(S04E16) Let's shake up this review of Stargate Atlantis a bit by asking a few question's about this week's episode.
Shouldn't the fall into the mine shaft that McKay, Carter, and Keller took have killed or seriously injured them? I know it would have been a very short episode, but would a normal person survive a fall like that without some form of injury? It wasn't like they fell into a pile of pillows or marshmallows -- that ground was hard. Maybe the gravity wasn't as heavy on the planet they got trapped on as Earth-standard gravity.
How was the team able to place all of those crates up high without equipment? Again, I have to go with the lighter gravity argument here, since those crates looked pretty heavy to stack up on one another. And, speaking about the crates...
Why was Samantha doing all the dangerous climbing? Hello, didn't she ever see an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation before? The commanding officer does not take all of the risks because their job is to, well, command. the dangerous stuff is left to another member of the team. In this case, by jeopardizing her life over and over she ran the risk of dying, leaving the task of getting out of the mine room to a very pessimistic man and an untested doctor.
Four Hours and 50 minutes -- Don't you think someone from Atlantis would have tried to contact them? They should have got worried when Colonel Carter and her team didn't report in after an hour or so. Why weren't there jumpers scanning their area to see if they could be found. Especially when the city's administrator was the one not reporting in. On top of morphine and a grappling hook gun they really need to include some emergency communication equipment.
Has Rodney watched every episode of Macgyver? He must have or he wouldn't have been able to build that grappling hook gun. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything to grab onto with the grappling hook. So it was all a moot point. You know, with some chewing gum and a piece of tin foil McKay could have made a portable transporter to beam them out of there.
Was anyone surprised that the room fell just after they all got out? Or that the rope broke just after McKay reached the mine shaft? I wasn't -- it was bound to happen. Anyway, if the rope broke and McKay fell to his death it would take a bit of time to find a replacement.
Steve Carell or Stephen Colbert? Or would you pick Jon Stewart over both of them? I'd have to go with Stephen Colbert because he's going to conquer the world someday.
Despite all of my questions I actually enjoyed this episode of Atlantis quite a bit. I thought I wouldn't with the cast that was appearing, but I thought they all worked quite well together. It certainly helped that the entire episode took place in one room, which allowed them to interact much more than they would in an episode full of action and contact with other actors.
I think my favorite timesin the mine room were the simple conversations they had. The 'Would You Rather' scene turned out quite well and McKay's revelation that he and Katie were pretty much broken up was a nice little moment between he and the two women he was trapped with. Then there was the agreement that, even though Zelenka was a great guy, he was a bit weird. Also enjoyable was the the bar game that Dr. Keller suggested and they all played in order to build a bridge that would get them out of the room.
Speaking about Jennifer Keller -- um, what was that about between her and Rodney? I thought that she was digging Ronon right now, or at least it seemed that way after their near kiss a few weeks ago. Now, she's flirting with McKay? Man, you save one life...
Frankly, I think Keller and McKay would make a better couple than Ronon and Keller. Rodney is a little bit pessimistic and talky while Jennifer is a little bit petrified, yet has a hard-edge to her. Together they could make the perfect couple
And Sam? Well, she tried, but this was really McKay and Keller's show. I'm in agreement with most of you when you say that Amanda Tapping should have never been added to the show. All she seemed to do this episode was to get injured. I can only hope that she will have a meatier role come these last few episodes of the season.
Next week, Teal'c comes to Atlantis to counsel Ronon for his upcoming review by the I.O.A.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
2-09-2008 @ 12:34PM
Joseph said...
I think she was implying a "friendly" drink, not a romantic one. Even though the facial expressions of the actress, Jewel Staite, may have taken it in the flirty direction, I think it was meant to come across as a bonding, friendly drink. Nothing romantic.
Which is good. Because nothing ruins a character's arc like a relationship with McKay.
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2-09-2008 @ 12:49PM
Oreo said...
The doctor was hitting on McKay, she seems to be the Atlantis slut. I guess that's the best the writers can do with new characters.
And as soon as they fell (20-30 feet) and all of them were fine, I knew this episode would be one of the worst in Atlantis history. This was god awful bad. I guess falling takes a few times before getting hurt. And the fact they got that close to each other, and that close to the hole to see McKay was lame. I can't believe you enjoyed this episode after listing all the question that point of how bad of an episode this was.
And I think you missed the most obvious question...
Why didn't they take a jumper in the first place?
because then the writers couldn't have written (or thrown together) this episode!
I can't even think of anything else besides lame and childish to describe this episode.
So... moving on, next week has Teal'c! Yay! :)
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2-09-2008 @ 12:51PM
Jables said...
Pointing out plot holes in a science-fiction series based on traveling through space through gates to visit with alien cultures on other planets, LOL.
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2-09-2008 @ 12:59PM
BillieO said...
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Thank you so much for this review....coming off a terribly hellish week, your funny and pithy review has cheered me up considerably today!
I agree with most of what you have said....
Amanda Tapping was totally wasted in her role here because the writers altered her personality to the point where her entire character was changed....and as to McKay....wait....is this not "SGA McKay" show??? :-(
To be honest I am getting dreadfully tired of listening to him whine and complain all the time and getting ALL THE SPOTLIGHT....I thought that this was supposed to be an ensemble show...I would like this show to be more of a group effort with the leader of Atlantis actually BEING a leader instead of everyone looking to McKay for direction....
Last night's episode was pretty good....they seem to go up and down in that regard....As ro Ronon and Dr. Keller....I kinda liked them as a couple because he is so big and strong and she pretty much the opposite....Dr. McKay on the other hand would suck the life out of any relationship so I suggest that the writers just let him date but PLEASE none of the main characters.....
I am definitely looking forward to "Midway" with Teal'c....I desperately miss SG-1 and it's terrific cast of characters, and the writing, and the storylines, and....well, you know....sigh....
Stay well and....Have A Very Stargate Day!
BillieO
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2-09-2008 @ 1:10PM
Mack Swift said...
I thought this episode was very, very fun. All it was missing was RDA, and boom, instant MacGuyver/SGA crossover.
From the bit with the kids, to Keller almost stripping naked, to Rodney trying to get Carter and Keller to show off their mounds of joy to the kids (his facial expression when he looked at Keller was priceless), and to the instant snipping back and forth; I thought it was a great episode. It had some laughs, some suspense, some action, and it was good seeing Sam back in some sort of action.
And, yeah, it was a friendly drink proposal that Keller was doing. I think Rodney has issues when dealing with people in a friendly way.
BTW, in case TVSquad doesn't post it, Gateworld is reporting that Tori Higginson has quit the show.
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2-09-2008 @ 1:17PM
Oreo said...
Tori Higginson is not quitting the show, she was fired and replaced by Sam.
Tori Higginson had a 5-6 year deal to be on the show, she moved to Canada to do the show and they fired her after 3 seasons. She was only in 4 episodes this year, and that was a mistake. The writers wanted to rehire her as a recurring guest and she said no. And I say good for her. She seemed to have been tried like shit on the show and now the writers will have an obvious storyline just dangling forever.
When will the writers learn, don't kill off characters just because you are too lazy to do something with them.
2-09-2008 @ 1:25PM
Alex99 said...
I suppose they fell and fell until the plot required one of them to fall and get hurt. Lucky people. Plot of MY life has me getting hurt every time I fall.
Did anyone notice the spiffy toenail polish Carter had on under them there combat boots???
Oh, and why the snotty crack from Carter about poor gentle Radek? I can think of far worse people to be stuck in an elevator with. This just isn't the Sam I've watched for ten years.
The Ronon/Keller thing isn't making it with me. Reminds me of the Worf/Troi thing on NextGen.
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2-09-2008 @ 4:13PM
Morjana Coffman said...
From the review, regarding:
Four Hours and 50 minutes -- Don't you think someone from Atlantis would have tried to contact them? --
Their FIRST check in was 6 hours AFTER they had arrived at the planet. (Sam said they had been there already 30 minutes, and it would be another 5 before they had to check in. I rounded it up to 6 hours.)
And if Atlantis did try to contact them -- would the radios have received their signal, as they were beneath the surface of the planet, surrounded by the metal walls of the mining room -- and out of line of sight of the Stargate and the radio signal? (Remember, there are no satellites in orbit, no transmission towers, to boost the radio signals.)
Also, perhaps that civilization was not advanced technologically to have communication devices? We never actually got to see their civilization, but the Wraith in the Pegasus Galaxy (as did the Goa'uld in our Galaxy) tended to weed out civilizations that became too advanced to become pests.
Morjana
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2-09-2008 @ 4:33PM
Jimmy said...
I was ready not to like this episode because I'm a little tired of these two- and three-person team episodes. However, even with all the plot holes, I really liked it. I think a lot of that had to do with Jewel Staite, whose character I am starting to like more than Carson Beckett. I loved how she was able to turn Samantha Carter into just another one of the girls with her "Would you rather..." questions, and her banter with McKay was hillarious. I'm glad they're adding her as a regular cast member in Season 5. Hopeully, they can develop and keep her rather than dump the character like they've done with Ford, Beckett, Weir, and now Carter. For a series that's been on for such a short time, it sure goes through the cast members.
By the way, I much prefer Ronon and Keller to McKay and Keller.
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2-09-2008 @ 5:09PM
LC said...
"Why was Samantha doing all the dangerous climbing? "
I would guess it was because she was the only military person and has had more physical training than the other two. Though why she didn't take the grappling hook away from Rodney opens up another plot hole. I mean they knew the place could tip over at any time, why let him waste time like that?
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2-09-2008 @ 7:18PM
Dan S said...
That whole thing at the end with Rodney and the doctor was odd... there have been a lot of really bad plot decisions in the last year... I'm wondering how much time Atlantis has left. I fear it may be the Voyager to SG-1's STNG.
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2-09-2008 @ 11:20PM
izanhoe said...
What a stupid episode.
The situation of falling down a hole was so contrived and cliched I could barely get past it to enjoy the characters.
They were supposedly at risk of falling any minute, yet as they attempted their various plans they kept stopping to argue, play jr. high sleepover games, or leisurely knot ropes. There seemed to be very little sense of urgency throughout most of their ordeal. (As though they had read ahead in the script and knew the room was designed to hold up until the second after they escaped.)
Much of the dialog seemed out of character too. The exception being the conversation where McKay shares what happened between him and Katie. Otherwise McKay seems overly concerned with women's breasts. He may be socially awkward and insensitive, but he's not a 13-year old pervert. (There is a difference.)
The last scene between McKay and the Doc was just painful. Given what happened with Ronon a couple episodes ago this scene makes Keller come off like the base slut and that seems to be a weird left turn for her character. Either poorly written or performed.
Ugh. What a wasted hour.
I really do like this show and the characters on it. It just seems lately that the producers and writers just don't know what to do with it.
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2-10-2008 @ 12:02AM
Jason C. said...
I don't know, paying attention kind of answers most of these questions. But I'll avoid rambling.
"Four Hours and 50 minutes -- Don't you think someone from Atlantis would have tried to contact them? They should have got worried when Colonel Carter and her team didn't report in after an hour or so."
Sam clearly said that the city would except them to check in after six hours and then search for them. That's pretty routine for most missions shown on Stargate, if it takes even just half an hour to walk from the gate to where you have to go, you'd have to go back to check in as soon as you get where you're going.
A few lucky people have survived much longer falls in real life, so I don't think a 20 foot drop is all that implausible. Truth can be stranger than fiction, after all.
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2-10-2008 @ 7:29AM
Dave said...
For a series that's been on for such a short time, it sure goes through the cast members.
Not really, Lost killed far more characters and been on about the same length of time, and spooks kills at least one main character of a season if not more.
It what make both shows fun to watch. And Atlantis seem to be going the same way, which is good in my book. It adds realism to the series, I mean seriously if this even remotely real mission they would of lost a lot more men by now.
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2-10-2008 @ 8:12AM
eugene said...
Do you even watch the show before you write your reviews, or do you just FFWD and try to make sense out of what happened without the dialogue? Not that I would blame you if you did... but still, a lot of your complaints were answered in the show.
How did they survive the fall? They said they landed on a bunch of crates.
Why didn't atlantis come looking for them? Check in was in 6 hours.
Why was sam climbing all the time? Because both the Dr and McKay were scared of heights.
The other stuff.. aside from your rhetorical questions:
How did the stack the boxes? I dunno, two people lifting and one person pulling works fairly well.
How did McKay build a cannon? I dunno.. maybe he got a hint from the gas explosion gave him a hint? Have you never heard of a potato gun before? Because that's all he built. It's hardly like he made a guass rifle or something.
Really, the show is bad enough all by its lonesome without the extra help.
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2-11-2008 @ 4:57PM
Boomstick said...
Mckay landed on a bunch of crates.
Carter and Keller landed on McKay.
2-10-2008 @ 4:09PM
Dan S said...
This was just a rehash of the show from a couple of weeks ago where they all get locked into different rooms on Atlantis. Obviously the producers are desperate to save money so they wanted to limit the nimber of places they had to film. One such episode is understandable in a season, two just after each other is inexcusable.
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2-10-2008 @ 9:09PM
Gunther said...
well its still one of the best shows on TV I just hope that sci fi does not get cheap on its budget because its one of the very few things that keeps that network afloat they need to quit investing their money in all of these cheep sci fi orginal movies that suck
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2-10-2008 @ 9:11PM
Gunther said...
unless of course the movies are for the shows like Battlestar Razor was good
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2-10-2008 @ 11:31PM
Chuck said...
Some more questions:
why do they just assume that alien cultures attach the same meanings to colors, like "red=danger"?
Without any way to know, how can they just know that they've added enough weight to damage the integrity oft he structure?
If the are has four tremors a day, on average, why did they have about a half a dozen in four hours?
Why does Oreo keep popping up on these boards just to say how terrible his/her television viewing choices are?
Why is the doc a "slut" just because she's interested in more than one person? How do we know that the Ronin thing isn't over, anyway? Maybe she realied that would go nowhere. Way to pass judgement based on about a total of five minutes, people.
Why didn't they ever try to actually look in the crates?
I tend to like filler episodes for the character development, but this one was of distractingly poor quality. I did enjoy parts of it, but overall not up to par.
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