SGA 4.1, "Adrift"
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh. This whole episode could have been done in half an hour with room either for part of next week's ep or for more subplots along the way. Why did they need the complication of the asteroid belt? It was a cool idea, but nothing happened that couldn't have happened for other reasons: the jumpers cleared a path with no casualties* (excuse for action and special effects?); Zelenka got zinged but survived (excuse for suspense and special effects?); the impact damage they were trying to fix and the power drop that left them unable to initiate the hyperdrive because it took so long to fix the damage could have been a result of any of the other things that had gone wrong earlier.
* Not even the new redshirt doctor who it seemed was being groomed for tragic death.
(I did love Sheppard throwing Zelenka, and the CGI zoom around them as they floated across the rift, and the drone-firing action sequence, and Sheppard wincing when his proto-pilots struggled to stay in formation, and Rodney's jokes about being terrible at Asteroid. And the blue-lit EVA suits were pretty.)
But. Nice to see everyone again! Rodney seemed to have especially wide eyes this week, or maybe that was an effect of camera shots holding on him longer than usual. They looked more hazel than blue in the light and against his uniform. In fact, I missed the blue filter tonight; with a few exceptions, we seem to have slipped into gray-green and yellow and brown, perhaps to highlight their Dire Situation and underscore the sense that something in the city is Wrong, and I'm not sure I like it.
Sheppard had some lovely Intense Gaze moments, too, most notably when his and McKay's men died in vacuum in the outskirts of the city, and when he looked like he was holding back tears at the news that even if she survived, Elizabeth was never going to be the same. And when he got in McKay's face about what he did to Elizabeth.
Because Sheppard and McKay's power struggle = awesome. Good on the writers for planting the seeds earlier in the episode where Sheppard complained that Rodney was making decisions without consulting him, and then having them argue over whether to treat Elizabeth. That showdown outside the infirmary-fantastic! Rodney stood up to him! Sheppard got mad! Rodney insisted! They fought over who knew Elizabeth better! Significant tension began to brew! Except then, in true SGA fashion, cyborg!Elizabeth woke and derailed the whole thing before it got really good. Another minute and they might have come to blows. Once again, I wish the writers would push more. At least the hostility didn't completely dissipate afterwards, even when Rodney apologized; Rodney looked half pissed off and half left out when Sheppard addressed all his questions to Zelenka instead. It'll be interesting to see whether Sheppard's semi-avoidance of Rodney continues into next week, and how much of that tension ends up hinging on the behavior of the reactivated nanites (i.e. Sheppard forgives him if nothing bad happens, and condemns him if it all goes Horribly Wrong) vs. Sheppard's irritation that Rodney disobeyed him, put the city at risk and possibly violated Elizabeth's personal wishes as to how she wanted her body to be treated. Ooh, I want to watch those scenes over and over.
(Would this show "dare" to have a character suggest letting her die now that she's awake again? Would Elizabeth ask them to kill her, or try it herself, to save the city? From next week's preview, it seems not; her new nanite-a-licious self will undoubtedly save the day in a way ordinary Elizabeth couldn't have done.)
Interesting how they chose to focus on Ronon's connection to Elizabeth rather than John's or Rodney's by having him visit her bedside. It was nice, if unsurprising, that he wanted to thank her for taking him in, but it was still weird to have had so many establishing shots earlier in the episode where he watched her being wheeled in and operated on with such concern. Where'd that come from?
Not very happy with how much time passed between Carter/Lam/Apollo scenes; I'm not sure what else they could have done, other than insert a fourth scene where they begin to actually take action, but with the amount of time spent on the initial shot of the zero-gravity midway station (where Carter looked distractingly as if she were being wheeled and turned on a programmed dolly rather than actually floating in zero-g, as opposed to when Sheppard demagnetized Zelenka's suit), an equal amount of time later would have balanced it better. Some of the scene cuts were kind of weird, too, ending too early or lingering too long.
I love Keller so far. (Yay, Kaylee! with her pretty ponytail.) She's calm, clear, level-headed, honest, intelligent and earnest. Possible downside lurks in her silence when Sheppard demanded that Rodney explain himself after they uploaded the program into Elizabeth. I understand that she's still very uncomfortable in her new position and that as CMO she doesn't rank with Rodney or Sheppard, but she could have stood up for their decision.
Oh, you know what I liked in the beginning? When Sheppard said, "You dumb this down any more, you're gonna get hit." Fans have complained before that the technical exposition isn't so complicated that it needs to be explained six times in progressively more obvious ways; perhaps this was an acknowledgement on the part of the writers.
What else... Ronon in a tank top? Kinda hot, yet inserted all sorts of weird subtext into his visit to Elizabeth's room.
Speaking of weird, was it just me or did Sheppard make stranger faces than usual when he stopped by Ronon's bedside and asked how he was doing?
Ya. All in all, a rocky (ha ha, pun) start. Judgment withheld, however, until the third part airs.
ETA: Lenore on the ethical dilemma (f-locked); friendshipper's rxn
* Not even the new redshirt doctor who it seemed was being groomed for tragic death.
(I did love Sheppard throwing Zelenka, and the CGI zoom around them as they floated across the rift, and the drone-firing action sequence, and Sheppard wincing when his proto-pilots struggled to stay in formation, and Rodney's jokes about being terrible at Asteroid. And the blue-lit EVA suits were pretty.)
But. Nice to see everyone again! Rodney seemed to have especially wide eyes this week, or maybe that was an effect of camera shots holding on him longer than usual. They looked more hazel than blue in the light and against his uniform. In fact, I missed the blue filter tonight; with a few exceptions, we seem to have slipped into gray-green and yellow and brown, perhaps to highlight their Dire Situation and underscore the sense that something in the city is Wrong, and I'm not sure I like it.
Sheppard had some lovely Intense Gaze moments, too, most notably when his and McKay's men died in vacuum in the outskirts of the city, and when he looked like he was holding back tears at the news that even if she survived, Elizabeth was never going to be the same. And when he got in McKay's face about what he did to Elizabeth.
Because Sheppard and McKay's power struggle = awesome. Good on the writers for planting the seeds earlier in the episode where Sheppard complained that Rodney was making decisions without consulting him, and then having them argue over whether to treat Elizabeth. That showdown outside the infirmary-fantastic! Rodney stood up to him! Sheppard got mad! Rodney insisted! They fought over who knew Elizabeth better! Significant tension began to brew! Except then, in true SGA fashion, cyborg!Elizabeth woke and derailed the whole thing before it got really good. Another minute and they might have come to blows. Once again, I wish the writers would push more. At least the hostility didn't completely dissipate afterwards, even when Rodney apologized; Rodney looked half pissed off and half left out when Sheppard addressed all his questions to Zelenka instead. It'll be interesting to see whether Sheppard's semi-avoidance of Rodney continues into next week, and how much of that tension ends up hinging on the behavior of the reactivated nanites (i.e. Sheppard forgives him if nothing bad happens, and condemns him if it all goes Horribly Wrong) vs. Sheppard's irritation that Rodney disobeyed him, put the city at risk and possibly violated Elizabeth's personal wishes as to how she wanted her body to be treated. Ooh, I want to watch those scenes over and over.
(Would this show "dare" to have a character suggest letting her die now that she's awake again? Would Elizabeth ask them to kill her, or try it herself, to save the city? From next week's preview, it seems not; her new nanite-a-licious self will undoubtedly save the day in a way ordinary Elizabeth couldn't have done.)
Interesting how they chose to focus on Ronon's connection to Elizabeth rather than John's or Rodney's by having him visit her bedside. It was nice, if unsurprising, that he wanted to thank her for taking him in, but it was still weird to have had so many establishing shots earlier in the episode where he watched her being wheeled in and operated on with such concern. Where'd that come from?
Not very happy with how much time passed between Carter/Lam/Apollo scenes; I'm not sure what else they could have done, other than insert a fourth scene where they begin to actually take action, but with the amount of time spent on the initial shot of the zero-gravity midway station (where Carter looked distractingly as if she were being wheeled and turned on a programmed dolly rather than actually floating in zero-g, as opposed to when Sheppard demagnetized Zelenka's suit), an equal amount of time later would have balanced it better. Some of the scene cuts were kind of weird, too, ending too early or lingering too long.
I love Keller so far. (Yay, Kaylee! with her pretty ponytail.) She's calm, clear, level-headed, honest, intelligent and earnest. Possible downside lurks in her silence when Sheppard demanded that Rodney explain himself after they uploaded the program into Elizabeth. I understand that she's still very uncomfortable in her new position and that as CMO she doesn't rank with Rodney or Sheppard, but she could have stood up for their decision.
Oh, you know what I liked in the beginning? When Sheppard said, "You dumb this down any more, you're gonna get hit." Fans have complained before that the technical exposition isn't so complicated that it needs to be explained six times in progressively more obvious ways; perhaps this was an acknowledgement on the part of the writers.
What else... Ronon in a tank top? Kinda hot, yet inserted all sorts of weird subtext into his visit to Elizabeth's room.
Speaking of weird, was it just me or did Sheppard make stranger faces than usual when he stopped by Ronon's bedside and asked how he was doing?
Ya. All in all, a rocky (ha ha, pun) start. Judgment withheld, however, until the third part airs.
ETA: Lenore on the ethical dilemma (f-locked); friendshipper's rxn