Atlantis obsession

Okay. I am officially pathetic. My SGA has reached new heights my SG-1 obsession never did. Not only did I accidentally purchase a ticket to Pegasus 2 in February 2007 (yes, next year), but I built a moose. A Rodney McKay moose. And he showed up at work this afternoon much to my delight (and chagrin).

So...help me welcome McKay Moose to Dee's house!
-dee

Turns out the human knows what he’s doing after all...almost

SGA 2x20: Allies

Okay…no one asked the BIG question. Actually, there are a few big questions, but first and foremost has to be: What's the catch? Do they think that there's going to be no consequences? Do they think that there will be no strings attached? Seems like they haven't learned yet.

Long story short: the Wraith lead by a brunette Queen Wraith and Michael from 2x18 want to form an alliance with Atlantis. The Wraith want the retrovirus to turn their enemy Wraith into humans so they can feed on them and they give Atlantis the "we'll leave you alone" guarantee.

So, not only do they go ahead with this plan, but they allow the Wraith on Atlantis and they allow McKay and Ronan to go on one of the Hive ships as observers.

Here come the other questions which also hinge on the first one: What were they thinking? Was this a GOOD idea? What do they want with McKay? And what happened to Shepard?

Okay…my guess? Shepard was either scooped up by a dart and is on the Hive ship or he managed to get on board before his jumper blew up and they went into hyperspace. I guess, it's pretty much the same thought either way.

But, what do they want with McKay? They obviously dealt with Ronan first, stunning him and leaving McKay to panic on his own—before the Wraith had enough of his mouth and stun him into unconsciousness. The fact that both Ronan and McKay are trapped and kidnapped by the Wraith—who have visions of finding Earth—should give us an interesting start to season three…in July.

:: sigh ::

The only thing…while the Ronan/McKay storyline is interesting (and yes, I'm very happy McKay is in trouble) the whole "Shepard might be dead" storyline was covered at the end of season one. Been there, done that. Guess I was hoping for something more cliffhanger-ish. Inferno was more edge of your seat IMO.

Overall, good episode, but the characters have apparently gotten dumb again. OH, and we got to see tunnelvision!McKay again. Earlier, we saw that Weir was very conscious of making sure that any information downloaded from the Wraith went to a non-networked firewalled computer. After the whole virus incident on the Daedalus, I'm not surprised that she's cautious. But as soon as McKay gets the scent of "all the wraith technology he could ever ask for" all bets are off. He waves off Weir's concern, saying they're fine, intent on the intel. In reality, there IS a virus and the Wraith are using McKay's thirst for knowledge to get the virus into Atlantis' systems.

So…I want season three now and they haven’t even started filming (Filming begins February 20th.). I'm not sure there's enough fanfic to keep me going until then.

Why can't it be July?


Favorite lines:

Wraith: I see you have awakened.
McKay: Really? I was sort of hoping this was just a nightmare.

Dex: You okay?
McKay: No. No, I think this is the most not okay I have ever been.

Sheppard: Who’s firing on us?
Kleinman: Two hive ships bearing down on our position, sir. One of them is the friendly.
Sheppard: Not so friendly.

McKay: Hmm. I should be on that hive when we do this.
Weir: Excuse me?!
Sheppard: Really?
McKay: I know it’s uncharacteristically brave, but I’ve hacked a lot of their systems under the guise of repairing them. I’ve convinced them that I should be there to supervise their systems if anything goes wrong.
Weir: And they agreed to this?
McKay: Yes. Plus, now we can freely beam stuff on and off their ships ... I’ve written a program that will immediately beam me out of there the second I activate this emergency transponder.

Sheppard: What’s a girl like her do for fun?

Hive Queen: Getting to this location without arousing suspicion will be very difficult.
Weir: Sure it will be, but we can’t really help you with that.
McKay: Although the Colonel and I have come up with a way to test that theory. Step one: we find another enemy hive and jump to a location just out of its sensor range.
Sheppard: Step two: the Daedalus takes position in close proximity to your hive, essentially merging with your scan patterns, rendering it practically invisible to the enemy sensors.
McKay: Step three: using sublight systems, our ships approach the target hive for... whatever reason; I’m sure you can come with something.
Sheppard: Step four: now that the Daedalus can use its beaming technology again...
McKay: which would be thanks to... (pointing to himself)
Sheppard: Anyway... once we get in range, we can beam the canister into the CO2 chamber and boom! One hive ship de-Wraithified.

McKay (to the Wraith, after Dex attacks that Wraith): We are sorry. (to Ronon) Say you’re sorry!
Wraith: That will not be necessary. He was protecting his superior. I would have done the same.
Dex: He’s not my superior.
McKay: Certainly not in... every sense.

McKay: He was guiding me down the hall, not sucking the life out of my shoulder!

Wraith: Do you think we will be able to come up with an adequate delivery system for the retrovirus?
McKay: Hmm. Well, I know that you don’t know me, so you couldn’t possibly know this, but...
Dex: The short answer is yes.

Wraith: Without your help, this damage may have been irreparable.
McKay: Ah, finally an alien race that appreciates me!

Zelenka: We decided to split into two teams. Team A over here is trying to find the best place or places to plant the gas canister and Team B over there is trying to come up with some fixes for the damage that the Wraith hive sustained during its last battle.
Sheppard: And you?
Zelenka: Um, mostly I’m just skimming the index.

McKay: She actually did it! I mean, this is the mother-load!
Weir: What is, exactly?
McKay: Only everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Wraith technology but were afraid to ask.

McKay: Well, well. Turns out the human knows what he’s doing after all.
Hermoid: Indeed. Your assistance on this project will be noted.

Sheppard: Rodney’s doing everything inhumanly possible to be ready.

McKay: Shields: Yes. Jump into position: Maybe. Release the drones: Probably not.
Sheppard: Well, it’s pointless to get in position if we can’t fire.
McKay: Y’know, let’s talk about it for a really long time; that’ll help for sure.

McKay: Have you any idea how much work I've put into all of this. I haven't slept in thirty-six hours.
Wraith: Perhaps it is better if you rest. (the Wraith stuns McKay)

Stargate moments

I have to admit that I try not to pull Stargate into my RL too much, but this past week has apparently made my brain do weird things and I couldn't help but notice the Stargate references.

1) New-ish car owner
It finally happened and my clunker died. So, I had to get a new-ish car. Managed to snag a 1998 BMW. Gorgeous cobalt blue color. Yes, I'll have piccys soon. But I bought it from a woman in Massachusetts named Carter. I nearly choked when I saw her name.

2) Car
I've never named my cars before, but was talking to Steph Friday night and she mentioned that the car needed a name and she suggested one. I didn't think much about it, but on the drive back in the new car, I realized it kinda fit. So, the new car has a name: Rodney. (You can stop laughing now.)

3) Doctors
Long story short. I hate doctors. No, let me re-phrase. I dislike greatly having to go to doctors. But, the pain in my side that I've had for the past two weeks wasn't going away so Tuesday, I finally decided it might be time to go. So....I went. Got to enjoy the whole blood sample thing. Got me thinking about what our guys go through when Fraiser or Beckett start poking and proding. I didn't need the personal experience, but I got it. And, the next morning at the X-ray place (and two lovely chest x-rays later) I got to enjoy the experience of the blue leave-the-opening-in-the-back hospital gowns. So, didn't need that experience either.

And as for the tests...we don't know yet. Maybe gallbladder, maybe ulcer, maybe something else. :: shrug :: Another appointment this week. Might know more then. Might not. :: sigh ::

So...my brushes with Stargate this week...brought to you by the letters "C" and "R" and the number "1".
-dee

And the Jackfic winners are...

I feel silly posting this, but I'm pleasantly shocked and surprised by the results. Thanks to all who voted for me. All the fics can be found in the Jackfic fiction archive. Happy reading and congrats to all the winners!
-dee

The complete list of winners is here.

And just the ones that apply to me:


Best Jack Story
Winner: General Jack-Year One by Flatkatsi
Second Place: The Bonds of Friendship by SGC Gategirl
Third Place (Tied): River of Lost Souls by Charli Booker and Gallagater
Tested Loyalty by Celeste


Best Jack Drama
Winner: Forget Me Not by SGC Gategirl
Second Place: No Matter the Cost by HoodatWhatzit
Third Place (Tied): General Jack Year One by Flatkatsi
Sword and the Sickle by Charli Booker


Best Jack H/C
Winner: Here Among the Living by Charli Booker
Second Place: The Bonds of Friendship by SGC Gategirl
Third Place (Tied): On A Slow Ride Through Molasses by Flatkatsi
The Journal by Frizzelly


Best Jack Friendship
Winner: Reconstructing Trust by SGC Gategirl
Second Place (Tied): The Asgard Sequence by Gumnut
The Coldest Of Hearts by Jackie O'NeillNut
Third Place: Pizza and Cold Beer by Su Freund

Mac's back!

How cool is this?

MasterCard Unveils Ad During the Super Bowl Featuring Actor Richard Dean Anderson

Latest “Priceless” Spot Features “MacGyver,” Highlights Debit MasterCard

Purchase, NY, January 30, 2006 - MasterCard International today unveiled plans to air its latest “Priceless” television execution during the broadcast of Super Bowl XL on February 5, on ABC Sports. The 30-second spot features actor Richard Dean Anderson, who starred as the lead character in the popular 1980s series “MacGyver,” and focuses on the benefits of Debit MasterCard®. It will air during the game's fourth quarter.

Entitled “MacGyver,” the ad finds Anderson's character in typical fashion: held hostage in a remote warehouse with time running out on a self-destructing bomb. Cleverly, MacGyver uses the purchases he had made with his Debit MasterCard card – everyday items at a convenience store – to free himself and escape to safety.

“While I've had offers to bring the MacGyver character back to life, MasterCard had the sense of humor I felt was needed to bring the character back,” said Anderson. “The commercial really speaks to how oftentimes everyday items are truly 'priceless' and can serve as life savers.”

At the end of the spot, consumers are encouraged to visit www.priceless.com, a new website containing behind-the-scenes footage and interviews from the filming of the spot.

"Consumers want to be able to purchase the everyday items they need in a way that is easy, quick and convenient," said Amy Fuller, group head, Americas marketing for MasterCard International. "Because the MacGyver character continues to have a presence in today's pop culture, we believe featuring him in a Super Bowl ad further articulates the ease and convenience of Debit MasterCard® in a manner that truly resonates with the millions of TV viewers who tune-in to the game each year."

The spot, which will go into general brand rotation beginning March 6, consists of the following sequence of events:

As a bomb is ticking, MacGyver struggles to free himself from a chair to which he is bound utilizing “Little Tree” air freshener.

Voice over: air freshener: $1.29 on Debit MasterCard

In the nick of time, MacGyver breaks free of the ropes and breaks through a window, only to realize he is dangerously high from jumping to safety. He notices a wire leading to the ground and quickly realizes he has a tube sock in his pocket, which he utilizes as a handle.

Voice over: tube sock: $4

Sliding to safety, MacGyver runs to a broken down truck, which he jump starts – employing a paper clip, ballpoint pen, rubber band, tweezers, nasal spray and turkey baster – and then drives away, narrowly avoiding an explosion caused by the bomb.

Voice over: little things that get you through the day: priceless

The spot culminates with MasterCard's traditional voiceover, “There are some things money can't buy…for everyday stuff there's Debit MasterCard,” and completes with MacGyver in a convenience store purchasing an array of off-the-cuff items, awkwardly avoiding the questioning looks of the cashier.

Cards featuring the MasterCard family of debit brands are accepted in the United States at an estimated 6.1 million merchants and at approximately 396,000 ATM locations. Collectively, acceptance for the family of MasterCard brands is unsurpassed worldwide, currently standing at over 23 million locations.

Creative for MasterCard's "Priceless" campaign is handled by McCann Erickson/New York: Joyce King Thomas, EVP, Chief Creative Officer; Leslie Sims, SVP, Group Creative Director; Audrey Huffenreuter, SVP, Group Creative Director; and Sally Hotchkiss, SVP, Executive Producer.

For more information go to www.mastercardinternational.com.

And for those of you who can't wait, check out the sneak peek at the commercial here.

Then what? Then we won’t die horribly!

SGA 2x19: Inferno

What a rip-roaring fun and fast moving, action-packed episode! Aniko told me I would like it and she was right on the money! (See Aniko, I do listen to you…sometimes.) ;-)

It looks like the writers (Carl Binder in this instance) had a grand time getting this one down on paper--and it shows.

This was a great team episode with fun snarking, Kirk happens (again!), and Mckay panicking (and for a good reason too). And everyone had something to do, that actually kinda of made sense. The pace throughout the entire episode was done very well, jumping from each Atlantis member and how they were working on the situation at hand. After "Michael", it was nice to see everyone the way we remember them, willing to help others, up-front, and working together to save an entire race of people. But it's also good to see both the good and bad sides of our characters. That's what makes them more than cardboard cutouts—and some good-looking ones at that.

It was also interesting to see how Sheppard gets McKay to work, on how he commands. We don't see him with a heavy hand when he's in charge and even now, he doesn't use one. Instead, he uses what he knows will work: McKay's ego. As soon as that's "engaged" he knows McKay will work until he gets the problem solved. The snarkage is amusing though.

And then, of course, we have the B-plot of the hive ship that becomes the A-plot in Allies…and stay tuned for that review.

So, great dialogue, good acting, and Star Trek references...how can you go wrong?


Favorite lines:

McKay: I’ll take a repair team back to the Orion: get the engines fixed.
Sheppard: I thought you told Norina you couldn’t fix it.
McKay: It was never a question of whether or not I could fix it; it...

Beckett (about Rodney’s plan): It worked!
Norena (to Rodney): You really are a genius. (He doesn’t reply) Rodney?
McKay (in total shock): I’m good.

McKay: Whoa!
Norena: What?
McKay: Got up too fast.

Norena (after McKay cries out in pain): What?
McKay: Oh! I bent my fingernail back! I hate that!
Norena: Yes, that can be painful.

McKay: What?
Beckett: Very clever, Rodney.
McKay: Hmm. Well ... don’t thank me ‘til it works ... which it probably won’t. ‘Scuse me.

Sheppard: So your plan is to not blow a hole in the hangar but to sit here and wait for this cataclysmic eruption to take place.
McKay: With the shields and inertial dampeners at full strength, yes.
Beckett: I think I may be missing something. Correct me if I’m wrong, but when the volcano erupts, don’t we as well?
McKay: That’s the plan.
Sheppard: That’s the plan?
McKay: That’s the plan!
Sheppard: That plan sucks!
Beckett: Aye!

McKay: Fixing the sublight engines was impossible in the amount of time we had left. They were just too badly damaged, but I devised a sort of a patch that in effect diverts auxiliary power to the hyperdrive. Only enough for a fraction of a second, mind you.
Sheppard: That won’t get us very far.
McKay: We don’t need to go far. Any old orbit will do.
Sheppard: And then what?
McKay: Well, then, Norina and I were planning a small dinner for us all, nothing fancy ...
Norena: Rodney.
McKay: Well, what does he mean, “Then what”?! Then we won’t die horribly!

Beckett: That’s not very much time for anything, Rodney.
McKay: It’s plenty of time to open a hyperspace window. … That’s my plan. Didn’t I tell you about that?
Beckett: No.
Sheppard: No, you didn’t.
McKay: Well, you were too busy running around looking for people.
Sheppard: Well, tell us the damn plan!

McKay: Once they’re operational, we’ll be able to provide enough protection to, uh...
Sheppard: To what?
McKay: Talk amongst yourselves.
Sheppard: What are you doing?
McKay: I have an idea.
Sheppard: What kind of idea?
McKay: Can’t talk, busy.
Sheppard: Just give me a basic ...
McKay: Not now, please.
Sheppard: I hate it when he does this.

Sheppard: Time for a military solution.
McKay: For which problem?

Sheppard: How are those engines coming?
McKay: I’m not even close.
Sheppard: Well, then, I guess we’re all gonna die.
McKay: Oh, you’re doin’ that on purpose!
Sheppard: What?
McKay: You’re creating an impossible task that my ego will force me to overcome.
Sheppard: Oh, yes, yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing. It has nothing at all to do with saving the lives of these people. It’s all about you. Now get your ass back to work and fix those damn engines! (Turns to Norina) He’ll fix ‘em! Trust me.

Sheppard: McKay’s trying to get the sublight drive online.
Caldwell: Really? Well, a ship that large, you should be able to get everyone else out in one trip.
Sheppard: Yeah, well, whether or not we live or die is all up to Rodney.
McKay: This is so unfair!

Norena: I have already learned so much from you just in the last few hours. Perhaps one day I could study under you.
McKay: Uh, yes, well, I reall... um, really look forward to that. But first, we need to, uh, get off. Uh, first we need to get off the planet... first we need to get off the planet, and then you can be under me...

McKay: And I have, uh, discovered the ship’s name. It’s the, um, Hipapheralkus.
Sheppard: The what?
McKay: Yeah, well, it appears to have been named after an Ancient general... Hipapheralkus.
Sheppard: Well, we’re not calling it that!
McKay: Oh good, then what about, um ...
Sheppard: And we’re not calling it the Enterprise either!
McKay: I wasn’t gonna say that!

Sheppard: The ship in the hangar. Maybe McKay can fix it.
McKay: Oh, maybe I can fix it! Place the pressure squarely on my shoulders for a change!
Sheppard: Well, I’ve discovered you’re pretty good under the threat of impending death!
McKay (to Norena): I am, actually.

Sheppard: What the hell happened?
Beckett: The Stargate: it was swallowed up by the magma.
McKay: We are so screwed!
Dex: You mean we’re stuck here?
Teyla: If we have no way of contacting Atlantis...
McKay: We are totally screwed.

McKay: Oh, I’m sorry, was my volume turned right down? Did he not hear me?

Sheppard: Is there anything we can do to relieve the pressure somewhere else? Uh, maybe we can fire a drone down into the crust on the other side of the calderas.
McKay: Every problem has a military solution in your world, doesn’t it?

McKay: The long range scanners: that’s just what we call them.
Sheppard: It’s from an old TV show ...
McKay: Yes, yes.

Norena: Yes, there’s an enormous amount of heat beneath the surface.
McKay: Hmm, you’re telling me.

Weir: I should head back with you and begin negotiations with the Taranan leader. What’s he like?
Sheppard: Oh, you know. He’s a guy. Didn’t pay much attention. Sorry!

Weir: Hopefully we can establish an alliance with them. A ship like that...
Sheppard: ...would come very much in handy now that the Wraith are probably on their way: I know. Uh, I’m gonna get back there now: make sure he’s not distracted.
Weir: Distracted?
Sheppard: Ah, well, the lead scientist, uh, she’s very, um...
Weir: ...hot?
Sheppard: I was gonna say attractive. But McKay is acting very, uh...
Weir: ...smitten?
Sheppard: I was gonna say pathetic.

Sheppard: The good news is you found our address. I’m sure we can fix whatever needs fixing.
McKay: And by “we”, he means me, so... (reaching behind him for his computer) ... shall we get started?

McKay: The austerity of the facility suggests that it was built during the height of war.
Norena: It is well beyond our science. My skills are rudimentary at best.
Sheppard: Ah, don’t be so hard on yourself. It took Doctor McKay years to figure out all things Ancient and he still doesn’t completely understand.
McKay: I have a very firm grasp of Ancient technology.
Sheppard: You’ve blown up entire planets, Rodney.
McKay: That wasn’t my fault!
Sheppard: Well, it didn’t do it by itself!

Icon fun!

Okay...I was in the mood to mess around in PhotoShop again. These are for Aniko, Toni, Steph, and Yllek. If you want to use, please feel free to take, but do not hotlink.
Enjoy!
-dee