5.17: Menace
- Thread starter Anni
- Start date
Another interesting episode. We got an insight into what created the replicators and why. And apparently the writers must have read the many fan comments about replicators being lego bugs and similar to a child's toy. Because that was almost exactly how they portrayed it. The replicators were create by a flawed childlike robot, put together and programmed badly, who created them to protect herself and ended up destroying her 'father' (creator?) and all of the people on the world who had decided that because she was flawed her 'father' should shut her down.
SG1 find her 'asleep' in a laboratory facility on the planet, they assume she's human and take her back to the base. But then they discover that she's a highly sophisticated artifical life form and activate her. Jack and Sam maintain she's a machine anmd should be told what she is and in any case, Sam wants to find out what makes her tick. Daniel argues that because she doesn't seem to know that she is a robot and can get upset, that telling her so abruptly may be a dodgy thing to do. He agrees to try to talk to her and gain her confidence. In return she makes him a present.... a replicator. They all freak out (as you would), she clams up and won't talk. But Jack & co have figured out that she may be the key to a way to defeat the replicators. Sam tells them that the technology is way above her and Hammond decides that they should contact the Asgard for help, but they are unable to do it. They decide that it's time for her to know what she is, hoping that the shock of finding out will open her up a bit.
However it has the exact opposite effect. She attacks Daniel and is left in the isolation room while they decide what to do with her. She activates all of the replicators that she had been busy making and they break out and take control of the base. She locks herself in the gateroom and demands that they send her back home. Sam and the General go down to activate the destruct sequence and while it is running Jack, Teal'c and marines try to gain access to the gate. Daniel gains access to the gateroom and tries to persuade her to shut herself down and deactivate the replicators, who are doing her bidding. He has almost managed to persuade her when Jack finally breaks in and before Daniel can stop him, Jack shoots her. Daniel breaks down, while Jack informs everyone that the robot is deactivated.
Daniel then looks up in tears and calls him a 'stupid son of a bitch', and tells him that he didn't need to do it, that she was shutting them down. Jack tells them that he didn't know that and neither did anyone else and that it was how it had to go down.
Interesting..... this episode shows the now obvious but gradual split in the team. Daniel does not like Jack's predilection for shooting first and asking questions later. He dislikes Sam's constant sheeplike following of her commanding officer. You can see a dawning realisation that he does not belong in their kind of world in his face. And the realisation of Jack that Daniel is as alien in their military world as any reasonable, peace loving and rational human would be. Daniel doesn't understand the military's aim being that if something won't behave the way they want it to then they shoot it. If it moves shoot it.....if it doesn't then paint it. If it's not human then it has no rights.
Daniel isn't comfortable with this and I feel that the writers may be doing this deliberately to lead up to Daniel's demise. Whether or not we're supposed to feel relieved because he's no longer causing dissention in the team I don't know, but I can see the beginning of the end of the team as we know it, now.
At the very end, Daniel throws out at Jack that he has killed the only means of them finding out how to defeat the replicators, and Jack has the brief grace to appear slightly concerned, but soon covers it over in that implacable hardass way of his. Inflexible and unable to bend or adapt, it's no wonder that a character like Jack would lose his wife and be unable to start up a meaningful relationship with anyone else or show proper emotional responses. That part of him has been buried.
As much as I hate earthbound eppys in the SGC base and in depth emotional character interaction, I can see where this would be a necessary episode. Daniel's sensitivity showed through, Jack's inability to show emotion was obvious, Sam's difficulty in behaving like a human being was highlighted by her interest in an aritifical life form and how it ticked was almost like an analagy for her own robot like existence and behaviour. Teal'c was in the background.
Another reasonable episode. I may even continue watching.
SG1 find her 'asleep' in a laboratory facility on the planet, they assume she's human and take her back to the base. But then they discover that she's a highly sophisticated artifical life form and activate her. Jack and Sam maintain she's a machine anmd should be told what she is and in any case, Sam wants to find out what makes her tick. Daniel argues that because she doesn't seem to know that she is a robot and can get upset, that telling her so abruptly may be a dodgy thing to do. He agrees to try to talk to her and gain her confidence. In return she makes him a present.... a replicator. They all freak out (as you would), she clams up and won't talk. But Jack & co have figured out that she may be the key to a way to defeat the replicators. Sam tells them that the technology is way above her and Hammond decides that they should contact the Asgard for help, but they are unable to do it. They decide that it's time for her to know what she is, hoping that the shock of finding out will open her up a bit.
However it has the exact opposite effect. She attacks Daniel and is left in the isolation room while they decide what to do with her. She activates all of the replicators that she had been busy making and they break out and take control of the base. She locks herself in the gateroom and demands that they send her back home. Sam and the General go down to activate the destruct sequence and while it is running Jack, Teal'c and marines try to gain access to the gate. Daniel gains access to the gateroom and tries to persuade her to shut herself down and deactivate the replicators, who are doing her bidding. He has almost managed to persuade her when Jack finally breaks in and before Daniel can stop him, Jack shoots her. Daniel breaks down, while Jack informs everyone that the robot is deactivated.
Daniel then looks up in tears and calls him a 'stupid son of a bitch', and tells him that he didn't need to do it, that she was shutting them down. Jack tells them that he didn't know that and neither did anyone else and that it was how it had to go down.
Interesting..... this episode shows the now obvious but gradual split in the team. Daniel does not like Jack's predilection for shooting first and asking questions later. He dislikes Sam's constant sheeplike following of her commanding officer. You can see a dawning realisation that he does not belong in their kind of world in his face. And the realisation of Jack that Daniel is as alien in their military world as any reasonable, peace loving and rational human would be. Daniel doesn't understand the military's aim being that if something won't behave the way they want it to then they shoot it. If it moves shoot it.....if it doesn't then paint it. If it's not human then it has no rights.
Daniel isn't comfortable with this and I feel that the writers may be doing this deliberately to lead up to Daniel's demise. Whether or not we're supposed to feel relieved because he's no longer causing dissention in the team I don't know, but I can see the beginning of the end of the team as we know it, now.
At the very end, Daniel throws out at Jack that he has killed the only means of them finding out how to defeat the replicators, and Jack has the brief grace to appear slightly concerned, but soon covers it over in that implacable hardass way of his. Inflexible and unable to bend or adapt, it's no wonder that a character like Jack would lose his wife and be unable to start up a meaningful relationship with anyone else or show proper emotional responses. That part of him has been buried.
As much as I hate earthbound eppys in the SGC base and in depth emotional character interaction, I can see where this would be a necessary episode. Daniel's sensitivity showed through, Jack's inability to show emotion was obvious, Sam's difficulty in behaving like a human being was highlighted by her interest in an aritifical life form and how it ticked was almost like an analagy for her own robot like existence and behaviour. Teal'c was in the background.
Another reasonable episode. I may even continue watching.
Now I think this was an intresting one!
SG1 on a deserted planet where they find this body of a girl who turns out to be a robot called Reese!
Sg1 take her back to earth work out how to 'start' her back up again. Apart from Reese does not seem to know that she is a robot and is asking where her father is ect...
Danny tries to become her friend but she is alway bored of talking about what happend on her planet and wants to have fun...which Danny doesn't seem to think he gets enough of!
Meanwhile Jack and Teal'c have gone back to Reese's planet to see if they missed anything last time they were there and find a piece of a replicator!
Daniel then tells Reece that she is in fact a robot she goes mad at him and throws him across the room!
He goes back to try to get her to talk to him and she offers him a present...which is a replicatior that she has built that she calles her toy!! And she can also control them!
He also finds out that it was the replicators that killed off her people
Anyway goes on for a while...Reese sets the replicators lose on the base...ect ect!!
And then Reese locks herself into the gate room.
Danny gets in talks her around to shut the replicators down and to put herself to sleep when Jack gets in with a big gun and shoots her....
All the replicators turn back into pieces and all is well.
Daniel is sitting next to the now shut down Reese and said to Jack ' you stupid son of a bitch, you didn't have to shoot her' ect!
I thought this was a good one...kinda explains where the replicators came from and all that.
It was also intresting with the Jack and Danny thing at the end!
All in all a good one for me!
SG1 on a deserted planet where they find this body of a girl who turns out to be a robot called Reese!
Sg1 take her back to earth work out how to 'start' her back up again. Apart from Reese does not seem to know that she is a robot and is asking where her father is ect...
Danny tries to become her friend but she is alway bored of talking about what happend on her planet and wants to have fun...which Danny doesn't seem to think he gets enough of!
Meanwhile Jack and Teal'c have gone back to Reese's planet to see if they missed anything last time they were there and find a piece of a replicator!
Daniel then tells Reece that she is in fact a robot she goes mad at him and throws him across the room!
He goes back to try to get her to talk to him and she offers him a present...which is a replicatior that she has built that she calles her toy!! And she can also control them!
He also finds out that it was the replicators that killed off her people
Anyway goes on for a while...Reese sets the replicators lose on the base...ect ect!!
And then Reese locks herself into the gate room.
Danny gets in talks her around to shut the replicators down and to put herself to sleep when Jack gets in with a big gun and shoots her....
All the replicators turn back into pieces and all is well.
Daniel is sitting next to the now shut down Reese and said to Jack ' you stupid son of a bitch, you didn't have to shoot her' ect!
I thought this was a good one...kinda explains where the replicators came from and all that.
It was also intresting with the Jack and Danny thing at the end!
All in all a good one for me!
Brit Chick
Ooh look - shiny things !
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2001
- Messages
- 277
So thats were the replicators came from !. Anni's synopsis was right on the money here, and I agree, you can see how they are setting up the split and the fact that Daniel and Jack are way way apart now on a lot of things.
In some ways it was good to see Jack behaving as a military man - sometimes we forget that is what he is, and then when we see his behaviour in eps like this it reminds us. He is in the army/airforce and this is what they do, they don't baby people, if someone (or thing) is a danger it gets eliminated for the good of the country
Having said that tho I do like the human and amusing Jack but I can't see the character ever having any kind of relationship with anyone really,the closest we got to his feelings was Divide and Conquer when he finally admits his feelings for Carter and getting that from him was like pulling teeth !.
In some ways it was good to see Jack behaving as a military man - sometimes we forget that is what he is, and then when we see his behaviour in eps like this it reminds us. He is in the army/airforce and this is what they do, they don't baby people, if someone (or thing) is a danger it gets eliminated for the good of the country
Having said that tho I do like the human and amusing Jack but I can't see the character ever having any kind of relationship with anyone really,the closest we got to his feelings was Divide and Conquer when he finally admits his feelings for Carter and getting that from him was like pulling teeth !.
I thought that this was the best part of the episode. This was more like the Jack and Daniel from the 'Stargate' film. They had different perspectives on things then, which has been lost during the series.
Apart from that, I was disapointed: I saw no reason to introduce a 'Lego Queen'!
By making a possiblity that the replicators could be controlled, they have reduced them as a threat, while adding very little new.
of the two last night...i liked menace the best.
honestly i'm not sure about the interpretation of the split being deliberate. i honestly don't know if they knew about MS's decision when they taped this or not.
i thought it was a most engaging eps. the idea of the reps being a run'amuk childs toy...far more believable than something someone would purposefully do. (and the joke reese's pieces is still running through my head)
there was lots of conflict and peopel at odds with each other. and then some action at the end to liven it up.
my one big quibble...brain donor jack. FCOL it's getting old
honestly i'm not sure about the interpretation of the split being deliberate. i honestly don't know if they knew about MS's decision when they taped this or not.
i thought it was a most engaging eps. the idea of the reps being a run'amuk childs toy...far more believable than something someone would purposefully do. (and the joke reese's pieces is still running through my head)
there was lots of conflict and peopel at odds with each other. and then some action at the end to liven it up.
my one big quibble...brain donor jack. FCOL it's getting old
I have a feeling that they all knew about the split long before anything was ever said. MS has said about leaving a couple of times before. I think it's like many organisations..... an employee wishes to leave, the bosses don't want them to and then it's like a courtship dance..... I've worked in HR and these things can often linger on for months and months before resolution. I would think that the scriptwriters would have been aware of the possibility of him leaving and will have been able to alter the episodes subtly. I really do think that the Stargate people have known probably for a long time that MS was leaving.
In business things just don't happen overnight and the employment of an individual in any company, including something like the cast of Stargate or any show, is a lot more complicated than MS just saying..... "Okay, I'm leaving....and then leaving the next week or month.
I am pretty sure that by the time they shot Menace they would have known. After all, it won't be long before Meridian airs and that's the eppy in which he is rumoured to go. They would have had to have known about it in order to produce that episode.
The fans only hear the decision once it's made.....TPTB wouldn't think that the discussions between them and the actor which might have gone on for some months now was the fan's business.
In business things just don't happen overnight and the employment of an individual in any company, including something like the cast of Stargate or any show, is a lot more complicated than MS just saying..... "Okay, I'm leaving....and then leaving the next week or month.
I am pretty sure that by the time they shot Menace they would have known. After all, it won't be long before Meridian airs and that's the eppy in which he is rumoured to go. They would have had to have known about it in order to produce that episode.
The fans only hear the decision once it's made.....TPTB wouldn't think that the discussions between them and the actor which might have gone on for some months now was the fan's business.
i will agree with you that folks had to have had at least an idea. i seem to recall snippits of interviews where fellow cast members said they weren't surprised...but, if tehy knew...why did they delay fragile balance to air meridian?
i can come up with two answers.
1) they knew MS leaving might happen so they deliberately put in oma & orlin and had the idea for meridian but kept it back as a 'just in case' measure
2) they didn't know for sure adn cobbled meridian together to write the character out.
<shrug> who knows?
menace was a good, powerful eps
i can come up with two answers.
1) they knew MS leaving might happen so they deliberately put in oma & orlin and had the idea for meridian but kept it back as a 'just in case' measure
2) they didn't know for sure adn cobbled meridian together to write the character out.
<shrug> who knows?
menace was a good, powerful eps
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