Topic: Stargate: SG1 Season 6

[6pairsofshoes]

Why does the landscape on every planet resemble the Pacific Northwest?

Redemption.
1)  Tea'lc gets to bond with his son and the shirts save money on not having to pay an actress to portray Tea'lc's dead wife, as the corpse was neatly wrapped so no expenses there.

2)  Alien guy with nalquia or whatever, gets redeemed as new Daniel Jackson member of the group.  Ha.  And no bleeding heart liberal diatribes.  I suspect the new actor will be all the more refreshing as he's an alien.  Shanks manages to continue to find work in that genre.  I'd have to see him elsewhere to see if his less than stellar performance in SG1 is due to a lack of talent or poor direction.

3)  Earth is saved from Anubis' plots for another episode.  He's so goofy.  Anderson has the right response, send someone to tell him to "tone it down a bit."

[8ullfrog]

Funny enough, his actual name is more alien than his character, Jonas Quinn. Actor's name? Corin Nemec.

I liked how laid back Jonas was, he's still a bleeding heart, but he seems to have some tact somewhere inside him.

Michael Shanks played a batshit insane spy on burn notice, sort of a "path Michael Weston could end up on". I found the character a lot of fun, and a polar opposite to Daniel Jackson.

Naquadria is insanely more dangerous than Naquadah, but you kind of got to see that with Danny boy. The poo explodes if you sneeze. Honestly, considering the three factions are less than friendly, I don't get why Jonas people don't just relocate to another planet anyway? Their planet is a giant bless'ed bomb, and the other two nation states despise them. Evacuate through the gate, have some left behind forces with either old age or terminal illness bury the gate, and leave the rest of the gits to die!

Eh, I don't much like those people. Jonas is pretty cool, but considering how fast he learns, the rest of his people are dead weight. That COULD have made them hyper-competent and a worthy rival to earth, but nope! Bickering Dipshits!

I never liked Ryac, he only causes problems for teal'c. Most of the poo seems like Bratac should solve it though, and leave Teal'c the golly alone. SG-1 has a great track record at this point of killing system lords, no one should be bogging them down with side quests!

I particularly like O'Neill's objection to a ruski teammate "Over my rotting corpse... Sir." We already learned that the ruski's suck at stargating in prior episodes.

Russia does kind of have them over a barrel at this point, the US is now leasing the stargate from Russia, Finders Keepers.

Rodney got a short reprieve, then gets sent back to Antarctica. Will he ever find a way out of his punishment? Not really.

It's weird, I really, really like the A plot in this two parter, but the Teal'c portions sucked! The reason this is a two parter, and the whole reason the teal'c subplot was added was that the splodey gate script was too long for one episode.

I think you'll like Jonas, and I'm eager to read what you think of him. His one sin I think, is that he dips fries in his milkshake. I understand some people like this, and they are wrong.

[6pairsofshoes]

Jonas is fine.  Kind of nerdy and green behind the ears, but basically ok.  A good deal more palatable than Daniel, dig my sideburns, Jackson.  At first it was strange to not see him there, but after an episode or two it became a relief.

Frozen:  3 million year old woman thawed out in Antartica (still drop dead beautiful) is telepathic and heals like the empath on Star Trek.  She infects everyone with an incurable virus and heals almost everyone but O'Neill, who has to go to Tokra to get a temporary symbiote.  No more figuring out the disease and curing it for Earth doc.s, no.  Gotta get snakey guys to figure out medical science for us.  Huh?  I guess it's analogous to our gut flora.

The prior episode with flooding sectors of mother ship was kind of entertaining, but one of the weaker episodes.  Run around inside a ship and run into some problems, including ninjas (WTF?) that are apparently leftover Jaffa that Anubis (off throwing his Baritone voice somewhere else for the episode) caused to remain to create some problems.  That was one goofy episode.  They escape on these rather sweet gliders and then there's no followup on what the air force does with the tech.  Lots of balls dropped here.

[8ullfrog]

yes, the ninjas. that happened.

The BTS on the flooding episode was amazing, and I want the giant pool they used.

the tok'ra don't really have medical science, they just stick the snake in your head and they're like an extra liver, filter out all the diseases. I always wondered why the Goaul'd had the healing device when they heal everything. I mean the sarcophagus makes sense, coming back from death is a great trick to have in the "I am a god" toolbox, but the Goaul'd aren't exactly benevolent healers.

The Antarctic episode was ironically very expensive, AND a way to cut costs, since they're not running around all over the place.

As to the gliders, they don't really need them anymore, they already built the X-302, and the death gliders are a coin flip on the thing killing you while you're piloting, like the X-301 tried to kill O'neill and Teal'c. I mean I'm sure they tore them down at Area 51, but they were fairly crappy to begin with.

I think they also sold captured loot to the Tokra, but I could be mistaken there.

Speaking of the Tokra, why the hell don't they have a sarcophagus? Instead of letting the LIVING ANCIENT kill herself healing the team, they should have sent in the tokra with a sarcophagus, we already know that the thing fits through the gate.

Funny enough, the episodes you watched finish off the first disc of season 6.

[6pairsofshoes]

Pod people in the Pacific Northwest building a Gou'ald ship at night on second shift.  Thwarted by the trio while O'Neill takes the day off to recuperate.

Then O'Neill gets tortured while guest star Shanks blathers new age bs about ascension.  As if O'Neill wants to be the Virgin Mary or something.  Nope.  My desire to hit Shanks with a cream pie in the face has not abated despite his absence for a couple episodes.  Basically, he hangs around blathering morality while not lifting a finger to do anything to help.  Someone should explain to him that "if you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem."  The remaining three figure out how to help.    Shanks sticks around to babble more.  O'Neill, tired from his efforts, goes to sleep.

[8ullfrog]

Nightwalkers -

That was fun because they dressed up like matrix characters and no one mentioned it. This is another one of those "SG-1 dropped the ball and no one notices it".

Being host to a goauld symbiote gives you the spider sense when someone else is snaked. Carter does it, Teal'c does it, it's a critical bless'ed skill when anyone can be an infiltrator.

In this case, the town is full of blank snakes. They become a threat when the residents fall asleep. These snakes are easily killed with... I think it was an antibiotic?

So give each airman (what the air force calls it's people) a go pill (amphetamine) Snake him for an hour, hit him with doxycycline, and flush the snake. Not only does this make the soldier able to detect the snakes, it allows them to operate the goaul'd only technology, like the healing devices, or even the brain melter hand device. It would make every soldier in the SGC more effective!  But nope, they kill them all, like a monster movie where you push back the invaders.


Abyss-
I really liked the O'neill in weirdo prison episode, but I feel like they bent the scale. Danny went nuts after a month of sarcophagus exposure, and it feels like O'neill only booked a long weekend in the Baal day spa. I mean, it's not much fun, he's stuck in a spider web being repeatedly stabbed with knives, and he was already a POW in Iraq, but they mention the danger of his personality slipping after about 15 minutes.

I do like how O'neill is bitchy with useless ghost Danny, it really made it feel like he had actual contempt for shanks. When offered worthless squid Godhood, O'neill is like "golly that noise".

I especially liked the selective gravity prison cells. While I'm sure that's energy intensive, it's a great way to prevent escape - Turn the door into a skylight.

In the next episode, you'll learn why I hate Jonas people, while liking Jonas!

[6pairsofshoes]

I watched two episodes last night but was tired.
Shadow Play:  curious interaction with Jonas' old planet guys.  They were not trustworthy but they had naquadriah or whatever.  Old professor was schizophrenic from overexposure.  That didn't seem to have much of a resolution, but served as bonding exercise for Jonas and the rest of SG1.

The Other Guys was pretty funny.  I really liked the trio of goofy scientists MIT Professor, Math Professor at some other research institution, etc.   All thrown into the mix of a ruse meant to smoke out tarface (Anubis).  Too bad they lost the Toquah guy in the process.

I'll probably watch some more tonight.  I have to drive 7 hours tomorrow to go to a funeral in SoCal.  Oh the joys of the 5.  Fields and fields of cowpoo.  Ick.  I think it's too early for the almonds to be in bloom, sadly.

[6pairsofshoes]

Allegiance.  Everyone at one another's throats until they figure out that the invisible man has been screwing with them.  He's killed and everyone is best friends.  Ta da.

Cure.   Mystery drug makes everything better by destroying immune systems and creating an addiction.  Synthesized from bloat mobile Tokr'a queen who looks like a big tick about to explode with a lizard bitey head, suddenly everyone has cause for reflection.  More new age nonsense.  Tokr'a queen inhabits funny synthesized voice lady Tokr'a and sacrifices herself so the boneheads can have a cure for their goofy purple liquid.  Everyone lives happily ever after.

[8ullfrog]

The Other Guys might be my favorite. I mean Mobius Pt. 2 is fantastic, but you're not there yet. Mobius Pt. 2 is like a love letter to the entire series, going back to the pilot.

But the other guys is bless'ed insane. First, we don't know for sure if it isn't a fantasy, for gods sake the Tokra has a Batleth on the wall, and the two numbskulls are star trek fans!

John Billingsly DID go on to star trek in the ENTERPRISE series. I never mean to do a rewatch on that... and it hasn't happened yet. He didn't get to play a Vulcan though, he played a denobulan. A race that had never appeared in star trek before. Or since!

The gun handling by the morons is downright terrifying to anyone who understands even the most basic of gun safety. Neither of them should have access to firearms EVER.

Did you ever notice Jack and Teal'c always sit in the same spots when they are captured?

Nerd Jaffa are introduced, the concept of redshirting is described, AND THEN IT HAPPENS TO THE NERD JAFFA. This episode is too fun, everyone turn in your paychecks.

The vets of SG-1 hate the nerds, Jonas just smiles. Keep being awesome Jonas!

The end of the episode is a typical SG-1 run and gun, and O'neill stupidly mocks the Jaffa as they escape through the gate and almost dies. It's a great beat, but yeah, that could have been his ass.

So yeah, super fun one.

ALLEGIENCE

I didn't like it. Too many recycled notes, and every time earth gets an off earth base, it gets bent up like in this episode.

CURE

Yeah, these backwoods retards didn't create a panacea, they invented permanent methadone. If the Tokra don't solve this, the entire planet is doomed. GREAT MOVE MORONS!

The Tokra do solve this though, and the Jaffa trade dependency on goauld larva for the drug - Tretonin.

The next one is fun, but you've got heavier thoughts on hand. I'm sorry you keep finding yourself at funerals.


I don't know where in SoCal you'll be, but I know the 5 like the back of my hand. golly the LA section, where you have to get off and recalculate another route, I've done it many times, and I'll never enjoy it.

You'll probably not get down this far, I'm about as close to the last stop as you can get, here in Imperial Beach.

I normally give visitors directions to an In-n-out or a Rally's, but you seem to have a heavier destination on hand.

We don't have a car now, but I drove that Mazda to too many funerals.

If you get as far south as Oceanside or Encinitas, I can recommend and ultra local burger joint, Angelos. The oceanside one serves beer, I believe. They also do greek food, for some reason. They even have that spinning meat thing.

Fine dining will never be my destination, but holes in the wall fascinate me. Give me a good chili fries place over an upscale steakhouse any day.

I am sorry for your loss. May the rest of this year be bereft of black clothing for you.

[6pairsofshoes]

The funeral/wake was in Sta. Monica.  I stayed in various places, to visit family and with my friend whose husband had died.  It's hard to know what to do.  I cooked and washed lots of dishes, tried to offer comfort and distraction.  It was a beautiful remembrance service, much of it orchestrated by the deceased who knew it was coming and set up a playlist, picked out a headstone, and determined what kind of food they should have.  It was sad and a nice occasion to remember a guy who was really special.  I feel bad for my friend as they had a good marriage and she's going to have her hands full going forward.

I have never been to San Diego, but always wanted to visit because there is such great architecture there.  And the entire southern part of the state has landscapes of extraordinary beauty.  I drove along the Pacific Coast Highway and through canyons.  The rock formations are so intensely beautiful in their austere eroded way.  I made good time driving, both ways, which, in itself was a miracle.

[6pairsofshoes]

Prometheus & Unnatural Selection.  Silly plot about secret ship under development under Nevada, neatly elided into a need to fix time machine intended to defeat replicators, only to find they've evolved human characteristics.  Sure.  Out of a universe of millions of creatures, they have to look and think like humans.  Gak.

Then, Sight Unseen.  Big bugs flying around an alien device that looks like a giant bug zapper.  Again.  WTF?  These explorers don't have the sense that God gave a goat.  Find a strange device.  Don't know what it does?  Let's rely on our primitive measuring devices to assure us that it's not dangerous and then bring it back to base on the off chance that it won't cause chaos for an entire hour's worth of plot development.  When I took French, we had to read a book for children called "The Stupids Step Out."   This reminds me of that.

[8ullfrog]

Balboa park and the Midway are probably the two tourist traps I'd say are worth visiting. The Del Mar fairgrounds, and Del Mar in general, suck.

The zoo and wild animal park are obviously world class, but I can't recommend them solely on price. The fireworks show at SeaWorld is ironically best viewed from a neighboring marina. I haven't been there in decades.

The entire area around the airport has apparently been destroyed since I last went there, which is a damn shame, there was an excellent tri-level restaurant experience.

Burgers and quick grab for under $20, Anthony's fish grotto, a seafood place where I don't eat seafood so can't review, $20-60, and then a Steakhouse I couldn't afford to visit was $60+ City did all three dirty with a lease pull. They want to build that area out like crazy, it isn't going to happen.

Those have all literally been destroyed. I imagine the one other burger place which has a roofside seating area is still open because that was the place the harbor tours operate out of is still in existence, but I don't know for sure. Mom liked their clam chowder in bread bowl, I once again, don't eat ocean dwellers.

So Prometheus & Unnatural selection.
PROMETHEUS
I liked it, we're reminded the NID is a credible threat, and they introduce Earth's first space ship fairly well. I also liked that a lot of the ship either flat out doesn't work or was copy and pasted from a Goauld ship, Earth has to walk before they run.

UNNATURAL SELECTION

So the replicators are froze in a time bubble. Can they shoot into the bubble? Kill the gits while they are stuck in statue mode? We see another BSG actor in this one, ironically NOT a cylon.

SIGHT UNSEEN

You're completely right, this episode is an illustration of the stupidity of the program. Maybe DON'T bring random space doohickeys through the gate to earth?

We spend entirely too much time on if Jonas is crazy or not, and it drags the episode down.

On the Plus side, Hammond did NOT immediately jump to "you've gone nuts" He locks down the base to the fullest extent possible. It's not his fault it doesn't work, but they didn't even consider the possible threat here.

I go over the Coronado bridge every time I hit the doctors office, and those harbor tours go under it!

Apparently a lot of people go to La Jolla, and I don't get it. It's a traffic choked rich people hole. Hospitals are decent, but no one WANTS to go to the hospital.

I don't know how far afield rally's goes, but that's a good fast food joint that's small, and their prices are decent. In-n-out I'd guess you've seen a time or two, I like their double double animal style, and then animal style fries. From the supposedly secret menu.

Uh, I didn't mean to jump "tourist stuff, Stargate, Tourist stuff, a copy and paste correction did that, and I'm too dumb to fix it.

[8ullfrog]

A drunk did that yesterday, a young marine was killed. I'm glad you found your way out of that.

The zoo is fantastic, I just don't think the rates are fair. Wild animal park, I'd like to go again, it feels like you're on another planet. Sadly, real life restricts one from fun.

Honestly, the city, I'd say comicon really is the crown jewel, and I never want to go again. I heard the top gun restaurant burned down, they had good sauce.

Google says they recovered. I haven't seen a peli in many, many years, but I can walk my dog to egrets. He's not a fan.

[6pairsofshoes]

The Salk Institute, designed by Louis Kahn, is a gorgeous research complex in La Jolla.  Americans, like their British counterparts, have amusing habits of selectively pronouncing Spanish names as they feel fit, choosing to pronounce some words in the Spanish manner while using all kinds of imaginative hybrids for others.  That's a rare case of proper pronunciation.

We once were driving back to our BnB in Yorkshire when I asked my husband why that car headed toward us was on the wrong side of the road when we quickly realized that we were in the wrong.  Fortunately, it was late in a small town with little traffic.  We never got so adventurous as to attempt this on a multi-lane expressway. 

Scripps is Michigan newspaper money turned philanthropic.  There are many institutions, including a prominent women's club and a liberal arts college, that bear that name.  Ellen Scripps had a habit of hiring distinguished progressive architects, so the related buildings tend to be noteworthy.  Here's a link:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Browning_Scripps

I watched two more episodes last night but I was tired, so I'll have to go back and look up the titles and comment on them later.

[6pairsofshoes]

Metamorphosis.  Instead of turning into giant beetles, evil Gou'ald N. lady with scary eye makeup has machine that can deform you while giving you a third eye on the side of your head while giving you the power to close cages with your mind.  Or she can mess with your DNA so your cells disintegrate into a puddle of seawater.  Her subjects finally rebel.  Carter is saved from the big puddle and O'Neill is grateful.  Good lord.  The makeup people got to have fun with this one.

Disclosure:  Greatest hits compilation with Senator Kinsey being his usual dickish self only to be shut down by Special Guest Appearance by Thor of the Asgard.  Also guest starring Jules-Pierre Mao of protomolecule fame via the Expanse, as the Chinese ambassador.  I guess he decided after the UN started running Earth, to move into profiteering with little understood alien technologies.  Thanks a bunch.