Title: Stargate: Atlantis: Series
Premiere: “Rising”
Stars: Joe Flanigan, Torri Higginson,
David Hewlett, Rachel Luttrell, Rainbow Sun Francks, Paul McGillion, and Craig
Veroni
Guest Stars: Richard Dean Anderson,
Michael Shanks, and Robert Patrick
Writers: Robert C. Cooper and Brad Wright
Created By: Brad Wright and Robert C.
Cooper
Director: Martin Wood
Co-Producer: Martin Wood
Co-Executive Producer: N. John Smith
Executive Producers: Brad Wright, Robert
C. Cooper, and Michael Greenburg
Running Time: 87 minutes without
commercials
Media: SCI FI Channel Original Series (NTSC
DVD Screener)
Series Premiere Friday, July 16, 2004, at
9pm (ET/PT)/ 8pm (CT)
Network: The SCI FI Channel (Check your
local cable/satellite listings for channel)
TV Rating: Not Available At Time Of Review
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Somewhere in the arctic, a special multinational coalition is preparing to make the first intergalactic trip through a recently discovered stargate to the Pegasus galaxy where they believe the lost city of Atlantis exists. The mission is to harvest technology that could benefit all of humanity, but the amount of power required to open the gateway means that they may never be able to return to the Milky Way again let alone Earth. Upon arriving the team lead by Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson) discover that the ancients who built the stargate system were all but wiped out by a nefarious alien race called the Wraith. If the horror of being controlled by a Goa’ uld symbiote seems like a face worse then death, the Wraith are even scarier because they feed upon humans as a means of stealing their energy and maintaining their longevity. In fact there does not seem to be any record of a Wraith succumbing to death as a result of age. They can regenerate limbs, place themselves into a long stasis if their “feeding ground” becomes depleted, and now they pose a threat not only to the remaining humanoids in the Pegasus galaxy, but to our very own as well. With much of the remaining power that Atlantis once had now depleted over millenniums the only choice the team has is to use Atlantis as a base of operations in order to find a way to protect them all in this unexplored region of space and find a way back home.
“Stargate: Atlantis” shows a lot of promise as an extension of the “Stargate Universe” with interesting possibilities to be explored. Just as “Star Trek: Voyager” had Starfleet Captain Janeway having to make decisions that went against the Prime Directive in order to bring her crew home, I have no doubt that principles involving military procedure and diplomacy will be tested as the adventures continue. The cast, which features Joe Flanigan as Major John Sheppard, David Hewlett as Dr. Rodney McKay, and Rachel Luttrell as Teyla seem to gel together very well as an ensemble. Richard Dean Anderson, Michael Shanks, and Robert Patrick guest star in the two-hour series premiere.
Like any other sci-fi series, I think it will take at least two seasons for the show to truly find itself without having to draw upon its parent series for inspiration, but who knows what interesting conflicts could arise from the chance meeting of other explorers from “Stargate: SG-1” such as the Replicators or the Goa’uld encountering the Wraith. Could the Asgard standup to the Wraith? Who is to say that as time goes by that the Earth as they left it may change drastically or that beings from parallel dimensions could not possibly arrive through the gate? While it is understandable that budget considerations for a weekly sci-fi series could pre-empt the way alien worlds are presented, I am sick of so many Earth like planets being visited in sci-fi shows in general. I want to see something truly alien from “Stargate: Atlantis” because that is part of what makes sci-fi so fun. Exploring the unknown and discovering weird places and creatures that we may have little help of ever understanding. As it is, the premiere episode entitled “Rising” is a good start for a spin-off to begin. Now all we have to do is see where they take us from there. “Stargate: Atlantis” will premiere on SCI FI on Friday, July 16, 2004, at 9pm (ET/PT)/ 8pm (CT) with a two-hour episode and continue from there on as a part of SCI FI Fridays at 10pm (ET/PT)/ 9 (CT). Check your locale cable and satellite listings for channel.
© Copyright 2004 By
Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.