Reviews / Articles - Stargate Atlantis Season 5

[morjana]

SGA - Mania: TV Wasteland week of Nov 10 '08:

At Mania:

(Please follow the link for the complete column.)

TV Wasteland

By: Stephen Lackey
Date: Monday, November 10, 2008

**snippity doo-dah**

Chuck, Prison Break, and Stargate Atlantis are all also new this week. Stargate fans are anticipating the series finale coming soon so every episode left should be a great one.

**snippage**

Friday

STARGATE ATLANTIS (SCIFI, 9PM EST) REMNANTS

Woolsey faces an uncertain future in the form of a performance evaluation; Zelenka and McKay examine an object discovered on the ocean floor; Sheppard encounters an ambush.

**snippage**

[GoSpikey]

Stargate fans are anticipating the series finale coming soon so every episode left should be a great one.

That's what you would like to think, yes...

Truth is, it's cancelled already, so ending with a few lame eps can't be more hurtful to SGA...

[morjana]

SGA - Alex Levine Blog Update Nov. 10 '08 for 'Remnants':

http://forum.gateworld.net/showpost....6&postcount=82

[morjana]

SGA - MGM Stargate: Close Up: The Prodigal:

http://forum.gateworld.net/showpost....&postcount=492

[morjana]

SGA - IGN: Review - 'The Prodigal':

At IGN:

(Oohhhh...the review author rated this episode with a 5.1 out of 10. Please follow the link for the complete review.)

Stargate Atlantis – "The Prodigal" Review

Michael is back, and no one is safe.

by Tory Ireland Mell

November 10, 2008 - When Michael commandeers the control room in a plot to kidnap Teyla's baby, the team must figure out a way in before he destroys Atlantis.

Problems, problems and more problems are plaguing the second half of this season. There is no doubt in my mind that the series finale will be awesome, but the episodes since the break are hard to watch and if I wasn't already vested in the show I probably would have jumped ship by now.

**snippage**

The poor writing is clear as day in "The Prodigal" when the whole storyline of this episode is Michael breaking into Atlantis to kidnap Teyla's son. If you could look past the fact the this hybrid Wraith has a limited crew and he is trying to infiltrate a far more technologically advanced group than himself, then you'd find an even sillier plot of him blowing up the city. If he is going to kill everyone anyway, why not just do it to Ronon, Woolsey and the other crew members that were knocked out by the "stun bubble" right away. Why wait? Plus, as mentioned to him by one of his hybrids, he had Torren (Teyla's baby) - they should have just left. Yes, he wanted revenge, but it could have waited if his work was so important. I could go on for days about the poor choice made for that storyline, but I won't.

**snippage**

[morjana]

SGA - The Hachiko: Review - 'The Prodigal':

At The Hachiko:

(The review author rated this episode with a 4.5 out of 5. Please follow the link for the complete review.)

'Stargate Atlantis' (5.14) "The Prodigal" – Review

Mon, 11/10/2008 - 11:37 — Vrej Hezaran

An episode like this is more in line with what I was expecting with Stargate Atlantis winding down its run. I was hoping for big shows with lots of spectacle that resolve lingering storylines and that is exactly what we got this week when we finally saw the end of recurring bad guy Michael.

**snippage**

The first thing I noticed in The Prodigal was the interesting direction. Longtime Stargate franchise director Andy Mikita pulled out some styles not normally seen in Stargate. The quick zooms particularly impressed me, as did the handheld camera work during the numerous fight sequences.

**snippage**

One of the things I like the most about Atlantis are the little gestures that make the characters more real. Whether it's petty bickering or characters enjoying hobbies, I love it when we see them acting in human ways. Here, we had McKay and Sheppard playing with RC cars that put a smile on my face. I wish they had introduced this sooner and made it a 'thing' that they do together. Better late than never I suppose.

**snippage**

With only six more episodes to go, I can only imagine what other stories will be wrapped up before the show closes the stargate for good. I'm hoping they're as fun as The Prodigal.

[morjana]

SGA - Critical Myth: Review - 'The Prodigal":

At Critical Myth:

(Please follow the link for the complete review.)

Episode 5.14: “The Prodigal”

Posted November - 11 - 2008

Written by Carl Binder
Directed by Andy Mikita

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

Final Rating: 8/10


Despite my reaction to the season premiere, I’m not sure I was ever convinced that Michael was dead. I think it was more a reaction to the notion that he was being treated as dead again; I liked him better as an active villain. This episode demonstrates why Michael is such a potent adversary, especially in the wake of the previous episode.

**snippage**

Which makes it that much better for Teyla to make the decision that Michael must die. Michael spoke to the fact that Teyla had been the most compassionate member of the team during his time with them, and it comes full circle when she makes the choice to kill him. It’s played as the brutal choice of a mother protecting her son, but this calls back to her initial role as the “warrior queen”. Teyla doesn’t wear the stylish leather bustiers for nothing.

So, surprisingly, the character aspects of the episode made up for the lack in the plot. I’m not sure Michael is dead this time either (he is resilient, after all), but if he is, perhaps it’s for the best if he is. With the end of the series swiftly approaching, there’s nothing wrong with tying up the loose ends. And, as Teyla mentioned in the episode, without Michael, there’s always someone else waiting in the wings.

[jelgate]

This has been bugging me. What is the difference between the direction and style?

[Briangate78]

This has been bugging me. What is the difference between the direction and style?

I dunno, some of these reviewers I want to throw lemons at, lol. The IGN reviewer is going to get their house egged by me. Some people just don't know good TV. *sigh*.

[jelgate]

You bring the eggs, I'll bring the toilet paper.

[Jumper_One]

I dunno, some of these reviewers I want to throw lemons at, lol. The IGN reviewer is going to get their house egged by me. Some people just don't know good TV. *sigh*.

IGN...

[morjana]

SGA - MGM Stargate: Tech Journal: Sateda Warrior Armor:

http://forum.gateworld.net/showpost....&postcount=497

[morjana]

SGA - TV Guide Online: Synopsis - 'Infection':

At TV Guide Online:

http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/stargate-atlantis/191790

Episode Detail: Infection - Stargate Atlantis

A distress call from a hive ship over Atlantis leads the team to discover a Wraith crew in stasis, with all hands stricken with a disease caused in part by Dr. Keller's gene therapy.

This episode airs Dec. 5 '08.

[morjana]

SGA - TV Zone Special # 82 - Update: Flanigan Interview Excerpt:

http://forum.gateworld.net/showpost....15&postcount=4

[morjana]

SGA - Pink Raygun - Recap and Review - 'The Prodigal':

At the Pink Raygun:

(Please follow the link for the complete lengthy review and recap.)

Stargate Atlantis: The Prodigal

By Wolfen Moondaughter

Best Carl Binder ep ever! And one of the best of the season, as well, right up there with “The Queen” and “Broken Ties” (though not on par with “The Shrine”, of course). It was a great mix of action and humour, tempered with some beautiful character moments. My McShep-lovin’ heart is overflowing with joy, there was so much fantastic bonding between our boys here! It was great to see Michael again, as well. Teyla got to kick ass. Ronon-whumpers and Shep-whumpers alike got some juicy bones, as did the Lorne-whumpers, and even the Woolsey-whumpers (well, if there even are any). And this was the third ep in a row without Keller — huzzah!

**snippage**

This episode is a prime example of how nobody really needs to “punish” Atlantis for their mistakes — those mistakes come back and bite them on their asses directly. And while they do bear some responsibility for the deaths he caused, Michael is the one primarily responsible. You can blame a serial killer’s parents for not raising them right or abusing them, but in the end, it’s the serial killer you sentence, not the parents. Yes, Michael was violated, after a fashion, but I’ve seen people come out of horrific circumstances and become pillars of compassion. So just because something horrible happened to him didn’t mean Michael had to poison whole worlds worth of innocent people, even if he was insane — not all crazy people slaughter millions, ‘eh? Blood may have splattered, as he said, on the people of Atlantis, but the bulk of it still lands on Michael. I don’t blame him for trying to make the people of Atlantis pay for what was done to him, though — I can’t really call him a villain for that. And if vengeance is an integral part of Wraith nature and compassion is not, I guess any other Wraith could easily have turned out the same in his shoes. But I also can’t call the people of Atlantis villains for what they did to him, even as I wouldn’t have done it myself — just because it’s not what I would have done doesn’t make it inherently wrong. The Wraith were threatening them, and they did what they did in an effort to survive. The predator is not wrong for trying to eat, nor is the prey wrong for trying not to be eaten.

As for those complaining that Teyla killed him “in cold blood”? We must not have been watching the same show. I saw Michael threaten to kill all of them, including Teyla’s son, first. I do like Michael, and do think there was still a spark of good left in him, but he’d had plenty of chances to change for the better; instead, he intentionally killed thousands of innocents, people who were not food nor a threat to him personally or to even his plans. I would call what Teyla did a pre-emptive act of self-defense — killing him so that he wouldn’t intentionally try to kill her child or other loved ones or herself or innocents again. I wouldn’t even say she was doing it out of revenge; at the end, I think what she felt was more relief that it was all over than actual satisfaction at his demise. To kill someone in cold blood is to do it without concern in any way, as if one were a robot. She hated Michael, so that automatically negates the idea of her killing him coldly, emotionlessly. And it seemed to me that she’d even hesitated a moment, but ended up doing what she felt had to be done, not necessarily because she wanted to do it, so I don’t think she was being ruthless, either. I think if she felt he could be reasoned with, she would have given him a chance, despite personally hating him; I don’t think she likes Todd either, for example, but feels he can be reasonable, so let him live, with a warning, in “The Queen”. But she’d showed him pity, once upon a time,, and he repaid her by betraying her. She was a mother protecting her child, and I don’t fault her for it. I just wish he could have been redeemed.

Farewell, Michael; you were a fantastic villain! May you live long in fan-fiction!

See you next week, for my review of “Remnants”!