It’s a veritable winter wonderland outside our front door and while that may not be all that unusual for most places (it is December 1st after all), it IS unusual for Vancouver. Fondy and I were surprised, but nowhere near as surprised as the dogs who didn’t know quite what to make of the white stuff. While the pugs sniffed about, gingerly testing the snow-covered lawn with their paws, Lulu shoved her entire face into a drift and then proceeded to tear around the front yard like a pooch possessed.
Hailing from Montreal, Fondy and I have a lot of experience driving in these conditions. Most Vancouverites, however, do not - and these are the people we’d be sharing the road with. And so, rather than venture outdoors today, Fondy, the dogs, and I decided to hibernate - working out, watching an afternoon matinee, and ordering in. Hell, if the weather doesn’t clear up, I plan on staying in for the foreseeable future. I’ve got more than enough canned food to last me until November 16th, the day I have to go pick up my mother at the airport.
By the looks of things, more than a few of you decided to stay home today and spend some time on the internet. We’re approaching 200 comments today. Could be the weather. Could be that some of you are under the mistaken assumption that Marty G. would be dropping by the field your questions today (Alas, he is Hawaii-bound, but will be responding to your post-Be All My Sins Remember’d comments). Or it could be your reaction to yesterday’s somewhat controversial of Atlantis. Wow. The debate on this Miller’s Crossing - and the last ten minutes in particular - reminds me of a similarly animated writer’s room discussion on, coincidentally enough, Miller’s Crossing - and the last ten minutes in particular.
As some of you have already mentioned, the episode was all about choices, self-sacrifice, and how far one should go to save someone they care for. In the case of all three major players in last night’s episode, the answer is: as far as they need to. Yes, what Sheppard did was dark and no doubt morally objectionable to some, but the fact is he didn’t force Wallace’s hand. He presented the dilemma and, ultimately, left the decision with Wallace. As for Wallace - in my mind, his fate was sealed the second he injected McKay’s sister with the nanites. In the end, he realized that there was only one way to undo the mistake he had made. His death was an act of redemption.
No mailbag today but just a few points of clarification -
The winner of the virtual dinner will be the first comment after 750 000th visit, NOT the 750 000th comment. By my estimation, the lucky winner is still three days away.
Tim Guinee will not be in Continuum. Sorry, I was thinking of Ark of Truth when I answered a question about his possible appearance.
To (surprise surprise) Anonymous who accuses me of “belittling someone who works in Accounts Receivable” - Actually, just the opposite which you’d realize if you had read my response. The point being that my assuming I could do the job of someone working in Accounts Receivable would be as presumptuous as someone like yourself claiming they could just step in and do our job.
As for those (again, surprise surprise) anonymous posters getting all bent out of shape because regulars to this blog are responding to their comments - please, grow up. If you’re going to post your passionate opinions on the show here, expect some equally passionate fans to respond. If, instead, you’d prefer a venue where everyone parrots the same position, then I can think of several forum threads you could frequent instead.
And finally - click on the date for a video of Lulu enjoying the great outdoors.
P.S. Happy National Pie Day!
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
137 comments:
Am I first? Great video of Lulu. Was she chasing something?
I honestly thought all of Canada got snow all winter long - sorry now for the presumption. Is your weather more uh, Seattle-like? I spent years in South Bend, Indiana and Michigan. Let me tell you, snow there is a way of life for months. You'd lose the dogs in it.
So you have enough food to last until next November? Or was that a typo *giggle. Happy weekend! Wams352
hi, joe,
since i'm in the minority about 'miller's crossing' (that it was alright), i'll go to my happy place...
1- when will it be revealed that sam and jack are married to one another?
2-10 - same as above.
11- :p
hearts and flowers,
sally :D
Thanks for braving what sounded like a very cold wind to share that adorable footage of Lulu with us. Loved her little hop over the bushes at the end.
I have to say that I'm really enjoying these darker turns the show is taking this season. It adds so many layers to the characters that make them even more interesting to watch. As far as I'm concerned, you've all done a hell of a job so far. Can't wait to see what's in store for us next.
National Pie Day?!
I'm now seriously considering moving to Canada.
Just saw Miller's Crossing today as I had to wait for the iTunes release.
Bravo.
Dark and questionable with amazing performances. David and Joe were spot on and Kate was fantastic.
How'd you find little Madison? Two whole episodes - her agent must be making a killing!
A truly stellar telling.
Thanks! :D
You let your youngest one go outside in that weather without a coat and boots on? Shame on you!
Thank you sir. My hat's off to you.
I posted my complaints and praise for 'Miller's Crossing' on the previous post, so all I want to ask is are there are our heroes going to be faced with many more of this moral dilemma this and/or next season? I might not have agreed with Shep's final decision, but I certainly like the debate. I can't enjoy scifi without some controversy and surprises.
I said I would not come here often, but a blog dedicated to scifi, dogs, and food? I like.
great video of Lulu. i have two dogs one likes snow the other hates it. if we get too much snow i have to go out and shovel a path for my little dog to go out.
loved this weeks episode. i loved all the interactions between rodney and his sister. i wasn't really surprised that wallace sacrificed himself. he really didn't have anything to lose. it helped save rodney's sister. great episode can't wait for the next one.. keep up the awesome work or at least try...
Alas, I live too far south to remember what snow is. Though due to the air patterns we are being gifted with the cold air needed. Just no moisture to give us the white stuff.
I havent re-watched Miller's Crossing yet, but the more I mull on it, the better it is settling. I think what was most disturbing was not that Sheppard pushed the issue so far. It was that had Wallace not volunteered to commit suicide(as you said, an act of redemption), I strongly suspect that the end results might have still been the same. And I suspect both men realize that. Ahh, secrets and guilt and moral ambivolence. Still dont think this is my favorite episode of the season, but its a good entry.
Estimated 3 days till the big number? At least the puts me in a position to have a chance then. Hoping to hear more of Baron Destructo's correspondence soon.
He presented the dilemma and, ultimately, left the decision with Wallace.
Still, it appeared to me that Sheppard had a reaction that looked like guilty doubt and psychic pain. Well done.
Ahh bless Lulu...animals and snow/ice always have the best 'You've Been Framed' potential on video.
Beginning to forget what snow looks like in my neck of the woods (Southern UK)...when we do get a covering it is, apparently, the 'wrong' kind of snow...figures.
Personally I'm liking the darker/morally grey side to the characters.
Lulu looked like a cute little bunny hoping through the snow!! I live down in Massachusetts and am waiting for the storm coming our way.. I know my two bassett's will be buried up to there necks in the white stuff soon.
Also regarding Miller's Crossing, I seem to be the only one (of the people I have talked to) who picked up that Rodney learned some new negotiation tricks from Wallace... And implemented them in a very non-Rodney way... *tears* Rodney's growing up...
Geez, I thought Canada was a tamer version of Artic Circle. :) Lulu loves the white stuff. Has she tried the yellow stuff yet? ;)
I'll say it again, Joe. Miller's Crossing was just perfect. That episode is better than Doppelganger, IMO.
I wasn't surprised at all by the part John played in what happened toward the end. John didn't even do anything. The decision was in the hands of the man that set the entire scenario in motion. John just made it possible...probably what you'd call an enabler. I don't find it morally objectional. Uncomfortable...yes, but I can't find reason to object to it.
This was just an amazing episode, Joe, and it really pushed season four over season three as being the best. I love moral dilemmas, the difficulties for the characters, and the action, too.
You guys have really outdone yourselves this season.
Thanks so much!
Dear Joe,
Does the vision for season 5 include the full time return of Paul McGillion. He is a fantastic actor and his character has been very missed in season 4.
Aww that's so cute. See that's one of the reasons why dogs are so much more cuter and better in general than cats! lol.
BTW how do you distinguish visit from comment? Based on IP?
Hey, Joe,
It was in the mid-70's in San Antonio today. How about packaging some CLEAN snow in dry ice and sending it down?
We received a Carol Wright Gifts catalog today. It had a few cute and/or hilarious doggie "gifts"...
Dog Faux Fur Coats
http://www.carolwrightgifts.com/cwg_v2/cwg_layout_base2.cfm?mid_sec_page=cwg_prod_detail&seq_no=5&min_seq_no=504&SingleItem=56907
Doggie Polo Shirts
http://www.carolwrightgifts.com/cwg_v2/cwg_layout_base2.cfm?mid_sec_page=cwg_prod_detail&seq_no=5&min_seq_no=504&SingleItem=59976
Household Helpers : Pet Favorites (21)
http://www.carolwrightgifts.com/cwg_v2/cwg_layout_base2.cfm?PageNum_getProducts=1&startrow=1&seq_no=5&mid_sec_page=cwg_main_catgs&CatgSel=0500&SubCatgSel=105000&numProdStart=1&criteria=
Gilder
Pi Day? It's not March already is it? Oh, Pie Day!
Haha, I'm such a math nerd!
Quite enjoyed the moral ambiguity of "Miller's Crossing."
BTW, cute video.
I absolutely despise the snow, so I pity you. though I must ask if you meant December 16, for if it November 16, I feel quite bad for you Mother standing there all alone for over two weeks... Unless you mean next year.
What food can't you stand, and if Baron Destructo wanted his own personal chef- who would he kidnap?
Lulu is hilariously cute. I had a similar experience earlier today during my puppy's "bath-time" let's just say I ended up giving him a shower (enclosed and escape-proof). I made for several scratch marks on my feet, but one hilarious home movie.
Thanks for supporting the regulars for commenting on anonymous slammers.
Believe me I had this really in depth analysis of MC all bound up in the psychoanalysis of Sheppard’s Freudian tendencies. Pressed the send button bloody hell it didn’t get through, or if I were a conspiracy theorist, did it???
I really enjoyed MC and I do think Jeannie and Rodney would be bickering that’s what siblings do especially if they’re as competitive as they are.
Sheppard and Ronan dressed alike, I just couldn’t help thinking Rain Man.
Lots of twists and turns in the plot and a lot to fit in succinctly in such a short time frame. People don’t appreciate just how hard it is to write good dialogue and make each word count in pushing the story forward.
One page of dialogue is one minute of screen time take away any chases or fights that have to happen and you could be down to thirty pages or less.
Not much time in which to be kidnapped the plot developed, save the girl, watch the girl die, then come back to life, then die again.
Hey Anons try it sometime! (screenwriting I mean not the dying and coming back to life bit that would be too ugghh)
Loved dark Sheppard no I don’t weee or squeeee or whatever, but I can appreciate what makes those that do.
Dark Sheppard showed that side of his id that balances the lighter Sheppard.
This Sheppard did what he had to do he had two dilemmas, Rodney had to find a way to save his sister and the only way he could do that was by letting the Wraith feed on him. Sheppard couldn’t let him do that so what’s more logical than to sacrifice the instigator of the problem who by his own admission has nothing else left (wife dead daughter dead twice!) to live for.
Bit underhanded showing him the cute pics of little Madison (I think she should have been the one fed to the Wraith).
I still have my suspicions that the millionaire didn’t go willingly to be lunch for a Wraith.
Pauline
Not wanting to state the obvious, but why let inflamatory statements from several unintelligent Anonymous speakers onto your blog to even cause issues with regulars, when you can just not approve their posts?
Sure complaining about them would be pointless when you do have the power to stop any and all posts that are arguementative from appearing in the first place, and no one but the select few persistant users would be the wiser.
So yeah i ask, why approve inflamatory statements from people that would provoke these kinds of reactions from your regulars and complain about them afterwards?
makes no sense
Previously in Joe's blog...
Emily writes: “If you don't finish a meal at a restaurant do you ask for a box/doggy bag and take it home?”
Answer: I have four dogs. You bet I do.
So what is their favorite restaurant? Fuel, Don Francesco? Like father, like son or they have other preferences? :-)
Another great episode last night. Was the Wraith up to something? When Rodney said "that was quick" it seemed like he was already done and just trying to get some food. Just curious.
Why are you not on vacation like everyone else. You and Fondy may need to go someplace warm too. :)
your very own sno-mopuppy! zoooooooom!
i love last night's ep. i did not see the darkness or morality at all, it seemed like there was only one right action wallace COULD take and john had the responnsibility to make him aware of his responsiblity to take it, since jeannie dying WAS his responsibility.
i love that wraith SO much. from his little willow-y "bored now" sigh to how he is as smart or smarter than rodney (at least about the replicator code). i am glad he got a good square meal. and i am glad we are seeing that they are no more "evil" than anything that eats whatever is healthiest for it to eat is.
i love rodney and jeannie interacting too. they are so much fun to watch.
Joe, What a cutie! Loved the video of Lulu! She doesn't seemed to be fased by the coldness of the snow!
So Vancouver doesn't usually get snow?
Its raining & cool here in Sydney!
Its the start of summer here & it is usually hot! That said i'm lovin' the cooler weather!
National pie day! Please explain?
I'm from Australia!
Cathie
"Miller's Crossing" left me feeling gut-punched...and I mean that in the best possible way. Sometimes a show like Stargate Atlantis capivates me with it's humor and the interplay of the main group of actors, so much so that I can forget that those same actors were hired for a reason.
The emotional roller coaster they led me on in this episode reminded me that they are all powerful actors, and damn good at their jobs. The dark decision by the Sheppard character was so painful to watch...and so skillfully done...that I wanted to stand and clap. The pain that Dr. McKay felt/showed when faced with losing the sister he had only just re-established contact with was enough to bring a tear.
My congratulations all around for a job superlatively done.
Gotta love the unnatural snow. I blame it all on global warming.
I'm staying inside today because finals are approaching me. Writing this paper is exceptionally boring work, and I need Internet breaks from it in order to not get too drowsy. It's happened before. I get so drowsy, I lean back in my chair and fall asleep.
I'm still deciding if I think what Sheppard did was right or not. I'm leaning towards "yes" because the situation was because of Wallace, and he should be the one to pay for it, not either of the McKays. But did Sheppard have the right to present the situation as such? hmm...
Anons, it’s not what you say but the way that you say it.
Debate is great but be polite, the rest of us may not agree but you still have a right to voice your opinions as Joe has said.
It's so easy to be unpleasant while hiding behind the pseudonym of Anonymous.
Come out of the Anon closet we won’t judge you for it promise.
“Anyway, I ’m sorry, but that just happens to be how...I feel about it. What do you think?”
(DJ, Window of Opportunity)
Pauline
Cute video.....But what was hopping through the snow? It looks like a toad, but I don't know if that's even possible......
Radar loves the snow, even at the ripe old age of 13. He sticks his nose in it and comes up with a cone of snow on the end, like a mutant rhino. Of course nowadays after he's had his frolic, he wants to go upstairs and sleep on my electric blanket, because he's a skinny old dog and he gets cold. And yes, I turn it on for him. And then we wonder why he acts like he should always get his way.
It's downright nasty here in the Midwest - ice and snow - but not nearly as much as we used to get.
I have to say that season 4 thus far has been brilliant. Excellent writing, direction, acting, music...the list goes on. It seems the cast and crew have finally gotten into their groove and everyone meshes well together.
The best part is digging deeper into the psyche of the characters. And I love how the characters are becoming more true-to-life. Not everything is black and white: the gray areas are becoming more prominent and I love it!
As for Sheppard's manipulation, if you will, I find it intriguing. Here is a "hero" seen in most cases by viewers as the guy who is going to go out of his way to do what is right and save the day. Yet in this case, he did something to save the day, but was it right? Some say yes, some say no, and yet others are shifting around in that gray area along with the character. Sheppard had his reasons to go that far and what's done was done. That's the meat I'm looking for in a good story! The conflict! The not-so-clear line between right and wrong!
In my opinion, you guys are really on the mark this season. Sorry for the rambling, just wanted to let you know that your work is appreciated.
BTW - Lulu in the snow - how adorable!!!
-chokolaj
Bonsoir Joseph
Ha ! Ha !En ben bonne celle-là, je parle de neige depuis quelques semaines et voilà que l'Ouest est sous la neige aussi, bienvenue dans l'hiver. Je n'ose même pas imaginer la conduite hivernal dans ce coin, genre avec des pneus «quatre saisons» ou pire des pneus d'été, ouch ! Pour ce qui est des commentaires négatifs, à moins qu'ils soient carrément offensants, je ne crois que c'est une bonne idée de ne pas les approuver. Tout le monde a droit à ses opinions, même s'ils sont négatifs.
P.S. Happy National Pie Day! ????
C'est quoi ça ? Pas très national dans mon coin de pays en tout cas!
lol
Bonne neige :)
It's easy for me to see why Sheppard presented the situation to him and why Wallace made his choice.
People tend to forget that Wallace was between a rock and a hard place when Sheppard came to him. He was going to spend the rest of his life in a cell in Area 51 or -- adding treason, the Patriot Act violations and, if Jeannie died, murder to the relatively lesser charges of kidnapping, unlawful detainment, espionage, crossing state lines for criminal purposes, etc. -- he'd be executed.
Wallace knew he was, for all practical purposes, a dead man. Becoming Wraith fodder gave him a way to atone and repair some of the damage he caused.
Anne Teldy
Oh Joe! what an awesome series of crazy blog comments!, entertaining and fun to read...like our own little reallity show/Jerry Springer. I can only hope the rest of the season will be as controvetial as this last episode.
Lulu is SO cute!!!! I love lulu, you have to write more about the funny dog's stories.
Was it a budgetary reason or a time constraint reason (or neither) that there were no real high ranking members of the SGC around when the Wraith set foot at the SGC? Just curious....
Anonymous/carolina said:
So yeah i ask, why approve inflamatory statements from people that would provoke these kinds of reactions from your regulars and complain about them afterwards?
Let me answer you...because it makes great television...I mean is very entertaining for the blog comment reading.
Sorry Carolina!! I got confuse with your comment and Anonymous!
Man vs. wild....bear's mission to fly over the everest on a minus 100 F!! I think he got it worst Joe(snow wise)...but the thing is, he is crying he is so scared to do this but...noone is forcing him to do this, and well....Discovery can't pay THAT well...I mean well enough to go fly over the everest on some crazy fan attached to the back.
I have never seen/touch real snow =(
I live in Florida, it was SO HOT today!!! xmas trees are dying on their tents.
Cool, national pie day! Oh, the holidays people come up with, what will they think of next?
So the ending up as a Wraith snack was a act of redemption? That's a really good reason to never do anything bad.
Three days approximately till the comment contest winner! Oh man, I don't know if I going to be near a computer that day (pouts).
"majorsal said...
1- when will it be revealed that sam and jack are married to one another?
2-10 - same as above.
sally :D"
That would be cute, I don't think you're the only person who thinks that happened (I've heard about that theory a lot of places, unless you were the person talking about it everytime). Do you mean married since the end of season eight? If so, why no kids?
Hi Joe,
Question, What have the Atlantis been feeding their Wraith guest? And how long can they go between feeding?
Hey Joe
Lulu looks like she's having fun. Toronto is also getting some snow now too. Brrrr it's cold here.
Have yet to see Miller's Crossing. Looking forward to it. So far I really like Season 4. Care to give us any tidbits into what we will see in Season 5?
Keep warm out there in Vancouver and please stop sending us this cold weather.
Fran
Hello Mr M,
It's been a while since I commented in your blog and I normally go by the other name M (which for reasons I won't go into at this juncture, I am now someone else).
Wanted to say, I enjoyed tremendously Miller's Crossing.
I did not anticipate that it would be a dark ep; if any I expected a lighter episode and was pleasantly surprised.
There are a lot points to say but I liked where you guys took the Sheppard character in this story and it made me reflect a lot on what he did. Don't get me wrong, I'm not justifying his reasons and yes I agree it was morally objectionable.
But it was great writing (from Gero), good directing, great producing and pls pass on the well played acting by Mr Flanigan and Mr Hewlett.
Hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Ciao,
M
There be snow!!! And what better combination than snow and dogs? (Well, maybe snow and skis; but dogs are family, after all, and they have a lot more personality.) Lotsa great memories of playing with dogs in the snow - hope you and Fondy had a lot of fun watching your pooches cavort. :)
- Re. Wallace's sacrifice: I felt (and still feel) torn about whether to see is as redemption, or as the most expedient action possible for someone with a notable tendency toward sociopathic, selfish behavior where it concerns his daughter. (And, yes, I know exactly how painful it is to go through having a mortally ill child.) Given Wallace's persistent callous disregard for the law and for others' rights, plus what appeared to be a need for some nudging via photos of Jeanie's family, maybe his self-sacrifice held its own share of moral ambiguity.
Re: Miller's Crossing. I assumed that Wallace was going to let Todd feed on him, finish the project and then give him his life back (like he did Sheppard).. didn't seem too bad an idea.
Loved the episode (even though I found Jeannie's change of outfit from her pjs to normal clothes a bit of a distraction - kept wondering 'how did that happen"?)
Lulu's gorgeous!!! What's the temperament of a French Bulldog compared to a Pug? I've been considering getting a Pug because I hear they're excellent with kids (and terrible hair shedders) but will a dog like Lulu be good around my two boys (aged 7 and 5)?
Hi Joe,
I watched Miller's Crossing twice today (yes, I was procrastinating from the term project again.) And I have to say I loved it! I loved seeing the other side of Rodney, the sibling relationship, little Madison and her cookie mountain, the lengths John would go to protect the people he cares about, dark John, and the Canadian references. :P Please have Kate Hewlett back again!
Sorry to hear about the horrible weather and the bad drivers. Calgary was hit with snow on Tuesday and it's been slow going ever since (I was 40min late for class on Tuesday!) We hit a low of -23C today. I also heard yesterday on CBC news that Canada from coast to coast will be hit with the coldest winter we've had in a decade this year. So you better stock up on those canned goods.
Stay warm
-Katie
PS Lulu is just too cute in the snow!
the dixon-stubblefield blog said...
"I thought the episode was really cool, but why did Ronan and John have identical "earth" outfits? That was a bit bizarre. The blue blazer, jeans and white shirt? "
My take on it was that John picked out Ronon's clothes so Ronon would fit in...and of course picked out clothes like his. ;~)
Or they both needed clothes so John just grabbed two of everything off the rack, really quickly.
Kimberly
Salut Joseph =)
Bien dormi?
lol la video, Lulu doit se demander quel est cette étrange chose blanche et froide^^!
Oh ici sa va il fait froid, mais c'est supportable. Vous avez de la chance d'avoir de la neige, dans ma région il n'a pas vraiment neiger depuis 1949!
Olalal, je suis impatiente de savoir le nom de la personne qui a mis le commentaire, aprés la 750000 visites! Moi je vais vers mes 40000 commentaires, lentement, mais surment! =)
journée nationale de la tarte!?? oh pourquoi il n'ya pas des journées comme ça en france! lol
Bon aller gros kisou, Je vous love, a demain ou ce soir, Merci!!!!
OMG Lulu playing in the snow is just so cute :)
My cat hates the snow - for the few hours each year we actually get some!
wolfenm said... "I've always felt intelligent and civil criticism should always be quantified as personal experience, rather than stated as a declaration of fact."
I totally agree. People have a very hard time telling the difference between a fact and an opinion. Especially if it's their opinion. I have heard people say mean horrible things to others and justify it by saying, "Well it's true, I would be lying if I didn't say it."
When in reality it's not "true" or "the truth" or any kind of "fact". It's just what that person thinks....it's their opinion.
As a teacher, trying to teach this to children is a very difficult thing. I believe children hear the phrase "Tell the truth" and it confuses them. One person's truth can be very different from anothers. And in reality, it's not usually "the actual truth", but just what the person has perceived and feels about it.
A fact is something you can see or measure, and prove. An opinion is what you feel about something.
And it would be nice if we could speak/write in a civil, respectful manner that doesn't belittle others' opinions.
Kimberly
Dear Joe and Martin,
I LOVED this episode! Poor McKay was just beside himself, not knowing how to solve "the problem", when it was his sister's life on the line. That he came up with the solution of giving his life to the wraith to save Jeannie....that was priceless! The guilt and love that drove him to that was remarkable.
I thought it was interesting that when Jeannie was brought into the room, Wallace faced her alone and cut through her bindings himself. Then when Rodney was brought in, Wallace had a few big guys there to make sure Rodney didn't try to overpower Wallace. I would have loved to see Wallace pull that with Teyla....if he faced her alone, he would've been taken down in less than 60 seconds...lol. (of course we know he didn't need Teyla, but it would've been fun to see!)
I felt sorry for Wallace, until he put the nannites into Jeannie. That was pure evil. Then my sympathy vanished. Because of his feelings of desperation for his daughter, he basically killed Jeannie as he knew there was a chance that the nannites wouldn't be able to be neutralized, and yet he still injected Jeannie with them. That was unforgivable to me. If he had to do something that despicable, he could have injected her with plain water and no one would have known the difference. The siblings would have worked on the coding and Jeannie would not really have been in danger.
I could see that Todd the wraith was feeling ill. He was all sweaty and his eyes seemed a bit glazed over while Rodney tried to convince him to help Jeannie. I was surprised he lasted as long as he did. Although, he did seem to finish the code almost instantly after he fed...so maybe he wasn't as bad off as he played it? Lol I do think a nice juicy, full of life cow could have satisfied him enough for him to get on his feet again. But maybe the humans in the show aren't privy to that fact as we are. ;~)
I totally get why Sheppard presented Wallace with the opportunity to redeem himself and save Jeannie. As I said before, when Wallace injected Jeannie with the nannites, he gave her a death sentence as no one could stop them at that point. Even though McKay felt guilty...it wasn't his fault that Jeannie was going to die. It was totally Wallace's fault. If a human had to die to save Jeannie...it should be Wallace.
Rodney thanking Sheppard was a wonderful scene. Rodney was acting like he couldn't believe Sheppard did that for him and Sheppard was trying to make it seem like he hadn't done much. Very very sweet to see Rodney like that.
I wish someone had told Jeannie that Rodney tried to give his life for her. It would let her know how much he cares for her and maybe she would think more kindly of him. Maybe they didn't to hide what happened to Wallace, as the fewer people that know the better? It still would have been nice to see Jeannie's face as she found out just how much her brother can love.
Great episode...thank you so much!
Gratified,
Kimberly
Presumably we could harvest the satelite weapon from the episode "Ethon" and put it to use somehow. No?
I was hoping for Ronon to say "This place sucks compared to Atlantis, as the SGC isn't very glamorous. No?
I want a montage in which he goes shopping, and comes out of the change room in some nice threads. Put it in that Atlantis toilet episode, with the stick fighting.
Carter is letting her command detract from her intelligence, because she is acting like she isn't a scientist. Carter could have helped the repli-coding. No?
hey there again.
I hate to be a negative bum, but I'm still waiting patiently for the series to pick up the story line... it's just going off on a big tangent, and it's getting really boring.
Are we actually going to get back to the whole replicator/wraith thing (and actually finish them and get on to something new) anytime soon or should I just sell my Neilsen and get a proper one when you guys decide to get back to the story. I have to wait ages to see the new episodes and its disappointing to get very little out of it.
Can I expect an improvement soon?
On a positive side- not all negativo- I do like very much what you are doing with sheppard. He has a dark side to his personality which is made to be a very refreshing change due to the fact that he is a main character. It is also pleasant to see the rare occasion when Rodney shows consideration for others, without being an arrogant prick all the time.
Keep it up! Aside from the disjointed and random stories, I like where this is heading.
Take care. Also you should love and enjoy your job! People would kill to be in your position.
Hello Joe, Hello other Poster/User
Well I read all things here but I have a Question. Why do you, the other User write so long LETTERS to Joe? I don´t think that anybody are interesting on 125 Millers Crossing entries!!
Post this to all the SGA Forums/Boards in the www and discuss there on it!!!
Please make Short Questions, so Mr. Mallozzie can give short responses...
So I was it with the Toilet/Bathrooms...
We Wraith fan´s want know more about the Life of the Wraiths and not about Sheppard or McKay.
Could you show in Season 5 a Episode from the Love life and social life of the Wraith´s?
Greets from germany with a cup of mulled claret (Glühwein)
What is the difference between the good and the bad guys. None it seems. I hold the characters to a fairly high standard and expect them to have some sence of morals, but that went out the window with Millers Crossing. Sheppard is no better than Koyla or the Wraith. In fact I think the Wraith have been more honorable than Sheppard lately. In Sateda Sheppard said he would die for anyone of his family and here was the pefect opportunity for him to prove this. But instead he finds some smuck who in his eyes deserved his fate, and with premeditation talks him into sacrificing himself to a Wraith, something that he had gone through himself but yet is prepared to put anothe human being through this horror to save his friend. No danger to earth or anyone else just his friend. Why did Sheppard not offer himself up instead if he said he would do anything to save a friend. But yet he takes a cowardly and dishonorable action. The character has sank to an all time low for me and I don't think you can ever redeem him in my eyes.
Aren't dogs just the best? Even when you wake up and it's miserable out, they always find a way to remind you how cool they are! How in the world do you deal with almost 200 comments in a day? I am happy when I get 2 comments!
I was reading how you responded to someone asking whether Jonas Quinn was still alive or not and I had a question.
If you continue to do more SG1 movies, would there be a possiblity that Jonas could be included in any future story, if nothing else but to have had all the main characters from the show interact with each other, i.e. jonas with Mitchell, etc?
Oh, just another quick couple of questions aswell on Atlantis, almost forgot.
Is there any chance an episode will be set aside for Lt Ford's storyline will be resolved in season 5?
Awesome! I have only seen snow once. I did think about wandering down to the beach for a swim though, and I will be going tomorrow. I'm loving summer!
Quote from a recent interview "Mallozzi hopes to see Judge return as Teal’c in Season Five. “If Teal’c could come and do another script or two, that would be great as well.”"
What about Jack? Please try and bring Jack/RDA for a couple of episodes too!
elizabeth weir reviendra de si tôt dans la deuxième parties de la saison 4 ou carrement à la fin ?
I love watching dogs play in the snow. They never know which way to run first - apart from this little dog I saw in the park. It was a wee short thing and it had long hair so all the snow clumped into little balls on each of its hairs. It looked like it had a funky pair of moon boots on and it could hardly move at all.
Do all the cast and crew get to bring their dogs to work or is it only certain people? Do you make sure they have had all their injections before they come?
Heee. Pet's reactions to snow, especially for the first time, are always fun. The first time my cats encountered snow one of them tried to minimise paw to cold-white-stuff exposure by travelling in a series of rapid bounds and the other picked her way delicately, and very uncertainly, through the garden, lifting and shaking each paw after each step!
Wind is more fun with cats... I used to have a cat that would get terribly wound up when outside in strong winds, possibly because of the way it blew her fur about. She would race around like a crazy thing for no reason - kinda like Lulu in your video but x10! :D
Are you guys staying in Vancouver for Christmas or heading over to Montreal?
salut joe,
avez-vous les dates de sorties en DVD pour "The ark of truth" et "Continum" en France?
merçi!!!!!
Just saw Millers(Fantastic episode in my opinion the best of the season so far- a really character defining episode)!! So far this season has been of the fantastic darker style and we have seen our characters (and their dark sides) really develop. Shepperds "persuasion" in Millers was a fanastic insight into the darker side of his character and the lenghts he would go to for the innocent victims. I particularly liked him showing Henry the photos of Caleb and Madison, nice touch and to use his own words ..he merely presented a situation. I have to say the thing I like most in this new season (apart from the awesome character development) is the mckay/shep interactions...loved the angstfest that was Mckay practically begging John to allow him to sacrafice himself! Although I did miss Teyla but Ronan in civvies definatley made up for it :p
Anonymous said...
Not wanting to state the obvious, but why let inflamatory statements from several unintelligent Anonymous speakers onto your blog to even cause issues with regulars, when you can just not approve their posts?
Joe has said before that the only comments he will not approve are those that are personally insulting/offensive to the cast/crew etc.
At the end of the day, if people are going to post on what is essentially a "public" forum such as a blog, how they conduct themselves is their responsibility, not Joe's. It's all too easy to abdicate responsibility for our own actions and say, "Oh well, you should just not approve the post if it's rude or mean" but if Joe were to start doing so then the accusations would start to fly, probably from those same anonymous posters, of censorship and that he was selectively approving only the posts that supported him or whatever.
Joe's been very clear about his policy - there is no censorship and everything gets approved unless it is personally offensive. And if people post stuff that makes them look foolish/impolite/petty/whatever, then they've only themselves to hold responsible for their behaviour. :)
Miller Crossing was AWESOME. I loved the parallels in the situations of doing whatever necessary to save one's "family." Wallace, Rodney, Sheppard's Wraith, and Sheppard himself.
Also loved that Sheppard was telling Wallace that he screwed up and that he had to fix the mess. It was a real character moment for Sheppard, showing that a) it showed his mentality of "the person to blame should take responsibility and do whatever it takes to fix it" b) he's willing to do whatever it takes to protect his team, who are his family, and damn everyone else. c) Sheppard is a soldier and don't we forget it. He can deal with morally gray.
And I'm loving Sheppard's Wraith more with each episode. I really want them to understand and trust each other (within reason of course). This uneasy alliance is wonderful. Please don't kill him! Ever!
When Mckay said he needed help, I was going, "No... they're not going to... they ARE! Wraith on Earth! Wraith on Earth!"
But I can't help but feel a sense of dread over their decision to bring the Wraith into SGC. Is this going to bite them in the ass in the future?
Can't wait for the next episode!
PS. Zelenka's "I'm losing the will to live." Ronon going "Sweet!" Hilarious!
The snow's arrived in New York now, so I'm staying indoors for the day.
Loved Miller's Crossing, even though uncomfortable with the decisions made. They're all going to come back and haunt them in the future
y0! :) Joe, i`m enjoing with Ronon dresscode on Earth. Thanks for the scene! Who is your favorite moment from "This mortal coil"? The teaser spot for the episode is perfect, i can`t wait.
Greets!
Someone has to answer this question for me, cause it always bugs me. Why do dogs love snow and hate water???
I am a great admirer of the work u do and i would like to thank u for every episode of Atlantis...and i have 2 questions for u...
Will Micheal appear in season 5?
What do u think of Michael characters potential(he could rule the galaxy if his experiments succed) ?
Joe,
Is the mid-season finale("This Mortal Coil") another Sam-less episode?
Will Sam be more involved in the 2nd half of S4 than she was the 1st half?
Mike P.
Was Lornes nightmare in Doppelganger a tip-off of things to come(TMC to be specific)?
So you take home doggie bags. Do any of the restaurants you go to charge for taking home doggie bags? I was recently at the new Casa Grecque in the Pierrefonds shopping centre (IMO better than the one on St. John's) and in the upper corner of each page of the menu was a sticker saying that it would cost $2 for each doggie bag. I've never seen a restaurant charge for a doggie bag before. Granted, I don't go and eat out very often in restaurants. The last time I was at the St. John's Casa Grecque they did not charge for a doggie bag, but that was about 2 years ago.
Awww Lulu looks like she was having fun in the Snow. Very Cute!
Lus.
I think Lulu is really cute - she sure loved that snow (not like the rabbit I owned as a child - you know how cats shake their feet when with a look of disgust? So did my bunny rabbit - well, without the disgust!! LOL!).
Pity Martin isn't here to answer the questions, but look forward to him talking about BAMSR.
Any chance you can still answer the burning question in fandom about this episode (or at least, it seems to me it's a burning question according to what I've read on various blogs - and a friend has asked me about it as well):
What is the comic that Sheppard is reading in the last scene?!!
I'm kinda intrigued myself now as well... yeah, just call me a SGA nerd!!!
Hey Joe, ironically, my day yesterday was almost identical to yours. Friday evening, I became suddenly ill (didn't spoil Atlantis at all though) and decided to stay in all of Saturday, ordered delivery (Thai food!), and rested and later had an SG-1/Smallville S.5 marathon for good times sake! AND, today was our first real snowfall in NYC... I'm watching the flakes as I type this.
Hey Joe. I've a theory about how Carson can return based on the comment that people completey missed it during one of the three final episodes of season three.
*Michael samples Carsons blood in 'Misbegotten'
**Creates a clone using the Iratus egg DNA by manipulating the DNA as he explains in 'Vengeance'
***Switches real Carson for clone in 'Phantoms'
****Then of course Clone Carson dies in 'Sunday'
Am I hot, warm or cold on this one?
Hi Joe,
Just wanted to tell you how much I loved Miller's Crossing. Each season of SGA makes me love it even more. One of the things I love the most is the Rodney/John interactions, and Miller's Crossing was chock full of them. When Rodney approached John about feeding himself to the wraith..wow, powerful stuff. David and Joe were really on top of their game.
You mentioned a debate in the writer's room over Miller's Crossing; did you all ever reach a consensus, or was the debate unresolved?
I'm looking forward to the return of Dr. Weir!
So I hear you're ending all ship pairings in this season of Atlantis. Did I hear that right?
I know I've already commented, but thornyrose and Pauline both reminded me of something that I meant to say before about Sheppard. First, I agree with them that it's not entirely clear to me what Sheppard would have done if Wallace had refused, and in fact we have only his word that Wallace didn't refuse. It's a sobering thought, and I appreciate that you left it somewhat open.
Just to be clear, I'm not arguing seriously that it didn't happen the way Sheppard told Rodney (er, that Wallace volunteered, that is, not that the Wraith got loose and attacked him). But I think it was an impressive creative choice to leave that ambiguity in place, not least of which is the issue of whether a man who is quite capable of slamming the shield shut on sixty Genii soldiers could also be capable of manipulating Wallace into his death--one way or another. Admittedly the situations are somewhat different, but the cool-headed calculation needed to carry through in each of those circumstances says, I think, a great deal about where Sheppard's personal lines might be. And the most impressive part is that you managed it without, I feel, making Sheppard into a heartless psychopath.
I also failed to mention how awesome Joe's performance was in that last scene. It was, I thought, really important to show that Sheppard wasn't entirely comfortable with what he'd done, that even though he'd obviously made the decision to do it and had carried it through (and was glad that his friends hadn't died) he wasn't happy about having engineered a man's death (see remarks re "not a psychopath" above). Nor should he be, and I was pleased that you chose to take the time to let Sheppard tell Rodney how he himself interpreted what he'd done.
So yeah i ask, why approve inflamatory statements from people that would provoke these kinds of reactions from your regulars and complain about them afterwards?
Healthy debate is a good thing and it gives J and other people a chance to reply and make their case.
Hi Joe,
Live about two hours south of you, just north of the Emerald City, so I'm enjoying the snow too. Lulu looked adorable jumping over the bushes like a bunny. Hope you're all ready for the windstorm on Monday.
Random thoughts:
The last ten minutes of Miller's Crossing would never have happened the way it did if Carter or Landry had been involved. Ever since Elizabeth Weir left, the team seems to been making monumental decision on their own. What happened to the chain of command?
Martin Gero was talking about the new character, Dr. Keller, in an interview posted over at GateWorld. Noticed that this comment was bolded.
I think she's an awesome role model for young girls.
*screams and tears hair out*
Tell me he's just messing with our minds, puleez!
"Hell, if the weather doesn’t clear up, I plan on staying in for the foreseeable future. I’ve got more than enough canned food to last me until November 16th, the day I have to go pick up my mother at the airport." *checks date* So is your mom still at the airport waiting?
vinsfins said...
Someone has to answer this question for me, cause it always bugs me. Why do dogs love snow and hate water???
I have two
dogs, a Shepherd and a Staffordshire. The shepherd adores rain,snow anything of that ilk and when the weather is like that the Staffie won't budge from in front of the fire
joe,
in the season three episode sateda, i was wondering how you got the tiny arrows to stick in the arms of john, teyla, and ronon? and was it that difficult? thanks for listening! can you tell i notice the little things in everything?!? thanks again
«Alipeeps said...
[...]It's all too easy to abdicate responsibility for our own actions and say, "Oh well, you should just not approve the post if it's rude or mean" but if Joe were to start doing so then the accusations would start to fly, probably from those same anonymous posters, of censorship and that he was selectively approving only the posts that supported him or whatever[...].»
I’m totally agree with you.
I love the way Sheppard played to win for the McKays. It was a kick ass episode. You're making them people - with all the baggage that comes along with it - and I'm damn grateful.
oh shame on me, i'm going to comment w/o even reading the blog first. :) anyways, i absolutely LOVED miller's crossing; great episode, loved to see the "McKay-Miller" banter; Jeannie's "well you're no John Sheppard" comment was priceless, and i'm looking forward to seeing sheppard dealing with the ramifications of his decision- he shall be going on santa's naughty list for sure now. :)
egilwen said...
Hello Joe, Hello other Poster/User
Well I read all things here but I have a Question. Why do you, the other User write so long LETTERS to Joe? I don´t think that anybody are interesting on 125 Millers Crossing entries!!
Post this to all the SGA Forums/Boards in the www and discuss there on it!!!
Please make Short Questions, so Mr. Mallozzie can give short responses...
Also.. Joe hat uns gefragt ihn unsere Gefühle/Gedanke uber Miller's Crossing zu erzählen. Sie mögen veilleicht nicht solche lange Diskussionen lesen aber wahrscheinlich interessiert sich Joe Feedback von der Fans zu bekommen.
"Joe has said before that the only comments he will not approve are those that are personally insulting/offensive to the cast/crew etc."
Wrong. Comments have been censored that didn't come close to breaking that rule. You're being misled.
wait yesterday (i read late compared to when u post, sorry) was national pie day? and i didn't get a piece? oh puddles...
semisweet said...
The last ten minutes of Miller's Crossing would never have happened the way it did if Carter or Landry had been involved. Ever since Elizabeth Weir left, the team seems to been making monumental decision on their own. What happened to the chain of command?
What makes you think Landry wasn't involved or that he looked the other way so it would have played out like it has.
The Wraith wouldn't have been taken off of Atlantis and brought to Cheyenne Mountain without Carter and Landry approving it. Given many of the decisions that's played out even when Weir was in charge...there's no reason to assume it would have been different.
This is the same group of people who kidnapped and experimenteed on Wraith...on more than one occasion.
The chain of command is there...just because we don't see it happening on-screen doesn't mean it never happened at all.
For those folks who felt the last ten minutes of Miller's Crossing was morally offensive...
Rewatch the episode 'Poisoning the Well'.
Human who had no reason to live allowed himself to be fed upon and team Atlantis (including Weir) supplied the Wraith to do the feeding.
There is precedent, folks. :)
"disgusted SGA fan said...
What is the difference between the good and the bad guys. None it seems. I hold the characters to a fairly high standard and expect them to have some sence of morals, but that went out the window with Millers Crossing. Sheppard is no better than Koyla or the Wraith. In fact I think the Wraith have been more honorable than Sheppard lately. In Sateda Sheppard said he would die for anyone of his family and here was the pefect opportunity for him to prove this. But instead he finds some smuck who in his eyes deserved his fate, and with premeditation talks him into sacrificing himself to a Wraith, something that he had gone through himself but yet is prepared to put anothe human being through this horror to save his friend. No danger to earth or anyone else just his friend. Why did Sheppard not offer himself up instead if he said he would do anything to save a friend. But yet he takes a cowardly and dishonorable action. The character has sank to an all time low for me and I don't think you can ever redeem him in my eyes."
okay, i respect and to some degree agree with your opinion, as i also was disappointed with sheppard's actions. however, if none of the characters ever display out-of-character behavior, then you have black-and-white "good guy/bad guy" cardboard characters. they need depth to make them actually like real people. they need motives that aren't always what the viewer would expect. it's called situational ethics. while in many cases what the character does is wrong (or, in the case of a generall "bad" character, right), it adds to their personality and the story line.
Snow in Vancouver eh? I think we will be getting that snowstorm here in Montreal this afternoon and evening, there is a warning in effect, apparently from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning there will be 30 cm of snow. This is the total opposite of last year when in Montreal, we had a green Christmas (no not environmentally friendly, actually a symptom of the opposite).
I just wanted to say I thoroughly enjoyed Miller's Crossing, I just expected another happy go lucky episode(even with the kidnapping), which I am fine with from time to time, but man in the last half, boy did that tone change.
I really liked the moral ambiguity and I think it was done properly this time, and what John Sheppard did, was not 100% morally correct, it is totally in line with his character, totally believable. Given the options available, there wasn't much of a choice for John Sheppard. To stop the nanites, the wraith was needed and had to be fed. There was no way Sheppard was going to allow his best friend to become Wraith food.
This is a question, and I am wondering, while it turned alright in the end, will there be negative consequences for John Sheppard's actions in terms of "presenting the situation" to Wallace? There didn't seem to be at the end of the episode.
Also, props to the west Edmonton mall reference, that was hilarious.
*waves*
Sorry Mr M i've kind of rambled a bit. It's your own fault really. Well, yours and Marty G's. You really need to stop churning out these moral and ethical type of eps as they're just to good not to debate over! :o)
*cough*
"disgusted SGA fan said...
What is the difference between the good and the bad guys. None it seems.
Strangely enough, i've just had this same conversation with a friend over on GW, you don't know her do you? ;)
The difference is in people's actions.
I hold the characters to a fairly high standard and expect them to have some sense of morals, but that went out the window with Millers Crossing. Sheppard is no better than Koyla or the Wraith.
And what Wallace did was morally sound was it? Sheppard is no better than Kolya? So, Shep has kidnapped people for a position of power has he? He's deliberately invaded someone's home and killed people for the sole purpose of taking revenge? He's no better than the wraith? In what context? Because he presented an option to a man who thought he was above the law because a loved one was dying?
In fact I think the Wraith have been more honorable than Sheppard lately. In Sateda Sheppard said he would die for anyone of his family and here was the perfect opportunity for him to prove this. But instead he finds some smuck who in his eyes deserved his fate, and with premeditation talks him into sacrificing himself to a Wraith, something that he had gone through himself but yet is prepared to put anothe human being through this horror to save his friend. No danger to earth or anyone else just his friend. Why did Sheppard not offer himself up instead if he said he would do anything to save a friend. But yet he takes a cowardly and dishonorable action. The character has sank to an all time low for me and I don't think you can ever redeem him in my eyes."
The Wraith are more honourable? Really? Has Shep been out hunting for midnight snacks again in the Pegasus Galaxy? Fed up with his usual comfort food of Turkey sandwiches, he’s decided to go off and join the Bola Kai on their midnight raids has he? You know I have to say, you might be right there. I’ve noticed that every time he’s on the screen, I go weak at the knees. Do you think it’s possible that he can somehow channel his feeding habits through the TV? Wow, who knew he had such a dark side?! Fantastic, I love a character with so many layers. Although with Shep, it has to be said the less layers he has the more I like it! :o)
Okay let’s look at your next bit of logic. You wanted Shep to give his life to the wraith because of the actions of a man who kidnapped and tortured his friends? You don’t think Wallace is culpable in any way shape or form, or should be held accountable for his actions? You talk about Shep giving/risking his life for the people he loves, and yes he has put his life on the line for them, and they in turn have reciprocated the gesture.
Just to turn things on its head. Do you not think that Wallace was doing just that in his own way? He gave his life to save the life he had originally sentenced to die. Seems kind of fitting actually.
You don’t have to answer this as it’s not a forum (although we can debate this further over there as we have been doing, I believe). I’m curious. If someone hurt one of your kids (purposely) and condemned them to death (which in effect is what Wallace did with Jeannie – remember she’s someone’s daughter to.) Would you not want THAT person who committed the act to atone for their actions, rather than some stranger who simply got caught up into mix?
So before I depart, thank you for the lovely Lulu vid, she looks so cute in the snow. Just a couple more things because i'm chatty that way. :P Was there anyone in the writers room who still disagreed how this played out? I'm not asking for names, just curious. Do you think this ep had the desired effect that you were all going for, and are we likely to see more of these types of eps further on down the line?
*hugs*
About Miller's Crossing:
I loved the moral dilemma and angst. I enjoyed the lighter moments too, like the first scene with all the scientists and Radek saying "I cannot sit here waiting for you to have an epiphany! I'm losing the will to live!". Haha. I also loved when Rodney is ready to kick the door and Barret just turns the door handle and opens it. I also liked when Jeannie and Rodney talk about him and Katie. "You're no John Sheppard". Awww. Poor Rodney. I loved when Jeannie hugs Rodney in the infirmary and tells him "I love you" and keeps waiting for Rodney to say the same and it takes Rodney a bit to say "I love you too". And she made him buy her a car. Haha.
But what I loved the most is the angst and moral issues. My really top favorite moments: Rodney asking the Wraith to help him, the scene with John and Wallace in the cell, and all the scenes with John and Rodney. When Rodney begs John to let the Wraith feed on him, I was in tears. Wonderful acting. Kudos to Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett.
I know some fans have problems with episodes where the characters face ethical issues. Personally, I love when that happens. Generally speaking, it bores me to death when the characters in TV shows are always 100% good guys that always do the right thing, that never ever make mistakes or questionable stuff. After a while it makes me lose interest and I stop watching the show. I don't want characters that are pristine heroes with a halo over their heads.
I like to see the characters playing in gray areas.
Atlantis has been great bringing this kind of issues since the very pilot, when John kills Sumner, then with Poisoning the Well, the end of The Siege I, the retrovirus story arc, and now this.
One of the things I've always loved about Atlantis is the balance between dark and light-hearted stuff, and that the show always allowed its characters to make questionable things, make wrong decisions and screw things up. It adds depth to the characters and makes them more real. Hope we can see much more of this in the rest of season 4 and season 5.
Pies!!??!?!? I love them, slurp. Your dog playing in the snow was adorable.
Can you regale us with any of teh agruments in teh writer's room? I'd be curious to hear how that played out.
Also, do any of the writer's read alot about bioethics? SG-1 and SGA have some of the best, and most complex, bioethical situations I've seen in sci-fi, or television in general. It never plays out pedanticaly either which I appreciate. There is far too much pedantic storytelling these days. While I enjoy the occasional "Law and Order" episode, I think it is one of the worst in the heavy handed depertment.
Anyway, and I know you can't answer this directly, will Atlantis get any daqrker than that this season?
Thanks,
Royal
Love the video of Lulu in the snow. My cat was sitting on my lap when I played it and he seemed to enjoy it too, meaning he stared at it while I replayed it for him 3 times when he then decided he had enough and then went back to sleep. He is like your pugs when it comes to snow. He will gingerly step in the snow on the balcony and then shake his paws and then retreat back into the apartment. My very first cat way back when I was still living in my parents' house absolutely loved the snow, especially when we were shovelling. After throwing the shovel full of snow onto the lawn he loved to attack the little snow balls that would fall back down on the driveway.
disgusted SGA fan said...
What is the difference between the good and the bad guys. None it seems. I hold the characters to a fairly high standard and expect them to have some sence of morals, but that went out the window with Millers Crossing. Sheppard is no better than Koyla or the Wraith. In fact I think the Wraith have been more honorable than Sheppard lately. In Sateda Sheppard said he would die for anyone of his family and here was the pefect opportunity for him to prove this. But instead he finds some smuck who in his eyes deserved his fate, and with premeditation talks him into sacrificing himself to a Wraith, something that he had gone through himself but yet is prepared to put anothe human being through this horror to save his friend. No danger to earth or anyone else just his friend. Why did Sheppard not offer himself up instead if he said he would do anything to save a friend. But yet he takes a cowardly and dishonorable action. The character has sank to an all time low for me and I don't think you can ever redeem him in my eyes.
"Why did Shep not offer himself up"? Are you kidding???
Wallace caused this problem. He was the one killing Jeannie. Were it not for him, she would not have been on death's door.
Todd was starving and they needed him to save not only Jeannie...but also countless lives in the Pegasus galaxy.
Shep allowed Wallace to see that he had a way to save Jeannie and redeem himself and given the fact that his life was pretty much over and I think he wanted that absolution, he volunteered.
Shep has done and will do anything to save his team. He has put himself in harm's way countless times...tempting fate countless times...because they are his family. And you know...if push came to shove and he, McKay and Todd were stuck in a room and Todd needed to feed, there's no doubt in my mind that he would offer himself up to take Mer's place. This situation however was completely different.
There are times when I've taken issue with Shep's standards though...like in The Ark for instance. He was unwilling to try to save thousands of lives until Teyla was in danger? That seems counter to what I thought I knew about him...especially given his impassioned argument to Carter in The Seer.
Here's a question that I'm surprised no one has thought of yet (not necessarily to be answered by Joe, but rather just thrown out there for people to consider).
What would have happened had Miller's Crossing not occurred and Todd had stayed on Atlantis? He would still have been starving and they still would have needed him to work on the Asuran attack code problem.
How would they have resolved that problem? Like I said before, there are no pretty alternatives to feeding a starving Wraith.
k a dit...
«[...]I think we will be getting that snowstorm here in Montreal this afternoon and evening, [...] I just wanted to say I thoroughly enjoyed Miller's Crossing.»
Do I miss something ? If you leave in Montréal, how can you watch SGA 4 ? Grrr I knew I missed something in the shedule tv... He !! Good snowstrom, here we are a lot of snow, its your turn, but take care on the road.
Hey Joe, just wanted to add that Wallace probably figured it was better for him to die at the Wraith's hands than have to live with the guilt of his daughter's death. He said he couldn't live with that so it wasn't too hard for him to make the sacrifice to save Jeannie. I thought it was a great episode!
Still thinking about Miller's Crossing as is everyone else here.
I've been thinking about last season's show, "The Game", when Rodney raised an ethical question (paraphrased) re a speeding train that can go down one of 2 tracks, one with a baby and one with a group of people-- who do you save?
I think Sheppard made his choice clear in "The Seer" when he spoke with Carter about Atlantis protecting itself vs protecting and helping the humans of the Pegasus Galaxy. John chose the larger group over the individual.
I think John did the same thing in MC-- he was willing to sacrifice the individual (Wallace) for the greater good (essentially, the Pegasus Galaxy because it could not be saved without the help of both Rodney and the wraith ). Yes, Jeannie's life was an important factor as well but I think John was objective enough to see the bigger picture like he did in "The Seer"
You mentioned that some of the "Miller's Crossing" writers were uneasy about Sheppard's actions. What about the actors, especially Joe F.? Did they/he express reservations about this darker side of his character? Also, will we ever see a dark side to Carter? I'd love to see her halo slip a bit.
Joe, the Lulu vid is adorable. What a sweetie she is. My puppy loved the snow when she first saw it, and ate loads of it!
I just want to reiterate my earlier thoughts on Miller's Crossing, and say how much I loved it.
I watched it again today, and I really love where you all took the characters. I can't agree with Disgusted SGA Fan about Sheppard's actions. Sheppard has always been willing to cross the line to help people, and I'm in no doubt he's very uncomfortable with the part he played in Wallace's death. I saw that in his face. I love that you have taken Sheppard back to the darker man of season 1, and the events of MC really only make me love Sheppard more, and make him more three dimensional for me. I also love McKay here and his willingness to sacrifice himself for Jeannie. Thanks so much for keeping me so entertained and happy! :)
cyn said
What makes you think Landry wasn't involved or that he looked the other way so it would have played out like it has.
Well, no one cared to mention that sacrificing the bad guy to the wraith was an official order from the top, did they? Instead it was presented as if Sheppard was acting on his own.
The Wraith wouldn't have been taken off of Atlantis and brought to Cheyenne Mountain without Carter and Landry approving it. Given many of the decisions that's played out even when Weir was in charge...there's no reason to assume it would have been different.
Yes, it was strange that the wraith appeared without any discussion about whether or not it was the right thing to do. Time constraints, I'm sure. Maybe this episode should have been a two parter so that the viewpoints brought up in the writer's room and here on Joe's blog could have been aired onscreen.
This is the same group of people who kidnapped and experimenteed on Wraith...on more than one occasion.
Yes, it is. But the experimentation happened off world where U.S. laws aren't necessarily followed. Letting the wraith feed on someone without a trial here on earth is vigilante justice at best.
The chain of command is there...just because we don't see it happening on-screen doesn't mean it never happened at all.
Yes, that's true but it wouldn't have taken much to mention that a decision had been made by either Carter or Landry. Sheppard had no business, in my opinion, making that decision.
1)Will forgiveness be a theme this season?
2)Does the fact that Elizabeth is now a humungous security risk to Atlantis play heavily on the emotions of Atlantis' crew upon their next encounter?
Oh voila une semaine qui recommence=(
vivement le week end prochain=D
Je suis impatiente de savoir qui est votre 750000 visite
Sa été une trés bonne journée pour mon blog 700 commentaire pour aujourd"hui!
Bon je vais aller retrouver mon petit lit moelleux^^!
Gros kisou, Vive vous!<3<3<3 a demaine!!!!!
I'll leave the blog policing to JM (although Cheeky's vote of confidence is much appreciated!). It's his blog, and he can police or stir the pot as he sees fit.
Tomorrow's a big day. My co-officer and I get to grab the two best shelves in the office closet before the new trainees arrive! Since we now have seniority, we get the best shelves (i.e., the ones where you don't have to bend over or stand on your tiptoes to reach your stuff). Such are the perks of the station officers.
semisweet said...
Well, no one cared to mention that sacrificing the bad guy to the wraith was an official order from the top, did they? Instead it was presented as if Sheppard was acting on his own.
There is nothing to say that Sheppard was acting on his own. It's because of time constraints they can't show every minute of every aspect in order to explain something to everyone's satisfaction. This would never have happened without Landry's approval.
Keep in mind that Wallace made the choice to give up his life. Sheppard didn't force him. If Wallace didn't want to do it, it would never have happened.
Yes, it was strange that the wraith appeared without any discussion about whether or not it was the right thing to do. Time constraints, I'm sure. Maybe this episode should have been a two parter so that the viewpoints brought up in the writer's room and here on Joe's blog could have been aired onscreen.
There probably was discussion, but showing it may not have moved the plot a long. It's easy for me to assume that Sheppard talking to Landry and Carter did happen and that they approved of the Wraith being brought to Cheyenne Mountain. I don't require those scenes in order for me to believe it.
They should have done more to bring up viewpoints when they kidnapped a Wraith and tested a retrovirus on him without his permission. I take more issue with that decision than I ever will of this one in Miller's Crossing...Wallace made the decision.
No one forced him to be the Wraith's dinner.
Yes, it is. But the experimentation happened off world where U.S. laws aren't necessarily followed. Letting the wraith feed on someone without a trial here on earth is vigilante justice at best.
Oh, please. Give me a break. Location doesn't matter. It's not vigilante justice when Wallace offers his life in order to save Jeanie.
Yes, that's true but it wouldn't have taken much to mention that a decision had been made by either Carter or Landry. Sheppard had no business, in my opinion, making that decision.
Sheppard probably came up with the idea and given that he's not in command of the SGC it would never have happened without Landry's permission.
I don't require any dialogue to express something that, IMO, is already a given. Landry commands the SGC. Whatever happens on the SGC is because he says so. That's how the military works.
Very simplie and to the point. Nothing else needed.
Hi Joe,
Just finished "Alas, Babylon". Great book, but I wonder why it is classified as science fiction. To me, a story is science fiction if it is set in a universe that doesn't exist in our reality. SG-1 and Atlantis are science fiction because of the plot device of the Stargate and all the "worlds" it opens up.
"Alas, Babylon", on the other hand, takes place in the days immediately preceeding and after a nuclear war with Russia. It was written in the late 1950's at the height of the cold war, and plotted without aliens or zat guns -- the characters never even see the enemy. The power in the story is how the characters pick up their lives using what is left in their community, and how they find their way to a different kind of civilization.
Thanks for suggesting this book -- a very thought provoking read!
Ah, snow. We got dumped on here in Utah also, although we tend to get dry fluffy Utah Powder. As usual the main walk shoveler and driveway clearer was at work, so the task fell to whiny me. Must be a freakin' law that the snow falls only when I'm home alone. When he finally did get home we had a fire, pot roast, and caught up on SGA. He's a trucker and so I get to watch everything at least twice, once for me when it airs, and once for him when he's home.
My dog does not like the snow. She's a fat old Schnauzer and gets snowballs in her fur. She could take lessons from Lulu, but she's afraid of all other dogs, even if they're small too.
Hi Joe,
thanks for clarification about Tim Guinee :)
And a question: we know that "Continuum" is completely stand alone movie, but it would be great to know whether the events in it take place after the events in "The Ark of Truth" or before?
just wonted to say love your blog and i hope you keep going with it for a very long time i have quietly hide on the background reading it for what feels like a lifetime (and a good lifetime at that) and a quick question whats the best way to cook seafood?
oh, okay, question- why didn't they each just give the wraith a few years or so, instead of killing wallace? i didn't understand that.
disgusted sga fan said: Why did Sheppard not offer himself up instead if he said he would do anything to save a friend.
Well, I assume partly because there's still another season and a half (at least!) of Atlantis to come???? Sure, kill off one of the leads - what a great idea.
Also, Sheppard's actions are not so "out there" - do you not read any history books? He's military - they do the horrible but often necessary stuff that we don't want to do so that we can be safe. The military aren't a bunch of cardboard cut-out white-hats. They're real people put into terrible situations, and sometimes they do terrible things. I can definitely see Sheppard doing that - and I can equally see him suffering enormous guilt over it. He's a good guy in a bad situation.
Joe I feel I must apologise to all Vancouverites on behalf of the people of the United Kingdom, for inflicting what must be the worst transatlantic insult on record.
Yes I’m afraid the Spice Girls start their world tour in Vancouver tonight!
Had I known sooner I’m sure that some sort of chocolate reparation would have winged its way to you as a representative of that great city.
One wonders if the snow storm was someone’s way of telling Victoria, Emma, Mel B, Mel C and Geri to go home.
Hey don’t the Wraith need food??
Pauline
Yes I'm bored nothing good on TV!
Kudos to the set designers for "Miller's Crossing" for the inspirational posters decorating the wall of the mess behind Ronan and Walter. Truly inspired.
Or, are those real posters that are put out by the USAF?
-p
"Miller's Crossing" question - did Sheppard make the decision all on his own about Wallace, or was anybody above him informed of what was going to happen?
michelle said...
"Joe has said before that the only comments he will not approve are those that are personally insulting/offensive to the cast/crew etc."
Wrong. Comments have been censored that didn't come close to breaking that rule. You're being misled.
Thanks for proving my point about accusations of censorship. ;)
Perhaps if posts of yours have not been approved on Joe's blog (I assume that's what you're talking about, otherwise how can you profess to know that posts are censored?) you might want to look more closely at what you wrote in those posts and how you worded them...?
Lulu has quite good form jumping over your hedges. Adorable. My sister has a tiny yorkie who grew up in CA. Last month she was handed over to my parents for safe-keeping while she lives in Australia for a year or so. Her new home? Minnesota. Let's just say that she's not as keen on going outside as she used to be. Her "You want me to go out in that?!? Are you kidding me?!?" face is to-die-for.
Yeah, snow. We got crap-loads this weekend, as well. Although it's more like 2 inches of ice on top of many inches of snow. Which makes car-scraping hell, but it is kind of fun to pretend you're an arctic Jesus walking on top of all the snow.
Does it irritate you when people get upset and claim you censor comments? It's your own personal blog. I feel like you can censor all you want. If you only want to accept comments that include the words "fork" and "purple," then that's your prerogative. Crikey.
Do you actually read all of your comments, especially when you get this friggin' many of them??
"quoting Joe: He (Shepard)presented the dilemma and, ultimately, left the decision with Wallace."
I havent seen Miller's Crossing as NZ is still watching S3, but after reading through all the comments, I can say that I have been in a somewhat similar position as Shepard; eg.
1. my 17 yr old sister
2. a hated teapot that belonged to Mum
3. Me explaining the pros and cons of said teapot 'slipping' out of hands and breaking.
4. I then let sister make up her own mind.
To the day she died, my Mum still blamed me for the teapot breaking as, according to Mum, I should have told my sister NOT to break someone else's belongings.
As I told Mum, She is old enough to make her own decisions!!!
Likewise, Wallace is/was also old enough (presumably) to make his own decisions, and calling Shepard's actions "assisted suicide" is slightly off course.
As for Shepard's morals, they are whatever the writers want them to be.
Hi, Joe!
I've been reading your blog for a little while now (thank you for so sharing many great pictures, insights, videos, and stories), but I've finally felt compelled to comment with something. I really adored Miller's Crossing, this episode really blew me away and I thought the acting, writing, story-telling, character development were all great. Personally, I really love the grey areas this show explores, how good guys can sometimes do not-so-good things, and I really liked where this episode took Sheppard character-wise. It took balls ;)
He presented the dilemma and, ultimately, left the decision with Wallace.
How I interpreted this particular scene was a lot more than Sheppard just 'presenting' the situation to Wallace. I kind of think that's what Sheppard needs to tell himself, but it was definitely more than that. There was a lot of emotional manipulation there, and it was carefully thought out and executed manipulation. Sheppard showing Wallace those pictures, the tone of voice he used, pointing out that McKay is blaming himself but "[he] knows better, you know better" - it was all said and done in a way to deliberately push all the right buttons that (and I won't say 'forced') persuaded an already vulnerable man into making a decision that resulted in his death. That isn't to say that Wallace wouldn't have agreed if Sheppard had just gone in there and presented bare bones facts, but I don't think Sheppard would have taken that 'chance'.
I think it was a wonderful scene and added a terrific layer for the Sheppard character. As an audience I think we've always known that Sheppard would do just about anything to help/save his team - risk his life, kill, blow stuff up - but this, I think, came at the cost of a small piece of his soul, and he knew it would. To me, this is was Sheppard choosing to sacrifice a small apart of himself to save Rodney, because he knew that one way or another, Rodney would find a way to feed himself to that Wraith so his sister wouldn't die. This was an extreme act of love, and Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett were just amazing in those scenes.
So yes, thank you for a great episode that I'm still thinking about.
Watched Miller's Crossing 3 times already, I'm sure I will watch it again. Found this episode just fantastic. I think it's about time that we see the darker side of Sheppard. He is special ops trained after all. One question or two, was it difficult to shoot this episode with all the choices,and dark paths it might lead too story wise and how did the actors take to plot presented to them. Thank you everyone for such a great show.
Joe,
Well will the advance screening of Ark of Truth take place? I've heard it'll be in December, and well, it's December now. :)
"Perhaps if posts of yours have not been approved on Joe's blog (I assume that's what you're talking about, otherwise how can you profess to know that posts are censored?) you might want to look more closely at what you wrote in those posts and how you worded them...?"
Nope. I can figure out what would be, in your words, "personally insulting/offensive to the cast/crew etc." and there was none of that in the censored comments. Nothing remotely close.
Any other defense strategies?
I'm starting to wonder if some of these people who really despise Sheppard after this ep, ever loved their friends/family enough to do what Sheppard did for Rodney and his sister. It's not like Sheppard got away easy. He's going to be burdened with this forever. And that's heavy.
I believe he did the right thing in the end, because the alternative would be a dead Rodney, a dead Jeannie or a dead Sheppard because I'm sure he'd never let Rodney kill himself if it came down to it. And the SGA universe without Rodney or Sheppard right now? Would be pretty much toast.
WTF y'all?
Anyways, awesome episode. The last ten minutes or so had me reeling. I love when a show can do that to me.
Oh, and a question! Is it plausible that when Ronon and Sheppard went back to the hotel, they watched cartoons together? One of my friends is suggesting Pay-per-view...
michelle said...
Nope. I can figure out what would be, in your words, "personally insulting/offensive to the cast/crew etc." and there was none of that in the censored comments. Nothing remotely close.
Any other defense strategies?
Yikes! More than a little upset, eh? Joe further explains in the Dec 2 blog. Maybe you will find the answer there?
Any other offense strategies?
eddy
cyn said
I don't require any dialogue to express something that, IMO, is already a given. Landry commands the SGC. Whatever happens on the SGC is because he says so. That's how the military works.
Very simplie and to the point. Nothing else needed.
For you that may be true. To me, the absence of any kind of discussion prior to Sheppard actions was disappointing. A hungry wraith needing to be fed, in my opinion, warranted a serious discussion. How did they reach this decision? We will never know. Unfortunately we were given an short cut ending purely for shock value.
I'd be interested to know just how long ago this episode was filmed? Rodney being taken down with a taser, and the particular shot... bring to mind another recent taser incident.
Was this intentional?
Hi Joe,
Sorry to bug you with this. Do you know how Miller's Crossing did in the Ratings compared to "Missing" and "The Seer", Thanks!
Squall78
P.S. Props to Martin Gero for another fine written episode. :)
As a writer for SGA.. do you prefer stand alone episodes or ones that center around the enemy arcs?
Hi *waving*,
I loved Jeanie Miller on "Miller's Crossing." Can we expect another Jeanie-sighting in upcoming episodes? She's fantastic.
Also, is Teyla's baby a half-Wraith or a full-fledged human? Do you know whether it's going to be a boy or girl? If Michael is the father...and I hope he is...will he attempt to kidnap the child once it's been delivered? Anyway, those are my questions.
As for the idea of Dr. Beckett being cloned...my anser to whomever came up with that is...there is only one Carson. Let's keep it that way! :)
Viva La Mikey-boy!
Hi (again),
Why allow an unwanted baby to be born? That's the question I pose to those reading. Lately, SGA writers have been fishing for a thorny moral dilemma, and I think they may have found one swimming in Teyla's womb.
You see, I don't ship characters because they're good-looking people with great chemistry. I ship them because there is greater potential for a better story. That's my attraction to Michael and Teyla, and that is why I wanted Teyla to birth a human/Wraith hybrid.
I see a moral dilemma that falls into a series of questions. Like, how would Teyla explain the "birthmarks" on both sides of her baby's cheeks to SGA? If Kanan and the Athosians had been abducted by Wraiths (or Michael), how would she convince her people that her child is harmless, and is in fact, one of them (half-Athosian)?
Now imagine it from Michael's vantage point. What would possess him to impregnate her? She could always abort. If he was after revenge, why make it personal, why single her out?
I mean, if anybody was searching for depth, you've got it right there.
Also, what is Teyla like? Has she ever taken rowboat and paddled away from Atlantis, at night? As she ever used her telepathy to listen to the whales sing/mate? Has she ever taken one of Lt. Weir's CDs and listened to them out on the balcony (alone and interrupted)? We never get to see those moments, and have them tie into the arc of the story. Barely see her with anyone other than Shep and Ronon. Is there a reason why? Does she watch reruns of "Xena: Warrior Princess," or blockbuster movies with McKay? And by the by, more Teyla and McKay time would be lovely.
Also, what does Michael remember about Atlantis? Did he ever stare at the ocean, while Led Zepplin's "Whole Lotta Love" played in his ears? Did he joke around with Teyla, up in the towers? What was he like before he was captured? Was he the queens favorite pet? Was he a soldier, scientiest,etc?
Anway, that's it. Thanks for reading.
Post a Comment