REVIEW: Last two episodes of 'Stargate Atlantis' highlight its strengths, weaknesses as a viable sci fi series

Not necessarily billed as a two-part series finale, the last two connected episodes of "Stargate Atlantis" said a lot about a science fiction series that had its share of hits and misses.

The CSI-like "Vegas" was able to one last time tell a character-driven story about a John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) from another reality, a police detective who does not seem to lead a very interesting life mainly because he is never presented with much of an opportunity to prove himself aside from a valiant stint as a pilot in Afghanistan.

Rodney McKay (David Hewlett) from the reality in question comes off as obsessed with this man who for no apparent reason ends up leading another version of the Atlantis team instead of himself. 

The episode essentially has that reality's Sheppard prove his rarely-tapped potential as a hero in stopping The Wraith from sending their brethren in the series' base reality tactical information about Earth.

Problematic about "Vegas" is that it is simply a creative new way to show how Sheppard is a good man with not many personal demons to explore. That is essentially what made him not interesting enough to carry the whole series.

"Enemy at the Gate" was more of an action-based episode set up by "Vegas."

One of several great aspects of this episode was the writers' consideration in having Richard Woolsey (Robert Picardo) ask Teyla Emmagan (Rachel Luttrell) and Ronon Dex (Jason Momoa) whether they would be willing to sit out the defense of a planet outside of their immediate interests and including the consequence of having the Ancient chair in a place that violates the real-life Antarctic non-proliferation treaty.

"Stargate Atlantis" is based in the contemporary, real-life world, after all.

Yet another great aspect of the final episode was the innovation and implementation of wormhole drive, a means of space travel that makes hyperspace seem like the outmoded VCR of the science fiction world.

Adding a false, but very real sense of danger and finality about what was going on during the episode was the possibility that Ronon might not survive this last mission.

What could have been exploited more throughout the series was the tactical elephant in the room that the show's writers finally revealed - that Wraith technology utilizes an inefficient power source.

Which raises the question as to why the team was not more on the offensive against The Wraith all along considering that they had the full capabilities of Atlantis and the weapons Earth inherited from The Asgard before they committed mass suicide. 

It seems as though the writers were too accustomed to writing for SG-1, which was significantly outgunned throughout most of the series against the Goa'uld.

Or perhaps the reason why The Wraith were mostly defeated early on during the series was that Earth was a victim of its own success in terms of the advanced technology SG-1 acquired in The Milky Way Galaxy.

Both points are valid.

Though, this revelation about The Wraith is a great way to drive a final episode and briefly embolden the team's primary enemy, which was hitherto nothing more than a few hives.

At the same time, the solution to stopping the Zero Point Module-emboldened hive heading to Earth was very similar to the "Stargate SG-1" Season 8 episode, "Threads," in which Baal helps the team retrofit the Dakara superweapon so that its energy can travel through every stargate in the galaxy and destroy all Replicators.

Todd (Brendan Penny), who is very much like the overly self-interested Ba'al, did the same except that he provided the Atlantis team with a ZPM instead of a gate network retrofit.

Although it is a small point, that the last episode was in defense of Earth instead of Atlantis made it somewhat seem like another episode of "Stargate SG-1," albeit a good one.

Popcorn rating:

(4 out of 5 pieces)

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REACTION REVERIE: 'Stargate Atlantis' failed to live up to the heart, high stakes of surviving in the Pegasus Galaxy

What ended the highly-rated Atlantis Expedition in the Pegasus Galaxy during its fifth season was not SG-1's unexpectedly profitable straight-to-DVD adventures. It was the failed promise of "Stargate Atlantis" itself.

One of the many reasons the show was cancelled was because the main characters lacked the heart that made "Stargate SG-1," its predecessor, more than just a run-of-the-mill science fiction series. 

Joe Flanigan's John Sheppard, for instance, started off as a misunderstood soldier with a track record for doing what he knew was right rather than following orders. He was essentially a rebel without a cause, which eventually became taking charge of defending his people in a savage galaxy from the onslaught of a powerful alien race, The Wraith. 

Early on, Sheppard proved the willingness to do what was necessary toward that end in mercifully killing a commanding officer before a Wraith queen finished feeding on him. 

To boot, hints of an intimate relationship with Atlantis' leader Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Tori Higginson), and his unwillingness to disappoint her, gradually changed Sheperd's usually nonchalant demeanor. 

It is worth mentioning that Higginson's Weir, the effectively charming and stalwart leader of the expedition, provided the show with a strong sense of command that has yet to be duplicated. What seemed to detract from "Stargate Atlantis" was the writers killing off endearing characters such as Weir and Dr. Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion).

Sheppard's character thereafter stagnated, especially when Weir was killed off, leaving him as a wise-cracking hero type who let his P90 do all his talking. 

Jason Momoa's Ronin Dex character started off and ended up the same way. 

Rachel Luttrel's Teyla Emmagan wore out her usefulness as tour guide of The Pegasus Galaxy very soon.

Most of the heartfelt character-based episodes began to focus on David Hewlett's Rodney McKay character, who intially allowed the massive ego that came with being a genius scientist to prevent him from developing close, meaningful relationships with his peers and estranged sister.

Once some galactic calamity forced McKay to move beyond his arrogant tendencies to find common ground with the people around him, the character would return to being a self-centered jackass in the next episode. 

Some of the show's best episodes seemed to depend on this formula.

As an ensemble, the characters were at times ruthless in how they chose to combat the latest threat. Questionable tactics were employed such as biologically turning and conditioning Wraith into human beings or feeding a human to a Wraith ally. 

Noticeably missing from the show was SG-1's hallmark of acquiring and using advanced technology with a sense of moral caution. 

Anything, including a superpower-imbued McKay lifting Beckett in the air, introducing Replicator nanites into Weir's body or him literally playing with people's lives, was fair game.

Exploration of The Wraith queens also fell short in that they lacked any distinctive personality traits that made The Goa'uld System Lords such compelling characters. They were just hungry and pissed off.

"Stargate Atlantis" also failed because the expedition team struggled to find a substantial number of allies with technology equally or more advanced than their own, making their last-minute defeats of major alien bad guys less than believable, though the Travelers were a notable exception. 

Whereas SG-1 had The Asgard, The Ancients, The Tolan, The Nox and The Tok'ra, the Atlantis Expedition was more or less on its own going up against every major race of bad guys, and sometimes, some bitter allies.

The team's mandate to defend Atlantis from The Wraith fizzled away when the Pegasus Galaxy Replicators, an idea borrowed from "SG-1," eliminated most of the life-sucking aliens. 

Later, The Replicators were also vanquished, leaving the show with no legs.

Yes, Wraith such as Todd and Michael remained to cause mischief, but the sense of overwhelming adversity caused by the reawakening of The Wraith toward the beginning of the show disappeared.

Another shortcoming of "Stargate Atlantis" was that shooting locations in a lot of episodes began to run together. There is only so many times forestry Canadian backdrop can be used to portray an alien planet. After a while, it looked like Sheppard and his team were out in the forest playing a game of Paintball with The Wraith. 

Shifting the format of the Atlantis Expedition from a cable series to DVD movies might fit its inevitable transition from a heartfelt, character-driven story to a series of shallow, action-packed space battles. 

But it does not pay justice to the many fans who initially made the Stargate franchise a success.

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