It focusues on factors and conditions influencing a firms profitability within an industry.

Gatecast 350 SGU Gauntlet

Apr 15 2017 59 mins  

Gauntlet Well this is Gauntlet the season and alas the series finale of Stargate Universe and while the episode was not specifically written as a series finale it actually works very well and by some miracle doesn’t annoy the viewer with a slap in the face cliffhanger. Of course as we know the final scenes of the series leaves everyone hanging by a thread but it’s done with such style and care you really do not mind, at least not too much. The Drones once again are pressuring Destiny and continue to block every single useful star in the immediate flight path of the ship, it’s simply impractical for Destiny to seek out resource rich worlds off the path as laid down by the seed ships so the question is asked what can they do. Eli comes up with another solution, not a good one but it has the benefit of not only preventing further conflict with the drones but maximising the current resources of the ship. His solution is to make use of the recently activates stasis pods, those combined with an energy saving FTL cruise would allow the Destiny to leave this current galaxy and bypass the are of space controlled by the drones. The margin of error is very small and the decision to implement this option would have to be taken very quickly, if Destiny’s power reserves dropped too low while in FTL the ship would be stranded in the intergalactic void with hundreds of years of sublight flight ahead of it. Some of the crew are give the option of a last visit to Earth but a minor hiccup almost derails the endeavour as some of the pods are damaged and a certain mineral is needed to enact a repair. Activating the gate will of course draw a drone command ship to their location but they lay down a diversion with one of the shuttles broadcasting a powerful signal to fool the drones, when they take the bait the shuttle does a kamikaze run and destroys the command ship and Destiny gates to the planet and collects the required material. The pods now working soon fill up and eventually only Eli, Rush and Young are left, it is then they discover one of the final three working pods is still faulty. Young doesn’t trust Rush to not risk the ship if he was unable to fix the pod after he and Eli went into stasis so Young decides to sacrifice himself but Eli makes his stand, he is confident he can fix the pod in the time allowed and will not hesitate to put the ship and crew ahead of himself if he fails in his task. Young and Rush bid their farewells in a manner which truly reflect how they feel about this young man who came onboard as a bit of a bad joke but through adversary has matured into a man that could one day lead others. Gauntlet was an impressive episode, there is as much action as you would expect from a modern scifi series and far more drama and character work than most, par for the course with Universe but this being the finale really brings it all home. It was quite an achievement to pack so much into this last “hour” of television without sacrificing so many quiet dialogue driven scenes between characters many of which showed how far these people had come. The final situation/obstacle that Eli, Rush and Young had to deal with also summed up the show to perfection, distrust, compromise and acceptance all brought together and allowing one of the youngest members of the crew and one never intended to be part of Icarus to commit himself and his life on his skill and a simple choice to protect his friends even if it meant his life. I’m already looking forward to watching Universe again in the near future, I really am surprised how much I have enjoyed the series after it had kinda been moved into the “will watch again one day” category whereas SG1 and Atlantis were always ready to go whenever I felt like it. The production levels,

Gatecast 340 SGU Resurgence

Feb 04 2017 51 mins  

Resurgence In the mid-season finale Resurgence the Destiny detects at extreme long range something that peaks Rush’s interest, given how focused he has been on the “mission” it’s surprising he is the one calling for the ship to alter course to investigate. When they arrive at this part of the galaxy they find a wreckage strewn area of space, sensors indicate at least 5 starships were destroyed, once is still fairly intact so a shuttle is sent over to board the ship, Greer and Brody get to don the space suits. Suddenly a number of objects power up within the debris field and on board Destiny Eli thanks to a computer simulation realises that some of the debris is not as advertised and contain dormant power sources now activating. These small vessels zoom towards Destiny, the ship powers up shields and weapons and attempts to communicate, the response is sudden and violent as the ship comes under fire from these very fast moving drones. The ship looks doomed that an unexpected visitor arrives in the shape of a Seed Ship, together they jump away from the area and Colonel Telford gets to tell his story and how he has been spending his time alone with a bunch of aliens on the seed ship. Resurgence is quite an important episode as it introduces the main antagonist for the remainder of the second season, we also get the return of Telford and more information on the Ursini and the realities of this area of the galaxy. There are some spectacular CGI scenes in the episode with the Ursini ship, the wreckage field and the fast movers of this mysterious alien race who shoot first and never even worry about asking questions. As expected with a mid-season finale the cliffhanger is strong but unsurprisingly not that “edge of the seat” experience, Destiny is not going to get destroyed and no individual character was in particular dire straits. Overall a very strong and entertaining episode of Stargate Universe and we don’t have to wait a few months for the conclusion of this particular story. Our thanks to Thomas for joining us over skype from the states and he will return next week for Deliverance. Thank you to Mack for the feedback over on google plus and my appreciation for British Invaders podcast for continued entertainment for when I am working, their promo is featured this week. We hope you tune in next week to find out if the Destiny survives and the consequences of Chloe’s actions and of course we’d love to hear your thoughts on the episode or anything Stargate. Promo… * British Invaders Links… * Resurgence IMDB * Resurgence Wiki * Lou Diamond Phillips * Jacob Blair * Mike Dopud * David Blue * Jennifer Spence * William Waring

Gatecast 339 SGU Visitation

Jan 28 2017 55 mins  

Visitation Not so long ago a number of the civilian crew of the Destiny elected to stay behind on a world which appeared seemingly out of nowhere. They were led by Dr Robert Caine a charismatic man with a strong religious faith, he believed the world was placed in the path of Destiny as a home for the lost. In Visitation months later a shuttle appears (as if by magic) alongside Destiny which is now in another galaxy, on board the shuttle are the people that were left behind. The people led by Caine claim not to remember recent events, they went to sleep the night before then awoke to find themselves in the shuttle alongside Destiny. They are checked out and seem to be healthy but for obvious reasons there is a certain level of scepticism, they should not be here and if they are who they say there are how and why are they here? Eli approaches Val (Camille Sullivan) and after a brief friendly chat blood begins to pour from her nose and then scalp, she starts screaming and collapses dead on the floor. Her friend Peter (Tobias Slezak) struggles to recall events on the planet but under memory regression he recalls his relationship with Val and her death after she was struck by a falling tree which smashed her skull. Peter dies soon after of what looks like hypothermia, it seems the people from the planet are dying on board Destiny in the order they died on the planet. Caine is still sceptical but after Rachel (Michelle Harrison) passes he too undergoes memory regression and learns that they had no cabins or crops and they were slowly freezing to death inside the crippled shuttle. Caine was the last survivor and now the only one left alive on Destiny, he knows he is already dead but takes comfort in the fact that his soul has passed on and maybe the divine or an alien species reanimated the body to allow them to say goodbye. Caine passes soon after leaving only a Kino behind which appeared on the shuttle after it was searched, on the Kino are the last few moments of Caine’s life and a bright light that envelops the shuttle, the recording fades and a quiet contemplative silence encompasses the watchers. Visitation is a mind bending episode drawing upon the events from the episode Faith yet doesn’t really answer the important question as to what the planet represented or who/what created it. Mind you it did solve one important problem, the Destiny finally got a shuttle which she desperately needed. Yes there was always the Stargate but a space ship needs a shuttle type vehicle or there are limits to where stories can go. The episode of course being vague leaves the question of the divine wide open (as it should be), hard to prove a negative and there is a reasonable scientific explanation again unproven. It may be that at the last Caine used his faith to not only accept his fate but to finally give closure to TJ who is still broken over the loss of her child. We also got an excellent scene with Chloe and Greer, her fate may be sealed as the infection spreads but Greer asking for forgiveness as he accepts his hand will be doing the deed was very moving, wonderful dialogue and performances. As always we couldn’t do this without our guests, this week our thanks go to Ian and of course continued gratitude to Brad for the audio feedback for Malice and to Mack for the posts over on our Google+ page, appreciated. This weeks promo is for Flash Pulp the always entertaining source of original audio content, movie discussion and a little bit of music. Next week we are joined by Thomas to discuss the mid-season two finale “Resurgence” in which Destiny meets new “friends” and is reunited with old ones. We also had to go to the alternate prize draw winner,

Gatecast Bonus Episode 24 – Dark Matter

Dec 10 2016 51 mins  

Dark Matter On this weeks bonus episode we are joined by Ian to take a look at the series premiere of Dark Matter. The show was created by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie who in their time wrote and produced episodes of Stargate SG1, Atlantis and Universe. This Syfy funded show tells the story of the crew of a spaceship who awoke from stasis with no memory of who they are, they do retain their intelligence and muscle memory skills but the details of their identity remains clouded. The ship’s android perceives them as a threat and attacks but is shut down and security protocols purged thus allowing her to serve this crew and to freely delve into the mystery of who they are. As the crew (numbered from the order they awoke) explore the ship they learn a few things and discover some puzzling aspects of what the ship had been doing but still nothing to identify themselves. They do come across an impregnable security door and a weapons cache, advanced heavy weapons and then the first clue as the android identifies the destination the ship was initially set for. They travel to the planet and find an independent mining colony who are expecting an assault by a corporation’s alien mercenaries, they tell the crew they sent for weapons to aid in their defence and boxes begin to get ticked. The crew return to the ship and decide to provide the miners with some of the weapons but once again the android makes a break through and reveals some personnel files stored in the computer, the crew are all wanted for extreme crimes and are not here to help the miners but are the mercenaries sent to kill them!   Dark Matter premiered on June 12 2015 on both the Space channel and the Syfy channel with a thirteen episode first season, the episodes in an amusing decision had no name just numbers. The second season premiered July 1 2016 with a third season currently under production. The premiere episode is technically a two parter but aired as two separate episodes and stands alone without any issues, the cliffhanger actually works very well with the revelation of who these people are, well all apart from Five who remains a mystery. The show has an excellent ensemble cast, two familiar faces (Jodelle Ferland and Roger Cross) who had appeared in Stargate along with Melissa O’Neil, Anthony Lemke, Alex Mallari Jr. Alex Mallari Jr, Marc Bendavid and Zoie Palmer fresh from her role on Lost Girl. The series also evolved from a limited run comic book series of the same name written by Joseph and Paul and published by Dark Horse in 2012. The premiere episode was entertaining and made the most of the mystery of the ship and the crew, the viewers were allowed to learn at the same rate as the principle characters and thus each revelation paid off to it’s fullest. The cast seem to have quickly embraced their roles although there is an awful lot of experience on screen and certainly behind the camera, these days a show needs to find traction quickly and Dark Matter certainly did that. The first season has a DVD and Blu-ray release in the stated but alas only DVD in the majority of markets and it fails to live up to the incredible standards in terms of extras we Stargate fans are used to receiving. Our thanks to Ian who joined us to watch Dark Matter, this was his first exposure to the series and it certainly sounded like he enjoyed the show and would continue to watch. As always we are grateful to everyone that continues to listen and interact to our Stargate coverage and we know this holiday season means a drop in listeners (we too have more important things to do) but hopefully these bonus episodes will tide is all over until we ret...

Gatecast 330 SGU Incursion Part 2

Oct 08 2016 53 mins  

Incursion Part 2 The Lucian Alliance and crew of the Destiny face off in Incursion Part 2, both sides have control of specific areas of the ship and both need/want what the other has. Young and Kiva agree on an exchange of medical and food for civilian hostages. Young is prepared to risk casualties by double crossing Kiva but the power issues intervene blowing the plan apart before it is enacted resulting in a half hearted exchange at best. Kiva then agrees to deal with Camille and a deal is done but alas the body of an executed Cpl Rivers is thrown in underlining how ruthless Kiva can be. Eli and Chloe continue to explore the ship and eventually find an active panel, he contacts the main control center using ancient which Rush recognises. Destiny thanks to the need to come out of FTL to allow gate access is in the vicinity of a pulsar whose regular output of gamma rays and other exotics is preventing the ship from generating the threshold of energy required to jump away, shields are taking preference. They decide to prioritise shields near the pulsar leaving the ship unprotected elsewhere which will mean less energy required and thus used for the jump engines. The shields however will need manually adjusting on the hull, Scott and Greer are tasked with the job. However to make it happen Young has to give control of the ship to Kiva but is hoping thanks to Telford the transfer can be reversed before any serious consequences.   Incursion Part 2 is a very fitting season finale making the most of the set up in the first half of this series of episodes and delivering action and oodles of suspense and drama. We lose crew and of course the cliffhanger leaves many of the main characters in jeopardy, in fact if contracts hadn’t been sorted before this aired many of the actors could be seriously worried. There was as you would expect some truly beautiful CGI shots and the stunt work was exceptional no doubt thanks in part to Mike Dopud who started his career as a stuntman, the fight in med bay was intense and brutal and the consequences heart wrenching and maybe the nastiest cliffhanger of them all. Lets not forget Eli and Chloe, a wonderful scene between the two of them which relied on a year’s worth of interaction and emotional ups and downs, credit to both David and Elyse. The final scene was beyond intense and the flickering light and fade to black highly effective in terms of building expectation but going hand in hand with the threat the ship faces from the pulsar. To sum up this was a pretty good episode:) We would like to thank Brad for joining us once again this week even when these two episodes were recording on the same night. Brad will return for some bonus content later in the year and for a few episodes of the second season of Universe. This week podcast promo was for the Scifi Diner a long running show full of news, reviews and features hosted by Scott, Miles and M. Next week we’ll be taking a look at the season two premiere of Universe with the episode Intervention, join us and let us know what you think. Promo… * The SciFi Diner Links… * Incursion Part 2 Wiki * Incursion Part 2 IMDB * Rhona Mitra * Mike Dopud * Lou Diamond Phillips * Elyse Levesque *

Gatecast 325 SGU Lost

Sep 03 2016 58 mins  

Lost In the episode Lost we continue the off world adventure of Scott, Chloe and Eli as they choose to leave Greer behind after the second tunnel collapse. It was a tough decision for Scott to make but it was the right one given that the Destiny would not be waiting for them and their only chance of returning to the ship would be to have gated to a world further down the path the ship was traversing. Greer awakes to find himself trapped but manages to free himself and follows the chalk marks on the walls to freedom, of course he is too late but without a remote he can not go anywhere so sets up camp near the gate. This is where the writers chose to provide us with the meat of his backstory and it is very revealing. An abusive father who was no doubt suffering from PTSD after serving in the gulf shaped a young Greer into a man who wanted nothing more than to protect others and it was through the service he found his peace. While the lost members of Destiny struggle to survive the ship itself has gone into power saving mode, they soon realise that she is preparing for a Galactica FTL jump and with no gates between the galaxies the opportunity to search nearby worlds will soon be no more, teams gate to available worlds expanding outwards in a last ditch hope of crossing path with the missing team. Eventually Lt. James gates back to the world where the team originally were trapped and finds Greer waiting for them, he returns in good condition but as the counter reaches zero and the final search term returns the ship jumps and begins her voyage to another galaxy. We then see Chloe, Eli and Scott vainly attempting to dial Destiny just as it winks out on the remote, gone forever… Well a pretty impressive episode of Stargate Universe with some excellent background to the troubled character that is Greer, it was well worth the wait. We get some good exploration via the Stargates as the teams jump from world to world and none of that could have been cheap to do, the “dinosaur” was a laugh and the winter world and crystal world were very impressive to look at. The issues with Destiny herself continue to plague the expedition, the lack of any control still means the potential to lose people if even a single event goes awry must cause Young sleepless nights and speaking of which he now knows he is going to be a daddy. Overall Lost was a very good and entertaining episode, good character writing and interaction as well some stunning visual effects to enhance the story being told. Our thanks to Steve for joining us on this episode of the podcast and we got some feedback from Mack once again, thank you kindly and Brad recorded us his thoughts on last weeks episode, appreciated as always. This week podcast promo was for Trek News & Views which is making a return now that Colin is feeling a lot better after his recent health issues and next week we are going to be watching the episode “Sabotage” with Ian, hope you join us. Promo… * Trek News & Views Links… * Lost Wiki * Lost IMDB * Jamil Walker Smith * Sean Blakemore * Cameron Shang Forbes * Stefanie Samuels

Gatecast 323 SGU Faith

Aug 20 2016 56 mins  

Faith In the episode Faith we see the Destiny drop out of FTL in a star system with a single planet that had not been charted by any of the seed ships which had passed through their part of the galaxy. Rush investigates and determines that this star and planet where simply not there when the seeders were looking to place Stargate and the scans of the system simply make no sense in terms of the age of the star and the planet’s structure and ecosystem. However Destiny will be in the system for at least a month as it orbits the star so the shuttle is sent down along with a full compliment of volunteers who set up camp and proceed to live the life of hunter/gathers. TJ goes along and realising now she is well into her pregnancy makes the most of the fresh air and water and good local food to revitalise her soul, many in the camp follow suit. On Destiny the remaining crew take the time to do some maintenance and explore the ship further, they find a few things that may come in useful at a later date but overall a depression has set in thanks to the daily grind and as the ship gets nowhere rather slowly. Of course not everyone had the opportunity to visit the planet but with gate travel limited perhaps many people still have not physically left the shop since they arrived. As the days go by and the camp prospers many begin to question the existence of the planet and the strange tower, perhaps the planet was created by an advanced species for purposes unknown or as Dr. Caine mentions perhaps it’s a gift from god. When their time on the planet draws to a close Young is rather startled to hear that not everyone wants to come back, mostly the group consists of the civilians but Scott and TJ want to stay, this does not go down well with the Colonel. Taking the partially repaired second shuttle he makes planetall and offers a deal, if all the military return he will leave that shuttle (shelter, power and limited flight) for the civilians and wish them well. TJ is heartbroken but a realist and returns forcing Scott to follow suit and the primary shuttle returns to Destiny with less people than before but packed with food and water. Faith is beautiful looking episode making full use of the location shooting, some of the visuals are truly awe inspiring including the “night” shooting which was actually done during the day and making use of post production to create a truly believable night scape. The discussions between all the characters on the planet be it about TJ and her pregnancy and the existence of the plant and the tower be it from god or another species showed how good the writing was in the show and the chemistry between both regular and guest actors. There are many questions asked in this episode and they tend to be ones with no direct answer, certainly this planet will remain a bit of a mystery for a while as such things should be although I am sure it’s existence may have been addressed if Universe had been on the air longer than it was. Our thanks to Steve for joining us for this episode of the podcast and for bringing great insights into the story, he will be back. This weeks promo is for the Flash Pulp podcast and next week we will be taking a look at the episode Human with one of our long term guest hosts Thomas, hope you join us for that and we would be delighted to hear from you. Promo… * Flash Pulp Links… * Faith IMDB * Faith Wiki *

Gatecast 322 SGU Divided

Aug 13 2016 56 mins  

Divided We see in Divided that the tensions which have been brewing since the Icarus survivors reached Destiny stoked it has to be said by Rush and Camille come to a head and a core group of the civilians stage a mutiny in an attempt to take control of the ship. The timing turns out to be poor as when the shuttle returns with Young and Scott on board it is unable to secure itself to the ship and as the FTL countdown is almost up it will be left behind when the Destiny jumps. Chloe and Camille pressure Rush to stop his attempts to secure exclusive access to the computer and he reluctantly agrees but it means that some control of the ship remains in the hands of Eli and under the control of the military. The ship now for all intents and purposes is split in two but the military have control over life support but the civilians have all the food and water, someone will have to blink first. Young however is not going to be sitting on his ass, he and Scott go for a walk on the hull of the ship and access the civilian areas through the damage done by the recent alien attack. The conflict is soon resolved as the military quickly secure the ship but then the aliens turn up, three ships then begin firing hoping to break down the shields. While the crew are indeed divided it turns out that as usual Rush has been manipulating Camille, he knew he had been implanted with a tracking device and afraid of what Young would do he engineered the coup in an affort to protect himself. Alas he had the right idea to defend the ship, unable to fight effectively their best chance for survival was to endure the attack until Destiny jumped away but he was still being selfish, the only true protection would be to totally evade the aliens which means surgery to remove the tracker from Rush. The do use the communication stones to bring a surgeon (via Chole’s body) but the connection breaks during the procedure, Rush was probably lucky they didn’t just throw him out of the airlock! Divided was a stellar episode, a tightly told story with some wonderful one on one dialogue, TJ excelled when laying down the situation to Chloe (war is what we do) and you can almost feel sorry for Camille who yes has her agenda but was totally manipulated by Rush. The episode delivered the usual high standard of visual effects and the opening sequence (cinematography and music) was a credit to Stargate as a whole. One of the best episodes so far and a lot more to come. Our thanks to Andrew for joining us over skype for this episode and to Mack for the feedback, thanks to Colin and Adriano for their emials as well. This weeks podcast promo is for The SciFi Diner and next week we are going to be watching the episode “Faith”, hope you join us. Promo… * SciFi Diner Podcast Links… * Divided IMDB * Divided Wiki * Elyse Levesque * Ming-Na Wen * Alisen Down * Peter Kelamis * Patrick Gilmore * Anna Galvin *

Gatecast 321 SGU Space

Aug 06 2016 56 mins  

Space Stargate Universe returned for the second half of its first season with the episode Space in which the crew come face to face with one of the known elements of the universe, we are not alone and for the most part our fellow beings are not warm and cuddly, although neither are we if we are being honest. The fate of Rush is still being questioned amongst the crew and Camille tells Young she will be reporting in full to the IOA but as he points out she can only speculate and at this point it may be that she was in the dark as to the framing of Young for the murder of Spencer. Young uses the communication stones and finds himself on an unfamiliar ship and face to face with an alien being, the being seems uninterested in Young and we find out that on board Destiny the alien consciousness is now inhabiting Young’s body. The connection is broke and while many are sceptical that Young saw what he did when a huge spaceship appears in front of the Destiny the doubts fade away…   Eli attempts to communicate with the alien ship and they get a simple one word response “surrender” which came though untranslated, Young orders the launch of the shuttle and for the ship to bring her weapons on line. As the shuttle approaches the ship they see a number of smaller craft fly towards them, battle is joined but many get by and at least one latches onto the Destiny and breaches the hull. Chloe approaches the breech and looks into the light, we then see the ship detach causing decompression. When Young realises what has happened he orders the shuttle to cease fire and decides to once again use the communication stones to get intel on the aliens. We then get treated to the realisation that the aliens have captured Chloe for some sort of interrogation but that’s not all, they also have another human suspended in a water containment vessel, Rush is there. Young breaks Rush from the vessel and after some confusion and pain Young returns to Destiny and orders Eli to open up on the alien ship with the main weapon despite the risk to the shields and conduit stability, is he trying to save the Destiny or finish Rush off once and for all even sacrificing Chloe along the way? Space is a major turning point for the show, we know the universe is full of life but this is the first confirmed contact the crew have had since coming to Destiny and it seems this race have been trailing the Destiny for a long long time. At this point we don’t know their motivations and they didn’t shoot first but who would say Young was incorrect in a pre-emptive defence of the ship after the surrender message. Scott lets his feelings get the better of him and Greer is having the time of his life, Camille is once again pushing the boundaries and we get both humour and drama from all the remaining characters. This is a good episode which makes the most of the cast and throws in a lot of great looking action and suspense which is all you really want. Many thanks to Brad for joining us on the podcast this week and our continued thanks to Mack for his feedback. This weeks promo is for the British Invaders podcast a show which looks at British scifi television across the years, next week we will be discussing the episode Divided. Promo… * British Invaders Links… * Space IMDB * Space Wiki * Elyse Levesque * Rukiya Bernard *

Gatecast 319 SGU Life

Jul 23 2016 52 mins  

Life In Life Scott and Camille return to Earth while on board Destiny TJ is assigned the task of doing the rounds of the entire crew and having a casual chat with them. The continued search of the ship aided by the improved power status reveals a new section which houses a strange looking chair, Rush believes it is a very early version of the Ancient repository of Knowledge and immediately begins to campaign for its use. Young is sceptical given the dangers inherent in the attempt and points out that instead of hoping for someone to volunteer if Rush thought it was safe he should use it on himself. On Earth Scott learns his former girlfriend Annie Balic has a son, he visits her home (as Telford) and she does reveal the Scott is the father, he offers her his monthly paycheck which she accepts but refuses to abandon her lifestyle to live an image that Scott believes she should. Camille has a wonderful visit with her partner Sharon Walker who is aware of the mission and we learn that Camille is estranged from her more conservative parents, it seems Camille is under pressure from her family and workplace in regards to her chosen life which may explain why she projects a cold and analytical persona upto a point. When Scott returns to the Destiny he tells Young that he has been dreaming of Telford and his interaction with his wide, Young does not take this well. Rush meanwhile has discovered a planet which could provide the energy required to power a nine chevron dialup but it’s a year away, the crew are delighted until Eli discovers that it’s fake and that’s yet another black mark on the relationship between Rush and Young. The episode wraps with many of the crew in very introspective mood and dealing with events they have little control over and it closes with a close up of Spencer who we know has run out of his medication… Life is a slow down from last weeks action themed episode and suffers a little but counters with some fantastic character pieces and insights into their onboard life and back on Earth. Scott has to deal with being a father after maybe running off to the military after knocking up his former girlfriend who he believed handled the situation. Camille however was a revelation, the relationship with Sharon was an outstanding look at a stable and loving couple who were dealing with an almost impossible situation. Every scene between the couple was beautiful as was Sharon’s mask failing when she was alone and Camille paying respect to her parents while incognito, it may have been the first time they have talked in years. Life is an episode that will certainly appeal to a good portion of the audience and maybe not to others but there is no doubt there is an awful lot to like and enjoy in the episode. Many thanks to Matthew for making a return to the podcast, we had much better audio this time around even if there was mild panic when we got our start times mixed up but it all got done. This weeks promo is for the Batcave Podcast which looks at the classic 1960’s tv series. Next week we are going to be taking a look at the episode Justice where things really go off the rails big time, hope you join us for that and let us know what you think about any and all things Stargate. Promo… * The Batcave Podcast Links… * Life IMDB * Life Wiki * Brian J. Smith *

Gatecast 318 SGU Time

Jul 16 2016 59 mins  

Time Time is an obvious title for this episode and fits well into the rather simple but descriptive methodology the producers have chosen to identify the episodes within the series. In Time we have a team gating to a jungle which should be a rich source of organics for both food and perhaps medicine. They do make a rather startling discovery when they come across a Kino, maybe it was left by other travels but it contains data and when viewed they see themselves on this world and then watch in mounting horror as one by one the people on the recording fall ill and then come under attack from a native life form leaving death and destruction in its wake. On board Destiny the crew to struggle to explain the recordings but then they too start to fall ill and a contaminant is found within the water supply, no doubt due to some poor purification when they harvested the ice, only know has it become strong enough to affect its human hosts. TJ is pushed to the limit trying to treat those that are falling ill and soon one by one the crew lose their battle with the illness, Chloe passes first leaving us with a very touching moment with Eli but indicates a direct correlation between events on the recording and this timeline. Destiny has already dropped out of FTL and the planet became available to dial and thanks to the rather unexpected recovery of Scott (on the recording) it seems a powerful antibiotic can be found in the lifeform responsible for the deaths of the crew in the other timeline. The visit to the world does not go well and Scott hears of Chloe’s death and again the lifeforms attack ripping through the soldiers until only Scott is left but now he knows what to do, as time runs out he records all the information required for another timeline to solve the puzzle and sends the Kino through the solar flare affected gate and onto a different timeline… Well what can you say about Time? Absolutely brilliant in execution which covers both the production of the episode, the writing, direction and acting. There is really very really too criticise about this episode making allowances for the ever present convoluted issues with time travel stories. Everyone shone in the episode from Eli having a borderline breakdown on the planet to Chloe seeing herself dies (first one to do so) and TJ hitting a brick wall in treating the crew. We also got a very strong scene with Greer who took to heart his other self’s failure to protect his people, again we see the level of integrity within Greer which is so easy to miss when you take him at first sight. Time is an episode that does stand alone in this first season and should be watched by an scifi fan. Many thanks to Mack for the feedback over on Google + for the episode Earth and to Brad for joining me on this episode, once again getting up very early to talk over skype. This weeks podcast promo is for The Babylon Project Podcast and I really should rewatch B5 again, sooner the better. Next weeks show will be taking a look at the episode “Life” and Matthew will be joining us, hope you come along for the ride and let us know what you think.   Promo… * The Babylon Project Podcast Links… * Time IMDB * Time Wiki * Julia Benson * Brian J. Smith * Elyse Levesque

Gatecast 314 SGU Darkness

Jun 18 2016 51 mins  

Darkness Darkness is the fourth episode of Stargate Universe and after the crew solved the problem with the air filtration you would think there would be some respite but it was not to be. Rush is monitoring the power levels and becomes rather irate as technology is activated by order of Young and then as if an off switch is flicked the ship loses power and falls out of FTL. Basic life support is still functioning but it doesn’t look good especially as Rush finally has an emotional break and collapses. Young uses the communication stones to report back and while he is on Earth goes to visit his wife and as she says it seems he is making sure he gets to say goodbye. I guess I don’t blame Young but with so many people on Destiny and the growing issues with transparency between the command staff and highly placed civilians many would have liked the opportunity to speak with their loved ones. The crew however continue to record bits and pieces using the Kino and in terms of the show this idea allows the viewers to get a peak into the inner thoughts of the crew which is essential to each episode. Stargate Universe is character driven but there are times one one one chat providing exposition can get a little clunky especially if you have a large main cast and a significant number of recurring characters. In this episode we got some really good background on Volker, Riley, Brody and Dr Park was magnificent as she seems to be really embarrassing the opportunities Destiny is providing regardless of the sword hanging above their heads. As it turns out Destiny had dropped out of FTL at the edges of a star system and uses a gas giant to aero break into the inner system, this whole sequence is magnificent and is as good as anything you’ve seen on television and equals theatrical features. As the crew take a deep breath the calculations and visual indications show that the ship is now aimed directly at the systems sun and there is nothing they can do… Darkness was a great episode, the suspense and tension on the ship as she loses power and Rush breaks down was of the highest order, the episode did take a breather with Young back on Earth and of course Telford playing his games but I guess that is a longer term payoff. The use of Lt James as the focus of some immature and very questionable behavior by Hunter and Eli kinda clashed with how she had manipulated Eli earlier but as with Chloe in the “shower” they chose not to be graphic which they could have done and gotten away with up to a point. The visual effects of Destiny before, during and after her visit to this star system was exceptional, all credit to the artists for rendering some truly spectacular visuals to accompany the performance of the cast and situation. Darkness continues the great work being done early in this first season and once again makes me realise how much better this show is on a rewatch. This weeks podcast promo is for Flash Pulp and our great thanks to Thomas for joining us this week on the show, he’ll return next week for the second part of the this two part story entitled “Light”. Feedback and other support via social media is most appreciated and welcomed with open arms, we really do like to find out what you think about the show and Stargate as a whole, like the crew of the Destiny we are all in this together. Promo… * Flash Pulp Links… * Darkness IMDB * Darkness Wiki *

Stargate The Ark Of Truth

May 07 2016 102 mins  

The Ark Of Truth After SG1 ended it’s television run MGM decided to invest in two straight to DVD movies, the first was The Ark Of Truth. In this movie we learn that the Ancients long before they arrived in the Milky Way Galaxy had developed a weapon of sorts which would destroy the power base of the Ori in effect making them too weak to oppose them. It was however decided that taking away free will from millions of people was not a price the Ancients were willing to pay so they hide the Ark and left their home galaxy. Daniel and SG1 have found clues to its where abouts and are digging on Dakara when they are captured by Tomin and his men, the Prior orders their death despite their surrender and Tomin objects. The anti-prior device is working and the Prior gets killed, this combined with Tomin’s own doubts over his actions causes him to surrender to SG1 and return to the SGC. The IOA and SGC agree on a plan to visit the ORI galaxy and find the Ark and Marrick is sent along as the IOA representative, his past includes black op missions for the CIA so we know something is going to kick off. When Cameron puts his faith in the Ark and doesn’t immediately act upon the supergate Marrick uses the Asgard Core to replicate a replicator with advanced programming, of course it gets loose so the Odyssey has to fight off little pesky buggers as well as four very big pesky buggers in the guise of Ori starships. Meanwhile the team on the planet find the Ark and are then attacked, Teal’c is seriously wounded and his companions are captured and taken to Celestis where they are tortured and Adria reveals herself to be the recipient of all the power of the ORI faith. The Ark Of Truth had a larger budget than say a two part episode of Stargate SG1 and that is pretty evident from the word go however the majority of the story is shot on the existing stages and you can not really hide that fact. One other benefit of a higher budget and more time to play around with is the longer CGI sequences, seeing the Odyssey fly by or enter the stargate over a longer period of time adds so much to the feel and texture of the movie, not quite theatrical but so much more than tv. We also got some cameos and returning guest actors reprising their roles, again you can underestimate that aspect when making a serial show which relies on continuity to bring the fanbase into the fold. There were some nice twists in the story although most of it had been hinted at in the final season of SG1 but it’s no surprise, this first movie was all about wrapping up the ORI storyline and it was always going to be a hail mary that achieved the almost impossible. It has to be said that the final product was very satisfying both in the story telling and the overall production and knowing Continuum is on the way makes the end of SG1 a little easier to accept. Many thanks to Andrew for joining us in watching and chatting about The Ark Of Truth and he will return next week for Continuum in which Ba’al makes a return along with many other familiar faces in a final goodbye for this part of the franchise. We would love to hear from you on any Stargate or Gatecast related subject so don’t be shy. Links… * The Ark Of Truth IMDB * The Ark Of Truth Wiki * Ben Browder * Amanda Tapping * Christopher Judge ...

Gatecast 309 SGA Vegas

Apr 16 2016 55 mins  

Vegas Picture this, the desert just outside of Las Vegas and a police cordon surrounding a desiccated body, a car roars up and Detective John Sheppard arrives to continue the investigation into a string of murders. A number of bodies have been turning up and it looks like the life has been drained from them, a strange radiation residue is on each and a hand print on their chests, for the viewers the alarm bells are ringing but there is a twist. Vegas is the first Stargate episode which takes place fully in an alternate reality (similar to the Enterprise episode Through a Mirror Darkly) and for a brief amount of time the viewer could be convinced John is back on Earth in an undercover roles but no this is another Earth and all our favourite characters (minus the Pegasus derived Teyla and Ronon) are here but not quite the same. In many ways the episode sticks out like a sore thumb and certainly polarises the audience thanks to the production style and music choices but it does still fit into the season/series with direct links to plot elements explored previously. I’m not going into to much detail plot wise because this is an episode if you haven’t seen then you should and if you haven’t seen it since it aired it’s well worth going back too, trust me:) Vegas also allowed the producers to get many of the crew and familiar former cast members into the show, again a pity Jason and Rachel didn’t appear but we did get Gary Jones, Neil Jackson, Jody Thompson, Christopher Heyerdahl, Paul Jarrett and Carmen Moore on screen. Cameos included Joel Goldsmith, Charles Cohen, Roy Winston, Todd Brunson and of course Brad Wright. Many thanks to Matthew for joining Alan on this episode, audio issues appeared late in the day meaning they couldn’t be addressed so apologies for the quality but we’re sure we can solve that before Matthew returns for an episode of Universe sometime in the future. This weeks podcast promo is for Tuning Into Sci-Fi TV and next week we are going to be discussing the series finale “Enemy at the Gate” and didn’t that come around fast? Promo… * Tuning Into Sci-Fi TV Links… * Vegas IMDB * Vegas Wiki * Christopher Heyerdahl * Neil Jackson * Carmen Moore * Steve Schirripa * Jody Thompson * Frank Vincent * Paul Jarrett * Joel Goldsmith * Gary Jones * Chris Nowland * Mark Burgess * David Avalon * Robert C. Cooper Mentions…

Gatecast 301 SGA The Lost Tribe

Feb 20 2016 52 mins  

The Lost Tribe The Lost Tribe is the second part of the mid-season two parter and the episode continues with Daniel and Rodney captives of this mysterious alien race whose reveal is rather surprising, yes we’ve met these guys before and in a twist the only thing that is missing is the goatee. The Vanir are an off shoot from the Asgard who fled to Pegasus to allow them to pursue lines of research which were banned by their brothers and sisters more ethical guidelines, it’s hard to deny that the Vanir had a point, they are under no immediate threat of total degeneration thanks to the experiments on other species. Meanwhile the Stargate in Atlantis when it blew left an awful lot of damage but the use of the cities shield mitigated probably 99.99% of the blast meaning no critical damage, a new gate is quickly sourced and the rebuilding process commences. However other gates have also exploded one in particular on one of the few Traveller world’s killing thousands, Katana Labrea a Traveller commander approaches Atlantis and Sheppard in particular and offers her ship since the Daedalus is currently running amok with Todd in command although Keller and Ronon and flies in the ointment. John gives Todd the location of the Ancient outpost where Daniel and Rodney are being detained and the chase is on to get to that world and destroy the device responsible for destroying stargates and denying the Wraith ships access to hyperspace. Ronon did a number on the Daedalus weapons system so before leaving the ship the Wraith pre-programme the computer with commands to turn the ship into a ballistic missile and while John and Katana battle the Vanir they have to find a solution to save the Daedalus and it’s crew as the ship slams into the atmosphere on course to vaporise the ancient complex. Unbeknown to everyone else at the time Rodney and Daniel have donned the alien armoured suits (very Ironman) and entered into the chamber to cripple the system, Daniel is hurt badly before Rodney can pull the plug. It’s a not a surprise that we get resolution which allows all the main characters to return the following week but to be fair the idea to use one ships hyperspace window to draw in a second was clever and obviously occurred to John after he had gone head to head with the Vanir. We also got a good closing scene with the two boys trading barbs and pudding and a rather awkward moment as Ronon learns that Jennifer’s interest in romance are focused on someone else. The Lost Tribe was another excellent fifth season of Atlantis, we got more of the Daniel and Rodney dynamic, the return of the Travellers, Todd being well Todd and oodles of action and wonderful visual effects. Far fewer technical issues with this second recorded episode (not using bluetooth) but no denying we were all happy to wrap that night up so as always many thanks to Thomas for joining on the show. Thanks to Brad for the comment over on Facebook and this week podcast promo is for Flash Pulp an audio show which offers short stories and special movie features, I can heartly recommend their shows for pure creativity, production value and entertainment. Next week we will return with the Atlantis episode Outsiders, hope you join us and let us know what you think, we’d love to hear from you. Promo… * Flash Pulp Links… * The Lost Tribe IMDB * The Lost Tribe Wiki * Michael Shanks *

Gatecast 299 SGA Tracker

Feb 06 2016 53 mins  

Tracker In the ninth episode of the season “Tracker” we meet a new runner named Kiryk played by Mike Dopud. Dr Keller is going to visit a world where the local village is in need of some basic treatment, Rodney decides to tag along and to his annoyance so does Ronon. As Jennifer examines a native woman the boys go to the local tavern and when they return Jennifer is missing and Ronon attempts to track her movements. He discovers she was taken by a single individual and the pursue but are foiled by some clever traps being set. Keeler learns that she has been taken to provide treatment for a young girl who the Runner is protecting but the Wraith turn up and now it’s a question who will get to their quarry first. There isn’t a lot to say about Tracker since the story is fairly basic but it is an episode that focuses on character and we get that in spades with the performance of Mike and Jewel, the dynamic is well written and performed especially when we compare the portrayal of Keller in the earlier episode Missing, lots of character growth for the doctor. It’s not to say there isn’t plenty going on, the added impetus provided by the arrival of the Wraith sets up some good set piece action sequences and it’s interesting to see another Runner and his particular skill set aided by the alien transportation device. It also goes without saying that the woodland used to film the episode looked spectacular with some great shots captured and the commentary track for the episode goes into detail the issues which they had to overcome on this location shoot. Tracker overall is an above average episode, not quite in the top tier but well worth a rewatch and of course we get to see Mike return the Stargate franchise in the second season of Universe. This weeks podcast promo is for Nutty Bites the ever entertaining chat themed roundtable which discusses all things geek. Next week we are joined by Thomas for “First Contact” the first episode in a two parter where a new to the Pegasus alien species is introduced and who seriously shake things up, well whenever Daniel visits things happen 🙂 Thanks to Levi, Mack and Steve for the feedback, always appreciated and we’d love to get more so don’t be shy if you have something to say, you can email us or use this sites contact forms and we are also on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter so plenty of options. Promo… * Nutty Bites Links… * Tracker Wiki * Tracker IMDB * Mike Dopud * Neela Todd * Chelah Horsdal * Domonique Danielle * William Warring Mentions… * Warpgate Adventures

Gatecast 297 SGA Whispers

Jan 23 2016 53 mins  

Whispers begins with events in a small village a year before a team from Atlantis arrives, we see two locals walking in the dark mist shrouded night and come across someone sitting on the ground, they approach and a creature is revealed which lunges at them killing one almost immediately. The other man escapes buts runs into a man wearing a gas mask who proceeds to attack him. We jump to the current time frame to find John and Carson walking through the woods and meet up with a SG team commanded by Major Teldy, introduction are made and we learn that one of Michael’s labs has been discovered in the nearby caverns. They soon realise this was the site of some early genetic experiments which may have back fired and left the nearby village devoid of life, most of this is confirmed by a local man named Mirellus who speaks of Demons in the mist. They decide to spend the night in the village but Sheppard, Teldy and Captain Vega head out to the nearby settlement for some supplies where they encounter something in the mist which reaches out and grabs Vega, they find her body soon after and then double time it back and discover all the stasis pods in the lab are now open. Carson, Dr Porter and Sgt. Mehra are a little on edge after hearing the commotion and Mehra goes out to investigate, after some time Carson then leaves and when they return Dr Porter is missing. Events continue to spiral out of control but with each encounter some knowledge of these “demons” is discovered and they decide to set a trap at the village’s well using a laptop emitting a signal which will bring the demons into a killzone. John however is attacked while setting the C4 and in the commotion it blows and the team open up with their P90’s leaving all the demons dead. They all return to the lab and discover a well disguised door, they open it and find another room full of empty pods and they begin to be stalked by the remainder of Michael’s experiments but in the confined space the automatic weapons make light work of culling the demons. The episode wraps with a bookend of Carson, John and Rodney with Rodney mildly upset he knows nothing about a certain Dr Porter but at least Carson is staying in Pegasus so yay:) Whispers is one of my favourite episodes of Stargate Atlantis, it’s incredibly atmospheric and wonderfully produced thanks to the clever idea of using a tent inside the studio which allowed them to film in simulated heavy fog/mist. That’s not all though, we finally see a bunch of female SGC members who just happen to be on the same team and each of them do credit to their rank and the SGC, granted the US military at the time was not overly keen on front line female soldiers but the need for intelligent and resourceful members of the SGC should have meant a great percentage of women serving than we were presented with over the years. Considering we only got the single episode/adventure of the team comprising of Major Teldy, Captain Vega (RIP), Sgt. Mehra and Dr Porter they left a very definite mark on the fanbase and who knows a sixth season or tv movie could have made good use of these characters. Many thanks to Andrew for joining us again for this episode, he will return for at least two more before we movie onto Universe. Thanks to Brad for the feedback and to everyone that has kept in touch or supported the podcast on Twitter, Google+, Tumblr and Facebook. This weeks promo is for The Rusted Robot and next week we are going to be watching another excellent episode “The Queen”. Promo… * The Rusted Robot Links… * Whispers Wiki ...

Gatecast 295 SGA Ghost In The Machine

Dec 05 2015 55 mins  

The team are travelling towards a space gate in orbit around a world that has potential for a new alpha site despite the flying monkeys which seemed to have given the visit a bit of excitement. As they approach the jumper starts to malfunction with energy surges and all control is lost, the jumper collides with the gate and without power is entering a decaying orbit. It’s their lucky day though, power returns and they limp back to Atlantis but they can not find anything wrong. The city itself then begins to experience power surges and all power dies except for Rodney’s laptop which begins to communicate via text and reveals that an entity calling itself Elizabeth Weir is asking for help, you know a Ghost In The Machine. It turns out that after the fall of the Asurans the last few remaining replicators were from the faction that were attempting to ascend, they found a technological solution which converted themselves into energy but unfortunately it only allowed them to remain in subspace devoid of real experience. Weir went in search of help and came across the puddle jumper and hitched a ride back to Atlantis. The Ancient technology used to create Fran is taken over by Weir and her consciousness is put into the Fran template and all seems well until the remaining Asurans arrive. Atlantis is forced to allow them to manifest and build bodies for themselves with some conditions. Of course the Asurans have their own agenda or at least one of them does and Weir is forced to choose sides and in a final farewell she leads the Asurans through the Stargate to a new world knowing it would be the end of her and her people. Ghost in the Machine was used primarily to tie up some loose ends and it’s a pity Torri Higginson wasn’t able to return. Michelle once again did a mighty fine job probably more so than her first appearance on the show as Fran. We did get some good character stuff from Rodney and it has to be said most of the characters that had known Elizabeth were allowed some good interaction with this version and Woolsey gets another lesson into what command is all about and how honor and integrity can lead to sacrifice. Ghost In The Machine is yet another solid episode in the final season, drawing on the shows mythology and maybe be design putting a bow on those pesky loose threads and while Ghost In The Machine is certainly not an original plot it has it’s moments and overall works very well. Many thanks to Miles, Mack, Dan and Levi for the feedback and emails, appreciated as was the five star itunes review from Melissa (host of the Upper Pylon 2 Podcast). Once again thanks to Brad for getting up early to join us for the recording of the show and as would have it a Ghost in the Machine caused the first recording session to be cancelled, we got this on the second try. This weeks promo is for the Dune Saga podcast, next week will be the first of this seasons bonus shows and I’ve not decided which so it’ll be a surprise, tune in and find out:) Promo… * Dune Saga Podcast Links… * Ghost In The Machine Wiki * Ghost In The Machine IMDB * Michelle Morgan * Robert Moloney *

Gatecast 293 SGA Broken Ties

Nov 21 2015 52 mins  

Ronon and Teyla are off world when they come across a body in the woods, as they approach hidden traps are sprung and in the chaos they are both stunned, Teyla is left and Ronon abducted by an old friend who as is the norm came back to bite him. The tracker Ronon carries is not active so the suggestion is made to contact Solen Sincha another Satedan who may have some information on Tyre the man who kidnapped Ronon. They learn that his Wraith masters have abandoned him and maybe by giving them Ronon a former runner he will regain their favour and this is exactly what is happening. Ronon is given to the Wraith who begins the torture procedure in the effort to get Ronon addicted to the surge of life energy after they kill him, they succeed and Ronon pledges his loyalty to the Wraith. Information arrives about a Wraith lab on the planet Sarif Sur so Tyre and the team mount a raid but they are captured and it seems Tyre has betrayed them but it’s a ruse and when he gets the opportunity he breaks John, Teyla and Rodney out and the battle commences. The Wraith is captured and when threatened with the explosives planted earlier he agrees to release them when Tyre says he will stay behind and hand over the detonator when the team are free, however Tyre redeems his honour by destroying the lab and saving his friend Ronon who still has a long road ahead to purge his system of the enzyme and reverse the mental conditioning. Broken Ties is an episode which quickly brings the talents of Mark Dacascos back to Stargate, an accomplished and well trained fighter he is more than capable of holding his own acting wise and bringing a level of reality to a staged action sequence, nothing quite beats being able to use the primary actor for the majority of a stunt. While the dynamic between Ronon and Tyre was certainly the focal point and allowed Jason to dig deep into his own talents to bring to the screen another facet of Ronon we also got the dilemma Teyla was having to deal with being a new mother want to remain at her childs side but having the drive to be the guardian for all. In an episode that had some strong themes it’s surprising we got the usual amount of comedic elements scattered throughout the episode, Woolsey is the major foil for such things as his character settles into the group dynamic and if you need that extra giggle then Rodney in a bubble bath serves it’s purpose. We want to thank Tim for joining us for this episode, he replied to a tweet on the night of recording so we invited him to join us and he said yes so everything worked out great. You can hear Tim on Partial Nerdity and Unchartered Territories two podcasts that I listen too on a weekly basis. We also would like to thank everyone that has voted in the poll which at the time I write this is 94 people, if we get over 100 giving us their Stargate SG1 top ten episodes we’ll throw in another prize for the draw with our thanks. This weeks promo is for British Invaders a podcast that looks at old UK television shows with a scifi/fantasy/genre leaning and next week we are going to be taking a look at The Daedalus Variations with Thomas, we hope you can join us for that. Promo… * British Invaders Links… * Broken Ties Wiki * Broken Ties IMDB * Marc Dacascos *

Gatecast 292 SGA The Seed

Nov 14 2015 53 mins  

A month after the events at Michael’s complex the new head of the expedition in Pegasus arrives via the Daedalus, Mr Richard Woolsey beams down and makes an awkward introduction, it doesn’t bode well. Dr Keller it sees is having some health issues and awakes at her desk to find her hand covered in goo but dismisses it, she is still looking into reviving Carson and when Woolsey is informed of her progress he simply states that at some point you’re going to have to gamble, her research pays off as Carson is unfrozen and the new drug injected into his system stabilizes it, things are looking up. The next morning Teyla is worried the no one has heard from Jennifer and when they access her room they find her in bed with some sort of alien growth covering part of her body. Carson tries to surgical remove it but it reacts and threatens the health of Jennifer so all they can do is attempt to divine its source as it looks like something Carson had seen Michael working with. Things are going from bad to worse as this organic hybrid material spreads across her bedroom and buries itself into the structure of the city tapping into local power sources to increase its growth, as it approaches one of the main ZPM power conduites the question is posed in terms of sacrificing one for the benefit of all especially after Radek is attacked by a tentacle when investigating it’s growth in a support tunnel deep within the city. Carson identifies a virus in Jennifer’s system sourced from work undertaken by Michael however it does look like it was an accidental exposure and Carson has developed a counter agent but it has to be injected directly into her flesh and to get there someone has to get past the alien growth which they now know is a baby Hive ship. Can Jennifer be saved, who will risk the gauntlet and has this been a good first week in the job for Mr Woolsey? The Seed is considered (or so it seemed to me) to be a victim of some great episodes around it, in many ways it has the feel of an early season episode with a gimmick of the week and ultimately no real consequence but to be fair they are allowed to not hit the proverbial home room with every episode. For fans of Carson the episode pays off, a good example of his talents and commitment to his patients and of course John and Ronon get to do the hero thing, not demanding it has to be said but well produced as is the whole episode. The commentary on the DVD/Blu-ray goes into some of the issues with so much use of visual effects and practical elements for the alien growth and is well worth a listen and despite some negative opinions it was still a fun episode. Thanks to Brad for joining us for this episode, we had some technical issues but didn’t lose any of the recording which is always the silver lining. We got some feedback over on our Facebook page so thanks to Brad and Steve for that. This weeks promo is for Generations Geek the father/daughter all things geek and genre podcast and next week we are taking a look at the third episode of the final season “Broken Ties”. Don’t forget we also have the ongoing poll for your favourite ten episodes of Stargate SG1 Promo… * Generations Geek Links… * The Seed Wiki * The Seed IMDB * Robert Picardo *

Gatecast 291 SGA Search And Rescue

Nov 07 2015 54 mins  

In the aftermath of the explosion which brought down Michael’s complex rescue units in three jumpers arrive from Atlantis and begin to look for survivors, a number of people are trapped in the debris including Ronon, John, Evan and Rodney. John is seriously hurt with a piece of rebar through his side and Evan has a broken leg, Ronon and Rodney are bashed and bruised but are actively seeking a way out. Michael light years away gets an automated message from his complex and jumps to hyperspace intent on intercepting those that oppose him and Rodney still with some of the tech he salvaged realises a mayday had been sent and when he and Evan are rescued he informs Carter who begins the preparations to leave. The cruiser arrives in orbit and a dart does a fly by of the complex, Captain Vega shoots it down and the jumpers cloak and flee into orbit leaving John and Ronon behind, for now. Michael sends a team down in the hopes of capturing some prisoners but the Daedalus brings the fight to Michael and the two ships do battle and both are badly damaged. A stalemate exists as they don’t want to kill Teyla who is on the cruiser so they draw the darts away with a 302 attack and a cloaked jumper enters the hangar bay of the wraith ship. The team find Teyla, Rodney stays behind and delivers the baby while John and Ronon blow up the power generator for the hyperdrive and they all escape using a wraith dart, the cruiser is then destroyed and they return to Atlantis where Sam is ordered to return to Earth where she is relieved of her command. Search And Rescue has a lot of work to do since the season four cliffhanger left pretty much everyone in peril of death, infact more people should have died after all the complex was destroyed and the amount of rubble falling on the teams should not have left any survivors but it did and alas it was no real surprise. That said the practical set for the debris field was excellent, Captain Vega was seriously kick ass and the CGI used to bring Michael into play was absolutely beautiful. All ready there is enough good stuff in the first part of the episode to forgive them the obvious flaws in the story and thankfully the trend continues as the Daedalus and the Cruiser go head to head and finally the can shoot straight and a tried and trusted method of sneaking on a Wraith ship is employed. Having Rodney deliver the baby was a stroke of genius and again made up for the destruction of the hyperdrive power generators which should really have taken the ship with it but there were some comedic and dramatic moments leading up to their escape. The humour continues with John in the infirmary and finally the sting in the tail as Sam and the audience get the ice water thrown over them as she is replaced by Mr Woolsey! Search And Rescue is an excellent opener for the fifth and final season of Stargate Atlantis with everything we love about the show there is spades and yet setting ever higher standards in CGI and Set design as well as cinematography and storytelling. We can only look forward to more of the same as the season goes on. This weeks promo is for Tuning Into Scifi TV and next week we are going to be taking a look at the second episode of the season “The Seed” and Brad will be joining us for that. Thank you to Miles for the feedback from the other week and we also have our Stargate SG1 Top Ten Favourite episode poll ongoing, we hope you take part because there could be a prize at the end of it and not forgetting we all want to know what the fans of SG1 consider the best episodes. If you want to get in touch with us then there many ways, comments on the website or email work great or you can leave comments over on Facebook,

Gatecast 289 SGA The Kindred Part 2

Oct 17 2015 54 mins  

A simple case of poor timing means Atlantis continues the search for Teyla who was kidnapped by Michael so he can get access to her unborn and use its genetic material to enhance his hybrid creations, an unexpected bonus leaves Atlantis with an extra doctor who turns out to be a clone, it was a busy day. So Dr Carson Beckett is back on Atlantis unaware that he is a clone and that the original has died and also that Elizabeth was dead and worse of all his dear old mother also thinks he is dead, not much of a homecoming for the good Doctor. Dr Keller is able to prove to Carson that he is indeed cloned from the original albeit it with a fundamental flaw, science to the rescue and he is able to provide the coordinates to a potential facility used by Michael, the team investigates and they capture one of Michael’s soldiers and in return for safety in the Milky Way he provides the location of where Teyla will be heading. Meanwhile Teyla is indeed being held at that facility, Kanaan the father of her child is there but he has been altered by Michael to be little more than a slave but the remaining survivors of New Athos are also there and Teyla is reunited with Halling and other friends. The combat teams from Atlantis raid the complex, a huge firefight breaks out and in the chaos Carson and Teyla flee but are cornered by Michael who has created his “army” with inhibitors so they can never turn on him, Carson is unable to shoot Michael and Teyla is once again take by Michael as he escapes the planet in his cruiser. Carson now knowing there is no immediate cure for the degeneration of his cloned tissues enters into an Ancient stasis chamber, a final goodbye and he is gone again and maybe return when a cure is found. The Kindred Part 2 is a strong second episode of this two parter, plenty of pyrotechnics and stunt work when adds to the action quota for the episode but an awful lot of well written character pieces, it’s rather brutal how hard it was for Rodney to explain to clone Carson exactly what he was and what had been happening in the meantime and having Sam have serious reservations also worked well, she didn’t know Carson so there was no prior emotional ties to hamper her immediate concerns. Michael as per usual was well played by Connor and he no doubt appreciated the story moving the character away from the traditional look of the Wraith, less time in makeup and an easier time of it when filming scenes in 45 degree temperatures. A solid episode as the fourth season comes close to it’s end and interesting to hear that this story was bumped forward in the shooting schedule to allow Rachel to have her child, credit to Rachel who was obvious very close to term when filming many of the scenes which could not have been very comfortable. Many thanks to Brad for joining me on this episode, once again Real Life is proving a little more complex for Alan at this time when it comes to record but things are settling down now he is in work and looking for his own place. We’ve recorded all the shows now for season 4 and will be looking at some bonus shows for the upcoming holidays and starting the fifth season, the two Stargate SG1 movies may be pushed to early 2016 and of course soon after we’ll be starting Universe. This weeks promo is for The Batcave Podcast and excellent show for fans of the 1966 classic tv series and next week we are back with the season four finale “The Last Man”, we’d love to know what you think about the episode and our show so any feedback would be most welcome. Promo… * The Batcave Podcast ...

Gatecast 288 SGA The Kindred Part 1

Oct 10 2015 54 mins  

Teyla is having dreams of the father of her child bidding her to come and rescue him and the rest of the Athosians who went missing months before, in the dream he gives her a necklace which he bought for her on an off world market, it’s a clue to their location. Teyla along with the team visit the world and discover a stall selling jewellry and trinkets and he reveals that a trader has been bringing him good quality goods for a few weeks and he is due back soon. Meanwhile Dr Keller is investigating a disease which is spreading quickly across a number of worlds, it seems a mystery but eventually they discover it’s a variant of the Hoffan drug and they take a trip to that world in search of some clues but there was nothing to be found after the Wraith wiped the population out yet it seems someone has been there since. Teyla along with Major Lorne and his team return to the trading world and capture the rogue trader, he agrees to take them to the burial site where he has been acquiring these “goods” but on arrival a Wraith dart arrives and scoops up Teyla, it seems it was a trap to capture her all along. Once again Todd uses the Wraith tracker to arrange a meeting with John and after some friendly accusations a mutually beneficial agreement is made, Todd needs to understand the Hoffan drug and develop a cure for his hive and the team need his resources to find Teyla. It pays off when Todd informs that they chatter between Wraith worshippers indicates a member of Atlantis is being held prisoner, the location is given and the team along with the Daedalus pay it a visit. In the complex a big fire fight takes place and in orbit a Wraith cruiser jumps in, it’s Michael’s ship and a captured bad guys indicates Michael is returning with his latest prize, John tells the Daedalus to capture the cruiser but it escapes but if Teyla was onboard why did the guards fight so hard to defend this prison? The break into the final cell and well a surprise is waiting for them, it was no lie that Michael was indeed holding a member of Atlantis prisoner just not the one they expected… The Kindred is a two part story filmed a little earlier in the production cycle to allow Rachel to be fully involved before taking time off from the show to have her child, she is very pregnant and a lot of credit has to be given for the commitment she showed in what was an intensive episode for her character. The story itself makes full use of all the little things we know about the Wraith and Michael in particular so nothing feels out of place except perhaps for how resilient Michael is, the guy is a born survivor and no matter how hard you squish him he always springs back. I liked how Carter was very reluctant to believe Teyla and her dreams not having direct experience of the events that shaped Teyla into who she is now but surprised how on the fence her other friends were but she got what she wanted alas so did Michael. As for the surprise ending of the episode well the fact that kept that underwraps really paid off, it was a serious WTF moment and in the second part of the story it’s all going to get explained in a way that is most satisfying. The Kindred Part 1 sets the scene as well as being a very good piece of Stargate storytelling and it’s good to seeing Rachel really getting to be center stage, more of the same next week in the second part so a lot to look forward too. This weeks promo is for the Saturday B Movie Reel and next week are going to watch The Kindred Part 2 and Brad will be joining me for that, we hope you can join us as well and let us know what you think of the episode and our show. Promo… *

Gatecast 287 SGA Midway

Oct 03 2015 55 mins  

Teyla returns from Earth after an interview with a new IOA rep Mr James Coolidge, Ronon is facing the same and he seems calm about it but Sam is having doubts and recruits Teal’c to Atlantis to offer some insight and his experience to Ronon, however Ronon is in no mood to be tutored on dealing with the IOA on Earth and after drawing his weapon on Teal’c the two retire to the gym for some hand to hand diplomacy. After about an hour of the two beating the crap out of each other Sam breaks the fight up and the two get ready to travel to Earth via the intergalactic gate bridge with a 24 hour stop off at Midway station. Unbeknown to them a Wraith cruiser has landed on a planet which hosts one of the Stargates used in the bridge and hacked into the system (perhaps with knowledge gleaned from Todd’s time in the city) and a force of warriors gate to Midway and brutally take it over. Dr Lee and two other SGC personnel (Dr Kavanagh is one) prevent the immediate travel onto Earth which allows Ronon and Teal’c to do what they are best at but eventually the Earth gate is accessed and a device sent through followed by more warriors, Ronon and Teal’c pursue.   John and his team access the bridge via a Stargate that is further into the system than the compromised one and bring the fight to Midway and eventually kill all but one of the Wraith after venting the atmosphere, John is trapped and dying but has to fight off the final Wraith while the rest of the SGC personnel abandon Midway in a jumper, it wouldn’t be Stargate if a new toy doesn’t get blown up within a few episodes. This time it’s the fault of Kavanagh who had tried to override the lockout and tipped a booby trap one Rodney had carefully avoided so boom Midway is no more and the survivors are adrift for a week waiting patiently for rescue. Midway is a top notch action based episode, the armours, stuntman and cgi specialists really went to town and produced some excellent close quarter combat set pieces, praise to Christopher and Jason for doing some fantastic work as well and of course Bill and Ben (yeah I know) for their banter. I’ve got to offer my thanks to Brad for joining me on the podcast as Alan was in the middle of his move and of course a tip of the hat to Bill for his itunes review. Speaking of which we’d love a few more so don’t be shy, if you listen via itunes then rate the show and gives us a review, we would be very appreciative. This weeks promo is for The Starling Tribune the podcast I listen to for all me Arrow chat and information and next week we are going to be looking at the Atlantis episode The Kindred Part 1. Promo… * The Starling Tribune Links… * Midway IMDB * Midway Wiki * Bill Dow * Christopher Judge * Ben Cotton * Rob LaBelle * Brendan Penny * Scot...

Gatecast 285 SGA Outcast

Sep 19 2015 51 mins  

John receives some bad news and returns to Earth for his father’s funeral, Ronon accompanies him. At the funeral/wake they are approached by a young woman named Ava Dixon who reveals that she and her boss Dr. Richard Poole have been working with illicit materials and knowledge to produce a human form replicator which has now got loose and has a very definite military component. They arrest Poole and threaten him with the arrest and prosecution of Ava and he agrees to help, they track the replicator to a industrial facility where things don’t quite go according to plan when Poole pulls a fast one and reveals to the replicator how they tracked him, he dies for his troubles and again the replicator escapes. John talks to his ex-wife who is now working for homeland security, he asks for information on the secret project which is behind the replicators creation and along with insights gleaned from pouring over records they figure out the replicator has gone after a source of Neutronium. However in the records they also discover that Ava Dixon died a year before, the Ava they now know is also a replicator but programmed more inline with a “normal” human being, she escapes which works out ok in the end. The trap is set for the replicator and well the humans even Ronon get slapped silly but Ava turns up and the two artificial beings got hand to hand dishing out some brutal punishment, John gets an opening and jabs a device into the replicator, he is immediately beamed into low earth orbit and reenters the atmosphere burning up in the process. Ava having proven herself still can not be fully trusted so maybe or maybe not with her knowledge they incorporate her core programme into the Ancient artificial world as seen on the starship Aurora and her body is destroyed. John builds bridges with his brother and Dr Lee can go back to sunning himself on the beach. Outcast gives us quite a bit of back story for John, it seems he comes from money and had issues with the path that was being laid out for him by his father, he rebelled by joining the military whereas his brother seems to have embraced the corporate calling and looks down on John as kind of the black sheep. We also meet John’s former wife Nancy played by Kari Wuhrer and well it looks like it wasn’t a bad break up and we learn his commitment to his career may have played a significant part in their breakup. I’m not quite sure if we really needed another replicator episode but this was had merit because of all the character back story and of course we got some excellent stunt work and set pieces as well as a couple of new shots of a 304 in orbit. Many thanks for the support via twitter, facebook and google+ and especially to Mack who posted some comments on recent episodes. This weeks promo is for The Rusted Robot an always entertaining look at geeky and nerdy pursuits with a sprinkling of all things robot. Next week we are going to be taking a good look at Trio and this episode was recorded many moons ago and it was the first Phil (who I used to work with) joined me on the podcast, hope you join us for that and please feel free to let us know what you think and a review/rating over on itunes or stitcher would be most welcome:) Promo… * The Rusted Robot Links… * Outcast Wiki * Outcast IMDB * Emma Lahana

Gatecast 282 SGA Spoils Of War

Aug 29 2015 53 mins  

The long range scans from Atlantis picks up a Hive ship stationary in deep space well away from any planets, the tracker embedded in Todd is pinging from the ship and as it shows no sign of movement a team is sent to investigate. While John and company are gearing up he puts his foot down with Teyla and clearly states that her pregnancy negates her going on this mission, he points out she may be the last of her people and she and her child can not be put at risk, she disagrees. Upon arrival the team discover a damaged Hive with dead Wraith onboard and the tracker lying in a pool of organic goo on the bridge fall, it had been torn out of Todd either by him or by who ever attacked the Hive ship. They seem quite pleased, while the Hive is damaged it’s not a write off and well Ronon said he didn’t touch anything but hey presto the intended destination of the Hive is on screen and indicates a highly classified Wraith complex. John after returning to Atlantis approaches Teyla and asks her to return to the Hive and use her talents to pilot the ship, she agrees and finds that her pregnancy seems to have increased her ability to merge her mind with the Hive control systems and the ship is much less stressful to fly. They arrive at the system where the complex is housed and find that a Hive ship is in orbit and the planet has a space gate, they take a cloaked jumper down (Teyla and Lorne stay onboard the Hive) and the team infiltrate the base and discover the usual creepy corridors and a number of birthing facilities. They also discover a huge chamber full of what look like cocoons or pods each holding a Wraith, McKay tells them that there may be over a hundred of these chambers in the complex meaning potentially thousands of Wraith. It turns out that Todd (who they find in a cell) had stolen a couple of ZPM’s from the Asuran homeworld during the battle and the complex needs ZPM energy levels to power this complex which uses a Queen to create a template Wraith off spring which is then cloned on a massive scale. Todd had planned all this but had been betrayed by one of his own who now serves the Queen in this base and before they can sabotage the complex they are stunned and imprisoned yet Todd manages to escape and make his way to the Hive with Teyla on board. The Queen interrogates the team and just before she feeds off Rodney her mind is taken over by Teyla using her enhanced mental strength to control a Wraith yet the mind battle goes on, a duel of wills which continues as the Queen releases the team and then just before she regains her being John empties his clip into her and they flee. They get to the Hive just in time for the other Hive to commence attacking but they can not leave without destroying the complex, they get into the jumper and send their Hive plummeting into the surface of the planet vaporising the complex. Todd once again lives to complicate matters another day and Teyla realises that she can not be act as if she only has to look after herself and teammates, she has a duty to her unborn which slightly alters her opinion on how John had treated her both as a friend and colleague. Spoils Of War is pretty much an unofficial third part of the mid-season two parter but then again this is serialised drama so it’s uncommon for episodes to be closely related just not quite this much. Not for the first time Todd is actually played by Brendan Penny and voiced by Christopher Heyerdahl and I’ll admit until doing the podcast that fact totally passed me by, in my defence first time around I wasn’t watching the show on a large tv or in HD and I was never big into forums and such like so a lot of trivia was passing me by. We got another Wraith Queen again played to perfection by ...

Gatecast 281 SGA Be All My Sins Remember’d

Aug 22 2015 55 mins  

There is a tragic loss when an Atlantis team and the remaining population of a world are wiped out by an Asuran warship but hope is at hand as the Apollo and the Daedalus arrive in Pegasus newly equipped with the Asgard beam weapons in the hopes that combined with the intelligence provided from the tracking module taken from the Asuran breakaway group they can fight back. The plan is to inflict serious damage on the Asuran ships currently wiping out the human populations of planets within the galaxy and ultimately drive the Asurans back to their homeworld and once again to reach a stalemate. Rodney looks to pimp his own plan for an enhanced virus to nullify the Asurans but he is getting nowhere and so the secondary plan of brute force is given the green light and once the battle is joined the human ships rack up an impressive number of kills. Faced with defeat in large scale operations the Asurans regroup in their home system which forces the humans ships to knowingly enter into a killing zone but Rodney has finally had a breakthrough. He has created his own crippled replicator and once embedded into the replicator city it can trigger a subroutine in its coding which forces the bonds between the nanite building blocks to shrink drawing them ever closer together and to lose their ability to act, eventually they will be a mindless blob of material which can then be wiped out by a synchronised explosion of ZPM modules. To aid in this plan Todd offers support from the Wraith and Larrin brings some of her fleet into the battle, together they engage the Asuran fleet in their own system with the intent to buy time for FRAN (Rodney’s pet replicator) to do her thing. It’s all going to plan but then the power grid fails making the ZPM option moot, Sam correctly surmises that the planet being rich in neutronium (Material replicators use to build themselves) and being highly unstable it could also act as a catalyst and as the replicator blob compresses and sinks ever further into the planet a chain reaction is triggered and with moments to spare the fleet jump out as the planet is destroyed. All My Sins Remember’d was a very expensive piece of television at least in terms of the budget for the Stargate live action shows and you can see where the money was spent, credit though to the producers as while they spent a lot on visual effects they also secured the return of some of the recurring actors who only bring status to Stargate. You can not really beat Mitch or Michael in command of a F304 when going into battle this time alongside seven Hives and ships from the Traveller fleet. The pretty pictures aside we got a kick ass story following on from the mid-season finale “This Mortal Coil” and it also wrapped up the Asuran arc within the Atlantis storyline, some fans of the series would not be disappointed to see them go if I was being honest. Ultimately this episode and it’s first part of you paired them directly together are a highlight of the season, well written with lots of action, some humour and good character pieces sprinkled in within the booms which added greatly to the overall feel good factor of the episode, a credit to everyone involved. Many thanks to first time guest Andres who joined us on fairly short notice, it was a pleasure to have yet another new voice and nationality on the show. This weeks promo is for Tuning Into SciFi TV and next week we are going to watching episode twelve of this fourth season “Spoils of War” in which the Wraith have a surprise or two for Atlantis, Todd the scamp. We hope you can join us for that and as always we’d like to know what you think about Stargate and our show and of course a rating or review o...

Gatecast 280 SGA This Mortal Coil

Aug 15 2015 53 mins  

Atlantis is in a bit of a pickle thanks to McKay and some work on the Stargate which has left them without it’s use for a week now, it gets worse when some sort of probe/device smashes into the city in a smouldering ruin. Scans of the object are inconclusive but as Mckay and Zelenka investigate Rodney is sure he saw evidence of Replicator coding but Zelenka claims he saw nothing. Not long after the object destroys itself and with the laptop also destroyed their is no evidence of anything. John while training with Ronon gets injured and goes to the infirmary where Kellar proclaims there is no damage to his face and the blood must have been on the towel in the first place, John is suspicious and gets a full body scan which is negative and then requests a blood test just in case, Keller reluctantly agrees. This test is also clear but John knows something is wrong and Teyla and Ronon begin to share his feelings, the corner McKay in a lab and cut his hand, it heals itself and his amazement and shock is enough to convince them that whatever is going on they are not part of it and therefore can trust each other. They discover the main computer has no records for John’s scans and tests so they devise a plan to get John and Teyla to the infirmary to do another scan and while they are revealing that John is full of nanites Ronon and Rodney track down another lifeform which turns out to be Elizabeth Weir. At that point Keller and Lorne appear armed and reveal that Atlantis and everyone in it are a construct albeit John, Rodney, Ronon, Elizabeth and Teyla are biologic replications of their alternate selves created by nanites. It turns out that this faction of Asurans are still eager to ascend like their creators and have broken away from the main body of the replicator society but the experiment has failed and the forces of Oberoth have found them and warships begin firing on the city and the five human forms barely escape in a cloaked jumper. They arrive on a world where an SG team have a base and ring home, the “original” team visit the world and meet their counterparts, McKay is absolutely delighted even more so when he learns of a piece of tech which can be used to track Asuran warships throughout the Pegasus galaxy but time is short and the two Asuran warships begin to fire on the location of the camp, one team flee via the jumper acting as a distraction while the other gates to Atlantis and learns exactly how many ships the Asurans have rampaging around the galaxy. This Mortal Coil is the mid-season finale for the fourth season and in the grand tradition has a pretty solid cliffhanger which had the audience on the edge of their seat for the month or so between this and the second part of the two parter “Be All My Sins Remembered”. The twist that is hinted at pretty quickly is very satisfying and has ties to story arcs which began when the expedition first met the Asurans and maybe even further if you factor in the appeal to so many of ascension. Truth be told Keller played by Jewel Staite came across very strange, stunted delivery of lines which made sense when it was revealed she wasn’t the real Keller and the Asuran mimicking her only had limited information on her patterns of behaviour whereas other people in the city were more filled out and acted more like their other selves. It’s never going to get old to see Rodney get all excited about meeting someone as good as himself and well only a copy could ever measure up but this counterpart was even better than Rod from the other universe, happy as clams until the whole question of their futures were addressed by killing these copies off in a valiant and successful diversion.

Gatecast 278 SGA The Seer

Aug 01 2015 54 mins  

Teyla and the group pay a visit to the world of the Vedeenans and a man known as Davos, he is reputed to be an oracle of some sort who can predict the future, his visions have allowed his people to remain untouched when the Wraith last visited their world. As they step through the Stargate they are greeted by Linara the daughter of Davos and she tells them they have been expected, an ideal reception when visiting a fortune teller, an alien one at that. Davos greets them and offers his hand to Rodney in an attempt to prove his bona-fides and Rodney is given a vision of a Wraith ambush, he seems to be convinced that Davos is worth taking back to Atlantis to receive treatment as he is close to death. Richard Woolsey is on a visit to Atlantis for an evaluation of Colonel Carter’s command of the expedition so it’s not an ideal time to get a round about message from “Todd” (not officially names as of yet but come one we all know him as Todd) asking for a meeting. It turns out that the vision was a foretelling of this encounter with Todd so expecting an ambush they go armed with big sticks but it turns out that it was a genuine meeting and the vision while accurate was not interrupted correctly, an ongoing issue when dealing with Davos and his ability. Todd when put into the brig offers them a deal, they are of course suspicious but he drops the bombshell that the replicators are slaughtering whole human worlds to deny the Wraith a food source and to stop them then the Wraith need access to Rodney and by providing the original base code hack first used ten millennia ago they believe it can be tweaked to shut down the replicators again, Carter is sceptical but agrees to the deal (with provisions) and the work commences. Meanwhile Davos offers Teyla an olive branch, her people are alive but he can not see where they are except it’s within a darkness and then he tells her he knows she is with child and his vision for Carter is of Atlantis being destroyed by Replicator starships and as he says, he has never been wrong. A second Wraith Hive ship approaches the planet and they cloak the city, their trust in Todd is rewarded when the two hives do battle and they are both destroyed and Todd acknowledges his slight twisting of the deal and provides the full basecode for Rodney to work on. Woolsey is a little ashamed of how he acted in trying to overrule Carter and returns to Earth with a positive report of her command and Davos who succumbed to his illness is taken back to his own world by his daughter, Atlantis is left to await the predicted attack by the Replicators… The Seer has some merit in that in brings Todd (as he eventually known as) and while I have no issues with the performances from any of the guest stars or regular cast the episode feels a little flat. It’s rather a pity because thanks to some creative resource allocation the episode has some very nice look visual and practical effects but maybe the simple story of Davos and the Replicator basecode are not strong enough to really entertain. It’s true not every episode in a series can hit a home run so to speak and The Seer falls short but it’s not a bad episode, good production and some good scenes (Teyla all the time and Carter face to face with Todd) yet it fails to really catch the imagination. This weeks podcast promo was for The Babylon Project and next week we are joined by Andrew for the excellent episode Miller’s Crossing and the return of Kate Hewlett to Stargate. Thanks to everyone that kept in touch and again a pretty good summer month for downloads, it may be we’ve hit the real core group of listeners who stick with us no matter what so a pat on the back and gold stars all...

Gatecast 276 SGA Tabula Rasa

Jul 18 2015 59 mins  

Rodney awakes and finds himself tied to a chair in his lab with no memory of how he got there or come to think of it who he is. In front of him is his tablet with a big label attached saying Press Here, he does and he sees himself and the recording begins to explain the situation and one objective, find this woman known as Teyla. Credits role and we when we return we see Atlantis a few hours before as Rodney greets Katie Brown in her lab, she has just returned from an expedition and returns with some samples including a rather suggestive cactus which she intends to name after Rodney. Katie is feeling a little under the weather so he takes her down to the infirmary where a number of other members of the expedition are reporting medical issues and Dr. Keller discovers that a virus has entered Atlantis. The episode continues to flip between the past and present as the virus begins to take hold and the infected begin to lose their memories while in the present soldiers taking stimulants are rounding up the science and operations staff and taking them to a makeshift medical facility in the cafeteria which is big enough to contain the infected. Eventually it’s discovered that only Teyla and Ronon are unaffected and they both try to make the best of the situation, Teyla attempts to find Zelenka who has hidden the control crystal for the gate and Ronon along with John has taken a jumper to the mainland to source a plant that will provide the cure to the infection which turned to be a common ailment within Pegasus. Tabula Rasa is a very interesting looking episode, the two time frames are distinguished by the over blown look of the present perhaps to indicate how the people are seeing the city while under the influence of the infection and of course they were not shy using the plant mister to give everyone a very clammy look which worked very well. It was also a clever idea to explain how the situation got as bad as it did with sensible decisions being made all of which proved in the short term to be counter productive, it was ultimately a rabbit out of the hat that saved the day and the city was looking to have so few casualties. I personally enjoyed the episode, the style of the production was a highlight and the acting from the regular cast most of who were allowed to twist their characters just a little to reflect the infection as it took hold. Overall an entertaining episode of Atlantis and pretty much standalone although it was good to have Katie back, always fun to see Rodney tip toeing in the minefield of romance:) I recently read the uber fan-fiction novel Stargate Aschen by Kimberley Jackson, there is a short review of the novel in this episode. Thank you to everyone that has been listening as the summer takes hold in the northern hemisphere, we know everyone wants to enjoy the good weather and do other things so we appreciate everyone that is taking the time to listen to the show. Of course our continued thanks go to those who join us for an episode and in this case it was a welcome back to Jeff who as a teacher has some time off during the summer months, he will be returning for another episode shortly. This weeks podcast promo was for The Rusted Robot and next week we are going to be taking a look at the episode Missing which has a very familiar face guest starring as the bad guy or one of them anyway, hope you join us for that and please let us know what you think of the show, would love to get some feedback via email, facebook and google+ and the ever bountiful twitter. Promo…

Gatecast 275 SGA Travelers

Jul 11 2015 54 mins  

John is looking forward to a supply visit to an offworld science operation when his jumper is fired upon, he loses power and the ship is drawn into the cargo hold of a huge unknown vessel. John is dragged into a cell and physically abused and questioned but a guard, a woman then enters and it seems they had been planning on capturing a member of a race they had heard were actively attacking the Wraith using the technology of the Ancients. Larrin the commander of the vessel explains that her people live on ships and travel the stars always one step ahead of the Wraith but time and resources are slowing eroding their fleets and she needs someone capable of using Ancient technology because she has found herself an Aurora class starship which needs just a little bit of work. John plays along but when he gets to the bridge and at the command chair he applies a little acceleration without the inertial dampeners throwing the three other crew members into the walls and knocking them unconscious, John activates the hyperdrive and escapes from the traveler fleet but John has to relinquish control when Larrin threatens to turn the radiation shields off but he has sent a message towards Atlantis. Alas it’s the Wraith that finds them first and the ship comes under fire, the two Traveler men are killed when the bridge is destroyed and then John destroys the Wraith cruiser but not before three Wraith board the ship from a dart. There is then a running battle between the two groups and the last Wraith drains almost all the lifeforce out of Larrin, John gets the drop on him and offers him freedom if he brings Larrin back to health, the Wraith does and flees the ship. The Traveler fleet arrives and John is once again in a cell but he offers Larrin an opportunity to work with Atlantis in the future which would benefit her people more than one single ship and when McKay and company come a calling then find John has been left behind with a tale to tell. Travelers is an episode which opens up the fourth season by adding a technologically advanced race that thanks to it’s nomadic beliefs has kept itself well under the radar of Atlantis and more importantly the Wraith. Of course as Larrin (played by Jill Wagner) says without the industrial support of a planet based economy their fleets have slowly been reduced in capacity even to the point where whole populations have had to be left on planets. Their find of an Aurora class Ancient warship would not only give them more living space but open up some technology options but without the gene it’s useless hence the capture of someone from the people that are fighting Wraith with Ancient tech. Of course the episode is also an opportunity for Joe to carry the story which he does very well but no question Larrin is his equal in intelligence and guile as well committment to her people, it’s that similarity between the two that allows the resolution of the episode to be fairly positive. Ultimately Travelers is a fun episode and well constructed and as you may know the Traveler culture will play a part in the seasons larger storyline and we will get to see Larrin again so happy days:) This weeks promo was for Continuing Missions a Star Trek Voyager podcast which will be looking at the novels set within this part of the Trek franchise, the first episode aired a few days ago with a look at the Jeri Taylor novel Mosaic. Next week we are going to be taking a look at the sixth episode of this season of Atlantis “Tabula Rasa” and we are going to be joined by Jeff. As always thanks for the support over on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook and a big thank you to everyone that actually listens to the show and shares the episode information,

Gatecast 274 SGA Doppelganger

Jul 04 2015 55 mins  

The team are investigating a very dense jungle/swamp world and John is certainly not a happy camper but Rodney makes a discovery of some crystal like structures that are emitting energy, John is still not impressed but for some strange reason reaches out and touches one and is thrown across the ground. Dazed and confused that take the now “dead” crystal and return to Atlantis where Dr Keller gives him a clean bill of health but as he leaves John touches Teyla and we see a surge of energy pass between them. That night Teyla has vivid and disturbing dreams about the Wraith, her father and John when he was infected by the iratus virus which makes breakfast with him and friends a little awkward. What ever returned to Atlantis via John having affected Teyla takes a bite out of Keller who is unable to save Teyla from giving birth (through her stomach) of an alien bug and Ronon who dreams of an empty Atlantis and then running from an enemy, Major Lorne is convinced John is a replicator and then Dr Heightmeyer dreams of being on the ledge of the tower and Teyla and John are with her, Teyla attempts to help her but John intervenes and the Doctor falls and soon after her dead body is found in her bed. It becomes clear an entity is able to move between people and subject them to their darkest nightmares maybe to take sustenance from the emotional energy and hormones created or maybe just for giggles however they determine that Rodney is it’s current host and they trap him in an isolated room and step into the dream using alien technology and together John and Rodney fight the creature in their dreams complete with clowns and whales. Doppelganger is certainly a pretty episode, we get some good cityscape shots and some very creative work to enhance the dream sequences be they stylised or simple. It certainly a clever idea and maybe not the primary reason for this story in that we learn quite a bit about the characters or at least which fears are at their core, Ronon for example now fears being alone and the betrayal from people he has placed his faith in. It was also clever to have a character death and Dr Heightmeyer was established and Claire Rankin had given a performance that meant her characters death would twist the knife, it also ratcheted up the tension which an episode like this relies on to work. As for the final scenes with John fighting John they were very well do (lots of behind the scenes on the DVD/Blu-ray) and again when push comes to shove Rodney can develop a backbone made out of steel. This weeks promo is for the Dark Matter podcast Because We’re Dangerous and next week we are going to take a look at the episode “The Travelers” and I make no bones about being quite pleased, a big fan of Jill Wagner. Many thanks for the Stargate chat over on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter, again thanks to Ian for the itunes review and please feel free to get in touch with us and let us know what you think about our show and of course Stargate in all it’s forms. Promo… * Because We’re Dangerous Links… * Doppelganger IMDB * Doppelganger Wiki * Jewel Staite * Claire Rankin * David Nykl *

Gatecast 273 SGA Reunion

Jun 27 2015 55 mins  

Ronon and Telya visit a small village after reports of three people who are reputed to be very efficient Wraith killers, it turns out they are all Satedans and as luck would have it friends of Ronon to boot. As you would expect Ronon is eager to have them return to Atlantis but it’s new commander Colonel Samantha Carter denies his request based on security concerns but a compromise is made when a plan is needed to infiltrate a Wraith science lab where experiments on breaking the Asuran (Replicator) code are being undertaken. Atlantis supplies a jumper and a team and together with the three Satedans they raid the complex but things soon go wrong and only Ronon escapes and we Rodney discovers that the three Satedans (Tyre, Ara and Rakai) have betrayed them are working with the Wraith. Ronon along with some support return to the Wraith complex and he goes in search of his friends while the Atlantis personnel free the prisoners, they both learn of the betrayal and Ronon is shocked that after billions of his people died there were soldiers who took the silver coin of the Wraith and as emotions run high an epic three on one fight breaks out, then a knife is drawn and moments later two are dead with Ronon bruised and bloodied left standing as his true friends find him and they all go home only to find that Rodney has happily helped himself to an item Ronon left behind. Reunion is a solid episode and continues the tradition of having the third episode in a season Ronon centric despite this being the first official episode broadcast that has Amanda Tapping bringing Sam Carter to take command of Atlantis. We’ve also seen other Satedans and truth be told when you add these three it has to be said those that survived (apart from Ronon) were not great examples of the compassion, integrity and courage we’ve seen from the big man. It was also good to see Jason get some good emotive dialogue delivered with gentleness, irritation and aggression when required. Lots of credit has to go to the casting department for the three guest stars who all brought something to their roles, they were all exceptional with Mark (Trye) bringing his stunt/fighting skills to the role and yes a tip of the hat to the director and camera operators for hiding Rachel’s baby bump and stuntwomen who allowed Kyra (Ara) to fight well as she was early into her pregnancy as well. Overall a solid early season episode, lots of action and some great stunt work and background story padding coupled with the fresh start that Carter brings to the show. Thank you to Brad for joining me this week (Alan was on hiatus again) and thanks to Ian for the five star UK itunes review, both of you are totally appreciated:) This weeks promo is for Voices Of Defiance podcast which has returned and is taking a good look at the third season of Defiance currently airing globally on Syfy and its sister channels. Next week Alan returns and we are going to be taking a look at the fourth episode in the season “Doppelganger”, we hope you can join us for that and feel free to get in touch and let us know what you think of the show. Promo… * Voices Of Defiance Links… * Reunion IMDB * Reunion Wiki * Mark Dacascos * Kyra Zagorsky *

Gatecast 271 SGA Adrift

Jun 13 2015 54 mins  

The fourth season of Stargate Atlantis sees the city adrift in normal space after her hyperdrive engine cut out, it turns out the Asuran energy beam caused significant damage to the primary power conduits of the city and there was simply not enough energy getting to the engines to keep the city in hyperspace. As the fly through local space with no way to call for help they discover that while the damage can be routed around after a lot of hard physical work the clock is ticking as the city is pumping energy from the ZPM to maintain life support and other functions. The city reduces shield coverage which causes the death of three technicians working on one of the piers but an approaching asteroid field has all the jumpers launching and trying to clear a path, the desperate attempt is partially successful but the unprotected parts of the city suffer considerable damage and yep one of the towers houses a control unit that has to be bypassed. Zelenka and John go for a space walk and while they achieve their goals it’s not without injury. Oh, did I forget that Elizabeth is all but dead and Dr Keller encourages Rodney to reactive the nanites in her system despite John’s vehement refusal as he sites the risk but it’s done and Elizabeth awakes fully healed, she is not entirely happy looking at the big picture but it seems the nanites can not communicate with the Asurans and maybe there is hope for everyone. The hyperdrive capable jumper which Rodney tried to develop when under the influence of the Ascension device has limited functions and the Asuran homeworld full of ZPM modules is within range. Adrift is great start to the fourth season, while the CGI is a little hit and miss when it’s hits it hits big time and combined with the drama of their escape from the Asurans and the deaths and consequences the episode is packed and I really can fault the overall production. It was great to see John and Rodney facing eachother down, maybe the first time they have had a serious disagreement and imagine it over Elizabeth being saved or allowed to die and a nice touch to have Ronon give the emotional side, that was very satisfying but watching him walk around aimlessly in the background of so many shots was just too funny for words. The asteroid field was an idea that for me didn’t really work but it was an action sequence in an episode that was a lot of talking heads but the simpler tower leap by Zelenka and John was far more impressive, it says a lot that the Stargate inhouse and third party CG designers have set the bar so high. I was amazed John did not recognise the address for the Asuran homeworld and on the surface a covert strike to steal a ZPM sounds like suicide but what options do they have and they do have the ace in the hole if they can trust her. Thanks everyone for listening to our take on Adrift, we would love to hear what you thought about this episode of Atlantis and our own take on it and if you want to join us then feel free to get in touch. Many thanks to Brad for joining me on the show as Alan has returned home to the Republic for a short visit with family, this weeks promo was for the Saturday B Movie Reel and next week I am joined by a new guest Ian for the Atlantis episode Lifeline, hope you join us. Promo… * Saturday B Movie Reel Links… * Adrift Wiki * Adrift IMDB * Jewel Staite * Yee Jee Tso *

Stargate Atlantis Season 3 Wrap Up Show

May 30 2015 81 mins  

Well here we are again for an end of season wrap up show, in this mighty endeavour (well not really) we take a good long look back at Stargate Atlantis season 3 with Brad who graciously offered to join us which normally means he gets up in the middle of the night, above and beyond as always. Thanks to everyone that joined us for this season of Atlantis (Brad, Shannon, Thomas, Scott, Shayne, Misa, Miles and Jeff) and all those who contributed via Facebook, Google +, Twitter and email as well as everyone who voted in the favourite episode poll. We’ve included a bunch of promos in this episode so feel free to check them out and next week we return with our Stargate SG1 Season 10 wrap up show so stay tuned because when that’s been released we are diving into the fourth season of Atlantis and all the changes to the show that came with it. Poll Results… * Common Ground * Tao of Rodney * McKay & Mrs Miller & The Return Parts 1 & 2 * Total Votes 60 Promos… * The Batcave Podcast * The Babylon Project Podcast * The Flash Pulp Podcast Links… * Season 3 Wiki * Season 3 IMDB * Season 3 Gateworld  

Gatecast 269 SG1 Unending

May 16 2015 60 mins  

The Odyssey with General Landry and SG1 onboard travel to the Asgard homeworld where Thor informs them that as a race they are no longer able to resist the ravages of time, their cloning technology has hit a critical juncture and with no future capability to sustain their forms and no way to ascend they as a species have decided to remove their world and themselves from existence. Their final parting gift to the humans who for the most part they accept as the Fifth race is the fruits of their technology, every scrap of data is incorporated into a core piece of tech which they retrofit to the Odyssey and for the first time a human ship has the full resources of the Asgard military. As it turns out pretty sweet timing as ORI starships jump into the system and as the Asgard world is vaporised the Odyssey engages the ORI and proves victorious and jumps into hyperspace for the return to Earth. Little did they know but that was just the beginning of their problems, the ORI continue to harass the Odyssey and they come to the conclusion that the Asgard tech itself is somehow being detected within hyperspace but it can not be removed or powered down without a time consuming procedure which leaves then open to attack but something has to change. The next time the ORI attack the Odyssey has time to beam most of her crew to a nearby world which has a Stargate and then she retaliates but as the end looks to be drawing near and weapons fire approaches the ship Sam throws the dice and engages the time dilation field and to those on board time outside the ship seems to have stopped with the energy beam frozen just off the starboard bow. Sam continues to seek a solution to avoiding their fate if and when the time dilation field is turned off but she can not find a solution as the years and decades flow by and they all grow old and then maybe just maybe… Well what do you know a very different type of story to wrap up the Stargate SG1 series, the writers knew they had to conclude some elements of the show and perhaps the Asgard leaving the picture was unexpected especially given the limitations that become apparent before the SGC even got to exploit the windfall. However Unending is an out and out character piece with the members of SG1 and their General, we watch them grow older and deal with the isolation and depression that comes with their circumstance and how they interact with each other, sometimes with surprising and emotive results. I’m still not quite sure if the finale is satisfying, it certainly has some very interesting scenes and no question the CGI as always blew your socks off but I think the fact that these characters return in The Ark of Truth gives the finale a much needed positive slant and for fans the warm embrace they were probably hoping for. A huge thankyou to Thomas who once again made talking about Stargate lots more fun, always a great guest and if you fancy joining us then get in touch and we’ll see what episode of Atlantis is open and sort out a time to chat over skype while watching the episode. Oh, I also included my short review of the Stargate SG1 novel “Murder at the SGC” written by Amy Griswold entitled , spoiler free:) This weeks promo was for the SciFi Diner podcast an excellent show with lots of interviews and features, well worth a listen and thanks for all the support for our coverage of Stargate SG1, the two movies will be covered in due time and in the short term we have the Stargate Atlantis S3 finale next week and then the two wrap up shows. After that we jump into the fourth season of Atlantis and there are still episodes open if you fancy joining us on the show, check the schedule and get in touch. Promo…

Gatecast 268 SGA Vengeance

May 09 2015 56 mins  

The silence from the transplanted Taranin people worries Elizabeth and she sends the team to investigate, upon arrival they found the settlement empty but knowing it was built upon a huge complex of tunnels holds out hope that the people have moved underground perhaps to safeguard themselves from the Wraith. As the team searches the complex they detect a lifeform but then are attacked by a large creature, they wound it and as it flees they find a store room full of dead bodies, they have discovered the fate of the Taranins. In an adjacent room there is a large pod/cocoon and Ronon going walkabout finds the lab with the remnants of carnage and an Iratus bug in a container, having lost contact with the Marines sent as backup they return to the Stargate only to find that the control crystal of the DHD has been removed, they have no option but to return to the underground complex and search for whoever is responsible. The culprit is revealed when her returns to find the destroyed remnants of his horrifying experiment, it’s Michael Kenmore who is exploiting the very technology that was used to create his own circumstance with a true megalomaniacs desire to take over not only the world but the entire galaxy with his own genetically engineered creatures who are a mixture of Iratus and human. Teyla is isolated from the team and taken captive by Michael who as always had an affinity for her but now views her as an enemy and just one more ingredient to create more of his minions but after running battles, tense standoffs and lots of hide and seek the team evade the horde of creatures and using Michael’s own dart escape the planet and return to Atlantis. Well Vengeance is a pretty dark episode, Stargate has never been afraid to move past the grey but we get a rather graphic display of the horror’s Michael is willing to impose on his captives. That said he is a creation of Carson Beckett who should probably have known better than attempting to alter a species so dramatically regardless of the threat they pose and it’s 50/50 if the Wraith as a whole or Michael as an individual is the greater threat. We got some high quality prosthetic and suit work in the episode from Masters FX and certainly the lower lighting conditions helped to sell the scenes the acting and stunt work combined with the makeup and pyrotechnics delivered a pulse pounding action sequence time and time again. As always Conner more than delivers a stellar performance, it may be the writing or he may have simply found the style of “Michael”, either way he is delivering a level of calm and controlled menace all the best bad guys have in spades. Vengeance was a pleasure to watch and yes they made no bones about the casual lifting of ideas from the Alien franchise with their own particular twist of course:) A big thank you to Shannon for joining us for the first time, a seasoned podcaster who despite some jury rigging was able to get into the swing of how we do things effortlessly. Our next recording will be for the Atlantis season 3 wrap up so the favourite episode poll is now up and running, it will close on the 16th of May so please let us know by voting which is your favourite S3 episode. This weeks promo is for the Voices of Defiance which is hosted by Shannon and they should return with new content in time for the third season of Defiance on Syfy and next week we have the Stargate SG1 series finale Unending, please join us for that and if you are going to give us some feedback that is the episode to do it for 🙂 Promo… * Voices of Defiance...

Gatecast 267 SG1 Dominion

May 02 2015 52 mins  

An epic plan devised by Vala leads to the capture of Adria by Ba’al which wasn’t really the idea but hey the best laid plans and all that. Well fooling Adria into believing Vala had been turned against by the SGC after they suspected her of being under the influence of Adria worked well and of course getting Adria to the location of the trap was flawless but no one expected the Jaffa of Ba’al to crash the party. Of course it gets worse as Ba’al looks to use Adria as an uber host and once under his control he would have full access to the armies of the Ori but it doesn’t turn out too badly when SG1 and the Odyssey launch a covert attack and kill Ba’al (which makes about a dozen dead clones this episode) but they were too late, Ba’al and Adria are one, creepy. Dominion doesn’t finish there though, the Tok’ra are called in to remove the symbiote but in pure spite it releases a poison into Adria and she then realises that the only option is to fully embrace her physical and intellectual perfection and to ascend but that’s a two edged sword, maybe she now has full access to a galaxy worth of power from the followers of Origin or she may just be Anubis times a thousand… Well wasn’t Dominion a brilliant episode, it begins with you scratching your head as the events surrounding Vala are retold and make no sense given what we know but it soon becomes clear and then the uber twist with Ba’al getting involved and then the twist with the clone massacre and the conquest of Adria. Deep breath the episode ends with the accession of Adria and while certain plot arcs can be considered closed there is more than enough wiggle room to make The Ark of Truth a reality. Kudos to Morena and Cliff who both really shone and maybe were a little larger than life but I think SG1 has always had it’s tongue firmly in cheek. Thank you to everyone that has listened to the show and continue to give us excellent support across social media, the polls and wrap up shows are on the horizon so keep your eye out and make sure you vote when the time comes:) This weeks promo is for Generations Geek a father/daughter podcast which looks at movies, television, events with lots of interviews, excellent show. Next week we are going to be taking a look at the Stargate Atlantis episode Vengeance and we have a first time guest, hope you tune in and don’t forget that we’d love to hear what you think about anything Stargate. Promo… * Generations Geek Links… * Dominion IMDB * Dominion Wiki * Morena Baccarin * Cliff Simon * Peter Flemming * Eric Breker * Jonathan Walker * Fulvio Cecere * William Waring

Gatecast 266 SGA Submersion

Apr 25 2015 51 mins  

The Ancients built a geothermal operation on the seabed and as the jumper searches for it tensions rise, yeah the are we there yet cliche is in full force but not to worry the complex is revealed but Teyla is uneasy, she senses something but no life signs beyond those that came down in the jumper register. She convinces Elizabeth to allow to her meditate to see if she detect a Wraith presence and well the results are not good, Ronon gets a good old ass kicking and there are power outages galore. Teyla is corralled and has no memory of what she had been doing but then the scanners detect a Wraith cruiser on the seabed and now it’s Queen is roaming the complex and picnicking on the scientists who don’t seem to realise the danger they are in, at least for a short time. The Queen is captured but she reveals that she has set her ship to self destruct, the thousands of years of being alone has caused her to roll the dice for all or nothing and the clock is ticking. Submersion is an interesting episode, it paves the way for a major event in the finale so certainly serves a purpose but seems like it was a little rushed but saying that the redressing of the sets to give us the Ancient drilling platform worked very well. We got some good Rodney moments and Teyla got to see some action and how rare is it to see Ronon so beaten and so quickly, granted he really wasn’t expecting to but still. It’s always great to see how the makeup and effects departments picture the latest Wraith Queen once again played by Andee Frizzell, maybe not as aesthetically pleasing (depending upon your point of view) but certainly a more slimy and aquatic feel, the long shots of her swimming certainly seemed to indicate quite large feet assuming they were not flippers. This weeks promo was for Beyond the Wall a Game of Thrones podcast from SpecFic Media and next week we are going to watching the Stargate SG1 episode Dominion in which we see the return of Adria, not many more SG1 episodes left 🙂 Promo… * Beyond The Wall Links… * Submersion IMDB * Submersion Wiki * Andee Frizzell * Michael Tayles * Noel Johansen * Donna Soares * Brenton Spencer Mentions… * Exosuit

Gatecast 263 SG1 Talion

Apr 04 2015 54 mins  

The leaders of the Jaffa meet at Dar Eshkalon to discuss the ongoing threat of the ORI military forces within the Milky Way galaxy but soon after Teal’c and Bra’tac arrive a bomb in detonated slaughtering virtually all in attendance. Teal’c was outside the immediate blast zone investigating some suspicious behaviour and thus wasn’t critically injured unlike Bra’tac who is currently sedated within the SGC infirmary. Teal’c shares his suspicions of the Jaffa Bak’al who he has seen at Dar Eshkalon and his master Arkad who has been gathering forces and has shown no honour or allegiance to the mainstream Jaffa nation. The SGC and IOA are not comfortable with Teal’c going on a mission of revenge so he departs on his investigation alone and begins to find the proof he needs to link the explosives used to Bak’al and Arkad while the SGC are visited by Arkad offering a gesture of peace through information of a plot against the Earth. The IOA are keen to take the road of appeasement and SG1 are ordered to track down Teal’c before he does something which could inflame tensions and force the hand of Arkad but they are too late, Teal’c takes SG1 and SG3 out of the equations and faces Arkad in one on one combat in a spectacularly blood thirsty fashion. Talion is a masterpiece for Teal’c and Christopher Judge and you’ve got to admit it may only have been possible at the end of the shows run on television, the violence is certainly ramped up and the liberal amounts of blood is splashed about with abandon. We see Teal’c turning down the off the books offer of help from members of SG1 and we wonder if that is not only to safeguard them but to allow him to do what he believes will be necessary, in essence we are going to see Teal’c as he was as the feared first prime of Apophis rather than the more restrained but equally effective member of SG1. Craig Fairbrass, Peter Kent and John Tench all play good characters if a little cliched but that’s exactly what this story requires, you can only do so much in under an hour of television. A big thank you to everyone for listening to the show through March, that was the best month for downloads for quite a while and that doesn’t even include Stitcher but we are still not getting a lot of feedback and that normally always cheers us up and of course as most podcasts say reviews and ratings on itunes and Stitcher are pure gold if only to near the top when someone does a search for the topic they cover, in our case Stargate. This weeks podcast promo was for The Batcave Podcast a show which deals mostly with the classic Adam West and Burt Ward series, lots of fun if you like me enjoyed the antics of the dynamic duo. Next week we are going to be looking at the Stargate Atlantis episode Sunday, get the tissues ready and our guest will be Thomas, hope you can join us for that. Promo… * The Batcave Podcast Links… * Talion IMDB * Talion Wiki * Tony Amendola * Craig Fairbrass * Eric Breker * Peter Kent * John Tench * Lexa Doig *

Gatecast 257 SG1 The Shroud

Feb 21 2015 54 mins  

Daniel was captured by Adria and now makes his return to the galaxy but he has been converted to a Prior of the ORI and is preaching Origin to a small community, SG1 are aware of this new non violent approach to gathering new worshippers but they are shocked to see that it is Daniel who is leading this new wave of spreading the gospel. They act quickly and beam him onto the Odyssey and immediately stun him and with the anti-prior device and begin to question him about his time with Adria and what exactly are his plans given only he has the specs to the device Merlin created to fight the ORI. Daniel claims this is all part of his plan and by convincing Adria that he has embraced Origin she would indeed change him into a Prior and the abilities that would give him would in turn be used to build and deliver Merlin’s weapon into the ORI galaxy but with the whole Milky Way at stake the SGC and the IOA are sceptical to say the least. A compromise is given with Daniel giving the location of the ORI starship and SG1 launch a raid to capture the weapon and finish it’s construction but as they battle for their lives it’s Daniel who escapes, kidnaps Jack, steals the Odyssey and rushes to meet up with Adria and the final act of his plan. The Shroud is an excellent episode of Stargate SG1 with it’s action and drama all tied together with a number of what are talking head scenes but that’s all great character interaction and dialogue, if nothing else Richard Dean Anderson’s final episode of SG1 pays off big time as we get the old Daniel and Jack dynamic back as if the previous two years absence had never happened. In many ways it’s a gift to the fans, each member of SG1 at least those that spent most of the time with Daniel get to well interrogate and come to their own conclusions and while it seems very much like Daniel is Daniel the powers that be have certainly left enough of a hint that there is more going on. Of course as it turns out Daniel was not providing the whole story and we got the WTF moment when he finally met up again with Adria who then not quite got what she was expecting. The final scenes with the incursion of multiple ORI starships fit very well into the style of the later seasons of SG1 and the ORI arc, it’s a partial win at best and while the power of the ORI has a question mark against it the power of their believers is very real and here right now. This weeks promo is for The Rusted Robot Podcast a show hosted by Shawn and Brigitte which has news, interviews, reviews and just a lot of entertaining chat about all things that entertain fans of science fiction and geeky things in general, you’ll enjoy it. Next week we are going to be looking at the Atlantis episode The Tao of Rodney you know the one where Rodney gets super powers and then looks like his brain will blow up, good times good times as Lucius would have said, hope you join us for that. As always we would love to hear from you, feedback wise it’s a little quiet but Facebook and Google+ are ticking over and the twitter feed is a madhouse for all things Stargate. Promo… * The Rusted Robot Podcast Links… * The Shroud IMDB * The Shroud Wiki * Richard Dean Anderson * Morena Baccarin * Robert Picardo * Christopher Gaze *

Gatecast 252 SGA The Return Parts 1 and 2

Jan 17 2015 89 mins  

The Daedalus is undertaking a mission to oversee the testing of the Intergalactic Gate Bridge that is designed to use a series of stargates to cross the huge void between the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies with a human built space station at its midpoint. They detect fast moving vessel in normal space heading towards the Milky Way and with some careful flying they make contact with the alien ship which is travelling at almost the speed of light, it slows and it turns out to an Aurora class warship called the Tria. When they arrive back at Atlantis the captain of the Tria and some of her crew beam down and after some pleasantries they take control of the city and pretty much kick the humans out but in a polite way. Woolsey is allowed to stay and act as a representative in the long term hope of allowing humans to return but in the mean time the Asurans are advancing on the city but the Lanteans are confident they will not attack due to the programming preventing action being taken against their creators but oops that was a mistake. When the Asurans attack General O’Neill who is currently on Atlantis negotiating alongside Woolsey is trapped and despite the standing orders not to attempt a rescue Sheppard, Weir, Carson and Rodney steal a puddle jumper and use the Bridge macro to traverse the huge distance between the galaxies but pop out at the world where Teyla and Ronon are resident. Together they plan a very risky assault on Atlantis and after the initial attack they gain the support of Jack and Woolsey from within the city and the battle is on with the replicators, will they liberate the city before the star drive can be repaired and Atlantis flown back to the Asuran homeworld. The Return was the mid season two parter and worked very well indeed, lots of drama, tension and action and thankfully we didn’t have to wait months between the two parts. It was great to have Richard Dean Anderson fully involved in Stargate and it was fun to see him work alongside Robert Picardo, the two of them were excellent together with the bickering and dry humour which only Jack really delivers well. It was a little surprising how quickly we once again lost access to Ancients (aka Lanteans) but once again their arrogance was their downfall but as we see throughout the franchise it’s a trait that hampers humans as well. Many thanks to Miles for joining us for these two episodes, we had some technical issues which affected the recording but it didn’t turn out to bad. Miles is one of the hosts of the Scifi Diner Podcast which we’ve sourced quite a few interviews from, check the show out you’ll enjoy it:) Since this is rather long episode of Gatecast I’ve saved a bit of feedback from Brad for next week but we’d love to hear what you thought of our recent bonus shows and our look at The Return. Next week we’ll be back with SG1 and the episode Line In The Sand, hope you join us. Promo… * SciFi Diner Podcast Links… * The Return * Part 1 IMDB * Part 2 IMDB * Part 1 Wiki * Part 2 Wiki * Richard Dean Anderson * Robert Picardo *

Gatecast Bonus Episode 14 – Bank Job

Dec 20 2014 49 mins  

Here we are with the second bonus show for this season, this week we are looking at the Sanctuary episode Bank Job which features quite a few actors from Stargate beginning with Amanda Tapping and working our way down, it was also directed by Peter DeLuise so there is another strong connection. In this third season episode the Sanctuary team are hot on the trail of a significant abnormal that is due to hatch from it’s egg very soon, they egg is in a safety deposit box in a small town bank but since they have the correct credentials then it should be in and out but when the abnormal is missing and on the loose they decide to fake a robbery to allow them to search for this creature which has now taken residence in a human host. It was great to see Gary Jones guest starring once more opposite Amanda Tapping, he played the bank teller George who it turned out was to have a more significant impact on the story then expected, we also got former Stargate actors Ryan Robbins, Peter Flemming, Eric Keenleyside, Tobias Slezak and Robin Mossley appearing in the episode so lots of fun trying to remember who they played on Stargate and which episode. We had the time of course because Bank Job has quite a few montages when do kind of slow the episode down and ultimately a single location limits the action of a show and you rely on the drama and character interaction to keep the viewers entertained. I have to say that they do a very good job casting the episode, the characters were interesting and worked well together with both positive and negatives consequences within the story. Many thanks to Adam for joining us, this was his second guest hosting spot on Gatecast and he will be returning in 2015 for more Stargate, we are as always looking for people to join us for an episode, as you see given enough time we can normally find a date/time to work around very varied locations from the US across Europe and down to Australia. Feedback, ratings and reviews are most welcome, feel free to get in touch about any aspect of our show or maybe more importantly Stargate even if it’s just to say hello or offer some criticism:) Next week we have a first time guest on that bonus show, we’ll be discussing Robert Picardo in an episode of Voyager and we will be joined by Michael Clark, hope you stick around and have a listen but until then happy holidays and take care. Links… * Bank Job IMDB * Amanda Tapping * Robin Dunne * Ryan Robbins * Agam Darshi * Robin Mossley * Mary Black * Chasty Ballesteros * Eric Keenleyside * Peter Flemming * Tobias Slezak * Peter DeLuise  

Gatecast 251 SG1 The Quest Part 2

Dec 06 2014 54 mins  

The dragon roars and SG1 along with Baal and Adria run away, very quickly but what do you know the dragon bursts forth from the lonely mountain and strafes them with fire before they gain cover in the tree line then it’s time for Cameron to try the man of action approach even though Teal’c is the one that goes on a suicide run but it’s up to Daniel to solve the final puzzle even if again someone else takes the first risk, this time Vala. I think there is a general sacrificial element to some of these characters in this story. The Sangraal is recovered and SG1 along with Ba’al are transported to another location and they find Merlin embedded in a stasis chamber, he’s released but is near death and when the situation is explained to him he reveals his part in the early battle against the potential Ori threat and provides Daniel with the knowledge to build a new weapon but before it can be completed Adria discovers their location within the Stargate / Transporter closed loop and her men launch an attack. Daniel saves the day but is then too weak to protect himself from Adria and is taken aboard an ORI starship, a new pet for the Orici. The Quest Part 2 is a pretty epic conclusion to this two part story and kicks off the second half of the final season with revelations, action, some humour and a surprising turn of events as SG1 are forced to flee while Daniel uses the inherent ability given to him by the Ancient memory device, alas he is not strong enough or experienced enough to hold Adria for more than a few seconds and well what is she planning on doing with him, we’ll find out next year when the Gatecast has finished with it’s seasonal bonus shows. I’ve got to admit that once again Ba’al played by Cliff Simon is an excellent character to stir things up as even when faced with Adria and her army on their tale he still can not seem to lose the arrogance and joy he taked from needling humans this time Sam who it has to be said responds wonderfully. Of course he then steals the scene once again when he “goes for help” and gets himself killed (again) so no doubt not the original Ba’al who has a little more sense of self preservation it’s been proven time and time again. A big thank you to Thomas for sticking with us for the whole evening (midday for him) when we recording both parts of The Quest and Thomas will return as a guest in the new year for an Atlantis episode. This weeks promo was for the The Rusted Robot podcast and next week we’ll be beginning the seasonal bonus shows starting with an episode of RL Stines The Haunting Hour called “Fear Never Knocks” and Brad will be joining me for that show, hope you join us. As always thank you to everyone that has talked to use and left feedback, always appreciated even though we would love to get more including a review over on itunes, haven’t had one of them for a good while but not to worry. We hope you keep listening to the show but for now keep watching and talking about Stargate, always more to discover within the movie, novels and live action series. Promo… * The Rusted Robot Links… * The Quest Part 2 Wiki * The Quest Part 2 IMDB * Morena Baccarin * Cliff Simon *

Gatecast 250 SG1 The Quest Part 1

Nov 29 2014 52 mins  

After a wonderful insight and some Daniel detective work SG1 are away to discover the location of Merlin’s weapon the Sangraal. They arrive at a village and are greeted by the locals who aware of the quest, SG1 are not the first to undertake it but it seems not long before Ba’al had passed through, maybe they are too late. During some research the ORI invade and SG1 are forced to fight and then flee with the local librarian and head towards the lonely mountain and the dragon that protects the Sangraal, fun and games commence. Well here we are at the first part of a mid-season two parter, the quest for the weapon is nearing conclusion with not only Ba’al sniffing around but the ORI hot on their heels, lets not forget the dragon of lore which is said to protect the treasures left by Merlin but alas the visual effects artists were not firing on all cylinders or maybe the budget was simply stretched too tight just this once. To eb fair it may be the case that the representation of Dragons in particular has come a long way in the last few years but this is perhaps this dragon was expected to deliver and ultimately failed, better in the second part of the episode but in part 1 just a spindly legged lizard. Of course lots more to praise in the episode, Rod Loomis as Osric was exceptional and having Ba’al and Adria on screen at the same time with what amounted to pretty much bickering foreplay was a riot to watch and we also get classic puzzle solving Daniel. As a mid-season finale The Quest Part 1 works very well, maybe a little slow in places but the puzzle solving works well within the story and the character interaction is the icing on the episode and who didn’t smile as Vala pulled the hair dryer out of her backpack, a little trite perhaps but funny. Thomas joined us for this episode and will also be with us for part two which is going to be released next week, then we are going to do some bonus episodes and return with new Stargate specific episodes in January with The Return Part 1 and Miles will be a guest on that show which I am planning to present as a feature length show. Many thanks for the comments from Mack over on Google + for Phantoms and the ongoing chat on twitter and facebook. This weeks promo is for The Sci-Fi Movie Podcast a very entertaining look at some of the recent and not so recent scifi movies, well worth having a listen too as they cover movies from all across the genre and as always we’d love to hear from you and as a bonus a review/rating over on itunes or Stitcher would be really appreciated but for now keep enjoying Stargate, it binds us all together:) Promo… * The Sci-Fi Movie Podcast Links… * The Quest Part 1 IMDB * The Quest Part 1 Wiki * Morena Baccarin * Cliff Simon * Rod Loomis * Beverley Breuer * Doug Abrahams * Steve Archer * Stephen Holmes *

Gatecast 248 SG1 Company Of Thieves

Nov 15 2014 58 mins  

The Odyssey arrives at the coordinates of a reported ORI supergate but they only discover a neutron star which affects the ships shields and sensors and then they come under attack by three alien starships, they evade but run into a minefield, a mayday is sent to the SGC who then lose contact. Onboard Anateo and his men murder Colonel Emerson to force Carter to remove the transponder and repair the damage to the ship and as the transponder broadcasts the position of the Odyssey it allows Vala to use her contacts and secure a less than space worthy cargo vessel but before they make contact the Odyssey as indicated by the transponder moves and they follow, it leads them to a “chop shop” for spacecraft and Vala along with Daniel get captured leaving Teal’c and Cameron to devise a drastic plan to infiltrate the Lucian Alliance who were behind the ambush of the Odyssey. Cameron using the Reol chemical which when injected into a target makes them see who you want them to see plays the part of the major Lucian operative Kefflin who is a friend of Netan the current leader. When Teal’c is captured he is only saved from torture thanks to the intervention of “Kefflin” aka Cameron and things continue to go wrong when the bounty hunter/dodgy dude Tenat arrives and provides the location of the Odyssey but having seen Cameron before he confronts him and for a price agrees to go along with whatever deal Mitchell has got going. Meanwhile Sam has freed some of the captive crew and the retake the ship and Vala takes a risk in beaming Anateo off the bridge and out into space when the plan was to beam Sam to safety, it works but before they can get underway Netan arrives but again the Reol chemical comes in handy and the two Ha’tak begin firing on each other and the Odyssey beams Teal’c and Cameron aboard and jumps into hyperspace. Oh, the Earth is now at war with the Lucian Alliance… Company of Thieves is another of the Lucian Alliance episodes but has a lot more meat on it’s bones, this is perhaps the first time we see them as a strong force with some very intelligent people in positions of power but without the communal self interest this “organised” crime syndicate are more interested in their own power bases and that provides the chink required for the SGC to pull their proverbial out of the fire. It’s a pity Anateo played by Rudolf Martin wouldn’t be returning, he played quite an entertaining villain and was perhaps more dangerous than Netan in the big picture but that was the problem, the tenth season had become an ORI arc and the alliance were really only a side show so they always have to be played down or a way found to negate their impact on the Milky Way while the fight for the galaxy continues. Overall this was a fun and exciting episode, some good call backs and excellent guest and recurring actors, Teal’c got captured and tortured again and they even acknowledgment his issues with his role in these plans and of course the murder of Anateo was quite cold for a scifi show with a firm family audience, quite unexpected but probably deserved after he ordered the death of Emerson. We are going to see more of the Lucian Alliance in the years to come but they never really made their mark on SG1 and this was perhaps their best episode in terms of dramatic effect. Dan LaRock joined us for the first time for Company of Thieves, he said he was nervous but came through the recording session with everything intact and I believe he will be very happy with the result, hopefully he’ll return at a later date and in that respect if anyone...

Gatecast 247 SGA McKay and Mrs Miller

Nov 08 2014 58 mins  

Jeannie Miller aka Jeannie McKay has an epiphany while playing with her daughter, with a background in maths and physics she creates a theory to explain the process of bridging universes / realities and with the encouragement of her husband (Kaleb) sends it off for oversight and it comes to the attention of Stargate Command and Sam Carter who knows they could solve the problem of energy generation a problem Rodney McKay had been working on. Despite a four year estrangement Rodney goes to visit his sister and the only way to convince her to help is to beam her aboard the Daedalus and prove to her there is a benefit in spending time away from her family and Kaleb agrees so off to Atlantis they go. On arrival Zelenka has built the prototype machine thanks to the information being sent to the city from the ship and once activated it all seems to be working fine until late one evening the energy spikes a man appears inside the chamber who looks remarkably like Rodney. It turns out that although it was a slim chance they have broken through to a populated universe and the exotic particles being generated as a by product of this “bridge” will tear that realm apart, they agree to turn it off but it turns out it won’t be that easy as the threat to both universes builds when the other side takes pro-active action, the solution is to use a massive amount of energy to disrupt the bridge which could mean depleting the ZPM but it has to be done and maybe at the last second “Rod” will be able to return to his world. McKay and Mrs Miller is a very good episode of Atlantis, it makes full use of the guest appearances from within the Stargate family as well as bringing in Kate Hewlett to play Jeannie, Kate is David’s real life sister so the chemistry between them on screen was perfection, you could almost believe the reconciliation the two characters go through was part of their real lives. Kaleb played by Brendan Gall was good character, patience of a saint when dealing with his wife’s family and their daughter played by Madison Bell was too cute to mention:) The beauty of this episode of course is the production side in giving us two David Hewlett’s on screen at the same time using a number of different techniques, David then went to town bringing to life “Rod” his alternate self and developing a whole new social dynamic within Atlantis and the rest of the cast can be credited for seamlessly playing off both characters so well, kudos to Martin Gero for such a great script. Many thanks to Shayne for joining us this week, another guest from Australia which required the usual hoop jumping to get three global time zones to sync and make the recording not just possible but practical:) We got some feedback for last weeks episode but I finished the edit early this week so I include it next week but as always a great time is had over on twitter and the Stargate community we are part of, so much fun and creativity being shared with the only thing lacking is more direct feedback for our show, we’d certainly love to hear from you so don’t be shy, contact forms and social media options are just a click away. This weeks featured promo was for Nutty Bites a geek friendly podcast hosted by Nuchtchas with some of her friends discussing topics that cover all manner of things we love, give her show a go. Next week we will be taking a look at the Stargate SG1 episode Company of Thieves with a first time guest, stayed tuned. Promo… * Nutty Bites Links… *

Gatecast 244 SG1 Counterstrike

Oct 18 2014 50 mins  

SG1 are undercover on an alien world recently taken by the ORI and a now fully grown Adria makes an appearance, after a rousing speech which has the locals aka survivors cheering an energy wave is detected by the Odyssey in orbit, they beam SG1 onboard and watch helplessly as every living thing on the planet is vaporised. Meanwhile back at the SGC Bra’tac arrives to bring news of a new offensive against ORI held planets using the Ancient weapon at Dakara, the current Jaffa council have decided that sacrificing whole worlds to kill the ORI armies is a worthy trade off and with an ORI starship now abandoned the race is on to take control of it. As SG1 investigate the ship they find the bridge and the robes of a Prior which indicates they control the ship which negates the whole premise of the Jaffa believing they can take the ship and use it to fight the ORI but there is no trust and the two groups spend more time fighting each other. The surprise for both of them is that Adria thanks to her connection with Celestis is still very much alive and is perhaps the most advanced being in the galaxy at this time and she takes control of the ship and with the information gained from the “dead” Jaffa she sets course for Dakara to destroy the weapon. Bra’tac and Landry are being held by the Council and their leader Se’tak who is a little paranoid holds up in the bunker and activates the weapon when the ORI ship is in orbit, it kills his men but Adria is again untouched and she fires on the planet ripping apart the ancient technology while Landry and Bra’tac flee through the Stargate. Counterstrike is a well written episode and delves into the use of a device the Ancients meant as a tool for creation (think the Genesis device from Star Trek 2) but to create it has to manipulate raw material so when used as a weapon the need to create is a by product and the destruction of in this case life forms becomes it’s sole purpose. Of course the moral and ethical dilemma is exposed when every the decision to sacrifice innocents and non-combatants to strike at actual military targets and we get plenty of opportunity to explore that. That said we don’t get a lot of insight into the limitations of the Jaffa decision, piece meal strikes will simply be giving the ORI enough time to eventually discover the technology and source of the weapon and the foolish belief the Jaffa could make use of an ORI ship given that we know the Prior are the key to their technology beyond hand weapons etc. Ultimately the strike against this planet was misguided and achieved little and does kinda indicate that conventional means will not defeat the ORI and even some out of the blue almost mystical technology may not even be a total solution, I guess even Daniel may be wishing on a star in his hope for Merlin’s weapon. Thanks for the feedback for last weeks episode The Real World and thanks to those that voted in the poll, the results seems to indicate a very pro Elizabeth (Torri) camp within the Stargate Atlantis fanbase and like the character or not she really should have been given more to do or sidelined even more in the way of General Hammond, this middle ground didn’t seem to work for anyone. This weeks promo is for The BatCave Podcast and next week we are going to be covering the Atlantis episode Common Ground where John has a close encounter with an old enemy and gets even closer to a potential friend or at least respected enemy, should be fun. Thanks to Brad for joining us on this episode and given the hoops we were jumping through it didn’t turn out to bad but overall came in a few minutes shorter than normally, could have done with a bit of extra content (revi...

Gatecast 243 SGA The Real World

Oct 11 2014 57 mins  

Elizabeth awakes in a strange rather bleak room, the door is locked and after repeated shouting and raising panic a man approaches and unlocks the door and introduces himself as Dr. Adam Fletcher and that she is in a hospital just outside of Washington, when she queries Atlantis and being back on Earth he doesn’t know what she means and claims she was leading a diplomatic negotiation over nuclear proliferation in Africa when she collapsed. She demands to see General O’Neill who subsequently turns up but again like the Doctor claims ignorance of any military program called Stargate or a secret facility beneath Cheyenne mountain, Elizabeth freaks and tries to make a break for it but is sedated once again and soon falls into the regular sessions with Fletcher and his pharmaceutical regime and when she shows some positive results they bring in her mother who has her fathers watch, the same watch she took to Atlantis. We are not exactly sure how much time has passed but eventually she is released and returns home and Jack turns up asking her to return to the negotiating table but maybe the pressure is too much and the hallucinations of a shadowy figure return. After relapsing it’s revealed that Elizabeth is being attacked by nanites and is in a sort of coma in the Atlantis medical bay, Carson is trying desperately to find a way to neutralise these small machines without damaging the body but it seems they are more interested in controlling her and John realises it’s a war or will power, her mind is fighting the programming being imposed by the nanites and in a final hail mary John enters quarantine grabs her by the arm leaving himself open to infection tries to provide a sense of hope and direction. In her mindscape Elizabeth is being hunted down by “Jack” but she sees John who tells her to run and leads her through the SGC to the gate and the final barrier, ignoring the threats of the machine entity she enters the wormhole and awakes on Atlantis with a clean bill of health. The Real World seems to polarise opinion, we’ve had tweets that regard it as a favourite of the entire series and other saying it’s a simple rip off from an SG1 story, either way it’s always good when the writers give Torri something to work with and sideline the rest of the regular cast, she carries this episode with ease supported by the return of Richard Dean Anderson and Alan Ruck guest starring as the Dr. Fletcher. While the episode can be considered as a standalone it does answer an unasked question from the episode Progeny when she was attacked, it made sense nanites would have been transferred over and being what they are be capable of becoming a threat. Overall a solid third season episode but not one geared up for a casual rewatch unless you are a fan of Torri or maybe James Bamford who appears quite a bit on this episode, he’s the stunt co-ordinator but handles Torri with aplomb during her fight scenes:) Thanks for the comments on Facebook and Google+, Twitter again is the core social media portal for the show with a lot of conversation about the episode and thanks to everyone who favorited and retweeted the show information. A big thank you to Jeff for calling in over Skype from the states and joining us for the episode, he’s getting very busy with his teaching job so it may be a while before he records some more stiff with us, hopefully not too long. This weeks promo is for Tuning Into Scifi Tv and next week we are going to be watching the SG1 episode Counterstrike, hope you join us. Promo… * Tuning Into Scifi Tv Links…

Gatecast 237 SGA Irresistible

Aug 30 2014 54 mins  

Rodney is spearheading the collection of space gates to use in his Intergalactic Bridge network and on one world they detect a small settlement, they investigate and find a healthy and prosperous people who seem to be in awe of one of the townsfolk. Carson looks into the medicinals that Lucius has offered but then returns to Atlantis with him in toe breaking many of the rules he himself devised to protect the city. In soon becomes apparent that Lucius has some sort of influence over people he meets as one by one the residents of Atlantis come to almost worship him with only John seemingly immune to the effect. Faced with an invasion of the pod people John has to take drastic action to remain free and devise a plot to use the information Carson unknowingly gave him and Rodney before he turned was able to define from the discovery of a drug and pheromone that is being used to influence the people. Irresistible has a lot of humour, you really can not go wrong with having Richard Kind as a guest star and while we are perhaps more used to him playing the lovable doofus in this story he has a dark side and he is enjoying the power and influence he has over this village and as the episode goes on Atlantis itself. An underlying issue which wasn’t addressed in the story is the simple fact that at least two of his wives had shown no interest in him but now are happy and willing to share his life and bed, if this was a more down to earth drama and a guy was drugging or severely manipulating women to give up their free will and bodies then no question it would be a rape centric story. This element does take away some of the enjoyment and that is a shame, lots to enjoy and no question the eye candy is off the scale and it’s fun to see our regular characters acting a little different and certainly more open and it’s the first time Julia Benson appears on Stargate before going on to a regular role on Stargate Universe. We didn’t get any feedback for last weeks episode but we are certainly seeing a bump in the number of listeners, mind you I think that’s down to people returning from summer holidays etc and while chat was slow our twitter account and those we follow never let up, lots to discuss and we had some very good birthday wishes for Amanda including a number of fan created and supported videos. Behind the scenes we had a few issues, the whole original recording vanished, that was Alan and myself so the last minute panic resulted in Brad joining me for a quickie recording with bits spliced in to pad it out at bit, Brad to the rescue. This weeks promo is for The Rusted Robot podcast and next week we will be joined by Misa Buckley for her first appearance on the podcast for the Stargate SG1 episode Insiders in which Ba’al makes a rather large splash, hope you join us for that and let us know what you think. Promo… * The Rusted Robot Podcast Links… * Irresistible Wiki * Irresistible IMDB * Richard Kind * Julia Benson * Lisa Marie Caruk * Martin Wood

Gatecast 236 SG1 The Pegasus Project

Aug 23 2014 54 mins  

The Pegasus Project is a Stargate SG1 and Atlantis crossover under the SG1 banner and finally Daniel Jackson gets to visit Atlantis and the rest of the gang come along for the ride apart from a certain Jaffa who has another mission to perform in the milky way. Daniel and Vala make use of the the holographic database and surprisingly get the answer they are looking for which is puzzling to Daniel since there should be no way that the database would have records of planets named after the fall of the city. While they puzzle this out Sam and Cameron on board the Odyssey fly to a black hole and seed a gate close to the event horizon and they hope by detonating a nuke it will cause the destination gate to jump it’s wormhole to the nearby Super Stargate created by the ORI, yes this is where Teal’c has gone too in a cargo ship. The experiment fails but shows potential so they all stick around and try again but on long range sensors an ORI ship is detected and unbeknown to the Odyssey a Wraith ship is closing on them but so close to the black hole they can not see it coming so when it opens up they get caught by surprise. So Teal’c is playing hide and seek from an ORI ship and the Odyssey is running from a Wraith ship but as it closes in on the Black hole it’s systems start to fail and they are able to beam a nuke on board, it detonates and the energy also hits the gate and transfers through the wormhole and jumps to the Super Stargate whose kerwoosh destroys the ORI ship, two for one:) The Pegasus Project is an excellent episode not only for combining the two shows but also ramping up the CGI and action to really keep the pace high and even when it’s talking heads the dialogue is sharp and witty making the most of the new dynamic between the two character groups, it’s hilarious as Rodney gets talked about, talked over and basically made fun of by well almost everyone. It was also interesting to meet another ascended being who is once again constrained within the limitations imposed by her people, we mention the Q but they seem to have a lot more leeway but more of the ascended when the ORI really come close to achieving their goals. Thanks to Brad for joining us for this show, we had skype issues so we may have lost some of the discussion but I think I was able to fill in the gaps and keep everyone entertained, let us know if you disagree:) Also check out Futura Memoratia by Jennifer Foehner Wells, I’ve been meaning to review the novel length piece of Stargate Atlantis fan fiction for a while and since they show ran short it was a perfect time. Thank you to Mack for the feedback over on Google + and Brad over on Facebook, continued amazement how busy twitter is, lots of Stargate chat and news and well worth keeping an eye on, some great people making use of twitter to share all manner of things about Stargate. This weeks promo is for the Star Trek original series podcast Two To Beam Up and next week we are back with just the Atlantis crew in the episode “Irresistible” we hope you join us. Promo… * Two To Beam Up Links… * The Pegasus Project Wiki * The Pegasus Project IMDB * Sarah Strange * Matthew Glave * Matthew Walker *

Gatecast 231 SGA Allies

Jul 05 2014 55 mins  

The Wraith Hive ship has entered the solar system and begins communicating with Atlantis, after some discussion they answer and find that Michael has revealed their existence to this ship and it’s Queen and they have a proposition. It turns out that as resources dwindle various hives are becoming more competitive for all manner of things including humans for good so the Wraith retro virus is very appealing as both a tactical weapon but a means to create more food and hive infrastructure. Of course there really isn’t much option but to agree to the deal but Elizabeth negotiates with the Queen in terms of intelligence distribution and technical information on the Wraith ships and systems which allows McKay to dig into the beam jamming code in the hopes of allowing that offensive capability to be returned to the Daedalus and her sister ships. The virus is weaponised and smuggled onto an enemy hive but is discovered and the “good” hive and the Daedalus flee but are both damaged and in return for the help to repair the hive Rodney and company are given full access to the Wraith database. A second attack on the enemy hive is put into motion but when the Daedalus arrives she is fired upon by both hives who then jump away, confusion abounds but they don’t know that back on Atlantis the Wraith have infected the computers and stolen all the gate locations including the Earth gate and the specs for the improved hyperdrive while wiping the contents of the Wraith supplied database. Allies is an excellent cliff hanger of a finale for the second season of Stargate Atlantis, it has a huge amount of excellent CGI combined with the ongoing great chemistry between the main and secondary cast and throws in humour, suspense and drama. We get a new Wraith Queen once again played by Andee Frizzell whose makeup and costuming gives a big hint to the Queens being an unique subset of Wraith society which makes a lot of sense given the species has insects as a base for it’s creation. It has to be said that we all knew it was going to turn out badly but no one can deny that it was wonderfully written and performed with the expected betrayal coming as a surprise and for the show a critical moment in the events in Pegasus. So two Wraith Hives are on the way to the Milky Way and Sheppard is missing with the Daedalus damaged and the Orion a long way from being battle ready, lets not forget that the Ori are making mincemeat of Earth, Jaffa, Asgard and Lucian ships so who can save the day. We didn’t get any feedback for last weeks episode but we did get an email from Misa Buckley with a review of the recent appearance of Cliff Simon in the US series “The Americans”, many thanks for that and Alan had a piece discussing the Free Babylon 5 campaign, lets not forget Brad for joining us for this episode of Atlantis, thank you sir and this weeks promo is for Under The Dome Radio which is back the second season of the show and next week we are doing the first of this years wrap up show for the ninth season of Stargate SG1, we hope you join us for that. Promo… * Under The Dome Radio Links… * Allies Wiki * Allies IMDB * Andee Frizzell * Brent Stait * Conner Trinneer * James Lafaz...

Gatecast 230 SG1 Camelot

Jun 28 2014 57 mins  

SG1 continue their search for the weapon mentioned by Merlin when as an Ancient he went against the wishes of his people to search a way to protect not only the Milky Way but the Ancients themselves. Arriving on a world whose address was given within the Mantle they discover a low technology community whose inhabitants call it Camelot and within one dwelling are the hidden treasures of Merlin including a holographic message, database and another Knight created as a guard to protect the knowledge from the unworthy. Daniel manages to access some of the data but has to sacrifice the machine to protect Cameron who is battling one of the Knights and even with another of the fables swords from the stone he is on the verge of failure before Daniel saves the day. The Odyssey takes SG1 to the location of a recently discovered Supergate with Jaffa forces already present standing guard, Teal’c leaves the fleet on a secret mission and Sam comes up with a means to dial the gate to the Ori galaxy to prevent an incoming wormhole but they are too late, the gate activates and four Ori starships arrive and the battle is joined. The Odyssey and the newly minted Russian 304 Korolev along with a number of Jaffa Ha’tak and Asgard ships engage the Ori vessels but the invaders have superior shields and fire power, Sam floating near the gate can only watch in horror as the first battle is easily won by the Ori despite Teal’c bringing 3 more Lucian Alliance Ha’tak to the party. Camelot is a fantastic season finale, we get a very good combination of location work at the village known as Camelot and of course John Noble guest starring which was and still is quite an achievement, Katharine Isabelle also guest stars in the episode and it was a nice idea to have one of the local young women seemingly the strongest and most competent fighter despite tradition giving that role only to the men. It was a pity they didn’t have Valencia fight the Knight rather than just draw the sword from the stone and throw it to Cameron to do the day and then he only survives thanks to Daniel. In a full 180 we then have the other half of the story dealing with the very high tech side of the franchise, lots of very impressive CGI work and full use of the standing Daedalus (redressed) sets and the Gou’ald sets not to mention throwing in an Asgard just to spice things up a but. The battle once joined looks stunning and it is rather disturbing to see how easy the Ori cut through the lines of the defenders and are so strong they can casually leave survivors behind who can then spread the glory of Origin. Thomas joined us for Camelot the season 9 finale of SG1 and we thank him for spending some of his day off work with us, not always easy arranging a time to bridge the USA, UK and Finland over Skype but we can always get it done and we are rewarding with good conversation, the same applies to our other guest hosts both previous, current and future:) We got some feedback for last weeks Stargate Atlantis episode Inferno over on our G+ and Facebook page as well the always busy Twitter so many thanks for that and touchwood we get to hear your thoughts on Camelot. This weeks promo is for the Resurrection Revealed Podcast which deals with the recently aired ABC series Resurrection a show I only just watched and thoroughly enjoyed and the podcast just added icing. Next week we are going to be discussing the Stargate Atlantis season 2 finale “Allies” and Brad will be joining us for that, we hope you all join us as well. Promo… * Resurrection Revealed Links… * Camelot IMDB *

Gatecast 226 SG1 Arthur’s Mantle

May 31 2014 56 mins  

While experimenting with a device taken from the caverns beneath Glastonbury a flash of light envelopes Sam and Cameron, minutes later Dr Lee enters the room and totally fails to see the pair of them just standing there and it soon becomes clear by means of this Ancient technology they have been phased out of the plain of existence the rest of the planet exists in. While the search for Sam and Cameron continues the Stargate activates and a garbled message is received along with a strike against the Iris, further investigation indicates it was a message from the Sodan calling for help as they are under attack. Teal’c takes SG12 and they find almost total devastation, it seems every single member of the Sodan have been slaughtered including the non-combatants and many shows strikes against their symbiote pouches. They do find Arkon barely alive grimly hanging on to his life and he tells them that while on a trading mission Volnek met a Prior and a few days after he returned he fell ill and turned into a unstoppable killing machine and wiped out the settlement before searching further afield for the women and children who were sent away. Dr Lee is having the time of his life mucking about with the ancient device which we now know belonged to Merlin and it was used to hide his experiments from the eyes of his people but things take a turn for the worse when Daniel is zapped out of phase and Cameron goes to help Teal’s on the Sodan homeworld. Volnek appears and it’s believed the Ori have used a similar technology that Anubis used to create his super soldiers giving them eternal life and enhanced combat abilities and maybe the only way to kill him will be to literally shred his entire body and that’s what two Claymore mines will be used for. Daniel eventually manages to deactivate Arthur’s Mantle bringing them back into phase but alas that also means Cameron returns to normal at a most inconvenient time but never fear the trap is sprung and Volnek is blown to bits. Arthur’s Mantle combines both humour and drama, no question once Dr Lee is in the mix there is always going to be a lot of fun and with the “brains” of the operation in and out of phase it’s giggles all the way, loved the poking which was done twice and Stargate has never shied away from a little physical fun. It was significant that we also lost the Sodan, obviously they defied the Ori but it seemed short of a planetary strike they were able to hold their own against the local Prior and his plans but one of their own was the key to their downfall. I liked the filtering of the phased scenes, really added to the presentation and while I’m sure Volnek and many of the Sodan could have added more to the final season of Stargate still to come but at least their story got wrapped up. This weeks promo is for Pulp Audio Weekly and next week we have guests for the Stargate Atlantis episode Michael, hope you join us for that. We are still looking for guests for Season 10 of SG1 and Season 3 of Atlantis and hand on heart we would love to hear what you think about the episodes we cover, we’re thankful for the regulars who post/tweet but we know Stargate has many more fans and speaking of that how about the news that MGM and Warner have green lit a new reboot trilogy of the original theatrical feature, let us know what you think:) Promo… * Pulp Audio Weekly Links… * Arthur’s Mantle Wiki * Arthurs Mantle IMDB *

Gatecast 221 SGA The Tower

Apr 26 2014 55 mins  

The team visit a primitive world looking for trade and resources and discover that the local villagers pay tribute to The Tower and in return it protects them from the Wraith by means of glowing lights which fly through the sky. They are taken to the tower and it looks like the central structure of Atlantis but sprouting from a large wooded and hilly area of the planet. McKay along with a local named Baldric go investigate while the rest of the team stay in the village and discover that the enforcers of the tower act in a rather brutal manner to the villagers and when they intervene to prevent a whipping a man named Eldred appears and brings down a drone attack. He then scans the team and invites John back to the tower and introduces him to the Lord Protector who does indeed rule the plant from within a sister city to Atlantis complete with ZPM powered chair, sensors and weapon systems. The Royal family and their hangers on live in luxury thanks to them exploiting the villagers and it turns out that the Ancient gene has kept these people in power and it is slowly weakening within the blood line and John’s arrival offers a boost and so the young and pretty Mara throws herself at John and well he’s only a guy after all. Meanwhile McKay discovers a huge store of drones but finds that the ZPM is almost exhausted and while Teyla and Ronon are dealing with over enthusiastic enforcers and John handles a royal coup and murder the world is slowly spinning towards chaos when all three plot elements merge when the new Lord Protector launches an attack on the village and John has to then fight for his life. The Tower asks a lot of questions and the main one is why would the Ancients leave a city ship on this planet complete with functioning ZPM, drones and it seems a working star drive. We have seen that individual Ancients have taken it upon themselves to protect humans within the Pegasus galaxy by a manner of means but a second city ship is not something that can be just slipped in under the council’s noses so it must have been a sanctioned plan which still leaves the question open. The story of course when dealing with the attitudes of the people of this world does make perfect sense, there is nothing new there but it’s done fairly well and the village set is rustic and primitive enough as well as the redressed Atlantis looking pretty spectacular in a period style. Lets not forget the costuming which worked well both for the male and female characters (main and extras), I really liked the flowing shirt with the ruffles that Eldred (Peter Woodward) was showing off:) McKay with his sidekick Baldric was a laugh, Ronon and Teyla dealing with the enforcers and the villagers was quite intense at times and seeing Ronon lose it provoked by the threat of a woman’s rape was both frightening but inspiring, we really saw what he was capable of and combined with Jason’s expression during the fight really hammered home how complex this character can be. John of course had a great time, good food, good sex, political intrigue and a fight for good measure combine to make a pretty good couple of days away from the city and then underlined by the criminally short screen time for Elizabeth when the two chattered in the final scene. Overall quite a fun episode, an excellent cast with the return of Jay Brazeau to the franchise and the overall production was excellent with action, humour and drama. This weeks promo is for the Nutty Bites Podcast and next week we return to SG1 for the episode Off The Grid so hope you join us for that and if you have anything to say then don’t hesitate to get in touch, we love getting feedback in any form so check us out on Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus and if you have the inclination a review and rating on itunes and Stitcher would be most appreciated.

Gatecast 213 SGA The Hive

Mar 01 2014 53 mins  

The strike team are captive of the queen of the hive ship and as John is questioned by her good self and a second hive arrives, John is returned to the cell and with some well hidden knives thanks to Ronon and Ford they trigger the release mechanism and make a run for it. Meanwhile Rodney takes a huge dose of the enzyme and fights his way out of captivity and returns to Atlantis and with the Daedalus at hand returns to rescue his team. As they roam through the hive they rescue some cocooned prisoners but their freedom is short lived, John and the woman Neera are separated from the group and he learns a little about her life and when the Wraith culled her world. Time is pressing though, the enzyme is leaving their systems and Kanayo who has been on the drug longer dies which does not bode well for Teyla and Ronon. John is brought before the queen once again and he convinces her he is a Wraith worshipper sent to infiltrate the hive by a rival queen, suspicions aroused when John in a dart makes his escape and starts firing on the other hive a full scale conflict erupts with the Daedalus an onlooker. The Hive is an excellent conclusion to this two parter, we get some very good action both with the stunning CGI space battle but also great stunt work around Rodney’s escape and the hand to hand battles on the hive ship. It’s an interesting twist to have humans willingly follow the hive, while it seems reasonable for some humans to do this I don’t really see what they Wraith get out of it, maybe the Queen who stands alone sees some form of companionship through them which she doesn’t get from her “drones”. When we look at these two episodes they served the show well in allowing Ford to return and for the expedition to take some steps forward in what they learn about the Wraith all of which will pay off later in the series to various degrees of success. The enzyme and it’s value is finally put to bed, while short term there are definite plus points and in time with research it could prove a valuable drug but for now the side effects and limitations can not be ignored. Thanks to everyone who chatted with us via a online portals, always great to talk to fellow Stargate fans and in that respect if you fancy joining us for an episode get in touch and we’ll sort something out. This weeks promo if for Pulp Audio Weekly a very geeky and humourous podcast and next week we are going to cover the SG1 episode Collateral Damage, hope you can join us. Promo… * Pulp Audio Weekly Links… * The Hive IMDB * The Hive Wiki * Rainbow Francks * Kavan Smith * Aaron Abrams * David Nykl * Woody Jeffreys * Andee Frizzell * James Lafazanos * Jenn Bird * Anne Openshaw

Gatecast 210 SG1 The Fourth Horseman Part 1

Feb 08 2014 56 mins  

A recon unit return from an undercover mission on a planet which is being visited by a Prior of the Ori, the men soon become ill and reveal one of them was touched by the Prior during a religious service and in hindsight it was easy to see the Ori knew who they were and used them to carry a plague back to Earth to decimate the heart of the potential resistance in the Milky Way. As Sam investigates the possibility of developing an anti-prior weapon based on the knowledge they gained from the scans of Khalek back on Dakara a Prior is working his magic on Gerak who is embracing the concept of enlightenment which is worrying Bra’tac and Teal’c. Orlin returns to the corporeal world as a young boy, his explanation being the younger brain would be more adept at retaining the knowledge required to cure the plague but it’s a one way trip, for Sam and her world he is willing to sacrifice everything. Gerak is showing some resistance to the demands of the Prior but is then taken to Celestis and when he returns it seems the Ori now have a key player for the invasion of the galaxy. The Fourth Horseman Part 1 is an excellent episode in it’s own right let alone the first half of a two parter, with a restricted tv budget and resources the producers manage to convey the potential disaster of a global pandemic and the galaxy wide ramifications as the Jaffa nation could become a de facto army for the Ori. It’s almost brutal watching Gerak a man driven by the desire for power see the Ori as both a means to an end but also maybe some sort of personal fulfillment in the spiritual sense, you do believe that he believes in their message despite knowing what the Ori are willing to do to anyone that does not bow down to them. There is hope of course, Sam and Dr Lee have come up with a way to disrupt the energy being channeled to and by a Prior but it has to be tested so a visit to the Sodan is called for and they may not be an easy challenge in itself. The return of Orlin was a bit of a surprise and his new look took some getting use too, there was some logic behind it but as we learned in the commentary the idea was to have Sean Patrick Flanery return as the character but he was unavailable and the writers earned their money with young Orlin and making it work with the acting talents of Cameron playing a big part. Oh and lets not forget the return of the late Don S. Davis as General Hammond who filled in at the last minute when General Jumper was unable to film his cameo, it was great to see Don who appears again in part 2. Thank you everyone for the feedback on last weeks show and continued support via Facebook, Google+ and especially Twitter. There’s a little news and birthdays included in this weeks show and next week we return to Atlantis for the first part of their two parter “The Lost Boys” which sees the return of a season 1 regular. This weeks promo is for the excellent Tuning Into Scifi TV and as always feel free to get in touch with us for any reason, we’re all family within the shadow of the gate. Promo… * Tuning Into Scifi Tv Links… * The Fourth Horseman Part 1 IMDB * The Fourth Horseman Part 1 Wiki * Cameron Bright * Don S. Davis * Bill Dow *

Gatecast 206 SG1 Babylon

Dec 14 2013 54 mins  

SG1 along with support from SG22 are on an alien world in search of the legendary warriors of the Sodan who are a group of Jaffa who were the first to break away from their System Lord masters many thousands of years earlier. They chose not to interact with their former brethren and live apart and slowly fell into the tales and legends of the remaining Jaffa but new information encourages the SGC to search them out. The team are ambushed and while under fire Mitchell is wounded and taken by the Sodan who are unable to retrieve one of their own wounded who was captured when SG22 joins the fight. Cameron is taken to the Sodan village where he is trained to a standard which will give him a fair chance during an honour fight a consequence of drawing Sodan blood but is troubled when he sees that the Sodan are falling under the spell of the Ori. Meanwhile at the SGC the captured Sodan is questioned and they attempt to prove to him that the Ori and their Prior’s stand for everything the Sodan rejected so many generations ago. Well what can you say about this episode that doesn’t sound like I am sucking up to the producers, writers, director and cast? Not a lot because the episode looks fantastic, the new location village is movie quality and the music haunting and doesn’t suffer from the comparison to The Last Samurai even though the plot is similar. We have some excellent guest stars as well with Tony Todd, William B. Davis and the brothers Jarvis W. and Jason George all of who really add depth and value to the episode. The story opens up the Jaffa element of the show which has for many been a dying arc and both elements of the story work very well together. Well we can’t talk about this episode without mentioning quite a few references to Star Trek, the fight and it’s result hark back to Amok Time and even Cameron comments on the fact by calling Jolan “Bones” yet as always it’s done with a huge nod to the audience which makes it fun and not cheesey in any way. We can also overlook the Tom Cruise connection, the stranger in a strange land is not a new story idea and it’s done in two ways within this episode both of which pay off but not to the level I think many of us would have hoped for. This is the final regular episode of Gatecast in 2013, the next four episodes will be bonus shows which feature subjects which are not Stargate but have very definite ties to the franchise and we will be begin with the Seaquest episode “Vapours” which has the DeLuise clan in attendance. Many thanks for the feedback, we got some good chat over on the Facebook page and as always twitter has been busy and we are still seeing some nice business being done over on our G+ page. We would love to hear from you and there are plenty of SG1 and SGA episodes that await a guest host so if you fancy doing a show with us check out the schedule (Tab at the top of the page) and get in touch and we’ll see about sorting out a date and time. We know given enough notice that recording with guests from far flung locations and timezones is quite possible so don’t let that worry you either. We have a couple of promo features in this episode, first up is HEXED: Sisterhood of the Supernatural and then Michael Clark’s new project Visionary Trek, check both of them out:) Happy holidays, enjoy the show and stay safe. Promo… * HEXED: Sisterhood of the Supernatural * Visionary Trek Links… * Babylon IMDB *

Gatecast 201 SGA Condemned

Nov 02 2013 53 mins  

While exploring a new world the jumper lands at a small encampment where quite quickly the team are fired upon by primitive weapons, an aircraft arrives and gives aid and the team follow the aircraft to it’s base and a meet a fairly advanced society. Upon returning to the gate the jumper is fired upon once again and sustains damage and the team even with Ronon along are taken captive by the prisoners who inhabit the small island that contains the Stargate. Rodney is then encouraged to fix the jumper or one of his friends will be executed but that’s beyond even his talents however he is with some prodding able to enable the dialing computer. Meanwhile Weir and her escort arrive on the world and open negotiations but the lack of results in recovering John and his team and the suspicious behavior of the Magistrate and the revelation that the prisoners some guilty of very minor crimes are going to be fed to the Wraith breaks down the talks and Weir and her team leave the city. Everything comes to a head when Wraith cruisers arrive above the island and the crippled jumper launches a drone which causes extensive damage and while a second fires on the island Weirs cloaked jumper dials the gate and allows John, Ronon, McKay and Teyla to escape. Condemned is an interesting episode and explores a solution to the Wraith problem which is unique at least in terms of a society making this decision and keeping it working for generations. Of course the supply of hardened criminals will dry up if the deterrent is that strong so as minor criminals are sentenced to the island the society itself becomes driven by compliance and obedience to dogma rather than a free thinking and living world. The island itself is now very much a dog eat dog entity, those sent there that are truly violent easily become dominant but it’s hard to see how they really got so well armed with limited resources but if they failed to bring down a jumper then that would be the story over very quickly. The episode was wonderfully shot though, the island location looked very nice and different to a lot of what we’ve seen before and the stunt work for the fighting was exception again seeing Ronon let loose really dispels a myth that a big man can not be lightning fast and versatile in his fighting technique. It was also a show piece for Teyla as Rachel has perfected her action performance and it was only really John who was the comic relief but done so well with the stick and his knee. Again we see evidence that Rodney despite a huge streak of self interest does consider his companions more than worthy of his commitment and maybe even sacrifice, as Torrell says the way to motivate him is to threaten his friends. Alas the end result is just an average episode despite the performances and production, that says more of the strength of the show and it’s second season rather than the story by Sean Carley and script by Carl Binder or the direction from Peter DeLuise. This weeks promo is from Trek News & Views a Star Trek podcast from our friend Colin and part of the Trek.fm network of shows, next week we will be back at Stargate Command and dealing with the Ori as they make their first major move in the episode Beachhead, hope you join us for that. If you want to get in touch with us or leave us a rating/review on itunes or stitcher we would be very grateful, till next week and watch that final step. Promo… * Trek News & Views Links… * Condemned Wiki * Condem...

Gatecast 200 SG1 The Powers That Be

Oct 26 2013 59 mins  

Vala volunteers to travel with the rest of well sorta SG1 to a world that has been visited by a Prior, it turns out that she stayed on this world disguised as Qetesh. No one should really be surprised that her real motive was to reclaim a bunch of treasure she had acquired but Daniel is convinced that only the truth of the false gods is capable of combating the threat of the Ori who themselves are false gods. Of course after learning the truth the people immediately imprison Vala for crimes against them and while Daniel is defending her the Prior arrives and makes his position very clear. After he leaves the people start to fall ill and nothing Dr Lam and her team can do can cure the disease, even the healing device is only a temporary measure and when it push to comes the natives of the world bow down to the Ori and the Prior cures them all. Just before he turns to leave he stares at Daniel and tells him to relay this story to anyone that will listen and then walks away. The Powers That Be is a very strong episode and really nails down what the Ori and their Priors are capable of doing along with the propaganda use of their actions both positive and negative. As with the Gou’ald the SGC and Earth are once again faced with very powerful beings but until the System Lords the Ori powers are at a level that does seem to be a step away from technology based thus enforcing the belief they have god like powers or are indeed gods themselves. It doesn’t hurt that the Priors for the time are preaching only the positive and backing it up, any opposition has a very difficult time to hold up examples of the Ori’s deceit or complicity and words are just words. It was very interesting to see the former Administrator turned Prior arrive in the Milky Way, it was bad enough random Priors were appearing but his appearance had to be response to Daniel being on the planet, it certainly underlines how manipulative the Ori are at least until force is required to quell the dissenters. Greg Anderson who plays the Prior does a wonderful job with the writing his is given, by keeping some level of humanity (not seen in the other Priors) he is all the more threatening and competent. The use of the disease/plague is also a call back to the ultimate demise of the non-ascended ancients, you wonder if before they fled their home galaxy their conflict with who would become the Ori left a little seed which generations later removed them from the physical plane. This episode does a great job of opening avenues for the story to travel down. Thanks for everyone who has been posting and using the Facebook, Twitter and G+ sites as well as regularly visiting this main website, it’s rewarding to see people making use of our efforts and the feedback we get is great. In that regard we got some discussion about Duet over on Facebook and continued chatter on Twitter about pretty much everything Stargate. This weeks promo is for the new Dune podcast which will be covering the entire literature aspect of the franchise on a monthly basis, the show hosts included Scott from the Scifi Diner podcast so you may be familiar with his voice:) This was our 200th episode and it includes the results of the recent competition, they will be published on the site and other portals when everyone has been notified but we want to thank everyone for entering, at best there is a prize at worst you got to puzzle over four Stargate themed questions:) Brad once again got up early and recorded with us, we had a lot of skype issues but we stood firm and got the episode recorded. We are still looking for more guests to come on the show, the schedule is rather sparse for the next few months so if you fancy joining us for an episode (SG1 or SGA) then get in touch and ...

Gatecast 194 SG1 Avalon Part 2

Sep 14 2013 51 mins  

Mitchell having finally convinced a few of the gang to join him on an adventure is deep within the earth below Glastonbury battling trials of intelligence, honour and courage left by the Ancients, success brings rewards and Vala is all for rolling around in the gold but an ancient text reveals the truth about the Alterans and everything changes. An Ancient communication device using the stones (as seen in Citizen Joe) is activated by Daniel and Vala and they go elsewhere and occupy the bodies of a couple in a far away galaxy where the Ori are gods and the people live according to the tenants laid down in the Book of Origin. The intrepid duo are unable to keep from being discovered and with their unfamiliarity fall foul of scripture but the brutal consequences are mitigated when a Prior of the Ori visits the village in response it seems to their statements about being from another galaxy. Avalon is very much a feature length episode, splitting it into two takes away some of the impact but jumping straight back into the action and peril does get things going quickly in the second half of the story, you could also say that with Origin to come we are still only two thirds of the way through the introduction of Ori and other new SG characters. The writers have taken risks in making the religious aspect the focal point of the Ori storyline, it’s far more pronounced and important than with the Gou’ald but as they say ultimately the show is simply taking the stance than you should seek the truth and revealing the false gods serves that purpose. Of course as we see the Ori through their Priors certainly make a very definite statement as to their capabilities, god like even. Another aspect of the story which is stirring things up is the emergence of Garek and his power play for control of the Jaffa which becomes a major concern not only for Teal’c but the SGC and the rest of the Milky Way. Avalon Part 2 is an excellent episode, we get some good time with Dr Lam as well as seeing the village standing set which will serve both SG1 and SGA in the next season and beyond. This is also perhaps one of the best episodes for Vala, we see her at her most devious and playful but also more vulnerable, it’s very revealing for her character so early into her time on the show and also proves Daniel does have some feelings for her beyond just normal compassion. Many thanks to Thomas for staying with us to record the second part of this story and he’ll be back for a bonus show later in the year and a couple of shows a bit further into the future. This weeks promo is for Tuning Into Scifi TV and next week we take a trip on the Daedalus as it journeys to Pegasus with an unwanted passenger on board in “The Intruder” and Brad will be joining me for that show while Alan is busy moving home. Thanks for the discussions on Facebook and Twitter, the shares and plus ones on G+ are appreciated and as always we really like to hear from you about our show and Stargate and if you have the time a Itunes rating and review would be icing on the cake:) Promo… * Tuning Into SciFi TV Links… * Avalon Part 2 IMDB * Avalon Part 2 Wiki * Mark Houghton * April Telek * Lexa Doig *

Gatecast 193 SGA The Siege Part 3

Sep 07 2013 52 mins  

The second season of Stargate Atlantis kicks off with the arrival of the Daedalus just in time to rescue John from his suicide run on a Wraith Hive ship, the nuke detonates and removes the hive from orbit and then the Daedalus zeroes in on the second hive and once that is destroyed the cruisers make a run for it but the Darts make a beeline for the city. McKay with the ZPM struggles to power up the city shields as the darts get closer and yep he saves the day. Colonel Caldwell says hello and Ford is found in the water with a dead Wraith attached to his chest, it seems the venom used to prolong a victims life for feeding kept him alive but there have been consequences. Long range sensors detect another twelve hive ships heading for the planet and John convinces Weir and Caldwell that with the tactical advantage of the nukes and beaming technology thanks to the Asgard and more importantly Hermiod the fight should be taken to the Wraith. The Daedalus lies in wait and as the Wraith fleet emerges from hyperspace, two hives are nuked but the others respond with new countermeasures forcing the Daedalus to retreat and once again the city has to defend itself. The remaining ten hives take position in orbit above Atlantis and open up with their main weapons, the shield protects the city but with only one ZPM it will not last long and a crazy idea is formulated. Rodney and Radak remove a cloaking system from a jumper and splice it into the cities systems and with Teyla broadcasting the intent to destroy the city to protect Earth a nuke is detonated, the shields protects the city from the initial blast (which also disrupts sensors) and then the cloak is engaged to make it appear as if the city has been destroyed. The Wraith scan the planet but can not find any sign of the city and begin to move away but Ford now changed by the venom in his system raids the infirmary, threatens Carson and John before stealing a jumper and fleeing the city. Phew, The Siege Part 3 for an episode that isn’t as big on action as the season one finale certainly packed in a lot of story and character elements and not only wraps up existing story lines but begins to lay down those that will work their way through the second season and beyond. There was a very good moment between John and Landey, respect shown by both men and resolves any doubts over John’s decision to put Colonel Sumner out of his misery which always hung over his command, it pays off in the next episode and as the character grows. The CGI in this episode is stunning more so because three separate groups were responsible including the newly minted inhouse group who will be taking over much of the very expensive effects work any self respecting scifi show requires to make it shine. It was also great to see Hermiod back again in full puppet mode which really allows for good interaction with the actors and one or two fun moments, an irritable Asgard is fun:) All in all the season opener was a great start to the second year of Atlantis, the show is moving on and now both Carson and Radak will grow as characters, Ford is taking a step backwards but will return and exploration free of the immediate Wraith threat will allow for stories that couldn’t be told at the close of the first season. Thanks to everyone who posted via twitter, facebook and google+ and we would sure like to hear from anyone with comments on our show and Stargate in general. This weeks promo is from Colin’s Trek News & Views podcast and next week we are back with Avalon Part 2, hope you can join us. Promo… * Trek News & Views Links… * The Siege Par...

Gatecast 192 SG1 Avalon Part 1

Aug 31 2013 56 mins  

Changes abound in and around the SGC with the aftermath of the battle for Dakara and the attack by the Replicators on the base. Major General Jack O’Neill has moved on and his chosen replacement Major General Hank Landry has taken over and is having running battles with his “psychic” assistant one Master Sargent Walter Harriman. Lt Colonel Cameron Mitchell recovered from the battle over Antarctica against the forces of Anubis has taken over the command of SG1 and expected to be working with Sam, Daniel and Teal’c but they like Jack have moved on. He valiantly attempts to get the band back together but is getting nowhere until one Vala Mal Doran visits the SGC with a tablet and the promise of technology and treasure and low and behold everyone is off on a mission to track down the old haunts of Merlin and the buried secrets of the Ancients in and around Glastonbury. Well season nine heralds some significant changes for the show with Richard Dean Anderson becoming nothing more than an occasional guest and thus a full time replacement in the big chair is presented to use with Hank Landry played by Beau Bridges and in the field Cameron Mitchell played by Ben Browder. Vala Mal Doran played wonderfully by Claudia Black also has a strong presence in this season as is the move away from the tradition religions and cultures by embracing a more western European and more specifically Arthurian legends and myths. It was certainly interesting to see how quickly the last three members of SG1 quickly looked to break away from the SGC, after so many years of blood, sweat and tears you can understand why they all may think they have done enough however Teal’c perhaps more than the other two has accepted a path which is more demanding and maybe just as dangerous, politics with starships as collateral in decision making. As with many of the two part stories within Stargate this first part is laying a lot of the groundwork for the pay off in the second and it needs it, it’s easy to get washed away with all the changes to characters and tweaking of the long established mythology but it will all pay off. One huge decision by the producers and writers was to make sure the episode had it’s fair share of out and out humour and not ignoring the obvious Farscape connection between Ben and Claudia as well as playing up the concerns over the similar look/style of Michael and Ben. As we look back at this episode and ninth season we know many fans had issues and some never got over losing Jack as a focus for the show or even the use of Farscape talent to fill the gaps. I’ve no doubt the casting of both Ben and Claudia brought in some Farscape fans and it was probably a good marketing move but scifi fans can be picky, it’s always tricky dealing with change and the consequences but we did get more Stargate and is not a bad thing. Huge thank you to Brad and GateTechAlfaSix for the audio feedback and everyone who posted on Facebook, G+ and on Twitter, the wrap up shows and poll results were well received and we are now back into the swing of things and will handle Alan’s moving home in our stride. Please feel free to get in touch with any comments about Stargate, Gatecast or scifi in general, we certainly do appreciate talking to people who share our enthusiasm for Stargate and the scifi/fantasy genre and an itunes review/rating is always appreciated:) This weeks promo is for Aaron’s SciFiDig and next week we begin the second season of Stargate Atlantis, we hope you can join us for that. Promo… * SciFiDig Links… * Avalon Part 1 IMDB

Stargate SGA S1 Wrap Up Show

Aug 24 2013 87 mins  

Welcome to our first wrap up show for Stargate Atlantis, we have done a few in the past for SG1 and the format is pretty much the same but for this Brad joined us so it runs a little longer than the two person SG1 wrap up show we released last week and of course it includes the results of the SGA poll. We hope you enjoy the look back at what turned out to be an excellent opening season for Atlantis and while there is no doubt it benefited from the experience of the existing writers, producers and directors it quickly set itself apart with it’s style and take on some original and not so original stories. Poll Results Total Votes 79 * The Siege Part II ( 19 Votes ) * The Eye ( 9 Votes ) * Tied.. ( 8 Votes ) * Before I Sleep * Letters From Pegasus * Thirty Eight Minutes A huge thank you to everyone that voted in the Stargate SGA poll, it didn’t pull in as many votes as the SG1 poll which was mildly surprising but again we got a clear winner. It’s also interesting to see where the votes came from and they were spread around the world so a big hello to all our friends in the UK, Ireland, USA, France, Russia, Australia, Italy and Holland who voted:) Next week we begin the ninth season of Stargate SG1 with the episode “Avalon Part 1” with a long time friend of the show Thomas so love to hear what you think about Stargate or the Gatecast past, present and future and the comments can be included in the show. Promos… * The Ragtag Fugitive Podcast * The Anomaly Podcast * Flash Pulp Links… * Gateworld SGA S1 * Wiki SGA S1    

Gatecast 186 SG1 Threads

Jul 06 2013 69 mins  

In the aftermath of the battle for Dakara the now free Jaffa forces celebrate and honour Tealc and Bratac who together have forged the rebellion, the remaining system lords are on the run and Anubis seems to have fled with his Kull warriors. Daniel who was a captive of the replicators has not been seen since they were wiped from the face of the galaxy and only Jack holds out any hope for his survival, as he says how many times have they thought the Space Monkey to be dead for him to magically appear. Daniel is alive in a sense, he exists in a sort of way station created by the Ascended Ancients where he meets Oma Desala his long term companion in all things ascension, as before Daniel has to make a decision to exist as an ascended being or return minus all the knowledge which would aid in the battle between good and evil in the universe. Daniel strikes up a conversation with “Jim” the only other being who is willing to talk with him and via a “newspaper” he is kept up to speed with the events in the Milky Way. As it turns out Anubis has made his counter move retaking Dakara as the Jaffa attack the homeworld of the Kull warriors and find it abandoned, with the power of the Ancient weapon and access to the Stargate deployment system he has the ability to wipe out all life in the galaxy and create a domain with only beings who will worship and serve him. Sam is going through a crisis, Peter has finally met Jacob which didn’t go too badly but she now has to make a decision and Jacob in his wisdom makes it clear Sam doesn’t have to take any offer just because it’s there, he knows she still loves Jack who is now involved with a CIA officer and that really makes her assess her own feelings. If it wasn’t a bad enough couple of days Jacob falls ill and reveals that Selmak is near death and had been holding on to allow them to finish their work on Dakara and now it’s too late to release the host safely and thus we say goodbye to Jacob, Sam once again finds more comfort with Jack than Peter and her decision is made. Daniel gets a nasty surprise when he discovers who Joe really is and he is helpless to do anything until Oma steps up and maybe for the first time fully accepts the consequences of her actions, she abandons any hope for herself and engages Anubis in an eternal struggle which neither of them will prevail. As the SGC gate begins to dial indicating Anubis has activated the weapon Jack orders the self destruct but at the last seconds the timer slows and stops and the gate sequence ceases and then nothing, lots of nothing. Reports comes in of the Kull warriors in disarray and are quickly defeated, Anubis has vanished and Dakara is empty, something important has happened but what and then a voice in Jack’s office and a naked Daniel, happy days:) Threads is a fantastic piece of science fiction television, multiple themes all revolving around each other and each important in it’s own right. We have both Jack and Sam realising or being told they are both making mistakes and their futures should be with each other, Jacob and Peter leave the series for different reasons but each inflict pain onto Sam. Teal’c and Bra’tac realise freedom can still bite back as they lose many of the free Jaffa in the battle with Anubis but his defeat firmly secures the belief that freedom for all is only a step away and Dakara will be the spiritual centre of a new nation. Finally we have Daniel and Oma and the only portrayal of the Ascended plain we get to see even though it’s only a small part of that realm, it was a clever idea using a diner which allowed people to come and go and for fans of Dead Like Me a call back to that wonderful show and of course the waffles. Oma bids her farewell to the show and we get to see Daniel return to the SGC...

Gatecast 185 SG1 Reckoning Part 2

Jun 29 2013 55 mins  

Sam and Jacob study the Ancient superweapon on Dakara and discover that it is capable of rearranging elements on a galactic scale and by using the Stargate network the modified energy pulse could be used to target only the Replicators in the Milky Way galaxy. Baal who has been sent by Anubis to retake the planet is roped into programming the weapon to meet the specifics of the Replicators and to enable the gate Network into dialing every gate at the same time, it’s an all or nothing play. Daniel meanwhile is aboard Replicarters ship and is still being interrogated while the replicators assault the Gou’ald fleet in orbit around Dakara and they hit the SGC at the same time, as their total victory approaches Daniel is able to gain control of the machines and give Sam, Jacob and Ba’al just enough time to trigger the superweapon and in a matter of seconds the galaxy is purged of replicators. Bra’tac boards Ba’als flagship and attempts to capture the System Lord but he flees and that action as well as the taking and keeping of Dakara proves to enough Jaffa that freedom is within reach and the age of the Goa’ald is almost at an end. Reckoning Part 2 continues with the action and suspense provided by the first part of the double header, Jack does his thing in the SGC as the Replicators run wild and we have the usual action and humour SG1 was known for. The epic space battle (more implied than seen) is wonderful with more than a nod to Star Wars which via the episode commentary seems to have been a Robert C Cooper sort of thing. We also get the politics and self interest which turns Ba’al away from Anubis which could seal his doom but as we find out in episodes and seasons to come Ba’al is a little harder to kill than the average Gou’ald. Reckoning is simply one of the best episodes of Stargate SG1, more so because it’s a double episode and both parts are strong enough to stand alone let alone in tandem. The production value is off the charts with live action on large sets, matt and composite backdrops, great CGI and top notch acting and writing. It’ll be interesting to see how it fares in the season 8 poll but the votes may be split leaving some other strong episode to win the day. Many thanks to Brad for joining us this week and for his voicemail regarding Letters From Pegasus and we got some Facebook feedback and a little twitter action during the recording of the show. I also checked the US itunes store and we got a couple of five star reviews so a big thank you to qapla_be’Hom and Lost In The Gate. We would love to hear from anyone about anything Stargate not just our own view of the franchise and you can contact us via this website or via Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Email. This weeks promo is from Trek News & Views an excellent Star Trek podcast and next week we are covering the unofficial third part of this trilogy with Threads, Jeff joins us for that show. Promo… * Trek News & Views Links… * Reckoning Part 2 IMDB * Reckoning Part 2 Wiki * Carmen Argenziano * Cliff Simon * Tony Amendola * Emy Aneke *

Gatecast 183 SG1 Reckoning Part 1

Jun 15 2013 53 mins  

The last remaining independent System Lords are offered a deal, in exchange for their surrender they will be allowed to continue to govern their regions of space in the name of Anubis however when Sam is dragged into their meeting accusations start to be thrown. The resulting massacre at the hands of the now very very aggressive replicators throws the balance of power of the galaxy into a spiral as they go on the rampage taking over ship after ship and opening up an opportunity for the free Jaffa. Reckoning is the first episode in a named two parter but could be considered the opening of a trilogy of episodes, make no mistake this is part of a big budget story with numerous high quality guest stars and some wonderful CGI and set design. The story is geared towards bringing together the major players of not only the recent seasons but right from the start when the Jaffa rebellion was first born, it does this with incredible style and flare. A free Jaffa ship with Carter, Daniel, Teal’c, Aron and Bra’tac onboard gets ambushed which leads to the abduction of Daniel as the knowledge of the ascended Ancients is of interest to replicarter. This single act pretty much sets in motion the convergence of Anubis via his proxy Ba’al, the replicators, the jaffa and the humans of Earth. In this first episode we see Daniel dealing with replicarter pretending to be Oma Desala and learning of the weapon on the planet Dakara and in a stunning coincidence it’s Darkara that’s the ceremonial birth place of the Jaffa nation and taking that world back would prove the “gods” were indeed false. The twist in the tale is Ba’al himself wants the SGC to destroy the weapon as Anubis could use it to wipe out all life in the galaxy and then create everything to his own design, Ba’al is if nothing else a realist and totally self serving to boot which makes him an ideal ally at least for now. Reckoning Part 1 is a standout episode in an excellent season of scifi story telling, the second part is in it’s own right every bit as good but together they are something special. The guest stars many of whom rarely worked together on the show add real weight to the story and the production side is exceptionally good, some stunning effects work and matt paintings. That said the weakest part of the whole is the very poor looking Asgard ship, not quite sure what went wrong there but that’s a minor bug bear of mine:) We had some feedback on the facebook page and twitter was pretty active this week but I don’t think last weeks show/episode is any ones favourite. This week could very well be different and to that effect we have a new promo from our friend Nuchtchas and her podcast Nutty Bites, have a listen and let her and us know what you think. Next week we return to Atlantis for the excellent Letters From Pegasus and Jeff will be joining us for that discussion, cya then. Promo… * Nutty Bites Links… * Reckoning Part 1 IMDB * Reckoning Part 1 Wiki * Carmen Argenziano * Cliff Simon * Gary Jones * Samantha Kaine * Mel Harr...

Gatecast 174 SGA The Defiant One

Apr 13 2013 53 mins  

A jumper is crossing the Lantean solar system en route to a mysterious object detected at the lagrange point, they discover a huge weapons platform believed to have been the last line of defence for Atlantis, it seems undamaged but obviously failed to prevent the siege of the city by the Wraith. The sensors find a weak signal being broadcast from a nearby planet so with Weir’s permission they go and investigate and find a crashed Wraith cruiser which may have been a victim of the weapon prior to it’s shutdown. The ship is around 10,000 years old and no life signs so foolishly as it turns out Mckay, Sheppard with Doctors Abram and Gall enter the wreck and find that it’s a supply ship having stored thousands of humans intended to feed the invading Wraith fleet. Disturbingly it seems some of the bodies were Wraith and had been fed upon indicating that near the end they had turned on each other but surely no one could have survived this long? Of course we knew they did so as the team split up the two red shirts sorry scientists are attacked and the Wraith learns the whereabouts of the jumper leading to a one on one chess game between Sheppard and the sole survivor to escape from the planet. The Defiant One is a cracking episode, we get a huge piece of the season finale puzzle with the weapons platform and some very good character growth with McKay as he struggles with his in built survival traits and the desire to not let Sheppard fight alone. The two secondary characters are excellent for the story, Abrams doesn’t last long but the discussion between the aged Gall and McKay was excellent and both actors were top notch and it’s conclusion heart breaking and quite dark for Atlantis. We also got some great interaction between the Wraith and Sheppard as they each tried to out maneuver each other, excellent costuming, prosthetics and stunt work in the desert made for compelling television and a great fireball to wrap it all up. A huge thanks once again to Brad for joining us for this episode and next week we are going to join General Hammond on board the Prometheus and be amused as a single Kull warrior nicks it, yes it’s the awesome Prometheus Unbound and Jeff will be joining us for that show. The promo this week is from our friend Nuchtchas with her Nutty Bites podcast, great geeky fun with excellent guests and discussion, have a listen and enjoy:) Promo… * Nutty Bites Links… * The Defiant One IMDB * The Defiant One Wiki * Richard Ian Cox * Paul Magel * James Lafazanos * Joseph May * Peter DeLuise Mentions… * Dragon Con

Gatecast 173 – SG1 Gemini

Apr 06 2013 52 mins  

The Stargate activates and an old and void IDC code is received, it used to belong to Sam Carter who is obviously mystified but things become a little clearer when the MALP reveals a human form replicator at the other end of the wormhole and she was created in Sam’s image. She requests death at the hands of the SGC using the Asgard/Ancient created weapon but with such a valuable resource within reach Jack with a lot of prompting from Sam agrees to let her interrogate the replicator in the hopes of ultimately defeating this menace to the galaxy. Gemini is from a production point of view a highlight of the season, some excellent camera and post-production work to get Amanda looking right when there are two of her on screen using a variety of techniques to make it work. Her own performance is outstanding as well providing two sides to the Sam Carter personality as is the subtle makeup which certainly sets the two women apart. Teal’c has a strong role in this story as well being the counter to Sam’s headlong rush and total belief in repli-carters word, of course knowing oneself makes it easier to deceive by providing all the right answers even to questions not directly asked. It all goes pear shaped of course more so for the put upon Fifth whose only really two “relationships” both turn around a bite him, few men or man like beings get shafted twice by Sam Carter. We were joined by Brad for this episode, he was up in the wee hours to record with us in our late afternoon, huge appreciation and once again we are always looking for a guest on the show, it works better with three voices at least I think it does. This weeks promo is from The Saturday B Movie Reel a podcast which reviews and chats about the scifi/creature and disaster features which turn up so often on the Syfy channel, lots of fun if like me you love these sorts of movies:) We’d love to hear from you so please get in touch, we can be found well here, on Facebook, Google +, Twitter, Stitcher and of course itunes which if you would like to leave us a rating/review would be most appreciated. Next week we are going to discuss the Stargate Atlantis episode The Defiant One, please join us and spread the word. Promo… * The Saturday B Movie Reel Links… * Gemini IMDB * Gemini WIKI * G. Patrick Currie * Gary Jones * Jason Emanuel * Dan Shea * Chris Robson * William Warring

Episode 172 SGA The Storm + The Eye

Mar 30 2013 86 mins  

An intense storm is heading towards Atlantis and without full shielding the intricate construction of the city will not withstand the huge forces mother nature has in store. The decision is made to evacuate the city and the Athosians on the mainland to a nearby friendly world for the duration with a handful remaining to attempt an almost hail mary pass by harnessing the lightning strikes to provide the energy the shield generators require. The Genii take this opportunity to stage a raid on Atlantis with a stolen IDC code and lead by Commander Kolya a ruthless and dedicated officer a small strike force take control and hold Weir, Mckay and a few others hostage. Things get a little complicated when Koyla realises he may be in a position to take the whole city for his people if the lightning experiment is a success but in the meantime the fly in the ointment aka John Sheppard is doing his impression of Die Hard and removing the threats to his home and co-ordinating a counter strike with a lone jumper and her crew who are returning from the mainland. The Storm and The Eye are together an absolutely fantastic story but what really makes them special is that taken separately they both hit the highest marks in narrative, performance and production from the Stargate Atlantis team. The return of the Genii is perhaps quicker than you might expect but then again why delay, the writers had a story thread with Sora and Teyla and pure genius to imagine a hurricane as a story device which has a natural break built in. Robert Davi is pretty much awesome as Koyla, he delivers both the style and menace you would expect from a Pegasus human black ops commander and even better he will be appearing in upcoming episodes as an equal to John as do the Genii in opposition to the expedition. This week we chose to release both episodes as a single feature length episode, we had the opportunity to record with Jeff making allowances for the time differences so they were recorded on the same day and it all felt right. We also had a small poll and that returned more votes for a feature so here we are. This weeks promo of from Flash Pulp, a very creative podcast releasing short audio productions in the pulp style, lots of variety and done with flare and passion and there is also a large community side to the productions. We would love to hear from you so feel free to email us or use the contact options on the website, you can also find us on Facebook, Stitcher, itunes and Google+. Promo… * Flash Pulp Links… * The Storm IMDB * The Storm Wiki * The Eye IMDB * The Eye Wiki * Robert Davi * Erin Chambers * Ryan Robbins * Michael Puttonen * Colm Meany * David Nykel *

Episode 170 SGA Home

Mar 16 2013 51 mins  

A mist shrouded world may hold the key to gating back to Earth from the Pegasus Galaxy, it’s risky as the one and only control crystal will have to be used but McKay is convinced it will work but then again how often does he doubt his own abilities. When the wormhole is established the SGC reveals that the Prometheus is being fitted with an Asgard hyperdrive engine which will allow a swift return to Atlantis when required so the decision is made to return and report on the expedition and the threat of the Wraith. Home is a well told story with a twist in the tail and on rewatching the clues are all there but how many of us on first viewing picked up on them and realised what was going on, of course the first is the presence of General Hammond, granted as part of homeworld security he has the right to debrief them but alarm bells should have been ringing. The various tales weaving around the core story provide some character development for Weir, Sheppard, Teyla and McKay not so much Ford so even though the episode is standalone we do get something out of it not least the one and only visit to Atlantis for Don S. Davis and Garwin Sanford returning to the Stargate family. Next week we are thrown back into the Trust storyline in the SG1 episode “Endgame” with plenty of action and intrigue. This weeks featured promo is from Hexed and as always many thanks for the support, feedback and simple chat on the various social media portals the Gatecast is carried on (Facebook, G+, Twitter, Itunes, Stitcher). We would love to hear from you so by all means make use of the contact forms on this site or any of the listed social sites we are currently using, twitter seems by far to be the most popular means but Facebook is the more verbose as you would expect. Promo… * Hexed:Sisterhood of the Supernatural Links… * Home IMDB * Home Wiki * Don S. Davis * Garwin Sanford * Noah Beggs * Stephen Spender * Gary Jones * Edmond Kato Wong * Robert Weiss * Nicole Rudell Mentions… * Arkalis Interactive * SG1 Unleashed Wiki

Episode 169 SG1 Sacrifices

Mar 09 2013 55 mins  

Upon returning to the SGC our Jaffa seems upset and we learn that his son is engaged to one of the female warriors who are rebelling against the system lord Moloc, this seems to be upsetting news as he sees it as a betrayal of the oath the boy took to fight for the freedom of all Jaffa. The situation becomes more complicated when Ishta and her people are forced to move to the SGC as their worlds location is leaked to Moloc and then their secret meeting is ambushed and both Ishta and Teal’c are hunted by the Jaffa. Sacrifices is written by Christopher Judge and sees the return of Jolene Blalock as Ishta the strong leader of the female warriors who are making a successful stand against Moloc, events are conspiring to force their hand which goes against Teal’c’s belief that there is little to be gained by attempting to over throw Moloc while there are ready made Goa’uld replacements who will simply take over. It gets more complicated when Rya’k falls in love with one of her people and they are engaged, Teal’c sees his son as turning his back on the large fight and by extension disrespects both Ishta and the young woman Kar’yn much to Bra’tac’s annoyance which gets spread around with the exception of Jack who seems to be handling the horses, children and leather clad young women rather well, we even get a Kirk shoulder grab of Sam which was held way too long for comfort if you ask me. We finally get to meet Moloc played by Royston Innes who is the stereotypical system lord maybe even more so since the idea of slaughtering so many females seems counter productive when the size of the Jaffa army can be the deciding factor in a battle and limiting the number of women will impact that figure long term. It’s also tricky in that we can fully understand why Ishta is so eager to bring Moloc down as she is focussing on the immediate deaths and why Teal’s does not see the benefit long term but it’s unlikely any Gou’ald replacement would carry on the sacrificing of young girls especially with the ongoing struggle for dominance on the galactic scale. We got some feedback via Facebook this week and there are a few birthdays and a bit of news in the podcast and the promo is from Colin and his Trek News & Views, I can highly recommend the show. Next week we are covering the Stargate Atlantis episode “Home” as Weir and her people have the opportunity to return home thanks to an alien energy source, hope you can join us and please feel free to drop us a line, review, feedback via this site, Facebook, G+, itunes, stitcher and of course email. Promo… * Trek News & Views Links… * Sacrifices Wiki * Sacrifices IMDB * Jolene Blalock * Tony Amendola * Jeff Judge * Neil Denis * Royston Innes * Mercedes del la Zerda * Noah Darby * Steve Lawlor...

Episode 168 SGA Underground

Mar 02 2013 52 mins  

Teyla leads a mission to one of her peoples former trading partners who have the resources to supply the city with Tava beans a local and useful crop similar to a sweet potato and they need it as McKay is eating them our of house and home, rationing is not in his mindset. Upon arrival they are greeted by Sora and her father Tyrus who with some caution bring them to the local community leaders and negotiations begin with medicine and eventually explosives offered (for land clearing) in return for the crops. Events take a twist when Sheppard and McKay discover a underground complex which is very definitely not in the spirit of the Genii farming communities and the charade is revealed, the Genii are far more advanced then anyone believes and they use the cover of farming to hide their society from the up coming culling and pretty much everyone else. Ultimately the Genii are too self centred to be totally trust worthy in the same way as the expedition, neither side would ever compromise enough to make a real partnership work so the events on the joint mission against a hive was only the immediate cause for the collapse of the alliance rather than the underlying reasons. Underground is a wonderful story and we meet for the first time an advanced Pegasus human culture and unfortunately for the expedition one which is strong willed and militaristic, as with many western societies long term trouble is born based on short term trade and more to the point military assistance. Colm Meaney rocks every scene he is in and Erin Chambers is wonderfully deadly with a really sunny appearance both in farmer and military guise, it’s great that we get to see both of these characters and the Genii later in the series. The episode also serves to open up the bigger picture, the true threat of the Wraith is revealed even though they must have had a large fleet to take the battle to the Ancients with over 60 hives (maybe more) the task ahead of the expedition looks beyond them and it’s only a matter of time before the Wraith coming a calling or is that culling. A huge thank you to Jeff for joining us this week, Underground was an episode he wanted to be a part of and when ever possible we’ll try to get a third voice into the mix, if you fancy joining us then drop us a line and while a few episodes have been spoken for (SG1 and SGA) there are still plenty more. We had a little feedback this week via Facebook, a few birthday notices and a bit of news and we are always looking for community input on Facebook, Twitter, G+ and the Gatecast website. If you want to get in touch then you can use the feedback options on this website or visit us on the above social media portals and if you are of a mind an itunes review/rating is Stargate gold:) This weeks promo is from the women of Tyrion’s Landing a Game of Thrones podcast and next week we are back with Stargate SG1 and the episode Sacrifices as Ishta returns and Teal’c gets a surprise, no she is not pregnant. Promo… * Tyrion’s Landing Links… * Underground Wiki * Underground IMDB * Colm Meaney * Erin Chambers * Ari Cohen * Craig Veroni *

Episode 165 SG1 Affinity

Feb 09 2013 53 mins  

Affinity is an excellent Teal’c episode despite not being written by Christopher, his characters move off base has been long overdue but it was never going to go smoothly even if Tealc was perhaps the epitome of a good neighbour/samaritan, I don’t think the local community was quite ready for him. His cover of an African visitor brought to the states by Daniel was pretty good and he embraced the tribal heritage which perhaps had a lot of ties to the culture of the Jaffa and he got on very well with Krista and Eric for slightly different reasons. In this respect I think Teal’c was looking for both companionship and the mentoring a youngster, being on Earth limits that aspect of his life. Erica Durance is excellent as Krista the very friendly neighbour and we get hints of Noire as she unintentionally puts Teal’c in a situation where he has the emotional attachment and would defend her to the extreme if required, as it happens the story uses this situation without the manipulation which makes the return to the SGC more heart breaking for Teal’c. The second story with the Trust really adds depth to the episode and that goes partly hand in hand with the continued Sam/Peter romance, the two finally conclude quite well with the Trust now set up as being a significant player in the season. Respect to Brad Shivon as Joe, this wasn’t one of his final performances prior to his untimely death in 2010 aged 39 but it was short and sweet and he made his mark. We had some audio feedback once again from Brad and a little feedback from our google+ group. This weeks promo is from British Invaders and next week we are in Pegasus with the episode Poisoning The Well which is a strong Carson Beckett episode. If you have any comments about Affinity or any of the Stargate episodes covered or yet to be done then please get in touch, we really can not put a price on community interaction across all the portals open to the fan base. You can find us on Facebook, Google+, iTunes, Stitcher Internet Radio and of course this very website. Promo… * British Invaders Links… * Affinity IMDB * Affinity Wiki * Erica Durance * David DeLuise * Derek Hamilton * Lucas Wolf * Peter Bryant * Christopher Attadia * Benita Ha * Michael Rogers * Judith Berlin * Brad Shivon Mentions… * Arkalis Interactive * Motive * Bullet to the Head

Episode 163 SG1 Avatar

Jan 26 2013 51 mins  

The virtual reality chair from the planet of the Gamekeeper has been developed to provide a total immersion combat simulator for SGC personnel but when given to Tealc to test he is unimpressed, it’s all too easy to defeat so it is back to the drawing board and the programme is tweaked and it becomes all too real to such an extent that the computer believes he would never surrender and thus he can never leave the game until all the enemies are defeated. Yes we’ve all had games like that, they get deleted pretty quickly. We’ve got to say that the stunt teams, pyro and weapon masters really went to town in this episode, the action is fast and furious with everything looking spectacular, no short changing with CGI bullets etc in this show. Teal’c motivations and inner doubts are exploited and examined which does beg the question when he truly believed that the Jaffa could over come their Lords, quite late in the game it seems at least according to the computer when keeps racking up the bad guys with Kull, Gou’ald and even mixing in cloaking tech and infiltration. It’s also entertaining to see Teal’c getting killed in many many ways but also the rest of SG1 and the SGC getting mowed down sometimes very cheaply. Bill Dow had a good role in the episode as the harried Dr Lee and a good guest spot for Andrew Airlie playing a specialist brought in to over see Teal’c as his mind and body are put through the shredder. We did have some audio issues this week, the raw wav file was missing some of it’s left channel which meant filling gaps with a lower quality mp3 and new audio, hope it’s not too bad for you all. This weeks promo is from Flash Pulp a podcast responsible for original audio drama published multiple times per week with a very healthy online community and next week we return to Atlantis for the episode “Childhoods End”. If you want to get in touch with us then we have a presence on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter as well as this dedicated website and listings on Stitcher and Itunes plus the good old fashioned email which Brad once again made use of to send us some voice mail. Promo… * Flash Pulp Links… * Avatar Wiki * Avatar IMDB * Bill Dow * Andrew Airlie * Dan Shea * Dan Payne Mentions… * Corin Nemec

Episode 156 SGA Rising

Nov 17 2012 99 mins  

Research in to the former outpost of the Ancients in the Antarctic continues and Daniel discovers the location of the Lost City or at least an eight symbol address which will gate them to another galaxy, perhaps the original home of the Ancients or the hoped for Atlantis. Weir now no longer in command of the SGC heads up the expedition with a military contingent but she has civilian oversight and initially all goes well until power issues forces early exploration of a new “phone book” of gate symbols. The expedition finds friends and makes enemies but there is no way home so exploring this new galaxy is the only way to find Ancient power sources and technology in which to enhance the city of Atlantis and save not only themselves but both galaxies. SGA Rising is a brilliant series opener, it obviously benefits from the 7 years of work and experience from the Stargate SG1 people both from behind and in front of the camera but you really can’t ask for anything more to kick off a new show. There is humour, action and drama all wrapped up in a very high standard of production making full use of the newest HD camera technology while using tried and trusted techniques when required. It would be easy to try to mirror this new batch of characters with those that came before them but the show simply feels fresher and certainly a much younger looking cast giving the show a more action orientated look to it but it’s still very much Stargate. Rising was broadcast as an extended feature in the US and Canada while the UK had it shown in two parts, the episode is offered in it’s extended format on the DVD and Blu-ray with a commentary by Brad, Robert and Martin. The casting of Robert Patrick as the commander of the military was inspired he has the chops to do the role without breaking a sweat and carries off the hard ass Colonel role easily and offers just enough to get you involved before as a main guest stars he steps aside for the long term cast to take over. In that respect getting David Hewlett to reprise his McKay role makes so much sense it’s amazing it wasn’t really their initial plan but who else could have played this role and what other character traits would you want to let everyone else bounce off of. Many thanks to Jeff for joining us in this uber recording session, he skyped over from the states and really make this episode work well, he will be returning for future episodes which on that subject if you want to join us then just get in touch and we’ll see what we can work out:) This weeks promo is from Treks In Scifi one of my favourite Star Trek podcasts, it has been around for many many years so check it out, next week we are back with SG1 and covering the episode “Lockdown” in which an old enemy returns. As always thanks for the feedback and discussions on various social media portals, we’re all in the Stargate world together. Promo… * Treks In Scifi Links… * Rising Wiki * Rising IMDB * Robert Patrick * David Hewlett * Torri Higginson * Joe Flanigan * Rachel Luttrell *

Episode 154 SG1 New Order Part 1

Nov 03 2012 50 mins  

Stargate SG1 season 8 kicks off in the aftermath of the attack on Earth by Anubis. Jack is still a popsicle buried deep in the Ancient outpost under Antarctica and the SGC operations are suspended as Elizabeth Weir overseas operations while conducting multi-national negotiations for the purpose of clarifying the use and ownership of the technology. SG1 are lobbying for use of the gate but a compromise is reached which allows Sam and Teal’c to take the cargo ship and search out the Asgard at the last battle site with the replicators leaving Daniel and Weir to deal with three visiting System Lords. This is a welcome return to television for Stargate SG1, there was a brief period of time when season 7 was to be the last and the story concluding with a dvd/tv feature film but it’s continued popularity and profitability won out and it returns to Scifi hand in hand with it’s spin off series Stargate Atlantis. New Order picks up in the chaos surrounding the SGC, America and the nations who have been let in on the secret of the Stargate when a twist in the tale is presented as three System Lords come to negotiate and deal with an Earth capable of defeating Anubis and thus kicking their collective asses as well. As Daniel and Weir play ping pong with a bunch of arrogant and condescending aliens Sam and Teal’c reach out to Thor and discover the Replicators are now free and the war has once again erupted, everything is in flux. Part 1 of New Order is chock full of goodness but lacks that little spark despite some great dialogue with the System Lords and action with the Asgard and Replicators, the events will and do ratchet up in the second part of the premiere as pressure is applied to both the SGA and the new Asgard homeworld which is now under serious threat. It may have been a better option to make this a feature release as with the DVD as our take on the first part is a little dry but it’s done now but as always let us know what you think, the plan is to release the SGA premiere as an extended release rather than chop it up but if you prefer two sub 1 hour releases that is an option. This weeks promo is for The Roundtable Podcast which is co-hosted by last weeks guest Dave Robison and next week we will be discussing part 2 of New Order, feedback and general comments always welcome. We are still on the look out for more itunes reviews so make us proud but by all means be honest, all reviews get put into the draw for the Ronon figure signed by Jason Momoa. A big thankyou for the feedback on twitter and facebook this last week, very gratifying and we are looking into doing more episodes in 2013 with a third host so if you are interested let us know via email, twitter, facebook, google+ or the contact forms. Promo… * The Roundtable Podcast Links… * New Order Part 1 IMDB * New Order Part 1 Wiki * Torri Higginson * G. Patrick Currie * Kira Clavell * Steve Bacic * Vince Crestejo * Kevin Ohtsji

Stargate SG1 Season 7 Wrap Up Show

Oct 27 2012 87 mins  

Welcome to our wrap up show for the seventh season of Stargate SG1. It’s been a fantastic season of scifi television with humour, drama, suspense and thrills from SG1 and the SGC along with the enemies and allies in this and other galaxies. The Gatecast itself has had it’s ups and downs especially in terms of the website, feeds and hosts so it hasn’t been smooth sailing so we are thankful for everyone who has stuck with us and touchwood we can tempt those that let us float away to come back and join our Stargate family. We have a guest host in this show, Dave Robison who co-hosts The Roundtable Podcast joins us and despite not having seen the show recently hardly missed a beat, lets face it once a Stargate fan always a Stargate fan:) The poll results are also included and while I personally don’t think the results were too surprising there were indications that humour as always scored well with the Stargate fanbase. Our featured promo this week is from Scott and Miles who host the Scifi Diner podcast, one of the best general scifi/fantasy genre shows, heavy on interviews and news but lots of humour and above all listener/fan interaction. ; SG1 Season Seven Wiki The Roundtable Podcast ScifiDiner Podcast ; ; ; We got a voice mail from Brad from Australia who gave us his thoughts on the seventh season which was much appreciated, always a blast to hear our listeners own opinions and the itunes promotion is coming along nicely but we need more, many more:) As of yet I have not decided what is going to be released next week, we have the Stargate Season Eight premiere episode recorded but we are trying to get someone to join us for a recording of SGA Rising. Since the unofficial voting for the episode schedule ended up as a tie we are probably going to be alternating on a weekly basis between SG1 and SGA. If things don’t work out then I may bring forward one of the specials we have recorded for the holidays to give us a little more wiggle room on the main episodes. Finally a big thank you to everyone that has listened and contributed to our little show and the Stargate community as a whole, it is a passion we can all share.

Episode 147 Death Knell

Sep 01 2012 52 mins  

Jacob and Samantha are at the Beta site finishing off the research on a Kull Warrior weapon based on the Ancient device recovered from the ruins of the former System Lord Telchaks palace. The SGC lose contact with the base and SG1 find the whole region devastated perhaps by the bases self destruct device, the few survivors inform then that they were attacked by a full compliment of Jaffa and Super Soldiers who knew exactly where to go leading to the suspicion that the location and secret project had been leaked to Anubis by a rebel Jaffa or Tok’ra. The search for survivors and more importantly to SG1 both Sam and Jacob finally pays off when Jacob is recovered and has the new weapon but it’s only loaded with a partially effective power source, Sam who is now on the run from a tracking Super Soldier has the new power pack but she is seriously injured and still carrying the after effects of her wound recieved while onboard the Prometheus. Meanwhile back in the SGC the investigation into the leaking of the location of the base continues with both Tok’ra and Jaffa having been in a position to have inadvertently released the information when under control by Anubis. It soon becomes apparant that the breaking point has been reached, the Tok’ra can no longer operate in the open with dwindling numbers while the Jaffa now free resent being under the thumb of the Earth. Death Knell is a Sam centric episode even though she only appears in about half of the scenes, this was down to Amanda’s hectic shooting schedule which had her working on three episodes at the same time. That aside this is a big episode, the recently felled forest and gravel pits make a fantastic high production value location for a decimated complex, this fact was one reason behind the creation of the episode as well as providing the pivotal story to fracture the alliance leaving the Earth open to any assaut from Anubis which is long over due. Amanda acts her socks off especially given all the location work with Peter DeLuise demanding more dirt on her body and face as well as a truly bloody and gory wound. We even had a Willy E Coyote moment as she builds a trap for the Super Soldier which is really impractical yet works and then follow that up with a touching moment between Jack and Sam which speaks volumes for their underlying relationship. This weeks promo is from our friend Nuchtchas and her Nutty Bites podcast and next week we’ll be discussing S7E17 “Heroes Part I” with a guest host. The Season 7 Favourite episode poll is now open so when you have a second or two please pay it a visit and place your vote, there are a few standout episodes this year including a few that we’ll be talking about in the next few weeks. The poll will remain open until we are ready to record the Season 7 wrap up show and the results can then be announced. We’ve also included a short review of a piece of SG1 fan fiction from Helen ( @madders_ahatter ) who wrote a 20,000 word novella “The Long Haul” whose events are set during the second season of the show. As always many thanks for the feed back this week, lots on Facebook but it’s mostly covering the issues with itunes, the website and the RSS feed and if you are reading this then I think you have it all sorted:) Itunes Store listing is delayed until Alan returns from his US vacation, he is currently having a great time at Dragon Con. Promo… * Nutty Bites Links… * Death Knell Wiki * Death Knell IMDB

Episode 145 Fallout

Aug 18 2012 52 mins  

Jonas Quinn returns to the SGC asking for help as his world is under threat from a chain reaction of the Naquadria buried in it’s core, faced with the ongoing eruptions and tremors a hail mary plan is devised to evacuate as many people from the three nations as possible. Sam discovers the cause of the minerals instability and it explains why this material is so rare and what eventually led to the Goa’uld originally leaving this world in ruins. Jack, Daniel and the General do the diplomacy thing with the three representatives of Langara and if anything have more problems and head/table thumping than Sam, Teal’c and Jonas have in their Core or even Thunderbirds inspired mining machine. The return of Jonas (Corin Nemec) to the series was always planned and he came up with the story which was then handled by the writing duo of Paul and Joseph and it fits right into the overall arc of Jonas and his people. It has to be said that not escaping from Anubis really did cause unaccounted problems for everyone opposed to his plans for galactic domination, the fact his planet and his people are still there speaks volumes for the capabilities of his friends from the SGC. Putting aside the obvious shades of The Core it was an entertaining episode with some nice twists, Jack going ballistic with the heads of state was priceless as were both Daniels and the Generals reactions. The manipulation and subterfuge by the Goa’uld again added a lot of depth even if that story line was left kinda hanging but it’s not as if you can’t put two and two together and maybe get five. Fallout has a lot to recommend, some nice retro technology combined with advanced tech, some mystery and surprises and Jonas certainly deserved more of his story being told and maybe just maybe the three nations will finally get along but I doubt it. As you know we’ve had website and feed issues most of which were of our own making so this episode is a little truncated but a big thank you to Colin of Trek News & Views for the excellent audio feedback from last weeks episode “Grace” and our friends over at Tuning Into Scifi TV for the promo. Next week it’s “Chimera” and Daniel gets a surprise visit and Sams gets jiggy with it but not with Jack! News… Finally some good news, the website is up and running and if you are reading this then you are here but more importantly the RSS feed is now live and picking up the last 25 episodes, we’ll be doing a proper archive page on the site to make it easier to access older episodes. For now just enter gatecast.co.uk/feed/podcast into your podcatcher or click on the RSS button in the right hand sidebar and you should be in business, the old feed is no longer active. Promo… * Tuning Into Scifi TV Links… * Fallout Wiki * Fallout IMDB * Corin Nemec * Gillian Barber * Patricia Drake * Julian Christopher * Bill Nikolai *

Episode 144 Grace

Aug 11 2012 55 mins  

A canabalised cargo ship supplies the Prometheus with a hyper drive engine but excessive strain causes the ship to travel in roughly 50 light year jumps and then allow the engine to cool down. Upon entering normal space around 250 light years from home an alien vessel intercepts and engages the ship and with only sub-light propulsion Sam sends the ship into a nebula betting on limited sensors offering some protection (yes she must be a Star Trek II fan). During the escape Sam is injured and wakes to find herself alone on the Prometheus and with a significant head injury causing what may be hillucinations she tries to fic the ship, rescue her crew and figure out her own psyche. Grace is a Sam Carter episode and could very well be labelled a bottle show in terms of using existing sets and limited guest spots, the episode was produced over 3 months using the sets as and when they were free, one of the issues with the seventh season is the constant shooting of two or even three episodes simultaneously. In this instance Amanda has recorded all the voice over months before shooting the scenes the dialogue was used for and her infirmary scene recorded with RDA was done on the same day as a similar scene for a later episode. What we do take away from this episode is Sam’s own inner dialogue, who she is and what she believes she is entitled to or perhaps deserves, each character she meets is a manifestation of a particular trait or thought process and they are very revealling. Jack turning up looking actually rather younger and neater than he does normally (through her eyes perhaps) puts it plainly, Sam could be attracted to him because she can’t actually act on those feelings and he would never hurt her or leave her, in his words or hers he is the safe bet. The CGI is top notch in this episode but Stargate has always excelled with the aspect of it’s show be it inhouse or outsourced but it’s a shame we never saw this alien ship again or discoverd more about the species who controlled it. Pure speculation but they acted reasonably, a tresspasser in their space was fired upon but when push came to shove they dealt fairly when Sam helped them to escape the nebula, speaks well for any sentient species that can reverse their opinion when given new facts or situation. A big thank you to Shayne who joined us this week, he stayed up nice and late to make this recording work over Skype, it turned out pretty good. This weeks promo is from Trek News & Views and we have a little feedback from Michael and Lee via the twitter feed as well as a little news. The domain change and itunes re-submition have been delayed a week more info as and when the process begins. Next week we are covering “Fallout” and the return of Jonas Quin (Corin Nemec) to the show so stayed tuned and feedback as always is most welcome via Twitter, Facebook, G+, Email and the website. Promo… * Trek News & Views Links… * Grace Wiki * Grace IMDB * Carmen Argenziano * Ingrid Kavelaars * John Novak * Sasha Pieterse * Craig Veroni

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