My Stargate Atlantis Reviews

[Starbreaker]

Rising Parts I & II - B

This is a good pilot episode. In my opinion, it's a step or two up from the SG-1 pilot. The cameos by O'Neill and Jackson are necessary from the network's standpoint, I guess, but they are not intrusive. Only having seen two or three episodes over the last five years, I was pretty much immediately hooked on this show too after watching the pilot. The characters are immediately engaging and the sets are amazing. Robert Patrick is always fun to see on screen. That was a plus. The Wraith make for an intersting enemy.

The only thing I think the pilot suffers from is lack of originality. They travel to a distant galaxy and the first world they go to... wait for it... has a technologically repressed civilization living in a forest. Original...

Other than that, I really enjoyed it and it made me want to watch more.

Hide and Seek - C-

They didn't even wait one episode before introducing an energy creature?? Really??? They have a Stargate on this show... with exciting new worlds to visit! So, I'm just sick to death of mysterious smoke monsters. You'll have to give me a break. Out of the first eight episodes, this was the only one I really didn't care for. The only redeemable thing about this episode was Rodney and the personal shield. I thought that was cool. His character is really annoying, but you can't help but like him.

Thirty-Eight Minutes - B

This episode was very cool. The fact that it was almost near time made it very interesting. With the bug and the puddle jumper getting stuck, there was actually a real sense of danger. I'm always amazed by what some shows can do within confined spaces. The Wraith looking at the major and leaving him alone was creepy. I'm hoping they follow up on that.
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More reviews to come soon, but the thing I like most about this show is the continuity. Little things like the necklace, Ford naming things, and the turkey sandwich really add up. I watched the first eight episodes in a row and it felt like I was watching a long movie instead of a bunch of random standalones.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

It cracks me up that it took them all of three episodes to get Shep's shirt off.

I recently re-watched "Rising" - doesn't have good rewatchability, sadly. I did a lot of zapping to get to the "good parts." But when I originally saw the episode, I was intrigued by the dramatic possibilities of Atlantis as a focal point for the show.

I thought the Athosians were booooring from the first, and the Wraith were an interesting variant on the Goa'uld concept, but the execution was too corny. Too much hissing and squirming for my tastes. The "hive waking up on the ceiling" scene was pretty good, tho.

Ford pulling Shep's leg by telling him that wormhole travel is "painful" was a cute moment.

 

[AJBryant]

The thing that always annoyed me was the Wraiths' voraciousness.

I can't believe that they didn't depopulate the whole galaxy in the first week or so considering how they needed to feed and how many Wraiths there were.

 

[Starbreaker]

Suspicion - B

The necklace thing was a neat set-up. Teyla is one of my favorite characters so far, and this is a very nice character episode. The recurring characters being used really add to the atmosphere. I like large casts. I was hoping the Wraith they captured was going to lead to some interesting things, but that ended up really going nowhere.

Childhood's End - B-

An entire civilization changed in 42 minutes. Nice. Even though this is one of those forest technologically backwards arrogant leader episodes I normally hate, I was actually enthralled with this one.

Poisoning the Well - C

This episode is mostly set up and not very well done. It made me sleepy (and not just because it was the 7th episode in a row I watched). The lead guest star kept reminding me of Ernet Hemingway and that was getting on my nerves as well.

The fact that Dr. Weir is even talking about the Geneva convention is startling. The Wraith EATS people. And also, a few episodes later, she has absolutely no qualms about killing a few of the fog creatures to go back home. Weird.

Underground - C

"Underground Amish" is a better name for this episode. Despite Colm Meaney, it's not that good and there's really very little drama. Not a lot to say about this one.

Home - A

This is my favorite episode so far. I absolutely loved it and didn't really have any clue what was going on until Weir said she wished Sheppard had gone to Earth instead. I thought something was up when General Hammond over-complimented Sheppard, but didn't know exactly what to make of it. Sheppard seeing his 6th grade teacher at his party was hilarious.

Found this little gem on Gateworld.

Torri Higginson's real-life dog appears in this episode. "Oh, it was so cool. I think I said it as a joke. I think I actually said to Brad, 'Either can I sing, or can my dog come in?' He was so frightened of the idea of me singing, he wrote my dog in an episode. But I was completely shocked. It was very sweet. She did very well. It was her first time acting."
(Actress Torri Higginson ["Elizabeth Weir"], in an interview with Science Fiction Weekly)

The Storm - A

Another excellent episode. A real sense of danger is conveyed in this one. I really didn't care all that much for the follow up though. I think they could have condensed it into one episode.

More snippets to come..

 

[Harvey]

Don't get too attached to the recurring cast. A lot of them are forgotten after the first season, only to reappear much later. But it does make the first season a lot of fun.

 

[Starbreaker]

The Eye - C

After nearly an hour and a half of this occupation of Atlantis I was getting a little bored with it. What's next...

The Defiant One - B-

I had seen this episode before (5 years ago at least) and I wasn't impressed with it then and still am not. It's mostly filler.

Hot Zone - B

The only problem I have with this episode is the absolute silliness of everyone thrashing their arms about trying to attack these visions. And I thought a nuclear detonation to save everyone was a little over the top, but whatever. I still enjoyed the episode.

Sanctuary - A

I love this episode. It's already one of my favorites. The reveal at the end was completely unexpected, and boy is the high priestess hot!

 

[David cgc]

The Survivor - B-

I had seen this episode before (5 years ago at least) and I wasn't impressed with it then and still am not. It's mostly filler.

I think you mean "The Defiant One."

 

[Starbreaker]

Thanks. Not sure why I did that.

 

[Captain Shaw]

I hated Sanctuary thought it was the worst ep of season 1 but i loved the eye.

 

[Starbreaker]

Really? I was glued to the TV watching Sanctuary. It was interesting to think of the Ancients, who are supposed to be highly evolved, could still be fallible to something like romantic attraction.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The fact that Dr. Weir is even talking about the Geneva convention is startling. The Wraith EATS people. And also, a few episodes later, she has absolutely no qualms about killing a few of the fog creatures to go back home. Weird.

I see you've encountered SG:A's very weird moral universe, where the rules are...??? They pull some waa waa bleeding heart shit and then the next minute, it's guns a'blazin. Make up your frakkin minds!!!!

The issue of what "morality" means when applied to a true kill-or-be-killed scenario, in which the only alternatives are a) humans continue to be din-din or b) complete and total extermination of the Wraith, is certainly an interesting one. Let's see if SG:A ever comes to grips with it...

 

[Starbreaker]

Before I Sleep - B

Great idea, not such a great execution. The script could have been a lot better, I think. There's really nothing bad about this episode, but nothing interesting either.

The Brotherhood - C-

Perhaps the worst I have seen so far. I think the Genii are seriously boring and this Kolya as a villain is almost laughable. If I'm correct, the ending sets things up for the finale though.

 

[Starbreaker]

Letters From Pegasus - B

You know, for a clip show, this really wasn't all that bad. My favorite part was Zalenka describing Atlantis's rise to the surface. I absolutely hate Dr. Kavanagh and wish he would just stand in front of the Stargate when it opens.

I'm a little confused about something. They obviously set Sheppard and Teyla up to be love interests at the beginning of the year, but by the end of this season, they're basically snapping at each other every other scene.

 

[Harvey]

The writers can never make up their minds about Shep and Teyla. Personally, I found them to have no chemistry together, so I'd prefer it if they didn't waste time on non-existent sexual tension. But YMMV.

 

[DWF]

The writers can never make up their minds about Shep and Teyla. Personally, I found them to have no chemistry together, so I'd prefer it if they didn't waste time on non-existent sexual tension. But YMMV.

Two characters can be attracted to each other without getting to the relationship phase of the feelings, the same could be said for Shep and Weir for that matter. And I thiknk it can be safely said that Rodney has feelings for Carter but he'd never act on them.

 

[Harvey]

The writers can never make up their minds about Shep and Teyla. Personally, I found them to have no chemistry together, so I'd prefer it if they didn't waste time on non-existent sexual tension. But YMMV.

Two characters can be attracted to each other without getting to the relationship phase of the feelings, the same could be said for Shep and Weir for that matter. And I thiknk it can be safely said that Rodney has feelings for Carter but he'd never act on them.

That's not my complaint. Rachel Luttrell and Joe Flanigan not having any chemistry on screen together is what I didn't care for. Sort of the opposite as Jadzia Dax and Worf, where the producers never intended to have a relationship, but realized the two characters and actors had immediate chemistry when they were paired together.

Rodney and Carter always had chemistry, of a sort, even if it was never going to manifest itself in a romantic coupling in any rational universe.

 

[Starbreaker]

I'm in the middle of S2 right now... and struggling with it. What happened to the awesomeness of S1?

 

[bullethead]

I'm in the middle of S2 right now... and struggling with it. What happened to the awesomeness of S1?

The writers blew their wad in S1 and really couldn't come up with anything else since they didn't have tons of new blood in the writers' room.

 

[Kai Winn]

I'm in the middle of S2 right now... and struggling with it. What happened to the awesomeness of S1?

have a little patience until season 3, which is great. you'll probably love the crossover the return, and it has great mckay episodes.

 

[Harvey]

The show never returns to the season one highs on any consistent basis--there's a good episode here and there, but they are few and far between. It doesn't help that the final episode is sort of a whimper rather than a bang.

I'd disagree pretty thoroughly that season three is great. It has "Sateda" (episode 4), "Common Ground" (episode 7), "McKay and Mrs. Miller" (episode 8), "The Return Part II" (episode 11), "The Game" (episode 15) and "Sunday" (episode 17).

That's 6 out of 20 episodes that I'd rewatch based on memory, and a couple of the 14 others are really awful (the ones guest starring Richard Kind).