Atlantis marathon, part the first
Oct. 11th, 2004 12:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kageygirlOr, to be more specific, the pre-Atlantis marathon. Today I watched, in order:
48 Hours
Redemption 1 & 2
Lost City 1 & 2
New Order 1 & 2
48 Hours: Introduction to McKay! And, y'know? I'm not sure they ever actually called him "Rodney" at any point, here or in Redemption. I was kinda looking for it, but I'd have to scan the transcripts to say for sure. McKay is sure as hell a cocky sonovabitch here. Also pretty matter-of-fact unsympathetic about being convinced that "Teal'c is toast." He's essentially a one-dimensional asshole here, just there to bitch at Carter and be all unappreciative about seeing the Stargate in person for the very first time. Although I've of course grown to adore him, it was hard not to cheer at the look on his face when he's informed that they're sending his ass to Russia. (and then he runs out of the room exactly like he's off to whine at someone about it. adorable, in an asshole kind of way. *g*)
Redemption: More McKay! (and, y'know, other plot. whatevah.) More fun, 'cause McKay's got a personal stake in it now (as, of course, everyone on Earth does). He's pretty much unhelpful in the first part--I think his major contribution is telling them that the X-302 naquadria hyperdrive ain't gonna work. Which, of course, it DOESN'T, but still. Part 2, he gets to fuck them up with the EM pulse generator idea that doesn't work, but that leads to--note the episode title--his awesome infirmary scene with Carter. He makes up for a lot of his bitchiness just by being absolutely candid about having fucked up, and realizing that he's not going to be the one who solves this. Aww.
Interestingly, when the X-302 fails to clear the atmosphere, McKay suggest that O'Neill go into a nosedive to dump the gate into the ocean before it blows up. He's just trying to minimize the damage, though Earth would still be screwed. It's essentially the same kind of thing Kavanagh will suggest in "38 Minutes"--mitigation, instead of the bigger-risk Hail Mary play to save everyone. (sorry about the Cliche Fandom Metaphor, but it's totally apropos.) Then he gets to help Carter with the hyperdrive subroutine, in a way that's less emphasized than Kavanagh with blowing the rear hatch, but, hey, McKay didn't take time off to bitch in the middle of a crisis, so he needs less redeeming. (credit to the recent discussion on McShepSlash.)
Then, y'know, cute little hallway kiss from Carter. Aww.
Lost City: The Not-Weir, useful mainly for character background, not so much characterization. International relations geek, speaks 5 languages, didn't actually seek out Hammond's job so we don't have to hate her. *g* We get the recovery of the (as yet unnamed) ZPM (with the first glowing blue chair), and the discovery of the Ancient outpost in Antarctica, with the second chair, and the spiffy glowy gold Goa'uld-busting drones. Boo-yah. [point of interest--when Jack's got the Ancient knowledge in his head (and he MUST have the ATA gene, though, do they ever actually say that?), he can heal Bray'tac with his hand. I want Atlantis fic where Shep somehow ends up able to do this. I will bake you cookies and send them to you if you do this, so I don't have to do it myself.] Did I miss anything Atlantically relevant? I keep zoning out partway through this double ep because the build-up is SO. DAMN. LONG.
New Order: New and Improved PermaWeir! Much though I like Jessica Steen, I've grown to like Torri Higginson better as Weir. I'm not sure Steen's mildly neurotic Weir would have worked so well for me in context with the other wacky Atlantis kiddies, and it's only as I type this that I realize that Weir provides a nice calming balance. Kind of a thankless job, really, and harder to play than the "looser" characters, in a way. Of the SGC personnel, we only get to see her interact in any meaningful fashion with Daniel and Sam and Teal'c, and it's really mostly with Daniel (though I love her getting blackmailed in kind by Sam). Weir's a bit more animated here than she has been on Atlantis [and while I could go into it being the actress's first time playing the character, it's way more fun to analyze her in-character.] On Atlantis, she's the reigning queen of an entire group of fishes-out-of-water, so maybe she feels she has to put up a good front to hold them together. In the SGC, she's stepping into some mighty big shoes, and she's out of her depth, so she's fairly candid about asking Daniel for help. I like that. It's good that she's aware of her limitations, and of the resources at her disposal.
Playing hardball with the System Lords is great fun to watch, too. Particularly the reaction shots of Daniel when she gets really wacky ("we want Baal's territory." "um, we do?"). *g* And at the end, of course, she's packing to go to Antarctica, and she's all psyched--for which I gotta like her, because she's happy to be going to the place that will send them all to my happy place, Atlantis. *g* And it's only at the end of this ep that the Antarctic expedition actually gets off the ground (anyone have a notion how long they're working down there before they have the Daniel breakthrough/Sheppard revelation? I'm fudging it in a fic, but I'd like to know what people's gut reactions are. secret message: damn,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
maching_monkey, I think I'm screwed, but I'll work around it somehow. *g*)
Tomorrow: "Rising" through "The Storm!" More completely random gestalt commentary!
48 Hours
Redemption 1 & 2
Lost City 1 & 2
New Order 1 & 2
48 Hours: Introduction to McKay! And, y'know? I'm not sure they ever actually called him "Rodney" at any point, here or in Redemption. I was kinda looking for it, but I'd have to scan the transcripts to say for sure. McKay is sure as hell a cocky sonovabitch here. Also pretty matter-of-fact unsympathetic about being convinced that "Teal'c is toast." He's essentially a one-dimensional asshole here, just there to bitch at Carter and be all unappreciative about seeing the Stargate in person for the very first time. Although I've of course grown to adore him, it was hard not to cheer at the look on his face when he's informed that they're sending his ass to Russia. (and then he runs out of the room exactly like he's off to whine at someone about it. adorable, in an asshole kind of way. *g*)
Redemption: More McKay! (and, y'know, other plot. whatevah.) More fun, 'cause McKay's got a personal stake in it now (as, of course, everyone on Earth does). He's pretty much unhelpful in the first part--I think his major contribution is telling them that the X-302 naquadria hyperdrive ain't gonna work. Which, of course, it DOESN'T, but still. Part 2, he gets to fuck them up with the EM pulse generator idea that doesn't work, but that leads to--note the episode title--his awesome infirmary scene with Carter. He makes up for a lot of his bitchiness just by being absolutely candid about having fucked up, and realizing that he's not going to be the one who solves this. Aww.
Interestingly, when the X-302 fails to clear the atmosphere, McKay suggest that O'Neill go into a nosedive to dump the gate into the ocean before it blows up. He's just trying to minimize the damage, though Earth would still be screwed. It's essentially the same kind of thing Kavanagh will suggest in "38 Minutes"--mitigation, instead of the bigger-risk Hail Mary play to save everyone. (sorry about the Cliche Fandom Metaphor, but it's totally apropos.) Then he gets to help Carter with the hyperdrive subroutine, in a way that's less emphasized than Kavanagh with blowing the rear hatch, but, hey, McKay didn't take time off to bitch in the middle of a crisis, so he needs less redeeming. (credit to the recent discussion on McShepSlash.)
Then, y'know, cute little hallway kiss from Carter. Aww.
Lost City: The Not-Weir, useful mainly for character background, not so much characterization. International relations geek, speaks 5 languages, didn't actually seek out Hammond's job so we don't have to hate her. *g* We get the recovery of the (as yet unnamed) ZPM (with the first glowing blue chair), and the discovery of the Ancient outpost in Antarctica, with the second chair, and the spiffy glowy gold Goa'uld-busting drones. Boo-yah. [point of interest--when Jack's got the Ancient knowledge in his head (and he MUST have the ATA gene, though, do they ever actually say that?), he can heal Bray'tac with his hand. I want Atlantis fic where Shep somehow ends up able to do this. I will bake you cookies and send them to you if you do this, so I don't have to do it myself.] Did I miss anything Atlantically relevant? I keep zoning out partway through this double ep because the build-up is SO. DAMN. LONG.
New Order: New and Improved PermaWeir! Much though I like Jessica Steen, I've grown to like Torri Higginson better as Weir. I'm not sure Steen's mildly neurotic Weir would have worked so well for me in context with the other wacky Atlantis kiddies, and it's only as I type this that I realize that Weir provides a nice calming balance. Kind of a thankless job, really, and harder to play than the "looser" characters, in a way. Of the SGC personnel, we only get to see her interact in any meaningful fashion with Daniel and Sam and Teal'c, and it's really mostly with Daniel (though I love her getting blackmailed in kind by Sam). Weir's a bit more animated here than she has been on Atlantis [and while I could go into it being the actress's first time playing the character, it's way more fun to analyze her in-character.] On Atlantis, she's the reigning queen of an entire group of fishes-out-of-water, so maybe she feels she has to put up a good front to hold them together. In the SGC, she's stepping into some mighty big shoes, and she's out of her depth, so she's fairly candid about asking Daniel for help. I like that. It's good that she's aware of her limitations, and of the resources at her disposal.
Playing hardball with the System Lords is great fun to watch, too. Particularly the reaction shots of Daniel when she gets really wacky ("we want Baal's territory." "um, we do?"). *g* And at the end, of course, she's packing to go to Antarctica, and she's all psyched--for which I gotta like her, because she's happy to be going to the place that will send them all to my happy place, Atlantis. *g* And it's only at the end of this ep that the Antarctic expedition actually gets off the ground (anyone have a notion how long they're working down there before they have the Daniel breakthrough/Sheppard revelation? I'm fudging it in a fic, but I'd like to know what people's gut reactions are. secret message: damn,
maching_monkey, I think I'm screwed, but I'll work around it somehow. *g*)Tomorrow: "Rising" through "The Storm!" More completely random gestalt commentary!
