Abigail Marissa @ LiveJournal

New Fanvid - My Skin (Stargate SG-1)

2008-12-23T18:36:48Z

Fandom/Character: Stargate SG-1 Vala Mal Doran
Song Title/Artist: My Skin Natalie Merchant
Seasons/Episodes: Seasons 8-10, The Ark Of Truth, Continuum
Format/Size/Length: WMV/60MB/03:07
Watch/Download: YouTube | FileFront | MediaFire

Wow it's actually been six months since I last completed a video. I've started a fair few but I rarely seem to have the time or attention span to actually finish one these days. I think I've just about figured out everything there is to know about MoviePlus now and I'm thinking about upgrading. Ideally of course I'd like Final Cut Pro but seeing as Final Cut Studio would cost me over £800 and I'd then have to buy a Mac on top of that (I've always been a PC girl) that's not really plausible. Sony Vegas is my second choice at the moment I think. Can anyone recommend any other editing software aside from Serif MoviePlus or Adobe Premiere?

Anyway! Back on topic - I'm fairly pleased with this vid considering it hasn't been produced in the best conditions (my step-sister has become constantly attached to the piano the past few days so I've been struggling to hear even with headphones on) and I had a few mishaps along the way (MoviePlus decided it was going to start random effects and opacity handles). There are a few bits that didn't turn out as well as I'd like but I managed to create pretty much what I had in my head to some degree of success. I've seen so many fanvids that portray the spunky funny side of Vala but very few that show the more serious side to her and that show the trials that she's been through so that was the angle I took with this vid. The biggest thing that I'm disappointed about is the vid feels like it's just random Vala!angst to me and doesn't have a clear direction or any development of a storyline.

Icon Battle - abigailmarissa vs. cheekanzoop

2008-12-18T17:30:34Z

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Review - Television - Stargate: Continuum

2008-07-05T11:18:32Z

An enjoyable part of the Stargate saga that provides closure for fans and wraps up one of the shows longest-running story-arcs but unfortunately does not quite live up the hype surrounding it.

The rest of this review contains major spoilers for Stargate: Continuum, which will air in the US on July 29th and in the UK on August 12th.

The movie begins with SG-1 gating to a planet where the Tok'ra are extracting the Ba'al symbiote from the final (or so they believe) clone. In his last words Ba'al threatens that he has a failsafe in place that the real Ba'al will carry out should his last clone be killed. SG-1 are hesitant to believe him and allow the Tok'ra to continue with the extraction procedure. Moments later, Vala disappears but no one believes the circumstances to be suspicious until more people begin to disappear into thin air, including Teal'c, right in front of them. Ba'al breaks free and stabs O'Neill but Mitchell opens fire on Ba'al, killing him. A dying O'Neill insists that Carter, Mitchell and Daniel leave him and they reluctantly make for the gate, barely making it through in time before the entire Tok'ra settlement vanishes. They step through on the other side of the gate to find that they are on a ship by the name of Achilles in the middle of the Arctic Circle. Daniel recalls that the Achilles was the ship that carried the stargate to the US and led to the Stargate project being formed under Cheyenne Mountain. Sam points out that the temperature aboard the ship is falling and they will freeze to death within minutes if they don't do something. Mitchell blows a hole in the ice and the explosion causes the ship to begin sinking. They quickly escape but Daniel injures his leg and Mitchell and Carter are forced to leave him behind and continue on to find help. Jack O'Neill rescues the three of them and they are taken back to a submarine where they learn that they are in an alternate timeline where the stargate never reached the US and the stargate project was never formed. They are informed that the Samantha Carter in this universe is an astronaut who went down with her ship and is believed to be dead, Daniel Jackson is a discredited archaeologist who was last seen out in Egypt trying to prove his theories about the pyramids being landing sites for alien spaceships, and that Colonel Cameron Mitchell doesn't exist at all.

The rest of the film depicts the struggle of Mitchell, Carter and Daniel as they strive to stop Ba'al - who now has control over all of the remaining system lords and is the most powerful Goa'uld in the galaxy - his queen Quetesh, and his first prime Teal'c, and to fix the timeline so that things return to how they should be.

This movie definitely provides some clarity for long-term fans, both by wrapping up the long-running storyline of the fight against the Goa'uld system lords and by bringing back Richard Dean Anderson and Don S. Davis to reprise their popular roles as General Jack O'Neill and General George Hammond - two of the show's most important characters in its earlier seasons. There are also brief appearances from Colin Cunningham (Major Paul Davis), Dan Shea (Sergeant Siler), William Devane (President Henry Hayes), and a number of Goa'uld system lords we have seen on Stargate SG-1 in the past.

The beginning of the movie has a few nice moments that will bring back memories for long-term fans, from Gary Jones's character's comment about "after ten years and about a thousand email requests, I finally get my own parking spot" to SG-1 running into Major Davis and Sergeant Siler, who asks Colonel Mitchell to sign an autograph for his son.

The rest of the movie, however, suffers from a lack of unoriginality, with many of the storylines and plot devices repeating what we have already seen on the show in the past, primarily time travel, fake-out deaths, and what side a Teal'c from another reality will choose. On a more positive note, the production of the movie is most definitely on a scale that we have never seen before in the entire run of the show, with a portion of the film being filmed in the spectacular-looking arctic and the use of a nuclear submarine and two F15s - props worthy of a James Bond movie. Special effects are used relatively sparsely and even where present the CGI is good enough so as not to distract from the writing and acting, which really shine through in moments such as when we are shown how SG-1 react to having to live out a normal life with no contact with each other for a small period of time.

All in all, Continuum is a good movie in itself and newcomers to the show should definitely enjoy the entertainment that it provides. However, long-term fans may find themselves disappointed by a lack of new storytelling techniques and the movie's failure to provide a relatively fresh and original storyline.

After the amount of buzz surrounding the upcoming movie, I was expecting to see something that made The Ark of Truth pale in comparison but, in my opinion, Continuum was merely on a par with its predecessor. We can only hope that the third and final instalment will provide what the first two have not.
Cross-posted to my new web blog TV Gal.

New Fanvid - I Grieve (Stargate SG-1)

2008-07-01T22:04:12Z

I've had several partly-finished videos on the go for a while now and, thanks to my wonderful boss agreeing to me having today and tomorrow off, I've finally managed to finish one! I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out, it's only my second complete video I've made with Serif software so I'm still learning but I do love having so many more techniques at my disposal! Anyway, please watch if you have five minutes to spare and, as always, feedback is always appreciated - whether it's good or bad!

Characters: Daniel, Sha're, Brief Appearances By O'Neill, Carter, Teal'c
Episodes: Primarily "Forever In A Day", Also "Children Of The Gods", "Secrets", and "The Serpents Lair"
Song Title/Artist: I Grieve/Peter Gabriel
Format/Size/Length: WMV/23MB/04:53
Watch Streaming: YouTube Imeem
Download: FileFront MediaFire SendSpace

Fanmix - Doctor Who - Doctor/Rose - Forever and a Day

2008-04-21T19:23:06Z

Title: Forever and a Day
Fandom: Doctor Who (2005)
Characters: The Doctor, Rose Tyler
General Themes: Adventure, Love and Loss
Featuring Songs By: Snow Patrol, Michelle Branch, Lifehouse & More
Additional Notes: This is my first fanmix. My intention was to tell the story of The Doctor and Rose, starting from when they first met through to their memories of each other after they have been seperated. The songs alternative between being from The Doctor's point of view and Rose's.

Download the ZIP file via FileFront   [36MB] [35:35MIN]
Download the ZIP file via MediaFire     [36MB] [35:35MIN]
Download the ZIP file via Sendspace      [36MB] [35:35MIN]

1. "First Time" by Lifehouse
We're crashing
Into the unknown
We're lost in this
But it feels like home

2. "Flying High" by Jem
It's so strange
The way our paths have crossed
How we were brought together
It's written in the stars it seems

3. "Stay With You" by Goo Goo Dolls
I'll stay with you
The walls will fall before we do
Take my hand now
We'll run forever
I can feel the storm inside you

4. "It's You" by Michelle Branch
If tomorrow never comes
I would want just one thing
I would tell it to the stars and the sun
I would write it for the world to see
And it's you

5. "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol
If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?
Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

6. "I Will Love You" by Sarah Slean
I need to know
Will you stay for all time
Forever and a day?
Then I'll give my heart
'Til the end of all time
Forever and a day

7. "Run" by Snow Patrol
To think I might not see those eyes
Makes it so hard not to cry
And as we say our long goodbye
I nearly do

8. "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" by Meat Loaf and Marion Raven
There were days when the sun was so cruel
That all the tears turned to dust
And I just knew my eyes were
Drying up forever

9. "Where Are You Now?" by Michelle Branch
I've been all over the world
I've seen a million different places
But through the crowds and all the faces
I'm still out there looking for you

Fanfiction - Out Of Nothing (Torchwood)

2008-04-02T23:47:56Z

Title: Out Of Nothing
Fandom: Torchwood
Ratings: T/PG-13
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Owen, Toshiko, Gwen
Parings: None yet
Spoilers: For anyone who didn't know Ianto was shagging Jack, so basically no spoilers
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all it's characters and trademarks are owned by The BBC and Russell T. Davis (lucky bastard)
Summary: The Torchwood team discover something that is completely unknown and alien to all of them, including Jack.
Note: I wrote this with the idea of making it into a crossover in my head. Not sure whether or not I'll continue (I'm sure it's common knowledge by now I have a general inability to finish writing anything) but I'd love to hear ideas on what fandoms Jack and the gang could crossover into! It's also written in an unusual format for fanfiction - script format. I've become to used to writing TV pilot scripts and mini scripts for Media Studies and such that I seem to naturally write in that form so apologies in advance!

Jack, Owen and Gwen walk out of the elevator and step out into the hub. Jack veers off towards the boardroom while Gwen and Owen walk up to the two side-by-side desks where Tosh is working. Gwen shrugs her jacket off and carefully lays it over the back of her chair.

Jack: “Ianto!”

Ianto sticks his head out from the boardroom.

Jack: “Think you could work some of that coffee magic?”

Ianto nods and disappears inside the boardroom for a moment before reappearing with an armful of files. Toshiko calls to Jack and the others from her desk without taking her eyes of the computer monitor.

Tosh: “How did the Weevil hunting go?”

Owen: “The usual. Weevil tries to gnaw some unlucky sod to death, we show up, take out the weevil, and get back here in time for coffee and pizza.”

Ianto calls down from where he is making the coffee.

Ianto: “Sorry, Chinese tonight.”

Jack, his wide smile ever present, slips off his coat as he walks over to join the others, patting Owen on the shoulder as he walks past him.

Jack: “You mean Gwen and I take out the weevil while you stand out of harm’s way playing with your pistol.”

Jack heads for his office in order to dispose of his coat while Owen scowls at his remark. Gwen sniggers and Tosh looks up from her computer, a half smile on her face.

Owen: “It jammed, alright? It’s your bloody fault for being too busy shagging Ianto to upgrade the armory.”

Ianto conveniently chooses that moment to walk over with a tray of steaming coffees. He ignores Owen’s comment as he places Tosh and Gwen’s coffees on the desks in front of them.

Gwen: “Ooh, thanks Ianto.”

She takes a sip from her rainbow striped mug. The computer Tosh is working at starts to beep just as Owen picks up his coffee. Jack, on his way back over to rejoin them, frowns at the sound.

Gwen: “What is it, Tosh?”

Tosh: “There’s been a spike in rift activity.”

She clicks away at the keyboard.

Tosh: “An enormous spike, bigger than anything we’ve ever seen before.

Jack: “Can you trace the source?”

Toshiko continues to click away at the keyboard at an impressive speed.

Tosh: “If these readings, right here in the hub. Down in the vaults I think.”

Jack glances pointedly at Owen, Gwen and Ianto. They all pull out their pistols, ready to follow him.

Jack: “Toshiko, see what you can find out about what’s down there – human, alien, Agnetha Fältskog – whatever it is, I want to know before we’re face to face with it.”

Toshiko nods. Jack, Owen, Gwen and Ianto run off towards the vaults. Outside one of the vault rooms: Jack motions for Ianto to open the door. Ianto does so, and Jack jumps out into the vaults beyond. Jack’s eyes go wide as he reaches to tap his com.

Jack: “Toshiko?”

Tosh: “I’ve never seen anything like it before… the amount of power emanating from it is... unbelievable. It’s definitely alien.”

Ianto: “You can say that again.”

Picture Recap - Enterprise (4.22 - These Are The Voyages) Part 2 of 2

2008-03-30T15:36:27Z

The second part! In which Riker finds a new job.

Should I carry on and do more or should the rest of the world not have to suffer through my caffeine-induced madness? And if so would anyone like to challenge me to any particular episodes of any particular show?

Warning: Language is still bad. Also speaking ill of the dead. Whoops.

Archer: "What in the universe is that smell?"
T'Pol: *thinks* Dammit, he knows it was me that farted.

Hoshi: "Permission to leave the bridge, Captain? There's a strange odour in the air and I think I might vomit."

T'Pol: "I know you know it was me. And if you tell anyone? I'll kill you. No, worse. I'll tell your agent that you'll take that gig working on Gilmore Girls."
Travis: "You wouldn't!"
T'Pol: "I'm a vulcan."
Travis: "I won't say a word." *thinks* pointy-eared bitch.

Riker: "WTF? I just left, how can I be back here? I'm in hell. I MUST be in hell. Where else would they make me wear this uniform again? Must get out of here..."

Riker: "Awesome, I can walk through walls! I pwn you T'Pol!"

Riker: *thinks* Fuck.
Archer: "I know, I know I'm awesome. It's nice of you to tell me you love me T'Pol but I already knew it. And I'm afraid there just isn't enough of me to go around, it's so difficult being this awesome."

T'Pol: "With all due respect, Captain, you misunderstood. I said I love Captain Kirk."

Archer: "...Kirk? How could you? I got rid of Porthos for you!"

Meanwhile...

Riker: "Here's my resignation, I think you'll find that everything's in order. I just can't put up with Archer and his crew of psychopaths any long and you can tell that Gene Roddenberry I'm done being his slave. I sold my soul to the bastard in 1987 and he's been dead fourteen years now - I want it back. I've found a new calling now..."

Riker: "I'm going to be the next Gordon Ramsay!"

Picture Recap - Enterprise (4.22 - These Are The Voyages) Part 1 of 2

2008-03-30T14:52:30Z

So I really have no excuse for this other than I was planning to icon the episode so I started looking through caps and just found them hilarious and so here I am, recapping the episode. With pictures. And stupidness.

Thanks to d_l_c for insight into what Archer would naturally be singing in such a scenario.

Warning: Bad language. Probably not a good idea to read if you're easily offended.

Hoshi: "And then, this other time at band camp..."
T'Pol: *thinks* Maybe if I just pretend I can't hear them they'll go away...

Travis: "No way! Hoshi, I never knew you were that kind of girl..."
Malcolm: *hums* Sex bomb, sex bomb, you're a sex bomb...

Hoshi: "Oh, you have no idea."
T'Pol: *thinks* That sounds rather interesting. I wonder if it's possible for Vulcans too? Hmm, must ask Trip to try it out later.

T'Pol: *thinks* Bollocks, did I say that out loud?
T'pol: *clears throat* "Don't you have work to do, ensigns? If the Captain finds out his ship isn't running smoothly he won't be happy."

Meanwhile, across the bridge...
Archer: *sings* "I feel pretty, oh so pretty! I feel pretty and witty and bright!"
Malcolm: *thinks* Phwoar, look at those manboobs! I wonder if I work out enough mine will be that big?
Ensign Steve: *thinks* I told me mam I didn't want to work on a starship, I want to be a dancer I told her, but would she listen? And now I'm stuck with these crackheads.

Riker: "Where the hell am I? Who are these people? Am I stoned again?"

Riker: "Hello? Uh, folks? Could anyone please tell me where I am? This ship is unfamiliar. I think I'm on the wrong show..."
Archer: *thinks* Haha, level 27! I am the tetris master!
Malcolm: *thinks* Ooh, new MySpace comments!
Mayweather: *thinks* Damn, I shouldn't have used up my three line allowence per episode already. Now I just have to sit here and look busy for the next forty minutes.
Hoshi: *thinks* I knew I shouldn't have had that last tequila shot last night...

Riker: "Fuck this shit..."

New Fanvid - Stop & Stare (Chuck)

2008-03-27T18:20:30Z

Until such a time as I can be bothered to upload this to my graphics and vids journal: my new Chuck vid! This is my first time playing around with Serif Movie Plus 5 so it's not perfect and there might be a bit of an over-abundance of overlays but any feedback would be appreciated! I plan to do a proper vid (this one wasn't even two minutes long and didn't have all that much of a focus so I don't really count it) with SMP5 soon so any pointers as to what worked well and what not so well would come in handy for then!

You can either watch it on Imeem or download it from FileFront (or get me to upload it to another site but not YouTube, I'm boycotting YouTube) :)

TV Afterthoughts - Criminal Minds (3.10)

2007-12-04T15:25:00Z

As interesting as I find Criminal Minds, it's rare I'm absolutely rivited by and emotionally invested in an episode but I've just watched last Wednesday's episode and it just pulled me right in.

The unsub (unknown subject for those of you that don't watch the show) this week was a comic book writer whose girlfriend had been murdered and who had himself been almost killed in a gang attack. However, he was suffering from a psychotic break so he had no memory of the event and he went out and killed the gang members, envisioning them as wolf-like creatures, and then drew the crime scenes for a new project he was working on. He had no memory of killing the gang members either so he didn't realise he was drawing actual crime scenes. Then the FBI broke into his apartment and arrested him and while questioning him showed him pictures of the crime scenes and the pictures that he'd drawn and he started to remember everything. The way it was told bit by bit through the flashbacks really had me thinking, wondering whether his girlfriend actually existed in the first place or if she was just in his imagination and whether she had left him or had died. Then when he started to call her and only reached her voicemaiI started to believe that she'd left him, without realizing that she was actually dead. The best part though was the ending showing him in a mental institution cell with pictures he had drawn of his girlfriend all over the walls while he sat in a corner trying to call her again.

Just the way the story was told, and the quality of the writing and acting, just made this episode shoot up to the top of my favourite Criminal Minds episode list. I watch a few different crime shows and it's rare episodes really stand out but this one definitely did.

Movie Afterthoughts - A Dog's Breakfast

2007-10-08T17:11:26Z

I'm generally very picky about comedies, I find American comedies such as Scrubs not in the slighest bit amusing, I quickly get bored of British shows such as Little Britain, and I could probably list on one hand the number of comedies that have actually had me pretty much hysterical (and most of those are Monty Python films). However, I absolutely loved A Dog's Breakfast. It was dark, morbidly funny, crazy, completely out-of-the-box, and, although predictable at some parts, I still found myself laughing out loud. Absolutely wonderful movie, great for anyone with a weird and morbid sense of humour like I have. Great writing, great directing, and great all around acting. Kudos to David Hewlett.

TV Afterthoughts - Chuck (1.02)

2007-10-03T16:17:22Z

I'm sad to say there's little on TV that I fully enjoy and look forward to watching anymore. So many shows that I used to love seem to have fallen into the traps of predictablility, recycled storylines, uninteresting plots, bad characterisation and continuity, etc. but Chuck is one of those few shows that has avoided these things (and hopefully that's not just because only two episodes have aired) and that I truely enjoy watching.

I find Chuck not only refreshing, but a loveable show that's comical, dramatic, upbeat, fast-paced, and just generally a great show to watch. It comes across as though the cast and crew really care about the show and as though Josh Schwartz is completely invested in it. And the best thing? It doesn't fall into the over-done genres that seem to be on our TVs constantly - teen soap, crime drama, medical drama, etc. Chuck introduces a new type of show in a way - a comedy/drama/action show, similar to the new show Reaper, but not all that similar to other shows have aired during the past couple of years. I'm fairly positive that this show will continue to flourish and hopefully have a good long run.

TV Afterthoughts - Heroes (2.01), Criminal Minds (3.01), Bones (3.01)

2007-09-28T12:36:43Z

Finally managed to get around to watching some of this week's television shows. I still haven't gotten around to watching the latest episodes of Prison Break, Gossip Girl, Smallville, CSI, and the proper aired pilots of Reaper and Chuck to watch but I have seen the Heroes, Criminal Minds and Bones season premieres now.

The Heroes season two premiere left me unimpressed. Having seen twenty-four episodes now and having not been on the edge-of-my-seat hooked all the way through any of these, I'm considering giving up the show. I think I'd be more impressed if it weren't so overrated and constantly talked about because both of those things leave me with very high expectations of the show that are never met (atleast Lost lived up to the hype it received for a while). Some storylines were interesting - I find myself somewhat emotionally involved with the Claire and HRG storyline, partly because of my love for the character of HRG and for Jack Coleman, and I'm not completely bored by the Hiro and Ando storylines, the Parkman (because, well, it's Greg Grunberg) and Molly storylines, but as for the Petrelli family and Mohinder Suresh, well, I really couldn't care less. I find that the main issue with Heroes is that, rather than allowing the characters to develop naturally at the hands of the actors, the writers are too concerned with making each character completely different to the rest (no doubt because there are so many characters) with different storyarcs and it just leads to the characters becoming almost stereotypical with little depth or similarities as would occur with real people. However, with the addition of the awesome David Anders to the show, I do feel mildly tempted to keep watching, even if it's just for the memories of Sark and Alias.

Criminal Minds also left me unimpressed, mainly because I knew that Mandy Patkin was leaving and the way that they wrapped his character up felt completely forced and fanwanked. Yes, the whole ordeal with Sarah was awful, but considering the loss of Elle and everything else that the character of Gideon has dealt with I don't think that what happened would cause Gideon to suddenly decide to quit his job and leave. Being a profiler is everything he is and everything he has and I think that, if he did decide to quit, it would be something that played out over time, with his character evolving over a number of episodes, and not just something that happened like the flick of a switch in one episode. As for the KotW (Killer of the Week), I thought the entire storyline was much too predictable, from the moment the first victim had turned around and we saw her relieved expression I'd figured out that the killers was going to be a campus security guard. Considering it was a season premiere, it didn't feel like the writers put much thought into the episode.

Moving on to Bones now, as this is the only way I'll come remotely close to ending on a positive note, I was satisfyed with the episode. The good thing about Bones is that you don't expect too much - a little bit of whodunnit, howdunnit, and some character interaction and you're expectations have been reached. I enjoyed the short-lived shake up of the Booth/Brennan relationship and the resolution with the usual Mulder/Scully-inspired hint at something more than friendship - the scene with Booth putting his hand over Brennan's coffee cup. I also enjoyed Zach's character arc for this episode, they actually had me afraid for a while that he wouldn't return from Iraq. And, surprisingly, I'm also starting to find myself warming up to Cam. All in all, a decent episode really, nothing massively impressive but I wasn't disappointed atleast.

So, two unimpressive episode and one decent one. Is television actually becoming more predictable and worsely written or am I just becoming more critical?

Fanfiction - Parallel (Stargate Atlantis)

2007-09-22T19:33:14Z

Title: Parallel
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Ratings: K/PG
Characters: Sheppard, McKay, Teyla, Ronon
Parings: None yet
Spoilers: First and second seasons of Stargate Atlantis
Disclaimer: Don't own Stargate Atlantis, yada, yada, yada. The show and all it's wonderful characters belong to Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, I'm just playing with them for a while.
Summary: Crack!Fic. Sheppard, McKay, Teyla and Ronon find themselves stuck in an parallel version of Atlantis where they meet their parallel selves and find out what could've happened if they'd made slightly different decisions.
Note: Only just written this all of five minutes ago so I haven't spell checked it or anything yet. I'd really appreciate it if someone would be happy to beta it for me though? I know I kinda suck at teh writing but hey, I'll only improve if I try, right?

Chapter 1

“How did we end up back here?”

Sheppard kept his eyes straight ahead as he spoke, P90 raised, as he stared around the familiar room, confusion evident on his face.

“This silence is… unsettling. I do not believe this is the same Atlantis that we left.”

Teyla looked around the gate room, her head tilted to one side as she listened for any sound that might indicate the presence of other living beings, besides their team. Ronon stood by her side, gun raised and ready to shoot.

“Lights are on but nobody’s home,” Sheppard muttered.

“This is not good. This is really, really not good.”

Sheppard turned to look over at McKay, narrowing his eyes at the scientist.

“McKay?”

McKay was knelt on the ground, inspecting the now de-activated Stargate. Sheppard, irritated at not being heard, raised his voice.

“McKay?”

“A little busy here.”

McKay had now pulled out a laptop and was tapping at the keys. Sheppard rolled his eyes impatiently.

“No it can’t be… that’s not possible…”

“Rodney, what is it?”

Only now did McKay turn to look up at the other three, revealing the worry and surprise that were etched across his face.

“The ninth chevron activated when we dialed here.”

“Ninth chevron?” Sheppard asked, his eyes narrowed in confusion.

Teyla stepped towards McKay and Sheppard, intrigued, “I thought a Stargate only had seven chevrons?”

McKay shook his head, “it’s a common misconception. Dialing another gate in the same galaxy only requires the activation of seven chevrons, six to identify and extrapolate a single point in space that corresponds to the intended destination, acting as co-ordinates, and one symbol that’s the point of origin. The other two symbols are rarely used so they’re often hidden, like the ones in Atlantis are below a platform. One is used as an-a kind of area code and the ninth… well no-one seems to know what it’s for but I have this theory that it can be used to open a wormhole to alternate universes – parallel worlds,” McKay explained quickly.

“What’d he say?” Ronon grunted.

“We’re in some sort of…” Sheppard hesitated for a moment, struggling to believe what he was about to say, “...alternate Atlantis.”

“The city is submerged.”

Sheppard, McKay and Ronon turned to look at Teyla, who had moved over to a nearby window unnoticed.

Sheppard turned to McKay, “what does that mean?”

“How should I know? There are any number of possibilities…” McKay started to count them off on his fingers as he spoke. “We could be in a parallel universe where we never came to Atlantis, or one where we’ve been here but had to leave, or, oh! Remember when we found that old woman in stasis?”

Sheppard nodded, “You mean Elizabeth?”

“Yeah, still creeps me out, but in her universe we couldn’t raise the city out of the ocean, maybe they – we – had to evacuate? But that would mean…” McKay’s eyes widened with panic and he ran to the stairs that led up to the main control conduits. Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon followed.

“Any life sign readings?” Sheppard asked as he joined McKay at one of the control conduits.

“Hundreds,” McKay replied, surprised.

Sheppard loaded his P90, “then let’s go meet the locals.”

TV Afterthoughts - Gossip Girl & Stargate Atlantis

2007-09-21T13:51:10Z

Another one of the new shows I've been following in the media this year, along with Chuck, Pushing Daisies and Reaper, is Josh Schwartz's new The O.C. substitute - Gossip Girl. I've just watched the pilot and I have to say, it's definately guilty pleasure material. It's far from an outstanding show (who really expected it to be?) and it doesn't match up to The O.C. during it's much-loved first season but I still feel compelled to watch the next episode, which may or may not be a bad thing.

I suppose to big question concerning Gossip Girl is: does Schwartz have that J.J. Abrams touch that will cause Gossip Girl to gradually quality decline as much as The O.C. did during it's third and fourth seasons? Time will tell but for now, Gossip Girl looks tp be one of those if-there's-nothing-else-on-TV shows that isn't completely awful but is also far from brilliant so I'll keep watching for the time being atleast and see how things go in term of improvement or lack of.

Going from teen soap to sci-fi, I've also just watched the first two episodes of season four of my new love - Stargate Atlantis. Before I go on to discuss my thoughts of these episode, I have to say, Atlantis is a hugely underrated show with consistantly good writing, enjoyable storylines, a great mix of action and humour and a great group of loveable and entertaining characters played by above average, and, in the case of David Hewlett, often very impressive, actors. If you're a fan of the sci-fi genre and have never watched Stargate Atlantis, then please give it a go - I'll be surprised if you regret it. Anyway, my thoughts of season four so far can be found under the cut due to huge spoilers for episodes that haven't aired yet.

The first point that I have to make is that I was one of many people irritated by the sudden and irratic decision to kill off Weir. I'd only seen clips of the episode prior to today and, from what I could tell from the final scene with Carter telling Sheppard she was sorry about Weir, it looked like Weir had died due to her injuries from the explosion. However, when I watched the full episode it was revealed that she'd stayed behind on the replicator planet in order to enable Sheppard, McKay and Ronon to escape. There is still a large possibility that she is still alive, although whether she will be reprogrammed by the replicators remains to be seen.

The second issue that I had with the show prior to watch the first two episodes of season four was the addition of Samantha Carter to the cast. I have never, and probably will never, been a huge fan of her character, nor of SG-1, so I was extremely weary of her coming into the show and taking over. However, although Carter featured a fair amount in this episode, it looks like she won't be taking over Atlantis straight away as her speech at the end of the second episode suggested she wouldn't be back for a few episodes. Looks lik the position of leader of Atlantis will rightfully fall to Sheppard, or possibly Teyla, someone who has been in the city from the start of the show. However, Carter does outrank Sheppard so I expect that when she returns later in the season, possibly even as early as episode three, she may be taking over the city. So long as this isn't rushed, I think it'll play out okay.

Along with the reappearance of Carter, the World of Warcraft guy is also back. I personally love the appearance of such characters because I think they bring much more realism to the show and remind us that, although the Atlantis folks have a lot of futuristic technology, the show is set in present day and the occasional mentions of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Alien, etc. remind us of that. However, I do have a slight worry that the reappearance of this character could be a sign that The Powers That Be are thinking of replacing Zelenka. This might be a stretch but the writers do seem to be going for shock value judging by the death of Beckett and the capture of Weir, and killing Zelenka would be another way to do that because he's a very well-liked character but he's also expendable.

On the subject of disappearing characters, I'm curious what happened to Caldwell? Whether I zoned out last season when Colonel Ellis took over the Daedalus and an explanation was given as to Caldwell's whereabouts, I'm not sure, but it's irritating me that there was no mention of him during either of the first two episodes of season four.

Anyway, to wrap up, a fairly good couple of episodes, not the best the show has seen but they did a good job of opening up the new season, which will no doubt be a lot different without Beckett and Weir as regulars..

TV Afterthoughts - Oh How We'll Miss You, Carson Beckett

2007-08-29T22:43:25Z

I know I've only been watching Stargate Atlantis for a week (it was only last Wednesday that I'd just finished watching "Rising" and realised that I had found my new TV addiction) but I have never been as emotionally invested in a show as I've become with Stargate Atlantis. Crying so much that I had to keep pausing the last five or ten minutes of an episode and still crying for the next ten minutes after I've watched it? That's a new one for me.

So lets go back an hour to when I was watching the season three episode "Sunday". It seemed like just another episode, the Atlantis team get a day off and a bomb explodes. There's always some dramatic catastrophe like a bomb and none of the main cast usually dies and I didn't think this episode would be any different.

A few minor spoilers from fanvids and icons aside, I didn't know all that much about what happens in seasons two and three, so the last thing I expected was a mid-season episode, that wasn't a a two-parter, a finale, or anything special, to feature a character death. So naturally about three quarters of the way through the episode when big explosion goes off with one Carson Beckett in the middle of it I think "oh, he'll be fine. All the stuff these guys find their way out of? No chance he's a goner." Boy was I wrong.

It wasn't until the funeral scene where I saw the casket with the Scottish flag draped over it that it really sank in and, by that point, I no longer just had tears in my eyes, they were streaming down my face. I can honestly say I never gotten had such an emotional reaction to a TV show before. I mean, sure, I cried when Rose and The Doctor were seperated and said their final goodbyes, I cried when Jonathan Kent died on Smallville, I cried for a good few minutes after the end of the Supernatural episode "Heart", but none of those times was I as hysterical as I was during Stargate Atlantis.

Partly because he played the only British character in Atlantis (that we know of), partly because he was one of the few characters on the show that was always nice and likeable (there have been moments where I've wanted to slap every other character), and mainly just because he was truely the heart of the show, I can honestly say that Stargate Atlantis will not be the same without Paul McGillion's character.

Review - Film - Hairspray (2007)

2007-08-09T16:47:34Z

Hairspray
In cinemas now

Written By: Leslie Dixon
Starring: John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron
Rating: 4/5 (Enjoyable)

Hairspray, based on the 1988 film of the same title, tells the touching story of Tracy Turnblad, an overweight teenager who dreams of being able to sing and dance on the local television show - The Corny Collins Show. Tracy, although rejected during her first audition when a spot opens up after one of the dancers goes on maternity leave, continues to fight for her fair chance to be on the show, to win the Miss Teenage Hairspray competition, and to gain equality by having both blacks and whites dancing together on The Corny Collins Show.

Hairspray, although little different to many other films of the same genre in terms of its story and morals, still manages to take the genre of "chick-flick" to a new level that has not been achieved since the renown 1978 musical Grease. Wholly enjoyable, with an uplifting storyline, upbeat songs, and a happy ending, Hairspray is a simple film that, although not particularly outstanding like award-winning like films such as Crash or Million Dollar Baby, is great film for a girls' night in that allows you to just leave your brain at the door, kick back, and relax.

Although arguably "cheesy" and not particularly original, there is little else to criticize about Hairspray which features a great cast, with the likes of Michelle Pfeiffer (who makes an excellent love-to-hate bitch playing Velma Von Tussle), John Travolta (as Tracy's mother Edna Turnblad), and Christopher Walken (Tracy's father Wilbur Turnblad), and enjoyable, well-performed songs. If you've been tempted to go and see this film but haven't yet, I highly recommend that you either go to see it at the cinema or rent it on DVD, as it is definitely worth a watch.

Review - Television - Pushing Daisies (Pilot)

2007-08-09T16:07:16Z

Pushing Daisies
Wednesdays on ABC from October 3rd

Written By: Bryan Fuller
Starring: Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Kristin Chenoweth
Pilot Rating: 4/5 (Worth Watching)

Pushing Daisies tells the story of Ned (Lee Pace), a lonely pie-maker who has the ability to bring people back to life with a simple touch. However, there is a catch to his so-called gift as he can only bring people back to life for one minute or else someone with a close vicinity of the victim will die. When Emerson Cod, a local detective, learns of Ned's ability to give and take life he makes a deal with Ned and convinces him to use his gift to bring murder victims back to life for just long enough to find out who killed them in order to solve the crimes of their deaths and collect the reward money. Their deal holds out successfully until Ned revives childhood crush, Chuck (Anna Friel), and cannot bring himself to give her the second touch that will ensure her permanent death.

The pilot is fairly entertaining, with decent writing and average acting. While it doesn't stand out to be a gem of a television show, Pushing Daisies is fairly original, which may or may not be this show's downfall. The almost-dark comedy style of the show and use of voiceover is akin to that of Showtime's ex-drama/comedy series Dead Like Me, which lasted for a mere two seasons before cancellation. Whether Pushing Daisies will meet a similar fate remains to be determined although a 13-episode pick-up by ABC is definitely a positive sign.

For those who are fans of drama/comedy like Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies is definitely a show to watch, but this is definately not a show that everyone will enjoy and will most likely only appeal to a niche audience.

Review - Television - Masters of Science Fiction ("A Clean Escape")

2007-08-07T17:07:47Z

Masters of Science Fiction
"A Clean Escape"
Saturdays at 10PM on ABC

Written By: Sam Egan
Starring: Judy Davis, Sam Waterston
Pilot Rating: 3/5 (Average)

Masters of Science Fiction is a new series which features single-episode story arcs based on works of some of the best science fiction authors. The premiere episode, based on a short story by Nebula award winner John Kessel, tells the story of a psychologist, Dr. Evans (Judy Davis), who has spent the past ten months interrogating a man, Havelman (Sam Waterson), who is missing the past 24 years of his life, and whose short-term memory lasts for a mere 40 minutes. During Havelman's missing years, Dr. Evans reveals that numerous nuclear explosions were launched that destroyed most major cities and left the Earth's surface in ruins, forcing the 871 people that remained to seek refuge in an underground bunker.

While "A Clean Escape" got off to a slow start, it did improve later on as more was revealed about the occurrences leading up to the catastrophic events that all but wiped life from the planet. The storyline was intriguing and no doubt piqued and held the interest of a fair portion of its Saturday night audience, but was still highly predictable and the twist at the end was definitely not unforeseeable. The show was saved, however, by powerful acting, and the fact that there was little competition in its given timeslot, with most other networks airing repeats.

With a show such as Masters of Science Fiction, featuring a different story and writer every week, it is difficult to tell whether the series will prove to be worth watching or not, but if you are a fan of the science fiction genre then this is a show that you may enjoy.

Review - Television - Chuck (Pilot)

2007-07-29T13:28:50Z

Chuck
Mondays at 8PM on NBC from September 24th

Written By: Josh Schwartz
Starring: Zachary Levi, Joshua Gomez, Adam Baldwin
Pilot Rating: 5/5 (Excellent)

Chuck tells the story of a computer nerd who accidentally downloads all of the government's secrets directly into his brain. One of two shows written by The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz this season, Chuck will no doubt hold much success for both Schwartz and The O.C. director McG. This show is not only well written, but also displays excellent camerawork, a decent and suitable soundtrack, and easily likeable characters such as the show's star Chuck (Zachary Levi) and his nerdy best friend Morgan (Joshua Gomez). These two characters provide much of the comedy in the pilot episode and make the show not only fast-paced and action-packed but also humourous and highly entertaining.

The episode jumps almost immediately into the action as the second scene shows a rogue CIA agent, Bryce Larkin (Matthew Bomer), breaking into a computer which holds the combined secrets of all of the federal governments. When things go awry at the last minute, he emails this data to Chuck Bartowski, his college roommate from Stanford. The rest of the pilot tells the story of Chuck as he realizes the data that he has downloaded into his brain and he finds himself being followed by agents from both the NSA and the CIA, who's inital intentions to kill Chuck soon change when they realize that they need him to diffuse a bomb.

There is no doubt that there is much of Chuck's story left to tell and, with an official series order by NBC, there will be plenty of time for this comedy-come-action show to continue to take us through Chuck's adventures.

Chuck is an original series which manages to avoid falling into the over-frequented genres of serious drama, crime drama, and sci-fi, and instead stands out as something a little different to other shows on television, being much more akin to the action-with-humour type movies populating cinemas at the moment such as Die Hard 4 and Transformers. Highly entertaining, well written, and likely to have a decent run on NBC, Chuck is definitely worth a watch.

TV Afterthoughts - This Is the End, My Friends, the End (Veronica Mars)

2007-05-23T20:31:11Z

I really don't know what to say. I mean in itself as an episode, "The Bitch Is Back" was great but as a finale, not just a season finale but a series finale, I dunno it was kinda... empty. I expected more than an ending of the Mars family being screwed yet again and Veronica walking off down the street, without even answering minor questions like did Keith win the election (which okay would be pretty unlikely but it would have been nice to see the results being announced all the same) let alone resolving some of the open stuff from the past two seasons and, say, bringing back Lianne or something. It did bug me that they dragged Jake Kane and Clarence Wiedman (and without his awesome hat too!) back for what felt to me like a very forced storyline, as did Weevil's a little. If they intended to bring back some old faces I'm sure they could have found a better and less contrieved way to do so. I suppose they probably didn't know back when they were writing the episode that they'd get axed but it would've been nice to have had an ending (even if it was just to the season and not the entire show) that was a little more... satisfying I guess, than Veronica walking off into the rain. I am glad Logan finally stopped moping and pining around quite so much and even threw a few punches in the last two episodes, he's been so annoying this season yet he was such a fun snarky character in season one.

TV Afterthoughts - Dexter & Heroes Finale

2007-05-23T11:41:09Z

Finally getting around to watching the rest of "Dexter", I actually watched the first seven episodes months ago but with everything else I watch hadn't gotten around to watch anymore. I have episodes 9-12 downloading and watched episode eight today and I have to say: I freaking love this show. I mean I love shows like Supernatural, Heroes, Doctor Who, and so on, the ones where you have your heroes and your villains, it's just completely black and white. But with "Dexter" it's just shades of gray, there's no black and white. You can't say whether what Dexter is doing is right or wrong because, sure he's killing people, but he only kills those who hurt others. He's a murderer but does he deserve to be locked up or is he doing the world a favour? The morality of it all is just so questionable. Loved the episode "Shrink Wrap" anyway, I had the feeling all episode that Debra's new boyfriend would turn out to be the ice truck killer, there was just something off about him. Not to mention that four episodes from the end of the season, it's kind of time they stopped with the false leads seeing as it'll probably take them a while to catch the guy anyway.

Anyway, Heroes. Watched the finale last night before CSI and I have to say, I think it's the best hour of TV this year. I am, and probably will be for a long while, a diehard Supernatural fan but the Heroes finale just kicked the ass of every other show I've watched. It took me a while to get into it, not sure why but I found it difficult to get that invested at first but it was a decent enough show so I thought I'd stick it out and I feel like it's finally paid off. I'm sure I spent atleast a collective ten minutes of the episode open mouthed in shock wondering who would die and who would survive (Matt!! Why do Greg Grunberg's character always seem to end up getting shot? Alias anybody? Like way back in season 2 I think?) and then I spent the last ten minutes going "come on Nathan, show up and fly Peter away, come on!". Also - my film geek mode is kicking in here - what a fantastically shot episode! The end sequence in particular, the camera work was just brilliant to watch, all the crane shots worked so well. getting back to the plot, I have to say I was a little sad that Sylar died. Yeah, yeah, he's evil I know but Zachary Quinto was great in the role (in this episode in particular) not to mention pretty. One think I was a little confused about (and I seem to end up easily confused with this show - I spent the first half of the season calling Mohinder Issac and such), why didn't Hiro just teleport out of 17th century Japan at the end? Or had his power stopped working after Sylar sent him flying or something?

Review - Television - Drive (Pilot)

2007-04-18T18:49:44Z

Drive
Sundays & Mondays at 8PM on FOX from April 15th

Written By: Ben Queen, Tim Minear
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Kristin Lehman, Kevin Alejandro
Pilot Rating: 5/5 (Excellent)

I must admit, when I first read the plot outline for new Fox drama Drive, I was among those who were skeptical that series creators Ben Queen and Tim Minear would be able to pull off a show with a concept that sounded so simplistic and uninteresting. On paper, it seemed almost impossible that such a concept could prove to be an addictive, smart and original show with twists and turns at every corner. But being a die-hard fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer spin-off Angel and Joss Whedon's one-season sci-fi show Firefly, I tuned in regardless.

Drive, which stars Nathan Fillion of Firefly fame, follows the story of a group of Americans all competing against each other for their own reasons in a cross-country race. For the majority of the characters the reward is $32million but for Alex Tully (Nathan Fillion) winning the race means finding his kidnapped wife (Amy Acker, Angel). The show also follows the race-winning attempts of a rogue illegitimate son and his brother, a dying scientist and his teenaged daughter, and a mother on the run from her husband, but the real treat of this show lies in the fascinating motivations of each of these characters.

This summer drama is not only blessed with spot-on acting but also great writers. Drive successfully demonstrates just the right balance of tension and humor to keep you hooked without overpowering you with dark storylines and angst like many dramas have a tendency to do. Not only that, the storylines are intriguing and compelling without being overly complicated. As the stories of each character begin to unwind, we learn of their motivations for competing in the race and just how far they are willing to go to win. The first two episodes pose questions such as: why are the bigshots so desperate to keep Alex in the race and why is Wendy trying to escape from her husband and forbidden from contacting her infant son? And of course the million-dollar-question: who will win the race?

It's no doubt, Drive will be a rollercoaster ride over the next eleven episodes and its unlike-anything-else-on-tv concept might even be enough to gain this Fox drama another season. Whether you're looking for a new drama to pull you in and keep you watching over the summer while shows like Prison Break and Lost are off air or you just want an interesting yet easy-to-follow show that you can sit down, chill out, and watch without having to follow an over-abundance of different mysteries and over-complicated characters, with it's daring plot, intriguing and likeable characters, and non-stop action, Drive is definitely worth a watch.

Fanfiction - The Oncoming Storm (Doctor Who/Firefly)

2007-03-10T01:08:20Z

Title: The Oncoming Storm
Fandom: Doctor Who/Firefly
Ratings: K/PG (may increase to T later on)
Characters: Jack, Tenth Doctor, Rose, Martha, Mal, River
Parings: None
Spoilers: First and second seasons of Doctor Who, first season of Torchwood, all of Firefly (including the BDM)
Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own Doctor Who, Firefly, or any of these characters, I'm just playing with them for a little while. These are all creations from the wonderful minds of Russell T. Davies and Joss Whedon.
Summary: When the Doctor and Martha leave him alone in the TARDIS, Jack decides to take a trip to 500 years in the future. When the words 'Bad Wolf' start to appear everywhere Serenity goes and River has visions of the time vortex breaking apart, Jack must accept that he may be responsible and find the Doctor before it's too late.
Note: Thanks to the awesome lillerina for beta duty.

“Hey, Doctor?”

A hesitant pause.

“Doctor…?”

Jack peers over the railing of the stairway, down into the TARDIS control room. The faint green glow of the central console illuminates his confused features.

“Martha?”

His response is a barely audible buzz from the TARDIS.

Jack sighs, shakes his head, makes his way down the stairs.

It was hardly the first time the Doctor and Martha had left him alone in the TARDIS, disappeared off on one of their adventures. Jack had been surprised when he’d first returned to the TARDIS how close the Doctor and Martha had become, so soon after the loss of Rose. But he’d been significantly less surprised to wake up one morning and find that the two had left to visit first century Rome. He’d been angry then, furious even. All those years ago the Doctor had left him behind on Satellite Five. The hurt, the loneliness Jack had felt then was happening all over again, history repeating itself. In his usual manner, Jack hadn’t said anything. Had remained silent, brooding, the way he always did when things didn’t go as he liked. And then it happened again. And again. Each time the Doctor and Martha disappearing without a word, as if they’d forgotten his very existence. Jack considers himself a patient man, one had to be when cursed with immortality, but even he has his limits. And those limits have been reached.

Jack takes the stairs, two at a time, and walks determinedly towards the central console of the TARDIS. He’s seen the Doctor flipping these switches and pressing these buttons enough times now to know how to fly the ship. The process had become almost second nature to Jack. Without a second thought, he set the ship to random, not caring where he ended up so long as it wasn’t here.

Almost as soon as it begins, the shaking and shuddering of the ship ceases leaving the TARDIS as still and silent as it had been when Jack had first awoken. Jack tentatively releases his firm hold on the console and takes a step back. After an uncertain glance from the console to the door, his face hardens and he heads out of the TARDIS.

* * *

Five hundred years in the future a young girl’s haunted eyes open wide with surprise.

“He’s coming.”

Mal turns at the sound of the lonely, detached voice.

“You say something, little one?”

“The man in the blue box...”

She pauses, tilts her head to one side in thought.

“He’s all wrong, out of time and place.”

A look on concern settles on Mal’s face.

River lifts her head suddenly, looks at Mal. There’s none of the former content innocence in her glossy eyes now. There’s only fear, and as her eyes stare piercingly into Mal’s, he feels it too, knows the words before they even leave River’s lips.

“A storm is coming.”