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**jelgate** · 21 February 2009, 04:37 AM

I would be happy to contribute to this. And for those of you who live the US, you currently wacth Sanctuary for All legally at SciFi.com. It seems like a really good idea. And shouldn't we spilit up Revelations. It would make the time longer

**JanSam** · 21 February 2009, 09:19 AM

Cool RoX thanks for starting this up *tries control withdrawal shakes*

**LizzieAnne** · 21 February 2009, 10:30 AM

Nice idea.

**EvenstarSRV** · 21 February 2009, 12:12 PM

Awesome idea, I'm in!

From what I've seen, both Sanctuary for All and Fata Morgana are now available on SciFi.com and Hulu, and hopefully they'll put the others back up eventually.

**jelgate** · 21 February 2009, 01:20 PM

Originally posted by EvenstarSRV View Post

Awesome idea, I'm in!

From what I've seen, both Sanctuary for All and Fata Morgana are now available on SciFi.com and Hulu, and hopefully they'll put the others back up eventually.

Briangate who is mod at SciFi Forum said they would be putting up more episodes of SGA and Sanctuary. Now when that will be I don't know. I am all ready as I watched Sanctuary for All earlier today for this thread

**jckfan55** · 22 February 2009, 09:39 AM

Great idea RoX. Now I just need to get back my Sanctuary tape that I foolishly

lent out.

**KatG** · 26 February 2009, 12:44 PM

Looking forward to the discussion.

**RealmOfX** · 26 February 2009, 12:46 PM

Well it's Friday here in Aus and I'd kick off the discussion myself BUT I haz not got around to rewatching the eps yet

But I will soon

I had a thought too, maybe people might consider getting watching parties together (for those that can view the eps on their computers) and have a realtime chat over IM and then visit the thread after.

**jelgate** · 26 February 2009, 08:27 PM

Technically Sanctuary for All is a two parter but they feel like two separate episodes. The first part deals with primarly with an abnormal that has tenticale and Will meeting the people at the Sanctuary and learning what this new world. Thier are a few subtle hints about Druitt in the first part but it deals primarly with Will and his adjusting to the Sanctuary. And thats a problem to me for the tone of episode changes as we progress. I find the first hour with Will and the abnormal boring while the 2nd hour with Druitt is action packed and character interaction. Fot the 2nd part is a lot about the Druitt/Helen and the mother daughter relationship of Helen/Ashley. It has a mixed action like Druitt fighting various people like Ashley or Helen or good characterization like exploring the Helen/Druitt relationship. Because I really don't care for how Will was introduced this pretty weak pilot but luckily the show gets better real fast.

**EvenstarSRV** · 26 February 2009, 09:38 PM

I agree that Sanctuary For All really felt like two separate episodes, the first part focusing on Will discovering the Sanctuary via the boy, and the other on Helen, Druitt, and Ashley. While laying the groundwork and backstory was important, it was unfortunate that the boy's part of the story was completely dropped after Druitt's arrival. I'm trying to resist webisodes comparisons until that week's discussion, but I think the TV pilot was weaker than the webisodes pilot in this area.

That said, I liked that we saw Will's life before meeting Helen, that he had some sort of normal life before he gets caught up with all the Sanctuary craziness. I laughed when Helen hit him with the car, and I liked her small smile in response to Will's remark about monster.com.

I enjoyed the fight scenes between Ashley and Druitt, and really enjoyed Will and Helen's conversation on the roof, especially Helen's comments about being cold and having her whole life ahead of her. And I liked seeing that Helen really can be almost coldly manipulative in order to get what she wants, playing on Will's emotions to get him to join her team.

The confrontation between Helen and Druitt was great, and I liked the emotional beat he had upon first seeing Helen, despite his madness and intentions. Though having seen the rest of the episodes, I am puzzled about his 'they Five they will come' line, and wonder if perhaps the writers hadn't really defined who the Five were at this point.

Though I enjoyed the scene, the flashback to 1888 at the end felt a little jarring and I think I would have preferred for Helen's history with Druitt to have been left a mystery for a bit longer. It just felt odd for an intensely private person like Helen to share such a deep secret, even if provoked.

A bit slow and uneven, but all in all I enjoyed the episode, though I was was quite happy to see the stories get a bit tighter and better paced.

**KatG** · 27 February 2009, 05:03 AM

I enjoyed this much more the second time around. I do agree that the first half moved a little slow, but I think it was necessary for us to understand Will's psyche. The second half was much better, as we get into the Sanctuary, see the mother/daughter dynamics between Helen/Ashley, and find out about Helen's past as well as how she's been a part of Will's life for quite some time.

As for her reveal about Druitt, if I remember correctly, she didn't actually tell Will about her relationship with him and him being Ashley's father, Will figured it out (using those highly advanced intuitive skills he has), and Helen only confirmed it. Which since Will stipulated "no secrets" as a term for staying, I figure she must have wanted him to work for her very badly.

Did anyone else notice that the observation room where they held the boy was the same as the one used for the SGC?

**LizzieAnne** · 27 February 2009, 10:20 AM

When I watched it the first time around, I missed quite a bit as my mind was too busy comparing it to the Webisodes and deciding which shots were green screen and so on. I appreciated the shots much more this time. The look of the Sanctuary as the car pulled up to the gates and the long shots at night. Very atmospheric.

They introduced all the characters very well, giving us a little glimpse into their lives.

I loved the setting up of Will’s character. Seeing his girlfriend (I loved her comments and their conversation) ….. learning little snippets of his past… how he struggled with his job at the Agency and how he’s treated by the Police Department. It all adds up to why he is ultimately tempted to join Helen.

I really liked the scene between Helen and Will on the roof; his doubts, her determination.

Then there’s the interaction between the Big Guy and Helen, showing how natural they are together and how much she respects his opinion. The little bit of Henry and Ashley was good…they seemed like brother and sister and then showing her role as the capable weapons girl as she dealt with the gun dealer and her toughness as she dealt with the attack by Druitt. It’s interesting being reminded how in the beginning Druitt was the bad guy. I’ve kind of got used to him being redeemed.

The only thing I didn’t really like too much was the story of the boy…I would have preferred a different abnormal.

It's always a difficult task getting a balance between setting the scene and introducing the characters in a first episode but all in all I think they did a pretty good job.

**EvenstarSRV** · 27 February 2009, 11:26 AM

Originally posted by KatG View Post

As for her reveal about Druitt, if I remember correctly, she didn't actually tell Will about her relationship with him and him being Ashley's father, Will figured it out (using those highly advanced intuitive skills he has), and Helen only confirmed it. Which since Will stipulated "no secrets" as a term for staying, I figure she must have wanted him to work for her very badly.

True, I guess I wanted the scene with that kind of weighty information to be stretched out a bit more than just the couple of minutes it was given. Plus we do see later that Helen does continue to keep secrets from Will, so on reflection if felt kinda off to me that Helen so easily shared or confirmed this one.

Did anyone else notice that the observation room where they held the boy was the same as the one used for the SGC?

The chair the boy was in also looked familiar, I think it was used in the Shroud.

**Mandysg1** · 27 February 2009, 11:55 AM

Ok, I finally rewatched SFA (procrastination is my middle name

) and I agree, I did notice more things this time around. The first part was a little slow, but indeed necessary for the introduction, not only of Will, but of the mysterious Helen Magnus.

The second part with John, was just as mesmerizing this time around. His inherit evil and meeting/ blackmailing Helen was as gripping as the first time. I do wonder though, when he 'sings' the part about "the immortal five" and then the warning about the five coming after Helen, if the writers changed their minds about this group. As it seems only 2 are immortal, and John recieved his 'part-immortality' if you will, from Helen. I aslo wonder what John was dying from, when Helen 'cured' him the first time with her blood. The whole exchange leaves me to believe that John may not have become the ripper until after he recieved Helen's blood, but I could be wrong.

I also enjoyed the rooftop scene again, the interactions with Helen and Will, and him learning the truth about the past. I thought it was a very pivotal scene with Helen telling Will, it's up to him if he would be willing to help the 'monsters' after learning it was one of them that had killed his mother.

The last scene also had me wondering, will Helen comply with Will's stipulation, that she tell him everything, and not keep secrets from him? For me I think Helen will always hold something back from Will.

Thanks for the fun thread RoX, to keep the jitters away

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