Post by Ahryantah on Jul 24, 2004 9:01:52 GMT -5
Review of the Stargate Atlantis episode "Rising" parts 1 and 2, first airing on Sci-Fi on July 16th, 2004.
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I don't usually watch a series premiere when it first airs. What usually happens is that I stumble upon a show that's already well into its run, and I start to really like it. If I ever see the first episode, it's in reruns. I didn't start watching Quantum Leap until it was in its third season, X-Files until its second, ER or Stargate SG-1 (regularly) until their seventh. But I planned to watch the two-hour premiere of Atlantis because it's a spin-off of my favorite show, and with SG-1 most likely ending after this season, I need something to replace it.
As far as that goes, I think Atlantis could be a decent choice. I found myself really liking the characters, which was the biggest thing I was worried about. How could they possibly pull off a cast of characters as good as the one on SG-1? Don't get me wrong - these characters aren't as good as SG-1. Not yet. But they're not far off, and they have the potential to be really great if the writers don't screw it all up.
Sheppard, the military leader, is an awesome character, and I'm glad he's not a rip-off of Jack from SG-1. Sheppard is a guy who doesn't know a thing about the Stargate or what's going on in Antarctica, but because of a fluke of genetics he finds out real quick. He just happens to be one of the few people who has the right gene to operate Ancient technology, and he can do it much easier than anyone else. I thought the character was realistic and reacted appropriately for someone whose life is basically turned upside down in a very short time.
Weir is a civilian and the real leader of the team that goes to Atlantis. She doesn't seem like much of a capable leader at the moment, but I can definitely see her becoming so within the first few episodes. She's competent, at least, but at times either reckless or overly-cautious. She happily throws away her life in order to join the team to Atlantis, though she doesn't really seem as the kind of person to crave adventure. She's not a scientist, either, so the curiosity aspect is kind of lost on her, too. I'm not sure why she wanted to go. Maybe she was just tired of working in Antarctica. Later in the episode she's way too cautious, not allowing Sheppard mount a rescue mission for some kidnapped soldiers. This, too, is realistic, though. She started out really excited but having no idea what she was getting into. Now that she knows, she's questioning her earlier decisions.
McKay, a recurring character from SG-1 is great, especially when paired with the medical doctor on the team, Beckett. The two are funny together. Beckett isn't in the main credits, but I hope he'll be around in a lot of episodes. He was possibly my favorite character out of the whole lot.
Ford, at the moment, seems like a stock military character, but hopefully he'll improve. Teyla is my only concern. She's just boring. That brings me to my biggest gripe about the show.
The storyline wasn't the greatest. This isn't a real cause for concern, because the storylines can be improved. As long as the characters remain good, there's hope. The storyline in this episode started out pretty good, with everyone getting ready to go to Atlantis, the wonder of the Ancient city, and the immediate danger they faced with the force field failing. But when the story got to the part where Sheppard and company go through the Atlantis Stargate looking for places to evacuate the Atlantis team, things sort of fell apart. We meet Teyla's people, who are way too culturally similar to Earth Americans to be convincing. Rubber masks? Please. Then we meet Teyla, who immediately establishes herself as some kind of mystical character (who can sense things, you know), and that seemed forced. She just didn't fit into the cast as well as the others did.
Then there's the Wraith, the main bad guys. They could be really scary but just sort of came off as lame in this episode. Yeah, they suck out people's life force and are almost impossible to kill, but the Wraith queen's dialogue was just plain corny. If they don't talk, they could be good villains. Please, no more stereotypical bad guy chatter from them. I like more subtlety than that.
Overall, though, this was a good episode, and made me want to see more. I'm out of room now, so I'll leave it at that. I give this 9 out of 10.
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I don't usually watch a series premiere when it first airs. What usually happens is that I stumble upon a show that's already well into its run, and I start to really like it. If I ever see the first episode, it's in reruns. I didn't start watching Quantum Leap until it was in its third season, X-Files until its second, ER or Stargate SG-1 (regularly) until their seventh. But I planned to watch the two-hour premiere of Atlantis because it's a spin-off of my favorite show, and with SG-1 most likely ending after this season, I need something to replace it.
As far as that goes, I think Atlantis could be a decent choice. I found myself really liking the characters, which was the biggest thing I was worried about. How could they possibly pull off a cast of characters as good as the one on SG-1? Don't get me wrong - these characters aren't as good as SG-1. Not yet. But they're not far off, and they have the potential to be really great if the writers don't screw it all up.
Sheppard, the military leader, is an awesome character, and I'm glad he's not a rip-off of Jack from SG-1. Sheppard is a guy who doesn't know a thing about the Stargate or what's going on in Antarctica, but because of a fluke of genetics he finds out real quick. He just happens to be one of the few people who has the right gene to operate Ancient technology, and he can do it much easier than anyone else. I thought the character was realistic and reacted appropriately for someone whose life is basically turned upside down in a very short time.
Weir is a civilian and the real leader of the team that goes to Atlantis. She doesn't seem like much of a capable leader at the moment, but I can definitely see her becoming so within the first few episodes. She's competent, at least, but at times either reckless or overly-cautious. She happily throws away her life in order to join the team to Atlantis, though she doesn't really seem as the kind of person to crave adventure. She's not a scientist, either, so the curiosity aspect is kind of lost on her, too. I'm not sure why she wanted to go. Maybe she was just tired of working in Antarctica. Later in the episode she's way too cautious, not allowing Sheppard mount a rescue mission for some kidnapped soldiers. This, too, is realistic, though. She started out really excited but having no idea what she was getting into. Now that she knows, she's questioning her earlier decisions.
McKay, a recurring character from SG-1 is great, especially when paired with the medical doctor on the team, Beckett. The two are funny together. Beckett isn't in the main credits, but I hope he'll be around in a lot of episodes. He was possibly my favorite character out of the whole lot.
Ford, at the moment, seems like a stock military character, but hopefully he'll improve. Teyla is my only concern. She's just boring. That brings me to my biggest gripe about the show.
The storyline wasn't the greatest. This isn't a real cause for concern, because the storylines can be improved. As long as the characters remain good, there's hope. The storyline in this episode started out pretty good, with everyone getting ready to go to Atlantis, the wonder of the Ancient city, and the immediate danger they faced with the force field failing. But when the story got to the part where Sheppard and company go through the Atlantis Stargate looking for places to evacuate the Atlantis team, things sort of fell apart. We meet Teyla's people, who are way too culturally similar to Earth Americans to be convincing. Rubber masks? Please. Then we meet Teyla, who immediately establishes herself as some kind of mystical character (who can sense things, you know), and that seemed forced. She just didn't fit into the cast as well as the others did.
Then there's the Wraith, the main bad guys. They could be really scary but just sort of came off as lame in this episode. Yeah, they suck out people's life force and are almost impossible to kill, but the Wraith queen's dialogue was just plain corny. If they don't talk, they could be good villains. Please, no more stereotypical bad guy chatter from them. I like more subtlety than that.
Overall, though, this was a good episode, and made me want to see more. I'm out of room now, so I'll leave it at that. I give this 9 out of 10.
