48 Hours (514)

[Muh_tuttles]

That is true, people can change over time. I used to be an absolute spit fire. I hope and think I have changed Maybe that's why I like Rodney so much. He reminds me of how people can change

[gateship15]

lol i know that is differentially why i like him

[mrscopterdoc]

Rodney is such a jerk! And Tanith is dead? Poor evil {Methos} deserves so much more.

[hlndncr]

Just rewatched this episode and forgot how much I really like it. It has so many great characters (primary and secondary) and some really fabulous moments from every member of the cast.

Maj. Davis comes off strong. We learn more about Col. Checkov. McKay is introduced (although I don't see many hints here of the character he will come to be; he's just all bluster and arrogance). Simmons gets his commupence. Conrad is back briefly. The Maybourne and Jack show is entertaining as always.

I think Don S. Davis particularly deserves kudos for this one. His portrayl of the strong, determined, compassionate leader who would do anything for his people (including voluntarily ending his career when he offers to resign to prevent the gate from being dialed) is just fantastic.

The only disappointment, as others have noted is the end of Tanith. RCC states in the Illustrated Companion, "We never intended to kill his character this way. We would have much preferred to have him face off with Teal'c in a grand showdown, but the actor was holding us up and frankly we just couldn't afford to give him what he wanted. So the Tanith in the cockpit of the Alkesh is actually a computer generated effect!"

[maneth]

Goodness I hated McKay in this one! I definitely agreed with Carter's "Go suck a lemon!" comment. I wanted to strangle him the worst way. Please tell me he improves in Atlantis, or I won't be able to watch the show!

Too bad about Tanith's anticlimactic death, but I'm glad that he's gone. And I loved seeing Jack and Maybourne together, ever since he had to leave the NID under a cloud, Maybourne's improved so much as a character. I started out hating him, but now I think he's great. I'm so glad Simmons got his comeuppance too.

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

Possibly the best episode of the season thus far, brilliant stuff. The opening sequence alone is one of the most impressive things the show has done up to this point - it doesn't look like Peter Wingfield (Tanith) is sitting in the ship, though, did they use another actor in his place or some effects?

Ah, the introduction of Dr. McKay! I was quite impressed that his character here was pretty close to the character we grew to love on Atlantis. He had the arrogance and super-intelligence right from the off, as well as the super fast talking speed (which I suspect is more of a David Hewlett trait). The only thing which is a bit unfamiliar is that he seems to have a lot more bravado than he would later, notably in the way he tells Carter how attracted he is to her - that's very un-Rodney like - and also the way he talks to General Hammond.

I really enjoy the sciency emphasis in this episode, it's just as gripping as the big action shows. It's nice to get some solid clarification that a Stargate can't open if there is anything already in the way. I was a bit confused originally, as there have been plenty of times when somebody has been in the wormhole when one of the Stargates disengages, but they materialise perfectly fine on the other side. I now realise (I think) the problem this time was that the Stargate was actually destroyed on the other side.

Great Russian negotiation scenes too, I love Daniel's way of thinking.

RATING: 9 out of 10

[fems]

Ah, the introduction of Dr. McKay! I was quite impressed that his character here was pretty close to the character we grew to love on Atlantis. He had the arrogance and super-intelligence right from the off, as well as the super fast talking speed (which I suspect is more of a David Hewlett trait). The only thing which is a bit unfamiliar is that he seems to have a lot more bravado than he would later, notably in the way he tells Carter how attracted he is to her - that's very un-Rodney like - and also the way he talks to General Hammond.

Maybe he had more bravado here because he hadn't really seen the Stargate and the SGC in action but thought he already knew everything about it (claiming to be the foremost expert) like he does about most things. The fact that it was just a temporary thing and he'd probably never see them again could have played a big part in it too. His arrogance kind of reminds me of Hailey here as they both considered themselves experts and it had been probably been quite a while since they'd been intellectually challenged. Now McKay finds out that Carter can give him a run for his money and that he's not all-knowing. Perhaps by the time he goes to Atlantis (and has more experience with alien technology) he's a bit more humbled by it all... but only a bit!

[Dave2]

This was an excellent episode. I am totally unclear on the issue of the DHD. If SGC never had possession of the crystal DHD to operate thestargate, and there were many disadvantages to operating the stargate without it, how did they in fact get the stargate to operate through a computer, and how successful were they in averting the potential problems arising from not using the DHD?

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

This was an excellent episode. I am totally unclear on the issue of the DHD. If SGC never had possession of the crystal DHD to operate thestargate, and there were many disadvantages to operating the stargate without it, how did they in fact get the stargate to operate through a computer, and how successful were they in averting the potential problems arising from not using the DHD?

They got the Stargate to operate by computer through a lot of trial, error and hard work. As Carter says in the pilot episode, "it took 15 years and 3 supercomputers". As for averting problems, as we have seen over the course of the show they DON'T! They've run into quite a few problems because of their setup, and as Rodney says they have just had a lot of luck in not running into many more issues so far.

[Dave2]

So the SGC was begun a full 15 years before the arrival of Daniel Jackson and the first trip
to Abydos (which would have been around 1980)?! And during that entire period they were trying to figure out what the stargate really was?

Why didn't the SGC or US government insist on the return of the Russian gate when the Russians agreed not to use it? After all, it was the original SGC gate. I don't remember the story of the dialing mechanism falling into the hands of the Nazis and its fate thereafter with the Russians.

Finally, where did the Tok'ra get the Reole mind altering material? It wasn't mentioned in The Fifth Man...???

They got the Stargate to operate by computer through a lot of trial, error and hard work. As Carter says in the pilot episode, "it took 15 years and 3 supercomputers". As for averting problems, as we have seen over the course of the show they DON'T! They've run into quite a few problems because of their setup, and as Rodney says they have just had a lot of luck in not running into many more issues so far.

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

So the SGC was begun a full 15 years before the arrival of Daniel Jackson and the first trip to Abydos (which would have been around 1980)?! And during that entire period they were trying to figure out what the stargate really was?

Seriously? Do you not watch the show? The Stargate project was operating in some form or other since the 1940s, and probably earlier, as we know from 'The Torment of Tantalus'. We know from the original movie that they had a good idea of what the Stargate was long before Daniel Jackson ever arrived - they had already (poorly) translated what was written on the Egyptian cartouche.

[Dave2]

YES, I remember that a vague attempt was made in the 1940s, but I am specifically asking about the setup of the SGC and attempted operation. I apologize if I am not clear enough.

Seriously? Do you not watch the show? The Stargate project was operating in some form or other since the 1940s, and probably earlier, as we know from 'The Torment of Tantalus'. We know from the original movie that they had a good idea of what the Stargate was long before Daniel Jackson ever arrived - they had already (poorly) translated what was written on the Egyptian cartouche.

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

Well here's all I can estimate:

1928: Stargate found in Giza
1945: Ernest Littlefield goes through the gate
Around 1980: attempts to dial the gate using supercomputers begin
1981: I was born
Early 1990s: some progress made in dialing the first 6 chevrons
1991: Freddie Mercury died
1994: Daniel Jackson solves the 7th symbol problem
1997: Stargate Program begins, SGC and SG teams created
2011: I try to piece this all together for you

[fems]

It's also possible the fifteen years refers to technological advancement in general; they would have needed to have (super)computers before they could make a dialing computer.

[Dave2]

Was it a unit in the Defense Department or Air Force that was playing around with the stargate between 1980 and 1994? I presume the SGC was in preparation for travel to Abydos for 3 years. And had Daniel not found the cartouche on Abydos, the SGC would have been essentially stuck with no other addresses had they managed to get away from the goa'uld on Abydos and been forced to close down the stargate.

Well here's all I can estimate:

1928: Stargate found in Giza
1945: Ernest Littlefield goes through the gate
Around 1980: attempts to dial the gate using supercomputers begin
1981: I was born
Early 1990s: some progress made in dialing the first 6 chevrons
1991: Freddie Mercury died
1994: Daniel Jackson solves the 7th symbol problem
1997: Stargate Program begins, SGC and SG teams created
2011: I try to piece this all together for you