Home (109)

[KUtrekkie]

Was anybody here hoping Weir would purpose...er I mean accidently get pushed through the gate to Earth and not be able to come back?

I was actually wondering why the heck she was going in the first place. The entire senior staff went on this little field trip, so who's running the base? It's not as if Sheppard or McKay couldn't brief the SGC by themselves. That's just poor judgement on Weir's part, IMO.

Otherwise, I really liked this episode. You can't go wrong with an episode that has Outer Limits and Monty Python references.

Allison

[TameFarrar]

Just really enjoyed myself watching this episode ....was a bit annoyed at Sci-Fi for spoiling it a bit.....still am..I would have liked to have NOT known it wasn't real going in and had more of a tension about that as well...BUT Gads I am enjoying this all the way around Shepperd and McKay just crack me up

[Z_2]

I liked this episode, even though it was sorta predictable. They gave us enough to go by so we could figure out that they weren't really home. I guessed they were either getting their brains picked for information about Earth by some advanced lifeform (and I knew the Wraith wouldn't create such lasting illusions to confuse the Atlantis team, so I figured it some another sentient beings), or the 'mist' was affecting them somehow to have "dreams".

When you all are griping about "plotholes" with Gen. Hammond being present, I figured instead that it was a good effect, since, as when you're dreaming, some unrelated scenes or images are "kludged" together and you're none the wiser in the experience. We were shown what they were seeing, but if you are always lucid enough in your own dreams to always be doubting what you're seeing, then more power to ya.

I was wondering about the "War and Peace" book, though, too. It couldn't be Sheppard's personal item, since he had the football game. Maybe they brought a few books for a public library?!?

[watcher652]

Is it just me or has Beckett gotten more lines/screen time than Ford? Probably just seems that way. Still, this continued shafting of Ford is really starting to grate on my nerves. Give him a meaty plotline, already! Beckett had one, and he's only a recurring character, Ford is supposed to be main cast!

Ford had quite a lot to do in "38 Minutes". It was his turn to save the day in that episode.

I really enjoyed this episode. As some have already said, it was a good way for us to get to know the characters more.

The Gate in the Mist was very pretty.

Interesting that Ford kept his hazmat gear on when the others took theirs off. Did that show Ford really didn't believe what McKay said?

BTW, 1 joule = 10,000,000 ergs.

I thought maybe the book was part of a larger library that everybody was allowed to contribute to. Yeah, make up a story to explain an inconsistancy. I did it with Trek all the time.

When McKay said he'd be back for supper, Weir smiled. That meant that she knew McKay was fully expecting to be done in that time.

Another vote for wondering why Hammond and no O'Neill. Or at least a one sentence excuse for why he wasn't around. Maybe Hammond would still be doing the debriefing, but O'Neill would have been at the Gate with him.

In Weir's initial debriefing with Hammond, McKay acted like himself. Is that because both Weir and McKay had definite ideas on how the debriefing would go with Hammond since both were familiar with him and the Mist had stronger thoughts to drive the meeting? And that's why Hammond and Sheppard's was shorter than Sheppard expected because he didn't have a strong Hammond for the Mist to draw on? Or did Weir and McKay hava a shared reality?

Did anybody notice that when Hammond and Sheppard got on the elevator, it took a lot longer to go from Level 23 to 21 than it did to go from Level 28 to 23? I also thought that the brief debriefing and the offer of a car was when it crossed Sheppard's mind that things were slightly odd,

Would most men think the first thing to do is get Teyla a new outfit?

I was a little sad to see that McKay thought he wouldn't have any messages. And, he did exactly what I would have done first, turn on the TV. Doesn't the SciFi channel show The Outer Limits? Why would his cable/satellite dish still be on? I actually thought McKay was going to figure it out first because when he was crunching down the snacks, he started to look at the open bag like he was wondering why the food was still crunchy. But then the door bell rang and that girl distracted him. Did the Mist do that on purpose? (And yes, I too was wondering why he was walking around the outside with his SGA uniform on).

Sheppard seemed very comfortable with Teyla. He also didn't seem bothered by her reactions.

Finally a show were somebody kisses a fake and knows it. I don't know how many times I've seen two characters kiss and the fake gets away with it.

If you didn't think something fishy was going on before, having Weir change clothes from when she kissing Simon to when she went to McKay's place should have been a clue.

I wonder how many takes it took to do the technobabble down the corridor scene with McKay and Hammond? That was a little breath taking there. And McKay is the one the Mist should be afraid of since he's the one who thought of the Gate idea in the first place. I'm sure McKay felt really bad there at the end when he found out he must have killed some energy beings when they used the Gate.

(damn, I've always wanted to be able to do that finger snapping fist clapping thing McKay does at the end of the corridor scene. alas, I have no rhythm).

I thought it was interesting that McKay was so abrupt in Ford's version of reality. I knew before the episode aired that it wasn't going to be real (darn that McKay line!) so when McKay almost snapped at Ford, I thought "Is that what Ford really thinks McKay would say?" Maybe that reflects his recent "volunteer" work in helping McKay with the Myst DHD. But then I thought maybe that was Ford's "McKay's stuck here and he's really ticked he can't get back" McKay.

Besides football and ferris wheels, Sheppard likes golf, Johnny Cash, and pinball. Oh, yeah and foosball. BTW, I thought it was really funny that Sheppard would put in a girl that wouldn't even date him. Hey, how hard would it be to make beer in Atlantis?

There was interaction with Weir/McKay, Sheppard/Teyla/Ford and McKay/Ford. Is that the way a team would be sent back to Earth? Weir/McKay and Sheppard/Teyla make sense, but why would Ford go back in either combination?

The Mist isn't an astrophysist or it could have made up some laws of physics that actually made sense. How did McKay see a reality that wasn't real if it was all in his mind?

Interesting how the different characters reacted when realizing something was up. Weir asked for an explanation, Sheppard demanded an explanation and McKay got aggravated and ticked off (don't give him a universe where the laws of physics don't work!)

When the Myst revealed itself, it was to Weir, even though Sheppard was the first to question out loud.

Great line: "You're a pig, but I like your cat."

If the Mist could read their minds, why didn't they know that Sheppard was just leading them on? Was it just going along to see how the others would do? If the Mist could really read their minds, why wouldn't it know that we wouldn't use the Gate if it meant killing anyone? I guess the Mist could "read" their minds, but the Mist didn't understand what it read. Like looking at a book in a foreign language. You can see the pictures, but the finer shades of meaning are lost if you don't know the words. I guess when your not used to humans, it's hard to read them when the overwhelming thought was of going Home.

I liked the jacket thing. Hammond wore his jacket with Weir, he had it off with Sheppard and McKay. Hammond is in direct authority to Weir, but isn't with Sheppard and McKay. Weir had on a jacket with McKay, but in her reality she didn't. McKay respects Weir's authority over him. McKay had on his lab coat with Weir and Ford. Weir and Ford respect McKay's technical authority.

Whoa, I've thought about this episode way too much!

[the dancer of spaz]

Just really enjoyed myself watching this episode ....was a bit annoyed at Sci-Fi for spoiling it a bit.....still am..I would have liked to have NOT known it wasn't real going in and had more of a tension about that as well...BUT Gads I am enjoying this all the way around Shepperd and McKay just crack me up

I'm with you, Tame, on the network-induced spoilage - no good! I thought it was a great ep, though. It seemed so much like "Out of Mind" to me, which is OK, because I'm wanting a crossover of the two series really bad (it's not gonna happen), and any homages would be great. I just think the show's doing really well. They have the Big Brother (or is it Sister) show to help them become really fluid and all of that, and they seem to be pulling it off. I'm very happy for them. They're big shoes to fill, and they got 'em taken care of very nicely.

I think Weir's character is kinda like O'Neill's in the sense that she's out of her element. Both characters are trying to find their footing in unfamiliar territory, and both are dedicated leaders. O'Neill has way more experience in the leadership department, but where Weir lacks in experience, she makes up for with deep insight. O'Neill has experience, but sometimes has to call Daniel, Sam, or Teal'c over for some help... which is OK.

Anyway, back to Atlantis: The story HAS been done before, like someone said, but I think they hooked us in pretty well. And the switching between McKay and Weir in the lab was really cool.

I must say that I agree with what someone else said earlier about Carter being missing. I mean, I know she's a Colonel and all, but wasn't that her lab? Isn't that, like, her second home? And McKay may be "the foremost expert on wormhole theory, yada, yada, yada," but that's only on Atlantis. When he's on Carter's turf, I think he has some catching up to do. And I only say this because she's seen a lot of this firsthand... and because she's smarter than Rodney.

Finally, I really like the chemistry (whether you think it's friendship or otherwise) between Teyla and Sheppard. With the way the show is going in popularity, they could either end up as Daniel/Sam friends or... that other relative combo... :O

That's it. I liked the ep, thought it was good, kept thinking of Creepy, yet Endearing Narim and how he was supposed to be dead, and smiled in a lot of parts.

PS - just a quick question:
AT said once that she and CJ couldn't be on Atlantis because of some legalities concerning original Stargate franchise characters, or whatever. I SORTA get it, but I'm a bit confused, because Hammond isn't an original Stargate character, and he's been on the show now. As well as McKay, Harriman, Siler, etc. Can anyone please explain?

[watcher652]

I was wondering about the "War and Peace" book, though, too. It couldn't be Sheppard's personal item, since he had the football game. Maybe they brought a few books for a public library?!?

That's bizarre, I was typing almost the same thing when you posted yours first.

They reminded us of Sheppard's football tape when Sheppard was talking about football and ferris wheels to Teyla and that they could bring back more popcorn from Earth.

[Major Fischer]

AT said once that she and CJ couldn't be on Atlantis because of some legalities concerning original Stargate franchise characters, or whatever. I SORTA get it, but I'm a bit confused, because Hammond isn't an original Stargate character, and he's been on the show now. As well as McKay, Harriman, Siler, etc. Can anyone please explain?

The interview's I've seen have said that they couldn't be in the pilot, because that would be establishing the series, but that they could appear in later episodes because it could be a guest thing.

Is anyone more familiar with exactly what the legal status is?

[NurseRatched]

Don't forget The Pineapple!

The Jim Menard Pineapple? The one on top of the beer fridge? Yup, noticed that. Amazing how in Shep's illusion all the plants in his apartment/condo were green (unlike McKay's), the place was dust-free and all the fruit was fresh.

To whoever made the comment about the large lake outside Shep's place: I lived in Colorado Springs briefly several years ago; there are a few small-ish lakes in town (ie, parks), and I seem to remember a lake in the Broadmoor resort area right below the mountain, but it's quite small. Certainly no large ones, and nothing large enough to warrant the marina that we can see from Daniel's balcony in "The Light". Adding in a little stock footage of the Garden of the Gods area or maybe even CGI-ing in a few shots of, say, Pikes Peaks would make some of the exterior shots a little more Colorado Springs-y.

Another thought: Weir was working in Washington, D.C. prior to being assigned to the SGC. Was she already in a relationship with Simon? He appears to have a very nice house in Colorado Springs - unless the living-conveniently-in-easy-commuting-distance was all part of Wiers illusions.


What was well done was the gradual way the discrepancies began to creep in: the subtle changes in Weir's outfits, "Hammond"'s inconsitencies, Harriman's flippant attitude towards a commissioned officer (Ford). Just enough to make you say "Wait a minute..." before the "Whoooaaa!" stuff started happening later.

[keshou]

The interview's I've seen have said that they couldn't be in the pilot, because that would be establishing the series, but that they could appear in later episodes because it could be a guest thing.

Is anyone more familiar with exactly what the legal status is?

I don't know the exact legal status but I agree with your quote. AT said they could appear in later episodes but not the pilot. I've also heard that if they use a character that's created by someone else they have to pay royalties. If that's accurate I guess Jonathan Glassner comes back into the picture if an SG-1 character is used on Atlantis. Maybe they could only afford royalties for Hammond.

I'm still guessing they couldn't be sure AT would be available -- what with the convoluted production schedule SG-1 has -- so they chose not to use her. It still would have been nice to hear a mention along the lines of "Carter can't figure it out either" in McKay's little reality.

[shockwave]

I believe they would only have to pay glassner is the character that he created/co-created are used in the pilot.

[IWantToBelieve]

I really really liked this episode also, very well done.

There were lots of subtle things going on that were hard to catch. The biggest problem is that Sheppard thought Weir stayed behind in Atlantis and Weir thought she had left Sheppard behind at Atlantis (remember the conversation with Hammond who said he'd contacted Sheppard). The thing is, remember when they are discussing it at Atlantis, none of them were going to gate through. Then the mists take over their mind and manipulate their thoughts and perceptions.

We all know that we got Hammond because the other characters weren't available to be shown, but they should have included at least a question from one of the Atlantis team about where SG-1 or O'Neill, etc. Some mention was probably in order but the lack of it can be overlooked because from the very beginning the Atlantis members are being manipulated.

The McKay that Ford was talking to wasn't his McKay but a virtual, same with the McKay Weir was talking to at the end (she was in the pink shirt and he was in the lab coat). At the same time that's going on McKay is having a "this isn't real" with his virtual Weir (different outfit clues the viewer in on this).

Sheppard's house wasn't his real house. It was his 'dream' house. He knew it was fake at that point and wanted to prove his theory. He comments that his 'home' had been Antartica before leaving for Atlantis.

My hubby guessed about the friends being dead. I initially didn't think so because if dead friends showed up I would've been freaked out, but his comment later about knowing it was fake early on goes to show that it didn't throw him off that much. Kind of like Crichton in the Farscape episode where he's being subjected to illusions and goes along with it to see what's going to happen next.

There was a lot to take in on this episode. About the Tolstoy book, I don't think books count as a personal item. I get the impression that personal items were something aside from normal personal gear. Everyone takes a book on a trip but not many people take a DVD of their favorite football game and popcorn.

[ShadowMaat]

I missed the rebroadcast (fighting with my comp). In the scene in Shep's Dream House, Shep is looking all reflective and Teyla deduces that he's thinking about Weir "and the rest of the people on Atlantis." Were Shep and Weir ever in a scene together in the Fractured Fairy Tales, or in his reality did he (and Teyla) assume that Weir stayed behind to keep an eye on things in Atlantis? If so, is it possible that Weir assumed the same about Shep? That could explain why all the senior staff went through- they didn't know they were ALL going through, they assumed some stayed behind.

I thought it was interesting that McKay was so abrupt in Ford's version of reality. I knew before the episode aired that it wasn't going to be real (darn that McKay line!) so when McKay almost snapped at Ford, I thought "Is that what Ford really thinks McKay would say?" Maybe that reflects his recent "volunteer" work in helping McKay with the Myst DHD.

Actually, I thought Harriman was really abrupt with him, too. The scene kinda read like Wally was telling Ford "tough s***" and it felt extremely out of character for him. Then to have McKay do basically the same thing... I wonder what that says about Ford's personal self-image that he thinks no one cares about him. Hmmm... maybe even HE is noticing he doesn't get a lot of screen time!

The Mist isn't an astrophysist or it could have made up some laws of physics that actually made sense. How did McKay see a reality that wasn't real if it was all in his mind?

Like you said, it's probably a bit like reading a book in a foreign language- just because the Mist can read minds doesn't mean it understands it. How would it know which pieces to take and how to stitch it together properly? Imagine you've been introduced to McKay as an astrophysicist. You have a cheat sheet of terminology and theories that he can't see. How long do you think it would be before he realises that you flunked high school physics?

[FoolishPleasure]

The O'Neill/Hammond plot hole I can overlook understanding contractual issues and actor availability. Sometimes ya gotta overlook a few holes and just go with the flow. I rate it a high "Good".

I didn't care for Teyla's "Britney" clothes and heavy lip gloss but my husband didn't have a problem with it *shaking head*. She is very pretty and has great heart but she still isn't showing much intelligence. Didn't care much for the "pretty girl, skimpy clothes, chugging beer" scene at all.

Poor Ford didn't get much of a chance for anything. Why he was even in this episode was a mystery. Writers should have just had him stay in Atlantis.

McKay was funny and I'm liking him more and more. Especially enjoyed his viewing of "Outer Limits" and the ". .we are controlling transmission. ." quips.

Sheppard and Weir both had great parts. I've liked Shep from the beginning but wasn't too sure of Weir, but this episode was a good vehicle for the character to show more emotion and internal conflict.

Agree with another poster - would have been cool for a Steve cameo at the party! *LOL*

[NurseRatched]

Were Shep and Weir ever in a scene together in the Fractured Fairy Tales, or in his reality did he (and Teyla) assume that Weir stayed behind to keep an eye on things in Atlantis? If so, is it possible that Weir assumed the same about Shep? That could explain why all the senior staff went through- they didn't know they were ALL going through, they assumed some stayed behind.

Good catch. Weir and Sheppard were never in the same scene together until Not-Hammond assembled them all together in the Not-Gateroom. It was Weir, shown alone, who was greeted by Not-Hammond on the ramp. I'm going to assume that McKay was with her, as both of them were shown with the faux general in the briefing room.

I also noticed that Not-Hammond used the phrase "Major Sheppard dialed in about an hour ago" when he relieved Weir of her command...presumably from the Atlantis base.

[puddlejumper747]

It was supposed to seem odd. You didn't find it strange that an air force pilot had a home that awesome? Or that Rodney had a date with that hot woman?

Oh, I understand that, I just find it a little too odd that no one at all actually questioned Jack's absence when they arrived. Maybe I'll assume that Weir (and a few of the others) did ask the mist-Hammond a little later on, and he just made up an excuse that he knew she would accept...