Review of Stargate: Atlantis Volume 2

Introduction

It seems barely the other week when I was reviewing the first disc of the Stargate spin-off. Actually it was last week, and MGM have now fast-forwarded the next instalment through my letterbox for review. A quick recap first, Stargate was the hit movie from the summer of 1994, where an absent minded professor and a bunch of plucky soldiers ventured forth through an ancient device to battle an equally ancient Egyptian God. Spun off from this movie was Stargate SG1, where said professor and plucky soldiers ventured forth once more through the device to have many more adventures as well as battle against the insidious and parasitic Goa-uld. After seven years of serialised adventures laden with special effects and wisecracks, a spin off was spun off the first spin off. All this spinning is making me dizzy, but the situation was that in SG1, Earth was fighting a secret war against the Goa-uld, and in its efforts the SG1 team sought the technology of the Ancients, the beings that first created the Stargates, to help in their fight. At the end of Season 7, they found evidence of the Ancients in Antarctica, and learnt that they had left countless years ago to seed intelligent life in the Pegasus galaxy, 300 million light years distant. To search for the Ancients, a team of scientists and military were put together to journey through the Stargate to the city of Atlantis, a one way trip, to discover technology and allies that will aid in the fight with the Goa-uld.

In disc 1 of Stargate Atlantis, the explorers found themselves in a city bereft of power, in a galaxy where humans were treated as cattle by the Wraith, a race of devourers who consume the life force of humans and are practically indestructible. They learnt that the Wraith had defeated the Ancients years ago, and in their initial explorations, they met a friendly people called the Athosians, but inadvertently woke the Wraith from their dormancy. Evacuating the surviving Athosians to Atlantis, the explorers from Earth and the Athosians must establish a community of sorts in the abandoned city of Atlantis as well continue their explorations. Disc 2 contains the next 4 episodes of Stargate Atlantis.

Suspicion

When Sheppard`s team encounters the Wraith for the fifth time in nine missions through the Stargate, it becomes apparent that there is a spy in Atlantis. Security measures are put in place, causing significant friction between the Earth contingent and the Athosian survivors, who come under suspicion. It seems the fragile community will fall apart before it even has a chance to come together.

Childhood`s End

Exploring a strange new world in a galaxy far away, a mysterious energy field knocks out the systems on Sheppard`s puddlejumper and they crash. None of their technology works, and natives armed with bows and arrows soon surround them. They have been captured by a primitive society of adolescents, and they learn that a religion has formed where to prevent the Wraith from attacking their world, everyone commits suicide on their 25th birthday. It would sound ridiculous, but it has worked for hundreds of years. The trouble is that everyone in Sheppard`s team is over 25, and the natives believe that the Wraith will attack because of their presence.

Poisoning The Well

Visiting a world on the verge of a technological revolution, that has been devastated by the Wraith time and again, Sheppard`s team learn of a potential weapon against the wraith, a potent drug that prevents them from harvesting the life force of their victims. Weir agrees to help them perfect this serum, and Dr Beckett travels to the Hoffan world to assist in their efforts, however the drug has unforeseen effects that create an ethical dilemma.

Home

Investigating an uninhabited planet, McKay discovers that the local Stargate draws energy from the whole planet, enough energy to open a wormhole all the way back to Earth. It`s a chance to report back to Stargate Command, but things are a little odd when they get back to Earth.

Video

For a television production, Stargate Atlantis looks absolutely gorgeous, and that is reflected by the DVD transfer. The 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer is sharp, clear and colourful throughout. The only problem is some noticeable edge enhancement that mars certain scenes. It`s terribly obvious during the title sequence, but fine detail is prone to moiré and shimmer, and is a minor distraction in what is otherwise a nice transfer.

There is copious use of CGI, with some shots positively awe inspiring. The detail and effort that has gone into the design of the city would rival some bigger budget productions. Having said that, the budget and timetable of television being what it is, some shots are better than others, and some can look a little flat. Similarly the Wraith makeup that looks excellent in darker scenes seems less impressive in daylight.

Audio

Once again, the sound on this disc comes in DD 5.1 English and German. Subtitles are provided in both these languages as well as Finnish. The dialogue is pretty clear throughout, not counting the tendency for some characters to mumble, Dr McKay being a chief culprit. The surrounds are used adequately to convey action and music, but this being a television programme, it hardly rivals cinema in terms of dynamic sound.

Features

Once again, this disc starts by playing adverts for both Stargate SG1 and Atlantis. Fortunately they are skippable. Not skippable are the copyright warnings that get cycled through at the end of each episode. Forget to skip back to the menu before the end credits finish and you may as well go off and make a cup of tea. By selecting Play All, you`ll get the copyright warnings but once. You won`t be surprised to see copious use of animated menus, with plenty of CGI space pods hurtling willy-nilly through Stargates.

Once again, the Atlantis discs come off a poor second compared to their SG1 brothers in terms of extras, there are no commentaries on this disc, but there are a few extras to keep things ticking over.

There is a 30-second advert for the website and the fan club, as well as a 4-minute slideshow with stills and publicity photos from the four episodes on this disc.

Diary of Rainbow Sun Francks, the actor who plays Lieutenant Ford on the show is a peek into a day on the set, with some interview footage. It serves as a bit of a retrospective over the first season, so expect some inconsequential spoilers for shows yet to come. Presented in 4:3, it lasts some 9 minutes and is subtitled.

Atlantis Mission Directive: The Storm/The Eye serves to whet the appetite for the next disc, with a 6-minute behind the scenes look at the filming of the two-part story, with hapless actors being drenched in the name of their art.

Conclusion

I seem to recall somewhere that there are only seven basic stories in the world, and all the novels, plays, and movies are just variations on these themes. This is no less true for science fiction, and of late I find an increasing sense of déjà vu sitting down to watch a new show. The quality of a story is not so much in the content so much as it is in the way it is told. Stargate Atlantis tells its stories with style and interest, courtesy of an interesting premise and characters, and Disc 2 expands on the groundwork laid by the first disc in the series. That said, if you are at all familiar with televised sci-fi, most of these episodes will be familiar.

Suspicion continues the trend of the first disc in establishing character. This episode pits the Athosian refugees against the Earth expedition when it appears there is a traitor in Atlantis. In a nod to the current climate of fear in the face of terrorist threats, there appears an oily Sergeant who applies security measures that ironically clamp down on freedoms in the very name of those freedoms. Childhood`s End is perhaps the best episode on this disc, pitting our heroes against a society of adolescents, whose lives don`t extend beyond 24 years. Again this kind of story has been seen before, Logan`s Run springs to mind, but there is a conscious effort to logically justify such a society. Poisoning The Well is another entertaining 45 minutes, with a civilisation willing to sacrifice all in order to defeat its enemy, it has some good character moments, especially for Dr Beckett, and the ethical dilemma posed by the story is handled well. The disappointment on the disc turns out to be the final episode, Home. Of all the episodes, it is the most familiar, mostly because it has been dealt with on more than one occasion in Stargate SG1. It`s a shame to see the story recycled once more for Atlantis.

Disc 2 of Stargate Atlantis presents 4 more episodes for your viewing pleasure. It seems that Atlantis has quickly found its niche and is happily going where other shows have already boldly gone. What raises it above the mundane is the quality of the writing and the characters. Sheppard is the ideal lead, charismatic, laid back and quick to crack a wisecrack or two. Ford makes for a nice sidekick, eager in all the right places and McKay is the eternally whinging coward who always comes through in a pinch regardless. Decent production values also add to the package, and while Stargate Atlantis may feel comfortable, it`s no less entertaining for that.

Addendum: It appears that in an error, the test disc that I received has the 9th episode in production order Home as the last on the disc instead of the 8th episode Underground. Perhaps this will be rectified for the final release.