The sun is in league with the seagulls.

Ugh.

In other news, SGA 02x13. The brilliant scientist is describing the ability to relay data bursts between planets and ships to span galaxies.


Scientist: You send the stream from Earth to PX332 to the Daedelus ship to the Pegasus Galaxy. It's like the Twilight Bark!
Military: Buh?
Scientist: 101 Dalmatians? My kids love that movie. One dog barks, the next one hears him and barks, sending a message?
Military: ::blank stare::
Scientist: Lord of the Rings. When they light the torches.
Military: Ohhhhhhhh!



::facepalm:: I'm not sure what made me laugh harder, the blank stares or the instant comprehension when LotR was brought into it.

In which I fail at bike maintenance

My mom, the wonderful woman that she is, came through town yesterday and gave me a chain tool with which I could fix my broken bike chain.

Today I got the broken link off, and in the process of reattaching a new link, broke the chain tool.

I now have an unconnected length of greasy bike chain in a plastic bag under my bed, a sore back, and grease ground into every available crevasse of my hands.
Yeah, I love my bike. But it's gonna have to wait.

I have figured it out!

I have been wondering to myself, "Why do I like SGA so much when SG-1 never really did anything for me?" Same premises, same shameless opportunities to play with classic plot cliques (body-switching, multiple universes, invisibility).

What is the difference?

I have the answer.

Stargate Atlantis is a geek show.
No, really. Lemme 'splain.

SG-1 functions on the premise of exploration. They find new peoples, Daniel gets excited over the culture, the rest of the team just plays along, aliens attack, hard choices are made... When wars are waged, its with fire an man-power. It's social. The aliens are parasites and the hosts are innocent victims and the show focuses on that humanity. Great for show, but it feels lacking, sometimes.

Atlantis is different. They're not figuring out the Stargate, they've already done so. They are in a different galaxy, far away from standard social norms, making their own way. Rodney and Sheppard? Both stunningly intelligent individuals who blow things up. The denizens of Atlantis? 80% are doctors and scientists. The problems they face? They fight them with brains, not brawn. They're forced to out-think their opponents, not outrun or out-fight them. And the bad guys? Are so inhuman, there is no sympathy to be had.

The jokes and references are geeked to the max. Sometimes they dumb some principles down for the audience, but their science is fundamentally sound and really kinda cool.
Geeks like this show.

And non-geeks canceled it, the bastards.