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10/12/09
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10/11/09
10/12/09
At the request of a family member, I recently compiled a list of what I consider to be the best episodes of both SG-1 and Atlantis. It's probably too long, but here it goes:
These are the best SG-1 and Atlantis episodes, IMHO. Three stars are the absolute best. You should watch them in sequence.
SG1.01.10.Thor's Hammer *
SG1.01.11.The Torment of Tantalus *
SG1.01.18.Solitudes *
SG1.01.20.There But For the Grace of God *
SG1.01.21.Politics (Part 1) *
SG1.01.22.Within the Serpent's Grasp (Part 2) *
SG1.02.01.The Serpent's Lair (Part 3) *
SG1.02.02.In the Line of Duty
SG1.02.03.Prisoners
SG1.02.06.Thor's Chariot *
SG1.02.09.Secrets
SG1.02.11.The Tok'ra (Part 1) *
SG1.02.12.The Tok'ra (Part 2) *
SG1.02.15.The Fifth Race **
SG1.02.16.A Matter of Time **
SG1.02.21.1969 **
SG1.03.03.Fair Game
SG1.03.05.Learning Curve *
SG1.03.06.Point of View *
SG1.03.11.Past and Present
SG1.03.15.Pretense *
SG1.03.16.Urgo *
SG1.03.17.A Hundred Days **
SG1.03.18.Shades of Grey *
SG1.03.20.Maternal Instinct
SG1.03.22.Nemesis (Part 1) **
SG1.04.01.Small Victories (Part 2) **
SG1.04.02.The Other Side *
SG1.04.03.Upgrades *
SG1.04.06.Window of Opportunity **
SG1.04.08.The First Ones
SG1.04.09.Scorched Earth *
SG1.04.11.Point of No Return *
SG1.04.12.Tangent
SG1.04.13.The Curse
SG1.04.14.The Serpent's Venom
SG1.04.15.Chain Reaction *
SG1.04.16.2010 **
SG1.04.17.Absolute Power **
SG1.04.19.Prodigy
SG1.04.22.Exodus (Part 1)
SG1.05.01.Enemies (Part 2)
SG1.05.02.Threshold (Part 3)
SG1.05.03.Ascension *
SG1.05.05.Red Sky **
SG1.05.06.Rite of Passage
SG1.05.09.Between Two Fires *
SG1.05.10.2001 **
SG1.05.12.Wormhole X-Treme! **
SG1.05.13.Proving Ground *
SG1.05.14.48 Hours
SG1.05.15.Summit (Part 1)
SG1.05.16.Last Stand (Part 2)
SG1.05.17.Fail Safe **
SG1.05.19.Menace *
SG1.05.21.Meridian **
SG1.05.22.Revelations
SG1.06.01.Redemption (Part 1) **
SG1.06.02.Redemption (Part 2) **
SG1.06.03.Descent **
SG1.06.08.The Other Guys **
SG1.06.10.Cure *
SG1.06.11.Prometheus (Part 1) *
SG1.06.12.Unnatural Selection (Part 2) **
SG1.06.14.Smoke & Mirrors
SG1.06.17.Disclosure (it's a clip show, but a good recap)
SG1.06.22.Full Circle *
SG1.07.01.Fallen (Part 1) *
SG1.07.02.Homecoming (Part 2)
SG1.07.03.Fragile Balance **
SG1.07.05.Revisions *
SG1.07.06.Lifeboat *
SG1.07.08.Space Race **
SG1.07.09.Avenger 2.0 *
SG1.07.10.Birthright
SG1.07.11.Evolution (Part 1)
SG1.07.12.Evolution (Part 2)
SG1.07.14.Fallout
SG1.07.15.Chimera
SG1.07.16.Death Knell
SG1.07.17.Heroes (Part 1)
SG1.07.18.Heroes (Part 2)
SG1.07.20.Inauguration
SG1.07.21.Lost City (Part 1) ** (intro to Atlantis)
SG1.07.22.Lost City (Part 2) **
SG1.08.01.New Order (Part 1) **
SG1.08.02.New Order (Part 2) **
SG1.08.05.Icon
SG1.08.06.Avatar *
SG1.08.07.Affinity
SG1.08.08.Covenant *
SG1.08.10.Endgame
SG1.08.11.Gemini *
SG1.08.12.Prometheus Unbound
SG1.08.13.It's Good to Be King *
SG1.08.14.Full Alert *
SG1.08.15.Citizen Joe **
SG1.08.16.Reckoning (Part 1) *
SG1.08.17.Reckoning (Part 2) *
SG1.08.18.Threads *
SG1.08.19.Moebius (Part 1) **
SG1.08.20.Moebius (Part 2) *
Seasons 9 and 10 are about the Ori, and is mostly boring, though the Ori ships are awesome!
SG1.09.06.Beachhead
SG1.09.13.Ripple Effect
SG1.10.06.200 **
SG1.10.10.The Quest (Part 1)
SG1.10.11.The Quest (Part 2)
SG1.10.13.The Road Not Taken **
SG1.10.14.The Shroud *
SG1.10.18.Family Ties
SG1.10.19.Dominion *
SG1.10.20.Unending **
Atlantis.01.01.Rising (Part 1)
Atlantis.01.02.Rising (Part 2)
Atlantis.01.03.Hide and Seek *
Atlantis.01.04.Thirty-Eight Minutes
Atlantis.01.07.Poisoning the Well
Atlantis.01.08.Underground
Atlantis.01.10.The Storm (Part 1)
Atlantis.01.11.The Eye (Part 2)
Atlantis.01.12.The Defiant One
Atlantis.01.15.Before I Sleep **
Atlantis.01.16.The Brotherhood
Atlantis.01.17.Letters from Pegasus
Atlantis.01.19.The Siege (Part 1)
Atlantis.01.20.The Siege (Part 2)
Atlantis.02.01.The Siege (Part 3)
Atlantis.02.03.Runner
Atlantis.02.04.Duet **
Atlantis.02.05.Condemned *
Atlantis.02.06.Trinity *
Atlantis.02.07.Instinct (Part 1) *
Atlantis.02.08.Conversion (Part 2) *
Atlantis.02.09.Aurora **
Atlantis.02.10.The Lost Boys (Part 1)
Atlantis.02.11.The Hive (Part 2)
Atlantis.02.12.Epiphany
Atlantis.02.14.Grace Under Pressure *
Atlantis.02.17.Coup D'etat *
Atlantis.02.18.Michael **
Atlantis.02.19.Inferno *
Atlantis.02.20.Allies (Part 1) *
Atlantis.03.01.No Man's Land (Part 2) *
Atlantis.03.02.Misbegotten (Part 3) *
Atlantis.03.03.Irresistible *
Atlantis.03.04.Sateda
Atlantis.03.05.Progeny (Part 1) *
Atlantis.03.06.The Real World (Part 2) *
Atlantis.03.07.Common Ground *
Atlantis.03.08.McKay and Mrs. Miller **
Atlantis.03.10.The Return (Part 1) **
Atlantis.03.11.The Return (Part 2) **
Atlantis.03.12.Echoes *
Atlantis.03.14.Tao of Rodney ***
Atlantis.03.15.The Game **
Atlantis.03.16.The Ark *
Atlantis.03.17.Sunday *
Atlantis.03.18.Submersion *
Atlantis.03.19.Vengeance
Atlantis.03.20.First Strike (Part 1) **
Atlantis.04.01.Adrift (Part 2) **
Atlantis.04.02.Lifeline (Part 3) **
Atlantis.04.05.Travelers
Atlantis.04.06.Tabula Rasa *
Atlantis.04.08.The Seer
Atlantis.04.09.Miller's Crossing
Atlantis.04.10.This Mortal Coil (Part 1) *
Atlantis.04.11.Be All My Sins Remember'd (Part 2) *
Atlantis.04.12.Spoils of War (Part 3) *
Atlantis.04.13.Quarantine
Atlantis.04.15.Outcast
Atlantis.04.16.Trio *
Atlantis.04.17.Midway **
Atlantis.04.18.The Kindred (Part 1) *
Atlantis.04.19.The Kindred (Part 2) *
Atlantis.04.20.The Last Man (Part 1) **
Atlantis.05.01.Search and Rescue (Part 2)
Atlantis.05.02.The Seed
Atlantis.05.04.The Daedalus Variations *
Atlantis.05.05.Ghost in the Machine *
Atlantis.05.06.The Shrine ***
Atlantis.05.08.The Queen **
Atlantis.05.10.First Contact (Part 1) *
Atlantis.05.11.The Lost Tribe (Part 2) *
Atlantis.05.14.The Prodigal
Atlantis.05.15.Remnants
Atlantis.05.16.Brain Storm **
Atlantis.05.17.Infection
Atlantis.05.18.Identity
Atlantis.05.19.Vegas *
Atlantis.05.20.Enemy at the Gate *
10/12/09
WTF?! That's one of the worst episodes in the whole franchise. And there are other poor episodes on that list(Family Ties, Citizen Joe and so on). You need to be more selective. And it amuses me to see you describe the Ori arc as boring and then leave out "Camelot", which contains one of the top 3 space battles in Stargate history.
10/12/09
Only two stars?! Are you mad man, thats the best episode of any of the series! Mostly because of Oneil and Teal'c playing golf through the wormhole.
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10/12/09
Only two stars?!"
Oops... you're right. That *was* supposed to be 3 stars. I agree it's one of the absolute very best eps.
As for the other people's comments, everyone's tastes are a little different. I like eps that are character oriented or story oriented or simply very funny. Some eps in my list are not particularly good in the first or last category, but are important for someone who has never seen the show to understand some bigger issues.
Citizen Joe is a funny ep which summarizes the past and, more importantly for SGU, gives some basis for the communication stones.
I make no claims that my list is the best or most accurate list that could be compiled. It's simply *my* list.
10/13/09
For Atlantis, just watch season 4- it had the best stories and character development, and Weir was gone- she dragged the first 3 seasons down. not to mention, I have no idea why anyone liked Dr. Carson Beckett. I was much happier with Jewel Staite in the infirmary.
10/15/09
10/15/09
Second is the utter dearth of non-human lifeforms. While I would love to see a more diverse (and creative) array of life, when we do see non-human life it sticks out as an awkward reminder of what the show is sorely missing, and then that alien life is quickly forgotten by the next episode.
I do like the many lighthearted episodes, and on that level it may work, but it didn't make sense that aliens we have never seen before are so friendly and working with SG-1 side by side. It felt like a Star Trek:Voyager episode that they never filmed, so they just changed some names and shot it as SG-1.
10/15/09
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They would:
1) Have some one high up talk to her, my guess would be the wife of the President.
2) If she won't shut up and then goes to the press they go to the editor's publisher. ,(Like the New York Times was told to sit on a story for over a year by the Bush Admin)
3) She puts it out on the Internet.,
Go into discrediting mood. "Right, we have bases on other planets and the Senator walked through a "Stargate" and ended up on an ancient Space ship. Tin foil hat time!"
The late Senator's wife has a drinking problem and sadly she has been overcome by grief after the tragic crash of her Husband and daughter last month.
4) Give part of the real story to someone credible and then show a component of the story as totally forged. ,This is called the "Look at the Kerning Technique" used by the right wing to destroy Dan Rather in the Bush TANG 60 minutes show. They gave a real story to someone but delivered it on a bogus document. Then if they want to destroy the real story they reveal the forged nature of the document or the UN-credible nature of the source.
When we wanted a war the Yellowcake documents were faked. We attacked Valerie Plame and her husband when they revealed this. When we wanted intelligence for the war we took the word of "Curveball" an alcoholic known liar friend of Chalabi and inflated his words to gospel truth via Judith Miller. Doug Feith found this "Curveball" info and didn't bother to use the data from the CIA that said his intelligence was flawed because the guy was a known liar.
This is how it is down in the real world, use the same techniques in the Star Gate world for realism that will ground that part of the story so the other stuff seems more real.
Again, I'm available to punch up scripts!
10/11/09
And let's not forget "Wormhole Extreme"! :p
Best cover EVAH! "She's nuts! That's just a TV show!"
10/11/09
Right now I'm watching Torchwood and I'm getting tired of them giving amnesia pills to people all the time.
10/11/09
10/11/09
They also "set up" that she drinks a lot, so you could see how that could be used to attack her.
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10/11/09
It really does feel like people just want to find a reason not to like it. Doesn't matter what the reason is, they just want one.
I liked it; not quite as gritty as BSG but still better than the campfest that was the last few seasons of SG1 abd SGA.
10/12/09
Either way, I really liked the way it was dealt with. It's an interesting way of exploring a character with some degree of religious faith as well as a very elegant way of doing a first contact story. Plus, they get full marks for Scott not mentioning what he saw to anyone.
10/12/09
It was too vague to be an actual living entity. If that was what they were going for, I think they would have been a little more explicit.
I think the problem that everyone has with the priest and whirlwind is twofold:
1) BSG just ended and was pretty popular. There are a whole lot of similarities between BSG and SGU, especially since SGU doesn't look or feel like the SG1 and SG:A. Whether that difference is good or bad, it is far too early to tell. But it is noticeable. The similarities are grating since the shows weren't separated by more than one season.
People made the ST:Voyager jokes too, but that was just because of the premise of people being lost in a distant galaxy with no chance of getting home. The comparisons died out pretty quickly because that was the only real conenction.
2) Previously, SG was a pretty hard science type of show. The whole premise is that there are no gods, just advanced technology and the liars that use it to enslave people through religion. It is a pretty big shift for them to have the religious aspect so ambiguous. When McKay was hallucinating Carter when he was trapped under the ocean, it was very clear to the viewer that it was a hallucination and even clear to McKay. The writers put that in. Here they seem to have deliberately left that out.
10/12/09
10/11/09
I enjoyed Eli and his reference to Planet of the Apes and also the medic knocking out LDP. She rocks. I disliked the religious references and skipped that section.
I will definitely keep watching SGU but I am only giving Flash Forward one more week to pick up the pace or it's toast.
10/11/09
10/11/09
I guess that is why I appreciate my husband because I can say things like, "I'll buy that for a dollar!" "Daddy would have got us Uzis." or "There can only be one!" and I don't get the dreaded blank stare.
I also appreciated that Eli was trying to put some levity in a tense situation. It fit well with his character.
10/11/09
Although my curiosity was peaked wondering which whiskey the priest drank himself (nearly) to death was. Because I'd imagine it to be quite yummy stuff, this being the case.
10/11/09
10/11/09
I wonder how long that "safety" will last for, or if the crew will find themselves stuck.
Overall, I look forward to what's next, and enjoyed seeing conflicts between the characters — like Rush being kicked in the back — which were reminiscent of Daniel exploding at O'Neill or holding a grudge against Teal'c at some points.
Funny connection: does anyone remember Stand and Deliver? I didn't see it but apparently, James Edward Olmos (of BSG fame) and Lou Diamond Philips are both leads in it. Seeing as how SGU is sometimes called "Battlestargate Universe", that's a fun piece of trivia.
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I also like the diversity. It's nice to see a Latino in charge for a change and not be some stereotype.
The creepy doctor with his own agenda whose actions set the whole thing in motion is interesting. Having him be the person that everyone is depending on for help and knowledge keeps us guessing. Can he really tell who is and isn't a cylon? I mean, did he really use the comm stones and get cleared for command from O'Neil?
Have I driven the comparison into the ground yet? :)
I think the reason they had Eli keep going back to the same joke was to show just how nervous he was.
10/11/09
"I liked this episode of Battlestar Galactica."
LOL.
10/11/09