Underground

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S1 (Underground)

Not all potential allies are trustworthy, and in the same way as it we had Don S. Davis back as Hammond in the previous episode, here we have Colm Meaney, most famous as the dependable Chief O'Brien of the 'Star Trek' universe, crossing over into 'Stargate' one and proving a duplicitous leader of a harsh group. Not as harsh as they initially seemed when their rural, agrarian, pastoral facade was peeled back to reveal what seemed like a Nazi, militaristic secret society underground, but in fact a sensibly concealed level of technology only sixty years behind Earth, with black and white TV monitors, the ability to get pretty far towards the creation of nuclear weapons, but not quite at the level of C4, which was interesting. Meaney was just about the ideal actor to portray, on first impression a simple farmer, and then his experience with the famous technobabble serving him well when we learn his true level of understanding. Why Sheppard and McKay had to go and uncover a hatch in an old barn, and then descend to explore, I don't know. If they'd just handed over some C4 in exchange for the needed food crops, all might have been well. Although… the Genii were pretty sneaky and untrustworthy, fooling Teyla with their pretend simplistic lifestyle enough for her to consider them friends, but they had good reason to be, considering how earlier generations had lost so many to The Wraith.

This particular population decided to hide away their technological advancement (much like the Hoffan libraries in 'Poisoning The Well' - hiding development seems to be the only way to progress with Wraith looking over everyone's shoulders), so they'd be left alone, while also formulating a bold plan of attack, to set off nuclear bombs in Hive ships. Except the timetable has been completely messed up when Teyla reveals that thanks to her and her new friends, The Wraith are awake and on the prowl decades earlier than they should have been! I never had any faith in the uneasy alliance - as Sheppard said to Weir, Ford and Teyla had been made to stay behind as he and McKay reported in, to be leverage, and no alliance can work on such obvious distrust and ulterior motives. You could never turn your back on the Genii for one moment because it was only dangling the tantalisingly even greater firepower and more assistance than McKay's knowledge of everything and some C4, that kept Cowen from turning on them right away. But as soon as he heard about a ship… It should have come as no surprise when he instructed his men to surround the team, especially after the botched mission to gather intel on how many Hive ships there are and where they are. The secondary objective to save any of those half-alive victims in the morgue-like storage area had already been ruined by Tyrus' rejection of Teyla's attempts to help, and in fact it was his weapons fire that alerted Wraith soldiers, to the detriment of the mission.

But Cowen, typically deceiving, decides Teyla killed Tyrus and calls an end to the weak truce. At least Sheppard and his team had weapons, but they weren't getting out of there without serious casualties - I thought they should have aimed at Cowen, but he was obstinate enough to have ordered a firefight, or a massacre, despite it, I'm sure. So it's with great relief and feelings of victory that we realise Sheppard had provided for just such a stab in the back by bringing along a couple of other Puddle Jumpers as backup, ensuring the Genii have no choice but to let them leave. Even then, Cowen tries to threaten them, saying they don't want to make an enemy of his people, but it was he and his uncompromising, selfish people that made themselves enemies! I wonder if we'll see them again - I could imagine Cowen becoming a recurring nemesis, out to get his own back in a darkly inverted mirror of the Atlantis team's own mission of acquiring technology, he might well have had his interest piqued by theirs.

It was a good lesson in trust and the need to earn it. Teyla was a cause of a lot of the trouble thanks to her belief in these people, but also because she foolishly gives away important information at the meal without consulting Sheppard, it still not sinking in that these people lied so drastically to her that they aren't to be trusted: she tells them whose fault it is that The Wraith are awake, even after such a tenuous peace had been established, instead of biding her time and seeing how things were going to pan out! McKay doesn't do much better, encouraging their inquiries into his technological expertise, especially in the nuclear realm, when if they'd kept quiet Sheppard could have brokered a simpler deal as was originally proposed of C4 for food, and then they'd have been on their way. Teyla acted out of good motives, still believing the Genii would honour an alliance if she showed trust in them, but she was sadly, a bad judge of their character. But the upshot of it all was useful in one way: they discover just what magnitude of threat The Wraith pose. The answer is 'a lot.' They learn that at least sixty ships, possibly more, are spread out in the Pegasus Galaxy and Sheppard ominously expresses his hope to Weir that they don't all come for Atlantis at the same time…

On the whole it wasn't a bad little episode, though it was pretty much a standard 'SG-1' throwback with a team of four going through the 'gate, meeting a new human group at a different technological stage, then finding out their dark and devious secret, but as I keep saying, this is 'Stargate,' so why not? And as usual, the landscapes are lush, green and beautiful. McKay continues to be egocentric to the extreme (and childish - very true of human nature when he admits to drinking so much coffee, even though it's running out, to make sure he 'gets his share,' although it sounded like he was getting more than his share!), but is somehow still likeable, Sheppard impressed me with his nous and good sense in how to recover the situation (they had to find some way to keep an advantage over the Genii), but Ford continues to feel more like a glorified extra. Again, he's likeable, but he seems to melt into the background a bit too easily, overshadowed by the other characters even though they're not especially gregarious and outgoing themselves. I did like that it was a team of four going through the 'gate, though, as it felt more like 'SG-1.' The episodic nature mixed with serialised plot points makes it more like 'DS9,' too, especially since its base is a stationary location. Colm Meaney did seem a bit like a possessed Miles O'Brien, but that's just because I've seen him so many times in that sort of guise, and it's just nice to see him in something else.

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