'The Daedalus Variations' (504) General Discussion

[Skydiver]

No, the original was the X-302, as it was experimental, but it's official title is definitely the F-302.

the reasoning behind x-302 adn f-302....ALL Planes are called X- whatever while they're 'experimental' air craft. Then, when they pass the test and become official air craft, the X is changed to an F (or whatever letter applies)

so the F is correct. They were x302's when they were being tested, but f302's when they go into full production

[Laura Dove]

Hmmm. I liked a lot of things in this episodes: The complementary team work, Teyla's learning of the ship tech, the discovery of the "other them" and their reactions... But I didn't like the bad guys, no matter how cool-looking their ships were. We learn next to nothing about them, and they're too much "generic bad guys" for my taste. They don't even say a word! They could as well have been wraith or replicators, it would have changed nothing in the story, and at least we would have had something to cling on.

[jelgate]

the reasoning behind x-302 adn f-302....ALL Planes are called X- whatever while they're 'experimental' air craft. Then, when they pass the test and become official air craft, the X is changed to an F (or whatever letter applies)so the F is correct. They were x302's when they were being tested, but f302's when they go into full production

I did not know that. I thought writers just wanted to change the name.?* Guess you do learn new things every day

[MerryK]

I agree with those who said they couldn't find anything particularly bad in this episode, but they didn't love it. I can't explain it either, but though I was LOLing at many lines, the episode itself didn't grab me like Broken Ties. But hey, I don't mind—most SGA eps are better when the Season box set comes and you watch them all in a week.

One thing I'm glad that SGA is doing is developing all their relationships. SG-1 sometimes annoyed me by focusing on certain pairings in episodes to the detriment of others. We'd get a Jack/Sam interaction, or a Jack/Teal'c & Sam/Daniel combo, or Jack/Daniel interaction, but we pretty much never got a Sam/Teal'c or Daniel/Teal'c interaction. And with the new team, we usually got Daniel/Vala, Cam/Teal'c, or Cam/Sam. But with SGA we have Sheppard/Mckay, Sheppard/Ronon, Sheppard/Teyla, Sheppard/SGA commander, Mckay/Ronon, Mckay/Teyla, Ronon/Teyla, Teyla/family, Teyla/SGA commander, Ronon/SGA commander, Mckay/SGA commander...seriously, wow, they've actually explored all the possibilities in four seasons.

One thing I definitely was not fond of was the bad guy. Not cool, and not developed, just powerful. If they become cooler and more developed, I may like them, but right now, bleh.

[Stormtrooper]

I did not know that. I thought writers just wanted to change the name.?* Guess you do learn new things every day

Meet the X-1:

Spoiler:

[jckfan55]

It was good to see the team all together again. Other than that, I was bored. Too much Rodney ranting and babbling. Teyla was flat and conveniently proficient in using the ship's systems. Sheppard and Ronon didn't have a lot to do. Although the scenes where they fought side by side were great. I always love those. For the most part though, too much time watching people talk and punch buttons.


The team felt off. Like the lines were written for a generic team and our characters were just slotted in. Didn't feel like SGA.

I agree with your assessment.

[Linda06]

I did not know that. I thought writers just wanted to change the name.?* Guess you do learn new things every day

You mean the Jel is not all knowing as we were led to believe

[Reiko]

But with SGA we have Sheppard/Mckay, Sheppard/Ronon, Sheppard/Teyla, Sheppard/SGA commander, Mckay/Ronon, Mckay/Teyla, Ronon/Teyla, Teyla/family, Teyla/SGA commander, Ronon/SGA commander, Mckay/SGA commander...seriously, wow, they've actually explored all the possibilities in four seasons.

» I have to agree to a point, but it still can seem very unbalanced. For example, Teyla is often attached to Sheppard or Ronon by the hip - it's been nice to see her with Rodney this season. Not to mention the lack of Carson/Teyla ... *la*

[The_Carpenter]

I did not know that. I thought writers just wanted to change the name.?* Guess you do learn new things every day

Why do ya think the Defiant in DS9 has a NX registry when Voyager and the Constitution onwards Enterprises had NCC registrations

[Southern Red]

I had the opposite reaction to this episode as most viewers evidently. It was okay I guess as entertainment goes---team in peril, bad guys to shoot, good visual effects, interesting concept, pretty things to look at. But for most of the first 2/3 I was bored. It seemed like we were watching the team play a video game with long stretches of nothing but people looking at consoles. *shrugs*

Anyway, the good:

- The McShep banter is back.
- Rodney is trying to bond with Torren. Hee. The last scene was sweet. Hopefully it will put to rest any further talk that he and Teyla are not friends.
- I liked the AU Sheppard. Can we go there and stay?
- Ronon and Shep fighting side by side. Always a treat.


Now, the not so good:

- Space Invaders. I'd rather play than watch.
- Rodney seemed even crankier than usual.
- I hate it when they make Ronon look less intelligent. He just didn't want to learn the stupid controls. He's a fighter not a techie.
- So Teyla is Carter now. Amazing how fast she learned to control weapons/engineering/environmental systems on a ship that probably requires its crew to undergo months of training. Pretty soon Rodney and Zelenka will be useless.
- The bad guys reminded me of the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. *oilcanoilcanoilcan*
- I think because it was only the team on board the ship there was less suspense. They should have brought along a few random red shirts to kill off. *shrugs again*

I liked the scene where Sheppard talked to AU Sheppard. You could clearly tell the difference in the tone of voice. AU Sheppard seemed much more laid back and relaxed. Maybe his world is a happier place. Or they were just in between crises. Our John seemed to need a connection to his alternate self when he prolonged the conversation. I hope their intent was not to show him as having an ego that needs feeding. I have never gotten that sense from him, and I go off the rails when they make him look silly. I'll just chalk it up to needing a lighter moment and let it go.

So overall, not a waste of an hour but not one I'll watch over and over.

[wheresmyfroggy]

You mean the Jel is not all knowing as we were led to believe

Lies! Deceit! BLASPHEMY!!!

[jelgate]

Lies! Deceit! BLASPHEMY!!!

I like the way you think

It still kind of bothers me that they couldn't add one line of dialogue saying that Woolsey had approved Sheppard's mission

[metabog]

You know if that power source they had on the Daedalus is as powerful as a ZPM, and it recharges that fast... that would be crazy. It would mean McKay made something even better than a ZPM in that other universe. Too bad he messed up, eh?

[Lord batchi ball]

It still kind of bothers me that they couldn't add one line of dialogue saying that Woolsey had approved Sheppard's mission

Yeah me too.

I was just rewatching it on my DVR and I began to think, why and who built it. And then I remembered the episode of SG1 that tried to steal the ZPM from our atlantis for thier atlantis. And since the ship was above the new world of atlantis I suspect it was that same aternate reality or a relly close one. They came back to steal ZPMs.

[FalconSpirit]

It seems like many people are interested in seeing the new aliens come back. I for one thought the alien mothership was very, very cool looking, and I liked how the aliens were refreshingly different from a lot of other aliens, Wraith included, that we've seen so far. Not just in looks, but ships, weapons, toughness, and so on.

That being said, I don't think I want to see them recurring much, if at all. One of the novel things about the episode was that they were new and different, and this dealing with Alternate Dimenions, the writers could throw stuff at us we'd never see otherwise. Seeing them come up as a new enemy later would kind of cheapen it to me.

If they were to bring them back, I'd want one or more of the following to be true:

1. They come back much later from now. Say 2 or 3 seasons at least so that people have forgetten about them and they can be a pleasant surprise.
2. Have them show up only for a few episodes. Perhaps they're a much weakened race in our dimension, thanks to the Wraith.
3. Make them be good. Not seem good, then turn out to be evil at the end. Actually good.

Don't ask me why, but I'm happy to see Lorne getting some more screen time. Also, how many Jumpers is it they've lost now? For a while, I almost thought they were going to gain another Jumper out of this instead of lose yet another one.

As for the story itself, I liked what they did, but I also thought they could have went a different direction with it. Seeing the possible outcomes of the war with the Wraith via the alternate dimensions, actually getting to know and assist the other realities more, that sort of thing. The kid in me was pretty happy with all the fancy CG and stuff blowing up - I like large doses of that once in a while, or liberally sprinked in, but when the team first transported to above the other Atlantis, I had all these visions of character building moments that were possible.

In the end, the writers didn't go there, and I think that's fine, as it would be a different etory otherwise. This was a good episode in of itself. But that other story of learning about themselves, about Atlantis and the Pegauss Galaxy via Alternate Dimensions was an appealing prospect to me, and I hope they do something like that in the future.