Wow
I wasn't really looking forward to this week's Stargates, at least not as much as I'm used to. The previews were...lacking. But they turned out surprisingly good. Especially SGA.
Company of Thieves
Okay, it was entirely too odd seeing Ari as Anateo. At least he was an almost identical character, though, so it wasn't as if it was hard to keep him straight. But he said some of the same things! "May I call you Samantha?" (Didn't he ask Kate that?) Anyway, that was odd. He certainly had the look of the part, though.
Colonel Emerson! :( That was SO sad. My goodness, it's dangerous being the captain of a spaceship! I loved Sam's reaction to his death, though; very appropriate and very heart-wrenching. If she seemed to move on a little quickly, I suppose it was just because the stress of the situation required it. Anyway. (Dude, I really want to see that Major guy be made captain. He's really cool. The way he looked at Daniel sitting in the chair? And how he and Daniel interacted, you could see they both really missed the Colonel but especially the Major. Who now, like Chuck, needs a name.)
I can't believe they brought back that disguise-juice thing after five seasons! That's continuity for ya. Nice twist with it at the end, too; I really did not see that coming.
Oooh, Teal'c was scary and deep in this. When he flipped out on the guy torturing him, wow. That was just...really human. I don't know if it's just another side to Teal'c we haven't seen before, or a slowly developing thing, or what, but it really made him more, well, yeah, human. And scary beyond belief.
Daniel's humor grated just a bit in this. I usually rather like his light cover of whatever danger they're in, but for some reason he came off as particularly flippant tonight. Maybe it's because of Colonel Emerson but it just didn't seem appropriate.
It was a good episode. Not great, but not bad at all.
Phantoms
Okay, so this COMPLETELY blew my expectations away. After McKay and Mrs. Miller, seeing the previews for this was extremely disappointing. Then I heard it was written by Carl Binder and Martin Gero thought it was one of his better episodes, and I started being intrigued. But it still amazed me.
It started off slow. It wasn't really until the second half-hour that I really got sucked in and gaspy and shocked and stuff. But the setup was really well done, so I'll forgive them. ;)
It was really awesome seeing the hallucinations somewhat from the characters' points of view. The cinematography on their faces was well done, too, giving the indication that something was really wrong.
Ronon's was pretty predictable and, while scary, not all that fascinating. Shep's was AMAZINGLY detailed and great backstory for him. The way he looked to Teyla was really scary, too; you could just SEE that he wasn't seeing what was around him. That was weird.
My favorite (and most disturbing) bits, though? Carson and Rodney. Because the Carson? Was just WEIRD and SCARY and DISTURBING and SO what a doctor would be afraid of. I kind of got the impression that the machine was sort of boggart-y in nature, that they saw their worst enemy/greatest fear. In a general sense. Anyway, the fact that Carson's was death was just...right on. And the way he reacted to finding out that he'd been essentially paying attention to the wrong guy was just heart-breaking (and disturbing...I'm using that word a lot but it's true). The parts with the dead guys were really creepy to me.
And Rodney! I knew it was in his head pretty early; I can't remember when I realized it but it was before I realized Carson's. Of course that's what Rodney's afraid of, too, machines overloading and not responding and losing control. I like how he realized it, though, as opposed to the others. And his explanation of being shielded somewhat made sense, too; it got him but not as bad. (Oh, and I'm glad they dropped the hint about Teyla's DNA or I would have forgotten and been like, why isn't she affected? Although when Shep said that it was pretty much a dead indicator that she wouldn't be affected.)
There were a lot of (I'm going to say it again) disturbing parts in the ep, besides the hallucinations themselves. Major Leonard blowing himself up was one; Shep shooting Rodney (in what sure looked like his left chest!) was another. Rodney's expression as he told Teyla it was all down to her. That moment at the end where you're not sure if Shep will pull the thing in time and even if he does will it work and stop the hallucinations and you could SEE the worry and the hope on Teyla's face -- that was tense.
Some complaints: Elizabeth seemed a little thick in this one. First, she was contemplating sending a team after Sheppard's team -- after TWO teams failed to return from their missions and contact is impossible. THAT'S bright...then later, she tells us that it would be stupid to do that and we feel like saying, "Du-hur..." or maybe that was just me. Elizabeth's screentime in the past two eps has been limited and not very quality. Unfortunate.
Where was Chuck and who was that random American chick? It's like the Great Major Switchout in Sateda! :(
Aaaaand...that's pretty much it. Loved the ep overall, really well done character stuff. (Duh, it was Carl Binder.)
Oh, and I really don't like Sci-Fi calling it the "season finale". It's a "mid-season cliffhanger", thank you! Even if the mid-season will be a little longer this year...
And YAY for Doctor Who season Two! Hee, that rhymes...
Company of Thieves
Okay, it was entirely too odd seeing Ari as Anateo. At least he was an almost identical character, though, so it wasn't as if it was hard to keep him straight. But he said some of the same things! "May I call you Samantha?" (Didn't he ask Kate that?) Anyway, that was odd. He certainly had the look of the part, though.
Colonel Emerson! :( That was SO sad. My goodness, it's dangerous being the captain of a spaceship! I loved Sam's reaction to his death, though; very appropriate and very heart-wrenching. If she seemed to move on a little quickly, I suppose it was just because the stress of the situation required it. Anyway. (Dude, I really want to see that Major guy be made captain. He's really cool. The way he looked at Daniel sitting in the chair? And how he and Daniel interacted, you could see they both really missed the Colonel but especially the Major. Who now, like Chuck, needs a name.)
I can't believe they brought back that disguise-juice thing after five seasons! That's continuity for ya. Nice twist with it at the end, too; I really did not see that coming.
Oooh, Teal'c was scary and deep in this. When he flipped out on the guy torturing him, wow. That was just...really human. I don't know if it's just another side to Teal'c we haven't seen before, or a slowly developing thing, or what, but it really made him more, well, yeah, human. And scary beyond belief.
Daniel's humor grated just a bit in this. I usually rather like his light cover of whatever danger they're in, but for some reason he came off as particularly flippant tonight. Maybe it's because of Colonel Emerson but it just didn't seem appropriate.
It was a good episode. Not great, but not bad at all.
Phantoms
Okay, so this COMPLETELY blew my expectations away. After McKay and Mrs. Miller, seeing the previews for this was extremely disappointing. Then I heard it was written by Carl Binder and Martin Gero thought it was one of his better episodes, and I started being intrigued. But it still amazed me.
It started off slow. It wasn't really until the second half-hour that I really got sucked in and gaspy and shocked and stuff. But the setup was really well done, so I'll forgive them. ;)
It was really awesome seeing the hallucinations somewhat from the characters' points of view. The cinematography on their faces was well done, too, giving the indication that something was really wrong.
Ronon's was pretty predictable and, while scary, not all that fascinating. Shep's was AMAZINGLY detailed and great backstory for him. The way he looked to Teyla was really scary, too; you could just SEE that he wasn't seeing what was around him. That was weird.
My favorite (and most disturbing) bits, though? Carson and Rodney. Because the Carson? Was just WEIRD and SCARY and DISTURBING and SO what a doctor would be afraid of. I kind of got the impression that the machine was sort of boggart-y in nature, that they saw their worst enemy/greatest fear. In a general sense. Anyway, the fact that Carson's was death was just...right on. And the way he reacted to finding out that he'd been essentially paying attention to the wrong guy was just heart-breaking (and disturbing...I'm using that word a lot but it's true). The parts with the dead guys were really creepy to me.
And Rodney! I knew it was in his head pretty early; I can't remember when I realized it but it was before I realized Carson's. Of course that's what Rodney's afraid of, too, machines overloading and not responding and losing control. I like how he realized it, though, as opposed to the others. And his explanation of being shielded somewhat made sense, too; it got him but not as bad. (Oh, and I'm glad they dropped the hint about Teyla's DNA or I would have forgotten and been like, why isn't she affected? Although when Shep said that it was pretty much a dead indicator that she wouldn't be affected.)
There were a lot of (I'm going to say it again) disturbing parts in the ep, besides the hallucinations themselves. Major Leonard blowing himself up was one; Shep shooting Rodney (in what sure looked like his left chest!) was another. Rodney's expression as he told Teyla it was all down to her. That moment at the end where you're not sure if Shep will pull the thing in time and even if he does will it work and stop the hallucinations and you could SEE the worry and the hope on Teyla's face -- that was tense.
Some complaints: Elizabeth seemed a little thick in this one. First, she was contemplating sending a team after Sheppard's team -- after TWO teams failed to return from their missions and contact is impossible. THAT'S bright...then later, she tells us that it would be stupid to do that and we feel like saying, "Du-hur..." or maybe that was just me. Elizabeth's screentime in the past two eps has been limited and not very quality. Unfortunate.
Where was Chuck and who was that random American chick? It's like the Great Major Switchout in Sateda! :(
Aaaaand...that's pretty much it. Loved the ep overall, really well done character stuff. (Duh, it was Carl Binder.)
Oh, and I really don't like Sci-Fi calling it the "season finale". It's a "mid-season cliffhanger", thank you! Even if the mid-season will be a little longer this year...
And YAY for Doctor Who season Two! Hee, that rhymes...