Avalon Archives - Gatecast

Gatecast 194 SG1 Avalon Part 2

Sep 142013

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

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

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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Gatecast 192 SG1 Avalon Part 1

Episodes No Responses »

Aug 312013

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…

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

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…

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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