 218 - Michael |
Rating  |
|
||
|
|
| ", " " ) ); //]]> |   |
| Dutch Anubis |
 Jan 18th 2006, 3:05 PM
Post
#25
|
|
Civilian  Group: Members Posts: 5 Joined: January 11th 2006 Member No.: 10,883 Gender: Male  |
Great Episode, it's starting to build up for a great climax in the season finale. Also it poses some ethical questions: What's allowed during a war, and when do you cross the line and are you being just as cruel as the opposition? Good thing to think about this in these times...
|
   |
 
|
| Gebosowulo |
Jan 18th 2006, 5:28 PM
Post
#26
|
|
Airman Basic  Group: Members Posts: 26 Joined: August 31st 2005 Member No.: 10,027 Gender: Male |
What an awful episode. The acting was alright and I think that Connor Trinneer playing Michael was better here then in his role as chief engineer "Trip" in the Enterprise series; still the writing was unforgivable.
Gene therapy causing just the right, generalized dissociative, amnesia, so the guy can still walk, talk, remember wraith schematics, but has no idea what he is? Yeah, right. Not contrived at all. And they could not have made up any other, more plausible, explanation either. The ethical issue, which Weir is usually concerned about: in full knowledge that the treatment completely erazes the personal identity of the subject, they still want to deploy it as a biological weapon? Do they think that by this way they will have more soldiers to put into the field? As cannon fodder perhaps? Now Michael generally has a point when he is upset about the hypocrisy, but when he asks Teyla exactly why he might be better of as a human, she just stands there gawking. Ahem. So, noone actually thinks that it is a wee bit uncomfortable to have the dietary requirement of painfully draining humans of their life? Oh, what a stupid point, no sense in telling him comforting stuff like that. But the worst was still to come: after knowing that little Michael is bend on escape, they obviously want to quell any chance of escape and keep him from gathering more intelligence. Now, how to go about this? Of course! Let's send him to the alpha site we need to keep secret at all cost. This way, he will also have no trouble at all to reach the gate and contact his buddies. Oh, and let's be so kind and make sure he has his privacy: no guards in the tent where he is kept in. Of course, Ronon never manages to shoot him, though there is no lack of trying, but this at least is standard fare: fictional marksmanship is, at any given point, precisely as good, or bad, as the storyline dictates. I realize that an episode like this might have been needed to move the overall storyline along, but all the above mistakes could have been avoided with a little common sense. Do they not have people proofreading the scripts before they shoot them? Awful. |
|
|
|
| Mental Case |
Jan 18th 2006, 8:08 PM
Post
#27
|
|
Airman First Class  Group: Members Posts: 66 Joined: February 19th 2003 Member No.: 751 Gender: Male |
I thought like others that episode was pretty bad, and from the beggining I thought they were mad even when I thought it was just a captured human to let him know that stuff. I mean the wraith coulda re-written his memory and planted him as a spy to gain intel if needs be. So for me it was somewhat of a relevation that he was a wraith, but in the end I knew one thing: he would give away information. The only part I didn't know from the start was the wraith stuff.
Was quite predictable and seemed so stupid to leave him alone in a room with someone. I've really started to feel more and more dissatisfied with atlantis. The first half was mildly enjoyable but second they had lots of "oh no!" type episodes that seemed fairly dull and uninteresting, or if they were interesting they just seemed.. odd (like I kinda liked that cloned atlantis one but the fact there was another atlantis felt just odd). Seem to be going too much for cliffhangers though and less for interesting locales/events in a few too many episodes. This post has been edited by Mental Case: Jan 18th 2006, 8:10 PM |
|
|
|
| UltimateW |
Jan 18th 2006, 8:22 PM
Post
#28
|
|
Airman  Group: Members Posts: 42 Joined: June 24th 2003 From: Denmark. Member No.: 1,900 Gender: Male |
What worried me was the mindcontrol over Teyla.
I dont get it either the part of moving him to the Alpha site, at least not with some armed guards no matter what. I like the episode, looking forward to the clifhanger :P (nooot, clifhangers are evil!) This post has been edited by UltimateW: Jan 18th 2006, 8:22 PM |
|
|
|
| Yamarin |
Jan 19th 2006, 9:17 PM
Post
#29
|
|
Airman Basic Group: Members Posts: 29 Joined: August 5th 2005 Member No.: 9,774 Gender: Male |
at least they are headed towards moving the storyline forwards...finally
|
|
|
|
| Ilzy |
Jan 20th 2006, 4:08 PM
Post
#30
|
|
First Lieutenant  Group: Members Posts: 691 Joined: March 2nd 2005 From: Latvia Member No.: 8,299 Gender: Female |
Considering that the comments here lean either on the "great" or "terrible" side this episode was a good one as it didn't leave most people indifferent
 I pretty much liked the episode, and it was about time the Wraith found out that Atlantis still exists because the season finale is just 2 episodes away! It nicely continued the "Wraith transformation" storyline that was introduced a while ago and made people think about the moral of such act. Who is to judge the best form of life after all? I don't think that the episode was bad from that moral point of view because giving straight answers is never the best way to deal with such questions, the audience has to decide for themselves. Both Teyla and Ronan had different reasons for their choice of action and I'm not sure yet which one of them I agree more with. And why do you people dwell on the plot holes so much? There would be no story if everyone did the right thing and all risks would have been taken care of! Just accept it as necessary for the general storyline and enjoy the episode the way it is! |
|
|
|
| Gebosowulo |
Jan 21st 2006, 4:16 PM
Post
#31
|
|
Airman Basic Group: Members Posts: 26 Joined: August 31st 2005 Member No.: 10,027 Gender: Male |
Plot holes are really not so much of a problem; as long as they are not dead obvious
|
|
|
|
| zpm |
Jan 22nd 2006, 6:38 PM
Post
#32
|
|
Civilian Group: Members Posts: 6 Joined: January 27th 2005 Member No.: 7,762 Gender: Male |
QUOTE(danac @ Jan 17th 2006, 9:59 PM)  Hi,i'm a noob here so don't be too harsh on me...In my opinion if they really had the 2nd ZPM (from "Coup d'Etat") up and running they'll be able to sink the city again,just buying the time for cavalry arriving  .Its a city not a yo-yo! |
|
|
|
| BarryMel |
Jan 24th 2006, 2:38 PM
Post
#33
|
|
Civilian Group: Members Posts: 1 Joined: January 24th 2006 From: Rotterdam The Netherlands Member No.: 10,986 Gender: Male |
i just watched this episode, was a good one
 but this is funny :  the first picture is in the room, the second is what they see on monitors..... in the room the laptop is closed and on the monitors its open  |
|
|
|
| Auntie Em! |
Jan 26th 2006, 9:45 PM
Post
#34
|
|
Sipping on fine wine!  Group: Donating Members Posts: 5,918 Joined: March 22nd 2005 From: Northwestern Ontario, Canada Member No.: 8,565 Gender: Female |
In the one to the side there is a cowboy hat in place of the computer and Michael is away from the desk.
|
|
|
|
| Radagast |
Jan 26th 2006, 9:57 PM
Post
#35
|
|
Airman Group: Members Posts: 56 Joined: January 2nd 2006 From: Kitchener, ON, Canada Member No.: 10,798 Gender: Male |
The overall story in this episode is actually very good.
--- HOWEVER --- The implementation of that story has got to be just about the worst Atlantis if not worst Stargate episode ever! Lt. Col. (supposedly) Mitchell needs a demotion back to say, Cadet so he can learn how to run a secure site. The whole Alpha site made absolutely no sense... the city is so big surely there's somewhere they can put him that's secure. Especially with having to move all that medical equipment to the other site. I never understood why the alpha sites never have irises? The only way Dr Beckett could do this with his oath is if he actually believed he was helping the patient. How the heck did someone who barely remembered being a wraith actually control Tayla's actions? One thing about this episode is it gave us a really really good impression of just how BIG Ronan is though.... Oh yeah, why did that SF's vest not stop the bullets when he was shot with a pistol? They really should stop carrying pistols around they seem to have enough stunners. More later maybe. |
|
|
|
| Auntie Em! |
Jan 26th 2006, 10:06 PM
Post
#36
|
|
Sipping on fine wine! Group: Donating Members Posts: 5,918 Joined: March 22nd 2005 From: Northwestern Ontario, Canada Member No.: 8,565 Gender: Female |
None of the Stargate program SFs have bullet proof vests because if they got hit with a blast it would cook them alive. They have said this before.
|
|
|
|
| Atlantians |
Jan 26th 2006, 10:15 PM
Post
#37
|
|
First Lieutenant Group: Members Posts: 795 Joined: March 7th 2005 Member No.: 8,349 Gender: Male |
Note on the Wraith dream part of the episode:
It was identical to Captain Picard's dream aboard the Enterprise-E at the begining of Star-Trek VIII: First Contact. The whole Horrible "I'm on an evil ship" sequence, then the, "I'm awake... Ack! Mirror! No im not", then the "I'm really awake and sweating". Identical. The plot of this episode seams similar in very slight part to Picard's. Edit: Something else: Those restraint he had on his wrists: I think I could have excaped from them.  They were not that tight. All I would have to do is slowly wiggle my hand around while I have it compressed tobgether and I would be able to inch my way out of one, then unbind the others. This post has been edited by Atlantians: Jan 26th 2006, 10:42 PM |
|
|
|
| Radagast |
Jan 27th 2006, 2:35 PM
Post
#38
|
|
Airman Group: Members Posts: 56 Joined: January 2nd 2006 From: Kitchener, ON, Canada Member No.: 10,798 Gender: Male |
QUOTE(Auntie Em! @ Jan 26th 2006, 10:06 PM) None of the Stargate program SFs have bullet proof vests because if they got hit with a blast it would cook them alive. They have said this before. All the more reason to not standard-issue handguns around the base. |
|
|
|
| Auntie Em! |
Jan 27th 2006, 10:17 PM
Post
#39
|
|
Sipping on fine wine! Group: Donating Members Posts: 5,918 Joined: March 22nd 2005 From: Northwestern Ontario, Canada Member No.: 8,565 Gender: Female |
I agree. It was stupid for the SF's to have regular guns in that situation. It was a plot device but was a stupid and unbelievable one.
|
|
|
|
| Radagast |
Jan 29th 2006, 11:04 AM
Post
#40
|
|
Airman Group: Members Posts: 56 Joined: January 2nd 2006 From: Kitchener, ON, Canada Member No.: 10,798 Gender: Male |
Did you notice when they were escorting him up the stairs (why was the one guy in front anyway??) the guy up front is stepping up to the landing and the angle makes his gun's handgrip stick out right in front of Michael's face.
It's practically inviting him to shoot someone given that his hands are not bound. |
|
|
|
| Jade |
 Jan 30th 2006, 7:39 AM
Post
#41
|
|
Airman First Class Group: Members Posts: 64 Joined: January 30th 2006 Member No.: 11,026 Gender: Female |
I would have to say this is one of the worst episode of this season. It really didn't make sense for them to do this experiment in Atlantis, I mean they want to keep the Wraith from finding out Atlantis is still standing, Did they have no doubt that Dr Becketts's treatment might fail, and revealling Atlantis to a Wraith might be a very very very bad idea?
Should listen to John Sheppard, any military person in their right mind would not agree to that. Hopefully this can lead to a good story for the season finale, but a Wraith becoming an allie of human, seriously doubt it Not an optimist |
|
|
|
| Pitry |
Feb 3rd 2006, 5:35 PM
Post
#42
|
|
Colonel  Group: Members Posts: 1,785 Joined: February 19th 2003 From: Israel Member No.: 745 Gender: Female |
A shame I knew Michael is a Wraith. It'd prolly be much cooler to try and guess what everyone's problem was.
I disagree about the acting. I thought both Michael and Beckett were wonderful here. For a change, I don't even have much of a problem with Teyla. Ronon I still dislike. The "I'm a cool warrior" mantra doesn't work on me, not when it isn't accompanied by anything else. He needs a character, and he needs it fast. A little sense of humour won't kill him, either. Prolly do the char only good. On the moral issues, I've despaired bitching, so I shan't. The fact I feel Atlantis is moraly bankrupt was voiced, time and again. The one good thing that comes out of it is that Beckett actually isn't the stereotypical scifi "I've taken an oath to save life" doctor, but fits himself to the moral bankrupcy of the entire team. The guards was a bit of a glitch... But well, you win some, you lose some. All in all an enjoyable 40 minutes, definitely helping keeping up with the better half of Atlantis this season. ;) |
|
|
|
| Hurricane |
Feb 4th 2006, 12:15 AM
Post
#43
|
|
Badass  Group: Members Posts: 1,091 Joined: November 26th 2002 From: Cincinnati, OH USA Member No.: 4 Gender: Female |
QUOTE(Cha'Lok @ Jan 18th 2006, 10:55 AM) QUOTE(ted_simple @ Jan 18th 2006, 3:38 PM) However, I would have preferred it so much if we had achieved the conversion by aid from some alien civilisation - I can't imagine for my life that our medical knowledge has suddenly advanced so much. Bio-engineer a retro-virus. Right. What's next? The anti-aging pill? No, almost seems too easy in comparison. That whole "Dr Beckett is the best doctor in two galaxies" development leaves a noxious taste. Very true. I'm studying life sciences and will do medical research when I'm done with my education and let me tell you that DNA manipulation on the scale that Beckett did is at least tens of years in to the future. And that's being optimistic. There have been experimental drugs based on genetic manipulation but the results were not so good; people died. Anyway, it doesn't bother me that much because it's still science fiction. But it would be nice if they didn't stray too far from the realm of reality :smile: I agree. Scifi writers seem to be obsessed with retroviruses, and think they can just magically turn people into monsters in a matter of hours, and then be completely reversed by the end of the episode. And the "best doctor in two galaxies" thing annoys me too. At least in the beginning, when they did the ATA gene therapy, it didn't work for over half the people they tried it on, which is more realistic. Now everything he does always works perfectly, which is too startrekky for my tastes. Oh, and as a scientist and almost physician, I would have serious ethical concerns with that kind of experiment. And yeah, I get that people sometimes have to compromise their morals in wartime, but they didn't really address it, which was disappointing. Still, despite my ranting, I liked the episode for the most part. Suspenseful and well-acted. And I like the actor who played Michael. » Click for Spoiler « |
|
|
|
| PokeThePuddle |
Feb 10th 2006, 10:10 PM
Post
#44
|
|
Staff Sergeant  Group: Members Posts: 168 Joined: January 13th 2005 From: Hamilton, Ontario Member No.: 7,583 Gender: Male |
wow... i didn't suspect michael was a wraith until ronan's mucho hostilities.
only 3 things ticks ronan off: 1. most important: WRAITH 2. power-hungry over-sexed underlings to some-random-kind-of master ... Yes i can count: 3. Wraiths pretending to be human  hehe, Michael Kenmore... wtf kinda name is that... Its sounded bogus from the beginning... and its probably up there with names like John Smith and such. This post has been edited by PokeThePuddle: Feb 10th 2006, 10:12 PM |
|
|
|
| Pegasus Angel |
Feb 16th 2006, 9:37 AM
Post
#45
|
|
Awakened...  Group: Donating Members Posts: 610 Joined: February 13th 2006 From: Gibraltar Member No.: 11,176 Gender: Female |
And the best bit was McKay in the cafe complaining that there was no blue jello!!!
|
|
|
|
| drstargate |
Feb 19th 2006, 4:30 AM
Post
#46
|
|
Civilian Group: Members Posts: 2 Joined: February 19th 2006 Member No.: 11,210 Gender: Not Telling |
QUOTE(Arcady @ Jan 11th 2006, 6:36 PM) Season 2, Episode 18 - Michael Air Dates: CA: Jan. 16, 8 PM (TMN) US: Feb. 24, 9 PM (Sci Fi Channel) UK: Mar. 1, 8 PM (Sky One) A amnesiac young Lieutenant makes a shocking discovery about himself: He is a Wraith transformed by a drug created by Dr. Beckett. Episode Guide | Spoilers (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.) |
|
|
|
| drstargate |
Feb 19th 2006, 4:40 AM
Post
#47
|
|
Civilian Group: Members Posts: 2 Joined: February 19th 2006 Member No.: 11,210 Gender: Not Telling |
Oh my god,
I love stargate atlantis and the idea of it very much but the writers sometimes piss me off so completely!!!! What a way to kill an otherwise potentially exciting sci-fi and god knows there aren't enough good ones out there. This episode just made them look STUPID! First of all, when did the atlantis crew become nazis? Nobody had a problem with their experimentation?? No ethical dillemmas? Are they that morally vacuous? Even I thought a medical doctor would have problems with this as it echoes the "research" that the nazis did in the last world war....the ends do not justify the means. I don't know but everytime I think these are honorable upstanding smart people to care about, the writers just make them look stupid and ethically challenged. It's like saying, hey, let's genetically alter all sharks/alligators/polar bears/tigers/etc just cos they eat us....stupid stupid stupid. Secondly, when Michael escaped with Teyla, were they really surprised that the first thing they do is to get to a stargate??? C'mon, I'm sure a "smart" military man like Shepard would have thought "hey, they might escape through the gate....maybe we should head there first....." I know my dog would have thought that. but nooooo, let's just chase them through the woods instead of going straight to secure the gate. military genius he is obviously not. LAZY!!! LAZY!! LAZY!!! BAD WRITERS!!! They should be shot! c'mon people, let's not take too many leaps of logic and good sense.  |
|
|
|
| linda_lol |
Feb 24th 2006, 11:25 PM
Post
#48
|
|
Chief Master Sergeant  Group: Members Posts: 482 Joined: March 13th 2004 From: Playing jaffa with Teal'c! Member No.: 3,933 Gender: Female |
This episode made me pissy.
I really liked Micheal, he was a blend of Jonas and Martouf. He was a nice guy, very sweet, and how do we treat him? Like trash. Honestly, he had changed and I don't blame him for what he did. In fact, I saw Atlantis as the enemy in this episode. I mean, how would you react if you found out you were tampered with and lied to? Gah. And did anyone find it heart breaking to see him find out the truth? Eesh. And uh, don't read spoilers people, they really ruin episodes (I am apparently a victim of it.) 9/10. |
|
|
|
