Atl_Season1Info

Season One

This is not an Episode Guide and as such the information provided isn't necessarily in chronological order or set in context. In other words, you will need to know the general plot for much of this to make sense.

In some cases I have quoted extensively from the transcripts (especially so in the Science section). This is usually when I feel the character(s) say it better than I could, and paraphrasing might lose some of the details.

I have four sections: Timing, Personal Character Information, General Information, and Techno-Babble and Science.

Rising, Parts 1 & 2	The Defiant One
Hide & Seek	Hot Zone
38 Minutes	Sanctuary
Suspicion	Before I Sleep
Childhood's End	The Brotherhood
Poisoning the Well	Letters from Pegasus
Underground	The Gift
Home	Siege, Part 1
The Storm	Siege, Part 2
The Eye	Links

Rising, Parts 1 & 2

Timing:

Atlantis left Earth ‘several million years ago’ (Weir says between 5 and 10 million years ago in her recorded message to Simon).

Personal Character Information:

Beckett has ATA gene; McKay doesn’t; Sheppard has ATA gene (Weir says that the others with the gene have to concentrate and be trained to use the technology, but Sheppard does it naturally).
Sheppard has flown, “Apache, Blackhawk, Cobra, Osprey”. He has set foot on every continent, Antarctica being the last one for him to do so. He disobeyed a direct order in Afghanistan trying to save the lives of 3 servicemen, and got a black mark on his record for it (and presumably why he is in Antarctica).
Elizabeth leaves a video message for Simon; boyfriend (or man friend if you prefer).
We see McKay leave his tabby cat with a lady (his neighbour we find out later).
Beckett tells Sumner that he doesn't answer to him (meaning he isn't military).
Teyla Emmagan is leader (of the Athosian people) and daughter of Tughan.
Sheppard likes, “Ferris wheels, college football, anything that goes more than 200 miles per hour.”
McKay says planet atmosphere is breathable and adds, “well, notwithstanding the inevitable allergens”.
Sheppard surprises McKay by knowing that there are 720 possible permutations of the symbols they have to form an address. An early hint of his math skills.
Sheppard thinks about a turkey sandwich while in the jumper.
McKay worries whether the food he's eating at the end of Part 2 contains lemon or not

General Information:

A terrible enemy spread through the galaxy and besieged Atlantis, the survivors returned to Earth and left the city to sleep.
Sheppard finds a necklace that Teyla lost as a child and hands it to her.
The days are short on Athos.
Wraith make you see things that aren’t there – shadows. See Wraith darts for the first time. Wraith Queen exerts telepathic pressure on Sumner; reading his mind despite his struggles to stop her (though he manages to hold back Earth’s location). Sheppard wakes the Wraith (all of them) when he kills the Queen.

Techno-Babble and Science:

“The zero point module…it generates it's power from vacuum energy derived from a self contained region of subspace time.” (McKay)
“They think the gene was used as a sort of genetic key if you will. So that only their kind could operate certain dangerous and powerful technologies.” (Beckett)
The gate has a shield; they use the GDO and IDC method used on Earth (GDO – unofficially known as Garage Door Opener, no official explanation for what the letters stand for. IDC – a person’s identification code).
The puddle jumpers are named by Sheppard (McKay prefers gate ship – which is Ford’s suggestion - but goes with puddle jumper reluctantly). They can cloak. Discover the life sign detectors (not named yet).
The city starts lighting up as they enter it, responding to their presence. It is underwater – a force field is holding back the water (and which is failing). We find out that the city is powered by three ZPMs (two are depleted, third becomes depleted during episode). City has a failsafe that sends it to the surface as the final shield is about to collapse. Naquadah generators aren’t enough to run the city’s shield.
“These cells have none of the normal human-inhibiting proteins whatsoever. That gives them an incredible ability to regenerate,” and, “As long as these cells are properly nourished, I don’t see a life form like this ever dying of natural ageing the way we do, and they’d be bloody hard to kill.” (Beckett about Wraith arm that was brought back from Athos)

Hide & Seek

Timing:

A couple of days after Rising

Personal Character Information:

McKay volunteers for the ATA gene therapy (he is the first human trial) and it works on him.
Sheppard has invited Teyla to be a part of his team by this episode.
Each expedition member was allowed to bring one personal item; Sheppard’s (official one) is a football game. (We later see two more personal items for him; War and Peace and a Johnny Cash poster – make of this what you will!)
Sheppard has seen a 20 kiloton nuclear explosion (but not up close). He mentions he likes Ferris wheels again, as a way of getting out of explaining to Teyla the origins of the term ‘Hail Mary’.

General Information:

The energy creature is a black cloud that feeds on energy and give anyone it comes into contact with an electrical shock; the bigger it grows the more dangerous the zap. Intelligent, but only on an animal level. It is sent to a barren wasteland: M4X-337
They sacrifice one of their naquadah generators; we don't know how many they brought with them.

Techno-Babble and Science:

“We believe ATA or Ancient technology activation is caused by a single gene that's always on, instructing various cells in the body to produce a series of proteins and enzymes that interact with the skin, the nerves system and the brain. In this case we're using a mouse retrovirus to deliver the missing gene to your cells.” (Beckett – goes on to mention that the retrovirus has been deactivated).
“…desalinizing the sea water and storing them into tanks big enough to supply the whole city,” and, “It seems some ancient technology requires the use of the active gene, other things merely require initialization. Once activated…anyone who pushes the buttons to make it work,” and “Some ancient technology uses a metal component for operations.” (Grodin)
“It's a personal shield acts like a protective skin and it must have inertial dampening features too...” (McKay) The shield imprints on the user, meaning only McKay can use it. By the end of the episode the shield’s energy is depleted.
The self destruct system is based on overloading the naquadah generators and requires two separate codes to activate it. Each code in unique and it takes 30 seconds for the overload to occur.
They discover the transporters in this episode (McKay names them); they also act as elevators.
The containment vessel for the energy creature has its own power source, like the jumpers, and traps the creature in subspace. It was being studied by the Ancients who were researching into ascension, when Sheppard asks what that is, McKay answers, “Well, at some point in their evolution, the Ancients reached an advance stage of being where they were able to rid themselves of their physical bodies and rise to a higher plane of existence. One in which they live in as pure energy...this is the first indication that there may have been evolutionary intervention to get there.”

38 Minutes

Timing:
No information given.

Personal Character Information:

First time we meet Dr Zelenka.
First time we meet Dr Kavanagh.
First and only appearence of Dr Simpson.

General Information:

The Wraith base in Rising turns out to be a hiveship and is no longer on the planet.

Techno-Babble and Science:

The alien bug (iratus – not named in this episode but later), sucks life from its victim in a manner similar to the Wraith. The victim is incapacitated by pain and then gradually paralysed during the feeding (but not aged). It is very difficult to remove, everything they try fails except the extreme measure of killing (and then reviving) Sheppard. It hates salt water, and they believe that the Wraith evolved from these bugs.
“It's about two feet in length, including the tail. That's right down under his armpit. It's got two sharp, spiny things in his neck near the Major's carotid artery,” and “It's forelegs, I guess you’d call them that, they're wrapped around the Major's throat. I can't see any eyes. It's got a real hard shell, but there's a soft leechy part underneath.” (Ford describing the bug)
“…that’s the maximum amount of time a Stargate can remain open in non-relativistic conditions. It’s one of the more immutable laws of wormhole physics…” (McKay). The wormhole will shut down after 38 minutes (previously established fact in SG1, exception is when gate is powered by massive power source such as a black hole).
There is a way to manually retract drive pods in the cockpit (on the left, according to Sheppard).
“The Stargate transmits matter in discrete units. The front half of the ship cannot re-materialize until the whole ship has crossed into the event horizon. The Stargate is essentially waiting for the contiguous components, meaning the jumper and everyone inside, to enter completely before it can transport them,” and also, “Unfortunately, the outgoing Stargate won’t transmit the matter stream until the demolecularization is complete. When it shuts down, the entire forward section, along with the men inside, will cease to exist. “ (Grodin)
Apparently, the rear section of the ship (with closed bulkhead doors) will ‘leak atmosphere like a sieve’. This doesn’t fit with events in Grace Under Pressure in Season 2, but could be put down to them not fully understanding the jumpers at this point in time.
This is first time Zelenka mentions that there is much redundancy in Ancient technology.
“If the creature reacted that violently to a few drops of water, who knows how it would react to Stargate travel?” (Beckett) and in reply: “You’re telling me Major Sheppard can’t come through the gate while that thing is on him?” (Weir). I’ve never quite understood these lines as the wormhole isn’t watery; the event horizon just looks like water.

Suspicion

Timing:

Three months after Rising (Weir says) and takes place over a week

Personal Character Information:

Zelenka is fed up with eating the same meals day after day, but McKay likes military rations and hospital food. The only reason he doesn’t like airplane food is that you can’t get seconds.
A turkey sandwich is mentioned again, this time by Ford as a ‘bribe’ to join Sheppard on the flight around the planet.
Sheppard mentions the “sweet breakers on the south table” which look good for surfing.
First and only appearence of the anthropologist, Dr Corrigan, in this episode.

General Information:

Both McKay and Sheppard get hit by stunners - McKay gets hit in the face.
They discover that the roof of the jumper bay opens; Sheppard and Ford take a trip over the planet and discover one large (approx 15 million square miles) continent which is the only land mass on the planet (becomes known as the mainland). It is a 25 minute flight from Atlantis (from ground to ground).
Ford calls the planet ‘Atlantica’, however later episodes suggest that name was never used. (Lantea is mentioned instead.)
The Athosians elect to move to the mainland, feeling unwelcome in the city due to the suspicion being placed in them. Teyla chooses to remain on Atlantis.

Techno-Babble and Science:

The Wraith stunners cause the victim’s body to suffer a “full overload to its sensory and motor nervous system”. Also, “the Wraith weapon impedes a fire of neurons…”(quotes from Beckett). The victim suffers temporary paralysis upon waking.
The stargate on Atlantis is the only one in the Pegasus galaxy capable of dialling Earth.
Teyla’s locket (necklace) from Rising is a transmitter; Wraith technology that was made to detect an Ancient and start transmitting (Sheppard’s gene activated it). It had not been active before, and the Athosians would not have been aware its purpose, presumably merely thinking it would make a pretty necklace. (They use the locket to capture a Wraith at the end of the episode.)

Childhood's End

Timing:
No information given.

Personal Character Information:

McKay mentions Carter and gets distracted from what he is saying – suggesting he still has a crush on her.
McKay mentions he has had a flying lesson; Sheppard says it was a ‘five minute lesson’ and is reluctant to let McKay take the jumper back, but McKay persuades him. This is the first time he flies a jumper in an episode, pity we don’t get to see it!
McKay does NOT get on well with children.

General Information:

There are twelve villages on the planet (M7G-677)
The people sacrifice themselves on the eve of their 25th birthday in the mistaken belief that this keeps the Wraith away, when in fact it is the EM field that keeps them away and the suicide pact was brought in as a form of population control at the time the field was activated.

Techno-Babble and Science:

McKay says that there is a remarkable similarity between worlds that support life; he is then going on to explain this when the jumper shudders and he has other things to deal with.
The EM field generator uses a ZPM to power it, which is almost depleted (would run Atlantis’ shield for a few hours at most). Also, “the bad news it looks like the device harnesses M7G-677's unique electromagnetic field. It probably wouldn't work for us.” (McKay). McKay is able to boost the area the field covers by 50% without much power increase, allowing for a sizable growth in population.
We see a Wraith probe for the first time in this episode – it flies through the air and is circular like a ball.

Poisoning the Well

Timing:

Two weeks after capturing the Wraith in Suspicion
They are on Hoff for two days (“one and a half, really” Sheppard states) before finding out about the bio-weapon.

Personal Character Information:

Beckett doesn’t like travelling through the wormhole (he is compared to Dr McCoy by Sheppard). “Converting a human body into energy and sending it millions of light years through a wormhole is bloody insanity.” (Beckett). He also tells Sheppard that he isn’t military and Sheppard finishes that he can’t give Beckett orders (suggesting Beckett has said this to him more than once).

General Information:

The Hoffans are not expecting the Wraith for another 50 years or so (at start of episode).
The Hoffans store the knowledge of each generation before they are wiped out in underground libraries (duplicating the information in each library in case one is destroyed).
Sheppard gives the Wraith they captured in Suspicion (two weeks previously) the name Steve in this episode.
The serum kills approximately 50% of the people who take it; the Hoffans take a vote and decide to immunise any way (96% vote in favour).

Techno-Babble and Science:

“His journals tell of one man who survived an encounter with the Wraith. Farrol and his team discovered that this man possessed a unique protein, one that enabled him to be able to resist the chemical released by the Wraith to precipitate draining of life from their victims.” (Perna) Farrol found the protein after much work. “He was eventually able to create a prototype of a drug designed to interfere with the Wraith feeding process.” (Perna) Farrol was culled before the drug could be used to immunise the Hoffans.
“From what I can tell, your biggest problem is that the test inoculations fail to show enough of a presence in human cells to be effective.” (Beckett) - They need a better delivery system - “...the best place to start is to recreate the key protein in the serum and work our way up from there. Now if we can avoid having to reengineer it form a natural source and make an entirely synthetic version it should ultimately increase the efficiency.” (Beckett).
“Perna's formula was right on track. It was just a matter of changing its molecular design, so it could be better absorbed by the body.” (Beckett).
To Sheppard’s question of what killed Steve (Wraith), “I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it was all of his vital organs shutting down almost simultaneously.” (Beckett). He continues to say, “Initial test reveal the significant amount of Hoffan serum in his blood stream. I'm guessing we'll find similar trace amounts in each of his organs once we analyze those as well,” and, “From the Hoffan's research, we know that when the Wraith feed. They release a chemical into their victim's bodies. What it actually does we don't yet understand, but I can only assumed that it prepares the human body in someway to be drained of life. The serum is designed to shield the victim from that initial chemical released, blocking it.” (This chemical is later known as Wraith enzyme.) “I think the serum protein may have mutated when it was exposed to the Wraith chemical, triggering some sort of toxic reaction,” and, “He was poisoned. So if the serum did this, it's more than just a defence against the Wraith.” (Beckett).

Underground

Timing:
No information given.

Personal Character Information:

Sheppard says that McKay drinks eleven cups of coffee a day; McKay doesn’t deny it and says he is, “just making sure I get my fair share before it's all gone”.
Rodney worries about the food containing lemon and mentions anaphylactic shock.
McKay thinks they are lost when they are returning to the village; Sheppard maintains he was just getting his bearings and that they are not lost (this has sparked the idea that Sheppard’s sense of direction is not good).
“I've built an atomic bomb for my grade six science fair exhibit… (Ford asks if they let people do that in Canada)… It wasn't a working model. Still I was questioned for six hours by the CIA who believed I was part of the secret preteen organization. Actually, it led to my first job...” (McKay) He mentions later that he didn’t win the science fair.

General Information:

“We're still months away from producing successful crops in the mainland, and we're heading towards a food shortage.” (Weir)
Tava beans are mentioned for the first time; the Genii grow them, amongst other things.
“The Genii were once a great confederation of planets. A millennia ago the Wraith had driven us to the brink of total annihilation. Our forefathers sought the protection of bunkers such as these, originally created for wars long forgotten. And it was here, a small number of our people managed to survive undetected. Over the course of many, many years, generation after generation we have made technologically developments here in secret.” (Cowen).
The Genii have a data storage device from a Wraith dart they were able to shoot down many generations ago. Sheppard takes it to Atlantis as the end of the episode and they discover that there are about 21 hive ships in their quadrant of the galaxy, 60 or more throughout the entire galaxy – and some of them are on the move.
This it the second time for Ford, Sheppard and Teyla to be on a hive ship; first time for McKay.
Sergeant Bates manages to broker a small food deal with the Manarians (appear again in The Storm) while Sheppard and team were dealing with the Genii.

Techno-Babble and Science:

McKay warns them that their shielding is inadequate and the radiation is dangerous, Cowen says his scientists believe there is no danger and dismisses his concern. McKay says the team will be okay so long as they don’t stay for days or weeks (though he also says he hopes they weren’t planning on having children; not sure how serious this comment is meant to be taken).
“…you're on the right track. We are about sixty years ahead of you. That is if you survive. This shielding is woefully inadequate. Now, uranium... How much do you have?” (McKay) - “Much more.” (Cowen) – “ But it's nowhere near weapons grade.” (McKay) – “We have had problems in our purifying efforts. The molecular structure of unwanted materials is very similar to that of the desired materials.” (Cowen) – “Diffusion. We need to separate the two thirty five from the two thirty eight. When you remove the barrier between two substances the slight difference in their mass cause them to separate at difference rates.” (McKay)
“What method did your people use to initiate fission reaction in your prototype devices?” (Cowen) – “Well, there's two different approaches, actually. Implosion and gun-type bomb. Both are designed to create a supercritical mass obviously… Either way you go, you need an amount of refined two thirty five roughly equivalent to the size of my fist...” (McKay)
“The spiracle encasement directs the explosive forces inward in the resulting implosion creates an extreme compression. Sub-critical mass becomes supercritical…
So the practical adaptation of available equipment and resources will be the real challenge.” (McKay).

Home

Timing:
No information given.

Personal Character Information:

McKay states that he would only go back to Earth if he could be assured of a way back to Atlantis. Sheppard and Weir also do not intend to return without a way back (stated in a later scene).
This is the episode that we see Sheppard reading War and Peace; he’s only on page 17, but claims he is right on schedule, though we know they have been there for over two months at least (see timeline for previous episode).
McKay says that he is invaluable on Atlantis as well as Earth.
Ford would like to visit his grandma.
“…then there's all those cool Earth things I talked about: Football, Ferris wheels. Oh, do you remember the last of the popcorn we ate? We can get more.” (Sheppard to Teyla, about going to Earth if there was a way back).
In the dream-Earth, Elizabeth goes to see Simon and we see Sedge, who we find out in Season 3 is her dog, not his. Also, when she is talking to not-McKay he slips up by mentioning Simon and that he is important to her, and she says she doesn’t remember ever mentioning that to McKay before.
In the dream-Earth, McKay has no messages on his answer machine, when he switches on the TV, Outer Limits is on, his attractive brunette neighbour he left his cat with in Rising fancies him, when previously she didn’t, and we get to see one of his T-shirts; it has an arrow pointing upwards with the words ‘I’m with genius’ on it.
In the dream-Earth, we find out that two of Sheppard’s friends Mitch and Dex died in Afghanistan, just outside of Kabul, “Their chopper took an RPG when it touched down for med-evac. There was barely enough left to bring back for a military funeral.” We also find out that he was in Antarctica for 11 months.
In the dream-Earth, Ford mentions visiting his parents. I’m not totally sure if this is real-Ford, but I think so.

General Information:

The planet with the fog-people is designated M5S-224. There is no water vapour in the ‘fog’.
It would take 840 years by puddle jumper to reach M5S-224 from Atlantis
When they believe they have made a connection to Earth, they are told that the Prometheus has been fitted with engines capable of reaching other galaxies, courtesy of the Asgard.

Techno-Babble and Science:

“When the wormhole connected, there was a wild fluctuation in the energy field. I mean, if I'm reading these numbers right, it looks like the gate is actually drawing power from the atmosphere,” and “So? I mean, to the best of my knowledge, this field goes on for miles. I mean, for all we know it envelopes the entire planet. We're talking about a lot of energy here.” (McKay). There is enough energy for them to open a wormhole to Earth.
The Atlantis gate is the only one in Pegasus capable of dialling Earth (mentioned in a previous episode) because, “it is the only one with the additional control crystal that allows the eighth chevron to lock… As long as we have the control crystal, I can make the other gate work.” (McKay).
Back on dream-Earth, when McKay is told that there was an accident of the Prometheus and they can’t go back to Atlantis, he says, “I have figured out how to establish a wormhole connection back to the Pegasus Galaxy, but I'm going to need the ZedPM.” Hammond says it is depleted and of no use; “Actually, that is not entirely true. You see the last time we used it the ZedPM had to establish and maintain a wormhole back to Atlantis. This time around all we need it to do is to have enough energy to establish the briefest of connections. By my calculations, approximately what? Three point five microseconds… when we set foot on M5S-224, before the wormhole shut down, I picked up fluctuations in the energy field. Now at the time, I just assumed that was an effect of gate's residual energy signature. But having giving it some thought, I realized that can't account for such sizable variances, which only leave one possible explanation. The gate must have been energized on our arrival. Meaning it doesn't just draw power on outgoing wormholes, but on incoming wormholes as well. All we have to do is make a connection. Three point five microseconds that's the minimal amount of time it requires to confirm a lock before the gate automatically kicks in, drawing power from the atmosphere to maintain the wormhole.”
“Unlike you, we exist in a non-corporeal form susceptible to the destructive effects of the Stargate on our home world.” (Fake Hammond) - “So the energy readings we picked up. They were life signs. You were in the mist.” (McKay) - “We are the mist. Every time the gate is activated lives are lost. Over time explorers have come and gone. Completely unaware of our existence. Sacrifices are made to ensure our secrecy. But when you came back, we grew concerned. To learn your intentions, we had no choice but to enter your minds. When we discovered what you were about to do, we were forced to take preventive measures… You're desire to return to your home world was too strong. The amount of energy required to gate to another galaxy would have killed millions of our kind.” (Fake Hammond).

The Storm

Timing:

From the time of the conference that happens once Sheppard and Teyla return to Atlantis, there are 12 hours before the storm hits the city, so most of the two episodes takes place over that time.
There are 4 ½ hours to the storm hitting when the last of the people gate off world, leaving just Beckett, Teyla, Ford and the Athosian hunters on the mainland in a jumper, and Weir, Sheppard and McKay plus two marines on Atlantis.

Personal Character Information:

McKay pronounces Zelenka’s name incorrectly in this episode yet again, much to the annoyance of Radek.

General Information:

The Athosians are settling in on the mainland, though there is still talk of returning to Athos, even though the Wraith scorched Athos bare in revenge for their resistance.
The planet is basically the same size as Earth.
The storm will affect over 70% of the mainland.
The mainland is the size of North America.
Kolya starts by demanding, “All of your stores of the C-4 explosives, all of your medical supplies, the Wraith data device you stole from my people, and one of your ships.” He also wants to know where Sheppard is.
McKay is tortured by Kolya for information (off screen); it is unclear just how bad the cut(s) on his right arm may be.

Techno-Babble and Science:

The storm covers 20% of the planet, according to Sheppard when he flies above it to take a look.
“This planet is basically the same size as Earth…hurricanes on Earth never get as big as this…because once they hit shore, the brakes get put on them. Without as much land mass to slow it down here it's just... gaining momentum.” (McKay) It is pointed out that there are two hurricanes. “…according to the Ancient database, every twenty or thirty years the sea gets unseasonably warm. Now that…means that hurricanes are much more likely to occur… basically, if you have a situation where there are a bunch of hurricanes out there. The likelihood of two colliding is greatly increased…” (McKay) – “…it's more like a merger than a collision. They are intersecting and combining their power.” (Zelenka). They mention that a storm surge is inevitable and, “Not to mention the fact that by moving over land mass just before hitting us, the likelihood of tornados and electrical activity is greater increased.” (McKay)
“…yes, the naquadah generators could be used to power selected section of the city, but when you subtract the area that needs to be secure just to protect themselves, it doesn't leave much power to shield anything else. And the city breaks apart from the tidal stress.” (McKay). There is no time to move the generators closer together, as Zelenka suggests.
We find out that Atlantis is designed to withstand substantial lightning strikes by use of lightning rods all over the city and the rods are channelled into 4 grounding stations, which send the electricity into the ocean. Many hallways “are lined with a superconductive material that allows a safe low voltage transfer of power throughout the city.” (McKay). If the grounding stations weren’t there the lightning would cause those halls to be supercharged and if channelled correctly “could conceivably be used to charge up the shield generator. Now, the more severe the storm, the more energy is produced. The longer it will keep the shield running.” (McKay). However, they would not be able to store the energy, so once the lightning stopped they would be “back to square one.” (McKay). The only safe place to be when the lightning is striking would be the control room (and the jumper bay, which is part of Stargate operations, we are told in The Eye).

The Eye

Timing:

The Eye episode starts about 2 ½ hours before the storm is due to hit.
There is less than an hour before the storm hits when Kolya gives his ultimatum to Sheppard to replace the part he has taken from the generator powering grounding station 3 (the one that is damaged) or he will kill Weir and McKay. He gives him 10 minutes before Weir dies and another 10 before McKay dies.
After Kolya and the Genii have left, McKay says that a tsunami will hit the city in approximately 2 ½ minutes.

Personal Character Information:

McKay says he’s no good at bluffing; “I'm a terrible bluffer. I've lost small fortunes at poker. Look, my eyes twitches. I laugh inappropriately. It's not pretty.”
McKay claims he is liable to “catch a cold like that” and snaps his fingers.
“You know how you’re always saying you're not military. You don't have to take orders?…Now you do.” (Ford). “So as long as it's temporary.” (Beckett).

General Information:

McKay steps in front of the Weir and Kolya’s gun and lies to save her life.
Atlantis is powered by five naquadah generators (first time it is mentioned how many are used). Each generator powers a separate section of the city. Disabling the one for the control tower takes out secondary systems, but most of the primary systems remain. The internal detectors are secondary, the gate, gate shield and city shield are primary.
The Genii reinforcements comprise of a full company of “60 or more.” (Sora). Only 5 men make it through the gate before Sheppard activates the gate shield. Kolya asks is Athor’s son, Idos, made it through and is upset when he is told no. It would take about an hour to organise sending more reinforcements through to them.
McKay mentions after the storm that the lower levels of the east pier were flooded and they are pumping them out, and that there was some structural damage, “but nothing serious”.

Techno-Babble and Science:

If even one grounding station remains operational, too much electricity will escape into the ocean and the shield won’t work.
“Now, I need to run the subroutine that will convince the input buffers in the shield generator to attenuate the raw electricity into useable power. I can only do that from the control room. That's where Doctor Weir's codes come in.” (McKay, after grounding station 3 is finally taken offline).
The storms occur about every 20 years.

The Defiant One

Timing:

The journey to the planet via puddle jumper is 15 hours.

Personal Character Information:

McKay can’t fly the jumper in a straight line.
McKay says he is allergic to bee stings.
McKay shoots the Wraith with his 9 mil, every bullet hitting it square in the chest, but Sheppard has to remind him to reload it when the clip runs out.

General Information:

Brendan Gall was the one who discovered the Lagrangian Point satellite, which has no power when they scan it. The flight from Atlantis to the satellite is 15 hours.
The planet that the Wraith distress beacon is coming from has an atmosphere that is extremely ionized and which would interfere with radio communications
The ship is a supply vessel, filled with the remains of humans. They also discover a Wraith that has been fed on by one of its own kind.
This is the first episode where McKay refers to Sheppard as Captain Kirk, but in this instance he is referring to Sheppard’s need to get the Wraith off ‘his ship’ not his way with the women.
The Wraith refers to the ship as being Lantean.
Sheppard nearly blows himself up with a Wraith hand grenade, the first time he (and we) have seen one of these.

Techno-Babble and Science:

When Sheppard mentions that he put more than 20 rounds into the Wraith and it survived, when he’s seen others go down under less than that, McKay states, “Doctor Beckett has theorized the Wraith's ability to heal itself is directly proportional to how recently the Wraith has fed. And he's...fed pretty recently...” Sheppard thinks there is more to it than that.

Hot Zone

Timing:

Wagner and Johnson “were only down there for twelve hours. Even if they were infected right away, that's an alarmingly short incubation period.” (McKay)

Personal Character Information:

Lieutenant Ford is no good a Prime/Not Prime, and even beats the statistics that say just by guessing he should be getting half of them right.
Ford asks Zelenka, “Is this some sort of payback for guys like me beating up guys like you in high school, right?” – Can be taken either way; he did beat up guys like Z; he didn’t, but thinks Z is getting pay back for those ‘like Ford’ who did.
This is the first time we see Sheppard and Teyla sparring with sticks – and Sheppard is getting his butt kicked quite easily by Teyla (she literally hits him on his backside with her sticks at one point).
McKay mentions that he has a sister; “We're not close. I don't even know how you'd find her… She's the only family I really have, so someone should tell her what happened. And, uh, make it sound good, okay? Tell her I died saving someone. Kids, I died saving kids, a bunch of them.” He also tells Zelenka some of his ideas to recharge a ZPM (which probably won’t work) and how to save energy when the generators start to run low. Also, “…tell everyone that I was, I was inches away from a theory of unifications, but…the notes, they were lost…”

General Information:

They are checking out the east pier after flooding caused by the storm two episodes earlier. McKay says that he pier is “in relatively good shape,” other than the “upper-level storage room, which the lovely and talented Dumais informs me is in no immediate danger.” He goes on to state, “…it's dark, it's damp, and it smells terrible, but from an engineering standpoint we're good.”
They institute a Level 4 quarantine after Wagner and Johnson die, which means a “self-regulated quarantine in all populated sections of the city.” (Grodin), and a suspension of gate activity.
McKay says that Peterson knows “almost as much about Ancient technology as I do.”
Sheppard goes against Weir’s orders to remain in the gym and puts Sergeant Bates in a difficult position as to who to obey; he obeys Sheppard. They don Haz-Mat suits and Elizabeth reluctantly gives them Peterson’s location, “…section E-19, level three.”
The gym is nearly a mile away on the east pier from McKay and his team.

Techno-Babble and Science:

Wagner and Johnson “were only down there for twelve hours. Even if they were infected right away, that's an alarmingly short incubation period.” (McKay)
They find Ancient viral lab with broken test tubes; the database is not networked to the rest of Atlantis’ systems and only contains information relating to the experiments in that lab.
“…I have the preliminary autopsy results on the first two victims here… They both died of a ruptured saccular brain aneurysm, which, in and of itself, isn't all that remarkable… I mean, sure, the chances of two people standing next to each other and dying of it is statistically improbable, yes…. What is truly interesting is that both ruptures happened in exactly the same place - right above the visual cortex.” (Biro – this is the first episode she appears in; she’s a pathologist.)
McKay finds the virus in the database, “…six-hour hibernation, reoccurring visions, and …brain haemorrhage or aneurysms.”
“…the position of the rupture could explain the visions. Swelling in that area before the breakage could absolutely account for the hallucinations.” (Beckett) – “…but wouldn't brain swelling on the visual cortex just mean that we experience washes of colour and weird visual anomalies?” (McKay) – “It would depend on the person.” (Beckett) – “…that's my point. All of our visions are so similar. If they're the result of arterial swelling, wouldn't the visions we experience be more random?…well, the things we're seeing are pretty damn identical!” (McKay)
McKay realises that the symptoms are too accurate; Beckett suggests it could be due to being in another galaxy, “…just because it's out of the ordinary for us doesn't mean it's not commonplace here.” – “…I don't buy that. Most of the habitable planets we've encountered thus far are, are, are carbon copies of Earth in terms of environmental conditions…. Incubation to completion is exactly six hours. The visions are identical for all the infected and the location of the aneurysm is the same for every single deceased…it’s a nanovirus.” (McKay).
“…they're microscopic machines that are able to carry out very specific tasks suited for their size.” (Beckett about the nanites) – “You're all infected with microscopic machines?” (Weir) – “…they're no bigger than a single-celled organism. Although instead of having the sole purpose of curing a disease or mending a blood vessel…” (McKay) – “The virus is programmed to terrorize its victims by tapping into the visual cortex, and then rupturing an artery in the brain… There's one good thing. I doubt they can multiply. I don't know how many nanites it takes to kill a human, but eventually I imagine they'll spread themselves too thin.” (Beckett)
McKay isn’t killed by the virus because he has the ATA gene; it is designed to kill humans not Ancients. The gene therapy is only effective in 48% of the people who receive it – it didn’t take with Zelenka – and takes a minimum of 4 hours to work even when it does take.
The nanites are deactivated by a large electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) by detonating a nuclear explosion in the atmosphere; “…if the Major was able to overload a naquadah generator twenty miles above the city, we'd be perfectly safe from a radiological standpoint, and the ensuing blast would be capable of creating a devastating electromagnetic shock wave.” (McKay).
The nanites were not created by the Wraith, and they think not by the Ancients, leaving them wondering who did create them and are they still around.
Lockdown: “Atlantis must be designed to respond to outbreaks automatically. The city initiated a lockdown when Peterson transported out of the east side… The city's detection systems might have been affected by the flooding in those areas. But once Peterson entered the mess hall, the pathogen was almost instantly detected by automated systems and the city protected itself… we're completely locked out of the mainframe.” (Grodin) Sheppard and Teyla can move about the city despite the lockdown because they are wearing Haz-Mat suits.

Sanctuary

Timing:
No information given.

Personal Character Information:

When Sheppard and McKay meet later and McKay asks him why he is up late, he says that he’s always up late. McKay then refers to him as Captain Kirk and that “Romancing the alien priestess. It's very 1967 of you”.

General Information:

Athar, or Chaya Sar, protects the people of Proculus from the Wraith.
I think this is the first time the term ‘Atlantean’ is used for the Ancients (Beckett uses it when talking to Chaya).
When Chaya asks how many of them there are, Sheppard states: “Counting all the Athosians on the mainland we might get a couple hundred, which leaves a very large empty city. Right now we're living in one section because we don't have the power to spread out more than that…”
Sheppard tells Teyla that he believes the best view of the city is the top of the southwest pier.
Sheppard tells Chaya that the Athosian people make the wine on the mainland; says something about trading grapes. Also says that the food they’re eating is “the last of what we have,” and also, “When McKay finds out, he's gonna kill me.”
Chaya is an ascended Ancient, she tells Sheppard her story when they are back on Proculus: “When I was a mortal, I lived here... When those of us you call the Ancients ascended, we were supposed to leave behind us all human ties. Some of us found that difficult… When their (Wraith) terrible fleet approached, I lashed out with my mind and with a single thought destroyed them all. The others of my kind did not approve of such interference of corporeal matters. And so I was exiled. My punishment was the unending protection of this world.” John asks why she takes the form of a human and she answers: “So that time to time I may walk among the people... For thousands of years, I have come and gone through the villages never staying too long to get attached to anyone… I am permitted to safeguard my people, but my people only. Now this is my punishment. This is what makes it punishment. If your people came here for my protection, the others would stop me…I can never help your people… It's there highest law: Never to interfere. I am bound by those laws. However much I wish to help you.”

Techno-Babble and Science:

Beckett about Chaya; “Blood work shows now viral, bacterial, or parasitic infection. MRI reveals no tumor or cancers. No heart defects of any kind. Blood pressure 130 over 70. Total Cholesterol 107. She's in perfect health…she's too healthy…There's no trace of any diseases or congenital conditions that you typically find in pre-technological societies. No rickets, no fungi, STDs...and from what she told me, this maybe the norm among her people…human life…is more fragile than that. I don't care what galaxy we're in. It's unnatural.”
Grodin is looking at a new piece of equipment they found in another section of the city and have moved to the control room; Chaya activates it. Later, McKay asks Grodin if he knows what it is; “It would appear to be an internal/external biometric sensor array... [Points to laptop screen] These seem to be the biosignatures of everyone in Atlantis… I've been working on deciphering the Ancient logarithms. I suspect this was designed primarily as an early warning system. To signal any alien presences in the city, like the Wraith.”

Before I Sleep

Timing:

Old Weir went back in time approximately 10,000 years. Janus says that he is "...inputting commands to the system to revive you twice at intervals of approximately three point three thousand years so that you can rotate the ZPMs."

Personal Character Information:

While checking out an unexplored area of Atlantis, McKay asks Sheppard about the quarters there, saying that he is looking for, “a one bedroom with den preferably with a balcony, but I'm not married to it.”
Sheppard mentions needing a DeLorean for time travel, to which McKay says not to get him started on that film (Back to the Future). Sheppard liked the film. Later, McKay says the jumper must have had an added component so that it could travel in time and Sheppard calls it a flux capacitor (from the film). McKay says yeah in a sarcastic manner.

General Information:

One of the five gate addresses is M7G-677; McKay says that they have been to that planet (it is the kids’ planet in Childhood’s End). The addresses are outposts with a Zero Point Module.
The first time: There was no failsafe to rise the city and there was no time to evacuate. McKay drowned in the control room (as did Grodin), while trying to open the jumper bay roof. Zelenka, Sheppard and Weir go back in time on the jumper, but are shot down by the Wraith and only Weir survives. Janus (who invented the time machine) healed her wounds and goes on to program in the failsafe. He then leaves Weir in the stasis chamber, setting it so that she wakes twice (approx 3.3 thousand years between each waking) to rotate the ZPMs, as they can extend their life by using them in sequence rather than in parallel (he does this against the Atlantean Council’s wishes).
Old Weir tells us that: “The Atlanteans sent a delegation protected by their most powerful warships in a faint hope of negotiating a truce. One on one the Atlantean ships were more powerful. The Wraiths were so many. After that great battle, it was only a matter of time”. Also, that they were awaiting the arrival of an off world transport and then returning to Earth through the stargate; the transport is shot down by the Wraith.

Techno-Babble and Science:

McKay about the stasis chamber and occupant, “…she's in a state of metabolic stasis. Aging slowly considerably, yes, but not entirely suspended…life signs system indicates viability. According to the initial data I've been able to access; she's been in that chamber for 10,000 years…She'll continue to age at a very slow rate until she dies, which judging by the looks of her seems more likely to occur more sooner rather than later.”
To Ford’s question about whether time travel is possible, McKay answers; “Well according to Einstein's general Theory of relativity there is nothing in the laws of physics that is to prevent it. Extremely difficult to achieve, mind you. You need to the technology to manipulate black holes to create wormholes not only through points in space but time.”
McKay to Weir: “I know what you're thinking. If she's been waiting in that stasis chamber all these millennia for us to arrive, why didn't the system automatically attempt to revive her the moment we got here? The answer: It did. I've been going over the data from our arrival. One of the first things we noticed was as sudden power surge in the section of the city where the stasis lab was. It was trying to revive her. Only we didn't know that. All we saw was more power draining from an already depleted ZedPM so we shut down all secondary systems. Almost killed her... you...” Weir mentions how weird it is looking at how she will be, to which McKay points out; “Actually, how you will be will be different from how she is right now…the moment she went back in time, she created a separate reality, a second you living in a parallel world, according to one of many interpretations of quantum theory. I mean, simply put: This interpretation states that the universe is in fact split into infinite numbers of copies of itself. In which, every possible outcome in every decision ever made all would exists in this infinitely layered multi-universe.”

The Brotherhood

Timing:

Weir says at the end of the episode that the team were out of radio contact for 12 hours.
The 3 Wraith hive ships are 2 weeks out from Atlantis (more or less) at the end of the episode.

Personal Character Information:

Beckett does not want to fly a jumper into battle against the Wraith dart, but does anyway: “I can barely make it to the mainland and back without crashing. For the last time, I'm a Doctor not a bloody fighter pilot!” This occurs 10 minutes before the dart reaches Atlantis, according to Bates who is in the co-pilot’s chair.
Sheppard took and passed a Mensa test but didn’t join. McKay mentions that there is a chapter on Atlantis and that Sheppard could become a honorary…we don’t get the rest of the sentence due to Sheppard interrupting him.

General Information:

This is the first time we see the Canadian Gate Tech (it’s not until the last episode in Season 3 that his first name is given as Chuck, no surname as yet; the actor’s name is Chuck Campbell, just to confuse matters, and he was a stand-in on Hide & Seek before this).
“…according to legend, an Ancient from Atlantis, came through the Stargate and entrusted a sect of Sudarian Priest with a ‘rare’ treasure or a Potentia as they called it. This Atlantean told them to keep it hidden from the Wraith at all costs...the Sudarian people worshiped the Ancients and considered the Potentia their most sacred artefact….predictably, they did exactly the Ancient requested... after 10,000 years of Wraith culling, Sudarian society is essentially extinct. I mean, the planet's inhabitants are only at Renaissance level of development.” (McKay). The Potentia is a ZPM, and because it was only brought out on high holidays it is likely to be fully charged.
“The Brotherhood of the Fifteen consisted of a master handler, five protectors, and nine stone carriers.” (Allina) They hoped to be rewarded for hiding the Potentia by the Ancestors when they returned.

Techno-Babble and Science:

This is the episode that they discover the deep space sensors/long range sensors (both terms are used, I think they are the same thing though I’m not 100% sure) that have apparently been running in the background up until now. The sensors have detected a Wraith dart heading for the city – by the time Zelenka has worked out what the sensors are trying to tell them, the dart is only 27 minutes away (even though it has been trying to tell them for days).
The dart scans them, transmits data and then self-destructs; they turn the long range sensors to the area that the data was sent and discover 3 Wraith hive ships heading their way, that will arrive in 2 weeks if they hold the same speed and direction.
Flash-Bangs (Ford explaining to Teyla): “Work kind of like of grenades. Pull the pin; press the trigger, once you let the spoon pop you've got 1.5 seconds before the room is filled with 2.4 million candlepower and a bang that is rated at 175 decibels.” Sheppard adds: “It will stun anyone with their eyes and ears open for about ten seconds.”

Letters from Pegasus

Timing:

The opening scene takes place fairly close (the exact timing is not stated) to the last scene in The Brotherhood.

Personal Character Information:

The world the Wraith are stopping to cull is known to Teyla, and Orin (one of the villagers) was a close friend of her father’s and is as family to her.
Ford sends a message to his grandma and grandpa.
Beckett sends a message to his mum (and gets very emotional the first time, starts sniffling and chokes up).
Zelenka’s message talks of Atlantis rising from the ocean. For a translation (and in fact, translations for him in other episodes as well) check out Abydos Gate.
Bates sends a message to his little brother (don’t know age).
Elizabeth sends video messages to the next of kin of those who have died (except Sumner) and to Simon: “Not a day goes by that I don't think of you, Simon. There is so much I want to tell you and share with you. But I can't. I know this is unfair. So much you don't know, and putting your life on hold for me. So don't. All I ask of you is you take care of yourself, and know that wherever you are my heart is looking after you.”
Miko admires McKay (even though he doesn’t remember her name). Some think she has a crush on him, but it may be a Japanese cultural thing; showing respect to your superiors. This is the only time we see her.
Kavanagh sends a message to General O’Neill listing “serious errors in judgment of the leaders in this expedition, most notably, Doctor Elizabeth Weir.”
Sheppard records a message to Sumner’s family, but doesn’t send a message to anyone else.
McKay has only slept for 6 hours in the last few days; his message is to humanity, but he wanders off his speech on leadership to mention other things:
- “I once caught mono kissing a girl in Algebra club. Missed an entire month of school. Still the kiss was... something…April Bingham, cute blond…I love blondes, especially with the...short hair…Samantha Carter, if you're watching, the torch is still burning. Sadly, soon to be extinguished, but you should know. You are just so... great…I would go so far as saying that you're the hottest scientist that I've ever worked with. In fact, there's not a night that goes by that I don't find myself…” he asks Ford to lose that bit.
- Then: “Never cared for dogs…too needy, too unpredictable. I mean, you leave one door open. The tiniest little cracks and their gone. You look for them. You put up fliers. There's no use. And since your father refuse to pay for a license the animal shelter has no way of tracking you…knows what happen to that little guy. [sighs] Now cats, now that's a whole different story. Cats are self-sufficient, they're dependable, you shake the box, they coming running. Cynics would say it was the food, but my cat. See, I truly believe he enjoys my company. There's something very comforting about coming home from work at the end of the day and having a familiar face waiting for you, you know?”
- Then: “That's another site I'll die without having seen. See, to be fair when you've travelled as much as I've travelled, you think that missing Niagara Falls would be no big deal, but you know what? It gnaws at you. A lot of movies I wish I'd seen now. Won't see now. Let me see. Never saw Grease even though I had a thing for Olivia Newton John when I was a kid. Always wanted to see Gandhi. I only saw he first half of the Sixth Sense. I always wondered how that ended. [stops and remember something] My sister. [sits up straight] Ford, if you cut everything else just... um... keep this part. Okay? Jeannie, it’s your brother, Rodney. Obviously. I want to say... um... I want to say something. Uh... Family is important. I've come to realize that because the people here have become a sort of kind of a surrogate family to me. I know what you're thinking. I've never really been the poster child for that kind of sentiment, but when one's contemplating one's own demise one tends to see things more clearly. I really do wish you the best. You know, and I'm sorry we weren't closer. Perhaps, if by chance, I make it out of this, perhaps one day we can. And I would like that. Now if there's time I would like to go back to the subject of: Leadership. [Tape ends.]”

General Information:

The Wraith ships are stopping at regular intervals on their way, Zelenka says that either their hyperspace technology is limited or, as Sheppard says, they’re stopping to feed.
Teyla has never seen a culling take so many before; they are able to save Orin, his family and a handful of others.

Techno-Babble and Science:

McKay believes they can send a message to Earth even though they don’t have enough power to send a person: “…I think if we were able to tie together all of our power generating capabilities, we might and I emphasize might be able to establish a wormhole long enough to send a message…(for) approximately 1.3 seconds give or take.” When Ford says that’s enough to say SOS, McKay responds: “Don't be so analogue. 1.3 seconds is more than enough time for a message if it's in the form of a high compression data burst…I helped refine the encoding for the US Air Force a few years back. Colonel Carter should be able to decipher it on the other side.” He didn’t suggest it before as “there’s a very good chance it could overload our naquadah generators in the process…(but he has)…spent the last few days working out ways of minimizing the risks.” They can send, “Everything. I mean mission reports from all the senior staff. A ton of stuff on Atlantis, things we've learned on Pegasus…if I can finesse the decompression ratios, you'll be looking for things to add.” In fact, they end up with a second to fill, hence the video messages.

The Gift

Timing:

At start of episode, they have less than 1 week before the hive ships arrive.

Personal Character Information:

The bug from 38 Minutes is mentioned and Sheppard protests that he thought they weren’t going to mention that anymore.
We see Sheppard and Teyla sparring again; Teyla is struggling because she has not slept much in 3 days.

General Information:

We meet the psychologist, Kate Heightmeyer, for the first time. McKay is caught by Teyla leaving her office and he tries to make out that Kate and he are romantically involved rather than admit to seeing her professionally.
We also meet Charin for the first time, she tells Teyla that there is a story told that some who were taken in a culling came back. Teyla explains to Weir: “Some believes that the ancestors have returned their loved ones to them. That they had been blessed with the gift that made them unwanted by the Wraith. Others even told tales of how the taken had somehow vanquished the Wraith. But soon the taken began to be feared… They spoke of hearing voices. Many began to behave strangely. Some became violent even murderous… The villagers turned on the taken. It was a massacre. All but a few were killed. The rest were ostracized and sent away. After that, no others that were taken from that village ever returned again, but those few who survived. They are the ones who Charin believes passed on the gift.”
McKay and Zelenka are working on the control chair and bully Beckett into it against his will.
They retrieve data from a Wraith lab off world. Weir realises that the Wraith language is a derivative of Ancient, suggesting Beckett’s theory that they evolved after the Ancients arrived is true.
Dr Kusanagi is mentioned but not seen; she has the gene. Many assume that this is Miko’s surname, but there is no proof of this either way.
Teyla finds out that the Wraith have all awakened early and there is not enough food for them all. They are not coming just to destroy them, but are coming to find a way to Earth.

Techno-Babble and Science:

They find out that one Wraith was conducting experiments on Teyla’s ancestors to try and make the food source more compatible. He was doing in it secret because the other Wraith were against it. He states: “It was very easy to miss. In fact, I couldn't even make the kind of comparison necessary to isolate the specific strand. We needed Wraith cells which we eventually got. But then we needed a full mapping of the genetic code contained within those cells, which wasn't even fifty percent complete… You have some Wraith DNA in your genetic make up.” The experiments were stopped because some humans linked into the Wraith telepathic network (this is when they discover such a thing exists), others like Teyla are able to sense their presence. The people on that planet were wiped out by the other Wraith, but not before some had been forced to leave by their own people. Teyla discovers she can read Wraith minds, though this can also leave her open to being possessed.
Beckett: “My theory is that the Ancients unwittingly allowed humans to evolve on a planet with a insect species on it. At some points the insects, fed on humans and somehow incorporated our DNA into theirs. The Wraith are an evolution of that combination…Ultimately, the more we know about Wraith physiology the closer we get to a biological weapon that can attack the Wraith and leave humans unharmed.”

Siege, Part 1

Timing:

At the start of the episode, the hive ships are 49 hours away from the Lagrangian Point satellite, which is 15 hours away (by jumper) from Atlantis.
The scene on the satellite that occurs straight after the scene with Bates in the infirmary is 29 hours before the Wraith arrive at the satellite.

Personal Character Information:

Bates accuses Teyla of unconsciously giving information to the Wraith because of her Wraith DNA and the telepathic link. Being accused of helping the Wraith is the greatest insult amongst her people, and she punches him in the face when he says (in an insulting way) that he knows that.
McKay mentions feeling a little claustrophobic in the spacesuit, and worries about how much air they hold (8 hours worth).
Bates is seriously injured by a Wraith in this episode.
Grodin dies when the satellite he is on is destroyed.

General Information:

Bates, Weir and Sheppard are discussing potential Alpha site; MA5-393 is a no-go as it gets “ridiculously hot during the day...” (Sheppard); M4H-212 is a no-go as it is “crawling with Genii spies,” (Bates); M1M-316, “Stackhouse reported lush surroundings and as far as his team could tell it seemed uninhabited,” (Weir). Sheppard, Ford and Teyla go to investigate and this is the planet with the T-Rex like creature. Later, Ford and Sheppard are looking for potential sites; M1K-439 is the planet with the waterfalls that Ford says they should call Planet Waterfall (suggests naming planets instead of using designations).
Halling is not happy about the plan to destroy the city; “I understand that you're fearing for the well being of your people. But it is not reason to destroy the city of the ancestors. Atlantis is a sacred place. To even consider destroying it merely for self preservation…This place is all that remains of greatest race to ever to inhabit the stars.” He holds to the idea that that they cannot know the plans of the Ancestors and that the Ancestors would not let the city fall to the Wraith.
Grodin turns the gravity on before McKay is able to grab something, causing him to fall several feet to the ground (Grodin thought it would come on more slowly). McKay complains of vertebrae damage, even though he is able to get up and start work on the satellite.
Sheppard gets stunned in this episode; he is paralysed but remains conscious. (This is the second time he has been stunned by a Wraith).
The satellite only takes out 1 hive ship, but the remaining 2 pause as if rethinking their plans. The satellite and Grodin’s sacrifice have at least brought them some time.

Techno-Babble and Science:

The Lagrangian Point Satellite:

They return to the Lagrangian Point satellite (from The Defiant One episodes), the last of what they assume are dozens of satellites destroyed by the Wraith in the last siege (10,000 years ago). They think they know enough about the satellites now to be able to get it working. The control chair and defence systems on Atlantis were designed to be used with a ZPM and the naquadah generators aren’t enough to power them, but the satellite wasn’t designed that way and so should be able to work with just one of them.

All systems come online except the weapon. Grodin says that the naquadah generator “is pumping out more than enough juice.” McKay says that it is a “directed energy beam weapon; runs off of relatively low yield charge like our naquadah generator. That means that it's gotta be continually building up a charge of some kind of a buffer or capacitor until it's discharged.” Grodin finds the buffer and it is 90% charged; McKay finds the schematics and works out that the satellite took a hit that “disrupted the main power conduits”. They need to reroute the power from the buffer to the weapon by bypassing the damaged circuits, which are on the outside. McKay ends up going outside and rerouting via secondary circuits as the primary ones are beyond repair.

“When we rerouted power from the buffer to the weapon, it looks like we inadvertently routed power away from the docking station in the airlock. That's going to be a problem.” (Grodin). He doesn’t have a spacesuit and the airlock isn’t pressurized. There isn’t time to try to reroute the power. Grodin tells them to leave him and come back after the hive ships are destroyed and that “this way I can power down the satellite, until they're well within range. Then they'll be no way for the Wraith to realize we brought it back online.” After the first strike the “circuit we rerouted has overloaded. The weapon can't fire again.” (Grodin). He is unable to find another pathway to reroute the power before the Wraith destroy the satellite. His last words are “I’m sorry”.

Zelenka tells Weir that their self-destruct plan is not effective enough now that they know the Wraith are trying to get to Earth. The city is an intergalactic spacecraft and it is possible the Wraith could salvage the and “reverse engineer their own intergalactic engine from the wreckage from the sea bottom,” (Zelenka). A bigger explosion to break the city into smaller pieces is not the complete answer, “the Ancient database. It's ability to back up data. It's incredibly redundant…if the Wraith recover even the smallest part of the Ancient database...” (Zelenka). He develops a virus to wipe out the database and incorporates it into the self-destruct sequence, but even using all of their hard drives and McKay’s compression ratio, they can only save between 7 and 8 % of it (later suggests, when pressed, maybe 9%). He works on trying to improve on McKay’s compression ratios but even if he can they’ll still lose most of the data.
Bates’ injuries; “He's got five broken ribs. Fractured collar bone and his concussion was quite severe.” (Beckett). He goes on to say, “I put him under a medical induced coma until the subdural haematoma can be dealt with.” Beckett runs a scan on some DNA found on Bates and discovers that it is Wraith. It turns out that the Wraith pilot from the dart that scanned them in The Brotherhood must have beamed into the city before the dart self-destructed (exactly the time Teyla started sensing the Wraith). They realise that the technology used to scoop up victims can be used both.
Zelenka; “This is a biometric sensor we've had online for the past month or so. It detects irregularities in biometric rhythms and reports them... Now it requires significant about of power so we narrowed its field of focused to scan solely in the gateroom. Figuring that was the only place that the Wraith or any other alien for that matter would enter the city from,” and, “It works very much like the life signs detector, but it's able to distinguish different life forms” (Beckett). It works in real time making it easy to track the Wraith

Siege, Part 2

Timing:

Approximately 15 hours since the end of the last episode as McKay has just returned from the remains of the Lagrangian Point satellite (which we know is 15 hours away from Atlantis by jumper).
Between Everett turning up and the end of the episode (which ends just before the arrival of the Daedalus), about fours days have passed.
When McKay has finished checking out the Genii nuclear weapons, he says he needs a day to complete them and Everett says that they don’t have a day.

Personal Character Information:

Everett was a good friend of Colonel Sumner and doesn’t believe that Sumner would have wanted Sheppard to kill him. Sheppard tries to explain, but is interrupted by a radio call.

General Information:

The hive ships have started moving again, but at a considerably slower pace, by the time McKay returns to from the satellite.
Colonel Dillon Everett (United States Marine Corps) plus several marines arrive from Earth via the gate and bring a lot of weaponry with them, including rail guns and nuclear warheads. A ZPM was found in Egypt and as soon as the wormhole closes it will be transferred to the Daedalus (the Prometheus’ sister ship) to bring it here. With the ZPM to boost her engines, she should be there within four days.
They discover that the chair only has a few dozen drones left; the rest were presumably used up in the first siege by the Ancients.
Sheppard mentions to Everett that they don’t use the hologram room much “because of the power requirements.”
Ancient versus Wraith 101: Sheppard explains events to Everett in the hologram room; [He steps to the control podium. The doors close, the lights dim, and a map of the galaxy appear.] “This is the status of the Pegasus galaxy, before the Ancients encountered the Wraith. The blue stars represent systems either inhabited by or protected by the Ancients. [He turns his attention to the controls, and the map is quickly engulfed with red.] Then, this is how it looked after they fought for almost a hundred years.” At that stage all that was left was Atlantis. “That's when the siege began. [The display changes to the solar system and a model of the planet drops down between them.] For several more years, the Atlanteans were able to hold of their attackers, relying on the city shield and superior weaponry, including the weapons satellite system. [Wraith ships begin flying toward the hologram planet.] No matter how many Wraith ships they destroyed, more kept coming. They could win almost every battle, but they saw no way to win the war. So, they submerged the city, and left.”
Between 20 and 30 darts crashed during the first wave; many of the pilots beamed into the city.
The Genii that Weir deals with is called Prenum. He states, “The Wraith have come… Six days ago. Fortunately, we detected their approach, and we were able to shut down our reactors in time. Hundreds of lives were lost on the surface, but thousands more were saved because our underground complex went undetected. So you see, the threat to the Genii has come and gone. So far as the Wraith are concerned, this planet is no longer of interest to them. We have the design that Doctor McKay provided for us, and our prototype bombs are nearly complete”.
When McKay and Zelenka are working on the Genii nuclear weapons he ask Beckett for “something to keep me awake” – Zelenka adds, “…me too” and Beckett says that he’s already given them something, to which McKay points out what they are working on; Beckett reluctantly agrees to get them another stimulant.

Techno-Babble and Science:

Rail Guns: “They will deliver an impact velocity of mach-five at fifty miles; a standard magazine will hold ten thousand rounds” (Everett).
Nuclear Warheads: “Six naquadah-enhanced nuclear warheads, twelve hundred megatons apiece. They emit almost zero EM and are otherwise invisible to radar. Once deployed, they will detonate by proximity fuse” (Everett) – Ford calls them space mines.
Mark II Naquadah Generator: “We found a way to increase the power output by six hundred percent. It won't last nearly as long, but should be able to power the chair for as long as we need it to” (Marine).

Season 2 Season 3

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