I also hope to catch up with my best friend Tara, who I haven’t seen face-to-face since just before last Christmas, as well as my niece (by phone, since her Skype somehow got hosed). Other than that, I have lots of Doctor Who DVDs, Stargate DVDs, and loads of reading to catch up on. Oh, and sleep to catch up on, as well.

I find myself feeling depressed tonight. I’ve made the mistake of thinking seriously about losing weight, and the reality is bogging me down, as I feared it would. But I must overcome it with positive thinking and self-talk. I’m good with the self-talk. I believe Gandalf called it speaking to the most intelligent person in the room. So here’s me being positive: I’m taking concrete steps to lose weight. I’ve modified my eating habits due to paying more careful attention to what I put in my mouth. I’m choosing fresh fruits and vegetables over chips and crackers, brown rice over noodles (except for the other day when I had a bowld of Udon noodles for lunch). Still, my rings and clothes feel tight, so I need to make a better effort. I’m still not as active as I’d like, due to continued pain from my leg and shoulder injuries, but I hope to do a little bit of walking, or at least housework this weekend. It’s a start.

I also think a good night’s sleep might help with this latest bout of depression. I find I sleep better when I know I won’t be awakened at 5:00 AM by my alarm clock. Just knowing I can sleep myself out makes it easier for me to fall asleep and stay asleep. I get a bit anxious about having to wake up early in the morning. I’ve never been a morning person, nor have I ever really been a good sleeper, so I kind of stress out over getting up before my body wakes up naturally (usually around 8:00 AM). I’m expected to be at work by 7:00 AM, mostly because I sometimes have to talk with my colleagues in Belgium, which is always a treat. They’re the kindest, most delightful folks. And how can I fail to be charmed by guys with French names, French accents, and who refer to me as “Dear”? I mean, really? The first time I was on an email one of them sent to a group of us and saw that we were collectively addressed as “Dears”, I just melted. Yes, yes, I know that’s just the custom, but I’m an American, and we’re not usually that charming. J’aime ces messieurs!

Hmm…I wonder if there are any movies out that I might like? I haven’t paid attention lately. Must look into it.

I have a four-day weekend and have no idea what to do with it. Perfect holiday!

That, my friends, is the image The Creeping Crud conjured in my fertile imagination, and I’ve lived in dread of it ever since. Rarely does it come with a fever, sore throat, swollen glands, or discolored boogers…nothing that a doctor would look at and say, “Aha! You have______!” and prescribe you something to make it all better (although this time I do have swollen glands). No, The Creeping Crud just makes you feel icky for no apparent reason, and the only thing for it is sleep, soup, and hot tea with plenty of lemon and honey. Oh, and sympathy if you can get it. In general, not in your tea. I also found watching Hellboy II: The Golden Army on HBO the other night helped, as did Ken Burns’ fabulous documentary series about America’s National Parks, which started last night on PBS. (I believe I have previously mentioned my eclectic tastes.)

But you know what really makes a Creeping Crud even cruddier? Getting your period at the same time. Yup, that’s the tag team that has laid me low these past few days, sucking the energy out of me, and depriving me of the ability to actually think about whatever it is I might be watching on the TV machine. That, of course, means I’m not doing reviews until The Crud has left me, and Aunt Martha has gone home because my brain refuses to analyze things (which hurts me at work because, you know, I’m a Business ANALYST and all). Fortunately, I’ve started feeling better this evening, though the cough and congestion (and my period) are still with me. And, hey, The Big Bang Theory’s on tonight, along with part two of that Ken Burns documentary. Pretty scenery…always good for the constitution, even if it’s only in pictures.

Atlantis reviews return in a few days.

Update: LOL! No sooner did I post this then I read Neil Gaiman’s latest post, and he has the crud, too. I’m in good company.

Special Features

Profile on David Hewlett
A profile of my favorite Stargate Atlantis actor, David Hewlett (Dr. Rodney McKay). Yay! He says fans didn’t like the McKay character on SG1, but I loved him. I think that had a lot to do with David Hewlett’s performance. If I knew a guy like him in real life, on the other hand, I’d want to hurt him. His least favorite shoot? Duet.

Stargate Atlantis Stunts
Stunt Coordinator James “BamBam” Bamford tells us how stunts are done on Stargate Atlantis and how they ensure the actors are safe no matter what the stunt. Also, it’s just fun to say “BamBam”. Everyone agrees, Duet was hard to shoot. Dangling Hewlett by his leg with a fight going on in front of him was tough on everybody.

Audio Commentary for Critical Mass
Director Andy Mikita, actor Rachel Luttrell, Director of Photography Brendon Spencer. They love crossover episodes, and so do the fans. We also get a reminder that SG1 is “sanctioned” by the United States Air Force, which vets scripts, advises, and sometimes provides real equipment and personnel for use in the show. I always thought that was so cool. Rachel didn’t realize that the establishing shot of the SGC exterior is the real Cheyenne Mountain facility. LOL, the guy who places the hateable Cavanaugh is actually a really nice guy. He plays jerk ass so well, though. Oh wow, they’re right: Cadman’s military, so her hair should be up, not down, even if it’s sexier down. Oops. They also talk about the effort that goes into designing the show. I think that’s something viewers almost take for granted, but good design is how the viewers are taken out of their real world and plunked into the fantasy world of the show. And who knew Rachel was so critical of herself that she can’t watch the dailies? They also had to get her to make her voice less polished when she sang, since Tayla obviously would not be a professional singer.

Audio Commentary for Grace Under Pressure
Director Martin Wood, writer Martin Gero, actors Amanda Tapping and David Hewlett. Amanda and David introduce themselves, but we don’t hear much from them until a midway through the commentary. They needed a “cheap” episode, so they put McKay in the back of a jumper at the bottom of the sea. They threw Carter in to make it interesting. It worked. And how! However, they think they made us care about the Red Shirt before killing him off. I disagree. They explain how they made the jumper set shake, look like it was cockeyed, and take on water (they had a second jumper for water). They lit it with flashlights and McKay’s tablet until McKay figures out how to get the lights on  in the compartment. It’s apparently very hard to light dark scenes. Amanda Tapping liked the pink outfit her character wore because it was nothing Carter would pick out for herself, another sign that she’s not the real Carter, she’s McKay’s version of Carter. I can’t believe they actually had Carter do that Finding Nemo “I speak whale” thing, but cut the scene. Can you imagine Amanda Tapping doing Ellen DeGeneres talking to a whale? Heehee. They got awkward thank you letters from fans about Amanda Tapping in her bra.

Audio Commentary for The Tower
Producer Paul Mullie and director Andy Mikita. They address the issue of reusing local Vancouver actors and how they have to wait a few years before using the same actor for another role. It’s fun to figure out which SG1 or SGA episode you’ve seen this or that actor in before. They also talk about locations and finding fruit and animals (or creating it) that look “alien”. Pity they don’t go through that effort where trees and shrubs are concerned. Apparently they had trouble costuming this episode, but the costumes helped the actors get into their roles. They also talk about how they try to make the aliens sound like they’re aliens, even though they’re speaking English: It’s all in the cadence.

Audio Commentary for The Long Goodbye
Director Andy Mikita, actor Torri Higginson, Director of Photography Brendon Spencer. They loved the old woman who played comatose Phebus. All she had to do was lie there, but when she wasn’t in the pod she would do song and dance to entertain the crew. Fun! They usual shoot an episode consecutively over the course of a week, but they had to keep coming back to this one to do pickups for at least a month. They love the lighting, which was supposed to be warm sunlight. Torri did most of her own fight scenes in this episode, rather than having her stunt double do them. It was also the first time she’d shot a P-90 and was a little intimidated at first, but by the end of the episode she was totally into it. They talk about how tricky it is to shoot in the dark. You need some kind of lighting, but very little so it still looks like everyone’s in the dark.

Production Design & Photo Gallery

Atlantis in a hurricane (Photo from GateWorld.net)

The Eye

Written by Martin Gero
Directed by Martin Wood
Guest starring Robert Davi (Commander Acastus Kolya), Erin Chambers (Sora), Ryan Robbins (Ladon), Paul McGillion (Dr. Beckett)

WARNING: SPOILERS ABOUND!

Summary
With the Genii holding the city, and a killer storm heading straight for Atlantis, Sheppard must outwit the ruthless Commander Kolya and save Weir, McKay and the city. (Part 2 of 2)

General Impressions
Atlantis looks very creepy and goth floating on a stormy sea with a hurricane approaching and ominous music playing in the background, so more great special effects and music for this episode. Even the jumper on the mainland getting pummeled by rain is convincing. The score is perfect for each scene. It’s dramatic and dark until the danger has passed, and our heroes have triumphed once again. The deep, percussive notes that play under the scene in which Sheppard raises the gate shield, leaving 55 Genii troops to die in the wormhole are chilling. It’s like there’s a beat for each impact against the energy shield, and we know that those are people getting killed.

This episode is about Sheppard and Kolya. Sure, there are tense scenes for Weir and McKay in the city, and Ford, Beckett and Tayla on the mainland and then in the city. The threat to Weir and McKay seems very real, but are they really going to kill off those two characters (or one of them)? Not so early in the first season when we’re still getting to know the characters. However, this is a personal duel between Sheppard and Kolya, played out through the entire city.

The Good
Sheppard deciding what to do by asking himself, “What would McKay do?” I can see the rubber bracelets with WWMD on them.

The Genii are smart. These aren’t just a bunch of bumbling enemy mooks who are intimidated by advanced technology. They’re efficient, professional, and have a guy who can figure out Atlantis’ systems. Unfortunately, other than Kolya, in later episodes they suffer from reduced monster difficulty and become little more than target practice for Sheppard.

And the pushing the jeopardy thing to the very last second was done very well and fit with the story. I’ve mentioned before my distaste for ticking clock plots because they can be so predictable, always pushing it to the very last second or two. I guess it’s not a ticking clock plot without it doing that, but…yeah.

The Bad
When the eye of the storm first arrives on the mainland, it doesn’t occur to anyone on board the jumper that they’re now in the eye. Hurricanes have eyes, centers of dead calm about which the storm revolves. Most people know that. It’s only after they step outside and look at the sky that Ford declares it the eye, and Beckett provides an explanation to Tayla of what the eye of a storm is. I don’t know, it was obvious to me, even without the episode being named The Eye.

I may be off base with this—after all, her father was left for dead on a hive—but Sora was really annoying. In one breath she’s trying to convince Kolya not kill people in Atlantis and in the next she’s talking about killing Tayla. Then there’s her assertion that all of Atlantis’ weapons and supplies are “what’s rightfully ours”. How so, missy? Just because you want something really bad, doesn’t make it “rightfully yours” if it belongs to somebody else. What happened to her father was awful, but the Genii betrayed us first, and her father revealed his position to the Wraith.

The Awesome
Uh…everything? We see a dark side of Sheppard that we’ve never seen before. He raises the gate shield, leaving 55 soldiers to die. He matches Kolya for cold blooded ruthlessness, blow for blow. While what he did was horrible, that’s war. As the Genii soldier Sora tells Kolya, “Defending his home and people, Commander. As we would.” Still, it’s a little scary knowing Sheppard can be so ruthless.

The Genii and Kolya never panic or waiver in their resolve or get progressively dumber or easier to beat as the episode progresses, as sometimes happens on this show. Kolya remains a worthy enemy from start to finish.

The knife fight between Tayla and Sora is totally cool. Tayla kicks ass. Lots and lots of ass. We don’t get to see her being a badass quite as much as the series progresses, but here in the first season she gets to kick a lot of ass.

Oh, and great shot, Sheppard, taking down Kolya even though he’s using Weir as a shield.

And the score again. As in The Storm, it’s perfect.

Rating
10 out of 10. OMG this episode was just made of awesome. I’ll say this just one last time: Robert Davi’s Kolya is tremendous, and so is Joel Goldsmith’s score.

Now to get back to writing some real posts. I have more reviews planned for this blog:

• Japan Ai: A Tall Girl’s Adventures in Japan (Aimee Mayor)
• The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow (Fuyumi Ono)
• The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Wind (Fuyumi Ono)

Are you noticing a trend? Well, you’re right, I do love Japan! Never been, though I hope to visit someday. Two very good friends of mine have been several times and are planning to spend their honeymoon there in July. In fact, the male half of that couple even met Hiyao Miyazaki, who gave him a tour of Studio Ghibli. My envy knows no bounds.

I have other passions, and you’ll see those here, too. I read a lot and watch a lot of movies and television, so expect reviews of those.

Stay tuned!