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Anytime a character fires a missile at an airborne target, it's invariably from an M136 antitank launcher. The M136 is designed to hit relatively slow moving ground vehicles and is useless against fast moving airborne targets. (This is because used M136 tubes can't be reloaded and are very cheap to use as props). See more...

Trivia

Richard Kind who plays Lucius Lavin in this episode also appears as Gary Meyers in the original Stargate movie. See more...

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Movie Mistakes blog

Stargate: Atlantis (2004) - 6 questions

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The "questions" section is for any random questions that occurred to you while watching this film, or anything you didn't entirely understand, and which Google or the IMDb can't help with. Submit them as a question, and hopefully someone will answer (the bold comments in brackets) - check back regularly. If the answer is wrong, or missing information, please use the "clarify answer" option. Don't feel limited - want to know what music played in a certain scene? Whether this was the first film to use a certain effect? Here's the place to ask!

Questions

Season: Whole show 1 2 3 All

Across whole show

Question: Part of being in the Pegasus galaxy is that the 8th chevron is for travelling across galaxies. They say the first 6 are for the destination, and the 7th is for the point of origin. My question is, how do they always know the 7th symbol for the planet they are on? They always know how to dial out, even under fire, but how do they know the 7th chevron all the time?

Answer: All DHDs have a set of symbols, either 38 or 35, the former being the Milky Way gate system, and the latter being the Pegasus. They each have an individual Point of Origin Symbol, making them have 39 and 36 symbols in total for each set of gates in the different systems. Like a phone, the DHDs and the Milky Way gates have a standard order and placement of the different dialing symbols, with the PO symbol would be placed somewhere, lets say at the top on the outer rim of the DHD, between two of the constellations, always the same.

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Question: Doesn't it seem like the Wraith have been scaled down over the course of the season? In the beginning, they were beings with superhuman strength and speed who could heal bullet wounds (The Defiant One) and create illusions. Now they are only slightly faster/stronger than humans, and Ronon beats them on a regular basis, as does Sheppard. Doesn't it seem a bit too convenient?

Answer: Not necessarily. Atlantis has had several captured Wraith to study and they have been fighting them for years. They've clearly learned Wraith vulnerabilities. Sheppard also carries a much more powerful .45 instead of the 9mm M9 after the first season. Ronon never had much trouble beating a Wraith and he and Teyla have both been training Sheppard. Wraith darts create the illusions, not the Wraith themselves. And finally, the Wraith are slowly starving as they were awakened far too early and are correspondingly less powerful.

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Question: In the series finale, "Enemy at the Gate" (season 5, episode 20), Sheppard (under orders from Jack O'Neill) is sent to Earth to operate the chair weapon in case the Wraith make it there. Why wouldn't O'Neill man the Earth chair himself? He's the one that operated it in the first place, and Sheppard has lots of experience with the Atlantis chair. Pulling Sheppard from Atlantis leaves a very inexperienced and nervous Beckett to fly and defend the city, as well as leaving Atlantis without its military commander.

Answer: Because Sheppard instinctively operates Ancient technology very well. He is better at it than any one else Earth has ever found. O'Neill has to think hard and work at it. Sheppard is the best choice with the fate of the Earth at stake.

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The Siege (1) (series 1)

Question: It was said earlier in the show that the Atlantis crew did not have enough power to dial Earth. Earth Control had no idea of the fate of the Atlantis crew until they sent the video package telling them what was going on, then Earth Control sent reinforcements to help out. My question is; if Earth Control was able to send reinforcements to Atlantis to help out, why could they not send a crew to check on the status of Atlantis? They knew the Atlantis crew made it in the 1st episode.

Answer: Because the ZPM allowing them to dial Atlantis was being used at the Antarctic defense outpost. They couldn't risk making Earth vulnerable to attack from Anubis by depleting it with repeated dialing to the Pegasus galaxy. Once they knew Atlantis was in serious danger, they had no choice.

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Hot Zone (series 1)

Question: The protective suits Teyla & Sheppard put on to keep them from getting infected have a "helmet" piece that does not appear to have an airtight seal; the bottom of the hood just sort of lies on top of the body suit (it's not even tucked in). Is there some way they would be protected from the airborne virus even with what appears to be a very viable opening?

Answer: Those are actually suits that protect from hazardous chemicals. They are cheaper for the prop department and look nearly the same as biohazard suits. A real biohazard suit would indeed have a helmet that seals to the neck.

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All of series 1 (series 1)

Question: Why can't they use every last iota of energy they've got and dial earth and ask them to send them any ZPM's that they could find?

Answer: Because even all 4 Naquadah generators (one was destroyed) together is only enough to dial Earth for approximately 1.2 seconds (As seen in the episode "Letter from Pegasus"). Further, if Earth had found a ZPM, they would dial Atlantis and let them know. After all, the SGC has no other use for a ZPM than to dial Atlantis.

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