Comments | sga_squee: Rewatch: First Strike

twinsarein in sga_squee

Rewatch: First Strike

Jul 20, 2012 16:24

Tickets to a play, tonight, so I wanted to be sure not to miss the 10PM start time for everyone else. I hope you all enjoy.

Col. Abe Ellis arrives at Atlantis with a new ship, the Apollo, and important news: a new Replicator base has been detected and it appears they have been building a new fleet of ships. He is under orders to destroy the ( Read more... )

rewatch, s3x20

Comments 7

Comment 1A helenkacan July 21 2012, 02:23:23 UTC

This is an amazing episode on so many levels, even though it also ends the season on an uncertain note. I know, it's a cliffhanger. Oy. Of course, in retrospect, I believe S4 and S5 were far less than they could and should have been.

Written by Martin Gero, directed by Martin Wood. Audio commentary is with them and Mark Savela, Visual Effects Supervisor. I watched it three times, the last was the audio commentary.

Uh-oh. From the Previously on, we can get a very good idea that this is going to be an episode that makes our people be very vulnerable. I still love that horrified inflection in Rodney's voice when he says "They're not people, they're machines" as we see Oberoth's figure reforming. And then we see the hugely expanded Asuran homeworld plus John after he's been probed (uh, that does sound dirty) as well as all sorts of other fun experiences. Until we see our people in their best badass mode get the upper hand ( ... )

Comment 1B helenkacan July 21 2012, 02:29:29 UTC

Rodney's concerned about strengthening the shield, but Ellis stops him. Why? Because, in 12 hours, the Apollo will launch a surgical strike against the planet. Interesting to see the various facial reactions, especially John's. And, only now do we get the opening credits. That was a lot for an intro.

When we return, we all find out how Ellis thinks it's going to get done. With a bunch of nukes in a custom-made weapons platform. Uh, did we need to know its code name is "Horizon"? ::rolls eyes::

Anyway, Ellis believes that 6 nukes (and 4 decoys) will be enough for now. To which Rodney gives a very insightful response. "For now? Look, isn't this a bit like poking a sleeping dragon?" Hey, I agree with Rodney.

But Ellis, unfortunately, does not. Blah-blah-blah. IOA nervous, replicators that know the location of Earth, yadda-yadda. But first, beam Rodney without warning aboard the Apollo. Poor Rodney. Good thing he's a McKay and not a McCoy. Now it's time for John and Elizabeth to exchange a look. As they discuss the situation, there's a ( ... )

Comment 2A helenkacan July 21 2012, 02:35:16 UTC

It's nighttime on Atlantis. Radek and Rodney are arguing about the accuracy of the scans in front of Ellis, with John in the background. But, excess radiation or not, all of the primary and most of the secondary targets are now toast. Rodney looks proud.

John then meets Liz who congratulates him. They're joined by Teyla and Ronon who ask about the mission. Well, their little chat is interrupted by Chuck. Uh-oh. Something has just taken up a geosynchronous orbit above the city. It's suggested that the Apollo check it out.

The visual shows a nut-shaped hollow satellite. But that's not all. The interior has these familiar markings. Eight of 'em. Major uh-oh. It's a miniature Stargate. Which suddenly goes Kawoosh. A bright beam strikes the Apollo and things begin to blow up, even though their shields are up. Okay, time to get away from it.

The satellite turns and hits the planet. The beam travels through the water (I almost feel like humming the theme from Jaws) at a fast clip until it reaches Atlantis which is rocked. The Apollo tries ( ... )

Comment 2B helenkacan July 21 2012, 02:40:00 UTC

Gorgeous view of the city as a Christmas globe, though not with that horrid beam from above. A timer on the console reached 38:00 and they attempt to dial the gate. No luck. Rodney goes off to find another plan.

John visits Ellis and they have a whispered conversation. It's nice to know that Ellis appreciates John's service despite a problematic record. Well, that's nice to hear, but Ellis then says that John should be the one running Atlantis and not Elizabeth. John's not too keen on that 'cuz then he'd be The ManEllis utters something prophetic (no matter what happens, they did the right thing) that should haunt him later ( ... )

Comment 3A helenkacan July 21 2012, 02:49:04 UTC

When the city sets down, the beam is still intense, spreading a golden net over the top of the shield. It's being slightly attenuated by the water, but not by much. Rodney says it took them 3 hours to execute and bought them only 10 hours. Radek corrects him. 9 hours. Liz looks horrified when she learns that WAS the plan ( ... )