as the Jaffa nation could become a de facto army for the Ori.  It’s almost brutal watching Gerak a man driven by the desire for power see the Ori as both a means to an end but also maybe some sort of personal fulfillment in the spiritual sense, you do believe that he believes in their message despite knowing what the Ori are willing to do to anyone that does not bow down to them. There is hope of course, Sam and Dr Lee have come up with a way to disrupt the energy being channeled to and by a Prior but it has to be tested so a visit to the Sodan is called for and they may not be an easy challenge in itself.

The Brains Trust

The Brains Trust

The return of Orlin was a bit of a surprise and his new look took some getting use too, there was some logic behind it but as we learned in the commentary the idea was to have Sean Patrick Flanery return as the character but he was unavailable and the writers earned their money with young Orlin and making it work with the acting talents of Cameron playing  a big part.  Oh and lets not forget the return of the late Don S. Davis as General Hammond who filled in at the last minute when General Jumper was unable to film his cameo, it was great to see Don who appears again in part 2.

Thank you everyone for the feedback on last weeks show and continued support via Facebook, Google+ and especially Twitter. There’s a little news and birthdays included in this weeks show and next week we return to Atlantis for the first part of their two parter “The Lost Boys” which sees the return of a season 1 regular. This weeks promo is for the excellent Tuning Into Scifi TV and as always feel free to get in touch with us for any reason, we’re all family within the shadow of the gate.

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Dec 142013
 

avatar2 SG1 along with support from SG22 are on an alien world in search of the legendary warriors of the Sodan who are a group of Jaffa who were the first to break away from their System Lord masters many thousands of years earlier. They chose not to interact with their former brethren and live apart and slowly fell into the tales and legends of the remaining Jaffa but new information encourages the SGC to search them out. The team are ambushed and while under fire Mitchell is wounded and taken by the Sodan who are unable to retrieve one of their own wounded who was captured when SG22 joins the fight. Cameron is taken to the Sodan village where he is trained to a standard which will give him a fair chance during an honour fight a consequence of drawing Sodan blood but is troubled when he sees that the Sodan are falling under the spell of the Ori. Meanwhile at the SGC the captured Sodan is questioned and they attempt to prove to him that the Ori and their Prior’s stand for everything the Sodan rejected so many generations ago.

Where'd they go?

Where’d they go?

Well what can you say about this episode that doesn’t sound like I am sucking up to the producers, writers, director and cast? Not a lot because the episode looks fantastic, the new location village is movie quality and the music haunting and doesn’t suffer from the comparison to The Last Samurai even though the plot is similar. We have some excellent guest stars as well with Tony Todd, William B. Davis and the brothers Jarvis W. and Jason George all of who really add depth and value to the episode. The story opens up the Jaffa element of the show which has for many been a dying arc and both elements of the story work very well together.

Nice swords dude!

Nice swords dude!

Well we can’t talk about this episode without mentioning quite a few references to Star Trek, the fight and it’s result hark back to Amok Time and even Cameron comments on the fact by calling Jolan “Bones” yet as always it’s done with a huge nod to the audience which makes it fun and not cheesey in any way.
We can also overlook the Tom Cruise connection, the stranger in a strange land is not a new story idea and it’s done in two ways within this episode both of which pay off but not to the level I think many of us would have hoped for.

This is the final regular episode of Gatecast in 2013, the next four episodes will be bonus shows which feature subjects which are not Stargate but have very definite ties to the franchise and we will be begin with the Seaquest episode “Vapours” which has the DeLuise clan in attendance. Many thanks for the feedback, we got some good chat over on the Facebook page and as always twitter has been busy and we are still seeing some nice business being done over on our G+ page. We would love to hear from you and there are plenty of SG1 and SGA episodes that await a guest host so if you fancy doing a show with us check out the schedule (Tab at the top of the page) and get in touch and we’ll see about sorting out a date and time. We know given enough notice that recording with guests from far flung locations and timezones is quite possible so don’t let that worry you either.

We have a couple of promo features in this episode, first up is HEXED: Sisterhood of the Supernatural and then Michael Clark’s new project Visionary Trek, check both of them out:)

Happy holidays, enjoy the show and stay safe.

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Nov 092013
 

avatar2 Nerus who is reputed to be the intelligence behind the technical achievements of Baal offers his services to the SGC to aid in the repulsion of the Ori who have taken a Jaffa world and are using it’s Stargate for as yet purposes unknown. Nerus convinces the SGC that the gate is going to be a beachhead into the Milky Way for a full scale invasion rather than the odd Prior here and there so the Prometheus is sent armed with a Mark 9 Naquadria enhanced nuclear weapon aka Gate Buster. What amounts to SG1 beam down to the planet and address the Prior hoping for a peaceful solution but then Gerak and the Jaffa fleet arrive and open up on the planet from Orbit and faced with no peaceful solution the bomb is armed and they beam out. Upon detonation the energy shield surrounding the gate expands to cover the entire planet and then the light bulb flickers into light and Sam realises that the Ori needed the extra energy and Nerus had been in cahoots with the Ori. Things really take a turn for the worse when the planet starts to shrink and once again Sam figures out that this super stargate being built will be powered by mini black holes one at either end. In the panic that follows only Vala comes up with a solution and risks her life to prevent the completion of the gate and when it’s destroyed no trace of her can be found.

Beachhead is an excellent episode of SG1, it not only offers up a very good story but backs it up with some good stunt set pieces and outstanding CGI work both on the planet and in space, the studio work doesn’t let the episode down either and all parties bring their “A” game. It was a nice twist to find out that Ba’al isn’t the mastermind he implies to be, it does make sense that there are Gou’ald who like human scientists do all the hard work  but are not in command. It also makes sense that he would come to Earth looking for sanctuary, the SGC have proven to be a major player in the galaxy but the twist also proves perfectly reasonable. Nerus like all Gou’ald is arrogant and power mad, believing he could use the Ori is as a conduit to his own rise in status does explain his actions and of course the character is played wonderfully by Maury Chaykin (1949–2010).

You can trust me

You can trust me

We finally see Sam back at the SGC full time and we even get a unheard phone conversation with Jack which was funny and well any reference is a good reference. This episode also spells the end of Vala’s arc during this part of the story and she went out saving the Prometheus the ship she stole not so long back and in doing so pretty much left everyone feeling maybe just a little guilty. It is a little disappointing because the basketball scene we get early on really does show how well the team have meshed with laughter and casual ribbing of each other.

Looks familiar

Looks familiar

Beachhead is an excellent standalone episode as well as a starting and ending point for a number of story arcs, it really does shine as being a standard bearer for what Stargate is all about both in story telling and production, design and values. This weeks podcast promo is for Tuning Into Scifi TV and next week we pay a visit to Pegasus for the Atlantis episode Trinity in which Rodney lets his ego lead him around like a little puppy with disastrous consequences. We would love to hear from you about anything Stargate and we’re always on the look out for a guest to join us for an episode of SG1 or Atlantis, itunes and stitcher ratings/reviews are most welcome and if nothing else enjoy the show and tell a friend:)

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Oct 262013
 

avatar2 Vala volunteers to travel with the rest of well sorta SG1 to a world that has been visited by a Prior, it turns out that she stayed on this world disguised as Qetesh. No one should really be surprised that her real motive was to reclaim a bunch of treasure she had acquired but Daniel is convinced that only the truth of the false gods is capable of combating the threat of the Ori who themselves are false gods. Of course after learning the truth the people immediately imprison Vala for crimes against them and while Daniel is defending her the Prior arrives and makes his position very clear. After he leaves the people start to fall ill and nothing Dr Lam and her team can do can cure the disease, even the healing device is only a temporary measure and when it push to comes the natives of the world bow down to the Ori and the Prior cures them all. Just before he turns to leave he stares at Daniel and tells him to relay this story to anyone that will listen and then walks away.

A losing battle

A losing battle

The Powers That Be is a very strong episode and really nails down what the Ori and their Priors are capable of doing along with the propaganda use of their actions both positive and negative. As with the Gou’ald the SGC and Earth are once again faced with very powerful beings but until the System Lords the Ori powers are at a level that does seem to be a step away from technology based thus enforcing the belief they have god like powers or are indeed gods themselves. It doesn’t hurt that the Priors for the time are preaching only the positive and backing it up, any opposition has a very difficult time to hold up examples of the Ori’s deceit or complicity and words are just words.

Get used to losing guys!

Get used to losing guys!

It was very interesting to see the former Administrator turned Prior arrive in the Milky Way, it was bad enough random Priors were appearing but his appearance had to be response to Daniel being on the planet, it certainly underlines how manipulative the Ori are at least until force is required to quell the dissenters. Greg Anderson who plays the Prior does a wonderful job with the writing his is given, by keeping some level of humanity (not seen in the other Priors) he is all the more threatening and competent. The use of the disease/plague is also a call back to the ultimate demise of the non-ascended ancients, you wonder if before they fled their home galaxy their conflict with who would become the Ori left a little seed which generations later removed them from the physical plane. This episode does a great job of opening avenues for the story to travel down.

Thanks for everyone who has been posting and using the Facebook, Twitter and G+ sites as well as regularly visiting this main website, it’s rewarding to see people making use of our efforts and the feedback we get is great. In that regard we got some discussion about Duet over on Facebook and continued chatter on Twitter about pretty much everything Stargate. This weeks promo is for the new Dune podcast which will be covering the entire literature aspect of the franchise on a monthly basis, the show hosts included Scott from the Scifi Diner podcast so you may be familiar with his voice:)

This was our 200th episode and it includes the results of the recent competition, they will be published on the site and other portals when everyone has been notified but we want to thank everyone for entering, at best there is a prize at worst you got to puzzle over four Stargate themed questions:)

Brad once again got up early and recorded with us, we had a lot of skype issues but we stood firm and got the episode recorded. We are still looking for more guests to come on the show, the schedule is rather sparse for the next few months so if you fancy joining us for an episode (SG1 or SGA) then get in touch and we’ll sort something out but until then take care everyone and don’t forget where you left the gate.

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Sep 282013
 

avatar2 Daniel and Vala are still in the bodies of Sallis and Harrid and are faced with the heart of Origin in the city of Celestis. Daniel is able to divine some of the underlying teachings of the culture and uses the information to gain an audience with the leader in physical world called the Doci. He verbally duels with the Doci and eventually the Ori themselves inhabit their vessel and talk directly to Daniel, they now know that their old enemy who fled to the Milky Way are hiding trillions of souls ready to be exposed to Origin. Back in the Milky Way a Prior emerges from a Stargate and begins to preach Origin to the local population, Cameron invites the Prior to the SGC where along with the new Jaffa leader Gerak the Prior offers the inhabitants of the galaxy guidance and a path to enlightenment. Daniel and Vala now returned to the village are visited by Fannis who reveals the Ancient communication stone control device and Daniel is able to warn the SGC about the threat just before a Prior descends upon them and once again the fire pit is a flame but no escape for Sallis and Harried or Frannis, the first victims in the war between the Milky Way and the Ori.

The Doci and a Prior

The Doci and a Prior

Origin as with the first two parts of the trilogy was written by Rob C Cooper and seals the foundations of the main story that will drive the final two seasons of Stargate SG1. A stellar cast of guest stars taking key positions adds so much depth to the story which certainly helps to smooth over the miss steps as SG1 is reshaped. Julian Sands gives a very dry performance as the Doci but is perfect for the role and Louis Gossett Jr steals every scene he is in which is no mean accomplishment alongside Beau Bridges. It was certainly a little dark to lose the three natives of the Ori galaxy but underlines how black and white the view of the Ori is, worship or die but you do have the choice.

Some choice

Some choice

A busy time on Facebook, lots of feedback for last weeks show which was very pleasing and twitter as always was awash with chatter, the Stargate community over there is really great to read and interact with. Brad was stellar in this show, once again making time to fill in the gap with Alan settling into his new life in Finland and since we’re coming up to our 200th show there is a little competition information in the show, every listener invited to enter including any guest and co-hosts:)

This weeks promo is from Hexed The Sisterhood of the Supernatural and next week we are back in Pegasus with the episode Runner and the introduction of one Ronon Dex, the ladies go wild:)

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