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**Kezia** · 28 July 2008, 05:52 PM

That's a bit of an overexaggeration.

But I do agree that the show's writing has become somewhat stagnant lately.

**A Wraith Named Bob** · 28 July 2008, 05:55 PM

Originally posted by Kezia View Post

That's a bit of an overexaggeration.

But I do agree that the show's writing has become somewhat stagnant lately.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

**Myles** · 28 July 2008, 07:23 PM

Um...you have been watching stargate for 10+ years now, right? If so, then you should have noticed after the 1st ten episodes, that every one usually encompasses the team going somewhere, one/some/all of the them cause/discover a problem, team has to fix that problem. This is 99% of the time done in one episode.

There are very few times there are mutli-episode arcs - usually reserved for the season premiere/finale and mid-season two parter. Very few times does more then a two parter tie directly from one episode to another, and many times even these are two very separate, but intertwined storylines. 'The Seer' through 'Spoils or War' is a perfect example - each one built upon the previous, but one episode didn't end needing the next to finish the storyline, and that's generally how stargate is - TPTB want most episodes to be self-contained, even if the storyline can be continued.

**Saif Blade** · 28 July 2008, 07:42 PM

I don't know when I watched the latest episode of Atlantis on Friday I started to get annoyed since I knew Ronon would be back to normal at the end of the episode, that everyone would get out and the Wraith die. I mean, its so over done and predictable. I love Stargate, but even when I could predict what could happen watching how the episode played out was still not that interesting since it was very unoriginal. Like I can't even be entertained by an episode like that or the seed since they all end the same way. It really seems like the last two episodes are filler or rehash. There are a lot of great SG 1 episodes that I would re watch, but lately I can't imagine ever re watching any Atlantis episodes 3-4 years from now. It's like lazy writing, the only good parts I saw were the Woolsey scenes since I was not expecting them to blend into the show but it ended up working.

But yeah, there doesn't seem to be any direction where the story is going, and I know SG -1 didn't have an overall direction around season 4-5 but they had a lot of great self contained stories. I feel like I am watching filler right. Did they really need to bring back Tyre? Ronan's drug state reminded me a lot like Ford, but the writers never made any reference to that!!! It would have been nice If Sheppard said at least something like "Wow that's what Ford is going through, I feel for that guy." Well maybe not as lame sounding, but seriously. I was expecting Teyla to emotionally break down when she was captured, did you the look on her face? I thought she was about to break down realizing how much she misses her baby, something realistic. But that never happend and at the end she decides to join the team again, which is fine, but didn't really make sense relating to what happend earlier. It wasn't really clear what made her decide to stay since she was indecisive before.

The thing with Ronan, and Teyla, and Keller in The Seed are all examples that this show doesn't change at all. Sometimes you don't need change, but the way things are set up or presented is just a false sense of to expect. I don't know, I love Stargate and I think its got huge potential, but it's like the people who make this show aren't even trying.

**Kezia** · 28 July 2008, 09:40 PM

Saif Blade, I definitely see what you're getting at. I might get lynched for this, but it seems to me that after 10+ years, the writers have simply
- run out of ideas
- got lazy
- maybe both.

We seem to get a new battlecruiser and uber-powerful weapon with each passing season, and what used to be fatal situations are now resolved by a flip of a switch. The gripping sense of danger and unpredictability of the earlier seasons have been replaced with Trek-esque space battles and beam-me-up-scotty moments.

Now I don't consider myself a "hater" who likes having a go at the writers just for the sake of it, but it disappoints me to see how much of SGA's immense potential has gone to waste like this. I thought the premiere was promising, but the last two eps have felt, don't know how else to describe it, amateurish as opposed to the fresh, original storylines we had way back in season one.

**jelgate** · 28 July 2008, 09:45 PM

Thats strange because I see the BC-304's pressence downsized the since the end of S3.

**prye** · 28 July 2008, 10:14 PM

I agree, its predictable & you know everything is going to be ok at the end of the episode. It doesn't have that exciting feel to it. I mean wouldn't you want to add that so that you can have a long lasting series like SGA.

>I don't know when I watched the latest episode of Atlantis on Friday I started to get annoyed since I knew Ronon would be back to normal at the end of the episode, that everyone would get out and the Wraith die.

AGREE! Although the character developement etc is good, it doesn't make for action / exciting entertainment.

**Col.Foley** · 28 July 2008, 10:20 PM

There have been story lines this year if you have been paying attention. There has been the

Spoiler:

As for the Deus Ex Machinia, I can honestly see this complaint, I happen to disagree, sort of, but I can see why people are bothered by this. To me it is just not that big of a deal, I look at the entire episode, not the last few minutes.
And, Broken Ties does not really fit your ad lib formula, nor does Daedelus Variations, from the limited I have seen of it through the commercial and some spoilers I have read.
Granted, Atlantis does have a few too many standalones, (harmony)even for my taste. And some of the plots maybe predicatable. But this season they have several arcs that they are exploring and should provide a lot of excite ment, for me, and maybe even a few surprises.

**Cory Holmes** · 28 July 2008, 10:53 PM

And don't forget that the writers, while maybe short on episode plots, are quite good at throwing little clues into an episode. For example in this last episode, there's a scene in the dining room and it opens with Rodney walking in. He takes one look at the serving table which is loaded with food.

He gets a disgusted look on his face because most of the fruit has citrus, which he is "deathly alergic" to. It was all said and done in about a second and a half and had no dialog at all, but it's a subtle continuation of an existing storyline.

The same thing happened in SG1, starting with the discovery of the second Stargate in Solitudes. Over the course of the series, this was mentioned, referenced, and alluded to throughout the entire Ancient storyline of 10+ years, culminating in the Atlantis spin-off.

Now, let's look at the stand-alones that went into that arc. Did they involve multi-episode stories? Not on their own, nope. But they each quietly, subtly added to the overall story.

So I agree with the OP that the "up-front" plots can be predictable sometimes (which is true of EVERY tv show to some degree or another). But that doesn't stop the quiet little character/plot pieces from working together.

**AutumnDream** · 29 July 2008, 12:22 AM

Originally posted by Smog View Post

The actors come and go, the characters get new hairstyles, the bad guys switch around la di da di da.

This show is the same as it was 5 years ago. The Episode descriptions have become mad libs

(The team or one of it's members//primitive culture//earth//atlantis) is threated by a (Disease//alien technology//alien entity//old friend//old enemy//spacial anomaly//former star trek actor//hole in the ground//comedian guest star) and must enlist the help of (guest star of the week// enemy turned ally//computer or AI//primitive culture//magical "phage" or "retrovirus"//ancient tech macguffin) to (defeat/hold back/cure/restore power to/rescue) said threat or threatened with the latest deus ex machina hammered together in the last 10 minutes of the episode.

I know one shot episodes are kind of a thing with this series, but can we have something that lasts for more than one episode? a la the siege?

Nail on the head.

No, wait! I mean - SEASON 5 BEST SEASON EVAAAAAAAAH!!

**The TARDIS** · 29 July 2008, 02:06 AM

Originally posted by autumndream View Post

No, wait! I mean - SEASON 5 BEST SEASON EVAAAAAAAAH!!!

FIXED!!!

**MarshAngel** · 29 July 2008, 08:09 AM

I think the problem is not just that the issues are wrapped up but that nothing has a permanent effect on the characters. After this most recent episode, does anyone expect Ronon to be depressed for weeks? How could you tell anyway?

Their relationships with each other never change. So far, this recent episode has been one of the better ones for their interpersonal relationships but if the past is any indicator, they'll drop the ball for several episodes after and things will be back to the usual.

It's a disappointment that the show never made any attempt to alter and improve on anything they did with SG-1. The setup is the same, the relationships the same but I keep expecting more. I keep wishing the show was something it's clearly never going to be. I like it, but not as much as I could.

**Ouroboros** · 29 July 2008, 09:37 AM

Originally posted by Smog View Post

(The team or one of it's members//primitive culture//earth//atlantis) is threated by a (Disease//alien technology//alien entity//old friend//old enemy//spacial anomaly//former star trek actor//hole in the ground//comedian guest star) and must enlist the help of (guest star of the week// enemy turned ally//computer or AI//primitive culture//magical "phage" or "retrovirus"//ancient tech macguffin) to (defeat/hold back/cure/restore power to/rescue) said threat or threatened with the latest deus ex machina hammered together in the last 10 minutes of the episode.

I'm just trying to think back and I can't really come up with an episode from memory that can't be properly described using this template.

**Myles** · 29 July 2008, 09:42 AM

Originally posted by Ouroboros View Post

I'm just trying to think back and I can't really come up with an episode from memory that can't be properly described using this template.

Using that template you can described 90% of episodes in any sci fi show that's episodic like SG1 and Atlantis. This isn't a unique phenomena.

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