May 182013
 

avatar2 Jack returns from buying beer to find Kinsey has broken into his home and is drinking his booze and as you would expect Jack has his gun drawn and while he doesn’t shoot him he his happy to call the cops. Kinsey then lays down the reasoning he has approached Jack and when the fate of the planet is at stake Jack never fails to meet the challenge. It seems that Trust are once again making a move and they need Kinsey for some sort of secret mission so a sting is arranged with the SGC monitoring the meeting which of course blows up in their faces, big time.

Full Alert is the final episode for Robert Kinsey played wonderfully by Ronny Cox over the span of eleven episodes and while he has a decent role in this episode it is a little bit of a let down as a farewell to his character. That aside the story adds to the political and conspiracy aspect of Stargate which takes more of a central stage in the final two seasons, some people appreciated that added depth others not so much.

Who wouldn't trust this face?

Who wouldn’t trust this face?

Daniel has a bit of fun when he returns to Russia in an attempt to contact a senior General and it’s quite good to see him all dressed up and it seems mildly flirtatious with Captain Voronkova. It’s rather an ingenious plot as the Gou’ald avoid a direct attack and work from within the Trust to influence high level military and political figures in the US and Russia with the goal to provoke a nuclear exchange. It may sound rather dry and yes there is a lot of talking heads but we also get some decent action in orbit as the Prometheus seeks out the cloaked Al’kesh which mounts an attack in the hopes of killing the captured Kinsey who does make his escape.
The Prometheus really does need to up it’s game in terms of security.

Daniel's having second thoughts about the mission.

Daniel’s having second thoughts about the mission.

Full Alert is a solid episode within a series rewatch but not so much for a one off viewing, at least for me but it has it’s good moments and has a strong guest cast which bumps up the overall viewing experience. We had some audio feedback from Dan this week, it came out of the blue so that was a nice surprise even though it seems the Ronon figure has done a runner, which is rather fitting. This weeks promo is from Tuning Into Scifi TV and next week we are back on Atlantis with the excellent episode Before I Sleep.

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Dec 082012
 

 Zero Hour offers up two pretty good story lines, we have the loss of SG1 on an alien world and those consequences as well technology taken from Anubis being used by other System Lords in this case the one and only Ba’al who makes an appearance and pretty much proves he is a bit of a peacock or simply an excellent example of a system lord.

Meanwhile an alien plant has run riot and over a few days has spread like wildfire causing power issues which prevents the use of the gate even if Jack was willing to deal with Ba’al there and then. The use of Camulus as the focus of Ba’al’s desires works well allowing the SGC to explore an Ancient facility (offscreen) and while it proves troublesome in the short terms pays off in the long term and allows his story to wrap up nice and neat even though we don’t see the consequences.

Gaze upon my awesomeness!

The adventures in horticulture by Dr Lee provides the humour and twists around the presidential story quite nicely along with the character of Gilmor who is in a way our eyes on Jack and the SGC and lets not forget the two ambassadors who are there purely to get a laugh.

I like the red bunting.

When you come to think about it there is a lot going on in Zero Hour and it all fits together perfectly, perhaps one the best episode of this season even though not that much happens and in this respect I got echoes of some of the more classic episodes of M*A*S*H that every now and again did something a little different.

Never Mind

This weeks guest promo is from Scott and Miles over on the Scifi Diner podcast, a proverbial never ending well of genre interviews from various conventions with news, competitions and listener interaction at a level we can only dream about, check them out:)
Next week we are going to cover the Stargate Atlantis episode “38 Minutes” so get that feedback in and many thanks to those especially Brad who commented on last weeks episode, always appreciated. As a bonus along with news, birthdays and feedback we have a review of the movie 6 Bullets which features Joe Flanigan and Anna-Louise Plowman.

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Oct 062012
 

  A new President in the White House requires an ultra top secret briefing from the Joint Chiefs. President Hayes who has been elected along with Vice President Kinsey is read into the secret of Stargate Command and despite at first thinking he is having his leg pulled handles the revleations and pressures from vested interests very well. Kinsey with his lacky Woolsey attempts to spin the recent investigation their way citing numerous incidents pulled from the mission reports but the SGC have their own champions.

Inauguration is a clip show produced to save money which is required to fund the CGI budget of the season finale. In some cases this tends to provide us with a weak episode but a number of factors exist which makes this episode something of gem in an already strong season. This episode had it’s roots many years previously when the obvious need for a new commander in chief was first considered and this was an ideal time given that initially this was meant to be the last season of SG1 before becoming a feature. The biggest plus point for the episode is the casting of William Devane as the President, he plays the part magnificently and balances the wonder of learning of the Stargate as well as the determination required to handle the political aspects, we also have Robert Picardo back as Woolsey, James McDaniel as General Maynard and of course Ronny Cox spitting nails as Kinsey.

You’re kidding, right?

They really did pull a rabbit out of the hat with Inauguration, it could so easily have been a total lemon but turns into a very useful breathing space between the Heroes two parter and the Lost City two parter, it has humour, drama and top notch performances.

There’s no one there Richard…

This weeks promos are from Pulp Audio Weekly and The Scifi Diner and next week we’ll be covering the first part of the season finale “Lost City Part 1”, we are always interested in your thoughts on this and previous episodes as well Stargate and our show in general so keep in touch via the usual means.

On the news front the wesbite has been running on it’s new host for a week and seems stable which is good and we are also now back in the itunes store which is better, lots of people do rely on Apples methodology.

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Sep 152012
 

 Stargate Command is still in shock over the events that occured on P3X-666 and even though SG team members, scientists and other personnel have been lost before both by accident and in combat this time one so close to the heart of the SGC has rocked the foundations. The cost in life is also being used by the NID through Woolsey to make their move against Hammonds Command. Emmett is still digging and looking for the truth behind the events offworld and he learns there was a death and one witness indicates O’Neill was brought back unmoving on a litter with Carter visible shaken. Daniel he learns has a recording of the events and through both reasoned argument and impassioned pleas gains access to the footage but is then as shocked as most viewers would be with the events as they play out. Ultimately the documentary is produced and presented to Hammond who complements Emmett on a job well done, it may never see the light of day but chronicles a time when the SGC suffered but pulled together through bonds of family, duty and loyalty.

A solemn as the unmarked grave

The second episode in the Heroes two parter is far slower paced relying just as much on speeches and one on one dialogue to tell it’s story as the first part revolved around some good location set pieces. What really adds the icing to the wonderful dialogue is one the best battle sequences filmed for the show shown after the events which transpired in the first episode. All the cast excel but Saul easily stakes his claim as the most impressive guest performance on the show and is the key element to this story working, everyone else works around his characters actions and motivations. It was certainly a ballsy move by Rob C Cooper to write this epsiode and also from other producers and the studio to allow the two parter to be made, the result is some of the finest Stargate ever made.

Sit back and be amazed.

I really don’t think much more needs to be said, the events in the story have been experienced for the first time by every fan of Stargate SG1 each of which have had their own reactions to the story. Heroes Parts 1 & 2 are a truly magnificent piece of science fiction entertainment and were nominated for a Hugo award but it had some serious competion that year with the Lost pilot, Angel’s “Smile Time” and the winner being BSG’s “33”.

Many thanks to Dan for his voicemail and don’t forget to vote in the season 7 poll.

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