Conversion

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S2 (Conversion)

It's not a bad series to go back to at the end of the day's work. Pleasant characters going about their business on an alien world, solving problems and generally getting things done. That's the kind of sci-fi I like, not the 'gritty' kind where everyone's at everyone else's throats and you're never sure who will live and who will die, because then why care? That isn't to say that this series, or this season, has particularly shone as yet. It's been a bumpy ride with more filler than anything else, but I'm starting to get into it. Not in the way I enjoy 'SG-1,' but it's a passable time waster. As usual on the 'Stargate' franchise it's mainly about sci-fi tropes rather than breaking new ground or providing in-depth examinations of alien cultures, or even delving deeply into characters. This week it's the 'member of the crew turns into a monster' episode, with Sheppard being the victim after his brush with the Wraith girl Ellia in the previous mission. It's a little hard to believe in a threat from Sheppard as a monster because he's such a nice, genial kind of guy, and as far from creepy as can be. Had it been Ronon or McKay it might have had more bite. I suppose it could be argued that it's more shocking when someone like Sheppard performs acts of violence, such as shoving Weir up against a wall and choking her, but we know it's not him. The only thing that could be him is the frustration he feels at not being able to do anything, but once they've done the roundup and got him under control again even this is sorted out.

After an unsuccessful egg hunt (and not the Easter kind), trying to grab some of the eggs from the creature that was reverse-engineered to create the retrovirus, or some such pseudo-science solution that Beckett was technobabbling about, they fail, and only Sheppard can go into the cave to do the deed and save himself. Now that he can run faster, leap higher and climb vertical surfaces it's no problem for him, and the bugs were suitably creepy scattered on the floor like nasty gribbly things. I wonder why no one got attacked this time as Sheppard once did last season? It's really not about anything more than Sheppard going monsterish over the course of the episode, then having to be caught and sedated, then brought on the egg mission, but they do throw in a side order of Colonel Caldwell, who seems to show a sensitive side so that you wonder if the title of the episode applies to him as much as to Sheppard, except that as soon as Weir has acquiesced and allowed him to take over the military side of the base, he immediately puts his stamp on things, upsetting her immensely. The most important question of the episode never got answered: who won the computerised chess game she and Caldwell were going to play when we cut away?

Interesting to note that the Daedalus now regularly shoots back and forth between galaxies (and the mention that it's a strain on the FTL drive suggests there might be a story in that somewhere down the line), though it does rather take away the sense of isolation and fending for themselves that Season 1 had, and though it's good that they can be part of the wider universe (and I'm hoping for an 'SG-1' team-up at some point - it would be a waste not to), I miss having the issues they had, and the tension of being alone, having to rely on the existing technology and personnel to accomplish everything. Caldwell claims to not be Weir's enemy, but we know he's ambitious enough to want the whole mission for himself and clearly doesn't have a very high opinion of Sheppard's operating procedures, but then again Sheppard's relatively young and Caldwell no doubt has many years of experience to draw upon. I suppose the uncertainty does add some tension whenever he's around, but the fact The Wraith don't know Atlantis still exists has made things a little too easy and I still await them doing something meaningful and memorable with the premise they have. It's nice that they can end with a little humour as they did between Sheppard and Teyla, but in general things have moved very slowly and not to any clear endgame - we have this retrovirus which may be a useful weapon, and Ford's still out there, but apart from that, not a lot seems to happen on this massive city.

**