Childhood's End (106)

[KorbenDirewolf]

Maybe it was... Guess I'll have to watch it again to be sure.

Ah well, at least this time around McKay didn't annoy the crap out of me. Must be getting used to him. Although I was halfway expecting the kids to sing a little tune that just happened to be the order needed to activate the device. It did seem that each button had its own tone.

[Teal'c]

I loved the comments about the bows and arrows... many of them were entirely CGI for scene specific safety reasons. Did you guys like the tree house village shot? That one was quite tricky, again, all CGI. We spent a lot of time adding CGI people up there to give it some life (notice the rope bridge is swinging?). I could carry on and on about what else was CGI in the show, but then I'd be letting you guys in on too much!

Keep watching, we've got more great stuff in store!

Mark Breakspear
Visual Effects Supervisor
Atlantis

Well, you asked about what people thought of your work a few months back, so I'll talk about this episode.

The treehouse: I never thought for a minute it was CGI. All I thought was "Hmm... the park guys would let them build that?"

The Puddle Jumper crash: There was something off with it. The scenary on the green/blue screen just didn't look right, it was a bit shakey (I know the ship was shaking, just something about it though )

The Wraith probe: Again something seemed off about it and I can't tell why.

Anyway, I hope you can take constructive criticism. I've loved the CGI in the show. The Wraith stunners are a particular favourite of mine (McKay getting shot in the face )

Okay, so the episode now.

McKay... brilliant, just brilliant. I loved the bit about Sam during the teaser And the little kids. And Ford is getting better and better every episode

The only thing I didn't like was Ares. Both the character and the actor. It was just the way he dealt with things, and the fact that nobody tried to shoot him down about it. And unfortunately the actor (didn't catch his name) was a tad... I dunno, stiff maybe, or maybe he just reminded me of Joaquin Phoenix (sp?)

Overall, great ep.

[Faith]

I loved the comments about the bows and arrows... many of them were entirely CGI for scene specific safety reasons. Did you guys like the tree house village shot? That one was quite tricky, again, all CGI. We spent a lot of time adding CGI people up there to give it some life (notice the rope bridge is swinging?). I could carry on and on about what else was CGI in the show, but then I'd be letting you guys in on too much!

Keep watching, we've got more great stuff in store!

Mark Breakspear
Visual Effects Supervisor
Atlantis

It's nice to know people from the show read these boards! You guys do a great job! I loved the tree house village shot. Keep up the good work.

[Livi2Jack]

Wasn't one of the older boys with the bow who went back for McKay the same kid from 100 days who was Laira's son?


And I think it is unrealistic to believe that a society of such deeply held beliefs would abandon them in one day to stop the sacrifices.

[IWantToBelieve]

McKay was holding his backpack, he picks it up right before, he's got it by two fingers over his shoulder. I thought he was checking his pulse when I saw it for the first time also.

[KorbenDirewolf]

No more unbelievable than the fact that they didn't just kill the Full Growns when they appeared.

[Hooni]

You would think a society that could build an electromagnetic sheild could also invent a condom for population control. Sacrificing is a bit of an extreme solution, don't you think?

The way I read into the ending, they had suspended the sacrifices until they could meet and revise. It never said they had permanently done away with them.

Otherwise, I liked the episode. It won't be my favorite of all time but it was solid. I had to sympathise with Rodney on the kids. LOL Who hasn't resisted the temptation to go "McKay" on a particularly questioning kid? Funny stuff to see how truely out of his depth he was with them.

[greytop]

Wasn't one of the older boys with the bow who went back for McKay the same kid from 100 days who was Laira's son?

Yes, it is him.

[Summerfield]

Knowing now that the treehouses were CGI, I must say "wow!"

But, when I saw them, was I the only one to think "are we in Never Never Land now?"

And then think it was almost creepy enough to justify a Michael Jackson apearance?

And the Wraith used a probe! Already smater than the Gua'uld.

[Buzz Lightyear]

Wouldn't the puddle jumper just fall from the sky like a stone if it lost power? It's not aerodynamic that Shep could do any gliding maneuvers. And, set design wise, it just skids a few feet, completely missing the trees.

I presume the jumper is constructed of some advanced Ancient alloy that allows it to decelerate slowly when falling out of the sky due to an engine power drive failure. Yeah, that's the reason...

The Elder gets shot in the chest, and then his arm is in a sling?!?!?!?

The arrow hit him in his right upper chest area - basically his pectoral muscle. He wears a sling because the weight of his right arm would drag on that injured pectoral area. Of course, we're also assuming that the arrow only caused a superficial wound and did not go deep enough to puncture his right lung.

[Buzz Lightyear]

Here's something so trivial I don't know why I'm even thinking about it. I'm trying to figure out when the crew uses first names, titles or last names. McKay has said both Dr. Weir and Elizabeth at different times, I think. It just struck me when he ws coming up the stairs to talk to her about the ZPM, because I was expecting him to call her Elizabeth, but he called her Dr. Weir instead. Maybe because he was talking to her in an official way. Or maybe I'm just wrong and he's never called her Elizabeth to her face? Sheppard has said both Rodney and McKay. Weir has said both Rodney and McKay. Weir and McKay are both "civilians". Sheppard and Ford are either addressed by their rank, their last names, or rank/last names. Of course, Teyla is just Teyla.

Titles and honorifics are used out of respect, especially in front of co-workers. In less public encounters or less formal occasions, civilians who are generally friendly with each other will sometimes use first names. Military personnel are almost always addressed by rank, even in less formal settings, unless one has a close personal relationship with that person.

[vfxsoup]

Thank you all for the comments regarding the visual effects, it's great hear feedback from all you guys, and don't worry... I'm pretty thick skinned after a good many years as a compositor, having my work torn to shreads by various clients! Bring it on! You'll all have a lot to comment on coming up...

I realised a long time ago that these aren't "my" pixels, they are yours.

Mark Breakspear
VFX Supervisor
Atlantis

[jyh]

About the treehouses... I only saw the ep once and I didn't really notice much about the treehouses one way or another (i.e., real or CGI). Which I guess is a GOOD thing, huh???

Anyway, one person said they reminded him/her of Never-Never Land, but it sort of reminded me of the Elf kingdom, Lothlorien, from "Fellowship of the Rings."

Also, I noticed everyone climbed the rope swings from the side, sort of, rather that straight on like a ladder. An easier way to get a good foothold, maybe??

[Ugly Pig]

Without further ado (mainly because I spent all of my ado in my 'Avatar' post), here is

PIGGY'S USELESS OPINION
of 'Childhood's End'

Yay, finally we get a "normal" mission-through-the-gate episode on Atlantis! I would've thought we'd see more of these this early in the series, but I guess not. Not that I'm complaining, I like arc-based episodes and I've enjoyed what Atlantis has served so far.

So... we find a ZPM and it's nearly depleted. How come we keep finding these useless ZPMs? It's been, what, two weeks since it happened on SG-1? Anyhow, this was a fun episode. Loved McKay in this one, from his bragging about his relationship with Sam (I think we all knew this was coming sooner or later) to him being tormented by those two kids. And then when he told those guys pointing their weapons at him, "Go to your rooms!"... Heh heh. Good stuff. Also liked Ford referring to him as "that mean old man".

But I hated that guy - forgot his name - who was so set on forcing them to leave. I mean, when Sheppard shot the Wraith thingie and he freaked out! Hello?! How about at least allowing him to explain why he did it? No, I'm sure he did it for no reason whatsoever. Idiot. And then - killing them? Even using his own logic, that's not a better way of stopping the impending Wraith attack than letting them go. For a while there, I was hoping he'd get killed by the end of the episode. But then at the end, when everything seemed to get worked out, I was kind of glad he didn't after all. Guess my anger at him faded when it looked like he realized what an a-hole he'd been. I wonder what happened to him after that? He dissappeared after the scene where Lt. Elliot (sorry, I don't remember his characters name here) got shot. By the way, the re-use of the actor didn't bother me in the least. He wasn't really all that recognizeable, unlike Narim.

Random observations!
- The Wraith didn't appear in this episode, unlike what last week's preview would lead us to believe. No surprise, it looked like that shot of the Wraith was taken from 'Suspicion' anyway.
- Is this the first episode with no Dr. Beckett?
- This is the first episode with no Halling. I wonder how long it will be before we see him and the other Athosians again? Not that I miss them or anything.
- So they use the Puddle Jumper even if the Stargate is on the ground? Well, I guess it makes sense. It's a much more efficient way of exploring the planet than on foot...
- McKay acts condescending towards religion. No big surprise, it fits his character.
- Weir played her smallest part yet in this episode. And she was the one who provided the "moral" viewpoint this time.

And now, to wait for next week...

[Liv]

A bit OT here, but I really enjoy and look forward to your (exact opposite) of useless opinions on the episodes, Piggy.

And to make this post a bit on-topic as well, yes I believe this was the first episode without Dr. Beckett. Too bad. I like him. That scottish accent is very becoming.