Stargate Atlantis

I need to get this post out of my system before the kitten excitement at the weekend, so here we go.

Stargate Atlantis has been one of my favourite TV series for a long time now, and I'm gutted that it's finally over. I'd even say more gutted than when SG1 finished, although more satisfied since Atlantis had a much better ending.

So, because I feel like it, I'll start from the beginning. Atlantis had a great pilot episode. The Wraith were a scary new enemy, but it had all the old familiar Stargate stuff too. O'Neill and Daniel, for a start, and then Weir and McKay who we'd seen in SG1 too. Also Robert Patrick, which was funny, since I knew I'd know if he was a main character. I knew he wasn't, so I knew he'd die. Good idea though, getting in a known actor to come and be killed off in the pilot.

Season 1 just continued to get better after that. The main Atlantis team was pretty good. Humorous airforce man, sarcastic scientist, interesting alien...and Ford. Ford was the weak link in that team. He was nothing. Just a guy with nothing about him. Anyway, the stories got better, peaking in the last few. The build up to the Wraith attack was great. One highlight was Groden dying. If you want a British character, cast a British actor, or a foreign actor who can do a FLAWLESS British accent. If you want to cast a Canadian who can't, have a Canadian character. Anyway, great finale.

Season 2 started off really well, and just got better. Ford was suddenly really interesting. Skinner from X Files was playing a guy you started off not liking but knew would end up on your side in the end...a familiar role for him maybe! Ronon was introduced to the cast, and unlike Ford, was the perfect fourth member of the team. Kind of like Teal'c, but just enough not like him to be a great character in his own right. Season 2 also saw Michael, one of the best bad guys in sci fi, introduced. Stupid Atlantis people...they sort of deserved everything they got from him. Interesting moral stories there. Low point of this series was Grace Under Pressure. Lame excuse to include Amanda Tapping, and nothing like as good as the SG1 episode called Grace.

Season 3 was where Atlantis really peaked. Great conclusion to the season 2 finale, replicators, Richard Dean Anderson, Michael, some great Rodney episodes, "Sunday" and an amazing finale. Picking on individual episodes, the mid season one was really good. In fact, all the replicator ones were. The Asurans being replicators was totally unexpected at the time. Vengence was a great Michael episode, and actually a bit freaky. Sunday...what can I say. One of the best episodes. This is just about the Atlantis lot getting on with their lives on a day off, and then something bad happening. And Carson dies :( I feel something is taken away from this by his clone returning, because everyone forgets that the clone isn't the same guy. I still love that episode though.

The Season 3 finale was probably the best, if you also count it's season 4 conclusion. The Replicator stories were great, and what happened to Weir was really unexpected. Season 4 itself I've talked about in more detail in other posts here. Basically, Carter was a disappointment, and the team weren't always a team anymore. Great series with some great episodes, particularly the mid season one and the last few. Midway was also a highlight...who didn't want to see Ronon vs Teal'c?! It could only have ended in a draw. That was one I really enjoyed though.

Season 5 had some of the same problems as series 4, in that the team weren't consistantly together, and the Atlantis leader wasn't always present. Still, Richard Woolsey was a great character to bring in. I've liked him since his first SG1 appearance. A good guy who's too concerned with the rules, but he comes to understand how things really work while he's on Atlantis. It's a shame Robert Picardo wasn't used more, although he definitely did a better job than Carter.

The fifth season, despite it's flaws, was still great. McKay and Keller was nice to see, for a start, and McKay had a great episode in The Shrine. The mid season episodes were fantastic. Daniel was put to good use rather than just being "hey look SG1 guest star", and the Asgard being the bad guys was a fantastic twist, and one I didn't see coming in a million years. That's surely something to be built upon in a film.

Anyway, I've mentioned many of the season 5 episodes in previous blog entries, but not the finale. Wow. I've complained before about SG1 never having the conclusive ending it needed. Atlantis did. In a single part 42 minute episode, it did everything it needed to do. Everyone important was involved in some small way, including Carter, Zelenka, Beckett, Major Davis (random, but good to see old characters), Caldwell, Ellis...and other secondary characters who needed inclusion in a finale. The idea of Wraith going to Earth was the perfect final story, and beating them by taking Atlantis to Earth was genius, and totally unexpected. I actually shed a tear when I thought Ronon was dead, but I didn't feel cheated out of an emotional story when he was brought back. I was glad Todd actually helped, since he's a great character. It was also great that they mentioned General Hammond's death, and the dedication of the new ship. To top it all off, it was cool that they landed pretty much near Starfleet Headquarters. Obviously irrelevant but hey, I'm a sci fi nerd. If I had one complaint? Wormhole drive...that all seemed a bit too random and convenient. Never mentioned before, but let's invent it anyway. Still, that's just Stargate isn't it. SG1 seasons 5, Full Circle, knocking on a wall of a giant room 3 times in random places, and hey! There's the Eye of Ra. Stargate doesn't have to be sensible.

So Atlantis ended extremely well. If the films never get made for whatever reason, I'll still be satisfied. Bring on Universe!