Stargate Reviews
So last Friday was the premiere of the second half of this current season's episodes for both Stargate Series on Sci-Fi. Without further ado, the reviews!
Stargate: SG-1--"Gemini"
What we have here is an episode which would seem to fit several cliches...duplicate of one of the main stars? Check. Double-crossing up the ying-yang? Check. (Yet) Another way to make a former enemy more dangerous? Check.
But, I've long felt that Stargate's main strength is in taking cliches and finding new ways around them. Yes, we knew Repli-Carter would betray the team, but to be honest, her betrayl of Fifth was a bit surprising.
Perhaps the most intriquing part of the episode was in how Repli-Carter was able to fool the team. Her insistance on being destroyed forced the team to hold back and not give her what she wanted. Though O'Neill probably would have come out shooting, Repli-Carter was able to fully fool her doppleganger.
Fifth, overall, was not a great choice for the main Replicator villain. Sure the betrayl of the team gave him motivation, but we never saw much past that and as Sam pointed out, he was still, emotinally, a child. But Repli-Carter seems to be much more than that and seems to have grander plans, ones that saw the destruction of Fifth and her now being impervious to the Asgardian weapon.
Speaking of the Asgardian weapon, as cool as it was, it was a bit of a deux-es-machina ending to "New World Order" and one which is probably best kept to the side. Like the Kull-Warrior weapon from last season, this one is perhaps best used only sporadically, or else future Replicator episodes would be pretty boring. Nice to hear from Thor this episode and though I'll miss Fifth (I think he could have developed into a better character), you have to admit, the possibilities for the writers throwing us a curveball with Repli-Carter showing up out of the blue is greater now that they won't have to announce a seperate actor in the titles. Like with Thor, since Michael Shanks voices him, he can appear in episodes as a surprise without tipping us off.
And I think that's probably a good idea to go with, sort of like the big reveal in DS9's "In Purgatory's Shadow" when we learned that the Bashir from the past handful of episodes (including a pivitol one in which Odo regained his shape-shifting abilities) was a Founder and the real Bashir was locked away, a definitate "Holy &^%!" moment for me. Think about it, in the future revealing that Repli-Carter found a way to fool the sensors and has been acting as Sam for a handful of episodes, giving the Replicators vast information on Stargate Command and maybe even...the location of Atlantis (in other words, yeah Earth might be a tasty treat, and the Goa'uld might make for a few nice meals, but we know where the buffet table is located...).
I tend to be harsh on Atlantis, because I feel it's too paint-by-numbers, but I really like what it's doing for SG-1. Somehow, the fact that we're getting a larger view of the Universe works well for SG-1. The deal with the ZPM earlier this season, for a example, and now Carter and Daniel's conversation about sending the Prometheus to Atlantis. Not only does it foreshadow Daniel's being on the Prometheus next episode, but it nicely dovetails into what I think they are building towards with Atlantis' season-finale.
Overall, I think this was a great start to the second half of the season and I think that starting off with a self-contained episode was a good choice. While it's fun to wait for the cliffhanger (like we did last year with the "Evolution" two-parter, this episode really got the second half to a great start, without having to conclude a previous episode.
Lastly, once again we get an episode that focuses on either Earth or the Alpha Site. I wish these guys could get out more. But I love this new Alpha site and it's good to see their getting their money's worth for the set!
I'll give this one a "B" for the fact that it did have a lot of cliches, but it still kept me guessing. Great work by Amanda Tapping and I wish more could have been done with Teal'c, but as always, Christopher Judge put in a great performance. Looking forward to the next bunch of episodes!
Atlantis: The Eye
When you accept that the general conceit for this two parter is a "Die Hard," "Under Siege," etc. type of plot, the episode becomes a lot of fun.
Even fun, for me, was seeing Ford in action. I think Rainbow Francks has the ability to be the breakout star of the show, aside from Joe Flanigan. Seeing Ford in action was great, as I think he got the short end of the stick in the first part of the season. The same goes for Teyla, who, I think this was the first time I really liked her as a character.
Beckett and McKay are fun, as always and Weir had some good scenes as well. I think this is the first episode the cast really "clicked" with me.
To his credit though, Koyla was a pretty smart villain who just got outclassed. He didn't go overboard as similar type villains tend to do and he kept on doing the smart things. No "Evil Overlord" type decision making.
Sora on the otherhand, less so. She wanted revenge and she got Pwned by Teyla. Though it was developed over several episodes, I still was a bit disappointed that a situation was set up for a girl/girl fight. It seems in shows and movies if there are two female characters (one on each side), they will ineveitably fight it out as the males go head to head. Not saying it wasn't a great scene, but if Teyla beat a male Genii, it would have been less cliche.
And in the end, it still wasn't a full victory for the Atlantis team, as the Genii did leave with the supplies they originally sought out to get. Tensions between the Atlantis team and the Genii should be interesting to watch. Hopefully though, we'll see a more concilitory Genii from now on.
Though one of the better episodes so far, I'm still waiting for the "great" episodes to come and episodes which will really seperate Atlantis from being a paint-by-numbers SG-1 clone. Until then, they'd do well to keep the characterization up and keep shining the spotlight on Ford, Teyla, Weir, and Beckett and less on Shep and McKay, who are in danger of getting on my nerves from over-exposure. Dialing them back a bit will keep me intersted in their characters a lot longer than having them be the focus of even more episodes.
Overall, a "B" as the cliched plot and all brought down my grade a bit.
posted by Neil @ 11:05 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
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Instead of immediately forking over large amounts of money for over-the-counter drugs, go to the kitchen cupboard and see what you can find to relieve your symptoms including shear stress.
Here are some helpful hints for shear stress …
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A smear of Vaseline or petroleum jelly will do wonders for those sore lips and nose that often accompany a cold.
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endless number of these wonderful finds, what with the Internet being a vast network of constantly evolving ideas and all!
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