FAN REVIEWS: 'Tabula Rasa'

[GateWorld]

ATLANTIS SEASON FOUR TABULA RASA EPISODE NUMBER - 406 When a virus causes amnesia in everyone except Teyla and Ronon, the Atlantis team must work together to find a cure before their memories fade entirely. VISIT THE EPISODE GUIDE > SPOILERS! PHOTOS! AND MORE!

---

GATEWORLD FAN REVIEWS

Calling All Writers! Tell the world what you think of the newest episodes of Stargate Atlantis! Rather than publishing a single review at GateWorld, we're letting you offer your thoughtful and well-reasoned evaluation of episodes. Some of our favorite reviews will be highlighted on GateWorld.net, exposing your writing to tens of thousands of readers! But we do have some guidelines, so please read carefully before submitting your review.

This thread does not function like normal threads at GateWorld! Read this post carefully.

Fan Review threads are not for conversation, even if it is discussing a member's review. For that, please use the official GateWorld episode discussion threads in this folder, or start a new thread. All posts to this thread that are conversational will be immediately deleted.

Fan Review threads are strictly reserved for formal reviews, which are deemed by the moderators to meet the following four guidelines:

(1) LENGTH. Your review must be a minimum of 400 words and a maximum of 1,000 words.

(2) FORMALITY. Your review should be in a formal prose style (not informal and conversational, as regular forum posts are), following the Introduction - Body - Conclusion form. (The best reviews will include a single, encapsulated statement evaluating the overall episode that is stated in the introduction, defended in the body, and restated in the conclusion.)

(3) EDITORIALIZING. This piece is about your opinion of this specific episode. Do not summarize scenes or plot points, and generally avoid objective analysis of developments in story arcs, characters, etc. Assume that your readers have seen the episode you are discussing. Your review should give your opinion of various aspects of the episode (see below), not simply inform.

Beyond this, your ultimate goal is to challenge readers to think about the episode in a way they may not have when they first saw it. Avoid phrases like "I liked" and "I didn't like." Don't merely state what you thought -- defend it with examples.

Aspects of the episode that you might want to include in your review are (you do not need to cover every item on this list!):


Story
Character use
Dialogue
Writing
Acting
Directing
Guest casting
Music / score
Visual effects
Editing
Costumes & makeup
Overall production value
Contribution to story arcs / overall series

(4) FAIRNESS. Very few episodes that you dislike are without a few saving graces, just as very few episodes that you love are completely without flaw. Avoid unqualified gushing on the one hand, or unbalanced negativism on the other. Personal attacks on the show's cast or crew are strictly forbidden.

By posting a reply to this thread, you are submitting a Fan Review for publication here on the forum! (Questions or concerns can be directed to the moderators via Private Message or the "Ask the Moderators" thread; do not post them here.) All reviews that are deemed to sufficiently meet the guidelines above will be approved and published in this thread, regardless of the author or the opinions contained. Reviews will not be edited for content. If your review is not approved within 48 hours, please consider rewriting it (and perhaps having someone beta read it for you) and submitting it again.

By submitting a review, you agree and grant permission for it to remain published here (nonexclusively). You also grant GateWorld nonexclusive rights to edit your review and republish it elsewhere on the site, with your byline intact (as provided in the body of your review, or if none, your GateWorld Forum username at the time of republishing). GateWorld's editors reserve the right to revise these guidelines in the future.

Thanks!

All reviews are the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of GateWorld.net and its owner.

[blue-skyz]

4x06 Tabula Rasa

This season is 6 for 6, and all very repeatable, all among the best episodes ever.

Tabula Rasa was very engrossing, requiring the viewer to pay close attention to keep up with the time shifts between the present and the past and with what each character was doing when. It made the end of the episode come all too soon. The difference in lighting and picture quality and the flashes of light were well done and made the time shifts easier to follow. The use of flashbacks was a good choice here and worked to draw the viewer into the story and create suspense.

Tabula Rasa was another episode of a season that is confirming that Sheppard’s team really does think of themselves as friends and family. They are relating to each other with a naturalness that has often been missing from their interactions in the past. Sheppard reaches out to touch Teyla’s arm and says, “I’m fine,” when she shows concern for him. Teyla touches McKay’s arm several times as she talks to him to help keep him focused. Ronon guides Sheppard into the jumper and later pulls his head up by his hair to apologize to Sheppard’s unconscious face for stunning him and tying him up. McKay wants to bet Sheppard who will lose their memory the soonest. Ronon tries to convince the amnesiac Sheppard that they are friends. Sheppard asks about McKay when he wakes up.

The out of character moments were memorable. Zelenka is always enjoyable; having him acting completely out of character was delightful. The mad Czech running around the halls with a pipe evading the soldiers will be hard to forget. McKay not knowing about a computer. Teyla prompting McKay with the definition of pi. Ronon realizing that he and Teyla are not sick and going to tell the doctor. Lorne et. al. acting like the hopped up Gestapo on stimulants. Ronon in command. Sheppard not in command.

Carter and Sheppard actually look like they are working together and sharing the decision making. They seem to have a more adult relationship than there was between Weir and Sheppard. Carter is not behind the desk, she is moving around the office with Sheppard; they make eye contact; they are behaving as equals. The choice of Carter to join SGA was questionable, but she proves herself here. She fits into the story seamlessly, from making command decisions with Sheppard to skulking around with McKay. In TR she has become very much a part of Atlantis.

Favorite scenes: The ones between Sheppard and Ronon. Their friendship has become the second most interesting in SGA; the Sheppard and McKay friendship is by far the most interesting. Ronon calls Sheppard his friend and it has never seemed more true than in this episode.
-Ronon tells Sheppard that flying the jumper is in his blood. Always good when the gene comes into play.
-Ronon stuns Sheppard. (“Never gets old.”) Totally unexpected.
-Ronon ties Sheppard up so he won’t slow him down, and leaves him in the jumper while he finds the medicinal plants.
-Ronon comes back and to find Sheppard untied, armed and missing. Predictable but still fun.
-Sheppard is laying in wait and gets the drop on Ronon. See above.
-Ronon tries to convince Sheppard that they are friends ("We're friends. The things we've been through together – I don't care what anyone says, no disease can wipe that away, not completely.") A rare explicit reference to friendship. I love this season.
-Sheppard tries to remember that they are friends and almost does before caution reasserts itself.
-Ronon tells Sheppard that he will be all alone in the dark forest if he shoots him. That works.
-Ronon tells Lorne to look for the picture. (How did they know what a commanding officer was?)
-Sheppard uses his command authority to hand off the decision making to Ronon, when he says, “Do what he says.”

McKay is so sweet with Katie. If Sheppard had been the one showing emotion over a female coworker, he would have been neglecting his job and allowing his nether regions to control his actions. Good thing it was McKay, he gets praised when he is acting normal. Interesting how our perception of a character colors our reaction to their actions.

Good:
* Teyla’s patient encouragement of McKay was wonderful, her best scenes ever, and well within her credible skill range. The fight scene was fun especially Teyla’s peeking around the soldier.
* Keller was more believable here than in any previous episode.
* Katie’s Rodneyana-phallic plant with bristles that pierce skin.
* Sheppard ordering McKay to take the stimulants, effectively shutting him up.
* Carter saying, “How big can this place possibly be,” then walking out and seeing the city. That would be an awesome unexpected sight.

Not so good:
When all the effusing over the team interactions and the cleverness of the time shifting are done there remains a big problem. It is the fact that in a city full of brilliant and experienced people, it is only McKay and Sheppard that think ahead and put a plan into motion to minimize the impact of the coming amnesia and neither one of them does enough. Most of the people that got sick after the first group had plenty of time to implement some measures. They had about 6 hours between the onset of the headache and the amnesia. They could have made a joint plan and printed out directions for each person to follow. They could have broadcast, repeatedly, a calming and explanatory message with directions to look in their pockets for written instructions, given each person a note, written big signs to look in their pockets and to tell them the memory loss was caused by a disease and to remain calm and sit tight, the problem was being addressed, or write it on their arms the way McKay later did. Instead, Carter and Keller do nothing to guide their actions as the amnesia takes over. Keller could have left a detailed summary of what was happening to them and her theory about why. Carter could have left herself a summary of the decisions made and the actions taken and what was being done to solve the problem. Sheppard gives Lorne a picture of him. He should have given himself a picture of Ronon, Lorne etc. and wrote himself a note to remind him of his goals. He should have given Lorne instructions to go to the mess hall when he couldn’t remember anymore. (How did he remember what he was doing and to keep taking the pills anyway?) McKay leaves a video tape to himself without any explanation saying that he wouldn’t remember it anyway and not to trust anyone. He should have left a hard copy of Teyla’s picture and an explanation and instructions that he could keep referring too. There were plenty of things these smart people should have done to ameliorate the problem and ample time to do them, but it would have been the viewer’s loss.

Character mistakes often drive a plot. If the characters make no mistakes the plot can be predictable and boring. If the characters here had made no mistakes the solution would have come more efficiently and with a lot less suspense and almost no humor. Suspension of disbelief allows the viewer to overlook the mistakes and enjoy the consequences.

The Ancients must have brought the plant as well as the disease to the planet since it could not have been disseminated through the stargate (unless there had been one there before). Good planning on their part.

[Rachel500]

When an episode is as accomplished as Tabula Rasa, it is difficult to find what it is that causes the slight feeling of dissatisfaction after the credits roll. Great direction, good acting and an overall polished production quality surrounds the episode; the core of the story is an original plot with a lot of wonderful stand alone moments that develop the characters and provide the all-important team feel. But, and there is a but, while the whole gives the illusion of a great episode, it masks the familiar devices and gaping plot hole that causes the whole to come undone.

Most of the plot holes are dealt with within the unravelling of the story during the flashback sequences; the varying times that each individual falls prey to the symptoms, the reasoning why Lorne and his men prowl the corridors rounding up people, why some hang onto some pieces of information while others are lost – all of these are cleverly dealt in the flashback elements which provide the explanations and do so in a way that is subtle. This is clever writing as is the weaving of the subtle sociological study of a military regime and citizen rebellion into the sub-text.

In fact, the entire story idea is great; a Pegasus Galaxy disease that the Milky Way expedition is susceptible to is a wonderfully Stargate-y story. Simple yet brilliant given that it is a realistic scenario. The memory loss complication provides an opportunity to sneak a peek at the characters at their most vulnerable, stripped of their usual outer armour. Carter and McKay’s interaction, stripped of the professional rivalry, shows what a great team they can make when they work together; Ronon’s persuasion in convincing Sheppard to trust him provides a real buddy-buddy moment; Teyla’s patience in dealing with McKay shows her belief in him. Teaminess seeps from the screen. It’s great to see the character interaction both between the regular team and their wider community of players including McKay’s girlfriend. Once again this season, the audience is given an opportunity to care about the characters.

While all the cast turning in accomplished performances, Jason Momoa and Rachel Luttrell shine as their characters are provided with the opportunity to save the day. Teyla’s unique combinations of warrior, leader yet compassionate human being are beautifully showcased by Luttrell especially in the scene with McKay and the fight with the soldiers. Ronon is quickly becoming the character to watch; Momoa brings depth to the Satedan demonstrating his softer side when taking orders from Teyla yet demonstrating his own protective leadership with Sheppard – even when shooting him. In a story that is mostly told from McKay’s perspective, these two are not only given an opportunity to shine but stealthily steal the show.

Yet for all that is great about the plot, the gaping hole is a big one; why, if you were aware you were going to lose your memory, wouldn’t you do more to leave yourself information and support? You’ve organised food and blankets so why wouldn’t you also, knowing people are going to forget their names, provide everybody name tags? Why not record an audio message telling people what happened and have it on a continual loop playing throughout the city? Given that everyone in the expedition is supposed to be crème de la crème and, more importantly, intelligent, it is frankly unbelievable that more wouldn’t have been done to mitigate the impact of the memory loss other than McKay’s video message, arm writing and Sheppard’s photo before the situation becomes as dire as that shown in the ‘present’ scenes. The lack of such mitigation suggests the expedition team are stupid which they’re not and while people do make mistakes, this is not a believable mistake for the characters to make – especially when they are shown to do some mitigation; it’s an irritating plot hole that is glossed over in order to tell the main story.

As a result, the whole plot is without foundation and therein lies my own dissatisfaction with the episode; I dislike a plot that relies on the characters being stupid and I cannot suspend my disbelief this extra step that they were all so quickly overcome with memory loss that these things weren’t thought about. Because of this, I just cannot engage with the story. Add to that the familiar use of the ‘start with dire situation in the present and flashback to the past to tell story’ device and that this is the third episode in a row to provide a ‘oh no’ moment when suggesting the loss of a character only to reveal said character safe and well, and my irritation factor was high.

However, the fact that it took me a whole twenty-four hours from watching Tabula Rasa to identify why I was dissatisfied is largely due to just how accomplished the episode is, if one side-steps the gaping plot issue and familiar devices, and that is largely down to the acting, fantastic direction and production quality. The different visual effect of the dark, scary present contrasted to the warm, reassuring colours of the past; the camera shots particularly in Teyla’s fight with the soldiers, the special effects of the city in the dark; all enable the story to be told in a way that flows, and the pacing is perfect.

Indeed, so much is right that I really want to overlook what makes me irritated; I can overlook the present/past device because it does work for the story; I can overlook the ‘oh no’ moment because it is admirable that the producers have successfully brought back a real unpredictability to a character’s fate. But, alas for me, I cannot overlook the gaping plot hole which could have been so easily dealt with and, while I admire the quality of this episode on so many levels, I cannot honestly say that I liked it.