SGA 4*17 "Midway" (Spoilers)

TimothyC · Post by **TimothyC** » 2008-02-15 10:30pm

"Only when I have something to say" or something to that effect. The Gambling was also funny.

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2008-02-15 10:40pm

Wraith Infantry *on being shot*: "Ah, man we are so bad at this..."

I don't understand what the Wraith hope to accomplish there. What are a handful of Wraith going to do in the SGC, even with their magic Knock Everyone Out Bomb. SGC goes on lockdown and the Wraith get shot up when soldiers retake the base. I also wonder why Midway Station doesn't have Gate Defenses like SGC does.

TimothyC · Post by **TimothyC** » 2008-02-15 10:45pm

"Do I? I had not noticed"

Beautiful, just beautiful.

Penfold · Post by **Penfold** » 2008-02-15 11:09pm

Could someone explain to me just how the security of the Pegasus gate consists of a couple of idiots standing directly in front of the wormhole? I can almost understand when it happens in the SGC and Atlantis, since they have to work with existing structures, but not Midway. For the love of Oma, they built the fucking thing around the gates!

...and Midway Station asplode. Figures that it was just an excuse to return to Gilligan's Galaxy.

Themightytom · Post by **Themightytom** » 2008-02-15 11:48pm

This whole episode was a giant plot device that took the SGC's credibility down several notches. Midway was a piece of crap, Mir was better designed. No forcefield, no automated defenses, no airlock you could blow the Stargate's out of. Cavanaugh's a douche though it was nice to see him end up there.

Lee continues to be awesome.

Did they "really" need the two stargates? Why does Midway exist?

Could they not ahve found a cargo ship with a hyperdrive? A jumpr is a little bit more than an escape pod (Incredibly advanced piece of ancient technology, Deadly weapon capable of destroying a mothership in one shot, able to move invisibly) but a little less than a good ship (no bathroom no hyperdrive.)

I felt like it was awkward having walter in there but no one to report to (No general).

It was wicked fucking weak that they didn't even close the blast door when waht was obviously a bomb rolled through the gate, they are lucky it was a stun bomb and not a Handwavium ball of death bomb.

How annoyed would the wraith have been if the blast doors HAD sealed them into the gate room so they could chill out until everyone woke up?

I wasn't buying the john shepherd cliffhanger, how the hell did he get into a space suit? Then McKay hung a lantern and we realized the writers really didn't give a shit.

At the end Tealc was getting OWNED by the wraith, he is really getting old.

Stargate SG-1 got lazy in the midle, and they had too many "meh" episodes. Atlantis didn't even start out that strong, this is really looking like the Voyager of Stargate. Hope that third series gets off the ground and does better.

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2008-02-16 02:06am

Yeah, I was somewhat shocked at how minimal Midway's security was, especially considering how it was inevitible that the Wraith or the Asurans or any other Pegasus antagonist would try something like this. Aside from that stupidity, the gambling and the Teal'C/Ronon intereactions were great. And always good to see Kavanaugh shit his pants...

3.5/5

Stargate Nerd · Post by **Stargate Nerd** » 2008-02-16 03:23am

Pretty good. Teal'c's new haircut is awesome

Another IOA douche, and I thought civilians are usually the "cool" ones while the military consists of hard ass idiots. Oh well.

Teal'c's stunt in the mess hall was awesome though.

Post by **NecronLord** » 2008-02-16 03:35am

I've not seen this, but for gate defences, do consider that they may not be able to manufacture forcefields like that (observe that O'Neill didn't go ker-splat on the Halla stargate when he dialled in unannounced) and the Pegasus gates at least may not tolerate the (really rather silly) process of installing a physical iris well.

Netko · Post by **Netko** » 2008-02-16 03:52am

The above criticism is all valid. There really is a feeling of the writers wanting to nuke Midway for some reason (bugetary?). Still, this was the first episode of Atlantis in a long while that was actually fun so I'm willing to let its failings mostly slide. That doesn't mean it was anywhere close to good or perfect, just that it was a fun hour if you turn your brain off, which is an improvement from the filler we've been getting and even some of the plot-centric episodes that seem to be on rails between plot points. I might even call it the most fun episode ever since the season opener - too bad its simply flawed in so many ways if you do turn on your brain. That also does tell us something about the overall quality of this season.

Zac Naloen · Post by **Zac Naloen** » 2008-02-16 06:33am

The reasons for the lack of security are explained at the beginning of the episode...

Rodney said it was un-hackable and it's on a completely seperate gate network.

He didn't take into account the wraith they had on Atlantis getting his passwords or finding out the location of the gates they were using for the system.

Without either of those things what they attempted would have been impossible.

Meest · Post by **Meest** » 2008-02-16 07:15am

I thought it was barely above the previous fillers. They could've scrapped one of those and made this a two parter or two linked episodes. Horrible troops and plot devices on both ends. Looked like they were fighting for who's the worst fighting force. Guards without weapons out even when alerts are up, not holding chokepoints or doors even when knowing the enemy is out there and probably coming. What should be one of the more higher secure sites gets hacked in minutes maybe hours? Ronon and Teal'c fired in the gate room so don't see why there isn't any heavy weapons in there or at least a platoon or something more significant than two guys.

I know they wanted to show how uber Ronon and Teal'c are but there's other ways of doing it. Majority of this season was really lazy writing, they're in love with the multiple timejump to wrap things quickly. Who needs strike forces when you have Ronon, Teal'c and Sheppard mowing throw redshirts. I don't one recall one competent thing any of the other members did. The system was locked out then they are able to vent to air? Other than some indeed moments the rest was forehead slapping stupidity. Then the Sci-Fi preview of next week was horribly revealing, watch the last 5 mins gimmick crap then they show a major revelation, wonder if it's a distraction for a twist. Hope they figure out a way to end the season strong.

CaptJodan · Post by **CaptJodan** » 2008-02-16 11:09am

It was hard not just shaking my head in dismay at the way this episode played out. The lack of horrible security, the overall planning... Like others have said, just what was the Wraith's plan here? Even if they had gotten into the general population and started feeding, they would have been faced with an overwhelming superior military force. I realize they expected to take and hold Midway, but someone really didn't do their homework if they thought the only thing the humans would do was sit and wait to be overrun.

Zats. So the Atlantis special effects crew can actually make a Zat effect work, so that isn't a reason why we don't see them more on the show. They are effective against wraith, so THAT isn't a reason we don't have them on the show. The SGC is full of captured Zats and presumably still has a strong alliance with the Jaffa if they need more, so THAT isn't a reason we don't see them on the show. Zats have a kill function (and a "vaporize" function, but I think they decided to drop that function quietly) where Wraith stunners don't. I guess the only reason not to have them is Atlantis may find the Wraith stunners more ergonomically friendly? Still, I would like to see some crossing of tech here. They've done it with almost everything else, why not have a couple of staff weapons and zats around "just in case"?

Rodney and his overconfidence about his Macro and Midway. Honestly, someone, either at the SGC or IOA or something should really have figured out that when it comes to the safety of Earth from a determined, hungry enemy, it's really worth investing a little extra on an iris and not going on the recommendations of a historically overconfident scientist who thinks all his plans are going to work. The guards guarding the gate, if I remember correctly, didn't even raise their weapons when they knew it was an unscheduled activation.

The space suit. Really? Come on... The writers are actually claiming that it would be harder to punch in a code and walk through a door than it would be to get into a space suit and seal it before he ran out of air? SOD was already breaking by this point, but when we got here, it just shattered completely.

From a purely fan perspective, I would like to have seen Ronon get owned by Teal'c in the betting ring. They could still have Ronon come save his ass later, but that was one, and only one, thing that Enterprise got right with the Mirror plotline. Have the pretender get pawned by the original. This episode clearly drew out their differences. Ronon has had plenty of time to flesh out his character to something other than just "I'm Rambo, see my name begins with R". By this time, Teal'c had already developed his back story, and had had episodes that had emotional depth to them. If Ronon has had those, he's just not good at acting them out. I still can't tell whether it's just shitty writing which insists on focusing on McKay and Sheppard (I happen to like McKay, but I do hope the other characters come of age some day), or whether the actor playing Ronon just isn't that good.

I was glad that the plot actually went somewhere in this one, and that it moved the story along. Beyond that, there were too many inconsistencies, stupid moves, bad tactical thinking, and just plain lazy writing for this to be a decent episode.

Could they not ahve found a cargo ship with a hyperdrive?

Another good example of them kind of mixing the series half-assed. Of course, it's ok to have everything Asgard when the ships arrive, but perish the thought of using anything goa'uld in nature, even if it works.

[R_H] · Post by **[R_H]** » 2008-02-16 12:13pm

"Wraith infiltrating the general population" (IOA douche)...how are a bunch of blue-skinned freaky space vampires going to infiltrate?

And what are those masks the Wraith soldiers (drones?) wear?

Anarchist Bunny · Post by **Anarchist Bunny** » 2008-02-16 09:39pm

Bah, fuck you guys I really liked this episode. I liked the Ronin/Teal'c interaction(I was suprised Ronin was taller), I didn't mind the Wraith's plan as it was sort of a testing thing(they had no way of knowing the defenses on Midway/Earth, another group was only to come if signaled that it was sucessful.) Sure its sort of unlikely that they'd pull it off, but remember, the Wraith are experiencing a famine here, there wasn't enough humans to begin with, and the Replicators ran an unchecked human genocide for atleast a couple weeks iirc. Ofcourse it would of been a much better idea to have used the ZPMs they stole to dial our galaxy for new feeding grounds(assuming that Todd could of gotten MW Addresses instead of the Midway plans. But oh well.

The thing that really irked me. Where the fuck did those two guys come from after McKay vented the atmo?

Themightytom · Post by **Themightytom** » 2008-02-16 10:20pm

Anarchist Bunny wrote:
The thing that really irked me. Where the fuck did those two guys come from after McKay vented the atmo?

...And where did they go when everyone entered the jumper.

It actually would be a sweet follow up story if some of the wraith stayed at the SGC as a diversion but a bunch went to another planet in the milky way using Earth's stargate, and are building a quiet little army with a Handwavium cloning device.

PREDATOR490 · Post by **PREDATOR490** » 2008-02-16 11:31pm

The entire episode was a major 'meh' for me.

It has been mentioned but the stupidity of not having a single element of defence on midway except two guys is just beyond retarded. They go to all the effort of a self destruct but dont think of having the big machine guns like at the SGC or a good layout of cover to hide behind in the case of an attack.

That said, they know how to make the bridge so I would expect Atlantis to build another one easily with some proper goddamn defences this time. Additonally, was it entirely wise to use a stargate on an 'uninhabited' planet without any sort of security to make sure it didnt get messed with ?

What is it with Atlantis and everyone growing hair ?
It was something of a shock to see Teal'c without the short hair and the white streak is kinda stupid. Other than that, Ronan just seemed like he was being an asshole to Teal'c for the beginning of the episode. The way the writers have taken his character has really railroaded them into a corner interms of things they can do with him beyond the 'Rambo' crap.
Teal'c was like this during SG-1 at times but he had some measure of character beyond that but Ronan isnt changing.

Argosh · Post by **Argosh** » 2008-02-17 05:12am

I got the impression that the Midway bridge idea was McKay's and he's not exactly a military genius. So I blame him for this disaster.

DesertFly · Post by **DesertFly** » 2008-02-17 05:36am

Argosh wrote:I got the impression that the Midway bridge idea was McKay's and he's not exactly a military genius. So I blame him for this disaster.

Just because he (and Sam) came up with the idea doesn't in any way mean that they then completely designed the station and all its systems, defenses, and configuration. The idea had to have gone before several people before construction would have even begun, military and IOA. Any of them could have said something along the lines of, "Hey, maybe we shouldn't make the two gates face each other in a big open room so an invading enemy can just walk right through." I don't think you can blame McKay for anything more than arrogance in thinking that his computer security was unbeatable.

[R_H] · Post by **[R_H]** » 2008-02-17 05:41am

DesertFly wrote:
Argosh wrote:I got the impression that the Midway bridge idea was McKay's and he's not exactly a military genius. So I blame him for this disaster.
Just because he (and Sam) came up with the idea doesn't in any way mean that they then completely designed the station and all its systems, defenses, and configuration. The idea had to have gone before several people before construction would have even begun, military and IOA. Any of them could have said something along the lines of, "Hey, maybe we shouldn't make the two gates face each other in a big open room so an invading enemy can just walk right through." I don't think you can blame McKay for anything more than arrogance in thinking that his computer security was unbeatable.

In-universe explaination for the two gates facing one another is probably so that a jumper can go through. Of course, they could have put a lock in between the two gates, with enough room for a jumper on either end, and then open the lock if a jumper needs to get through (and people could just walk around). I'm surprised the the defences at Midway weren't a lot heavier, seeing how it had direct access to SGC and consequently the Milky Way...automated defenses anyone?

Post by **NecronLord** » 2008-02-17 06:23am

[R_H] wrote:And what are those masks the Wraith soldiers (drones?) wear?

From the episode with the soldier factory, they appear to be some kind of mind control device; one of the soldiers was struggling and struggling, then they put one on him, and he stopped.

[R_H] · Post by **[R_H]** » 2008-02-17 07:29am

NecronLord wrote: From the episode with the soldier factory, they appear to be some kind of mind control device; one of the soldiers was struggling and struggling, then they put one on him, and he stopped.

Ah, ok. Wasn't the soldier eyeless, or am I just imagining things? I'll watch that episode again.

[R_H] · Post by **[R_H]** » 2008-02-17 07:42am

Ok, I found the scene you were talking about (putting the mask on) and at 19:06, you see a shot of the soldiers face. It doesn't have any eyes, there's skin where the sockets would be and its nose is deformed (seems to have 4 nostrils, two small ones above two larger ones).

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2008-02-17 10:16am

NecronLord wrote:
[R_H] wrote:And what are those masks the Wraith soldiers (drones?) wear?
From the episode with the soldier factory, they appear to be some kind of mind control device; one of the soldiers was struggling and struggling, then they put one on him, and he stopped.

I just assumed the mask was something to let their soldiers see, maybe even enhance their naturally weak vision with trade-offs they had to make in order to bulk them up like that. It seems kind of weird they'd have the genetic technology to create soldiers like that from scratch but not include genetic code to make them obedient to those in the hierarchy.

[R_H] · Post by **[R_H]** » 2008-02-17 11:12am

General Zod wrote:
NecronLord wrote:
[R_H] wrote:And what are those masks the Wraith soldiers (drones?) wear?
From the episode with the soldier factory, they appear to be some kind of mind control device; one of the soldiers was struggling and struggling, then they put one on him, and he stopped.
I just assumed the mask was something to let their soldiers see, maybe even enhance their naturally weak vision with trade-offs they had to make in order to bulk them up like that. It seems kind of weird they'd have the genetic technology to create soldiers like that from scratch but not include genetic code to make them obedient to those in the hierarchy.

Why would the soldiers have weak vision? Seems like the Wraith have the genetic technology to fix that. It's probably a biowank HUD/visor.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2008-02-17 11:59am

[R_H] wrote:
Why would the soldiers have weak vision? Seems like the Wraith have the genetic technology to fix that. It's probably a biowank HUD/visor.

Did you pay attention to their face before they put the mask on? It looked as though they had no eyes whatsoever, or they were so tightly clenched as to look that way. The only explanation I can think of is the genetic engineering they use to make them super-buff compromises other aspects, such as sight and they haven't been able to properly work it out.