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aurora_novarum’s recommendation to see Line in the Sand was a great one, so I trusted her enough to try this Daniel-free episode, too. I didn’t write down my reactions as I watched, so not only will this review be rather rambling, but it will also be out-of-order. Sorry. :) So, The Road Not Taken. An interesting premise, but a disappointing outcome.
First of all, I am convinced that this episode is supposed to come before Line in the Sand. This is Sam’s gadget that she was working on, that seemed to come out of the blue; and the references to Daniel seem much more immediate and post-Quest. So in my my mind, they accidently ran these episodes out of order, and in my personal SG-1 universe, The Road Not Taken comes before Line in the Sand. The extra time – two weeks of the ep itself, plus the weeks before the ep took place (as we learn in the AU) – makes character reactions in Line in the Sand so much more realistic, and it gives us Sam’s out-of-phase device. I admit that Sam does say, “And based on experiments in my reality, [the device is] one hundred percent Ori proof,” but that doesn’t have to refer to the incident in Line in the Sand; they might have been conducting minor experiments of some other kind. Try and convince me otherwise. :)
When I posted, way back when, about Pegasus Project, one of the things I specifically mentioned was my pleasure at how the writers gave us just enough Atlantis for non-SGA fans like me to follow along. This time, however, the writers seemed to assume that we would know about events taking place in the SGA-verse. So what happens to people like me, who don’t follow SGA? I have no idea what McKay’s “bridge” was, or who his sister is, or who Major Lorne was. There’s a vast difference between sprinkling tidbits for the SGA fans that they’ll pick up and enjoy without taking away from the SG-1 stuff; I’m sure there were lots of nuances in Pegasus Project that I missed, but it didn’t affect my ability to follow the episode. This time, they went too far, and I know I’m missing crucial information. And quite frankly, that’s unfair. If it was a SG-1 crossover taking place in an Atlantis episode, I wouldn’t even think of complaining; but this was an SG-1 episode, and I was left floundering.
I’ve discovered that it’s really nice not to be spoiled for upcoming episodes, because GEORGE!!! Squee-time, and out loud to boot. :) I was so pleased to see
I liked alt-Lee. He was compentent and intelligent, which he should be. I don’t mind comic relief!Lee if it’s in terms of personality, but I strongly dislike comic relief!Lee when they make him out as bumbling.
I’m going to have to meta this universe in a separate post, because there’s a lot of intriguing potential that we’re not quite seeing. Where’s Jack? Where’s Kinsey? Why is Sam only a major, and why doesn’t anyone seem to care that she’s dead? Is it horrible of me to say that I think that dumping Vala in Area 51 was actually quite intelligent of them?
Landry. I’ve never much liked him, so it was hardly a stretch to see him with this kind of behavior. I’m a little baffled, though, at the sudden and abrupt turnaround. He allowed Sam to go home because she made a pretty speech? Was this supposed to convince us that deep down, he’s really a good guy? Because all it did was convince me that deep down, he’s a man who is easy to manipulate.
I’m not quite sure how I feel about Sam’s dealings with McKay. The first time, her speech about “the Rodney McKay that I know…” was funny, especially because he called her on it so quickly. I have to admit that it was a distinct pleasure to get an AU where she isn’t married/engaged/mooning after Jack, but on the other hand, I would have liked at least a mention of Jack O’Neill. More on this in the inevitable meta post.
Mitchell was fascinating, because he was so different from the man we know, and it would have been relatively easy for him to get there. But that wig…! Is it the same one Daniel wore in Moebius or is that just a little too cynical? If they can manage nice hair extensions for Sam when the occasion calls for it, why not a decent wig for the men?
Prometheus as Air Force One was seriously funny, although Daniel already ran around that ship in a suit in S8, so they’re sadly behind the curve.
It was a police state, but they allowed Sam to wander around so freely? That made little sense, although it was fun to watch her fight when they did get around to taking her in. And I laughed at loud at the gag, because I felt, like in The Quest, part 2, that we were getting distinct echoes of former behavior. I’ll just bet that Sam bit someone, ala her biting Jack’s hand when she woke up in prison in The Serpent’s Lair way back in the season opener of S2.
Sam did look beautiful, but what was the point of all the PR, feel-good stuff if 80% of the targeted audience was without power and couldn’t tune in anyway?
I have to admit it, though: my favorite parts were really the teaser and the tag. Watching Cameron march smack into the force field, because Sam had written the warning sign but forgotten to post it – that was so perfectly Sam. And they spent three weeks talking to an empty room. That is adorable on so many levels. They had faith she was there, and they remembered Daniel in Crystal Skull and Mitchell and Sam in Arthur’s Mantle, and they wanted to offer moral support… Happy sigh for teamy goodness. And their refusal to say what they talked about. And Vala’s hug. Go team!
So, to sum up – once again, an episode gave me a lot to think about. But a lot of it didn’t quite fit. And it takes very strong blinders to ignore the blatant political commentary and enjoy the episode on its own merits.
Off to write some meta, and then to read other people’s reviews! It was quite an effort not to click on many of the posts on my f-list. :)
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I hadn't thought about the impact of not having seen "McKay and Mrs. Miller." Essentially - in season 2 Rodney came across an Ancient experiment to draw energy out of our own space-time (handwaving science to essentially mean "works like a ZPM only way, way, way more powerful). In trying to finish the project, he blew up a solar system.
Enter season 3, when Rodney's genius sister (who is awesome and won fandom over) wrote a math proof that attracted Carter's interest but she wouldn't sign an NDA so Sam brought Rodney back to Earth to help convince his sister, whom he hasn't spoke in five years (when he told her she was ruining her life by getting married instead of finishing her PhD).
Things happen. She comes back to Atlantis. They make the experiment work - drawing this energy from a parallel universe (they're "almost sure must not be inhabited") so the exotic particles that cause the problems would be created elsewhere. It works until an alternate!Rodney appears in the energy device to say "hey, you're destroying our universe, stop!"
Essentially, the device creates a bridge between universes - but it's only one way only...they do find some way to send Rod back, so I don't know why that wouldn't have worked for Sam.
I still really loved "Road Not Taken" (even if I actually thought wheelchair!Cam was Daniel at first). I think it was interesting to see what could happen if they went public and I just loved Sam.
I don't get why she doesn't ask about Jack. My theory about not caring that Sam is dead is that they do care, but, well, first, there's the glimmer of hope that maybe she isn't dead but is also transported elsewhere. But also, this episode is pretty much all from our Sam's PoV and it would be really weird for them to grieve in front of her.
As for where Jack is...it's possible I've been working on a fic to explain that...but mostly, was fun.
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Thanks for your brief run-down of the bridge, McKay's sister, and so forth. (He blew up a solar system? What is this, one-upping Sam's blowing up a sun?) But I’m a little dismayed to realize just how much SGA backstory was included in the premise here. I’m sure I’m not the only fan who was utterly lost. Or do the writers just assume that everyone who watches SG-1 is just as avid a fan of SGA?
I did like the premise. I hope I made that clear! :) But I think the execution of the premise was disappointing, and far from what it might have been.
Ep tags are always a good thing! I look forward to seeing what you come up with. :)
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That's why I watched it - it looked like I could understand a fair bit of it, and it wouldn't spoil me too much.
Well, the energy source he was experimenting with was connected to a weapon (for attacking the Wraith) which was also where energy could discharge when the experiment got out of control - so when it did get out of control this massive space gun started firing and...3/4 of the solar system got destroyed. Luckily uninhabited. Rodney got yelled at a lot - and yeah, the comparison with Sam is made. Sam comes out looking better.
I think the creators do tend to assume people watch both shows. And, Sam was in the SGA ep a little - which isn't an excuse, really. I'm not sure how canon works when you have the character in a different show. But also, I think you can understand a good amount of the episode without knowing SGA - just that SGA impacts it a lot (the relationship with Rodney and his sister is fascinating and really highlighted in the SGA episode - which made "road not taken" hit harder).
No, I could tell you mostly like dit :)
Ep tags are fun. I've been poking at it for a while and it's pretty involved, so don't hold your breath. It's essentially after Sam goes home, involves both SG-1 and SGA characters and Jack being convinced to help overthrow Landry's gov't...
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Like you, I'm not quite sure what to make of characters crossing from one show to the next. I'm vaguely aware, from tagging for
I do wish the writers would walk that line more carefully. Surely they don't expect SGA fans to be wholly up-to-date with what's going on in SG-1? I have no idea what's happening on SGA, except for the existence of the Wraith. And that's fine with me. ;)
And that ep tag sounds fun! Even though I'll probably miss out some of it. And of course, you can't use the SGA characters native to the Pegasus galaxy... but still! BlackOps!Jack thawed and ready to rumble is always a good thing. :)
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Mwah?
Um. Depends on canon. There's one type of bridge that's the particle generating energy thing - but that bridge is just used to explain how Sam got into the new universe. I haven't seen "Pegasus Project" but I assume that would be the ZPM.
(SGA season one there is no contact with Earth at all. At the end of season one, while Atlantis is under siege, a team of marines uses the Moebius ZPM to gate through to Atlantis and the Daedalus then brings the ZPN to Atlantis so they can use it to power the shields. Throughout season two and early season three, Atlantis has a ZPM and Earth doesn't - so Atlantis can dial Earth to send people through and weekly status reports, but anything going the other way has to travel by Daedalus. In season three, in the "McKay and Mrs. Miller" episode (um, ep 8) the deplete the ZPM saving the alternate universe they were accidentally destroying. At that point they build the "McKay-Carter Gate Bridge" which is a bridge of gates to get you between Earth and Atlantis - gates rigged in space set up to stretch across the galaxies - pretty cool actually. However, in the mid-season cliffhanger, when it's over (after some awesome Jack&Woolsey moments) Atlantis has three ZPMs - they keep one and send the other two to Earth - one to power the chair, one for the gateroom so there is easy access both ways).
Um. That was more complicated than I realized.
Well, they do have a few eps in SGA like that. There's an episode in season two where the Trust try to blow up Atlantis and the sabotage turns out to be done by someone with a Goa'uld in them. I generally could figure out what was going on, but I was pretty confused. Now that I know what a Goa'uld is, it makes a lot more sense.
And they mention the Ori, and of course Rodney likes to talk about Sam. Usually they're okay.
And that ep tag sounds fun! Even though I'll probably miss out some of it. And of course, you can't use the SGA characters native to the Pegasus galaxy... but still! BlackOps!Jack thawed and ready to rumble is always a good thing. :)
It has been fun...though...the idea hit me after I watched it, back when I'd only seen through most of S5 - now that I've seen more canon I'm having a harder time meshing my ideas with what happened in seasons 6-9. The story looks to be mostly Jack, John Sheppard and a good helping of Elizabeth Weir - but a fair amount of Rodney, Daniel, Landry, Hammond and some Teal'c. And I'd really like it to get somewhere. ( I even have a sequel planned involving Sam...to get way ahead of myself).
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So the Goa'uld are still considered formidable in SGA? Too bad they're not considered dangerous on SG-1 any more. Although that does make me wonder if Martha Wilson's amazing Retrograde AU was based on that ep. (The only SGA fic I've read to date, and it has the BEST General Jack I've ever read, period.)
Why should you bother to mesh canon from seasons 6-9? Different universe, different events! Handwave to your heart's content. :)
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I didn't think about the SGA references. Oops. Sorry about that. But you made a good point. That universal bridge thing is an SGA concoction that should've been technobabbled better.
Now, you should know Lorne, fig. He's actually mainly a recurring/random SG team leader on Atlantis that has become a fan favorite, but he's a crossover character from SG-1. He was in "Enemy Mine" as the guy who moved Daniel's artifacts because "they were in the way" (Jack had to send Daniel to his "happy place") and got nauseous when he saw what the Unas did to his friend.
The Cam/Sam moments at the beginning and teamy goodness at the end made it all worth it though, didn't it?
Plus, you think I'm going to tell you NOT to watch an episode with Bill Lee? Hee hee hee.
I'll have to read your meta for the ep, but I have a feeling you had a lot of the same problems with the AU I did. I think part of the issue is that unlike TBFTGOG and Point of View or even RE, this ep got rid of the urgent crisis about half way through. It was good they stopped the Ori attack, but in exploring this AU more, they kept minor points open to big plot holes...though some of my issues come out from early explanations, so that's not as true, but I think the fact so much took place post-crisis made my brain start to wander and get thinky and poke holes in their story. Heh.
Off to read your meta.
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I don't know if the Goa'uld were formidable as Goa'uld so much as creatures that can control you. At first all they knew was that the Trust had put a bomb on Atlantis (so the Trust, to me, seemed the most formidable) and they were trying to figure out who. I can't remember if they figured the Goa'uld out after Barret got Landry more intel or by interrogating the guy until his eyes flashed - they eventually used an Asgard transporter to beam it out of his head and he tried to make amends because he rememebered everything he'd done.
I think I left it with the impression that the Trust were the Big Bad and the Goa'uld were these parasitic creatures that can conrol people who the Trust use to get their way.
It was one of those episodes that raised a lot of interesting ideas/questions and chose to focus on silly/useless stuff instead.
Retroagrade is amazing, isn't it? I like better than SGA canon, actually.
Why should you bother to mesh canon from seasons 6-9? Different universe, different events! Handwave to your heart's content. :)
I don't necessarily. But I need to figure out where they do and don't deviate from SG-1 canon and how they got where they were. Even if it doesn't come up in the fic - it helps to have the idea in my head.
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And yay for Bill Lee! Indeed. :)
Good point on crisis vs universe building. Universe building can be fascinating, of course, but not when they leave so many holes.
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Okay, I'm just going to stare at those words for a while.
they eventually used an Asgard transporter to beam it out of his head
Words fail me. Utterly.
Amazing how the Asgard made the hosts go through the Hammer on Cimmeria when the Hammer could've just beamed the little snakes into the Labyrinth on their own! And what a pity that we'll never ever hear of this incredibly painless way of freeing a host from a Goa'uld again.
How do they calibrate the beam, exactly? Separate the nervous system and blood and...
they eventually used an Asgard transporter to beam it out of his head
Okay. Giggling, here. :)
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yep! :)
We see Novak (hiccuping engineering on PU) on the Daedalus quite frequently - she's actually fun.
And...uh....well, Rodney obviously.
Maybe others?
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They did say that Hermiod (their Asgard) had to take special care to calibrate the transporter beam just right - implied it hadn't been tried before (but I also got the impression no Goa'uld had ever been successfully removed from a host before...so yeah)
They mostly handwave it. I mean...Star Trek beams could have done it :)
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Star Trek beams could have done it :)
Sigh. Yes, exactly. But SG-1 is supposed to be about people in our time doing extraordinary things, which is why I so dislike the prevalence of ships (not that kind of ship!) on the show. Maybe it's different in SGA, with all the Ancient gadgetry in Atlantis?
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He is highly amusing though.
SGA is a little different in that they do have more access to ships and shiny technology - even though it still feels like people from out time fumbling around with it.
Mostly they have a bad habit of running across Ancient experiments that failed miserably in horrible ways but were never destroyed or labeled "will kill you - do not use" and turning them on and almost or really dying. And yet I like it somehow...
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