Hide and Seek (Stargate Atlantis)
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| "Hide and Seek" (Stargate Atlantis) | |
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| Season 1, Episode 03 | |
| Air Date (US): | July 23 2004 |
| Production No.: | 103 |
| Written by: | Robert C. Cooper Brad Wright |
| Directed by: | David Warry-Smith |
| Guest Star(s): | |
| Previous: "Rising" | Next: "Thirty-eight Minutes" |
"Hide and Seek" is the first regular episode of the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis. It first aired on July 23, 2004, one week after the two-part series premiere, "Rising".
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Brief Summary
On Atlantis, the Earth and Athosian people begin to settle in. Dr. Beckett performs experimental gene therapy with deactivated mouse retrovirus on Dr. McKay. Now with the Ancient gene, Dr. McKay foolishly tests an unknown Ancient device that creates an impenetrable shield around him—too late to notice that it is even impenetrable by his hand, and even worse, by any food and drink.
While playing in the night, the Athosian child Jinto is accidentally transported by a teleporter closet to a research lab in an unexplored part of the city. Also accidentally and unawarely, he unleashes a shadow entity there. With the naquadah generator disturbed, Jinto missing, and several Athosians claiming of seeing a shadow, the security team originally believe that there are psionic Wraiths around until Maj. Sheppard actually encounters the shadow. With the Ancient sensor to detect the shadow, the team now tries to shut down the naquadah generators in cycles, lurking the shadow to run in circles.
After establishing communication with Jinto, Maj. Sheppard and Dr. McKay are able to find the boy in a remote research lab. Dr. McKay realizes that the strange device Jinto touched was a trap to capture and study the shadow entity, possibly to gain the knowledge of ascension. The shadow is hungry for energy and continues to grow by sucking more energy. The team want to trap the shadow entity again, and Maj. Sheppard volunteers. Just after Dr. Weir suggests that the invulnerable Dr. McKay would be a better choice, the shield device falls from Dr. McKay, apparently triggered by his subconscious fear. Maj. Sheppard attempts to lure the entity into the trap device, but it is too intelligent and he fails. In a final effort suggested by Teyla Emmagan, the team tries to lure the now huge shadow with a naquadah generator onto another world through the Stargate. However, the MALP fails to work. Overcoming his fear, Dr. McKay puts on the shield device again and throws the naquadah through the stargate. He is knocked unconscious and the shield device fails, but he makes it out alive and is praised by Maj. Sheppard.
Detailed synopsis
Teaser
In an attempt to give more humans the ability to control Ancient technology, Dr. Beckett injects Dr. McKay with a retrovirus that will give McKay the ATA gene.
Dr. Weir and Lt. Ford are discussing some minor settling-in issues, both good and bad: water desalination is proceeding so there won't be an issue with lack of fresh water, but there is a need for general cleanup, assigning living quarters and designating play areas for the children. Some Ancient technology is found to need an operator with the ATA gene to control it, while others simply need an ATA user to activate it. They come upon Maj. Sheppard pushing McKay off of a balcony.
Weir is disturbed by the incident but Sheppard and McKay are jovial. Apparently the gene therapy worked and McKay has activated an Ancient device that acts as a personal protection shield. McKay tells Ford to hit him, which he does without hesitation, hurting not McKay but his hand. This was not their first test of the device—Sheppard had shot McKay, in the leg. Weir is concerned about McKay's departure from his usually rigorous scientific method, while he sing-songs about being invulnerable. However, when he and Sheppard try to remove the device, they find they cannot penetrate the protection shield to touch it.
Act I
Beckett and Ford are joking about new names for McKay's new status, while preparing Ford for ATA therapy. McKay is not amused by it, nor by his inability to eat or drink. McKay attempts to concentrate to turn the device off. Ford wonders if the gene therapy might only be temporary, and Beckett supposes it is possible.
Weir, Sheppard, Ford and Teyla confer about what areas of the city can be adequately protected for living. Teyla offers that her people can help with the protection, but Weir suggests that the Athosians should help in other ways for now. Teyla is concerned that the humans don't trust the Athosians. Sheppard points out the need for her people to be trained with the human weapons and tactics. Weir turn the topic back to living space, saying that the designated areas will suffice. Teyla mentions that her people are afraid, having never lived in such a city, fearing the ghosts of the Ancients remain. Weir dismisses the notion, but does urge caution when using ancient technology. McKay, who wandered in during the discussion, agrees, calling himself a deadman.
Weir visits Beckett with concerns that McKay and his team can't figure out how to turn off the shield device, even though McKay is the smartest one in the city. Beckett think it might a side effect of the gene therapy. Weir proposes it might be a more human problem instead. Since their is a mental component to the use of Ancient technology, perhaps McKay's subconsciousness is preventing him from turning off the device. The two further speculate that since most Ancient technology appears to have failsafes built in, such as Atlantis rising from the water when its shield was about to collapse, perhaps the personal shield device will deactivate when its failsafe is activated.
A self-destruct mechanism has been installed as a last means of defense from preventing the Wraith from using the Atlantis stargate to reach Earth. Dr. Grodin briefs Ford, Weir, Sheppard, McKay and others the mechanism. Sheppard feels that Teyla should be told about the mechanism. Weir balks because she is unsure about how the Wraith knew to attack Athos. Perhaps one of the Athosians alerted them. While she trusts Teyla, Teyla trusts her people and will want to tell them.
Sheppard tells some Athosian children a bedtime (ghost) story, but Jinto sidetracks him asking what a hockey mask is. After he fumbles a bit, he gives up. When the kids press him, he mentions football but thinks its time for them to go to bed. Halling and Teyla agree and send them to bed. After they are off, Teyla asks Sheppard to tell her more about football.
Jinto, trying to stay awake, asks his father (Halling) if they are safe here, if he misses the wind, if the ghosts of the ancestors still live here. Jinto's father answers the first two reassuringly, but interrupts on the third, telling him to go to sleep.
Ford, McKay, Sheppard and Teyla watch Sheppard's football video so that Sheppard can teach Teyla about football. Weir enters and remarks that she finds it odd that he chose a football video as his one personal item. Sheppard thinks its highly appropriate, since the whole Atlantis project is humanity's biggest Hail Mary. Teyla asks what a "Hail Mary" is and Sheppard again fumbles and mentions that he like Ferris wheels.
Jinto and Wex sneak out of bed to play a modified version of an Athosian game of Hide and Seek. Typically the Seeker wears a Wraith mask. Now, the Hider wears the mask and the Seeker plays Maj. Sheppard. Jinto gives the mask to Wex and explains the new order, and the game begins. After hiding for a little while, Wex starts to get worried. He and Halling get Sheppard, fearing for Jinto.
Act II
Sheppard rouses the team to search for Jinto. Teyla and Halling let him know that Jinto isn't in any of the other living quarters. Halling insists on going with Sheppard despite his injured leg.
Weir asks if the city's sensors can be used to locate Jinto. McKay replies that there isn't enough power to activate all of the sensors throughout the city at once. Grodin says that the sensors don't distinguish individuals and McKay points out that there are possible shielded areas and malfunctioning sensors. However, there is an unusual reading in one of the unexplored sections of the city. Weir has McKay activate the communications system, then calls out reassuringly to Jinto. While she does, some power goes off and goes on, then the stargate's shield is activated then deactivated. Finally, the stargate starts dialing. Weir has Grodin shut down the dialing, and wonders what is going on. Although nothing like this has happened before, McKay points out they've only been there a few days and the city is very old—or perhaps there really are ghosts.
Sheppard checks in to inquire about the power loss and Weir tells him they have some difficulties. McKay postulates that their naquadah generators may be interfacing incorrectly with the city, or perhaps the way they are accessing various operations are causing inconsistencies in the programing.
Teyla introduces Weir to Marta, who tells her she saw a shadow—something the Wraith project making one see things that aren't there. However, Teyla sense no Wraith in the city. Weir informs Sheppard who orders all search units to fall back to the gate room.
Sheppard reports to Weir that the control tower has been secured. Weir lets him know that other Athosians have reported seeing shadows. Sheppard doesn't believe the Wraith are there—if they were they'd be attacking, not just making folks a little scared. Teyla informs them that Halling wishes to speak to Jinto. The communication system is activated and Halling tells Jinto he isn't angry, and asks him to stay where he is but make some noise. He then makes a prayer to the ancestors, apologizing if they are offended that they have moved into their city. The power goes out again and McKay collapses.
Beckett and Sheppard tease McKay about fainting. Sheppard leaves the medical room and the lights go out again and he, and Grodin, see a shadow.
Act III
Sheppard and Grodin tell Weir and McKay that it's not like the phantoms the Wraith make, but can understand how the Athosians would think it and describe it as darkness and that it was feeding off the Naquadah generator until it was shut down. Then it left. McKay hypothesizes that if they shut down all of the generators, the entity will look for another energy source to feed from. Since humans generate heat energy, without another source, the entity may come after people. Weir has Grodin find a way to detect the entity, and has Sheppard establish surveillance on the generators. She then uses the comm system to instruct people to stay in their quarters, and as she does so, Jinto responds. With help from Sheppard, he tells them how to find him via a transporter closet. Sheppard and McKay take the transporter closet and find Jinto in a research lab.
Grodin shows Weir the he has detected the entity, and that he has it going in circles by deactivating the generator the entity is about to feed from. While showing her, he contacts Ford who, with his teammate, is in the hall the shadow is about to use. He and his partner try to leave, but the doors malfunction, not allowing them to leave. McKay instructs them on how to manually trick the door to open. Ford gets the door open but the entity attacks him.
Act IV
Weir and Sheppard inquire about Ford in the medical center. Beckett tells him it's like he was hit by lightning, but that he'll recover. Sheppard cajoles Ford and his partner.
Weir and Sheppard next visit McKay in the research lab. He says that the only thing of consequence that Jinto touched was the device that released the entity. The Ancients had captured the shadow as part of the their studies into Ascension—the ability to rid oneself of ones physical body and exist as pure energy. The entity is energy and feeds off energy, getting bigger and stronger each time. McKay thinks the device can still be used to contain the entity, but he needs time to study it more.
Jinto goes to Ford to apologize for the entity attacking him. Ford says it wasn't his fault, that "stuff happens", just like the Wraith attacking Athos shortly after they visited there.
Briefly, Grodin watches the entity and notes that its travel pattern has changed.
McKay shows Sheppard and Weir how the device works: one button to activate the device's lure, and a second to trap the entity within. Sheppard volunteers to be the one to spring the trap, but Weir suggests to McKay that he do it, since his personal shield might protect him. McKay thinks about it for a moment, and the shield device deactivates. McKay protests that he isn't scared, he'll do it anyway, but leaves to get a drink.
Jinto tells Halling that he can't sleep, that he's worried the darkness will attack. Teyla calms him by lighting a candle and explaining that the darkness is afraid of fire.
The city prepares—the Athosians and Weir by lighting candles, McKay by turning on a flashlight. Sheppard turns on the lure and Grodin turns off all the generators. The entity is lured to the trap but is not tricked.
Act V
Weir has Grodin turn on the power to the operations tower so that they can track the entity. The entity starts moving towards the operations tower. Teyla suggests that the entity may not want to be in the city, and that if they all stay in the city, it will kill them, so either they have to go, or it does. She suggests it might go through the Stargate.
Sheppard and McKay prepare a naquadah generator. Grodin's found a barren world (M4X-337), and McKay dials out. The gate opens and the entity approaches. Sheppard sends the naquadah on a MALP towards the gate. The entity surrounds the MALP. Weir, McKay and Grodin can't figure out why things aren't working, and McKay is unable to shut down the gate. Weir and Grodin continue to try to determine what is going on. McKay activates his shield device and steps into the entity. He takes the naquadah generator, and throws it into the wormhole. The entity follows. McKay collapses, his personal shield drained of energy.
Trivia
- Between the original Stargate film, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, this is the first time that Colonel/Brigadier General Jack O'Neill is neither seen nor mentioned.