Customer Reviews

Stargate Atlantis: Fans' Choice [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This last year, the galaxy-hopping "Stargate Atlantis" came to a premature end when its producers decided to devote resources to a new, less anticipated spinoff instead. But though it's gone, it's hardly forgotten -- "Stargate Atlantis: Fans' Choice" brings together both the pilot two-partner and the tense series finale on one blu-ray disk. But given the cast changes and massive plot developments mean you better have already seen the series or you'll be totally lost.

At the Antarctic base, Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) has finally figured out the location of Atlantis -- in the Pegasus galaxy. General Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) gives the go-ahead for an exploratory unit to go to Atlantis -- even though they don't have the power to return back to the Milky Way, and will be stranded there. So Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson) leads an international group of scientists and military to another galaxy, and arrive in the sunken Ancient city of Atlantis.

Unfortunately, after ten millennia Atlantis is running out of power, and soon the whole place will flood. The military unit, including Major John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), goes scouting for a planet to evacuate to, and encounter the friendly natives.

Meanwhile, the irritable scientist Rodney McKay (David Hewlett) tries to somehow salvage the city -- only to have it rise from the ocean floor. But then the SG teams accidentally wake an ancient enemy -- the parasitic, vampiric Wraith, who destroyed the Ancients long ago. Cut off from Earth, the expedition settles into the Ancient city and tries to make the best of their situation.

Then the story zips from the very beginning to the very end: the series finale "Enemy At The Gate. The expedition is told that the Wraith now have ZPMs and will soon have a hive ship capable of reaching (drumroll please) Earth and its juicy inhabitants. Even worse, the Wraith have sent a squadron to destroy Area 51, crippling Earth's Ancient defenses -- meaning that Earth's best chance for survival may be to return the Lost City. In other words: "You better get me the President. It looks like Atlantis is coming home."

"Stargate Atlantis: Fans' Choice" is not a good place to start for newbies -- with ninety-eight episodes in between them, you'll end up wondering, "Where did Carter and Woolsey come from? How did they contact Earth again? Where's Weir and Ford, and who's that big guy with the dreadlocks?" So basically this is what the title implies: the beginning and end, aimed at fans. With blu-ray players.

But it's nice to see the solid premiere and finale of this series, both for nostalgia and for a glimpse of how much changed in the five seasons between them; the finale also is left open for the forthcoming "Stargate: Extinction" movie. And they are both pretty good episodes: they're heavy on plot, with lots of nasty Wraith stuff (including some really gross lifesucking), space battles, and dialogue both funny ("Maybe he's turning over a new leaf." "Get those down to Zelenka immediately." "Or maybe they're going to blow up when you plug them in...") and quirky ("Now I'm thinking about a nice turkey sandwich").

There are some major changes to the cast between these two episodes, but all the actors included do a great job -- Torri Higginson made a solid commander in the first episode, while Robert Picardo's Woolsey made an unexpectedly likable one in the last. Paul McGillion and Joe Flanigan are wonderful as the hilariously asocial scientist and quirky military man, and there are also good supporting performances by the teddybearish David Hewlett, David Nykl, the "Chewie" Jason Momoa, and brilliant guest stars Amanda Tapping, Richard Dean Anderson, and Mitch Pileggi.

"Stargate Atlantis: Fans' Choice" gives fans a look at how "Stargate Atlantis" both began and ended, and frankly it makes me want to go watch this solid spinoff all over again.

This Blu-ray Disc adds some unbroadcast scenes that are definitely worth having. Of course, the HD video makes this a real experience but there has also been some dramatic lighting chnges made to scenes that really make this a much different experience.

Note: the advanced menus of this disc may require you to update the firmware of your player if you have an older Panasonic BD player, for example; I had to do this to avoid a never ending busy symbol as the disc starts.

It's nice to have at least two episodes on Blu-Ray and in HD. Having now seen what the show looks like in HD, I would love dearly if MGM would release the rest of the series in its native format, but I'll take what I can get. I won't bore anyone by reviewing the story content of the disc, as anyone buying this has seen the episodes before and doesn't need me to describe it for them.

The episodes themselves are more or less the same as the broadcast and DVD cuts, at least to casual viewing, but in HD. The transfer is reasonably clean and detailed. It's good enough to see details on props in the background. I didn't have any problems playing it in my Samsung BD player. I noticed that some use was made out of the rear surround channels, but I'd prefer a bit more. Considering the ultimate fate of SGA, I would have liked to see more extras like those provided on the DVD box sets (behind-the-scenes, making-of, bloopers, etc).

This was exactly what I was expecting and it gets a five star rating for that.

I just bought this and for some crazy reason MGM decided to make a Fans Choice Blu-ray disc region A only! I popped the Disc in my PS3 and it told me that I was in the wrong region, and the product details above don't mention the region either, so buyer beware, this is a not region free.

So it's "fans choice", but only if you live in the Americas. Too bad if you're a fan in another part of the world, from what I can tell you can't actually buy it in anywhere else, ie amazon.co.uk don't sell it besides a US import version. It seems to be a region A only release worldwide.

MGM really dropped the ball on this one.

Im a huge fan of the Stargate Franchise and I was really looking foward to getting this entire series on Blu-ray disc. Unfortunately those geniuses in the SyFY executive offices only gave us this. At least its better than nothing!

Except for the 5 year gap between between the 2 episodes, the HD is pretty good!

Ah heck, when I ordered this, I thought it was all the entire top voted episodes, not just two!
Guess you get what you pay for!
Love SGA though, and hope someday the entire series comes out in Blu-Ray, not just a few selected episodes.

As a big fan of all SG, I could easily give this a 5 star! But my negative point is I don't just want to see the beginning & the end, I want to see it all in Blu-ray! And now, they come out with The Pilot for SG1 remastered, etc. and not even on Blu-ray???

They should at least do like Star Trek did, there are some fans choices but also "so far" Season 1 of TOS and already planned to have the 2 other seasons come out in a couple of months... this gives hope to get all Star Trek in Blu-ray.

Hopefully, by the time this comes out, more than this and the movies will be coming out... maybe SG-1 season 1?

From what I've read this Blu Ray will contain the pilot episode "Rising" which is a two parter, and the last episode of the series "Enemy at the Gates." Not bad choices for starting off, but I'd rather have the whole series on Blu Ray.

It would have been nice to have at least four episodes though. I'd like to see "Before I Sleep", "Sunday" and some others get this treatment on the next "Fan's Choice" Blu Ray.

Hopefully they'll do the episodes justice and give them a nice transfer to Blu.

The first half of this presentation would really have been worth it in a full feature-length Blu-Ray high-def, but the episodes bog down once the Stargate team gets to Atlantis. In fact, it goes right into be regular Stargate episode quality. It's bad enough that the Stargate geniuses weren't slowed down by teams that go to a completely different universe where the language is...let's see...English! No attempt is ever made to show how the Ancients arranged for their gates to calibrate either the languages or minds of the people. They just drop in and say, "Hi, my name's Major Shepard, what's yours?"

"Fred."

"Those your kids, Fred?"

"Yep, even the one with the Wraith mask."

"What's a Wraith?"

GASP! "You don't have Wraiths on your world?"

"Nope."

"Well, if you don't have Wraith on your world, you'd better go back!"

"Whooooo!...who's that?

"Ah, that's my daughter, Teyla. Listen, Teyla, why don't you take Major Shepard here, whom we've never met, but who I really trust, and take him over to the old Wraith city and see if you can't wake up a few of 'em."

"Oh, Daaaaaaad! Okay, let's go!"

"What's a Wraith?"