FAN REVIEWS: 'Seizure' (215)

[GateWorld]

STARGATE UNIVERSE - SEASON TWO

SEIZURE

EPISODE NUMBER - 215

Homeworld Command tries to convince an ally occupying a naquadria-rich planet to let them try to dial Destiny, but suspects they have already been infiltrated by the Alliance.

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[xxxevilgrinxxx]

Seizure Review [SGU 216]
By xxxevilgrinxxx | Published: April 8, 2011

There’s an unfinished quality to “Seizure”that was initially difficult to get past and required a re-watch in order to pick out elements. In what has become a Stargate Universe staple, the title “Seizure” points to multiple storylines within the episode: the seizure of the Langaran gate complex, but also Amanda Perry’s seizure of both Rush and Ginn, and even Eli’s seizure and quarantine of Perry and Ginn by the end of the episode.

What is less clear in this episode is which storyline takes precedence. There doesn’t appear to be an “A” story and a “B” story. Further, none of the storylines appears to feel “finished”. In and of itself, this isn’t an insurmountable problem in that many SGU episodes have themes that carry on in other episodes but where it becomes a problem here is that usually at least one of these storylines appears to be resolved by the end, and this doesn’t seem to be the case here. The story appears to be heading towards a grand reveal, something the season will likely end on, but it still makes for an underlying feeling of something being missing.

Despite all of this, “Seizure” does bring out some wonderful points that will hopefully play out in the few episodes that remain.

Coming on the heels of “Hope”, where Perry and Ginn were uploaded into the Destiny‘s databanks, I had wondered about the possibilities of others of the crew similarly uploading themselves into the ship. In “Seizure” we find that it’s possible but that it’s not without risk. With Franklin, possibly Gloria, Perry and Ginn, there was either no body, or nothing left of the body to come back to. The consciousness exists in only one place – in Destiny. The scenario with Rush is possibly more dangerous, with his consciousness moving between the ship and back to his body. Eli is right to be concerned about this and I find it interesting that the warning comes from Ginn, despite the fact that both Eli and Ginn would love to be with each other physically.

From this episode we receive no hints that Rush has experienced any real ill-effects from this procedure. But there must always be consequences however and one of them is likely to be that Rush will look at Perry’s actions and motivations – and possibly even Perry herself – a little differently. Even with the best of intentions, Perry essentially toyed with Rush to suit herself. What could she do with even more power, something that is a likely outcome of her continued stay as a part of Destiny. At what point is she no longer Perry and something else? Her desire may not have begun that way but how easily could it change? Perhaps people were never meant to have that sort of power, at least not this early in our development.

Several times, the ship has interacted with the crew members using simulations but it is notable that Perry specifically uses the “no win scenario” by which the ship tested Young. Of all the possible scenarios, why did Perry use this one? Was it simply the one that she had access to and could amend to suit her needs or was there a deeper purpose? Could it be that we are meant to see that remaining in a corporeal form and existing within the database is a no win scenario, that the crew must choose one or the other, that they can’t have both? In any case, with the help of Eli and Ginn, Rush learns that he has to go outside of the parameters, to go outside of the system and away from Perry, in order to extricate himself from the simulation.

That Rush finds a way to re-enter his own body doesn’t come as a surprise to me, but what it says about the maturity of the characters does. Between Rush and Eli, it is supposed to be Rush that is the more mature of the two but, despite the fact that it is Eli and Ginn – the kids – who theorize about the ability to exist in the database, it is Rush that recklessly makes a move and sits in the chair, putting himself at risk and possible more. It is Eli that behaves like the mature adult here. That he clearly wants to be with Ginn goes without saying but he isn’t willing to risk the sort of danger Rush faced, at least not without further study.

It would be impossible to talk about this episode without talking about the appearance of Rodney McKay. While I don’t agree that McKay made a good fit aboard the Destiny, or even on an SGU episode, he did serve to once again point out that the plans of Earth tend to serve Earth, to the detriment of the Destiny.

Although Eli has been painted in previous episodes as occasionally childish, he can be forgiven in the fact that he is, in reality, still a child. McKay on the other hand is clearly an adult and it is painfully obvious that he has some trouble in behaving like one. Telford rightly makes the call, stating that it’s a lack of social skills, but I believe the problem runs much deeper. While on Destiny, Eli’s childish behaviour has been corrected, while in McKay, it is tolerated. Excuses are made for him due to his intelligence, that would never be tolerated in another.

That Young doesn’t think much of McKay is quite clear and it pleased me greatly to have Young declare that McKay’s plan would only go forward when Eli signed off on it. McKay’s one saving grace is that SGU has apparently affected how he was written, at least in the end. In stating, and accepting without an hysterical outburst, that the plan was a failure and shutting down the gate, I have gained a measure of respect for this McKay.

This is another of those episodes that hinges on the possible motivations of one man: Telford. In “Seizure” we see yet another attempt in an increasingly long line of attempts to reach Destiny with force, where Telford plays a central role. These efforts show a man increasingly desperate to get back aboard the ship with a team of his choosing. If this episode is anything to go by, he is willing to do so by any means necessary, but has he possibly begun to overplay his hand?

The Langarans have been courted by the Lucian Alliance, who continue to offer ever greater rewards for use of their gate in order to reach the Destiny. We learn that the Langarans have also rebuffed each offer, citing each time that they won’t endanger their alliance with Earth. And yet, we are offered the intelligence from spy satellites secretly listening in on Langara that they are in contact with the Alliance. No one else appears to have seen this intelligence. We also learn that on that very day, O’Neill has signed off on the operation, but we don’t hear from him personally. From whom do we learn about these developments? From Telford, a man who seems very willing to sell the others on the idea that the Langarans have already sold out to the Lucian Alliance in order to get access to the gate to dial Destiny.

Using the threat that the Lucian Alliance may seize the gate and dial the Destiny in order to do that very same thing themselves doesn’t make that much sense to me. The Langaran’s final action to disconnect the gate would appear to make for a far better way to circumvent the Lucian Alliance. No, in using his own set of social skills and the ability to use the right people, Telford appears to have set this plan in motion in order to not only get himself back in charge of the mission but to possibly take the Lucian Alliance with him. Telford’s offer to McKay appears to be an attempt to put a more tractable scientist in place of Rush, who Telford has little ability to control.

The plan only makes sense when you consider that Telford is at the very least working with the Alliance, if the connection hasn’t grown much deeper than that. Wouldn’t it be something if Telford, after the death of Kiva, was now the next to lead the Alliance? That would make for one hell of a twist. Will future episodes bring this out? Only time will tell and I fear we may not have time to see that play out to its end.

On a last note, when Young was declaring that the Lucian Alliance would not be allowed to succeed, he didn’t say that the Alliance wouldn’t be allowed to take “the ship”, or that they wouldn’t be allowed to harm the crew. He didn’t even mention that they wouldn’t be allowed to take “the” Destiny. Instead, he stated that the Alliance would not be allowed to take “Destiny”. It’s just one small word but to Young, the ship has clearly become far more than just a place, a setting, and become something more. A character in her own right that he will defend at all costs.

Rating: 7/10

[Rachel500]

Admittedly, I was looking forward to “Seizure”, having already been spoiled on the appearance of Atlantis alumni in the episode. After all, crossover episodes can be pretty damn spectacular and are one of the advantages of having an ongoing franchise. That said, I think the aim to include Atlantis folk led to some decisions plot-wise that detract from the great guest appearances by Robert Picardo and David Hewlett. Add Nicholas Rush having sex in a virtual environment into the mix and the whole episode kind of just makes me go a giant “HUH?”

Let’s start with the mess that was the plot. Earth wants a supply line to Destiny; enter ally Langara, a planet which gave SG-1 Jonas Quinn (Corin Nemec) for a time. Langara is naquadria rich and its Stargate is presumed capable of dialing Destiny, especially using a new ninth Chevron dialing program designed by Atlantis’ Chief Scientist, Doctor Rodney McKay (David Hewlett). Only Langara won’t let them because two planets have already blown up dialing the ninth Chevron and they would like their planet not to be number three. But Langara is suspected of conspiring with the Lucien Alliance and another attack on Destiny may be imminent. Cue Earth suddenly seizing its ally’s Stargate ostensibly to show it can be dialed safely?? And, oh, it turns out Langara has been insanely loyal to Earth, isn’t in bed with the Alliance, but still has no intention of letting their planet blow up so the whole thing is a giant waste of time. Hmmm.

OK, on the surface it doesn’t seem that insane -- and possibly if you’ve only ever watched Universe, it may not even bother you at all -- but as a veteran of the franchise my immediate reaction is that the plot is so totally unbelievable that it boggles the mind that it was ever thought up. Langara was always an awkward ally in SG-1 and I would have bought them getting into the bed with the Alliance much more than them turning out to be the good guys and Earth making a prat of itself. But primarily, the whole mission to seize the Langaran’s Stargate makes no sense at all; it probably deserves the title “Operation Most Likely to End Badly” because even if the Stargate had been dialed without blowing up the planet, why would an ally ever trust us again in order for us to be able to use it? Moreover, no sooner has Woolsey (Robert Picardo) said he and Rodney won’t take part in taking the Langaran’s Stargate by force when lo and behold, they’re on a mission to do just that!

My other main problem with using Langara is the complete lack of mentioning Jonas Quinn. Needless to say I would have loved to have seen Nemec revisit the character and make a guest appearance but I know sometimes it just doesn’t work out for whatever reason. However, not to even mention Jonas just irks. You know the main reason most fans were irked by the throw-away line in “Counterstrike” that Langara had fallen to the Ori? No mention of Jonas!! This is just a repeat of that but on an ever larger scale of irkdom.

I don’t necessarily blame Remi Aubuchon for the plotty mess in the episode. He isn’t a Stargate veteran and can be forgiven. I do find it somewhat bizarre that a newbie to the writing staff was given the episode since it involved crossing over Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Universe. I will also give Aubuchon credit for the great dialogue exchanges that pepper the episode, both in the plot and the subplot; loved the whole PowerPoint discussion between McKay and Woolsey, loved the time discussion between Young and McKay (nice reference to the usual exchanges between Sheppard and McKay), loved McKay bantering with Eli.

Talking of Eli: he and Rush, the two Universe scientists, bar a brief scene with McKay and Eli, are shuffled off into the sub-plot. The main thing going for the sub-plot (and possibly only thing) is Robert Carlyle looking very cool in a white-button shirt and jeans. The rest of the virtual environment sexy times plot (with Rush getting trapped because the ship doesn’t believe he loves Amanda) is just not that interesting, although Kathleen Munroe puts in an excellent performance as the virtual Amanda Perry. David Blue also acts his heart out in the final scene with Rush where Eli’s devastation at having to quarantine his love Ginn (Julie McNiven) alongside Perry in order to save Rush is very well done.

The guest stars also give excellent performances. McKay and Woolsey remain “heroes.” Both characters remain in-character. McKay is particularly well done; acerbic and arrogant but brilliant and wanting to do the right thing. Hewlett also looks incredibly good.

All in all, despite the issues with the plot, the episode is very watchable, and that’s pretty much thanks to the great acting and production throughout. That watchability is its saving grace. “Seizure” is nowhere near a crossover classic, but if you ignore the plot and no Jonas, it’s a nice enough escape from reality for a while.

Previously published at GeekSpeak Magazine

[ZRFTS]

Seizure

On this episode of SGU we have. OMG! A crossover with Stargate Atantis! John Sheppard, Rodney McKay meting up with Col. Young and Dr. Rush, and I bet Ronan's along for the ride too, OMG! Oh wait, only McKay is in it. Well I guess it was either this or get one of the guys from Babar and the Adventures of Badou.

I have to commend David Hewlett for not bowing down to the pressures of the show; it must of been tough of him to act the way he did; his light goofy side with slight comedic mannerisms, his arguism which doesn't take itself seriously, his overall charismatic personality. Compared to Dr. Daniel Jackson he doesn't seem to be trying to be serious, moreso he's just behind himself without a care for the world. He proves to be a decent treat throughout the episode, his scenes shift SGU in a direction that is different for the show and though he manages to somewhat scumb to the ills of SGU, he still manages to put a smile on everybodies face, well a smile on those Stargate fans but a smile nonetheless. I'm a bit disapointed that the rest of the Atlantis crew didn't appear; I don't understand it, Michael Shanks appeared, Amanda Tapping appeared, even Richard Dean Anderson appeared, you mean to tell me they couldn't get Joe Flanagan or Jason Momoa? His appearance has an unintentional side effect of making the episode feel awkward as if the episode is struggling between staying true to it's serious routes or trying to appease McKay's appearance; the characters act as if they're starstruck by the appearance of Dr. Rodney McKay, not knowing what to do or say and sometimes even forgetting their characters as a whole; I sat stunned as I watched Young awkwardly stumble across his lines, Eli actively suppress his acting talent for a back and forwath that was unlike them, both of them acting as if this were their first day acting; these were characters who throughout various seasons managed to establish a name for themselves and yet they're brought down by one person... Traits like the shaky camera, communication stones and the edge are portrayed well but mishmashed to poor results, seeming almost jarring with it's unpolished cuts and lack of focus; seeing a person from their perspective is nice but I don't want to be confused because of it.

This episode consists of two plotlines, the first involving Rush/Perry and a VR and the second involving a planet, a group of people and a nine-chevron Stargate; these plots sound promising in the things they explore, the romance between Rush and Perry is a natural and sweet one that has lead to many of the show's best moments and the sheer idea that Earth will finally connect with Destiny is seemingly powerful in itself, unfortunately both plots reveal themselves to be boring. When watching Rush/Perry's plot, we quickly discover that being sweet can become meddling if they solely do that; don't get me wrong, Rush/Perry are loveable but as an audience, people desire more and there's only so much love can do for an audience; there is some kind of threat that's there in the rush to get Rush out of his dilemma and an uncertainty throughout but it doesn't do much to add spark. The plot with the Stargate seems like it's building up an exciting momentum but it constantly wastes it with many scenes consisting of walking throughout the halls and insubstantial small conversations while an ominous sense of morality lurks in the background; barely anything exciting comes along and when they do happen, they seem to contribute to an issue that isn't properly explored or even built up to; it's ending serves to shake the Stargate status quo with it's political issues and diplomacy disasters but that's all it does, provide an exciting status-shaking ending with no real exploration and that's the problem, both plotlines rely on the viewer thinking about the possibilities to distract them from the actual content. I'll admit, the thought of a love keeping him where he is is interesting, the desire to be with him for the rest of his life, the desire to possibly cover up a mistake is something that can go off in many directions; and the idea of a possible compromise, a possible disaster in the political spectrum is just teeming with depth but these should be properly explored in the plots themselves, we shouldn't have to think about it, we should see it unfold on screen and be excited by it.

Fortunately the characters act decently throughout the entire ordeal. Young acts like a usual commander but he gets a rare chance to let loose and he utilizes an accent in some parts; being serious but unintentionally putting a smile on faces worldwide, which is nice since it shows that there's something more to this character. That doesn't mean he isn't good in acting in his usual role, he serves the mood well, dominating in a military stance while providing an almost tense feeling with every word that he speaks; he actually makes it seems like this is life and death, which is very, very good. Rush manages to be the best that he can be, selling the impression that he's happy, that he's concerned about his work and selling his depth overall; though this is one of his lesser works, his acting makes the plot he's in very compelling with his logical viewpoint that gives it substance and his lighter side that's naturally human, in fact he even gets a chance to be emotional as he directly faces the feelings relating to Perry herself, crying out tears of sadness, rationalizing what he's did, it's directly contradicted by what's revealed afterwards but it's still nice nonetheless. There were some weaker ones like Scott who managed to be completely invisible and inconsequential, Eli who despite his better acting without David around him, didn't fully utilize his opportunity to save Rush and oddly enough Woosley, who was one of the better things of Season 5 of Atlantis. I am completely surprised by his weak acting here, it's almost as if he's fallen to the ills of SGU almost immediately, acting serious without any character, seemingly out of place trying to act out the lighter moments of SGA. There was a warmness that invited viewers to him, viewpoints that really made him seem like a leader but a person at the same time but without those, he just seems like an average unmemorable suit but such is life. Still...

This is an episode who's ideas are more memorable than the plot itself; there was some real potential to be had in the plots, every character played their part well and even McKay proved himself to be a nice benefit (if not a bit gimmicky) but much of the episode just screamed boring as barely anything happened and nothing grabbed you directly out of your seat; in fact the episode seems to rely on the fact that two of the guys from Stargate Atlantis are on it as it's selling point more than the content of the episode itself, making the episode more of a gimmick than anything else. In the immortal words of Rodney McKay, "This show is a failure", but there are some good moments to be had here...

4.5/10