gateslacker | Massive Reaction Post.

Old news maybe?

I jotted down a few things in reaction to Continuum, The Daedelus Variations, and Journey’s End but only now have the time to actually post about it all. I watched all three last Friday which had me having a bit of a theme night. Here goes…

From TBFTGOG to Moebius, Stargate has always been able to put a captivating and unique spin on the time travel/alternate reality sci fi staple and this endeavor is no different. You would think it would get old but it never does....

Continuum

Loved to bits:

Sam’s reaction to Jack’s death! I thought it was very well played.

The look Sam and Daniel share when Mitchell and Sam head out for help. So much was conveyed there about the loss of Jack and I really believed that they believed they probably would not see one another again.

Daniel calling himself! Sam buying what looks to be the equivalent of Fruit Loops!! That absolutely hysterical pic of Daniel on the back of the book. Nice.

All the scenes on The Achilles were great fun to watch and I loved the connection that Mitchell has with the Stargate, though he never really knew it. You’d think he would have come across that little tidbit in all his reading! He and Daniel both have grandfathers who have encountered aliens! What fun and so very lost-ish in the fate connectivity. I liked Ben Browder playing the part of his grandfather. I liked Ben Browder period! I was full of all sorts of Cam love during this. He was the glue holding the “band” together. He is the hero of this adventure and he now officially joins the rest of them in having lived out a life in the past, which in and of itself also simultaneously fascinates and saddens me. This time, though, the time frame is closer to the present time. Did he ever encounter his younger self as Crichton did once? Did he ever seek out the others? Had he been around Sam long enough to understand the potential need to minimize contact?

Baal. I certainly hope this really isn’t the last we see from him. I thought his plan was rather unique and he was absolutely right about how to really conquer Earth.

Several seconds before Landry admonishes the team, I was actually thinking that they were all in such deep doo doo because why would anyone want to actually help them change the timeline? Actually, this perspective was one of the best points in the movie because it is a perspective that has never really been addressed. I loved this scene because the team realizes it as well, even though they know at some point the Goa’uld will show up.

I love Jack in all realities but this alternate reality Jack was terrific. I really did like it that they portrayed how this reality had a whole lot to lose by restoring the timeline.

Ack! I didn’t expect them all to die (except for Cam). And Qetesh? I was glad to finally see the Goaulded Vala but I really wasn’t shocked when she stabbed Baal as I sensed the undercurrent and, after all, the Goauld never change no matter what timeline we are in..LOL. Hum, Goauld behavior is the one constant in the multiverse. ;-)

The montage where the team is trying to make new lives made me appropriately sad for them. I would have liked to see more. I thought it was really heartbreaking how they couldn’t even remain in contact with one another or even share their grief. How lonely and depressing.

Terrific special effects as usual.

Things I questioned or thought could be better:

Okay, the team seemed a little bit too lackadaisical about Baal’s extraction. You’d think they had been to a bazillion of them but Klorel is the only one I can think of. Vala alone seemed to regard it with the gravitas it deserved and you’d think they would have toned down the jokes for her at least. I just found their behavior and those scenes a bit jarring and, frankly, irritating.

Wow, the Tok’ra sure rebounded fast from their near extinction. Am I to assume this is the original Tok’ra home world that we have never seen? I thought the city was cool.

Uh, Vala disappears and no one seems to really question it? At least Daniel noticed she was gone. Actually, I could have done with a bit more Daniel/ Vala shippiness to tell the truth. It doesn’t take much to please me really. It’s not a deal breaker, mind you, but a wee hint or two would have been really nice.

Gramps looked old enough to have fathered Cam’s mother or father already. I am assuming Mother since the farmhouse had a picture of gramps and the owner didn’t recognize the name Mitchell but those scenes certainly confused me.

I’m of two minds about this point. Drugs or no drugs, Daniel seemed to show a little too much matter of fact acceptance with regard to his imminent loss of limb, BUT, this is not without precedence as he certainly was matter of fact about his symptoms and his impending demise in Meridian so I can’t really decide here. He does become somewhat acerbic later but I attributed that more to his lack of purpose in this reality.

If a timeline is altered forcibly rather than naturally, does this mean that entropic cascade failure doesn’t happen? Is there a distinction between alternate realities in our universe and alternate realities in alternate universes?

I really kept expecting Alternate Jack to show up again and he never did! But, I suppose this makes some sense as his devastating, life altering event never happened in this reality. Still, I had hoped curiosity would get the better of him. (I really just wanted to see more scenes between this Jack and the team.)

All in all, it was a well crafted story and I am surprised that I haven’t seen loads and loads of fanfic out there covering all the missed opportunities that are inherent to a feature length story and certainly one that involves time travel. I would LOVE to read a fanfic about Mitchell and his arrival into the past a full ten years before he needed to stop Baal. What did he say to his grandfather by way of explanation? Plus, I’ll bet the alternate Daniel would have believed our Daniel if he had showed up at some conference rather than called. That would have been a fun scene!

All in all, was Continuum better than AOT? The answer from me would have to be both Yes and No. While I always love a good time travel tale, I can’t really say, on the whole, that Continuum was so very much better. There are certain character moments that I think were handled better in AOT, such as the interactions between Vala and Tomin, Vala and Adria, Teal’c and Tomin, Daniel and Morgan le Fay, and every scene that had The Doci. Those moments were character driven and carried so much weight. In Continuum, there are similar moments but they are spread out and, sometimes, only conveyed with a look or some small comment. Blink and you miss them. I really think they missed a huge opportunity with how they played those beginning scenes leading up to Baal’s extraction. They are the only scenes where we have the entire team in one place. Certainly Mitchell’s character arc was so much better in Continuum and, to a lesser extent, Sam’s as well. Continuum flowed better as there was no “B” story such as that whole replicator bit in AOT that almost seems superfluous in hindsight. In Continuum, the team, though in reality separated for the most of it or changed by Baal's actions, felt more together because they were all a part of one, well crafted story.

Doctor Who

OH MY! This show has slain me all season! It made me cry. Again!

My spoilers for this show are very few, which is a good thing. I had been spoiled accidentally about Davros and the potential regeneration but not for Donna! Must we lose someone every single season? I am one of the “New” fans and have only recently begun watching old Doctor Who episodes because I became really fascinated with the back-story. But, really! Since my introduction to the Doctor, we have changed Doctors once, Rose leaves, Martha Jones leaves, and, now, Donna. (Presumably…no spoilers here). I blubbered like a baby when Rose and the Doctor became separated but what happened to Donna was awful. To have all those wonderful experiences and have no memory of any of them, I get a new lump in my throat just thinking about it. I really liked her, better than Martha Jones and, just maybe, as much or better than Rose.

Poor Rose, why couldn’t she stay with the Doctor? Though I know that the resolution to this story gives her the best of both worlds, I was disappointed in that I felt her hand was forced. In a matter of seconds, she was told that this would be best for her and she had to say goodbye once again. She barely has time to register what has happened before the Tardis is gone.

I loved seeing everyone working together, Torchwood, Martha Jones, Sarah Jane. That was really fun and since I had only recently seen the episode where Sarah Jane originally meets Davros, I loved his recognition of her and the continuity of it all.

The Tardis towing Earth home was priceless!

The poor Doctor. I love that after all this time he cares so much. When will it be too much? Can his insatiable curiosity be his saving grace every time? What is going to happen now? This is the time where I want to see spoilers and I want to see them NOW and they are, somehow, no where to be found.

I still wanted the Doctor to take Gramps for a spin.

Atlantis:

Is there going to really be a new enemy or was this just one of those sci-fi exaggerated preview statements meant to suck people in.

I liked the premise but, when you shift through alternate realities, I see it is way more fun to encounter alternate selves or alternate events. Sure the astronomical differences in the planet itself were interesting and provided for some cool special effects, but it’s only those realities where the team encounter someone that were really good.

One of the best scenes is that conversation between Teyla and Ronon when she wonders who is waiting for the team back on Atlantis; wonders if this Teyla had a child. It makes what is happening to them and what happened to the other team real and important and bravo to the writers for acknowledging this! I believe that if they had stopped with Teyla’s comment about feeling like someone walked over her grave and just left it at that it would have minimized the whole episode. After all, if it doesn’t really affect the characters on a personal level, it will certainly be hard to affect the mind of the viewer (which leads me right back to the beginning extraction scene in Continuum). It is strange how one scene can take an entire episode to a completely different level. For me, it was this scene.

Okay, Lorne needs to be a full time cast member. Enough said!!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You certainly gave a more detailed account then I did. I would love for there to have been more for Daniel to do. From all I read about him losing his leg I was expecting more done with that arc.

Since this was an alternate timeline and not alternate universe, Entropic Cascade Failure wouldn't apply.

I would love for Lorne and Zelenka to become full time cast members. : )

From all I read about him losing his leg I was expecting more done with that arc.

Yes! This was one spoiler that I knew about and, from all the comments, they made it sound like it would be a big deal and it simply wasn't. It was like it didn't really make any difference at all. Now, I didn't expect a whole story from it but it should have been a bigger deal than it was.

I would love to do a Continuum vid. I even have a song I think would fit. I might dl it from you sometime. (I can't rip anymore until I get new software and I can't justify spending money for vids I might never have the time to make. I keep downloading from you thinking that eventually I'll find the time to make a new vid..LOL)

Wow you wrote quite a review for Continuum. I had not picked up points like Entropic Cascade Failure. Good catch! Daniel and the whole amputation thing seemed way out of place to me. I wish they had thought of a better reason for MS not being available to shoot up north. I'm laughing a bit at your request for more Daniel/Vala shippiness as you have never been a shipper per se for any Gate pairing in the past ;) I loved the bits with Landry and AU Jack. Both made valid points. I also expected Jack to show up later out of curiosity. I'm not really surprised though as RDA's inclusion was really just an excuse to give some of us what we've wanted for years: more Jack O'Neill. And to give RDA a really cool-pun intended-trip up north. Jack's part was not pivotal and his humor at the exstraction ceremony had me cringing in a couple of places. I'm hoping for more and better material for RDA if there is a third movie.

Ruralstar

LOL, time travel episodes always get the brain a thinking.

Daniel and the whole amputation thing seemed way out of place to me.

I can buy the mechanism of injury and it is realistic for something like that to happen but, as I was telling Mary, it didn't seem to make any difference to anyone, including Daniel. Not that they should have spent any great amount of time developing that story, it just should have meant more.

I'm laughing a bit at your request for more Daniel/Vala shippiness as you have never been a shipper per se for any Gate pairing in the past ;)

Oh, I don't want it to be a love fest mind you but a little UST would have been very good. A teensy bit, maybe?

It seems a third movie will be coming and I do hope Jack does have more of a role.

A little angst is good for the soul IMO.

Ruralstar

Um, pretty much ditto everything thing you said. I also had mixed feelings about the extraction scene. On the one hand it was fun to see the team "playing around", but to see them doing it there felt out of place.

As to the entropic cascade failure, I'm guessing this happens only when you have two of the same in an alternate reality, and not in an altered timeline.

Exactly, it was the wrong place at the wrong time.

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