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Once again, I had very low expectations. Yes!
Low expectations kept me from getting too upset about the things I didn't like:
1. Bloophole: how could Our Heroes not know that Ava was dead? The first thing that should have happened when she showed up at the wake was a background check, the moment John called the SGC from his car.
I can retcon it--make it better, stronger, faster! Poole hacked all records of Ava's death so that RepliAva would be able to fill dead Ava's shoes. One little line could have fixed the episode: instead of simply announcing that Ava died, Bill would say, "The company's records show that Ava died; they must have wiped all external records of her death and only kept their own."
2. The bloophole shows the major problem I had with the episode as a whole, though: why is this a Sheppard-only op? Why does the man have to get info from his ex-wife, for heaven's sake? Flip out the cell, dial one Jack O'Neill; the info is his, completely. I think they were trying to imply that he didn't want to tip off any potential buyers in the military, but I never did get why someone in the US military would want to buy a Replicator. If you understand, please explain to me!
The first interrogation scene rang wrong for me despite a great performance by Joe Flanigan in scary-Sheppard mode for the second. Yes, he could convince Poole in that second scene that he'd send Ava down for things she hadn't done wrong. But why the heck was Ava even in the room for the first interrogation scene? And don't the SGC or Homeworld Security have people specifically trained to do interrogations? I can see John being there, but they cheaped out on cast in this episode. (Couldn't afford Ellis even though we're on the Apollo.)
3. To quote my comment on Mallozzi's blog:
I can’t say I was entirely thrilled by “Outcast”; as we sat watching the Replicators duke it out, I said, “I’ve seen this already–” and my husband interrupted with, “Yeah, Sarah Connor Chronicles.” “Oh,” I said. “I was going to say Bionic Woman.” I'm not in it for the fights--although I did say during the one where the Replicator dove into the water and escaped, "What this scene needs is rocket launchers (thanks,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kalquessa, or I'd never have realized what it was I was missing!).
I'm ambivalent about John and his ex-wife. At least two of my friends have already observed that they had no chemistry. I can imagine that being together would be really awkward for both of them now--but especially for John. I'm still wondering why they got married in the first place; I couldn't see what might have attracted him to her, although maybe I could catch a glimpse of the reverse.
What I like!
1. Hilarity ensues: I'm not a slasher. I don't think John and Rodney are doing it. (I don't even think Rodney and Carson are doing it, though if there had to be a couple on the show, I'd nominate them--they're so cute together! But I think they're both heterosexual, and not gay and trying to cover, or bi.) If there's one gay or bisexual person on SGA, it has to be John. I don't mean his discomfort with women, because I think he's frequently uncomfortable with men. (The gay men I know aren't uncomfortable with women, and I know straight men who are, anyway.) But if I recall correctly (help me out!), didn't John once ask if Ronon had a girlfriend--or a boyfriend? And John's "I never see this coming" when an alien woman hits on him sums up his relationship with many alien women (except Larrin--yet another reason not to like that storyline).
His brother Dave clearly takes a good look at "civilian contractor" Ronon and decides this is John's boyfriend. And who wouldn't? Ronon sticks to John like glue, doesn't look like a civilian contractor from this country (or maybe even planet), and clearly knows John really well. No, I don't think those two are a couple either, but John's family seems quite ready to entertain the idea that John isn't straight.
That would be cool; SF remains surprisingly heteronormative, except for Torchwood (and Captain Jack's appearances on DW).
2. The solution. Oh, Ava will figure it out. (Will she pull a Moriarty, from ST:TNG, and seize control of the ship?) It's the best they could do given the situation, however, and it's a pretty humane solution, though not a permanent one.
3. John and Rodney. We can really see how Rodney has grown: he's trying really hard to be a good friend, but circumstances have interfered. He gets his point across, even while remaining fairly inarticulate. I don't think John could have handled it if he'd been more eloquent, anyway. Great scene between those two--worth the price of admission.
4. Bill Lee! I hate how lately Bill has been reduced to comic relief. The SGC shouldn't keep him on if he's not competent. When Sam went to Area 51, he became head of science at the SGC. The man's got it going on, even if he isn't quite on the level of Sam or Rodney. Finally we get to see it going on again! He's socially awkward, but he knows his stuff. He can track the Replicator (until his idiot creator tells him how, and the Replicator can mask the signal); he can hack the encryption both Poole and Ava thought he couldn't!
I'm sorry to see that Bill seems really not to be married (anymore). There was a reference in an earlier SGA ep, I think "The Intruder," to Bill's kids (watching 101 Dalmations: the twilight bark). Let's face it: this is not a man who has casual relationships leaving children in his wake. If it were even one child, I could see maybe contraceptive failure--but he used the plural. He's married--or he was. When he was talking about single women at one conference (SG-1, "Bounty"), I could imagine he was just looking, maybe trying to get a drink, flirting. I guess his marriage was already over.
I give Bill a spot of marital difficult in my "Fostering Relations"; I guess things didn't work out after all, so now he's divorced. I'm feeling really prescient now.
In fact, I've been feeling prescient all week!
SPOILERS FOR "THE KINDRED"! If you already know the big spoiler (and if you know any spoiler for this ep, it's surely the one I mean), please continue reading. If you hate all spoilers and don't know anything, stop reading here, because you won't want the ones lower down, either.
greyias and I have been bandying about ideas for Carson's return. I can't see how they're going to pull it off, frankly. Yeah, I've heard enough to guess where Carson is and why, but how and when Michael could possibly have gotten hold of him remain a mystery. So we floated some theories and came up with this lovely post, which we put in Mallozzi's blog's comments; I know some of you read it but some don't, and I thought I'd repost here so you could be impressed with our great intellects. Here's our comment:
Greyias and I have been discussing Carson’s return. We know Michael has something to do with it. but we’ve been uncertain how, and more importantly when, Michael could possibly have gotten hold of Carson. After all, in “The Tao of Rodney,” Rodney communicates telepathically with Carson; he’d notice if a substitution had already been made. Carson is doing surgery until virtually the moment of his demise/departure, so again, substitution seems unlikely.
We’ve finally worked it out, however. Prepare to be amazed!
Here’s what happened: in the milliseconds after the blast, Carson’s panicked mind reached out to an emergency medical transporter that we never knew before existed; hey, not knowing what he was doing didn’t stop Carson from loosing a drone at John in “Rising.” So the emergency medical transporter beamed Carson to an unoccupied–nay, unexplored–portion of the city, where he was deposited, at worst slightly singed. Meanwhile, the bombed-out corridor is such a mess no attempt was made to identify remains; everyone in Atlantis knows who had been there, after all, so no one is looking for Carson. But why doesn’t Carson just contact someone, and how could he get off Atlantis without being noticed?
Here’s the fiendishly brilliant part: when he had Carson prisoner in “Misbegotten,” Michael implanted certain suggestions in Carson’s mind that only came to bear later. Those suggestions would ultimately summon Carson to him, to help in his mad genetic experiments. But first, one of these suggestions caused Carson to pocket one of the Sodan personal cloaks while he was at the SGC during “The Return.” He came back to Atlantis with his own ticket off the station, which he didn’t even realize. Now, believed dead and under Michael’s spell, Carson produces the cloak, which he has kept with him all this time, hidden even from himself, and uses it to leave with a team going through the Gate. Once the team has left the Gate area, Carson dials the address for rendezvous with Michael.
We realize that you cannot yet acknowledge the correctness of our surmises, because you don’t want to ruin the surprise for everyone else. That’s okay; we’ll wait for the episodes to air, and then you can praise our deductive reasoning. Or is that inductive? I get those two confused.
We were thrilled to seewraithfodder, dovil, and alipeeps joined in the fun (search for their names on the page linked above and you'll see their entries; I don't want to just snurch them all), and even Mallozzi could not resist: the next day, he replied,
Aelfgyu writes: “Greyias and I have been discussing Carson’s return. […] We’ve finally worked it out, however. Prepare to be amazed!”
Answer: Brilliantly incorrect, yet amazing nevertheless!
Greyias and I realize he must continue to deny the truth until "The Kindred" actually airs; we're sure he'll bow to us then. And maybe even spell my name right, which would be a first. He has misspelled it four times, two different ways. Come on! How hard is 'Aelfgyfu'?
Yes, that was a rhetorical question.
CASTING SPOILERS FOR NEXT SEASON (some are still only conjecture, but hey)
As both Stargate SG-1 Solutions and Gateworld have reported, the Sci Fi Channel has picked up Amanda Tapping and Damian Kindler's online series Sanctuary for a thirteen-episode broadcast order; Gateworld has an interview with Amanda Tapping as well.
This means Amanda's time on SGA will be greatly reduced; Sam will become a recurring character, with a new commander of Atlantis.
Dare I speculate? I've seen a few names (was it you who suggested Loki,kimberlyfdr?), but Caldwell strikes me as an actually viable solution. I'd rather have Weir back, but that's not going to happen. I think fans would accept Caldwell, the IOA and Homeworld Security seem to want a military commander, and Mitch Pileggi is well-known without being (I think) as expensive as others. (Daniel Jackson might seem a possible leader, but I don't think I want to see TPTB do that to his character or to SGA; I think we'd end up unhappy with Daniel's limited role, even while long-time fans of SGA who aren't SG-1 fans would feel cheated that once again an SG-1 person upstages their favorite characters. Not that I think Sam really upstaged anyone on SGA, but I think it's hard to avoid that reaction.)
I will be sorry to lose Sam. I may be in the minority, but I've liked her on SGA. I did like her on SG-1, and I was worried that bringing her over wouldn't work for the character or the newer show, but I've been pleased. I've even wished she had a few more scenes.
Saving the best for last: I knew we'd probably not get more than 14 episodes with Sam again anyway, and quite possibly less, so I'm not crushed. Mallozzi can't stop dropping hints, and last night's entry seems the clearest of all:
"Oh, and just so you know, once that press release comes out on Monday - Mark played a big part in ensuring a certain character’s return to the ranks of the recurring."
Who else could it be but Carson Beckett? Squeeeee! Torri Higginson, sadly, had not as of last weekend been approached to return, although Mallozzi says they do plan to follow up on her scene at the end of "Be All My Sins Remember'd" (forgive me for not tracking down the multiple recent references on his blog; you might search for "Weir," as Blogspot lets you search individual blogs for particular words, unlike, say, LJ--not that i'm bitter or anything). Carson was a recurring character in season 1, so he would indeed be "returning to the ranks of the recurring."
And I trust that Mallozzi isn't talking about Bates, glad as I was to see Bates last night (only to watch him get bonked on the head by a pudgy civilian--bad writers, bad! Let Bates keep some dignity, please! And watch the head! Repeated head injuries have lasting effects!).
Waiting breathlessly for Monday....
Low expectations kept me from getting too upset about the things I didn't like:
1. Bloophole: how could Our Heroes not know that Ava was dead? The first thing that should have happened when she showed up at the wake was a background check, the moment John called the SGC from his car.
I can retcon it--make it better, stronger, faster! Poole hacked all records of Ava's death so that RepliAva would be able to fill dead Ava's shoes. One little line could have fixed the episode: instead of simply announcing that Ava died, Bill would say, "The company's records show that Ava died; they must have wiped all external records of her death and only kept their own."
2. The bloophole shows the major problem I had with the episode as a whole, though: why is this a Sheppard-only op? Why does the man have to get info from his ex-wife, for heaven's sake? Flip out the cell, dial one Jack O'Neill; the info is his, completely. I think they were trying to imply that he didn't want to tip off any potential buyers in the military, but I never did get why someone in the US military would want to buy a Replicator. If you understand, please explain to me!
The first interrogation scene rang wrong for me despite a great performance by Joe Flanigan in scary-Sheppard mode for the second. Yes, he could convince Poole in that second scene that he'd send Ava down for things she hadn't done wrong. But why the heck was Ava even in the room for the first interrogation scene? And don't the SGC or Homeworld Security have people specifically trained to do interrogations? I can see John being there, but they cheaped out on cast in this episode. (Couldn't afford Ellis even though we're on the Apollo.)
3. To quote my comment on Mallozzi's blog:
I can’t say I was entirely thrilled by “Outcast”; as we sat watching the Replicators duke it out, I said, “I’ve seen this already–” and my husband interrupted with, “Yeah, Sarah Connor Chronicles.” “Oh,” I said. “I was going to say Bionic Woman.” I'm not in it for the fights--although I did say during the one where the Replicator dove into the water and escaped, "What this scene needs is rocket launchers (thanks,
kalquessa, or I'd never have realized what it was I was missing!).I'm ambivalent about John and his ex-wife. At least two of my friends have already observed that they had no chemistry. I can imagine that being together would be really awkward for both of them now--but especially for John. I'm still wondering why they got married in the first place; I couldn't see what might have attracted him to her, although maybe I could catch a glimpse of the reverse.
What I like!
1. Hilarity ensues: I'm not a slasher. I don't think John and Rodney are doing it. (I don't even think Rodney and Carson are doing it, though if there had to be a couple on the show, I'd nominate them--they're so cute together! But I think they're both heterosexual, and not gay and trying to cover, or bi.) If there's one gay or bisexual person on SGA, it has to be John. I don't mean his discomfort with women, because I think he's frequently uncomfortable with men. (The gay men I know aren't uncomfortable with women, and I know straight men who are, anyway.) But if I recall correctly (help me out!), didn't John once ask if Ronon had a girlfriend--or a boyfriend? And John's "I never see this coming" when an alien woman hits on him sums up his relationship with many alien women (except Larrin--yet another reason not to like that storyline).
His brother Dave clearly takes a good look at "civilian contractor" Ronon and decides this is John's boyfriend. And who wouldn't? Ronon sticks to John like glue, doesn't look like a civilian contractor from this country (or maybe even planet), and clearly knows John really well. No, I don't think those two are a couple either, but John's family seems quite ready to entertain the idea that John isn't straight.
That would be cool; SF remains surprisingly heteronormative, except for Torchwood (and Captain Jack's appearances on DW).
2. The solution. Oh, Ava will figure it out. (Will she pull a Moriarty, from ST:TNG, and seize control of the ship?) It's the best they could do given the situation, however, and it's a pretty humane solution, though not a permanent one.
3. John and Rodney. We can really see how Rodney has grown: he's trying really hard to be a good friend, but circumstances have interfered. He gets his point across, even while remaining fairly inarticulate. I don't think John could have handled it if he'd been more eloquent, anyway. Great scene between those two--worth the price of admission.
4. Bill Lee! I hate how lately Bill has been reduced to comic relief. The SGC shouldn't keep him on if he's not competent. When Sam went to Area 51, he became head of science at the SGC. The man's got it going on, even if he isn't quite on the level of Sam or Rodney. Finally we get to see it going on again! He's socially awkward, but he knows his stuff. He can track the Replicator (until his idiot creator tells him how, and the Replicator can mask the signal); he can hack the encryption both Poole and Ava thought he couldn't!
I'm sorry to see that Bill seems really not to be married (anymore). There was a reference in an earlier SGA ep, I think "The Intruder," to Bill's kids (watching 101 Dalmations: the twilight bark). Let's face it: this is not a man who has casual relationships leaving children in his wake. If it were even one child, I could see maybe contraceptive failure--but he used the plural. He's married--or he was. When he was talking about single women at one conference (SG-1, "Bounty"), I could imagine he was just looking, maybe trying to get a drink, flirting. I guess his marriage was already over.
I give Bill a spot of marital difficult in my "Fostering Relations"; I guess things didn't work out after all, so now he's divorced. I'm feeling really prescient now.
In fact, I've been feeling prescient all week!
SPOILERS FOR "THE KINDRED"! If you already know the big spoiler (and if you know any spoiler for this ep, it's surely the one I mean), please continue reading. If you hate all spoilers and don't know anything, stop reading here, because you won't want the ones lower down, either.
greyias and I have been bandying about ideas for Carson's return. I can't see how they're going to pull it off, frankly. Yeah, I've heard enough to guess where Carson is and why, but how and when Michael could possibly have gotten hold of him remain a mystery. So we floated some theories and came up with this lovely post, which we put in Mallozzi's blog's comments; I know some of you read it but some don't, and I thought I'd repost here so you could be impressed with our great intellects. Here's our comment:Greyias and I have been discussing Carson’s return. We know Michael has something to do with it. but we’ve been uncertain how, and more importantly when, Michael could possibly have gotten hold of Carson. After all, in “The Tao of Rodney,” Rodney communicates telepathically with Carson; he’d notice if a substitution had already been made. Carson is doing surgery until virtually the moment of his demise/departure, so again, substitution seems unlikely.
We’ve finally worked it out, however. Prepare to be amazed!
Here’s what happened: in the milliseconds after the blast, Carson’s panicked mind reached out to an emergency medical transporter that we never knew before existed; hey, not knowing what he was doing didn’t stop Carson from loosing a drone at John in “Rising.” So the emergency medical transporter beamed Carson to an unoccupied–nay, unexplored–portion of the city, where he was deposited, at worst slightly singed. Meanwhile, the bombed-out corridor is such a mess no attempt was made to identify remains; everyone in Atlantis knows who had been there, after all, so no one is looking for Carson. But why doesn’t Carson just contact someone, and how could he get off Atlantis without being noticed?
Here’s the fiendishly brilliant part: when he had Carson prisoner in “Misbegotten,” Michael implanted certain suggestions in Carson’s mind that only came to bear later. Those suggestions would ultimately summon Carson to him, to help in his mad genetic experiments. But first, one of these suggestions caused Carson to pocket one of the Sodan personal cloaks while he was at the SGC during “The Return.” He came back to Atlantis with his own ticket off the station, which he didn’t even realize. Now, believed dead and under Michael’s spell, Carson produces the cloak, which he has kept with him all this time, hidden even from himself, and uses it to leave with a team going through the Gate. Once the team has left the Gate area, Carson dials the address for rendezvous with Michael.
We realize that you cannot yet acknowledge the correctness of our surmises, because you don’t want to ruin the surprise for everyone else. That’s okay; we’ll wait for the episodes to air, and then you can praise our deductive reasoning. Or is that inductive? I get those two confused.
We were thrilled to see
wraithfodder, dovil, and alipeeps joined in the fun (search for their names on the page linked above and you'll see their entries; I don't want to just snurch them all), and even Mallozzi could not resist: the next day, he replied, Aelfgyu writes: “Greyias and I have been discussing Carson’s return. […] We’ve finally worked it out, however. Prepare to be amazed!”
Answer: Brilliantly incorrect, yet amazing nevertheless!
Greyias and I realize he must continue to deny the truth until "The Kindred" actually airs; we're sure he'll bow to us then. And maybe even spell my name right, which would be a first. He has misspelled it four times, two different ways. Come on! How hard is 'Aelfgyfu'?
Yes, that was a rhetorical question.
CASTING SPOILERS FOR NEXT SEASON (some are still only conjecture, but hey)
As both Stargate SG-1 Solutions and Gateworld have reported, the Sci Fi Channel has picked up Amanda Tapping and Damian Kindler's online series Sanctuary for a thirteen-episode broadcast order; Gateworld has an interview with Amanda Tapping as well.
This means Amanda's time on SGA will be greatly reduced; Sam will become a recurring character, with a new commander of Atlantis.
Dare I speculate? I've seen a few names (was it you who suggested Loki,
kimberlyfdr?), but Caldwell strikes me as an actually viable solution. I'd rather have Weir back, but that's not going to happen. I think fans would accept Caldwell, the IOA and Homeworld Security seem to want a military commander, and Mitch Pileggi is well-known without being (I think) as expensive as others. (Daniel Jackson might seem a possible leader, but I don't think I want to see TPTB do that to his character or to SGA; I think we'd end up unhappy with Daniel's limited role, even while long-time fans of SGA who aren't SG-1 fans would feel cheated that once again an SG-1 person upstages their favorite characters. Not that I think Sam really upstaged anyone on SGA, but I think it's hard to avoid that reaction.)I will be sorry to lose Sam. I may be in the minority, but I've liked her on SGA. I did like her on SG-1, and I was worried that bringing her over wouldn't work for the character or the newer show, but I've been pleased. I've even wished she had a few more scenes.
Saving the best for last: I knew we'd probably not get more than 14 episodes with Sam again anyway, and quite possibly less, so I'm not crushed. Mallozzi can't stop dropping hints, and last night's entry seems the clearest of all:
"Oh, and just so you know, once that press release comes out on Monday - Mark played a big part in ensuring a certain character’s return to the ranks of the recurring."
Who else could it be but Carson Beckett? Squeeeee! Torri Higginson, sadly, had not as of last weekend been approached to return, although Mallozzi says they do plan to follow up on her scene at the end of "Be All My Sins Remember'd" (forgive me for not tracking down the multiple recent references on his blog; you might search for "Weir," as Blogspot lets you search individual blogs for particular words, unlike, say, LJ--not that i'm bitter or anything). Carson was a recurring character in season 1, so he would indeed be "returning to the ranks of the recurring."
And I trust that Mallozzi isn't talking about Bates, glad as I was to see Bates last night (only to watch him get bonked on the head by a pudgy civilian--bad writers, bad! Let Bates keep some dignity, please! And watch the head! Repeated head injuries have lasting effects!).
Waiting breathlessly for Monday....
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