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Having learned that the entire Wraith armada is headed
towards the city, the team decides to use their remaining
power to send Stargate Command a message containing information
about the Wraith threat and the well-being of everyone on
Atlantis. As most of the team are recording messages to their
loved ones, Sheppard and Teyla embark on a mission that takes
them directly to the Wraith army...
Oh
dear! It's time for a clips show. We've not even completed
the first season and off go the writers on a time and cost
cutting exercise. Actually Letter
from Pegasus is
not your average clips show and almost works. It's just a
shame that we had to revisit old episodes so early on.
The
main thing that saves this from being really dull is (surprise,
surprise) Dr McKay. His lengthy message back home is extremely
funny and well worth trudging through some of the other, rather
bland scenes. An average episode.
When
terrifying nightmares about the Wraith haunt Teyla, she visits
the city's psychologist and learns that she can sense the
Wraith. Determined to discover more, she leads a small team
on a mission to a planet from which victims of the Wraith
"miraculously" return. There, they uncover what appears to
be a genetics laboratory. Could Teyla's connection to the
Wraith be the result of genetic experimentation...?
The
Gift
is a Teyla episode and one I have issues with (well, more
of a nit-pick really). We are told that the Wraith (or one
Wraith in particular) sent the abducted test subjects back
to their loved ones, hoping that the way he had altered them
would be dampened as they gave birth to future generations.
Now, wasn't that a bit of a stupid risk to take? As the Wraith
eat humans anyway wouldn't it have made more sense for him
to just kill them? I think this is one I'm going to hand over
to Johnny Fanboy... once his answer is live you can read it
by clicking here.
It's
good to see some good old fashioned blokey humour injected
into this episode. McKay says: "I've got a little..."
to which Ford asks: "You've got a little what?"
The rapport between McKay and Ford is very realistic and is
something which I hope the writers will expand upon next season.
With
the Wraith armada closing in on Atlantis, tension builds between
Teyla and some of the other members of the team over her connection
to the Wraith. When she is accused of revealing the team's
location, after a scouting mission ends in a fire fight, Sheppard
steps in to defend her. But even he begins to harbour doubts
when her accuser is left unconscious after an attack by an
unknown assailant...
The
Siege (Part 1) is
a pretty gripping episode. Although, as this two-parter unfolded
I couldn't help but be reminded of the Star Trek: Deep
Space Nine station battle story arc - which was obviously
a huge inspiration, although the Atlantis story line
is not as intense.
Teyla's
new found 'gift' drags up a whole heap of complications. Actually,
having this episode follow straight after The Gift
was a little sloppy. It felt as though the writers were desperately
trying to think of a way of making us question her loyalty
- maybe it was her that was letting the Wraith know about
the Atlantis crews movements and secrets. And so, The Gift
was simply written in a hurry to add a little more tension
to the finale.
The
ending is an interesting cliff-hanger, and may actually have
worked a little better as the season conclusion.
As the Wraith attack on Atlantis begins, the team is bolstered
by the appearance of reinforcements from Earth armed with
nuclear warheads and good news: The battleship Daedalus is
due to arrive in four days. But when the warheads are easily
destroyed by the Wraith, it becomes increasingly clear that
the reinforcements aren't enough to protect the city for four
hours, let alone four days...
The
Siege (Part 2) doesn't
really go anywhere. What I mean is, after 45 minutes we are
really no further on than when the episode started. Okay,
there are a few surprises (one big one if you don't already
know - although the synopsis above, which is taken from the
DVD cover, spoils it). The
conclusion seems a little too much like the end to the first
part (in essence)
but
there are plenty of highs and lows along the way. First their
plight looks hopeless and then there is a glimmer of a solution
on the horizon, then that too is dashed at the last minute,
and so it goes on.
Not
the most exciting cliff-hanger, but it certainly leaves us
wanting more.
Extras
include Mission Directive: The Siege (11 mins) which
is a behind the scenes look at the final two episodes of this
season. It also has a very strange comment from Joe Flanigan
as he says: "There's a bomb on the bus!" I don't
know what he was referring to, but I watched this DVD the
day after the London bombings on 07 July 2005, and his innocent,
jokey quote suddenly took on a whole new meaning; Behind
the Stargate: Secrets revealed Part 2 (20 mins) which
is a look behind both SG-1 and Atlantis and
is very informative - although SG-1 fans will get to
see it again as it is repeated on Volume 43; A look back
on Season One (17 mins). I really enjoyed this Mickey
take as presenter Martin Gero (writer/story editor on the
show) goes around asking the cast what they think of the calibre
of the scripts. There are some great ad libs here and this
is certainly an extra that will have you chuckling to yourself;
and Preview to Season 2 (9 mins) with doesn't really
go in to too much detail about Season 2 - mainly because none
of the scripts had really been fleshed out when this featurette
was made.
Pete
Boomer
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