Jan 142017
 

Stargate Atlantis Wrap Up Show

This weeks episode of the Gatecast takes a look back at Stargate Atlantis and their five year adventure in the Pegasus galaxy. As we did in the SG1 retrospective (mainly to keep the discussion short) we compiled a few questions and then had a round table type chat, it was fun.

Stargate Atlantis

We did have some recording issues when we lost the primary track so the audio quality is far from perfect but listenable so we hope you enjoy our answers to the various questions, if you have alternatives then feel free to let us know. Our thanks to both Brad and Thomas for joining us for the show, rare we have guests from Australia and America on the same podcast but it worked out ok apart from said recording failure which wasn’t skype’s fault. Next week we are back to our Stargate Universe adventure with the episode Malice and are joined by Stephen so not long to go before we have covered all the live action Stargate made so far.

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We also want to thank everyone that voted in the Stargate Atlantis Favourite Episode Poll, we ended up with eighty responses and of them there were thirty eight people who left contact information and we’re included in the prize draw. If you want to know if you have won then listen to the show, I’ll be contacting the main winner and runner ups in a day or so to make delivery arrangements.

Poll Results…

  1. Rising
  2. McKay and Mrs Miller
  3. Vegas

Oct 242016
 

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Welcome to our latest poll, this one is for your favourite episodes from Stargate Atlantis. The poll will run for around a month and the results used in our Atlantis retrospective which will be released at the end of the year. If you want to be included in the prize draw (nothing fancy just some Stargate goodies) then leave a name, email or twitter name to help us out:)
You can have up to ten choices so a little easier than our SG1 poll which had the same number of votes but double the episodes:)

Apr 302016
 

Stargate Atlantis Season 5

In the fifth and final season of Stargate Atlantis we can honestly say the producers and writers delivered episode after episode of quality science fiction, of course as to be expected one or two of them dipped below the very high standards that were being set but overall this was an excellent season of Stargate Atlantis. In many ways you could argue that it was too good because the loyal viewers who had embraced Woolsey as the commander and enjoyed the changes and growth in the characters this season knew there was so much potential that would remain untapped. Of course opinions abound as to why Atlantis met it’s fate but at the time the DVR and Streaming options had little effect on corporate decision making and live viewing figures were not spectacular and we know cancelling is always the first option for the suits.

Stargate Atlantis Season 5

Anyhow we want to thank everyone that voted in the listener poll to discover our favorite episodes of this final season and we intend to take a look at the whole series again complete with poll for a bonus episode over the christmas holidays, so lots of warning because choosing ten episodes will be tricky:)

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We couldn’t have done this season without the support of our guests so a big thank you to Thomas, Andrew, Ian, Brad, Jeff, Matthew and Tim for joining us and our thanks to everyone who sent in feedback directly or via our social media. Next week we are going to be taking a look at the Stargate SG1 movie The Ark of Truth and the week after that we’ll take a look at SG1’s Continuum then we begin Stargate Universe, hope you join us for that adventure.

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  1. Vegas
  2. The Shrine
  3. The Lost Tribe

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Apr 232016
 

Enemy At The Gate

In the Stargate Atlantis series finale Enemy At The Gate the consequences of the reality breaking signal as seen in the episode Vegas is felt as a Hive ship in “our” reality receives the information. This may not have been too bad but unfortunately an underling of Todd has secured a ZPM and created a Hive that is vastly more powerful than any before it. It is bigger and faster with every subsystem improved, the only upside is that only its sensors were good enough to pick up the signal and the Wraith commanding has no wish to share the location of this new feeding ground. John gates back to Earth to help defend the planet using the Ancient chair and Atlantis is forced to give chase thanks to Todd providing them with his stick pile of ZPM’s. The Hive gets to Earth very quickly and destroys Area 51 which by bad fortune houses the recently relocated Chair but thanks to one of these plot (rabbit out of the hat) points Zelenka gets the wormhole drive to work and Atlantis appears in orbit just in time to intervene, the battle is joined. John in a nuclear equipped 302 gains access to the Hive but is very surprised to find his team already there thanks to the quirk of having two gates in close proximity, together they attempt to fight there way out but time is running out as it and Atlantis trade blows above the Earth.

SGA Finale (39)Enemy At The Gate is a good episode of Stargate Atlantis and for the most part is not a bad season finale however it is not a good series finale, the story was rushed and plot issues not really addressed, maybe if the TV movies had been made they would have taken the sting out of being left with that final scene but we’ll never know. That said the production value of the episode is excellent, there is some stunning visual effects and full use is made of the standing Hive sets which have never looked better but there were still stories to be told and that will forever colour opinion on this episode.

Many thanks to Thomas for joining us for the final episode of Atlantis, he’ll return for a few episodes of Stargate Universe. Thank to everyone that left the feedback for Vegas and other things, always appreciated. This weeks promo is for the Legends of S.H.I.E.L.D. podcast and next week we are going to be taking a look back at the final season of Atlantis in the wrap up show and announce the results of the listener poll.

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Apr 162016
 

Vegas

Picture this, the desert just outside of Las Vegas and a police cordon surrounding a desiccated body, a car roars up and Detective John Sheppard arrives to continue the investigation into a string of murders. A number of bodies have been turning up and it looks like the life has been drained from them, a strange radiation residue is on each and a hand print on their chests, for the viewers the alarm bells are ringing but there is a twist. Vegas is the first Stargate episode which takes place fully in an alternate reality (similar to the Enterprise episode Through a Mirror Darkly) and for a brief amount of time the viewer could be convinced John is back on Earth in an undercover roles but no this is another Earth and all our favourite characters (minus the Pegasus derived Teyla and Ronon) are here but not quite the same. In many ways the episode sticks out like a sore thumb and certainly polarises the audience thanks to the production style and music choices but it does still fit into the season/series with direct links to plot elements explored previously. I’m not going into to much detail plot wise because this is an episode if you haven’t seen then you should and if you haven’t seen it since it aired it’s well worth going back too, trust me:)

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Vegas also allowed the producers to get many of the crew and familiar former cast members into the show, again a pity Jason and Rachel didn’t appear but we did get Gary Jones, Neil Jackson,  Jody Thompson, Christopher Heyerdahl, Paul Jarrett and Carmen Moore on screen. Cameos included Joel Goldsmith, Charles Cohen,  Roy Winston, Todd Brunson and of course Brad Wright.

Many thanks to Matthew for joining Alan on this episode, audio issues appeared late in the day meaning they couldn’t be addressed so apologies for the quality but we’re sure we can solve that before Matthew returns for an episode of Universe sometime in the future. This weeks podcast promo is for Tuning Into Sci-Fi TV and next week we are going to be discussing the series finale “Enemy at the Gate” and didn’t that come around fast?

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Apr 092016
 

Identity

Identity opens up with a young woman we haven’t seen before but that’s not unusual on Atlantis. A we knew lots of expedition members are only revealed when the story requires but something still seems a little off. Well we were right, she stabs Zelenka after he was calling her Jennifer and her refection also indicated it was Jennifer so we have an alien or maybe someone in control of the good doctors body, it won’t be the first time. The woman is detained after she attempts to steal a jumper and then pulling a gun on Rodney and she reveals she and her friends were “thieves” seeking out Ancient tech and she had seen a strange device which we learn was the communication stone controller. So Jennifer is in the body of Neeva Casol and Neeva is now in Jennifer’s body and the condition of that is yet to be determined. It turns out that she has been captured and has been sentenced to death, lucky for Jennifer just before the axe falls Neeva’s associates (Bordal and Jannick) rescue her and then the fun begins.

Jennifer & NeevaThe team gate to the planet where Neeva was before swapping bodies and in the chaos of the attack on the locales Neeva escapes but when she meets up with her guys they are suspicious which you can understand. Another clash with the local authorities leaves Bordal dead and Neeva seriously wounded, she is taken by the Atlanteans back to the village awhile Jannick confronts Jennifer. He draws his gun and aims it at her head, he is annoyed and confused and moments before we hear a gunshot the two women return to their own bodies…

Identity again like Infection seems a little out of place given how close we are to the series finale but obviously episodes were planned before the official cancellation notice was given. It is however a very standalone episode unless you take the use of the communication stones as a primer for Stargate Universe where they are kinda of a focal point of the show. Many thanks to Ian for joining me for this episode and he’ll be back have no fear. This weeks promo is for The Sci-Fi Movie podcast a very entertaining discussion based movie review show which looks at some of our favourite genre movies and has spun off with more specialised shows.

 

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Apr 022016
 

Infection

The 17th episode of the final season of Stargate Atlantis is “Infection” and deals with some of the ramifications of the retrovirus in one of it’s many forms. A Hive ship is approaching Atlantis and a corrupted message is received from Todd, a jumper rendezvous with the Hive and they find all the Wraith in stasis but with no automate revival time set in the system. Rodney searches the ships database and discovers that the retrovirus/gene therapy had been given to the whole crew but after initial good results something went wrong, drastically wrong. Malfunctions are evident on the Hive and then a scream and a security guard is found dead, well half eaten it seems the Wraith can no longer feed by drawing life force but the infected have still got teeth.

Infection (16)They wake Todd who is not too happy given that they are no position to save his crew but as more of the infected get loose and the hive slowly loses integrity being affected by the virus itself they find themselves in a decaying orbit. Rodney is bullied by Todd to perform above and beyond and the Hive or what is left of it crash lands into the ocean where they few survivors are rescued. John who gave his work asks for permission to release Todd and he leaves hoping to find a cure for the virus in an old tradition of bonding with an Iratus Queen.

Infection is an episode that exists to tie together some plot points and to make the most of Todd (Christopher Heyerdahl) and to be fair it does a decent job with the atmospheric horror leaning story. The production side provides some great CGI visuals as the hive breaks apart and the standing set never looked better but money must have been tight when the crash was created, that looked bad. However you never get a bad episode when Todd is front and center and once again he shows why this character became a fan and production favourite.

We didn’t have a guest this week as it was a spur of the moment recording and well outside of the planned schedule but we had fun. This weeks promo is for Treks In Scifi and next week we are taking a look at the eighteenth episode of the final season “Identity” so hope you join us and let us know what you think.

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Mar 262016
 

Brain Storm

In Brain Storm Rodney is invited to a presentation by a former colleague, he asks Jennifer to accompany him and perhaps a little to his surprise she is quite pleased to do so. The presentation takes place in a facility in the middle of nowhere with tight security where Dr. Malcolm Tunney reveals his matter bridge a device intended to funnel heat from the Earth to another universe/reality thus reducing global warming. Rodney recognizes the device as being the same technology he used to access the alternate realm which brought his other self to Atlantis but when he speaks he is ridiculed as it seems Rodney has a bit of a reputation amongst his peers. However as Rodney suspected once the device is activated and working it can not be turned off as it’s providing it’s own energy and as more heat is drawn from the facility the colder it gets resulting in a new phenomenon imaginatively called “freeze lightning”. Jennifer attempts to contact the SGC after they find a weak area in the containment field but she is then trapped in a corridor flooded with water, Rodney desperate to get to her pulls the proverbial rabbit out of the hat and leaves the control room to save her. Tunney using Rodney’s code shuts down the matter bridge and in the nick of time Rodney is able to revive Jennifer, not a bad official first date it would seem based on the events that occurred on the plane flying them home.

Brain Storm (5)Brain Storm is a very very good episode, we finally get to see Rodney asking Jennifer out and as we knew she had serious feelings for him it’s no surprise that she says yes, Rodney was surprised which made the whole scene just that more enjoyable. We also learn that Rodney really did make himself a bit of a loner within his peer group, his reputation is not good and that fact working with the SGC and IOA means no published papers just underlines the disdain many feel for him. Of course the fact that Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson are two of his peers kinda raises the whole episode to a whole new level and huge thanks must go to the two men who were more than willing to poke fun at themselves.

As always we want to thank our guest Andrew for joining us over Skype from the states, he always delivers and I think it’s evident having three voices in the mix keeps things fresh especially when a guest has a particular affinity for the episode in question. This weeks podcast promo was for The Rusted Robot and next week we are going to be taking a look at the Atlantis episode “Infection” so let us know what you think and don’t forget to vote in our Season 5 favourite episode poll:)

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Mar 192016
 

Remnants

In Remnants an alien device is found on the ocean floor near Atlantis thanks to an inspired idea from Zelenka. It is brought on board (yeah that makes a lot of sense) and it turns out to be some sort of storage device for a race long gone from these here parts. For reasons that become clear as the episode progresses certain personnel of Atlantis have a very interesting day as they experience events a little out of the ordinary which would normally be par for the course. Complications arise as Shen Xiaoyi the IOA representative is visiting with the intent to replace Woolsey as commander of Atlantis perhaps with her own agenda or maybe not.

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Remnants is a fun episode with some great guest stars especially Anna Galvin who looked fantastic and the chemistry between her and Robert was great, there was some dark humor at times especially with John and again with Richard it was nice to see him coming out of his shell. It was fun to see Chuck getting annoyed with Richard and its never gets old to see McKay getting upset because he didn’t get to have any of the fun, or did he…
This weeks promo was for The Dune Saga Podcast  a podcast that takes a look at the classic Dune novels and their evolution in all media. Thanks to Ian for joining us for Remnants and he had to put up with a lot of technical issues but he will be returning in a few weeks. Next week we are going to be taking a look at the excellent episode Brainstorm and that will be a lot of fun I’m sure.

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Mar 122016
 

The Prodigal

In The Prodigal we have John and Rodney having fun with their remote control cars only to be surprised by Teyla who is having a stroll around the city and trying to get her son to settle down. As they chat the power goes throughout the city yet there seems to be lights in the main control room. What John and company don’t know at that time is that a jumper has returned via the codes of one of the teams off world and then proceeded to stun everyone and then Michael and his hybrids emerge from the jumper. Teyla has returned to her quarters only to be captured and taken to Michael who as ever is intent on developing even more useful hybrids and is desperate to get Torren’s DNA and if Teyla comes along that all is peachy. Michael’s plan seemed sound but since the stun field left most of the cities personnel intact they soon begin to test the boundaries of the shield in an effort to counter attack. It becomes apparent that with the jumper supplying energy direct to the shield there will be no easy way to by pass it but Rodney is tasked to fix one of the jumpers in the underground bay and an unorthodox method of attack is devised.

Theprodigal (19)The Prodigal is an episode that had to be told, there was no way Michael was going to meet his demise when his cruiser was destroyed. In the classic style it would have to be an epic conclusion to his story and in terms of completing the circle it was Teyla herself that delivered the final blow albeit in a very cold and brutal way. The episode itself once again proves how adept the Stargate production team are at offering up crystal clear images of action that takes place in the dark and an emotive score adds to the atmosphere. It was also gratifying to see Sharon Taylor get to put her kick boxing skills to use and in turn raising the bar for Amelia, certainly opening up a position for another kick ass character and potential love interest for Ronon who has been mooning over Jennifer for too long:)

Thanks to Brad for joining us for this weeks episode and he’ll be back before we move onto Stargate Universe, speaking of which the episodes are being assigned so check the schedule and get your name down for a guest spot, we’d love to have you. If guesting on the podcast is not your thing than by all means we’d love to hear from you about Stargate and our discussions of the episode so don’t be shy. This weeks promo is for The Batcave Podcast and next week we are taking a look at Remnants with Ian.

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Mar 052016
 

Inquisition

Inquisition and lets be honest no one ever expects the inquisition is sprung on the members of the main gate team after an invitation to a meeting with representatives of some alien worlds. These worlds are joining together to make decisions in terms of the Wraith and future of the Pegasus galaxy or so they claim. As it turned out this was a trap designed to capture Atlantis personnel and then to have them stand in front of a tribunal or inquisition to answer for their crimes. The three members of the bench proceeded to question every significant event that has taken place since Atlantis was reborn and while they had many good points the information they had was provided with an inbuilt bias. These along with other personal concerns pretty much guarantee a guilty verdict and so it is up to Woolsey to save the day since he recognized the power play and manipulation going on, after all he excelled in the politics of bureaucracy.

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Inquisition pretty much takes place in three locations, the briefing room, the jail cell and the court room and no doubt even with solid guest actors this episode was designed to be a money saver. That said Stargate has always done the clip show format with some style by making sure the story that provides the reasoning for the clips to stand by itself and once again Inquisition benefits from the level of attention. A very good episode for Woolsey it has to be said as well as the guest stars who had to carry the story with the regular cast pretty much going through the motions. Overall not a great episode but certainly worth watching because most of the charges against Atlantis have been brought up by fans during the shows run and long after, I know we’ve talked about the culpability of the Atlanteans in the events over the last few years.

Thanks to Jeff for joining us on this recording, the podcast certainly benefited from a third voice for this episode. This weeks promo is for Generations Geek a father/daughter look at geek things including movies, books and television. Next week we are back with a look the Stargate Atlantis episode Prodigal with our guest Brad and as always we’d love to hear from you especially since we saw a significant bump in our monthly download figure for February:)

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Feb 272016
 

Outsiders

In the fifth season episode Outsider Dr Carson Beckett is running a small medical clinic amongst a community on another world, the team visit to bring medical supplies and then the Wraith turn up looking for refugees from Balar a world recently destroyed since it’s population were infected by the Hoffan drug and would kill any Wraith that fed upon them. The Wraith commander gives the village an ultimatum, identify the refugees and live or deny them and bring about the wrath of the Wraith. John attempts to get the council to take the high road but he is unable to evacuate or fight the Wraith and then local elements start to herd the refugees and hand them over. One of the refugees offers information to the Wraith commander in return for freedom, he points out Carson as being an expert on the Hoffan plague and the Wraith capture Carson and Rodney and then kill the informant, there is no survival option for those infected at least from the point of view of the Wraith. John and the team continue to rally support in the village and eventually use guile and deceit to get what they want, the Wraith are killed and they fight their way to the gate only to be met by Rodney and Carson who have themselves used their intelligence to escape from the Wraith ship. The survivors of the world along with the refugees are taken to Atlantis and then relocated on another world hopefully well away from Wraith interest but once again the fallout from the biological defence/offence against the Wraith continues to have serious consequences.

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Outsiders is not my favorite episode of the fifth season, it is however very well produced and the set/props departments excelled at making the standing village set look very different from what we’ve seen before. There were very good performances from Joel Polis and Sean Tyson which helped to raise the episode but it lacks any real impact on the major events of this final season of Atlantis. This weeks podcast promo is for The Saturday B Movie Reel and next week we are going to take a look at the episode Inquisition and let us know what you think, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the episodes of Stargate and of our own coverage.

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Feb 202016
 

The Lost Tribe

The Lost Tribe is the second part of the mid-season two parter and the episode continues with Daniel and Rodney captives of this mysterious alien race whose reveal is rather surprising, yes we’ve met these guys before and in a twist the only thing that is missing is the goatee. The Vanir are an off shoot from the Asgard who fled to Pegasus to allow them to pursue lines of research which were banned by their brothers and sisters more ethical guidelines, it’s hard to deny that the Vanir had a point, they are under no immediate threat of total degeneration thanks to the experiments on other species. Meanwhile the Stargate in Atlantis when it blew left an awful lot of damage but the use of the cities shield mitigated probably 99.99% of the blast meaning no critical damage, a new gate is quickly sourced and the rebuilding process commences. However other gates have also exploded one in particular on one of the few Traveller world’s killing thousands, Katana Labrea a Traveller commander approaches Atlantis and Sheppard in particular and offers her ship since the Daedalus is currently running amok with Todd in command although Keller and Ronon and flies in the ointment. John gives Todd the location of the Ancient outpost where Daniel and Rodney are being detained and the chase is on to get to that world and destroy the device responsible for destroying stargates and denying the Wraith ships access to hyperspace.

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Ronon did a number on the Daedalus weapons system so before leaving the ship the Wraith pre-programme the computer with commands to turn the ship into a ballistic missile and while John and Katana battle the Vanir they have to find a solution to save the Daedalus and it’s crew as the ship slams into the atmosphere on course to vaporise the ancient complex. Unbeknown to everyone else at the time Rodney and Daniel have donned the alien armoured suits (very Ironman) and entered into the chamber to cripple the system, Daniel is hurt badly before Rodney can pull the plug. It’s a not a surprise that we get resolution which allows all the main characters to return the following week but to be fair the idea to use one ships hyperspace window to draw in a second was clever and obviously occurred to John after he had gone head to head with the Vanir. We also got a good closing scene with the two boys trading barbs and pudding and a rather awkward moment as Ronon learns that Jennifer’s interest in romance are focused on someone else.

The Lost Tribe was another excellent fifth season of Atlantis, we got more of the Daniel and Rodney dynamic, the return of the Travellers, Todd being well Todd and oodles of action and wonderful visual effects. Far fewer technical issues with this second recorded episode (not using bluetooth) but no denying we were all happy to wrap that night up so as always many thanks to Thomas for joining on the show. Thanks to Brad for the comment over on Facebook and this week podcast promo is for Flash Pulp an audio show which offers short stories and special movie features, I can heartly recommend their shows for pure creativity, production value and entertainment. Next week we will return with the Atlantis episode Outsiders, hope you join us and let us know what you think, we’d love to hear from you.

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Feb 142016
 

Reviews

Here is the current collection of my reviews for the Stargate Atlantis Legacy series of novels, all highly recommended. I purchased the current eight book series for my Kindle, other ebook formats and paperbacks are offered so jump right in 🙂

Stargate Novels

Stargate Atlantis: Homecoming (SGA, #16)Stargate Atlantis: Homecoming by Jo Graham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Homecoming is a strong start to the ongoing Stargate Atlantis “Legacy” series of novels which will continue the story of the city and it’s people after the tv series was cancelled after the fifth season. In many ways this novel will have the hardest time of all as many fans were never really pleased with the dealings of the IOA and other government bodies when the interfered with the grand adventures. Homecoming had to create a narrative to get Atlantis off of Earth and back to Pegasus with most of the known characters intact and acknowledge that many may not want or could not return and thus introduce new characters into an established mix. Jo Graham and Melissa Scott did a wonderful job of getting this series off to a fine start and I’m kicking myself I waited so long to read the Stargate Atlantis novels from Fandemonium aka StargateNovels.
I’m not going into any details of the plot apart from yeah Atlantis returns to Pegasus but come on you all want to know what hoops had to be jumped through and the compromises made with Earth governments salivating and/or shuddering at the thought of the tech/weaponry sitting off the coast of the USA.

Stargate Atlantis: The Lost (SGA, #17)Stargate Atlantis: The Lost by Jo Graham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Lost is the second book in the Stargate Atlantis Legacy series and the story quickly picks up from the first novel where McKay was captured by the Wraith. The fate of McKay was unexpected but in hindsight perfectly in sync with events as seen in the television series. The complexity of dealing with Todd and the Genii added some depth to the novel which did feel a little like a staging story, moving pieces into places ready for a more hard hitting events to come.
That said I am loving how the Wraith are being written and the creation and expansion of their world is one reason why this Legacy series needed to exist and while I’ve never been a fan of the Genii their presence in this story certainly gave counterpoint to dealing with Todd and the threat of the uber Wraith Queen. Overall a good addition to the series, not every book is going to be all action and suspense and the series will need to balance things out but so far the first two novels are proving well worth the time to read.

SGA-18 AllegianceSGA-18 Allegiance by Melissa Scott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reviewing the Legacy series is tricky, I was fortunate I read it well after the fact but was totally unaware of the major plot points but I never went looking for reviews either.
So here we go, Allegiance is the third novel in the series and Rodney is still very much missing and unaware he is helping to bring down his friends and family in Pegasus and after the failure of the first retrieval mission things look bleak. Atlantis greets some old and new friends from Earth but before anyone can get settled the city is attacked by forces loyal to Queen Death, the city survives mainly intact for all but one critical element. However we also see that Sateda in a small way is rising from among the ashes of it’s former civilisation offering hope to Ronon but there are always other worlds and groups looking to exploit the resources of worlds unable to protect themselves. It seems diplomacy will be the tool of the day to protect and nurture alliances within the humans of Pegasus but the consequences of the bargaining being done could be severe…
Allegiance is another fine addition to the Legacy series, Melissa and Amy have done a great job incorporating new and previously seen aspects of the Atlantis tv show into this series and maintained the pacing and entertainment value while holding true to the spirit.

Stargate Atlantis: The Furies (Stargate Atlantis, #19)Stargate Atlantis: The Furies by Jo Graham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The threat of Queen Death escalates not only to every human in Pegasus but also to the factions of Wraith who she is alienating thanks to her scorched earth policy and together they face a stark truth. There is no help or salvation but from themselves and they all know in their hearts that the current dynamic within Pegasus has been shattered forever, for Pegasus to survive will take not only a military alliance but a fundamental shift in attitudes from everyone. This is the situation which has Teyla once again embracing the part of her which is Wraith and taking her place as a Queen for only a Queen can influence and manipulate the events in the direction which could mean a future for all.
The Furies by Jo Graham once again gives its all to lovers of Stargate Atlantis while enhancing and massaging the established canon from the tv series, some may see this as a bad thing but Legacy has to evolve the characters, it would have happened on the tv show and maybe in a similar direction. I still adore diving deep into the Wraith culture and the introduction of Waterlight was beautiful as is how the Wraith see the humans. The overlay of their worldview on the Atlantis command structure and personnel is inspired and makes so much sense and as is often the case it’s the lack of understanding and insight which blocks potential solutions from being seen.
With the revelations and events in The Furies we can only look forward to their consequences in the next Legacy novel “Secrets”, can’t wait.

View all my reviews

Feb 132016
 

First Contact

In First Contact the mid-season finale of the final season of Stargate Atlantis the city is visited by Daniel Jackson. He is convinced that the ancient named Janus had a secret lab within the city, together he and Rodney discover it and it’s treasure trove of technology. One device begins to emit a signal which is picked up by a piece of ancient technology overseen by an unidentified alien species who then raid Atlantis stealing technology and kidnapping Daniel and Rodney. Meanwhile a diplomatic party onboard the Daedalus have met with a Todd and a small fleet of Wraith and discussions are ongoing to the use of the new retrovirus. The aliens holding the boys threaten their lives if they do not activate the ancient technology which Rodney has been able to identify as a means to negate hyperspace drives based on their specific energy signatures. Turning the systems on would mean the Wraith ships would be limited to sublight but a previous test over ten thousand years ago indicated a serious side effect which was probably responsible for the system not being deployed during the war. Rodney turns the machine on and two Wraith cruisers vaporise as they enter hyperspace, Todd recognises the technology being used and incapacitates the crew of the Deadalus and takes over the ship. It’s only later that Rodney discovers the side effect of the device, while it prevents the use of hyperspace it also causes a power build up in any Stargate attempting to access wormholes and Atlantis unaware of the threat begins to dial out. Radek sees the energy build up but can not prevent it so he wraps the gate in the cities shield but it can not dissipate the energy from the destroyed Stargate and a minimal amount breaches causing serious damage to the gate room and the tower.

Vanir

First Contact is geared up to provide a cliffhanger for the break over the holidays and more importantly introduce a highly advanced species from within Pegasus, the existence of such has been referred to by a number of space faring races and like the Asurans before them remained in the shadows. Of course at this point the Atlanteans are unaware of who they are dealing with and the technology presented offers no clue apart from being able to sidestep much of Ancient technology from ten thousand years ago. Interesting to note the Wraith who have continued to develop their sciences have found solutions to many of the threats offered by the Ancients which indicates this new race have not kept pace, the question is why.

First Contact even judged as a single episode is excellent, we have Daniel making it back to Atlantis again and of course things go wrong, Rodney is all upset as he sees Daniel as a rival more so than many others and we get award winning CGI/VFX in the episode, the sequence in the gateroom as the stargate is destroyed was truly gorgeous. I think it’s safe to say we were all on tenterhooks awaiting the second half of this story and in 2016 that means recording our take on it the same night as this episode and releasing the finished podcast a week later. This weeks podcast promo is for the Scifi Movie Podcast and next week we are going to be discussing The Lost Tribe and Thomas will be with us once again.

Thanks to Mack and Levi for the feedback and feel free to let us know what you think of Stargate and our coverage of the episodes:)

Promo…

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