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2007-2008 Season Post-Mortem Part 4: "Stargate: Atlantis" |
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Monday, 26 May 2008 |
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By John Keegan
Visit Critical Myth for an archive of John's TV Review archives, with more than 1100 entries.
| This season, I’ll be summing up this unusual 2007-2008 season with a post-mortem on the majority of the shows I’ve reviewed during the year, ranking from the very worst to the very best. In some cases, the term “post-mortem” is all too applicable. This is Part 4 of this 11-step journey, focusing on the fourth season of “Stargate: Atlantis”.
The “Stargate” franchise found itself at a crossroads before the fourth season of “Stargate: Atlantis” began. The historic run of “Stargate SG-1” had ended, and it was time for “Atlantis” to take the reins of the franchise. Whether or not the series was up to the task was a matter of debate. The writing staff of “Atlantis” had dropped the ball on several occasions since the first season, and there was a palpable sense that change was needed.
The “Stargate” franchise has always struggled with the idea of character development; it’s better, according to the “Stargate” mold, to keep the characters more or less constant with glacial advancement in favor of juggling about a dozen plot threads in a disparate manner. In terms of “Atlantis”, this led to the John and Rodney Show, where the relatively static characters of John Sheppard and Rodney McKay were run through the grist mill with hardly a hint of lingering consequences.
On the positive side, the old producers for “Stargate SG-1” took control of “Atlantis” and made character growth an early mandate. And the fourth season did show quite a bit of progress. Unfortunately, the character development was so slight for so long that the improvements were still only a start. While every character began the season with a new direction, only a few characters received substantial follow-up by the end. Despite the changes, the second half of the season was still, all too often, the John and Rodney Show.
Some characters were also the victim of the demise of “SG-1”. Elizabeth Weir was quickly tossed aside and then marginalized, given a barely-there off-screen plot thread that will, by all accounts, never be resolved as the actress declined to return in the future. Samantha Carter of “SG-1” fame was given command in Weir’s place, but after an obligatory introduction, she was rarely seen and often out of character.
In previous seasons, some of the overarching plot points were sufficient to offset the problems with the character development. The best case scenario would have addressed the weaknesses while maintaining the strengths. Oddly, the writers seemed to falter with the plot threads this season. Despite the promise of the Asurans and their war on the Wraith, it never seemed to meet its potential. The end of the season did pull several plot threads together into one impressive concept tied to previous continuity, which worked well, but it was a bit too late to save the season completely.
Despite some of the mistakes made incorporating the new elements into the series, the Critical Myth average ratings for the fourth season was 7.3. That represents a marginal improvement over the third season, which is exactly the direction that fans had been expecting. The trick will be maintaining that slow but steady forward momentum in the face of additional cast challenges.
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