Stargate Atlantis (1 Viewer)

[Rex Bachmann]

Mikel_Cooperman wrote (post #60):


The earlier Stargate SG-1 focussed on a(n) (inter)galactic "civilization" based on portal/wormhole technology, while now it's become in many ways like Star Trek with FTL ("faster than light") transport and like Babylon 5 with "hyperspace" transport in vessels, hence, the "technobabble" is also becoming more and more Trek-like (the terminological "cribbing").

 

[Chris Roberts]

The earlier seasons had less technobabble as a plot device. In fact they went out of their way to explain things in reasonably scientific terminology. Then the humans got their own starship and for me the turning point was seeing Carter walking around with a tricorder (forget which episode).

In Star Trek many plots revolve around a basis that's technobabble and aren't even dramatic. Stuff like; The getaclueons in this plasma storm are keeping us from using transporters or shuttles. They also seem to have brought a sentient energy lifeform to attack us. We need to reverse the polarity on the phase inducers to stop it.
Whereas early SG-1 would be more like; The Pentagon has decided to shut down the gate program as a security risk. But a team is trapped off-world fighting the Jaffa. We need to do some political intrigue and get the gate open again. One creates character drama, the other creates nifty CGI effects.

Also, Damian Kindler started writing more episodes and he really should have been a Trek writer as they seem more like fanboy episodes that ignore the character continuity (like suddenly Carter is a motorcycle riding thrill-seeker because that fits the episode he wrote). Or when they find alien tech on a dead world and bring it back to Earth in the sixth season. This is something they should have already learned not to do seasons before.

I'm probably not explaining this very well though. No doubt the Trekkies are ready to lynch me. I'm not trying to dis Trek, just pointing out that it does have its own formulas that it follows. Season 6 and 7 of SG-1 seem to follow the Trek formula (whatever it may be) more than seasons 1-5's formula.

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

I understad now. Thanks for the info.
One other question for Original Stargate fans...what happened tot he Corie Nemeck character that they brought on as a replacement a few years back? Did they just dump him ?

 

[Patrick_S]

He went back to his planet. He did show up as a guest in one episode from last season.

 

[derek]

As impressive as the pilot was...the 2nd episode was quite a letdown. Very little original and the only character I feel they expounded well was Dr McKay. Here's hoping things pick back up.

 

[Shea]

Here's what I don't get------ Why can't they just call up the Asgard to take them home?? They themselves live in a different galaxy and are obviously able to travel to different galaxies. So why can't ole Thor rev up the Daniel Jackson and go pick the Atlantis crew up?? And why didn't they plan this with the Asgard in the first place so in case they couldn't gate back the Daniel Jackson would cruise over to pick them up?

 

[Patrick_S]

Now, now don't go over analyzing the show and just enjoy it for what it is.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Good one Patrick! That cracked me up!

I was sort of thinking the same. Why didn't at least one Asgard go with them? They were the ones that first told O'Neill they existed, and I'm sure that they'd know a lot more about Atlantis then we could ever figure out.

But they are far away, and I think that even inter-galactic travel would take some time.

You know, though, when I think about it, that doesn't sit so well with me. If they are on the home planet, then it would be correct in assuming that any Stargates out there would sort of radiate out from that central point, and they should - at the worst - be able to hop back.

Of course, they'd have to have the planet symbols in order to get there. Ok, I give up. We need to see more episodes.

I did like the shield, though. It will be a lot better once someone figures out how they work though. It would be great to see an SG team take on those Wraiths.

Glenn

 

[Nigel McN]

Oof that was a clunker.

A bit of 'wespentallthemoneyonthepremiere-itis' so lets do this one cheap.

I mean I figured there would be some links between SG1 and Atlantis, but to share the same script, on their same respective episodes, damn that is bad.

We even got 2 'It wasn't your fault' speeches.

 

[Shea]

Yeah just by seeing the previews it bugged me that both episodes looked the same and looked like they wouldn't even leave base. Oh well, even bad episodes of Stargate are entertaining to me.

 

[Sean Bryan]

I wasn't aware that they were desperate to get home.

They went there for a reason, didn't they? They didn't just get "stuck there". They went to learn about the ancients and the ancient's technology. Whether or not they can get back in a pinch, the whole point was to go there and stay for quite a while and HOPEFULLY be able to get back when they are eventually ready to try.

The new powerful enemy was a surprise. So, sure you may think they'd want to run back to Earth. But if they try that now, they'd either have to risk having the Wraith find the city and possibly find earth through the gate (they've said this gate is the only one that can reach Earth) or destroy the city and the gate and lose out on all the potential knowledge and tech they can get from the city.

Sure they don't want the Wraith to come an get them right now, but I wasn't under the impression that they were ready to abandon their mission yet either.

As far as the show using more "Trek-like tech", well that is just the nature of where the story has evolved. Wasn't one of the main goals (possibly THE main goal) of the Stargate program to seek out alien technology that Earth could use to defend itself from their enemies? Why is it so hard to swallow that they would eventually get and start to use advanced technology?? Again, wasn't that one of their main freak'in goals (in addition to making allies)!?

As for Atlantis, they are in a city built by the Ancients (the folks who BUILT the Stargate network and eventually ascended to a higher plane of existence) that is filled with their technology/tools/weapons. Of course the show is going to be using more "science fiction type" tech compared to SG-1. The only reason to complain is if the stories grow TOO dependent on tech and tech-babble as substitutes for plot. But the plots SHOULD focus (to some degree at least) on figuring out and dealing with this new tech because that is why they are there. Good writing will allow for appropriate drama and character growth. Lazy writing will use the tech as a crutch. But to complain about the tech itself as "un-stargate like" or something seems odd.

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

Refresh my memory. Is they reason they cant go back to Earth at this time is because they dont have enough power?

 

[Michael Harris]

The power sources in Atlantis can't even run the shields properly let alone power the Stargate for transgalactic travel. The series premier is on tonight (Tuesday 27 July). You can then refresh your memory.

 

[David Williams]

I think this week's SGA was way weak, plot-wise, but made up for it slightly with great character bits. McKay & Beckett continue to amuse, as does Shepard. The uber-tech guy, Grodin, appears to be their version of Sgt. Davis, although with more lines. The cast definitely seems to be gelling.

As for this week's SG-1, I didn't see a problem for the most part. After watching the destruction of Anubis' ship in the S7 finale, I wondered if they would really be able to kill him in that fashion. I'm glad they went back to that loose end and sort of tied it up.

 

[Shea]

I didn't say they were desperate to get home only that it's clear they can't get back even if they were desperate to get back. But why can't the Asgard take them back if and when they want to go back? They really should explain it because it bothers me(not enough to let it keep me from liking the show, I've loved SG-1 even though things usually don't make any sense- like why they keep bringing back alien tech. time after time even though so many times it causes a disaster). Maybe the Pegasus galaxy is just a whole lot farther from the Milky Way than the Asgard's galaxy to the Milky Way so it's too far for them, but they should have thrown in a little blip to explain why the Asgard can't come, because I'd think most fans would wonder.

 

[Matt Stone]

If they did explain it, I'm sure it would be something along the lines of "they're too busy fighting the replicators to help out right now." That's usually a good excuse

Sean, great post. I agree 100%.

 

[Michael Harris]

So another Friday, another SG-1/SG-A night.

SG-1: Very good episode. Still stayed "in the bottle" for the most part but a very good character study of the newly minted BG O'Neill.

SG-A: Better then last week's. Wier showed some balls. Really like Dr. Beckett. One drag: Dr McKay is really annoying. They need to calm him down a bit or he will be unbearable to watch. Fingers crossed that it will get better.

 

[DaveF]

I enjoyed the episode, and yet I feel a weariness. It's the same feeling I had watching Enterprise the first season: I've seen this many times before.

For generic sci-fi storylines, I've got Stargate: SG-1, with its established (and more interesting) characters. I want to see stories addressing the unique aspects of Stargate: Atlantis. I'm interested in the primary storyline and want more about the Ancients, Wraiths, Atlantis, and this new galaxy they are in.

I'm looking forward to next week's episode, as they develop further the relationship between the Wraiths and crowd the SG team is hooked up with.

 

[David Williams]

I have the feeling that the creators decided to take the first two episodes after the premiere to really establish the audience's relationship with the characters and done it well I might add. 38 Minutes is an old plot idea (a bit ironic considering McKay was in the original trapped-in-the-gate storyline), but they managed to use it to show us the different facets of the characters (and I am totally loving the continued use of the Needling Nerd aka Captain Invincible aka Dr. McKay. Funny Stuff). The episode managed to be something of a nail-biter, considering that the audience knows that the main characters weren't going to die.

I really like the fact that the creators are establishing a group of recurring characters like Dr. Beckett, Dr. Grodin, Halling, Jinto, etc. It gives a bigger world than just the heroes mentioned in the opening credits.

I think there is a possibility that I could come to prefer SGA to SG-1. Blasphemy, I know!

As for this weeks' SG-1. I think everything is humming along nicely... seems to be a bit more arc to this season so far. Nice to see so much of Sgt. Siler!!

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

I feel much the same way. The storylines have been very average and I too like I've seen this all before.
I think this is why I never really got into the original S.G.
The whole bug thing was just ludicrous.
I'll give it a few weeks and if it doesnt improve I'll be taking it off my tivo Season Pass.