[Thaeris]

I think it's glaringly obvious that the series couldn't have decent energy beings because of the main killer of sci-fi series: budgets.

The effects of the film for the most part... in respect to the early series, at least... were way better than the TV show. Come on, look at the armor and weapons the enemy has in the movie in comparison to the show. The props and equipment in the movie were better, hands down. With a 90's sci-fi TV show, you can't pull off flashy effects and not suffer from production costs and deadlines.

[Liberator]

True, but from about season 7 onward, they started turning out film quality special effects and sets(mostly) on the same budget.

[Mefustae]

True, but from about season 7 onward, they started turning out film quality special effects and sets(mostly) on the same budget.

Thanks in no small part to small but ingenious ideas for saving money on effects that can be distributed elsewhere: Such as stretching a screen across the inside of the Stargate and projecting the wormhole effect onto it, replicating the CGI wormhole nigh-on identically, but at only a fraction of the cost of actual CGI.

[Akalabeth Angel]

I think it's glaringly obvious that the series couldn't have decent energy beings because of the main killer of sci-fi series: budgets.

B5 has Vorlons. Worked fine there.
I always thought they toned down the armour for the sake of believability. Have it more practical rather than, a huge headpiece that forms up out of a collar.

[lostllama]

I kind of liked it. Definitely darker and BSG-ish in some of it's presentation (although, I haven't really watched much BSG... or watched that many SG-1 and Atlantis episodes ).

Possible

Spoiler:

I have the feeling that Dr. Rush knows more than he's letting on.

[NGTM-1R]

Because nobody has said it yet, and it's pretty much obligatory to any Stargate fan...

Jaffa, Kree!

[TESLA]

I liked it. But could have concluded the pilot episode a small bit better.

I do feel a Star Trek voyager / BSG mix and match going on here though

[Liberator]

Well, the rub is that it's a 3 part pilot and they only aired 2 parts.

[SpardaSon21]

We only got to see 2/3 of the pilot?  That sucks.  Are they going to show us viewers part three?

[Liberator]

That's this friday's episode.  Which airs after alongside the Sanctuary season premier, which I am far more excited about.

[TESLA]

That's this friday's episode.  Which airs after alongside the Sanctuary season premier, which I am far more excited about.

Yeah not a fan of Sanctuary....

[Kosh]

I don't think we'll be seeing many Ha'taks or terran cruisers in this show. And since the battle happened entirely off-screen, we don't know what happened there.

With the Asgard beam cannons even several Ha'taks wouldn't be a match for a terran cruiser.

I thought Atlantis would be horrible because it had McKay as a regular (I hated him in his SG-1 appearances), but he ended up, surprisingly, being entertaining.

Of the characters that were there from start to finish, he was absolutly my favorite. After all, who else can blow up a star system and get away with it? 

But could have concluded the pilot episode a small bit better.

I found the jumping back and forth from past to present during the first half to be really confusing.

I do feel a Star Trek voyager / BSG mix and match going on here though

It seems to be doing right everything Voyager did wrong, especially characterization. But sometimes I think maybe it is too much like BSG, the commander seemed WWWWAAAAAYYYYY too much like Adama, even looks and vaguely sounds something like season 1 Adama.

[Fury]

I don't think we'll be seeing many Ha'taks or terran cruisers in this show. And since the battle happened entirely off-screen, we don't know what happened there.

With the Asgard beam cannons even several Ha'taks wouldn't be a match for a terran cruiser.

You're assuming that the particular cruiser was even equipped with Asgard weaponry. It may not have been.

[Kosh]

From what we have seen in Atlantis they seemed to be standard issue. On the other hand it's possible this episode takes place before the Asgard commit suicide. Does anyone know the timeline?

[QuantumDelta]

Gotta be quite late storyline wise if Carter is captain of /another/ new name cruiser. Doesn't it?

[Black Wolf]

It's 2009, post Asgard suicide. I got the impression that, despite having the asgard database, they might not yet have the expertise to make the shields and weapons themselves (although they apparently can build their own ancients intergalactic communication device...)

[MR_T3D]

It's 2009, post Asgard suicide. I got the impression that, despite having the asgard database, they might not yet have the expertise to make the shields and weapons themselves (although they apparently can build their own ancients intergalactic communication device...)

it looked to me like a discovered one, with AIR FORCE!! box around it,
well, not exactly AIR FORCE!! labels on it, just its in a box.

[Nuke]

and oneil had time to get fat after his promotion to general.

[Kosh]

It's 2009, post Asgard suicide. I got the impression that, despite having the asgard database, they might not yet have the expertise to make the shields and weapons themselves (although they apparently can build their own ancients intergalactic communication device...)

The Asgard originally armed only one ship with beam cannons, but in Atlantis we see several with beams and shields.

[IceFire]

It's 2009, post Asgard suicide. I got the impression that, despite having the asgard database, they might not yet have the expertise to make the shields and weapons themselves (although they apparently can build their own ancients intergalactic communication device...)

The Asgard originally armed only one ship with beam cannons, but in Atlantis we see several with beams and shields.

Two... three if you count Carter's ship in the alternate history from The Last Man (Season 4 finale of Atlantis).

Presumably they CAN replicate the technology but there is no mention if the Hammond has been fitted yet.  Since it was a courier mission mostly and because the ship is so new it may not be fully fitted out yet.