Thursday, October 11, 2007

Cue Atlantis season four

I'm all caught up with Stargate Atlantis, which means I've seen "Sunday," the episode in which Beckett dies. It didn't come as any surprise, as I'd read spoilers for it already before it aired last season. That probably made me even more sappy about it when it finally happened. I spent the episode feeling anxious, until the painful explosion scene, then I cracked and cried until the end. Through the aforementioned anxiety, I was very happy for all the light moments that preceded Carson's death. It was a really enjoyable episode and it had a pretty strong effect on me.

So, now that I'm up to speed, I have another thought or three about the series. This show is definitely a good bit heavier than SG-1, serving up more intense situations & circumstances. The Pegasus galaxy is a rough playground, populated by some serious nasties and made more dangerous by the irresponsible actions of some very un-lofty Ancients. It's been nice, actually, to learn more about how not-perfect the Ancients were, as I always thought they were a lot too ideal as far as they were understood on SG-1.

The Wraith have become more interesting to me as we've gotten insight into individuals. Sheppard's experience with the Wraith prisoner in s3's "Common Ground" was surprisingly enlightening, not only regarding Wraiths' abilities, but also their capacity for negotiation and cooperation when the situation is desperate enough. Which reminds me, just how gullible are our intrepid heroes? I refer to the s2 finale, "Allies," wherein a Wraith queen comes to Atlantis with a super sweet deal, offering up incredible amounts of intel & assistance on a silver fucking platter. The situation reeked and too many of those dumbass humans were actually surprised when they realized the Wraith played them.

Pleasantly, I can't say I have a favourite character. I like Sheppard a lot, and not just because I think he's hot. Rodney, of course, is a big geek and won me over very early on. It's not hard to imagine some Shep/McKay slash in my future. *ahem* Ronon gets some of the best lines and I really like his "why should I set it to stun?" attitude. When Ronon doesn't like the plan, I usually agree with him. Unfortunately, I'm not overly keen on any of the female characters, though the occasionally recurring Dr. Heightmeyer is really nice to look at. Teyla's okay and sometimes I think she has some pretty great moments; Weir I'm just not that crazy about.

Some of the recurring characters have been a pleasure. Michael is fantastic and I was happy to see him again at the end of s3, all angry and brilliant. It's nice to know they're not rid of him yet. Lucius the "Irresistible" & "Irresponsible" was ridiculous and funny. I'm kind of surprised I liked those eps as much as I did. If he shows up again, the episode ought to be called "Irrepressible." "Irresponsible" leads me to Genii nutcase Kolya. I'm really not sure if I liked him or not. He was definitely a slimy badguy, right up my alley, but I think he might have been just that little bit too slimy. Either way, I liked the eps he appeared in, and I was definitely glad when Sheppard finally killed him.

I could go on for awhile, but I'll save further observations for another time. Now that s4 is underway, it's kind of nice to watch the twists & turns unfold slowly.

2 comments:

Yodood said...

Finally watched an ep of SG Atlantis and I'm afraid I won't be hanging in for the whole ride. David Hewlett's hyperkinetic emoting is so irritating he makes the rest of the cast look like somnambulant slackers, The Sigorny Weaver look-alike leader looked interesting but was undergoing brainsurgery by nanobot the whole ep.

Almost as a note of the comparative quality level of this and Starship Galactica they have Kally, the bubbleheaded ditz deckhand on Galactica become a neurosurgeon on Atlantis. It's like the guy who said, "I am leaving the Hole in the Wall to go to the Showdown." Before he cleared the door, someone piped up, "Raising the IQ of both establishments, no doubt!"

Erica said...

I hear ya; my first exposure to Atlantis was not exactly positive. Then a hot chick at DragonCon convinced me to give it another try, in order from the beginning, and I'm glad I did. It's a shame you don't like Hewlett, but I can't say's I blame you. Not everyone is a sucker for geeks the way I am :)

"Almost as a note of the comparative quality level of this and Starship Galactica they have Kally, the bubbleheaded ditz deckhand on Galactica become a neurosurgeon on Atlantis."

You totally lost me here. Huh?