SGU "Pain" [season 1 episode 17] (Spoilers)

[NecronLord]

I want my pain, I need my pain!

[Temujin]

Perhaps I'm being generous giving this a 2 (I certainly feel that way) considering I was absolutely bored to tears with this episode. I just could not seem to bring myself to care about anything that was going on, it was all too predictable.

I'm not a big fan of mind fuck episodes like this. They're really done well, and often are just formulaic filler episodes with a convenient reset button.

Certainly the worst so far of the series.

[CaptJodan]

I kinda enjoyed seeing more of what James is really feeling about Scott. That quip about him leaving only after he was finished was pretty appropriate and effective. We knew James wasn't really over Scott, but this really delves into it a bit deeper.

I also enjoyed that all those who said that the Destiny was going to be invaded by Blue Man Group, and/or that there was 0 security in the gateroom because they're all incompetent were shown to be idiots during the episode.

Other than that, I found this episode to pretty much be the worst of the lot so far for me. It was dull and really had no real point. Franklin's disappearance was only given a gloss over, and the rest of the episode was dealing with people's fears, failures, and regrets. It was a pretty box episode that didn't really interest me. I gave this episode a 1, as so far it is the lowest of the entire series. Not really worth a revisit.

[Temujin]

I kinda enjoyed seeing more of what James is really feeling about Scott. That quip about him leaving only after he was finished was pretty appropriate and effective. We knew James wasn't really over Scott, but this really delves into it a bit deeper.

For me that was the only interesting part as well.

I also enjoyed that all those who said that the Destiny was going to be invaded by Blue Man Group, and/or that there was 0 security in the gateroom because they're all incompetent were shown to be idiots during the episode.

When I realized the nature of this episode, I figured someone would be seeing the aliens on the ship, whether we're going to see them again now is the question.

[FaxModem1]

You know, I actually considered dream Scott's actions towards Lt. James completely believable and in character. Course, I don't really have a very high opinion of him, so take that with a grain of salt.

[JME2]

I liked Chloe, Greer, and James' reactions, but overall a dull episode -- though not on the level of SGA's "Whispers".

2/5.

[Alyeska]

Stargate connection at the end of the episode. Intergalactic trip. So.... Either they crossed Galaxies already, or there are some rogue stars between Galaxies that got seeded with gates.

[Sabastian Tombs]

They are already in the new galaxy. The ticks were from a planet they visited in the new galaxy. It was mentioned right after the ticks were discovered in the infirmary.

Yes, skipping the trip across the void and the entry into the new galaxy is incredibly bad story telling. I still gave the episode a 4 because I liked the character stuff. Since I no longer expect that much from the franchise, I'm grading on a scale.

[adam_grif]

Meh. Nothing really notable except the bs blue man fakeout footage that they used in trailers deceptively. Which of course wasn't really the episodes fault...

3, being generous.

[Temujin]

You know, I actually considered dream Scott's actions towards Lt. James completely believable and in character. Course, I don't really have a very high opinion of him, so take that with a grain of salt.

Yeah, its not a stretch to imagine him morphing into a stereotypical redneck who comes home from the bar, wants diner, sex, and TV (not in that order), and ends up arguing with, punching out, and raping (again not in that order ) his wife/girlfriend/significant other.

[PREDATOR490]

4

Standard 'mind fuck' episode as mentioned.

Liked the bit with James although it was obvious it was going to be fake the moment that blood started spewing.

Incidentally, I am not happy with the jarred pace of this episode. It seems like they just decided to skip the void crossing and jump straight into the new galaxy. With no indication of them arriving or anything. I was expecting this episode to be in the void and it would have still been rather appropriate.

Incidentally, didnt the trailer have a scene of Chloe kissing Eli or something ?, unless they intend to do another mind fuck episode then I guess the Eli fans can have something to look forward too.

[Alyeska]

Chloe's part in the episode really rung true with me. Its been nearly 9 months since I lost my Father. The chance to say goodbye like that... I can understand Chloe's actions completely.

[Themightytom]

I scored it on cahracter developement because... that was what they were doing obviously. We saw more of James character, and her reaction when she thought she killed Scott was interesting. This experience will complicate an ordinary crush to say the least.

Rush intrigues me as a character because he is unpredictably bold or cowardly. he was ready to take on Greer but has no chance of ebating him in a physical contest as has already been shown, yet he is still defiant. kind of a scrappy guy.

Greer really should avhe known right away what was up when his dad made an appearance, was that another tick or are we to infer taht Greer sees him from time to time as he did when he was stranded. prior to this I had suspected that Greer was visted by the Scott apparition from episode 1.

Eli is still a tool bag but they are dialing down his role a bit. his crush is getting old news anyway.

Colonel Young is getting a little bit smothering of Johansen.
Volker I could give two shits.

And the ending was excellent. this team nearly got its ass kicked by a tick, and though they know this they still have to travel through gates as a neccesity. Nice reminder of how tenuous their position in life is.

[Covenant]

They are already in the new galaxy. The ticks were from a planet they visited in the new galaxy. It was mentioned right after the ticks were discovered in the infirmary.

Yes, skipping the trip across the void and the entry into the new galaxy is incredibly bad story telling. I still gave the episode a 4 because I liked the character stuff. Since I no longer expect that much from the franchise, I'm grading on a scale.

I feel the same way. I actually had some fun with this episode and I tend to like their more introspective episodes, so it was good for me. Plus I like James, though casting the ultra-hot military babe as the vulnerable damsel is just too obviously gift-wrapping a character for me. It seems a bit craven, but I too could see him acting that way (especially since this is how she feels about him after the way he DID act) and the horror of killing him would be pretty jarring.

Claustrophobia blah blah, I mean, really? One of the writers is really afraid of tight places because he's the third character so far who has "stuck in a bottle" freakouts. Granted, I think I'm rare for feeling safe in tight places rather than panicy, as I know that freakout moment is common in MRI patients.

Also kept me guessing a little, I was expecting it to be a "you got captured and are in The Matrix!" moment, or perhaps even Deep Space Madness, but for it to be brain bugs? Well... I wasn't expecting that. Especially since I thought they were still BETWEEN GALAXIES.

The jump reeeeeeks of godawful writing, but that's one of the hallmarks so far. Nonetheless, I did like the character plots, I felt the interactions were natural and well done, and I didn't get pulled out of the show to remark on how much I wasn't enjoying it. That's pretty good, and relative to the other ones, I'd give it a four. Not as good as the best one I've seen, but it had some action, some suspense, and even though it was all imagined and thus have no further repercussions, THIS crew in THIS circumstance made for interesting television.

As noted, the fact that they completely glossed over the really massive journey between galaxies as well as the fact that someone got merged with the Machine Spirit of the Destiny... yeah, well, but even if it is a box episode I've never really understood WHY it has to advance a metaplot. In any case, this is graded on a curve, and the reason I gave it a 4 isn't because it's a great episode, but because I was actually enjoying it more than nearly any of 'em.

[Siege]

A 3 from me. Not bad, but not very good either. Barring possibly James killing the shit out of Scott the character development was dry and predictable: we already knew Greer was a paranoid bastard, we could infer that Chloe missed her father, and though I don't mind seeing a bit more of the character who cares about Volker's claustrophobia? I also agree with the sentiment that skipping over the void is just silly. They could've at least swapped this episode with last week's, and have it set between galaxies for extra fear-of-the-dark points. So yeah, pretty cookie-cutter, hence the cookie-cutter score.

[adam_grif]

So the jump was so short as to not even warrant an episode set during it? Or did they just timeskip 6 months without anybody commenting? Can't wait to see the justification the series gives for why they switched to Hyperdrive, if any. It certainly isn't very slow, like we initially thought it must have been.

[Alyeska]

The ship could have an InterGalactic setting on the drive. Did anyone notice just how far away from the original Galaxy it got in just 2 days? Even in SG1 and Atlantis, Hyperdrives worked significantly faster between Galaxies then inside them. It is possible the gravity wells of the stars slow things down.

[NecronLord]

That would certainly grok with it being yanked out of FTL by planet Divine Providence.

I am disappointed that we may no longer see any more of the blue aliens now.

[Alyeska]

Inside the Galaxy, the Destiny could only move at speeds comparable to the Blue Aliens. But 2 days travel outside of the Galaxy? It took the Blue Man Group more than 3 weeks to reach the Destiny.

21 days for Blue Man, 2 days for Destiny. Thats a 10 fold increase in speed. Now its even possible that Blue Man Group was able to also travel faster outside of the Galaxy. So while Destiny can travel 10 times faster than Blue Man Group outside the Galaxy, the actual speed difference between inside a Galaxy and outside could be greater still.

I believe the Odyssey and Daedalus could both cross the Milkyway at its longest point in about 48 hours. Thats something like 120,000 light years. But they can cross the distance between Pegasus and Milkyway in less than 3 weeks. Between Galaxies Daedalus could do 142,857 light years in a single day. Inside they could only do 60,000 light years a day.

We know Destiny does not have Hyperdrive. Its an older FTL system. It is entirely conceivable that it was replaced by Hyperdrive because Hyperdrive is less influenced by gravity. Just from what we can see, Destiny receives a 10 fold improvement in speed on leaving the Galaxy. Hyperdrive receives little better than 2x improvement.

[Oskuro]

Interesting episode in parts, but a little jarring in other places, and too obvious a mindfuck episode from the get go.

I particularly liked Eli in this episode, how he manages to resist Chloe's attempt at shutting his mouth with the power of frienship (she has apparently forgotten about how devoted she was to said friendship a few episodes back). Wait, did I say friendship? Nah, the power of sex appeal over a desperate nerd.

I didn't like Rush or Greer, though, they went into insane mode way too fast, although maybe that was because they had the ticks on them for quite a while (Wich indicates that the hallucinatory effect eventually makes the victim irrational)

As for Chloe, appart form her attempt at manipulating Eli (something I hope she pays for), I can understand her motivations regarding her father, and it was a touching moment. I just keep wondering how her clothes keep in such good shape anfter such an extended continuous use. Is Ancient detergent so miraculous?

Boo on them skipping the galactic jump.

[adam_grif]

That would certainly grok with it being yanked out of FTL by planet Divine Providence.

I am disappointed that we may no longer see any more of the blue aliens now.

It shouldn't impact hyperdrives though, given their blatant disregard for massive objects (i.e. hyperdriving through planets). We could possibly chalk this up as being one reason why they stopped using FTL once HD was discovered.

[Zac Naloen]

That would certainly grok with it being yanked out of FTL by planet Divine Providence.

I am disappointed that we may no longer see any more of the blue aliens now.

The preview showed them coming through the gate, did that happen in this episode and I missed it?

[adam_grif]

Yes, happened in this episode, but it was just a hallucination by Asshole McDeadwife, Ph.D.

[Themightytom]

That would certainly grok with it being yanked out of FTL by planet Divine Providence.

I am disappointed that we may no longer see any more of the blue aliens now.

It shouldn't impact hyperdrives though, given their blatant disregard for massive objects (i.e. hyperdriving through planets). We could possibly chalk this up as being one reason why they stopped using FTL once HD was discovered.

Well to be fair, when they hyper'ed through a planet in Atlantis they came right out on the other side. The same happened with SG-1 they took the asteroid through the Earth if I remember correctly. Maybe gravity is an effect that is not as much like hitting a wall as hitting a speedbump. It destabilizes the hyperdrive but the ship has a safety system to remains table long enough to get a safe distance from whatever rather than emerge inside it.

Also, if we're going to call Hyperdrive "HD" can we call the intergalactic variant "Hyper Drive Much Improved" or HDMI? We can call the destiny's current system "Superlight- Variant Initially Designed to Enable Operation Chart, Analyze Build gates Leave gates, Explore.. or "S-VIDEO CABLE".

Which is preferable to my original though
FTL Utilized to Catalogue Knowledge, Yield Ongoing Usable Chappa' ai for Ongoing Ativities related to Xenolo-transplantative Concerns And Base of Long-range Exploration. or F.U.C.K.Y.O.U.C.O.A.X.CA.B.L.E