Stargate: Atlantis

Stargate Atlantis is a very good show. Just from the first three seasons, they slowly introduce new concepts that build on each other. I was going to write out a review on how they do so - from learning about the Ancients to the Wraith - until I realized that pretty much every episode does that in one way or another. It seems like they explore every option I could physically think up on my own.

Then I thought that maybe I should write a review similar to my Star Trek reviews. I mean, GIF seemed to work really well on pinpointing which episodes were the best. However, this is my first time watching the series. It is all new to me. I can't exactly figure out which ones are better over others. So instead, I'm going to try a little Mystery Science Theater 3000. I'm going to pick out the worst episodes to review and explain why they are bad.

You can tell where the crew really planned out seasons 1 and 2. Then season 3 was sort of the cool expansion. I'd like to think the staff's budge was cut after that. They did all they could to wrap up nicely the events through season 4. Season 5 was sort of this leftover season where they tried new things to end the saga.

Seasons 1-2 (Wraith Era)
S1E3 "Hide and Seek" - The episode revolves around (1) Finding a boy that got lost and (2) Why McKay can't remove an Ancient personal shield generator. The episode continues to introduce a creature of darkness, the ability to splice the Ancient gene into the crew, and the city's teleportation chambers. The reason I hate this episode is they introduce a highly-beneficial invulnerability shield only to be used as a comedy gag and plot device. The rest of the episode builds on the city Atlantis but drags to make anything interesting.

S1E13 "Hot Zone" - It wasn't until I saw this episode I realized how many people entered Atlantis. A total of five doctors died from a virus that infected a third of the crew. The only thing that kept me going was the mystery, but I hated the fact that it couldn't be contained. They went through so many hoops to prove to the audience that it wouldn't spread and then proceeded to break down each one by using stupid plot developments.

S2E2 "The Intruder" - The ship gets infected with a computer virus and proceeds to do all it can to take control. I struggled with this episode. I like the fact that the virus is some form of smart AI that knows how to make the crew miserable and benefit their makers in the best possible way. I do not like the number of times I heard "this should work" uttered from the so-called geniuses. I just wanted to faceplam everytime something else went wrong. Eventually everything turns out well (except for the doctors).

S2E4 "Duet" - The idea of a person sharing someone's consciousness isn't anything new, but the idea of learning about how two characters react to the situation makes the concept interesting. Sadly, the two characters chosen for this episode act childish and immature. To make matters worse, they decide to introduce the concept of love between the sexes sharing one body. It was one episode I couldn't bare watching all the way through.

S2E13 "Critical Mass" - This episode wanted to add an SG1 element. They introduced a moment of crisis from both a dying woman and a giant bomb. As much as I enjoyed both, the episode executed poorly. I can't specify just one thing. The story just isn't interesting. As much as I enjoyed the actress singing that song at the end, I felt it was unnecessary to the central theme of the episode.

S2E16 "The Long Goodbye" - I can't fathom the logistics of the episode. It felt like the writers wanted to add a plot twist but had no idea what to do afterwards. Half-way through I stopped watching. The idea of the consciousness of a husband and wife, kissing, then proceed to try and kill each other is ludicrous. It leaves so many questions! Aren't they already about to die? Is it really worth killing someone to win an argument knowing both will already die? Can't the host take over? Is she really that deceitful to fool the commander for that long? How did they escape? Why isn't anyone using stun guns? I just can't...

Seasons 3-4 (Replicator Era)
S3E3 "Irresistable" - Not even 10 minutes in and I could figure out that this was going to be a doozy of an episode. You got someone having a cold (which never happens unless a plot device), a town filled with happy people, and an annoying actor that you only see when trouble is afoot. It obviously fits right between funny and boring... and what you get is a silly episode.

S3E6 "The Real World" - I couldn't decide if this episode deserved to be on the list. The concept of imagining everything isn't new. I've seen plenty of mind break episodes in the Star Trek series. The way it is handled means everything. There is no short amount of creepy moments and the big reveal of the mystery is revealed mid-way through. I grew annoyed of the episode rather quickly.

S3E8 "McKay and Mrs. Miller" - Another episode that's hard to pinpoint whether it is a good or bad. The episode revolves around siblings and the rather blatant personality flaws of the lead scientist. It also has to involve theoretical science that can bore the average viewer. The other huge drawback of the episode is the resulting consequence for dealing with unknown technology is easily forgotten about after it ends. At the very least the episode highlights McKay's family history and reveals another important character.

S4E6 "Tabula Rasa" - Something urks me about this episode. They use the back-and-forth time lapse technique to try and slowly reveal the mystery behind the lost of memory. The story in itself is fine. The problem is it relies too heavily on what I call the Zombie Impossible. For some reason the smartest people can't even figure out a smarter way to keep people from killing each other like... playing a prerecorded message over the city intercom system that lets people know what is going on. Why didn't they all write themselves notes beforehand? The massive chain of failures was too high to handle.

S4E9 "Miller's Crossing" - I felt like the writers tried to force certain events to happen while ignoring the curiously out-of-place ones. My disbelief grew as the episode became more ludicrous when McKay's sister was in trouble. I think the tipping point is when they decided to bring their prisoner to Earth. Why? Is it so he can convinently kill the man responsible of all this? And how was it possible to be completely done minutes, maybe seconds after the body being carried away? No, this episode rubbed me the wrong way.

S4E14 "Harmony" - This is a standalone story of a little girl who needs to go on a journey to become queen over her people. The writers did a very good job at writing her character. She is young, inexperienced, naive, rambunctious, determined, and wild - all the traits of a young girl who knows how important it is to be queen. Sadly, I found the episode rather dull as her character's true personality shines through the adventure.

Season 5
S5E4 "The Daedalus Variations" - I understand the writers wanted to do another parallel universe episode but the episode is neither fun or coherent. I think the saying is "don't poke the sleeping bear." I can understand stumbling onto a ship that is randomly jumping through space and time. I cannot understand the reasoning behind shooting an unknown ship or being able to withstand the heat from the sun when they couldn't mere minutes beforehand. I guess I'm saying is this episode won't be missed.

S5E15 "Brain Storm" - Get a bunch of scientists together and mock them while they try and solve an experiment gone wrong. I felt like the writers were trying way too hard to make this episode work while including all the guest stars. I liked the romantic connection but it didn't feel like a Stargate episode to me. It felt a bit lacking.

 

9-8-2016