Sanctuary For All (101-102)

[majorsal]

The five, the others, they'll come.

thank you. i couldn't get one word he said, and neither could mom.

[EvenstarSRV]

Ah, now that I knew what I was looking for I played it back a few times. He quite clearly said

"Only the chosen left alive, immortals all the holy five."

Ah, thanks for that, I only remembered the last part. So the Five were chosen, I wonder why or by whom? Hmmm....

I thought the clearest thing we saw from Will's memories was the image of arms grabbing his ankles and pulling him away/outside. At first I thought it was the "monster" but by the end I had a strong suspicion it was Bigfoot, yanking him out of the house and away from danger.

And if we're going just off the image of teeth in our comparison of the end monster and Will's monster, well, I agree with ann_sgfan, it's not much to go on.

I don't have caps, but I thought there was a few shots in Will's flashbacks that showed the face of the monster, with the big teeth, dark eyes and a kinda wispy outline. The monster Will and Bigfoot fought looked a lot like that monster to me, but I'd have to watch the scenes again to be sure. I know when I saw the monster in the cage Druitt put Ashley in, my first thought was 'oh! that's looks like Will's monster!'

I think it would also make sense story-wise for it to be the same monster, having Will come face-to-face with the thing he'd recanted seeing until Magnus showed him that he did not imagine it.

[tagger]

As much as I loved it, I did see what some critics have been saying about the pacing being rather slow. They had a lot of stuff to set-up and several storylines to handle, but now that that's done they can hopefully pick up the pace and streamline the storytelling a bit.

I can't wait to see more.

Ditto for me. Some slow bits, but all for the sake of setting up more story IMO.

Hard for me to tell how I would feel without the webisode backstory.

Also, it is hard for me to be objective since I want everyone involved to succeed. I want to like the show.

I liked it! I think it was a good premiere, and to be honest, much better than I expected for a premiere. I want to know more about the characters. It will probably take a few episodes before Sanctuary hits its stride, but that only makes sense.

So far, so good!

Totally agree!

I was very pleased with the premiere tonight. Very nice way to kick off this series, and there were so many familiar faces. I can't wait until next week.

I loved that they used so many of the original cast!! If you make it in Hollywood, bring the original risk-takers with you! YAY for loyalty!!

I loved the opening scene - the sunset, then over the city, and into darkness over the Sanctuary. Beautiful!

I also loved the enormity of the Sanctuary - both the interior and exterior shots.

My first thought when I saw how GINORMOUS the Sanctuary was?

Spoiler:

How the heck could I clean and decorate that HUGE space.

Yes, I have a smaller house for a reason...

[tagger]

I liked the blood borne clues on longevity.

I'm betting :

Spoiler:

the five are college friends who discovered longevity together. I get the longevity is blood borne - centrifuged and all, but still don't know if it is plasma or cell driven. Clues dropped like breadcrumbs.

[AGateFan]

I just watched this Sunday night after DVRing it. I really didnt have high expectations for the show, I was expecting a Torchwood type show (yes I know people like Torchwood, just not me). However I was pleasanty suprised and will make a point of watching it live next week.

The show seemed kind of like X-Files when x-files was a good episodic TV show. It also had me thinking of the X-Men. I kept thinking Tappings character was a professor Xaiver type. I thought the bad guy may have been a Magneto "all my mutant brothers shouldnt have to hide but should live free and take it too the annoying normals" type character. I was slightly let down by the JTR outcome but heck thats just one bad guy in a universe that will be brimming with them, I'm sure.

For the characters, I thought Tappings character (Magnus was it... ironic givin I think of her as Xaiver ; was fine. She didnt strike me as great or terrible, the higher pitch of the voice seemed forced like she was "trying" to do an accent... but doesnt Tapping actually have an accent? Anyway, I liked the character well enough. The main guy character Will was Daniel Jackson (the cool and likelable version of Daniel Jackson) made over (gosh I wonder which character Tapping preferred), so he immediatly won me over. The girl (no clue what her name is at this point) was BatGirl made over, but thankfully this show was better then that movie. I did expect a Geiko joke with the "butler" dude and it seems like they cut a few minutes introducing the Henry guy but they both seemed likeable too.

Anyway, it was better then my expectations and I look forward to seeing where they go with it.

[Chelle DB]

okay, my three fave scenes:
*after john takes ashley away to put her in the cage thingie with the monster, helen quickly goes to check the cameras to look for ash. amanda's acting grabbed me in! she's normally cool and collective, but in this scene she's tipping towards panicking. (((amanda)))
*the on the roof scene with helen and will. i loved the effects and you really felt like they were up there. you could even hear the wind blowing. but what i loved the most was the essence of helen's solitude.
*the ending scene with helen and will in her office. again, there was just something about the way this scene was played that spoke of helen's intimate relationship with solitude. she's got ashley, bigfoot, and henry, but she's ultimately very alone.
sally

That scene where Helen goes in search of Ashley on the security cameras was brilliantly played by Amanda. I'm not sure what she mumbled but it certainly was tense and panicked!
I agree with you about her loneliness. It's more of an intimate loneliness. But, she's not alone because she has Ashley, Henry, bigfoot and now Will...and the mermaid...they share something...a bond if you will. The mermaid knows about John and Helen's fear of him. I hope we see some more of that in future eps. That would have to be one of my fave scenes...the mermaid and Helen communicating telepathically!
Druitt just tickles me!! Christopher Heyerdahl plays him superbly! He's evil...more than in the webisodes...and to some degree that's awesome but I do miss his charm...especially towards Ashley...now he's happy to put er in mortal danger.

Ah, now that I knew what I was looking for I played it back a few times. He quite clearly said
"Only the chosen left alive, immortals all the holy five."

I thought the clearest thing we saw from Will's memories was the image of arms grabbing his ankles and pulling him away/outside. At first I thought it was the "monster" but by the end I had a strong suspicion it was Bigfoot, yanking him out of the house and away from danger.

The scene where Helen is holding and comforting a young Will, I thought they were out in the woods. I got the impression that Will and his mum wee camping and that's where the beast got his mum. And was that her we could hear screaming??? That scene is pretty cool...sad and touching and awesome!!

So the Five were chosen, I wonder why or by whom?

I was thinking that too. My theory is that Helen may have given immortality to John and that that "ability" combined with his own, created a time bomb!
I suspect that Helen got her curse from someone she treated after she initially treated John but before she got pregnant.
Druitt asked Helen if Ashley ever wondered where her "killer" instinct came from...I wonder if Ashley will be hit with a double whammy from her parents.
I wonder if Ashley is one of the five?

I liked the blood borne clues on longevity.
I'm betting :

Spoiler:

the five are college friends who discovered longevity together. I get the longevity is blood borne - centrifuged and all, but still don't know if it is plasma or cell driven. Clues dropped like breadcrumbs.

Whatever it is...it's in Helen's pure centrifuged blood.
So...why so many vials of blood?? Do they all contain Helen's blood? There were 8 vials...my guess is that they are not all Helen's but then why so many vials?? The mind boggles!!! Yay!!

[Naomi]

I don't like the show. I don't dislike the show. The show did not move me enough to experience any emotional extreme, good or bad. Overall, I thought that "Sanctuary for All" was a two hour version of the teaser commercials for the show. Very few bits of info in the episode that weren't mentioned in the commercials.

Helen Magnus seems to have the potential to be an interesting character. Christopher Heyerdahl's character is fascinating. Will, Ashley, and the lab guy, were pretty much caricatures, especially Ashley (I'm pretty, and I can kick butt!) and the lab guy who makes jokes (I'm a lab guy who makes jokes!). The munitions dealer, who had the least amount of screen time, seemed much more interesting. I just did not feel empathy, or sympathy, for the human main characters, monster du jour, or any of the other monsters.

Spoiler:

The first introduction of the little boy who was the main monster du jour was him killing a police officer who was trying to help him. So not endearing. Much, much later in the episode, the explanation is that the child cannot control his third arm. A murderous third arm with independent consciousness; anger management issues; and claws. or teeth or, something. The child is basically good, and the third arm is misunderstood. Okay...whatever.

I would probably watch other episodes of Sanctuary, because of my being a fan of Amanda Tapping, rather than anything I saw in the episode.

[ann_sgcfan]

Whatever it is...it's in Helen's pure centrifuged blood.
So...why so many vials of blood?? Do they all contain Helen's blood? There were 8 vials...my guess is that they are not all Helen's but then why so many vials?? The mind boggles!!! Yay!!

Helen may have to take "meds" as well due to her gift or curse. Only time will tell

Also She may have been preparing for John. She was aware John may have found them, or someone with his ability. The EM field fluctuated indicating someone had tried to get in, the working girl that was killed, the photo of the back of John's head from a security camera. So she may have made extra vials of her blood tainted them knowing that's what he would have want. Just a thought

[poundpuppy29]

Hey all I am a Sanctuary newbie did not watch the webisodes and I thought this show was awesome. I liked it better than the premire of Fringe which has grown on me after a few eps but not nearly as intralling as this show is for me.

I really like Helen she is elegant, intelligant and strong.

Will I like too and I see the reason for Daniel comparisons but I think it works.

Ashley seems cool too and loved the villian great villian

[sbz]

That scene where Helen goes in search of Ashley on the security cameras was brilliantly played by Amanda. I'm not sure what she mumbled but it certainly was tense and panicked!

She said "Bloody hell" (and interesting thing, when Druitt first appeared in the office Ashley said bloody hell - I thought it a nice beat because it's indicative of the fact that her mother does have this big influence on her, even if she is very pop-culture "Americanized"). That was my favourite scene too. It was when things really started to pick up and when we finally got past that... veneer Magnus keeps around herself.

The scene where Helen is holding and comforting a young Will, I thought they were out in the woods. I got the impression that Will and his mum were camping and that's where the beast got his mum. And was that her we could hear screaming??? That scene is pretty cool...sad and touching and awesome!! !

They were definitely outside once Magnus had him. But it looked like he was dragged out of a bed, not a sleeping bag.

My theory is that Helen may have given immortality to John and that that "ability" combined with his own, created a time bomb!

I thought using his ability damaged his brain and sorta made him crazy and Magnus's blood undid some of that damage thus prolonging his life.

I suspect that Helen got her curse from someone she treated after she initially treated John but before she got pregnant.

I definitely think it was an accident, that she didn't get together with a bunch of people (ie, The Five) and decide to do it. Though, maybe after it happened to her The Five decided they'd like to be immortal too? And maybe she agreed because even then the prospect of being alone forever was scarier than any thought that making them immortal could be a giant mistake.

Whatever it is...it's in Helen's pure centrifuged blood. So...why so many vials of blood?? Do they all contain Helen's blood? There were 8 vials...my guess is that they are not all Helen's but then why so many vials?? The mind boggles!!! Yay!!

I thought she had so many ready and waiting becasue she's been actively studying her longevity to try and undo it. I wouldn't think she had it all specifically for Druitt becasue she wasn't really expecting to have to deal with him again. She told Will she'd thougth he was gone for good. But then, the EM shield thingy kinda disproves that she really believed that though I see her as the kind of person who takes precautions "just in case."

[Mcfergeson]

I loved it. I never saw the webcast, but I still enjoyed it a great deal. Tapping was great as Magnus. Very mysterious. This is a great character for her to play now.

I also loved the spunky daughter, and the caveman/bigfoot-type servant that Magnus has working for her. I really liked the dark, gothic tone the series has overall.

Looking forward to seeing more.

[EvenstarSRV]

I liked the blood borne clues on longevity.

I'm betting :

Spoiler:

the five are college friends who discovered longevity together. I get the longevity is blood borne - centrifuged and all, but still don't know if it is plasma or cell driven. Clues dropped like breadcrumbs.

Whatever it is...it's in Helen's pure centrifuged blood.
So...why so many vials of blood?? Do they all contain Helen's blood? There were 8 vials...my guess is that they are not all Helen's but then why so many vials?? The mind boggles!!! Yay!!

My theory on Helen's blood and longevity (fair warning, a bit of biology technobable ahead. )

Spoiler:

Ever since I saw the spoiler about a Sanctuary character from Helen's past called James Crick, I'm inclined to think that Helen's longevity has some kind of genetic component. Maybe some mutation of a gene in her DNA that results in the production of an enzyme or polymerase that rebuilds the telomeres in her DNA, which I think would slow or halt the aging process. It could be this protein that she centrifuges and purifies to give to the others of The Five, which would then halt or slow their aging, effectively making them immortal.

Of course, this doesn't quite jive with the idea that Helen believes she'll outlive Ashley, since if it's genetic then there's a chance she passed on that mutation to her daughter. Maybe it's a recessive trait that Helen picked up from both her mother and father? Or more likely it's just the biologist in me hoping my theory turns out to be true.

She said "Bloody hell" (and interesting thing, when Druitt first appeared in the office Ashley said bloody hell - I thought it a nice beat because it's indicative of the fact that her mother does have this big influence on her, even if she is very pop-culture "Americanized").

I must be watching too many British films or something, because I find myself saying 'bloody hell' a lot and I'm quite Americanized.

I thought she had so many ready and waiting becasue she's been actively studying her longevity to try and undo it. I wouldn't think she had it all specifically for Druitt becasue she wasn't really expecting to have to deal with him again. She told Will she'd thougth he was gone for good. But then, the EM shield thingy kinda disproves that she really believed that though I see her as the kind of person who takes precautions "just in case."

I agree, I think Helen would take extra precautions even though she thought John was gone for good.

Although, since the EM shield was not in the webisodes, this may be a case, like Will saying he's more afraid of Bigfoot than of Alexi, where the dialog taken from the webisodes doesn't quite translate to the TV series because of the changes made.

[Chelle DB]

I don't like the show. I don't dislike the show. The show did not move me enough to experience any emotional extreme, good or bad. Overall, I thought that "Sanctuary for All" was a two hour version of the teaser commercials for the show. Very few bits of info in the episode that weren't mentioned in the commercials.
I would probably watch other episodes of Sanctuary, because of my being a fan of Amanda Tapping, rather than anything I saw in the episode.

You certainly aren't the only one who feels this way. My only recommendation is to give the following eps a chance to prove it's worth. I loved the premier but that's me...but I suspect that the episodes are only going to get better as they go on.

She said "Bloody hell" (and interesting thing, when Druitt first appeared in the office Ashley said bloody hell - I thought it a nice beat because it's indicative of the fact that her mother does have this big influence on her, even if she is very pop-culture "Americanized"). That was my favourite scene too. It was when things really started to pick up and when we finally got past that... veneer Magnus keeps around herself.
That's what I thought...it just wasn't clear enough...that or my ears aren't functioning right!!
They were definitely outside once Magnus had him. But it looked like he was dragged out of a bed, not a sleeping bag.
I thought I saw a messed up tent in the background...must go re watch...again!

I definitely think it was an accident, that she didn't get together with a bunch of people (ie, The Five) and decide to do it. Though, maybe after it happened to her The Five decided they'd like to be immortal too? And maybe she agreed because even then the prospect of being alone forever was scarier than any thought that making them immortal could be a giant mistake.

Interesting thought...so how long must we wait to find out the truth???

My theory on Helen's blood and longevity (fair warning, a bit of biology technobable ahead. )

Spoiler:

Ever since I saw the spoiler about a Sanctuary character from Helen's past called James Crick, I'm inclined to think that Helen's longevity has some kind of genetic component. Maybe some mutation of a gene in her DNA that results in the production of an enzyme or polymerase that rebuilds the telomeres in her DNA, which I think would slow or halt the aging process. It could be this protein that she centrifuges and purifies to give to the others of The Five, which would then halt or slow their aging, effectively making them immortal.
Of course, this doesn't quite jive with the idea that Helen believes she'll outlive Ashley, since if it's genetic then there's a chance she passed on that mutation to her daughter. Maybe it's a recessive trait that Helen picked up from both her mother and father? Or more likely it's just the biologist in me hoping my theory turns out to be true.

I know I read in an interview or article somewhere that Amanda mentioned that they don't know if Ashley has the longevity curse or not...so this leads me to think that it can be either blood based or genetically engineered. I'm leaning away from the theory that she inherited it from one of her parents. I'm leaning more towards the idea that it was through some accident that she got it but nothing malicious.
Although, since the EM shield was not in the webisodes, this may be a case, like Will saying he's more afraid of Bigfoot than of Alexi, where the dialog taken from the webisodes doesn't quite translate to the TV series because of the changes made.

I think that sentence lost its strength as we saw how Will was afraid of Bigfoot and why he was afraid, in the webisodes but not in the episodes...so yeah...not such a big impact there.

[sbz]

I know I read in an interview or article somewhere that Amanda mentioned that they don't know if Ashley has the longevity curse or not...so this leads me to think that it can be either blood based or genetically engineered. I'm leaning away from the theory that she inherited it from one of her parents. I'm leaning more towards the idea that it was through some accident that she got it but nothing malicious.

I'd lay good odds it's a blood borne "disease" and not genetic. There are plenty of diseases that are transferred through blood/bodily fluids (HIV comes to mind right off the bat). If Magnus ran into a creature that was immortal or even just long lived and ended up getting its blood in her injury, viola, she's got immortality. Then she gets pregnant and there's always a risk of things in the mother's blood being passed on to the baby therefore the question of whether or not Ashley has it.

[Skydiver]

i think there's lots of stuff that can't cross the placental barrier