Nov 162013
 

avatar2 A jumper orbits the planet Doranda and they find a huge amount of wreckage in orbit around the planet most of which seems to come from a number of Wraith ships including at least one hive ship. As the jumper descends into the atmosphere to track down an energy source they find a devastated world with no signs of life but one lone structure which looks very much like it was designed by the Lanteans. They discover a research lab which seems to have been working on technology very similar to the ZPM which gets McKay very excited even allows him to wave away the dead bodies that little the complex. Upon returning to the city McKay puts his case forward to return and continue the experiments, he believes the mistakes made in the rush to find a weapon to fight the Wraith can be overcome and he is the man to do it and Weir with the support of John gives him the green light. A full science team returns to the plant and powers up the complex, further investigation gets them to the point of a test run but tragedy strikes as the power output spikes and Dr Collins is bombarded by exotic hard radiation and dies. Once again questions are asked about the safety of trying to eclipse the Lanteans, they failed but McKay still thinks he can succeed so along with John they return for a lower power test run but again the technology and physics are beyond anything they can handle but this time there is no powering down the system and they have to flee the system before it’s destroyed.

Meanwhile Teyla and Ronon go on a trading mission, Teyla finds out the there are other survivors of Sateda (Ronon’s Homeworld) and  Ronon is overjoyed but then learns his former military commander/master also lives and he asks Teyla to arrange a meeting. Ronon that takes pretty drastic action and Teyla makes it clear what she thinks of his behaviour and what Weir and company would also think, putting it behind them they return to the city walking in a rip-roaring dressing down of Rodney by Elizabeth.

Shields would help here.

Shields would help here.

Trinity is  very much an episode of two parts and even with the two story lines beginning together and ending together there is a very definite line drawn between them. The discovery of the debris field around the planet really looks spectacular and for a brief time holds out hope for a way to fight the Wraith but as the story unfolds it’s more about the failure of the Lanteans despite incredible efforts and insights combined with the arrogance of McKay and well the humans in general. It was a good choice to have John support Rodney after all he has proved himself both in his science abilities and maybe more importantly to John in the field taking up arms to fight and defend the expedition and their friends. It’s no surprise the Caldwell was all for the experiments even after the death of Dr. Collins but it all made logical sense, what didn’t was letting Mckay return before the full analysis of the data was complete. Radak tried his best to convince Rodney to abandon the test but he was too far going in his own hubris and then it was too late cue a rapid egress from the planet as the weapon tracked them firing energy bolts that would wipe the jumper out if any connected.

That was too close.

That was too close.

So what have Teyla and Ronon been doing, well not much a simple trading mission and it does seem Ronon is a little smitten by Teyla and well wouldn’t be. Beautiful, intelligent and every bit of a bad ass as Ronon himself so the two together should work well but it doesn’t at least not on this mission. It was good to see Teyla wearing the leaders mantle even if most of her discussions were left on the cutting room floor and it was a joy to see Ronon learn of other survivors but when you watch him closely you see the cold calculation going on after he learnt about Kell his former mentor/master being alive. As for his actions, well that was impressive and same again for Teyla’s response and reasoning, they really did cement a lot of their characters and relationship in these few minutes.

The final scene of Ronon and Teyla exiting the gate on Atlantis and hearing and see Rodney getting dressed down by Weir is priceless, the addition of the faint voices in the background just adds a layer of icing that actually despite the losses and set backs in the characters relationships has you grinning and then fades to black.

We got a little feedback from a previous show via the facebook group and twitter continues to be a great discussion place for all things Stargate, we’ve also seen some uptake on our G+ page which is gratifying. A big thank you to everyone that listens and extra credit for those that interact with us on the various portals and another round of applause for Brad who joined us via his truck and skype, we would love to get more people on the show for SGA or SG1 next year so if you fancy giving it a go or returning for another go then let us know:)

This weeks promo is from the Sci-Fi Movie Podcast and next weeks show will be the Stargate SG1 episode  “Ex Deus Machina”.

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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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Nov 022013
 

avatar While exploring a new world the jumper lands at a small encampment where quite quickly the team are fired upon by primitive weapons, an aircraft arrives and gives aid and the team follow the aircraft to it’s base and a meet a fairly advanced society. Upon returning to the gate the jumper is fired upon once again and sustains damage and the team even with Ronon along are taken captive by the prisoners who inhabit the small island that contains the Stargate. Rodney is then encouraged to fix the jumper or one of his friends will be executed but that’s beyond even his talents however he is with some prodding able to enable the dialing computer.
Meanwhile Weir and her escort arrive on the world and open negotiations but the lack of results in recovering John and his team and the suspicious behavior of the Magistrate and the revelation that the prisoners some guilty of very minor crimes are going to be fed to the Wraith breaks down the talks and Weir and her team leave the city. Everything comes to a head when Wraith cruisers arrive above the island and the crippled jumper launches a drone which causes extensive damage and while a second fires on the island Weirs cloaked jumper dials the gate and allows John, Ronon, McKay and Teyla to escape.

We may have a problem

We may have a problem

Condemned is an interesting episode and explores a solution to the Wraith problem which is unique at least in terms of a society making this decision and keeping it working for generations. Of course the supply of hardened criminals will dry up if the deterrent is that strong so as minor criminals are sentenced to the island the society itself becomes driven by compliance and obedience to dogma rather than a free thinking and living world. The island itself is now very much a dog eat dog entity, those sent there that are truly violent easily become dominant but it’s hard to see how they really got so well armed with limited resources but if they failed to bring down a jumper then that would be the story over very quickly.
The episode was wonderfully shot though, the island location looked very nice and different to a lot of what we’ve seen before and the stunt work for the fighting was exception again seeing Ronon let loose really dispels a myth that a big man can not be lightning fast and versatile in his fighting technique. It was also a show piece for Teyla as Rachel has perfected her action performance and it was only really John who was the comic relief but done so well with the stick and his knee. Again we see evidence that Rodney despite a huge streak of self interest does consider his companions more than worthy of his commitment and maybe even sacrifice, as Torrell says the way to motivate him is to threaten his friends.

Look who is is coming for dinner

Look who is is coming for dinner

Alas the end result is just an average episode despite the performances and production, that says more of the strength of the show and it’s second season rather than the story by Sean Carley and script by Carl Binder or the direction from Peter DeLuise. This weeks promo is from Trek News & Views a Star Trek podcast from our friend Colin and part of the Trek.fm network of shows, next week we will be back at Stargate Command and dealing with the Ori as they make their first major move in the episode Beachhead, hope you join us for that. If you want to get in touch with us or leave us a rating/review on itunes or stitcher we would be very grateful, till next week and watch that final step.

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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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Oct 192013
 

avatar A visit to a known inhabited world once again reveals the Wraith have decimated the local population and quite recently, while returning to the Stargate a lone dart arrives and beams up McKay and Lt Cadman.
John with no option orders the ship destroyed and luckily the hull remains pretty much intact and it is possible to access one of the the stored patterns, McKay is beamed out and they hope with his talents along with the science personnel in the city they will be able to retrieve Cadman. Of course nothing is that easy and when McKay awakes he is shocked to discover that he is sharing his mind with the consciousness of Lt Laura Cadman and once they convince Carson of this fact no end of fun and games ensue including a date for Mckay with Dr Katie Brown with Carson in tow, three bodies and four minds, oh the fun that could be had.

Plenty to go round

Plenty to go around

Duet was written by Martin Gero and introduced Dr Brown and Lt Cadman, both characters especially Cadman should have had more time on the show but both added greatly to the stories and regular cast arcs the show was offering at the time. No apologies were made in regards to paying homage to the Steve Martin movie “All of Me” and David was really allowed to go to town playing the two people inhabiting the one body helped to a huge extent by having Jaime on the set to read her lines and show how she would react to the everyday events. We also got some great back and forth between McKay and his science team and the “b” story with Ronon was entertaining as well, everyone loves the gun range scene. Nothing really needs to be said about the smooch:)

Don't say a word

Don’t say a word

We welcome Adam for his first appearance on the podcast, he lives in the US and once again we had to juggle time zones but we got it all recorded and I think we all had a good time. Thanks for the feedback on Facebook and the chat on twitter, Stargate is all the more better for the community it has generated around itself. The fourth and final question for our 200th episode competition is in the episode so email in the answer and any of the previous answers to the first three questions if you haven’t done so. The drawing will be done next week and announced in the 200th episode which will be the Stargate SG1 “The Powers That Be” which Brad joined us for.

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Oct 122013
 

avatar2 It looks like Daniel is finally free of Vala but after she leaves the SGC he collapses in a manly fashion and upon awakening Vala is once again by his side, it seems the effect of the bracelets has continued perhaps due to the influence of the communications stones. Thus begins a journey for what will become the new SG1 as they track down the man who Vala stole the bracelets from and he in turn agrees to help if they can return a necklace Vala stole, this leads them to a trader who wants a power coil in exchange and then a cargo ship for the coil and at each stage the “treasure hunt” gets more dangerous.

Looks like a stand off

Looks like a stand off

The Ties That Bind once again proves how well suited Daniel and Vala are in terms of a love/hate relationship even if the love part is always well buried, the chemistry between Michael and Claudia is well used and provides lots of humour and some drama with more to come. The adventure the soon to be SG1 embarks on is also full of it’s own humour and more importantly begins the Lucian Alliance aspect of Stargate be graphically showing that these guys are not some two bit operation, they have resources at their disposal and as mentioned lots of people looking for work and to make money in a galaxy with it’s former structure ripped apart.

Vala and her boys

Vala and her boys

It was great to see Wallace Shawn appearing on the show playing the part of Arlos Kadawarn a former love interest of Vala complete with interpretive finger play which make everyone a little uncomfortable, he delivered some great dialogue and was perhaps the highlight of a very good episode. His performance takes nothing away from Bruce Gray, Malcolm Scott and Michael P. Northey who had wonderful supporting roles and played opposite Vala with style and how great was it to see the return of Jup and Tenat who once again come out of a deal with nothing and having to explain themselves to the Alliance.

Thanks to Brad for the voicemail this week and yes it’s week 3 of the competition, the question is in the show and once again it is an episode we’ve already covered so when you figure it out email us the answer. This weeks promo is from the guys at Pulp Audio Weekly and next week we say hello to Lt Cadman who makes her debut in the Atlantis episode “Duet”, Adam will be joining us for that show.

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Oct 052013
 

avatar Major Lorne and Dr Parrish are investigating a high solar radiation world and come across the body of a Wraith with it’s gland removed, believing they are finally getting close to finding Ford teams go to the world and begin a search hoping they can reason with Ford and not take decisive and fatale action to protect the city and expedition. However there is another man on the planet, a Runner who was first captured and then released by the Wraith to provide sport or maybe to fine tune their skills on the ground, either way he complicates the mission after taking John and Teyla prisoner.

It turns out Ronon Dex is seeking information on who these people are and their relation to Ford who had shot him earlier and also as it happened saved him from a Wraith and as all the parties involve dance around each other the Wraith darts turn up and once again Ford is lost to his former family but maybe they’ve found someone else with more of a stake in taking on the scourge that is the Wraith.

Industrial grooming required

Industrial grooming required

Runner written by Rob C Cooper is a rip roaring action piece set on this very alien looking world, ok the trees are still trees but it seems alien with the filters they use to colourised and saturate the look of the HD filming. The introduction of Ronon Dex played by Jason Momoa is done very well and over laps with Fords appearance with real style, also good to see Major Lorne move over from SG1 to Atlantis and the first visit to the show by Jonathon Young a respected character actor who went on to a recurring role on Sanctuary.

A little help?

A little help?

We didn’t get a lot of feedback for last weeks episode or the first week of the 200th episode competition but thank you to everyone who took the time to get in touch, always appreciated. This weeks promo is from Aaron’s Scifi Dig podcast and next week we welcome Alan back for the SG1 episode The Ties That Bind. We would love to hear any thoughts on that episode and any other and of course we want lots of entries for the competition so listen to the clues and figure out the answer and then drop us an email. We have a couple of signed Cliff Simon CD’s and we are gonna throw in some gift certificates, unoriginal I know but useful to let prize winners choose their own goodies:)

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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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Sep 212013
 

avatar2 The Daedalus is returning to Atlantis without the ZPM so it is well into the third week and the passengers are a little bored despite the events which led to their return to Earth and renewal of their charter to continue the exploration of Atlantis and the Pegasus galaxy. A body is discovered which at first looks to have been an accidental death but things don’t add up and during the investigation another crewman dies at the hands of the ships technology. McKay discovers a Wraith sourced virus infecting the ships core systems which has the ability to adapt and survive numerous attempts to remove it,  it calls for help and denies the ship the use of it’s hyperdrive engines leaving them stuck in the middle of nowhere.

The Intruder is a good bottle type show making full use of the new Daedalus standing set which is a modification of the original Prometheus set. This isn’t a cheap show though, there is extensive CGI work use to create the space shots and combat scenes plus some top notch matt work to show us the large landing bays complete with ships and forcefields in play. We also have the lead guest star ( Mitch Pileggi ) being made full use of and Beau Bridges appearing in flashbacks so the episode was making the most of the resources available to the producers at the time. In story terms they don’t try to hide the similarity to the SG1 episode Entity and it’s discussed at length within the shows commentary track but there are enough changes to make a much better story and overall a better episodes.

Humans, who needs 'em.

Humans, who needs ’em.

The Intruder is an episode which maintains the pacing of the second season as defined by The Siege trilogy but allows for a breather with it’s use of flashbacks all of which lays down some solid groundwork for the changes that are coming to the story. The flashbacks were also a nice addition and spell out how they affected Elizabeth both in her success job wise and the failure of her relationship, in both cases they were strong scenes for Torri.

Note to designers, polarised glass.

Note to designers, polarised glass.

This weeks promo is from The Anomaly Podcast, an excellent show which is hosted by Angela and Jen and has it’s own supplemental show, both of which are worth checking out. Brad joined me for this weeks show as Alan was in the middle of his move to Finland and sorting out his classes and his new home, next week Brad will be back with the SG1 episode Origin. We appreciate all the activity on the media portals especially the Facebook group which is generating some good discussion and Twitter which is always fun when talking to the Stargate community.

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Sep 142013
 

avatar2 Mitchell having finally convinced a few of the gang to join him on an adventure is deep within the earth below Glastonbury battling trials of intelligence, honour and courage left by the Ancients, success brings rewards and Vala is all for rolling around in the gold but an ancient text reveals the truth about the Alterans and everything changes.
An Ancient communication device using the stones (as seen in Citizen Joe) is activated by Daniel and Vala and they go elsewhere and occupy the bodies of a couple in a far away galaxy where the Ori are gods and the people live according to the tenants laid down in the Book of Origin. The intrepid duo are unable to keep from being discovered and with their unfamiliarity fall foul of scripture but the brutal consequences are mitigated when a Prior of the Ori visits the village in response it seems to their statements about being from another galaxy.

Avalon is very much a feature length episode, splitting it into two takes away some of the impact but jumping straight back into the action and peril does get things going quickly in the second half of the story, you could also say that with Origin to come we are still only two thirds of the way through the introduction of Ori and other new SG characters.
The writers have taken risks in making the religious aspect the focal point of the Ori storyline, it’s far more pronounced and important than with the Gou’ald but as they say ultimately the show is simply taking the stance than you should seek the truth and revealing the false gods serves that purpose. Of course as we see the Ori through their Priors certainly make a very definite statement as to their capabilities, god like even.
Another aspect of the story which is stirring things up is the emergence of Garek and his power play for control of the Jaffa which becomes a major concern not only for Teal’c but the SGC and the rest of the Milky Way.

One happy camper

One happy camper

Avalon Part 2 is an excellent episode, we get some good time with Dr Lam as well as seeing the village standing set which will serve both SG1 and SGA in the next season and beyond. This is also perhaps one of the best episodes for Vala, we see her at her most devious and playful but also more vulnerable, it’s very revealing for her character so early into her time on the show and also proves Daniel does have some feelings for her beyond just normal compassion.

Toasty

Toasty

Many thanks to Thomas for staying with us to record the second part of this story and he’ll be back for a bonus show later in the year and a couple of shows a bit further into the future. This weeks promo is for Tuning Into Scifi TV and next week we take a trip on the Daedalus as it journeys to Pegasus with an unwanted passenger on board in “The Intruder” and Brad will be joining me for that show while Alan is busy moving home. Thanks for the discussions on Facebook and Twitter, the shares and plus ones on G+ are appreciated and as always we really like to hear from you about our show and Stargate and if you have the time a Itunes rating and review would be icing on the cake:)

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Sep 072013
 

avatar2 The second season of Stargate Atlantis kicks off with the arrival of the Daedalus just in time to rescue John from his suicide run on a Wraith Hive ship, the nuke detonates and removes the hive from orbit and then the Daedalus zeroes in on the second hive and once that is destroyed the cruisers make a run for it but the Darts make a beeline for the city. McKay with the ZPM struggles to power up the city shields as the darts get closer and yep he saves the day. Colonel Caldwell says hello and Ford is found in the water with a dead Wraith attached to his chest, it seems the venom used to prolong a victims life for feeding kept him alive but there have been consequences.

Long range sensors detect another twelve hive ships heading for the planet and John convinces Weir and Caldwell that with the tactical advantage of the nukes and beaming technology thanks to the Asgard and more importantly Hermiod the fight should be taken to the Wraith. The Daedalus lies in wait and as the Wraith fleet emerges from hyperspace, two hives are nuked but the others respond with new countermeasures forcing the Daedalus to retreat and once again the city has to defend itself. The remaining ten hives take position in orbit above Atlantis and open up with their main weapons, the shield protects the city but with only one ZPM it will not last long and a crazy idea is formulated.

We have visitors

We have visitors

Rodney and Radak remove a cloaking system from a jumper and splice it into the cities systems and with Teyla broadcasting the intent to destroy the city to protect Earth a nuke is detonated, the shields protects the city from the initial blast (which also disrupts sensors) and then the cloak is engaged to make it appear as if the city has been destroyed. The Wraith scan the planet but can not find any sign of the city and begin to move away but Ford now changed by the venom in his system raids the infirmary, threatens Carson and John before stealing a jumper and fleeing the city.

Phew, The Siege Part 3 for an episode that isn’t as big on action as the season one finale certainly packed in a lot of story and character elements and not only wraps up existing story lines but begins to lay down those that will work their way through the second season and beyond. There was a very good moment between John and Landey, respect shown by both men and resolves any doubts over John’s decision to put Colonel Sumner out of his misery which always hung over his command, it pays off in the next episode and as the character grows.

The CGI in this episode is stunning more so because three separate groups were responsible including the newly minted inhouse group who will be taking over much of the very expensive effects work any self respecting scifi show requires to make it shine. It was also great to see Hermiod back again in full puppet mode  which really allows for good interaction with the actors and one or two fun moments, an irritable Asgard is fun:)

What did he say?

What did he say?

All in all the season opener was a great start to the second year of Atlantis, the show is moving on and now both Carson and Radak will grow as characters, Ford is taking a step backwards but will return and exploration free of the immediate Wraith threat will allow for stories that couldn’t be told at the close of the first season.

Thanks to everyone who posted via twitter, facebook and google+ and we would sure like to hear from anyone with comments on our show and Stargate in general. This weeks promo is from Colin’s Trek News & Views podcast and next week we are back with Avalon Part 2, hope you can join us.

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Aug 312013
 

avatar2 Changes abound in and around the SGC with the aftermath of the battle for Dakara and the attack by the Replicators on the base. Major General Jack O’Neill has moved on and his chosen replacement Major General Hank Landry has taken over and is having running battles with his “psychic” assistant one Master Sargent Walter Harriman. Lt Colonel Cameron Mitchell recovered from the battle over Antarctica against the forces of Anubis has taken over the command of SG1 and expected to be working with Sam, Daniel and Teal’c but they like Jack have moved on. He valiantly attempts to get the band back together but is getting nowhere until one Vala Mal Doran visits the SGC with a tablet and the promise of technology and treasure and low and behold everyone is off on a mission to track down the old haunts of Merlin and the buried secrets of the Ancients in and around Glastonbury.

A slight technical issue...

A slight technical issue…

Well season nine heralds some significant changes for the show with Richard Dean Anderson becoming nothing more than an occasional guest and thus a full time replacement in the big chair is presented to use with Hank Landry played by Beau Bridges and in the field Cameron Mitchell played by Ben Browder. Vala Mal Doran played wonderfully by Claudia Black also has a strong presence in this season as is the move away from the tradition religions and cultures by embracing a more western European and more specifically Arthurian legends and myths.

Merlin Sword, Sword Merlin

Merlin Sword, Sword Merlin

It was certainly interesting to see how quickly the last three members of SG1 quickly looked to break away from the SGC, after so many years of blood, sweat and tears you can understand why they all may think they have done enough however Teal’c perhaps more than the other two has accepted a path which is more demanding and maybe just as dangerous, politics with starships as collateral in decision making. As with many of the two part stories within Stargate this first part is laying a lot of the groundwork for the pay off in the second and it needs it, it’s easy to get washed away with all the changes to characters and tweaking of the long established mythology but it will all pay off.

One huge decision by the producers and writers was to make sure the episode had it’s fair share of out and out humour and not ignoring the obvious Farscape connection between Ben and Claudia as well as playing up the concerns over the similar look/style of Michael and Ben. As we look back at this episode and ninth season we know many fans had issues and some never got over losing Jack as a focus for the show or even the use of Farscape talent to fill the gaps. I’ve no doubt the casting of both Ben and Claudia brought in some Farscape fans and it was probably a good marketing move but scifi fans can be picky, it’s always tricky dealing with change and the consequences but we did get more Stargate and is not a bad thing.

Now I know how River felt...

Now I know how River felt…

Huge thank you to Brad and GateTechAlfaSix for the audio feedback and everyone who posted on Facebook, G+ and on Twitter, the wrap up shows and poll results were well received and we are now back into the swing of things and will handle Alan’s moving home in our stride. Please feel free to get in touch with any comments about Stargate, Gatecast or scifi in general, we certainly do appreciate talking to people who share our enthusiasm for Stargate and the scifi/fantasy genre and an itunes review/rating is always appreciated:)

This weeks promo is for Aaron’s SciFiDig and next week we begin the second season of Stargate Atlantis, we hope you can join us for that.

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Aug 242013
 

Welcome to our first wrap up show for Stargate Atlantis, we have done a few in the past for SG1 and the format is pretty much the same but for this Brad joined us so it runs a little longer than the two person SG1 wrap up show we released last week and of course it includes the results of the SGA poll.

We hope you enjoy the look back at what turned out to be an excellent opening season for Atlantis and while there is no doubt it benefited from  the experience of the existing writers, producers and directors it quickly set itself apart with it’s style and take on some original and not so original stories. 

SGA_S1

Poll Results

Total Votes 79

  1. The Siege Part II ( 19 Votes )
  2. The Eye ( 9 Votes )
  3. Tied.. ( 8 Votes )
    • Before I Sleep
    • Letters From Pegasus
    • Thirty Eight Minutes

A huge thank you to everyone that voted in the Stargate SGA poll, it didn’t pull in as many votes as the SG1 poll which was mildly surprising but again we got a clear winner. It’s also interesting to see where the votes came from and they were spread around the world so a big hello to all our friends in the UK, Ireland, USA, France, Russia, Australia, Italy and Holland who voted:)

Next week we begin the ninth season of Stargate SG1 with the episode “Avalon Part 1” with a long time friend of the show Thomas so love to hear what you think about Stargate or the Gatecast past, present and future and the comments can be included in the show.

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Aug 172013
 

avatar2 Welcome to the wrap up show for the eighth season of Stargate SG1.
We didn’t get a third voice for this show so we both did our best and thanks to Brad for sending in some audio comments about the episodes which I spliced in through out the show.
It’s been a good season for SG1 with some very strong episodes particularly the second half of the season and that may have been the result in the belief they were wrapping up the show with the option of an unrealised Stargate Command series as another spin off. What ever happened or didn’t we are left with some stunning episodes both in terms of drama, action and humour with an ever increasing style and production value to the show despite tighter shooting schedules and budget restraints.

SG1S8

Poll Results

Total Votes 94

Top Three Episodes

  1. Reckoning Part 2 (30 Votes)
  2. Prometheus Unbound (20 Votes)
  3. Threads (17 Votes)

Many thanks to everyone who voted in the poll and making it our highest turn out which
was most rewarding.
Next week we will be doing the Stargate Atlantis wrap up show and Brad joins us for that
and then we’ll be looking towards SG1 season 9 and SGA season 2, the journey never ends:)

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Aug 102013
 

avatar2 As the inhabitants of Atlantis gate off world and the self destruct timer is engaged and incoming wormhole is a bit of surprise for it brings a fully equipped SGC military unit responding to the message sent a few weeks previously. Colonel Everett introduces himself and takes command reasoning that this is now a military not civilian situation but with John’s backing Weir regains her place at least to the point of being involved. The SGC has sent nuclear weapons to be used as space mines and more importantly a charged ZPM which was recovered from Egypt thanks to the fortunate events as told in the SG1 episode Moebius.

Alas and of no great surprise the Wraith detect the mines and reign down space rocks which detonate the mines and make the cities sensors useless leaving the way open for an air assault by hundreds of Darts, it’s repelled in a brutal fire fight but that was just round one. Teyla convinces the Colonel to let her people help to patrol the city as Wraith have been beaming down and thus a fully on battle for the city beings in the air and on the ground.
The only ace in the hole they now have are two atomic bombs secured by Weir from the Genii and in the hour of desperation John takes one in a stealth jumper to detonate inside a Hive and yes folks to be continued…

Google maps has improved.

Google maps has improved.

The Siege Part 2 is an epic season finale and cliff hanger for Atlantis. The arrival of the units from Earth was serendipitous to say the least but ties in wonderfully with Letters From Pegasus and Moebius. The  animosity from Everett is an interesting twist but maybe no one on Earth can fully understand the Wraith until the see them or experience them right there and then so leaving a man a friend behind from a military standpoint was the right choice and we know John made the right call. We also got to see the Colonel lighten up after his first brush with the Wraith and accept Teyla and her people’s help in defending the city and again Torri got some good dialogue to deliver proving that Weir has her place in the show when written well.

Pretty from a Distance

Pretty from a Distance

The special effects, set design and props for this episode are incredible, it’s hard to imagine that only a decade earlier this sort of spectacle was still impressive in the cinema and totally unheard of for television. While other big scifi tv franchises had their fair share of epic battles this combination of Earth tech and Alien tech was stunning and lets not forget the audio and sound effects used to compliment the graphics, everything has to work together.

Really looking forward to the third part of this trilogy in the season two premiere of Atlantis and the changes that come with this second season. A big thank you to Jeff for joining us once again and he will be with us for part 3 and thanks to everyone for posting and responding on the various social media portals. Next week it’s the Stargate SG1 wrap up show and the week after the Atlantis Wrap up show complete with poll results so please join us for that and pay a visit to Nutty Bites this weeks promo, a funny and geeky podcast hosted by our friend Nuchtchas.

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