Gatecast 228 SG1 Crusade

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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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Gatecast 227 SGA Michael

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Jun 072014
 

avatar Lt. Michael Kenmore awakes not knowing who he is or how he came to be but is constantly reassured by Teyla and other Atlantis personnel that he was a member of  a unit attacked by the Wraith and was taken prisoner, upon rescue he was treated but is now suffering from amnesia. As he recovers in body and mind everyone treats him well with the exception of Ronon who is openly aggressive but Michael is unaware of anything he has to done to cause such behaviour and his curiosity is peaked. After suffering from a couple of nightmares Michael goes to the infirmary and as Carson sleeps he discovers the “kenmore” calendar and DVD records with his name on, on playback they show nearly two weeks of surveillance and Michael himself strapped to a bed ultimately screaming defiance as it’s revealed as the days go back to be a Wraith! Despite this revelation and learning of the retro virus he remains reasonably calm but eventually snaps after being confronted once again by Ronon and a minor war breaks out and a guard is killed, Michael is captured and taken to an off world base but uses his mind powers on Teyla and together they escape through the Stargate to a Wraith world but they are now being tracked by fellow Wraith with John and Ronon not far behind.

Quiet Contemplation

Quiet Contemplation

Michael is the opening episode to a long running if not overly used arc (for now) dealing with the consequences of using the retro-virus, yes the one that caused so many problems last time and you have to ask yourself if this is sort of some “ethically” acceptable method of genocide because when you get down to it the Wraith as they developed are going to be wiped from the face of the Pegasus galaxy. If you want to put it more simply then the very basis of this plan is awash with deceit and deception and from that would anything really good come to fruition? Now for the plus points, fantastic to see Conner Trinneer fresh from his four years on Enterprise returning to the scifi genre and handling a well written role and as we know a lot more to come but the challenge of more prosthetics is ahead, Rachel also got to push her character as well with some well written scenes between Teyla and Michael again a dynamic which they will exploit over the rest of the show. We had a couple of guests this week, given Conner was joining Atlantis we got Adam and Paul from the Star Trek Enterprise podcast Previously in The Alpha Quadrant to join us for the episode and we think a good time was had by all, let us know what you think and pay a visit to PITAQ and it’s host network Trekmate.

This weeks promo is for the Star Trek podcast Two to beam Up which is looking at the original series and next week we are going to be watching the Stargate SG1 episode Crusade and we will be joined by Thomas.

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Gatecast 226 SG1 Arthur’s Mantle

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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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Gatecast 225 SGA Coup D’etat

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May 242014
 

avatar The team led by Major Lorne is believed to be dead after their dwelling in an off world village is burnt down leaving bodies with the appropriate dog tags and then an unexpected communication from Ladon Radim who was one of the Genii that attacked Atlantis under the command of Koyla offers an opportunity for the expedition to get their hands on a ZPM, the offer is too tempting so they respond and learn he is planning to depose Cowen and take over the leadership of his people now significantly reduced after a recent culling by the Wraith. Teyla and Ronon investigate the surroundings and circumstances of the death of Lorne and his men while Weir and Sheppard deal with Ladon eventually coming to a deal but with little intent on honouring it and of course it all goes badly when the Genii sent to collect their supplies are found to be terminally ill and of no use as a bargaining chip for the ZPM. The tables are turned when it is revealed the Genii are behind the “deaths” of Lorne and his men as they are attempting to get access to the gene therapy and by capturing John and his men thanks to the failed raid for the ZPM Cowen returns front and center as mastermind of the whole convoluted plot. We are not done though, even Cowen has under estimated his own peoples loyalty and as Ladon said he does what he does for his people and eventually that means taking the Genii down another path one which may include a more trusting partnership with Atlantis.

Coup (35)

You will die Mr Bond

Coup D’etat is an excellent episode of Atlantis weaving together former races and characters who over the first two seasons have played a part in the growth of the story, we had the welcome return of Cowen after Ladon was elevated to a more prominent role which worked very well adding to the culture of the Genii and taking nothing away. The plot of the story was twisty to say the least but you did have to over look quite a few things yet even after seeing the episode so many times it loses nothing in it’s use of the twist and the slightly unexpected choices made by characters some you know very well. Coup D’etat won’t be the last time we see the Genii again but it is the last time we meet them as a people which is a shame, granted they were a little too gung ho but they could have been an asset in the galaxy wide Wraith conflict beyond a short term supplier of nukes.

This weeks promo is for the Warp Ten Podcast which is a lot of fun but not for kids and next weeks Stargate episode will be “Arthur’s Mantle” in which an Ancient device causes all sorts of problems with added zombies:)

Many thanks to everyone who chatted with us on Facebook, Google+ and over on Twitter especially those who retweeted our links and spread the word of Stargate. We are looking for anyone to join us for S10 of SG1 and S3 of Atlantis, move voices in the show would be most welcome so please get in touch if you fancy coming back or joining us for the first time, all you need is Skype and a microphone so these days that could be as simple as a smartphone upwards:)

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Gatecast 224 SG1 The Scourge

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May 172014
 

avatar The IOA demand a visit to the Gamma sight and the Pentagon and SGC agree that SG1 should go along to both protect and encourage a positive experience. On arrival the representatives are shown some of the ongoing experiments including research into a bug which they believe was spread by the Ori to decimate crops and maybe even more on worlds which have not embraced origin. Alas things go badly wrong after the bugs are fed meat loaf and despite containment procedures they get loose and go on a flesh eating rampage forcing SG1 and the IOA people to flee which the base personnel attempt to retake the base but they are unsuccessful and the self destruct is initiated. When communications are lost the Odyssey is sent to the plant with orders to sterilise the bugs and with not way to pick out the humans if indeed any are left with the Asgard sensors thanks to so many lifeforms in a small area SG1 have little hope of surviving even if the bugs do not get them before hand.

Not wearing red but he knows....

Not wearing red but he knows….

The Scourge is a standalone episode and very much in line with the Syfy channels creature feature output infact Robert Picardo has featured in one or two of them but this kinda works and despite links to the ORI arc and the smaller Chinese “hints” of taking over Stargate operations it provides a little light relief albeit with quite a few deaths and the loss of another off world base. The French representative played by Mark Oliver is wonderfully over the top and Tamlyn Tomita as the Chinese rep who is mildly manipulating Daniel does it with some style and humour and surprisingly there is some funny moments in the episode but these sorts of tales should raise a smile. I’m not sure anyone would really like the responsibility of commanding an off world base, they don’t last long and some of the protective measures for the experiments were woefully lacking, the only good side is that they were off world and not being conducted at the SGC, Area 51 or by a civilian partner.

We got to welcome Stephen back to the show for The Scourge, it was an ideal episode for his long awaited return since he hadn’t seen this season and episode for quite a while and since it didn’t rely on extensive knowledge of the story arcs I think it was easy for him and everyone to enjoy it for what it was. We got a nice voice mail from Brad who as always impresses with his comments recorded while on the road and this week it was most welcome since last weeks episode didn’t get much love feedback wise over on Facebook and G+. This weeks promo is for The Rusted Robot Podcast and next week we return to Atlantis for the Genii episode Coup D’etat, hope you can join us for that and we’d love to hear your thoughts on Stargate, our show and if you fancy joining us for an episode that we’ll be starting SG1 S10 and Atlantis S3 shortly.

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Gatecast 223 SGA The Long Goodbye

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May 102014
 

avatar Two escape pods are found in orbit around a distant planet and upon return to Atlantis the first is found to include a very old woman whose life is maintained purely by the pods machinery. If she is removed then she will die but as Weir approaches the pod she is struck by a beam of energy and the conciousness of the woman is transferred to her, this is believed to act as a last ditch method of allowing the survivor to communicate and say goodbye or offer insight into what ever disaster befell the mother ship. Weir seems to be all up for helping the woman who says the other pod probably contains her husband and John agrees to host the males spirit. Things do not go according to plan, the two now with healthy bodies with the knowledge of their hosts attack the guards, take their weapons and begin a cat and mouse game around the city intent on killing the other, they are the two final survivors of a culture that has ripped itself apart and with only hours to live just being the last one alive would be considered the victory.

The Long Goodbye has it’s story elements born within many scifi stories and series so there is nothing new but as always it’s how it’s done for each incarnation. In the Atlantis version we have some excellent space CGI, the pods look very nice and as a practical prop acceptable. The two aliens motivations while ridiculous at least have the desperate and illogical sense that we alas do see in the most obsessive people in real life who ignore ethics and morality to achieve a goal, this is normally a bad thing and the same is seen here, both aliens push the boundaries caring little for their hosts. The real upside of this episode is once again when Torri gets a meaty script she really gets her teeth into it and while Joe works his acting muscles it’s Torri that steals the scenes with everyone although it has to be said McKay and Caldwell have great abrasive chemistry. It’s only after the fact you realise that this is a bottle show, existing sets and cast with a little it of new CGI to set everything up and then you let the stunt crew and writers go to town.

Weir and Sheppard having fun.

Weir and Sheppard having fun.

We had some feedback this week over on Facebook and Google+ and as always Twitter pays us back big time with lots of Stargate and scifi chatter. This weeks promo is for The Podcasting Gear show hosted by Scott who also does the SciFi Diner Podcast and next week we are joined by Stephen for the SG1 episode Scourge, it’s been a few years since he joined us for an episode so it’s a welcome return. We hope you enjoyed our look at The Long Goodbye and feel free to let us know what you think about that episode and anything Gatecast or Stargate.

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Gatecast 222 SG1 Off The Grid

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May 032014
 

avatar Various planets around the galaxy are reporting a raising concern of Kassa which is a vegetable currently very popular thanks to it’s inherent addictive properties and the question is asked if this is a naturally occurring resource being exploited by a criminal enterprise or perhaps a round about way for the ORI to disrupt and manipulate populations that are not already within their fold. SG1 go undercover to P6G-452 a known producer of Kassa and in a rather short sighted move Cameron decides to pose as a buyer and attempt to gain the contact information of someone higher up the kassa producing food chain. It goes badly and SG1 has to aggressively retreat to the Stargate which then is beamed away by an unknown third party leaving them to be tortured for information they do not have. General Landry talks to the captured Goa’uld  Nerus who reveals that he had been working on an idea to reprogram stargates to create an independent network that could not be directly accessed via the existing galaxy spanning system, it seems that Ba’al has begun implementing such a system by stealing gates for the new network. The Odyssey is sent to rescue SG1 even though it’s still under going it’s flight trials but they recover the team and thanks to the General tagging Nerus with a tracker within a cupcake they are able to find the location of Ba’al and a mission is launched to recover the gates but they find themselves in the middle of a shooting war between Ba’al’s ship and three Lucian Alliance ships and time is running out.

I think they are surrounded!

I think they are surrounded!

Off The Grid is an action packed adventure for SG1 including gun battles on the planet and yes they get captured although it has to be said you don’t really plan for the Stargate to vanish during your tactical withdrawal. The CGI ship battles in space looked excellent and it’s always been great to see the running fire fights along the corridors of a Ha’tak. The General deserves a lot of credit in this episode, he made the decision to send the Odyssey an unproven ship and manipulated Nerus who isn’t stupid just has quite a large blind spot when it comes to certain aspects of his life. Cliff Simon once again rocks as Ba’al the system lord with all the charm and smoothness the bad guys in any story should have in spaces and of course we know that seeing him die really isn’t the end of his tale.

Many thanks to Brad for joining us for this episode and thanks to everyone who posted feedback over on our Facebook, Google+ and Twitter feeds. This weeks promo of for The Anomaly Podcast and next week we return to Atlantis for the episode The Long Goodbye and don’t forget to vote in the favourite episode polls, the time frame has been extended.

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Gatecast 221 SGA The Tower

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Apr 262014
 

avatar The team visit a primitive world looking for trade and resources and discover that the local villagers pay tribute to The Tower and in return it protects them from the Wraith by means of glowing lights which fly through the sky. They are taken to the tower and it looks like the central structure of Atlantis but sprouting from a large wooded and hilly area of the planet. McKay along with a local named Baldric go investigate while the rest of the team stay in the village and discover that the enforcers of the tower act in a rather brutal manner to the villagers and when they intervene to prevent a whipping a man named Eldred appears and brings down a drone attack. He then scans the team and invites John back to the tower and introduces him to the Lord Protector who does indeed rule the plant from within a sister city to Atlantis complete with ZPM powered chair, sensors and weapon systems. The Royal family and their hangers on live in luxury thanks to them exploiting the villagers and it turns out that the Ancient gene has kept these people in power and it is slowly weakening within the blood line and John’s arrival offers a boost and so the young and pretty Mara throws herself at John and well he’s only a guy after all. Meanwhile McKay discovers a huge store of drones but finds that the ZPM is almost exhausted and while Teyla and Ronon are dealing with over enthusiastic enforcers and John handles a royal coup and murder the world is slowly spinning towards chaos when all three plot elements merge when the new Lord Protector launches an attack on the village and John has to then fight for his life.

Party Time all the time

Party Time all the time

The Tower asks a lot of questions and the main one is why would the Ancients leave a city ship on this planet complete with functioning ZPM, drones and it seems a working star drive. We have seen that individual Ancients have taken it upon themselves to protect humans within the Pegasus galaxy by a manner of means but a second city ship is not something that can be just slipped in under the council’s noses so it must have been a sanctioned plan which still leaves the question open. The story of course when dealing with the attitudes of the people of this world does make perfect sense, there is nothing new there but it’s done fairly well and the village set is rustic and primitive enough as well as the redressed Atlantis looking pretty spectacular in a period style. Lets not forget the costuming which worked well both for the male and female characters (main and extras), I really liked the flowing shirt with the ruffles that Eldred (Peter Woodward) was showing off:)

McKay with his sidekick Baldric was a laugh, Ronon and Teyla dealing with the enforcers and the villagers was quite intense at times and seeing Ronon lose it provoked by the threat of a woman’s rape was both frightening but inspiring, we really saw what he was capable of and combined with Jason’s expression during the fight really hammered home how complex this character can be. John of course had a great time, good food, good sex, political intrigue and a fight for good measure combine to make a pretty good couple of days away from the city and then underlined by the criminally short screen time for Elizabeth when the two chattered in the final scene.

Overall quite a fun episode, an excellent cast with the return of Jay Brazeau to the franchise and the overall production was excellent with action, humour and drama.

This weeks promo is for the Nutty Bites Podcast and next week we return to SG1 for the episode Off The Grid so hope you join us for that and if you have anything to say then don’t hesitate to get in touch, we love getting feedback in any form so check us out on Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus and if you have the inclination a review and rating on itunes and Stitcher would be most appreciated.  Don’t forget that our two polls for the upcoming wrap up shows are currently running so please vote for your favourite SG1 Season 9 episode and Season 2 Atlantis episode.

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Gatecast 220 SG1 Ethon

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Apr 192014
 

avatar2 Ethon and the demise of the Prometheus thanks to the arrogance of Stargate command and their primary front line unit. When Jared Kane contacts Daniel and asks for help things begin to get complicated unfortunately the SGC can’t seem to see the pitfalls and despite the Ori having a strong presence on Tegalus via an satellite weapons system they decide to take the Prometheus, destroy the satellite and level the playing field between the rival and deadly enemies that are Rand and Caledonia. Daniel returns with Jared to open diplomatic talks but they are taken prisoner so when the cavalry arrives and find Daniel prisoner they pause which allows the satellite to fully activate and deploy it’s defence shields which were not present on the blue prints they had seen. The attack fails and the Caledonians retaliate causing severe damage to the Prometheus and with no way to convince the leaders then Earth and Jared are not acting in conjunction with Rand the Prometheus is destroyed with only a fraction of her crew able to beam down to the planet. When the smoke clears it becomes clear that Rand is only a heart beat away from being destroyed but Sam comes up with a plan to knock out the defence center which would give Cameron and Teal’c time to attack the satellite but when the EMP shuts down the defence center Daniel jumps in offering a diplomatic compromise which is agreed upon. It shouldn’t but does come as a shock when the Caledonian president spouting Ori dogma orders the attack to recommence causing the military leader to draw his weapon and in the confusion the president dies and the seriously wounded Commander calls the attack off.

Blaze of Glory

Blaze of Glory

Well wasn’t this a major milestone in Stargate, the loss of the Prometheus is a game changer in many ways but the reason lies just as much in raising the stakes of the ORI threat as to sound economic production requirements as having two standing sets for the two types of battle cruiser is not cost effective. The writers and producers intend to make more use of the Daedalus class of cruiser starting with the new Odyssey and giving the Prometheus a farewell in battle  serves to honour her and indeed her commander who stand on the bridge making sure as many of his people got to safety as possible. It was good to see Jared Kane again making the most of the continuity and weaving in the death of his wife who had a small but significant relationship with Daniel, the guest stars John Aylward and Ernie Hudson were stellar, both of them filled the screens and worked so well together.

Many thanks for the feedback for last weeks Grace Under Pressure via the chat over on our Facebook group and a voicemail from Brad, he also revised his homage to the Prometheus which you can listen to via the link a little further down the page. This weeks promo is for Tuning Into Scifi TV and next week we are going to be doing the Atlantis episode The Tower so we hope you join us for that but until then enjoy Ethon and please let us know what you think about our show and Stargate in all it’s glory.

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Gatecast 219 SGA Grace Under Pressure

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Apr 122014
 

avatar2 In Grace Under Pressure McKay along with Captain Griffen test fly a recently repaired puddle jumper when an engine malfunctions causing them to crash into the ocean between Atlantis and the mainland. The jumper quickly sinks and soon it’s transponder signal is lost to the scanners in the city and as they sink deeper the integrity of the ship itself is put to the test. Ultimately the damaged screen shatters and take the heroic Griffen to his death leaving McKay trapped in the rear compartment desperate to find a solution to the dilemma of limited power and life support and little chance of being located by his friends. It’s not long before the head wound and conditions have McKay hallucinating but in a twist he envisions one Samantha Carter who points out is the one person smarter than he is and coupled with his attraction to her perhaps understandable why his mind when down that path.

It's me baby!

It’s me baby!

Meanwhile back at the city John and company are devising a rescue plan based on some grappling hardware and the belief the jumpers were always intended to double up as submersibles. However Zelenka and his people have to jump through hoops to try and calculate a approximate position for the search to focus on but eventually John and Radek fly to the rescue and do a passable Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea impersonation but with clocking shields being used as physical shields the opposite of when the city re-tasked it’s shielding systems. Mckay continues to have lively discourse with his version of Sam and soon comes to understand decisions she is making are those of his own logical mind trying to keep him alive but eventually the jumper is almost flooded and hang on is John’s voice an hallucination and if he opens the rear hatch will he drown but does he have a choice?

Grace Under Pressure is in many ways a bottle show despite money being spent on bringing in Amanda and the use of the large waters tanks to simulate ocean conditions, it is perhaps to the credit of all involved such a complex story was told and told well. Yes we’ve seen the lone survivor having to deal with a crisis before on SG1 and the threat of drowning in a downed spaceship again SG1 but this take on those core elements works very well. David is one of the few television actors who could pull off such intensity and claustrophobic story both with humour and drama as and when required.

I want to thank Philip for joining me for the show, it took some organising but the recording went by without a hitch, he has recorded with me before on the episode Trio (an experiment) which again went well and will probably be used as our take on that episode of Atlantis. Big thanks to Misa and Dan for the feedback and a nod to Brad for the recordings which will be used in later shows but for now that’s this show wrapped up and as always we want to hear from you and if you can a review/rating on itunes would be most appreciated.  This weeks featured promo is for The Book Cave Podcast a show covering mainly pulp publications (books, magazines and comics) with author interviews and next week we are going to be looking at the SG1 episode Ethon.

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Gatecast 218 SG1 Stronghold

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Apr 052014
 

avatar2 Cameron is visiting an old friend who has a terminal condition, his friend Major Bryce Ferguson has been digging into the exploits of Cameron since their careers diverged and is very close to realising what Cameron has been up to since the battle over the Antarctic. The Jaffa high council is close to ratifying the move to a democratic system of government but some last minute changes of opinion by key pro-democracy supporters throws the plans of Bra’tac and Teal’c into chaos. They know that something is wrong and along with Daniel investigate those that have altered their votes and then Teal’c goes missing but Jaffa honour and integrity can not be as easily overcome as a simple change of opinion. Cameron racked with guilt over the accident which led to Bryce’s condition swings it so he can let Bryce live his memories of recent events thanks to the memory technology recently acquired from Galaran and bidding a goodbye Cameron joins the mission to rescue Teal’c from an old adversary.

A quiet moment.

A quiet moment.

Stronghold has two very definite story lines which in the best tradition overlap more and more as the episode moves on, it was interesting to see that Cameron while getting the reward of being assigned to the SGC believes his friend would be in his place if things had gone differently. The ongoing political games going on at the sharp point of Jaffa government is something you would think they would not be prepared for but the seem to have picked up the back stabbing and power plays in the manner of the best of human politicians. Of course this particular turn of events is the doing of an outside force using Tok’ra technology and as always Ba’al does a bang up job of setting things into motion but thankfully for the Jaffa and the SGC the endgame fails in spectacular fashion. I have to say that the fire fight is an excellent example of a television budget battle sequence and again Stargate benefits from using practical effects where ever possible, CGI bullets and muzzle flashes still ruin scenes, you can’t be real blanks and pyrotechnics. When all is said and done it’s perhaps the simple discussion between Teal’c and Cameron that the episode will be remembered for, despite Cameron feeling he deserves nothing and that the job is the job we see that integrity and the desire to do the right thing no matter the consequences is the only way to live a life.

We got some nice feedback via Facebook and Google+ along with the usual ongoing chatter on Twitter, many thanks for all of that and continued support via retweets and other postings. This weeks promo is for the Star Trek podcast Two To Beam Up and next week we return to Atlantis for the episode Grace Under Pressure and the first appearance of a new guest host. We’d love to hear from you about anything to do with Gatecast and more importantly Stargate and we’d appreciate any reviews/ratings you care to give us so keep watching the show and listening to us blabber on about it:)

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Gatecast 217 SGA Critical Mass

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Mar 292014
 

avatar2 Intelligence is provided to the SGC that a explosive device has been placed on Atlantis by members of the Trust who have been infiltrated by remnants of the System Lords. The bomb is believed to be triggered by dialling the Earth address and the next scheduled contact is within hours, Dr Lee comes up with a solution to use a far long SG unit to pass on a message to the Daedalus who can then contact Atlantis without using the gate. Safe for the moment Atlantis breaths in but the secondary protocol is activated and a distress signal is sent out and noticed by two Wraith cruisers but more problems arise with the key to the destruction of the city lies with the ZPM which is needed to power the cloak to hide the city from the soon to arrive Wraith. The secondary story is Teyla themed, her friend and mentor the ancient Charin is dying and is worthy of an age of ceremony which is going to take place regardless of the threat of the bomb and the Wraith. Lets not forget Zelenka who was volunteered by McKay to visit M7G-677 the world populated by children, even the bomb threat wouldn’t have made that job any more appealing.

Cadman has Rodney whipped!

Cadman has Rodney whipped!

Critical Mass is good episode making full use of the benefits of a crossover in characters and standing sets, we get drama and humour from the SG1 side merged very well with the ongoing Atlantis dynamic including the return of a number of characters to have played well to the story and fans in earlier episodes. The threat to Atlantis was a little complex but no question it was clever but you do wonder if those behind the implementation were being painted as too clever, this level of complexity and intelligence didn’t really blend well with what we’ve known of the Goa’uld. That aside the musical and creative aspect of the story was a breath of fresh air and overlaid the more intense and dramatic bomb elements and of course lots of humour despite the circumstances.

A big gold star to Brad for his voice mail and homage to the Prometheus and Ethon and also for joining us this week, it’s always appreciated and thanks to everyone else especially Facebook contributors for the feedback. Love to hear any thing about Stargate and Gatecast via the usual portals so feel free to chat with us and if you have a minute a rating/review on itunes or stitcher would be most welcome. This weeks promo is for The Dune Saga Podcast which is taking a in-depth but entertaining look at the books within the Dune franchise both old and new and next week we are at the SGC with the episode Stronghold, hope you can join us for that.

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Gatecast 216 SG1 Ripple Effect

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Mar 222014
 

avatar2 SG1 return to the SGC unexpectedly but during their debriefing some of their knowledge of events is out of sync with what we know and then the gate is activated and another SG1 returns. Confusion is the order of the day until it dawns on the General that the first SG1 are not really “his” unit but the same people from another reality, this is made clear when more SG1 units begin to turn up a few with team members who have long since died in this reality.
Multiple Samantha Carters come up with a potential solution and our SG1 along with the first unit head out on the Prometheus towards the black hole they believe is at the root of the problems. Then the fun begins…

Face Off !

Face Off !

Ripple Effect was intended to be a bottle show making use of all the existing standing sets with limited expense on outside talent, as it turned out having Teryl and JR reprise their roles couldn’t have been cheap and there is no getting around the complexities of body doubles, split screen and the rapidly progressing motion control camera techniques for having multiple versions of the same character on screen at the same time. As it’s been said the story may have been sacrificed to the altar of technical achievement but if you believe that is the case then maybe the guest stars and yes the production quality more than makes up for it, this time. I’ll admit seeing Janet and Martouf again put a great big smile on my face and having the variants of SG1 using a lot of the older costumes and props were well worth the admission price. I’m not sold on Cameron in his undies but the dressed in black “bad” SG1 were fun and at the end of the day they were
doing pretty much exactly what any SG1 would do if their Earth was in danger.

Thank you to everyone that tweeted and posted on Facebook and Google+ over the last week, Epiphany didn’t set the groups on fire but no question that MALP on a Stick was well received. Kudos to Brad for once again recording a voicemail while on the road, always appreciated as is any feedback in any form especially ratings and reviews over on itunes and Stitcher. This weeks promo is for The Sci-Fi Movie podcast and next week we return to Atlantis for the episode Critical Mass.

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Gatecast 215 SGA Epiphany

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Mar 152014
 

avatar2 The team discover a portal on a remote ancient world and with no sign of danger John attempts to pass through but is dragged in and lost to the group. McKay discovers the mechanism and the consequences of using the portal and realises that if they don’t find a way to bypass the portal’s effects within a few hours they will never see John again. Meanwhile John is making new friends and battling a beast that has the capability to become invisible and seems to be immune to physical weapons and he’s emotionally hurt as well, he doesn’t understand why his friends have seemed to have abandoned him. The silver lining is that there is a particularly attractive woman who shall we say has designs on him and a much younger one with healing hands, a little meditation and a lack of a razor hardly seems a great trial.

MALP on a Stick

MALP on a Stick

Epiphany is an enjoyable episode of Atlantis, it really is an episode that benefits from a superb location and all the benefits of modern television production can bring. The CGI and wire/stunt work give some good action set pieces and also allows for the more quiet moments between John and the inhabitants of this Ancient world to really leave their mark. The desperation amongst the Atlantis personnel works well, it’s difficult for them to understand fully the consequences which I guess also allows for the key points to be explained to them and by extension the audience who are picking it up as the story unfolds.

She knows what happens next.

She knows what happens next.

The only real problem with the story is why Teer would even consider John as being ready for Ascension, yes we know he is a lot more intelligent than he lets on and has the courage and belief to face down his fears but I don’t we’ve had any indication ascended beings have anything like a normal life once risen. Lets not forget John is still a material guy, his living in the now one reason why the meditation aspects of the lifestyle proved to be a little more taxing for him:)

We got some feedback via Facebook and Google+ so thanks for that and as always lots of Stargate chat thanks to Twitter. This weeks podcast promo is from The Rusted Robot and next weeks show is the Stargate SG1 episode Ripple Effect and Thomas joins us for that, hope you tune in:)

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Gatecast 214 SG1 Collateral Damage

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Mar 082014
 

avatar2 SG1 visit the planet Galaran who are part of the Asgard protected planets treaty with the former Systems Lords. With little support coming from the Asgard who have their own issues the Galarans have opened up talks with the Earth for mutual trade and information exchange offering a memory technology which could train anyone with any skill in a matter of days rather then months or even years. Impressed with the demonstration Cameron gets close to the head scientist a Dr Reya Varrick and after going home with her is found the next morning with her dead and a belief he killed her. Complications arise when it becomes evident that his memory has been tampered with and despite the Galarans looking to sweep the crime under the carpet Cameron insists on an investigation.

Do you really trust him?

Do you really trust him?

Collateral Damage is a rather dark story, quite brutally shot although the rather clever way to shoot the attack and it’s consequences mitigated a lot of the violence which probably got it past the Scifi channel censors at the time. The technology offered has it’s benefits that is for sure but is so open to exploitation for all the wrong reasons it’s almost to dangerous to have access too as clearly demonstrated by the events in this episode and for those that recall in the premiere of Blakes 7 when memories are tampered with to secure a conviction for political means by the powers that be. This was an out and out Cameron episode and Ben performed well both in the one on one with Reya (Anna Galvin) and then opening up Cameron’s character with part of his background good and bad all of which put him where he is today. Loved the guest appearance by Ian playing his dad and we’ll see him again and of course William playing the Emissary always delivers.

Superb lighting

Superb lighting

This weeks promo is for the Scifi Diner podcast and thanks to Brad for the voicemail and the chatter across our social media portals, we can’t thank you all enough for joining us as we enjoy everything that is Stargate, well apart from Infinity which I actually tried to watch via Amazon Prime this past week. Next week we have the Atlantis episode Epiphany and as always plenty of SG1 and Atlantis episodes that we could do with a guest to join us and we still have an opening for the Atlantis wrap up show we’ll be recording in about three months.

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