Watergate (407)

[valaCB]

it started amazing and in the end it was very slow and... boring and...flat
like the episode's idea, very cool!
love Marina Sirtis!!!

[fair_nymph]

Any comments on the gate of this episode? How a wormhole opens in water, and why water does not come rushing through...

They discuss this in the episode actually (Sam and Markov do). Sam developed a theory which Markov adopted -- basically that the gate can detect what matter is moving ambiently and what matter is moving in a gate-directed fashion, or something like that. However, that could create problems -- such as how (in say SGA) do they open the gate and fly through it with a puddlejumper when the puddlejumper is already in movement towards the gate before the gate is activated? *scratches head in confusion*

I liked the semi-competitiveness between Sam and Markov. I enjoy when Sam is compared to other scientists, and how she always comes out on top (as when compared to Maybourne's scientist in Shades of Grey -- Sam beat her out of the SGC position). Go Sam!

Maybourne is such a little traitor and skunk. He needs to die!

I wish they had followed up on this ep -- I know they never do but they REALLY should have in this case. What happened with the other gate and the DHD? Do the Russians keep it and maintain their own SG program? Or do they turn it over (or sell or trade) to the USA? Or do they simply stop using the devices? These issues really affect the daily life of the SGC so it is extremely unrealistic that the show does not deal with them. Hrmph.

[LoneStar1836]

I wish they had followed up on this ep -- I know they never do but they REALLY should have in this case. What happened with the other gate and the DHD? Do the Russians keep it and maintain their own SG program? Or do they turn it over (or sell or trade) to the USA? Or do they simply stop using the devices? These issues really affect the daily life of the SGC so it is extremely unrealistic that the show does not deal with them. Hrmph.

Well Russia kept the gate and the DHD, but supposedly we paid them and let them have their own team at the SGC so they stopped using their gate but they still maintained possession of it. We do get answers later as to what eventually happens to the gate and DHD that the Russians had.

Season 5, “48 Hours”

Spoiler:

Teal’c is trapped in the Stargate when it shuts off early and Daniel has to go negotiate with the Russians so we can borrow their DHD, for a price of course. We hook it up to ours and reestablish the wormhole, Teal’c comes through, DHD overloads, and boom DHD blows up. No more DHD.

I guess what I want to know is what happened to the DHD found in Antarctica with the second gate because that is not the same one the Russians had. I guess there was a reason we could never uses it but that explanation and in which episode it came escapes me at the moment. I remember it being seen again in "Touchstone" and then......it disappears.

Season 6, Redemption I & II

Spoiler:

Again we get in trouble because Anubis is trying to blow up our gate by using and Ancient device to overload the gate. Taking a cue from Jonas, we strap our gate to an F-302 and send it hurdling into space where it blows up. Again we make some deal with the Russians involving more money, etc. and we get their gate.

I started out not caring much for this episode, but after years of repeats, I enjoy it, and not just because it has some of my all time favorite Daniel quips in it. “But it’s Swiss!” etc.

[jckfan55]

In a much later episode didn't they say the DHD in Antarctica ran out of energy?

[fair_nymph]

Darnit, gonna have to wait a while before I read those spoilers (thanks for using them, btw!). Just finished season 4. Four more seasons to go before July and then I'll be right on track.

[QuiGonJohn]

I liked this episode. One thing though. It was mentioned again that the Goa'uld could not maintain a wormhole for more than 38 minutes. Yet they determine this wormhole is staying open because the Russian drone is sending a signal through the gate. Why then did the wormhole shutdown after 38 minutes, while Sokar was continously sending the signal of the particle beam through the wormhole?

[Perriman33]

^ Good point mate. I did notice that but presumed they just got it wrong.
I think all the russian episodes are funny, this one was good and it was odd to see a gate underwater. Can't see SG1 doing a seaquest type episode though--*our new member of the team is called Flipper*

[Beatrice Otter]

They discuss this in the episode actually (Sam and Markov do). Sam developed a theory which Markov adopted -- basically that the gate can detect what matter is moving ambiently and what matter is moving in a gate-directed fashion, or something like that. However, that could create problems -- such as how (in say SGA) do they open the gate and fly through it with a puddlejumper when the puddlejumper is already in movement towards the gate before the gate is activated? *scratches head in confusion*

Well, even if it starts moving before the Gate is activated, it's still not the same as ambient particles that surround the Gate moving randomly, which is what the atmosphere surrounding the Gate (and the water in Watergate) is made up of. The Puddle-Jumper is a large, coherent mass (that is quite distinct from the ambient particles of air/dust/etc) moving together. It's not hard to tell the difference, y'know?

I wish they had followed up on this ep -- I know they never do but they REALLY should have in this case. What happened with the other gate and the DHD? Do the Russians keep it and maintain their own SG program? Or do they turn it over (or sell or trade) to the USA? Or do they simply stop using the devices? These issues really affect the daily life of the SGC so it is extremely unrealistic that the show does not deal with them. Hrmph.

The Russians shut down their program; I believe they mention this at the end of the episode. Later, in the episode 48 Minutes, we lease their DHD to get Teal'c out of the Gate; it is destroyed in the resulting explosion. In Redemption II the SGC's gate is destroyed by Anubis; we lease the Russian Gate and that's the one we have from there on out.

[1DanielForMe]

I think this is a turning point episode. Maybourne learns that aliens are not simply soul-less beings for the NID to research, Daniel gets a chance to show his "Jack O'Neill" side, we learn another fact concerning stargate physics. Great stuff!

[Stricken]

"The gauge must be broken" "But its swiss" great line from Jackson one easy to remeber!! Interesting Episode, rhought provoking and just showed how good S4 was going to be!

[Ascendant]

I might be sounding sentemental, but I thought that it was nice to see the original Gate and DHD connected up for the first time in thousands of years!

Wow, I hadn't even considered that the Russians were using the Giza gate. I guess you're right! It would be cool if Jack said something to the effect of "Oh, hey, there's the old gate. Our new one is better, you know."

It just occured to me last night that they could probably steal a DHD from an abandoned planet and take it through the gate to Earth. They'd just have to take a Naquidah reactor through and dial out manually.

Why then did the wormhole shutdown after 38 minutes, while Sokar was continously sending the signal of the particle beam through the wormhole?

Personally, I think it was the water that was keeping the gate open, not the data stream from the probe. It seemed like the water knew a lot more about the gate than we do. I mean, it locked all the chevrons at once, dialing Earth so fast that O'Niell and Teal'c had to hit dirt in order to avoid the Kawoosh. Plus, it had the motivation...it wanted to keep the lights on until the Mayborne/Teal'c puddle was able to return.

I thought this was a cool episode, very different. It was really nifty seeing Marina as a Stargate character, and I love it when SG-1 breaks out the black commando gear. Sam looks better in this episode than any other (at least that I've seen), because she has the gorgeous long hair and the black gear. The only way she could look better would be a P-90, but they don't start using those until the next episode.

I do have one question, though. What of the underwater ruins? They were obviously made by something roughly humanoid in configuration rather than smart water. They looked awesome, but their presence is never explained. They seem to have no connection to the story. Unless the intelligent water rose up to kill the inhabitants, but that would seem out of character. Maybe I missed something? Any thoughts?

[walter_MacChevron]

I thought it was a pretty cool episode in my opinion but I liked when they interacted with the russians in "The Tomb" even more!

[Otera]

You gotta love Daniel here, I mean he even does the "I've never seen anything like this, I think I'll stick my hand in it!" thing, and if he wasn't talking he'd of had that look on his face.

[angsty_otaku]

so after talking about clocks and the swiss today with my boyfriend, i decided to give the "sub is swiss" stargate quote...and then he posed an interesting question. if the swiss are landlocked...why would they have a sub and if they're always netural why would they even be in the sub producing business. also what does the fire quote imply?

[Amaunet]

What i thought was odd was when Oneill said that he'd never been in a submarine before...but a few eps earlier he had in Small Victories when they were destroying the Replicaters

But all round i really enjoyed watching this ep, i forgot how good it is!!!