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Posted by: Arcady Dec 5th 2005, 9:24 PM

Season 2, Episode 14 - Grace Under Pressure

Air Dates:
CA: Dec. 12, 8 PM (TMN)
US: Jan. 27, 9 PM (Sci Fi Channel)
UK: Feb. 1, 8 PM (Sky One)


McKay finds himself trapped in a puddle jumper which has crashed under water, and the rest of the team attempt to rescue him.

http://www.sg1archive.com/atlantis/s2.shtml#214 | http://www.sg1archive.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12558 | http://www.sg1archive.com/teasers/a214.html

(This topic is for people who have seen the episode to discuss it. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read this topic.)

Posted by: Ghostdraconi Dec 13th 2005, 9:25 AM

I guess it's no coincidence that this reminds me of the SG-1 seventh season episode Grace. Still I found it enjoyable.

Posted by: Auntie Em! Dec 13th 2005, 9:27 AM

Well I guess this episode answers the question if there is life in the Ocean around Atlantis. When McKay sets off the Emergency broadcast signal a whale comes in and is attracted to the PJ. Also when Shep goes down in another PJ they get sporadic life signs on their detector.

Also answers the 'why no boats in atlantis' question. The PJ are meant to be submersibles. The PJ can go deeper than our earth submarines. Which is cool.

It was nice to see Carter. She looks damn good. Fun to see McKay and Carter fight like the good old days.

This show was good in that it teaches McKay that he is not the answer to every crisis that hits the Atlantis. That sometimes he needs to sit back and do nothing. Which for McKay is extremely difficult. Carter was there to talk him out of doing his air brain attempt to save himself.

Petty, arrogant and treats people badly. McKay than asks if Carter finds him attractive and she says that that he is best to return to trying to survive. He asked her to take her top off.
Than Carter snuggles up to McKay and he says what are you doing she says for heat. He says you not here she says "Does not mean I cannot get you hot!" Than she goes for a swim and comes up in panties and a bra. They start snuggling and kissing.

Very weird indeed to see. He suddenly realizes that she is trying to prevent him from doing plan and she reappears fully clothed. Oh well he should have just gone with making out with Carter instead. He thinks to much.

Over a good episode. Nice to see that McKay valued the life that was sacrificed to save his life. He thought of the plan to close the door but could not act on it because he did not want to die. Nice for him in his ego to realize that the other man thought of it but that he was willing to give his life to save McKay.

Posted by: CrazySac Dec 13th 2005, 9:55 AM

Not a bad episode just hope they stray from anymore stories of being trapped in a jumper for another few years . I can understand one story of this basis but we have already had two since the start of SGA.

Is it me or the makeup artist did a horrible job on Mckays forhead, I kept seeing the bandaid looking skin where his bruise was . I dont know why but it was annoying, you could make out the shape of it so you knew it was fake .

Big plus Carter was showing mad clevage during majority of the episode. I swear this is the first time that I heard them use Zelenka's first name . They said Radek a crap load just thought it was odd.

Posted by: Raxor Dec 13th 2005, 1:37 PM

good ep, im sure the carter fans will like this one :)

***

Posted by: rkenshin Dec 13th 2005, 3:56 PM

So what did Zelenka say this time in Czech?

But contrary to the title.. Rodney didn't show any grace under pressure at all, hehe..

Posted by: Raxor Dec 13th 2005, 5:42 PM

much better than grace anyway in the end so im happy

Posted by: ShepsGirl Dec 13th 2005, 5:49 PM

Hewletts acting in this episode was good I thought. Oh, and I absolutely loved the bickering between McKay and Carter! Hehehe... Very funny.

Posted by: UltimateW Dec 13th 2005, 7:16 PM

Woooow, Carter = HAWT!

I love Rodneys dirty mind, Iam sure most of us (males anyway) would have the same thoughts, if we had to have Carter as a sidekick in our fantasy, why dress her up so much, tho she was dressed to kill :D

The episode wasnt that bad and it opens up a new world, Seaquest coming to Stargate ;)

Overall a classic episode well done.

Posted by: dr_n_tesla Dec 13th 2005, 10:29 PM

Great episode!!!

Sure beats the hell out of a tank top!! :D Funny she was in pink.

Also answers the question regarding the Puddle Jumper's shield which the wraith in ep 1x12 The Defiant One managed to raise. The field emitters of Alterran design must be able to perform both functions, so in order to have both functions active at the same time, they would require two field generators/emitter sets and a much larger power supply. I wonder if they will ever get to the point of retrofitting such a system to the Big D. Also from this we now know that a Puddle Jumper's power supply is not limitless and can be drained. From this we may assume that they can be recharged in the Jumper Bay if they are able to continuously use/cycle through at least 8 Puddle Jumpers this far into the series.

Hmmm, loved seeing the Leviathan swim overhead. Makes you wonder if they really are protectors of the Alterrans/Ancients of Atlantis or what the biblical passages say they are. (Assuming that was a Leviathan in the show).

Posted by: Ghostdraconi Dec 14th 2005, 1:08 AM

I think the bandaid looking skin was actually a bandaid. If you look at the earlier parts of the show you can see it missing.

Posted by: ShepsGirl Dec 14th 2005, 2:26 AM

Yeah, He definately put on a bandaid. If you watch the episode, at 7 minutes 35 seconds, at the being of the scene where he figures out how many atmospheres of pressure the puddle jumper is under, you see him finishing putting the bandaid on.

Posted by: hobo_joe20 Dec 14th 2005, 3:51 AM

Believe it or not, but they actually have bandaids that almost look skin-like. And its not like MacKay would have healed that quickly ... so bandaid it is. At least he knows basic first aid :)


Great episode though. David Hewett did a fantastic job in this one. Maybe in future episodes MacKay will be a little calmer, now that he has experienced a personal helplessness and might let others actually get credit for their work

Posted by: UltimateW Dec 14th 2005, 4:48 AM

Yes and elephants will fly. :D

Ahh well maybe a little, but I would not expect him to change to much, perhaps he will have better luck with Sam, the next time they meet for real ;)

Posted by: Hazaa3000 Dec 14th 2005, 7:50 AM

I feel this episode was a big set up as in the sense that now the Jumpers can go underwater, we will see more 'action' if you know what I mean.

Can wraith darts work under water too? Imagine the battle!

Good episode, funny to see Carter, was well played. Loved the bit where there kissing and Sam is like, "you do not what you're doing ..." lol.

Classic.

Posted by: hobo_joe20 Dec 14th 2005, 10:44 AM

You mean they don't?? Dammit! and here I was, thinking they could.
However, I do still expect a change in MacKay, if only for a few episodes and then only minor changes. There's no way someone could go through that and NOT change somehow.

Posted by: Sibylle Dec 14th 2005, 11:47 AM

Does anyone thinks there is a option o Carter not being te creation of Rodney's own mind?
The moment i saw her I began thinking of the possibility's of help of some sort from the ancients, or mayb asgard/nox who are observing in the background while no-one knows..........

I think it would be great to find out that Carter was help from someone, mayb even the creature who help Sheppard find Rodney, as was said before the creature could be a potector or servant of the ancients.......

I love the idea :D (and Carter swimming around while Rodney is stressing out ;))

Posted by: Auntie Em! Dec 14th 2005, 11:54 AM

No Joe Mallozzi said it was all in McKay's mind. No intervention from the ancients.

Though, is an interesting ideal. Especially the ideal about the creature. Maybe they are intelligent creatures and offered telepathic help using a figure in McKay's own mind. Carter.

OH OH that is an intriguing ideal Sibylle the more I think about it.

Posted by: Proton911 Dec 14th 2005, 2:29 PM

Well this episode are rules!
Heh Amanda very hot ;-)
Mackey he rules too, nice.....

Posted by: jetsetter Dec 14th 2005, 8:34 PM

That was the best part of the episode. I also made some screencaps with the intention of posting them here but I guess I will just make an animation.



Made it slower and fixed the border

Posted by: ha'tak Dec 15th 2005, 1:24 AM

loved this EP I was cracking up nearly every time McKay was second guessing himself

plust how much do you want to bet that the littel cloak--> sheild sheild--> cloak thing wont be used agian

Posted by: AtheneBelle Dec 16th 2005, 10:20 AM

Am I the only one that noticed that his subconcious mind left Sam on the PJ that he was rescued from? Think it's symbolic of finally letting her go? I also get the idea that if his parents hadn't been so down on him he might have been a different enough person for Sam to have taken a shine to him.

Posted by: Sibylle Dec 16th 2005, 3:11 PM

Sam must be with Jack :D
2 bad the season isn't handeling with major events, like SG-1 in season 8.

I'm finding it quite stupid that some things from earlier episodes aren't used trueouth the series.
Like the personal shield device found by Rodney in the beginning, or transporters from the Asgard beeing installed on the ancient base (at least untill they figure out how the ancient stuff works), or asgard sensors.........

Quest for the zpm's seems to be stopped, for the ancients used them for quite a lot...i would suggest stealing it from the Geni (or what race was it tat had one?) ;)


aaah well, not the topic nor the time.....let it be :P

Posted by: Eryin Win Dec 16th 2005, 5:44 PM

i love girls, being wet, wet tshirts.. i love seeing carter wetshirted even more.
Average ep, an ancient whale, how nice they didnt go extinct...

Posted by: Dafmeister Dec 16th 2005, 7:11 PM

You'll find that they tend to appear in later seasons. The writers cant go back and use everything they have found immediately otherwise the story would be over after a few seasons. Every season has a number of standalone episodes that do nothing to further the main plot but are there for character development.


Using that all the time would make it too easy for the team. Whenever they went off world, they would only need to sent McKay. He would be invunerable, where is the fun in that?


There are already Ancient transporters. We see them in a number of episodes, 'Hide and Seek' for example.


The city already has sensors. Since the ZPM was installed they have been able to get sensors on line. That is how they found the Aurora.


Like I said earlier, finding everything they need immediately makes it too easy for the team. Where is the fun if they managed to get the city up to full power (3 fully charged ZPMs) at the end of season 2?

Posted by: Rin Daemoko Dec 17th 2005, 2:35 AM

Wow. Simply wow. This is one of the best episodes of ANYTHING I've ever seen. I'm just ... wow. It was the little things that all came together so well. I just adored this episode. I don't know what else to say.

EDIT: I ordinarily detest "disaster" episodes. Where someone crashes and they need to be rescued - it's a way too overdone scenario. But this was more than enjoyable.

Posted by: Teyla Sheppard Dec 18th 2005, 5:16 PM

this ep was average. i'm not a big McKay fan but he didn't play bad his part. sometimes was it very funny when he talk with oneself. Carter was also good but her pink outfit was 'distinctive'. now we all know what is in McKays head
i hope that the next ep will be more interesting. really... i have to say that the second part of this season isn't so good like first one. that's bad and i hope it'll change

Posted by: Carter-Hot Dec 19th 2005, 1:02 PM

I thought this episode was sweet.

Shame Griffin had to die, he was a nice guy.

AT was hot in this episode, I love what she done with her hair, it's very elegant and the clothes -

Anyway moving on, a good episode, nothing like the SG-1 episode, "Grace". I liked this episode.

8.5/10 - Shame I can't the same for PJ6.

I'm gonna miss the hallucinated-Carter.

Posted by: dr lee Dec 19th 2005, 1:49 PM

did anyone else think that it was weird that sheppard was the one coming up with the ideas to save makay? he ran off and got the winch and the magnetic (???) hook together and then retrofitted (without permission i might add) them onto the PJ. wasn't it sheppard who had the idea of turning the cloak into the shield? or was it zelenka.

which PJ was it that they were testing out? was it the one from '38 minutes' or the one that the wraith messed about with?

Posted by: rkenshin Dec 19th 2005, 1:55 PM

Probably the Puddle Jumper that was shot down in Condemned..

Rodney said in that ep that he couldn't fix it unless he had the necessary tools back at atlantis, so they probably went back for it after the wraith fed upon the people there..

Posted by: Auntie Em! Dec 19th 2005, 7:27 PM

Dr Lee shep though he does not act like it all the time is actually quite smart. He is brilliant with mathematical problems.

Posted by: Carter-Hot Dec 20th 2005, 5:41 AM

As seen in that episode with the 9's, lol

Posted by: wteaocb Dec 20th 2005, 8:42 PM

I don't see why everyone is always going on about Carter.... She seems pretty normal to me; i mean, if she weren't on a popular science fiction television series, gross guys wouldn't be drooling all over themsevles everytime she is pictured wearing a sleeveless top...

Posted by: Darkwander Dec 20th 2005, 11:33 PM

You male or female if you dont mind me asking. And as for the sleeveless top, it was a blue bra...

Posted by: dr lee Dec 21st 2005, 6:53 PM

i knew that he is smart, but what i was saying was that it was weird that it wasn't zelenka or another scientist who had the ideas. also there was the fact that he just went ahead and started organising his idea b4 asking weir.


why is everyone talking about carter? maybe it's cuz she guest starred in this episode and she had a few good scenes? cater is also one of the main characters in SG1 so of course people will talk about her.

as for 'gross guys...drooling' in a site like this with thousands of members worldwide you are bound to get a few that are a bit crude.

Posted by: Cindy Dec 21st 2005, 8:57 PM

In 'Before I sleep' Janus said they pulled Dr Weirs Jumper of the ocean floor. I was just wondering why couldn't they just figure out how the acients did that.

Posted by: Carter-Hot Dec 22nd 2005, 5:40 AM

Probably they don't enough power to activate the Ancient's version of the Asgard transporters. We know they sorta have them, cos their "mini-transporter lifts" beams people from one location to another within the city. Maybe in order for that system to be activated they need a 2nd ZPM.

Cos they said in "Intruder", now that the ZPM was installed, new systems has come online.

Posted by: Ilzy Dec 25th 2005, 2:33 PM

Yeah, that seemed a little surprising for me too since Shep usually isn't the McGyver-type of character (so to say ) who comes up with solutions in spheres not related to military stategy.

All in all this episode was really entertaining. I've always loved the way Carter and McKay interact, there's really something special about their 'relationship'.

Just had this idea (season 3 spoiler)

Posted by: Jack.go.marry.Sam! Dec 26th 2005, 4:28 AM

i also liked this episode..

just one thing was strange, first we see carter swimming to mckay in her bra and make out with him, then mckay realises that she is distracting him...
in the next scene we see carter wearing that pink shirt again and completely dry... is that goof?
or was that part with the bra only in mckays mind?
like that scene in 'grace' where carter kisses oneill at the end..

and how do you guys know that carter was wearing panties? because you cant see that in any scene... but someone wrote it..

and does anyone else think that carters bra looked kinda strange? like it was too big? but maybe it looked like that because it was wet...

oh and nice to see that amanda has her nice figure back after giving birth..

Posted by: Pitry Dec 26th 2005, 5:16 AM

LoL... definitely. Ah, t'was brilliant.
"I'm arguing with myself over who had the idea first, me or me. I am petty!"
"and arrogant, and bad with people..."

*snigger snigger*

Great Rodney episode. It's good to know he knows all these things about himself... and...well.. okay so I can;t really think of anything intelligent to say about the episode. I just really enjoyed this dip into Rodney's tortured psyche (cough, cough).

I think the main differnece between Grace and Grace Under Pressure is indeed the differnece of attitude between Sam and Rodney. Sam takes everything cooly, she was very focused the entire time... and Rodney just goes all over the place. It's great to see a superhero that isn't very well equipped to be a super-hero - and much more interesting, IMHO.

Well, that and the fact he wans't stuck in there for weeks over weeks. I can see his reaction to his imaginary Sam if he'd been there for a week ;)



No goof. She was in a bra as long as she was trying to distract Rodney. Once his less subconscious subconcious (er) took over and realised what she's trying to do, he re-dressed her so she won't distract him.

Posted by: Carter-Hot Jan 2nd 2006, 5:20 AM

Anyone else noticed this



I'm not entirely familiar with the gate symbols, but is that Atlantis' Point of Origin or something?

Posted by: Dafmeister Jan 2nd 2006, 8:56 AM

It is difficult to tell if it the point of origin for Atlantis but it stands to reason that it would be as that is their base of operations.

Posted by: Deathcrow Jan 9th 2006, 1:45 PM

Great Episode, great character developement and nice acting
i really enjoyed this one ! Especially Sheppard was very cool. all in all a very well done Show, i hope there are more to come.

Buuut did anyone of you think about the fact that Rodney may have been NOT haluzinating!?!

Posted by: Dafmeister Jan 9th 2006, 1:51 PM

No because we have already been told that she was a hallucination.

Posted by: Deathcrow Jan 9th 2006, 1:54 PM

by whom? sorry if i missed sth in the thread

Posted by: Dafmeister Jan 9th 2006, 2:34 PM

TPTB have said it.
There is no possible way for it to have been the real Sam:
-She doesnt come through Atlantis' gate to start with nor does she arrive via the Daedalus.
-She appears on the Puddle Jumper out of nowhere.
-She is left on the Puddle Jumper at the end of the episode.

Posted by: Deathcrow Jan 9th 2006, 2:47 PM

I am not very often in this forum so i have no clue who or what TPTB is, help me please ;) Is that an official source or what?! Or just a user, cause then i dont give a fu** ;) no just kidding but anyway:

hey i am not stupid, sure it is not the real carter, but just think about the fact at which point in the story she first appeared (still not getting it?). What happened shortly before that? THINK ;)
The more i think about it the more i am sure that Rodney is not haluzinating.

Posted by: hobo_joe20 Jan 9th 2006, 2:52 PM

TPTB = the powers that be. the writers, producers, etc. the OFFICIAL source of everything stargate.

and no, rodney WAS halucinating. Otherwise Carter would still be on the bottom of the ocean, and would no longer be in any stargate, anywhere.

Posted by: Deathcrow Jan 9th 2006, 3:01 PM

*annoyed grunt* do you have link?

Posted by: hobo_joe20 Jan 9th 2006, 3:04 PM

Link to what? I do not know what TPTB have said. I do nto follow that. I was only imforming you as to what TPTB means. Also, I was adding in some logic that could follow from the end of the episode. Do you understand what I am saying as to why Mackay was hallucinating and Carter really couldn't have been in the PJ with him? Plus, I have never seen a girl put her clothes on as fast as Carter did ... not to mention they were miraculously dry the entire time. Therefore, figment of his imagination.

Posted by: Dafmeister Jan 9th 2006, 3:17 PM

Ok, you want proof. The following is from an interview that Amanda Tapping (the actress who plays Carter) had with TV Guide magazine:

Look for Carter to appear when bumbling science nerd Rodney McKay (David Hewlett) conjures up his old foil to help him escape from a sinking Puddle Jumper. 'Basically, I appear as a hallucination ... I'm not really there,' Tapping explains.


The important bit is in red. Proof enough for you?

Posted by: Deathcrow Jan 9th 2006, 3:22 PM

yeah ok, i thought you knew, but i wont just accept it like this, maybe someone can quote the original source of this information.
EDIT: Ok thank you Dafmeister, thats what i was looking for! But still i have doubts, i will write down my own theory about that in a minute

oooookay pls i BEG you read my posts more carefully:
NOW quoting myself.

you see? i did not say that it is the real carter but it is neither an halizunation, imho

Posted by: hobo_joe20 Jan 9th 2006, 3:33 PM

So carter is sending holograms of herself, to places that even radio waves cannot reach, to help out in a situation she knows nothing about. Yup, sounds plausible to me. Not to mention she was in another galaxy when this was happening. Please provide a little more proof of your speculation before we are expected to eat it.

Posted by: Dafmeister Jan 9th 2006, 3:38 PM

How can you possibly have doubts? TPTB have said she is a hallucination and so has Amanda Tapping. She is a hallucination, nothing more, nothing less.

Posted by: Deathcrow Jan 9th 2006, 3:42 PM

Ok heres what i think about it:
What was the meaning of this whale in the episode?
As you may remember in this SG1 episode with carter where she was stuck in this nebular there was this theory that it may have been a scentient lifeform. I see many analogies in this ep and also in this case i suspect the whale of being a scentient being with mental/telepathic powers.

As you might remember shortly before Carter appears the whale bumps against the ship (initializes mental contact) and after that "disappears" (in my oppinion it follows him all the time).
May it be possible that it is able to read Rodneys mind and create a familiar "halizunation" for him to help him in this crisis? It instantly recoginzes the problems of rodney (always wants to be in control, doing something) and tries to give him a counterpoint, to help him relax and let others do the work.
We know that the ancients liked to study things, and maybe they chose this planet because of these whales, maybe they even helped them on their way to ascension, who knows.

Basically my idea is that Rodney isn't as intelligent as many people think after that episode: He is not that wise as he wishes to be (better than carter), but the whale-being gives him that feeling to encourage him. All these aspects of carter just dont find into Rodneys character and even supconsciously it would be very strange to have such a person in him. I just dont believe it.

If you think about this some more, everything makes a little bit more sense: For example, the whale swimming around the PuddleJumper: because they would never have been able to find it without the whale.
And i think this theory is very realistic because we have no idea about these beings and what they may be capable of. Was it just a curious wild animal or maybe more? Especially the whale is too much in the center of this episode (appears many times, they speak about these beings in the sea and that they dont know anything about them), which makes it possible that there is a bigger meaning behind it.

I hope you get my idea a little bit, and nothing against Amanda Tapping, but i think the actors cant always understand the deepest and smallest bits of an Episode and her statemenet "Basically [...] an Halucination" fits to my interpretation, just that it does not originate from Rodney but from a "higher" being, which wants to help him.

Edit: Again i have to apologize if my english is sometimes not very good or difficult to understand, please take your time to read a sentence more than one time if you are not sure about what i meant, instead of misunderstanding me. Thanks

Posted by: bigjohn_1972 Jan 13th 2006, 1:40 AM

Nope Death, just a hallucination, not as much room for speculation as Amanda's "Grace" episode.

That said, Amanda has managed to whip herself back into shape very quickly after her baby.

Va va voom

Posted by: Auntie Em! Jan 13th 2006, 10:12 AM

Death I like the ideal. We as humans give animals no credit for real intellegance. I like your ideal. I will have to rewatch the episode and see the timing of the appearance of the whale excetra.

Posted by: stargate_addict Jan 27th 2006, 10:14 PM

I liked this episode a lot, and it gave me a new veiw on talking to yourself lol. It was pretty funny with Makay and Carter, and we got to see a new version of Makay, a nicer less arogent one.

Posted by: droid327 Jan 28th 2006, 4:37 AM

*tinfoil hat on*

I wouldnt take AT's interview quote to be proof definitive that she was a hallucination. If the writers are holding back some ancient-type character (oma desala? perhaps she has just enough power and focus to be able to monitor and communicate with the human planes while keeping anubis at bay. She was more truly ascended than him, after all) to account for Grace and Grace Under Pressure, the actors may not know about it yet....how much do they really know? They just work on and see the scripts for the season thats in production, right?

And Mallozi et al might not want to tip their hand just yet on that...look what happened for Ripple Effect, just by letting slip that an "old friend" might return, people did their digging through casting notices and had pretty much nailed Fraiser as the surprise return, though Martouf slipped under the radar pretty effectively.

TPTB also said we'd be seeing the Furlings this season, didnt they? Now that we have capsules for most of the current season of SG1 and SGA, there doesnt seem to be much room to squeeze in a whole new race while still following the orii/wraith story arcs leading up to the big cliffhanger finales. Unless the Grace hallucinations ARE the furlings...

*remove tinfoil hat*

That being said, I wonder what it will be like when McKay sees Carter again for real. If she comes on as a recurring character in Atlantis, you know theres going to be that awkward scene where McKay sees her again and has to contend with the fact that he's basically admitted to himself that she's smarter than him. Or go into denial about it. McKay could go either way

And what happens when he accidentally lets it slip that she was his fantasy? Or will he come clean and confess it to her directly? Shepherd is going to get it out of him sooner or later, he heard McKay say that "Carter told me to increase the pressure" and he'll find out what that was all about. Either way, through McKay or Shepherd, Carter will find out that in his darkest hour, McKay just wanted her wet and topless, and the ribbing that shall ensue will be priceless giggle fodder

And what was that movie in the 80s with Phoebe Cates coming out of the pool and taking off her top, in that guys dream? I thought that synth-music shoulda been playing when Carter rose up out of the water and pushed her hair back. I'm sure its what the writers/director had in mind when shooting that scene. Too bad the show isnt still produced for Shotime or she might have taken her top off too, the first boob shot since Children of the Gods

Posted by: xayeidemon Jan 28th 2006, 5:35 AM

You know what I'm going to say. This was already done on SG-1, what? Only 2 seasons ago? I didn't like the premise then, and I didn't like it now. Of all the people Rodney could have conjured, why'd he pick Sam? He could have picked an Ancient who built puddle jumpers. He could have picked Einstein. He could have picked Chuck Norris. But noooo. He picked Sam, who, by the way, did squat to help him. So she kept him calm. Big deal. So she showed her boobies and made out with him. Again, big fecking deal. All the knowledge was right there in Rodney's own brain, so why have Sam be the conduit through which he accessed this info? I know he's got a crush on her, but come on. I know he thinks she's smart, but PLEASE. We've been down this road before many times. Why not try something NEW for a change?

If it was me writing this episode, I'd have had him hallucinate Sheppard, you know, someone who's a true friend there to comfort and listen to him and nudge him in the right direction on occasion. But that's probably because I'm a slave to the McShep, which was done up nicely in this episode despite the fact that this was a rehashed "Grace" script. Same story, different packaging.

In the end, I liked the McShep, Zelenka, and the whale. That's it.

Posted by: Trudi~ Jan 28th 2006, 9:18 AM

Wow okay...um...where to begin.

This episode was interesting. Mckay was great, it's a little hard to watch the show though when my dad and brother both hate mckay. I'm sitting there laughing to death at his humor, and the rest of the room...dead silence. Ah well, gotta love Mckay.

Yeah it was done in the SG-1 episode Grace. This was Grace...under pressure. Strange...But uh good episode. 7/10


Did anyone here see the preview for next episode!? I really would rather not have Captain Kirk on the show, but according to my brother...it's only one episode, and Sheppard doesn't get with every girl, every episode. I hope he's right, I hate it when they did that to Daniel in SG1.

Posted by: engle115 Jan 28th 2006, 3:38 PM

This episode was awesome. I was laughing when Rod was arguing with himself. As for "why did he pick Carter?" Well, I kinda gots a theory about that but it's way out in left field. Does anybody remember the last episode Rod was on in SG-1? THe one where Carter kissed him goodbye?. Here is my thory, put yourself in his shoes for a minute. You are stuck in a puddle jumper all alone and not much chance of getting out of this. Would you have albert einstine with you or would you rather have a hot blonde who is equally smart as you if not smarter who you liked and has a great body?

I loved it when they were arguing. Also, when Shep came up with the idea, I know he isn't an idea man so to say but I kinda thought of Jack. I know, he isn't the smartest apple in the bunch but he does think in simple ways like shep. Just grab the thing and pull it out errr. And as for Rod's mind, I know I would have thought the same as with Carter. I'm glad to know at least one of them has the mind of a man. I wonder how many people watched that ep just cuz amanda was in it? Man, she is hot. Oh, and one last thing, if I were in Rods position when she was making out with him, I would have said "Screw the jumper"

Posted by: tauri129 Jan 28th 2006, 4:56 PM

i enjoyed this episode. "i should be the one on the surface trying to save the poor b*@#!&d stuck underwater, not BE the poor b*@#!&d stuck underwater!" LOL my major issue was that it was pretty similar to "Grace". only with a whale.

Posted by: linda_lol Jan 28th 2006, 6:10 PM

This episode was okay, I kinda stopped watching it for awhile because it really wasn't catching me. Surprised me too because I love McKay, he and Beckett are my two faves.

So, another Grace? Episodes like these remind me all to well of Cast Away. McKay is a nut, though, like Sam, he too learned some things about himself. Ha ha... like not being the retard that he is.

Anyway, I give it a 6/10.

Posted by: Zenobia Jan 28th 2006, 11:21 PM

Well, seeing as I have a "thing" for Rodney, that make out scene with Sam was um.... it was... I got a tickle in my tummy; a flutter of butterflys....

Aside from that, I could also totally relate to all the things he was going through as he was arguing with himself and yelling at the jumper; even though he recognized that it was an inanimate object. But I sometimes wish that swearing could be used in the script and just get bleeped out during air time. You know that any of us would have said "You are a piece of sh*t!" instead of "You are a piece of junk!" (when Rodney was yelling at the computer display/ jumper).

Mmmm good stuff.

Posted by: Goa'uld Jan 28th 2006, 11:43 PM

That line did seem a little...weird. I know that they aren't allowed to say sh*t, but you'd think that they could of thought of something better than "junk". They could of said crap, or they could have had him start to say sh*t, but in the middle of him saying it, have that whale hit the jumper or something.

Posted by: Sighfienerd Jan 29th 2006, 1:22 AM

Really? I thought there was zero chemistry there and that was about the tamest kiss I've seen since 6th grade.

I liked the episode - though honestly, I thought AT was a bit off. If she was a hallucination, I think she should have cut loose from her "Sam" persona a bit and stretched her acting chops.

I don't know - I guess I was hoping she'd get a little radical, though maybe the water scene was supposed to answer to that. I wish her part had been written more as a mirror of Rodney's own snarkiness since after all...she was Rodney. I'd like to see Sam do snarky, arrogant, and self-involved! I enjoyed watching Rodney trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was arguing with his own sub-conscious and it was wearing pink.

Posted by: Ziu Jan 29th 2006, 4:13 AM

I was hoping that this was the end of Rodney.

I have not forgotten that his arrogance almost got Teal'c killed when Teal'c was stuck in the Stargate.

In my opinion, Rodney is the most annoying character in both Stargate Series.

Posted by: Samara Draven Jan 29th 2006, 7:00 AM

Ohhh... can't you be nice to poor Rodney? He's taking his licks. I didn't like him much at first either but he's grown on me. He's being handed hard lessons on a stick. The point of this episode seemed to be about him letting someone else do the work and learning to listen to others. He's got to learn that as brilliant as he is he doesn't always have the answer. His own subconcious hallucination told him he was "petty, arrogant and bad with people".

Other than that, I liked this ep. Sure it's an sg-1 rehash but I like it better here. "Grace" was just so boring.What made this one for me was that Sheppard was first in line to save him despite valid strong objections. I, like Xay am a slave to the McShep and this episode had a lot of it, despite Rodney's ill-suited crush on Carter. Shep got to be the first one to get to him and he was ready to order Radek to go and would have if Weir hadn't guilted him into it.

Plus, I don't know what it is about the scene but I loved the part when Shep was knocking on Rodney's jumper. Anyone could've insisted they were right outside but the pounding added a little extra something that made it so Sheppard's style. Dunno why but I thought it was cute in that buddy kind of way and I got a good laugh out of it.

Posted by: Dafmeister Jan 29th 2006, 7:56 AM

How long ago did that happen? It is almost 5 years since '48 Hours'. McKay has grown as a character since then. He has turned into the best character in Atlantis.

Posted by: Zenobia Jan 29th 2006, 7:51 PM

Perhaps there was no real chemistry, but Mckay seemed totally into it; and I was convinced.

He's cute when he's vulnerable and under the spell of a seductive halluncination.


Ooooo! That would be cool. Sam has always been so humble when it comes to her accomplishments. Surely some of that ability of hers has to go to her head...


Yeah I thought that was funny too.

Did it strike anyone else as convenient that they could use their shield to envelope the other jumper to get Rodney out? And why didn't it occur to them sooner?

Posted by: Valiento Jan 29th 2006, 8:44 PM

Was it just me or was there a parts where the carter hallucination physically interacts with the world around her? Besides her walking around the water and causing splashes, especially when she rises out of the water after she undresses, wasn't there an earlier part where a cable dangling from the ceiling rests over her shoulder unmoving, and she moves it while she turns? Hallucinations can't do that, unless he developed some kind of telekinesis, .

At least for the most part they didn't have her moving much, and they didn't show below her waist most of the time(or when they did they usually had the camera angled below the waterline so you couldn't see what the water moving around). But the couple of times when you could see her moving things around her looked awkward to me, because if she isn't there then there is no way those things should have been affected by her at all.

Reminds me of the joke in SG-1 "Wormhole X-treme" where they ask the question if a device would allow you to walk through walls, why don't the people using the devices fall through the floor?

Posted by: Samara Draven Jan 29th 2006, 9:13 PM

Well, it wouldn't be an entirely convincing hallucination if he had to question why she didn't affect things and it would have made it kind of akward trying to do that for the camera guys and AT.



It would've seemed less natural to me if she didn't. To Rodney, she's there. When someone is there from your perspective it wouldn't make sense to have them not interact with your environment. If the mind is healthy enough to keep these technicalities straight, it probably wouldn't need the hallucination in the first place. We saw how much trouble he was having with thinking straight before Carter showed up. I think it would've detracted from the realism of the hallucination for him and he would've been at the first step in overcoming his hallucination. Sure, he knew what she was but he was more involved in arguing with her. If he started picking apart those details, she might have disappeared. Just my two pence.

BTW, did anyone else noticed that Sheppard called Rodney 'buddy'? I could've sworn he said "Open up buddy. We're here to take you home." I don't think I've heard him say that to McKay before. Just seems like progress to me or it could be that Shep says that to everybody. I've heard him say that to Ford even though it was during a dangerous situation while they were looking for him. I just thought if he says that to those he's fond of, he and Rodney are friends outside of work. I know we just assume that for the most part but we never see them hanging out like friends do so I was kind of worried and hoping the buddy comment was an indication of their friendship.

I know. I know. I've been accused of over-analyzing things before. No need to do it here. Don't shoot!

Posted by: IndyJan Jan 30th 2006, 2:40 AM

What can I say, I liked this episode so much better than the SG one that aired. That is a first for me this season.

Whether it done before on SG, I don't care. As far as I'm concerned it was done well. McKay was his usual arrognat self once again. "Why am I down here, I should be up there figuring out how to save the person." Or something like that. Why wouldn't Rodeny hallucinate about Sam? I mean as far as he is concerned, she's the only one that is as smart as him, LOL! I did love Sam saying, "you hallucinated me because I was always right and you were always wrong." I did love the comment about "why aren't you naked?" I mean she was his hallucination.

I'm hoping that this episode will help to grow Rodney as a character. He needs to realize that he's not always right. He needs to realize that others can find a solution, Zelenka and Shep. He needs to let go at times. Of course, I'm not counting on it lasting for long.

Why were they able to write Sam as intelligent on Atlantis, but can't do the same thing on SG? If this Sam was kick-ass, she's be back to the Sam that I love. Oh, and she looked amazing!

Posted by: Saffron Jan 30th 2006, 10:00 AM

I really liked this episode. But then, I like McKay. Again I was wanting to either deck him or hug him. It fluctuated throughout the epi. He was awesome.

Loved seeing Sam. She looked great. Why couldn't I have looked that good after having a kid?

Zalenka. He is SO my honey. Can I say here that I adore him?

Posted by: IndyJan Jan 30th 2006, 1:53 PM

Yeah, you can say that you adore him. I love him too, as well as Beckett, my guy.

Posted by: Saffron Jan 30th 2006, 2:22 PM

I like when he gets aggravated and slips into his native tongue. Too cute!

Posted by: Zenobia Jan 30th 2006, 7:38 PM

I'd say it's just evidence that Rodney has grown on Sheppard and he can't help but like the guy-even if he can be a colossal pain in the ass. Besides, they've had this I save you, you save me thing going on right? Then again, there are those slash fiends that would say its something more than friendship. *shrugs* Analyze at will.


Yeah. He accused her of not even being provocatively dressed- while he was staring directly at her cleavage! He cracks me up. Though I do wonder why he put her in pink.... It seems very un-Sam.


Since when has she not been intelligent on SG1? Season 9 does seem to show her as more militant, though Daniel seems much more militarized as well; while Teal'c is becoming more "civil" and less militant. I'd say it's just the new way of things. Sigh, I miss the early years of archaeologist Jackson....

Posted by: IndyJan Jan 30th 2006, 10:40 PM

For some reason this season on SG, Sam isn't coming across as intelligent, but like you said, more militant, as is Daniel. Teal'c is becoming less Jaffa-like, except for wanting to create the whole Jaffa nation.

I agree, I miss the old SG1. Those were the days. But I have the series on DVD and can watch them at anytime.

Posted by: Samara Draven Jan 31st 2006, 12:00 AM

In the early years of archeologist Jackson, who was the one that brought out that side of Daniel? Jack. O'Niell left and Daniel has changed. Everybody's changed. Teal'c isn't less militant than the others. He's just less militant than he used to be. Carter usually shows some kind of balance between military action and morality. She's been on Daniel's side plenty of times even though she has to follow orders. Maybe Daniel doesn't have the same constant difference of opinion with Sam that he did with Jack. Carter's militant, no doubt about it but she is willing to listen more than Jack seemed to. I just chalk it up to the fact that people change. I'm happy they've evolved. They don't evolve perfectly either. They have sides to them that make us want to slap them silly at times. I like that. I just can't stand beauraucratic crap Kinsey was always on. Close mindedness like his makes me so angry.

Posted by: Historywiz Jan 31st 2006, 2:34 PM

This was an interesting episod although it reminds me of an sg1 ep. it turned out great!

Posted by: Sighfienerd Jan 31st 2006, 2:49 PM

I don't necessarily agree with that. I think a hallucination could be expected to conform to real-world standards since they are a product of imagination and expectations. Since she was from Rodney's subconscious, why wouldn't she react to environmental triggers, just as Rodney would expect the real Sam to?

Posted by: Dafmeister Jan 31st 2006, 7:57 PM

It was supposed to be like 'Grace' in season 7. In 'Grace', Sam has hallucinations which help her find a solution to her problem. In 'Grace Under Pressure', Sam appears to McKay as a hallucination and helps him come up with a solution to his problem.

Posted by: blackbelt83 Feb 1st 2006, 2:20 AM

I liked this episode I think radick could have hit the button and ran and made it to the door I did REALY like the seen with Carter wet in her bra was great. I would be pissed if my own fantasy wouldent do what I want. I also liked the shot at the end where the "whale" swims over great CG shot. I think this was just filler something to take up some room but either way it was funny waching mackay flipout.

Posted by: Malika Feb 1st 2006, 1:13 PM

First of all I LOVED that ep it realy shows that Rodeny can have a little compassion, even if he was talking to himself when he said it .

By the way where was everybody the fact that he got injured means that the writers would have had a reason to include Carson in the episode and i know that he can be a real pain but he has to be close to some-one in that city, I thought it was a shame that no-one was all that worried about him, I mean Weir was ready to run through the gate herself when she thought Sheppard was in trouble and decided not to help the soldiers with Rodeny when he collapsed in the gate room during 'The Hive' I thought that was a little insensitive . Any way back to the ep the whole Rodeny/Sheppard thing is realy starting to get better, you know since the whole blowing up a solar system thing and about time too, the use of Sam in his subconcious was well done, DH has to be one of the more talented actors I've watched on sci fi shows.

It was a shame for Griffon though he seemed like a realy nice guy and I would have liked to have seen more of him. I'm starting to get curious about that whale, has it been hanging around that ocean for 10,000 years, and how long do they live, wow talk about a change of scenery.

Radek and Jon did a wonderful job (as did the actors) with the rescue wonder if they'll hold it over Rodeny's head for a while lol.

I think this realy will change him, he's starting to figure out that he is not the center of the universe and he just might get a little further with Carter if he remembers it, that is if he and Katie don't work out as planned.

Any way thats me about done for now looking forward to the next episodes

I LOVE ATLANTIS!!!!!!!!
I LOVE ATLANTIS!!!!!!!!

Posted by: glom Feb 1st 2006, 4:56 PM

65% Any time we get to focus on McKay is a good thing. I was also more intelligent than a lot of episodes recently.

ATLANTIS CLICHE OF THE WEEK: The same thing happened to Voyager when they introduced the Delta Flyer. Puddle jumpers tend to crash every few episodes. At least this time there are loads so it's not dodgy continuity to rip apart a fresh one each week.

ATLANTIS SUPERINTELLIGENCE OF THE WEEK: I suppose you could say the crash of this jumper kind of invalidates the point, but the expedition seem awfully confident about their ability to fix Ancient technology. Bearing in mind this is technology millions of years ahead of us, it's like expecting Archimedes to be able to fix a damaged Seneca.

RED HERRING OF THE WEEK: I was thinking for a while the Carter hallucination was induced by the big whale. I was on the point of accusing them of heavy-lifting from Red Dwarf V.

TREKKISMS AVOIDED OF THE WEEK: Pulling the jumper out with a cable? How delightfully not technobabbly! Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. Of course, using the shield in the end was sort of technobabbly, but hey there were no omicron particles involved.

WEIRD TECHNOLOGY OF THE WEEK: Jumpers have enough power to allow you to fly from the planet's surface to orbit and then across the system in hours. If they store the energy to do that, how could they possibly be running out of energy from sitting on the ocean floor shielded from the environment simply by the hull (ie no technobabble protection)?

PUN OF THE WEEK: So we have a reworking of 'Grace' but with the threat from the high pressure environment of the sea floor. Hence we get 'Grace Under Pressure'.

Posted by: blackbelt83 Feb 1st 2006, 8:42 PM

Ya but no body ever wached voyager cuz it was a waste of air time so the wirters figured it would still be knew. but as south park pointed out with the ep. where butters is trying to distroy south park and simpsons has used all of his ideas, every thing is a rip off. so it doesent matter or like on the ep. of SG-1 citezen joe the son of joe spencer Points out "there is no such thing as original thought any more".

Posted by: samandjackforever Feb 2nd 2006, 4:29 AM

i was a bit worried about watching this episode as i thought the cringe factor would be unbearable, the bit with Carter in the bikini, how she tries to seduce him etc. but i found it highly enjoyable. The bit towards the beginning when McKay had hit his head and he was going all crazy, talking to himself and laughing insanely was stunning, my hat (if i was wearing one) goes off to him. That was outstanding acting. I loved the Lassie reference;

"What am I doing?! (He answers himself.) Well, I'm, uh, treating an alien whale like Lassie! (The creature groans again. Rodney shouts at it angrily.) Look, OK, if you're not gonna help, then just swim on by!"

I loved Amanda's role in this but when she was trying to seduce Rodney had me in fits.

A great episode!

Posted by: hobo_joe20 Feb 2nd 2006, 8:08 AM

That's because in space, there is no pressure. and in the atmosphere, there is minimal pressure. Make sense?

Posted by: Dafmeister Feb 2nd 2006, 9:23 AM

I loved this episode. I didnt like the pilot at the beginning, he seemed an ass. I was expecting Amanda to have a larger role in this episode, she wasnt in it all that much. McKay arguing with himself about the Jumper not doing what he wanted was funny as hell.

Posted by: glom Feb 2nd 2006, 11:46 AM

No. What's the external pressure got to do with power supplies?

Posted by: hobo_joe20 Feb 2nd 2006, 12:07 PM

Well, the PJ never really lost power ... so I just misread your first quote. When it was on the ocean floor, the only reason it would have lost any form of power was due to water damage, or frmo the initial collision.

If you were referring to the shield thingy, by being under thousands of pressure, obviously it will require more power to power the shield. In space, there is nothing that the shield needs to hold back. Therefore no extra power drain. Underwater, clearly they need to hold the ocean back. The farther down you are, the more ocean you need to hold back, the more power you need to output.

Posted by: Trudi~ Feb 2nd 2006, 2:43 PM

Yeah Voyager...watched the first few episodes on DVD, off of Netflix. Gosh...it was so bad! Yeah but anyway, I wish in SG1 they would have more episodes based around Daniel and Carter. Less Jaffa and Mitchell.

Posted by: ali Feb 4th 2006, 8:01 AM

I really liked this ep. Mckay is such a good character now and you just know any ep with him and Carter in is going to be great. It did actually make me a little scared for him, the fact that like he said he was trapped underwater in a metal container, or whatever it was, and then it starts to fill with water...it was making me feel claustrophobic just watching it. It was really sad that Griffin sacrificed himself so Mckay could live.
The next time Mckay sees Carter is gonna be great...heh heh.

Posted by: PokeThePuddle Feb 10th 2006, 10:44 PM

hehe finally rodney goes crazy... well crazier.

my only question is: why just Sam.!
why not Zelenka? or Cadman? or both? or all three?

imagine, rodney overcome by all those *annoying* ppl.

Posted by: Dafmeister Feb 11th 2006, 6:46 AM

If you watch the episode then you'll know the answer. Sam said that McKay's subconscious created her because he knew she would be the only person that could help him.

Posted by: Zenobia Feb 11th 2006, 4:25 PM

And besides, think of how difficult it would be to film that make-out scene if they had all four people in the back of that Jumper?

Rodney's mind may have gotten a little twisted, but not enough to hallucinate a foursome make-out session. That'd be just in bad taste.

Rodney doesn't strike me the type to ever confide his deepest thoughts and fears to anyone, except maybe Sam because he felt he had a "connection" with her (even if it wasn't mutual). Faced with impending death alone, who better to console him in his "final" moments?

Posted by: PokeThePuddle Feb 11th 2006, 4:55 PM

lol Mckay has taken quite a beating this season--with that other going crazy episode

yea, filming lots of ppl in close-quarters is hectic. But after reading the teaser for Duet, I was kind of hoping for something like the "12 days of Christmas" deal. If you catch me meaning.
(right, yea, I saw the last half of S2 first because I am in Canada and don't have TMN plus all the leechers that don't seed after d******d )

Posted by: Zenobia Feb 12th 2006, 9:03 PM

He has hasn't he? I think it's making him a better person, though his ego is still due for an overhaul.

Posted by: Mattthegreat995 Feb 16th 2006, 8:32 PM

Beating:
Ep 6- Trinity- McKay got knocked down a coupla knots here.
Ep-11- The Hive- He went insane there
Ep-14- This happened

Thats a good lot. Kinda brave of Griffon there. But he shouldve tried to stretch back into the back compartent.
6/10- Not too good becuase hardly any action, too much Mckay going crazy. Always good for a laugh

Posted by: EvaneSam Feb 22nd 2006, 6:15 AM

That is the star constelation of Pegasus, so yup I'd say it is the point of origin

Posted by: Dafmeister Feb 22nd 2006, 6:25 AM

The only problem with Griffin having the Atlantis point of origin on his arm is that he is a member of the Daedalus crew, not the Atlantis team so he shouldnt really have it on his uniform.

Posted by: Valiento Mar 4th 2006, 12:40 AM

"I don't necessarily agree with that. I think a hallucination could be expected to conform to real-world standards since they are a product of imagination and expectations. Since she was from Rodney's subconscious, why wouldn't she react to environmental triggers, just as Rodney would expect the real Sam to?"

Oh I saw no strangeness with her "reacting" to things going on around her, as she was in fact Mckay's imagination, and he was reacting to things going on around him, and would have incorporated that into his imagination of her.

It was just slightly strange to see elements of the physical environment around Mckay "react" to the hallucination as if she was physically there. Strangest one to me being the cable hanging from the ceiling resting on her shoulder and then being pushed by her. But like I said it's nothing really big, and like someone else said from a real world standpoint it would have been difficult for the camera crew to control the issue.