Duet

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S2 (Duet)

To create an episode that doesn't necessarily go where you expect is a positive, and on that score this one certainly delivered. It may not quite have taken things to a conclusion, but it threw up plenty of entertainment. It's a very traditional structure with an 'A' and a 'B' story, the second of which is some necessary prep work to get to the point of Ronon staying in Atlantis on a permanent basis, and the other, the main thrust of the episode, a straight-up sci-fi story. From the title you can assume it's going to be about two people, and it was, just not in the way I envisaged. I thought it was going to be a more typical bottle episode with McKay and Cadman trapped as prisoners of The Wraith and talking things through. At first it appeared they'd be taken to a Hive ship, but when the dart was shot down in fairly spectacular fashion for a TV show, it seemed as if they'd be in tight quarters and the whole episode would be about getting them out of the small ship. Turns out The Wraith's technology is just like a 'Star Trek' Transporter, where the living person is held inside, a computer program rather than physically sitting squashed in the back of the ship. Again, it looks like it's going to be a hard choice, that one will be saved and the other will die, and something I did like about the episode was that it had a happy ending because on occasion it looked like it was going to be miserable. But Cadman survives - we knew McKay was, because aside from being the best character, he's also the brains of the operation and a main cast member.

Speaking of which, this episode debuts an all-new opening title sequence. The main thing to say about it is that it's very blue, but I preferred the old one. The key changes are Rainbow Sun Francks is so longer part of the cast. It was inevitable, but is still a little sad because sometimes TV shows have this happen where a character becomes redundant or fails to whip up the writers' imaginations, and it must be very hard for an actor to take on the chin, especially considering how lucrative it is to be cast in a modern sci-fi series, even more one that is part of a successful and growing franchise (as it was then), so I hope Francks was able to bounce back from it and find success elsewhere - even though he was playing a bit of a bland character you still feel somewhat protective of a cast and hopefully he'll be back to play an off-the-wall Ford as a recurring threat of some kind, or at least a meddler, an imbalance in the equation. The other big changes gleaned from the title sequence are Jason Momoa officially in the main cast and Dr. Beckett making the cut, too, which is good to see - although he's not in the episode a ton, apart from being important in a medical capacity, I loved witnessing his natural compassion come to the fore even over any military training when he sees the injured Wraith and goes from holding a gun on it to offering help. Of course a Wraith isn't going to respond to such 'weakness,' and Carson would probably have been killed, only Sheppard's quick shooting prevented it from hitting the self-destruct, but it was important to see that unrestricted desire to help even an enemy that defines doctors in sci-fi and made it a really good scene.

If it's good scenes you want, there are plenty to choose from, with McKay the recipient of an extra passenger alongside his own consciousness: Cadman. Again I was fooled at first as I assumed he had some kind of telepathic connection with her back in the ship, but she's actually inside his mind, sharing the body, though thankfully, not each others' thoughts (see 'Attached' on 'TNG' for that). They bring back Dr. Heightmeyer as the psychologist there to help Rodney deal with his situation, though she only ends up making things worse when she proposes he should allow Cadman some control, like a voice, for example. This gives the actor the chance to act out as a woman as all the great Treks have done over the years, and while it's usually body-swapping, this one was different enough because they're both inhabiting the same body. Cadman was a bit sneaky as you would expect from the brief time we have with her at the beginning, but also has a lot of joie de vivre - I felt they could have gone into more exploration of all this to make it a truly good episode, but they don't tend to make much attempt at that, the most obvious being McKay's meal with a lady friend, Dr. Beckett accompanying. I suppose it would have seemed a little crass to fool the lady by Cadman feeding him the right line or thing to do all evening and later she'd realise it wasn't his doing, but I couldn't help feeling it was something to pursue more than they did. I suppose it was the case that a lot was being dealt with, from Ronon's status, to whether they could get McKay and Cadman separated, to make it too light.

I'd have thought there might be a permanent bond between the two enforced comrades, but it remains to be seen whether she was a one-episode wonder, or a regular face as that other soldier was who'd been in the previous episode. Perhaps it was a little too pat and comfortable that she was so quick to assume the self-sacrificial role when it appears one of the consciousnesses must let go for the other to survive, but then she is a soldier who was meant to protect them, so it was partly her fault they got McKay (although she did save Beckett, who looked quite nonplussed around her), so she was accepting her responsibility. I really thought they were going to do it and she'd be lost as 'Stargate Universe' did with a couple of characters later in the series, though with the hopes of bringing them back at some point. It would have been a hard ending and would have given McKay lots to think about, but the series doesn't tend to be morose or reflective so it was in the spirit of it that she survives, but as I say, they could have made more of her coming to that decision. There wasn't much choice anyway, as McKay was too important to the mission and she'd be stealing his body, and even if she was selfish enough to want that she couldn't live in someone else's body as a man, it would be just too much, taking someone else's identity to protect some form of her own, yet not. Confusing and complicated and I suppose it would have unravelled if they'd tried to examine the situation more seriously, which probably wouldn't have been in keeping with the tone of the series.

My concern is with Teyla who once again doesn't have a significant contribution and looks a potential Ford for the future unless they can do something more interesting with her. I can see they were setting her up with Ronon in some way as they have a training fight, but apart from that it was all Sheppard pleading with Weir to let him keep his new toy of this alien warrior. I don't quite see where Ronon will fit in as he's clearly a loose cannon and isn't going to be good at taking orders, no matter the military background he came from you get the impression he's a little disdainful of humanity and knows he's superior so there needs to be something that shows our characters' qualities that make him see the importance of helping them beyond a common enemy. So far you can see him doing whatever he feels is necessary and the excitement Sheppard feels for having this new killing machine as part of his team may turn to frustration when he realises how mismatched they are, but that could create drama so I hope it pans out. It's also good to see a standalone story focusing on a character as that's really what I want for each of the main cast so we can get to know them better. Rodney's the Mr. Data from 'TNG' or EMH from 'Voyager' in that he's the breakout, so I expect he'll get the lion's share, but they need to flesh out the others more, too.

**