'First Contact' (510) General Discussion

[jenks]

You're better off not knowing.

But in case you REALLY want to know.

Spoiler:

The Happening.

Ah, probably shouldn't have read that...

[Alan Wake]

Does anyone else wonder how Janus was able to build his lab in Atlantis without anyone else noticing him?

Just seems like something someone would notice.

And those lights with the sound.. you would think the designer of the city would notice that too.

[rarocks24]

Does anyone else wonder how Janus was able to build his lab in Atlantis without anyone else noticing him?

Just seems like something someone would notice.

And those lights with the sound.. you would think the designer of the city would notice that too.

There's a thread dedicated to that.

[Alan Wake]

There's a thread dedicated to that.

ha. didn't even see that... thanks though

[jelgate]

Jelgate's Two Cents

*crosses off Ghost in the Machine and adds First Contact as the best episode of Season Five.*

Is anyone in the thread CPR certified? Because I might need your help. I'm by nature a person who cares more about the plot then the characters who shape it. Most of the time the Stargate mid-season finale and premiere is more about the plot the characters and First Contact. All the twists and turns of the episode had more jaw on the floor. So many things even after reading spoilers had me shocked.

Despite the episode being beyond fantastic, the teaser had me a little underwhelmed (or maybe it was the short credits). Isn't the whole point of a teaser to catch the viewer's interest? All we saw was McKay complaining about having to walk to the gate and then Daniel appeared. Didn't do much to peak my interest.

Luckily things really started to speed up after the first commercial. This episode brings me back to my SG1 days to see Daniel solve an Ancient puzzle, from finding the hallway to too him and McKay finding out the code to use Janus's secret entrance. I say McKay subconsciously wanted Daniel to fall on the ground. I like how slowly presented the new alien. The camera slowly pans to the Attero device and all we get is one sentence out of the aliens. Really adds to the mystery of, who are they?

What I am currently calling the B plot was also interesting with minor exception. I really did not care for the little scene showing the love triangle. The look on McKay's and Ronon's face made me a little sick. It’s also a joy to see a mention of IOA rules. It makes sense but I never knew it was an IOA rule that if the commander of the expedition goes offworld that the 2nd in command has to stay on Atlantis. I chuckled about the little foreshadowing when Woosley say don't blow her up.

One thing is very certain. Woosley is no Dr. Weir. I know his speech was meant mostly for comic relief but it stiff reinforces Stargate canon that Woosley is anything but a diplomat. The way he tries to talk Todd and just gets rejected to hear his great speech.

Speaking of Todd, I have always said he is one of the most 3D characters in Stargate Atlantis. Not only in the issue that we can never trust him but on the scene with Keller in the Daedalus. Todd sees like quite the philosopher. Keller goes on to say this will change the Wraith and very quietly says then who are we? That is such a deep thought to me. I know it will never be addressed again but it just pokes again at the argument of how we are different then the Wraith? We both do what we have to do to survive. Getting rid of their feeding desires doesn't really make them Wraith anymore.

Jelgate would like to take moment to tell everyone how much he loves the new alien. He loved watching their cool ship glide. At the same time I'm curious on how the aliens were able to get past Atlantis' shield. Is their really connection between their ship and Ancient ships? It was epic watching them storm through Atlantis, from watching their homemade elevator to the dead alien's orange shield. They really brought a terror factor that has been missing lately

Showing both Sheppard and McKay rationalizing why the new aliens attacked Atlantis was new writing technique on the show and something I haven't seen on TV for a long time. McKay is suppose to be a PhD and doesn't realize those green lasers are going to hurt. That is beyond idiotic. Once again I have to say how I loved the new alien’s demeanor. The writer doesn't give away much about the aliens. I was pleasantly surprised all the guy says is turn on the device. After the whole episode all we know is they can detect the Attero device and maybe need to wear that armor to live.

I always knew their were two kinds of hyperdrives but I never thought that each species travels a different kind of hyperspace. It interesting idea but way in the world does the Attero device blow up Stargates. This is the sad thing about two partiers. Their are so many questions but so few answers.

This is why I love Todd, you never know what to expect from him. One second he is fine the next second he stuns everyone on the Daedalus. Speaking of stunning, you wouldn't think a rod that small would stun so many people. I thought it would take something a little bigger. Todd knew exactly what had happened when the Hive ships blew up. I wonder what his connection is to the Attero device.

Curse you Martin Gero. Why is it you always know how to end cliffhangers on a high note. Watching the very end in Atlantis was full of tension. I'm not even a shipper and like the look Sheppard and Teyla had. This end sequence really shows how Zelenka can shine when McKay is missing. From watching him putting city shield around the Stargate to trying to contain explosion really shows how smart Zelenka really is. Their was a second I thought he would succeed. Then a certain writer had to be mean and blow up the control tower with the three most hated words in television. I haven't seen an episode end on such a high note since Siege II. I guess it could be worse. I could be waiting the usual 3 months or that one time we had to wait 6 months.

[DrJacksonsMistress]

I absolutely loved the interaction between Drs. Jackson & McKay. They make an interesting duo! They should give David & Michael their own spin-off... lol! 2 weeks is too long to have to wait for the conclusion to this cliffhanger!! But I will surely be watching!!

[Briangate78]

^^

Yeah it was a jaw dropping episode. I really want to see what is inside those battle suits. I cannot wait for the conclusion.

Poor Sheppard, loses the stargate on his command.

[rarocks24]

This episode was a 9/10.

Dr. Jackson, Todd, and the Wraith made it a 9.

Not contacting the Daedalus though and informing them that something had been stolen from Atlantis by some unknown race.

BIG MISTAKE.

[jelgate]

fantastic episode! the only downsight, we have to wait two weeks for part II.

It could be worse. We could the status quo of a 3 month hitasus or that dreaded 6 month we had in S3.

the weren't foot hold aliens...i think....and where are you getting asgard from??

from The Lost Tribe spoilers

Over all it was a good ep. Loved seeing Daniel again. He does play well with McKay. Ah, poor insecure Rodney. What a change. Arrogant to insecure. Hmm, must be the writers forgot he's supposed to be self absorbed.

Anyways, there isn't much of a plot really. Mainly techno-babel and plot devices. The new radce in the series seems pretty blan...Todd is far more interesting.

The security on the Deadelus was ridicules to say the least...but I did like woolsey's charm. (He's a completely;y different character from 2 years ago...huh?)

Poor Zelenka...RIP.

on a scale of 1-10...I give it a 7...mainly for Daniel's appearance and his banter with Mckay.

I don't think Zelenka is dead. He was right next to Sheppard and their is no way Sheppard is dead

Yes, I'm not the only one who was thinking breen when they kept their suits on.

No you were definatly not the only one. I also thought about the Breen after Daniel made the observation on them not taking them off.

That ROCKED! Inventive, exciting, complex, and very cool.

Good stuff:

* Todd - he never gets old. LOVED his willingness to participate even with his doubts. The line questioning Wraith identity if they went through with the testing was BRILLIANT. And the nifty Wraith stunner sticks were way cool. Funny how he had them ready....

* Daniel - I've missed you! He gives as good as he gets with McKay (oh, the snark!), and his amused smile when Rodney mentioned that Sheppard could've been Mensa made me laugh. I love that he's still actively researching the Ancients.

* Janus' lab and experiments - we haven't seen nearly enough about Atlantis and the secrets she holds. I adore the fact there are still some there.

* Todd seemed to know about the device (I didn't catch what he called it).

* alien race - great mystery. Are they human or alien? What's with the suits? How did they know what the alarm on the device signified? Where did the extremely cool shields and cutting device (?) come from? Did Janus create them?

* Teyla, Radek, Woolsey, Caldwell - good to see you. Where've you been?

* Banks - I like her.

* great effects - I don't normally notice these kinds of things, but I particularly liked the alien ships entry into Lantean space and the following flight over the water.

* Sheppard in command - love it when he gets all military

* Woolsey tells Sheppard not to blow the place up. So he promptly manages to blow up the infirmary and the gate room. Oops.

* Daniel being willing to die to avoid the unforeseen side effects and Rodney struggling to shut it down when he figured out what they were

* the plotlines merging at the end - the experiment working which destroys the Wraith cruiser and blows up the Atlantis gate. I wonder how many other worlds will face the same fate before they shut it down.

I have lots of questions, but I'm hoping those will be answered in part 2. I hope Teyla and Ronon will be more involved then.

I noticed their was no bad stuff

[joeynox]

we need a season six. This is ridiculous the show is getting better and better and its gonna be gone in jan. BTW I loved the episode

[amconway]

anyone like this episode so much you're watching it again now?

I just finished watching about 10 seconds ago. I'm going to take a 5 minute break, then watch again. After the last shot I just stared at the screen and said WOW! That was fantastic. Really, really good. As an SG-1 fan, I knew that I would be more involved and feel like the stakes were higher than I usually do, but I ended up being absolutely riveted by everyone's plotline. Three cliffhangers in one, and everyone of them really interesting and exciting! And we still don't know who those guys with the super cool tech were! How awesome was that device that took the aliens to the bottom of that tower? How cool was the nifty gold shield? How fantastic was it to see Daniel really having fun for the first time in at least a decade? (however short lived that fun may have been. Poor guy) That was so great! New tech! Discoveries! First contact! Now that was Stargate!

[Jeffala]

Not contacting the Daedalus though and informing them that something had been stolen from Atlantis by some unknown race.

BIG MISTAKE.

I thought the same thing at first, but then they gave us the convenient "Daedalus is out of range" excuse for not informing them.


Also, on

Spoiler:

The Happening, my first thought was, appropriately, "eew barf!"

[Alan Wake]

I kept waiting for Daniel to pop in a joke about death... They set up so many lines hehe.

[Shan Bruce Lee]

This is easily the best episode of the season so far and could possibly be the best of the series. I'll have to wait and see how I feel after some time.

The Jackson/McKay back and forth stuff was great.
Todd's reaction to the device's activation was awesome. I loved seeing the Wraith take over the Daedalus.
Shep's military command was about as flawless as you can get given the circumstances.
The alien race exceeded my expectations. They kinda had an old school BSG feel... like when BSG was fun to watch. The alien "holding up" the shields looked crazy - I can't wait to see more of these guys.
Loved Ronon's reaction to the Wraith attack. I've been waiting for the big Ronon/Todd showdown, I hope we get that.

[Shan Bruce Lee]

1. When the unknown alien ship passed thru the shield, Shepperd said to get the jumpers in the air, right? Now after all the time that passed by, (the aliens jumping in, passing through the many levels of flooring, grabbing Daniel and Rodney, then leaving) there were no jumpers in the air.

He said to have them on standby, doesn't mean they launched. And even if they did, by the time the crew got to the jumpers, got airborne and headed toward the alien ship it could've been gone already.

2. Every time that Shepperd and his team came up on one of those aliens, they hesitated and waited until the aliens raised the shield for the transporter through the floor, and their own personal shield.

Every 2 times? The first time they tried to find out who they were and the second time they opened fire on him.

3. When Todd the wraith (I think thats his name) saw that the other hives had exploded, he slid that weird device down his sleeve and started acting like he was getting ready to retaliate, but yet Woolsy and the rest of the bunch stood there and did nothing. All those armed personnel, yet no one acted.

Yeah why didn't they see the stun stick he was hiding behind his back?