Thoughts on Season 1 of Star Trek The Next Generation

Favorite episode of the bunch? Without a doubt my FAVORITE episode of season one is Where No One Has Gone Before. This is the episode where we meet "The Traveler." And a tiny glimpse of what the future holds (for Wesley) is revealed.

Least favorite episode of the bunch? It'd be a close call between "Justice" where Wesley is sentenced to die for walking on grass and "Skin of Evil" where Tasha is killed by some slime. I thought "Angel One" had some squirmish moments as well. Though not nearly to the extent that the Original series had with Kirk.

Other thoughts: Conspiracy was interesting because of the mind-controlling parasites. It was interesting to see pre-gou'ald parasites (the gou'ald are much scarier) taking human hosts. There were a few comical spots in the episode with bad special effects. But for the most part, it worked.

Thoughts on Season 2 of Stargate SG-1

This one is the premiere of the second season. It wraps up the season one finale. And both episodes are great--very edge-of-your-seat great. Some of my favorite lines are from these two episodes. Classic Jack. From the first half:
"I always get a happy tingly feeling when I see those guys."
From the second half:

O'NEILL
Teal'c. Ahh! Teal'c. I can't see!

TEAL'C
I am blinded as well. It will pass.

O'NEILL
What the hell was that?

TEAL'C
A Goa'uld shock grenade. Though extremely painful, its effects are temporary.

O'NEILL
That's good to hear.

[O'Neill feels behind him, accidentally colliding with Carter's head. She bites him on the hand.]

O'NEILL
Ow—God—ow!

CARTER
Colonel? Sorry, sir. It's just so dark.

O'NEILL
Carter, it's all right. I like your attitude.

DANIEL
It isn't dark. We're blind. And we failed.

O'NEILL
All right, take it easy, Daniel. We've been in worse situations than this.

TEAL'C
Not to my knowledge.

O'NEILL
Thanks, Teal'c.

***

O'NEILL
How many in your wing?

BRA'TAC
Three.

O'NEILL
Three?!

BRA'TAC
Teal'c makes four.

O'NEILL
Oh well, four.

BRA'TAC
I have trained these warriors since they were Chal'til. They have sworn their lives to me. It is no simple thing to ask.

O'NEILL
And we appreciate it, believe me. But what are the odds of taking out a ship like this, with four gliders and ... maybe a shuttle?

TEAL'C
A Goa'uld attack vessel is heavily armed, shielded and capable of launching a legion of gliders against us. I would say slim.

O'NEILL
Okay, call me a pessimist, but I think it's time for a new plan.

BRA'TAC
We offer to lay down our lives for your world, Human. You cannot ask more.

O'NEILL
No, I can't. But I think a better idea is to get the other guys to lay down their lives for their world first, hmm? How long before the C4 goes?

***


I've grouped these three together for thematic purposes. The first one opens up new ground for the show--the concept/premise of the Tok'ra. And the next two really begin to explore it. I like these episodes. I love Sam's dad, Jacob.




I love Thor. I mean, I just love, love, love Thor. So these two are fun for me. Especially especially The Fifth Race. It is one of my favorite episodes from this season...from the whole series really. This is the one where Thor meets Jack or Jack meets Thor. And a new friendship is formed.

Others from the season that I've already watched:
Prisoners, The Gamekeeper, Need, Message In A Bottle, Family, Secrets, A Matter of Time,

Others from the season that I've skipped:
Bane, Spirits, Touchstone

Serpent's Song (Stargate SG-1

One of my favorite bits from Serpent's Song, one of the episodes in season 2 of Stargate SG-1.

This is the episode where SG-1 has brought back Apophis to Earth. He has demanded sanctuary; but he's dying so the point is essentially moot.

FRAISER
He asked to speak to you by name.

APOPHIS
O'Neill, I am dying.

O'NEILL
My heart bleeds for you.

[O'Neill puts his hands in his pockets.]

APOPHIS
You lie poorly. It is you who have done this. You rejoice.

O'NEILL
Not really. What do you want?

APOPHIS
To live.

O'NEILL
Can't help you there. That's between you and your God.

[Then, as if he's had a great revelation.]

O'NEILL
Oh wait a minute. You are your God.
(Sarcastically)
That's a problem.

Mamma Mia Clips

Thoughts on Season 1 of Stargate SG-1

So. The Nox was the last episode I blogged about. It's not that I stopped watching Stargate. Believe me, that will never be the case. Rather, I lost focus in blogging about episodes as I watched them. I thought I would share a few thoughts on the remaining episodes of the first season of Stargate.


Hathor is one of those frustrating episodes...it's just so very silly.


I like this one in moderation. I like seeing the emotional side of Carter.

This episode is actually one of my favorites from the season. Maybe not in the top five, but close. What I like about it is that it asks the question who are you really, and can a person change. Can a person change so dramatically that they're not the same person that they once were? Can a person be redeemed? Really really redeemed? Can you accept a person for who they are now...without holding their past against them? I found it to be a spiritual episode.

I liked this one well enough. And we do see these aliens again...

Okay. Call me strange, really strange. But I like this one. A lot. It has so much Sam and Jack in it. Even if it's a bit too cold to get too mushy and romantic. Still there is an intimacy there...and it is important that they learn there is a stargate in the antarctic...and that antarctic was once very very important....of course stargate fans know how important it will be in future seasons.

I liked this one well enough. Nothing special. But not one I skip. Annoying personalities grating on nerves. :) That is Jack (and company) get very very annoyed and frustrated.

This one is one of my favorite, favorite, favorite, favorite episodes of the entire series...but most definitely of season one. Daniel going to an alternate reality. The alternate Sam and Jack being together. The coming threat from the goa'uld...what's not to love?????

So every season has one...the infamous clips episode. This one can be watched in fast-forward. Yes, it's good to know that the stupid government is going to stop the stargate program just when they need it the most...but if you've seen it once then really how much do you need this one?

So this one is the season finale. And boy is it good. Very very good. Loved it. So exciting. So many good quotes. So many great moments. I love watching this one. Truth be told, I love watching There-But-For-The-Grace-of-God, this one, and the season two premiere, The Serpent's Lair all in a row. There's no voluntarily stopping for me. :)

To sum it up....my TOP FIVE FROM SEASON ONE:

Children of the Gods
Thor's Hammer
The Torment of Tantalus
There But for the Grace of God
Within the Serpent's Grasp

Cybils Update #4

As of December 2, 2008 on Cybil Reading (76/135)

A

A Bottle in the Gaza Sea by Valerie Zenatti
A La Carte by Tanita S. Davis
Absolute Brightness by James Lecesne
After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson
Alive and Well in Prague, New York by Daphne Grab
Amor and Summer Secrets by Diana Rodriguez Wallach
The Apprentice's Masterpiece by Melanie Little
Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 2, The Kingdom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson
Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway
Aurelia by Anne Osterlund

B

Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd
Box Out by John Coy
The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

C

Child of Dandelions by Shenaaz Nanji
Cleavage: Breakaway Fiction for Real Girls
Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman
The Comeback Season by Jennifer E. Smith
Crossing the Line by Dianne Bates
Cruel Summer by Alyson Noel

D

Daughter of War by Marsha Forchuk Skyrpuch
The day I Killed James by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Debbie Harry Sings In French by Meagan Brothers
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Dooley Takes the Fall by Norah McClintock
Down Sand Mountain by Steve Watkins
Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole

E

The Empty Kingdom by Elizabeth E. Wein
Everything You Want by Barbara Shoup

F

Fact of Life #31 by Denise Vega
Fancy White Trash by Marjetta Geerling
Feathered by Laura Kasischke
The Fold by An Na
Forever Changes by Brendan Halpin
Fortunes of Indigo Skye by Deb Caletti
Freefall by Anna Levine
Freeze Frame by Heidi Ayarbe

G

Getting the Girl by Susan Juby
Ghost Medicine by Andrew Smith
The Ghost's Child by Sonya Hartnett
Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley
Girl, Hero by Carrie Jones
Give Me Truth by Bill Condon
Good Enough by Paula Yoo

H

Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet by Sherri L. Smith
The House of Dance by Beth Kephart
The House of Djinn by Suzanne Fisher Staples
How Not To Be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler
How They Met, And Other Stories by David Levithan
How To Be Bad by E. Lockhart, Sarah Mylnowski, Lauren Myracle
How To Build A House by Dana Reinhardt
How To Hook A Hottie by Tina Ferraro
Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi

I

I Am Apache by Tanya Landman
I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder
I Kiss Girls by Gina Harris
I Know It's Over by C.K. Kelly Martin
I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert
Identical by Ellen Hopkins
In Ecstasy by Kate McCaffrey
Isabelle's Boyfriend by Caroline Hickey

J

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Jump the Cracks by Stacy DeKeyser

K

Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith
Kendra by Coe Booth

L

La Petite Four by Regina Scott
The Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon
The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine by April Lurie
Leftovers by Laura Weiss
Libertad by Alma Fullerton
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
Locker Shock by Pamela Ripling
Looks by Madeleine George
Love (And Other Uses for Duct Tape) by Carrie Jones
Love and Lies: Marisol's Story by Ellen Wittlinger
Love Laws by Mary Muhammad*
Lucky by Rachel Vail
The Lucky Ones by Stephanie Greene
The Lucky Place by Zu Vincent

M

Madapple by Christina Meldrum
Me, The Missing and the Dead by Jenny Valentine
Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Pena
Mousetraps by Pat Schmatz
My Life As A Rhombus by Varian Johnson
My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger
My Mother Is A French Fry... by Colleen Sydor

N

Nokosee by Micco Mann

O


O.Y. L. by Scott Heydt
The Opposite of Invisible by liz Gallagher
Ordinary Me by June Sproat
Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg

P

The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante
Perfect Cover by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott
Play Me by Laura Ruby
The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas
Primavera by Mary Jane Beaufrand
Prom Kings and Drama Queens by Dorian Cirrone

Q

Quest by Kathleen Benner Duble

R

The Redheaded Princess by Ann Rinaldi
Ringside, 1925 by Jen Bryant
Run Like Jager by Karen Bass

S

The Screwed Up Life of Charlie the Second by Drew Ferguson
Seaborn by Craig Moodie
Season of Ice by Diane Les Becquets
The Secret Story of Sonja Rodriguez by Alan Lawrence Sitome
The Shape of Water by Anne Spollen*
Shift by Jennifer Bradbury
Shifty by Lynn E. Hazen
Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka
Sisters of Misery by Megan Kelley Hall
Skin Deep by E.M. Crane
Sovay by Celia Rees
Split by A Kiss by Luisa Plaja
Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers
Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
Swimming With the Sharks by Debbie Reed Fischer

T

Ten Cents A Dance by Christine Fletcher
That's What's Up by Paula Chase
Thaw by Monica Roe
The Death of Jayson Porter by Jaime Adoff
They Called Me Red by Christina Kilbourne
Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt
Twisted Sisters by Stephanie Hale

U

Undone by Brooke Taylor
Unraveling by Michelle Baldini and Lynn Biederman

V

Violet in Private by Melissa Walker
Voss: How I Come To America and Am Hero Mostly by David Ives

W

Weeping Under This Same Moon by Jana Laiz
What Happens Here by Tara Altebrando
Would You by Marthe Jocelyn
The Writing On the Wall by Wendy Lichtman

Y
You Know Where To Find Me by Rachel Cohn

starred books

six stars--

THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING by M.T. Anderson

five stars--

THE LONDON EYE MYSTERY by Siobhan Dowd
TENDER MORSELS by Margo Lanagan
WE ARE THE SHIP by Kadir Nelson
NATION by Terry Pratchett

four stars--

GRACELING by Kristin Cashore
THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins
LITTLE BROTHER by Cory Doctorow
BOG CHILD by Siobhan Dowd
THE TROUBLE BEGINS AT 8 by Sid Fleischman
THE LINCOLNS by Candace Fleming
THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD by Donna Freitas
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaimain
THE DIAMOND OF DRURY LANE by Julia Golding
WELL WITCHED by Frances Hardinge
MY ONE HUNDRED ADVENTURES by Polly Horvath
THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS by E. Lockhart
THE WILLOUGHBYS by Lois Lowry
FOREVER ROSE by Hilary McKay
MADAPPLE by Christina Meldrum
SUNRISE OVER FALLUJAH by Walter Dean Myers
AIN'T NOTHING BUT A MAN by Scott Reynolds with Marc Aronson
BLACK BOX by Julie Schumacher
REX ZERO, KING OF NOTHING by Tim Wynne-Jones

three stars--

OUR WHITE HOUSE: LOOKING OUT, LOOKING IN by 108 renowned authors and
illustrators
CHAINS by Laurie Halse Anderson (NBA finalist)
THE PENDERWICKS ON GARDAM STREET by Jeanne Birdsall
AIRMAN by Eoin Colfer
WAITING FOR NORMAL by Leslie Connor
LINCOLN SHOT by Barry Denenberg
THE PORCUPINE YEAR by Louise Erdrich
THE RED NECKLACE by Sally Gardner
PAPER TOWNS by John Green
RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE by Shannon Hale
BIRD LAKE MOON by Kevin Henkes
GHOSTGIRL by Tonya Hurley
WOULD YOU by Marthe Jocelyn
HOUSE OF MANY WAYS by Diana Wynne Jones
OUTSIDE BEAUTY by Cynthia Kadohata
THE BITE OF THE MANGO by Mariatu Kamara
SAVVY by Ingrid Law (BG-HB Honor)
PRETTY MONSTERS by Kelly Link
THE WAY WE WORK by David Macaulay
THE MISSING GIRL by Norma Fox Mazer
WHAT THE WORLD EATS by Peter Menzel
TIGER MOON by Antonia Michaelis
PRINCESS BEN by Catherine Murdock
THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX by Mary Pearson
THE MAGIC THIEF by Sarah Prineas
HERE LIES ARTHUR by Philip Reeve
LIVING DEAD GIRL by Elizabeth Scott
GULLY'S TRAVELS by Tor Seidler
ANTSY DOES TIME by Neal Shusterman
KEEPING THE NIGHT WATCH by Anita Hope Smith
LIFE ON EARTH--AND BEYOND by Pamela Turner
ME, THE MISSING, AND THE DEAD by Jenny Valentine (Guardian Prize,
Carnegie shortlist)
IMPOSSIBLE by Nancy Werlin

two stars--

CHERRY HEAVEN by L.J. Adlington
SHE TOUCHED THE WORLD by Sally Hobart Alexander
THE SEER OF SHADOWS by Avi
THE CALDER GAME by Blue Balliett
THE BOY WHO DARED by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
AUDREY, WAIT! by Robin Benway
WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED by Judy Blundell (National Book Award)
SHIFT by Jennifer Bradbury
MASTERPIECE by Elise Broach
WHERE THE STEPS WERE by Andrea Cheng
YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND ME by Rachel Cohn
AFRIKA by Colleen Craig
CROSSING TO PARADISE by Kevin Crossley-Holland (Carnegie
shortlist)
SHOOTING THE MOON by Frances O'Roark Dowell (BG-HB Honor)
WASHINGTON AT VALLEY FORGE by Russell Freedman
CHRISTO AND JEAN-CLAUDE by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
THE LAST EXIT TO NORMAL by Michael Harmon
SNAKEHEAD by Ann Halam
DARK DUDE by Oscar Hijuelos
GENIUS SQUAD by Catherine Jinks
MY MOST EXCELLENT YEAR by Steve Kluger
NO CHOIRBOY by Susan Kuklin
EVER by Gail Carson Levine
SNOW FALLING IN SPRING by Moying Li
JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta
INK EXCHANGE by Melissa Marr
THE RUNAWAY DOLLS by Ann Martin
ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME by Maureen McCarthy
CHALICE by Robin McKinley
THE DOOR OF NO RETURN by Sarah Mussi
BLISS by Lauren Myracle
THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO by Patrick Ness (Guardian Prize)
WAYS TO LIVE FOREVER by Sarah Nichols
KEEPING SCORE by Linda Sue Park
BLUE LIKE FRIDAY by Siobhan Parkinson
THE DEAD AND THE GONE by Susan Beth Pfeffer
HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE by Dana Reinhardt
THE MAZE OF BONES by Rick Riordan
JIMMY'S STARS by Mary Ann Rodman
DELICIOUS by Susan Goldman Rubin
THE CABINET OF WONDERS by Marie Rutkoski
HE FORGOT TO SAY GOODBYE by Benjamin Alire Saenz
LINCOLN THROUGH THE LENS by Martin Sandler
THE HOUSE OF DJINN by Suzanne Fisher Staples
STARRY RIFT edited by Jonathan Strahan
THE LAST OF THE HIGH KINGS by Kate Thompson
LUCKY by Rachel Vail
CLIMBING THE STAIRS by Padma Venkatraman
THE BROTHERS TORRES by Coert Voohees
BECOMING BILLIE HOLIDAY by Carole Boston Weatherford
LITTLE AUDREY by Ruth White
WHAT THEY ALWAYS TELL US by Martin Wilson
AFTER TUPAC AND D FOSTER by Jacqueline Woodson
SWEETHEARTS by Sara Zarr