Gatecast 229 SGA Inferno

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Jun 212014
 

avatar A cry for help from the planet of  Taranis has the team visiting the world which is the site of an Ancient outpost. It seems the ancients built an advanced defensive shield powered by geo-thermal energy to protect the base and the local inhabitants since the fall of Atlantis have used the facility although not to any great extent but with the rise of the Wraith and the ongoing culling the shield has been activated but there are consequences. Rodney while examining the systems realises that the continued full power use of the shield has strained the geo-thermal vents that supply the raw power and the super volcano is close to eruption and by close he means days which isn’t good. While Rodney is working with the alien scientist Norina the chancellor reveals the great secret of Taranis, the outpost was the home base for an Aurora class Ancient warship and it’s still there fully intact albeit currently unable to fly but hey Rodney is close at hand. As the super volcano becomes more active and Rodney finally convinces everyone that the imminent eruption is a global killer and part way through the initial evacuation the gate is lost as lava wells up from the ground leaving the team and the locals with no escape except for the Ancient ship and the hope that the Daedalus can reach them quickly despite it’s limited life support which means they could only take a few people on board as the inferno rages below.

Inferno (27)

Great view, from a distance.

Inferno has it’s flaws but at heart it’s a fun story making good use of the chemistry between Rodney and John and particularly the energy David brings to his role, he really makes the combination of genius and egotistical hothead work so well and add in the awkwardness around an attractive woman, no any woman just adds the icing to this episode. Strangely enough Norina (Brandy Ledford) does seem interested, it may be his intelligence rather than his character but it certainly knocks Rodney off his center where as John lays on the charm with a gusto. The special effects for the super volcano is fairly good, not fantastic but as we see with the “Orion” and Deadealus the CGI has really been perfected for more manufactured objects where as more fluid effects are at that time just a little beyond the scope of a tv budget. The natural scepticism of the Chancellor played by Kevin McNulty rings true but this episode is all about the dynamic of the main characters when under extreme pressure and in that regard we can’t forget once again Teyla and Ronon being paired up and facing death as they become stranded in a local village as the volcanic ash falls.

One again many thanks to Thomas for joining us for Inferno and this weeks podcast promo was for Flash Pulp an excellent source of short form pulp themed audio productions, many thanks for the feedback over on Facebook, Google+ and of course Twitter and next week we are going to return to SG1 for it’s season 9 finale “Camelot”, hope you join us for that and don’t forget we are keen to get people on the show for S10 of SG1 and S3 of Atlantis, please get in touch if you are interested as hopefully as times passes the episodes will be allocated:)

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Gatecast 227 SGA Michael

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Jun 072014
 

avatar Lt. Michael Kenmore awakes not knowing who he is or how he came to be but is constantly reassured by Teyla and other Atlantis personnel that he was a member of  a unit attacked by the Wraith and was taken prisoner, upon rescue he was treated but is now suffering from amnesia. As he recovers in body and mind everyone treats him well with the exception of Ronon who is openly aggressive but Michael is unaware of anything he has to done to cause such behaviour and his curiosity is peaked. After suffering from a couple of nightmares Michael goes to the infirmary and as Carson sleeps he discovers the “kenmore” calendar and DVD records with his name on, on playback they show nearly two weeks of surveillance and Michael himself strapped to a bed ultimately screaming defiance as it’s revealed as the days go back to be a Wraith! Despite this revelation and learning of the retro virus he remains reasonably calm but eventually snaps after being confronted once again by Ronon and a minor war breaks out and a guard is killed, Michael is captured and taken to an off world base but uses his mind powers on Teyla and together they escape through the Stargate to a Wraith world but they are now being tracked by fellow Wraith with John and Ronon not far behind.

Quiet Contemplation

Quiet Contemplation

Michael is the opening episode to a long running if not overly used arc (for now) dealing with the consequences of using the retro-virus, yes the one that caused so many problems last time and you have to ask yourself if this is sort of some “ethically” acceptable method of genocide because when you get down to it the Wraith as they developed are going to be wiped from the face of the Pegasus galaxy. If you want to put it more simply then the very basis of this plan is awash with deceit and deception and from that would anything really good come to fruition? Now for the plus points, fantastic to see Conner Trinneer fresh from his four years on Enterprise returning to the scifi genre and handling a well written role and as we know a lot more to come but the challenge of more prosthetics is ahead, Rachel also got to push her character as well with some well written scenes between Teyla and Michael again a dynamic which they will exploit over the rest of the show. We had a couple of guests this week, given Conner was joining Atlantis we got Adam and Paul from the Star Trek Enterprise podcast Previously in The Alpha Quadrant to join us for the episode and we think a good time was had by all, let us know what you think and pay a visit to PITAQ and it’s host network Trekmate.

This weeks promo is for the Star Trek podcast Two to beam Up which is looking at the original series and next week we are going to be watching the Stargate SG1 episode Crusade and we will be joined by Thomas.

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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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Gatecast 223 SGA The Long Goodbye

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May 102014
 

avatar Two escape pods are found in orbit around a distant planet and upon return to Atlantis the first is found to include a very old woman whose life is maintained purely by the pods machinery. If she is removed then she will die but as Weir approaches the pod she is struck by a beam of energy and the conciousness of the woman is transferred to her, this is believed to act as a last ditch method of allowing the survivor to communicate and say goodbye or offer insight into what ever disaster befell the mother ship. Weir seems to be all up for helping the woman who says the other pod probably contains her husband and John agrees to host the males spirit. Things do not go according to plan, the two now with healthy bodies with the knowledge of their hosts attack the guards, take their weapons and begin a cat and mouse game around the city intent on killing the other, they are the two final survivors of a culture that has ripped itself apart and with only hours to live just being the last one alive would be considered the victory.

The Long Goodbye has it’s story elements born within many scifi stories and series so there is nothing new but as always it’s how it’s done for each incarnation. In the Atlantis version we have some excellent space CGI, the pods look very nice and as a practical prop acceptable. The two aliens motivations while ridiculous at least have the desperate and illogical sense that we alas do see in the most obsessive people in real life who ignore ethics and morality to achieve a goal, this is normally a bad thing and the same is seen here, both aliens push the boundaries caring little for their hosts. The real upside of this episode is once again when Torri gets a meaty script she really gets her teeth into it and while Joe works his acting muscles it’s Torri that steals the scenes with everyone although it has to be said McKay and Caldwell have great abrasive chemistry. It’s only after the fact you realise that this is a bottle show, existing sets and cast with a little it of new CGI to set everything up and then you let the stunt crew and writers go to town.

Weir and Sheppard having fun.

Weir and Sheppard having fun.

We had some feedback this week over on Facebook and Google+ and as always Twitter pays us back big time with lots of Stargate and scifi chatter. This weeks promo is for The Podcasting Gear show hosted by Scott who also does the SciFi Diner Podcast and next week we are joined by Stephen for the SG1 episode Scourge, it’s been a few years since he joined us for an episode so it’s a welcome return. We hope you enjoyed our look at The Long Goodbye and feel free to let us know what you think about that episode and anything Gatecast or Stargate.

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Gatecast 221 SGA The Tower

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Apr 262014
 

avatar The team visit a primitive world looking for trade and resources and discover that the local villagers pay tribute to The Tower and in return it protects them from the Wraith by means of glowing lights which fly through the sky. They are taken to the tower and it looks like the central structure of Atlantis but sprouting from a large wooded and hilly area of the planet. McKay along with a local named Baldric go investigate while the rest of the team stay in the village and discover that the enforcers of the tower act in a rather brutal manner to the villagers and when they intervene to prevent a whipping a man named Eldred appears and brings down a drone attack. He then scans the team and invites John back to the tower and introduces him to the Lord Protector who does indeed rule the plant from within a sister city to Atlantis complete with ZPM powered chair, sensors and weapon systems. The Royal family and their hangers on live in luxury thanks to them exploiting the villagers and it turns out that the Ancient gene has kept these people in power and it is slowly weakening within the blood line and John’s arrival offers a boost and so the young and pretty Mara throws herself at John and well he’s only a guy after all. Meanwhile McKay discovers a huge store of drones but finds that the ZPM is almost exhausted and while Teyla and Ronon are dealing with over enthusiastic enforcers and John handles a royal coup and murder the world is slowly spinning towards chaos when all three plot elements merge when the new Lord Protector launches an attack on the village and John has to then fight for his life.

Party Time all the time

Party Time all the time

The Tower asks a lot of questions and the main one is why would the Ancients leave a city ship on this planet complete with functioning ZPM, drones and it seems a working star drive. We have seen that individual Ancients have taken it upon themselves to protect humans within the Pegasus galaxy by a manner of means but a second city ship is not something that can be just slipped in under the council’s noses so it must have been a sanctioned plan which still leaves the question open. The story of course when dealing with the attitudes of the people of this world does make perfect sense, there is nothing new there but it’s done fairly well and the village set is rustic and primitive enough as well as the redressed Atlantis looking pretty spectacular in a period style. Lets not forget the costuming which worked well both for the male and female characters (main and extras), I really liked the flowing shirt with the ruffles that Eldred (Peter Woodward) was showing off:)

McKay with his sidekick Baldric was a laugh, Ronon and Teyla dealing with the enforcers and the villagers was quite intense at times and seeing Ronon lose it provoked by the threat of a woman’s rape was both frightening but inspiring, we really saw what he was capable of and combined with Jason’s expression during the fight really hammered home how complex this character can be. John of course had a great time, good food, good sex, political intrigue and a fight for good measure combine to make a pretty good couple of days away from the city and then underlined by the criminally short screen time for Elizabeth when the two chattered in the final scene.

Overall quite a fun episode, an excellent cast with the return of Jay Brazeau to the franchise and the overall production was excellent with action, humour and drama.

This weeks promo is for the Nutty Bites Podcast and next week we return to SG1 for the episode Off The Grid so hope you join us for that and if you have anything to say then don’t hesitate to get in touch, we love getting feedback in any form so check us out on Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus and if you have the inclination a review and rating on itunes and Stitcher would be most appreciated.  Don’t forget that our two polls for the upcoming wrap up shows are currently running so please vote for your favourite SG1 Season 9 episode and Season 2 Atlantis episode.

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Gatecast 219 SGA Grace Under Pressure

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Apr 122014
 

avatar2 In Grace Under Pressure McKay along with Captain Griffen test fly a recently repaired puddle jumper when an engine malfunctions causing them to crash into the ocean between Atlantis and the mainland. The jumper quickly sinks and soon it’s transponder signal is lost to the scanners in the city and as they sink deeper the integrity of the ship itself is put to the test. Ultimately the damaged screen shatters and take the heroic Griffen to his death leaving McKay trapped in the rear compartment desperate to find a solution to the dilemma of limited power and life support and little chance of being located by his friends. It’s not long before the head wound and conditions have McKay hallucinating but in a twist he envisions one Samantha Carter who points out is the one person smarter than he is and coupled with his attraction to her perhaps understandable why his mind when down that path.

It's me baby!

It’s me baby!

Meanwhile back at the city John and company are devising a rescue plan based on some grappling hardware and the belief the jumpers were always intended to double up as submersibles. However Zelenka and his people have to jump through hoops to try and calculate a approximate position for the search to focus on but eventually John and Radek fly to the rescue and do a passable Voyage To The Bottom of the Sea impersonation but with clocking shields being used as physical shields the opposite of when the city re-tasked it’s shielding systems. Mckay continues to have lively discourse with his version of Sam and soon comes to understand decisions she is making are those of his own logical mind trying to keep him alive but eventually the jumper is almost flooded and hang on is John’s voice an hallucination and if he opens the rear hatch will he drown but does he have a choice?

Grace Under Pressure is in many ways a bottle show despite money being spent on bringing in Amanda and the use of the large waters tanks to simulate ocean conditions, it is perhaps to the credit of all involved such a complex story was told and told well. Yes we’ve seen the lone survivor having to deal with a crisis before on SG1 and the threat of drowning in a downed spaceship again SG1 but this take on those core elements works very well. David is one of the few television actors who could pull off such intensity and claustrophobic story both with humour and drama as and when required.

I want to thank Philip for joining me for the show, it took some organising but the recording went by without a hitch, he has recorded with me before on the episode Trio (an experiment) which again went well and will probably be used as our take on that episode of Atlantis. Big thanks to Misa and Dan for the feedback and a nod to Brad for the recordings which will be used in later shows but for now that’s this show wrapped up and as always we want to hear from you and if you can a review/rating on itunes would be most appreciated.  This weeks featured promo is for The Book Cave Podcast a show covering mainly pulp publications (books, magazines and comics) with author interviews and next week we are going to be looking at the SG1 episode Ethon.

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Gatecast 217 SGA Critical Mass

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Mar 292014
 

avatar2 Intelligence is provided to the SGC that a explosive device has been placed on Atlantis by members of the Trust who have been infiltrated by remnants of the System Lords. The bomb is believed to be triggered by dialling the Earth address and the next scheduled contact is within hours, Dr Lee comes up with a solution to use a far long SG unit to pass on a message to the Daedalus who can then contact Atlantis without using the gate. Safe for the moment Atlantis breaths in but the secondary protocol is activated and a distress signal is sent out and noticed by two Wraith cruisers but more problems arise with the key to the destruction of the city lies with the ZPM which is needed to power the cloak to hide the city from the soon to arrive Wraith. The secondary story is Teyla themed, her friend and mentor the ancient Charin is dying and is worthy of an age of ceremony which is going to take place regardless of the threat of the bomb and the Wraith. Lets not forget Zelenka who was volunteered by McKay to visit M7G-677 the world populated by children, even the bomb threat wouldn’t have made that job any more appealing.

Cadman has Rodney whipped!

Cadman has Rodney whipped!

Critical Mass is good episode making full use of the benefits of a crossover in characters and standing sets, we get drama and humour from the SG1 side merged very well with the ongoing Atlantis dynamic including the return of a number of characters to have played well to the story and fans in earlier episodes. The threat to Atlantis was a little complex but no question it was clever but you do wonder if those behind the implementation were being painted as too clever, this level of complexity and intelligence didn’t really blend well with what we’ve known of the Goa’uld. That aside the musical and creative aspect of the story was a breath of fresh air and overlaid the more intense and dramatic bomb elements and of course lots of humour despite the circumstances.

A big gold star to Brad for his voice mail and homage to the Prometheus and Ethon and also for joining us this week, it’s always appreciated and thanks to everyone else especially Facebook contributors for the feedback. Love to hear any thing about Stargate and Gatecast via the usual portals so feel free to chat with us and if you have a minute a rating/review on itunes or stitcher would be most welcome. This weeks promo is for The Dune Saga Podcast which is taking a in-depth but entertaining look at the books within the Dune franchise both old and new and next week we are at the SGC with the episode Stronghold, hope you can join us for that.

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Gatecast 215 SGA Epiphany

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Mar 152014
 

avatar2 The team discover a portal on a remote ancient world and with no sign of danger John attempts to pass through but is dragged in and lost to the group. McKay discovers the mechanism and the consequences of using the portal and realises that if they don’t find a way to bypass the portal’s effects within a few hours they will never see John again. Meanwhile John is making new friends and battling a beast that has the capability to become invisible and seems to be immune to physical weapons and he’s emotionally hurt as well, he doesn’t understand why his friends have seemed to have abandoned him. The silver lining is that there is a particularly attractive woman who shall we say has designs on him and a much younger one with healing hands, a little meditation and a lack of a razor hardly seems a great trial.

MALP on a Stick

MALP on a Stick

Epiphany is an enjoyable episode of Atlantis, it really is an episode that benefits from a superb location and all the benefits of modern television production can bring. The CGI and wire/stunt work give some good action set pieces and also allows for the more quiet moments between John and the inhabitants of this Ancient world to really leave their mark. The desperation amongst the Atlantis personnel works well, it’s difficult for them to understand fully the consequences which I guess also allows for the key points to be explained to them and by extension the audience who are picking it up as the story unfolds.

She knows what happens next.

She knows what happens next.

The only real problem with the story is why Teer would even consider John as being ready for Ascension, yes we know he is a lot more intelligent than he lets on and has the courage and belief to face down his fears but I don’t we’ve had any indication ascended beings have anything like a normal life once risen. Lets not forget John is still a material guy, his living in the now one reason why the meditation aspects of the lifestyle proved to be a little more taxing for him:)

We got some feedback via Facebook and Google+ so thanks for that and as always lots of Stargate chat thanks to Twitter. This weeks podcast promo is from The Rusted Robot and next weeks show is the Stargate SG1 episode Ripple Effect and Thomas joins us for that, hope you tune in:)

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Gatecast 213 SGA The Hive

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Mar 012014
 

avatar2 The strike team are captive of the queen of the hive ship and as John is questioned by her good self and a second hive arrives, John is returned to the cell and with some well hidden knives thanks to Ronon and Ford they trigger the release mechanism and make a run for it. Meanwhile Rodney takes a huge dose of the enzyme and fights his way out of captivity and returns to Atlantis and with the Daedalus at hand returns to rescue his team. As they roam through the hive they rescue some cocooned prisoners but their freedom is short lived, John and the woman Neera are separated from the group and he learns a little about her life and when the Wraith culled her world. Time is pressing though, the enzyme is leaving their systems and Kanayo who has been on the drug longer dies which does not bode well for Teyla and Ronon. John is brought before the queen once again and he convinces her he is a Wraith worshipper sent to infiltrate the hive by a rival queen, suspicions aroused when John in a dart makes his escape and starts firing on the other hive a full scale conflict erupts with the Daedalus an onlooker.

The best computer game, ever!

The best computer game, ever!

The Hive is an excellent conclusion to this two parter, we get some very good action both with the stunning CGI space battle but also great stunt work around Rodney’s escape and the hand to hand battles on the hive ship. It’s an interesting twist to have humans willingly follow the hive, while it seems reasonable for some humans to do this I don’t really see what they Wraith get out of it, maybe the Queen who stands alone sees some form of companionship through them which she doesn’t get from her “drones”.

Any time, any place, any where.

Any time, any place, any where.

When we look at these two episodes they served the show well in allowing Ford to return and for the expedition to take some steps forward in what they learn about the Wraith all of which will pay off later in the series to various degrees of success. The enzyme and it’s value is finally put to bed, while short term there are definite plus points and in time with research it could prove a valuable drug but for now the side effects and limitations can not be ignored.

Thanks to everyone who chatted with us via a online portals, always great to talk to fellow Stargate fans and in that respect if you fancy joining us for an episode get in touch and we’ll sort something out. This weeks promo if for Pulp Audio Weekly a very geeky and humourous podcast and next week we are going to cover the SG1 episode Collateral Damage, hope you can join us.

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Gatecast 211 SGA The Lost Boys

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Feb 152014
 

avatar The team is captured and taken off the world they were exploring by a group of unknown men, they awake inside a cavern and their nemesis if you will is revealed in the form of Lt. Ford who then goes onto to explain how he escaped from the Hive ship when he willingly jumped into a culling beam to escape being captured by Sheppard. The team are now being dosed with the Wraith enzyme as Ford believes only by seeing for themselves what the drug will do can the damage be repaired and he can be forgiven and accepted by those he once considered family. The first mission proves to be a success but from a technical standpoint very amateurish but John plays along hoping that the goal of destroying a hive ship with the use of a recovered Dart will provide a means to escape back to Atlantis.

The Lost Boys is the first of a two part episode and allows the show to bring back Rainbow for a very meaty guest starring role and goes on to dig deeper in to the merits of the Wraith enzyme and of course the ethics in harvesting the drug from the Wraith which begs the question who are the monsters praying on sentient beings now? It was a little disappointing how easily the team were originally captured but SG1 also had that problem at times but we did get some nice dialogue and action with the team dealing with Ford and his band of merry men who had achieved much in learning the ways of the Wraith. It’s understandable that both Ronon and Teyla would be seduced by the extra power and capabilities the drug gave them, they are both warriors and protectors were as McKay didn’t benefit as much, yes he gets stronger as we’ll see in the second part but it doesn’t accentuate his intellect which is his reason for being.

I told you I would be back

I told you I would be back

The Lost Boys as with many two parters suffers as it’s a vehicle to build the story which is going to be paid off in the second part but for all that it’s an entertaining episode and we get plenty of action and even some good Weir / Lorne dialogue and how great to see him with the viewpoint of what do you expect from Sheppard’s team, they are not punctual or by the book.  It is without any doubt a very clever and well written episode to bring Rainbow back into the show and what’s more we get him again in the next episode of Atlantis with more of the same but raised a notch or two.

Foreplay Ronon Style

Foreplay Ronon Style

This weeks promo is from Flash Pulp and next weeks episode is the conclusion to the Stargate SG1 two parter The Fourth Horseman Part 2. Thanks for the feedback and again a very busy twitter feed, if you want to get in touch with us then please do so, always interested in chatting about Stargate and our podcast of course speaking of which if you would like to join us then drop us a line and we’ll sort something out.

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Gatecast 201 SGA Condemned

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Nov 022013
 

avatar While exploring a new world the jumper lands at a small encampment where quite quickly the team are fired upon by primitive weapons, an aircraft arrives and gives aid and the team follow the aircraft to it’s base and a meet a fairly advanced society. Upon returning to the gate the jumper is fired upon once again and sustains damage and the team even with Ronon along are taken captive by the prisoners who inhabit the small island that contains the Stargate. Rodney is then encouraged to fix the jumper or one of his friends will be executed but that’s beyond even his talents however he is with some prodding able to enable the dialing computer.
Meanwhile Weir and her escort arrive on the world and open negotiations but the lack of results in recovering John and his team and the suspicious behavior of the Magistrate and the revelation that the prisoners some guilty of very minor crimes are going to be fed to the Wraith breaks down the talks and Weir and her team leave the city. Everything comes to a head when Wraith cruisers arrive above the island and the crippled jumper launches a drone which causes extensive damage and while a second fires on the island Weirs cloaked jumper dials the gate and allows John, Ronon, McKay and Teyla to escape.

We may have a problem

We may have a problem

Condemned is an interesting episode and explores a solution to the Wraith problem which is unique at least in terms of a society making this decision and keeping it working for generations. Of course the supply of hardened criminals will dry up if the deterrent is that strong so as minor criminals are sentenced to the island the society itself becomes driven by compliance and obedience to dogma rather than a free thinking and living world. The island itself is now very much a dog eat dog entity, those sent there that are truly violent easily become dominant but it’s hard to see how they really got so well armed with limited resources but if they failed to bring down a jumper then that would be the story over very quickly.
The episode was wonderfully shot though, the island location looked very nice and different to a lot of what we’ve seen before and the stunt work for the fighting was exception again seeing Ronon let loose really dispels a myth that a big man can not be lightning fast and versatile in his fighting technique. It was also a show piece for Teyla as Rachel has perfected her action performance and it was only really John who was the comic relief but done so well with the stick and his knee. Again we see evidence that Rodney despite a huge streak of self interest does consider his companions more than worthy of his commitment and maybe even sacrifice, as Torrell says the way to motivate him is to threaten his friends.

Look who is is coming for dinner

Look who is is coming for dinner

Alas the end result is just an average episode despite the performances and production, that says more of the strength of the show and it’s second season rather than the story by Sean Carley and script by Carl Binder or the direction from Peter DeLuise. This weeks promo is from Trek News & Views a Star Trek podcast from our friend Colin and part of the Trek.fm network of shows, next week we will be back at Stargate Command and dealing with the Ori as they make their first major move in the episode Beachhead, hope you join us for that. If you want to get in touch with us or leave us a rating/review on itunes or stitcher we would be very grateful, till next week and watch that final step.

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Gatecast 195 SGA The Intruder

 Episodes  2 Responses »
Sep 212013
 

avatar2 The Daedalus is returning to Atlantis without the ZPM so it is well into the third week and the passengers are a little bored despite the events which led to their return to Earth and renewal of their charter to continue the exploration of Atlantis and the Pegasus galaxy. A body is discovered which at first looks to have been an accidental death but things don’t add up and during the investigation another crewman dies at the hands of the ships technology. McKay discovers a Wraith sourced virus infecting the ships core systems which has the ability to adapt and survive numerous attempts to remove it,  it calls for help and denies the ship the use of it’s hyperdrive engines leaving them stuck in the middle of nowhere.

The Intruder is a good bottle type show making full use of the new Daedalus standing set which is a modification of the original Prometheus set. This isn’t a cheap show though, there is extensive CGI work use to create the space shots and combat scenes plus some top notch matt work to show us the large landing bays complete with ships and forcefields in play. We also have the lead guest star ( Mitch Pileggi ) being made full use of and Beau Bridges appearing in flashbacks so the episode was making the most of the resources available to the producers at the time. In story terms they don’t try to hide the similarity to the SG1 episode Entity and it’s discussed at length within the shows commentary track but there are enough changes to make a much better story and overall a better episodes.

Humans, who needs 'em.

Humans, who needs ’em.

The Intruder is an episode which maintains the pacing of the second season as defined by The Siege trilogy but allows for a breather with it’s use of flashbacks all of which lays down some solid groundwork for the changes that are coming to the story. The flashbacks were also a nice addition and spell out how they affected Elizabeth both in her success job wise and the failure of her relationship, in both cases they were strong scenes for Torri.

Note to designers, polarised glass.

Note to designers, polarised glass.

This weeks promo is from The Anomaly Podcast, an excellent show which is hosted by Angela and Jen and has it’s own supplemental show, both of which are worth checking out. Brad joined me for this weeks show as Alan was in the middle of his move to Finland and sorting out his classes and his new home, next week Brad will be back with the SG1 episode Origin. We appreciate all the activity on the media portals especially the Facebook group which is generating some good discussion and Twitter which is always fun when talking to the Stargate community.

Promo…

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Stargate TV Spot – Clayton Landey

 News & Media  No Responses »
Aug 282013
 

I’m in the final season of my Deep Space Nine rewatch and a name popped up in the credits for the episode “Prodigal Daughter” that I recognised thanks to having seen quite a bit of his performance on Stargate Atlantis over the last month or so.

Please be in awe of Clayton Landey who under a ton of prosthetics plays the security officer Fuchida who rescues Miles from a beating by enforcers of the Orion Syndicate. It was a small role but I always get a buzz when I recognise actors in other series, in this case an earlier role before appearing as Colonel Dillon Everett in SGA.

Clayton Landey

Clayton Landey

Stargate TV Spot – Cedar Cove

 News & Media  No Responses »
Aug 262013
 

I admit I’m a few weeks late to the party as Cedar Cove the new hit show for the Hallmark channel has been lauded in the press and social media since it’s premiered a month or so back. Filmed in Canada and based on the novels by Debbie Macomber it’s lead actress is the talented Andie MacDowell and draws upon the extensive talent from the Vancouver area. The result is a screen full of familiar actors who have been part of the Stargate franchise across it’s three live action series and a few names you will recognise from behind the camera as well.

CC_Title

CC_TerylRothery

Teryl Rothery

CC_ElyseLevesque

Elyse Levesque

Barclay Hope

Barclay Hope

Garry Chalk

Garry Chalk

Sarah Smyth

Sarah Smyth

Andrew Airlie

Andrew Airlie

Dylan Neal

Dylan Neal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cedar Cove isn’t really a show that is aimed at my demographic but it has echoes of an early Picket Fences which I loved way back when and of course there is no doubt the attraction of actors from the Stargate series and a bonus is Bruce Boxleitner who has appeared in many shows and movies I’ve enjoyed over the years. One thing that can not be questioned is how beautiful the show is shot, the location and the look of the show really combine to make a crisp and clean view of wonderful piece of Canada.

As for the actors I’ve included in this post I’ll leave it up to you to put names/faces into their respective Stargate episodes and I have no doubt as the first season of Cedar Cove continues we’ll see more of them and further guest appearances from our favourite franchise.

 

Stargate SGA S1 Wrap Up Show

 Episodes  No Responses »
Aug 242013
 

Welcome to our first wrap up show for Stargate Atlantis, we have done a few in the past for SG1 and the format is pretty much the same but for this Brad joined us so it runs a little longer than the two person SG1 wrap up show we released last week and of course it includes the results of the SGA poll.

We hope you enjoy the look back at what turned out to be an excellent opening season for Atlantis and while there is no doubt it benefited from  the experience of the existing writers, producers and directors it quickly set itself apart with it’s style and take on some original and not so original stories. 

SGA_S1

Poll Results

Total Votes 79

  1. The Siege Part II ( 19 Votes )
  2. The Eye ( 9 Votes )
  3. Tied.. ( 8 Votes )
    • Before I Sleep
    • Letters From Pegasus
    • Thirty Eight Minutes

A huge thank you to everyone that voted in the Stargate SGA poll, it didn’t pull in as many votes as the SG1 poll which was mildly surprising but again we got a clear winner. It’s also interesting to see where the votes came from and they were spread around the world so a big hello to all our friends in the UK, Ireland, USA, France, Russia, Australia, Italy and Holland who voted:)

Next week we begin the ninth season of Stargate SG1 with the episode “Avalon Part 1” with a long time friend of the show Thomas so love to hear what you think about Stargate or the Gatecast past, present and future and the comments can be included in the show.

Promos…

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