Stargate Archives

Pilot

Welcome to this bonus episode of the Stargate Archives as I take a look at something while not directly under the Stargate banner is in one way or another associated. In this case one Richard Dean Anderson starred in this seven season series broadcast in the states on ABC from 1985 onwards.

In the premiere episode named “Pilot” it opens up with MacGyver on a mission to gain access to a military weapon which was being carried by a downed US aircraft, he finds the pilot also survived so in the MacGyver way he finished his mission and rescues the pilot.

The main story then begins after the quite impressive title sequence as a high security research facility is bombed but there are survivors. MacGyver is asked to lead the rescue operation although at his point the structure of the organisation he works for is unknown he has the option to refuse. He doesn’t of course and with a time limit thanks to the leak of acid which could corrupt the Rio Grande he descend into the huge underground complex battling the obstacles the explosion has created.

This opening episode is very entertaining, the short story prior to the titles pretty much spells out exactly who MacGyver is and what the general goal is going to be. The research complex story expands on the basic ideas and throws up more character interaction and more puzzles to solve be it with chocolate bars, paperclips or whatever. Richard Dean Anderson is perfect for the role and alas will pay for his commitment to some of the stunt work in later years and while he worked on many shows after MacGyver it was really only Stargate that allowed him to really go to town once again.

Thanks for listening to this bonus show and I am hoping to record more content over the next month and into the new year. If you want to join me then please get in touch, pick any episode from the three live action series and we can chat about it in a very informal manner.

• MacGyver Online

• IMDB

• WIKI

The comments and observations of an unnamed member of Stargate Command after the reactivation of the base under General Hammond.

I’m not able to record at the moment thanks to some building work so dug out a Gatecast bonus episode as we were joined by Thomas to discuss the uber DeLuise episode of Seaquest “Vapors”. It seemed appropriate given it was Peter’s birthday this week.

Seaquest is an American scifi series set in the near future. The particular episode is from the second season called “Vapors” and stars four of the DeLuise clan beginning with Peter and Michael who are regulars on the show with Dom as a major guest star and David appearing in a bit part. In Vapors Tony (Michael) is asked by his father Nick (Dom) to help him with a problem as his mother is taking some drugs which are causing a few problems. Tony takes Lucas and Dagwood (Peter) along with him on this adventure and they visit Buddy’s a dance club and smoking establishment which is managed by David’s character. This story is a lot of fun and exploits the dynamic between the DeLuise family and does overlap with the other story line which deals with some of the issues with Bridger (Roy Scheider) and the ships CMO Dr Wendy Smith (Rosalind Allen) with further emotional ups and downs with other members of the ships crew leading to a get together at the end of the day at the Captains beach house.

Vapors is a fairly decent episode for someone new to the series to begin with, it’s pretty much standalone and in many ways does act as a little primer but of course the ship and crew we see in the second season is very much different to that of the first season and more so in the third season. Seaquest had many ups and downs during it’s three year life on television even with the Spielberg name involved but they aimed high and many times hit the mark by providing good adventure stories backed with science and environmental themes to educate and entertain the audience.

A huge thank you to Thomas who recommended this episode for a bonus show and for joining us to record the show, always tricky to sort out a time with someone in the US or any country with a significant time difference but rewarding when it all works out.

Feedback, reviews and ratings are most welcome and if you want to chat about Stargate for the podcast then please get in touch.

Links…

• Seaquest Vapors IMDB

• Seaquest Vapors Wiki

The comments as written by an unnamed member of Stargate Command after the reactivation of the base under General Hammond.

Welcome to the first of the more random coverage of the Stargate tv franchise. I’ve redone the first season of SG1 to my satisfaction and there seems little point in continuing through the second season and beyond. So a change of pace as my guest is free to choose any episode they want to talk about and this time Alan makes a return to chat about the excellent “Malice” from the second season of Universe.

Ginn is dead murdered by her clansman Simeon (played by Robert Knepper) who then shoots numerous guards and now well armed takes a hostage and gates to a nearby planet. Rush in a surge of rage over the death of Amanda (connected to Ginn by the communications stones) follows closely behind only to find the hostage (Dr Park) booby trapped, a ruse to allow Simeon to take potshots at the pursuing force. Rush deals with the device and chases after Simeon deep into the desert landscape. Soon after Scott and Greer with support begin to track both men but Simeon is adept at evading enemy forces and inflicting damage. Meanwhile on Destiny at least one man dies of his wounds and even with partial bridge access they are unable to prevent Destiny from entering FTL. Colonel Young takes a chance on Chloe who is still recovering from her experiences onboard the alien ship and allows her access to the computers, she does something whose results are kept a mystery for dramatic purposes.

Simeon now wounded is only being chased down by Rush, the two men finally confront each other and Rush walks away thanks to his ingenuity and Simeon’s inability to resist the lure of petty violence. Rush returns to the gate and is surprised to find that the crew have gained some control over the ship and maybe his influence is waning.

Malice was a great choice by Alan for the podcast, one of the Universe episodes which is definitely in the story arc but does standalone to a certain extent. Credit as well to Robert C. Cooper for his homage of some classic westerns in feel and presentation and Jim Menard for some staggeringly impressive visuals.

If there is an episode of Stargate you want to chat about on the podcast then by all means please get in touch, would love to hear from you. Check is out on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and (for now) Google+ and if you use Apple itunes then a rating/review would appreciated.

IMDB WIKI

The comments as written by an as of yet unnamed member of Stargate Command after the reactivation of the base under General Hammond.

The comments as written by an as of yet unnamed member of Stargate Command after the reactivation of the base under General Hammond.

The second season premiere of Stargate SG1 seamlessly contines the three part story that concluded the first season of the show as SG1 are alone on a Goa’uld ship gearing up for a planetary assault on Earth. The best laid plans are derailed as Apophis in a second ship joins Klorel’s vessel so the C4 planted around his ship will be for naught. The bridge is then breached by guards and SG1 captured and dumped in the brig where they meet a familiar face who had his own plans for defying his God and saving the Earth!

Bra’tac for it is he is a little annoyed with SG1 (after smacking Jack hit the nose) and explains that most System Lords fall at the hands of their offspring and thus he was going to perpetrate a rouse by attacking Apophis in Klorel’s name using Death Gliders. Jack however comes up with a new plan and the merry band are on their way. Meanwhile back at the SGC Colonel Samuels has returned and is implementing a plan to strike the ships with Naquadah enhanced warheads via stealthed missiles. The General can not stop him but continues the transfer of volunteers to the Alpha site just in case the facility if not the world falls to the Goa’uld.

The missiles strike but alas both ships are shielded although Klorel hesitated, the host (Skarra) is proving to be troublesome however Apophis has no time for a whiny kid which isn’t helped when SG1 capture the young Goa’uld and ring over to Apophis ship as the C4 countdown continues….

The Serpent’s Lair is a magnificent opener to the second season of Stargate SG1 and a fitting conclusion to this trilogy of episodes. The production is top notch with some very nice CGI effects, good use of standing sets and well filmed high intensity combat scenes. It would not be SG1 without the interplay between the characters creating drama and humour and the writers and actors delivered both in grand style. An epic adventure!

My thanks to Ian for joining me this week, lots of trouble getting together thanks to real life but we got the show recorded. The plan is to open up the podcast to favourite episodes and other themes as I’ve achieved my initial purpose of the Stargate Archives in offering better content compared to our first Gatecast season. Guest spots are open to all, a skype connection and arranging a time is all that is required so if you are interested please get in touch.

IMDB WIKI

The SGC is being wound down thanks to the decision made by Senator Kinsey, papers are being shredded, dust covers are everywhere and General Hammond despite knowing the threat of the Goa'uld can not bring himself to openly defy a legitimate order. Daniel continues to try to convince the rest of SG1 on the merits of his experience in the alternate reality and maybe it was just pride but eventually Jack agrees to gate to the address Daniel brought back, Sam and Teal'c volunteer and together the team risk court martial and death to save the world.

They gate into darkness but equipped with night vision they find themselves in a small room full of alien shipping containers some of which contain previously unknown energy weapons which we come to know as Zat guns. Jaffa soon arrive and deploy a huge globe within the Stargate which turns out to be a communications device as this is no base, it's a FTL capable ship carrying a Stargate on route to Earth to meet up with a sister ship and then to reign fire on the Tau'ri. 

This season finale is very very strong, the idea that SG1 risk everything to protect the Earth and everyone in it makes perfect sense given what we have seen of them. There is also a lot of legitimate actions by the rank and file military and political bureaucracy which makes the whole episode feel more realistic, not bad for a scifi show. The return of Skaara (Alexis Cruz) but with a twist was excellent, good use of the character and actor who made the most of this role and more to come. The episode delivers action and suspense and a credible cliffhanger, well more than credible, pretty darn good!

Thanks for listening or maybe just reading, I have plans to cover the season 2 opener to conclude this trilogy of episodes then start cherry picking episodes from the 17 seasons of the live action franchise. It is my hope I can get a lot of former guests back on the show and hopefully a lot of new voices given our format is far more flexible. If you are interested in joining me to discuss your favourite episode then get in touch and we can sort something out. Reviews and ratings are most welcome and many thanks for everyone who has been chatting via social media, the community remains strong.

IMDB  WIKI

Daniel is in the infirmary having his wound treated and reveals to SG1 his adventure in the alternate reality, they are sceptical to say the least. Complications arise when Lt. Colonel Samuels turns up with a fact finding Senator in tow who has been made privy to the SGC after threatening to make public the $7.4 Billion budget for the operation tagged Area 52. Senator Kinsey claims he has an open mind but it's evident that armed with the mission reports he is more then ready to shut down the SGC and bury his head in the sand to the threat posed by other worlds and the Goa'uld in particular.  

Politics is a clip show with some new content to bind the money saving clips together and ultimately fails as a standalone episode but in terms of allowing the producers to go to town on the season finale then it was probably worth the hit in terms of quality and fan response. Of course having Ronny Cox as Senator Robert Kinsey doesn't hurt one single bit and you have to say any other actor may not have been able to raise the standard of the episode beyond "meh" and boy does he chew scenery. All the main characters get good dialogue to bounce off Kinsey and it is the small amount of new content which demonstrates why Stargate more often than not does a clip show with style even if Politics isn't quite there yet.

So this episode of the podcast was a little different as I didn't want to drag a guest into discussing a clip show so the idea of splicing in some clips mainly from Teal'c seemed to be a good idea. It's also a much shorter podcast than usual given that there is only so much to say based on the amount of new content and no one wants hear the same thoughts on the clips as discussed on their episodes proper. The next episode should be the season 1 finale "Within The Serpent's Grasp" and then we'll do the S2 opener "The Serpent's Lair" thus wrapping up this trilogy.

My thanks to everyone that has been supporting us on social media and of course listening to the show and as always if you fancy coming on then please get in touch, always been great to get new and familiar voices on the podcast.

IMDB  WIKI