Stargate SG-1/Atlantis/Universe

[LadyVader]

My review of Avalon.

Spoiler

They're back folks!
Well... sorta.
Carter is in area 51, Teal'c is making a country, Daniel wants to go to Atlantis, Jack... is Jack but somewhere else and Beau Bridges is running SGC. Damn. But the most shocking change of all is this: Daniel has a beard!!!
A beard, Daniel? Are you trying to pull a Riker? Either way honey, you're still gorgeous! I can see why Vala wants to jump your bones so bad.
This episode felt like a fresh start. I mean it wanted to be a fresh start but seriously... Mitchell is a complete O'Neill clone. I'm sorry... but he is. Sheppard at least came into his own towards the end of season 1 of Atlantis. I'm hoping Mitchell can find his way too. The most annoying bit of acting is when he jumped up at T'ealc shooting his gun and threw a hissy fit. I did laugh when Vala pointed out what a limited gene pool the planet has and Daniel and Mitchell looked at each other funny. HAHA! I just love it how this show knows not to take itself seriously. That's why I keep coming back honestly. Take this episode for instance. I did get bored at times, but the spirit was still there.
What was fresh was the whole Avalon angle. I love celtic lore, Arthur's legend, the Grail, etc, etc. Vala brought a touch of mischief to the show but even I started to find her annoying at some points and now when I think about it, she's kinda of a an idiot. She didn't know about the bracelets, she opened the pots without thinking. I understand she would be rash with other people's lives but not with her own. however I believe that's just bad writing. The writers needed her rashness as an excuse for the plot to unravel. Hopefully she'll prove her worth later on. Teal'c was there but for the grace of god. He didn't do much but I still loved that little smirk he gave when he psyched out Mitchell. Beau Bridges is a weird choice for a general, he reminds me a lot of Don S Davis, and we haven't heard an explanation why he got command of the SGC. And while we're on the subject of commanding and stuff, are they turning the chevron guy into a sci-fi Radar? They even have the same name: "Walter".
Funniest line of the week:
"I haven't been this disappointed since I had sex with Daniel."
Man, I'm sick of cliffhangers! This wasn't the best episode ever but it did it's job ok. Mitchell, for all his faults, I could understand where he was coming from. The new angle is appealing to me so overall, I'd giver this episode a 7 out of 10.
Make that 7,5 cause Shanks seems to have lost the tummy! YAY!

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Gary Jones, the dude who plays Walter, actually made a comment about the Radar comparison on a commentary on season 7's DVD. Apparently the crew likes Jones, so they keep developing Walter, who was supposed to basically be a nobody, until now, after helping 4 generals and a civilian run the SGC, he's kind of the behind the scenes glue that holds the SGC's administrative side together. I think it's great, myself. He's the perfect geek within the geek genre.

 

[Superfreak]

Atlantis was pretty fun, though a little over the top.

It's all about the Asgard Transporter Nukes, that was cool, although ultimately obvious.

I think we are now seeing the seeds of Teala's importance. She can read Wraith minds, Ford is now 1/2 wraith, and totally out of control... anyone see a link here. It'll be Teala who bring Ford back into the fold, they'll be a dynamic duo.

Everett is gone (thank everything holy).

The daedelus is very cool, but I would have loved to see some 302's buzzing around. And the ship is captained by Assistant Director Skinner (xfiles), nice to see that dude.

The 'rain' on the Atlantis shield was cool, as was the solution to end the seige.

5 Hive ships down, 65 to go.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I really liked Caldwell. He seemed like the perfect colonel and he oozed confidence so readily. I'm looking forward to how that kind of personality inevitably clashes with Weir's over Atlantis, since apparently no high-ranking US military leader can come to Atlantis without challenging Weir's authority at some point. I'm looking forward to more of Hermiod, and I really think Ford's new direction is going to create some interesting changes.

 

[LadyVader]

I thought the solution as pretty... "unstable". The wraith seem pretty stupid to believe that a city would just completely disappear after an explosion. Shouldn't there be something left over.
But then again this is Stargate so... I can't really complain, even thought they're really pushing it sometimes.
I don't know what to think about Ford's transfomation yet. On the one hand I'm glad they're finally doing something with the character but on the other hand there have been plenty of good guys and gals gone bad in Stargate and I wouldn't want to see Atlantis going down the same path.
for some reason I prefer Avalon over this episode. Maybe it's because of that damn cliffhanger.

 

[Superfreak]

I thought the solution as pretty... "unstable". The wraith seem pretty stupid to believe that a city would just completely disappear after an explosion. Shouldn't there be something left over.
But then again this is Stargate so... I can't really complain, even thought they're really pushing it sometimes.
I don't know what to think about Ford's transfomation yet. On the one hand I'm glad they're finally doing something with the character but on the other hand there have been plenty of good guys and gals gone bad in Stargate and I wouldn't want to see Atlantis going down the same path.
for some reason I prefer Avalon over this episode. Maybe it's because of that damn cliffhanger.

diddo, I think it's because of Mitchell. I personally want to see more of him, and what he can do.

It seems Atlantis didn't really resolve anything. PS, the Towrie on Atlantis should sell Cloak technology to the Genai, and solve all their problems

 

[GothicPowerMix1]

I hope we get to see the SG1 crew in Atlantis some time soon Since that new guy in SG1 is so much like Sheppard. When the SG1 crew would cross over Sheppard can be away going after Ford & I can just picture now comments from McKay & Elizabeth Dr. Weir like after Mitchell would say something (think like it'd be something similiar Sheppard would say & they can be like "Are you by any chance related to the Sheppard family" something like that / stuff like that Could proove for some good humor with an SG1 cross over

 

[Superfreak]

another cliffhanger of sorts... I must say that 902 was a bit dissappointing. The implications of the episode will be cool, but really, not much happened. The follow up should be interesting though

New doctor, Lexa from andormeda (great choice, she's hot hot hot) And I suspect a future love interest for Mitchell. And I'm assuming that she is the General's daughter.

A little brutal at the end, with the immolation of Vala as Salas. Here's a question: Would this scene have been more powerful had Vala actually died for real.

What I'm loving so far, is that it seems that SG-1 has restocked it's cast with fresh actors, from other successful scifi series. I have a feeling that the new blood will inject some new life into the show, causing it to live for a few more years, which is a good thing on two levels.

Atlantis in an hour or so, will be back

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I loved SG-1 this time around. "Avalon I" was good but a bit slow for the "more hardcore Stargate" that the producers have promised in interviews. Vala was annoying in it, too. In this episode, outside of the somewhat cheesy knight duel, everything felt a lot more like the Stargate of old, and Vala was actually funny since she toned down the clichéd sexual innuendoes a notch.

Obviously there's no replacing Jack, but Mitchell's doing an admirable job of coming into his own. He's already displayed far more interest in what's going on than Jack, who always tended to remain detached, and Browder's sense of humor is great, so given a bit more time to get comfortable with his new role, I think he'll be just as funny and interesting to watch as RDA made Jack. Granted, I may be biased because I'm a big Farscape fan, but this episode featured some good Mitchell stuff.

The introduction to the Ori was powerful and a hell of a lot more intense than I would've credited the somewhat fluffed-up, less serious Stargate of the past 2 or 3 seasons with attempting. I don't think Vala's actually dying would've made it any more powerful, since the most stirring part of the whole thing was when Vala "woke up" and broke into tears halfway through her joke about the ordeal. Vala was initially glib and Mitchell was initially a fanboy going on a great adventure; now, from that look on Mitchell's face when the new doctor pronounces Vala dead to Vala having to go through that whole ordeal, you can see that they've gone from light-hearted adventuring to serious, life-and-death peril. This whole episode seemed to bring the gravity of what the "new" SG-1 (since Mitchell's still technically the only SG-1 member at this point) was getting into crashing down on them.

 

[Superfreak]

yeah, I agree with you there

Atlantis: me loves X-302's. So me loves this episode. Colonel Sheppard jumps in a 302 twice during the epi. So I'm happy. This was an interesting throwaway episode. Computer virus infects the Prometheus, as it returns from earth to pick up the Atlantis command team, who had returned home for debriefing, to request reinforcements (civilian and military), and recieve promotions.

The virus is wraith, so we get a little skynet action going on. The highlight of the episode is Colonel Sheppard vs. Virus, each in a 302 dog fighting as they approach the no go zone around a star.

Everything end hunkydory as we arrive back at the city.

There's a little bit of a melodramatic sob story about Wier and her cock at home. Which really didn't turn out to be all that interesting, and had no closure. The other Earth bound scenes were relatively interesting, no need to go into to much detail, as they were short and straightforward.

The episode was good, and basic fun.

Ended with Zilenka reporting on all the new gizmo's that had turned on since the ZPM had been installed, so that should be a fun little tangent to see in future episodes. No mention on what up with Ford, other than he's still missing.

 

[Superfreak]

I loved SG-1 this time around. "Avalon I" was good but a bit slow for the "more hardcore Stargate" that the producers have promised in interviews. Vala was annoying in it, too. In this episode, outside of the somewhat cheesy knight duel, everything felt a lot more like the Stargate of old, and Vala was actually funny since she toned down the clichéd sexual innuendoes a notch.

Obviously there's no replacing Jack, but Mitchell's doing an admirable job of coming into his own. He's already displayed far more interest in what's going on than Jack, who always tended to remain detached, and Browder's sense of humor is great, so given a bit more time to get comfortable with his new role, I think he'll be just as funny and interesting to watch as RDA made Jack. Granted, I may be biased because I'm a big Farscape fan, but this episode featured some good Mitchell stuff.

The introduction to the Ori was powerful and a hell of a lot more intense than I would've credited the somewhat fluffed-up, less serious Stargate of the past 2 or 3 seasons with attempting. I don't think Vala's actually dying would've made it any more powerful, since the most stirring part of the whole thing was when Vala "woke up" and broke into tears halfway through her joke about the ordeal. Vala was initially glib and Mitchell was initially a fanboy going on a great adventure; now, from that look on Mitchell's face when the new doctor pronounces Vala dead to Vala having to go through that whole ordeal, you can see that they've gone from light-hearted adventuring to serious, life-and-death peril. This whole episode seemed to bring the gravity of what the "new" SG-1 (since Mitchell's still technically the only SG-1 member at this point) was getting into crashing down on them.

oh yeah, the developing issues with the Jaffa should be an interesting twist.

 

[OobeDoobBenubi]

That Andromeda chick sure is getting around now that Andromeda is cancelled


First The 4400 now Stargate SG1 I wonder whats next we'll see her in.


Aight episode definitely somewhat interesting. The sword fight was cool though.

Hey guys I got a question. I am new to SG1 I am just wondering was Kurt Russell ever asked to come back as Jack 0 Neil ?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Oh yeah, about Atlantis: I loved that moment where Hermiod out-McKayed McKay.

McKay: It's a computer virus!
Hermiod: How perceptive of you.

 

[Happenstance]

I havent seen the new atlantis yet but I saw Avalon Part 2.

Im still not completly sold on this new season yet. I mean I love the relationship between Daniel and Vala, Mitchell isnt as bad as I thought he was gonna be. I look forward to Sam returning and more info on how Teal'c has to either leave the Jaffa Nation or sticks with the SGC while helping out with the Jaffa (although thats looking unlikely).
I still miss Jack, last year was tollerable with him being stuck at the SGC but only a few appearences a season will be a real shame.

One thing I would have liked would have been at least a few eps before the new bad guys are introduced. I mean they just got rid of the Go'auld and the replicators so id have liked maybe 2 or 3 eps of the classic planet exploring that we used to get in the eariler seasons, I mean you could expect it anyway with Mitchell having only just joined SG1.

 

[LadyVader]

I've just seen Avalon 2 and I guess it's predictable that I totally loved it. It was great on all fronts:
- Action: the semi-holographic fence fight. They're really pumping up the character developement for Mitchell, which is ok but he still feels like an O'Neill clone to me.
-Humour: it was funny seeing Daniel and Vala being not nice to each other, but civilised. They had an image to maintain afterall. I laughed out loud when Daniel talked about the incident in "Average Joe" and Mitchell said he read the file on that weird guy. I thought he looked directly into the camera at the audience. Upon reinspection I realised he was looking at the doctor, but still... it would've been a funny scene.
- Drama: Vala going extracrispy. Damn. I really cringed at that one. I couldn't believe the Stargate producers were actually letting us see someone burn to death. And both Black's and Shank's acting was perfect. I loved the fact that Vala didn't just jump up and say: "Ok, I'm back. Let's get some treasure up in here." She died and she knew it. Now she's got something more in common with Daniel.
- Character Developement: pretty much all around. I like Doig as the doctor, and her relationship with her father. Nice touch, I love family stories and this could be a nice alternative to the Carter father-daughter story, given that these two don't seem very close.
Teal'c is getting intense!!! I love what they did with him this episode. First almost losing his temper, then going on defense and having to remind the Jaffa they're behaving like inconsiderate, ungrateful little brats and then like complete idiots. Up until now he knew what he had to do, who he had to fight, but how can he fight the will of his own people? Great stuff! And I've never even been interested in the Jaffa plot.
And speaking of moral ambigouity, what's with the guy with the staff? He saved vala, but he encourages the Ori (it's that how it's spelled?) worship. Good things are coming our way!

 

[Morg]

Hey guys I got a question. I am new to SG1 I am just wondering was Kurt Russell ever asked to come back as Jack 0 Neil ?

Not sure, but probably not. Kurt usually do movies now, not tv series

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It'd be a weird transition if Kurt Russell came in now, after 8 years of RDA as Jack. RDA really made the role his own, and the character has come a very, very long way from the movie.

 

[OobeDoobBenubi]

Um that was NOT my question. You guys are twisting my question around. I am asking if Kurt Russell was EVER asked to come back as Jack O Neil BEFORE Stargate SG1 started like was he the FIRST & ORIGINAL choice.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I wasn't trying to answer your question, I was just musing on Kurt Russell's O'Neil (one L) vs. RDA's O'Neill (two L's). I don't know if he was ever asked to come back, though I doubt it. I recently watched a special on the making of SG-1 from concept to completion and it seemed as if MGM wanted Stargate adapted into a TV series, Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner worked together to do it, and RDA was excited about it so he signed on. I don't think Russell was ever involved at all, although he did visit the set once.

 

[Happenstance]

No kurt russel wasnt asked I dont think. Its weird coz I was just watching one of the special features on my SG1 dvds and it said that they went straight to RDA when the idea was pitched to make the series, definately a good choice. It was RDA who said that if he was gonna play O'Neil they'd have to find a way to get his sense of humour into the character

 

[Superfreak]

Having a Anderson/Russel team up would be great. Make them from alternate realities etc. Through the magic mirror or whatever they can write. That'd be jokes. I'd love to see Jack walk into the room and see Oneill (Russel) , his grittier, more realistic movie opposite, sitting in the command center. They each give a funny look at each other bla bla bla on goes the story. It'd be a nice, and humorous way to tie everything together (think on the humor level of the stone/barber episode)

 

[Happenstance]

Shame they had the quantum mirror was destroyed after alternate Carter and Kawalski returned to their universe.
Also I know movie O'Neill seems the more realistic to us from a viewers point of view but according to real generals there are members of the airforce which are just like SG1 O'Neill and much worse

 

[Superfreak]

Shame they had the quantum mirror was destroyed after alternate Carter and Kawalski returned to their universe.
Also I know movie O'Neill seems the more realistic to us from a viewers point of view but according to real generals there are members of the airforce which are just like SG1 O'Neill and much worse

yeah yeah, I saw that special too

 

[Happenstance]

yeah yeah, I saw that special too

Lol, just been going through my SG1 boxsets recently and watched that special feature. Im watching season 4 as im typing this

 

[LadyVader]

A lovely interview with Michael Shanks :

GateWorld: Michael ... two words: The beard.

Michael Shanks: [Laughter] What?!

GateWorld: Whose idea was this?

MS: It was my idea. They wanted, obviously, to have a little, at least initial difference between Ben [Browder] and I ... just out of pure, I think sheer paranoia. But there's so many different things with our fans about associating Ben and I as looking alike, which we look at each other and sort of roll our eyes a little bit.

But there was obviously a little bit of concern. And they just asked if there was anything -- him being the more clean-cut soldier type, my character can get away with a lot more. So is there something that I can do? I said, "I don't feel like growing my hair long again. And that may take a bit." I said, "I really don't like shaving every day." So I said, "Well, why don't I keep the beard for a bit and we'll see what happens." And it was, "Yeah, let's see how it works." And they really liked it.

And now it's just a matter of phasing it out. Because I think the idea in our heads was after a certain period of time we knew we were playing different characters. I said to Brad [Wright, executive producer], "They do know I'll be the one with the glasses, right?"


Shanks' new beard will be phased out early in Season Nine.
But Ben and I, we both established completely different characters and what not. So it's very distinct now to anybody, especially our guys, that there's a strong difference that the audience will get.

Maybe not in sweeping wide shots or whatever, because Ben and I, we're a couple of 6-foot tall white guys with blue eyes and brown hair and from a very wide camera that can be a little bit deceptive! But we think for after about maybe five or six episodes we're going to "adios" it.

GW: You were really hoping for Claudia [Black] to come back.

MS: Oh, yeah.

GW: Now she's here and with Ben and Louis Gossett and Beau Bridges. How do you feel about this new dynamic?

MS: It's fantastic. It's great. It's been phenomenal. Obviously, Claudia and I have a lot of fun working together and they've written some great stuff for us to play off of in this kind of antagonistic dynamic that we established in "Prometheus [Unbound]." It continues on. It's a really nice repoire that, from what I've seen so far, brings a nice energy to the show that we haven't really had on a regular, on-going basis.

That's tons of fun. She's a hoot to work with. And Ben is very much the sort of stoic colonel that we need. He's got that Southern twang to his voice which is a great, different voice for us, especially. And he's a really assertive and specific actor. We have conversations about the scenes all the time.


Daniel and Vala possess the bodies of two people in another galaxy. From "Avalon, Part 2."
And then, of course, you have Beau Bridges. Chris [Judge] when he decides to frickin' show up. With Beau there as well, and Lou Gossett, and also Lexa on the show, it's a completely different dynamic in a lot of different ways. Obviously, not necessarily from the point of view of my character -- Sorry, the point of view to my character, but the point of view from my character it's a very different dynamic. But it's a strong one and it works really well so we're really enjoying it.

They're so professional and they're such nice people. It's the kind of thing, especially with a new group of people, that there's no egos in the room. Everybody just sits around in-between takes either talking about the scene if necessary or having Beau Bridges tell a few stories about "this happened and that happened," and what not. And Lou as well ...

It's great! And it's a very warm group, a very strong group as well. So it's phenomenal. We're really enjoying it. And the newness of it feels like a completely different show, as well. When I say "completely different" I obviously don't mean what everyone is afraid of.

GW: It's for the better.

MS: I really think so. By the end of last year we solved a lot of threads, and it's really good for this new way we're taking the show to really have these new people and these new energies, frankly.

And they're great characters. They've been really well fleshed out, very intelligently fleshed out in terms of lots of dynamics between them. There's a very strong -- and this is the fun part: We're really feeling each other out. As much as the characters are, the actors are. It's really fun and it makes for good chemistry. It's a good mix.


Shanks hasn't shared many scenes with wife Lexa Doig yet ... conscious scenes, anyway. From "The Ties That Bind."
GW: Let me just ask real quick, you did a couple of Andromeda episodes with Lexa that were really fantastic. What's it like now to have her on your show?

MS: It's great!

GW: Have you worked with her much?

MS: I haven't work with her much. She's been working a lot with Beau, mostly. And most of the time that we've been in scenes I've been unconscious, believe it or not.

But it's great to have her here. Her and I both said too, on my schedule and her schedule when we're on different shows we talked a few hours at home, maybe. We don't have much turn-around time. Now we get to sit around, and the same way the cast bonds I get to bond with my wife. We get to see each other, and bring the baby to set, and it turns into this whole family dynamic as well.

I'm so happy for her, too. She's absolutely on cloud nine working with Beau so much. She kind of felt that in the latter parts of Andromeda that things were not necessarily that prominent for her character to do. And now she gets to play a completely different character. She'll say it at some point, too: she gets to wear cotton, which she's been wanting to do for a long time!

And she gets to work with Beau Bridges everyday, so I think that [it's a] definitive, positive, professional character. She plays it very well.

GW: Thank you, Michael!

MS: No problem!