You know you’re in a skeevy neighborhood when a grown man tries to sell you six of his hand-drawn pirate pictures for five dollars. I had parked the car around the corner from Akemi’s language school and was hanging around out front, waiting for her class to finish, when I was approached by a fellow who, appropriately enough, looked the swashbuckling sort with his scruffy appearance, gap-toothed grin, and big-buttoned jacket. “Hey, check these out,”he said, sidling up to me and flipping through a sketchbook. “Pretty cool. Pirates.” They were indeed pictures of pirates but, sadly, they were far from cool – or even competent. Rough, half-finished, they were the type of half-ass drawings with which a three year old pirate enthusiast would surely find fault. “And here’s a saloon,” flipping to a sketch of a sparse chandelier, bar, and some enormous breasts in a corset. “You get six pictures for five dollars. That’s a really good deal.”
As much as I admired his industrious attitude and unique angle, it all fell apart for me in the execution. That and the fact that I wasn’t really in the market for pirate pictures. I did have a hankering for tacos but, in all fairness, it’s doubtful I would bought some off him even if he had been selling them.
If you’re looking to score change from passersby, I think a sense of humor would go a long way…
Continuing our trip down Atlantis memory lane…
HOME (109)
My favorite episodes to write are the kind that throw the audience a curveball. Things seems straightforward enough but, gradually, things take a turn for the weird and, slowly but surely, one begins to realize that not all is as it seems. I’m talking about episodes like This Mortal Coil, Revelations and, of course, Home in which our heroes are presented with a means of returning to Earth, an opportunity they take only to learn they can’t go back to Atlantis. Or so it would seem… The hints that something is amiss are subtle at first (follow Weir’s appearing/disappearing necklace) but, as the episode progresses, the clues leave no doubt that the team (and audience) are being played.
The original draft of the script had Teyla joining John on an exploration of Earth – a walk in the park, stopping for ice cream. I loved the fish-out-of-water aspects of the sequence and the subtle suggestions of a burgeoning romance, but the network wasn’t as enthusiastic so I ended up losing those scenes in the rewrite.
Torri Higginson’s adorable dog, Sedge, makes a brief cameo in this episode, appearing as Simon’s adorable dog…Sedge.
Well into Atlantis’s fifth year, I kept pitching that we should end a season with Weir, Sheppard, McKay, Teyla, and Ford waking up on the mist planet.
THE STORM (110)
While his first Stargate script, Childhood’s End, saw Martin Gero getting a feel for the new series, these two episodes saw him hit his stride. As far as Stargate mid-season two-parters go, I think The Storm/The Eye combo is pretty damn hard to beat. The suspense mounts as the storm of the century approaches, Atlantis scrambles to respond and, just when it seems it can’t get any worse, enter one of Atlantis’s most fearsome villains: Acastus Kolya. It’s Die Hard on a floating city wracked by a hurriciane as Sheppard attempts to stay one step ahead of the Genii commander who seemingly holds all the cards in holding Weir and McKay. There are some tense moments, terrific action and, sprinkled throughout, flashes of Gero’s trademark humor. The amusing back-and-forth between McKay and Zelenka develops what will become one of the most enjoyable (to watch) working relationships in Stargate’s lengthy run. Lord Smeadon, excised from Martin’s first draft of Childhood’s End, makes a reappearance here – with a vengeance.
So what do you guys think? What was the greatest mid-season two-parter in Stargate history? The nominees are:
Weigh in and then leave a comment, letting us know why you voted the way you did. I’ll pick a random supporter of the winning two-parter and they’ll receive autographed copies of the scripts.
Polls close next Tuesday night!
The Quest was with no doubt one of the best-written stories of SG-1. It had adventure, mystery and a ton of humour. Easy two hours in front of the tv! I love that dragon! 🙂
It was hard to pick one of those two-parters – they were all excellent. But This Mortal Coil/Be All My Sins Remember’d was the first one that came to mind. They had so much great stuff going on – wrapping up the Asuran storyline (more or less), wonderfully paced, stunning visual effects (the space battle scene was jaw-dropping) and finally one of the most surprising endings of any Stargate episode with the reveal of Weir. Okay, I think I may have to go watch those two again.
Did we ever know from the series that Kolya’s first name was Acastus?
I still haven’t watched the show. Where would I even start?
“Well into Atlantis’s fifth year, I kept pitching that we should end a season with Weir, Sheppard, McKay, Teyla, and Ford waking up on the mist planet.”
–THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN TOO COOL!!!!!!
I voted for The Tok’ra I/The Tok’ra II because, well it’s the Tok’ra 😉 I liked the ‘kind of dreaming romance’ for Carter.
Shoot, Joe. I had a hard time figuring out which one to vote for. Finally decided to vote for The Storm/The Eye for the reasons you said. That one doesn’t lose the action at all. And of course, I’ve lived through a hurricane myself so it was interesting to see how much the tv experience was reflective of my own. If I could have added an SG-1 ep, I would have done Evolution 1/2. I thought that was pretty good too.
Have a great night!!
Lisa R
A tough choice, but I voted for “The Storm” and “The Eye” because (1) I love the Genii, especially Commander Kolya — so believably menacing and yet not over-the-top evil, which somehow made him all the more scary, (2) cutting away from Sheppard to the Ancient’s life-signs detector with the lights winking out – yikes, (3) the practical and visual effects of the city in the storm (especially in “The Eye”), and (4) McKay and Zelenka. Plus bonus points for poor drenched McKay. 🙂
…
If we were just voting on ALL two-parters, though, I’d have to make a pretty strong argument for SG1’s “Heroes”. Devastating. And everyone was so good.
– KB
I chose The Storm/The Eye because it is one of my favorites. I love how awesome the storm looks, but mostly the beauty during the eye. I love when shows are intense right up to the end! So awesome.
😆 !! I love ALL of those tramps (esp. the time traveller…he’s kinda cute…AND he looks like a pirate 😉 )! With such imagination, you’d think they’d be able to get a job writing for tv, or something. 😉
I voted for The Return I & II. Surprised? Nah, you shouldn’t be. Firstly, no Wraith were harmed during the production of this particular pair of episodes, making it one of the least frustrating of the Atlantis two-parters. That was the most important factor in my choice, though I admit to being torn between this one, and the 4th and 5th season entries (Todd!!!), but in the end The Return wins out. Why? Well, secondly, I just luuuuurve hating the Asurans. They were just so arrogant and self-righteous and…well…annoying! So this was one of the few Atlantis offerings were I could actually cheer on the ‘good guys’. And thirdly, Woolsey & O’Neill – best comedy team this side of the
PecosPegasus. “Sounds more like a Plan F, doesn’t it? As in, “We are totally …”… 😆 I still laugh just thinking about the banter in this episode.And yeah, I guess it’s odd that I picked a Wraith-free two-parter that is more SG1 than Atlantis. For me it boils down to the overall entertainment factor, and this one made me cheer, and laugh, and really enjoy a show that I liked, but often found unbearably frustrating because of the treatment of my favorite characters.
das
Hard for me to vote again First Contact/The Lost Tribe. Daniel getting to go to Atlantis was exciting – one of the reasons The Pegasus Project is one of my favorite episodes of SG-1.
Whoops, that should read *against
I liked First Contact/The Lost Tribe because, well, it was awesome.
I voted for The Return I & II. Our team dealing with the abrupt loss of Atlantis, the plan to take it back, and the Replicator twist all appealed to me, as did Jack’s contribution.
Whew, this is a tough one. I am a much bigger SG-1 fan, but Atlantis did some top notch mid-season two-parters. The Lost Tribe said so much about what stories were still out there. I do like Evolution I/II for the shoooooooting, desperation, adrenaline, mis-timed anti-adrenaline…
I’m going to go back and watch them, then get back to you.
Just a thought, with the Atlantis reviews going on, won’t there be some extra Atlantis fan traffic relative to that of SG-1 fans?
I picked The Storm/The Eye as my fav. It was a hard choice…I loved all the elements of these episodes. I enjoyed listening to the comentary and learned what you all went though to film it and it made me rewatch with new eyes. It flows really well the dynamics between Sheppard and Kolya play out so amazingly.
You know I’ve watched these episodes a few times and don’t remember hearing Lord Smeadon..hmmm… will have to again rewatch paying extra special attention.
A tough choice. Sins/ Mortal coil had it all in terms of space battles, desperate scrambling for ways to stay alive and destroy the enemy. Return 1 and 2 had Woolsey and O’Neill, and a nice twist on defeating the bad guys. Not to mention the great Puddlejumper heist. But Storm/Eye got my vote. The combination of cunning, ruthless, but simple human villains and a relentless, inescapable natural disaster ratcheted up the tension nicely. We get to meet and lose the bacon guys, see Shepard operating with frightening efficiency as a killing machine, and best of all, watch Rodney suffering. Valiantly if. Firefly resisting torture. Miserable as he is drenched. And wrapping his wound to wear it as a badge of honor. The other mid season episodes may be as good, but they came later. This pair of episodes also featured the city, giving us a nice look at the vastness of their home base.
Thanks for the look back and looking forward to more.
All this mid season two parter talk in regards to Atlantis reminds me that a certain Martin Gero writes very VERY good mid season episodes, I can’t remember any episodes he has produced that were bad in anyway.
My vote goes to This Mortal Coil/Be All My Sins Remember’d. Besides The Storm/The Eye, this was a fantastic two parter 🙂
I also liked Harmony but that’s not a mid season two parter, I just remember this was a fun episode. I can name about a dozen more but this one was more noteworthy.
I’m going to say this now. You can associate the name Martin Gero with absolutely amazing Atlantis episodes.
I also loved the Lucius Lavin episodes, shame Atlantis ended before an idea for a third Lucius Lavin episode appeared :P. Said this years ago but these were some of my all time fav Atlantis episodes, where as some people hated I enjoyed immensely.Irresponsible etc was fun.
Oooh, very hard choice there. The Storm/The Eye were awesome Atlantis epys, Kolya a very close second to Todd as the best SGA villain. Evolution I & II had the great guest turns from Enrico Colantoni and Bill Dow, plus maybe the most Daniel arm porn of all the SG1 epys. First Contact/Lost Tribe brought back the Asgards and made them a**holes, plus all the speed talking of Daniel Jackson meets Rodney McKay. But I had to give my vote to The Quest I & II. Cause Vala + Ba’al + Adria + an Ancient headsucker is a combo that just can’t be beat. Must now watch episodes on Netflix.
I’ve got to say the storm and the eye too. The visual effects with the storm raging around the city, seeing how the wind and waves reacted to the building is still some of the best visual effects on the series. (the way they digitally built the city was great experience for the effects they would use in SGU. I miss that show. )
Though I just realized you forgot one two parter: SGU’s Gauntlet and S3E1. Oh wait. 🙁
What is the function of a mid-season two-parter? Is there usually a hiatus between the two episodes? Is it meant to stretch our attention spans across the hiatus?
I went with The Storm/The Eye but it was a close call with The Returns. I just loved Badass Sheppard sooo very much not to give them the edge. And Kolya is tied with Todd as best villian ever (not sure Todd is really a villian though). Those scenes in the rain must have been tough for the actors, but the misery and drama really came through.
Kolyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!\
PS – I would have liked your ending better than that balcony scene!
PPS – I’m shocked and amazed at how many wonderful episodes MG was responsible for.
I also wanted to say how much I enjoyed Home. I loved how Sheppard was able to manipulate his illusion and at that point was hoping it had something to do with his superior ATA gene (a point which y’all kind of dropped, to my unending sorrow). And Rodney’s dancing hamsters line was excellent.
I am, so far, the lone vote for Space/Divided LOL. I love the drama – it felt so realistic, people acting *human* – going head to head – I loved the Rush dynamic and him playing off of everyone. I wish I could be more articulate (FYI, I really miss SGU). Anyway, the other reason was that all the other SGs I had to watch after they aired (DVDs etc) and SGU was the first time I got to experience a two parter as a two parter. 🙂
First contact/Lost tribe, I allways liked when the teams meet advanced new races, and well, this was semi new atleast. Full of excitment and, yea, that Daniel guy was there to!
The Quest 1 and 2……every time I watch the episodes and Sam finally halls off and socks Baal, I can’t help but cheer.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Baal, as a character he grows on you, but sometimes his smart-ass mouth just needs to shut the hell up….LOL.
I’m so glad it was Sam that did the honors. (But then, I also loved the line from years ago about our reproductive organs being on the inside).
I had to vote for The Storm (for many of the same reasons as those listed above). The pacing was spot on and never lulled, and I really enjoyed Robert Davi’s performance. We went ahead and re-watched it tonight…all around enjoyment.
I think this was also Ryan Robbins’ first appearance (as Ladon) on SGA?
Off to Vancouver in the morning, so I’ll end it here. Goodnight all!
Jolinar’s Memories/Devil You Know…not on the list. Obviously because it would crush the competition. To Hell with us!
I chose SGU Resurgence/Deliverance. SGU was an easy choice for me because I consider it the only truly adult, hard science fiction series ever shown on television. That’s why I’ve spent a year of my life (so far) fighting for its revival!
Space/Divided almost got my vote because of its realistic portrayal of the Nakai–who know only the little English they picked up from Rush–and of the foolishness of humans squabbling over leadership issues while aliens are attacking, and the fabulous montage at the end of Space portraying life on Destiny.
On the other hand, Resurgence/Deliverance introduced the drones, which recall the wonderful Fred Saberhagen Berserker stories, as well as one of my favorite Star Trek TOS episodes, The Doomsday Machine. And it has some terrific space battles! But trumping all other considerations, Deliverance showed that even in the cold, harsh cosmos portrayed in Stargate Universe, aliens can be bargained with, and even sacrifice their lives for us to right a wrong they committed. The chance to meet aliens like the Ursini is reason aplenty to reach for the stars–and giving mankind the inspiration to reach for the stars is the best science fiction’s ultimate purpose.
Wow. How to choose…. For sheer action and edge of your seat cliff-hanging (wait…that’s a mixed metaphor, isn’t it?), The Storm/The Eye can’t be beat. But in the end I had to cast my vote for This Mortal Coil/Be All My Sins Remembered. I mean…it had, well, everything. Replicators. Wraith. Humor. Tragedy. Mystery. Duplicates. Sacrifice. Loss. And lots of good old-fashioned team-work. We had both Carter and Weir. We had Teyla’s pregnancy finally revealed. We had Fran…and Todd. Heck…there was even a Beckett call-back. And my two favorite (among many…) scenes: the fade to black at the end of Mortal Coil, as those replicator ships keep blipping onto the screen we can no longer see; and in All My Sins, Carter tearing into Ellis over his treatment of McKay.
So yes. It was packed full of jam, to say the least. Definitely my favorite mid-season two-parter!
Stella
The Storm/The Eye.
The best 2-parter ever done on Stargate IMO (I discount Siege, as that was technically a three-parter). Yes, even better than Heroes I & II.
Just that final shot of John screaming “Kolya!” into the radio as the rain lashes all around him, the camera pulling away to show how isolated he is in the raging storm. An amazing cliffhanger. Not as good as the “I’m going in” end of Siege II – an ending that almost made me punch my screen in frustration that it was over – but easily the best mid-season 2-parter. 🙂
Voted for the Tok’ra, such pivotal episodes, done really well 🙂
Initially I cast my vote for the Storm/the Eye, however, reading why everyone else chose the various other two-parters I believe I must take that vote back and change to undecided. Ford and Beckett’s interaction was always a favorite of mine and it shone through nicely in the storm; but the Return was also brilliant and the discovery of the lost Asgard tribe as symbol for what might still be out there is so great as well – so, in retrospect, I cannot choose!
‘subtle suggestions of a burgeoning romance’ – so, is this a confirmation that there is a romance that could have been between Teyla and John and all those little ‘signs’ we find aren’t sheer imagination?
Voted for Tok’ra episodes. These were my favorite – 2 part – for the longest time. Cannot abandon them now.
I voted SGU resurgence/deliverence, but why is hard to tell why other than it is my favorite on the list. If I wanted to preserve a chance to win, I pretty much should have voted strategically and to Atlantis.
G’day Joe
Love, Love, LOVE Evolution. What can I say…Codpiece!! And JackSam ship 🙂
Those Super Soldiers were scary but cool and almost forgot…UGLY.
I chose The Storm/The Eye.
While I adore all 3 series, Atlantis was so high-adventure. Some of the “most-fun-in-front-of-the-tv” from my high school years. Thanks so much joe!! 🙂
Hi, Joe.
Thank you for doing the memory lane with Stargate Atlantis! 🙂
As for the poll…
I voted for #SG1 Tok’ra Pts 1 & 2. These two episode really expanded the series mythology, including 1) having Jacob become a Tok’ra, 2) introducing Martouf. 3) introducing the crystals that grow tunnels, 4) firmly establishing that all is not well within the Goa’uld empire and providing more background on the rebels. Plus, a little romance, family bonding, humor, action … what’s not to love?
Best wishes.
Hmmm…i really hate when theres a poll about SG! How am i supposed to pick just one? I love Stargate -all of the Stargate! Anyway ive chosen the Evolution part (it took me like 20 min to finally click on it because i couldnt choose all of them) because i still remember that i was so scared from the Anubis’ black soldiers the first time i saw it and i thought and i still think of them as very scary and i dont want to be around them 🙂 the second part with Daniel was so heart stopping and Jack’s rescue was very deep. Another reason ive chosen it is because of the original full SG1 team -Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal’c but that doesnt mean at all that i dont like Jonas or Mitch or other guys!!! Also im crazy about Ford on enzyme and i really wanted to see more of him in Atlantis and i wanted to choose the lost boys/the hive part or sth from Universe but in the end of the day is the SG1 that got me into SG so the honors are for them 🙂
My vote is for This Mortal Coil/Be All My Sins Remember’d. There was so much
build up and I remember getting chills seeing all the different ships/races/ guest stars fighting together. It represented the best of what made Stargate
so awesome. Rewatched the whole series again a few months ago after putting my DVD’s away for 4 years and it definately sticks out as one of the best.
The Storm/The Eye is a very good 2-parter. It kind of prefigures what is going to happen during the whole series, where the city will be at the brink of destruction but saved at the last moment. It also really sets one of the Atlantis expedition’s enemies (at least for the first seasons), and show us the relation that bound the characters and their personnality.
Very good episodes.
I also really liked Universe’s Resurgence/Delivrance.
Fabien.
Wow. That was a tough decision. There were so many good midseason 2-parters in Stargate franchise. I liked “Return I & II” (I loved the collaboration of Jack O’Neill and Richard Woolsey. The two of them together just had me LOL on the floor! 😀 They were like the perfect comedy team. 🙂 Plus…I like the Atlantis team pulling together for a common purpose. 🙂 ). I also loved This Mortal Coil/Be All My Sins Remember’d (That 2-parter was like watching a movie on the big screen. 🙂 Loved the storyline. Also the CG was just spectacular!). But…I chose First Contact/The Lost Tribe (I just love Daniel and Rodney together. 🙂 It was so much fun watching them together, and interact with one another. Just trying to keep up with rapid fire dialoug between the two of them was entertaining enough. 😀 ).
This Mortal Coil/Be All My Sins Remember’d: Awesome. No further comment required.
I voted for The Return Pt’s 1 and 2 because it was the first time I truly felt like the SG Atlantian Teams were fighting for their home. The place they would prefer to be beyond any other. They loved earth but even after all they had been through they still would rather have remined in The Pegasus Galaxy. Weir and the team fought to regain control without destroying Atlantis.
It was also good to see the interaction between O’Neill and Woolsley as they are trapped hiding from the Replicators. I think this is where we first got a glimpse of the leader he was to become.
Oh dear lord!! I hit submit before proof reading. Could you insert the ‘grammer’ and ‘punctuation’ for me please 😉
I would have loved to have seen those John and Teyla scenes in Home, and I know I’m not alone. The network was crazy to turn that down. It also would have been Teyla’s only time actually getting to see and enjoy Earth. That’s really too bad.
I voted for the Return I/II episodes.
I voted for ‘The Storm’ too. John and Rodney really shine in this episode. And we see a drenched but heroic Rodney. I was late starting into Atlantis and first watched this episode on DVD. I was so glad I didn’t have to wait to see part 2!
I loved the Storm/The Eye because we see McKay’s character really start to think more than himself. The moment that he stands between Kolya and Weir was like “Wow!” when I first saw the episode. His character’s growth, over all the seasons, made my family anticipate each new episode. It was torture when a season would end or we hit a mid season break. Our Friday nights were pizza, Stargate SG-1 & Atlantis, and dessert. We really miss all three series. The characters, the special effects, and great stories. Thanks for that!
Love the creativity there, sense of humor definitely helps!
I loved Home, and not just because I caught on well before my husband did, though that was fun when he finally realized. My husband is the type who makes comments whenever someone is standing on a cliff or a rooftop/ledge in a movie, “and she jumps!” So as we watched the rest of Atlantis (which now that I think about it might explain why my eldest comes running at the theme music, I was pregnant with him when we borrowed the DVDs) he would make that same comment about them waking up in the cave (read as on the mist planet), I’ll have to make him read this post just so he can be all excited and start irritating me with that again. You should have seen him when he watched Stranger Than Fiction and after he said, “and she jumps” and she jumped. *sigh*
I commented on my choice on the poll site, but I’ll join in here, too:
That was hard to just pick one! I was really torn between Evolution and Quest for SG1 and First Contact/Lost Tribe was hands down for Atlantis. Actually, all the Atlantis, and the other SG1, have really great moments, Universe were some of my least favorite episodes of all, to be honest. (Before I get in trouble, referring to the list of choices only! I loved Universe, I just wasn’t a fan of the mid-season two-parters, they were among my least favorite Universe episodes.)
Evolution, Quest and FC/LT are my favorites as a whole, though, not just for parts of, or a great moment from. If I could choose three from your list, they’d get my vote easy. As for just one? In the end I had to go for Quest, and the more I think about the list, the easier a choice it is. I think it wins as my most watched episode for all of the three series, I love just about every last moment from those two parts. The bad guys, naming the dragon, the tests, Daniel getting to put his head in, Sam working with… I’ll stop here. 😉 Or at least I’ll stop there here, I think I’ll go watch it now while I do some work around the house.
I had a fun time going back over the episodes listed in the poll. I finally settled on The Storm/The Eye. I love hating the Genii and shouting with Sheppard “Kolyaaaa!”
I pretty much had to go with Evolution I/II … sentimental favorite.
I voted for The Quest. I loved it, It had adventure, humor, a dragon and Daniel becoming semi-ancient. I’ve always loved Stargate for it’s Ancients backstory, Their highly evolved nature and their cool awesome powers. Who wouldn’t want to be able to use telekinesis, Or even healing people by simply hovering ones hand above a wound (Although sadly the healing thing wasn’t in this 2-parter) It also had the good guys and the bad guys working together towards a somewhat common goal (untill the end ofcourse) which shows you there’s always still something good inside all of us no matter where we’re from. As for Daniel later on showed in The Shroud when we found out that even though he was made a prior of the Ori he still, With the help of Merlin, managed to keep himself from going to the darkside and becoming a true Ori follower. All in all, The Quest is definitely my favorite two-parter. Perhaps not my favorite episode though, Those places belong to episodes like The Fifth Race and The Nox, Greatly because the music used in those 2 episodes was freaking awesome. But still, I voted for The Quest as best 2-parter ever. And I’m gonna stick with that. “The Quest” verdict – 10.0 on my this-is-awesome-o’-meter!
I have to vote for Space/Divided, because it came on the heels of Justice, the mid-season cliff hanger. It really bothered me that Young had purposely abandoned Rush on that dead planet, and I couldn’t wait to see how that would eventually play out. Going in a totally opposite direction, one of the most enjoyable (more happy-go-lucky) 2-parters (not mid-season) was Moebius I & II.
It’s really hard to narrow down any two-part episodes! All the those listed were very good. I’m voting The Storm because of the suspense. I was waiting for that second part with anticipation.
Hubby and I loved all those picts you posted! We were chuckling over the Klingon one especially.
JeffW: safe travels!
Das: I’m listening to Fever Dreams, a Pendergast novel on my mp3 player. Have you read that one? It delves into his wife’s death. Very good!
I enjoyed Stargate Universe, Resurgence/Deliverance, since it brought everything from the season so far together. It introduced a new threat that unlike the ones the had seen before couldn’t be reasoned with and couldn’t be defeated. I feel that these episodes brought back the feeling of desperation that was there in the first season that they were just scraping by again and that they had to find a way to survive while avoiding the new enemy. It also helped show how some of the characters had changed during the time they had been on the ship, Rush had become more optimistic, Young had become more trusting and Eli had become more confident in his own skills. In my opinion these two episodes brought together all the crews feelings over the past season and a half as they were reunited with a lost comrade, discovered a new threat, being confronted by and old foe, discovering that things aren’t always as black and white as they may seem and a realizing that even though they had left on galaxy behind they had so much more to discover ahead of them.
It was hard to choose one, but Return I-II is one (or two) of my favorite episodes of all Stargate series. I can’t tell you how many times I watched Return, and for that I had to vote on those episodes 🙂
It’s a juggling act; I do love S3 (Returns) but I eventually decided to vote for The Storm/The Eye. There’s conflict, suspense and everyone plays a significant role.
Watching Sheppard continuously kicking ass and frustrating Kolya in equal measure is a definite highlight. No doubt about it, John Sheppard is a cool guy to have at your side in an emergency.
Beckett … Well, Beckett is great in any episode (biased), however, his fear about flying through the storm is real and justified and despite Ford’s (in my opinion) relentless bullying, he doesn’t lose either his professionalism (wanting to help John with his sore shoulder) his trademark British irritability at certain situations and his kind nature.
Ford proving he still has a LOT to learn about leadership. (Anyone else find it impossible to hear that word in any walk of life WITHOUT thinking about McKay?)
I believe Ford is at his best in Letters from Pegasus – at this moment in time he could use a lesson from Sheppard about how to command respect through experience.
Rodney and Elizabeth drenched to the bone, trying to buy time while Kolya seemingly ignores common sense in his pursuit for dominance.
I liked Ladon as a character and I liked Teyla’s determined attitude.
I’m probably mirroring the opinions/thoughts of many who’ve commented already … but all in all, it’s a great team episode, filled with humour, great visuals (shield), with the story, pacing and set-up allowing me as a viewer to buy into the believability factor.
Country Gal
That was a tough choice to make, but I just love Kolya, so it had to be The Storm/The Eye for me. In fact, I would say that the Genii commander is in my top 5 of the best bad guys – ever. The gruff voice, the cold eyes, even the slightly tatty old fashioned style uniform all helped to add to the effect. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Michael, and Todd…I really wish the series had explored the relationship between him and Sheppard more. But Kolya, he was the main man.
I went with The Storm/The Eye although the others are really good too.
Oh, wow. That’s like asking us to pick our favorite dog or cat. It’s Stargate! I could narrow it down to Atlantis 2-parters, but beyond that it’s hard, because I don’t have all the DVDs. Hmm, my birthday is at the end of this month, so maybe that’s what I should ask for. 🙂
@ Susan Bowden — Well-written review, even without the part about Beckett (my soft spot, too).
@ JeffW — Have a safe trip and take plenty of pictures! You know we all like to travel vicariously. And Joe has us spoiled. 🙂
This Mortal Coil/Be All My Sins Remember’d doing well I see. 30 votes 🙂
Such an epic two parter, especially when the Replicators were being sucked down from their ship into that huge mass of stuff that sank into the planets core, a very good, and fitting end to the replicators(For now..).
Can understand why The Storm etc is winning, easily one of the best episodes in Season 1.
@ Tam Dixon – Yup, Fever Dream was the last Pendergast I read, and it’s the first book in the ‘Helen trilogy’. I have the next one, Cold Vengeance, waiting in the wings (I am delaying reading it because I hate the middle book of a trilogy, and the last book of this three-parter doesn’t come out until December! Argh!). Because it’s such a long wait between books, the guys are actually posting some chapters from the new book on a special site accessible to fans who just can’t wait.
I would be reading it now, but I got a little behind in my reading, and I just started on my friend’s novel, The Prodigal by S. K. Keogh (a historical fiction pirate story!!!). When I’m finished with that, I have a short Zenith the Albino story to read, and then back to Pendergast!! I really do miss him. But I also enjoy torturing myself by dangling the carrot (or, in this case, that pasty, persnickety special agent with a penchant for pâté) in front of my eyes, just out of reach.
One of my favorite Penderquotes is in Fever Dream. I don’t think I’ll spoil anything by mentioning it here. It’s: “Not in my swamp, with my alligators.” I think that’s the right wording. You have to read it with a upper class New Orleanian accent. Lemme know when you come across it! 🙂
das
Wow, Joe…look at the responses! People still love Stargate, don’t they? 🙂
das
Anybody in the mood for a bit of cute? 🙂
http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu284/pbugsmom/Bugbug006.jpg
@Deni: “a bit of cute” indeed 🙂 so SO freaking cute!
The Storm & The Eye are two of my favorite episodes. The action and interpersonal relationships through out are great. They are made even better when watched with the commentary. Plus they have some of my favorite quotes: (as close as I can remember)
“He’ll be the dot getting rid of the other dots” Ford – The Eye
“You’d bring Bacon to another galaxy?”
“It’s the food that makes other foods taste better” – I have said this line so often my friends now use it with out even realizing where it is from.
Two red shirts in The Storm
@dasndanger
I think if anything we all miss Stargate. We’d rather see Joe, Paul, Carl, Brad etc all working hard at The Bridge producing new Stargate than not 🙁
Just sad how MGM were so quick to let Stargate die like this, and sad that the flagship series for the Syfy channel for this past decade or so is off the air.
I chose the Tok’ra episodes because I really like the relationship between Sam and her dad
Deni: Awwww!
Das: It’s part of a series?! Hmm, I’ll look the others up. Thanks for letting me know. No, I don’t believe I’ve heard that line yet. However, I’m listening to the book while working at the humane society. Luke, the yellow lab, keeps barking in my ear as I go by him. So I may have missed a line or two. 😉 They were still in the swamp when I left the story. I try to save listening for working at the h. s. or on a long drive. Like yourself, I like to have that incentive.
This Mortal Coil/Be All My Sins was my favorite 2 parter… but I didn’t vote for it. I voted for Return I & II, because of one reason: Robert Picardo (Woolsey). This is the story that makes it possible/believable for him to take the reigns per say of Atlantis 2 years later. I’ve always loved Picardo as an actor, but never really cared for the Woolsey character (face it, he was kind of a snot in the beginning) until the Return episodes. As an actor we all knew that Picardo could hold his own, but as a character this is the first time that Woolsey shows that he can too ..from comedy to action to even showing that he can possibly take the lead (with a little help from his friends that is). The plot is a great one… our team has basically been kicked off of Atlantis for good, O’Neill & Woolsey are trapped and in over their heads (at this point Jack has really got to be hating the whole idea of replicators and his bad karma with them) at Atlantis, the SGA team has to find a way to take back Atlantis but has to find a way to get there first. The unseen part of the story is just as interesting (left up to the viewer to imagine) with the Atlantis Expedition members overcrowding Stargate Command and feeling like fish out of water and making for many uncomfortable situations.. I’m sure Ronan & Teal’c got along splendidly. The O’Neill/Woolsey pairing was genius, it’s like an abstract version of Batman and Robin without the capes mixed with Abbot & Costello. You know that RDA will deliver the comedy/action goods with O’Neill, but it is Picardo’s fresh take on Woolsey that steals the show. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still the same Woolsey but his extended portrayal casts a better light on the character making him not only a stronger character but a game changer; which is why he was the perfect fit to replace Sam as Expedition leader in season 5. At the end of the episode, Atlantis and its people are more than a pile of paperwork from another galaxy to Woolsey, but rather a place where good can be achieved by doing great things. And thankfully he eventually became a key part in those great things being achieved. Return wasn’t about the return of the Asurans and what they had become, it was about the return of Woolsey and what he was going to become!
Hey Joe:
It is so difficult to select just one as I adore all things Stargate. I voted for Stargate SG-1 Season 2 “THE TOKRA I” AND “THE TOKRA II” because they are so quintessentially Stargate and contain so many elements of why I have loved Stargate all these years.
Still mourning Stargate’s demise,
BillieO
Joe do you not mean season 6 for Prometheus / Unnatural Selection? That gets my vote.
@ Deni – *dies of the cute!* 😀
@ Tam Dixon – If you’re listening to the abridged version, a line or two may be missing. It’s a scene where Pendergast is intimidating someone at his old estate.
And yes, this is the first book of a trilogy. Have you read any of the other Pendergast books? They are (in order):
Relic
Reliquary
Cabinet of Curiosities
Still Life With Crows
Brimstone (pt. 1 of a trilogy)
Dance of Death (pt. 2)
The Book of the Dead (pt. 3)
The Wheel of Darkness
Cemetary Dance
Fever Dream (pt. 1 of a trilogy)
Cold Vengeance pt. 2)
Two Graves (pt. 3 – due out in 12/12)
My favorite is probably Still Life, and then Cabinet of Curiosities, and Cemetary Dance. I love Relic, too, but it’s Penderlite (I mostly love it for the museum-y stuff). He didn’t become the main character until Cabinet of Curiosities, and though the previous two books do feature him, you really don’t start learning about him until the third book.
das
In the poll, I went with the Fourth Horseman two-parter. It just seemed like the first time that everything went to Hell for SG-1 only this time there’s no forseeable way out like there was with something like fighting Apophis or going up against Anubis, big baddies as they may have been at the time. The Ori made a critical strike at SG-1 and, as the show quite often pointed out back then, the Ori really do have the actual powers of Gods, they’re not using advanced technology to fool people. It was the two-parter that really had me thinking “Okay, now how are they really going to get out of this one this time?” It was fantastic to actually feel that again. With shows with super teams that always rescue the day, it can get pretty “Duh, well of course they’re all going to survive.”
I was starting to get that feeling in Atlantis, it was sort of “Okay, cue Rodney to save the day scientifically…and cue Sheppard to save it physically…Oh, gee and what do ya’ know everyone ends up safe and sound and happy at the end of the day.” That’s why I have to admit what would have been my number two choice in that poll, and a really close number two, would be Lost Tribe/First Contact. That was another shocker for me. Thanks.
I voted for The Storm/The Eye because it was the first Atlantis episode that showed me that this series was going to be much darker than SG-1. All the series are really good in their own ways, of course! But it was nice to see that SGA was going to be different from SG-1! Also, I love the Genii as a villain and especially Koyla. I also liked Sheppard methodically picking off the enemies one by one and slowly thwarting a situation where it looked like Koyla had all the power/control. Basically, these are the episodes that got me hooked onto SGA!
@ Deni — It’s Boxer Princess Riley! Willya look at that sweet face? 🙂 Who can think of puppy accidents when she bats those baby browns?
@ Das — Thanks for the list! You must have heard me think, “Gee, I should ask Deirdre for a list of Pendergasts in chrono order.” Great minds… Now there’s some summer reading to look forward to. 🙂
I voted for The Storm/The Eye because that’s what most people voted for and I wanted to be in the running for the autographed scripts. Is that mercenary of me? 🙂
The reality is that even though I’m a huge fan I also have a really bad memory and don’t take much notice of episode titles so even though I will have seen all the episodes in question I can’t remember what happens in them!
Okay, Line Noise’s comment above has got me crying foul play, not only because of the deceptive point he/she makes, but also because of why The Storm/The Eye is so far ahead in the first place!
I may have to demand a run-off. You have tainted the election by giving your star-persuading recommendation to the voters…“As far as Stargate mid-season two-parters go, I think The Storm/The Eye combo is pretty damn hard to beat.” I think The Storm/The Eye should be disqualified from the race and the current top 4 or 5 real vote getters have a run-off election. And this time, don’t you say a word Mallozzi on who you like best. Let the voting fans decide. After all, there’s a lot a stake here – a signed autographed copy of the script.
(you see, that way, I can wait and see which episode has the most votes, like Line Noise did, then I could just “say” in my comment that I voted for that episode, even if I didn’t, therefore be in the running for the scripts, since you are basing the prize off comments. Pretty ingenuous, don’t you think?)
(but then, I may have just disqualified myself from winning…) (oh crap)
Hi Joe,
Fellow pizan Joe Sardone here “founder of “Save Future Stargate Travel” on facebook. It’s a pleasure sir! We are only about 2 K strong right now, but we are growing every day and we won’t stop until we accomplish what the title of our FB page implies. 🙂 Anyway, it would have to be The Seige Part one AND two !! Which had just about everything you could ask of a Sci-Fi show going for it. Thank you sir, and long live NEW Future Stargate Travel !! 😀 J.S.
Oh… just noticed you have some listed… out of those, it would have to be “The Quest” Dragons, Puzzles and more! 😀 … Silly me ..reading the last first lol 🙂
Thanks again, J.S.
For me it’s a no brainer – Tok’ra l/ll. I love the Tok’ra! Goa’uld but not Goa’uld. And the connection/love interest with Martouf and Sam/Jolinar is, well, hot. Who can resist JR’s alluring blue eyes 😉 I also love the story of Jacob and how he receives a symbiot to save his life and then becomes a liaison/spy, if you will, for the Tok’ra. And Jack finding the Goa’uld spy that betrayed the location of their hiding place and his usual wit and humor. 😀
Hello, I voted for The Quest. I loved the action, humor and mythology involved in those episodes. The story with Ba’al, Adria and the SG1 + Myrddin and the arthurian legend was very exciting.
Well crap, see what I missed while I was playing mom?