Stargate Atlantis: Seasons 1-3
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DVD details
DVD: Region Code 1Format: NTSC
DVD Release Date: 2007-11-13
DVD Reviews of Stargate Atlantis: Seasons 1-3
DVD Review: Where no Tau'ri has gone before
Summary: 4 Stars
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) when they actually found the city -- in another galaxy. And though it had a slightly shaky start (much like its parent series) the first three seasons of "Stargate: Atlantis" blossom out into a solid sci-fi series with a legendary city, new alien parasites, and 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) gives the go-ahead for 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 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, a band of vampiric enzyme addicts, telepathic whales, an egomaniac baker, weird Ancient devices, Wraiths transformed into humans, fear machines, a race of hybrid bug monsters, warring ghosts, medieval villages with weapons platforms, 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 the only Stargate with Earth's coordinates. To make matters worse, they encounter a planet of what seems to be Ancients, only to find that they are in fact a mechanical experiment gone horribly wrong. They all have a jealous hatred of humans -- and are hell-bent on destroying Atlantis...
"Stargate: Atlantis" has an easier introduction than most series, even spinoffs. The whole idea was introduced over a few seasons of "Stargate SG-1," and some of the characters (Weir, Woolsey and McKay) were also recurring characters who annoyed the SG-1 team. And while the first season is a bit bland ("The romancing of the alien priestess? It's very 1967 of you") the storyline hits its stride in the second season.
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 ghastly "experiments." But it doesn't lose its quirky casual sense of humor (Rodney massaging his feet during a conference), or its human side, such as the handling of certain characters who die or vanish.
And the dialogue is pretty great, with lots of one-liners and snappy exchanges, with the occasional pop culture reference ("Lord of the Rings. You know when they light all those signal fires on the mountaintops?"). Most are from Rodney ("I'm arguing with myself about who had an idea first--me or me. I really am petty, aren't I?"), and Sheppard ("It'll be a walk in the park... a very scary park, filled with monsters who are trying to kill me"). 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").
One thing Atlantis does have is a high cast turnover, compared to the relatively unchanging cast of the previous series -- Higginson does a pretty good job as the scientist-command but is given too little to do. Flanigan has a nice O'Neillian snap to his performance ("Oh, yeah, the clowns. We fight them too -- entire armies, spilling out of Volkswagens. We do our best to fight them off, but they keep sending `em in!").
As for the other main cast, David Hewlett is hilarious as the antisocial and ever-exasperated scientist, 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, they are quite solid as a psychic martial-artist and a rough-edged warrior. Richard Dean Anderson has a few appearances, and his quirky commander O'Neill gets a brilliant starring role in the middle of the third season.
"Stargate Atlantis" loses a few too many cast members, but the storylines and aliens add a fresh dimension to the Stargate universe. A solid spinoff, and all-around excellent science fiction.
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