Well, aint this a kick in the head. Just got the early numbers for last Friday’s episode, The Lost Tribe. We did a 1.5, our best rating in recent memory. I think that says a lot about the quality of the show as well as its legion of loyal fans. I mean, if you think about it, it’s a pretty incredible achievement. A series typically sheds viewers the longer it stays on the air but here we are, completing work on our fifth (and final) season, and we’re pulling in better numbers than ever. So a big thanks and congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to make this season the most successful season of Stargate: Atlantis in years. May pride and a wonderful sense of accomplishment be the reward you bring with you to your next job.
I’m pleased to report I’m finally making headway on my super, secret project. After an excruciating week and a half of writing, rewriting, and re-rewriting, I completed a first pass of the opening, a whopping two pages! Geez. At this rate, I may just make the June 2009 deadline.
Today, I delivered my big horror movie pitch to the gang at the agency. They seem genuinely enthusiastic about the idea (which is always a good time) and strongly suggested we head down for three days of meetings. We’ll probably make the trip between now and November 10th when we’re scheduled to be back in the office, spinning ideas for SGU’s inaugural season. Brad forwarded me the first six story springboards and I have to say that the show is looking very exciting. It’ll be firmly entrenched in the established Stargate mythology but very unique in its premise and story-telling.
Looks like I’ll be Vegas-bound the weekend of November 15th. I’ll be meeting up with an old friend, my buddy Nige who is always up for a good time. Back when I knew him in Montreal, he’d go to work, have dinner, relax, head out for a night of clubbing, follow up with some early morning after-parties, then repeat the process the next day. I don’t think he’s ever slept in the 10+ years I’ve known him. Supa, as he’s affectionate known by his friends, was a member of The Hong Kong Movie Crew, a group of guys (mostly of Jamaican descent) who’d gather every Wednesday night to watch the likes of Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li punch, kick, and shoot their way out of trouble. Since making the move to Vancouver, I’ve lost touch with Supa, Big Daddy, Flipski, Taj, SushiMan, Champion, and Clive. I look forward to catching up.
Then, of course, at the end of November I’m Tokyo -bound for some much-needed R&R.
Finally, late December, I’ll be celebrating Christmas in Montreal.
And, oh yeah, there’s also that SGA script that needs to be written…
Mailbag:
Haina writes: “I look forward to your posts from the Far East. Got a time frame or itinerary in mind yet?”
Answer: I’m planning to head over to Tokyo for 8-10 days at the end of November. I’ll probably stay in Ginza, The Imperial Hotel or The Hotel Seiyo, and pretty much wing it. I’ll sign up for a few tours but mostly head out on my own. There are a number of places I visited on my trip that I definitely want to head back to including: Tsukiji, Tableaux, the Jiyugaoka Sweets Forest, and Odaiba.
Laura writes: “Will this trip see the return of “weird food purchase of the day”?”
Answer: No doubt.
Laura also writes: “All the Keller haters are really starting to get on my nerves (along with the other negavtive people). Why can’t people just enjoy the show?”
Answer: Well, fans are perfectly within their rights to voice their criticisms about the show. Again, I don’t have a problem with negative comments so long as they’re polite.
Tim Gaffney writes: “A great point brought up by Narelle in yesterday’s post…a big deal was made in season 1 that the only way Atlantis could dial Earth was with a certain control crystal. Now that the gate and half the control room has gone boom, did the crystal survive or in the recent years did they find an extra crystal?”
Answer: The crystal certainly survived. It’s certainly sturdier than it looks.
Christin writes: “Speaking of food…what did that stolen chicken taste like?”
Answer: Like the tears of the children who didn’t eat last night because Fondy took their dinner. In other words: delicious!
Arctic Goddess writes: “How many words per minute do you think you type and are you the hunt and peck type or do you actually have a key for each finger?”
Answer: I took a typing course way back in high school and have had occasion to get in plenty of practice since. Last time I checked, I believe I was timing in at approximlatey 65-70 words/minute.
DasNdanger writes: “Ronon seemed to show more maturity and growth in S4, but since Broken Ties, he’s seems to have reverted back into caveman mode. Banging on the control panel in Daedalus Variations, blindly shooting up crystals without consideration to what it might mean for the rest of the crew…”
Answer: In my mind, Ronon has certainly come a long way since coming to Atlantis but he’s still prone to fall back on old ways, especially in the heat of battle. Even though he has grown over the years, he’s not the type to fall into line and maintains a fierce individuality that may cause him to act rashly at times. In the case of his shooting up the crystals in TLT, for instance, he was solving the problem the best way he knew how: quickly and decisively. Yes, he could have taken his time and removed a crystal here or there in the hopes that it would prove as effective, but there would have been no guarantee that this alternate approach would have worked.
Wolfenm writes: “And as far as the Keller screentime goes, the complaint was specifically in regards to her time versus Teyla’s screentime, particlarly *recently*….”
Answer: Well, if you really want to get into an episode breakdown…
Wolfenm writes: “Search and Rescue: despite the ep focus being her disappearance, Teyla had only a little more time than Keller.”
Answer: I’m at a bit of a loss. Some critics (not you) will point to the amount of time the actors appear onscreen while others will say that the amount of time isn’t as important as the importance of the character in that given episode. While you may be inclined to call S&R a draw, I couldn’t disagree more. Keller’s contribution was minimal while Teyla’s scenes were crucial to the episode – from her scenes with Michael and Kanaan, through her reunion with the team, to the delivery of her baby and return to Atlantis.
Wolfenm writes: “The Seed: Keller’s the focal point, Teyla inexplicably disappears completely from the story about fifteen minutes from the end.”
Answer: Keller’s the focal point? Had Teyla been the victim here, fans would have surely complained because she did nothing but lie there through the entire episode. In spite of the fact that she is source point of the contagion, this one had little to do with the Keller character.
Wolfenm writes: Broken Ties: Yes, Teyla had some good participation, even if ot wasn’t her ep — but she wasn’t the focus.”
Answer: Agreed.
Wolfenm writes: “Daedalus Variations: This one was good, Teyla-wise, too, but again, not Teyla-centric. (Not saying they all *should* be, just making a point)”
Answer: Agreed.
Wolfenm writes: “Ghost in the Machine: just that one scene with Elizabeth, really, otherwise she’s there but not really *doing* much”
Answer: This one I’d consider a team episode in that they are all touched by Elizabeth’s return. In terms of “doing much”, the same argument could apply to the rest of the team as well. It’s the replicators who build themselves their own bodies and are the architects of their own demise.
Wolfenm writes: “Teyla was mostly in the background while Keller had a lot to do. (Understandable, yes — although if it were Carson, would he have been as prominent, I wonder?)”
Answer: Given the medical nature of the episode, it stood to reason that Keller would play an active role in the proceedings.
Wolfenm writes: “Whispers: None of either”
Answer: Right.
Wolfenm writes: “Queen: Obviously this one was Teyla-centric. but Keller did have multiple scenes in which she *did* stuff, rather than just being around.”
Answer: This one was practically all Teyla. Keller’s contributions were significant in that they set up the scenario (her surgical skills and the fact that she has been working on a means of “curing” the wraith of their need to feed. This was a significant storyline that we wanted to pursue this season and it so happened that the Keller character was in the logical position to contribute to this particular arc.
Wolfenm writes: “Tracker: No Teyla, Keller-*centric*”
Answer: Sure.
Wolfenm writes: “First Contact: Keller has the scene with Ronon, the scene with Todd (well, two, technically), the scene with Woolsey, and another bit with Ronon: Teyla runs around with Sheppard, but doesn’t have a lot to do that isn’t done by others as well, like she’s just a tagalong and it could have been anyone. Lost Tribe: Keller and Ronon have the backup story – she has the scene where she basically instigates Ronon to take another couole of shots in retaliation to her comments (if Ronon’s going to do something that proves detrimental, I’d have rather it had been without an outside influence) and confronts Todd, then confronts Ronon later. Teyla, after helping to find Sheppard, had to stay behind while Sheppard got to go on the mission. (Granted, I understand why she had to, it’s just unfortunate that she got left behind again).”
Answer: Some episodes service the characters (Broken Ties, The Shrine, Brain Storm) while others service the story (Whispers, First Contact, The Lost Tribe). Last year, Teyla was front and center in the bigger arc that concluded the season. This year, the focus of the mid-season two-parter is on arc elements (the wraith treatment, the attero device, the love triangle) in which she plays a lesser role. Next week’s episode sees a return to a more team-centered storyline and then, two episode’s later, Teyla gets to step up.
Kfsone writes: “I noticed “Inversions” on your reading list; is this your first Banks’ book?”
Answer: Nope. Do a search for “Iain M. Banks” on this blog and you’ll find my thoughts on some of his other works.
Jessica writes: “On a different topic, will there be more bloopers as part of the season five boxset?”
Answer: Deleted scenes, yes. Bloopers, no.
KayD writes: “Come on Joe, you just acknowledged that you felt it was perfectly appropriate to integrate SG-1 elements into SGA, and then you turn around and mock my comments by suggesting the only similarities are spaceships and stargates?”
Answer: My point is the shows share a common backstory, mythology, and world (in the figurative sense).
Joesmom writes: “Its no wonder ratings are down!”
Answer: Actually, quite the opposite.
Dignan50yp writes: “I know Keller isn’t in every scene Joe but darn it, that’s the way it appears lately.”
Answer: Well, of course. That’s because she happened to play a significant role in the past three episodes (Tracker, First Contact, and The Lost Tribe).
Shawna writes: “I don’t remember if you’ve already mentioned it, but could you tell me if we’ll get any more Michael? I’m just curious if I can look forward to seeing him at all, now that it’s canceled.”
Answer: Oh, chances are he’ll turn up sometime between now and the end of the season.
Camy writes: “I understand that Keller had to let him down. I get that. But why must it have been so cold and ruthless.”
Anwer: If you had been in Keller’s position, how would you have approached him?
Congratulations on the 1.5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Imagine the Live+7!
And they really canceled the show?
Sheesh.
I would guess that Sanctuary is the big difference in SGA’s ratings this week. It’s given folks out there another reason to tune into Scifi (FINALLY)! It did gangbusters with its premiere, apparently, and probably had folks tuning in for episode three as well.
Joe, what are your reasons for not giving Teyla very much screentime this year? It seems to me like she’s been steadily been pushed to the back. She will be in the movie, right?
The ratings keep going up and yet it’s the final season. Ironic.
Have fun in Vegas
Hmmm, all of this angst over a fictional character.
I might have to stay away for a bit I think until the season is over so I can just watch the show.
However I just got a call while typing this to say that my Husband’s Mum has just been raced to hospital so more important matters to deal with.
Joesmom writes: “Its no wonder ratings are down!”
Ratings were down (only slightly!) for First Contact due to the US Presidential debates that aired the same night. As Joe points out, the ratings went right back up (WAYYY up, actually!) the next week, when there wasn’t a major political event competing with it! And *wow* is that a high rating for The Lost Tribe! Especially since there was such a huge spoiler aired!
Today’s the 13th, methinks 🙂
Thanks for answering my question about Michael. I now eagerly await his return. Of course, if he shows up again only to face an untimely demise, villain or no villain, then you, sir, can be looking forward to a harshly-worded comment from me.
I’ve just got a bad feeling about it. So many of my favorite characters get offed. True, Michael’s evil, but I just can’t get over what he was like when he was human, and even after that, when he had re-wraithified, before the humans betrayed him again. There’s hope for him, I just know it. But then, you guys already killed off my other favorite character, and he wasn’t evil at all (yes, I mean Carson), so what hope does a villain have? *le sigh*
On the bright side, one of the effects of getting my heart repeatedly broken (*shakes fist at Rowling and Whedon*) is that it gives me motivation to work on my own stories, so that I can be the one deciding life and death. Haha!
Ah, well, I guess I’ll just wait and see. … And hope…
I may be way off base here, but I seem to recall that in one of the SG1 episodes one of the Asgard, probably Thor, mentioned that there was a splinter group of Asgard that had separated from the main group a very long time ago and that that group had been doing things Thor’s group didn’t approve of. So, if I’m not hallucinating, is the group in First Contact/The Lost Tribe the ones Thor was referring to?
Also, while I may get slammed for this, I’m with Laura about the Keller haters. Maybe they’re seeing more Keller because they are specifically looking for her in each episode and, therefore, the scenes in which she appears seem more prevalent.
While I do have my own favourite characters, I don’t begrudge the rest of the cast having their own storylines and airtime.
Who voiced the Asgard in The Lost Tribe? Was it Michael Shanks? I don’t usually comment on things like this but I did want to say that I really enjoy your blog and Season 5 has probably been my favorite season so far.
Hey Joe,
First off congrats on the 1.5 HH rating. It was well deserved. First Contact would of done better if it was not for the debate airing at the same time.
Anyway, I think you guys have done very well with the character Todd the Wraith. I think he was great in the two-parter and hopefully we’ll see him a few more times this season.
Question for ya. Don’t know if you have ever watched Farscape. But do you think that Todd has some similarities to Scorpius from Farscape? It seems Todd and Scorpius are never on a true side and seem to both play that in the middle game. You also don’t know what either of them will to do. They are both very unpredictable and seem to try to achieve a goal that is in their best interest rather than their own race. They are neither Ally or Foe but when a common interest comes along they side with the person with that common goal. I also think their dialogue tone is very similar. Not too harsh, very soft spoken, until they get angry. What do you think?
Hopefully you think comparing Todd to Scorpius is a compliment, lol. If not I apologize for the assumption of similarities. 🙂
Best,
Squall78
I know this is more SG:1 (okay all), but how much tech was earth able to scavenge from the Ori warships when they were converted?
Answer: In my mind, Ronon has certainly come a long way since coming to Atlantis but he’s still prone to fall back on old ways, especially in the heat of battle. Even though he has grown over the years, he’s not the type to fall into line and maintains a fierce individuality that may cause him to act rashly at times. In the case of his shooting up the crystals in TLT, for instance, he was solving the problem the best way he knew how: quickly and decisively. Yes, he could have taken his time and removed a crystal here or there in the hopes that it would prove as effective, but there would have been no guarantee that this alternate approach would have worked.
Thank you for that, Joe. I guess I would like to see some of his current actions specifically portrayed as the after effects of his BT experience (for the whole continuity thing), but this explanation is good enough for me. And, like I said before (somewhere), it could be said that Todd also ‘solved the problem the best way he knew how: quickly and decisively’, when he took control of the ship.
The only difference I see is that Ronon never seems to acknowledge that his actions were, perhaps, wrong, while even Todd got a bit squirmy when Keller questioned him about taking control of the ship. Guess he just doesn’t like being reminded of his mistakes, but at least he acknowledged it, even if it was only to himself. THIS is why Todd is PERFECT. 😀
Answer: I never tease.
😆 Bwahahahahahaha! *sighs, and wipes tears from eyes* Now THAT was rich. 😆
A couple things…
1. Not looking for hugs or anything, but just a follow-up to last week’s crisis…just got word that my sister’s father-in-law passed away tonight at 8 pm. His stroke was massive, and he will be missed. But we all dealt with this on Thursday when it was clear he wouldn’t survive, so…I’m okay, no worries.
2. Today was hubby’s first day ‘on the set’. He had to show up at 8 am for make-up, then off to the film location. It was at the Southern Mansion in Cape May –
http://www.southernmansion.com/
He had a walk-through scene, and another one where he had to run out of the building, pretending to brush fleas off of himself. 😆 As I said, this is a kid’s movie, so goofiness abounds.
His favorite part? The food. LOL. He said he ate all day long, and everything was delicious. He goes back tomorrow for an audience scene, and then – who knows…his real job calls. But he had lots of fun, and will probably never view a tv show or movie the same way again.
Best part, however, is that our friend went, too…he’s a very handsome fella, half African-American, half Native American, and looks very much like Jason Momoa. They really liked him, and he had 4 scenes, and one brief speaking part. 🙂 Needless to say, he loved it! Great day for the guys all round.
Anyhoo…better shut up now. Thanks again, Joe, for explaining your take on things. Appreciate it. Gonna read the blog part in the morn, with me coffee. 🙂
das
My black heart now yearns for stolen chicken.
Have I told you lately that I like SGA? I like SGA, Joe.
Oh, fandom. Never change. 🙂
Do you think that if there had been a season 6 of atlantis, That the asguard would have used dna from daniel and/or rodney in their attempt of revenge on atlantis?
Wow, that turkey looks downright yummy, Fondy must be one heck of an excellent cook. At least read your blog after dinner this time so that I’m not getting hungry looking at the tummy rumble inducing goodness.
Now that you’ve finished it, what do you think of “Tea With The Black Dragon”? That was the first of R.A. MacAvoy’s books that I read and I really enjoyed the way she left me guessing “is he, or isn’t he” about Oolong until the very end, and then the question was still there.
As for “The Lost Tribe”, I thought it was a ton of fun. I was a very unhappy camper when you guys offed the entire Asgard race in “Unending” (my least favorite ‘Gate episode, along with “Irresistable”), but it was definitely interesting to see their dark side in the group that splintered off and went to the Pegasus galaxy. One wonders if Loki might have escaped Thor’s custody and made his way there eventually as well rather than being blown to sub-atomic particles along with the rest of the Milky Way Asgard. And I definitely enjoyed watching Rodney and Daniel playing off of each other, it’s a pity we won’t get to see more of that.
In regards to the whole Keller/Ronon/Rodney kerfuffle, I’m glad to see that Keller apparently prefers Rodney. It’s about time the poor guy found someone who can stand up to him and love him for exactly who he is. I may be a McShep shipper at heart, but John is so repressed and emotionally damaged that he’d never act on his feelings, even if it wasn’t for the whole “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” BS and the fact that Rodney is on his team. *ducks the rocks and rotten fruit* Not that my heart didn’t do loop-the-loops watching those two in “The Shrine”… *happy sigh*
In regards to the nixed season six episode “Revenge”, please tell me that you’re going to post that one? I’d give you ‘puppy dog eyes’ look if it would help, but I’ve never been particularly good at that (as you would no doubt have guessed).
Lastly, you’ve probably already seen these before, but some folks at Gateworld have made up some pretty cool and rather hilarious “404 – page not found” thingies that I just stumbled across. Here’s a link to the forum post. Go and have a look and a chuckle!
Oh, yes, and I’d just like to say that I, for one, had no problem with how Keller let Ronon down. Best to do it as early and clearly as possible, so as not to inadvertently lead him on. Frankly, I was surprised that he was actually interested in her at all. Sure, I feel bad for the guy, but another girl will probably come along at some point. I think he needs one more like Teyla, anyway.
“Well, aint this a kick in the head. Just got the early numbers for last Friday’s episode, The Lost Tribe. We did a 1.5, our best rating in recent memory. I think that says a lot about the quality of the show as well as its legion of loyal fans. I mean, if you think about it, it’s a pretty incredible achievement. A series typically sheds viewers the longer it stays on the air but here we are, completing work on our fifth (and final) season, and we’re pulling in better numbers than ever. ”
Oh my god! That’s so awesome! Yay!! Congrats Joe! Thank you for being a part of creating such an awesome show. There’s no other way I want to spend my Friday nights. That’s so exciting!
“Well, of course. That’s because she happened to play a significant role in the past three episodes (Tracker, First Contact, and The Lost Tribe).”
Exactly! That’s what I said.
Good breakdown of episodes.
At this rate, we will be examining scenes… I see it now: ‘But Keller had such a huge part in that scene!’
‘No, Teyla did nothing in that scene.’
‘That’s crazy, Teyla did a lot.’
Teyla was, in a way, *the* story for the last few episodes of Season 4. She had a ton of screen time. I’m sure she’s going to have more. Why not? But saying she’s been put aside since Season 3….. No.
Honestly people, enough with all this talk about Keller, good or bad. Pretty please?
Wow! Congrats to all on the great ratings. Now if only TPTB would get their heads out of their rears and renew Atlantis, we would all be happy. Do they really think that Universe will get these kind of ratings?
Great update today…thanks
BTW it’s the 13th!
Cheers
Pat
Oh I forgot to say congrats on the 1.5 rating got TLT… but why would you say First Contact only did a 1.1 Just curious!
Thanks
I’d like to add my thoughts and feelings on Ronon and his “caveman” persona.
I did think that he was going to disable the ship by shooting up the various systems in engineering, however, I sneakingly suspect that he was leading Jen on a little there. I firmly believe that he knew what he was doing and more importantly what he was shooting. It was not random. He targeted shields, weapons, and the hyperdrive system.
It was mentioned in the Daedalus Variation that he and Teyla had some training on ship programs previously. He also played an active part in the ship operations in that episode. I believe there is enough proof to show that he wasn’t just shooting whatever he could find. He just let Jen believe that he did not know what he was doing. Ronon doesn’t care to explain the process as he’s doing it, so to Jen, it looked random.
I’m just throwing this out here to the wolves…but did anyone notice a similarity between Jen and McKay? Jen did a McKay on Ronon when he was shooting out the systems. It struck me the second time I watched the show. I found it amusing. 🙂
Oh wow, Vegas on Nov. 15th? November 15th is my birthday, so save a quarter to play in a slot machine in honor of it …maybe it’ll bring you good luck and a lot of spending money for your Asian Culinary Adventure!
Why have team episodes been so few and split up this year? Did you run out of ideas of different planets/events for them to explore as a team?
And what was the idea to deal with the baby you all wanted? You sure haven’t had much with Torren. And you could have, but only a few, brief moments of him and Teyla and that’s it. For this you all very anxious to have a kid in the show? I would have liked to see more of him and Kannan interacting with Teyla.
I would just like to say how much I appreciate Season Five so far. I loved “The Queen,” “First Contact” and “The Lost Tribe” most of all. The Queen is my new favorite SGA episode of all time. The storyline was wonderful; it allowed us, the viewers, to understand more about wraith culture. Todd’s character development has taken leaps and bounds this season, with that I am very happy. The amount of screen-time Todd has seen in Season Five is wonderful. Not to mention, the interaction between Todd and the Atlantis gang (Teyla, Rodney, Jon, Ronon, Woolsey, and Keller) has been so interesting.
I am also very happy with the addition of Woolsey to the SGA crew. Woolsey has quickly become one of my favorite characters, he is charming and humorous. I loved the scene in “TLT” between Todd and Woolsey; Chris and Picardo are amazing actors.
I also think Jewel has been doing a wonderful job. I like that Keller is portrayed as sweet and compliant. I see Keller as a strong person who advocates the use of corporation. I am very happy that Keller joined SGA.
Thank you, and the rest of the SGA writing team, for creating such wonderful stories for Season Five. I am eagerly looking forward to the next episode.
~ Aidan
A Friday night line-up of SGU, SGA, and Sanctuary would have been so cool.
I see Keller as a strong person who advocates the use of cooperation*. Please excuse my automatic spell-check induced typo.
Tokyo is one my favorite cities. It’s so crazy, all of the time. You’ll have to take lots of photos! And sample a lot of weird cuisine, which I’m sure you will have no shortage of!
By the way, have you guys gotten any more lemons yet? I’ve heard through the grapevines of the inter-webs that there are lot of them kicking around.
I’m really surprised how the whole letdown between Jen and Ronon is so controversial. The way I see it, Jen comes out to be the loser there, and not in a mean way.
Honestly, we’ve all been in this situation before, and I’m not sure which side is worse. Ronon never confessed his feelings to Jen, so he did not lose much. He denied it all. Jen, on the other hand, brought to light what she perceived to be a “crush” and was told that it was nothing of the sort. I’ve been on both sides before and it’s more mortifying being in Jen’s shoes than Ronon’s boots. She probably felt very foolish for even saying anything. I’ve felt that way in similar situations, even wanted to kick myself for saying anything.
The scene screamed awkward, not mean, not cruel, just extremely awkward which may affect their relationship in the future somewhat. Just to say, I’m not anti-Keller, I’m just going on personal experiences.
Also, more of one character can mean less of another due to time constraints. It’s not always the case. One scene in this past episode could have been Teyla welcoming John and the rest of the Daedalus back or John thanking Teyla for keeping an eye on things, despite her desire to go with him. If the show could be 60 mins long rather than 43 ish, then a similar scene might have been included along with others. I’m really not trying to add fuel to the fire, but here’s hoping for more Teyla/Sheppard scenes. 😀
Oh – sorry! I’ve closed the threads because of the mass of spam bots that payed these threads a visit. They finally have been really annoying. Too annoying for me. :-/ I’ll open the English treads for you immediately. 🙂
Uhm…yes… with ‘nein’ und ‘Büstenhalter’ you won’t get very far. 😉
Hi Joe,
It makes me wonder why you continue to answer these negative questions again and again in regards to Keller/Teyla/Ronan/Rodney/How much Chuck is in the Show.
Next we’ll all be hearing complaints about how certain mark on the wall in Atlanis has more screen time then the sliding doors to the infirmary.
Joe;
How ironic that the dip shit’s at Sci Fi even switched the time slots on Atlantis to bury it without giving much if any word that they were going to and the ratings are higher then they’ve been in years. As I said before, what do they think they are doing??? If high ratings aren’t enough, if loyal passionate fans don’t tip the scales, then what chance does any show have or any fan for that matter?? Even when they “the execs” try to black ball the series and drowned it’s ratings they can’t! Imagine what it would have been if it had been in it’s normal time slot. I’ve given up on watching any new series at this point considering once I get hooked it’s just going to be taken away. High ratings don’t help and it’s gone just when it’s getting good. Sorry for the usual rant.
You said a while back that the fans are not likely what the execs need to un-cancel the show, but higher ratings might be. Knowing what you know and being who you are, have your thoughts and opinions changed?
Oh yes any new tid bits on Shep Whumpage? Since Shep doesn’t get his own episode this year with out woolsey being in the picture, and since there’s no hope this year we will see a Shep centric whump ep like Mckay got in the shrine, Ronan got, and Teyla got with the queen, any chance for the movies? I know I’ll never get my shep whump episode again now and am doubly sure it will never be the focus of a movie soo really the renewal of the show is all I have, right? Thanks as always, Nicole.
I was really hoping there’d be more bloopers, they were great, ah well we can’t have everything we want. On the topic of deleted scenes would that include the one from Broken Ties that you told us about in your breakdown with McKay and Sheppard saying:
SHEPPARD: Okay, but I’m not getting in a bath with you.
MCKAY: I’m both relieved and slightly disappointed. Now, let’s review.
Although now on closer inspection of the mentioned post you said it didn’t make it past the first draft, does that mean it wasn’t even filmed?
Anyway that’s about all I have to say for now.
Bye bye,
Jessica
Well, I will just say goodbye to this show that has shown some sparks of ingenuity and clever storylines in its 4.5 seasons so far but nothing but the odd episode here and there since last season’s Spoils of War. I thought with the first part of season 4 the weakness of the show to me might be corrected by investing in a long story arc that is mentioned and pushed forward even if just a little in most episodes. The Replicator-Wraith war and the resultant destroying of Human populations was a good story arc that only had a few clunkers in it (Travelers and Missing.) But starting with Quarantine, the quality of storyline in the series dropped like a rock in my opinion. The whole Michael/Teyla storyline was boring and uninteresting to me ending up with one of the worst AU episodes I have ever seen on TV. Only the stand-alone episode Midway was an interesting and imaginitive story in the last 8 episodes of season 4. The return of Carson Beckett was a big cop-out in my opinion with a clone having the memories of the original person when all Michael was working from was a bit of DNA. It would have been better to have left him dead than to bring him back that way. The way a lot of these last 7 episodes (excluding Midway) were created to try and give (force?) the characters of the show some development, showed to me that the limitations of the way the stories are written by the current writers since character development is best left to the b-story of an episode and not to create a whole episode in order to show development. In the end it didn’t matter most of the time because what a character learned in one episode was usually thrown out in one of the following episodes especially when it would hamper comical moments. McKay has had this happen to him the most and it really disrupts the continuity of progress in the show for me.
Season 5 started off mediorce and it was only until Daedalus Variations that I enjoyed watching SGA again. But the following stories continued the trend of the first three with The Shrine rising above the rest slightly. The mid-season two-parter had flashes of good sci-fi but not enough to rank it any higher than The Shrine. My biggest disappointment in season 5 has come from the direction of the larger storyline of trying to revise the Wraith retro-virus to cause the need for feeding on humans to be eliminated. What does this do to improve the situation of the Atlantis expedition and the rest of the human population except to be changed from food to slaves? The Wraith have only known one way of living as was mentioned by Todd in The Queen so even if they did take “the treatment,” they still would be vastly superior technologically and would enslave the human population much like the Goa’uld did in the MW. I don’t see the long term advantage of this situation and to me it is an unimaginitive direction. I would have like to have seen Atlantis make a true alliance with the Travelers and seek out other technologically advanced races to build a coalition to take the fight to the Wraith. Small hit and run tactics could be used to take out Wraith ships throughout the galaxy. I know a lot of people like the Todd character, but I would made him the first target in order to try and keep the new location of Atlantis a secret from the Wraith especially after the semi-betrayal by him that caused the loss of the Midway station. Also, the same mistake made with the Carson Beckett character is being made with the Jennifer Keller character in that you have both a medical doctor and a geneticist in one person and it is too unbelievable to me that would happen twice along with elevating both characters to regulars from recurring. If I had put aside my dislike for bringing back Beckett, he is the one who should have developed the new retro-virus and not Keller especially since he worked with Michael trying to create the race of wraith/human hybrids. If Beckett wasn’t brought back, another recurring character that was a specialist in genetics should have been brought in to work on the retro-virus and Keller remain just a medical doctor who was recurring and not a regular. I think that situation would have been better but I believe TPTB value actors over what best serves the storyline and seem to sometimes force a character into the story when they aren’t really needed.
I believe now that a lot of the problems I have had over the years with SGA have been due to the way the series was developed as too much like SG-1. Instead of taking a bit of chance and creating a show with underlying multi-year storylines and arcs that would depart from the way Stargate SG-1 was written, TPTB took the easy road of writing SGA the same way. While SG-1 benefited from a lot of stand-alone episodes exploring different worlds in the MW some of which had never been touched by the Goa’uld, the premise of a galaxy controlled by one race who had defeated the most powerful race humans had ever known lent itself to a long story arcs over multiple seasons IMO. It takes a lot more time and effort at the development stage, but I think it would have been worth it. The only hope I have for the new series is that it have a multi-year story arc otherwise it will still be the same old stargate with the same old stories
Whoa, had quite a scare tonight — the power blinked, and afterward, I could *not* get my computer to turn on at all for like ten minutes! XD Thought I’d lost about two weeks work on my novel and was on the edge of a McKay-worthy freak-out! But after we unplugged it and tried it in the kitchen, suddenly it worked again. *whew*
@ das ~ I’m WolfenM over at GW too, but I don’t post much. I hope to get into that thread you linked to next week, after my deadlines.
@ tamijb ~ apology accepted, and I apologise in turn for getting heated/taking it too personally. 🙂
Joe said …
Point conceded.
Part of my issue is that when Keller’s not a character doing important stuff herself, she’s a plot device, so she still gets a lot of attention one way or another. When shes not doing action herself, a lot of the character’s actions revolve around or are influenced by her. In that ep, after she saved Carson (who, despite his greater experience, had been unable to save himself — at least she had to look to Michael’s research for the cure, though) the plot was to save her. Even John’s being cured was as much about going to rescue her as it was aboit saving him (as the city could possibly have been saved by other means, namely killing Keller).
My thinking isn’t that Teyla should have been the victim instead, either, so much as that I would have rather have seen a different story entirely, to be honest. “The Seed” has grown on me a little but even when I liked Keller more, that ep was not a fave of mine.
Point conceded.
Yes, but Carson wouldn’t have been getting a declaration of love from Rodney at the end of the ep. And the scenes where Keller, supporting cast, was basically protecting Rodney from his closest friends, the leads, disturbed me, as did her apparently knowing his mind better than they did — that aspect came off, to me, somewhat as her being a savior and them being selfish and childish. (Of course, it was driving me crazy that none of them, not his frends nor Keller, thought to check the place out on the basis that many of the superstitions they’ve run across — like the kid planet — have had a scientific basis. They were arguing about a superstition rather than questioning if there might be some anchient tech or something involved that they could investigate in search of a cure, and that had me screaming in aggravation quite a bit anyway. XD)
Anyway, the story didn’t *have* to be set up so that she was butting heads with everyone on how to treat McKay, Keller vs Team. My fave bits of the ep were the ones that illustrated his decline and his friends love for him anyway, not those parts. The Keller fighting with everyone bits could instead have been more team interaction, or the Zelenka bits could have been left in. The conflict could have come from convincing Woolsey and the struggle to get *to* the place (with like an obstacle course or a test of some kind, or even just more Wrath-dodging), and then in figuring out how to make it work. So while a doctor was obviously needed in the story to explain his condition and cure him in the end, *other* asects of her inclusion didn’t *have* to be as prominent, or even there at all. (And seeing as Carson was his best friend, I’d rather it have been him doing the treating anyway.) Of course, she *was* so prominent, and protecting him, because of the McKeller set-up, but obviously I could have done without that. 😉 Hell, I might have had an easier time stomaching her arguing with them if it *hadn’t* been set-up for the love triangle.
But I still love the ep, for the John/Rodney stuff, for Jeannie’s presence, and for Hewlett’s acting — and like I said, while I have my own preferences, I’m glad those McKeller shippers were able to enjoy that aspect, I guess. (Would that we Daniel-Vala or Jack-Sam shippers could have gotten as much in the way of blatant acknowlegdement that didn’t involve alternate timelines. :()
And that’s part of my point, too: the stories all around lately exploit Keller’s skills quite a lot; why can’t there be *more* storylines that exploit Telya’s skills *instead*? (For that matter, if it weren’t for issues of contracts and money, I’d say Carson should have been uitlised there instead of Keller too, seeing as he worked so much with Michael. But if wishes were ZPMs …)
And while I appreciated Keller being able to take care of herself in Tracker, and loved the character of Kiryk, that story (well, a variant of it) would have made a great story as it’s own show (or movie) altogether. Rodney and Ronon are the show’s stars, and yet they’re efforts didn’t really save the day at the end. An ep that could have had some great friendship moments between the boys, as a refreshing change of pace, had them grating on each other instead because they both resented the other’s presence in the first place, their infringement on each other’s time with Keller. So she saves Cerise, has an adventure with Kiryk, *and* serves as a plot device that puts a strain on Rodney & Ronon’s relationship (as if the two guys relationship wasn’t strained enough already). This illustrates how my liking has been swinging to dislike — I enjoyed the ep for the most part, initially, but now, seeing it frem a differeing perspective, certain things are sticking in my craw ….
I know people complained about her last season, but personally, I liked her better then. XD
Okay, I’m sure you’re sick of me now. XD Thank you for addressing my thoughts. Belated Happy Thanksgiving — I hope I didn’t give you a belly-ache. XD
Oh, almost forgot:
Glad to hear it!
Thanks, noir! Will stop by in a day or two!
RE: Ratings – It’s obvious why ratings are up. We’s ol’ folk, and that 10:00 pm time slot was waaaay past our bedtime. But now? Now we can pop out our dentures and drop ’em in the glass, slather on the Ben-gay and pull on our jammies, and settle in to watch SGA at 9:00 pm. We won’t even have to shuffle off to bedsies afterwards, ’cause we’ll be out cold – snoring to beat the band…our spectacles slowly slipping off our nose – long before the Sanctuary opening credits even start to roll.
🙄
das
wow…it seems a lot of people are really keller haters…huh…I kind of like her…
It also seems to me like people want their favorite character to be pushed to the front in every episode, which is understandable, but if they were to be that way…then the show would cease to be about the team and be about that character…and that is just ludicrous…the whole show is based around “The Team” and I dont just mean the off-world teams…its all of them, keller, woolsey, zelenka, lorne…as well as the off-worlders…gah…peoples inability to see the positives bugs me…
Anyway, I have a question regarding books, and I’m sure you get these a lot…but I am really looking for a good Sci-fi book, but I dont really care for just straight up Sci-fi, I’m kind of specific to the types of Sci-fi I like…I’m a huge fan of battles and weapons, both ship based and person on person…So my question is do you know of any books that are like this? I would classify it as a sort of “Military Science Fiction” because I really like the viewpoint of someone in the military…but futuristic? Know any good ones that I can pick up?
@Das
But if you still want to register – here’s an English register site of WoltLab-Forums. Open both sites and use the English register site to go to the German site. 😉
https://www.adf-berlin.de/wbblite/register.php
….through the German site…. 🙄
….or whatever…. 😉
1.5 YAY!!!!!! *dances*
Hey Joe. Let me start by saying that you could (very fairly) tell me not to read the blog if I don’t like how you’re writing it. But, for constant readers like me who haven’t seen season 5 yet, the mailbag has been pretty spoiler heavy the past couple of days.
Wow 1.5! Well done…. take that you naysayers!
Now… poultry two days in a row? You should start sprouting feathers about now.
Is it wrong of me to say I’m really looking forward to Stargate Atlantis… the movie.
Can we bloggers come up with a secondary title for the movie (after the plot is sorta given to us) as we know the title is bound to start with “SGA”..then “____________” eg “Stargate Atlantis – The pilfered poultry”.
Pleaaaaaaaase???
To B Angel: Agree totally that an SGA/SGU/Sanctuary lineup would have been fantastic. The best since the SG-1/Atlantis/Battlestar days.
To Sulien: Loved the link. Now, for an SGA version of the same thing…
A June 2009 deadline to the secret project? Curiouser and Curiouser. Can you at least let us know when the Secret project will at simply become a project, and not a secret one? And I’m pleased to see you are having some input into the upcoming SGU shows. Can you let us in on who else will be serving in the writing bullpen for the first batch of Universe scripts?
It sounds like you’re going to be having a lot of fun on the road in the next two months. On the Vegas trip, have you considered seeing if Carl Binder or Martin Gero could perhaps”guest-host” your blog for a few days? Something about the way you describe your long time friend seems to indicate you won’t have the time or inclination to be doing a lot of blogging while running around Sin City.
And yes, it would be great if you would slip in the Atlantis movie script somewhere in all your meetings and travel. With the episodes counting down, and withdrawal symptoms to inevitably set in in January, it would be some comfort to know at least one fix will be provided sometime in 2009. Be even nicer if we get word that your horror flick idea sells and that movie goes into production next year too. Fingers crossed for you there.
Congratulations on the ratings. Youtuber and ytimynona both point out some contributing factors to the ratings. Funny how a “mere fan” can see such things so clearly but how people whose job it is to supposedly maximize their network ratings cannot. Ah well. I’ll curb my bitterness at TPTB, at least until I see how Universe comes out. But it’s hard to be polite when the ratings jumps show that Atlantis did indeed have a lot more life in it yet.
I’m going to try out a new tactic for the next few days while reading your post. When I see the name Keller, I am going to put my index fingers in my ear, chant “lalalalala” aloud, close my eyes, and use one of my toes to scroll the page, and hopefully avoid watching the morbund equine recieve its thrashing. My admiration for how well you’ve handled the postings over the last few days on the issue.
Finally, a book selection for your consideration. It’s non fiction and can be found in the science section of your bookstore. The title is “Death from the Sky” by Dr. Phllip Plait. He’s a professional astronomer also known as “The Bad Astronomer”. The book is both informative and amusing, and written at a level that’s every easy for the layman to follow. As you might guess from the title, it’s about the different ways we can all be killed by things or events from outer space. I just got to the section on Mass Coronal Ejections…hmm, where have I seen that before? It strikes me as an excellent reference text for a sci fi writer looking for some exotic way to destroy a planet or three. Thanks for the second big mailbag in a row, as well as all the other work you put into my favorite show.
Two posts in one day!
Yay!
Lots of Keller discussion…yay.
Wow, there was way too much Keller in this blog entry. I’m going to have to argue that Keller definitely got more blog plot than the turkey. And the turkey was the main course! What are you trying to pull here, Joe?
I haven’t commented for some time so this one will be a little longer.
Wow, 1.5. Now the ratings are getting interesting. Why is this show cancelled again? Hopefully some people are slowly thinking this might have been a mistake at this moment.
Lost Tribe was great although I like First Contact better. Anyway I’ve enjoyed both. Very good idea with the spaceships and the hyperspace-jump. I can see why the characters acted the way they did (i.e. Ronon). I’d just wish there would be more character development after 4, 5 years and anything what has happened. As for the Ronon example, that he isn’t just a ‘first shoot everything – than ask/think’ kind of guy all the time. Surely this wouldn’t change completely, that’s what he is. But a little development in his actions?
I don’t think Keller was mean to Ronon at the end. This was just the only romance I’d like to see (assuming this means the end of it). SGA isn’t a show which needs romance-stories by all means. And I have problems with them. In my opinion we haven’t seen one really adult romance so far. They are all either like the characters are acting like early teenagers (o.k. Sheppard is sometimes more a boy than a man but running after a woman and asking her (more than once) whether another woman has mentioned him? Seriously? Apart from the fact that he is a man who has difficulties with showing feelings at all.) or those stories are coming out of the blue. Like McKay wants to marry one woman, loves another one. We haven’t seen things which lead to those points. They all seem more like his crush for Sam. The only one romance which has really worked for me was the scene between Ronon and Keller in Quarantine. Although these two characters have nothing in common there was a great chemistry between them. So I’d rather see no romance at all than such ones. But that’s just my personal opinion.
The same with my opinion that I’d rather see episodes with the team and characters I have liked for 4, 5 years than too much focus on recently characters. No name mentioning – she is just a character I don’t like particularly 😉
I really love SGA and at this point I can’t imagine to stop watching it. Nevertheless why do I state some – for me – critical points now and then? Because I love it, it’s important to me, I care about it. Other shows just don’t matter that much for me. I don’t think about them, I just watch them – or not. I don’t see criticism as something generally negative.
And with your enthusiasm for SGU. I respect that. But I’ve already have a fantastic and exciting show for five years. I don’t need another one. Not for the price of losing my favourite one. It’s just too high. I would have given SGU a chance, although I’m not interested in the whole storyline so far. I still can’t understand why not giving SGA the development it apparently hasn’t in the TPTB’s opinions? That’s what I feel when I hear things like SGU will be better, more interesting, more character development, more this and more that. Compared with what? SGA? I haven’t asked a question for Brad Wright because I’m not sure whether I can express myself so well in English. But many others have asked similar questions I would have (thanks). I just don’t know whether I should read his answers or not. Considering all the statements since the SGU announcement I’m sure I will be upset. I just can’t share the opinion that it’s a great thing to cancel the show and give the fans a movie instead. 🙁 If direct to DVD films are the future in this business (some arguments for it I can understand actually) than please give us a whole series on DVD, not just a film.
Joe: have you already a whole story for the SGA movie in your mind or is this project still at the beginning? When is the deadline for it? Are there concrete plans when the filming will start?
It’s a pity that you and your wife can’t make the trip to Asia together – again. I hope you’ll enjoy it anyway.
@ Ivon: You have no idea how happy you’ve made me with your comment about the DVD extras 🙂 I’m so looking forward to them!
No bloopers? For real? This is the last season of SGA, the last DVD box set for the show and the extra that everybody is always looking forward to will be missing? Way to go, really. As a fan, I now feel really loved.
You have obviously written alot of episodes on both SG1 and Atlantis but id thought i would ask what episode you wrote which when you saw the final product you were most disappointed with (as in it didnt turn out as well as you originally pictured in your head)?
Hi there Mr M!
Great news about the ratings, am delighted that Atlantis is going out with a BANG! Well done to all cast and crew…just shows what a great show Atlantis is!!!!
I’ve been outta the loop for a while, but I see from your entry that Mr W has sent on the first 6 story boards for SGU!!! Does this mean you will be exec prod as well?? Congratulations!!!!!!
Best to all
S’n’T
Congrats on the ratings, and to everyone involved. I loved both First Contact and The Lost Tribe, they (to me) were perfect SGA.
I came home from a nice wkend break to find that I couldn’t get in my house, one of my housemates left the key in the other side. As I like driving late I couldn’t wake them to let me in, so it was a bad night in the car for me. Grr
Hi, first time posting and the first time I have been watching a season of any “Stargate” show. I have seen some episodes of SG1 over the years. The recent two-parter of SGA was great episode. It was action packed and fun to watch.
I am a big Firefly fan, and it’s one of the reasons I’m watching SGA this season was because of Jewel’s being a regular. I liked how you gave a nod to Jewel’s character of Kaylee in “The Lost Tribe” episode. That was shiny.
Too bad, SGA is ending as a series. I have been enjoying it. It reminds me of watching “Star Trek” episodes weekly (compliment). Of course, the beaming around also helps.
Good luck with the next series. I will give it a chance.
@ Das: “Not looking for hugs or anything, but just a follow-up to last week’s crisis…just got word that my sister’s father-in-law passed away tonight at 8 pm. His stroke was massive, and he will be missed. But we all dealt with this on Thursday when it was clear he wouldn’t survive, so…I’m okay, no worries.”
*hugs anyways.. and for the rest of the family* Still, take care 🙂
@ elf ears: “And what was the idea to deal with the baby you all wanted? You sure haven’t had much with Torren. And you could have, but only a few, brief moments of him and Teyla and that’s it. For this you all very anxious to have a kid in the show?”
I’d have thought the whining over Keller more than made up for the lack of baby sqwawks on set?
@ Daniel V: “Next we’ll all be hearing complaints about how certain mark on the wall in Atlanis has more screen time then the sliding doors to the infirmary.”
I believe the Control Room gets most on-screen time, possibly due to sheer favouritism? But i’m happy to quibble on it being the Infirmary this season.. thus lowering the previous 4 season’s limelight from both the Balcony and Canteen. Then again, we’ve seen unfair amounts of the Daedalus’ Bridge in comparison to the Wraith Hives throughout the episodes thus far this year. Ludicrously, the once recurring corridors are also now wrangling their way into the spotlight, possibly in favour of the sideswiped Transporter doors? I may however be completely off track.. *My* favourite spot of the East Pier has seen next door to *no* on-screen time, apparently ditched and Oscar-nominated for the slinky swathes of the Gateroom stairs.
Grats on the ratings, Joe!
Spikey
Unstolen turkey? You cooked it then gave it back?
*Coughs* Yes, anyway… congratulations on the phenomenal ratings! I have yet to watch half the episodes this season (currently hiding from spoilers; diving under my desk every time I see one is proving to be a good way to improve muscle tone), but from what I’ve (not) seen, it sounds brilliant. Can’t wait to watch them.
Time to share my thoughts on the recent episodes.
‘The Queen’ was a pretty decent ep (more Todd! more Teyla!), although it was pretty strange seeing Teyla turn into a Wraith Queen so easily. What was up with that? The early retro-virus which isolated Wraith DNA or something? It’d have been nice to know how exactly they did that. I especially liked the whole view on the Wraith ‘way of life’. Pretty interesting.
‘Tracker’ was a solid episode. At first I feared an entire episode dedicated to a whining Keller, but I was surprised in a good way. I’ve grown to like Keller more with the new season, and she hasn’t been annoying me (yet). The Ronon-Rodney pairing was great, you guys really should’ve done that much earlier.
The mid-season two-parter was great, especially ‘First Contact’. ‘The Lost Tribe’ felt a little rushed in my opninion, in the way it could’ve been a three-parter. Just to give everything some more screentime. Thank god the Asgard aren’t totally gone yet. I hatedhow they were ditched in the last episode of Unending. Me like those little grey guys. I was suprised to hear Todd about the Attero Device and how he witnessed it 10,000 years ago during the Wraith-Ancient war. Just how old is Todd actually? And for how many years was he in the Genii prison?
Speaking of the Genii, what happened to them? I don’t know how long the Attero Device was active, but if the Genii dialed the Stargate their entire civilization would’ve been blowed up. And I don’t want to see that happen, I like those guys.
The whole plot-twists in the mid-season two parter make me even more sad the show has been cancelled. Sure, you can wrap up the storylines in a movie-series, but I’d have preferred one last season to finish all the stories in an epic way (like SG-1 season 8) instead of a couple of movies. I don’t know if the movies will be enough to give a satisfying ending to the series – because how many arcs are still unresolved?
– The Wraith: the overall arc of the show. I can’t see how their story can be wrapped up in a movie, except for using another ‘deus ex machina’ like the Ark finished the Ori story. So I actually prefer leaving those guys alive and kicking, even beyond the movies.
– The Genii: haven’t seen much of them lately. Their story was kinda resolved when Cowen died and Ladon took the leadership in season 2, and in season 3 when Kolya got shot. Are we going to see them again?
– The Replicators: the story is kind of finished, but can be picked up at any moment.
– The Asgard: uhm ye… Since they don’t appear anymore this season, I guess we’ll see them again in the movies?
– Todd: this guy needs to be kept around forever. No need to resolve his arc.
– Michael: He’s popping up one last time this season. I feel invading Atlantis will be the end of him, he’s going full circle – he was basically born in Atlantis, and now he dies in Atlantis?
– The Wraith scientist from ‘The Gift’: I read sometime ago on your blog that ‘we may see him again’. Still true?
– Ford: kinda wrapped up, kinda not. His minor appearance in ‘Search and Rescue’ was for me that little nod that he’s truly gone.
Hi Joe,
Wow! 1.5 rating, that’s awesome! Wonder what the final rating will be after +7 numbers are counted. I hope MGM and SciFi take notice of the rating.
Already looking forward to the next episode.
“Anwer: If you had been in Keller’s position, how would you have approached him?”
Now that’s a loaded question. If *I* were faced with Ronon and his crush on ME? Oh honey, that would be like every Christmas morning all rolled into one! No one would see us again for a week!
But then again I’m a woman, not a geek-boy writer who’s living vicariously through Rodney…(of course the pretty girl chooses him over the more attractive, athletic and – until this weird arc – more emotionally mature Ronon!).
What I can’t understand is why did the writers have to go there at all? Almost a year after a moment of possible attraction – a year in which Ronon showed no interest in Keller at all – suddenly he starts acting strangely out of character, decides he does like her, and then a couple episodes later we have to watch that painful scene. For what purpose? Why even go there? If you want to have a relationship between Keller and Rodney, then just do it. Or if you’re trying to set up some gag where we think she means Rodney, and Ronon thinks she means Rodney, but then she tells Rodney that she likes someone else and he thinks it’s Ronon while it’s really someone else all together – it’s not worth it.
Hey Das! A fellow New Jersian? I’m about 40 miles from Cape May. Beautiful place. (I know you said your hubby was only working there)
Fondy’s turkey looks great Joe! But stolen turkey? Much more flavorful.
Upon reviewing all of the anti-Keller comments, I’d like to suggest something radical. Now stay with me here. I think we’re ready for all Keller, all the time! Here’s my proposal:
Mid-season title change: “Stargate: Keller”
Stargate Command and the IOA have seen fit to place Keller in command of the Atlantis Expedition. Why? Because she’s sooo [b]AWESOME![/b]
Keller’s first command decision? She’s going through the gate by herself to make first contact with a race called the Kellor.
When Keller arrives on planet, she is met by the Kellorian people, who immediately throw themselves to her feet, covering their heads and speaking words of worship.
Puzzled by this, Keller insists that they stand and explain their odd behavior. The Kellorian’s gingerly lead Keller to an Ancient shrine wherein stands a huge statue of “The Creator”…who bears a striking resemblance to…Keller.
Immediately following this revelation, a group of ascended Ancients appear and explain to Keller that she is indeed “The Creator”. Through some strange and as yet unexplained happening, she simply lost her memory and does not recall being the great omnipotent creator of all things.
As Keller regains her former consciousness, she realizes what has become of the Universe she has created. She contacts all inhabitants of the multitude of galaxies simultaneously, and demands peace. And so it is done. All beings, everywhere live in peace and tranquility forever.
The parting shot of the episode catches Keller quip: “The feminists were right. God really is a woman!”
I see Emmy. And I want an “original story by” credit.
Thanks Joe!
Congrats on the ratings!
Shawna writes: “I don’t remember if you’ve already mentioned it, but could you tell me if we’ll get any more Michael? I’m just curious if I can look forward to seeing him at all, now that it’s canceled.”
Answer: Oh, chances are he’ll turn up sometime between now and the end of the season.
Yay Michael!! Michael is awesome. I knew he wouldn’t stay gone!! *celebrates*
Chicken..yum. I’m still craving roast chicken. 🙁
I spent over an hour yesterday reading peoples’ negative comments on the tentative characters for SGU. It made me very sad to hear people say that they love the Stargate series but won’t watch SGU because it looks childish. I’m excited! I just wish more people would realize that it’s still early. I was about to lose all hope in humanity. Then I turned on SG-1 and all hope was restored. 😀
Joe,
Hi. I’m new to your blog, but a long time Stargate fan. I have two questions for you.
1.) I’ve been rewatching earlier Atlantis seasons and I’m curious, in Season 2 was Caldwell a Goa’uld from the moment he turned up in Siege III? Or was he taken over closer to Critical Mass?
2.) Are the evil-Asgard the Vanir? Would this mean that Evil-Thor was really Njord (Njoror)?
Juste pur vous faire un petit coucou^^!
Jespert que vous allez bien!! Moi oui, un peu fatiguer, mais mon cheri est là et c’est super!!=)
A trés bientot =)
Tokyo recommendation:
In spring 2007, I stayed in the Prince Park Tower Hotel in the Raponggi region of Tokyo. http://www.princejapan.com/ThePrinceParkTowerTokyo/index.asp
There is a spectacular view of Tokyo Tower from the breakfast buffet room on the 33rd floor:
http://flickr.com/photos/missroon/531247933/
Technically, I shot this from Tokyo Tower, but you’d get virtually this same view from the hotel since the two buildings are so close:
http://flickr.com/photos/missroon/980572498/
There is a great park and very old temple nearby. There’s high-end shopping very close. But other than those few things, you’re not terribly close to all the “Tokyo-ness” of Tokyo. It was surprisingly peaceful in this little corner of Tokyo. But then, it’s not much of a train ride to Ueno or the major electronics district. I never did make it to Harajuko.
The one tour of the city we took showed us where Ueno was. And it took us to a fairly cool market at a really old Temple just past Ueno. But then we ended up at a “sucker” Pearl shop tour. Whatever. I’m from the east coast, I know all I want to know about oysters, thank you very much.
My favorite eating place was this tiny diner where we bought tickets representing our meal from an only-in-Japan jukebox thingie. Then we handed our tickets over to the guy working the diner counter. He took them back to the cook who cooked (heated up?) our meals. The meals came out fairly quick and were pretty good. It was just the best kind of experience – four Americans in a diner with about 7 working class Japanese (almost as many as the place would hold), non of whom spoke English, bent over our bowls, eating like the locals.
The next day we were so hungry after walking aroung Akihabara that we succumbed to the lure of McDonalds. We regretted it 30 minutes later as we wandered into the Ueno Market and passed a Doner stand run by real Turks! (But hey, at least I can say that I’ve eaten at Mickey D’s in London, Moscow and Tokyo, as well as a slew of American cities. I even had Starbucks in the Forbidden City before they shut it down.)
Hey Joe!
“I’ve lost touch with Supa, Big Daddy, Flipski, Taj, SushiMan, Champion, and Clive. “
? CLIVE ? What, no one could give poor Clive an equally flashy nickname?
– Nika
Mm. You know, I like Keller. (I like Teyla too, but obviously, the two characters and their respective fanbases must be diametrically opposed to one another, so I suppose since I said ‘I like Keller’ first, I’m going to have to forget about Teyla.) Should I go back and retroactively complain about the fact that Season 4 had SO MUCH Teyla in it, and almost NO Keller? I mean, geez, the one episode Keller got to be a focus in, she even had to SHARE it with Teyla! What a rip off!
Feeding of the lunacy aside, some of the other discussion has had me thinking. Scary, I know.
“Answer: The crystal certainly survived. It’s certainly sturdier than it looks.”
Really? It just seems… I dunno, an exploding gate can destroy all life on a planet (or a planet itself… agh, I can’t remember ‘Redemption’ well enough), but a crystal inside of the gate survives?
Although it also made me wonder about something else— the main concern when the gate went up didn’t seem to be, ‘This could seriously damage this planet’, more like, ‘this could destroy most of if not all of Atlantis’. Was it because the shield managed to take so much of the explosion, or did Ancients learn to make their Stargates a little less… explosive… over the years? It would make sense, as it seems Pegasus gates have additional, non-naquadah, components built in, i.e., the symbols, as opposed to inner ring in Milky Way gates (which were presumably also naquadah).
Okay, just two more. Presumably, the shield would have held out as long as there was power going to it, right? Does this mean that their latest ZPM was bled dry? And second (or fourth, I guess), are we going to find out how widespread the damage was in Pegasus, either for Wraith or for the worlds with Gates?
Congrats on the ratings. We are loyal fans to the end, we will sincerely miss Atlantis. >sniff sniff But alas I look forward to Universe and what ever projects you have in the works Joe! ^_^
woooooohoooo HIGH RATINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well in all fairness, comparing season 1 to season 4 and the early season 5, the latter are better. It’s only logical the ratings would match.
First Contact was one of the best episodes of the season and for the first time in a long while I had a huge buzz in my office about Stargate Atlantis. I think everyone I know couldnt wait to tune in for the second part and resulting in the great ratings for The Lost Tribe. But unfortunatley I found The Lost Tribe a big let down and SGA went back into it’s same old rut of mediocrity.
I’m not going to list all the things I had a problem with in the second part but it basically lacked everything First Contact had. As to the Keller debate. I didnt take too much notice of the character in season 4, now I feel she is everywhere and I don’t get that impression when it comes to Teyla. Keller was never needed IMO and not sure really why Teyla couldnt have been given more to do. I’m not a big fan of damsels in distress, always loved Teyla because she was such a strong and yet feminine woman.
I’m not into breaking down each episode and adding up screentime, but my overall impression is that Keller gets too much and I’m sick of her, and Teyla doesn’t get enough and I’d love to see more of her. Not into love triangles and totally miss the vibe between the team. It’s non existant in season 5 and I would much rather watch some nice team friendly down time moments than crappy love triangles.
I’m not as enthusiastic now to watch the remainder of the season and it seems only to carter a shipper group and folks squeeling over who loves who. I couldnt care less who Keller loves and wish now the character would just go away and give me back my kick ass Teyla whom I don’t see at all these days. The Queen was a glimpse of her but not enough and not neally enough interaction between her and John and the rest of the team.
Hopefully I will be proved wrong in upcoming episodes but so far I’m seeing way too much of Keller and McKay in future episodes.
Can you allay my fears that I will see more of Teyla, and not just walking the baby and more good team moments, and Keller is not part of the team for me.
Thanks.
Great ratings. I keep hoping that someone will say, “ok we were just kidding, we are keeping SGA going”. I am persistant if not anything else.
Joseph, I hope you don’t hate me (that’s if you liked me or thought about me ever [lol])if I don’t care about SGU info. I can’t watch something knowing a show I really liked was ditched for another project. If it’s ok though, I will still read your blog for your humor and wit.
Cat4444 I don’t think you understand our points. We don’t hate anyone, we just want to see the main TEAM more which we fell in love with. Wolfenm chose Teyla, but personally, I’d like to see more sheppard, but as we can all read, we all have our personal likes etc.
HI Joe,
I have a random SG question that has nothing (or so I think nothing) with Atlantis or anything current really, but maybe you could answer it for me? I stumbled upon the “utopians” entry in the GateWorld Omnipedia (from the SG1 eppy “Paradise Lost” & it said that they may have been the Furlings. What do you think? (Many of us will always wonder about those Furlings!) Thanks!
Hey Joe,
I guess nobody pointed out to you yet that you dated your entry incorrectly.
I laughed when I read your answer about the control crystal. After we watched The Lost Tribe, the first thing my 8-year-old asked was “but what about the control crystal??”
Will you be giving us a rundown of your spoiler poem soon now that the season is past the half-way point? I’m guessing “Atlantis the target of a mysterious race” refers to the mid-season 2-parter, any maybe also this one: “The status quo shifts, a power play made”.
Jean
Dear Joe,
please send my sincerest kudos to Mr. J. Goldsmith – the score for FC and TLT was awesome – just added nicely to the atmosphere.
cheers
Deb
Hey Joe!
Congratulations to you and the crew for achieving a 1.5 rating this week! It was well deserved and “The Lost Tribe” was an amazing episode. Asgard, Wraith, Todd, Peril, Travelers, Damage, Mythology, a perfect mix. 🙂
Looks like you have a fun-filled few months coming up. Just make sure all these plans don’t stress you out, it’s time for you to relax. 😉
Thanks as always,
– Enzo Aquarius
Congratulations from me as well, 1.5!
I really wish that would change the minds of those responsible for the cancellation but they probably don’t give a damn. *sigh*
I hope the super-secret project will get easier with time (beginnings are often hard 😉 ).
I take it as a good sign that you are praising SGU but I’ll still keep my doubts though I wouldn’t mind at all to be proven wrong by the pilot.
A lot of travelling in November for you. Tokyo is surely going to be great (one day I will get there, too and to Helsinki, of course! [and yeah, I know those two aren’t exactly next-door-neighbours but I want to see them at least once])
…and a long mailbag again! Thanks for putting up with all the comments, reading the mailbag is always interesting and often fun ^^
Well, what can I say? I’ve really haven’t had a problem with Keller, I rather like her. And Ronon is fine, he makes for good comic relief sometimes. I would like to see him a little smarter though–not academically smart but I suppose woodsie smart. I liked the interaction with he and Keller in TLT, I think it worked well. I can’t see her with Rodney however. Uh! Rodney. I know this will sound terribly mean, and I love the way the actor portrays him, but I find him utterly, UTTERLY unappealing. Really. I thought he and his first girl friend worked well together, but not he and Keller.
I think the issue to over come with Ronon is that he needs to slow down and explain WHY he is doing WHAT he is doing to Keller, put her at ease–obviously what he does works (to rescue people), and his plans have consistently been successful. So, the idea that he is going at life slap happy doesn’t add up. He’s simply not a wordy person, which doesn’t mean he isn’t thoughtful.
Keller will respect him immensely if she knows HOW his mind works. Rodney is too self absorbed. Keller needs to be treated like a princess, which Ronon is capable of doing. Rodney, on the other hand, needs to be mothered, which I can’t see Keller doing long term.
I think Keller is the exact impetus to develop Ronon’s character, or rather “reveal” it.
WK
PS — In terms of the show doing well, I’m not surprised. Didn’t SGA win The People’s Choice award? I have much more regard for that type of award, then say…the Emmys which primarily awards for formulaic productions. So, there you go.
@Das
Hey das, no worries. (I’m commenting on your post from yesterday) Remember our convo at the WDC two days ago:
“Originally Posted by dasNdanger
Honestly, I don’t know if I could ‘look’ Chris in the eye by asking him a question…I mean, what would I say? Something totally bone-headed and stupid, like…”duh, duh, duh….” *thud*
Yeah, I’d make a total fool out of myself.
das”
“Oh no worries Das, remember it’s Todd not Chris you’re drooling over. Say something hilarious and perverted; men always get a kick out of that stuff!
WK”
So, there you go, you CAN separate the actor from the character. As for me, I’m not that familiar with Heyerdahl’s work outside of SGA. What I have seen though, I am impressed with. I think he did some work at Statford Theatre–he seems very well trained, and of course marvelously skilled.
I would like to know the process he goes through to invest in the character and create a believable (fictional) personality.
WK
glad to hear about the good numbers! Is it wrong that we still hold out hope for Atlantis? 🙂
*sneaks in from lurkdom*
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
I’m lurking due to class assignments and recurring back problems. Reviewing MRI with orthopedist today.
No comment on “The Lost Tribe”, as I had to see and critique a play for my acting class that night. Should have it on tape. From the spoilers, sounds like it was interesting…
SPOILER SPACE
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but why not the Furlings?
*giggles and runs away*
Methinks my first attempt to post got virtually eaten. I’ll give it a second try, and hope the original post doesn’t pop up later. Great news on the ratings, when can we at least find out what the secret project is about, looking forward to the prospect of you selling your horror script. I resolve to put fingers in ears and go lalalala while scrolling the screen with my toe the next time I see the word Keller on this blog. The discussion has turned into an orgy of moribund equine bashing. A suggestion for your reading pile. “Death from the Skies” by Phillip Plait, PhD. Non-fiction, fun read on how we are all could die due to astronomical phenomena. Very easy read. Oh, and have lots of fun with the various road trips. Perhaps you can get Mr. Binder or Mr. Gero to act as a guest blogger on a few of those days? I can’t imagine catching up with old friends in Vegas and managing to stay coherent enough to post here nightly. Thanks for the big mailbag, as well as all the work you have done in giving us the best show on television.
After reading all the Keller comments I thought I’d throw in my two cents regarding Keller.
I am not a Keller-hater persay, but I don’t care for the charactor. At first I figured that Hey it’s because she is the person to replace Carson, but I should warm up to her like I did Jonas when Daniel died (Yet again). But in the past season and a half (Thats about how long she’s been here right?) I havn’t really gotton any warmer. She just doesn’t seem very realistic to me. I don’t think its a Jewel thing because she was AMAZING in Firefly and Serenity. So I’m afraid I can only blame the writers. Apologies.
Date, Joe…
das
Well, duh, don’t I feel like a dunderhead. Happy Belated Canadian Thanksgiving, Joe and Fondy and all the rest of the Canadian folks who watch Joe’s blog!
to Das You may not have asked for hugs, but I’m sending supportive thoughts and hugs to you and your family.
to Thornyrose The SGA variant of the 404 page is further down in the thread. However, to make things easy, here’s the link.
@ JimFromJersey – I’ve been in CM all my life, hubby is from Absecon area. I was wondering how long it would take you to pick up on all my Jersey comments. There’s another one or two of us here, too…
@ WK – Oh, I have no problem separating actor from character…I totally understand that characters are characters, blah, blah, blah. My problem is that I usually try not to become attracted to the actors (admiring their abilities is one thing…being smitten is another). It just makes me say stupid things…I mean, stupider things.
😛
@ Perragrin – *hugs* Thanks. 🙂
@ wolfenm & noir – Okie dokie. I’ll be in touch, eventually. The past 24 have been totally crazy busy…
@ Annie from Fremantle – Everytime I see your icon pic, I think it’s me. We could be sisters, only…you’re cuter (thus the reason I remain a green monster with a big mouth and a springy butt 😀 ).
TBA wrote – “The Wraith: the overall arc of the show. I can’t see how their story can be wrapped up in a movie, except for using another ‘deus ex machina’ like the Ark finished the Ori story. So I actually prefer leaving those guys alive and kicking, even beyond the movies.”
“Todd: this guy needs to be kept around forever. No need to resolve his arc.”
Totally agree. Of course, I would. 😉 I’d much rather see Todd and the Wraith continue to buzz around like persistent ‘pests’, like gadflies…interferring just enough, but without the need for any sort of ‘final solution’. Diminish their numbers, take away some of their power, but let ’em keep living…they’re just too much fun! AND sexy. 😀
See, I just don’t get the whole ‘annihiliation as a solution’ thing…why does everything have to be ‘wrapped up’? Why can’t things just…BE. This is something I do NOT understand about the average Stargate fan’s mentality – they want everything exterminated as the final solution. It’s like they sit there watching the episodes, saying, “Kill. I wanna, I wanna see…I wanna see blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth. Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, kill, KILL, KILL!”
Or…maybe that’s just the folks at Gateworld… 🙄
(either way, it kinda scares me.)
das
Nika said:
“…Supa, Big Daddy, Flipski, Taj, SushiMan, Champion, and Clive.”
“? CLIVE ? What, no one could give poor Clive an equally flashy nickname?”
What’s yours? Big M perhaps? 😎
erinblast said:
“glad to hear about the good numbers! Is it wrong that we still hold out hope for Atlantis?”
Oh Joe. If wishes were horses you would have to buy a ranch in Argentina just to keep em all 😛
Sorry Das, I can’t admit to actually reading all the comments. I usually check the blog from work, so time is limited. I probably missed your Jersey references. I’m in Berlin. =)
Das, I think that’s the action in the action-adventure-scifi characteristic of the series: when’s the last time Xena or Hercules were welcoming anybody with pie?
I don’t think the idea of negotiating and world peace worked in Scifi ever since Gene Roddenberry kicked the bucket – Star Trek Next Generation and Earth Final Conflict still had a lot of that spirit of viewing things from the other side, negotiation, peace for everybody, but looking at later series like Space: Above and Beyond, Babylon and Star Trek DS9 and Enterprise, they are basically about an all-out war. SG1 was also trying to kill off the Goa’Uld and later the Ori, so Atlantis is just following suit.
And may be the writers have a harder battle to fight for viewers, with all the alternative forms of entertainment available these days and the internet and stuff, and maybe they’re compelled to put down more expressed protagonists, which they try to do through creating stronger antagonists? Joe? You reading this? Maybe you can explain?
Congratulations on the 1.5, Joe!!!!!!!!! It was an excellent episode, and I’m thrilled to see that it got good ratings. There is no doubt in my mind, that if it wasn’t for the first Presidential debate, the ratings for “First Contact” would have been up there too. Considering that the debate took in over 52 million viewers, I was impressed that the episode only slightly dropped from the season’s average, and actually got the same ratings as two other episodes this year. I’m anxious to see the final numbers when you get them, because I have a feeling that a lot of fans watched the debate and taped “Atlantis”.
I’m really going to miss “Atlantis”, Joe. As great as it is that we’re getting a movie, it’s still not the same. *sigh*
dff
Hey, you kinda made a typo in the title, you said October 12th but you wrote October 13th!
Hey Joe.
After watching Friday’s episode of SGA., I was ready to rant to you about the lack of screen time for Teyla for this Season and to some extend Season Four of SGA, but while I’ve been away it seems others have been complaining about the exact same thing. Now, I’m not going to bash Keller. And I don’t dislike the character. My concern for the lack of screen time for Teyla which has been plainly evident especially this season and the seemingly somewhat over abundance of screen time for Keller. That concern, my frustration and annoyance, I place squarely at the feet of the writers, producers, etc.
Last season, Rachel was pregnant. So I understood the reason why she was not in all of the episodes. There were several episodes she was not in at all and a couple of episodes mainly Midway comes to mind that she was in for about five minutes at the beginning then never to be seen again.
Your episodes’ comparison of Teyla and Keller yesterday was interesting. And your rationale to justify why these characters have gotten the screen time so far does not give me any faith that I will see any difference in screen time when it comes to other remaining episodes. Which is a shame, but much easier to let go. Because apparently you do not think it is a problem with the lack of screen time for Teyla. And I along with others don’t understand the different between episodes that service the characters and the episodes that service the story. There is one thing I would agree with you on and that is, “Some critics will point to the amount of time the actors appear onscreen while others will say that the amount of time isn’t as important as the importance of the character in that given episode.” I subscribe to the latter.
Your response that, “Last year, Teyla was front and center in the bigger arc that concluded the season.” Yes, she was, but I disagree that she was front and center. Maybe my definition of front and center is slightly skewed than yours, apparently so. In Kindred 1 – yes, the story arc was addressed, but in Kindred 2, not so much, that episode was centered more on Carson.
Please answer this – those scenes with Sheppard asking the new Traveler’s girl whether Larrin spoke about him or told her about him service the episode or the character in what way?
I would have thought a scene or two focusing on Atlantis once John and Zelenka left with the Travelers would have been much better suited for this episode. Was a scene like that ever given any consideration? Here was an opportunity to bring Teyla back into the episode since she had to be one to stay behind which I understood reasoning behind that decision for her stay.
Why is Ronon and Teyla’s none appearance in an episode is never addressed? A line mentioning they are doing something or off world is better than no mention at all in IMO. And this seems to happen only to them. At least, we tend to see John or Rodney make an appearance however brief it may be
I would appreciate some kind of reply. Thank you.
It’s the 14th where I am so if Joe just changes the date to the 15th he can give the blog a rest for a day and we would all be too confused to notice… 😀
The internet is down this side of the world so apologies if I post this multiple times.
I was just thinking…It’s the 14th where I am so if Joe just changes the date to the 15th he can give the blog a rest for a day and we would all be too confused to notice… 😀
Congrats on the ratings, 1.5 Live!!! WooHoo!!! Still keeping my fingers crossed that tptb will pull their collective heads out of their asses & greenlight a 6th season.
Concerning the Keller/Ronan/McKay/Teyla/John lovers, haters & shippers, Joe, you must have the patience of Job. I’ll spare you my feeling about which characters I think are being overused, underused, misused & totally abused. And just remind everyone that the shooting season has wrapped! So give the man a break, okay?
@ sulien – Thanks, and *hugs* backatcha. 🙂
@ JimFromJersey – You don’t fabricate sheet metal, do you? We go to Berlin for specialized ductwork…not that that’s the only business in town, it’s just the only one I know of…’cause Berlin’s like…in the middle of nowhere. 😉
@ Sessy – I think it’s a true reflection of human intolerance (as reflected by the basic egocentric ‘me-first’ world attitude), as well as a lack of imagination. People like final conflicts – yeah, we get that – but it only works on certain epic levels, and rather scares me when it becomes the solution for everything, especially in light of all the genocides this planet has experienced in the past 100 years. The whole ‘art imitating life and visa versa’ thing.
See, the way I look at it, our entertainment often reflects our morality, our mentality. So, if our entertainment ‘mentality’ is all about killing everything, then what’s going to happen if we ever have a real world crisis? I just remember how neighbors – perhaps friends – slaughtered one another in conflicts like Bosnia and Rwanda because of fear and intolerance…watching the news and seeing all the bodies just really got to me. It makes me wonder if, by being constantly exposed to that same ‘solution’ through our entertainment outlets, we would do the same if the situation arose, or…if our fictional genocides are just proof that we WILL do the same, simply because it’s our nature to destroy, rather than find that common ground.
And yeah, yeah, yeah…we can argue the whole ‘but the Wraith kill’ thing, but we know it’s for a different reason, AND – more importantly – they aren’t real, and even if they were, at least they practice what they preach. Humans – in real life and in fiction – tend to be very hypocritcal, preaching justice for all while killing everything in their path because of the ‘us or them’ mentality. All I know is if I killed ANYTHING, human or animal, even in self-defense, I’d be curled up in a ball, sucking my thumb, for weeks. You should see how I freak out if I hit a squirrel – I’ll be sick over it all day. But that’s because I have a live and let live mentality.
The only reason I can ‘accept’ what the Wraith do is because they are not human, and thus not bound by our morality since they’re a different species. But humans, with all our morality, with all our ‘right and wrong’, often kill without conscience, especially if they have a ‘reason’ (for instance, more innocent civilians are killed in war now than soldiers). Just very hypocritical to me, and one reason I have problems with how freely humans kill things, especially in sci fi (I’ve said many times before, it’s why I stopped watching Voyager – not so much for the killing, but for their godlike decision making for other races, when they were just fallible humans.) So…yeah…tangent, I know. 😳 (But NOT a hysterical one! Do I get a cookie for that, Joe???! 😀 )
Whew. That was much more stimulating than defending Keller. 🙂
das
Camy writes: “I understand that Keller had to let him down. I get that. But why must it have been so cold and ruthless.”
Anwer: If you had been in Keller’s position, how would you have approached him?
Yea Joe doesn’t tease!!! Off to GW to start a riot 🙂
I don’t think Keller was cold and ruthless. I just think us Ronon fans and the Ronon/Keller shippers just felt the sting of rejection. No matter who she rejected the let down would not have been seen as nice. Believe me I was there..after my WTF? moment I was ready to throw Jennifer to the wolves! How dare she hurt Ronon like that?? But then I watched it again the next day and the scene wasn’t so bad (maybe because I knew it was coming?) I think there was more to the scene than just rejecting Ronon. I believe she had one hellish day and was stress, tired, and irritated. If I’m right then Jewel did a great job showing that..if I’m wrong then I just need to get a life and stop reading too much into things.
I personally would have made out with Ronon until I forgot I was “kind of interested” in someone else…and that would have taken some time 🙂
🙂
@ Joe – No way you read all of that THAT fast. 😉
I actually have a question, and I didn’t want it lost in that last ramble.
In FC/TLT, I get the impression that Keller throws Todd off his game a bit. In The Queen, he seemed to acknowledge her nervousness by speaking gently to her (‘ah, she’s vulnerable!’), and then he opens up to her in First Contact, before catching himself (‘ack! I’M vulnerable!!’). Finally, in The Lost Tribe, he seems frustrated during the interrogation before he curtly dismisses ‘her’ (not ‘Dr. Keller’, which suggests to me either a loss of respect, or an emotional distancing knowing she would soon be dead… ‘no sympathy for the fallen’, and all that). If I didn’t know better, I’d say that Keller almost unnerves him, as if he can’t read her as well as the others.
So, my question (this is NOT a ‘ship’ question): In your mind, how does Todd view Keller, and does she throw him off his game a bit, or is it something else? Also, will their recent interaction be addressed in any upcoming episodes (if you can answer that without spoiling anything)?
Thankies!
das
I like both Keller and Teyla so I am in the middle of this arguement but I do think Teyla could’ve been developed more than she was.
I have a funny question for you what is the strangest thing you have noticed about this fandom? For me it is the Daniel Sam fandom war that apparently has gone on for years why I find it so strange is because from everything I have read Michael and Amanda are friends and get along and I never saw anything between the characters that explains it either this is just between certain Daniel Fans and certain Sam fans I think the root of it is very petty because it is about screen time and who got more time with RDA/Jack but whatever.
Are there any Ronon & Teyla scenes in the rest of season 5 to look forward to I asked you before but you did not answer I was very happy with what you told me in season 4 with BAMS’R I loved that scene.
I have a Memento Mori question in your mind is Daniel in denial of feelings and was it a date?
Congrats on the ratings! Just think how your resume is going to look.
@Wolfenm: Thanks for excepting my apologies. I would have probably done the same.
@das:Whew. That was much more stimulating than defending Keller.
I agree . Thank you for changing the subject. I knew there were better topics to talk about than the Keller bashing and love triangle topics that have been lately. Thanks.
However, I do disagree that the mentality of SGA is Kill! Kill! I mean Stargate Command and the Atlantis expedition were established so that we can explore new civilization and strange new worlds, oops sorry that was star trek, but you know what I mean. Then as the team explored the new worlds they come across aliens that threaten their lives and the ones they care about so then yes that mentality of kill! Kill kicks in. If someone tries to kill me, my husband, family, or friend that I care about or even a strangere I would probably be in the Kill! Kill! mode as well. And that is how I see SGA and other Sci fi shows. If you think about it everytime Sheppards team meet some one it is in peace until they are threatened. And that is human nature. After all everyone has a right to defend themselves.
Thanks for the change of topic.
I just want to say, my compliments to all of you, season 5 is really great and I enjoy (almost) every episode of SGA so far. Ok, ‘tracker’ wasn’t my taste, but all the others, love them. And I ask myself again and again, why are they cancelling such a great show?? Still don’t understand it.
First contact was excellent and after seeing the lost tribe, I’m delighted. Enjoyed so much in this epi, first shirtless shep (thanks so much for that, yes I’m a real JF-thunker) and also his scenes on the shipand with the crew, the battles, the interaction between Daniel and Rodney, a wonderful Todd, Ronon as a man of action, and Robert Picardo as Woolsey fits very good in the team ,like this character . So I’m looking forward to the other epsiodes, with one laughing and one whining eye and really hope we get a lot of movies from you as promised. I decide to think positive about that.
That’s all I want to say and you see, not a word about keller (twinkles her eye)
I am suddenly very glad that I have been away for a few days.
Perhaps I am being obtuse, but has it occurred to anyone that Teyla is being played by Rachel who has a real baby. Maybe she wants to spend time with said baby rather than running amok on set all the time.
With that reasoning let Rachel be happy with her new baby and not force her to be on screen more than she want to be.
@ tamijb – Thanks. And don’t mind me – I’m death-sensitive. 😛 I was primarily speaking of fans who are always shouting ‘kill!’ Kill characters, kill entire races – kill you-know-who because she’s taking up too much screentime… 😉
Of course – with the exception of the other you-know-who with the long flowing locks and itchy feeding finger – I don’t mind the occasion ‘self-defense’ killing. My only problem as far as the Wraith (in general) go is that it starts getting a bit hokey with how easily they’re killed, and that hardly any survive an encounter with the Lanteans. And these were the guys who took down the Ancients? 🙄 Yeah, so it basically messes with my suspension of disbelief – the Wraith can’t blow up a puddle jumper, but John Sheppard in a space suit, armed only with a ballpoint pen and a jelly donut, can destroy three of those big hive ships, allatthesametime. Okay, was a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. 😉
Anyhoo…I got off the subject. Some killing of the ‘bad guys’ in a show is to be expected – some deserve to be taken down. That’s not the problem. What I mind (esp. in sci fi) is the tendency to want to exterminate entire races. I don’t know what it’s called, but sci fi has a problem with ‘all or nothing’. A planet is always all desert, or all forest. The people living on the planet are all of the same culture. Other alien races are either all friends, or all foe. There’s rarely a middle ground with sci fi…until Todd came along. But Todd is just one guy; I would love to see him, and a small faction of Wraith, remain in the gray area, occasionally helping the Lanteans, while other Wraith continue to fight against them. Best of both worlds kind of thing like we eventually got with the Klingons. I can only hope for such an outcome. But it just scares me when folks start screaming for the blood of all Wraith…like farmers with their pitchforks and torches, marching through the streets on some sort of witchhunt.
Okay, maybe that’s a bad analogy…
I just made my head hurt.
😛
das
Hi Joe – the comment thing wasn’t letting me comment on the October 14 entry -is there a problem or something you’re aware about? At least I think. Usually when I post, there’s a thing that says “waiting to be moderated,” but when I clicked submit today, it just refreshed the page. Strange…but I’m not muchbetter with internet stuff than you!
@ Das,
I don’t think there’s any good reason to accept what the Wraith do. Okay so we had already established that they NEED to feed, but, in 10 000 years, with their level of technology, wouldn’t they have been able to come up with some gene therapy that’d be able to overcome that problem if not completely, then at least partially, deminishing the need to feed? And if you know you need to kill people to survive, why not try to minimise the damage?
1 wraith who does not hibernate needs to feed approximately 12 times a year. Suppose they were to live in symbiosis with the human population, they could have all the murderers, rapists and other scum of the earth for dinner. The severity of the punishment has more than once been proven not to have a very great effect on the crime rates – unlike the chance of being caught – so crime rates in such a society would not differ much from our own. In addition, the Wraith could feed on the suicidal and the terminally ill as we have seen in the series. An industrial society with sufficient health care would provide population rates in the billions per planet, allowing an ample food supply for the Wraith, allowing the Wraith to live without hibernation and use surplus resources to develop art, culture, technology. If they were to use their technological advantage and share it with the humans they could boost the population rates even higher, allowing for MORE criminals and thus more food. A society would have to be foolish to stand and watch over 50% of their children die before the age of 20 of diseases if all it took to prevent it would be to give their most serious criminals up.
Next, even if this was not the path they chose to walk, why feed on unsedated humans? We’ve not seen any reason why the Wraith would be unable to feed upon humans under the sedation of a Wraith stunner or any medicine. While this would not make them any less of a killers, it would make the end of their human victims a lot less torturous. We, as a society, are right now at this stage as far as our concern is for our animal food source. We’re not quite there yet ensuring that our food does not suffer but we are becoming more and more aware of it and we try harder each year.
So what is it? Nobody among the Wraith has thought of it in 10 000 years? I think they did, and their fellow Wraith killed them, like they wanted to do with Michael. And that’s a choice. A very dark one indeed, making them inherently evil in the sense that they have no regard for the effects of their actions at all, and this makes it a choice that makes them the perfect opponent to Atlantis, at least, to Atlantis under Elizabeth Weir’s negotiating and diplomatic leadership.
Now obviously the Wraith are fictional so they are not anything, other than what the show writers need them to be, but just hypothetically…
@ Sessy – I understand what you are saying – really. But until humans (real or fictional) stop killing one another out of greed, hate, prejudice, anger, etc…then I can’t fault the Wraith for killing for food. Humans are very hypocritical – they preach life, but they deliver death on so many levels. At least the Wraith are what they are, without pretenses. I would much rather be in the company of something I know would kill me given the chance, because then I can take the necessary steps to protect myself, than to be with someone who pretends to be harmless, then stabs you in the back.
I think that’s what it boils down to for me. The Wraith are Wraith, we know what we get with them. But humans…well…can’t really trust people, can you? For being so ‘enlightened’, we really seem to delight in bringing pain and suffering to our fellow man. (And yes, I have a rather cynical view of my fellow human beings…I know.)
das
How healthy do you think is the food you usually eat?
PS @ Sessy – You bring up an interesting point about the way humans treat their food animals. Though we are aware, very few humans in very few cultures actually ‘care’ about the animal’s suffering, with some animals even being cooked or eaten alive, because it ‘tastes better that way’. *shudder* So…not much different than the Wraith there.
Then there are the criminals. We treat them with kid gloves, so afraid to tread on their ‘human rights’, rights they didn’t even consider extending to their victims. I won’t get started on that, but it goes right back to how hypocritical humans are when it comes to issues of life and death. It’s okay to bomb a village and kill innocents in hopes of getting that one bad guy, but not okay to execute, with no risk to others, a willful criminal. Yeah. See where I’m going with this.
Like I said…the Wraith are no different than humans, only they’re not hypocritical about what they do.
God, I DO sound awful, don’t I? I’m really not so bad in person…in fact, I’m quite mild and…a bit silly. I just, ya know, sometimes have strong opinions…that probably shouldn’t be said out loud. 😛
das
Anwer: If you had been in Keller’s position, how would you have approached him?
First I love Ronon and Rodney too much to come between them. But if I had to, and as part of the expedition team, I would have thought a bit more of how my words can affect Ronon and Rodney. They are friends and members of the same team. They watch each other’s back on a daily basis. Any feud between them can have serious consequences not only to the team but to the expedition team as well. And Keller must have known or thought of this at some point. Especially since she knows that Rodney loves her and as she pointed out, she thought Ronon had feelings for her as well.
I would have waited or hinted to Ronon that my interest were elsewhere so that although either way it would still be hurtful to him, it would still give him his pride if he thought that Keller never figured out his true feelings for him. Therefore, the bullet would have hurt a lot less. I think anyways. Maybe overhear Keller make a comment of her interest for Rodney to someone else. Something more subtle.
I’ve always thought that in part John and Teyla haven’t made a move on each other because they are thinking of the consequences on how it would affect the team. And I so respect that about them. So, to see Keller do it so carelessly and so casually, was surprising and dissappointing for her character’s portrayal.
That was a tough question, btw. *wink*
Camy
Why should they? Because WE are their prey? Are we something better than any other creature in this universe? I don’t think so.
We are killing and eating animals at least as long as the Wraith and do we see the need to change our menu? And it would be much easier for us than for the Wraith because we CAN eat plants!
And we treat animals better that the Wraith treat us? Sorry – but the opposite is still reality! Shall I send you a few links of clips where you can see how ‘nice’ we treat our animals? No – WE have no right to critisize the Wraith. We are much worse! And only because now we are treated like we tread animals – now we are crying and whining. 🙄 But what can one expect from a race that calls itself “Homo Sapiens Sapiens”, “The Pride of Creation” and “God’s own Likeness”. 🙁
@Das
No – you don’t sound cruel. Not really. You only manage to see the Wraith not with the eyes of the pray but relativly objective. I totally agree with you. And believe me I would go much futher than you if English would be my birth language. I know it – I’ve written many posts like yours in German forums. 😉
@dAS
I see your point, I really do, but I do disagree nonetheless.
@ Noir, I didn’t say we were there, I said we were trying. Several years ago in Europe it was forbidden to hold pigs and cows in cages a size so small they cannot turn around, and in some countries in Europe, recently, supermarkets have joined hands and said they will no longer sell eggs from bio-industry chickens (chickens in cages) and from pigs which are castrated without aenesthesia. In Swizerland, recently, a new law has been passed which forbids certain types of house animals, which are flock animals, to be held alone, and prescribes minimum floor space of cages for many types of animals including guinea pigs.
As far as alternatives for meat go, you are correct, although you do need to keep in mind there are many people who are allergic to soy and their numbers keep increasing. Right now, a new alternative (with milk proteins) is developed by Valess, it tastes sort of like turkey by the way, but this kind of thing isn’t created overnight, it needs to grow. Give it a few decades.
At any rate, we have been at any significant level of civilisation for far less than 10 000 years and the consciousness of the suffering of animals is just now beginning to hit us. For example, certain types of fish and lobster and the like scream when they are boiled or skinned alive, but because they do it at frequencies which we cannot hear, humans previously believed they did not feel pain. This is changed now.
I can’t believe he shot the Asgard core.. Why didn’t he just shoot me right in the heart instead?
Aha! It helps if I spell “Iain” correctly when searching for the full name, eh? 🙂 That put me on a mini-quest through authors names – I hadn’t heard of of Thomas Disch so I’ve ordered Camp Concentration.
Like yourself, I found Iain M. Banks to consistently deliver direct to my Top 25… Until The Algebraist which I found to be an immediate cure for my insomnia and which I never managed to finish. I’m currently reading “Otherland” which has had me gripped from page 1.
The one author you seem to have missed so far is C.J.Cherryh. You said you were considering Downbelow Station earlier this year, I hope you might find a chance to squeeze her in. Downbelow has its slow moments but it does pay off rather well. Her “Faded Sun” was a pretty good read although I have a particular fondness for “Foreigner” (a self-contained story that spurred a series).
Although I highly recommend her “Chanur” books as long as you pick up the saga rather than the individual books she had to split it into to get a publisher to carry her in the late 70s.