Underground (108)

[MechaThor]

After watching series 5 on DVD I have decided to go back and start watching some of my favorite series 1 episodes including this one which I had not seen in a long time.

I really enjoy the way the Genii are introduced, and although the Genii are not the best enemies ever, this story did lead to the events in The Storm and The Eye, two of the best episodes in Atlantis history.

However after re-watching this episode I found one thing really shocking, and that is the appearance of the Wrath sets from series 1. Oh my Goa'uld System Lord do they look bad, infact they don't even look Wrath, especially when compared to the amazing sets for the Wrath we got in series 4 and 5.
The Wrath set from this episode just looked so bland, unfinished and pieced together, especially the food cocoons which looked really out of place. The Wrath sets back then also looked allot more blue and more architectural. Of Course I can forgive them as they where still experimenting with the designs of the Wrath ships, but still the difference is massive. I guess however you could say that Different Hive ships grow in different ways, so no one Hive looks the same inside. But even so it still looks terrible compared to the new ones.

Shame

[ktebid]

ok, next episode on my rewatch list

I thought this was a good introduction for a more advanced race. I was a bit unsure of Teyla leaving Tyros behind, however she was a PG native and their thoughts on rescuing people taken by the wraith were different. I loved the stand off towards the end.

[asdf1239]

i do not see why races that actually try to fight back such as the genii are considered bad guys while the athosians who sit on their butts while being culled are supposed to be sympathetic. it seems that the athosians would have a lot to learn from the genii.

[Matt G]

The Genii are dishonourable bleeps though.

[asdf1239]

still theyve done a better job than the athosians who should stop relying on atlantis for help and try to defend themselves against the wraith.

[mrscopterdoc]

Not one of my favorite eppys of the season.

[Elorendil]

Interesting episode. When Cowen first came on, I was like ,"Hey, look, it's Miles O'Brien from DS9!!" Anyway, back to the episode - all the double crossing and lying was interesting to follow. Not my favorite episode of the season so far, though.

[maneth]

The Genii certainly seemed interesting. Good to know they'll be back! The look on Cowen's face when the two other puddle jumpers appeared...

[Skie]

Its funny you mentioned that. It is exacly because of Teylas cowerdly actions, Genii turned on Sheppards team, puting his team in danger. - And that exacly why i think this was a cheap way for wrighters to alienate Genii and Atlantis team. They could have spended a 5 extra minutes to come up with a better way to play all this out.

Yep, totally agree to that, especially as we later see that Teyla is no coward at all! I even think that they wouldn't have needed this Teyla-Tyres thing to let the Genii turn against them.

Other then that, it was a great episode. I especially liked those precautionary measures Sheppard took. I really missed that in the latest two seasons. There I got the feeling they never were cautious and it was just either a means of Rodney finding a miraculous solution or about brute force. That's what I loved in S1-3 using your head for thinking and not as battering ram.

[Skie]

A question just popped into my mind. How could the lanteans read the wraith device as they had no interface like the Genii did?

[mrscopterdoc]

I especially liked those precautionary measures Sheppard took. I really missed that in the latest two seasons. There I got the feeling they never were cautious and it was just either a means of Rodney finding a miraculous solution or about brute force. That's what I loved in S1-3 using your head for thinking and not as battering ram.

So very true! I agree! In the later seasons they made decisons that just made me wonder....

[Lt.Colonel John Sheppard]

This episode reminds me of SG-1's The Other Side.

[NowIWillDestroyAbydos]

Thought it was a pretty good episode.

I'll say this, when they were hooking up the Wraith thing up, damn did that screen look retro. I love it.

And once again, we p***ed off some aliens (we do that way too much).

Tomorrow, we find a way home.

[Krisz]

I too wondered why they made more enemies than friends, guess they are too jealous of their technological superiority. Of course it doesn't help making an enemy of one of the more technologically advanced ones who get even more excited at the prospect of getting hold of it at any cost!

Once again they are no where near Atlantis, exploring that to find something to use against the Wraith, but I digress!!!

Colm Meany was great here as the seemingly welcoming but deceptive host. A great game of poker face and bluffing between him and Sheppard, great tension with the mistrust, and of course Sheppard getting the upper hand with superior wits and technology! Not too bad an episode.

[hlndncr]

I'll never look at the Amish the same way again. You think there are nuclear research facilities beneath the farms of Western Pennsylvania?

I found this episode sufficiently entertaining but I have lots of problems with it.

First, why didn't Weir go to negotiate with the Genii? That is her speciality and she would clearly be better at it the Shep.

Second, the Genii were so concerned about keeping their strength and tech a secret but after this it seems that everyone in the galaxy knows the Genii are a military power. What happened to them wanting to protect themselves?

Third, what's with Teyla leaving a man behind and Shep being OK with it? What happened to those SGC values? And isn't it ironic that the guy gets left to die because he didn't want to save someone else from the same fate (and Teyla was ready to risk capture to save the other guy)?

Honestly, I think the Genii had legit reasons to hate and mistrust the Atlantis folks. They've really screwed up quite a bit and put the rest of the galaxy in a terrible spot. Kind of hard to make friends with that opening line.