The Game 

The Atlantis team finds a program in the Atlantis database which throws Mckay and Sheppard into a Simsesque game that could destroy two civilizations in the Pegasus Galaxy.

Director:

William Waring

Writers:

Brad Wright (created by), Robert C. Cooper (created by)

Stars:

Joe Flanigan, Torri Higginson, Rachel Luttrell

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Joe Flanigan	...	Lt. Colonel John Sheppard
Torri Higginson	...	Dr. Elizabeth Weir
Rachel Luttrell	...	Teyla Emmagan
Jason Momoa	...	Ronon Dex
Paul McGillion	...	Dr. Carson Beckett (credit only)
David Hewlett	...	Dr. Rodney McKay
Laura Harris	...	Nola
David Dayan Fisher	...	Baden
Kavan Smith	...	Major Evan Lorne
David Nykl	...	Dr. Radek Zelenka
James Long	...	Helkin
John Shaw	...	Garth

Storyline

Since soon after their arrival in Atlantis some 2 years ago, McKay and Sheppard have been playing a computer game. The game has two civilizations, separated by a river, with McKay and Sheppard tasked to see who can build the better society. McKay's approach is give his society more and better technology while Sheppard's solution is to increase the size of his society's army. They soon learn however that what they have been playing is not a game, but real societies who, until their intervention, lived in a state of peaceful co-existence. After nearly two years of meddling however, they are now on the verge of war.

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Plot Keywords:

soldier | female soldier | game | chess | title spoken by character | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The slogan "Ask not what Geldar can do for you, but what you can do for Geldar" is based on the famous line spoken by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in his 1961 Inauguration speech.

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Goofs

Right before the 37 minute mark Rodney's headset starts to disappear and reappear depending on the camera angle.

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Quotes

Dr. Rodney McKay: Hey, don't start. I tried to negotiate with you.
Lt. Colonel John Sheppard: Making a list of demands and not giving anything in return is not negotiating.
Dr. Rodney McKay: I offered you an entire crop of beans.
Lt. Colonel John Sheppard: I don't need beans. I need lumber.
Dr. Rodney McKay: Oh, right - to build defensive fortifications for your army, which he doubled in size, by the way. Surprise, surprise.
Lt. Colonel John Sheppard: I only did that after you started cheating.
Dr. Rodney McKay: I did *not* cheat.
Lt. Colonel John Sheppard: He's giving his people *way* too much technology for their level of development. I'm not the only one increasing my army, ...
[...]

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Soundtracks

Main Title
Composed by Joel Goldsmith

User Reviews

One of the best, in a overused plot world.

A very amazing episode in originality and fun, regardless of how the episode plays out, it is very interesting and brilliant. Not about whether characters in a simulation are alive or not, instead, what was thought a simulation is actually controlling real people. Wonderful!

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 May 2007 (USA)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1) DTS (5.1 surround)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD