iTunes Scoops SciFi Channel

I had planned on posting later about the link to allnurses.com, in which the nurse discusses being fired for eyebrow raising reasons. However, something far more important convened. It’s not quite about nursing, but…

Apple iTunes made a major blooper. Like really major. Like so major, that I’m surprised it isn’t plastered all over Stargate fan sites.

To backtrack, I don’t watch television and don’t have cable–out of choice. The last time my television was turned on was 9/11, to see the news. Four days later it went off again, and has remained dormant expect for movies. Somehow, I have inadvertently gotten addicted to Stargate. With Netflix, that is easy to happen. I started backwards with Stargate Atlantis, and then went back to SG1, even watching the original Stargate movie again.

At any rate, tonight we re-watched the season cliffhanger of Stargate Atlantis, which ended Season 3. And then, lo and behold a big surprise, we were able to get the first show in Season 4 through iTunes. It’s regular broadcast was yesterday, and since I don’t have the SciFi channel (remember, no cable) I would have had to wait until it became available by Netflix. And really, who can possibly wait that long?

Welcome iTunes. What a wonderful invention from Apple. Episode 1, Adrift, was available for $1.99. Ah, the convenience. And I was so ready to watch it.

Well, after making a tea and getting some nice dessert, we settled in to see what happens to the Lost City, which is now lost in space and running out of power. Dr. Weir is seriously injured, Rodney can’t decide what to do and no one is stoking his ego, and basically, the outlook is not promising.

But as soon as it goes on, we realize that something is veddy veddy wrong. Instead of a frantic crew, trapped in the Lost City of Atlantis which is now doubly lost since they are drifting in space and running out of power, we see the famous foursome hacking their way through a jungle. Shepherd, Ronon, Teyla and Rodney. They don’t seem extremely upset, they are on land, and not even discussing any of the event from the season cliffhanger.

Hmmm….

Shepherd has a little adventure with a strange crystal, and then they decide to head back to Atlantis.

Double hmmm…

And then we see Atlantis, all lit up, sitting nicely on some planet. Plenty of power, safe and sound. Not moving, not flying, just sitting in one spot as any city should be.

The opening credits go on, and then the name of the episode comes on. Doppelganger. No, this is supposed to be called Adrift. The episode we downloaded clearly said Adrift. But as you can see, it is called Doppelganger.

Well, I quickly went to investigate and saw that Doppelganger is actually the 4th episode of Season 4. What this means is that it hasn’t yet been shown on television, and iTunes screwed up major league. They apparently mixed up episodes, and sent us the wrong one. I’m sure the SciFi channel is going to be thrilled, as I can’t imagine that we are the only ones who got the wrong show.

Major league blooper, Apple. Seems like someones computer is suffering growing pains, or someone is sleeping on the job. And worst of all, I can’t see Adrift. Wah!!!

Anyway, for those of you thinking of downloading Season 4 from iTunes, you better check what’s coming over the cyberwaves.

4 Responses to “iTunes Scoops SciFi Channel”

  1. Frank Simon Says:

    Hi,

    its not the first time. Last year i got the same, as i buy the new episode of a the SG Atlantis Season and got the new one of SG-1. The main problem: itunes seems to be no way to change episodes after someone buying, if there are wrong.

    But it seems to me, that SciFi have a princicle problem. I hear by a friend, that on bittorrent are the first both episodes of Atlantis of the new season. With Voices, but without Sound. Looks like a preview stage of the episodes.

    Does you now, if Scifi do the upload to itunes or do it apple as service for scifi ?

    best regards

    Frank

  2. Ann Says:

    I agree. iTunes has screwed up monumentally. Stargate fans are watching it, but only those who are fortunate enough to have been on the PC during a certain time period could download it. I can see why NBC severed their ties with Itunes after this fiasco, which probably will affect ratings for the series, as who knows how many people downloaded it and now won’t bother watching it on TV, whereas usually fans will watch and then download. iTunes will have to give people “Adrift” now for free, I’m sure, but the horse is already out of the barn, so there’s no way to contain the damage.

    Unfortunately, I came in a day late so it’s already off iTunes, otherwise yeah, I would have joined the legions of fans who have seen it. Now, I have to avoid certain forums as some people can’t keep their mouths quiet about spoilers :(

  3. Chris Says:

    I heard from Apple (after getting Adrift for free AND a free video download on top of that), that the mixup had something to do with the way the episodes are numbered when they get them from scifi. Doppleganger was shot before Adrift so it’s ep. number came before the real first episode. The people at Apple didn’t pay close enough attention and this big boo-boo was the result.

  4. roxanne Says:

    Thanks everyone, for chiming in on this. It’s comforting to know that I wasn’t the only one! It was a big mess-up, and I’m sure that they must have gotten a lot of complaints.

    Anyway, I did get Adrift, and finally got to see it. But meh, it’s a cliffhanger! I have to wait until the second part is released to find out what happens. I’m so spoiled with this, since I’ve been getting SG1 and Atlantis from Netflix, and I’m a few years behind–so they’re all available.