Whispers

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S5 (Whispers)

Shameless in its attempt to recreate a horror film, or perhaps relishing in its chosen genre, bloodless, but with lots of shocks, this isn't one of the most 'Stargate' feeling of episodes. For one thing where's all the cast?! We have Sheppard starring, McKay shows up for bookend scenes, and other than that, that's it. We do get Dr. Beckett, on Atlantis for some reason before he goes back to the home galaxy again, so he's a semi-main cast member, but where were Teyla, Ronon, Keller, Wolsey? I don't know why they chose to stick Sheppard and Beckett with a guest cast team of feminist soldier-gals rather than the usual gang. Okay, it wasn't really feminist, other than the team leader (Major something? It's telling none of the soldiers' names stuck in my mind, unlike Alison, who was at least some way towards being a character), saying she was allowed to choose the best and that's how she ended up with her team. Except they weren't really the best since one of them got killed! I'm guessing the reason for the unknowns was to put us in a more unsettled state, just as the episode begins with unknown villagers coming across something one dark night in the woods, since we don't know if any of them will survive, as is the case in most horror, people slowly being picked off one by one. Actually I felt the same uncertainty for Beckett since he is a clone - I could imagine them discovering yet another clone of Carson who they'd then take back with them... again!

If we had had people like Ronon then the threat wouldn't have seemed quite so worrying since we know the warriors on the team will always pull through. Putting Carson, who's always been a bit of a worry-wort, with a girl gang of blasé, overconfident soldier types, only emphasised the situation. Of course if McKay had been along such an attitude would have gone even more extreme, perhaps too much into the comedic vein when they were aiming more for subtle creepiness as they led up to the jump scares. Carson has something of a quiet desperation compared with Rodney's loud exasperation at dangerous situations, so I can see why they switched out the cast like they did. But the new characters aren't the most endearing, we don't really get to know them, and they seem more like tropes than people: the fighter who only lives for battle, constantly overconfident. Then you've got all those horror tropes of shambling zombie-like foes, creepy mist (which somehow has technology-defeating properties - the excuse for why they can't use their torches or radios), people being dragged from behind into darkness or fog. And the biggest one of all: people failing to adhere to common sense and instead heading out into the danger and darkness when they should have stayed together inside!

Why did Alison go out, she didn't need to? And how did the villager know what would open all those pods, he seemed like a simple, backwards sort of guy! It was lovely to see Nicole DeBoer, most famous to Trekkers for her single season stint as Ezri Dax in 'DS9,' following in the footsteps of several other Trek faces to appear on the series (and the franchise in general). With McKay left behind she's used to give Carson a bit of closeness as he gets giggly over this likeminded soul, much to their babysitter soldier's disgust. I kept waiting for something to happen to her, especially when Sheppard found her alone outside - I was expecting her to have somehow become one of the 'infected' and burst out in monster mode, like when she chose to hang back at the end. But nothing happened, so maybe she'll come back. Maybe Beckett will, we just don't know as his role isn't very clear now, other than the fact he can pop in to Atlantis any time. Which is nice, but I'm not sure what his purpose is any more.

'DS9' also did an episode called 'Whispers,' but it was a lot better. Rather than straight up visual horror it was more about paranoia, which is scarier. They certainly succeeded here with an oppressive atmosphere and all the creeping around was well shot, with the abandoned equipment of the village looming out of the mist, the low lighting and the camera being cranked up high. Trouble is, it really seemed like they were trying to do something that the series isn't, and other than the stylishness of the shooting, there didn't seem to be much point. It was also very militaristic, which isn't one of the things I find most interesting about the series (I'm always much more on the scientists' side, discovering things and getting them out of jams). It's not that I disliked the girl group, they just weren't there to be developed as people, no one really learned anything, it was just a series of actions, without even the sense of buildup and release that the longer form of a film can do. When they find the other lab with yet more open pods that would have been the cue for a film to take it to the next level, but they quickly get attacked, blast them, and then we're back on Atlantis again, Carson packing like déjà vu (I imagine they'd have filmed the bookend scenes together, too, as that would be sensible). As a result, as much as I found it somewhat gripping in places, there wasn't anything else to, shall we say, grip onto. And talking of grips, I never believe in humanoid shapes crawling up or down walls and ceilings because the surface wouldn't hold the weight and the human body isn't designed to move in that manner. Even taking into account it's supposed to be unnatural, it doesn't quite come across as real to me, especially at speed! Also, when I saw the gas mask I immediately expected a Genii connection, but no. Fairly entertaining, then, especially on a dark afternoon, but nothing else.

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