Reviewed by Mike Anderiesz
Stars Amanda Tapping, Joe Flannigan, David Hewlett, Rachel Luttrell,
Jason Momoa, Jewel Staite | Written by Robert Cooper, Martin Gero, Carl Binder, Joseph Mallozzi & others
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £38.99| DVD Region 2 | Runtime 864 minutes| Directed by Martin Wood & others
If ever there was an example of why you should quit while you're ahead, it has to be Stargate. Once a taut and intelligent series, SG1s tendency to bow to fan pressure when the original vision failed soon reduced it to a sprawling mass of repeated storylines and undead characters until little of its original power remained. And now that curse has spread to the spin-off series.
For a while, Atlantis series threatened to return some of the original unpredictability and fascination with the unknown. The appearance of a new enemy (the Wraith) and a totally alien universe to contend with, seemed to open up new possibilities. But now studio pressure once again rears its head, making Season 4 arguably the least satisfying of the bunch.
Looming over the whole series is the loss of two main characters, with Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion) bowing out in series 3 and Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson) not making past Episode 2 of this one. Fans were up in arms about both these, although for once the studio seemed to be holding firm when they had previously caved in over SG1’s Daniel Jackson. However, Sam Carter’s appearance in Atlantis as Weir’s replacement marks a return to MGM’s confusing and cannibalistic old ways. Given Carter contributes little to Atlantis that characters like McKay don’t, and is dropped anyway for Season 5, there seems no earthly reason for her being there apart from to prop up an ailing series with a fan favourite. Don’t get me wrong, Tapping throws herself into any stupid line asked of her, but as the DVD featurettes and commentaries reveal, even she is far from convinced of her place in all this.
This is not to say Season 4 is without merit. News that the Satedans are now Wraith worshippers complicates the show’s already tricky politics. But with the best of the 20 episodes relying on familiar mechanics (collective memory loss in Tabular Rasa) or familiar faces returning (Tealc in Midway or Beckett in The Kindred), it’s hardly the fresh start we were once promised in a whole new SG universe. And as for the Replicator sub-plot, this time being induced to attack the Wraith rather than the Goa'uld by infecting them with a virus, is so unlikely as to render Stargate’s former strength of being scientifically plausible just a distant memory. In a universe where even the most advanced nano-machines choose to look like humans, it all feels just a little silly.
Add to this a finale (The Last Man) that is anything but a cliffhanger (let me guess, they survive, right?) and the prospect of team dynamics about to be thrown in the air again, Season 5 had better be something special to save Atlantis from sinking below the waves for good. If they had any dignity left, that’s exactly what they’d do.
EXTRAS *** Two featurettes go some way to addressing fan concerns about Atlantis’s cast, with A New Leader examining the addition of Sam Carter and The Dr Is In addressing fan reaction to Beckett’s demise. There are good cast commentaries for all episodes, deleted scenes, a director’s overview of key episodes and, for the first time ever with Stargate, an outtake reel — although not a very good one.