Dear Johnny Fanboy,

While watching the second volume of Stargate Atlantis on DVD, I thought of a couple of nit-picks.

Firstly - and this is a general nit-pick about the whole series - the team seem to love firing off bullets left, right and centre. How long will their ammo supply last? Surely they didn't bring over enough ammo to last seven years (I suspect they'll return to Earth by then), let alone for the rest of their lives. Why didn't they bring along Goa'uld weapons, which don't require bullets?

Secondly, can you explain why, in the episode Poisoning the Well, Dr Beckett is the one who has to go into the cell with the Wraith and take the samples? The doctor is scared (even though the Wraith is incapacitated) and surely there is someone a little more expendable (as the Wraith may have been faking unconsciousness) or less nervous to do the job, such as one of the soldiers. After all, if the doctor were killed who would run all his tests?

Yours,

Stuart Landis

Johnny Fanboy replies:

Regarding the ammunition, bear in mind that each bullet is small and the team brought huge crates full of unspecified stuff with them through the stargate from Earth. I reckon they could have enough ammo to last them for a few years. I dare say that before their bullets run out, they will have found some alternative or supplementary way to arms themselves, such as making contact with a race that possesses the technology to duplicate items (I'm avoiding the word "replicators" here because it is a Star Trek term that means something more sinister in Stargate land!) or re-establishing contact with Earth to restock their supplies.

Yes, they could have chosen to bring Goa'uld weapons with them, but I theorise that this was ruled out because of the time it would take for all the troops to learn how to use them.

You make a very good point about Poisoning the Well. I would go further and ask why it is necessary to go to the time and trouble - not to mention the security risk - of transporting the Wraith to the planet Hoff in order to expose a terminal patient to the deadly creature. Why not instead take the patient to Atlantis? Talk about bringing the mountain to Mohammed!

I would surmise that the Hoffans, having slaved away for decades to find a defence against the Wraith, were insistent upon maintaining certain experimental conditions while the Atlantis team assisted them with their research. Therefore, only a qualified doctor would do for collecting the Wraith samples, even though a soldier would have been perfectly capable, and this is also why it was necessary to go to the effort and risk of transporting the Wraith to Hoff.

Return to: