Jun 112016
 

Air Part 3

Steve and Jeff are back for the final part of this season opener, Air Part 3. In this episode which once again picks up where the second left off the chosen few from Destiny are exploring the first alien world they have been able to gate too after Destiny came out of FTL. Rush has made a play to always be at the center of things so while Young isn’t convinced he should leave the ship he allows it but makes sure Eli goes along as well for the reasons explained in the previous episode. On this desert world the team begin to search for the compound required to use in the ships atmospheric filters and batting zero they split up. Soon members of the group led by Eli seize the Kino and gate interface and return to the gate intent on going to another world. Eli does his best but he is unable to prevent the armed insurrection but the guy does try:) Two of the group go through the Stargate but Greer prevents the DHD from following them and he leaves Eli to watch over Rush who proved to be a bit of a nuisance on this mission. Greer then goes in search of Scott who is having hallucinations or maybe influenced by an native intelligence of this world. This being provides water and then reveals the compound they have been searching for. Scott and Greer  make haste getting back to the stargate as the Destiny FTL timer countdown and Eli sticks his arm in the event horizon which gives them a few extra seconds to get home before the ship jumps. The two people that went through the gate are abandoned, Franklin has his gun shot wound dressed and the rest of the group are suffering from sunburn and dehydration but for now as fresh air circulates through the ship the danger is over…

Air Part 3

Air Part 3 is another great episode of Stargate Universe and as I have said before it’s hard to quantify it’s value as a standalone when you take into consideration how well structured this three part story has been. Once again there was great dialogue and character interaction between the main and minor players in this drama and the scenes in White Sands were visually stunning, money and time well spent by the production.
Our thanks again to Jeff and Steve for joining us for the show and they will be taking a break as next week we are going to be taking a look at the episode Darkness with Thomas so we hope you join us for that and if you have the inclination pay a visit to

This weeks promo is for the Rusted Robot Podcast and next week we are going to be taking a look at Air Part 3 so let us know what you think and while on the subject our thanks to Mack for the feedback over on our Google+ page.

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Jun 042016
 

Air Part 2

We’re back for the second part of the Stargate Universe premiere three parter “Air Part 2”. In this episode which picks up exactly where the first left off the survivors of Icarus are stranded on the Ancient starship with environmental conditions deteriorating and serious injuries to Colonel Young and Senator Armstrong still life threatening. Rush unbeknown to anyone else takes the communication stones which Young risked his life to retrieve and changes place with Dr Lee, he goes straight to General O’Neill who kinda chews him out for not gating to a known address and thus getting as many people home. When Rush returns he announces he has been given command of the mission and when the Senator objects he collapses, his injuries are far more severe than first thought.

Air Part 2

As the conditions aboard the ship continue to decline they confirm that damage to the hull has caused extensive use of the ships shields but they are not perfect and the ship is losing atmosphere. The onboard air scrubbers are also well past their prime and their catalyst is useless but at this point the ship drops from hyperspace and the gate console comes to life with at least one world indicated and three more red lined. Rush explains that the ship may have brought them to this system as it contained the materials required to fix the air processors of the ship and there is no time to waste, for some reason a countdown has been initiated until the ship jumps back to FTL. Young puts together a team and explains that everyone has to prove themselves and so he sends Eli along with Rush and other science and military personnel.

Air Part 2 is another cracking episode of Stargate Universe, difficult to really judge it as a standalone given it was meant to be part of a feature but the episode has everything. There is great dialogue and character interaction, some mighty fine visual effects and the narrative continues to expand helped by more titbits of information on the ship and the people who are currently resident. Once again we want to think Jeff and Steve for joining us for the show and they will both be back next week.

This weeks promo is for the Rusted Robot Podcast and next week we are going to be taking a look at Air Part 3 so let us know what you think and while on the subject our thanks to Mack for the feedback over on our Google+ page.

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May 282016
 

Air Part 1

Welcome to our very first look at Stargate Universe and the first episode Air Part 1 which in this case is part of the extended release on the DVD/Blu-ray, for the purposes of the podcast we cut the double episode in half and will be looking at Air Part 2 next week.

The story of Stargate Universe begins with the view of the Destiny (as we come to learn) and onboard the activation of a Stargate, by mixing up the timelines we learn that the SGC has an off world base codenamed Icarus which is using the geo-thermal properties of an alien world to power its Stargate and access the ninth chevron. The complexities of energy manipulation has prevented a successful activation until the puzzle is sent out into the real world by means of a computer game. This game is solved by Eli Wallace (played by David Blue) who is then shanghaied by General O’Neill and brought to Icarus to work with Dr Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle) and along for the ride comes the Senator who was instrumental in securing the funding for the base and his daughter who came up with the idea to exploit gamers. During the visit the base comes under attack from the Lucian Alliance and Eli has a flash of inspiration, the symbols required are not just an address but also incorporate a code, the Earth symbol should not work but when used the wormhole is opened and with no other option the survivors of Icarus flee through the gate. They arrive on board Destiny with many injuries including Colonel Young (Louis Ferreira) and begin to explore not realising at first they are onboard a starship billions of light years away from the Milky Way and Earth…

Da Boys are Here

Well there you go the first look at Stargate Universe and it was far better than I remembered infact all three parts of Air were a very rewarding viewing experience. The main cast is incredible and as you would expect the Stargate producers have made full use of continuity and the acting pool of Stargate veterans to populate the screen, it paid off big time for those of us who are familiar with the franchise. The production quality right from the start was incredible for television and felt very different to what SG1 and Atlantis has offered in the years before, as it turned out that may have played a part in the show only getting two seasons but those two seasons are an adventure to say the least:)

We’ve got to thank Jeff for returning to the podcast (sucker for punishment) and our first timer Steve who is a veteran podcaster in his own right. Together with myself and Alan I think we did one of our better episode commentaries/discussions, the fourth voice I think added that extra something and for once Skype was well behaved. So next week we are back with the same line up and taking a look at Air Part 2, we hope you join us and we want your feedback on the podcast and Stargate Universe, if nothing else SGU generated discussion in the Stargate fan community:)

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May 212016
 

Keith R. A. DeCandido

Well here we are with something a little different, an interview with the author Keith R. A. DeCandido.

Keith is a New Yorker born and bred who took to literature at a very early age encouraged by his parents with an interesting choice of authors. You may want to think back to what you were reading as a youngster then compare it to Keith’s reading list, for me a world of difference:) Keith is also a professional editor and has written his own original novels as well as making full use of  licensed content and novelisations. His media and online endeavours populate an extensive list of accomplishments, check the links you will be amazed. Join Alan and Mike on this podcast as we chat with Keith about his work in the media and more specifically the appeal of Stargate and the result of said interest with his new novel “Kali’s Wrath” which was released on May 19th as an ebook and the paperback is out soon.

Keith R. A. DeCandido

Keith R. A. Decandido

We want to thank Keith for giving us his time and since the interview was recorded a few days before the book was released and this podcast is being released a few days after I have tagged on a small review of the novel at the end of the interview, spoiler free. Next week we are going to be kicking off our Stargate Universe adventure starting with Air Part 1, Steve and Jeff joined us for that so gear up it turned out rather well:)

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May 142016
 

Continuum

In Continuum the second of the two straight the DVD movies that MGM produced for the Stargate we get closure of the Goa’uld storyline which goes all the ways back to Ra at least in terms of the tv aspect of the franchise. Ba’al has been captured and all his clones are dead but he seems rather confident that the Tok’ra procedure to remove the symbiont is not the last this galaxy will see of him and then people start vanishing one after another. General O’Neill rushes Ba’al who then stabs him with the extraction device and as Jack is dying orders SG1 to get to the Stargate. They emerge into a very cold location which is revealed to be a small freighter encased in ice, the name is familiar to Mitchell but first requirement is to get our of this deep freeze. They gain access to land to find the ship had been trapped in ice but Daniel in the attempt has soaked his foot in water which has brought on frostbite, unable to travel Sam and Cameron leave him behind.

Continuum

They come across a special ops team under the command of Jack O’Neill and are returned to a US nuclear submarine, Sam is recognised as a Shuttle commander who dies when her craft crashed in the ocean a few years ago and when they find Daniel on the sub they confirm that the timeline has changed. If Ba’al had been able to alter the history of the Stargate use then the SGC and humans would not have had such a strong influence on the galaxy. The added bonus for Ba’al would be that as the puppet master he may have been in a position to make changes which directly benefited him with his knowledge of events and technology present in the original timeline. The US government of this new timeline are not keen on upsetting the apple cart but a year later Ba’al has consolidated his control of the System Lords and brings a fleet to Earth and makes a phone call to the President…

Well what a fantastic way to close out the journey of SG1. The movie was exceptional in production and story terms as well as making extensive use of existing characters even if only used for cameo sake. We all thoroughly enjoyed the movie watching experience and even though Stargate continues with Atlantis for a time and then Universe for a couple of years we left without a heavy heart, Continuum was a good way to wrap things up.

We want to thank Andrew for joining us again for this extended episode and he’ll be back for one or two episodes of Universe. Next week we have something a little different, the new Stargate novel “Kali’s Wrath” by Keith R.A. DeCandido is released on ebook on the 19th of May and we have an interview with the man himself, hope you tune in 🙂

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May 072016
 

The Ark Of Truth

After SG1 ended it’s television run MGM decided to invest in two straight to DVD movies, the first was The Ark Of Truth.

In this movie we learn that the Ancients long before they arrived in the Milky Way Galaxy had developed a weapon of sorts which would destroy the power base of the Ori in effect making them too weak to oppose them. It was however decided that taking away free will from millions of people was not a price the Ancients were willing to pay so they hide the Ark and left their home galaxy. Daniel and SG1 have found clues to its where abouts and are digging on Dakara when they are captured by Tomin and his men, the Prior orders their death despite their surrender and Tomin objects. The anti-prior device is working and the Prior gets killed, this combined with Tomin’s own doubts over his actions causes him to surrender to SG1 and return to the SGC. The IOA and SGC agree on a plan to visit the ORI galaxy and find the Ark and Marrick is sent along as the IOA representative, his past includes black op missions for the CIA so we know something is going to kick off. When Cameron puts his faith in the Ark and doesn’t immediately act upon the supergate Marrick uses the Asgard Core to replicate a replicator with advanced programming, of course it gets loose so the Odyssey has to fight off little pesky buggers as well as four very big pesky buggers in the guise of Ori starships. Meanwhile the team on the planet find the Ark and are then attacked, Teal’c is seriously wounded and his companions are captured and taken to Celestis where they are tortured and Adria reveals herself to be the recipient of all the power of the ORI faith.

The Ark Of Truth

The Ark Of Truth had a larger budget than say a two part episode of Stargate SG1 and that is pretty evident from the word go however the majority of the story is shot on the existing stages and you can not really hide that fact. One other benefit of a higher budget and more time to play around with is the longer CGI sequences, seeing the Odyssey fly by or enter the stargate over a longer period of time adds so much to the feel and texture of the movie, not quite theatrical but so much more than tv. We also got some cameos and returning guest actors reprising their roles, again you can underestimate that aspect when making a serial show which relies on continuity to bring the fanbase into the fold.

There were some nice twists in the story although most of it had been hinted at in the final season of SG1 but it’s no surprise, this first movie was all about wrapping up the ORI storyline and it was always going to be a hail mary that achieved the almost impossible. It has to be said that the final product was very satisfying both in the story telling and the overall production and knowing Continuum is on the way makes the end of SG1 a little easier to accept.

Many thanks to Andrew for joining us in watching and chatting about The Ark Of Truth and he will return next week for Continuum in which Ba’al makes a return along with many other familiar faces in a final goodbye for this part of the franchise. We would love to hear from you on any Stargate or Gatecast related subject so don’t be shy.

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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:)

SGA S5

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 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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