Stargate Atlantis: The Complete Series

Description

Review: Gate to Pegasus - One of the big arcs of the "Stargate SG-1" series was finding the Lost City of the Ancients, also known as Atlantis. It also turned into fertile fodder for a spinoff series (come on, you KNEW they had to make one eventually). And though it had a slightly shaky start -- much like its parent series -- the following seasons saw "Stargate: Atlantis" blossom out into a solid sci-fi series with a legendary series, new alien parasites, and new nasty machines from long ago. At the Antarctic base, Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) has finally figured out the location of Atlantis -- in the Pegasus galaxy. General Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) lets an exploratory unit to go to Atlantis -- even though they don't have the power to return back to the Milky Way, and will be stranded there. So Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson) leads an international group of scientists and military personnel to another galaxy, and arrive in the sunken Ancient city of Atlantis. After some initial problems, the ancient city is secured and has risen above the water -- but unfortunately the military unit, including Major John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), have run afoul of the parasitic, life-sucking alien Wraith, who destroyed the Pegasus Ancients long ago. And the Pegasus galaxy has plenty of its own dangers -- nanoviruses, spies, life-sucking bugs, cannibal Wraith, enzyme addicts, whales, an egomaniac baker, weird Ancient devices, Wraiths transformed into humans (and vice versa), "alternate reality drives," Ancient artifacts, crooked businessmen, fear machines, a race of hybrid bug monsters, crystalline nightmare aliens, and a race of ruthless soldiers pretending to be Amish-like farmers. The Atlantis base regains contact with Earth, but this may not be enough to save them from the Wraith's attempts to gain control of Atlantis, and an Ancient experiment gone horribly wrong. At the same time, Atlantis receives two new commander -- first Colonel Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping), formerly of SG-1, and then the once-fussy Woolsey (Robert Picardo). The whole idea was introduced over a few seasons of "Stargate SG-1," some of the characters were also recurring characters, and Tapping was a regular. Teal'c and Daniel even drop in. And while the first season is a bit bland ("The romancing of the alien priestess? It's very 1967 of you," Rodney snipes) the storyline hits its stride in the second season. And it has plenty of sci-fi staples -- ugly nasty aliens, tightly wound scientists, little tubular ships, explosions, moral quandaries and a bit of classic-style horror (just look at Michael's "experiments"). But it doesn't lose its laid-back style, and the dialogue is pretty great, with lots of one-liners and snappy exchanges, with the occasional pop culture reference ("It's the ultimate answer to the great question of life, the universe and everything!"). Most are from Rodney ("Just once, I would like to be taken prisoner by the sexy alien!"), and Sheppard ("But then I'd be The Man, and who would I have to rage against?"). But there's humor from everyone ("He put his hand in my forehead! How can you resist that?" "Well, I like to close my eyes and think of England"), including the Wraith ("I hope they prove as delicious as the farmers who grew them"). One thing Atlantis does have is a high cast turnover, compared to the relatively unchanging cast of the previous series. But Flanigan has a nice O'Neillian snap to his performance ("I HATE clowns!"), David Hewlett is hilarious as the antisocial, ever-exasperated scientist, Tapping and Wigginson are solid commanders, and Paul McGillion is adorable as a Scottish doctor. And while Rachel Luttrell and Jason Momoa are never quite as endearingly alien as SG-1's Teal'c (who makes a guest appearance), they are quite solid as a psychic martial-artist and a rough-edged warrior. "Stargate Atlantis" loses a few too many cast members, but the storylines and aliens add a fresh dimension to the Stargate universe. Definitely worth the while.