Well, today is the day many of you have been waiting for. Yes, after having to suffer through nuisance entries on everything from Stargate to my personal life, you’ll all be pleased to know that, with the second round of the NFL playoffs almost upon us, it’s once again time to turn this blog over to our peerless pigskin procrastinators – long-time uber-villain and acting chairman of the League of Aliens and Mutants for Evil, Baron Destructo, and television’s first kid-friendly furry blue junkie, Cookie Monster – for their princely post-season predictions.
Those of you keeping track know that, coming off last weekend’s NFL match-ups and BCS Championship game, Baron Destructo and Cookie Monster have identical 3-2 records straight up. Meh, you may say. However, the Baron is an impressive 4-1 against the point spread. Vegas, take note! Can Baron Destructo continue his winning ways? Can Cookie Monster turn things around and mount a comeback? Will I find my house keys before I get home tonight? Only time will tell…
MATCH-UP: SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS
(Green Bay favored by 7 ½)
Cookie Monster: “Seattle defense knock down quarterbacks like Grover at Tijuana shot bar. Also, Seahawks coach Holmgren be Fozzie Bear of NFL – come back to old Sesame Street nayborhood, win over tuff crowd, den leave town with gold-plated commemorative plaque from Ukranian multicultural center. Final score: Seahawks 27 Packers 24.”
Baron Destructo: “Next to a clone army, there is no greater tactical advantage than an intimate familiarity with the field of battle. Last weekend, this was a lesson Seattle taught the upstart Redskins. This weekend, it shall be the host Packers turn to bestow the same lesson. Final score: Packers 31 Seahawks 14.”
MATCH-UP: JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS AT NEW ENGLAND PATRTIOS
(New England favored by 13 ½)
Baron Destructo: “New England possesses a far superior offense, the better coach, and a well-rested team. Also, a fact not widely circulated: quarterback Tom Brady is a Mark 12 state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line competitive sport robot. He will shred the Jaguars defense with his precision passing – or, as a last resort, his laser eye beams. Final score: Patriots 42 Jaguars 17.”
Cookie Monster: “Storied Sesame Street-Boston rivalry maybe biggest in sports, so very hard for Cookie Monster to pick New England Show-offs. Jaguars scrappy like Big Bird off meds. Final score: Jaguars 31 Patriots 30.”
MATCH-UP: NEW YORK GIANTS AT DALLAS COWBOYS
(Dallas favored by 7 ½)
Cookie Monster: “Beating same team 3 times in a row tuffer den Chili‘s steak served medium-well. And, like Cookie Monster say last week: Giant have heart like Snuffleupagus turd – big and chock full of surprises. Final score: Giants 17 Cowboys 10.”
Baron Destructo: “Last week, the Giants beat a Tampa Bay squad that appeared as competent as Admiral Apocalypto in his bid to steal Madagascar from the Russians. This week, they face the NFL version of, well, me. They shall PRAY FOR MERCY! Final score: Cowboys 35 Giants 10.”
MATCH-UP: SAN DIEGO CHARGERS AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
(Indianapolis favored by 8 ½)
Baron Destructo: “With all of the attention paid the New England Patriots and their pristine undefeated season, most have forgotten all about the defending Superbowl champions. And, like a supervillain underestimated and unappreciated by the simple-minded masses, the Colts have been lying in wait, quietly biding their time, ready to spring and claim their first unwary victims. The world shall rue their foolishness! Final score: Colts 28 Chargers 17.”
Cookie Monster: “Peyton Manning audibling remind Cookie Monster of his uncle Angus from Arkansas. For many years, me wonder if him Pentecostal or Spiritist because he always speaking in tongues. Turn out neither. He German. Final score: Chargers 34 Colts 28.”
I’ve never watched football, so I have no idea what Cookie Monster and Baron Destructo are talking about.
Please answer these questions. 1) What part of Scotland is Beckett from? (like his home town?) 2) Have you ever seen Flower Drum Song? (it’a musical from the fifties or sixties) 3) Have you ever seen Enchanted? (currently in theaters, starring Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey) Thanks.
New York Giants is a name that’s more apt for robot players !
You think Cookie Monster’s the junkie? More like Grover.. I’ve seen him and Beaker huddle in a corner whispering on the set of Sesame street. But then again, check out Gonzo’s crooked nose and his dazed eyes.. think that’s from his fetish for chickens? pah…
Joe I reckon your keys are under a sh*t load of papers that someone carelessly plonked over them. Near the phone! lol (bet I’m wrong)
Just noticed some old piccies of you Joe.. you lost weight? Your face looked er.. more “full” in some old pics.
Psst still waiting for the codes for italics and bold. I’ll start experimenting soon and it won’t be pretty!!! lol anon good nurse: I only pasted a url , with no codes so that works.. but I have no idea how to put the codes in for bold and italic 🙂
Go Cowboys!
Oh, I hope Cookie Monster is right about the Jacksonville vs NE game.. but it will be difficult…
And it only makes it worse Tom Brady used to be with the Jags… either way, today was Jaguar Day and everyone wore their Jag-gear (in case you haven’t guessed, I live in J-ville).
Anyways, really looking forward to Spoils, and looking forward even more-so to Quarentine.. anything you could tease us with about that one?
Yeah, I know nothing about them there foot-balls you keep rambling on about there, Cookie and the Baron. So instead, let’s see Joe answer this (please?):
I thought the Replicator Aurora class ships were kind of weaker than their Lantian cousins in BAMSR. They barely fired any drones and their shields seemed to have come down really fast. Do you agree? If so, is there an in-show reason for it (i.e. the reps were occupied with something yet to be seen)?
It’s time for Atlantis, and I’ll have to come back when I can quit laughing. Too, too funny……. *wiping tears of mirth away*
Annie: sorry ’bout dat. bold = [b]this[/b] and italics = [i]that[/i], except with very important substitution of pointed brackets, . Hope dat make sense.
Annie from Fremantle Says: Psst still waiting for the codes for italics and bold.
Me too, Annie! Anon, Good Nurse wrote yesterday to use ‘b’ for bold and ‘i’ for italic; but I can’t get it to work … is there a super-secret key stroke that I don’t know about? (or am I just a computer-illiterate bozo …?)
Sans spaces
Italics is
Bold is
Ah crud. OK, should’ve expected this, as was posted yesterday.
Put an “i” between two carats for italics.
Put a “b” between two carats for bold.
It’s all on the Internet. Basic HTML coding.
OK, well, not actually carats (they face the other way).
But anyway! Cookie Monster rocks and is gonna kick Baron Destructo’s ass. Y’know you all are thinking it!!!
Shift , key i Shift . key to start italicizing.
Shift , key / key i Shift . key to end italicizing.
Do the same for bold, but sub b for i.
And that’s the truth. Pppphhhhht!
eddy
I’ll be waiting to see how this week’s predictions pan out. I have a feeling the Pats will be going all the way, despite the hatred.
Watching tonight’s ep, I’ve got a strong image of the Uruk-hai from the LotR movies. Any influence there?
Hi Joe:
Well, you’ve done it again. You have found a way to make football sound interesting. I won’t watch it, but it sounds like more fun than, oh, say, golf. How do people watch golf on TV anyway?
Well, it happened again. My car was parked on the side of the road outside my house when a crazy guy who was driving too fast for the road conditions fishtailed and slammed into the driver’s side door. The R.C.M.P got him and no one was hurt. This vehicle has been hit three times in the past year while it has been parked on the side of the road. I swear that there are some vehicles that seem to have a target painted on them.
I am assuming that you will start shooting Atlantis in another month. If there is an actor’s strike, how long can you delay before the season is lost?
Patricia
Great job on tonight’s episode! I love all the backstory we get. It’s definitely an episode that pays off in a big way for the long-time fans. Now we know. Congratulate Alan on an awesome story. It was great to finally hear the name “Todd”. I think maybe someone mentioned it already in a previous post last year (maybe).
Question for Cookie Monster:
When you’re sitting down to watch the game do you like special cookies, or just your traditional chocolate chips? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with anything different. Have you thought about starting a cookie-of-the-month-club?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Ok, having just watched Spoils of War, for once I have no interest in Cookie Monster or the Baron. In a season where I keep looking for new compliments and superlatives, I find myself simply throwing out the thesaurus and going “wow”. Whatever you paid McCullough for the script, you need to double it. What a gem. Normally I use the commercial breaks to mull over what’s happened and try to predict the next twist. This one had me so on edge I could only cuss at the televison while the nuisance fillers kept me from seeing the next scene. At the moment this has moved to my favorite episode of the season, nudging out Taubla Rasa with action over suspense.
A few specific comments. Very nicely handled vignettes between Teyla and Sheppard throughout, as each clarifies and justifies their positions, while attempting to apologize. All the scenes ring true, right to Sheppard still uncomfortable with physical comforting of Teyla. I had the right idea on how the Wraith managed to breed their numbers though I hadnt anticipated the exact mechanism. A great history lesson. Todd is absolutely wonderful, and glad to see CH back playing him. The only thing I’m looking forward to more than seeing him again as an uneasy ally is when the inevitable moment when he becomes an overt enemy. Jason M. plays Ronan perfectly, the immediate child like denial followed by a reluctant admission…
The biggest fallout from this episode is going to be Teyla. It’s pretty apparant the child’s pedigree isnt quite as clear cut as everyone thinks, and it was wonderful finding Teyla using her innate powers so convincingly. They have tended to be more of a handicap than not, other than as a “wraith life detecter” in a passive mode. I do hope we get to see more of this, though how that might be managed with Teyla more actively protecting her unborn child…
I’m still wrapping my brain around this episode, so I’ll hold any questions off until tomorrow. Well done, and it is with increasing dread that I await the final episodes, with the inevitable hiatus that will follow..
Oh Cookie Monster! That whole “from Arkansas” line really cracked me up. I used to live in Arkansas (ok try to name a state I haven’t lived in!).
Great episode tonight! Season 4 has been pretty awesome in my opinion (and yeah, I’m a girl. Girls like Sci-fi! Cute actors of course help). I hope Season 5 continues the trend. Can I assume we’ll see more of Todd? And was that the regular Todd or the other guy? I couldn’t tell. I can’t wait to watch it again!
Elizabeth Says:
January 11, 2008 at 6:25 pm
I’ve never watched football, so I have no idea what Cookie Monster and Baron Destructo are talking about.
Please answer these questions. 1) What part of Scotland is Beckett from? (like his home town?)
Agree with Elizabeth – no idea about that type of football. Is that the game where all the guys were protective gear? Where’s the fun in that?
I think that Carson is from Perth. A lovely part of the country.
Narellefromaus writes: “I was considering I Am Legend as my next book (just finishing Consider Phlebas).”
Answer: What did you think of Consider Phlebas. I Am Legend is a terrific short novel. Haven’t seen the movie.
It’s a bit of a long reply sorry but here are my summations
on Consider Phlebas. The poor book went through a lot, as seen here <A HREF=http://narellefromaus.wordpress.com/2008/01/12/consider-phlebas-a-casualty-of-summer/but it managed to survive.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I had been wanting to branch out in the style of book I was reading (the easy reading and entertaining Harry Potter series had ruined me!) so I thought this would be a good opportunity.
I wasn’t that optimistic a few chapters in, and even 100 pages from the end I was thinking it was a great story but not much more than that. Then I read the appendices and I thought “what a brilliant book!”. The way it is applicable to today and then the message coming from Horza throughout the book of who was right and wrong was very interesting. It was as though after I read the appendices the entire story flashed back through my head and put a lot of the way the characters acted and their feelings in context. Call me dense for it taking until the appendices for the light globe above my head to shine brightly.
(Completely unrelated side comment: That reminds me of one of the funniest lines I have ever heard in a show. It’s from Scrubs. Dr Cox is looking at an XRay of a man with a light globe stuck in an unfortunate place. He says, “Either this man has a light globe in his colon, or his arse has a brilliant idea.”
Back to the book! Within the story there were some “don’t think about that too hard because it will hurt moments” that I thought were great. Such as, SPOILER COMING UP! when the Orbital blows and they are watching it unfold on the monitor, after it’s all done Horza knows that all he has to do is switch the monitor to real time and he will see the Orbital intact. That speed of light thought I loved and it just made me start thinking about the possibilities of what could be going on in the stars above us at night – must be done sitting in the spa, glass of wine with nowhere to stare other than up into the stars to get those crazy ideas really going.
The enormity of the Culture was unfathomable and my head enjoyed trying to imagine that kind of scale. When Fal found the tiny flake that looked like a spiral galaxy and was amazed by it, it was nice to see that Iain M. Banks could incorporate the message that beauty (and also strength) can be found in objects so small even when you only know enormity. This to me was how Fal about herself.
My favourite character was Unaha Closp. He was continually made feel different and not wanted, but when it came down to it he made the right decision and went to help these people. He was a machine and was continually reminded of that, but the irony was that if more humans possessed the strength of character that he did, it would be a much better world. These same humans that tell him he will never be considered worthy to be thought of as an equal being.
The Dramatis personae made me laugh. Of what become of Fal’s character was hilarious and the names of the new ships were great. I found the fate of Balveda moving.
While the number of dead in the entire war was monstrous, the Epilogue brought the adventure and its importance of just those few beings into context.
Well that’s the first book report I have done since finishing school 12 years ago and probably the last! That was what I found in the book and you may be thinking I’m a little nuts! But hey, I enjoyed the side thoughts that it created.
Apologies to Aelfgyfu for the sloppiness in my grammar and sentence structure! 🙂
And Joe, after this lengthy response you will never ask me that question again 😉
I will get I Am Legend as my weekday read if it is short as I don’t get much time and can then read it in short sessions.
doh! forgot to close my href.
Annie from Fremantle:
Try this website for the two HTML tags you want.
Anne Teldy
SoW was fantabulous. 🙂 You guys keep knockin’ ’em outta the park, it’s great! Nicely done. 🙂 And Todd escapes! *chuckles*
Hey, curiosity rearing her feline-like head: How long did it take to construct the principle sets of Atlantis? And how did you come up with the designs for say the Gate Room and all that?
Hey!
Be careful when doing your bets based on Baron Destructo/Cookie Monster’s choices Joe, they charge a 50% tax on any winnings due to their choices. They sure can be annoying for those little catches. 😛
Ah yes, I also still await the signatures from Baron and Cookie. When will I be expecting these? 😉
– Enzo Aquarius
PS – Great job with “Spoils of War”, answered TONS of questions! Looking forward to seeing how the games this weekend turn out!
They *keep* showing commercials here telling us to get the NFL channel in order to “watch the Buccaneers in action”, despite the fact that they aren’t even playing now. We’re really getting annoyed …
Eeeee! I so less-than-three Todd! Pleaaaase let him survive! (I feel like Andrew in the movie Nothing, when he says “Candybaaaaar! Candybarcandybarcandybarcandy…” over and over, only I’m all “Tooooodd! Toddtoddtoddtoddtoddtodd….”)
Man, this season is just clipping along, ain’t it? Lots of big reveals! And so many things that I wouldn’t have expected to happen at this point in the season! It’s like dang, what on earth can ypu do now that will surpass what’s happened in the season already? I mean, I loved season three — that was the season that got me on board with SGA, to be honest — but this one so far has blown it totally out of the water! (Except for “Tao” — that’s still my absolte fave ep. But most of this season has tied with “Sunday” as my second now.)
Loved Ronon dragging Rodney out of the locker room! Loved the history lesson — I pouted when John interrupted it. Loved Rodney referring to Todd as “our friend”. Hey, Teyla’s more like John than ever now, with her Wraith gene being boosted by her baby! Lots of *great* John/Teyla interaction, too (even though I don’t really ship them, I can definitely appreciate why people would). Loved Ronon’s expression when he saw the cloning pods — that was priceless. Love that it took two shots of the stunner to take him down (yay, continuity!). Teyla’s struggle with the Queen was the best interaction between her and a Wraith yet! 😀
I freaked when the Wraith ship hit the “factory” — mom figured out that they’d used in the jumper before I managed to. And then I freaked out for Todd when I realised he wasn’t in the jumper with them! Love that Rodney didn’t seem happy about/comfortable with what might have happened to the guy. And what a bummer that they didn’t get a ZPM! 🙁
Great John/Teyla moment at the end. All in all, a good follow-up to BAMSR, as strong of one as “Lifeline” was to “Adrift”, with lots of nice team moments. And Lorne! Yay Lorne! 🙂
I’m enjoying Moonlight too (and tonight’s ep was especially good, a nice lead-in for SGA), but I stil find plenty of things to nitpick about it when I do my reviews of it. (In fact, my reviews of that show seriously make we wonder why exactly I am so fond of it.) SGA on the other hand …. there has been very little to complain about, and plenty to squeal excitedly over. I’m almost worried that people reading the reviews must think I am related to someone on the crew or something ….
Spoils of War was a great ep! Loved all the info about the Wraith. The character moments (especially with Teyla) were wonderful too.
The Wraith birthing scene was as icky as you promised. A question: since we saw Ellia as a child, does that mean the females and the commanders are “hatched” as babies and grow? Will we find out more about that in a later ep? Will we ever find out if the Wraith have names and what Todd’s really is?
WOW!! “Spoils of War” was *so* awesome. The audio fx (AFX?) and score grabbed me right from the start; and just as happened with BAMSR, I almost felt like I was sitting in a movie theater. The story, as well, was strong on plot from the beginning, and got progressively stronger. Equally so with characterization – really liked the Shep/Teyla scene earlier on, and *loved* the one at the end, with its own beautiful and very effective musical score. It was nice to see Lorne from a different POV, as well; and McKay just being McKay is always fun at some point – not to take Rodney’s character for granted. Ronon did what he does best (although a couple of times I thought Jason M.’s reaction time was just a bit too long. A minor quibble.)
The scenes featuring Teyla and the Wraith queen were very impressive: theatrical, but in a really good way; the drama was very powerful. You could tell easily enough what the queen was leading up to with Teyla’s baby; but since we knew that the queen didn’t yet know, it was still very dramatic – quite tense, at the end – since we couldn’t be quite sure how the queen would exploit the knowledge. I really, really loved the cutbacks from Teyla and Lorne to Teyla and the queen, then Teyla speaking to Shep from within the queen. That was just awesome storytelling.
I’m guessing that the fan forums are going to get some complaints about the Teyla-baby-queen concept being too much like Jessica and in-utero Alia from Dune. Similar to some extent, yes, as far as we’ve seen; still, it was framed with a uniquely Atlantis perspective – and we also have yet to see how the SGA storyline will develop. The thought that the fetus was strengthening Teyla’s abilities is both intriguing and eerie. Watching things develop will be fascinating.
The atmosphere felt just right, with no loss for the VFX being more subtle in general, since they were well done as usual and quite often excellent – for instance during the Teyla/Wraith queen part. Again, the audio made all the spooky parts even spookier.
Beautifully done ending. – Time to watch again. 😀
Joe,
Thought Spoils of War was fan-freakin-tastic. Give Alan and Will a big wet kiss from me.
anon: I did that before and it didn’t work. I think instead of this [ one has to use < and from the link provided from AnnTeldy (thankyou), instead of i, one uses em .
Lemme try:
I am in italics I hope OR
work!!!! lol
So what did people think of Spoils of War , or SOW? hahaha Haven’t seen it yet. I’m told there’s a very funny line that McKay says but thank God he didn’t tell me the line.
Now work!!!
Loved Rodney’s line about the bee 😀
Had me laughing enough that I almost missed some of the show after 😉
Great show all in all!
Oh yeah, in the beginning when we see what the Wraith did while lagging behind, why was the ZedPM they held up seemingly dead?
GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!
Cookie monster knows a good team when he sees one ……………GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!1
The episode was great! The financee and I watched it together, over the phone (we are in different states).
I have a question though; in the first season, we would see the prison doors on the Wraith ships coming apart to open, and then reforming to close. In this episode, the prison door slides up in its entirety. What gives?
Any chance of a hug between Shepard and McKay in Season 5?
Loved SOW. Ronon and Rodney had some funny scenes! More scenes of them together please!
Great episode!
It is interesting that Cookie Monster, in his prediction of the Cowboys/Giants playoff game, mentions the restaurant chain Chili’s. Cookie Monster perhaps was not aware that Chili’s is part of Brinker International, which is headquartered in…wait for it…Dallas, TX.
I think the big question involving the outcome of the game should be: Did Cowboys QB Tony Romo strain his arm whilst turning the pages of the books he bought earlier this week at his local bookstore, or will the knowledge contained within those tomes skyrocket his team to victory?
We’ll find out soon enough, ladies and gents.
I just wanted you to know that I have mass quantities of love for Stargate Atlantis. “Spoils of War” was awesome in every possible way. Todd (the coolest Wraith), The Team, Lorne (who has nephews!), really disgusting (and nightmare inducing) Wraith birthing, Teyla and Baby Boy as a super team. Everything! And then there was an explosion! Explosions last week, explosions this week – I’m getting spoiled!
If I could just see a Teyla and Rodney bonding moment, I’d be good as gold. 😉
Great job to all involved!
Forgot to mention the edge-of-my-seat tension with the hive ship coming after the ship Teyla, Lorne, and Todd were on. And I’m glad that Todd was left with a possible avenue of escape. He’s a fascinating character: hard to tell if everything he says is legit, or if he’s the ultimate liar with an as-yet-unrevealed agenda of his own.
I wish the music at the end could have gone on for several more minutes. I thought it was lovely, poignant, without being overly sweet or melodramatic. Did Joel Goldsmith compose that?
– Okay, another quibble: I guess the Wraith makeup was changed for a good reason (I still don’t like it), but it was a little too much when I saw the one commander Wraith with a hairstyle my mother used to wear. Seriously. It made me want to grab a brush, comb, and some hairpins to see what I could give him in the way of an “up” ‘do.
———
Still laughing my arse off over:
“Jaguars scrappy like Big Bird off meds.” (Oh man, that one’s making my tummy sore….)
“Peyton Manning audibling remind Cookie Monster of his uncle Angus from Arkansas. For many years, me wonder if him Pentecostal or Spiritist because he always speaking in tongues. Turn out neither. He German.”
“Seattle defense knock down quarterbacks like Grover at Tijuana shot bar.”
“Quarterback Tom Brady is a Mark 12 state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line competitive sport robot. He will shred the Jaguars defense with his precision passing – or, as a last resort, his laser eye beams.”
– And all the rest. I remember these lines at some inopportune times, and know people are wondering about the chick who’s standing around quivering with laughter at nothing anyone else can see or hear.
Did you find your house keys? See, we really are interested in your personal life, as long as you first keep us updated on SG: Atlantis, your lil’ furry dudes, the NFL playoff scene, Martin’s Hawaiian vacation, Fuel, trends in exotic chocolate, Fondy’s shoes, your gingko’s rhetorical abilities, and so on. (Recognizing that everyone has his/her own areas of interest.) Everything in its place. *grins*
Excellent episode, and great-looking and sounding, too. Tell Alan he’s as talented as he is handsome, and that’s saying something. 🙂
Michelle
Bravo!! Spoils of War finished fifteen minutes ago and I’m still out of breath. I loved it from beginning to end. another standing O from me. Thank you!
Holy batcrap batman, your blog reckons there’ve been 4 count ’em [b]FOUR[/b] responses and i counted over 20 …then forgot how many over twenty D’UH! anyway that is purely by the by.
Cookie Monster: “Peyton Manning audibling remind Cookie Monster of his uncle Angus from Arkansas. For many years, me wonder if him Pentecostal or Spiritist because he always speaking in tongues. Turn out neither. He German.
Joe you crack me up! I don’t follow football inspite of the fact that I am the proud owner of a New England Patriots cap which I only wear when I’m driving, but I DO love reading The Baron’s and Cookie Monsters words of wisdom.
BTW I’m not a fan of Horrific Tests on Male Lamas.
Yet another great ep in Spoils of War (was there any doubt). Big congrates to all involved.
Im actually just stopping by to warn you about the backlash already occuring in some groups after seeing the promo for next week.
Reactions ranging from “He is only doing it because that’s the only way Katie will give him any” to the best I’ve seen so far “Zelenka/Carter? I say YES!”
All highly amusing
Just here to add that it’s a little embarrassing how much I love Tod. I sincerely hope we see him again.
Personally I thought SOW was made of win – a lot of action but interspersed with enough character moments to balance it out. Can’t wait for next week – speaking of which, I don’t know if it was intentional but the trailer had me rolling, because it’s all these pairs of people having interpersonal moments and then Sheppard hanging off the side of a building. It’s like he didn’t get the memo that this is a relationship episode.
And I’m hoping for 17-0 tomorrow – I don’t know what brings me more joy, the Pats or the Celtics. Being a Bostonian rocks these days.
Thank you Alan and Joe.
This was a gift to the fans. Loved all the moments in this. I adored the locker room scene there was just something cool about them all suiting up, I love glimpses like that and Rodney trying to eavesdrop only to be dragged out by Ronon.
We needed this, needed the John and Teyla interactions. They felt real, Teyla’s wanting to stay active, feeling useful. And learning that John’s call was right, even if the man isn’t the best communicator.
Loved the Wraith history lesson and some desperately needed back story on them..including one of the key reasons on how they defeated the Ancients…of course I’m loving Todd….its cool to see more layers to him.
Favorite part was the ending, John is still so socially awkward..its very endearing. I really hope we might get more insight into that in “Outcast” as I know Alan is wrote that as well. A fine character driven eppy with cool action.
Hello Joseph ♥
Sa va bien? Alalalalala la NFL, je voudrais tellement que l’on en parle un peu en france car j’adore!!!
jespert que “Spoils of War” aura été beaucoup regarder^^! Mais bon, je n’est pas d’inquiétude^^!
Bon…ba ma journée commence..donc je n’est pas grand chose a vous racontez de nouveaux^^!
Je repasserais plus tard….KISOUUUU!! ••••
I was just wondering if we’ll ever see Hammond on Atlantis or an ancient transport ship in season 5?
Thanks.
You guys have hit another one over the fences with “Spoils of War”, and I have to say that there hasn’t been an episode of season 4 that I haven’t enjoyed for the most part. Great stuff, Joe, I hope you guys keep this up so we can get a season 6! *is v. greedy when it comes to her favorite shows*
Now, I just wonder how tonight’s plot lines are going to affect the rest of this season and next season. o.o
“…plus, I was running from a bee.”
This has got to be one of the funniest McKay lines, EVER! Keep up the good work! 😀
I loved SoW. It was a worthy follow up to the excellent BAMSR.
I loved the story, AM did a great job here. I was fascinated by the wraith reproduction scenes, but, I’m presuming this was just for drones and that the other wraith types, females and the more superior ‘Todd’ type grow differently? Perhaps their brains are more evolved and for this reason they are born at a earlier stage of physical development so their brains have time to mature?
Sheppard and Teyla’s scenes were wonderful. Their interaction was lovely, and they have such a deep bond and that was lovely to see here. The hug at the end was really beautiful, and I really enjoyed seeing the mission ready room scene! I chuckled when Ronon yanked Rodney away so Sheppard and Teyla could talk. The poor guy is clueless, isn’t he?! This was a good episode for Teyla too. It was interesting her baby makes her wraith abilities stronger. I wonder why that is? Is it just her son has a strong concentration of wraith dna and can enhance her abilities owing to the combination of Teyla’s and Kanan’s dna? Or is there something more sinister at play here?
I loved the sets – they were creepy, yet detailed and most impressive. As for the wraith queen? She scared me! She was really intimidating. I loved it when she tried to interrogate Sheppard! My whumpy lil ‘ol heart was all a flutter! Is there any reason why Sheppard has been able to withstand interrogations by wraith queens so well? Just curious. Of course it’s possible he’s just such a big, strong heroand all I suppose? Or maybe it’s something to do with the whole ‘coulda been mensa ‘ thing. Only kidding, I just love that line and have to repeat it whenever possible. Yeah, that’s sad, I know…
I love Todd. He’s just fantastic. It was great to hear him officially named!
Thus, overall this was a complete success for me. It had tension, great character moments and was well paced. Congratulations to all.
Oh, Cookie and Baron really need to reconsider their careers. They’re obviously destined to be sports commentators!
Congratulations to everyone, cast and crew alike, on “Spoils of War”, another excellent episode in a consistently impressive season.
One detail has left me pondering: the reference to two “minds” inside Teyla’s body. (Damn you, Stargate Atlantis people, for making your viewers think! Don’t you know you’re supposed to be providing mindless entertainment?) Now, assuming that the character is, at most, four months pregnant, what is this reference supposed to mean? That a human foetus, at 16 weeks or less, has a mind? That would be scientifically absurd – yes, yes, I know, it’s science *fiction*, but there are limits to the suspension of disbelief. (It would also, by the way, be somewhat offensive to anyone who’s pro-choice, but I’m assuming that nobody consciously set out to push Catholic theology on us.)
Or … does it mean that the foetus is not actually human after all?
Greetings, Joe!
“Spoils of War” was terrific! Loved the Shep/Teyla interaction, the Lorne/Teyla interaction, and Todd keeping everyone on their toes.
Morjana
Just watched spoils of war, and what an episode, finally we get an answer as to why the ancients were poorly prepared for the final battle, damn cloning. Of course i feel like i have to say, can’t you guys think of anyway for mass birthing without resorting to cloning? All of the biggest races bar ancients use cloning of a sort. The asgard, asurans, replicators and now the wraith. Boo on the cloning.
Other than that the episode was great, finally Teyla understands that it wasn’t just her that John was concerned about, it was her unborn son as well.
Spoils of War was awesome. I think I liked it even more than Bamsr. It had everything I love. Great action, great team moments and CH back as Todd my favourite Wraith. I liked the follow up between Sheppard and Teyla and both of them did an amazing job. These kind of scenes are what draws me to SGA, because I don’t just want to see space battles, I won’t to see real emotional human beings and tonights episode had this in spades.
Kudos to Rachel Lutrell for doing such a convincing job and her scene with Sheppard in the end was quite heartbreaking. I get the feeling that Sheppard is still a bit hurt about her pregnancy and maybe hiding some hidden feelings from her.
I’m wondering if there is more to this baby than meets the eye and if Michael has had something to do with it afterall. I can’t see her baby having a stronger Wraith gene than her unless it is somehow part Wraith. That would be an interesting outcome.
Season four is definitley stacking up to be my favourite season and I love the closness of all the team. They all shone in tonights episode and this is how I like it. The season just gets better and better. Keep it coming.
Heh. Teyla’s got a wraith baby. And Michael’s *so* the father (in some weird, genetic manipulation way, no doubt).
In other Sci-Fi news, you probably don’t watch Ghost Hunters, but the premiere of Ghost Hunters International got the best ratings of any reality show the network’s ever had. 1.97. I was pretty impresed by that, though it seems, judging by the Sci-Fi boards, that a lot of people didn’t actually like it. Very curious to see how it does next week. At the same time, I lament that such brilliant shows as Stargate aren’t doing as well. Different audiences, probably.
By the way, what’s up with Shep’s inability to give a proper hug? Is it related to his Kirk-ness that he’s unable to just give a simple friendly, supportive hug without it being totally awkward? (Not that I’m criticising.)
OK, now we need to stop referring to Spoils of War as SOW because all I see is “Scope of Work” and then I go into the foetal position rocking thinking I need to do something for work.
When can we expect new info on Stargate Universe?
Can I just also say that when roaming around the US as a sprightly 13 year old dancer on a West Coast tour that I thought I was participating in the whole Super Bowl hype by wearing my LA Kings hat. Yeah, well, at least I tried.
Do you know anything about Mitch Pileggi’s involvement in the upcoming x-files movie???
As a fan of the show(if you are one), do you have personal views about where you would like to see SGA go? Could you share those views? Pleeease???
Much in the same way as Joe F, does in his interviews. He acknowledges his personal feelings about the show. A given arc, and episode. And there is NOTHING wrong with that.
A) because he does not give away spoilers when he speaks about his views. B) Well…he is Joe Flanigan, the JOE FLANIGAN.
Not that you said there was anything wrong with that. I was not inferring you have a preconceived judgement…or was I??
Loved the episode but bit disappointed they didn’t get the ZPMs or at least one of them and that Todd didn’t leave with the team. It would be interesting to see how you could use his character if he returned back in Atlantis.
Spoils of War = spoiled rotten kid- yep, Teyla’s son is gonna be a handful! and now we know he’s definitely gonna have strong Wraith genetic traits, perhaps on a par with the strength of John’s ATA gene abilities. This episode had a great balance of action and character scenes, thanks for making a bit more inroad to the character of Maj Evan Lorne! VERY satisfactory handling of Teyla’s Wraith mental ability and pregnancy and her & Sheppard’s feelings about it- Sheppard’s initial reaction really bothered me so I’m glad it was addressed again, right there in your face & dealt with openly in this segment as opposed to being shoved under the rug as a minor secondary thing. Since we didn’t get to see it, I can only imagine Rodney’s reaction to Teyla’s pregnancy was “Oh!!…..{that surprised look he has with awkward pause}… well… congratulations!” and then he doesn’t give it another thought for awhile. I like that Todd the Wraith got away, hope we see him again (even as a baddie) and and nice crash of the Hive. PS Ronon really does like Rodney haha. I love their scenes together.
DD
Hi again, I was also wondering, was the ‘cloning facility’ in Spils of War the great secret that the Aurora crew was transporting back to Atlantis?
Thanks,
Wow. Really enjoyed Spoils of War. I’ve been loving Season 4 anyway but this recent 3-episode arc has been fantastic – kudos to all involved! 😀
I enjoyed the action in the episode – and the tension! I found myself on several occasions on the edge of my seat and shouting at the TV (e.g. “Just shoot her!!!” :lol:). But I think what I loved most were the character moments.. and there were so many great ones! The several scenes between Sheppard and Teyla, resolving the issue brought up in last week’s episode, were wonderful and really well done. Their reasoning on both sides was believable and it was nice to see the team actually talking about personal stuff. The Lorne and Teyla scene was really lovely – Lorne is such a great character and always comes across as a very competent soldier but also a really nice guy. I also loved the couple of humourous Ronon and Rodney moments in this episode – from Ronon dragging him physically from the locker room to their exchange in the hive, “Did you touch something?” “No… maybe a little bit.” 🙂 Oh and regarding the locker room scene – just loved having a scene set in there at all.. really great to get kind of a glimpse of daily life on Atlantis and where they go to gear up for missions etc. Been excited about the idea of the locker room ever since you posted a picture of the set design in your blog months ago.. and it didn’t disappoint. 🙂
What else was fab? Aside from all of it… ooh yes, the Wraith! Great to find out so much more about the Wraith – how they reproduce, how they won the war etc. And Teyla’s storyline with the Wraith queen kicked ass! The scenes of she and the queen fighting for control of the queen’s body, all lit in that sickly green, with the queen prowling around behind her.. were just so creepy and tense and just fantastic!
Okay so I’ve waffled but just wanted to share my enjoyment of the ep! I do have one question that springs to mind though…
Are you guys ever going to address the issue of how the Wraith call/name themselves? Do you as writers not find it constraining to write scenes between Wraith where they cannot refer to others by name? It did seem like the dialogue between the queen and the male wraith got a little stilted here and there whenever they were referring to Todd and not being able to name him, always having to refer to him as “the other hive’s commander” or some such. What’s your thought – do the wraith have names (those that aren’t drones, at least) to identify each other or communicate? Or do their psychic abilities mean they don’t feel the need for names.. tho, if that were the case, I would think they would communicate telepathically rather than speaking (tho, obviously from a production perspective, that would make filming the show rather more difficult! :lol:). Surely they must have some way of identifying themselves as an individual? Even the Borg, who were a true hive mind, got to be 7 of 9 and such! 😀
Spoils of War was a FANTASTIC ending to a great 2-parter! Hehe… Congrats to both Alan M. and Will W. for a job well done. Used my new DVD recorder for first time and absolutely overdosed on re-watching the ep 3 times over!
Relationships are really strengthening now. Good!
Thornyrose said: “The biggest fallout from this episode is going to be Teyla. It’s pretty apparent the child’s pedigree isn’t quite as clear cut as everyone thinks, and it was wonderful finding Teyla using her innate powers so convincingly.”
I have to AGREE, perhaps the baby’s daddy isn’t Kanaan after all. Lest we forget Michael was alone with Teyla on at least 2 occasions. This would go far in explaining the boost in Wraith-like abilities in Teyla and the Queen saying she sensed 2 strong minds. At 3 months normal human geststation, is the baby’s brain that far advanced? I wonder… Anon, Good Nurse, Thornyrose? How about it?
Happy to see John/Teyla make nice. Thought Rodney was a little “off” in this ep though, seemed not himself. Ronon had some good lines, but still hard to hear all of them. Tell Jason to speak up! Happy to know how the Ancients were overrun by Wraith over-production. Logical and well told.
Wow, keep these gems coming and the SG franchise should be safe for many moons to come… HUZZAH!
Olea wrote (on January 10, 2008 at 10:21 pm):
I’m not the omniscient Mr. M, but I can tell you that if the Beckett killed in Sunday was a clone, he couldn’t have been cloned during the events of “Misbegotten”. At least, not without some serious plot holes/continuity errors.
First: There was no real lab on the planet where Michael and the others were being held. How and where would Michael have cloned him? Beckett was rescued from the planet before the hive ship arrived. Michael left the planet long after the team was rescued by the Daedalus. (In “Vengeance” he told Teyla “the hive that finally rescued [him]”.)
Second: To the best of our knowledge, the Wraith cannot extract memories and personalities from a person to be put into a clone. Only the Replicators, after probing a person’s mind, have been shown capable of doing that. How then could a Wraith-made Beckett clone have functioned as the real Dr. Beckett from “Misbegotten” to “Sunday” if he had none of his memories?
Please note that I am not saying the Beckett killed was not a clone. I’m not even saying Michael doesn’t have him. (Actually, I believe Michael does have him.) All I’m saying is that I don’t see how Beckett could have been cloned in “Misbegotten”.
However, since the only time I myself can think of the Replicators having a chance to clone Beckett is in “Progeny”, the whole “Dead Beckett = Clone” is problematic. At the very end of “The Return, Part 2” (which, of course, was after “Progeny”), Dr. Weir implied that everyone was scanned for nanites. Since nanites built the only human clones we’ve seen (the duplicate team in “This Mortal Coil”), how could Beckett have checked out okay?
Was I the only one who thought the gang was crazy for not at least considering that the whole thing might be a trap? I kept having the feeling they were being led along by their nose to that Wraith facility by someone. First the transmitter, then the map conveniently pops up, etc. Okay, maybe it was just Todd’s way of leaving a breadcrumb trail in hope that they would rescue him. But I still think it’s mighty convenient that our guys have twice been handed the means to wipe out huge threats in a single swipe. Makes me suspicious…
I survived the week in the classroom. The best part was watching the NYC cop, now transplanted to Midwest suburbia, trying to grasp the differences in how things are done here. Yes, cops have to be a lot more polite to people here than in his part of New York, but on the flip side, people here don’t generally carry D batteries around in their pockets for the express purpose of throwing at cops. And people here don’t stab you in the hand with the pen when you ask them to sign their traffic tickets. He finds this all amazing.
Me revoila 🙂
Quoi de new??
Je suis plonger dans la planet “stargate atlantis” depuis 8 heure. Et je ne m’en lasse pas du tout. J’ai fait une expédition sur atlantis virtuel dans mon blog et sa marche bien =).
Bon je repasserais plus tard…. lol
Dear Joe,
I watched Spoils of War and I LOVED it!! Everything was fantastic from the team dynamic to the action to John/Teyla moments. Excellent work. Thank you for that!!
My last post did not appear. Testing… testing… Joe, am I blocked?
If so, then please know that I remain a loyal fan of all things Stargate. Cheers!!
Was Spoils of War the episode where Alan was to Introduce Wesley was Major Lorne’s First name until it was discovered that Evan was used on a flight suit? Will we ever see Lorne address by /reveal his first name on screen?
Cheers!
you been keeping up with any hockey?
Oh, nevermind… the post is there… something amiss with
my laptop… whew! Thought I stepped on a toe or something…
From Crazymom: “Was I the only one who thought the gang was crazy for not at least considering that the whole thing might be a trap? I kept having the feeling they were being led along by their nose to that Wraith facility by someone.”
Yes-yes-yes!! AGREED! I, too, felt an ominous hand at play, sort of waiting for Todd to betray them or suddenly to be found out. Maybe that was just a lag to accommodate the exposition underway between Todd & McKay though. The creepy floor fog was also a good scene prop, complimenting all the other gooey warrior goings on. Yuck!
Still wondering about Teyla and Michael… hm-m-m…
Question for Joe: Is it possible to purchase SGA scripts from past eps anywhere online? I don’t mean the free transcripts, but actual shooting scripts, that were used to shoot the eps? Just point me to the site and I will gladly flash my plastic! Thanks Joe!
I have to say, I am whole-heartedly with Baron on each of his predictions. Still hoping for that Packers-Patriots Superbowl!
Also, wanted to say Spoils of War was great. I loved the character moments and the history behind the defeat of the Ancients. I really enjoyed the Wraith POV at the beginning.
I’m going to have to side with Cookie Monster when it comes to the Giants vs the Cowboys. Really hoping for another New York win. Eli vs Tony – Eli all the way. I hope.
Loved last nights episode. My favorite episodes have always been those that have a lot of character moments. I thought that “Spoils Of War” was full of them. I especially enjoyed the scene between Teyla and Lorne. Oh, and also any scenes that we get between McKay and Ronon I really enjoy. They had a couple of short scenes together that I thought were really cute.
PS: I checked out Don’s website and all I can say is WOW. He is very, very talented. I think it’s really special that you and Fondy have a piece of Don’s art hanging in Fondy’s office. IMO, to be able to have and enjoy a piece of art that was done by a friend – definitely priceless!
Well, it’s all been said, really, but Spoils of War was a great episode. Exciting action, absolutely wonderful character moments. There’s not much more I can add to what’s already been noted in the comments.
Um… how accurate have Baron Destructo and Cookie Monster been in the past? Will they be sharing a pint with their bookie while all this is going on?
Carol Z said…
” At 3 months normal human geststation, is the baby’s brain that far advanced? I wonder… Anon, Good Nurse, Thornyrose? How about it?”
I’m a paramedic and not a nurse, but from my experience and with the input from a couple of pediatric nurses, the answer is most definitely “no”. At this point the brain is still wiring itself to handle basic body functions. While the fetus may detect sensation there is no evidence of any higher functions whatsoever. We of course dont know what the gestation time of a “Commander” or “Queen” model Wraith would be. For that matter we dont know what effect Teyla’s limited telepathy(at least with other Wraith) may play in stimulating the development of the fetus’ brain. But I cant imagine that this child is going to be “normal” in any Human or Wraith sense of the world. More excitement for season five…
A sort of question for Mr. M, if he notices. Given Teyla’s increasingly successful handling of Wraith Queens, might we at some point actually see male Wraith begin to react to her more as a Queen than as a meal? Just wondering if the possibility had been considered.
narellefromaus Says:
OK, now we need to stop referring to Spoils of War as SOW because all I see is “Scope of Work”
I keep seeing a big pig.
My friends and I are wondering about Rodney’s complete lack of reaction to Teyla’s news. However, it’s been pointed out that he was never present during pregnancy-related discussions in “BAMSR” and Ronon removed Rodney from the room before the word baby could be bandied about at the beginning of “Spoils of War.”
What I’m wondering now is, is it *possible* that Rodney’s actually oblivious enough that he doesn’t *know* yet, even though clearly Lorne’s heard about it through the Atlantis grapevine?
Bonjour Joseph,
Haaa, la fin de semaine, que c’est merveilleux. On peut lire plus longtemps son journal au déjeuner, on prend son café calmement sans avoir à regarder sa montre comme une hystérique à chaque 10 secondes parce qu’on a peur d’être en retard (en fait moi je suis toujours à la dernière minute, je suis comme le petit lapin dans Alice aux pays des merveilles je cours les yeux fous avec ma montre dans la main ! lol ) J’espère que tout va bien pour toi, il me semble que tu n’as pas donné beaucoup de nouvelles sur ton humeur et ta vie dans les derniers blogues (qui tendaient plutôt dans le général) alors je te pose la question: alors, ça va bien toi ? Comment va la vie par chez toi ? Moi, je vais très bien.
I just arrive from the library and I took three books: The last unicorn by Peter S Beagle, American gods by Neil Gaiman and Children of the night by Dan Simmons. So thank to some of you for yours suggestions and thank Joseph for Dan Simmons. I really hope is gonna be good !
Okay, if you need for the show something in a foreign language, how do you translate it? Zelenka says often sth in Czech.
Thanks!
Well Spoils of War, yeah quite a good episode. Good to see the end of the battle from the Wraiths perspective as well. I thought the character scenes were very good, the Sheppard Teyla ones in particular, and the Lorne Teyla ones as well. Finding out more about the Wraith is also welcome. I’ve been wondering about the faceless Wraith for a while.
One question was the method we saw of cloning only how the faceless Wraith are born, or are some of the other Wraith types born that way as well? Given that we’ve seen child Wraith (Ellia) they must also give birth in a normal way? (whatever that is) But is it only the faceless that are born that way?
But overall, quite a good episode, maybe 7-8/10.
Waou, bravo pour la magnifique vétement de Teyla qu’elle porte dans ” Quarantine” elle est superbe!
http://stargate.mgm.com/stills.php?series=2&season=4
Je me demander quelque chose, comment s’apelle le technicien qui est jouer par Chuck Campbell ??
Congrats on the PCA win. Good luck with your football bets, and I hope to watch Spoils of War sometime this weekend.
Have you seen the new CBS show, The Big Bang Theory, that airs on Tuesday nights? I finally watched it for the first time this week, and oh, my, it’s like: “Rodney McKay and Radek Zelenka: The Early Years”. The show is about two physicists (Sheldon and Leonard) and their two friends, and their interactions among themselves and their pretty new neighbor, Penny. My husband and son watched it with me, and they both felt it was “laugh out loud” funny while also being too close to home, since they are both self-proscribed geeks. If you get a chance, you should check out the episode, “Big Bran Hypothesis”. That episode along with pilot are available on the cbs.com website.
Oh, and further proof of the show’s geekiness: The Barenaked Ladies do the theme song. Like my husband said to me, the choice was probably between BNL or “They Might Be Giants”.
Hi Joe,
Spoils of War was EXCELLENT ! I’m sorry to say that, but I found it so good it actually surprised me because I really didn’t like the first half of the season, but this… This episode was great!
The set, the atmosphere, the actors, everything was great. The character moments were nice too, I loved the scenes between John and Teyla (it may be the first episode in the whole show they actually *talk* to each other), and Lorne was so cute saying “You would be a great mom”.
So that’s what we’re going to get in the second half of the season? Does the end (?) of the Replicators mean less space-ship-boom-boom battles and more episodes like that?
Good stories with strong character moments, insight into the Wraith society, and “history lessons” about Ancients and the Wraith?
For instance : is The Last Man going to be the opposite of BAMSR?
Afraid I crashed early last night, so no comments on “Spoils of War” as yet.
I see the Pistons and the Spurs are even, 1 and 1, counting the preseason game. They next meet March 14 at Detroit. No bets (if any) until semifinals.
“Spoils of War” was great. I still think “With a Bare Bodkin” would have been a better title, however. Bodkin=hive ship that destroyed the facility. Bare=no one on board. So, you know, death/destruction of the facility “with a bare bodkin.” Oh well. 😉
As a few others have said, I also loved the locker room scene. But, you know, the rest was really good, too. 🙂
One thing I wished to have seen was one of the team actually calling Todd “Todd” to his face. That would have been funny, imo. Do wraiths have wraith names? I don’t remember if “we” know this or not…
shiningwit says:
Holy batcrap batman, your blog reckons there’ve been 4 count ‘em FOUR responses and i counted over 20 …then forgot how many over twenty D’UH! anyway that is purely by the by.
Yeah, the WordPress comment counter seems to be extremely unreliable to me. I visit the blog and see that there’s apparently 21 comments. I click to read them and there’s decidedly more than 21. I’ll come back later and it’ll say that there’s 0 comments, which is obviously false. I come back yet again and it says there’s 76 comments. [Please don’t judge me for visiting the blog 90 times a day] And I’m using the same computer, am signed in to WordPress, etc. Huh. Is there actually some method in its apparent madness, or is it just…unreliable? Anyone?
1)Will anyone seek forgiveness this season?
2)Will the ramifications of Wallace’s research and the events in “Outcast” continue on into Season 5?
I would love to see Dr. Frasier (Teryl Rothery) make a guest appearance on Atlantis.. Couldn’t you have that character appear as a hallucination or something?
Bonne nuit =) je vais au dodo^^!! a demain Joseph♥♥♥ Bisou Bisou:D
Spoils of War was another good episode. I loved the bit in the locker room (laughed at Ronon pulling Rodney out of there, him being oblivious to the fact that Teyla and John need to discuss things alone – so like Rodney!!). The ‘bee’ line cracked me! It would seem from this episode of Miller’s Crossing that McKay’s sense of direction might not be as good as he thinks it is!!
Lorne was great with Teyla! And go Teyla with the Wraith Queen! Wow, great, if creepy, scenes there!
There’s so much else that was good, I could go on, but I’m tired and so will stop for now. But I really enjoyed it and look forward to watching it again soon to catch the bits I’m sure I missed!
And yeah, Quarantine looks good! You’re stirring up the Rodney fans with that promo, but I’m not getting worried – this is stargate, whenever do things go as planned in this universe?!
Joe,
Would the Baron and Cookie Monster be available to do the Monday Night Football broadcasts next year? They sure would be better than the crew working it this year.
Spoils of War was fantastic. Loved every minute of it.
It’s a bit unfair of me to guess on the Seattle-Green Bay game, what with it being half time, so I won’t even venture. As for the others:
Final Score: Chargers 21, Indianapolis 35
Final Score: Patriots 28, Jaguars 31
Final Score: Dallas 31, Giants 24
Great Wraith episode last night! I really hope we see more of Todd this season. Kudos to giving Lorne backstory and making creating a touching scene in the Lorne-Teyla scene.
Hi Joe! How are you!
Well, I must admit I´m so happy, because I´ve discovered that my short NOVEL is one of the 4 finalists of an important prize for students-writers in my country!!
So, I want to share it with one of my favourite writers (you, of course)!!!
I just need some good news about Elizabeth Weir in season 5 to make my day totally perfect!!!
So, please, any clue about her fate in the next season????
And thanks for “Spoils of War”, another amazing episode!
So there really was a Wraith birthing scene. I can see why it cost you your appetite on the day of viewing. Ew.
Enjoyed Spoils of War and am really looking forward to Quarantine. Carter and Zelenka stuck in a tiny room together. That looks interesting… 😉
I saw Amanda’s latest Q & A on scifi.com. Any chance you’ll grant her wish and let Teryl Rothery do an episode of Atlantis? Surely there is some alternate time line story you writing geniuses can come up with to get her on for an episode!
Hi Joe!
Congrats to the whole team for SoW!!!! Just finished watching it and reading the comments here. I think it is as good as BAMSR and one of my faves for the entire show. Now this season has three of my favorite eps: Tabula Rasa, BAMSR, and now SoW.
I think Teyla wasn’t accessing Li’l Meow Meow’s (the baby’s) mind per se, but his lifeforce to give her added strength. I
really liked the mental exchange between Teyla and the Queen. If anyone else had shot it that way, it probably would’ve come off cheesy, but with Andee’s and Rachel’s great acting and the great production, I thought this was the best way to show how their minds were intertwined and fighting each other.
Loved the interaction between Teyla and Shep, as well as Teyla & Lorne. Great background info about Lorne, and isn’t he the nicest guy?! 🙂
OK, not going to do a full review here, but want to end with loved the action, the suspense, and Todd.
All the best!
eddy
Alli Snow Says:
Thought Spoils of War was fan-freakin-tastic. Give Alan and Will a big wet kiss from me.
Now that would be interesting on the outtake reel!
ashman2 wrote:
Can’t be. The dispatch was about a weakness in their technology.
Anne Teldy
Thanks for another great episode in a fantastic season!!!
Hate to think there are only eight weeks left…And yet, every week stretching so long til Saturday..
Ok, sorry, I am slightly depressed and I have got a headache.
I really enjoy reading the comments here and how every episode is dissected, though I think people should be more patient and wait to see how the storylines and characters develope. (Who am I kidding. If I had a timemachine I would use it to see the final episodes of Lost. But as much as I like to know what is going to happen, I really love seeing it unfold-and being surprised from time to time.)
I, too , believed – for about two seconds – that Michael could be the father of Teylas Baby, but the timeline would be wrong. She is only three months pregnant and it must have been at least five months since Adrift, let alone Vengeance. Maybe the father is Doppelganger-Sheppard? (ouch! stronger headache!!)
Besides, how creepy/spooky would you want the show to become, with all the clones and replicators already out there? Wouldn´t it be nice (and boring, ok) for her to have a normal baby by a normal father?
Hope I am not to incoherent. English is not my native tongue- and there is still that headache!!
T
Hi Jo’,
I’ve just a request for you ( it’s a secret chuuuut ! ) :
it’s possible to have the phone number of the Wraith Queen ?
More seriously : now Replicators are desctructed ( once for all ? I don’t know… ) , do you think that the Wraith will continue their civil war ( hive vs hive ) ?
Hey Joe!
I just saw Spoils of War and I have to say I loved it, it was a great character development episode. The ending with John and Teyla…aww. I just wanted to give her a big hug too.
Anyways, in regards to NFL Football…I have no clue, I only watch hockey (yes, how Canadian of me). Want to know how I pick the winners? (this is also how I pick the players in my hockey pool) I turn on Sports Net or TSN and the take note of the names that they mention a lot. There you have it simple as that! Your picks for the season/playoffs! LOL I know, that’s the girls way of doing it. That and picking the most good looking player then cheering for them/their team. Hey it works! I came in second place in last year’s Stanley Cup hockey pool! Give it a try.
BTW You made NFL Football sound interesting though. You should get Cookie Monster and the Baron on TSN or SportsNet to do some commentaries. Also, did Baron Destructo factor in the Tony Romo/Jessica Simpon variable? 😛
Oh and did you ever find your keys? I’ve lost mine more then one and more than once found them in the door on the OUTSIDE. :S
Spoils of War was GREAT! I loved the history lesson and all the character interactions. I think it’s endearing that Rodney was hoping that Todd would be coming back for them. Which, maybe he was… he did go to Lorne and Teyla. I found that ambiguous.
Joe, is Todd the same as he was in Common Ground? He seemed to understand repaying debts, even though he didn’t really think Sheppard would honor his end of the deal. It seems odd in Spoils of War that he was so willing to leave them behind.
Though I’m not really sure. During the attack of the enemy Hive ship, Todd seemed to be subordinate to Teyla and Lorne, with pointing out the danger they were in, much like how his former subordinate was. A role reversal. And in the end, he did help them out. I think…
Hm, now that I think about it. He sorta reminds me of an earlier Rodney Mckay.
Couple of questions more though. Especially one that I’ve been always curious about.
Why does it seem that Teyla (even with her baby) is stronger than Queens? It’s been shown her endurance isn’t that great, but I still wonder why is it that Teyla can go mentally toe-to-toe with a being that’s very old and therefore should have more experience.
What would have Rodney named Todd? Would it have been something girly like his own name, “Meredith?”
Lastly, why does Todd’s skin look so different from other Wraiths?
Alipeeps: On the subject of Wraith names, I’m hoping we’ll find out that it’s something that can’t be vocalized. Like, it’s shades of color, sound, senses, etc in their mind. 🙂
As always, great work from the cast and crew of SGA!
Carol Z said…
“At 3 months normal human geststation, is the baby’s brain that far advanced? I wonder… Anon, Good Nurse, Thornyrose? How about it?”
Thornyrose replied:
“I’m a paramedic and not a nurse, but from my experience and with the input from a couple of pediatric nurses, the answer is most definitely “no”. At this point the brain is still wiring itself to handle basic body functions. While the fetus may detect sensation there is no evidence of any higher functions whatsoever. …I can’t imagine that this child is going to be “normal” in any Human or Wraith sense of the world. More excitement for season five…”
Yes, that’s also what I was taught about neurological development of the fetus. That’s part of the reason why it was so spooky to me when the Queen Wraith said the fetus’s mind was reinforcing Teyla’s mental strength. (I forget the exact quote.) I don’t really want to think too much about what that means for the child’s parentage or possible major genetic developments, but the scene makes it hard not to do so. – Agreed, another fantastic plot twist to ponder for future episodes.
I agree twelve week fetus has an intact central nervous system the original Tabula Rasa.
And as the name implies the fetus is a blank slate although hearing is developing it’s not yet hard wired and as the pregnancy progresses so the brain makes the connections it needs for the baby to survive independently outside of the uterus.
But we are talking about human fetuses and Athosians may be a little different. Teyla’s baby might have a little more Wraith DNA than Teyla does, perhaps from Daddy Michael!
I didn’t find the Wraith birth that horrible as I’ve seen human births not dissimilar. I might point out that the baby was not a fully grown Wraith!
Some times a baby is “born in a caul” simply put it means a child is born with the amnion, or amniotic sac intact around the newborns’ body. The caul is harmless and is easily removed by the midwife, attending the childbirth.
The caul was highly prized by sailors who so legend goes would not die by drowning if they carried it with them.
Pauline
(It’s late what do you expect at 1am intelligent discussion?)
Sorry for being early on the crooked letter. I don’t really have any more to say about it though. I did want to make a comment about the dues ex machina, they are on atlantis or in the case of sg1 earth with what i assume to be the most brilliant scientific minds of our time, wouldn’t it be logical therefore for them to be able to come up with cool solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems, also for the continuation ofd the lives of those on atlantis we occasionally need said solutions i feel or they would all be dead. The people who have a problem with this should read some matthew reilly books, he is the king of this type of ready made solution and you quickly get over the absurdity of it in order to enjoy the story. Speaking of books, have you ever read any graham masterson? He is a very good horror author, his book mirror is the only book that has ever given me nightmares. Hope your dogs are well.
With all this talk about football, do you ever watch any CFL games? Particularly Nos Alouettes? While I would love to enjoy an Alouette game I seem to be a jinx to them as they always lose when I watch.
Glad to see some pictures of the pooches but where is Maximus? Did doggy day care wear him out so much that he is in hiding? A belated Congrats! on the People’s Choice Award. A big Meow to you from my kitty.
FINALLY Joe, I was really getting bored by all your talk of Atlantis, books etc. 😉
A question for the Baron, if you don’t mind (maybe I’ll have more luck getting a question answered, hehehe): If you’re only “acting chairman” for LAME, who is the chairman? OR is the “acting” actually describing your role as a chairman?
Okay. I just watched the “Quarantine” preview at the MGM site. Wow. So that’s why Mr. Flanigan’s hair is so… problematic. He’s part monkey! 😀 What did he really climb all over?
Anne Teldy
Loved Spoils of War!!! Thanks for the tender moments between John and Teyla, Lorne and Teyla. Special effects were brill as usual.. but I must ask this. The Wraith console , did it look like a giant placenta to you? I mean very ‘apt’ considering Teyla’s pregnancy but its likeness sort of distracted me. Oh and the moist sound of the prison doors opening.. lunch hurl worthy.
Joe: Does David adlib much?.. eg was it his idea to call Ronon ‘Captain Obvious’? Loved that.. watch a million new Gateworld posters use that name lol.
As if everyone else hasn’t said it, great episode.
Had any good chocolate lately? There’s been a lack of that highlighted around the blog, and I miss it (or, well, more accurately, being jealous that you get to eat it and I only get to look at it).
P S .. is that the first time we’ve seen the ‘locker room’? In my opinion it is, as I can’t recall seeing it at any other time.
Next stop ! Showers!!! *evil giggle*
Hi Joe,
Thought I’d drop by and say congrats on getting the People’s Choice Award! Also, I loved Spoils of War. Alot of new info on the wraith, and great character moments with Teyla and John! And seeing the promo, can’t wait for Quarantine either!
Do either Cookie Monster or the Baron make predictions on say…a high school student’s grades for finals?
(Go Chargers!)
~Rich
Well, I guess I’m going to have to break the trend with Spoils of War. I definitely liked parts of it, especially the Wraith facility and the history lesson on their war with the Ancients. I also like John’s solution of crashing the hive into the facility. I kept thinking Todd would hyper them out and the jumper would just escape through the space gate. I also have to admit that the scenes between Teyla and Lorne were a nice touch.
However, I didn’t like the Teyla aspect of the episode. In Season 1, she couldn’t even get into the mind of Bob. Then, in Season 3, she actually got taken over by a Queen. Now, because she’s pregnant she can take over a Queen? That’s quite a leap. I could understand it if her and her son were focusing together, but your expecting a lot out of a little guy who’s never even opened his eyes. It just didn’t fly with me, but, it seems that a lot of people did like it. I also felt that the Sheppard/Teyla interactions weren’t all that great, but again, a lot of people did seem to like them.
One last thing… Whatever happened to Sora, that blond Genii woman that was captured at the end of “the Eye”? Is she still rotting in a prison cell somewhere deep in Atlantis?
“Spoils” was amazing. Definately one of my favourite eps of the season (ok…that may be just because I have a total love for Lorne. He rocks my knee-high socks).
But, I gotta say- Cookie Monster is so wrong about my Pats.
Just wanted to say, Wonderful job on SOW!!! The cast, crew, everyone did a an awesome job. I loved the CG work, it was incredible. There are so many scenes I loved. Besides all of my favorite JT scenes, I loved how you guys did the part with Teyla and the Queen. I have tons of questions, but I’ll wait for another day. LOL. This is my favorite season so far.
Ok. Sorry. I’ll ask one question and I hope you can answer.
Are you guys planning on making Teyla’s baby to be kinda like Adria (on SG-1)? Maybe now growing so quickly, but being a powerful bad guy. Please, I hope not. I kinda got the feeling that was where you were when Teyla mentioned about exposing her baby’s mind to a killer. I know I’m probably reading to much into it. Thanks
Hey Joe,
“Spoils Of War” rocked. Totally, utterly, and completely! Every aspect of it, everyone’s work on it, the whole kit and kaboodle!
Thank Alan for this amazing Teyla-and-team episode. I hope he’s writing something else this season (with ‘Tabula Rasa’ and ‘Spoils Of War’ beneath his belt, I’m game for anything he’s got to throw at us!) and if not, I sure hope he’s on the writing team for Season 5!
Sel.
Joe,
Season 4 has been amazing! I’m having a hard time picking a favorite because I’ve really enjoyed all of the episodes so far.
Anyway, my question is: How did you film the scene with Sheppard climbing up the tower?
Deb