Reviews / Articles - Stargate Atlantis Season 5

[jelgate]

This sure is a nice fence

[prion]

Yep, she is alive and well.

well, they forgot the "screw this, I'm going to go write some sam fic" as well

[prion]

Excerpts from various articles on SEARCH AND RESCUE. Click on links for full text

About.com

http://scifi.about.com/b/2008/07/12/...antis-5x01.htm

SEARCH & RESCUE
Afterthoughts: The main throughline of this episode is Teyla's faith that Sheppard will rescue her and Sheppard's urgent need to do so, but there's a lot more going on. This is a nice showcase for Carter as a commander, appropriate as this is her swan song: she's making tough and effective decisions and standing up to Caldwell to make the rescue happen. There are also several tribute lines – Sheppard says he respects her more than any other commander he's had, McKay says she should get a medal for the job she's done in the past year, and so on; these feel genuine coming from the characters even though they're obvious acknowledgements of Carter's farewell episode as commander. On the other hand, I feel like the Michael character, so compelling in his early episodes, has become a little unreal: his scheme to use Teyla's son to affect the future seems half-baked, and he's not given much time to give much meaning to it; he's in danger, in my opinion, of turning into a stock villain, which is a waste of Connor Trineer and of the time invested previously in the Michael character. Vega makes a nice debut, though it's played very subtly in the midst of crisis.

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http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/07/11/st...ch-and-rescue/

And just like that, our old friends from Atlantis are back... for a little while. I continue to be baffled by the scheduling department over at Sci Fi. My best guess is that all programming is set in place at the whim of a 16 year old intern suffering from a mind boggling case of unmedicated ADD. He's followed up the senseless Battlestar break by promising an equally annoying split in the Atlantis season. I never understood it when they were doing it to Farscape, and I still don't get it. Whatever the case, our half of a season kicked off by tying up those loose ends from the season four finale, and dropping the bomb that launches season five.

---------------------------------------------

http://www.scifi.com/atlantis/episod...&ep=0501&act=1

An injured Sheppard is trapped alongside Ronon beneath the rubble of Michael's collapsed compound. Trapped in another debris pocket, McKay and Lorne realize that a subspace burst has already reached Michael.

Light years away, Michael's flagship Wraith Cruiser hurtles towards the compound. Imprisoned onboard, a pregnant Teyla begs Kanann, the father of her baby, to help save her.

Carter leads a rescue mission to the planet. Her team succeeds in digging up McKay and Lorne, but Ronon and a rapidly deteriorating Sheppard are buried far deeper in the rubble. With Michael and his hybrids on their way back to deal with intruders, and the Daedalus already enroute, the question becomes: Who will reach them first?

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http://stargate.mgm.com/seasons.php?series=2&season=5
MGM snippet

S&R photos at
http://stargate.mgm.com/stills.php?series_id=2

[morjana]

SGA - TVaholic: Mallozzi/Picardo Interview Part 3 of 3:


From TVaholic:

(Please follow the link for the complete interview.)

July 11, 2008

Interview With Robert Picardo & Joseph Mallozzi of Stargate Atlantis on Sci Fi Channel - Part 3 of 3

by Jason the TVaholic

Q: And also, since most of the earthly (flecks) are gone from our Galaxy, why hasn’t Dr. Jackson made a permanent transition to Atlantis since we worked so hard on finding the city?

Joseph: Well that’s a very good question and hopefully that’s something that will be addressed in the midseason two-parter. But I mean, Jackson is a busy guy and I mean, he - you know, in our minds over the course of the many years that SG-1 has been going off world together, a ton of alien technology a lot of it is Atlantian origin or ancient origin.

You know, and as much as Daniel’s first choice would be to go to Atlantis, at the end of the day, you know, it’s going to be a notice in rising - it’s not really his call. And so long as the powers that be, you know, dictate where he can go and, you know, for research purposes where he’s needed more like - is a more apt response, you know, he’s kind of stuck in the Milky Way.

But I mean, you know, if we get a sixth season pick up, who knows what the future holds?

[morjana]

Stargate Atlantis - Vancouver Province: Stargate deserves credit for hanging on:


http://forum.gateworld.net/showpost....11&postcount=1

[morjana]

SGA - Fan Review of "Search and Rescue":

From Jonathan Quirk's blog, 'Random Ramblings:'

(Please follow the link for the complete review.)

Story: B+ (great expansion of a rather weak fourth season finale)
Script: A- (brilliant dialogue, for the most part; Michael seems a bit weak, but overall not bad)
Acting: B (a solid B for effort)
Effects: A+ (Say what you will: Stargate always delivers the CGI goods)
Sets: B (overall rather good, although the “rubble” scenes were rather blatantly dark indoor sets, rather than the outdoors it was supposed to be)
Direction / Editing: B+ (almost perfect, although the baby birthing scene seemed… off)
Overall: A-

REVIEW: “Search and Rescue” - Stargate: Atlantis (5×01)

“As a rule, I like to keep daring rescues down to one a day.”
- Colonel Steven Caldwell (Mitch Pileggi)

**snippage**

...“Search and Rescue” may not have a great sci-fi concept at its heart like time-travel or body-swapping or whatever, but it’s a great action-packed episode which effortlessly tells a complicated story full of fun character moments and real heart. When you consider the number of times “SG-1? ignored or forgot major plot points (Sokar, the Nox, Re’tu, etc, etc, etc…), it’s nice to see “Atlantis” actually following its own continuity, although this does naturally require a certain familiarity with “Atlantis” in order to follow the events. It’s a big story, but one which manages to follow all the main characters (and a few recurring ones) satisfactory.

**snippage**

[morjana]

SGA - SyFy Portal: Review of Search and Rescue:

From SyFy Portal:

(Please follow the link for the complete review.)

Review: 'Stagate: Atlantis' - Search And Rescue

By MARX PYLE

Jul-13-2008

"Now, you need to catch him." -- Teyla
"Catch him?" -- McKay
"Yes, you need to catch him when I push him out." -- Teyla
"Oh God! Okay, well just ... underhand him, all right? I've never been good at baseball." -- McKay

**snippage**

What Worked

I can tell that "Atlantis" has upped the budget with this episode. There were a number of impressive CGI effects. This episode had some moments that felt very cinematic.

The baby delivery scene was classic with McKay being ... McKay.

The dream sequence gave us some insight into Sheppard's guilt for not being able to save Ford and why he was so determined not to lose Teyla.

I was surprised that Kenan was rescued. He has seemed like such a throw-away character just added to explain how Teyla got pregnant. Hopefully this means that the writers have plans on integrating him into the show.

**snippage**

[morjana]

SGA - About.com - The Seed:

From About.com's SciFi/Fantasy section:

(Please follow the link for the complete column.)

On Stargate Atlantis, one of those pesky alien organisms incapacitates Dr. Keller (Jewel Staite); needing a doctor to figure things out, and David Tennant not being handy, newly arrived expedition commander Richard Woolsey (Robert Picardo) hauls Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion) out of the freezer to get the problem sorted. Beckett was put in stasis because his clone body suffers from a degenerative cellular condition; his illness will add some tension to the crisis threatening Keller and the rest of the base. Apparently freezer burn has affected his hair -- not sure why that happened.

This episode also introduced Woolsey properly to Atlantis – in "Search and Rescue" we only saw him in the SGC, breaking the bad news to Col. Carter (Amanda Tapping), which means we see his uninspiring speech and other bits of newbie-Woolsey comedy.

[prion]

http://scifi.about.com/b/2008/07/14/...ulars-week.htm

July 14 2008

Returning Ex-Regulars Week!

By coincidence, both new episodes this week, which happen to be airing back
to back on the Sci Fi Channel this Friday, feature the return of popular
ex-regulars in long-bruited guest starring roles

Then on Stargate Atlantis, one of those pesky alien organisms incapacitates
Dr. Keller (Jewel Staite); needing a doctor to figure things out, and David
Tennant not being handy, newly arrived expedition commander Richard Woolsey (
Robert Picardo) hauls Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion) out of the freezer to get
the problem sorted. Beckett was put in stasis because his clone body suffers
from a degenerative cellular condition; his illness will add some tension to the
crisis threatening Keller and the rest of the base. Apparently freezer burn
has affected his hair -- not sure why that happened.

This episode also introduced Woolsey properly to Atlantis – in "Search and
Rescue" we only saw him in the SGC, breaking the bad news to Col. Carter (Amanda
Tapping), which means we see his uninspiring speech and other bits of
newbie-Woolsey comedy.


REST AT LINK ABOVE

[morjana]

Stargate Atlantis - Multichannel News: ‘Atlantis’ Rises In Ratings:

From Multichannel News:

(Please follow the link for the complete article.)

‘Atlantis’ Rises In Ratings

Season-Five Premiere Pulls 1.8 Million Viewers

-- Multichannel News, 7/14/2008 4:24:00 PM

Sci Fi Channel said the Stargate Atlantis season-five premiere—introducing new cast member Robert Picardo—drew 1.8 million total viewers, up 6% over the season-four premiere in September 2007.

[prion]

Joe Flanigan talks about the 100th episode of SGA in NY VUE magazine.

I've posted the brief article at

http://wraithfodder.livejournal.com/219522.html

contains broad spoilers for the 100th episode, but those avoiding all spoilers, don't look.

[morjana]

SGA - Critical Myth: Review of 'Search and Rescue':

From Critical Myth:

(Please follow the link for the complete review.)

07.14.08

Episode 5.1: “Search and Rescue”

Written by Martin Gero
Directed by Andy Mikita

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

**snippage**

So much is crammed into the premiere that it’s surprising how much character ends up in the final mix. Granted, Michael and his hybrids are reduced to the usual storytelling clichés, but the team gets a chance to shine. John and Ronon got to have a “last stand” moment (which was obviously going to end in a last minute rescue), and the characters were well suited for it. McKay got to demonstrate his technical brilliance and deliver a baby. Even Keller is starting to assert herself more, which is a nice touch.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the writers finally gave Carter the chance to demonstrate some strong leadership, and it’s the end of her command. I found the various comments about her work on Atlantis, particularly McKay’s summary of how well she did over the past year, to be a bit ironic. In fact, it could be seen as an example of the writers’ lack of self-awareness. Carter was practically tossed in a corner and forgotten for most of the fourth season! Then again, as far as the team is concerned, maybe her hands-off approach was the best thing about her.

**snippage**

[morjana]

SGA - Pink Raygun: Recap and Review of Search and Rescue:

From Pink Raygun:

(Please follow the link for the LONG recap and review.)

Stargate Atlantis: Search and Rescue

By Wolfen Moondaughter

Welcome to my recap-and-review column for Stargate: Atlantis; in this installment, we kick off the fifth season! For those of you who may be new to the column, basically it works like a DVD commentary track, with me giving play-by-play commentary — except that, since you’re reading, not watching the show, I also describe the scenes as I go, so you know what the heck I’m referring to. Oh, and to warn you, I am a die-hard “McShepper” and “slash” fan, so if ruminations about possible homosexual subtext bothers you, then this column’s not for you.

This season’s off to an excellent start! Granted, I liked last season’s opener, “Adrift”, a bit more, but really, it’d be next to impossible to top that episode as a season-starter; otherwise, this has been the best season premiere of the franchise! I’m glad our boys didn’t spend the whole episode under the ruins which they’d gotten trapped under at the end of last season — I’d been half afraid that they would. Instead, we got quite a thrilling sequence of events packed into forty-five minutes, without losing any of the great characterisation that I have come to expect from the series! In fact, I’d say the characterisation has been bumped up a notch in quality (and that’s saying a lot, because I thought this was one of the best shows for characterisation already)!

**snippity doo-dah**

Okay, before I go, I have a little bit of shameless (but related) plugging to do. At this year’s Dragon*Con, I’ll be hosting a panel on making custom Stargate-themed My Little Ponies. Attending the class will be Late Night with Conan O’Brien’s Pierre Bernard, Jr. Besides the class, we will also be auctioning off ponies signed by (and in some cases, decorated by) Stargate celebs, including one done by Cliff Simon (Ba’al), and this one of Mars the Dog, signed by David and Kate Hewlett; this money will go to The American Heart Association, in honour of the late, great Don S Davis, aka our beloved General Hammond. For more details, please visit this portion of my site: http://www.webslayer.net/wolfen/mlpcustoms.html

[morjana]

SGA - SciFi Weekly: Letters to the Editor - July 16 '08:

From SciFi Weekly's Letters to the Editor for July 16, 2008:

(Please follow the link for the complete column.)

July 16, 2008

Tapping's SGA Departure Wasn't Fair

It was widely known that Amanda Tapping would leave her role, as station commander of Atlantis, because she had signed on to be a cast member of Sanctuary this fall.

But the way she left Atlantis, happy, optimistic, receiving an undiluted praise for a job well done from Rodney (no small thing), only to arrive on Earth to meet her replacement, who was curt, uninformative and incredibly cold and insensitive. Yes, it was an awkward situation for him, but it was also a miserable way to say goodbye to a wonderful character who contributed so much to the SG mythos and is loved by so many of the SG fans.

Amanda Tapping, Samantha Carter and the SG fans deserved a much more positive, respectful celebration of a heroine's departure. Robert Picardo does a great job as the quite contradictory and complex character he is supposed to be. I loved his performance in Voyager and believe that he is equally successful in the Stargate saga. Doubtless he will be as lovably irritating in his new role. It's a great plot idea. But Picardo too would have been better served by a more nuanced explanation of Sam's departure from Atlantis. Instead, what Sam and her fans received was a slap in the face.

Not nice, not nice at all.

- Charlie B.

[morjana]

SGA - About.com: Returning Ex-Regulars Week!:

From About.com's SciFi/Fantasy section:

(Please follow the link for the complete column.)

Mark's Sci-Fi / Fantasy Blog

By Mark Wilson, About.com Guide to Sci-Fi / Fantasy

Returning Ex-Regulars Week!

Monday July 14, 2008

Then on Stargate Atlantis, one of those pesky alien organisms incapacitates Dr. Keller (Jewel Staite); needing a doctor to figure things out, and David Tennant not being handy, newly arrived expedition commander Richard Woolsey (Robert Picardo) hauls Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion) out of the freezer to get the problem sorted. Beckett was put in stasis because his clone body suffers from a degenerative cellular condition; his illness will add some tension to the crisis threatening Keller and the rest of the base. Apparently freezer burn has affected his hair -- not sure why that happened.

This episode also introduced Woolsey properly to Atlantis – in "Search and Rescue" we only saw him in the SGC, breaking the bad news to Col. Carter (Amanda Tapping), which means we see his uninspiring speech and other bits of newbie-Woolsey comedy.