TV Review: Stargate Atlantis 5.13 – Inquisition
Posted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on October 25, 2008
Stargate: Atlantis, SciFi, Airs Friday 9/8c
Episode: “Outsiders” (Season Five, Episode 13)
Synopsis: Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), Rodney (David Hewlett), Teyla (Rachel Luttrell) and Ronon (Jason Momoa) are arrested by a new coalition of human worlds in the Pegasus Galaxy. They are taken to a secret location to stand trial for crimes against humanity, including the release of the hibernating Wraith, the activation of the Replicators and being in collusion with Todd the Wraith.
Review: Any fan of the Stargate shows will recognize this episode as a flashback episode. This becomes clear when you see the credits include things like “Excerpts Written By.” These showed up periodically in the Stargate SG-1 series, and we’ve had a few throughout the Stargate: Atlantis run.
I’ve never been much of a fan of these shows simply because I know the history of the stories. It makes episodes like this become redundant and tedious at times. From a production standpoint, this is a way to make a relatively low-cost episode by mining the cool special effects and action sequences from past installments. This is done somewhat effectively in this episode, showing us excerpts from space battles between Wraith and Atlantis, as well as the effects-heavy explanation of the origin of the Replicators.
In many ways, this reminds me of the SG-1 episode entitled “Cor-ai” from the first season in which Teal’c is captured inhabitants of a former Gao’uld slave planet and forced to stand trial for the atrocities he committed under Apophis. It’s an okay episode and didn’t bore me, but it rehashed a little too much to get me excited, as the previous several episodes of Atlantis have done.
I suppose that there is a greater purpose in making this episode around the half-way point of the season. For the casual viewer, one that may not have been watching since season one, this serves as a recap of who the villains of the Pegasus Galaxy are and how they all fit together. The reality is that no one watching can honestly expect that the top four characters on the show are going to be found guilty and put away for the rest of the series (which wraps up in only a few short months).
The one nice thing about this episode is that it allowed Woolsey (Robert Picardo) to actually step in and do something cool for a change – defend the Atlantis team. And the entire episode sets the stage for a final smackdown between the remaining rogue elements of the Pegasus Galaxy.
Up Next: A week off, then back into the swing of things when Michael the Hybrid returns to Atlantis in search of Teyla’s baby.
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Did you watch Stargate: Atlantis this week? If so, feel free to discuss below.
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