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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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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Mar 072011
 

The final batch of 10 episodes of SGU return to the US Syfy channel tonight (7th) at 10pm with Deliverance. Rumours of a TV movie to wrap up the story line (this season ends in a cliffhanger) abound so there still is hope even though the Atlantis movie seems to be dead and the SG1 movie long overdue and pretty much pointless now.

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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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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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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Feb 152011
 

Head let me introduce you to brick wall:)

We’ve had to abort our recording of Tangent on monday and tuesday thanks to the whims of Skype or maybe the net connections of Alan or myself, the lag and drop outs are just impossible to work around. We’ve scheduled another attempt this Saturday around noon so if it a passing hiccup it’ll be sorted out because there are only so many things you can do to your own PC and network to limit any bottle necks.

It is mildly amusing that the audio issues are very similar to those experienced by Jack and Teal’c while flying at a million mph out of the solar system and trying to chat with Stargate Command:)

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

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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Jan 292011
 

A blast from Tealcs past arrives at the SGC and once again it’s amazing what the dude hasn’t told anyone like he was involved with a serious hotty before she entered the priesthood and probably broke his poor Jaffa heart. Shanauc claims she has been in communication with her symbiote and convinced it that the Goauld are evil and the right thing to do is join the Tokra and provide all the upto date tactical information it’s genetic memory holds. There is obviously some question over the neatly wrapped “gift” but the Tokra are convinced and take her to their current home world and arrange for a willing human host.

Deep Waters etc

Crossroads sees the return of Vanessa Angel as well as Musetta Vander as Shan’auc and Peter Wingfield as Tanith.

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Jan 222011
 

The Tokra come baring gifts in the form of ability enhancing alien technology which will only work on humans without a symbiote. Anise the Tokra scientist played by Vanessa Angel makes her presence felt with mild flirtation with Daniel while Freya her host being seems to favour Jack. Armed with these new abilities the troublesome trio get in all sorts of trouble before as luck would have it a mission appears ideally suited to their abilities and off they go to destroy a new super battleship Apophis is building.

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Jan 152011
 

Just for a change the SGC receive a tentative communication from another world complete with travellers who go splat on the Iris. Communication is established with Euronda and it’s people who are under attack and they offer technology and information in return for help from Earth. SG1 visit the world and all looks well with Jack looking to do a deal and only Daniel with some reservations and bit by bit the truth is revealed.

Time for Tea

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This episode is notable for René Auberjonois who plays the role of Alar a charming and charismatic leader of his people and a little trivia question would be which guest star eventually wed the director Peter DeLuise.

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Jan 082011
 

Thor’s ship has been destroyed but a lone replicator has survived and boards a Russian submarine.
The US capture the ship and the only way to make sure this replicator is destroyed is to
do in person so Jack and Teal’c with a couple of red shirts board the vessel and discover
they are indeed replicating, the machine not Jack and Co. Meanwhile Sam is on a distant Asgard world working with Thor to create a strategy to defeat 3 replicator controlled Asgard ships which are inbound.

Small Victories kicks off the fourth season beautifully, we have two story lines with Sam going it alone and proving her worth as an out of the box thinker (not her usual role) but also offers up a lighter side to this episode with her interaction with Thor. Daniel is still basically on the side lines thanks to Michael Shanks recent operation leaving Jack and Teal’c to go close quarter combats on board the the submarine which was a genuine vessel and looked gorgeous thanks to the show moving to 35mm filming.

The O’Neill

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Dec 112010
 

We wrap up Gatecast’s season 3 with a general overview of the third SG1 season with our guest Stephen who has been a listener and provided feedback during the year. Many thanks to him and others who have commented on the show/episodes be it via Facebook, Email, Skype, Twitter or directly on this website, it’s always good to know someone is listening:)

Each of the third season episodes are discussed briefly and the results of the poll announced and once again thanks to all those that voted, we increased the participation when compared to the season 2 poll and that is most welcome.

I’m not sure at this time if there will be another Gatecast episode released in 2010, we all have lots to do over the next few weeks so for now have a happy holiday and a better 2011.

Dec 042010
 

SG1 are on vacation but before Jack can go fishing he his transported away into orbit by Thor who has a rather pressing problem on board his flagship and if it’s not solved then the Earth itself could be in peril. Hammond doesn’t listen and sends Tealc and Sam (Daniel was recovering from surgery) upto the ship with a plan to save the day but the results open up a whole new can of worms on Earth.

Nemesis was an excellent season finale, yes it’s cliffhanger time but it’s a cracker with the fate of SG1, Thor and even the Earth in the balance. The episode features some very good special effects and CGI work as well good puppeteering for Thor when he is required to be there rather than as CGI. The introduction of Russian involvement or more to the point not being able to pull the wool over everyones eyes has ramifications further into the series.

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