SGA 3.05 Progeny Review
Aug. 13th, 2006 05:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
liresiusProgeny Review
I thought this was an interesting episode. The new “bad guys” offer a lot more in terms of complexity. It’s interesting to compare the two enemies. They both have quite distinct but relatively simple base natures. One has an uncomplicated driving need for sustenance and the others’ base nature is pure aggression. Both were/are bent on destroying the Ancients (or their city, failing the race of Ancients themselves). But the similarities perhaps end there. Some of the Asurans’ desire to escape their violent nature and ascend is seemingly well-motivated (but then who knows what will be revealed in time!), unlike Michael whose change was forced upon him. This makes the new enemy a rich area for developing more intriguing storylines in the future, and now we have two “betrayed” or at least, disaffected former allies in Michael and Niam. It will be interesting to see if and how they struggle to master their baser natures in any future encounters with the Atlantis expedition.
At the end of Oberoth’s first interview with the whole group he was quite creepy in the way he tracked from Ronon to John. His eyes lagged behind his head movement. It was a minute robotic movement, but gave a very coldly calculating impression of the man and it fit well with what was revealed to be his mechanistic nature later.
I really liked that Ronon’s new found sense of family was followed through in his words to Oberoth, “Where we come from, we take care of our family.” The parallel drawn in The Ancients’ and Ronon’s arrogance towards defeating the Wraith was really interesting. I hadn’t thought of Ronon in “Sateda” as being arrogant so much, in thinking he didn’t want/need the help of others, but it was good to see him articulating the importance of giving and accepting help. So to me this was a bit like a graduation speech! LOL! He’s passed all his tests and now he can stand centre stage proudly! And the way he put Rodney behind him in the “food-tasting”/jail break scene ... At first I thought he was just tasting for Rodney (LOL!) but I think it was more a general “protect our scientist thing” and that he had A PLAN. But then I had to question if that was part of John’s mind probe experience too. I thought the entry point for the mind probe scene was impossible to pin point and it was a bit weak and unsatisfying for that, but on the other hand it leaves it wide open to interpretation so maybe there are advantages in that for fic writers!
It was nice to see that socially naïve-scientist side of Rodney again, in that he doesn’t really comprehend liars, political machinations or even have the insights Ronon has into “human” nature, “Why would they say they have a plan if they don’t have a plan?” On the other hand I think Elizabeth going into that second negotiation with Oberoth without a plausible spiel for getting ZPMs, and not, at the same time, reveal the existence of Atlantis showed very little foresight and was just DUMB *sigh* especially when they all suspected Oberoth to be lying! This kind of writing for her role really undermines her qualifications to lead this expedition and the possibility of her having real “presence” for me. I also wish she could be a little more regal (and ruthless with enemies) at times – but then I guess that’s not what diplomats are about.
I did enjoy the John/Rodney banter in this one! “Rodney, you’re slobbering!”, “Ancienty –Unancienty” and the amount of their interaction overall. Apart from Irresistible we haven’t really seen them together continuously all that much in S3 and it was nice to get it in this one. The John/Rodney bickering over the arbitrary times and putting pressure on Rodney while he was working was just so “boys”. It was pegged at a better level of intensity and brought back fond memories of earlier episodes when the dynamics of their friendship was much more in balance - when John wasn’t the mean person he was in S2. I honestly much prefer the more serious episodes combined with the team members being generally calmer with Rodney. I like them all as people, a lot more.
In John’s Mind Probe
My first thoughts flew to fic I’d read with very similar scenarios for the evacuation through the stargate to Earth. Yay for hero!John and that John would imagine Rodney protesting his sacrifice. My only complaint really is that such an intense and climactic scenario should have ONLY the status of a mind probe – of relatively little significance in the overall episode. I think I would have preferred to see it worked up as a cliff-hanger scene in a season finale in the real universe.
I also really enjoyed that Rodney was effective, competent, in what he did. I know every episode can’t feature him as the brilliant arse-saving scientist-hero!Rodney but I’ve felt his “working” ideas and contributions have been fairly fractured and peripheral so far this season. Apart from the loss of Niam (and he really didn’t have any time at all for reprogramming him), he did so many things to save them. He was the only one who showed any concern for Elizabeth in the Niam handholding scene too. I wondered about that. There were a few times in this where John left Elizabeth exposed and that didn’t sit right. I felt so relieved that Rodney wasn’t cast as the “clown” or the shrill panic-stricken!Rodney, and that he wasn’t getting yelled at or blamed by the others.
Oh wow! The Extended Edition Atlantis was pretty cool. And the three high walkways connecting to the new ‘burbs? I never realised the Gate room was so high in the central tower. Replicator Atlantis flew! Yay! I must admit to always wondering how something with all those towers could fly through space. And of course a shield would protect them. I thought the stardrive was great and I hope our guys get to fly the real Atlantis someday. But I’m also pleased they took the trouble to show the walkways were disconnected (retracting?) at lift off. The devil is in the details! Speaking of details, I like that the Replicators’ clothing was stylistically reminiscent of their creators’ sartorial style (both line and colour) that we saw in Before I Sleep. Not a perfect emulation - less natural texture to the fabrics and no fibres like linen or flax, but appropriate, as I think machines would create more synthetic smooth looking fabrics.
Oh dear! Rodney’s hideous and intimate torture!! *ggg* Anal probing must be in there somewhere, with John’s comment, “good to know it was just our minds! And I loved on Rodney’s way to know for sure it wasn’t still happening. John’s his touchstone of course, so poking him in the side of the head! I loved the moment of thought he gave it, the hesitation, as if trying to calculate the trouble he’d get into – the risk to life and limb! and then just doing it! Kind of like “I’ve got a crush on you and I have to let you know, even if you kill me” Very cute. And John’s slap back. They were both very primary school LOL!
Visually, the most interesting scene for me was The Ancients’ Destruction of the Replicators - the mindshare Niam had with Elizabeth. It evoked something of every futuristic “end of civilization” SF scene I’ve ever read or seen before. The dark carnelian and bronze-gold skin tones really foregrounded death and mortality on alien worlds. There was also a very effective sense of them being “in” but not “of” the scene - the two standing in a still centre while destruction was wreaked around them partially created by the moderately high to low angle shots.
I find myself wondering why the Ancients didn’t show the same compassion (i.e. the compassion Niam appeals to in Elizabeth and which Rodney works on to achieve) to their creations, who were obviously sentient enough to plead with them to have the aggression directive from their base code removed. Why didn't they (or did they?) try what Rodney attempted themselves, when they realized the Replicators couldn’t be the fighting machines they wanted? Am I missing something here or do the Ancient’s come across as being quite reprehensible in their actions? I would have thought they'd have felt a moral duty to try to give these Replicators some kind of better life. I hope they address why the ancients didn’t, at some future point.
Wonderfully eerie scene with Niam hanging suspended in space like a puppet. It patterns the suspended animation that the other Replicators experienced – waiting for the command code merger from the subspace strings to “update” him.
This was a pretty good episode. Not outstanding, but solid. There wasn’t much for Rachel/Teyla in this one – she really came across as totally incidental! I think they got the John/Rodney friendship back more here, so I was pleased enough with that.
I thought this was an interesting episode. The new “bad guys” offer a lot more in terms of complexity. It’s interesting to compare the two enemies. They both have quite distinct but relatively simple base natures. One has an uncomplicated driving need for sustenance and the others’ base nature is pure aggression. Both were/are bent on destroying the Ancients (or their city, failing the race of Ancients themselves). But the similarities perhaps end there. Some of the Asurans’ desire to escape their violent nature and ascend is seemingly well-motivated (but then who knows what will be revealed in time!), unlike Michael whose change was forced upon him. This makes the new enemy a rich area for developing more intriguing storylines in the future, and now we have two “betrayed” or at least, disaffected former allies in Michael and Niam. It will be interesting to see if and how they struggle to master their baser natures in any future encounters with the Atlantis expedition.
At the end of Oberoth’s first interview with the whole group he was quite creepy in the way he tracked from Ronon to John. His eyes lagged behind his head movement. It was a minute robotic movement, but gave a very coldly calculating impression of the man and it fit well with what was revealed to be his mechanistic nature later.
I really liked that Ronon’s new found sense of family was followed through in his words to Oberoth, “Where we come from, we take care of our family.” The parallel drawn in The Ancients’ and Ronon’s arrogance towards defeating the Wraith was really interesting. I hadn’t thought of Ronon in “Sateda” as being arrogant so much, in thinking he didn’t want/need the help of others, but it was good to see him articulating the importance of giving and accepting help. So to me this was a bit like a graduation speech! LOL! He’s passed all his tests and now he can stand centre stage proudly! And the way he put Rodney behind him in the “food-tasting”/jail break scene ... At first I thought he was just tasting for Rodney (LOL!) but I think it was more a general “protect our scientist thing” and that he had A PLAN. But then I had to question if that was part of John’s mind probe experience too. I thought the entry point for the mind probe scene was impossible to pin point and it was a bit weak and unsatisfying for that, but on the other hand it leaves it wide open to interpretation so maybe there are advantages in that for fic writers!
It was nice to see that socially naïve-scientist side of Rodney again, in that he doesn’t really comprehend liars, political machinations or even have the insights Ronon has into “human” nature, “Why would they say they have a plan if they don’t have a plan?” On the other hand I think Elizabeth going into that second negotiation with Oberoth without a plausible spiel for getting ZPMs, and not, at the same time, reveal the existence of Atlantis showed very little foresight and was just DUMB *sigh* especially when they all suspected Oberoth to be lying! This kind of writing for her role really undermines her qualifications to lead this expedition and the possibility of her having real “presence” for me. I also wish she could be a little more regal (and ruthless with enemies) at times – but then I guess that’s not what diplomats are about.
I did enjoy the John/Rodney banter in this one! “Rodney, you’re slobbering!”, “Ancienty –Unancienty” and the amount of their interaction overall. Apart from Irresistible we haven’t really seen them together continuously all that much in S3 and it was nice to get it in this one. The John/Rodney bickering over the arbitrary times and putting pressure on Rodney while he was working was just so “boys”. It was pegged at a better level of intensity and brought back fond memories of earlier episodes when the dynamics of their friendship was much more in balance - when John wasn’t the mean person he was in S2. I honestly much prefer the more serious episodes combined with the team members being generally calmer with Rodney. I like them all as people, a lot more.
In John’s Mind Probe
My first thoughts flew to fic I’d read with very similar scenarios for the evacuation through the stargate to Earth. Yay for hero!John and that John would imagine Rodney protesting his sacrifice. My only complaint really is that such an intense and climactic scenario should have ONLY the status of a mind probe – of relatively little significance in the overall episode. I think I would have preferred to see it worked up as a cliff-hanger scene in a season finale in the real universe.
I also really enjoyed that Rodney was effective, competent, in what he did. I know every episode can’t feature him as the brilliant arse-saving scientist-hero!Rodney but I’ve felt his “working” ideas and contributions have been fairly fractured and peripheral so far this season. Apart from the loss of Niam (and he really didn’t have any time at all for reprogramming him), he did so many things to save them. He was the only one who showed any concern for Elizabeth in the Niam handholding scene too. I wondered about that. There were a few times in this where John left Elizabeth exposed and that didn’t sit right. I felt so relieved that Rodney wasn’t cast as the “clown” or the shrill panic-stricken!Rodney, and that he wasn’t getting yelled at or blamed by the others.
Oh wow! The Extended Edition Atlantis was pretty cool. And the three high walkways connecting to the new ‘burbs? I never realised the Gate room was so high in the central tower. Replicator Atlantis flew! Yay! I must admit to always wondering how something with all those towers could fly through space. And of course a shield would protect them. I thought the stardrive was great and I hope our guys get to fly the real Atlantis someday. But I’m also pleased they took the trouble to show the walkways were disconnected (retracting?) at lift off. The devil is in the details! Speaking of details, I like that the Replicators’ clothing was stylistically reminiscent of their creators’ sartorial style (both line and colour) that we saw in Before I Sleep. Not a perfect emulation - less natural texture to the fabrics and no fibres like linen or flax, but appropriate, as I think machines would create more synthetic smooth looking fabrics.
Oh dear! Rodney’s hideous and intimate torture!! *ggg* Anal probing must be in there somewhere, with John’s comment, “good to know it was just our minds! And I loved on Rodney’s way to know for sure it wasn’t still happening. John’s his touchstone of course, so poking him in the side of the head! I loved the moment of thought he gave it, the hesitation, as if trying to calculate the trouble he’d get into – the risk to life and limb! and then just doing it! Kind of like “I’ve got a crush on you and I have to let you know, even if you kill me” Very cute. And John’s slap back. They were both very primary school LOL!
Visually, the most interesting scene for me was The Ancients’ Destruction of the Replicators - the mindshare Niam had with Elizabeth. It evoked something of every futuristic “end of civilization” SF scene I’ve ever read or seen before. The dark carnelian and bronze-gold skin tones really foregrounded death and mortality on alien worlds. There was also a very effective sense of them being “in” but not “of” the scene - the two standing in a still centre while destruction was wreaked around them partially created by the moderately high to low angle shots.
I find myself wondering why the Ancients didn’t show the same compassion (i.e. the compassion Niam appeals to in Elizabeth and which Rodney works on to achieve) to their creations, who were obviously sentient enough to plead with them to have the aggression directive from their base code removed. Why didn't they (or did they?) try what Rodney attempted themselves, when they realized the Replicators couldn’t be the fighting machines they wanted? Am I missing something here or do the Ancient’s come across as being quite reprehensible in their actions? I would have thought they'd have felt a moral duty to try to give these Replicators some kind of better life. I hope they address why the ancients didn’t, at some future point.
Wonderfully eerie scene with Niam hanging suspended in space like a puppet. It patterns the suspended animation that the other Replicators experienced – waiting for the command code merger from the subspace strings to “update” him.
This was a pretty good episode. Not outstanding, but solid. There wasn’t much for Rachel/Teyla in this one – she really came across as totally incidental! I think they got the John/Rodney friendship back more here, so I was pleased enough with that.
