401 - Adrift Options Rating

[Arcady]

Season 4, Episode 1 - Adrift
Air date: September 28, 2007

McKay must find a solution when Atlantis starts to decompress after its power system is damaged.

Episode Guide | Spoilers | Teaser

(This topic is for people who have seen the episode to discuss it. If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read this topic.)

[JTMAG1]

I actually like this episode. I would have loved to see it as a 2 hour premier. I wonder if they are actually going to go to the Asuran homeworld, or if Carter is going to find them just before.

It was cool to see how many jumpers there actually were. They had a lot of drones.
It was very obvious that Zelenka or Sheppard were going to get hit with a micro asteroid.
They did a good job revisiting older eps. The bridge, the nanites and the hyperspace drive for the PJ, which, if it does work could be built into others.

This post has been edited by JTMAG1: Sep 28th 2007, 10:21 PM

[Natoma]

That was hot!

You know, the only good side to SG-1 being canceled is that the writers are no longer split between the two shows, and hopefully some budget gets moved over to Atlantis.

If tonight's show is any indication, it's going to be a great year for Atlantis imo.

[ancient01]

I think I like the twist on Weir. I was wondering how they would handle that. Overall, I have to say, I liked it, but maybe I was just starving for a new episode...

[Natoma]

I actually like this episode. I would have loved to see it as a 2 hour premier. I wonder if they are actually going to go to the Aruan homeworld, or if Carter is going to find them just before.

If you decide to watch the repeat in another 45 minutes or so, avoid the preview for next week. Your question is answered.

It was cool to see how many jumpers there actually were. They had a lot of drones.
It was very obvious that Zelenka or Sheppard were going to get hit with a micro asteroid.
They did a good job revisiting older eps. The bridge, the nanites and the hyperspace drive for the PJ, which, if it does work could be built into others.

One thing that I liked most is that things went from bad to worse to horrific to downright "ahh man cut them a break already".

It's refreshing in a way, dunno why. And I love the deadliness of Weir at the end. Darker tone imo. That said, I saw the preview for next week's episode, and I really REALLY wish they'd stop spoiling so much. They pretty much gave the whole damn plot away.

That said, next week's episode looks

[JTMAG1]

That was hot!

You know, the only good side to SG-1 being canceled is that the writers are no longer split between the two shows, and hopefully some budget gets moved over to Atlantis.

If tonight's show is any indication, it's going to be a great year for Atlantis imo.

I don't know if they actually shared a budget. That's not to say that SGA won't have a bigger budget this year.

Also, seeing the preveiws for BSG Razor and the next season for BSG... I sooo wish they ran together. Friday nights would be fantastic.

If you decide to watch the repeat in another 45 minutes or so, avoid the preview for next week. Your question is answered.
One thing that I liked most is that things went from bad to worse to horrific to downright "ahh man cut them a break already".

It's refreshing in a way, dunno why. And I love the deadliness of Weir at the end. Darker tone imo. That said, I saw the preview for next week's episode, and I really REALLY wish they'd stop spoiling so much. They pretty much gave the whole damn plot away.

That said, next week's episode looks

Yeah, I turn as soon as the credits roll. Is it me, or was Weir's voice kind of robotic for a little bit? I guess I will have to watch again.

This post has been edited by JTMAG1: Sep 28th 2007, 11:17 PM

[jrv]

I thought this was a good episode. Way better than I expected it to be, especially the plot twist with Weir. I have high hopes for this season now.

The only thing I wasn't crazy about was Carter's part. I know it was to set up future episodes but it still seemed a little weak.

[JTMAG1]

I thought this was a good episode. Way better than I expected it to be, especially the plot twist with Weir. I have high hopes for this season now.

The only thing I wasn't crazy about was Carter's part. I know it was to set up future episodes but it still seemed a little weak.

I am glad they didn't just through Carter into Atlantis. This actually seemed like more of a Cameo.

The think that I knew was gonig to bother me, was that the last time we saw Carter, the MW was in serious danger. I pray that we don't find out through Atlantis what happens with the Ori.

[AtlantisLover]

This was a great way to start what I think is going to be the greatest season yet.I also liked how the they did the whole thing with Weir,I wonder what the future holds for her.
Man,Sheppard got a strong gene there,both flying and landing a whole CITY!Just,just awesome.

[JTMAG1]

This was a great way to start what I think is going to be the greatest season yet.I also liked how the they did the whole thing with Weir,I wonder what the future holds for her.
Man,Sheppard got a strong gene there,both flying and landing a whole CITY!Just,just awesome.

He didn't land the city, they are floating trough space still...

[CyrX]

ALL sorts of awesome! I hope they are gonna make a MASSIVE raid on the replicator planet, BOOYAH

[Sibylle]

Well, flying into the reps world with a shuttle would just be suicide.
Unless they can jump in, beam some ZPM's onboard, and jump out.

but we know that aint gonna work....
Realy hope this season is less about the hunger for energy though. I want real problems, real wars, no problems that wouldn't be problems if they had 3 ZPM's...

[wonderland]

I'm obviously way in the minority here but I wasn't at all thrilled with this episode. Admittedly, not a huge fan of SGA, I thought I'd at least give it a go to see how Amanda Tapping worked out...all ten minutes of her with Bill Lee.
I don't care for the new doctor at all. She seems too young, too unsure, although I suppose comparing her to Beckett (who was my favorite character) is a bit unfair.
McKay and Sheppard just seemed, I don't know, wrong in this episode. McKay wasn't his usual cocky self and Sheppard just had no warmth at all.
The special effects were fairly cool, but you can't build a show on those.

[Sylver]

Realy hope this season is less about the hunger for energy though. I want real problems, real wars, no problems that wouldn't be problems if they had 3 ZPM's...

I wholeheartedly agree!

OK, I admit I missed the last 15 minutes, when apparently everything happened, but the first 45 (30 because of all the damn commercials) did nothing for me. I found it all sorts of predictable, and really hoped they'd have a grand opening worthy of last season's ending. When they have to spend time showing me Weir's brain swelling operation, you know they're stretching the episode. But I have to admit, whoever the new doctor is (I forget her name) she's good. Her comeback to McKay was great (Oh, saving a life, that's all.)

Sure the bad to worse to even more so (McKay: "Oh come on!" Perfect) was different, but it still revolved around power. Granted, power they desperately needed, and I do like the reasoning behind it, but still. Hopefully once they're found they can wrap this storyline up and move along.

After reading everyone else's comments, I'm really interested to see next week and those pesky Assurans.

[Rogue Ashrak]

I thought it was a pretty good ep, some rather unimaginitive roadblocks in "We don't have the power!" but having to get through the asteroid field was a interesting dilemma.
Shep mobilizing the entire jumper squadron was a brilliant idea, and looked incredibly cool to boot. Acouple of minor nitpicks though, such as despite the fact that McKay's first spin behind the controls of a jumper resulted in him trying his best to replicate a sine curve, each and every one of the other gene carriers flew almost perfectly. I know they'd had a bit of practice (not much) but still.
My other issue would be the number of drones the jumpers seemed to use. When the weapons pod extends it seems like there's only about half a dozen drones there (which seems a fair number in a ship that size), yet it seemed like a hell of a lot more were fired.....meh the entire scene was still cool to watch anyway.

I really hope that the Apollo doesn't just locate Atlantis and save the day at the last second, that will seem like a pretty poor conclusion. Watching McKay and Zelenka come up with all kinds of ingenious solutions is so much more interesting (and fun!).

The dilemma with Weir was well played and McKay and Shep facing off was a great scene.
It seems like they could possibly be opening up some interesting storylines for Weir now shes all "new and improved" which is good....but although....

» Click to Show Spoiler «

....We might not get to see any of this actually happen! I'm sure many people know that Weir is only appearing in a small handful of eps this season (i'm not aware of the specifics though). I just hope that they actually use these eps to expand on a new character arc for her, and possibly bring her back fulltime in S5 (assuming there is a S5), like how they brought Daniel back in SG-1 and really opened the concept of ascension.
Of course if they turn her into another Ford, then Mallozzi really deserves to be put through some seirious pain.

Well, flying into the reps world with a shuttle would just be suicide.
Unless they can jump in, beam some ZPM's onboard, and jump out.

but we know that aint gonna work....

Of course it wouldn't work, Jumper's don't have beaming technology. Any such mission would most likely be a stealth mission using the cloak, coupled with a commando raid after landing. Although that would be rather tricky, I'm sure that the Asurans would have sensors to detect them. Maybe McKay can whip up a portable jammer or something

This post has been edited by Rogue Ashrak: Sep 29th 2007, 8:36 AM

[Revan]

Soft reset... heh heh... nice.


I am quite pleased with this episode... problem after problem.... usually things go a tad smoother for them.

Weir is now a cyborg... hmmm, well thats different. Teyla got to do a little something, and we saw a whole new side of Ronan.

Poor Bill Lee.... he just isn't an adventurer...

I'd say Carter glided seamlessly into the SGA universe... should be good to see what they do with her, now that they've got her.

Great CGI in this episode... I was very pleased with the PJ squadron.

[Sylver]

Watching McKay and Zelenka come up with all kinds of ingenious solutions is so much more interesting (and fun!).

Oh, man, I'd forgotten about that! (I was drugged up on pain meds last night, forgive the incoherence of my memory.) The way the 2 of them finished each other's sentences/thoughts really shows character growth in each of them, and as a (dare I say it) team.

I agree with whoever said they hoped the Apollo wouldn't swoop in and save the day. Id like to see them save themselves without any outside help at all - no ZPMs, no beaming out, nothing like that.

[Raxor]

Its good to see it again, enjoyed this ep a bit after not seeing the show for a while.
Curious at how the whole weir thing will play out - What plan did mckay end up with. Either if they shut them down she dies or they just repaired the body instead of replacing it.
Nice cg in the jumper scene as well.
I do hope once they sort it out the city just doesnt get reset straight away without a decent explanation.

Id give this ep *** this time, not amazin and not terrible either

[That General Guy]

Overall an excellent ep, 5 stars, and a good follow up to last seasons finale. I liked:
-The collapsing shield
-The asteroid belt and resulting jumping scene
-The space walk
-The introduction to Carter
-The Weir part
and i loved the coles vs cliff notes reference, although i'm pretty sure quite a few ppl won't get it. I also liked how they gave us a taste of how Sheppard and McKay would be in command. McKay spends the whole episode stressed and Sheppard spends it as a hard ass. It really gives you a sense of why Carter will be brought in in the command role instead of them. One thing i would like to know though is why they haven't installed Ascard beams in Atlantis yet, they would certainly help in evacuations and in shield failure scenarios, etc.

[Revan]

Given how the ship was flying in hyperspace, and given the sublight engines were down, I want to know how the ship was floating along the way it was... shouldn't it have been flying tower first?

[Invisible Painting]

Ooh, good episode. Damn cliffhangers but a damn good one Very good episode though, loved Sheppards argument with Mckay you rarely see that. Did anyone else think that Sheppard would make a really good leader in general as well? He seemed to fit the role very well. I really liked it though, there is a lot of promise for part 3 based on this.

This post has been edited by Invisible Painting: Sep 29th 2007, 12:50 PM

[Winter_Lady]

Hmmm... I'm sceptic about this episode. Don't know. Maybe it's just that I had such high expectations. I hateed the cliffhanger ending...

[Pitry]

So there's a saying in Hebrew. Translates roughly to "first time funny, second time annoying, third time enough" (it does sound better in Hebrew, rhymes an' all).
That's about the best way I can describe Adrift.
When Siege 3 aired I loved it, all the "not a moment to breathe" feeling, constant action, constant problems, cool CGI. I thought it was one of their better installments til that point.
When No MAn's Land aired, I thought it was okay, but I admit to mainly enjoy the slower bits, the ones that involved Weir facing off the IOA. The more human bits, shall we say.
And as I said, third time enough. Once again we get a shallow opening, too busy to throw crisis after crisis at the characters so that they don't have time to breathe - only it's not new and exciting anymore. It felt, mainly, like a re-hash of Siege 3 and No Man's Land. A series of panicking crises does not make a plot.
And to be honest? After the incredible CGI sequences in Return 2 and First Strike, even the CGI wasn't all that impressive here.
It dind't help that there were barely any jokes - most of Stargate's bad episodes are forgivable when tehre's enough entertaining material in them. And to be perfectly honest - it could be the directiong/ editting/ rushed pace of the episode or whatever, but I dind't even feel any particular effort from the actors' part, it felt like they were standing there, saying their lines.
So rushed, predictable, shallow, asnd not all that exciting. No, I',m not too happy. In a way, I'd rather this be a bad epsiodxe. I prefer it when they try - even when they try and fail. Which is why, ultinately, although I find Grace boring and pointless, I still say Revisions is the worse episode - they failed with what they tried with Grace - but at least they tried. Revisions was just a revised script from a number of earlier episodes, it seems at times. Much like aDrift, which seems to be a re-write of Siege and No Man's Land.
But wait to next week and Lifeline, then I'll really be ranting my head off

[jrv]

I agree with you Pitry. I did like the episode overall but you are correct in saying that it is basically the same stuff over and over.