'Tabula Rasa' (406) General Discussion

[Skydiver]

i'm greedy

i'd use them to check spelling and the like to the fan done transcripts to try and get things right for my own compendium

so, personally, i'd rather have the whole screenplay or the dialogue script rather than a few scattered pages that really end up meaning nothing

basically, since they're incomplete, they're really not worth even bothering with

[PG15]

Oh ok. In that case then yeah, an official complete transcript would definitely be welcomed.

In my case though, I value the actual script more since I myself write a script-form fanfic series, so it's kinda cool peaking into what official scripts look like.

[Vapor]

I'm a week late with this, but a few quick thoughts.

I loved it.

I really love opening scenes that drop the viewer (and sometimes a main character as well) into a situation where they have no idea what's going on. I can't stand openers that just simply say "Okay, we're going over here" and then the song starts up with no sense of suspense or great interest in what will happen next.

I don't necessarily... explode with enthusiasm over eps like this, which are very standaloney, but the non-linear storytelling and performances drew me in and allowed me to just accept the ep for what it was. I couldn't do that with "Doppleganger." It was just way too ordinary for me.

It's not exactly a favorite, but "Tabula Rasa" was, all in all, a good episode. I give it an A-.

Of course, I would have been happier if the title wasn't the exact title as the Buffy episode where all the characters experienced memory loss as well...

[letterdisser]

Unfortunately I´ve only seen the first 25 minutes of "Tabula Rasa". But even this 25 minutes were great! I´m looking forward to see the hole episode. Maybe as soon as I´ll buy the DvDs. ^^ But now I must be content with the first 25 minutes.

nice greetingz
your German_Guy

[Mitchell82]

Ha, you thought I forgot to write a review for this episode, right? Heh, see what I did there? See?

*Swing and a miss*

...Fine. Anyway, the past week has been brutal in terms of school work, so it has taken me until now to actually watch the episode. This was not a very good thing since I had a whole week to get spoiled on this episode, and the result was that...well, I was very spoiled. Still, I thought the episode was damn good, and a truly creepy addition into the Atlantis mythos.

Eck School work. I hated school work. Might be why I only had a C+ average. Agree on the ep though.

As always, let's get the complaints out of the way first. For me, this episode was a tad off-balance. In terms of direction and presentation, it basically blew every other episode out of the water; it was just that good. On the other hand, the dialogue was a little simple and while it was nice to see the team and then some, there wasn't really that much development. It was basically a continuation of "who are you?" "What was I doing"? Etc. But hey, can you really blame them?

Agred and as you stated it was in context for the ep however I do feel there was some development for Ronon and Teyla and we learned abit more about them and the Pegasus Galaxy.

Ok, that's that. Let's get back to the praising that I do so well. Although I said the episode lacked real character development, it was FULL of great character moments that showcased each characters' different sides. For Carter, it was a startling contrast between the confident leader and the scared little girl looking around the dark corridors muttering "No..." to McKay's "Are you sure?" I had to rewind that bit a few times just to hear her say it, because the way she said made her so very vulnerable. The long hair helps too to make her hawt.

I agree there were great moments for everyone but Shep,Carter,Ronon,Teyla,Keller and Mckay shined the most.

Of course, the whole point of this episode was to make everyone vulnerable, but as Martin Wood said in his article on the MGM Stargate site, the people stay true to who they are. McKay, stripped of his knowledge, is all the more jittery and panicky, while Sheppard, the laid back math genius, takes the time to think things through when faced with a difficult situation like this (but it wasn't a sudden situation, during which he would think for the moment, like a pilot).

That's one thing I loved. Despite their memory loss they still held true to who they are. That is something nothing can strip away.

Even though Teyla and Ronon weren't affected, how they deal with their friends' respective fall into memory loss was very pronounced: Teyla's patience is next to no ones and even though McKay is forgetting stuff over and over, she takes the time to carefully explain it to him with no sign of irritation.

Agreed and I'm ashamed to say I would have likely hit him very early on.

The impulsive Ronon, on the other hands, gets fed up pretty quickly and shoots Shep; a hilarious moment that's also true to his character.

I LMAO when hit shot him and said "That never gets old." I loved that part.

And Ronon called Shep "buddy". Hehe, that was nice. Of course, Ronon's line "Things we've been through together, I don't care what anyone says, no disease can wipe that away." was even nicer.

Agreed and I'm not ashamed to say I even shed a tear.

Oh, and the end part with Shep realizing he's Lorne's commander. Very good (subtle) acting on JF's part. Very funny stuff.

That scene was priceless IMHO.

And Shep mentioning McKay first when Teyla mentioned that people had died! Very cute (in a buddy-buddy sort of way, not the slash way ).

Yes please no slash. It was very touching to their "relationship". Their friendship has grown alot in four years especially in Doppleganger.

I should make a mention now that this episode has basically made me love every character a bit more, just because for once we saw their vulnerable side, completely separate from their usual facade.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Oh, and (Amanda Tapping, Jewel Staite) + Sweat = HAWT like woah.

I'll plead the fifth on that one.

Right, moving on. Well, no, I think I'll dwell on this character bit some more with the mention of a few minor gems: Lorne. Good lord this man can act crazy. Like Teyla said, he was unstable, and Kavan Smith smacked it out of the park! The fact that he was doing a job told to him by someone he can't remember, and that the whole reason he was doing it...wasn't remembered either, was downright creepy for me, and shows how devoted he was to his job.

Agreed Kavan did a superb job in this one.

Next, we have Zelenka, who basically fell back on his survival instinct. It was facinating to me to see the usual quiet, grumpy little man become such a survivor with his memory gone. I say, put him in a ridiculously dangerous situation and see what happens to him. I would really like a good character study of this man.

I liked that too. I can't think of the actors name but he did a great job aswell. This ep had spot on acting from everyone on this.

Hopefully I'll get it in

Spoiler:

Quarantine

I think we'll get insight on quite a few characters in that ep.

Last but not least, we have Zach Selwyn. From what I saw of his bit months ago during a special about it, he was pretty good. I was even more impressed when I actually saw him on the show. He didn't overact, or underact. He was pretty much perfect for Scientist #2, and with the look he's got, he should really think about going into acting. Trufax.

I forgot that was him! He did do fairly well.

Finally, we have Keller. Poor Jewel must have meant this episode when she talked about all the medibabble she had to utter, and boy there was A LOT! However, as with all the other characters, she had a moment of vulnerability, namely when Baxter died. It was brilliant acting by Jewel there, because you can tell that the moment the machines started beeping, all was lost. It was as if Keller never had a chance, and even by the end she was stunned at what just happened; it seemed to move so fast.

For some reason when I saw that I flashed to the scene in "Pearl Harbor" where the nurses were outside trying to weed out who to save and who not to and one nurse just breaks down and says "I don't know what to do!" That was a very dramatic scene and this had just as much impact. She did a great job.

Phew, I think that's everything to do with the characters. Like I said, everybody had their moment in the sun in this episode.

And so we move onto the spectacular cinematography of this episode. I've said in the past that Robert Cooper was the breath of fresh air needed for this series, but really, when given the right project, anybody can make it good - but only Martin Wood can make it great. The "Present" effect was just phenomenal. At once there is an injection of confusion into the scenes, and thanks to the various strange camera shots, there is even more confusion added in along with just sheer creepiness due to the low lighting and wide shots. Atlantis looked like a haunted house without the need of any decorations. This was magnified by the scene where (in the past) the team was searching for Zelenka; the way all the corridors curve so that we don't get to see more than a few meters away from us gives it a feeling of isolation, of not knowing where we were in the belly of the beast or what lies in store just around the corner. of coruse, the Present scenes made it even better due to all the other effects.

RCC is a genius at this and it just shows here as well. The show itself has been great before now but it has gotten better since he came on. I've said it before and I'll say it again the decision to do a past present switch was a good call. Playing straight through wouldn't have worked. The effects were great as always aswell.

And literally flashing back (and forwards); wonderfully done.

Agreed.

Oh, and Joel did a fantastic job with the music for the Present. Very unsettling.

You had doubts? He always does a great job.

Overall, in terms of just how the episode looks, this episode is probably one of the best in Stargate history.

Hmm I don't know Lost City, Reckoning/Threads and Rising are very well done not to mention The Storm/The Eye and Siege 2 and 3.

Oh and that teaser. Oh ho...totally creeped me out. By the end of it I had a chill running down my spine.

Same here and the last time that happend to me was Talion.

Well look at that; I'm talking about the teaser at the end of my review; I guess I just forgot to mention it at the beginning. Ha!

EDIT: And I just remembered! I LOVE LOVE LOVE how the characters are keeping tabs on the Wraith/Asuran war. See, you obviously can't have big battles every episode, so little mentions like the one that was shown near the beginning episode are really what make or break these long season arcs. So, the Wraith are blowing up Asuran ships eh? Veeeeery interesting.

Agreed I really can't wait to see that battle.

EDIT: Bah! How can I forget about Katie? You can see a sudden change in McKay when he's around her, really. For one, he's a lot softer and smiles a lot more than usual. He's a lot NICER, basically. It's not as if he's pretending, either; from what I've seen, he seems very sincere, and I like how Katie can bring out that side of him when nobody else could (unless the situation was extremely dire; you know what I'm talking about). Besides, he makes her happy too, so I think it's a great relationship. I hope to see more of it!

Agreed.

[Alan]

Just seen Tabula Rasa on Sky One and I thought it was superb! Really enjoyable from start to finish!

10 out of 10 vote from me!

[ashman2]

I agree, I'm not sure I like the storyline of McKay and Katie, it's not that it wasn't done well, it was, it's just that I prefer McKay being sarcastic and snappy, not halfway to mushy. My favourite McKay moment of all time is his message from season 1 when he's talking about cats and everything.

[Jace021903]

spoilered for OT, but i can't take credit for it. i'm kinda filking the lyrics

gotta love dr demento

Spoiler:

He was short and fat, and rode out of the West
With a Mogen David on his silver vest.
He was mean and nasty right clear through,
Which was kinda weird, 'cause he was yellow too.

They called him Irving.
Big Irving.
Big, short Irving.
Big, short, fat Irving.
The hundred and forty-second fastest gun in the West.

He came from the old Bar Mitzvah spread,
With a 10-gallon yarmulke on his head.* [see below]
He always followed his mother's wishes,
Even on the range he used two sets of dishes.

Irving.
Big, fat Irving.
Big sissy Irving.
The hundred and forty-second fastest gun in the West.

A hundred and forty-one could draw faster than he,
But Irving was looking for one forty-three.
Walked into Sol's Saloon like a man insane,
And ordered three fingers of two cents plain.

Irving.
Big, fat Irving.
Big sport Irving.
The hundred and forty-second fastest gun in the West.
----------------
[The following lines were edited out of the original release, and are only in
the version available on Dr. Demento's 20th Anniversary Collection.]

One day Bad Max happened into town.
His aim was to shoot fat Irving down.
Bad Max said, "Draw, and draw right now!"
And Irving drew, drew a picture of a cow.

Irving.
Big, fat Irving.
Big gunfighter Irving.
The hundred and forty-second fastest gun in the West.
----------------

The James Boys was comin' on a train at first sun,
And the town said, "Irving, we need your gun."
When that train pulled in at the break of dawn,
Irving's gun was there, but Irving was gone.

Irving.
Big, fat Irving.
Big help, Irving.
The hundred and forty-second fastest gun in the West.

Well, finally Irving got three slugs in the belly.
It was right outside the Frontier Deli.
He was sittin' there twirlin' his gun around,
And butterfingers Irving gunned himself down!

Irving.
Big, fat Irving.
Big dum-dum Irving.
Big dum-dum dead Irving.
The hundred and forty-second fastest gun in the West.
Really.

Oh my goodness. Blast from the past.

[Madeleine]

Best Atlantis ep in ages. (I'd say 'ever' but won't, in case I've forgotten one I really liked.)

It was just a filler in the grand scheme of things, but if all fillers could be as good as this i'd be a happy bunny indeed.

[Matt G]

1. Well that was certainly a wierd way to start the ep - one amnesiac slightly wierded out Zelenka.

2. "Keep away from the soldiers".

3. Flashbacks were good.

4. The entire city falling to an evolved version of a Pegasus kids disease? Reminds me of a Red Dwarf ep!

5. "When I said I was nearly finished I wasn't kidding".

6. "I'm your commanbding officer...do what he says".

Certainly can't think of anything wrong with this ep other than the fluke with McKay just needing to press enter. Another knockout - I like S4!

[valaCB]

Like the episode.
Season 4 is GREAT!

[Elite Anubis Guard]

Was a fantastic twist to a traditional story 'cause lets face it. This is a bog standard story but the Atlantis method was so interesting. Unlike some, I like the Rodney/Kate thing. I mean, it wasn't always going to be awkward. He's got to have sometime to shine. And besides, there's that upcoming episode where they're trapped together and things don't go well.

Not really much to say on this one.

[Promethius30]

I like this episode but how many times can Atlantis get infected by a diseases

[Pegasus_SGA]

I like this episode but how many times can Atlantis get infected by a diseases

It's only happened once before back in Season 1's Hot Zone. If you're thinking of Irrisistable that was due to an external source. Which other eps are you thinking of?

[garhkal]

And in comparison, how many times did the SGC get infected?