'First Contact' (510) General Discussion

[Laura Dove]

I think from the beginning Daniel wanted to go straight to work, and find out whether or not his theory of a secret lab was correct. All I saw from Daniel was restraint from Rodney's flagrant skepticism, which was in part warranted but largely fueld by Rodney's insecurities as being the supposed Ancient expert of Atlantis; he was constantly beligerent and sarcastic. That's normal for Rodney but not at the expense of trying to find new technoogy. Daniel understood Rodney's doubts but not his competitive nature and even tried to find some common ground as scientists and expressing not caring for recognition. Rodney just couldn't bear another individual stepping on his "turf", Daniel, who by the way has a knack of uniquely understanding the scope of a situation --I mean, Rodney actually thought Janus would simply broadcast his secret lab in a PUBLIC report.

But actually, McKay's reaction is right: He, or any of the Atlantis team, should have been the ones who discovers the lab, not Daniel Jackson having what, a revelation while looking at the ceiling? I highly doubt Janus would write anything down about his secret lab after the Ancients left the Pegasus galaxy. What would have made more sense is if someone on Atlantis had found an encrypted file and managed to decipher it.

McKay was doubly victim of bad writing: TPTB dismissed his knowledge of Atlantis to find an artificial way to bring Jackson to Atlantis and let him be the one who gets the praise of discovering the lab, and then Jackson had to jeer at him to show off.

Fortunately, the rest of the episode was awesome enough to make up for it, but still, the Jackson part was even worse that what I had prepared me for.

And how retarded is Todd? Why would we let him witness the destruction of two of his ships if we had intended for that to happen, and then stand there innocently as he figured it out?

• The Daedalus crew might not have been aware of Atlantis intentions.
• The Daedalus was the only available way to fly to Janus' facility and disable the Attero device.
• The Daedalus crew probably wouldn't have accepted to fly Todd there, at least not without loosing a lot of time in pointless discussions.

[fumblesmcstupid]

I was laughing when the aliens all started to speak.......ENGLISH!

[Linzi]

Yeah i don't get that either...I never saw him arrogant....He tried to kinda get his own back on Rodney for trying to dismiss Daniel finding the lab and then not telling him he could have just walked through the wall.....If anything i thought McKay was kinda arrogant and dismissive towards Daniel!

I'm going to agree with you here. As someone who didn't particularly wish for Danny to come to Atlantis, I actually ended up enjoying him on the show! But, I did think Rodney looked a little .... well, overbearing, grumpy and unfriendly. He seemed really insecure around Daniel, always wanting to take control and show he knew more than Jackson. Maybe McKay was just defending his territory? Bless him. But he did seem a little more annoying than usual. Don't get me wrong, I like arrogant, snarky McKay, but at times I wanted to say 'Be nice, Rodney!' Mind you, Daniel handled him really well.

I was disappointed Daniel didn't get the chance to interact with anyone else, just McKay. That's a shame, IMO. Sometimes I just get the impression that TPTB give all the good stuff to McKay, and it really does annoy me on occasion. There are other characters too...

I did enjoy the story though. Loved the new aliens. Loved how they just stormed in and took what they wanted; how they were uncompromising.

Loved Todd. I'm glad he's showing his wraith side again. He feels he's been betrayed, and hell hath no fury like a wraith scorned! The danger with Todd, was making him too friendly with the team. Now things have gone pear shaped and I loved seeing the angry Todd. I did enjoy his moments with Keller when he philosophically asked what the wraith would become, what would they do? Very well done.

As usual, Sheppard didn't really have much to do of substance here. Just left at home, playing boss - though I did enjoy his scenes with Zelenka. The two work well together, IMO. It was, of course, nice to see Zelenka here. He's a great character, IMO. I did enjoy the scene where Sheppard fell asleep reading his book, and did enjoy him pleading with Teyla to leave the control room.


So, overall I did enjoy First Contact. It was an entertaining mid season finale, full of tension and excitement, with just, perhaps, a little too much Daniel/McKay dialogue for my liking. I like my season finales to be team episodes, and I didn't get that feeling AGAIN! The team keeps being split up, and though sometimes that's good, it's been happening far too much for my liking in season 5, and as this is our last season....hmmm, it makes me feel a little sad.

[bluealien]

I'm going to agree with you here. As someone who didn't particularly wish for Danny to come to Atlantis, I actually ended up enjoying him on the show! But, I did think Rodney looked a little .... well, overbearing, grumpy and unfriendly. He seemed really insecure around Daniel, always wanting to take control and show he knew more than Jackson. Maybe McKay was just defending his territory? Bless him. But he did seem a little more annoying than usual. Don't get me wrong, I like arrogant, snarky McKay, but at times I wanted to say 'Be nice, Rodney!' Mind you, Daniel handled him really well.

I wasn't really looking forward to Daniel either as I knew he would get a big chunk of screentime, therefore taking time away from the SGA characters. But I ended up loving Daniel and didnt find him arrogant in the slightest. Though I can't say the same for McKay. I agree that he seemed insecure and snarky around Daniel... maybe he doesnt like to think that anyone can outdo him, so he turned into rude and arrogant McKay again, the side of him I don't really like at all. But McKay seems to think he's top dog and makes that known to Zelenka on enough occasions.
But I still loved their interaction though it would be nice to see Rodney trying to be nice for a change and less of the childish attitude.

I was disappointed Daniel didn't get the chance to interact with anyone else, just McKay. That's a shame, IMO. Sometimes I just get the impression that TPTB give all the good stuff to McKay, and it really does annoy me on occasion. There are other characters too...

Well I've sorta resigned myself to the fact that Rodney is the centre of the ptb's universe now, along with Keller. I have given up expecting the same sort of stuff for the other characters.

I did enjoy the story though. Loved the new aliens. Loved how they just stormed in and took what they wanted; how they were uncompromising.

Me too. It had loads of twists and turns and some excellent special effects. The new aliens were amazing and I was pretty much riveted to my seat for the entire ep...

Loved Todd. I'm glad he's showing his wraith side again. He feels he's been betrayed, and hell hath no fury like a wraith scorned! The danger with Todd, was making him too friendly with the team. Now things have gone pear shaped and I loved seeing the angry Todd. I did enjoy his moments with Keller when he philosophically asked what the wraith would become, what would they do? Very well done.

I'm glad that there is tension again between Todd and the team and that he thinks they betrayed him. Todd was becoming a tad too nice and I like seeing his dark side but can still sympathise with him. He is just doing what he has to to survive.

As usual, Sheppard didn't really have much to do of substance here. Just left at home, playing boss

Sheppard NEVER gets enough to do IMO... and his character is woefully underused.. such a shame but the ptb can't seem to come up with more for him to do..

- though I did enjoy his scenes with Zelenka. The two work well together, IMO. It was, of course, nice to see Zelenka here. He's a great character, IMO. I did enjoy the scene where Sheppard fell asleep reading his book, and did enjoy him pleading with Teyla to leave the control room.

Great scenes.. I love Zelenka, and Radek outdid Shep in the messy hair department.. Their scenes were very tense and I loved John's plea to Teyla to leave. Again Teyla suffers from the same syndrome as Shep, not utilised enough. Keller seems to have taken over the leading lady role but she seems less like a CMO these days and more like a cheerleader.

So, overall I did enjoy First Contact. It was an entertaining mid season finale, full of tension and excitement, with just, perhaps, a little too much Daniel/McKay dialogue for my liking. I like my season finales to be team episodes, and I didn't get that feeling AGAIN! The team keeps being split up, and though sometimes that's good, it's been happening far too much for my liking in season 5, and as this is our last season....hmmm, it makes me feel a little sad.

It was a very well executed episode with a great pace and good story telling but as soon as I heard Daniel would be on board I knew he and McKay would get the lions share of screentime, but Daniel was a pleasure to watch and in fact highlighted even more for me why I'm not that fond of McKay. But the team eps have been lacking for most of Season five and I agree it is a shame. There was no need to bring in Keller IMO... the writers have 4 main characters that they don't use enough but somehow they don't seem to know what to do with them, so their answer is to keep bringing in new charactes.. I was very happy with the ones we had but this is the last season and unfortunately I think the lack of team episodes is going to continue.

But overall First Contact was an excellent episode. Probably the best of the season, though Search and Rescue is still my favourite as the teaminess of that episode put it a notch ahead of First Contact...

[ykickamoocow]

Sheppard NEVER gets enough to do IMO... and his character is woefully underused.. such a shame but the ptb can't seem to come up with more for him to do..

Your joking right. Sheppard gets alot to do and he is the one that gets to save the day 90% of the time.

[Raj_2006]

All i can say is "I Love this episode!"

[Lord Doros]

Am I the only one who doesn't really like Daniel anymore? He's become uncaring, and sarcastic. Like Jack, but in a bad way. I think it was ever since the Ancients refused to help against the Ori. Now he seems to have stopped being so passionate about his work and helping people. Even all during Continuum he was cracking sarcastic remarks, swearing, and generally being down about everything. Or maybe it's Shanks whos lost his passion.

[Laura Dove]

Am I the only one who doesn't really like Daniel anymore? He's become uncaring, and sarcastic. Like Jack, but in a bad way. I think it was ever since the Ancients refused to help against the Ori. Now he seems to have stopped being so passionate about his work and helping people. Even all during Continuum he was cracking sarcastic remarks, swearing, and generally being down about everything. Or maybe it's Shanks whos lost his passion.

I completely agree! And as I don't even have previous attachment to the character, I found him really unpleasant.

[GateTrek2004]

You knew the device's critical side-effect before Rodney even explained it? I doubt it.

I did not UNTIL they Cut to Sheppard Boarding the Jumper just before dailing the gate!

[GateTrek2004]

What's going to happen when the SGC activates their gate? They use the gate all the time, and the Iris won't protect them from that kind of explosion.

Im thinking this is contained to the PG only, as MWG is far away.

[madaboutdanny]

I loved Rodney, remind me a bit of Sg1 Rodney...and Daniel is still the same Daniel to me, maybe a little more snarky, but he was always snarky and sarcastic. Great episode, I usually don't watch Atlantis, not anymore, I loved all character in FC but Keller.

[GateTrek2004]

Poor Zelenka...RIP.

We don't know hes dead? in the previews

Spoiler:

Sheppard is alive, Zelenka was RIGHT NEXT TO HIM! in this episode before the explosion

[huntress]

I actually really enjoyed this episode. Okay it helped that Danny was in it, but also those aliens were fascinating and who saw that ending coming? It really made me ask. What now? I loved the interaction between Daniel and Rodney. Daniel wasn't arrogant (then again he never was - that was usually Sam) and though he gave Rodney often exasperated looks he worked rather well with him. I just loooved how Rodney wanted to show off John to Daniel. It was like "Hey have you met MY man? He might be a goon but he is a really smart one" (I do think that John easily beats Jack in that category :.g and how John was crushed and started to panic when Rodney was taken. I also loved to see the wraith side of Todd again. The only thing I really didn't like (but I expected that) was the whole love triangle thing which is actually not a triangle but a really stupid competition because Jennifer seems to be oblivious to what is going on. All in all a very good SGA episode and I can't wait for the second part. This is maybe the first time in ages were I am actually looking forward to a second episode. I just hope it won't be a disappointment like second part of "The Return".

[DragonLadyK]

FINALLY! A good Zelenka ep this season. He was a crankier than normal (*cough* because his boyfriend's off chasing Keller*cough*) but once again Radek proved he's completely capable of doing McKay's job if The Worst Should Happen -- including the part where Sheppard comes up with the idea, but Rodney/Radek makes it work: thunder is just a noise, and all that.

Daniel -- (hi, Danny, hi!) was his usual level of awesome. I love that he called Rodney on his attitude and I ADORED the harkening back to Stargate (the movie). Him trying to reason with the aliens was great and so typically him.

Woolsey gets points for effort. ^^

Now with all this awesomeness, you think I'd give the ep an eight. But I'm giving it a five because there was a big black fly in the ointment that without Radek and Daniel would have ruined the ep completely. That would be the big guy with dreads who looked like Ronon but didn't act like him at all and Keller. Since we're only seeing Ronon suddenly turn into a puppy dog after Rodney announced his "intentions" it looks like Ronon's pursuit of Keller is ONLY because Rodney wants her -- which makes Ronon a sexist a**hole completely unlike the Ronon we've known for three years. And Keller's little rubbing it in Rondey's face, what, two eps after she finds out he loves her made me hate her even more. Playing two friends against each other is the emotionally egocentric and cruel. even if she's just flirting with Ronon to make Rodney jealous.

Keller is the epitome of shallow, dull, conveinent writing and if this wasn't the last season it would be my last just to get away from the simpering little moron.

DragonLady

[Linda06]

I'm going to agree with you here. As someone who didn't particularly wish for Danny to come to Atlantis, I actually ended up enjoying him on the show! But, I did think Rodney looked a little .... well, overbearing, grumpy and unfriendly. He seemed really insecure around Daniel, always wanting to take control and show he knew more than Jackson. Maybe McKay was just defending his territory? Bless him. But he did seem a little more annoying than usual. Don't get me wrong, I like arrogant, snarky McKay, but at times I wanted to say 'Be nice, Rodney!' Mind you, Daniel handled him really well.

Yeah I admit I was a little concerned too but every time there's been an SG-1 character on the show they haven't taken over which is a good thing...They've blended in quite well I really hate the arrogant, self obsessed, whiny Rodney..I actually didn't mind Rodney in a few eps this season because they've curbed back on that....That's one of the reasons I hated him so much in S4 but he started off S5 promisingly....Except for a couple of eps!

I was disappointed Daniel didn't get the chance to interact with anyone else, just McKay. That's a shame, IMO. Sometimes I just get the impression that TPTB give all the good stuff to McKay, and it really does annoy me on occasion. There are other characters too...

They give all they good stuff to McKay...And now to Keller also I've pretty much almost given up hope on Teyla getting anything to do (with the exception of her token ep) since Keller's come into it now!

Loved Todd. I'm glad he's showing his wraith side again. He feels he's been betrayed, and hell hath no fury like a wraith scorned! The danger with Todd, was making him too friendly with the team. Now things have gone pear shaped and I loved seeing the angry Todd. I did enjoy his moments with Keller when he philosophically asked what the wraith would become, what would they do? Very well done.

I kinda felt sorry for Todd....I think he's stuck between a rock and a hard place in regards to what to do...I think he wants to go through with this treatment but like he said...What would they do, who would they be....It's all they've ever known...What would they become?

As usual, Sheppard didn't really have much to do of substance here. Just left at home, playing boss - though I did enjoy his scenes with Zelenka. The two work well together, IMO. It was, of course, nice to see Zelenka here. He's a great character, IMO. I did enjoy the scene where Sheppard fell asleep reading his book, and did enjoy him pleading with Teyla to leave the control room.

At least he gets alot more to do than Teyla She gets practically zilch to do most of the time...I wonder why she is still even there sometimes

I did like how Shep was almost pleading with Teyla to leave!

I just watched 10 minutes ago...and I"m speechless and wordless...I"m WOW!!! WOW!!!
I'll write more when I have more coherent thoughts! WOOOOWSA! Only thing, I missed Teyla. We need more Teyla!!!

Yes we do but i'm not holding out much hope for that!