Stargate Atlantis Season Three
November 19th 2007 01:44
Category: Movies
Category: Television/Video.
Created by: Brad Wright & Robert.C.Cooper.
Director: Martin Wood et al.
Producers: Brad Wright & Robert.C.Cooper.
Writers: Carl Binder et al.
Starring: Joe Flanigan (John Sheppard), Rachel Luttrell (Tayla), Torri Higginson (Dr Elizabeth Weir), Jason Momoa (Ronon Dex), Paul McGillon (Dr Carson Beckett) and David Hewlett (Dr Rodney McKay).
Produced by: MGM Studios.
Released by: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
The Stargate Atlantis TV series is set in the Ancient city of Atlantis which resides amidst the clear blue waters of a planet located in the reaches of the distant Pegasus galaxy. When an international team of explorers arrives at the city of Atlantis they discover many wonders and inadvertently wake up a dangerous menace through their exploration of the local region. It seems that the main reason why the Pegasus galaxy is not teeming with advanced cultures like the Milky Way is the fact that there is a local species known as the Wraith who periodically wake from periods of hibernation and begin a cull of the various other cultures throughout the Pegasus galaxy. These beings are phenomenally strong, fast and resilient; they also feed off the life force of other intelligent creatures and are in essence vampires. In the distant past the Wraith warred with the Ancients, the humans who built the city of Atlantis and also colonised a great many worlds within the Pegasus galaxy, the Wraith won that conflict and the Ancient were all but destroyed, their culture and society left in ruins.
Currently Season Three of SG: Atlantis has not aired on free to air TV here in Australia, I was lucky to pick up this season on DVD at a local shop. It is unknown precisely when, if at all, SG: Atlantis Season Three will be shown on any of the major free to air networks, it probably depends on when the last season of Stargate SG-1 is going to wrap up as that currently fills the time slot in which SG: Atlantis is usually shown.
The new season begins with the resolution of the cliff hanger that ended Season Two, in that episode the humans on Atlantis had entered into an uneasy alliance with a particular group of Wraith in order to test out a new retrovirus that would change the Wraith into ordinary baseline humans. Naturally this coalition of the convenient eventually falls to pieces and the Wraith swiftly turned on their human ‘allies’ after gaining what it was that they were initially after – namely the location of Earth and Dr Rodney MacKay. The episode closes with the Wraith ships zipping off into hyperspace bound for the Milky Way and the starship Daedalus licking its wounds. In the first episode of season three we are given a recap of events (previously on…) then the story move straight into the closure of this particular crisis so that by the second episode of the season things have moved on into a new story arc for the members of the Atlantis expedition.
SG: Atlantis involves the combination of contemporary era individuals, contemporary events, high technology, strange new worlds and races. Script writers have moved away from setting the series in a distant or not to distant future instead opting to make use of the now as the backdrop against which the drama is set. Being members of an international expedition sent to a floating city on another world in a distant galaxy makes the series something of a modern day frontier drama, where the frontier is extremely distant from its point of origin. It was only in the second season that regular contact with Earth was made possible through the medium of the Daedalus, a starship capable of travelling the voids between galaxies in a reasonable amount of time - days instead of months and years. As the various episodes of Season Three unfold it becomes apparent that the members of the expedition have been working towards even cutting this time frame down by establishing a chain of gates between the two galaxies, this would cut travel time down to about thirty or so minutes.
Season Three consists of twenty episodes as were the previous seasons of SG: Atlantis, this format seems to be a little bit short especially when use is often made of carryover elements throughout the series. Sometimes these carryover elements are from previous seasons, such as Michael the Wraith who was transformed into a human by Dr Beckett’s retrovirus. Michael first appears in Season Two then we see him the opening episodes to Season Three and in the second last episode of the season, he has become a recurring character who nurses a serious grudge and is actively taking steps to do something about it. Yet despite being an interesting character he doesn’t get as much airplay as he possibly should, especially if he is becoming something of a recurring antagonist. Perhaps this is possibly due to actor commitments, Michael is played by Connor Trinneer from Enterprise and perhaps they could only make so many episodes involving his character due to other project he may have been involved in. As well as Michael and his malevolent machinations some other carryover elements that are dotted throughout the series is a look at the past of Jason Momoa’s character Ronon Dex, the introduction of a new high technology species that the expedition discovers inadvertently and Tayla’s unique ability to link into the mind of the Wraith due to her own genetic heritage.
Overall SG: Atlantis Season Three is an enjoyable watching experience but its over far too soon, it could really do with at least another four episodes in order to give the ending a little bit more gravitas and suspense. Sorry if this does spoil anything for those who haven’t yet seen the series – but like the previous two seasons it does end with another cliff hanger and as I knew this was going to happen before I’d even watched the final episode. TV series are often by their nature very formulaic but in this regard the production crew of SG: Atlantis seems to have gotten themselves locked into a particular formula, namely that of the season ending cliff hanger. This wouldn’t be so bad if there was a bit more build up to it but unfortunately their isn’t, hence my reason for saying the season needs a few more episodes. Having said that I stick by my claim that it is very good TV/DVD viewing despite any misgivings I have about cliff hanger endings.
Created by: Brad Wright & Robert.C.Cooper.
Director: Martin Wood et al.
Producers: Brad Wright & Robert.C.Cooper.
Writers: Carl Binder et al.
Starring: Joe Flanigan (John Sheppard), Rachel Luttrell (Tayla), Torri Higginson (Dr Elizabeth Weir), Jason Momoa (Ronon Dex), Paul McGillon (Dr Carson Beckett) and David Hewlett (Dr Rodney McKay).
Produced by: MGM Studios.
Released by: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
The Stargate Atlantis TV series is set in the Ancient city of Atlantis which resides amidst the clear blue waters of a planet located in the reaches of the distant Pegasus galaxy. When an international team of explorers arrives at the city of Atlantis they discover many wonders and inadvertently wake up a dangerous menace through their exploration of the local region. It seems that the main reason why the Pegasus galaxy is not teeming with advanced cultures like the Milky Way is the fact that there is a local species known as the Wraith who periodically wake from periods of hibernation and begin a cull of the various other cultures throughout the Pegasus galaxy. These beings are phenomenally strong, fast and resilient; they also feed off the life force of other intelligent creatures and are in essence vampires. In the distant past the Wraith warred with the Ancients, the humans who built the city of Atlantis and also colonised a great many worlds within the Pegasus galaxy, the Wraith won that conflict and the Ancient were all but destroyed, their culture and society left in ruins.
SG: Atlantis involves the combination of contemporary era individuals, contemporary events, high technology, strange new worlds and races. Script writers have moved away from setting the series in a distant or not to distant future instead opting to make use of the now as the backdrop against which the drama is set. Being members of an international expedition sent to a floating city on another world in a distant galaxy makes the series something of a modern day frontier drama, where the frontier is extremely distant from its point of origin. It was only in the second season that regular contact with Earth was made possible through the medium of the Daedalus, a starship capable of travelling the voids between galaxies in a reasonable amount of time - days instead of months and years. As the various episodes of Season Three unfold it becomes apparent that the members of the expedition have been working towards even cutting this time frame down by establishing a chain of gates between the two galaxies, this would cut travel time down to about thirty or so minutes.
Season Three consists of twenty episodes as were the previous seasons of SG: Atlantis, this format seems to be a little bit short especially when use is often made of carryover elements throughout the series. Sometimes these carryover elements are from previous seasons, such as Michael the Wraith who was transformed into a human by Dr Beckett’s retrovirus. Michael first appears in Season Two then we see him the opening episodes to Season Three and in the second last episode of the season, he has become a recurring character who nurses a serious grudge and is actively taking steps to do something about it. Yet despite being an interesting character he doesn’t get as much airplay as he possibly should, especially if he is becoming something of a recurring antagonist. Perhaps this is possibly due to actor commitments, Michael is played by Connor Trinneer from Enterprise and perhaps they could only make so many episodes involving his character due to other project he may have been involved in. As well as Michael and his malevolent machinations some other carryover elements that are dotted throughout the series is a look at the past of Jason Momoa’s character Ronon Dex, the introduction of a new high technology species that the expedition discovers inadvertently and Tayla’s unique ability to link into the mind of the Wraith due to her own genetic heritage.
Overall SG: Atlantis Season Three is an enjoyable watching experience but its over far too soon, it could really do with at least another four episodes in order to give the ending a little bit more gravitas and suspense. Sorry if this does spoil anything for those who haven’t yet seen the series – but like the previous two seasons it does end with another cliff hanger and as I knew this was going to happen before I’d even watched the final episode. TV series are often by their nature very formulaic but in this regard the production crew of SG: Atlantis seems to have gotten themselves locked into a particular formula, namely that of the season ending cliff hanger. This wouldn’t be so bad if there was a bit more build up to it but unfortunately their isn’t, hence my reason for saying the season needs a few more episodes. Having said that I stick by my claim that it is very good TV/DVD viewing despite any misgivings I have about cliff hanger endings.
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