The Hive (211)

[*AtlantisFan*]

I thought "The Hive" was a pretty good episode, but definetly not the best they've ever done.
I thought McKay was Hilarious in this episode.

[captainpash]

Dumbest plot hole - Teyla actually was quite good in this episode, but why is she able to sense a hive ship approaching, and feel individual Wraith emotions, but she can't sense the Wraith in the next room in Ford's cave during "Lost Boys"?

They were unconciension(sp?) I think they mentioned in the episode something about that. Also a hiveship would be huge with a ton of wairth so it would be alot easier to sense.

[Osiris-RA]

Never thought I'd say, SGA held my attention more than SG1. It moved faster. More time was taken with the directing. I knew that slut was mooching up to Shep for no good reason. Hmph! Watching McKay go nuts was cute...a little annoying after while though. Ford, you da man, man! He saved the teams butt, like I knew he would. Yep, he was the face I was looking forward to each time the commercial break was over. Recurring character, my Royal Doulton! He needs to be permanent, dammit!!

[AnonyMouse]

...there wasn't really any sense that they were very concerned about the fates of their teammates.That's been one of the strong points of the series (esp. in S1), and it's lacking in this episode.

Yes, exactly. Granted, there were times in S1 when it also popped up (again with McKay - hi, he was tortured and smacked around, blood all over his hands, and by the end of The Eye it was eye rolling and 'oh, silly Rodney' - what's up wi' that? I'm telling you, the geeks get no love.) But the mutual concern, prickly affection, and team vibe have definitely been lacking this season.

And man, I hadn't even thought about Sheppard & Team not inquiring after Rodney, when they came through the gate. They no longer had Ford with them, meaning they wouldn't know the address to Ford's hideout world, meaning that McKay should have been their top concern, once they were safe. Geez, these are the little details that don't take much time to write but make a world of difference. *grumbles discontentedly*

[smushybird]

But the mutual concern, prickly affection, and team vibe have definitely been lacking this season.

I've been missing those things, too. Missing them bad.

One good thing I can say about "The Hive" is it held my attention much better than the snorefest that was SG-1. But if the writers don't get back to the elements that make both shows worthwhile, neither will be worth watching by the next season.

I did like the (unintentional?) tribute to the Hope/Crosby Road pictures, in the scene in which Ford glibly responds to, i.e. blows off, Sheppard's query about how he managed to come to Sheppard's rescue. That reminded me of Road picture scenes where the guys would escape some terrible danger (such as in Road to Bali where Bob escapes the giant squid thing) and when one character asks for an explanation, the other character draws him to one side to discuss it out of the viewer's "earshot" and they don't tell the audience because the audience would "never believe it anyway". That sort of thing is funny with Hope and Crosby. Not so funny in a show where we're already suspending disbelief and would like credible storylines.

I also had a little trouble with believing Rodney's super-recovery from the withdrawal. Maybe it's just a case of too many characters and not enough time to cover everything (in which case they either need to have fewer characters or more individual focus per ep), but it was startling to see him lying in bed after all that miserable suffering (DH is wonderful. I couldn't take my eyes off him. The scenes with PM were the best parts of the episode) and then in the next moment, he's up, healthy and chipper. C'mon--even Hutch went through the weak-as-a-kitten stage before getting over his addiction!
If you're writing TV scripts with even less accuracy than Starsky and Hutch, you might need to find another line of work.

I was wondering if Rodney, Teyla or Ronon would experience fallout from it in later eps, flashbacks, etc. (altho' I don't expect we'll see that, as the only continuity in SG1 and SGA is the almost total lack of continuity...but I can dream, can't I?).

Teyla and Ronon were both good in this ep. I like Teyla better and better with each ep, maybe because it finally feels like she's being developed a little.
I get a vibe from JF as he plays Sheppard that he too would like to see his character be developed into something more than weird-chick magnet. I know I'd like to see him developed. He was great in Season 1. He felt very fresh for the cocky-hero type, but the development this season has been breathtakingly lacking.

All the wraith stuff was fairly dullish. Kolya is a much more interesting antagonist. Bring him back!

[Daniel's Sister]

Well, I for one really liked this ep.
And when that girl started asking questions about earth, everyone in our family knew that something was up. And my dad and i loved the part when John said that he didn't have a plan yet but when he did it was 'going to be impressive'.
And, even though it wasn't funny, it was so funny when Rodney took to much enzyme, and when he got back to Atlantis, was talking to fast. DH did a very good job right there.
And of course, Rainbow Sun Franks did a wonderful job of being a total brat.
So all in all, a very good ep.

[AnonyMouse]

I also had a little trouble with believing Rodney's super-recovery from the withdrawal. Maybe it's just a case of too many characters and not enough time to cover everything (in which case they either need to have fewer characters or more individual focus per ep), but it was startling to see him lying in bed after all that miserable suffering (DH is wonderful. I couldn't take my eyes off him. The scenes with PM were the best parts of the episode) and then in the next moment, he's up, healthy and chipper.

I was wondering if Rodney, Teyla or Ronon would experience fallout from it in later eps, flashbacks, etc. (altho' I don't expect we'll see that, as the only continuity in SG1 and SGA is the almost total lack of continuity...but I can dream, can't I?).

Utterly agreed. It just wouldn't be that difficult to tie things together from episode to episode. Or heck, even within the same episode. DH is a fantastic actor; I've no doubt he could have aced subtle fallout with Weir/aboard the Daedalus, even without dialogue written to indicate distress. Which all goes back to me turning the stink eye on the director.

PM and DH are great together, aren't they? Poor jealous Beckett. Rodney gets all the women.

[watcher652]

And man, I hadn't even thought about Sheppard & Team not inquiring after Rodney, when they came through the gate. They no longer had Ford with them, meaning they wouldn't know the address to Ford's hideout world, meaning that McKay should have been their top concern, once they were safe. Geez, these are the little details that don't take much time to write but make a world of difference. *grumbles discontentedly*

What we saw:

GATEROOM TECHINICIAN: Offworld activation!
WEIR: Who is it?
TECHNICIAN: We have an IDC. It’s Colonel Sheppard’s code!
WEIR: Let them in!
(The tech presses the control to lower the Gate shield. Weir runs down the Gateroom steps. Dex, Sheppard and Teyla walk thru the gate. Sheppard motions to the marines guarding the Gate to lower their weapons. Weir walks quickly across the Gateroom floor to greet the three team members. Sheppard gives Weir an acknowledging nod.)
SHEPPARD: Sorry we’re late.
(Weir gives them all a smile.)

What we didn't see:

SHEPPARD: We have to get a team together to rescue McKay. He's...
WEIR: He's safely on the Daedalus, on his way back from seeing two Hive ships destroy each other.
SHEPPARD: He is?
WEIR: Yes, he is. Rodney managed to free himself from Ford's guards and make his way back here.
SHEPPARD: Oh, he did, did he? Good for him!
(Weir gives Dex and Teyla concerned look.)
WEIR: I think your team should make a visit to the Infirmary. Why don't we talk on the way down?
SHEPPARD: Sure, ok.
(Weir, Sheppard, Dex and Teyla leave the Gateroom and make their way to the Infirmary.)

How's that?

While McKay didn't know the Gate address to Ford's planet, I would imagine that Sheppard would have demanded the address from Ford when they were on the Hive ship after they were separated from the modified Dart. If they could somehome make an escape, it was almost certain they wouldn't be able to do so on the same Dart they flew in.

Poor Rodney! He risks his life to get back to Atlantis by taking an overdose of Wraith enzyme. He's seen firsthand what it has done to Ford. He's seen Ford grab Carson in a choke hold and probably would have killed him in anger. He's seen crazy Ford shoot at him and try to kill him. Even though McKay has been working with a lower enzyme dose, his head is so messed up, he can't think of a way to MacGyver himself out of the situation with all the stuff he has in Jace's lab. No, he thinks his only way out is to take a full dose of the enzyme. No, wait, Mckay is so insecure about his ability to take out the guards even with the enzyme, he think he needs a super dose. After all, everyone else has a normal dose and they'd be all at the same level if he took just a regular dose. No way, thinks McKay, would he make it past the guards if they were all on the same level.

After his escape, McKay suffers from painful withdrawal from the Wraith enzyme. Recovered from the after effects, he then goes off to help rescue his team, only to be unable to find them. When it looks they found Sheppard piloting a Dart, the Hive ships blow up and it looks like Sheppard is dead. Dex and Teyla, too, if they weren't on the Dart then they must have been back on the Hive ship. McKay must have been devastated thinking his team was dead.

It turns out he did that all for nothing since his team managed to rescue themselves. But there's no questioning McKay's loyalty to his team. He thought they needed help, and he was going to do all he could to rescue them. Just because he didn't succeed doesn't deny the efforts he made.

Sheppard didn't have the same urgency to rescue McKay as McKay had to rescue his teammates. Sheppard thought that McKay was relatively safe being held captive on Ford's planet. McKay, genius that he is, thought of all the possible ways the mission could have gone wrong and worried himself into taking the enzyme.

[AnonyMouse]

What we didn't see:

SHEPPARD: We have to get a team together to rescue McKay. He's...
WEIR: He's safely on the Daedalus, on his way back from seeing two Hive ships destroy each other.
SHEPPARD: He is?
WEIR: Yes, he is. Rodney managed to free himself from Ford's guards and make his way back here.
SHEPPARD: Oh, he did, did he? Good for him!
(Weir gives Dex and Teyla concerned look.)
WEIR: I think your team should make a visit to the Infirmary. Why don't we talk on the way down?
SHEPPARD: Sure, ok.
(Weir, Sheppard, Dex and Teyla leave the Gateroom and make their way to the Infirmary.)

How's that?

Better, thanks. And yes, 'Poor Rodney'. To go through all of that and think that he's failed them. The ships explode, his team is dead.

[AGateFan]

Great post and so true. Mckay did what he felt was necessary and Shep did have a reason to be more calm about Mckays fate. I would have liked the additional scene in the show though. To bad TBTP cant work out that this is the type of thing that has been missing recently.

[Ouroboros]

Damn I just watched the BSG episode that you American folks are going to get to see right after this "offering" from Atlantis.

Ouch. The only thing crueler would have been if sci-fi had booked this to follow resurrection ship.

I already gave my thoughts on this episode earlier in the thread but if you're interested in the non watered down version just follow the HTML road.

http://s11.invisionfree.com/Scifi_St...showtopic=1873

[Universal Nexus]

I loved the episode -- it seems I'm not as picky as a great many people, though.

But on a different note: the Wraith followers? Has anyone considered that the Wraith view them more as pets? Humans keep all sorts of highly intelligent animals as pets, and the Wraith consider humans to be not much more than farm animals. Maybe some of them like the idea of having little pets and stuff, and from time to time they become useful. Sort of like cats, which can be useful at hunting rodents.

[the fifth man]

I thought this was a decent ep of SGA. Definitely some funny moments for McKay (man I love that guy). Also, I liked how Ford appeared a little more like his old self around Sheppard. I sure hope we get to see him again further down the road.

[smushybird]

What we saw:

GATEROOM TECHINICIAN: Offworld activation!
WEIR: Who is it?
TECHNICIAN: We have an IDC. It’s Colonel Sheppard’s code!
WEIR: Let them in!
(The tech presses the control to lower the Gate shield. Weir runs down the Gateroom steps. Dex, Sheppard and Teyla walk thru the gate. Sheppard motions to the marines guarding the Gate to lower their weapons. Weir walks quickly across the Gateroom floor to greet the three team members. Sheppard gives Weir an acknowledging nod.)
SHEPPARD: Sorry we’re late.
(Weir gives them all a smile.)

What we didn't see:

SHEPPARD: We have to get a team together to rescue McKay. He's...
WEIR: He's safely on the Daedalus, on his way back from seeing two Hive ships destroy each other.
SHEPPARD: He is?
WEIR: Yes, he is. Rodney managed to free himself from Ford's guards and make his way back here.
SHEPPARD: Oh, he did, did he? Good for him!
(Weir gives Dex and Teyla concerned look.)
WEIR: I think your team should make a visit to the Infirmary. Why don't we talk on the way down?
SHEPPARD: Sure, ok.
(Weir, Sheppard, Dex and Teyla leave the Gateroom and make their way to the Infirmary.)

How's that?

A decided improvement. So can you quit your current job, move to Vancouver, and start writing scripts....today? SGA needs you!

[PG15]

That's all well and good...until you get to the editing room.