Episode 84 Prodigy

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May 142011
 

Sam returns to the Air Force Academy and discovers a young cadet who may at this age be smarter than Carter was in her day but there is an attitude problem which Sam convinces the General to let her adjust. Meanwhile a run of the mill baby sitting operation for Jack and Teal’c turns into a life and death struggle once Sam and her protegee turn up, the two are not directly related but they boys were doing fine:)

Fun and hi-jinks ensue.

This is the first episode for Jennifer Hailey the very smart young woman who Sam takes under her wing including being introduced to the SGC something quite unusual even though it’s obvious there are dozens of personnel who are not much older. Jennifer is played by Elisabeth Rosen and while on the subject this is also the first appearance for Dr Bill Lee played by Bill Dow. A rather surprising addition to this episode is a cameo from General Ryan a real honest to god member of the Joint Chiefs.

Damn Mosquito’s

Prodigy is a good episode, we’ve got some good new characters and actors portraying them and the two plots merge smoothly bring three of SG1 together for the final confrontation with an alien species one which the humans were more than likely responsible for.

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Now for the apology…

We’ve been asking for feedback every episode and we’ve being getting some but after a gentle prod from our listener Thomas in regards to missing feedback we’ve found some messages on the old email address. Not sure if these were direct emails or wordpress forwarded ones (spam filter in action) but at least we’ve got them so sorry folks for the delay and thank you for the feedback.

Thanks to the following friends of The Gatecast…

  • Richard
  • Susan
  • Adriana
  • Stephen
  • Thomas

We’ll do better in the future both in terms of monitoring the spam filter and checking the old email but for the record the current Gmail is mentioned in each podcast but that’s not an excuse:)

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Episode 83 The Light

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May 072011
 

A routine mission takes a twist with the death of a member of SG5 and Daniel seems to suffer a mental breakdown after being on the mission with that unit. SG1 investigate and they too come under the influence of a Goa’uld device and their only hope is a young boy who has been living onto this world alone for many years.

Pretty

Very cool

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Well that’s not a long synopsis is it?

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This episode from a production side is excellent, the set design and visual effects are some of the best we’ve seen and the acting from Kristian is excellent and it has to be since there are some long scenes while totally rely on his role. That said the overall episode is fairly weak although it doesn’t help season 4 has been pretty strong so this standalone was already up against it which is a shame since you can see the quality and effort on screen more so than some other episodes this season.

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Episode 82 Absolute Power

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Apr 302011
 

 A young boy mysteriously arrives on Abydos and claims to be the Harcesis the child born to Apophis and Share who Daniel had been searching for since the death of his wife and his meeting with Oma Desala. Convinced that they can use the boys genetic knowledge of the Goa’uld to help in the fight Daniel tries to recruit the boy and to convince Daniel that no good can come of having the knowledge of the system lords linked as it is with millennia of evil he allows Daniel to catch a glimpse of what the results could be.

Absolute Power is pretty much a underlining full stop to the long running arc of Daniels search for his wife and everything that spiralled out from that although Oma Desala will continue to play a part in future stories but this part of Daniels quest is over. As before they wrote the character of a being (Shifu) with incredible knowledge and awareness mixed with the buddist/zen approach very well and it entertainingly clashes with the Earth human and even Tok’ra view points.

Is that Elvis?

Absolute Power felt like a big episode, multiple locations and some nice sets coupled with familiar guest stars and a quite large supporting cast and no doubt the story had a lot of depth which certainly came across well. We have returning characters in the form of General Vidrine, the Tok’ra Aldwin and good old Kasuf with a nice bunch of evil minions (Yee Jee Tso, Jenn Forgie and Barbara Fixx) and even a real news reporter (Coleen Christie).

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Episode 81 2010

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Apr 232011
 

A look into the future of the Earth under a seemingly successful alliance with an advanced culture who helped us to defeat the Goauld and cure the planets and peoples ills. One might say it’s a paradise with life, love and liberty prospering for all but is that just the thin veneer hiding  plans within plans. Well it would be a boring episode if it wasn’t and as we find the Aschen who had been contacted 10 years previously by SG1 are prepared to invest decades nay centuries in a long term plan to conquer a world.

2010 is a slight twist on the usual time travel stories favoured by the franchise as we see the world as it is thanks to one specific and critical event but the results were not expected and that leaves our heroes looking to retroactively change the past to give themselves and everyone else a new future. Of course it’s hard to argue against saving the human race and kudos to Brad Wright for making the stakes so high there is never a question that SG1 are doing the right thing.

Oh and Samantha is happily married, yes a guy survives the courtship:)

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Episode 80 Chain Reaction

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Apr 162011
 

A close call for SG1 has Hammond considering his future and he retires from the military but is that the whole story? Jack pushes the issues and discovers the truth which leads him to the NID along with a former nemesis and now sidekick and together they delve into the murky shadow that has been hanging over the SGC for a while.

We’ve created a monster!

Chain Reaction is a continuation of the NID storyline which is a major force in the series at this time and brings in the wonderful guest stars of Tom McBeath and Ronny Cox both of who really shine in their roles. The Jack and Harry roadtrip in itself is funny but there confrontation with the senator and his wife & dog is priceless, the result though is a nudge for Kinsey to run for president which is explored in another episode.

The new commander of the SGU is General Bauer played by Lawrence Dane and while he gives us a solid performance the writing doesn’t really have the scope within the limits of a tv episode but it works and he nearly blows the mountain up within a week, Hammond took much longer:)

All in all it’s a decent episode but perhaps a little rushed but the humour and acting makes it well worth watching and you can never get enough of Harry let alone Kinsey.

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Episode 79 The Serpents Venom

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Apr 092011
 

The Tokra with Daniels help gain access to some weapons technology and hatch a plan to bring about a conflict between Apophis and Heruur. SG1 and Jacob prepare the trap only to find out that Tealc who is supposedly visiting his home world is on one of the target vessels so a rescue plan is needed.

Stargate often does an A and B storyline with it’s characters and many then merge into a main plot as The Serpents Venom is one of those with Teal’c on Chulak organising the rebellion but ending up on what of the ships that the rest of SG1 and the Tokra are intent on bringing about it’s destruction in the mayhem of the fog of war. It’s always good to Jacob who works well with Sam obviously but also Jack, the two men are very similar.

This is an effects heavy episode from the beautiful graphics required to put dozens of capital ships on screen amongst a huge orbital mine field as well as the close in work of the cargo ship and the mine floating in it’s hold. There are as always excellent performances from the guest stars and to see Heru’ur and Apophis go head to head was certainly worth it.

That’s gotta hurt!

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Episode 78 The Curse

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Apr 022011
 

We delve into Daniels past as a former professor dies and Daniel is reunited with a close friend and another colleague but all is not what it seems. Amongst the professors work are artefacts which are Goauld and more worryingly one seems to a be container for a symbiote, Daniel remains tight lipped but then evidence suggests there is a Goauld on the loose having escaped from another container and desperate to find it’s freedom from this world and learn the fates of those that trapped it.

The Curse is a good look into Daniels life before he published his alien theories, he seemed to be favoured within his community and was prepared to sacrifice relationships when he followed the path of his research. We get a couple of good guest stars this week with Anna Louise Plowman playing Sarah and Ben Bass playing Steven both characters bring flavour to the story and well Anna Louise does look good in flowing robes/pants.

I don’t want to be here!

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Episode 77 Tangent

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Mar 262011
 

They say the SGC never bring back anything with military application but then Area51 wheel out the X-301 it kinda proves that wrong, the merging of two wrecked Death Gliders along with some human tech has produced a space capable aircraft which can take the fight into orbit.

Of course problems crop up, always the case with any X plane but not normally one where the aircraft is taken over by some rogue code and flys it off into deep space in one of the most advanced anti-theft devices ever seen. Jack and Teal’c go along for the ride and it’s left  pretty much pure to chance that a solution is found and implemented.

Tangent is a visual effects and special effects heavy episode and many may consider two guys stuck in a cockpit to be a rather boring idea but the pacing is good and the antics of the SGC in rescue attempts adds to the suspense even if we know they are good to be saved.

Blue Danube should be playing

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Episode 76 Point Of No Return

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Mar 192011
 

The SGC or more accurately Jack receives a phone call from a mysterious guy who seems to know an awful lot about the existence of the Stargate as well as every conspiracy in the book. A meeting reveals what seems to be a harmless kook but he has gate co-ordinates and it’s not paranoia when a group of men are actually watching you and they then kidnap Sam and Daniel. The truth is eventually uncovered and it’s all about Murray.

Don’t I Know You?

Point of No Return makes good use of the Vancouver woodland to actually mimic real Earth trees which makes a nice change and this episode has extensive location shooting. Our hapless hero Marty is played wonderfully by Willie Garson an actor you may not know the name of but will certainly recognise and one the protagonist is played by Matthew Bennett both actors return to the show at a later date. This is a fun episode which exploits the dynamic of the main cast and adds an excellent character who works very well especially with Jack and Teal’c as his humour plays counterpoint to the stoicism and suspicion of the two SG1 members.

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Episode 75 Beneath The Surface

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Mar 122011
 

Something is very wrong, SG1 are no longer themselves and inhabit a dark dank underground world where they toil in a power plant believing they are ensuring the survival of their race. The fly in this dastardly plan is Tealc who thanks to his symbiote has vague memories of his companions and bit by bit the memories return. Meanwhile the General is being snowed by the leader of this world and it’s the lure of trade (gate addresses for technology) that took SG1 to the world but Calder is ruthless in protecting their secrets. In this weeks episode we also have feedback and a SG1 book review of City of the Gods by Sonny Whitelaw.

So sweet

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Episode 74 Scorched Earth

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Mar 052011
 

SG1 are guests of the Enkarans who they have helped to resettle on a new world, they are not a technology led people so live a very simple life yet are fully aware of their history and having been separated from their homeworld. Events take a turn when a huge vessel is seen laying waste to the land and it’s revealed to be the engine of a long dead race who have sent it into the galaxy to find a new homeworld suitable for terra-forming and the eventual rebirth of their race. The classic negotiate/resist options come to the fore led by Daniel and Jack both choosing options when dealing with the ships “avatar” a being created in the form of the current population.

Scorched Earth is a big episode, some excellent location work and a reliance on CG to make the alien ship and it’s technology work and for the most part it does however you get the impression it would  have worked better as a double ep. The ultimate payoff and resolution seems to be squeezed in near the end almost as if they realised 30 minutes in they didn’t have time for the remaining script so things got tossed. It’s quite refreshing to see a location shoot when it’s not raining although it looked cold and that was used in the script quite cleverly.

A rather familiar face for fans of recent scifi shows appears in this episode namely Alessandro Juliani (BSG & Smallville) who plays one of the displaced people and another face you’ll know but maybe not be able to name is Brian Markinson who plays Lotan the avatar.

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Episode 73 The First Ones

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Feb 262011
 

A science mission on P3X-888 believed to be a homeworld of the Goauld thanks a fossil record being unearthed is well under way when the camp is attacked and Daniel abducted. SG1 along with another unit ride to the rescue and we see the episode branch into two parts as Daniel and his captor interact and the SG teams search for him while making the discovery that symbiotes are in the wild and any one of them could be now be a Goauld, except for Tealc of course.

An interesting episode which builds on the overall arc as it deals with the Unas, the first sentient hosts of the Goauld. Daniels super linguistic prowess comes to the fore as he learns in a small way to communicate with the Unas that captured him and the “b” plot search and rescue is done very well with action and humour. We have the return of  Dr Rothman as well as Major Coburn plus Dion Johnstone this time under all the latex makes yet another visit to the franchise.

This episode was very atmospheric in other words a lot of scenes with no dialogue relying on the soundtrack and music cues to add texture to the visuals, not easy to comment on:)

Marshmallow anyone?

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Episode 72 Watergate

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Feb 192011
 

When the gate refuses to work a discovery is made which implicates the Russians as owning and using a stargate (the one lost in Thors ship) but they need help as contact with their facility has been lost. On arrival SG1 along with a Dr Markov discover an active gate and all the base personnel dead and one rather surprising person in the deep freeze. While Jack and Tealc explore the base Daniel, Same and Markov take a mini-sub through the gate into this “waterworld” and proceed to get stuck and at the mercy of the intelligence that lives there.

Daniel once again joins us for this episode and a special guest star well known to scifi genre fans joins the show, Dr Markov is played by Marina Sirtis and yes they let her control the mini-sub…

Tom McBeath and Gary Jones also guest star.

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Episode 71 Window Of Opportunity

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Feb 122011
 

While investigating a world with what looks like Ancient technology SG1 meet a scientist who is conducting his own investigation of the device but unknown to them he has a goal and is prepared to do anything to achieve it. Activating the device causes Jack and Tealc  to repeat the same day over and over with a bemused SGC to contend with everytime but day by day they learn what they need to know to break out of the loop and it allows them the opportunity to do stuff with no direct consequences be it golfing through the gate or smooching Sam.

Windows to the Soul

Robin Mossley is the main guest star of this episode and plays the alien scientist Malakai who believes himself capable of harnessing the machine despite the Ancients abandoning it and does a very good job in the role. This episode of the cast also has a guest, Daniel Waller a listener and contributor to the show joins us for what is arguably the most popular episode of Stargate made, certainly one of the funniest.

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The Classic Image

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Episode 70 Divide And Conquer

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Feb 052011
 

A meeting between the SGC and The Tokra takes place to discuss a treaty and official visit to Earth. Events spiral out of control when there is an assassination attempt and the discovery of a mind control/brain washing technology in play which can turn anyone into a killer with no warning. The Tokra bring a device to Earth which is a sort of lie detector and it reveals Sam and Jack both have issues with the memories leading them to be branded as potential killers but the truth is more simple but can it be revealed before the true victim of this technology is used to kill the President.

The Top Brass (and Alberts)

Divide and Conquer comes with an impressive number of guest stars including Vanessa Angel, JR Bourne and Andrew Jackson as well as a bumper list of the semi-regulars including two new SG personnel who alas don’t last that long:)

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