The Fourth Horseman, Part 2 (911)

[lelaidd]

This was a good episode, not th best I ever saw but a good one. What I really liked is when Garek said I die free and he healed the the people around him. I really liked it!

[ShardsofGlass]

The best part of the episode were the scenes with Daniel and Mitchell. They really cracked me up and I actually laughed out loud when they looked at the sky to see if the Ori were watching them. For a change I thought Mitchell had a lot to do and I enjoyed seeing him so clearly in charge on the planet. I liked all of his lines. The part about making an omelet was good because I thought it showed that Mitchell likes to cook and bake pies. LOL

The res of the ep was okay. Teal'c was great and the Jaffa stuff wasn't too bad. I hated the Orlin and Sam scenes, though. They felt repetitious and Sam seemed overly concerned about Orlin's health when the fate of the whole planet was hanging in the balance.

I liked the scene where Landry and Orlin came to the planet to talk to the prior and liked the way they reminded him (and us) that he had a different life. I also liked the way Teal'c did the same with Gerak.

The plague was completely wasted. There was no tension from that at all, and I wish they had just skipped those scenes to show us a little more of the Sodan. For instance, after they confront the prior, they don't say another word?

[Droops]

One other thing about this episode was the twist of Orlin and Gerek. I fully expected Orlin to pull out the cure in the end, probably with Sam being smarter than Orlin gave her credit for and making some fantastic discovery that saves the day.

BUT! We didn't get that! Orlin failed to do it on his own. It took too long and his mind was too far gone. I wasn't expecting that. It made Gerek's change all the more compelling.

[Cinephilic TV Addict]

When has Stargate, ever been logical? I mean, jumping from the moive to the show, there is a lot to nit-pick about that!!

That's my point - it doesn't have to be logical. An episode could have Teal'c's voice dubbed by a poodle playing piano for all I care, as long as the episode works. If the beginning parts of an episode are bad, then the middle parts are going to be harder to swallow if they are corny. The same goes for the middle to end.

My point with the movie Speed was that, if the beginning had been awful, many people would have just left the theater when they jumped the 50 ft. gap. But almost the entire movie had been good so far, so we smiled/laughed/shrugged it off when the bus made its leap. It earned its moment.

The beginning of the fourth horseman, IMO, was awful in pretty much every aspect (although I'm glad the theme song is back). Therefore, later scenes (except for the two above that I said I liked) made me cringe even more because it was bad compiling on worse. I can't say an episode is good if I only enjoyed five out of forty-some minutes.

But I keep watching for 2 reasons - 1) I'm invested in the characters and have to know how it ends up for them, and 2) Usually, when SG-1 is good, it's GREAT (kellog's reference not intended).

[James_the_Wraith_Sympathiser]

Haha, I read the first page of replies and that was enough. Some people just over analyse things too much. I really liked the episode, there were a lot of good moments...especially the interaction between Daniel and Cameron after the Prior got captured.

It reminds me of when Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons says "Rest assured, I was on the internet within moments registering my disgust with the rest of the world". I sometimes wonder why, if people are going to analyse the show so much, why bother watching at all? you'll get hardly any entertainment from watching the show if you sit there thinking of reasons why it is good or not, instead of just enjoying the show for what it is.

Just my 2c. I'm gonna stop posting in these 'episode' forums...too many people that would claim to be fans just criticising the show is pointless.

I hope the rest of the season was as good as that episode.

[Skydiver]

the show was pretty middle of the road. it had its good points, cam and daniel for example. thier quippage did get a bit tiresome after a bit, but not overly so.

the prior speak is, well dull and pedantic by nature. i found myself rolling my eyes more than once (although csm's white mascara was sorta cool...but he did look like he'd got caught in a talcum powder storm )

sam and orlin was....eh. necessary for the plot and to break things up. but i do agree that the tea'c bits did steal the show. chris can ramp up the drama when he applies himself.

i agree that we had a little too much of 'ooh, look the world is ending' but never really saw it. course that's the problem wtih trying to have a global effect on a tv show budget

my other main quibble was lam and landry's big confession scene. dang, she couldn't have put on a haz mat suit and talked to him personally? had to blurt her confession out in front of hte whole room???? y eah, that's touching.

and i didn't care for orlin's 'fate'. we knew that the writers wouldn't have the cajones to kill him, but shutting him up in a care facility??? at his 'age'???? dude, that's cruel! if he'd been the grown orlin, sure, but a kid?

they couldn't have shifted him off to the land of light or something? somewhere a bit more nurturing than the big house with the men in white coats?

over all, not the best, not the worst. middle of the road.

but, like my friends were saying, stargate is to battle star what Hersheys is to Godiva or McDonald's is to a gourmet restaurant. It's ok, but nothing thrilling or overly memorable.

[happyclappy]

has anyone realised that when Garek (excuse the spelling) walks through the SGC gate at th end of the episode he is wearing trainers (i dont know what americans call them) instead of 'prior boots'.

costume depatment screwed up again....

[Skydiver]

Again, the topic of this thread is the epsisode. It is NOT the correctness or wrongness of other folks' opinions. Nor is it whether or not they should be allowed to express those opinions.

Off topic posts have been and will be deleted. If you see an off topic post, please don't respond to it. Leave it be and give us mods less to clean up

[Formerhost]

Haha, I read the first page of replies and that was enough. Some people just over analyse things too much. I really liked the episode, there were a lot of good moments...especially the interaction between Daniel and Cameron after the Prior got captured.

It reminds me of when Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons says "Rest assured, I was on the internet within moments registering my disgust with the rest of the world". I sometimes wonder why, if people are going to analyse the show so much, why bother watching at all? you'll get hardly any entertainment from watching the show if you sit there thinking of reasons why it is good or not, instead of just enjoying the show for what it is.

Just my 2c. I'm gonna stop posting in these 'episode' forums...too many people that would claim to be fans just criticising the show is pointless.

I hope the rest of the season was as good as that episode.

I like your POV

Daniel and Mitchell interaction was great, I loved it too. Gerak might have been a pain in the a** in the previous episodes, but I'm going to miss him a little bit.
Teal'c definitely should change hairdresser.
Sam and Orlin - quite OK, but the way he was speaking actually put me asleep.

Overall, episode OK.

[NotAscended]

- Mitchell isn't ALLOWED to wear backwards caps. That's O'Neill's thing.

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks that! I fear it makes him look like he's twelve years old.

Also, was it my imagination, but were Daniel's glasses too small for him? In the scene where he and Mitchell are lobbing one-liners at the Prior, I kept noticing that the earpieces didn't fit properly. I kept thinking they would fall off at the slightest nudge. (Long time glasses wearer here.)

[AutumnDream]

Geez. Here I'm thinking this was up there with the best, and some people are saying it's "OK". Maybe it's just because I don't expect as much from Stargate as I do Atlantis or BSG, or because I recognize Stargate isn't the constant thrill ride that BSG is, but I know how to take a SG episode for what it is and enjoy it. Hopefully everyone else can, too.

[Johnquixote]

My argument on the Mitchell/Daniel/Prior banter.

The priors talk strong and use their crazy lines to put you off, to make you understand to the Ori are powerful.
But Mitchell and Daniel were trying to convert the Prior to our side. So IMO they were rubbing in that he had lost his powers. It seemed completely necessary. Not like they were trying to amuse themselves, but make the Prior feel like the Ori had abandoned him.
IMO it worked up until somehow he changed his mental frequency or the device faltered, and you could tell he felt it because his lines after being weakened held less presence. But when he said the "Ori whispered in their ears" bit he had a very dominant presence.
But Mitchell/Daniel's banter, as well as Landry/Orlin's family talk, was to make him understand that the Ori are not righteous, that they are not gods. I think it would have worked if he had not bypassed the sound device.

[Dani347]

i agree that we had a little too much of 'ooh, look the world is ending' but never really saw it. course that's the problem wtih trying to have a global effect on a tv show budget

I'm thinking that's why Landry got sick, too personalize it, but it fell flat. I've speculated a few reasons why. 1. Landry seemed sick, but not that sick. Again, I knew he had this horrible virus with no cure, but I didn't feel it.
2. Landry is new. I'm not that emotionally invested in him as Daniel, Sam, or Teal'c. Although, I don't think that would necessarily be a factor. I mean, I think they could have still made me feel something. 3. Lam was not a good choice to be there. Her attitude just doesn't work with the emotional stuff.

I think a way to make the plague hit home would have been to have the majority of the SGC infected. Make it hit closer to home, and make them act like it was hitting close to home. And, slap Lam.

Johnquixote

My argument on the Mitchell/Daniel/Prior banter.

The priors talk strong and use their crazy lines to put you off, to make you understand to the Ori are powerful.
But Mitchell and Daniel were trying to convert the Prior to our side. So IMO they were rubbing in that he had lost his powers. It seemed completely necessary. Not like they were trying to amuse themselves, but make the Prior feel like the Ori had abandoned him.
IMO it worked up until somehow he changed his mental frequency or the device faltered, and you could tell he felt it because his lines after being weakened held less presence. But when he said the "Ori whispered in their ears" bit he had a very dominant presence.
But Mitchell/Daniel's banter, as well as Landry/Orlin's family talk, was to make him understand that the Ori are not righteous, that they are not gods. I think it would have worked if he had not bypassed the sound device.

That all makes sense as a reason why (but I still don't agree with the tactic. The only reason the prior wavered was because it was in the script -which, yeah, is why they do anything, but they can usually make me suspend disbelief) but it was like I too aware of the writers. I felt like I was in a storyboard meeting, with live action visuals. TPTB: Okay, this is what we'll do to show them getting through to the prior. And, also, that will give us some light moments for the episode. Also, lets put some tinkly music in the Sam and Orlin scenes in order to show that Sam is feeling sad about him. And, Landry is feeling sad that he might die just when he's starting to get past the problems with his daughter, so don't forget that tear on his cheek. I felt like I ordered sausage, and instead of giving me a sausage, someone started making it in front of me and kept serving me bites as they went along.

And hows that for a weird way to end a post?

[cindyz]

cindyz As someone who works in the business too, I agree about bashing someone with a terminal illness - but I like that they did that. Not ideal but just part of the reality of many troubled relationships. Lam is far from perfect and not always as professional as others would be. I like the way she was only able to have a heart to heart with Dad at the last moments ( she thought ) of his life through a glass screen. Very telling - and only from a distance just like their entire relationship. I liked that. Lam is one tough cookie - I have met MDs just like this in my career. They can be good to patients but not family.

agreed, indeed! I too have met many less than desirable doc's with no personal edit functions...or bedside manner. I like the way the writers wrote this scene...it was kind of embarrassing for general Landry to get the brunt of her feelings in front of the other sick patients. It may have been more practical and certainly more professional if Lam had put on the containment suit to whisper these sweet nothings in her father's ear. It's as if they (the writers) purposefully write her character in a way that portrays her as uncompassionate and self centered, albiet intelligent physician. Dr. Lam is clearly not ready to have anything more than a professional relationship with her father at this time. Maybe her treatment of him will cause him to just give her what she seems to want...less of him as a father figure in her life. You can't help General Landry for trying to make up for past mistakes...and while it would be nice to see them blend and love each other...I think the tension between them is a good driving point for the show. Again, wonderfully portrayed by the lovely and talented Lexa Doig!

[MarshAngel]

Geez. Here I'm thinking this was up there with the best, and some people are saying it's "OK". Maybe it's just because I don't expect as much from Stargate as I do Atlantis or BSG, or because I recognize Stargate isn't the constant thrill ride that BSG is, but I know how to take a SG episode for what it is and enjoy it. Hopefully everyone else can, too.

I agree. I went into this without expecting anything more than an ordinary episode and given the general tone of what many have said, perhaps even lowered expectations. And as a result I was actually Ok with it. The only things that stuck out was Daniel's handkerchief on his head, which bugged me for some reason and the joking with the prior which seemed a bit out of place given the situation. Everything else made for a decent TV watching experience.

I think sometimes people love the show so much that they're really invested in the way everything's presented. But sometimes it's not perfect; sometimes it's just OK. But it can be enjoyed if you let go of your expectations.

If I watch it a second time, maybe then I'll pay more attention to its failings.