Rewatch: Vegas
Apr. 19th, 2013 10:00 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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sga_squeeIn an alternate universe, Detective John Sheppard is with the Las Vegas Police Department and begins to investigate a strange series of murders. This Sheppard is a bit down on his luck, over-promoted and barely getting by. What Sheppard is dealing with is a Wraith who has made it to Earth and is building a device to send out a signal of some sort. Of course, he has no idea what a Wraith is but a senior member of the Atlantis expedition, Rodney McKay, decides to take Sheppard into their confidence and tell him about the Pegasus galaxy and their fear that the Wraith is trying to send out a signal with Earth's location. While they succeed, they may have opened a rift with other parallel universes. This Dr. McKay, who is cool and smooth, actually visited Atlantis in another dimension once and wonders what may now happen there. Written by garykmcd
[Poll #1909363]
[Poll #1909363]
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Date: 2013-04-20 03:12 am (UTC)Thoughts ... in a little while ... or in the morning.
Comment 1A
Date: 2013-04-20 11:51 pm (UTC)So, I'm mostly going with impressions of the Vegas!Verse and asking some confused questions.
First impression of John Sheppard is that he looks old and worn out. Considering that the John Sheppard we know looks tall, even when he's being slinky and slouching, Vegas!John has shoulders that seem to slump slightly.
I read that the freeze frame flashbacks are a trademark of CSI shows (which I've never watched) though I have seen something similar in N.C.I.S. (which I do love). In the way these flashbacks appear, I'm getting the impression that John is a psychic profiler. Well, just my impression.
The reporter seems to be familiar with John. If she's mentioning the public's right to know, does that mean that John in the past has co-operated with the press (or agreed with that principle)? And, if John is investigating this case, does that make him high or low man on the police squad? But there sure have been several (too many) of these similar unexplained deaths recently.
We move from the browns and glaring desert yellows and whites to the unnatural blues of the opening credits of Atlantis rising from the ocean. BTW, I'm watching the extended version (approx. 45 minutes), so I'm not sure I remember what was added on (though I'm sure it's just seconds here and there). ETA: at least one extra scene noted near the end.
Back to the show, along with creepy reverbs and sounds as well as quick flashes by of Vegas landmarks. There's an autopsy being carried out on the latest victim. ::shudders:: And, surprise, the coroner is Dr. Jennifer Keller. Well, John is certainly surprised, because she's replaced the regular coroner. [Mini-rant time at TPTB: for this episode, you gave so many of the actors quirks we've NOT seen in their customary characters' personalities BUT, for Jennifer Keller, you decided to AUGMENT the things that fans objected to – like her extreme youth. And added a more perky ponytail. Well, let's put it this way: Scully or Quincy, she's not! I couldn't tell from my computer screen, but believe she's wearing blue eyeshadow – which really threw me the first time I saw the episode on TV.] For all of his world-weariness, I still get the strong vibe of care and concern in John's eyes over the deaths, and curiosity about the way the victims were killed.
Scene shift to a motel where a guy is throwing up and then getting a nosebleed. He's got a real asshole next door to him playing music grotesquely loudly. When he goes to complain, he finds out what's worse than loud music. Yuck.
Comment 1B
Date: 2013-04-20 11:56 pm (UTC)In this AU, nurses wear minidresses and have long hair (because TPTB are so incredibly fixated on both), no matter that long hair is unhygienic in a medical setting. [Oh, why bother. I've been hitting my head against the wall for five long years when it comes to this subject. ::sighs::]
The nurse has info on the patient from the motel who'd been looked after for his symptoms (throwing up, nose bleeds). She's cute in that she wants to check on John's eye. And hopes he'll call her. I guess this version of John is like the John we know: charismatic but not likely to have a steady romantic partner.
Time for John to visit the office of the motel where the latest victim had been registered but had “checked out”. Oh, yeah, I'd say that's accurate. Then we're in the weird Wraith's next door room where he's transforming himself. Um, wouldn't putting on BOTH contacts AND dark sunglasses cut down on his vision significantly?
When he leaves his room, we note that it's nighttime and Detective Sheppard is staking out the motel from his car.
Time for the Wraith to hit the Vegas Strip. Does anyone else think that his striped tee is dorky and detracts from the otherwise goth look?
Curious and perhaps deliberate choice of lyrics to the song (which I don't know), “when Jesus Christ was around”, making me think this particular Wraith is at least 2,000 years old. Now that we know how much older Todd is (from First Contact), 2,000 years doesn't sound that old.
Ooh, high stakes poker game with so-called celebrity guests (I know none of them, so don't care). However, it was sweet that Joel Goldsmith was one of the poker players, so we get to remember him (dammit) for more than just his incredible music.
Oh, no. The Wraith is reading minds during the poker game. Interesting how, now that the show's nearly over, the mind-reading characteristic is back – because otherwise it caused too many plot hole problems.
And lookee who's joining the game. Hello, Detective Sheppard. You have a reputation for playing for smaller stakes (and losing). But you do have enough for one hand in this game.
What are we to make of the look that John exchanges with the Wraith? How blank is John's mind? Oops. Against the Wraith who's ditched his sunglasses? Obviously, not blank enough. The Wraith wins the hand (BTW, I did think his fingerless gauntlets were cool) and intends to leave, despite the protests of the guy on his right who doesn't think it fair that John's so out of luck. The Wraith runs out, having hurled the objector so he crashes onto and through a glass table. Shots are fired after him down the corridor.
Comment 2A
Date: 2013-04-21 12:05 am (UTC)They're now on the lower roof (nine storeys up). John stays back and watches as the Wraith runs to the edge and then jumps off. And goes falling down. Cool trick by the stuntman to appear to be walking in the air along the side of the building. We hear a splat. When John approaches the edge, he sees the Wraith lying flat against the sidewalk ... and then get up and lurch away, eventually speeding up to a run. Nope, nothing strange ever happens in Vegas, right? The look on John's face is a priceless WTF.
Time for John to check out the Wraith's motel room, which the dorky clerk obliges him by unlocking. And then we find the body of the guest from next door. John tells the clerk not to touch anything. John's using a flashlight and opens a zipped case to see there's money in it ... lots of bills. So he tells the clerk this is a crime scene and to get lost. When John's putting the case in the trunk of his car, he notices the radiator leak on the ground, similar to the one that was in the desert at the last crime scene.
At that moment, we get a cavalcade of three totally inconspicuous (yeah, as if) government SUVs. Out comes Richard. John says there's another victim he was just about to call in. And wonders whether he's being tailed. Oh, yeah. By his car.
Richard asks John to come for a little drive. Interesting to see how freaked out John looks from what he's seen so far that the idea of the little drive seems to be less threatening.
Then we see the cavalcade along a stretch of highway, accompanied by creepy music (hello X-Files meets the Twilight Zone). We're supposed to believe it's still Nevada (but was filmed in BC near a place that has a Russian sounding name – but I can't remember it). I'm guessing they're driving John to Area 51 at Groom Lake (the transcript just calls it “a facility”). Most of the outdoor stuff was filmed in BC and only a bit was in the desert in New Mexico, from what I recall when the episode aired. So, Richard admits he's not with the FBI. Buuuuut I guess John's going to find out there's more to national (and definitely global) security than he knew about.
Oh, yay-yay-yay. Finally – after the 20 minute mark – we get this AU version of Rodney McKay. And can I state, for the record, yummmmmmm. Yes, he's confident and smug, but at the same time there is this overwhelming level of care for the planet that comes through his voice which is so warm. And I'll bet this is the slowest DH ever had to speak in the role of McKay. Also, amazing to see how a well-tailored suit does wonders for a body. Especially those shoulders. ::drools a bit::
Oh, gee. John's being stubborn and won't sign the non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement. But Rodney tells Richard he believes John should be told the truth anyway.
OMG. The play of light and shadows in the scene between Rodney and John is stunning. And Rodney's matter-of-fact statement that he knows everything about John and has the power to ruin him sounds way more sexy than threatening. Ack, I can't help it. Rodney just sounds soooo good. Not that it matters, as John replies he's got so little to lose.
This is a very confusing picture of John that Rodney portrays. He mentions how John finally passed the detective exam after four years, how he manages to win a case every now and then, though many get tossed because of his unconventional manner of gathering evidence, and that nobody can stand to work with him. And, yet, as we've seen, he's a charismatic person who attracts (at least) women. Hmmm. Are those women trying to be the one who might save him?
Comment 2B
Date: 2013-04-21 12:15 am (UTC)Hmmm. Is this accurate or something TPTB made up for this episode, that the crash while trying to save Holland killed 4 military and 8 civilians? I didn't think there had been that many others involved.
Oh, there's this tiny hint of pain in Rodney's voice when he mentions having met another version of John.
And no kidding how nothing is what John thinks it is. Ha! John, you should believe Rodney when he says all he wants to do is to keep the planet safe. John scoffs at the idea of space aliens.
Then we get flashbacks of a space battle over Earth, a Hive ship destroyed and our Wraith in a Dart that's burning up, heading down through the atmosphere.
Whoa! Rodney's showing John all the really good stuff, like the Chair (that looks forlorn without anybody sitting in it, especially John). Hee! Rodney's polite, just as a stereotypical Canadian would be (Zed vs Zee).
So, Earth defeated a Hive ship. Um ... how did it get to Earth in the first place? And how can Rodney say that all the rest of the aliens are in another galaxy but DON'T know where Earth is? I'm so confused. Do you blame me? And just how did the authorities manage to cover up a space battle above Earth? Asteroids being destroyed, maybe?
Oh, wow. That chair looks even more lonely and alien under the spotlight after they leave the room.
Then Rodney shows John the remains of destroyed Darts. And gives him an alien biology lesson. Yuck. Oh, John's reaction that he's really not a fan of science fiction is priceless, considering how much of an enthusiast our John is, what with references to Trek, Star Wars, Dr. Who (IIRC) and definitely his Back to the Future obsession.
Next on the deluxe tour (down a heavily guarded corridor) is Exhibit A, what a Wraith normally looks like. Oh, look, it's a starving and delirious Todd who fancies himself a poet. And manages to get into John's head.
Oh, I love that backlit shot of the silhouettes of Rodney and John in the corridor. And then comes Vegas!Jennifer with a tiny exchange of names between Rodney and Jen. [Fans noticed that Rodney had a wedding band in at least one scene of the episode. Actually, DH mentioned to fans that he forgot to remove his RL ring during filming. ::giggles:: So fans were left to come up with their own interpretation of whether Rodney was married and to whom. One of the best was that he was divorced (possibly but not necessarily from Jen) or a widower who kept the band on in remembrance.] John catches a clue that Jen is associated with this whole alien-catching, Earth-saving organization, so that being brought in to do the autopsy was deliberate.
Oh, John. You're so smart and too fast for there to be a cover-up regarding the victims all suffering from radiation. And you led the feds to the perp who's apparently building some kind of radioactive device and who needs to feed to heal the constant damage to his body caused by said radiation.
Rodney's telling John about the Wraith and their love of “games” when he excuses himself to go into the room where Radek is speaking about a bomb detonating.
Comment 3A
Date: 2013-04-21 12:33 am (UTC)John listens avidly. I think certain words will stay in his mind.
Rodney's saying goodbye to John outside and hands him his business card. John decides to be truthful about finding some money, says it's a few thousand (looked like more to me), but Rodney says it's inconsequential. And then Rodney talks about John trying to save Holland and figured that John was “involved” with her. Rodney sounds a whole lot more sympathetic about what happened than any military bureaucracy ever did. Rodney also mentions that pesky interdimensional rift and that he doesn't think there's much of a difference between John and the heroic other John he met. There's this subtle but gloriously heroic music in the background while Rodney's talking about how one incident can make such a difference in altering the course of one's life. And Rodney says he told John the truth because he believes he has the same strength of character as heroic John. Whoa!
THIS SCENE IS IN THE EXPANDED VERSION:
John gets in the SUV that will return him to Vegas while Rodney enters the command room monitoring all sorts of ground and space activities. Radek is still talking about an explosion. Richard starts to talk about how a Wraith could have infiltrated Earth and been undetected until “some nobody detective” came closer to finding him than all the available brainpower. Hmmm. I'm thinking that Richard may be head of Homeworld Security in this AU. He ends up giving Rodney an ultimatum, to “find the Wraith before he unleashes whatever he has planned”.
END OF EXTENDED SCENE.
More major confusion time for me as John lightly tosses his personal possessions including a football into a box, and removes his Cash poster from the wall. When the Captain walks in, John's badge and gun are on the table. He hands the Captain the carton of possessions, removing only the rolled up poster and leaves without a word.
Next we see John, he's driving down the highway away from Vegas, “Solitary Man” on his car's speakers. John looks smugly at the case of money sitting on the passenger side. I didn't get a close look at the denomination of the bills (sorry, I don't know what the value is of various presidents and it's been 22 years since my last visit to NYC, not that I was ever in possession of bills larger than $100, lol), but it has to be an awful lot, if John thinks he can leave town and make a new life for himself, away from his past.
Ah, but not so fast. John starts getting flashbacks of what's happened recently, ending with Rodney talking about the Wraith needing a lot of power. With that in his head as well as the picture of the Wraith's silver bullet trailer, John suddenly turns the car around with much squealing of tires and heads back the way he came.
Back at Area 51, Richard, Rodney and Radek are talking about the impossibility of finding radioactive isotopes in an area of desert that has them naturally from those nuclear tests over forty years ago.
Then Walter (yay) comes in to tell Rodney that John's on the phone. Yup, John tells Rodney he's found the Wraith. Really, it's pretty bad that some nothing detective is STILL smarter than all the brains in expensive suits.
[And this is where my computer got cranky because of all the stops and starts while I was writing, so I had to hard boot it. Ouch.]
Comment 3B
Date: 2013-04-21 12:38 am (UTC)Awww, Rodney. You're being protective of John. Despite what you said before (that he has just as much heroic potential as any other John Sheppard), you don't want him to risk his life. Just too bad that there's static on the phone line. On both ends. Rodney looks at his static-filled phone in horror while John's irritated his phone is showing no service.
We see the bombers deployed. ETA to target is three minutes (and I checked to see if the action on screen conformed to real time and it mostly did, possibly with a few seconds over the three minute mark).
John, naturally being John, doesn't NOT engage, but drives very close to the trailer, close enough that the Wraith can hear his engine from inside and visit his portable arsenal. There's twangy Western music in the background as John gets out of his car holding a gun.
Oops! John gets hit with a single gunshot near his heart. And then he goes scrambling backwards, sliding over the hood of his car for some protection as his car is sprayed with repeated shots. The Wraith emerges from his trailer, an AAR in each hand, doing this dramatic slo-mo walk while alternating rifles. John OTOH is grabbing for a fresh clip from his glove compartment. He manages to hit the Wraith several times in the chest, but the bullets have no effect. John is finally feeling the effect of the bullet(s) that hit him and slumps down onto the ground as the Wraith walks around the car. John's gun is shooting blanks. The Wraith drops his rifles and clenches his gloved feeding hand. Uh-oh. But he can't grab a snack (considering how wounded John is, I'm sure it wouldn't be much of a meal) because he hears the planes, so abandons John to run back to the trailer. This time he's not just bleeding a little power off, but plunges the lever all the way down, so that the device he's constructed glows. And we see a rippling sensation around the trailer.
Of course, the monitors at Area 51 and the Daedalus have detected the energy signature as well as noting widespread power outages. And Rodney mentions that the Wraith managed to send a message out, coded in Wraith. He's working on translating it while Richard orders the destruction of the target.
John watches the approach of the bombers that hit the trailer which explodes despite the roar of the enraged Wraith. John's slumped against his car as the bombers race away from the burning debris.
We see Rodney's concerned face as he says the transmission contained the location of Earth. And, even though it didn't reach Pegasus, the device tore a small hole in the space/time continuum. Rodney talks about the signal reaching other realities, but Richard's being quite cold and pragmatic when stating he's only concerned about their own reality. Radek mentions that the signal that escaped through the rift would be much stronger in the alternate realities. When Rodney mentions John saving their asses, there's a repeat of that softly heroic music in the background.
Back in the desert, along with a repeat of “Solitary Man”, we see John get up and stumble a few steps away from the car until he falls back down upon the ground, lying there with legs splayed, bleeding out and definitely contaminated from the burning of radioactive elements. And “Solitary Man” ends the episode.
Closing thoughts
Date: 2013-04-21 12:50 am (UTC)But yet what a slap in the face of the IOA and SGC, not to mention law enforcement of this reality, that he's the one who figures out a pattern in the murders that nobody else was smart enough to notice, stakes out the Wraith, and finds the trailer. All on his own. It makes me wonder whether Todd could have seen these things in his vision of the future.
And John would have gotten away with a new life that money could buy him, except for the fact that he was haunted by all the deaths that would happen, meaning that whatever free life he had would be very short lived, lasting only until the Wraith showed up for the 24/7 AYCE buffet.
But, once again, I'm very confused as to how that one Hive showed up in the first place in the Milky Way galaxy. Did they start out with a rough idea of the location? Did they stop along the way at several other worlds to confirm the address? But didn't bother sending a transmission back to Pegasus when they did reach Earth because they were too busy engaged with Earth's forces? Unless their communications capability was unable to send a transmission that far or it was too damaged to send anything at all. I'm still thinking about all of this.
Oh, wait. I just had an idea that the way one Hive came to Earth was through the previously-mentioned interdimensional rift. But it's still not well explained.
In any case, this reality's John Sheppard atoned for the mistakes of the past when more people than simply the medic ended up dying through his misplaced heroic actions while he survived – when he finally gave his life in order to save billions not to mention the planet itself. Who else could ever dream of attaining such an honourable epitaph? Yes, I know. Only in science fiction.
[And now I've got tears in my eyes, just thinking about his death. Some of my fave Vegas fix-it stories involve John being rescued from the desert, fully healed of his mortal wounds thanks to all sorts of nifty alien tech at the SGC, and going to that reality's Atlantis (if it still exists) to continue on a new life that truly has meaning. Also, I love the idea that Earth would once again have someone whose ATA gene is strong enough to command the chair. As gratifying as it is to think that he could have been rewarded for his self-sacrificing gesture, I have to accept that it's not realistic. And that sometimes we have to see people die, no matter how noble their intentions are. And here I go, crying some more. I'm also thinking that the Wraith found out where Earth was but had no way of reaching it because Atlantis (or at least its Stargate capable of reaching the Milky Way) had been destroyed. See how this show makes me think beyond the script!]
Final-final-final idiosyncratic note. All of the indoor presumed Vegas scenes were filmed in BC as usual. And JF was the only “regular” cast member to be flown to actual Las Vegas to finish the shooting. So, in a weird life-imitates-art way, JF was the “Solitary Man” who ended his Atlantis shooting days in the desert, separated from all of his friends and colleagues in the cast, because this WAS the last filmed episode, after EATG.
Okay, I have to stop now. And probably find some fluff movie to watch, so I can make myself feel better. Until next week and ::pouts:: the end of this journey.