Thirty Eight Minutes (104)

[NowIWillDestroyAbydos]

Pretty good episode.

I see that Atlantis is off to a better start than SG-1 was (I recall the third episode being crap).

Not much else to say, it was good ep overall.

Tomorrow, there's a spy in Atlantis.

[hlndncr]

I really don't care for this episode. And really after Bane (Sg-1) they should know they can't pull off big bugs.

Overall I like Weir but I think she did a horrible job here. She was rude, confrontational and dismissive with both Cavanaugh and Holling (sp?). I think she created her own problems with the former and some of his later criticisms of her were completely valid. He may not have been much of a team player, but his observation about the Jumper possibly exploding and destroying the control room was a correct and necesssary consideration. Weir should have been more concerned about all of her people and her responsibilities to the whole base. (And Cavanaugh did come up with the final solution to get the Jumper through the gate.)

Weir was also wrong to dismiss Holling's spiritual beliefs because she found it too discouraging to contemplate. I don't see why he couldn't say his prayer while they kept working on getting them out.

The best part of this ep was the team in the rear of the Jumper. It was definitely signature Brad Wright with a few people trapped in a room and a ticking clock. The whole episode would have been better IMO if they had just stayed with the team in the Jumper instead of all the flashbacks and back and forth with the base. I do like that Ford got to be the hero in the end (I think this is about the only time that happened).

[gatechick]

I really don't care for this episode. And really after Bane (Sg-1) they should know they can't pull off big bugs.

Overall I like Weir but I think she did a horrible job here. She was rude, confrontational and dismissive with both Cavanaugh and Holling (sp?). I think she created her own problems with the former and some of his later criticisms of her were completely valid. He may not have been much of a team player, but his observation about the Jumper possibly exploding and destroying the control room was a correct and necesssary consideration. Weir should have been more concerned about all of her people and her responsibilities to the whole base. (And Cavanaugh did come up with the final solution to get the Jumper through the gate.)

Oh but to be the bug attached to Shephard's neck! sigh

I agree with you on the point with Weir. Initially I agreed with her. I thought Cavanaugh was just wasting time being so negative. But then he needed to point out the risks. I thought as a leader she should have set a better example. And that little power trip moment where she threatened was just too wrong for me. Yeah, Cavanaugh was a jerk but it was his job to make her aware of the consequenses of any decision they made.

[Krisz]

This is one of the episodes I remember from watching SGA so long ago now. I liked the tension built up with the 38 minute countdown to death! An intriguing idea being stuck part way into a gate with the prospect of the ship being cut in half when it disengaged. Great visual with the jumper stuck in the gate and I loved that scene as the jumper came out of the gate above the planet.

The acting was pretty good considering they had to make a plastic bug look convincingly dangerous! I actually felt for poor Sheppard having his life sucked away slowly.

From notes I made of Joe F's appearance at Creation's 2010 Vancouver Convention........

Q. ‘Thirty Eight Minutes’, how was it playing in that episode?

A. “It took Five and a half thousand minutes to film that episode!”

He said it was a tough episode to shoot. They were just starting out and new at it all and were not prepared for things, like how the puddle jumper was built, making it difficult to shoot in.

The bug was tied to his neck by a fish line and it “hurt like hell!”

He added with a pained grin that the “misery really comes through!”

Kavanagh has got to be the most obnoxious character in Stargate!!!! Good performance by the actor playing him, how to make you dislike a character within five seconds of seeing them for the first time!

[mathpiglet]

I agree about Kavanaugh - but it makes sense to have friction between all those people. If everyone got along it would not be very realistic.

[hlndncr]

I agree about Kavanaugh - but it makes sense to have friction between all those people. If everyone got along it would not be very realistic.

Because realism is definitely the aim of this show.

I thought the manufactured interpersonal tension and over the top confrontaions to be rather unbelievable. Perhaps if the writing and performances had more subtlety it may have worked better for me.

[Matt G]

MIdweek another ep of Atlantis...

1. I 'did' mean Funky Alien BUg back in '04...I think...

2. I seemed to notice the bleepness of McKay more than than the good parts this time.

3. Were Shep and McKay even friends at this point - this 'was' the first time we saw the main Atlantis team as a 'team'!

4. Think Weir was worried more about the morale of the rest of the team and didn't mean to offend the Athosians.

5. This time round I noticed the drivepod not retracting.

[Jae'a]

Weir was also wrong to dismiss Holling's spiritual beliefs because she found it too discouraging to contemplate. I don't see why he couldn't say his prayer while they kept working on getting them out.

The prayer was to prepare for death. Sounds like giving up to me.

I loved the ep though, poor Sheppard!
My LiveJournal post

[hlndncr]

The prayer was to prepare for death. Sounds like giving up to me.

I loved the ep though, poor Sheppard!
My LiveJournal post

It sounded like Holling and the Athosians had given up, not necessarily everyone else. Weir doesn't hold to their beliefs. She could have respected them and still done what she thought was required to save them. Or maybe they could have asked Teyla. She was the one who's soul was at stake here.

[Jae'a]

It sounded like Holling and the Athosians had given up, not necessarily everyone else. Weir doesn't hold to their beliefs. She could have respected them and still done what she thought was required to save them. Or maybe they could have asked Teyla. She was the one who's soul was at stake here.

Well, the last thing I would want to do in a situation like this is insult somebody's religious beliefs. It's just that, if I understood correctly, Halling () would have had to perform the ritual with Teyla, which means everyone else on the Jumper (on the outside of the event horizon) would witness it too, and I doubt they'd be happy about it, to say the least. That's the main thing I would be worried about.
Although, I do agree that Weir could have dicussed it with Halling a bit more tactfully, less harshly.

[hlndncr]

Well, the last thing I would want to do in a situation like this is insult somebody's religious beliefs. It's just that, if I understood correctly, Halling () would have had to perform the ritual with Teyla, which means everyone else on the Jumper (on the outside of the event horizon) would witness it too, and I doubt they'd be happy about it, to say the least. That's the main thing I would be worried about.
Although, I do agree that Weir could have dicussed it with Halling a bit more tactfully, less harshly.

From what I understood it was a prayer, and even if it required Teyla's participation she really wasn't doing much. It wouldn't have bothered me to let her and her people pray while I kept working. And in either case, they should have asked Teyla what she wanted but Halling decided he would do it and Weir said no. Seems rather high handed on both their parts to me. It's not like Teyla was mentally or physically incapacitated. She should have been consulted.

[Jae'a]

From what I understood it was a prayer, and even if it required Teyla's participation she really wasn't doing much. It wouldn't have bothered me to let her and her people pray while I kept working. And in either case, they should have asked Teyla what she wanted but Halling decided he would do it and Weir said no. Seems rather high handed on both their parts to me. It's not like Teyla was mentally or physically incapacitated. She should have been consulted.

Hmm yeah, I suppose they should have consulted Teyla about it, you have a point. That at least wouldn't do any harm in the grand sceme of things. Considering it a bit more, they could have just thought about it as a preperation for another possible outcome. It's not like it would stop them for still trying for best case scenario.
I'd still worry about how the other three might react though, especially McKay. This is only my first time watching Atlantis, but from what I've seen so far, McKay seems to get quite panicky at times. It might have hindered his work.

[hlndncr]

Hmm yeah, I suppose they should have consulted Teyla about it, you have a point. That at least wouldn't do any harm in the grand sceme of things. Considering it a bit more, they could have just thought about it as a preperation for another possible outcome. It's not like it would stop them for still trying for best case scenario.
I'd still worry about how the other three might react though, especially McKay. This is only my first time watching Atlantis, but from what I've seen so far, McKay seems to get quite panicky at times. It might have hindered his work.

Yeah, McKay would definitely freak out. But then he was pretty much freaking out anyway. I think Teyla and Ford can handle him though.

[hlndncr]

According to JM's recent blog post the two scenes where Weir confronts Kavanaugh and Halling were last minute additions because the ep was running short. Those are the two scenes that I had a problem with and were just all wrong IMO. Now it all makes sense.

[jelgate]

This was something different in Stargate history. Probably because we have never dealth with machines in the Stargate that much before it was never a story that could be explored in SG1. Thier is not really anything new in the terms of science. We already knew a Stargate can only stay open for 38 minutes and that gates only transmitt in full units. But the interaction between the team and the crew on Atlantis with the rush of a time limit really shows the character deal with pressure specfically McKay prone to anger. Although the whole episode with McKay and Zelenka searching Puddle Jumper circuits is kind of repetive and the answer is kind of technobabbleish. Although I will admit to liking the heroism of Ford blasting the outer hatch and the creativity of this solution.