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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
It's not a franchise on the order of Law & Order, CSI, or Star Trek--not yet, anyway--but with Stargate Atlantis, a more than worthy successor to SG-1, Stargate is becoming a nice little cottage industry in itself. The premise, in a nutshell: The Ancients, the greatest race the universe has ever known (or something like that), abandoned Earth millions of years ago, taking Atlantis with them; they then sunk the entire city in order to escape the clutches of the dreaded Wraith, an implacable bunch of villains who nourish themselves by sucking the life from humans. Now, as the two-hour "Rising" pilot details, a new team has gained access to the legendary city. Once they arrive, Atlantis loses the power to sustain its protective shield and rises to the surface, and thus begin the team's adventures (i.e., using the stargate to travel to other planets in the Pegasus galaxy, encountering aliens both hostile and friendly, and trying to defeat the Wraith, or at least stay out of their way).
Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson), SG-1's driving force, is missed, but Atlantis has a strong replacement in Major John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), easily the most charismatic member of the new team. Like O'Neill, Sheppard is a wiseacre and a loose cannon, as well as a superb pilot with an innate understanding of the Ancients' arcane technology. His humor, humanity and conscience provide a welcome contrast to the other characters, especially brilliant-but-neurotic Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett) and ultra-serious project leader Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson), who has little to do but give orders and stand up for her people. The Wraith, who resemble a vampire mutation of the albino blues guitarist Johnny Winter, are the focus of most of these 19 episodes (including the pilot). These bad boys will stop at nothing--nothing, I tell you!--in their quest to snack their way through every galaxy in the universe, with Earth their ultimate feeding ground. And while the final four episodes, dealing with the Wraith's massive attack on Atlantis, end with an unsatisfying cliffhanger (basically, nothing is resolved), earlier shows effectively keep their ominous presence in the forefront. The episodes in which the Wraith play little or no active role are often compelling as well, including "Thirty Eight Minutes" (one of our heroes' "puddle jumper" spacecraft gets stuck in the stargate), "Childhood's End" (we meet a race whose members are convinced that only ritual suicide is keeping the Wraith at bay), and "The Eye" (a planet-size hurricane/tsunami bears down on Atlantis). As is the case with SG-1, the visual effects work, especially by TV standards, is excellent; in fact, one might wish for bit more cool sci-fi action and less talk in some of the episodes. Special effects include commentary (by directors, writers, and/or actors) for every episode, as well as the occasional behind-the-scenes featurette. --Sam Graham
Product Description
When a secret base, abandoned by the original builders of the Stargates, is found buried in the ice of Antartica, the newly formed Stargate Atlantis team is born. The team's discovery leads to a daring expeditiion to the distant Pegasus galaxy, where they encounter a primitive human civilization and a sinister new enemy that threatens human life everywhere. The Stargate Atlantis mission is headed by Dr. Elizabeth Weir, a specialist in diplomatic relations. Her political savvy is balanced by the bravado of her military counterpart, Major John Sheppard, a courageous pilot. Rounding out the crew are Lt. Aiden Ford, Sheppard's second-in-command, Dr. Rodney McKay, a clever and quick-witted astrophysicist and Teyla, a beautiful young leader among the primitive alien civilization that the Atlantis team encounters.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
By kno-it-all
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you enjoy the Stargate SG-1 series, you will enjoy this spin-off. Being a big fan myself, my biggest concern was that I wouldn't buy into this new look-alike cutting into the original stargate series--I was wrong. It is almost completely detatched from the original show, has an all new bigger and badder evil race to battle and has more civilian control, which gives the characters' problem-solving strategies a new perspective. Plus, they're in another galaxy, and the worlds are completely different!
If you've never seen Stargate before, I suggest you check it out...this show takes off at the end of season 7 on the original series. Watching SG-1 isn't completely necessary in order to follow this show, but it would help a lot.
One thing I about the show that isn't so great is that it seems the producers have gotten a little cheaper on the special effects--the CG is pretty obvious and they use a lot of it. However, being a TV show, I wouldn't really expect special effects on the same magnitude of major motion pictures.
Also, there's the Atlantis movie floating around...if you're buying the season 1 box set, you don't need to buy the movie. The movie is just the pilot episode, and it's included in the set, so save your money.
Overall? Go for it--it's worth checking out at least once!
If you've never seen Stargate before, I suggest you check it out...this show takes off at the end of season 7 on the original series. Watching SG-1 isn't completely necessary in order to follow this show, but it would help a lot.
One thing I about the show that isn't so great is that it seems the producers have gotten a little cheaper on the special effects--the CG is pretty obvious and they use a lot of it. However, being a TV show, I wouldn't really expect special effects on the same magnitude of major motion pictures.
Also, there's the Atlantis movie floating around...if you're buying the season 1 box set, you don't need to buy the movie. The movie is just the pilot episode, and it's included in the set, so save your money.
Overall? Go for it--it's worth checking out at least once!
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Yes this show isn't SG-1 and sadly some people can't seem to get pass that. The show is different enough from Sg-1 that it can hold its own and not be considered a rip-off or a clone yet retain the same Stargate feel that SG-1 has. This show is actually what rekindled my interest in the Stargate franchise, you've got characters that actually aren't perfect, that make mistakes and are easy to relate to. There mostly ordinary people in an extraordinary situation where they slowly come togethor and become a family of sorts. The strength of this show is the character development, which actually is even more noticeable in the second season but the first season does a pretty good job. Probably the best episodes story wise are Before I Sleep and Letter from Pegasus which are perhaps the best clip show episodes ive seen in the Stargate franchise.
If you can accept that this show isn't actually SG-1 and really we don't need two Sg-1's bcse we already have one, try this show out, you might enjoy it. The show has fun,attractive and real characters that actually grow and change and there is reasonable continuity theoughout the season which is important to you if you don't like shows that you leave you guessing for a long time.
If you can accept that this show isn't actually SG-1 and really we don't need two Sg-1's bcse we already have one, try this show out, you might enjoy it. The show has fun,attractive and real characters that actually grow and change and there is reasonable continuity theoughout the season which is important to you if you don't like shows that you leave you guessing for a long time.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
When I first considered buying the series, Stargate: Atlantis, I thought it would be a knockoff of the SG1 series. It has it similarities but I found it to be spellbinding and a great series in its own right.
The star gate is digital and the entire setup seems more modern that the standard stargate. The crew interact on several occasions with the original cast but the storyline is focused on staying alive in a hostile environment while in another galaxy, the Pegasus system. The life sucking Wraith's want to take Atlantis so they can gate to Earth for a new feeding ground. The players try to survive while unlocking the secrets of Atlantis and the Ancients, all while have a good plot line for each episode, which includes gating to other worlds and meeting new people.
This series might not be as enjoyable to anyone who is not familiar with the SG1 series.
My only problem with the series is that year 2 is not available so I can see how they survived the latest attack in the typical "to be continued" episode.
A note about the pilot, don't buy it if you are going to buy the first year, Its included on the first disk.
I think this series has as much potential as the original series and have no doubt that I will purchase any subsequent years that are released. That's the highest rating I can give any movie, the promise to spend my hard earned money on buying it.
The star gate is digital and the entire setup seems more modern that the standard stargate. The crew interact on several occasions with the original cast but the storyline is focused on staying alive in a hostile environment while in another galaxy, the Pegasus system. The life sucking Wraith's want to take Atlantis so they can gate to Earth for a new feeding ground. The players try to survive while unlocking the secrets of Atlantis and the Ancients, all while have a good plot line for each episode, which includes gating to other worlds and meeting new people.
This series might not be as enjoyable to anyone who is not familiar with the SG1 series.
My only problem with the series is that year 2 is not available so I can see how they survived the latest attack in the typical "to be continued" episode.
A note about the pilot, don't buy it if you are going to buy the first year, Its included on the first disk.
I think this series has as much potential as the original series and have no doubt that I will purchase any subsequent years that are released. That's the highest rating I can give any movie, the promise to spend my hard earned money on buying it.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By R. Bush
Format:DVD
By now I'll assume that you've read the description and know what the show is about. Not only do you get all 20 Season One episodes, you get wonderful commentary and other special features that make this DVD set a "must have" for Stargate Atlantis fans. So let me tell you about the special features.
Season One - Volume 1, Disks 1:
Audio commentary for "Rising Parts 1 and 2" by Director Martin Wood and Actor Joe Flanigan. (Excellent commentary, lots of trivia and explanations of why they did things the way they did.... Read more ›
Season One - Volume 1, Disks 1:
Audio commentary for "Rising Parts 1 and 2" by Director Martin Wood and Actor Joe Flanigan. (Excellent commentary, lots of trivia and explanations of why they did things the way they did.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great show!
This show continues the phenomenal SG1, yet stands alone as a thrilling and exceptionally written series. We have watched the whole series at least four times now!
Published 18 hours ago by gmed
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid 4
It starts off fairly strong. Due to the device they use to start the series, you don't have this feeling like the crew isn't believable. Read more
Published 1 day ago by John F. Kreno
4.0 out of 5 stars
sifi
Great, good plot but not as good as SG1. Last season kind of lame. Id still watch it again though.
Published 2 days ago by Kelly M. Peterson
5.0 out of 5 stars
IF YOU LOVE SYFI...
CAN'T DO ANY WORSE THEN 10 SEASONS OF SG-1, 5 SEASONS OF ATLANTIS, 3 FULL LENGTH MOVIES AND 2 SEASONS OF SGU. THAT'S A LOT OF GOOD VIEWING!
Published 4 days ago by FREQUENT SHOPPER
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great scifi series
If you are a Scifi fan this series calls your name. I myself enjoyed all of the star gate series and am definitely a fan of this one. Watch it, you will not be disappointed!
Published 4 days ago by Knightcg
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE BEST
WITHOUT QUESTION THE BEST SEASON THEY MADE. I LIKE THE WORK OF TORRI HIGGINSON , GIVES THE SHOW THAT BIT OF CLASS, THAT THE OTHER STARGATE SHOWS LACKED.
Published 7 days ago by Robin Denke
4.0 out of 5 stars
sg atlantis
Story line is very interesting if not predictably, actors do an above avg job , Joe Fannigan does an outstanding job, not bad for a spin off
Published 7 days ago by timhat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Series
Enjoy the story line and action. I always wished they would have more episodes that included exploring the city and more episodes flying in space to diferent worlds.
Published 10 days ago by Bob Tidd
5.0 out of 5 stars
A VERY GOOD SHOW
I was sad when they canceled this show it was one of the best. I still don't understand why it was canceled.
Published 10 days ago by june
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended for anyone who likes Sci-fi.
I would recommend this series to anyone who likes Sci-fi. It's action packed, humorous, and interesting. Never a dull moment.
Published 10 days ago by ronald
