Hot Zone (113)

[aAnubiSs]

insubordintion? Afaik the only military there who showed any emotion were Ford(30min from dying) and Sheppard(locked in, and he is the ranking military officier)

[Easter Lily]

Because people got hot under the collar, confined and fearful?
I guess its a quesiton for the producers etc but form the title and the initial spoilers I thought it would be something quite different, more like the name seems to me but it wasn't, though I plan to write a fic of same title that has what I thought it might be in a way.

The episode was a great one though regardless of difficult to explain title.

If you look at post number 160, the poster explains the origins of the title... apparently it is based on a book about the Ebola virus.

[Mjolnir]

As far as I am concerned no one during hot zone gave any reason why it couldn’t have been the Ancients who developed the nano-virus. I think it would make sense if they did, because it would have reduced the amount of people the Wraith could feed on and so made them weaker and easier for the Ancients to fight. I reckon that Ancients were generally good but it doesn't mean they all are, just look at Humans not all of us are very nice people. Perhaps some rogue Ancient scientist developed it. The aspect of the nano-virus I find most interesting is the hallucination it causes, what’s the point in it? Wouldn’t be more effective if the virus simply just caused the victim to fall over and die without any warning?
Also the fact it doesn’t kill Ancients, I mean the Wraith can feed on Ancients as well as Humans so why would an alien race create the nano-virus to just kill Humans when there would still be Ancients around to feed on, it would make more sense if the Ancients or at least an Ancient had developed the nano-virus.

[PeeJ]

Maybe the virus was ment for the ancients, just a failed attempt.

Perhaps it didn't look for the aincient gene and then decide not to kill the victim. Genes generally have a purpose, what if the aincient gene is what made the aincients capable of healing as opposed to being there just as an id card to let them use certain systems. Humans with the gene don't have the knowlege of how to harness it (except jack AFTER he got the aincient database the second time) and thus it only acts automatically to immediate life threatening situations e.g. this nano virus. This would explain why mckay still got the visions, because up untill the point that it became life threatening the gene didn't respond to it.

[lord-anubis]

Maybe the virus was ment for the wraith but i was not done yet or it was made by some rogue Ancient scientist like some has said

[Matt G]

Hmmm...

1. I've only read the transcript for this ep and I've got a feeling that this ep might come accross better after I catch it on screen.

2. Overall it did come accross as a bit horror-movie ish.

3. The Sheppard-Bates-Weir exchange came across well though.

4. Shep's got a point - why DOES she need to teach him that stick fighting thing?

[NotANumber]

4. Shep's got a point - why DOES she need to teach him that stick fighting thing?

Yeah, it's not like to see that much stick-fighting in the series. I'm sure the Wraith would relish the opportunity of being in a hand-to-hand situation (or should that be hand-to-chest?)

It was probably just an excuse to have Teyla in something skimpy, and as well as that Sheppard's crack about shooting her was funny.

[Platschu]

What was the name of the doctor, who exanined the corpses? Dr.Bíró? Becaise this is a Hungarian profession, which means "judge". I was so proud of her, because I write from there.

[TST]

I don't think the Ancients designed the virus. My theory is that whoever created the nanovirus intended to kill the Ancients with it. The Ancients isolated the virus for study, which is why it's in the city; I don't think that if us humans could deal with it that it would pose the Ancients much of a problem
The reason the Ancient gene protects people would be because the virus isn't the original one designed to kill Ancients. The Ancients took that and modified it so that those with the gene, i.e. everyone in Atlantis presumably, wouldn't be affected. A precaution, so that they could therefore study it to their hearts content without risk of nasty death. There was no reason to make it harmless to humans, and to do so would probably require more significant alterations making it unworthy of study...
No idea who did create it though.

[GatetheWay]

I don't think the Ancients designed the virus. My theory is that whoever created the nanovirus intended to kill the Ancients with it. The Ancients isolated the virus for study, which is why it's in the city; I don't think that if us humans could deal with it that it would pose the Ancients much of a problem
The reason the Ancient gene protects people would be because the virus isn't the original one designed to kill Ancients. The Ancients took that and modified it so that those with the gene, i.e. everyone in Atlantis presumably, wouldn't be affected. A precaution, so that they could therefore study it to their hearts content without risk of nasty death. There was no reason to make it harmless to humans, and to do so would probably require more significant alterations making it unworthy of study...
No idea who did create it though.

But if they modified it so it wouldn't hurt them then why did the city react to it and quarantine everyone? Why would they bother to program the city to respond to the virus unless there were humans to protect?

[Purpleyin]

But if they modified it so it wouldn't hurt them then why did the city react to it and quarantine everyone? Why would they bother to program the city to respond to the virus unless there were humans to protect?

Maybe it's because the city can detect there are humans there to protect from it. Or maybe, since it never got addressed, it doesn't affect artificial ATA induced humans but does affect those with ATA naturally and humans generally. I couldn't think of any reason why it could work like that but it never got to a point where they had someone aobut to die who had natural ATA, so it was never talked of but still might be possible.

[Quinn Mallory]

Maybe it's because the city can detect there are humans there to protect from it. Or maybe, since it never got addressed, it doesn't affect artificial ATA induced humans but does affect those with ATA naturally and humans generally. I couldn't think of any reason why it could work like that but it never got to a point where they had someone aobut to die who had natural ATA, so it was never talked of but still might be possible.

I like the idea that maybe it is the ATA that prevents one from being affected from the Virus rather than the actual Ancient gene. That makes more sense why to explain why Atlantis quarantined automatically.

Now I do have 2 questions for everyone to discuss that came from watching this episode (sorry about not using spoiler alerts and stuff since I'm (obviously) a pretty new poster here).

1.) Why hasn't the gene therapy been tried on everyone? Ford never had it as explained in the episode and he can easily benefit if the therapy is successful by having the ability to pilot a puddle jumper (what would happen if the only capable pilot(s) on a mission is killed...SPOILER...can they really just used the hand of a dead guy as implied in The Defiant One?)

I would think that attempting the gene therapy on everyone would be a priority task. The only reason that I can think off is that maybe Beckett is still refining the process and they are putting it off until then. From this episode, we know that only 1/3 of the people in Atlantis does not have gene therapy (and probably also include the number of people who does not have the Ancient gene to start with) since that's the amount Sheppard said would die if they don't do anything. So the fact that the first four people infected all didn't have the gene is (1/3)^4=1.2% speaking of statistical anomaly (refering back to the banter at the beginning of the show). This calculation support the theory that it is the ATA rather than the Ancient gene that give one immunity to the virus since a large percentage of the people in Atlantis are selected for the mission b/c they have the Ancinet gene (so only few people have the ATA).

2.) I might be nitpicking here but I don't see why the EMP would destroy the nannite but not affect the Ancient technology. For all we know the nannites might had been created with the similar technology that does not have electronics (no idea what this would be but I guess it's established in the show that they exist...e.g. Ancient computers that controlled Atlantis).

So just some fruits for thoughts. Hopefully enough people will keep this discussion going until most of the other US viewer (without good internet connections) get to see this episode in a month of so.

Q

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Time to return to my physics lab and work on my anti gravity device (ok so that last statement is only half true).

[Matt G]

Caught this ep on screen. Only thing I have to add is that it was Sheppard's weakest ep so far!

[ShadowMaat]

OOooooo, SCIFI frakked up big time. Instead of the teaser, we got a black screen. Tsk tsk tsk.

To fill in... McKay, Zelenka and the other geeks were going through an unexplored part of the city and mocking babysitter Ford about not knowing his prime numbers. They get a wild radio report from one of the other scientists claiming they're under attack. Everyone rushes there to find the two scientists dead.

Er... recalling from memory, I think that's basically what happened.

ETA: I think McKay, Zelenka and Ford found an Ancient virus lab. Or is that later? Must be some reason to think it's a biological agent...

[Skydiver]

just a note, before anyone asks, yes the first 2 minutes of the first airing of atlantis tonight did not air. Scifi messed up and didn't roll the show. We got 2 minutes of black before they rolled a break

i have no idea about the second airing, but all of the first airing was effected