Tag: Stargate Atlantis

TV Junkie: A History

Thought Storm, TV Season Diary

I watched a lot of TV shows over the years. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. And I watched accross the board.

Keep in mind that I’m only 35 years old.

I watched The Guiding Light for two years straight (it’s a soap opera whose German title was the Springfield Story). I watched medical shows like Trapper John M.D. and lawyer shows like L.A. Law. I watched the 80s action shows from MacGuyver to Riptide. I even watched Love Boat every weekday on one of the first private channels in Germany: Sat.1. I got up at 6am on every Saturday morning to watch Rawhide (Tausend Meilen Staub, lit. “A Thousand Miles of Dust”) with a very young and pre-Fistful Clint Eastwood. I knew who Daniel Boone was around the same time I met the Cartwrights as well as the men from the Shiloh Ranch.

And last weekend I binge-watched the first Netflix show House of Cards (Big recommendation! Kevin Spacey is a brilliant Magnificent Bastard!) and I got curious as to how many shows I watched intently over the past two and a half decades.

With the help of the list on the German site Wunschliste.de I created a list of “my” shows.

I only counted live-action fiction shows, no animated shows may they be Saturday morning cartoons like Yogi Bear or Scooby-Doo or evening shows like The Simpsons or South Park. No scripted reality (which I’m avoiding to 99% anyway with the exception of Comic Book Men). In this list are only shows which I followed for more than a year unless the show itself didn’t last that long.

And the answer was: 244 246 247. Two hundred and fourty four six seven different shows I watched with active interest since I’ve started watching television. And the worst thing is: Of most of these shows I watched 90% or more episodes at least once.

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Those that came …

Short Review, TV Season 2009/10 Diary

Deutsche Version | Those that came … those that went … those that did both … and those that did neither nor

Community

A cool sitcom (without laugh track) about a bunch of students in a Community College.
As with most shows, it needs a few episodes to settle in, but I really liked it from the start. The dynamics within the group is so great because they have such heterogeneous backgrounds. If it weren’t for that college, these people probably would have never met. That’s were a lot of the fun comes from.

Cougar Town

A sitcom (again without laugh track) about a divorced mum, her teenage son, her ex-husband, her neighbour friends and her assistant/friend.
The show started out as exactly what it says on the tin but moved quickly away from it. Which was a good idea. They are probably going to rename it next year. All the characters are very quirky with Jules being the queen.

Glee

The Glee Club at a high school.
I’ve watched the first two episodes but it just wasn’t my terrain. It seems to be a big hit in the U.S. but I simply can’t see the appeal.

The Good Wife

Alicia Florrick is the wife of a former D.A. who has been charged with crimes regarding the misuse of the powers of his office. Now Alicia has to work again and she starts as a junior associate at a law firm of an old friend.
I really enjoyed this year, it was a good drama show with a lot of interesting characters. And it’s never clear-cut, not black/white. Just like reality.

Human Target

Christopher Chance (not his real name) works for people who need a bodyguard of the special kind.
This is a popcorn show. You watch it, you enjoy it and you don’t think about it. If you watch it, you’ll enjoy it most of the time. If you don’t watch it, you haven’t missed anything.

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Farscape: Season 1

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Farscape Marathon

Deutsche Version | Farscape Marathon | Season 2: Disc 1

Disc 1

Premiere

Synopsis: John Crichton is a scientist and an astronaut and he wants to prove that one can use Earth’s gravitational pull to accelerate a spaceship. But something goes wrong and his tiny ship “Farscape-1” is sucked into a wormhole and John gets stranded … somewhere. He’s thrown directly into a fight between a Peacekeeper command carrier and a prisoner transport ship: Moya, a Leviathan, a living ship. Aboard Moya he meets the hynerian Dominar Rygel XVI, former ruler over 600 billion people, the delvian priest Pa’u Zotoh Zhaan and the luxan warrior Ka D’Argo. Unfortunately for him he looks like a Sebacean – a Peacekeeper. And he gets imprisoned with another Peacekeeper: Peacekeeper Special Command officer Aeryn Sun.

My Opinion: Just like John we are simply thrown into the story and have to figure out what’s going on. I liked the idea of “translator microbes at the brain stem” for the translation issues. The problem wasn’t forgotten and yet easily solved. I also liked all the “Muppets” (most animatronics were created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop): Rygel, Pilot (Pilot is the pilot of Moya, living in a symbiotic relationship with her) the aliens on the first planet John visited. I also liked that Aeryn didn’t simply switch sides “just because” but was forced to run.

Disc 2

I, E. T.

Synopsis: John has still a hard time getting accustomed to this whole new universe when they find a homing device deep in Moya’s guts that has been activated recently. To remove it would be too painful for Moya and so they have to land on a planet and sink the ship into a swamp to dampen the signal. They have to find a way to anesthetize the entire ship in order to remove that device. And suddenly Crichton finds himself in front of people who have never seen an alien before.

My Opinion: With this episode Crichton’s tradition of making cultural references has begun. In this case it was Dagobah and Yoda. And it was funny to see John (who has just learned that Humans aren’t alone in the universe) explain to a woman that her race isn’t alone in the universe and that he can fully understand how she feels right now.

Disc 3

Exodus from Genesis

Synopsis: Some sort of space bug has entered Moya and is crawling through the walls. They begin to disturb Moya’s operations and they are somehow turning the heat up. John is able to capture and kill one and Zhaan dissects it. But soon after copies of the crew members begin appear and start to attack the real crew. And Aeryn’s condition worsens because Sebaceans can’t stand heat and their body functions begin to break down. As if this wasn’t enough a Peacekeeper Marauder closes in and tries to re-take the ship.

My Opinion: This episode introduces another common theme of the show: That not everything is as it appears to be and that such misunderstandings can have fatal consequences. I thought it was a great idea of John’s that he tried to convince that Peacekeeper that Humans can multiply by thousands in no time (nobody knows Humans after all) and that Crais (the command carrier commander) should stay out of his way. 😀

Disc 1

Throne for a Loss

Synopsis: Rygel is pretending to be still the monarch of his people to get a contract for a transport job. But then he is kidnapped because of his “importance” and Moya couldn’t leave orbit even if she wanted to because Rygel used a control crystal as “jewel” in his scepter. D’Argo, Aeryn and John try to get him back and for this they use a strength-enhancing gauntlet which they got from one of the attackers. But unfortunately it makes one not only stronger but also hightens one’s aggresive traits.

My Opinion: This was an average episode. But it started another Farscape tradition: The usage of nicknames, especially by John.
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Stargate SG-1: Season 10

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, SG-1 Marathon

Deutsche Version | Season 9 | The Ark of Truth

I have bought the first nine seasons of Stargate SG-1 here in Germany. Each one had an average price of 80-90€. Back in the days that were simply the prices for season boxes, Star Trek boxes had cost a similar amount. But times change and I was no more willing to pay 77€ for the 10. season in Germany. Thus I bought the complete box in the US for 135€. And it does look nice. I will chip the first nine seasons on eBay.

Disc 1

Flesh and Blood

Synopsis: The defence of the Supergate ended in a slaughter of the defenders. The four Ori ships had no problems with breaking through. Aboard one of these ships Vala has just given birth to her daughter. But she is growing very fast and she is supposed to become the leader of all Ori troops in this galaxy.

My Opinion: The more often I encounter the story it the less interesting it gets: chosen childs. Offhand I can recall: Gabrielle’s daughter Hope (Xena: Warrior Princess), Xena’s daughter Eve/Livia (Xena: Warrior Princess) and of course Angel’s son Connor (Angel). If we add movies, we can also add Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (Star Wars).
I was also a bit disappointed that Bra’tac has learned very few since he first encountered G_1 over eight years ago. Back then he also wanted to prepare for death after they had successfully sabotaged Apophis’s ship.

Morpheus

Synopsis: SG-1 visits one of the planets where they hope to find Merlin’s weapon. But there isn’t a single living being, not even animals. But the inhabitants of the village seem to have died peacefully in their beds.
In the meantime Vala has to undergo a psychiatric examination before she can join the Stargate program.

My Opinion: This episode was literally soporific.

The Pegasus Project

Synopsis: Daniel hopes to find more information about the location of the weapon in Atlantis. And Carter has developed a plan to render the Supergate useless with the help of a black hole in the Pegasus galaxy.

My Opinion: This episode I liked again. McKay was great and the way Daniel and Vala blew the cover of the Ancient “Morgan le Fay” was also good. While there are significant difference the Ancients and the Ori strongly reminded me of the Vorlons and the Shadows (Babylon 5) in this episode. All four are far superior to the normal Humans and within their universe they have a mutual exclusive point of view on how to interact with the Humans. Although the Ancients are the only ones of the four that don’t intervene at all (with the usual exceptions to that rule).
The “phone bill” of this episode could be interesting. Atlantis in the Pegasus galaxy calls the SGC who in turn call Teal’c at the Supergate and he relays the message through the open wormhole to the Odyssey in the Pegasus galaxy. 😉

Insiders

Synopsis: The allegedly real Ba’al comes to Earth and offers his help to find the weapon. But for this, SG-1 would have to kill all his clones who have uprisen against him. But every clone insits on being the real Ba’al and soon the SGC is swarmed with Ba’als.

My Opinion: Oh Sam, come on! Have you learned nothing from the RepliCarter disaster? I am annoyed that this highly intelligent woman falls for such plans. Yes, granted, she was in a hostage situation but how many lives will it cost when Ba’al is successful?
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Stargate SG-1: Season 8

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, SG-1 Marathon

Deutsche Version | Stargate SG-1: Season 7 | Stargate SG-1: Season 9

Disc 1

New Order

Synopsis: Jack is still in stasis and SG-1 has no means of contacting the Asgard because the Stargate project is still undergoing an “evaluation process”. But Sam can convince Dr. Weir to borrow the Tel’tak that Jack had refitted. As soon as Sam and Teal’c arrive in Asgard space they meet Thor and together they encounter escape Replicators. In the meantime Dr. Weir and Daniel meet representatives of the System Lords. Ba’al has “obtained” the Kull warriors and a great many of Anubis’s Jaffa. This poses a potential threat to both the System Lords and Earth.

My Opinion: This two-parter was also presented as feature-length film on the DVD. But this episode showed one of the problems of the series: The 30 Ha’taks that attacked Earth were only a small part of Anubis’s fleet. Considering the size of our galaxy that sounds logical. But it doesn’t explain why Apophis’s position amongst the System Lords was weakened a few years ago, just because he had lost 2 ships in the attack on Earth. This is getting out of proportion and it’s getting worse in the next season and I will come back to this topic then.
(On the other hand only 39 Federation ships engaged the Borg cube at Wolf 359, but later 650 ships tried to re-take DS9 [the Klingons not included].)
After this episode the spin-off Stargate Atlantis starts and Dr. Weir becomes the project’s leader. The newly promoted Brigadier General Jack O’Neill becomes the CO of the SGC and the newly promoted Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter becomes the leader of SG-1. One also sees Replicator-Carter for the first time who is called RepliCarter by the fans.

Lockdown

Synopsis: The newly arrived russian Colonel Vaselov would like to become the fourth member of SG-1. At least he wants to go off-world as soon as possible. But then he collapses and has to be brought to the infirmary. After Daniel has shot two soldiers, Jack seals off the mountain to prevent Anubis (who is responsible for all this) from escaping.

My Opinion: A nice hide-and-seek episode but nothing more.

Zero Hour

Synopsis: In five days the president will visit the SGC but Jack’s problems are mounting: An alien plant overgrows the entire base and is hard to defeat. And Ba’al is holding SG-1 hostage and wants the System Lord Camulus who has sought asylum in the SGC.

My Opinion: I am quite sure that this was supposed to be an homage to M*A*S*H because Sgt. Walter Harriman always answered before Jack had asked his question and he had always everything prepared. That makes him similar to his namesake Cpl. Walter “Radar” O’Reilly. I thought that they matched it very well. And Jack actually reminded me of Lt. Colonel Henry Blake.
I also liked the rest of this Jack episode. Jack hasn’t changed much after all.
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Stargate SG-1: Season 7

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, SG-1 Marathon

Deutsche Version | Season 6 | Season 8

Disc 1

Fallen

Synopsis: SG-1 is still searching for the “Lost City” or – as Jonas translates it now – “City of the Lost”, a city of the Ancients that wasn’t fully completed. They try to find the city with the help of the Gate addresses Jack entered into the computer when he had the knowledge of the Ancients. But they find something different – someone, to be precise.

My Opinion: The attack on Anubis’s ship was a nice homage to the battle above Yavin in Star Wars IV, including Jack’s comment that his F-302 (it’s obviously not eXperimental anymore) should have the call sign “Red Leader”. Michael Shanks has re-joined the main cast and returns to his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson. And while I liked Jonas, Daniel is somehow better. Jack and Daniel know each other for over seven years and even in the end Jonas was still “the new guy”. The chemistry between Jack and Daniel worked instantaneously again in terms of: they like each other but are totally different.

Homecoming

Synopsis: Daniel and Jonas are still aboard Anubis’s ship which hovers now over the capitol of Kelowna. Anubis wants to have the Naqahdriah and the knowledge of how to create a stable reaction.

My Opinion: On one hand it’s understandable that Jonas returns home. Daniel is back and all three countries on his home planet know about the Stargate now. It’s a bit sad, though. But since Daniel and he had basically the same role within SG-1 it would be hard to acknowledge this fact in future scripts.

Fragile Balance

Synopsis: When Jack awakes one morning, he is a teenanger of fifteen years. No one believes that he is Colonel Jack O’Neill. After his DNA has been confirmed they try to find out what happened and how to reverse it.

My Opinion: This time I even looked on the clock. The first appearance of RDA was in the 31st minute of this 42 minute episode. On the other hand one has to get used to it since his screen time will drop considerably from the 8th season on.
But it was good to see that not all Asgard are good and perfect, that even they have black sheeps.

Orpheus

Synopsis: After T’ealc has been wounded on a mission, he begins to doubt himself. Since he has lost “Junior” and has begun to inject Tretonin he doesn’t feel as a full-fledged Jaffa anymore. But then there’s a new crisis arising, Bra’tac and Rya’c are prisoners in a work camp that one only leaves dead.

My Opinion: A very good episode to show that something has changed for Teal’c. A symbiote has been part of his body for about 90 years (Teal’c is approximately 104 years old at this time) and now this part is missing. I can imagine that this is hard to get used to. I also liked the scene where his son helped im through the crisis by letting Teal’c kill the other Jaffa with his bare hands.
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Stargate SG-1: Season 5

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, SG-1 Marathon

Deutsche Version | Season 4 | Season 6

Disc 1

Enemies

Synopsis: Caused by the explosion of the sun and the activated Hyperdrive SG-1s Ha’tak has been catapulted into another galaxy. But Apophis is also there with his huge motherhip. But as soon as they have arrived another ship is apporaching that attacks Apophis’s ship. It is the Replicators.

My Opinion: Nothing against a good deus ex machina now and then, but this time they’ve overdone it. First they land in a remote galaxy, then the Replicators arrive, then Teal’c has been brainwashed somehow and in the end the Replicators kindly bring SG-1 back home. Honestly! At least Apophis has breathed his last breath.

Threshold

Synopsis: Teal’c is still brainwashed. According to Bra’tac, the only way to get him out of this, is to remove the larva and bring him to the brink of death.

My Opinion: Even though the events that led to this were rubbish, this was a very good compensation. It showed us how Teal’c became the man he is and how Bra’tac tought him all this. A great character drawing.

Ascension

Synopsis: SG-1 discovers a device that could be a powerful weapon. But then Sam faints and has to be brought back to the SGC. When she is put on leave and comes home, she is awaited by a non-corporeal being. It declares that it comes from the planet Sam has just been to.

My Opinion: The most important information in this episode was the fact, that Teal’c has watched Star Wars nine times while Jack has never watched it. 😉 That aside this episode was a goof examply why in Star Trek a Prime Directive exists: Because it is not predictable, what happens if one interfers with the developement of a culture. But the extinction of that entire planet was also over the top, they simply could have taken the Stargate away.
The appearance of John de Lancie (Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation) was also nice, especially because it won’t be the last.

The Fifth Man

Synopsis: Sam, Teal’c and Daniel return to the SGC under heavy fire while Jack and Lieutenant Tyler are grounded. But the real problem is: In the SGC no one knows this “Lieutenant Tyler”. Only SG-1 can remember this man.

My Opinion: I liked this episode, too. Another fact has cought my eye here: Stargate SG-1 has found a good balance regarding the number of alien races. The universe isn’t as crowded with non-humans as the Star Trek universe. But it is also not as empty as the Battlestar Galactica universe. While most of the aliens are still humanoid they aren’t simply knobbly-nose-aliens but really alien-aliens.
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The Pilot Marathon Part 1

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Pilot Marathon

Deutsche Version | Part 2

Every story has a beginning and for a TV show it’s (often) the Pilot. I simply love pilots. It’s the one episode that I watch more than any other episode of the show.

I’ll watch them in the order in which they stand on my shelves, so there’s no secret master plan why one show comes before or after the next. 😉

As Kosh would say: And so it begins.

Xena: Warrior Princess

What’s the show about?
The former warlord Xena has reformed and fights now for the good. She and her sidekick Gabrielle travel through the ancient world of Greece, North Africa and Asia. They fight with and against other warlords, demons and gods.

What happend before?
Xena is a spin-off of Hercules where Xena was introduced. Back then she was still a warlord until she lost her army due to a mutiny. After that she helped Hercules defeat a vicious monster.

“Sins of the Past”
Xena cannot escape her past even when she tries to. On the way to her hometown Amphipolis she saves a group of people – including a young girl called Gabrielle – from being captured and sold into slavery. The attackers are under the command of Draco. When she denies him a real fight he decides to destroy Amphipolis and kill everyone. Now Xena has to protect a town that does not want her to be there…

My Opinion
Since the character was already introduced in Hercules one doesn’t learn much new about Xena in the pilot. Even if she had an affair with Draco remains unclear.
I always favoured Xena over Hercules because it was a bit darker and her enemies (Callisto, Ares, …) were more interesting

But there is one thing that bugs me while I’m watching the show. While I grew up I read a lot of greek mythology. I’ve read the Iliad, the Odyssey, I watched every Hercules/Heracles movie there was. And I am still used to the german names of everything: Herkules, Achilles, Zeus, … . While the spelling is only slightly different, the pronunciation is completely different. Everytime I watch Xena or Hercules and they pronounce greek names it sounds totally wrong. Period.
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