No Man's Land - Review
23/10/2008 01:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rachel500No Man's Land is the 1st episode in Season Three of Stargate Atlantis.
Review
Review
‘No Man’s Land’ looks promising as a thrilling season opener given its set-up in Allies but it fails to live up to its potential because of a lack of sympathy toward the main characters created by the overall arc and a lack of dramatic tension inherent in the story and overall direction. It is only saved from total disaster by the quality acting, great individual moments and special effects.
The main plot revolves around the Wraith ships heading towards Earth having fooled the Atlantis team. It is the continuation, and arguably the climax, of the Wraith retro-virus arc that has plagued the show. There is a satisfying sense that cosmic justice has been enacted on the Atlantis team for their decision to pursue the morally dubious path of biological warfare. The team have received their just desserts in being betrayed and the story needs to provoke sympathy for the team in order that the audience cares about their fate and roots for their success. To this end, the main plot relies on two of Atlantis’s most popular characters to carry it; Sheppard and McKay.
Sheppard as a hero battling against the odds does evoke admiration especially his daring attempt to take out the hyper-drive engines of both Wraith vessels. The special effects are fantastic in demonstrating the scale of the task facing the lone pilot and when his 302 is badly hit there is an audible intake of breath. But that moment of drama is immediately ruined when he survives without a scratch. Indeed, any tension that might have been built by Sheppard being the lone hero is undermined very quickly because of his alliance with Michael.
Michael is a sympathetic character because his alienation from his own kind is a direct consequence of his experience at the hands of the Atlantis team. However, the team’s lack of sympathy for Michael while understandable doesn’t help elicit sympathy for them. He is what he is because of them and it would have been good to see them assume some responsibility for that. Still, Michael is truly a character that lives in ‘No Man’s Land’ with his ultimate categorisation as friend or foe ambiguous. But the story misses an opportunity to fully capitalise on that ambiguity. Michael’s loyalties, whether he was truly helping the team or setting them up again to win favour with the Queen, could have added tension but his shown motivation, a deep need for survival, provides none.
Added to this, he becomes the straight man for Sheppard undermining what little tension exists in teaming the two of them up. While the sharp one-liners are funny and in character for Sheppard, it suggests that the situation is not that serious thus diluting the tension. Unfortunately, McKay and Ronan are also used for comic relief. The humour endemic in McKay’s musings and Ronan as an increasingly irritated straight man also eliminate any tension around the fate of the captured duo. The tension of the story would have been better served had one pairing been used for humour and the other to provide a serious contrast.
At least, the space battles provide some much needed excitement. The special effects are superb and the Orion’s destruction a harsh reminder of the cost of their choice. However, the aftermath of the main battle is another damp squib. The life support problem is suitably dramatic but with the ultimate solution being the retro-virus, it ruins any sympathy built thus far and, as it requires the team to wait around listlessly, the slight dramatic tension built from the moment of discovery and McKay’s power walk through the corridors with Zelenka is completely lost. The take-over of the Wraith ship is anti-climatic and the unaffected Queen attack cliché. Only the quality of the acting and the special effects save the main plot from complete ignominy.
The main plot does at least reunite a sub-section of the Atlantis team but the entire story fails overall to provide a sense of that team as a whole. The presumed loss of team-mates is summarily dealt with and there are few moments of caring between the main characters about each other. This is underscored by the criminal under-use of Teyla and Beckett – possibly a direct result of the sub-plot of Weir’s recall to Earth.
It only further erodes tension despite more quality acting. The scenes at the SGC lack urgency and fear given the danger the planet is facing. It feels like another day at the office and Earth never feels like it is in peril. Indeed, every element introduced to add tension fails miserably. The first, whether Weir will retain her leadership, is undermined as she is visibly supported by Woolsey and, particularly, Landry. Landry’s pep-talk to Weir leaves a warm, fuzzy feeling (if only it had been with Beckett or Teyla) but it doesn’t create tension.
The second, the IOA’s prevarication over Weir’s plan, goes nowhere in order to show Weir acting as a leader. Weir being taken to task elicits sympathy and provides justification that the course of action in allying with the Queen had wider support; that they are not wholly responsible but are taking responsibility while others are not. A fine idea that buys sympathy but it is at the cost once again of tension.
Overall, thanks to the quality acting and special effects, the episode still manages to be enjoyable but given the subject matter perhaps this is the underlying issue: it needed to be less amusing and much more weighty fare. Had there been less humour; had Weir’s leadership really hung in the balance; had the team truly escaped cosmic justice for their morally ambiguous decision by the skin of their teeth yet at a suitably high cost…maybe then there would have been tension and sympathy; and maybe then there would have been a story worthy of the season opener.
The main plot revolves around the Wraith ships heading towards Earth having fooled the Atlantis team. It is the continuation, and arguably the climax, of the Wraith retro-virus arc that has plagued the show. There is a satisfying sense that cosmic justice has been enacted on the Atlantis team for their decision to pursue the morally dubious path of biological warfare. The team have received their just desserts in being betrayed and the story needs to provoke sympathy for the team in order that the audience cares about their fate and roots for their success. To this end, the main plot relies on two of Atlantis’s most popular characters to carry it; Sheppard and McKay.
Sheppard as a hero battling against the odds does evoke admiration especially his daring attempt to take out the hyper-drive engines of both Wraith vessels. The special effects are fantastic in demonstrating the scale of the task facing the lone pilot and when his 302 is badly hit there is an audible intake of breath. But that moment of drama is immediately ruined when he survives without a scratch. Indeed, any tension that might have been built by Sheppard being the lone hero is undermined very quickly because of his alliance with Michael.
Michael is a sympathetic character because his alienation from his own kind is a direct consequence of his experience at the hands of the Atlantis team. However, the team’s lack of sympathy for Michael while understandable doesn’t help elicit sympathy for them. He is what he is because of them and it would have been good to see them assume some responsibility for that. Still, Michael is truly a character that lives in ‘No Man’s Land’ with his ultimate categorisation as friend or foe ambiguous. But the story misses an opportunity to fully capitalise on that ambiguity. Michael’s loyalties, whether he was truly helping the team or setting them up again to win favour with the Queen, could have added tension but his shown motivation, a deep need for survival, provides none.
Added to this, he becomes the straight man for Sheppard undermining what little tension exists in teaming the two of them up. While the sharp one-liners are funny and in character for Sheppard, it suggests that the situation is not that serious thus diluting the tension. Unfortunately, McKay and Ronan are also used for comic relief. The humour endemic in McKay’s musings and Ronan as an increasingly irritated straight man also eliminate any tension around the fate of the captured duo. The tension of the story would have been better served had one pairing been used for humour and the other to provide a serious contrast.
At least, the space battles provide some much needed excitement. The special effects are superb and the Orion’s destruction a harsh reminder of the cost of their choice. However, the aftermath of the main battle is another damp squib. The life support problem is suitably dramatic but with the ultimate solution being the retro-virus, it ruins any sympathy built thus far and, as it requires the team to wait around listlessly, the slight dramatic tension built from the moment of discovery and McKay’s power walk through the corridors with Zelenka is completely lost. The take-over of the Wraith ship is anti-climatic and the unaffected Queen attack cliché. Only the quality of the acting and the special effects save the main plot from complete ignominy.
The main plot does at least reunite a sub-section of the Atlantis team but the entire story fails overall to provide a sense of that team as a whole. The presumed loss of team-mates is summarily dealt with and there are few moments of caring between the main characters about each other. This is underscored by the criminal under-use of Teyla and Beckett – possibly a direct result of the sub-plot of Weir’s recall to Earth.
It only further erodes tension despite more quality acting. The scenes at the SGC lack urgency and fear given the danger the planet is facing. It feels like another day at the office and Earth never feels like it is in peril. Indeed, every element introduced to add tension fails miserably. The first, whether Weir will retain her leadership, is undermined as she is visibly supported by Woolsey and, particularly, Landry. Landry’s pep-talk to Weir leaves a warm, fuzzy feeling (if only it had been with Beckett or Teyla) but it doesn’t create tension.
The second, the IOA’s prevarication over Weir’s plan, goes nowhere in order to show Weir acting as a leader. Weir being taken to task elicits sympathy and provides justification that the course of action in allying with the Queen had wider support; that they are not wholly responsible but are taking responsibility while others are not. A fine idea that buys sympathy but it is at the cost once again of tension.
Overall, thanks to the quality acting and special effects, the episode still manages to be enjoyable but given the subject matter perhaps this is the underlying issue: it needed to be less amusing and much more weighty fare. Had there been less humour; had Weir’s leadership really hung in the balance; had the team truly escaped cosmic justice for their morally ambiguous decision by the skin of their teeth yet at a suitably high cost…maybe then there would have been tension and sympathy; and maybe then there would have been a story worthy of the season opener.
