With the Galactica premier less than 2 hours away in my time zone, I realized I never posted my looney theory about the identity of the final Cylon, so I'm going to do that now (just in case it's revealed tonight). I should note that this is really "out-there", and I don't actually think this person will be the final Cylon. It's more like, "I think it could be interesting IF..." thing.
Soooo....
...
... spoiler space ...
... (I mean, it's not a spoiler, but...) ...
...
I think it'd be interesting IF it were Kara's mother. It'd make Kara a hybrid, which would explain things like why Kara's "special", why she has a destiny, why she drew the mandala, why she could "feel" the path to Earth, etc., and possibly why Leoben is obsessed with her (if he's somehow drawn to her, due to her hybrid-ness (although the "significant seven" Cylons don't seem able to recognize the final five, so why would they be drawn to a hybrid?))... all without Kara herself being a Cylon.
So, that's my looney theory. :P I have several equally looney theories about Lost and Wheel of Time, if anyone were curious. ;)
I also noticed the D'Anna stated that the final Cylon wasn't in the fleet? But she didn't say WHEN. "Now" is assumed, but what if she were telling a lie of omission? "The 5th isn't in the Colonial fleet -- or at least was apart from it for a really long time..." (So perhaps it's someone who came over from the Pegasus?) *shrug* Or, "The 5th Cylon isn't part of the fleet -- because he/she feels alienated..."
Otherwise, the only legitimate ideas I can come up with aren't very original: Gaeta, as it would tie in with his participation in the resistance, and Dualla, as it would tie in with her involvement with Lee. I sincerely hope it is NOT Baltar or Roslin (but especially Baltar), as I think their stories are a lot more meaningful if they are human.
I do hope it's a woman.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Saturday, November 8, 2008
For shame!
One of my pet peeves is when people don't return their shopping carts to a store's designated cart return area. It's so lazy and inconsiderate. Is it really THAT much effort to walk a few extra steps to put the cart away? Do people really not care that the cart, at best, is clogging up the parking lot by taking up a space, and at worst, could damage someone's car? Not to mention that having the stores' employees wander around the parking lots gathering carts is time that the employees could be spending doing other, more constructive things, like stocking merchandise, helping customers, etc. In other words, this costs the stores money, which in turn gets passed on to the consumers.
The other day, Mr. Entity and I were in a parking lot that had been frequented by several extremely lazy people. I decided it was time for a public shaming, of sorts, so I whipped out my camera phone. Not that any of these people will read this, of course, but going to the effort of annotating the pictures and posting them online has given me a thrill of righteous indignation.
I mean, really! In two pictures, the cart is literally TWO parking spaces away! In another, there are at least two cart returns nearby! Truly, these acts of laziness are a sight to see.
The other day, Mr. Entity and I were in a parking lot that had been frequented by several extremely lazy people. I decided it was time for a public shaming, of sorts, so I whipped out my camera phone. Not that any of these people will read this, of course, but going to the effort of annotating the pictures and posting them online has given me a thrill of righteous indignation.
I mean, really! In two pictures, the cart is literally TWO parking spaces away! In another, there are at least two cart returns nearby! Truly, these acts of laziness are a sight to see.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Heroes: I've got a theory...
Spoilers for Episode 303:
Question/Issue: If Tranessica were "created" (presumably in a lab), why would a creation that valuable be raised by the likes of Hal Sanders?
Possible Answer (that leads to more questions): It was a nature vs. nurture experiment. Would clones, with the same genetic makeup but in different circumstances, manifest the same superpowers? Would the circumstances themselves matter? Is it a coincidence that someone who grew up around physical abuse has great strength as a superpower?
Question/Issue: If Tranessica were "created" (presumably in a lab), why would a creation that valuable be raised by the likes of Hal Sanders?
Possible Answer (that leads to more questions): It was a nature vs. nurture experiment. Would clones, with the same genetic makeup but in different circumstances, manifest the same superpowers? Would the circumstances themselves matter? Is it a coincidence that someone who grew up around physical abuse has great strength as a superpower?
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Stargate Universe: Are you kidding me?
This is old news, but I found a page online that supposedly lists the character descriptions for Universe. I don't know if this is authentic, but if it is, it is horrific.
http://stargate-sg1-solutions.com/blog/?p=1619
Geez, where to begin. The first character, the one in his 40s, will basically be a parent chaperoning a bunch of kids? *eyeroll* I could understand 1 or 2 of them being young (e.g. taking some recruits on a training mission with some mentors, something going wrong, etc.), but ALL of them? The characters also sound like stereotypes: the sorority girl, the male slacker genius, etc. Would it be too much to ask that they shake things up a little? Like if they HAVE to have a slacker genius, that it be female, for once? Or have the guy be the spoiled brat? I am also offended that 100% of the women have "beautiful" and "sexy" as their character requirements, but only 1 out of 4 of the guys do. (However, one of the guys is described as "Every teenage girl’s fantasy", so I suppose that physical attractiveness is implied.)
This is not to say that I am opposed to trying to attract younger fans to Stargate. It's probably good long-term business for Stargate to hook fans when they're young, so they can grow up (sort of) with the show. Also, I am not opposed to having some younger characters on the show, for variety. But given the level of technical and military expertise that is needed to work on a Stargate mission, and given the level of clearance that someone would need to work on a program like Stargate, young people who are qualified to work on the team should be somewhat rare. Will the mission that strands these characters consist of ALL of the young people in the ENTIRE Stargate program? Also, as Mr. Entity said, this character sounds like Wormhole X-Treme. In 200, they even joked about replacing the main characters with younger versions, and it was portrayed as a really bad idea.
Given the quality of episodes in Season 5 of Atlantis, and given this as a starting point for Universe, I am not excited about the new show at all.
http://stargate-sg1-solutions.com/blog/?p=1619
Character Breakdowns, Stargate Universe 03/09/08
Colonel Everett Young. 40’s handsome, capable, former SG team leader. Like the Jack O’Neill of ten years ago, but Young’s edges have tended to sharpen over time. He requested permission to serve the remainder of his commission on Earth upon marrying his wife, Hailey, two years ago, but for now he’s temporary commander of a secret off world base. The loss of two members of his team several years ago has taught him never to take anything for granted, and be prepared for anything. He stays on top of his team so they stay alive.
Tamara Johanson. 20-25. SGC Field medic, Captain grade. Off world experience. Beautiful, tough, smart, capable. Paramedic level training. Able to triage serious injury. Modest background. Dreamed of being a doctor but couldn’t afford medical school and the Air Force was her best option. She ends up being the most medically inclined person on the ship but is overwhelmed by the lack of knowledge and experience treating seriously wounded and ill patients. She also lacks the medicine and supplies and has to make do.
Cloe Carpenter. 20 ish. Stunning and sexy. Daughter of a U.S. Senator. Silver spoon upbringing and a little spoiled but not stupid either. Politically and socially savvy. Dreams of following in her father’s footsteps but for now she’s a bit of a party girl in her first year at an Ivy League school. Her father’s tragic death and the dire circumstances of being trapped on a spaceship seriously tests her character.
Eli Hitchcock. 20-25. Total slacker. Utter genius. Mathematics, computers, anything he puts his mind to. Acerbic sense of humor. A social outcast. Comes from a broken home. Lacks confidence because his true intelligence has never really been recognized like Matt Damon’s character from Good Will Hunting with a little Jack Black thrown in.
Lt. Jared Nash. 20-25. Junior SGC team member. Officer material but green and rough around the edges. Every teenage girl’s fantasy. Like a college quarterback thrown into his first pro game, he is thrust into the role of leader well before he’s ready for the responsibility and must learn to take command, earn respect through action, and manage the diverse personalities on the ship to keep everyone alive. Like Jason Bourne, he is skilled and well-trained but mentally unprepared for the urgency of the situation.
Ron “Psycho” Stasiak. 20. Marine. Big, strong, silent. You want him on your side. You don’t want him mad at you. Lacks control over his temper in non combat situations. His emotional expression ranges from sarcasm to anger. His past is a mystery but it’s clear something dark formed the hard shell around him. Yet, there must also be some moral center because otherwise he’d kill everyone around him. Think Eric Bana’s character “Hoot” in Blackhawk Down. Adam Baldwin at 20 could play him.
Geez, where to begin. The first character, the one in his 40s, will basically be a parent chaperoning a bunch of kids? *eyeroll* I could understand 1 or 2 of them being young (e.g. taking some recruits on a training mission with some mentors, something going wrong, etc.), but ALL of them? The characters also sound like stereotypes: the sorority girl, the male slacker genius, etc. Would it be too much to ask that they shake things up a little? Like if they HAVE to have a slacker genius, that it be female, for once? Or have the guy be the spoiled brat? I am also offended that 100% of the women have "beautiful" and "sexy" as their character requirements, but only 1 out of 4 of the guys do. (However, one of the guys is described as "Every teenage girl’s fantasy", so I suppose that physical attractiveness is implied.)
This is not to say that I am opposed to trying to attract younger fans to Stargate. It's probably good long-term business for Stargate to hook fans when they're young, so they can grow up (sort of) with the show. Also, I am not opposed to having some younger characters on the show, for variety. But given the level of technical and military expertise that is needed to work on a Stargate mission, and given the level of clearance that someone would need to work on a program like Stargate, young people who are qualified to work on the team should be somewhat rare. Will the mission that strands these characters consist of ALL of the young people in the ENTIRE Stargate program? Also, as Mr. Entity said, this character sounds like Wormhole X-Treme. In 200, they even joked about replacing the main characters with younger versions, and it was portrayed as a really bad idea.
Given the quality of episodes in Season 5 of Atlantis, and given this as a starting point for Universe, I am not excited about the new show at all.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Stargate Atlantis: Tracker (Season 5)
Finally, here's my review of Tracker!
Given the quality of the previous two episodes Whispers and The Queen, and given the preview of Tracker (Keller gets kidnapped...again[1]?), I had extremely low expectations of this episode.
Anyway, here are some notes I took while I watched the episode.
- While it's understandable for Sheppard to be surprised that Rodney would volunteer for a humanitarian mission on his day off... in the alternate timeline he experienced in Season 4, alt-Rodney told him that he and Jennifer were in a relationship. So why would Sheppard act surprised, if he should know that Rodney would fall for Jennifer?
- So, Ronon asks why the people on the other planet are sick, and she tells him it's like an Earth disease, influenza. How does that help Ronon?
- Didn't we see this episode before? Wasn't it Missing?
- Did Keller ACTUALLY think she could outrun her captor?
- We're almost halfway into the episode, and so far, it's been a lot of walking and chasing. Wow, it's so exciting and interesting.
- So, Keller has been kidnapped to save the life of a dying child. Again I say, didn't we see this episode before? Wasn't it Miller's Crossing?
- Hmm... a Wraith wandered into the child's cave. This must be where Ronon shows up. ... ... ... Oh, Keller killed him. My bad.
- Geez, Ronon's tracking ability borders on a psychic power.
- Umm... Keller is attempting to fight Wraith? With a stick?
I'll give this one a back-handed compliment: It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be, and towards the end, it got fun. Granted, the first half of the episode, when Keller and her captor, Kiryk, were en route to their destination, was boring. Once Kiryk started opening up, things got more interesting. Kiryk seemed like he has potential to be interesting, and he and Ronon could've had some character growth by teaching him how to be "human" again. But we probably won't see him any more. Alas.
Some people on Usenet pointed out that given the high rate of kidnapping on these missions, Rodney and Ronon absolutely should not have wandered so far away when Keller was treating her patient in private. They also noted that the Wraith seem to be getting easier and easier to kill, if Keller can take one out (referring to the one she stabbed in the cave). However, as the discussion progressed, someone pointed out that a doctor would know a good spot to drive in the knife.
The Rodney/Ronon/Keller situation was a little interesting, although I think Ronon might be exaggerating his interest in Keller to give Rodney a hard time. The episode could've been a little more interesting if, when Keller was trying to break up the fight between Kiryk and Ronon, Ronon had accidentally injured Keller. I know that is kind of a cliche. But during the episode, I had no concern for Keller's well-being at all. I don't think Keller should've been in mortal danger, but I wish the writers had done something to shake things up a little, like putting the characters' psyches and relationships with each other in danger. Given that Ronon may have some romantic interest in Keller, that certainly would've affected their dynamic.
[1] Amusingly, Jewel Staite complained at Comic-Con about getting kidnapped in the woods for a second time.
Given the quality of the previous two episodes Whispers and The Queen, and given the preview of Tracker (Keller gets kidnapped...again[1]?), I had extremely low expectations of this episode.
Anyway, here are some notes I took while I watched the episode.
- While it's understandable for Sheppard to be surprised that Rodney would volunteer for a humanitarian mission on his day off... in the alternate timeline he experienced in Season 4, alt-Rodney told him that he and Jennifer were in a relationship. So why would Sheppard act surprised, if he should know that Rodney would fall for Jennifer?
- So, Ronon asks why the people on the other planet are sick, and she tells him it's like an Earth disease, influenza. How does that help Ronon?
- Didn't we see this episode before? Wasn't it Missing?
- Did Keller ACTUALLY think she could outrun her captor?
- We're almost halfway into the episode, and so far, it's been a lot of walking and chasing. Wow, it's so exciting and interesting.
- So, Keller has been kidnapped to save the life of a dying child. Again I say, didn't we see this episode before? Wasn't it Miller's Crossing?
- Hmm... a Wraith wandered into the child's cave. This must be where Ronon shows up. ... ... ... Oh, Keller killed him. My bad.
- Geez, Ronon's tracking ability borders on a psychic power.
- Umm... Keller is attempting to fight Wraith? With a stick?
I'll give this one a back-handed compliment: It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be, and towards the end, it got fun. Granted, the first half of the episode, when Keller and her captor, Kiryk, were en route to their destination, was boring. Once Kiryk started opening up, things got more interesting. Kiryk seemed like he has potential to be interesting, and he and Ronon could've had some character growth by teaching him how to be "human" again. But we probably won't see him any more. Alas.
Some people on Usenet pointed out that given the high rate of kidnapping on these missions, Rodney and Ronon absolutely should not have wandered so far away when Keller was treating her patient in private. They also noted that the Wraith seem to be getting easier and easier to kill, if Keller can take one out (referring to the one she stabbed in the cave). However, as the discussion progressed, someone pointed out that a doctor would know a good spot to drive in the knife.
The Rodney/Ronon/Keller situation was a little interesting, although I think Ronon might be exaggerating his interest in Keller to give Rodney a hard time. The episode could've been a little more interesting if, when Keller was trying to break up the fight between Kiryk and Ronon, Ronon had accidentally injured Keller. I know that is kind of a cliche. But during the episode, I had no concern for Keller's well-being at all. I don't think Keller should've been in mortal danger, but I wish the writers had done something to shake things up a little, like putting the characters' psyches and relationships with each other in danger. Given that Ronon may have some romantic interest in Keller, that certainly would've affected their dynamic.
[1] Amusingly, Jewel Staite complained at Comic-Con about getting kidnapped in the woods for a second time.
Snark Attacks: Heroes 303 (One of Us, One of Them)
This post contains SPOILERS regarding season 3's episode One of Us, One of Them, which aired in the US on September 29, 2008.
Prior to this week's ep, I came up with a loony theory regarding Tranessica: multiple "clones" (or septuplets, or something similar) that sorta share a consciousness. When one dies, the others absorb the dying one's consciousness and powers. (Or maybe only one does, like the closest one.) Presumably, Niki absorbed Jessica when Jessica died... Perhaps Gina died offscreen and Niki absorbed her. Perhaps "Tracy" absorbed Niki when she died in the explosion.
...
Hah, Sylar looks about as freaked out as we did to find out MamaP is his mom. I can't imagine who in the hell is his father...
Bye, Bridget. Nice knowing you! (For 5 seconds.) MamaP must keep a supply of Bridgets around for just such an I-Must-Feed-The-Long-Lost-Son-Emergency(tm).
Hmm, since the Heroes Main Character Gene Pool seems limited, I'll bet we find out that Tranessica is related to Claire's mom. (But they'll probably save that for season 4.)
...
I see that Zombie Nathan has a door of +20 To Summon Dark Peter.
...
Ok, there's a baddie who shoots blue fire (we saw that last episode). What are the odds that he's going to get into a showdown with Claire's Biomom?
...
OMG, having Sylar out there catching baddies is just SICK.
...
Ha ha ha, they tried to make us think that Claire's Biomom was Lyle's Biomom, too.
Meredith: I think what Claire is trying to say is that when you're like us...
Mrs. Bennett: STFU NOOB!
...
OMG, Sylar is just MISUNDERSTOOD and needs STRUCTURE. *slaps forehead* Of course! Why didn't they think of that in season 1?
...
"What kind of overconfident nemesis are you?" Roffle.
Queue Haitian sighting in 3...2...1...
...
Mr. The German, don't taunt the Fear Demon. It's just... tacky.
I wonder if that bank is a WaMu.
...
Matt is tired of walking. Poor Matt.
Matt has an obsessed fan! Poor Matt.
...
Hmm, I wonder who "the guy" is whom Daphne works for. Hmm... Adam? Phantom Linderman? Horny Mohinder? Zombie Nathan? Bob (before he died)?
...
What a bizarre scene with HRG and Sylar. (That's the one where Sylar is telling the cops to bring them coffee.)
...
Oooooh! Tracy and Niki were born on the same day in the same hospital! My clone theory has merit!! :D :D :D
...
So, what are the odds that Dark Peter is actually Peter? (And not someone pretending to be Peter?)
...
Claire and Meredith: Girls Gone Wild.
...
Queue Sylar rescuing Noah in 3...2...1...
Whoa. Noah used reverse psychology on Sylar. They're such a cute team. They're like Riggs and Murtaugh. Starsky and Hutch. Crockett and Tubbs...
Oh, FFS. Sylar's about to kill one of them.
...
Dr. Zimmerman CREATED Tracy? CLONES!! CLONES!! Damn, I wish I'd posted my theory prior to the episode's airing.
...
OMG MATT HAS THE PAINTING POWER TOO??
Ugh, Hiro and Ando are on level 5?
HEY, Claire's not going to a cheerleader sleepover!
:P
Prior to this week's ep, I came up with a loony theory regarding Tranessica: multiple "clones" (or septuplets, or something similar) that sorta share a consciousness. When one dies, the others absorb the dying one's consciousness and powers. (Or maybe only one does, like the closest one.) Presumably, Niki absorbed Jessica when Jessica died... Perhaps Gina died offscreen and Niki absorbed her. Perhaps "Tracy" absorbed Niki when she died in the explosion.
...
Hah, Sylar looks about as freaked out as we did to find out MamaP is his mom. I can't imagine who in the hell is his father...
Bye, Bridget. Nice knowing you! (For 5 seconds.) MamaP must keep a supply of Bridgets around for just such an I-Must-Feed-The-Long-Lost-Son-Emergency(tm).
Hmm, since the Heroes Main Character Gene Pool seems limited, I'll bet we find out that Tranessica is related to Claire's mom. (But they'll probably save that for season 4.)
...
I see that Zombie Nathan has a door of +20 To Summon Dark Peter.
...
Ok, there's a baddie who shoots blue fire (we saw that last episode). What are the odds that he's going to get into a showdown with Claire's Biomom?
...
OMG, having Sylar out there catching baddies is just SICK.
...
Ha ha ha, they tried to make us think that Claire's Biomom was Lyle's Biomom, too.
Meredith: I think what Claire is trying to say is that when you're like us...
Mrs. Bennett: STFU NOOB!
...
OMG, Sylar is just MISUNDERSTOOD and needs STRUCTURE. *slaps forehead* Of course! Why didn't they think of that in season 1?
...
"What kind of overconfident nemesis are you?" Roffle.
Queue Haitian sighting in 3...2...1...
...
Mr. The German, don't taunt the Fear Demon. It's just... tacky.
I wonder if that bank is a WaMu.
...
Matt is tired of walking. Poor Matt.
Matt has an obsessed fan! Poor Matt.
...
Hmm, I wonder who "the guy" is whom Daphne works for. Hmm... Adam? Phantom Linderman? Horny Mohinder? Zombie Nathan? Bob (before he died)?
...
What a bizarre scene with HRG and Sylar. (That's the one where Sylar is telling the cops to bring them coffee.)
...
Oooooh! Tracy and Niki were born on the same day in the same hospital! My clone theory has merit!! :D :D :D
...
So, what are the odds that Dark Peter is actually Peter? (And not someone pretending to be Peter?)
...
Claire and Meredith: Girls Gone Wild.
...
Queue Sylar rescuing Noah in 3...2...1...
Whoa. Noah used reverse psychology on Sylar. They're such a cute team. They're like Riggs and Murtaugh. Starsky and Hutch. Crockett and Tubbs...
Oh, FFS. Sylar's about to kill one of them.
...
Dr. Zimmerman CREATED Tracy? CLONES!! CLONES!! Damn, I wish I'd posted my theory prior to the episode's airing.
...
OMG MATT HAS THE PAINTING POWER TOO??
Ugh, Hiro and Ando are on level 5?
HEY, Claire's not going to a cheerleader sleepover!
:P
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Stargate Atlantis Reviews: Whispers and The Queen
Whispers (507): Not awful, but not great. I was disappointed that the characters fell prey to horror movie cliches, like splitting up, wandering off at the peak of danger, and refusing to follow orders when sternly told to stay inside and lock the door. Also, there was a Pegasus human civilian whom they met upon arrival, he disappeared for a while, showed up later, and then died horribly. How did he survive in the interim? I think it would've been funny if the tough solder, Sgt. Dusty Wells (Mr. Entity called her "Rambette"), developed a crush on Dr. Beckett. Imagine him squirming uncomfortably as she hit on him. Heh.
The episode's biggest flaw was that it was dull.
I have one small gripe: I find it completely out of character that Sheppard didn't know he had all-female team. :P My first thought was that Sheppard would've noticed all those attractive women in one place. But the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me that Sheppard was ignorant about his teams, in general. First, given the high (government) classification of the Stargate program, there "should" be only a small pool of people to draw from, so it's not like there'd be a lot of unfamiliar faces. Second, given the various threats that Atlantis faces, it's important to know who both is and ISN'T supposed to be there; unfamiliar faces, teams, etc., should raise red flags. Ahh well...
The Queen (508): Let me put it to you this way. Mr. Entity, who is much more tolerant of less-than-great episodes than I am, said several times, "This is dumb."
This episode had numerous problems.
1. Dr. Keller, a relatively new arrival who's hardly had any screen time and background, has suddenly developed something (gene therapy, I assume?) to prevent the Wraith from feeding on humans? I realize that she used Michael's data, and Keller is very intelligent, but it still seems like this happened awfully quickly.
2. Telling Todd about this gene therapy was STUPID. Sure, Todd has teamed up with them in the past, but those instances provided clear benefits to both sides. What the Atlantis team was proposing would fundamentally alter the Wraith's way of life, and it was something that the Wraith had very little incentive to want. I recall that The Team's reasoning was that humans were a dwindling resource, so if the Wraith could feed on "normal" food, there wouldn't be competition for resources and hence would be less warring among the tribes. However, given that a previous Wraith tribe wanted to use Beckett's retrovirus to turn rival Wraiths into humans to feed upon, a safe assumption would be that, had Todd agreed to The Team's plan, his goal would be the same: neuter other Wraiths so that "his" Wraiths could feed upon them. The Team has been down this moral road before: It's one thing to kill Wraith, it's another thing to turn them into humans and allow them to die. Making an offer like this to a Wraith, without considering what would happen if he turned on them, was very irresponsible. And not only that, the last time they did something like this, it didn't work out so well. Plus, what Wraith would be stupid enough to make the first move and trust the other Wraith NOT to turn on him?
3. Take a drink every time Ronon says he thinks this is a bad idea! Take a drink every time Ronon threatens to kill Todd! Ronon's lines sounded like they were automatically generated.
4. Todd got an audience with The Primary, the Supreme Queen...just like that? No appointment making, no two week wait, no bribing of the secretary...?
5. Teyla seemed shocked that Todd changed the deal on her by murdering The Primary and forcing her (Teyla) to take the blame. I can't believe The Team didn't prepare for Todd to change the terms of the deal. I realize it was a lot more "dramatic" for Teyla to be caught off guard and put into a life-or-death situation, but it was extremely cliched and unoriginal. It showed that The Team hardly thought through the mission: they transformed Teyla physically and expected her to persuade The Primary that being transformed into humans was a good idea, just like that? It would've been much more interesting if they had essentially prepared some scenarios (plans A, B, C, D, E...), rehearsed them several times, thought through several incentives to pitch to the primary...and then seen all the planning thrown out the window by The Primary's hive -- not Todd -- doing something completely unexpected, forcing Todd and Teyla to work together to come up with a way out. Having Todd in so much control over the situation just emphasized what a horribly bad idea this was. The writers not only depicted The Team as being idiots, but the writers also presented a predictable, cookie-cutter situation.
6. Todd should have given Teyla a crash course on Wraith social behavior. Again, as I said above, they needed several well-rehearsed scenarios.
7. So, The Team made their way to the hive ship that Teyla and Todd were on, and they got captured. And Teyla went to talk to them in their prison cells. And The Primary's old second-in-command, who immediately distrusted Teyla (naturally), overheard Teyla talking to The Team. Wow. I. Did. Not. See. That. Coming.
8. Finally, at the end, Todd was left in control of the hive as the new "Primary"'s (Teyla's) proxy, he informed Teyla that he wasn't going to implement Atlantis' plan, and he sent Teyla on her way. Wow, I'm sure Todd will NEVER think of using all this power for his own gain, and especially to strike at Atlantis! Especially since he knows about their sooper seekrit plan!
Again, this whole thing was just stupid. The Team went through with an extremely risky play, allied with someone who is extremely intelligent, dangerous, and obviously has his own agenda, and they didn't leave behind any reins with which to control him. Nice going, writers! Your characters are officially idiots.
This episode made me think of the excellent TNG episode Face of the Enemy, how that the TNG episode was interesting and poignant, but that this Atlantis episode was embarrassing.
In some ways, what this comes down to, for me, is that I've never thought of the Wraith as good villains, and I'm getting tired of seeing them. They're one of those races that constantly leaves me wondering how they became spacefaring. They're too one-dimensional. Sure, we've learned more bits and pieces about them over time (e.g. they can give back life/strength to humans, just as they can take it). But they have no personality, no culture. All they do is fight and feed. They're what would be leftover from Klingons if you sucked away all of their personality.
The biggest thing about the Wraith which makes them so uninteresting to me is that they can never be allied with. Ever. They see humans the way that (non-vegetarian) humans see cattle. With SG-1, we had the Goa'uld as somewhat two-dimensional villains, but they were clever and interesting. Then we eventually had the Tok'Ra, who showed us that there could be a mutually beneficial relationship between humans and symbiotes. In other words, simply having a symbiote didn't make one evil, it was what you DID with it that made you evil. How can we ever say the same of the Wraith?
Wouldn't the Wraith be more interesting if we found out that the Wraith we've been shown were exceptions to "normal" Wraith? What if the Wraith we've seen came about through evolutionary necessity? Perhaps they got cut off from "normal" Wraith, and they had to evolve a way to feed on humans to survive? Or what if "normal" Wraith "evolved" socially and came to see feeding on humans as sinful, similar to how humans sometimes decide that eating animals is wrong and choose to be vegetarians? And then, what if those Wraith saw "our" Wraith as abominations? That would be somewhat interesting. From what we've seen in 5 years of Atlantis, all Wraith across the entire galaxy are exactly the same. This is disappointing.
The episode's biggest flaw was that it was dull.
I have one small gripe: I find it completely out of character that Sheppard didn't know he had all-female team. :P My first thought was that Sheppard would've noticed all those attractive women in one place. But the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me that Sheppard was ignorant about his teams, in general. First, given the high (government) classification of the Stargate program, there "should" be only a small pool of people to draw from, so it's not like there'd be a lot of unfamiliar faces. Second, given the various threats that Atlantis faces, it's important to know who both is and ISN'T supposed to be there; unfamiliar faces, teams, etc., should raise red flags. Ahh well...
The Queen (508): Let me put it to you this way. Mr. Entity, who is much more tolerant of less-than-great episodes than I am, said several times, "This is dumb."
This episode had numerous problems.
1. Dr. Keller, a relatively new arrival who's hardly had any screen time and background, has suddenly developed something (gene therapy, I assume?) to prevent the Wraith from feeding on humans? I realize that she used Michael's data, and Keller is very intelligent, but it still seems like this happened awfully quickly.
2. Telling Todd about this gene therapy was STUPID. Sure, Todd has teamed up with them in the past, but those instances provided clear benefits to both sides. What the Atlantis team was proposing would fundamentally alter the Wraith's way of life, and it was something that the Wraith had very little incentive to want. I recall that The Team's reasoning was that humans were a dwindling resource, so if the Wraith could feed on "normal" food, there wouldn't be competition for resources and hence would be less warring among the tribes. However, given that a previous Wraith tribe wanted to use Beckett's retrovirus to turn rival Wraiths into humans to feed upon, a safe assumption would be that, had Todd agreed to The Team's plan, his goal would be the same: neuter other Wraiths so that "his" Wraiths could feed upon them. The Team has been down this moral road before: It's one thing to kill Wraith, it's another thing to turn them into humans and allow them to die. Making an offer like this to a Wraith, without considering what would happen if he turned on them, was very irresponsible. And not only that, the last time they did something like this, it didn't work out so well. Plus, what Wraith would be stupid enough to make the first move and trust the other Wraith NOT to turn on him?
3. Take a drink every time Ronon says he thinks this is a bad idea! Take a drink every time Ronon threatens to kill Todd! Ronon's lines sounded like they were automatically generated.
4. Todd got an audience with The Primary, the Supreme Queen...just like that? No appointment making, no two week wait, no bribing of the secretary...?
5. Teyla seemed shocked that Todd changed the deal on her by murdering The Primary and forcing her (Teyla) to take the blame. I can't believe The Team didn't prepare for Todd to change the terms of the deal. I realize it was a lot more "dramatic" for Teyla to be caught off guard and put into a life-or-death situation, but it was extremely cliched and unoriginal. It showed that The Team hardly thought through the mission: they transformed Teyla physically and expected her to persuade The Primary that being transformed into humans was a good idea, just like that? It would've been much more interesting if they had essentially prepared some scenarios (plans A, B, C, D, E...), rehearsed them several times, thought through several incentives to pitch to the primary...and then seen all the planning thrown out the window by The Primary's hive -- not Todd -- doing something completely unexpected, forcing Todd and Teyla to work together to come up with a way out. Having Todd in so much control over the situation just emphasized what a horribly bad idea this was. The writers not only depicted The Team as being idiots, but the writers also presented a predictable, cookie-cutter situation.
6. Todd should have given Teyla a crash course on Wraith social behavior. Again, as I said above, they needed several well-rehearsed scenarios.
7. So, The Team made their way to the hive ship that Teyla and Todd were on, and they got captured. And Teyla went to talk to them in their prison cells. And The Primary's old second-in-command, who immediately distrusted Teyla (naturally), overheard Teyla talking to The Team. Wow. I. Did. Not. See. That. Coming.
8. Finally, at the end, Todd was left in control of the hive as the new "Primary"'s (Teyla's) proxy, he informed Teyla that he wasn't going to implement Atlantis' plan, and he sent Teyla on her way. Wow, I'm sure Todd will NEVER think of using all this power for his own gain, and especially to strike at Atlantis! Especially since he knows about their sooper seekrit plan!
Again, this whole thing was just stupid. The Team went through with an extremely risky play, allied with someone who is extremely intelligent, dangerous, and obviously has his own agenda, and they didn't leave behind any reins with which to control him. Nice going, writers! Your characters are officially idiots.
This episode made me think of the excellent TNG episode Face of the Enemy, how that the TNG episode was interesting and poignant, but that this Atlantis episode was embarrassing.
In some ways, what this comes down to, for me, is that I've never thought of the Wraith as good villains, and I'm getting tired of seeing them. They're one of those races that constantly leaves me wondering how they became spacefaring. They're too one-dimensional. Sure, we've learned more bits and pieces about them over time (e.g. they can give back life/strength to humans, just as they can take it). But they have no personality, no culture. All they do is fight and feed. They're what would be leftover from Klingons if you sucked away all of their personality.
The biggest thing about the Wraith which makes them so uninteresting to me is that they can never be allied with. Ever. They see humans the way that (non-vegetarian) humans see cattle. With SG-1, we had the Goa'uld as somewhat two-dimensional villains, but they were clever and interesting. Then we eventually had the Tok'Ra, who showed us that there could be a mutually beneficial relationship between humans and symbiotes. In other words, simply having a symbiote didn't make one evil, it was what you DID with it that made you evil. How can we ever say the same of the Wraith?
Wouldn't the Wraith be more interesting if we found out that the Wraith we've been shown were exceptions to "normal" Wraith? What if the Wraith we've seen came about through evolutionary necessity? Perhaps they got cut off from "normal" Wraith, and they had to evolve a way to feed on humans to survive? Or what if "normal" Wraith "evolved" socially and came to see feeding on humans as sinful, similar to how humans sometimes decide that eating animals is wrong and choose to be vegetarians? And then, what if those Wraith saw "our" Wraith as abominations? That would be somewhat interesting. From what we've seen in 5 years of Atlantis, all Wraith across the entire galaxy are exactly the same. This is disappointing.
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