Gatecast 273 SGA Reunion

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Jun 272015
 

avatar Ronon and Telya visit a small village after reports of three people who are reputed to be very efficient Wraith killers, it turns out they are all Satedans and as luck would have it friends of Ronon to boot. As you would expect Ronon is eager to have them return to Atlantis but it’s new commander Colonel Samantha Carter denies his request based on security concerns but a compromise is made when a plan is needed to infiltrate a Wraith science lab where experiments on breaking the Asuran (Replicator) code are being undertaken. Atlantis supplies a jumper and a team and together with the three Satedans they raid the complex but things soon go wrong and only Ronon escapes and we Rodney discovers that the three Satedans (Tyre, Ara and Rakai)  have betrayed them are working with the Wraith.

Reunion (25)

Ronon along with some support return to the Wraith complex and he goes in search of his friends while the Atlantis personnel free the prisoners, they both learn of the betrayal and Ronon is shocked that after billions of his people died there were soldiers who took the silver coin of the Wraith and as emotions run high an epic three on one fight breaks out, then a knife is drawn and moments later two are dead with Ronon bruised and bloodied left standing as his true friends find him and they all go home only to find that Rodney has happily helped himself to an item Ronon left behind.

Reunion is a solid episode and continues the tradition of having the third episode in a season Ronon centric despite this being the first official episode broadcast that has Amanda Tapping bringing Sam Carter to take command of Atlantis. We’ve also seen other Satedans and truth be told when you add these three it has to be said those that survived (apart from Ronon) were not great examples of the compassion, integrity and courage we’ve seen from the big man. It was also good to see Jason get some good emotive dialogue delivered with gentleness, irritation and aggression when required. Lots of credit has to go to the casting department for the three guest stars who all brought something to their roles, they were all exceptional with Mark (Trye) bringing his stunt/fighting skills to the role and yes a tip of the hat to the director and camera operators for hiding Rachel’s baby bump and stuntwomen who allowed Kyra (Ara) to fight well as she was early into her pregnancy as well.
Overall a solid early season episode, lots of action and some great stunt work and background story padding coupled with the fresh start that Carter brings to the show.

Thank you to Brad for joining me this week (Alan was on hiatus again) and thanks to Ian for the five star UK itunes review, both of you are totally appreciated:)
This weeks promo is for Voices Of Defiance podcast which has returned and is taking a good look at the third season of Defiance currently airing globally on Syfy and its sister channels. Next week Alan returns and we are going to be taking a look at the fourth episode in the season “Doppelganger”, we hope you can join us for that and feel free to get in touch and let us know what you think of the show.

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Gatecast 272 SGA Lifeline

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Jun 202015
 

avatar Atlantis continues to drift aimlessly through space after damage from the Asuran energy weapon ruptured her primary power conduits however a wild and crazy idea was dreamt up to raid the Asuran homeworld for a ZPM which would allow the city to engage it’s hyperspace engines and make it to it’s new home. Elizabeth along with Rodney, John and Ronon use the enhanced jumper and infiltrate the Asuran city and remarkably steal a ZPM but instead of getting out clean they discover a way to turn on the core component of the replicator code which was designed to provoke them to attack the Wraith. As the infiltrate the core of the city they are discovered and Elizabeth enters into the fray and she attacks Oberoth directly, her nanites against his and the dance begins.

Lifeline (37)

Lifeline was a fitting conclusion to Elizabeth’s time on Atlantis, there was never a doubt she would sacrifice herself for her people and here she demonstrates it and it wasn’t by accident, she knew this was always going to be a possibility and she bought the lives of her people with her own. Jack would have been proud and maybe that was the only story/character element I would have liked to have seen explored in what was an epic three part story. We had a little bit of Dr Lee who as always was a laugh and of course we see the Apollo in action without Asgard beam weapons, maybe it’s awaiting retrofitting and has to make do with missiles and railguns but it put up a good display against the unknown spec of the Asuran warship which looked like a jumper on steroids (at least to me). Of course you had to laugh when the writes made sure the hyperspace capable jumper was not going to be monkey on their back when writing new episodes, they learnt their lesson from the beaming technology.

A big thankyou to Ian for joining me for this show, this was his first time on the podcast although he interacts a lot via twitter and is patiently going through our entire back catalogue which is an impressive task in itself, I know I’ve done the same for other podcasts which I’ve started listening to after they have been around a while. This weeks promo is for Under The Dome Radio which covers the tv series Under The Dome which returns to US screens on the 25th of June and next week we are taking a look at the third episode in this season of Atlantis “Reunion”.

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Gatecast 271 SGA Adrift

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Jun 132015
 

avatar2 The fourth season of Stargate Atlantis sees the city adrift in normal space after her hyperdrive engine cut out, it turns out the Asuran energy beam caused significant damage to the primary power conduits of the city and there was simply not enough energy getting to the engines to keep the city in hyperspace. As the fly through local space with no way to call for help they discover that while the damage can be routed around after a lot of hard physical work the clock is ticking as the city is pumping energy from the ZPM to maintain life support and other functions. The city reduces shield coverage which causes the death of three technicians working on one of the piers but an approaching asteroid field has all the jumpers launching and trying to clear a path, the desperate attempt is partially successful but the unprotected parts of the city suffer considerable damage and yep one of the towers houses a control unit that has to be bypassed. Zelenka and John go for a space walk and while they achieve their goals it’s not without injury. Oh, did I forget that Elizabeth is all but dead and Dr Keller encourages Rodney to reactive the nanites in her system despite John’s vehement refusal as he sites the risk but it’s done and Elizabeth awakes fully healed, she is not entirely happy looking at the big picture but it seems the nanites can not communicate with the Asurans and maybe there is hope for everyone. The hyperdrive capable jumper which Rodney tried to develop when under the influence of the Ascension device has limited functions and the Asuran homeworld full of ZPM modules is within range.

Guy with the brush, sweep harder!

Guy with the brush, sweep harder!

Adrift is great start to the fourth season, while the CGI is a little hit and miss when it’s hits it hits big time and combined with the drama of their escape from the Asurans and the deaths and consequences the episode is packed and I really can fault the overall production. It was great to see John and Rodney facing eachother down, maybe the first time they have had a serious disagreement and imagine it over Elizabeth being saved or allowed to die and a nice touch to have Ronon give the emotional side, that was very satisfying but watching him walk around aimlessly in the background of so many shots was just too funny for words. The asteroid field was an idea that for me didn’t really work but it was an action sequence in an episode that was a lot of talking heads but the simpler tower leap by Zelenka and John was far more impressive, it says a lot that the Stargate inhouse and third party CG designers have set the bar so high. I was amazed John did not recognise the address for the Asuran homeworld and on the surface a covert strike to steal a ZPM sounds like suicide but what options do they have and they do have the ace in the hole if they can trust her.

Thanks everyone for listening to our take on Adrift, we would love to hear what you thought about this episode of Atlantis and our own take on it and if you want to join us then feel free to get in touch. Many thanks to Brad for joining me on the show as Alan has returned home to the Republic for a short visit with family, this weeks promo was for the Saturday B Movie Reel and next week I am joined by a new guest Ian for the Atlantis episode Lifeline, hope you join us.

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Stargate SG1 Season 10 Wrap Up Show

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Jun 062015
 

avatar2 This is it the final wrap up show for a season of Stargate SG1 and once again Brad braves the early hours of the morning to join us on looking back at a rather good season of the show albeit with one or two minor dips in form but 20 episodes a season for any show pretty much guarantees quality will vary. Anyhow thanks to everyone that voted in the favourite episode poll although I thought we would get more votes than for the Atlantis S3 poll but surprisingly we didn’t although I have to admit I wasn’t that shocked over the winning episode:)

SG1_S10_Spines

So have a listen and then let us know what you thought about our wrap up comments, the season as a whole and any individual episode within, we would love to hear from you. We’d also like to thank Thomas, Brad, Adrianna, Andrew, Dan, Misa and Jeff for joining us on episodes from the tenth season, goes without saying you all helped to make the show better:) The Atlantis season 4 schedule is up (link at the top of the page) and there are plenty of episodes left so if you fancy joining us over skype to watch an episode and have a good chat about it then please get in touch.

We have a number of promos featured in this episode (listed below) so please have a listen, you may find these podcasts interesting and next week we are back into the week by week coverage of the show proper which means Stargate Atlantis for the next year and a bit as we kick off with the Season 4 premiere “Adrift”.

Poll Results…

  1. 200
  2. Unending
  3. The Pegasus Project
  • Total Votes 48

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Stargate Atlantis Season 3 Wrap Up Show

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May 302015
 

avatar Well here we are again for an end of season wrap up show, in this mighty endeavour (well not really) we take a good long look back at Stargate Atlantis season 3 with Brad who graciously offered to join us which normally means he gets up in the middle of the night, above and beyond as always. Thanks to everyone that joined us for this season of Atlantis (Brad, Shannon, Thomas, Scott, Shayne, Misa, Miles and Jeff) and all those who contributed via Facebook, Google +, Twitter and email as well as everyone who voted in the favourite episode poll.

We’ve included a bunch of promos in this episode so feel free to check them out and next week we return with our Stargate SG1 Season 10 wrap up show so stay tuned because when that’s been released we are diving into the fourth season of Atlantis and all the changes to the show that came with it.

SGA3

Poll Results…

  1. Common Ground
  2. Tao of Rodney
  3. McKay & Mrs Miller &  The Return Parts 1 & 2
  • Total Votes 60

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Gatecast 270 SGA First Strike

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May 232015
 

avatar The new Apollo commanded by Colonel Abe Ellis arrives at Atlantis equipped with a weapons delivery system called “Horizon” armed with six naquadah enhanced mark 9 nuclear warheads, fly by data over the Asuran homeworld indicates they are building a fleet of ships and the belief is that their target will be Earth itself so a pre-emptive strike has been ordered by the President, SGC and IOA. The mission with reservations goes well with the vast majority of the targets destroyed but soon after an object appears in the Atlantis system and within a Stargate is activated, the “satellite” fires on the Apollo and the energy beam sweeps around to target the city from orbit and it soon becomes apparent nothing will stop this beam from wearing it the cities shields and destroying Atlantis. The single ZPM will not sustain the shield and even submerging the city only gains them a small respite but in an out of the box solution they drive an asteroid into the path of the energy beam and use the energy from the geothermal complex to initiate the star drive and launch the city. Initially it all goes well but the city starts to stall the shield is dropped and the city once agains powers upwards and as the leave the atmosphere the shield is once again raised but moments from full coverage the energy beam strikes causing damage to the tower. The city enters hyperspace but soon after the star drive shuts down and they are left floating in normal space light years from anywhere and anyone with no immediate means to call for help and with many injured including Elizabeth who is in critical condition.

Duck & Cover

Duck & Cover

First Strike is a pretty epic third season finale and yet has no direct input from the Wraith which seems strange on the surface but it is part of the desire to deal with the Asuran “replicators” and we do get to see the ingenuity of the Ancients through their creation as they deploy a Stargate equipped satellite very very quickly which would in time have destroyed the city if not for the hail mary solution which itself has consequences. The episode also always a soft introduction to the new chief medical officer Dr Jennifer Keeler (Jewel Staite) and sets the stage for the departure of Elizabeth (Torri Higginson) as a full time character for good or bad depending upon your point of view. All that aside the writers and production staff put together a fantastic episode and there is no question a lot of money was spent especially as the episode is very effects heavy, you don’t get to see the city fly that often and well the final stunt work performed by Ky Furneaux doubling Elizabeth was if anything more impressive than any of the CGI. It was good to see the ship builders are still hard at work as the Apollo makes her debut along with her new commander Colonel Abraham Ellis played by Michael Beach and the dynamic was certainly an interesting approach to take but it made a lot of sense, the civilian and military will always be at odds over the Stargate programme.

First Strike is a great episode and gave us a quality cliffhanger as the fate of some characters and the city itself hangs in the balance.

So that’s the final season three episode done and dusted, thank you to everyone who has been directly involved or supported us via all the ways social media allows. Many thanks to Brad for joining us for First Strike and he will be back from the two wrap up shows the first of which will be for Atlantis and that is due to be released on the 30th of May. This weeks promo is for the Sci-Fi Movie Podcast who have just celebrated their 100th episode with a look at Return of the Jedi, great podcast well worth listening too.

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Gatecast 269 SG1 Unending

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May 162015
 

avatar The Odyssey with General Landry and SG1 onboard travel to the Asgard homeworld where Thor informs them that as a race they are no longer able to resist the ravages of time, their cloning technology has hit a critical juncture and with no future capability to sustain their forms and no way to ascend they as a species have decided to remove their world and themselves from existence. Their final parting gift to the humans who for the most part they accept as the Fifth race is the fruits of their technology, every scrap of data is incorporated into a core piece of tech which they retrofit to the Odyssey and for the first time a human ship has the full resources of the Asgard military. As it turns out pretty sweet timing as ORI starships jump into the system and as the Asgard world is vaporised the Odyssey engages the ORI and proves victorious and jumps into hyperspace for the return to Earth.

Little did they know but that was just the beginning of their problems, the ORI continue to harass the Odyssey and they come to the conclusion that the Asgard tech itself is somehow being detected within hyperspace but it can not be removed or powered down without a time consuming procedure which leaves then open to attack but something has to change. The next time the ORI attack the Odyssey has time to beam most of her crew to a nearby world which has a Stargate and then she retaliates but as the end looks to be drawing near and weapons fire approaches the ship Sam throws the dice and engages the time dilation field and to those on board time outside the ship seems to have stopped with the energy beam frozen just off the starboard bow. Sam continues to seek a solution to avoiding their fate if and when the time dilation field is turned off but she can not find a solution as the years and decades flow by and
they all grow old and then maybe just maybe…

Unending (26)

Well what do you know a very different type of story to wrap up the Stargate SG1 series, the writers knew they had to conclude some elements of the show and perhaps the Asgard leaving the picture was unexpected especially given the limitations that become apparent before the SGC even got to exploit the windfall. However Unending is an out and out character piece with the members of SG1 and their General, we watch them grow older and deal with the isolation and depression that comes with their circumstance and how they interact with each other, sometimes with surprising and emotive results. I’m still not quite sure if the finale is satisfying, it certainly has some very interesting scenes and no question the CGI as always blew your socks off but I think the fact that these characters return in The Ark of Truth gives the finale a much needed positive slant and for fans the warm embrace they were probably hoping for. A huge thankyou to Thomas who once again made talking about Stargate lots more fun, always a great guest and if you fancy joining us then get in touch and we’ll see what episode of Atlantis is open and sort out a time to chat over skype while watching the episode. Oh, I also included my short review of the Stargate SG1 novel “Murder at the SGC” written by Amy Griswold entitled , spoiler free:)

This weeks promo was for the SciFi Diner podcast an excellent show with lots of interviews and features, well worth a listen and thanks for all the support for our coverage of Stargate SG1, the two movies will be covered in due time and in the short term we have the Stargate Atlantis S3 finale next week and then the two wrap up shows. After that we jump into the fourth season of Atlantis and there are still episodes open if you fancy joining us on the show, check the schedule and get in touch.

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Gatecast 268 SGA Vengeance

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May 092015
 

avatar The silence from the transplanted Taranin people worries Elizabeth and she sends the team to investigate, upon arrival they found the settlement empty but knowing it was built upon a huge complex of tunnels holds out hope that the people have moved underground perhaps to safeguard themselves from the Wraith. As the team searches the complex they detect a lifeform but then are attacked by a large creature, they wound it and as it flees they find a store room full of dead bodies, they have discovered the fate of the Taranins. In an adjacent room there is a large pod/cocoon and Ronon going walkabout finds the lab with the remnants of carnage and an Iratus bug in a container, having lost contact with the Marines sent as backup they return to the Stargate only to find that the control crystal of the DHD has been removed, they have no option but to return to the underground complex and search for whoever is responsible.

Vengeance (5)The culprit is revealed when her returns to find the destroyed remnants of his horrifying experiment, it’s Michael Kenmore who is exploiting the very technology that was used to create his own circumstance with a true megalomaniacs  desire to take over not only the world but the entire galaxy with his own genetically engineered creatures who are a mixture of Iratus and human. Teyla is isolated from the team and taken captive by Michael who as always had an affinity for her but now views her as an enemy and just one more ingredient to create more of his minions but after running battles, tense standoffs and lots of hide and seek the team evade the horde of creatures and using Michael’s own dart escape the planet and return to Atlantis.

Well Vengeance is a pretty dark episode, Stargate has never been afraid to move past the grey but we get a rather graphic display of the horror’s Michael is willing to impose on his captives. That said he is a creation of Carson Beckett who should probably have known better than attempting to alter a species so dramatically regardless of the threat they pose and it’s 50/50 if the Wraith as a whole or Michael as an individual is the greater threat. We got some high quality prosthetic and suit work in the episode from Masters FX and certainly the lower lighting conditions helped to sell the scenes the acting and stunt work combined with the makeup and pyrotechnics delivered a pulse pounding action sequence time and time again. As always Conner more than delivers a stellar performance, it may be the writing or he may have simply found the style of “Michael”, either way he is delivering a level of calm and controlled menace all the best bad guys have in spades.

Vengeance was a pleasure to watch and yes they made no bones about the casual lifting of ideas from the Alien franchise with their own particular twist of course:)

A big thank you to Shannon for joining us for the first time, a seasoned podcaster who despite some jury rigging was able to get into the swing of how we do things effortlessly. Our next recording will be for the Atlantis season 3 wrap up so the favourite episode poll is now up and running, it will close on the 16th of May so please let us know by voting which is your favourite S3 episode. This weeks promo is for the Voices of Defiance which is hosted by Shannon and they should return with new content in time for the third season of Defiance on Syfy and next week we have the Stargate SG1 series finale Unending, please join us for that and if you are going to give us some feedback that is the episode to do it for 🙂

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Gatecast 267 SG1 Dominion

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May 022015
 

avatar An epic plan devised by Vala leads to the capture of Adria by Ba’al which wasn’t really the idea but hey the best laid plans and all that. Well fooling Adria into believing Vala had been turned against by the SGC after they suspected her of being under the influence of Adria worked well and of course getting Adria to the location of the trap was flawless but no one expected the Jaffa of Ba’al to crash the party. Of course it gets worse as Ba’al looks to use Adria as an uber host and once under his control he would have full access to the armies of the Ori but it doesn’t turn out too badly when SG1 and the Odyssey launch a covert attack and kill Ba’al (which makes about a dozen dead clones this episode) but they were too late, Ba’al and Adria are one, creepy.

Say hello to my little friend

Say hello to my little friend

Dominion doesn’t finish there though, the Tok’ra are called in to remove the symbiote but in pure spite it releases a poison into Adria and she then realises that the only option is to fully embrace her physical and intellectual perfection and to ascend but that’s a two edged sword, maybe she now has full access to a galaxy worth of power from the followers of Origin or she may just be Anubis times a thousand…

Well wasn’t Dominion a brilliant episode, it begins with you scratching your head as the events surrounding Vala are retold and make no sense given what we know but it soon becomes clear and then the uber twist with Ba’al getting involved and then the twist with the clone massacre and the conquest of Adria. Deep breath the episode ends with the accession of Adria and while certain plot arcs can be considered closed there is more than enough wiggle room to make The Ark of Truth a reality. Kudos to Morena and Cliff who both really shone and maybe were a little larger than life but I think SG1 has always had it’s tongue firmly in cheek. Thank you to everyone that has listened to the show and continue to give us excellent support across social media, the polls and wrap up shows are on the horizon so keep your eye out and make sure you vote when the time comes:)

This weeks promo is for Generations Geek a father/daughter podcast which looks at movies, television, events with lots of interviews, excellent show. Next week we are going to be taking a look at the Stargate Atlantis episode Vengeance and we have a first time guest, hope you tune in and don’t forget that we’d love to hear what you think about anything Stargate.

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Gatecast 266 SGA Submersion

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Apr 252015
 

avatar2The Ancients built a geothermal operation on the seabed and as the jumper searches for it tensions rise, yeah the are we there yet cliche is in full force but not to worry the complex is revealed but Teyla is uneasy, she senses something but no life signs beyond those that came down in the jumper register. She convinces Elizabeth to allow to her meditate to see if she detect a Wraith presence and well the results are not good, Ronon gets a good old ass kicking and there are power outages galore. Teyla is corralled and has no memory of what she had been doing but then the scanners detect a Wraith cruiser on the seabed and now it’s Queen is roaming the complex and picnicking on the scientists who don’t seem to realise the danger they are in, at least for a short time.  The Queen is captured but she reveals that she has set her ship to self destruct, the thousands of years of being alone has caused her to roll the dice for all or nothing and the clock is ticking.

Submersion (30)

Submersion is an interesting episode, it paves the way for a major event in the finale so certainly serves a purpose but seems like it was a little rushed but saying that the redressing of the sets to give us the Ancient drilling platform worked very well. We got some good Rodney moments and Teyla got to see some action and how rare is it to see Ronon so beaten and so quickly, granted he really wasn’t expecting to but still. It’s always great to see how the makeup and effects departments picture the latest Wraith Queen once again played by Andee Frizzell, maybe not as aesthetically pleasing (depending upon your point of view) but certainly a more slimy and aquatic feel, the long shots of her swimming certainly seemed to indicate quite large feet assuming they were not flippers.

This weeks promo was for Beyond the Wall a Game of Thrones podcast from SpecFic Media and next week we are going to watching the Stargate SG1 episode Dominion in which we see the return of Adria, not many more SG1 episodes left 🙂

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Gatecast 265 SG1 Family Ties

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Apr 182015
 

avatar Vala gets an unexpected message from off world, her father long the bane of her life is offering the SGC a deal on the information he claims to have about the location of a cloaked cargo ship equipped with Naquadah and intended for a first strike against Earth. When this information proves reliable he is granted sanctuary on Earth but his inherent need to exploit and con people comes to the fore and faced with increasing displeasure he offers to deal with a band of Jaffa who have Naquadah and are still on Earth but he would have to be part of the operation as there is a failsafe built in and only he can disarm it.

FT (18)Family Ties while not being written specifically for Fred Willard was tailored to his style once he came on board to play Jacek and it’s hard to imagine anyone portraying the lovable rogue who gave us Vala even if he is by no means a good father and it sounds even less of a good husband. The episode as with a few in the second half of the season feels like it would have served better if earlier in the run, it’s certainly not part of an arc but then I suppose with the ORI put to one side (for now) they really don’t have to go to extremes to set up a season finale since at this point they knew they were cancelled. The set designers get a lot of praise for this episode, they were allowed to a little over the top in presenting us with what Jacek considers high calibre home decoration and in many ways you can see where Vala gets her love of gaudy objects speaking of which it was touching to see that she did indeed treasure the little trinkets he often brought back to her from his travels.

This weeks promo is for the Game of Thrones podcast Tyrion’s Landing and next week we are going to be taking a look at the Stargate Atlantis episode Submersion. As always we would not say no to some feedback and comments on the show or an itunes review/rating, we’d be happy with a tweet if push comes to shove:)

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Gatecast 262 SGA The Ark

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Mar 282015
 

avatar The team explore what looks like an abandoned space station built within a small moon orbiting a devastated planet, Rodney of course can’t help but start pressing buttons and powering up the stations nuclear reactor. As the systems come alive he recognises an energy signature as belonging to the Wraith beaming device and they find a human looking individual who has been returned to physical form. Herick tells them the story of his world as it came under attack from the Wraith and this station was built to house and protect a few thousands people in storage until such time as they could return and rebuild their world but only one of the storage units is present. Jamus the leader of the project is awakened and explains that in the final hours the second shuttle never made it to the stations and Herick’s family perished, in his grief Herick commits suicide and cripples the station leaving it in a decaying orbit and now no jumper to escape either.

TheArk (40)The Ark is another standalone episode near the end of a season which was strongly arc orientated but despite that works quite well even though you have to question the basic premise of the story and the decisions made by the people on this world. I can’t help but feel some deep underground havens would have been just as secure as an orbital hiding place for dozens maybe hundreds of these storage units for long term survival of the species and allow for more diversity. Oh well, we’ll never really know what ultimately becomes of the survivors but if the mixture isn’t 90% practical skills then no amount of art and poetry will prove the decision to obliterate their world was good let alone practical. The overall production based on pretty much two main sets worked very well, kept it claustrophobic and in your face but I don’t think any character really keep out looking good, even John’s choice to pilot the unpowered shuttle wasn’t a big deal since it should have smashed to pieces not matter how good a job he did. That said an easy to watch episode and The Ark is far from the worse of the season but not that memorable either but Kenneth Welsh did a fantastic job.

Thanks to Mack and Brad for the comments over on Google+ and Facebook, this weeks promo is for The Scifi Diner podcast and next week we are back with Stargate SG1 and the Teal’c centric episode Talion so buckle up for that:)

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Gatecast 261 SG1 Bad Guys

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Mar 212015
 

avatar2 Daniel discovers the potential location of yet another cache of Ancient artifacts which may or may not include weapons technology, they gate to the location and find themselves in what appears to be a large modern museum which is currently hosting some sort of gala event, they are discovered and in the confusion shots are fired and alarms triggered which seals SG1 and some of the locals inside the structure. Alas to complicate matters the DHD is just a show piece and SG1 have to handle the “hostage” situation without hurting anymore (more than necessary) until such time as the SGC makes contact or they themselves discover a way to power the gate and manually dial out. A lone security guard takes it upon himself to take on and defeat these “rebels” while a museum researcher is vindicated in his belief that the ring device was indeed a means of travel amongst the stars but meanwhile the clock is ticking and this society which seems to be in the midst of political and social struggle have their fingers on the trigger.

We come in peace

We come in peace

Bad Guys is another episode that doesn’t quite seem to fit into the headlong dash to the conclusion of the ORI storyline and the wrapping up of the final season of the show, it has the feel of a mid-series episode with some decent action, humour and a few very worthy guest stars. The episode didn’t get a great reception either and Michael was quite critical of his characters actions in the episode but as we found out some heavy editing took place which may have made a significant difference to the overall context of various scenes. Ron Canada, Joshua Malina and Alistair Abell all bring their A game to the episode and make all the difference to what is a rather forgettable episode more so given the high standards of the final season.

We’d like to thank Andrew for joining us for the first time on this episode, he was well into the episode and made it far more enjoyable that it would have been otherwise, hopefully he will be back sooner rather than later and if you have the time check out his music, link below.

Thank you to Brad and Andrew for the feedback over on our Facebook page and everyone who has listened to this episode and supported the show. This weeks promo is for the Anomaly Podcast and next week we return to Atlantis for the episode The Ark, just me and Alan for that one but we hope you join us 🙂

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Gatecast 259 SG1 Bounty

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Mar 072015
 

avatar After another very successful raid against the Lucian Alliance their leader Netan places a bounty on SG1 and thanks to them being tagged during the last raid the galaxies premiere bounty hunters are on their way to Earth to collect. Cameron along with Vala are going to his high school reunion, Daniel is deep in some research at a public library, Teal’c is offworld dealing with some Jaffa issues and Sam is attending a technology conference to demonstrate some of the tech she is “working” on. Meanwhile back in Kansas Vala is making quite the impression on John’s parents and to be honest I think she has been accepted by the mother who maybe sees a bit of a kindred spirit but Cameron is dealing with an old crush and a friend who it seems is more than happy to stir things up a bit.

Vala blends in

Vala blends in

Bounty is again a pretty much standalone episode even though the Lucian Alliance and Netan storyline has been active this season but background to that isn’t required to enjoy this story, we get the whole team having their own little adventures and dealing with the bounty hunters who come for them and eventually the big showdown at Cameron’s high school brings them all together. I think it’s safe to say never have so many NDA’s been issues at one time although no doubt in high school tradition they could get away with saying the punch was spiked even though there surely would have been a licensed bar. Either way there is a lot of fun to be had with the episode, Daniel ducking a femme fatale and Teal’c and Sam a more brute force approach to collecting a bounty but the rise of Odai Ventrell played by Mike Dopud brings the action into focus and we get the unexpected resolution, no doubt a character who may have returned if there had been an eleventh season Mike does return to the franchise in Stargate Universe and a guest spot on Atlantis. It was fun imagining Peter DeLuise has he directed his wife Anne Marie playing Amy Vandenberg to lay a smacker on Cameron and it’s easy to imagine Vala interrupting them had more of a meaning:)

Overall Bounty is an excellent episode, lots of action and humour but as we are coming to the end of SG1 you wonder if more time should have been given over to the ORI resolution and fall out but at this point given we did the movie we can’t complain about the writers and cast getting to have some fun. This weeks promo is for the Dune Saga Podcast and next week we are going to be taking a look at the Atlantis episode The Game, hope you join us.

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Gatecast 258 SGA Tao Of Rodney

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Feb 282015
 

avatar2 While searching for a power drain in the depths of the city Rodney and Radak along with a science team discover an active lab and terminal, full of himself and in response to a wager Rodney is careless and is zapped by an energy ribbon, he regains consciousness and everything seems to be fine but it isn’t and now no donut is safe as he develops a voracious appetite to sustain his ever increasing mental superpowers which include telepathy and telekinesis. Further investigation reveals that the lab was exploring the means to artificially accelerate the ability to ascend (similar to what Anubis was attempting) and the machine scanned Rodney’s DNA and made adjustments which if all went well would allow him to join those that went before him. Of course Rodney at his best is not 100% comfortable with himself and the mental component is eluding him, without the physical and mental being in perfect sync the changes to his brain will kill him.

Ooops, I did it again!

Ooops, I did it again!

Tao of Rodney is another great episode of Stargate Atlantis and allowed David once again to push Rodney into areas of this psyche and personal interaction he has never been at one with, the joys of his superpowers as you would expect make his day but the realisation that he may not be ready and ultimately die causes him to look inward and try to address some of his shortfalls helped by John in particular but the understanding from people who are his friends despite how he may have treated them in the past. One thing this episode really gets right is the cinematography, the episode looks fantastic despite so many scenes shot in restricted lighting, all credit to the director and his DP ( Michael C. Blundell ) for making the HD presentation of the episode so stunning. I personally really enjoy the Tao Of Rodney but it does get some mixed reviews but I think overall the episode has a very strong position in the third season of the show especially given it’s standalone nature.

Many thanks to Brad for joining us this week and the podcast promo we chose to include was for the Sci-Fi Movie Podcast a fantastic weekly show that reviews and discusses all manner of movies in the genre we all have a passion for. Next weeks show will be taking a look at the SG1 episode Bounty and the ups and downs of a High School reunion when intergalactic bounty hunters are hot on the trail of SG1, hope you join us for that and don’t forget to let us know what you think of our show and Stargate, thanks to Mack for commenting on last weeks episode over on our Google+ page.

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