Stargate Atlantis: "Brain Storm" spoiler ridden, complaint-ridden review

[wraithfodder]

Gah! Here are my comments on "Brain Storm," one of the last Stargate Atlantis episodes to air, and damn, what a waste of an hour...

Where do I begin?

Okay, at the beginning. The Shep and Ronon going off camping/surfing - why could we have NOT seen that plot instead? Anyway, once they're out of frame, it goes downhill.

First, I don't mind McKeller - if it's done well, but this episode looked like it was written by someone in high school, and that is to say, ti's Marty Sue fanfic. I can only envision that Gero lives vicariously through McKay to get the girl.

The medicine, or lack thereof, in this episode sucked. First a guy is half flash-frozen. Oh, he's in bad shape, declares Keller, who promptly spends the rest of the episode not doing a damned thing for the guy, who, at best, has severe frostbite. Revoke her license (no, revoke the writer's license!, no, his paycheck!). Secondly, Keller is hypothermic, then Rodney finds her in frigid water, ohmygod, not breathing, no pulse, let's do chest compressions, which in the time-honored tradition of bad TV writing, snaps her out of it immediately and despite the fact she's hypothermic, she's not shivering, she seems fine, and in fact, is so fine she smiles and kisses McKay.

Why could the security guards not rescue Keller? Why did McKay have to? (Wait, Marty Sue to the rescue!)

Why were McKay and Keller flown back in private jet in wet clothes? Did Tunny not have any spare clothing anywhere? That, I can't believe since if you'r ein such an isolated facility, you keep spare stuff around. And after hypothermia, chest compressions, Jennifer's frisky enough to suggest sex???

Rodney signs a 200 page document without reading it, even skimming it? To another scientist whom he doesn't like? Puh-lease. Rodney, you've signed away your first born, a kidney, the rights to your life in a movie and all future patents. Tsk ;)

I like Stargate Atlantis because it is in outer space. WHen they go back to Earth, it loses something, and in this case, it fell into a sinkhole.

I sooooooooo hope there will be some fanfic of Shep and Ronon out camping (not slash, but gen, preferably whump) to make up for this episode.


Wraithfodder

Comments

[negolith2.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I dislocated my eyeballs (again) with this epi, and you should have seen the fight with the cat to get my right one back. =^.^=

"Marty Sue". I LOVE IT!! So, so ... apt. And pathetic. Really really creepy and pathetic.

I have to admit, though - got a big kick out of Bill Nye. I never noticed it before, but his ears are as pointy as Joe's.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

I can't totally fry the episode. I do like Bill Nye the Science Guy but the juvenile love story just trod all over any chance of a plot. A high security installation with no competent security guards to go with Jennifer? Please... wait, I hear a popping noise? my eyeballs dislocated and rolled off too! ;)

God, if Gero is on the SGu staff, well, I guess he'll fit it as he can right high school crap.

[d_odyssey.livejournal.com]

I absolutely hated this episode - worst one ever. I hate McKeller for precisely the reasons you stated, besides the fact I see no chemistry whatsoever between the characters, it is Mary Sue and Marty Sue. The writers didn't take the time to subtly build up and make it believable. Instead we get brain addled Rodney declaring his love before they even date, then at the first date, which she spends nagging at him, she comes back from the dead to declare her love and then kisses him. The kiss was passionless with the actors appearing to rather not be there. The whole ep was predictable and all fixed for Rodney to save the damsel in distress once again. Gag! So tired and trite. Creepy and pathetic is right. Plus the question the other geeks should have been asking was not if it was his sister but rather his daughter. So many things wrong. Once again goes back to the lack of imagination and laziness of the writers. Plus, how did M&M allow Gero to live out his fantasies on screen through his alter ego McKay? Why are there no checks and balances? Why can't we find out why Shep tortures himself? Sigh, that is a question for another day. Anyway excellent post, I agree with everything except that I don't like McKeller at all.

[ewokmonster.livejournal.com]

Plus the question the other geeks should have been asking was not if it was his sister but rather his daughter.

Well, to be fair, there is only 14 years difference in the actor's ages. It's not that big of a spread. I don't know what the character ages are supposed to be though.

I can admit to being a huge fan of McKay. And I like McKay and Keller together. So I enjoyed this one. Plus I laughed. Which is about all I need to be entertained.

The kissing did seem a little awkward. Not as bad as some I've seen, but I have seen better.

[astrumporta.livejournal.com]

Word to all of this. From a character perspective, Rodney was brutalized! And yeah, Marty Stu indeed.

If you've seen Gero's YPF movie, 6th grade is about the level of romance he writes.

I think DH especially did great with what he was given, but yeah, I was creeped out, not charmed.

[tavabean.livejournal.com]

Wow, I'd sure rather see an hour of Ronon and Shep surfing than this burnt offering!
I hate McKeller with a passion, but perhaps she decided to kiss Rodney cause her brain had just been freeze dried.

So Rodney declares his love when there's a parasite in his brain, and she does the same when she's suffering from hypoxemia!
What a great basis for a relationship. NOT.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Hmm, sounds like Canadian relationship from "Crash" (the James Spader flick). Of course, if it's all S&M, it might work *cough*.

[monkey-junkey.livejournal.com]

Completely agree with everything you wrote. The whole McKeller thing's just been painful to watch from the start. Bill Nye aside I am striking this ep from my personal canon except to allow for angst fic.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

I don't mind the idea of McKeller; it's just the execution of it that is now painful to watch.

[ga-unicorn.livejournal.com]

I've tried to like Keller. I've tried to be neutral and wait for the McKay/Keller "thing" to play out (still waiting for some chemistry though) and hoped that it would be handled in a mature manner (oh, what was I thinking! these writers are helpless and believable romance.). I've tried to keep an open mind about all of this because - DAMN IT! - I want to like the show; I want it to be the show I fell in love with, the show that nudged me back into active fandom.

But tonight ruined all my good intentions. I won't list everything that irked the hell out of me because you did such a good job of it. Let me just add: we're supposed to believe Keller loves McKay? Then why did she spend the whole episode telling him to be someone he's not? Why did she never once stand up to all the McKay-bashers (and God, I hate the rag-on-McKay episodes!) and tell them to go do something anatomically improbable to themselves? I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but where we come from we usually try to be supportive of the people we love.

I think I need a strong drink to wash this bad taste out of my mouth.

[d_odyssey.livejournal.com]

Word! Of the many, many, many things that bugged me tonight, the fact that Keller basically nagged and ragged on Rodney all night about being nice and humble and everything he's not just irked the heck out of me. I was yelling "Hello, Keller have you met Rodney McKay?" Gah, she is trying to change his basic personality. Let him go back to Sheppard and the team who love him for who he is.

[nialla]

I haven't been brave enough to watch in a while. Fanfic is doing a pretty job of giving me my fix. Actually, a better job, come to think of it. I get the basics of the good episodes and the "fix it" for the craptacular events.

But I have to wonder, judging by comments about the quality of later episodes this season, if the writers knew well in advance they were ditching SGA in favor of SGU and kind of half-assed it all just to get it done and gone?

Well, a mix of half-assed writing, pure ass (that's Mallozzi *g*) and writer masturbation.

I think we're getting a preview of what we can expect from SGU. TPTB are already putting out spin trying to make things sound better, but I hate to break it to them: The more they speak, the worse it sounds.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

I hate to say it, but if this is a preview of what's to come on SGU, that show is doomed, or at least doomed to lose a lot of audience.

[berry-hearts.livejournal.com]

Whispers and the Shrine were good. The end of the season is really sucking the big one.

1) Where Was SAM????
2)I HATE KELLER
3)I would rather see Shep teaching Ronon how to SURF.
In fact, that would be amazing.
4) BILL NYE SUCKS
5) McKay made a few zingers, but damn.
6) KELLER SUCKS


LAME EPISODE. Atlantis is almost over and it's really said that it sucks this bad. OMG LORNE ON SANCTUARY!!!!!!!

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was thrilled to see Lorne on Sanctuary too! Too brief an appearance, darn. Anyway, I don't hate Keller, but wish they'd learn HOW to write her. Bill Nye - hadn't seen in years, er, decades, but he had his momoents. Which is why I rated the show a D+ over on SciFi. Wasn't totally awful, had a few spots of 'oh, that's funny', but the lack of logic in regards to Keller was awful.

[mercury973.livejournal.com]

What the hell was that???

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

A hallucination from eating too much halloween candy all at once??

[syble4.livejournal.com]

The way Keller treated McKay through the whole episode really had me mad. Then lets have sex because I don't want to hear you whine? I'm not feeling the love here.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

So, pity sex? ;) Oh, hadn't thought of it that way. So much for the relationship! ;)

[mantriddrone.livejournal.com]

its hardly surprising that the show is getting cancelled. rodney was supposed to be a reformed character a year ago and for one episode the writers have remembered that he is supposed to have changed. whats the betting that for the remaining ones he's back to being an arsehole again.

the character development is all over the place, the turnover in principal characters was counter-productive as the fans like to latch on to a character and follow them through and the stories just aren't up to scratch. other than that the show deserves to run and run

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

It's a darned shame to think that, but I understand it entirely.

Oh, love your icon. very Time-Tunnelly ;)

[nakedwesley.livejournal.com]

There were so many things wrong with this episode. Even if I didn't dislike Keller with a firey passion - and I tried to like her - her actions made no sense:

She agrees to be McKay's trophy date. She doesn't even attempt to defend him or act in any way disapproving of the other scientists' insults to her 'date'. She certainly isn't acting like a doctor when there are wounded people around.

Why did Rodney not attempt to defend himself? Could he not have said, "Yes, I admit I was a bit of an asshole back in the day, but that's in the past." Or "We've all had to sign non-disclosure agreements. I'm sure you can understand why I can't talk about my work." The McKay bashing (whether deserved or not) was petty and childish and inappropriate, and so season one. Ugh!

Why is it Sheppard is wondering if McKay's going to 'make his move' one minute, and yet McKay and Keller are already in love by the end? Bleh. So, yeah, never going to watch this episode again, even with knives pointed at me.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

This can't be how guys perceive romance, is it?? Or maybe this is Gero's idea of geek love? Sorry, give me Big Bang Theory any day now.

[zikade.livejournal.com]

I thought the term was Gary Stu.

I had to chuckle for the physicist stuff, because I myself am one. They exaggerated on the ego thing, but the hints at LHC and so was spot on. And of course the experiment goes haywire, he. he.

yeah, there is a lot to complain about, but I since I usually don't like McKay only episodes, I had surprisingly fun. Don't like the romance thing though, that is why I watch Sci Fi, to escape those silly love stories.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

It wasn't a total loss, but it's floating at the bottom of 'I'll watch if I have NOTHING else to watch' episodes from SGA pile. Too much logic was tossed out the airlock in this one. I have no idea WHY the writers can't write Keller as a competent doctor throughout the series. She's competent in one scene, ignoring her doctorly duties in another. Oh yeah, have met enough scientist-types to know the ego stuff is spot on, but they couldn't have hired a Lifetime writer to write a romantic episode? Heck, all those films are made in Vancouver.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

Bizarrely enough, there were so many things obviously wrong with the episode that I managed just to ignore them. It was almost all bloophole. I had fun anyway.

But yes, please revoke Martin Gero's writer's license before he commits another. I like Jennifer, but she was not well written here.

I liked seeing Bill Nye and Neil de Grasse Tyson (who disappeared early in the episode, as if he had somewhere more important to be...).

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

The episode would have been far more enjoyable (at least to me) had they had Keller tending to flash-frozen guy, not nagging at Rodney (she's not going to be one of those women who HAS to change her man? doesn't work!), etc.

[gelbes-gilatier.livejournal.com]

You're spot-on with your review. I really hated to see Jennifer do all the nagging. And actually... I have to admit I like Rodney a lot better in the team episodes. I really had to force myself to keep on watching, because I found BOTH Rodney and Jennifer pretty annoying. To be honest... I so hoped the Tunnery-guy would be the one coming up with a resolution :S

And that scene in the jet at the end? That was... so weird and ew and... I just have no words. They are in love, alone, just went through something that usually helps bonding people together very tightly, are probably still a little bit hyped on adrenalin... and she has to ASK him to have sex with her? NO way. That's just... I know some fanfiction writers who'd have done a much better job on that, honestly.

"Rodney and Jennifer sittin’ in a tree… (rolls eyes)"

[nialla]

Thought you might be interested in the review at CliqueClack, which has the subject line I used here and begins with this sentence:

"Like sands through the hourglass, these are the days of our Stargate."

I take a bit of glee in this being written by a guy, saying exactly what TPTB think only the fangirls protecting their OTP would say. TPTB might want to rethink their approach to As the Ship Turns Universe if even their coveted male demographic are getting fed up with shippy crap.

Re: "Rodney and Jennifer sittin’ in a tree… (rolls eyes)"

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Bwahaah! Read the review and made a comment there.

[n7cdrsheppard.livejournal.com]

Oh, those pesky details! But yeah...my thoughts exactly...did that guy die or what? Keller is a MD? funny...Does not seem so...As we know by now...the ideas are promising but the writing sucks...If only sga could be revived with better writing...maybe those guys who work on 'the big bang theory'...anything, please. Rodney deserves better...and we deserve to see John go surfing :)
Yeah, baby!

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

guess they just stuck him in the freezer for later revival *cough* ;)

[hawtboyluvin.livejournal.com]

Makes me glad I skipped the crapfest!

[clight000.livejournal.com]

Oh there are just too many comments to this post that I agree with that I can't even comment on all of them. Personally, I don't enjoy McKeller, but I can live with it if they do it well and keep it in the background.

The episodes gets plus points for Bill Nye the Science guy and the scene with Ronon and John at the beginning (seriously, WHY OH WHY couldn't this episode have been about them finding an abandoned beach and then getting into trouble with some strange alien jellyfish or something?).

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I like that plot - strange alien jellyfish on beach - of course, it should turn out to be incredibly predatory and be a land-jellyfish (so it can chase 'em through teh woods).

brain storm

[(Anonymous)]

OMG Rodney hit that!