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Stargate Atlantis Mid-Season Premiere Brings Down The House
January 3, 2008

Tired of the same old, same old on the broadcast networks?   The same stale romances and police procedurals?  Then tap into the Stargate Atlantis mid-season opener, tomorrow (Friday) night at 10p on SCI FI Channel, for some pure escapist fun.

Atlantis will shake up your home theatre system.  I think I had the sound jacked up too high because at one point during a big space battle scene the vibration knocked over a tchotchke precariously balanced atop one of the speakers.

In terms of production values on television, it doesn't get much better than this.  The episode is stuffed with special effects - lavish spaceship scenes, melting and/or exploding planets, and lovely transparencies.  The Atlantis sets are gorgeous, as always, and the lighting is excellent.

Reportedly, showrunner Joe Mallozzi said the episode contains the  "greatest space battle we've ever done."

(Mallozzi's blog is here.)

He's not exaggerating.  It's impressive.

I've said before, I think - and  if I didn't say it, I should have - Martin Gero, you rock.  Gero penned the episode.  He's something of a script chemist, mixing humor and action and angst in just the right measure.    

If you're new to Atlantis, or haven't watched this series in awhile, tomorrow night's episode is a perfect time to drop in.  The episode is by no means a standalone, but Gero inserts breadcrumbs here and there for guidance.

Tomorrow night, faced with a Replicator threat, the enemy of the enemy is the friend of the Atlantis team.  The team forms some unusual alliances to defeat their old nemesis.  The manhood of Rodney (the resident physicist) is challenged when he fails to solve a scientific conundrum in his usual timely fashion; Carter jumps all over a visiting officer after he verbally abuses HER staff; Teyla (Rachel Luttrell) reveals a big secret leading to - awwww! - a small but sweet scene with Ronon (Jason Momoa);  John (Joe Flanigan) and Rodney (David Hewlett) have a late dinner together when it's all over....

and Dr. Radek Zelenka (David Nykl) puts in an appearance.  (I was happy to see Zelenka, my fave secondary character, although his screen time is all too brief.)

I never (ever, ever, ever) thought I'd say this but that little Teyla/Ronon scene was almost enough to turn me into a Teyla/Ronon shipper.

And did I say that Martin Gero rocks?

Posted by Mary McNamara on January 3, 2008 | Comments (8)