Gatecast 284 SGA Harmony

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Sep 122015
 

avatar2 John and Rodney visit one of the trading partners of Atlantis, the world is ruled by a monarchy and for the first time they meet the youngest sister (of three) who is due to take the crown on completion of a quest passed down from generation to generation. They agree to aid Harmony the young princess on her journey into the forest and to seek out the Ruins of Larris whose gifts will then be bestowed upon her granting her the right to rule her people, what they don’t know is that behind the scenes forces are moving to make sure their quest fails. It soon becomes apparent that Harmony is very full of herself and has took an instant shine to John but not unexpectedly becomes instant enemies with Rodney who reciprocates in kind which makes the journey interesting to say the least. While deep in the woods the party hear a strange noise, a roaring in the distance and Harmony informs them that that is the “beast” which protects the royal line and is deadly to all enemies and soon after John vanishes and Genii soldiers surround Harmony and Rodney. Rodney actually considers giving them Harmony in exchange for his life but before he can act on such a thought John opens up on the Genii and kills them. It turns out the Genii used to trade with Harmony’s people before being barred from the planet, it seems that they are actively trying to reverse that situation with a little help from with the castle and more specifically from Mardola the sister of Harmony.

Harmony (7)
The party continues and find the ruins, they stun two Genii who were in the vicinity and Rodney soon realises that this is a site of Ancient technology and that Harmony and her bloodline has the gene which activates the technology but alas the Genii have kinda broken the device. As the rest of the Genii close in again thanks to information provided by Mardola and Johns’s poor ad-libbing Rodney rushes to fix the device which he is now sure is a weapons system using miniature drone technology. The Genii arrive and a firefight breaks out, Rodney saves Harmony and pulls her to safety and while he then provides cover fire John grabs the royal pendant from Harmony’s throat and rushed to the device, it activates and dozens of small drones appear and slaughter the Genii. Harmony is delighted and impressed by Rodney her new “crush” and now John is in the doghouse but not to worry since Harmony can now activate the device and has become Queen and the trading agreements are intact.
Harmony (40)

Harmony is a fun episode which makes you wonder how dark the fourth season is going to get in the final three episodes but for now we can enjoy the banter between John and Rodney and the added firecracker that is Harmony herself. The episode was written for Jodelle and you can see how great she is when given some good writing and over the years she has more than proven herself in numerous productions including her latest role on Dark Matter which finished its first season a few weeks ago. Crystal and Alexis look spectacular in the period costumes and credit to the set designers for what is a simple but striking throne room and yeah we can’t forget the painting of the courageous Rodney:)

Many thanks to Thomas who joined for this episode and I think our discussion benefitted from a third voice in the mix, these funnier episodes really come into their own when you watch with friends. This weeks promo is for  the Treks In Scifi podcast which is one of the longest running shows I’ve listened to and next week we take a look at the Atlantis episode Outcasts, we hope you join us and don’t forget to let us know what you think.

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Gatecast 249 SGA Phantoms

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Nov 222014
 

avatar2 The Atlantis team follow in the footsteps of unit led by Major Leonard who has failed to maintain contact with the city, they find the dead bodies of some Genii soldiers as well as what appears to be a Wraith device emitting a mysterious signal and unfortunately nearby the dead SG team who it seems may have killed each other at least by the evidence of a video camera found at the scene. Rodney believes the alien device is capable of influencing the minds of those nearby but was damaged by the Genii and soon the reality for some members of the team begins to warp causing Ronon to see Wraith and John to believe he is back on activity duty in the middle east and as for Carson…

Phantoms (25)

He Shot Me!

Phantoms is a good action orientated episode and a side step away from the main season three arcs and while it doesn’t quite hit the quality targets we’ve come to expect it certainly has a lot going for it with some great cinematography and clever use of visual styles to aid in the story telling. Truth be told even with all the death there is quite a bit of dark humour in the episode something Stargate has always done well considering it’s family friendly leanings and yes McKay gets himself shot once again:)

So how great was it to have both of the original podcasts hosts back on the show?

It was good to have Scott return to the Gatecast here by meeting his one episode a year quota and I think given the right encouragement we can get him back for some more episodes next year and that invitation is of course open to anyone that wants to join us for a show, were close to wrapping up SG1 but lots of Atlantis over the next year and a bit then Universe and of course a few bonus shows along the way. It was a lot of fun to see how Twitter exploded last week, Dan seemed to be a very popular guest to have on the show so make a note to have him  back sooner rather than later but that aside we didn’t get any direct feedback but never mind the episode was a lot of fun to do. This weeks promo is for the Flash Pulp Podcast a show the presents short form audio drama and next week we will be looking at the Stargate SG1 episode The Quest.

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Gatecast 225 SGA Coup D’etat

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May 242014
 

avatar The team led by Major Lorne is believed to be dead after their dwelling in an off world village is burnt down leaving bodies with the appropriate dog tags and then an unexpected communication from Ladon Radim who was one of the Genii that attacked Atlantis under the command of Koyla offers an opportunity for the expedition to get their hands on a ZPM, the offer is too tempting so they respond and learn he is planning to depose Cowen and take over the leadership of his people now significantly reduced after a recent culling by the Wraith. Teyla and Ronon investigate the surroundings and circumstances of the death of Lorne and his men while Weir and Sheppard deal with Ladon eventually coming to a deal but with little intent on honouring it and of course it all goes badly when the Genii sent to collect their supplies are found to be terminally ill and of no use as a bargaining chip for the ZPM. The tables are turned when it is revealed the Genii are behind the “deaths” of Lorne and his men as they are attempting to get access to the gene therapy and by capturing John and his men thanks to the failed raid for the ZPM Cowen returns front and center as mastermind of the whole convoluted plot. We are not done though, even Cowen has under estimated his own peoples loyalty and as Ladon said he does what he does for his people and eventually that means taking the Genii down another path one which may include a more trusting partnership with Atlantis.

Coup (35)

You will die Mr Bond

Coup D’etat is an excellent episode of Atlantis weaving together former races and characters who over the first two seasons have played a part in the growth of the story, we had the welcome return of Cowen after Ladon was elevated to a more prominent role which worked very well adding to the culture of the Genii and taking nothing away. The plot of the story was twisty to say the least but you did have to over look quite a few things yet even after seeing the episode so many times it loses nothing in it’s use of the twist and the slightly unexpected choices made by characters some you know very well. Coup D’etat won’t be the last time we see the Genii again but it is the last time we meet them as a people which is a shame, granted they were a little too gung ho but they could have been an asset in the galaxy wide Wraith conflict beyond a short term supplier of nukes.

This weeks promo is for the Warp Ten Podcast which is a lot of fun but not for kids and next weeks Stargate episode will be “Arthur’s Mantle” in which an Ancient device causes all sorts of problems with added zombies:)

Many thanks to everyone who chatted with us on Facebook, Google+ and over on Twitter especially those who retweeted our links and spread the word of Stargate. We are looking for anyone to join us for S10 of SG1 and S3 of Atlantis, move voices in the show would be most welcome so please get in touch if you fancy coming back or joining us for the first time, all you need is Skype and a microphone so these days that could be as simple as a smartphone upwards:)

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Episode 172 SGA The Storm + The Eye

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Mar 302013
 

avatar2 An intense storm is heading towards Atlantis and without full shielding the intricate
construction of the city will not withstand the huge forces mother nature has in store. The
decision is made to evacuate the city and the Athosians on the mainland to a nearby friendly
world for the duration with a handful remaining to attempt an almost hail mary pass by
harnessing the lightning strikes to provide the energy the shield generators require.
The Genii take this opportunity to stage a raid on Atlantis with a stolen IDC code and lead by
Commander Kolya a ruthless and dedicated officer a small strike force take control and hold Weir,
Mckay and a few others hostage. Things get a little complicated when Koyla realises he may be
in a position to take the whole city for his people if the lightning experiment is a success but
in the meantime the fly in the ointment aka John Sheppard is doing his impression of Die Hard
and removing the threats to his home and co-ordinating a counter strike with a lone jumper and
her crew who are returning from the mainland.

You will need an umbrella!

You will need an umbrella!

The Storm and The Eye are together an absolutely fantastic story but what really makes them
special is that taken separately they both hit the highest marks in narrative, performance and
production from the Stargate Atlantis team. The return of the Genii is perhaps quicker than you
might expect but then again why delay, the writers had a story thread with Sora and Teyla and
pure genius to imagine a hurricane as a story device which has a natural break built in.
Robert Davi is pretty much awesome as Koyla, he delivers both the style and
menace you would expect from a Pegasus human black ops commander and even better he will be
appearing in upcoming episodes as an equal to John as do the Genii in opposition to
the expedition.

Do not cross this guy!

Do not cross this guy!

This week we chose to release both episodes as a single feature length episode, we had the
opportunity to record with Jeff making allowances for the time differences
so they were recorded on the same day and it all felt right. We also had a small poll and
that returned more votes for a feature so here we are.
This weeks promo of from Flash Pulp, a very creative podcast releasing
short audio productions in the pulp style, lots of variety and done with flare and passion
and there is also a large community side to the productions. We would love to hear from you
so feel free to email us or use the contact options on the website, you can also find us on
Facebook, Stitcher, itunes and Google+.

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Episode 168 SGA Underground

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Mar 022013
 

avatar2 Teyla leads a mission to one of her peoples former trading partners who have the resources to supply the city with Tava beans a local and useful crop similar to a sweet potato and they need it as McKay is eating them our of house and home, rationing is not in his mindset. Upon arrival they are greeted by Sora and her father Tyrus who with some caution bring them to the local community leaders and negotiations begin with medicine and eventually explosives offered (for land clearing) in return for the crops.
Events take a twist when Sheppard and McKay discover a underground complex which is very definitely not in the spirit of the Genii farming communities and the charade is revealed, the Genii are far more advanced then anyone believes and they use the cover of farming to hide their society from the up coming culling and pretty much everyone else.
Ultimately the Genii are too self centred to be totally trust worthy in the same way as the expedition, neither side would ever compromise enough to make a real partnership work so the events on the joint mission against a hive was only the immediate cause for the collapse of the alliance rather than the underlying reasons.

Hi bloody Ho

Hi bloody Ho

Underground is a wonderful story and we meet for the first time an advanced Pegasus human culture and unfortunately for the expedition one which is strong willed and militaristic, as with many western societies long term trouble is born based on short term trade and more to the point military assistance. Colm Meaney rocks every scene he is in and Erin Chambers is wonderfully deadly with a really sunny appearance both in farmer and military guise, it’s great that we get to see both of these characters and the Genii later in the series. The episode also serves to open up the bigger picture, the true threat of the Wraith is revealed even though they must have had a large fleet to take the battle to the Ancients with over 60 hives (maybe more) the task ahead of the expedition looks beyond them and it’s only a matter of time before the Wraith coming a calling or is that culling.

Tastes like Chicken

Tastes like Chicken

A huge thank you to Jeff for joining us this week, Underground was an episode he wanted to be a part of and when ever possible we’ll try to get a third voice into the mix, if you fancy joining us then drop us a line and while a few episodes have been spoken for (SG1 and SGA) there are still plenty more. We had a little feedback this week via Facebook, a few birthday notices and a bit of news and we are always looking for community input on Facebook, Twitter, G+ and the Gatecast website. If you want to get in touch then you can use the feedback options on this website or visit us on the above social media portals and if you are of a mind an itunes review/rating is Stargate gold:)

This weeks promo is from the women of Tyrion’s Landing a Game of Thrones podcast and next week we are back with Stargate SG1 and the episode Sacrifices as Ishta returns and Teal’c gets a surprise, no she is not pregnant.

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