My Favourite TV: Stargate – Atlantis

When a new series hits our screens it must spend at least sometime laying the groundwork for the story (or stories) being unfolded as well as for characters complete with development arcs and much else besides. World (or Universe!) building takes time though and some effort from the viewers who need to accumulate details that will (hopefully) come in handy later. Stargate: Atlantis (running from 2004-2009) had all of these issues but it did have several built-in advantages too. Atlantis was a spin-off from the highly successful Stargate: SG-1 (more later) which was still running I think so a lot of the Universe building was already in place. We knew about ‘the Ancients’ who were the original gate-builders (large circular devices for travelling between planets/stars using ‘wormhole technology) so the techno-babble about these was kept to a minimum but pretty much everything else was new. After all the show was based in a different GALAXY – the Pegasus galaxy so we’d need to expect different things to be in play.

Much like its predecessor Atlantis started off with a planet/alien of the week approach. Their excuse – apart from being natural explorers – was the search for ZPM’s (Zero Point Modules) needed to power the lost city of Atlantis. Naturally this allowed a soft introduction to their new reality and introduced us to the new threat – the Wraith. Now the Wraith are very interesting bad guys. They’re kind of vampires living off the life force of humans living in Pegasus (yes, humans in a far flung galaxy and all speaking 21st century English without the need for universal translators. It’s just a lazy – if necessary plot device so we’ll go with that) by periodically culling them back to primitive levels before hibernating again for hundreds of years in their ‘hive ships’. Unfortunately the arrival of the humans in Pegasus has awoken them ‘early’ and subsequent all hell is let loose. That’s essentially the main plot line in series one: exploration (of the city and the larger galaxy) and survival. The fun, as always, is in the detail.

Probably half of the episodes in series one are bog standard SF fare their primarily to show off the main characters and flesh them out a bit. They’re good (generally) but not exactly memorable. Some however, even in a first series, are damned good. Early on we are introduced to a people called the Genii who are at a 1930’s level of technology after hiding their scientists underground over the centuries to avoid Wraith culling. They’re on the verge of producing atomic bombs to destroy Wraith hive ships on the ground (unaware that the new arrivals have already woken them) and the SG teams help them complete their work – only to be attacked and held hostage to provide both technology and C4 explosives for the Genii to continue their struggle for survival. Although the ‘baddies’ in a series of episodes we can see the desperation in their methods to rid themselves of the Wraith once and for all. Another planet has decided on another method to rid themselves of Wraith predation by making themselves ‘unpalatable’ to them. The downside? It kills 50% of the planets population – which is a toll they’re willing to take. Desperate times and desperate methods most definitely come to mind. That’s the galaxy the SG teams have just walked into – NASTY.

Of course with a lot of these shows the thing that does it for me is the characters involved in these often weird plots. The continuity character from SG-1 is Dr Rodney McKay played by David Hewlett as the unlikable and all too arrogant head scientist on the expedition. Even in series 1 you can see the change in him though when he, ever thinking of himself, instinctively steps in front of a gun to save Elizabeth Weir, the head of the expedition, played by Torri Higginson who is certainly one of my favourite SF characters of recent years. My favourite in this series though has to be the military lead Major John Sheppard played by Joe Flanigan who plays up his ‘hero’ status superbly even jokingly being called ‘Captain Kirk’ by Rodney at one point (totally hilarious). Lastly but not least is the local guide and ‘amazon’ warrior Teyla Emmagan played by Rachel Luttrell. Her character can be a little clunky in places but is a lot of fun to watch grow into her role.

Naturally there’s lots of combat – both on the ground and in space – but there’s a lot more exploration both of the surrounding stars and a fair share of philosophical, political and moral questions: interference in other cultures, exploitation, ends justifying means and much else. The show is far from easy light entertainment. It’s the best kind of SF – dramatic character driven content that leaves you wondering about things. Although series 1 was aired in 2004 it’s just as entertaining as anything on TV today and hasn’t lost any of its fun or its power. If you’re a SF buff and didn’t see this the first time around I’d recommend you change that.