GateWorld Podcast Feedback!

[Lythisrose]

Re the Wraith.
The Wraith as individuals are pretty cool, but as a whole, I am somewhwat dissatisfied with how they progressed.
As a race, they haven't quite lived up to their reputation...
They started off very menacing, but, over the seasons, have gotten less and less scary, what happened to the ability to regenerate so quickly, or to confuse the mind with psychic images? And this year, even Keller can kick their butts? They probably are wearing red T-shirts under all that leather...
But, on the other hand, Todd is magnificent! What a wonderful character. I have nothing but praise for his ambiguity and wily ways.
And I wish they hadn't killed off Steve early on. He could have been a great recurring menace.

[KhaosNite13]

Good podcast this week.

Re: Podcast Question:
In the first season, and upto 'Michael', the Wraith were in their scariest element. Every time you saw them, you had fear of them. Once personality was added, it ruins that scary element, and they become like Todd, a face we can converse with. We wanted to know about their society, and once we got that, it made them less a scary race.

[MyFavoriteWraith]

Are the Wraith still a threat and do they still frighten me?

Well, they don't give me nightmares the way they did back in Season 1. (Especially any of Andee Frizzell's Queens!)

The way the Wraith have been written, they have quickly lost a lot of their boogeyman scariness, though I don't think the writers expected the Wraith to win over people like me by the way they've written them in comparison to the Lanteans. The Wraith are primeval but sentient beings who happen to gain their sustenance by feeding off of humans - a result of their evolution from humans who had been fed upon by the Iratus bug. Because of this and, despite the writers' efforts to portray them as the Bad Guys in Black, I refuse to see them as "evil".

It has been discouraging to watch the Wraith lose elements of their, er, "wraithiness" introduced early on by the writers: their ability to regenerate (anyone remember the dismembered arm that kept crawling as if to find it's body?), the fact that they die with fewer and fewer shots each episode, their telepathic abilities (which have mostly been ignored except for the case of Teyla), their supernatural strength (which seems to come and go). I could go on.

The "Michael" storyline has been great but it has saddened me and given me a much lower opinion of the Lanteans. Any kind of empathy I had left for them after I saw the treatment of their prisoners (Steve, Bob) really dissipated after I saw their treatment of Michael and the other Wraith in "Misbegotten". Yeah, it's hard not being the top of the food chain anymore - you risk that chance when you step outside your own universe. So, I understand the desperation to survive and help others, but they've done things I find highly, highly unethical. And the now problem of Michael I find nothing but deserved retribution.

The introduction of Todd in "Common Ground" complicated things for the Wraith persona, but in a good way. Suddenly that boogeyman who sucks your lifeforce for dinner is a smart, philosophical (and cute IMHO) bugman with a sense of humor, who actually can be a somewhat trustworthy and defintely honorable ally! But he's still Wraith and he'll still have you for a snack if he's hungry enough or maybe if you look at him the wrong way. I can't think of anything more scary - you can have an intelligent conversation with the "monster" and even work with him sometimes, but he can still turn and drain your lifeforce out at any time. It's fear on another level.

I applaud the writers on their efforts to give the Wraith character more depth and dimension, but with their attentions distracted by other storylines and characters (Replicators, Ori, Ancients, Genii, evil farmers, naive villagers and annoying child monarch), I feel cheated. I know, I know this is "Stargate: Atlantis" not "The Hive", although I'm wishing that was the new series instead of "Universe". Hmmm, one can only hope.

mfw

[Browncoat1984]

For me, the Wraith weren't exactly "scary" but rather "intimidating." When we first encountered the Wraith we were way out of our element. While Atlantis may have given us superior technology to the Wraith, they had far superior numbers. We did not have allies to help us out like the Asgard, and they were very impersonal - aside from the Wraith Queen in Rising we didn't have any face to put to the Wraith other than regular foot soldiers, while for the Gould, we had a face for them as early as the SG-1 pilot and original Stargate movie (Ra and Apophis).

The entire dynamic of the Wraith changed as they became more personal through characters like Michael, Todd, and other minor characters who showed up such as the Wraith who captured Ronon and turned him back into a Runner, and the Queen that showed up at the end of season 3. Another thing that really served to change the way the Wraith seemed intimidating is that they used races like the Replicators to really soften them up. It would have been more interesting had we been the ones who had to figure out how to defeat them, rather than using the Replicators to do it for us. In season 3 and season 4 it when we encountered the Wraith it wasn't like "oh crap, the Wraith" it was more like, "oh look, its the Wraith."

I think recent episodes such as The Queen and the recent two-parter have served to help return the Wraith to the intimidating status.

[Naddy]

First off, I love the podcasts; I never listened to any before I found these and now I find them great for commuting and another Stargate fix.

RE: The listener question
I didn't really ever find the Wraith that "scary"; I found them interesting, but in terms of alien races in the Stargate 'verse they were never my favourites. Now I'm starting to find their storylines a bit too predictable; it could be more interesting now that Todd isn't an "ally" 'cause I think he's the only one who actually knows the location of Atlantis, right?

I thought the suggestion of bringing back some of "our" Asgards from the core was an interesting idea, but I was wondering: I thought Thor just said that they're holographic representations to facilitate easy use (like Ganos Lal in the Lantean teaching program), not stored consciousnesses?

Thanks

[Wraith Cake]

This week GateWorld introduces a brand new weekly podcast, packed with news, site updates, interview previews, discussion, and more! Just look for the "GateWorld Podcast" link in the top-right corner of the Web site, or subscribe to the podcast at iTunes.

This thread is where you can share your feedback on the podcast in general, or the contents of specific episodes each week. If you have ideas for new features, want to ask a question or share a thought to be read on the air, or want to suggest other ways we might improve the show, please post here.

For iTunes subscribers, we'd also appreciate your review of the podcast in the iTunes store. Just visit the podcast page in iTunes and click the "Write a Review" link!

New episodes will be available every Tuesday (through at least September). Thanks!

I suppose this is where I post my opinion of The Lost Tribe? Well here goes: I think there were some great moments, but overall it seemed there were too many things going on in the episode. Too many stories with out tied ends, or relative resolutions, which made the credibility of relationships between characters a little strained. For instance, after all the "trust" built up between Shepard and Todd--I use trust lightly, it does not make complete sense that Todd would whole heartedly toss this aside in an instant. An alliance, the he himself finds value in. Sure there are reasonable explanations for this, but are these credible reasons? This is where, for me, the episode breaks down. There is not more context given to Todd's extreme reaction to this situation. Yes, he does offer up details of being there back in the day, and he does look horrified yada yada. However, for this scene to register for audiences as credible, the emotional impact of the device must also be developed for viewers. We need to "feel" not just "know" how devastating this little gizzmo is. If we don't feel it, it is difficult to accept that this isn't just another "Sc Fi" plot device breaking rules writers have already established, for the sheer sake of going off on a half-a** story line tangent. So there you go. And the was no make up whoopie (metaphorically speaking of course ) between Todd and Shep.

WK

[Wraith Cake]

This week GateWorld introduces a brand new weekly podcast, packed with news, site updates, interview previews, discussion, and more! Just look for the "GateWorld Podcast" link in the top-right corner of the Web site, or subscribe to the podcast at iTunes.

This thread is where you can share your feedback on the podcast in general, or the contents of specific episodes each week. If you have ideas for new features, want to ask a question or share a thought to be read on the air, or want to suggest other ways we might improve the show, please post here.

For iTunes subscribers, we'd also appreciate your review of the podcast in the iTunes store. Just visit the podcast page in iTunes and click the "Write a Review" link!

New episodes will be available every Tuesday (through at least September). Thanks!

As to whether the wraith are scary, still scary, will ever be scary again....honestly, this is a moot point.
Were they ever really scary to begin with? Not really.
We knew who the enemy was right from the get go.
There was a face to the menace, a mouth to the scream. This is a huge faux pas in the genre of horror fiction: You don't see the monster silly (at least not right away), you see its "leavings" what it does, what it can do, what it is capable of.
Are the wraith still menacing?, is a more apt question. Yes. I would say so. Any creature that sucks the life out of you, and HAS to do it to survive is menacing. Simply because they are a menace to the humans of the Pegasus Galaxy.
Another important question is: Are they Hot?
Fabulously sexy beyond reason, wretchedly infatuation inducing...am I salivating? (slurp)



WK

[mirwalker]

First, thanks guys for the site and podcasts!

Second, re: Listener Question about the Wraith: Though I enjoyed seeing the character development of Todd (never quite trustable, never entirely despicable--until latest episode?!), I have been disappointed at yet another sci-fi series' humanization of a non-human enemy race. I know they are genetically based in humans, and I know for storytelling purposes we need some source of drama (not just action), but isn't the point that they are NOT human?!

As with the Borg in "Star Trek" (Hugh, the Queen), the Visitors in "V" (Willie), even ultimately Vader in "Star Wars," and the Replicators (literally) in the SG universe, the Wraith have been gradually 'warmed up' and weakened by individualizing them and letting them suffer from jealousy, narcissism, guilt/remorse, love --all the best and worst of being HUMAN.

To me, what made the Wraith so scary originally was that they were human enough in appearance, but the similarity stopped there. They initially didn't speak often (no Bond villain soliloquies!), didn't explain their actions (they just woke, culled, fed, called it day), they couldn't be reasoned with (see previous to-do list), and they didn't pause a moment along that path.

Like Disney and SKG animated animals, I think some really cool, not human villains got anthropomorphized into something fallible, if not loveable. For all the glory of the human condition these shows rightly emphasize, SGA has diminished their primary villains by slowly converting them into misguided, goth versions of us.

Give me the silent, snarling, unapologetic menace of Rising, Pt II any day!

/soapbox

--mirwalker

[dasNdanger]

Listener Question: As Atlantis heads into its final run of episodes, what do you think of the Wraith? Do they still make you tremble in your boots, or are they just not scary?

The Wraith have never been 'scary' to me...'fascinating' is a better word, or even 'intriguing'. From the moment I saw them, I wanted - NEEDED - to know more. I am so grateful that we have been given more information, that they have - as a species and individually - been fleshed out.

Now, some people say that the Wraith have been 'humanized' by this development, but I disagree. I still see them as life-sucking bugs with special abilities and 'gifts', who live by their own set of rules structured around a hive-based society, rules not dictated to them by human morality, but instead by their animal instincts. I think Todd showed us this quite clearly in the last episode; he reacted as Wraith, not as Sheppard's dinner date. All I could see was a mad hornet, out to sting anyone who got in his way, and only holding back because he knew the Lanteans are more valuable to him alive, than dead. And, although he gave Sheppard the benefit of the doubt, he dared not show it...no weakness, no retreat, no sympathy, no mercy...

Okay, so he showed a little mercy , but not much. Of course, if they accept the therapy, this might work towards humanizing them, but I hope it doesn't - I hope nothing satisfies their hunger as much as humans do, and I hope they remain as agitated and determined to get their way, just so they can maintain an edge, even if, at times, they prove to be allies.

Bottom line - I watch Sci Fi to learn about aliens - not humans. Show me something I don't know. SGA has done this by developing the Wraith while still adhering to the concept that they are an insect-based race. Thank goodness they have been moved beyond flashes of white hair in black coats. We are now finally getting an interesting glimpse into their culture and society, with still SO much yet to learn. Heck, we don't even know how little 'Todds' are made yet. Gradually, they are becoming something beyond the one-dimensional 'villain', growing into a complex race, a new sci fi creation that could rival the Klingons in the development of their mythos, and in the study of their interactions with humans.

So - are the Wraith scary? No. They are beautiful, and sexy, and fascinating, and - by far - the most interesting thing Atlantis has had to offer.


das

[Laura Dove]

I never found wraith scary. They were menacing, dangerous and arrogant, yes, but certainly not frightening. What scares you is what touches your deepest fears, and neither mere physical superiority, the need to feed on humans nor physical ageing are among my deepest fears. Doppelgangers, mind-controlling devices/beings, the second childhood in "The Shrine" or retroviruses that turn you into something else creep me out more than any wraith.

To me, wraith have gone from intriguing in season 1 to fascinating in season 5. As the mystery about them slowly disappears and as repeated setbacks diminish their arrogance, they become more and more interesting. I always desired a pacific outcome to the war between the wraith and Atlantis, even though, back in season 1, I wanted them beaten enough to fall from their pedestal. As SGA comes to an end, I have hope that Keller's retrovirus (even though, as I said above, it creeps me out) will allow a significant portion of the wraith to share peacefully the Pegasus galaxy with humans.

[stargatelvr]

Episode #14 is now available!



Listener Question: As Atlantis heads into its final run of episodes, what do you think of the Wraith? Do they still make you tremble in your boots, or are they just not scary?

At first I had some very creepy dreams regarding the wraith. Most of them involding them throwing ping pong balls at me. I was scared for the first few seasons, but by the time season 5 has rolled around they don't scare me as much. Except for in the Queen. That revived the scariness for me, but not as much as the first episode.

[stargatelvr]

At first I had some very creepy dreams regarding the wraith. Most of them involding them throwing ping pong balls at me. I was scared for the first few seasons, but by the time season 5 has rolled around they don't scare me as much. Except for in the Queen. That revived the scariness for me, but not as much as the first episode.

And I forgot to mention. At the end when you guys were bleeping out the spoilers, at first I thought you were cussing or something. Then when I realized what it was you were blocking out I fell over laughing.

[MIZA]

Episode #14 is now available!

In this week's installment of the GateWorld Podcast, Darren and David discuss "The Lost Tribe," the second part of Stargate Atlantis's mid-season two-parter. We'll talk about the shocking return of a familiar alien race, the Travelers, Todd's betrayal, and the rest of the episode.

Also this week:

Preview! Podcast listeners get an exclusive preview of this week's long-awaited interview with Corin Nemec ("Jonas Quinn").

News! Breaking news from the Stargate universe

Features! The latest special features from GateWorld

Listener Mail! Listeners share their opinions on cross-over episodes.

Listener Question: As Atlantis heads into its final run of episodes, what do you think of the Wraith? Do they still make you tremble in your boots, or are they just not scary?

CALL US! You can call the hotline and leave us a voicemail any time, day or night. Tell us what you thought of the newest Atlantis episode, answer the weekly listener question, leave feedback on the podcast itself, or talk about anything you want.

Dial: 616-712-1647 (long distance rates apply)

Thanks to everyone for listening and contributing!

looks good, so how do you listen to or watch the podcast, anyone can tell me

[Pharaoh Atem]

looks good, so how do you listen to or watch the podcast, anyone can tell me

either on itunes or go to the podcast page and choose the one you would like to listen too

[MIZA]

either on itunes or go to the podcast page and choose the one you would like to listen too

thank you for that, also so can you watch it live with the show when it airs at the same time , i hope that makes sense