![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
First Contact - Review
First Contact is the 10th episode in Season Ten of Stargate Atlantis.
Review
Review
There is so much right about First Contact that it is difficult to explain my dissatisfaction with the episode. The story is tightly constructed and works well as a set-up, the actors perform with gusto and the production sparkles from music to costume, make-up to special effects. So what’s wrong with it? Well, I was bored.
The truth is that there are only so many different scenarios which can play out within the same universe. Stories are told and retold. If the retelling is imaginative and captivating, it should never feel like deja vu and should never be boring. It’s bad for the show and the franchise if their audience becomes bored – look at what happened to Star Trek. The important question then is why was I bored?
I think the problem is that this is the first of a two-part story, and the beginning of this initial episode feels very much like it falls purely into ‘set-up’ mode with the main action starting some twenty-five minutes in. There is a lot of talking; a lot of explanation; a lot of walking and talking whether in Atlantis or on the Daedalus. Was it all really necessary? If this was a book, I could understand the time spent setting out the various plots but this is TV and in all honesty that first twenty-five minutes is somewhat interesting at its best, and yes, boring at its worst.
Perhaps it was felt that the hook of one of the franchise’s most loved characters, Daniel Jackson, his interaction with McKay and the search for a secret lab – exploring the city- would grab the audience but for me it doesn’t work. There is no question that the dialogue is sharp and delivered excellently by Michael Shanks and David Hewlett throughout. There is a subtle dance in the back and forth (loved the ‘go with me on this’ moments) that not only plays out in this early part but later (equally enjoyed the Rod/Danny notes, the ‘you could have told me’ stuff) but for me the combination lacks a certain chemistry.
The best bits to do with McKay and Daniel were the zoom in and out of the various city structures (excellent special effects), and there was a nice nod to the relationship triangle established in the previous episode when Ronon joins Keller on her mission and she calls goodbye to McKay in passing. But the highlight of the opening had nothing to do with McKay and Daniel; it was Woolsey’s speech to Sheppard on why Sheppard was being left in charge and the final two lines of ‘try not to blow her up’; ‘no promises’ (beautiful timing by Joe Flanigan and reaction by Robert Picardo).
Maybe this whole opening section really grabbed some of the audience, but not me. Personally, I was with Todd; let’s get the meaningless pleasantries out of the way and get started already. What I will say is that when it got started; it got started. The raid on Atlantis by the new aliens is a great section; cool new toys, tense, dramatic – it really got the heart racing and that sense of not really knowing what was happening and having no control that Sheppard feels reaches out from the screen. Great acting by Flanigan, great direction by Andy Mikita, great special effects, costuming and design. That whole sequence did keep my attention even if the start had left me feeing disconnected.
The sense of urgency in the Atlantis scenes, as Sheppard scrambles to find a way to go after the two kidnapped men, as the rescue mission is put in place injects some pace into the episode after this. And it’s just as well because the scenes with McKay and Daniel continue to be mostly standing around and talking and the ‘action’ on the Daedalus is also mostly talking until the end.
There is a lovely section where McKay and Daniel working out what happened is contrasted with the Atlantis team working out what happened. The seamless back and forth does mean that the exposition for the audience is told in an interesting way. However, despite my appreciation for the direction here, while I appreciate the characters had to work out what had happened, given that the audience had already seen the aliens discover the signal coming on in their own secret lab and invading Atlantis for the corresponding device, it does feel like repetition.
What does really grab the audience is the final act; from the destruction of the hive ships to Todd’s takeover on the Daedalus to McKay and Daniel getting stunned again and the problems with the Atlantis Stargate, it’s a roller-coaster of action and build-up. There is a sense of danger for our heroes; McKay and Daniel are left at the mercy of their captors, Ronon and Keller at Todd’s. The Stargate exploding and the tower glowing just is an incredible effect. While the answer to the question of whether Sheppard will have survived the explosion is never in doubt, the cliff-hanger does provide the necessary set-up to make the audience want to know what happens next.
There are also other enjoyable elements; Todd’s discussion with Keller on the future of the Wraith is thought-provoking and as a long term fan there is a feel-good fuzziness to seeing Daniel finally getting to explore Atlantis and the new aliens are certainly intriguing. There was a great moment where the audience just sees Daniel start to think about his captors which just is classic Daniel.
In the final analysis, it is difficult to completely judge this episode when the second half of the story is yet to be told. On its own, the episode is still very accomplished; tightly written, good direction, well-acted and it sparkles from top to bottom in terms of production values. For the second half, I’m hoping McKay and Daniel will get to do more than talk; I’m hoping Teyla will be doing more than hanging around in the background; I’m hoping that the story’s climax will be worth the amount of time that was spent in build-up, and importantly, I’m hoping I won’t be bored.
The truth is that there are only so many different scenarios which can play out within the same universe. Stories are told and retold. If the retelling is imaginative and captivating, it should never feel like deja vu and should never be boring. It’s bad for the show and the franchise if their audience becomes bored – look at what happened to Star Trek. The important question then is why was I bored?
I think the problem is that this is the first of a two-part story, and the beginning of this initial episode feels very much like it falls purely into ‘set-up’ mode with the main action starting some twenty-five minutes in. There is a lot of talking; a lot of explanation; a lot of walking and talking whether in Atlantis or on the Daedalus. Was it all really necessary? If this was a book, I could understand the time spent setting out the various plots but this is TV and in all honesty that first twenty-five minutes is somewhat interesting at its best, and yes, boring at its worst.
Perhaps it was felt that the hook of one of the franchise’s most loved characters, Daniel Jackson, his interaction with McKay and the search for a secret lab – exploring the city- would grab the audience but for me it doesn’t work. There is no question that the dialogue is sharp and delivered excellently by Michael Shanks and David Hewlett throughout. There is a subtle dance in the back and forth (loved the ‘go with me on this’ moments) that not only plays out in this early part but later (equally enjoyed the Rod/Danny notes, the ‘you could have told me’ stuff) but for me the combination lacks a certain chemistry.
The best bits to do with McKay and Daniel were the zoom in and out of the various city structures (excellent special effects), and there was a nice nod to the relationship triangle established in the previous episode when Ronon joins Keller on her mission and she calls goodbye to McKay in passing. But the highlight of the opening had nothing to do with McKay and Daniel; it was Woolsey’s speech to Sheppard on why Sheppard was being left in charge and the final two lines of ‘try not to blow her up’; ‘no promises’ (beautiful timing by Joe Flanigan and reaction by Robert Picardo).
Maybe this whole opening section really grabbed some of the audience, but not me. Personally, I was with Todd; let’s get the meaningless pleasantries out of the way and get started already. What I will say is that when it got started; it got started. The raid on Atlantis by the new aliens is a great section; cool new toys, tense, dramatic – it really got the heart racing and that sense of not really knowing what was happening and having no control that Sheppard feels reaches out from the screen. Great acting by Flanigan, great direction by Andy Mikita, great special effects, costuming and design. That whole sequence did keep my attention even if the start had left me feeing disconnected.
The sense of urgency in the Atlantis scenes, as Sheppard scrambles to find a way to go after the two kidnapped men, as the rescue mission is put in place injects some pace into the episode after this. And it’s just as well because the scenes with McKay and Daniel continue to be mostly standing around and talking and the ‘action’ on the Daedalus is also mostly talking until the end.
There is a lovely section where McKay and Daniel working out what happened is contrasted with the Atlantis team working out what happened. The seamless back and forth does mean that the exposition for the audience is told in an interesting way. However, despite my appreciation for the direction here, while I appreciate the characters had to work out what had happened, given that the audience had already seen the aliens discover the signal coming on in their own secret lab and invading Atlantis for the corresponding device, it does feel like repetition.
What does really grab the audience is the final act; from the destruction of the hive ships to Todd’s takeover on the Daedalus to McKay and Daniel getting stunned again and the problems with the Atlantis Stargate, it’s a roller-coaster of action and build-up. There is a sense of danger for our heroes; McKay and Daniel are left at the mercy of their captors, Ronon and Keller at Todd’s. The Stargate exploding and the tower glowing just is an incredible effect. While the answer to the question of whether Sheppard will have survived the explosion is never in doubt, the cliff-hanger does provide the necessary set-up to make the audience want to know what happens next.
There are also other enjoyable elements; Todd’s discussion with Keller on the future of the Wraith is thought-provoking and as a long term fan there is a feel-good fuzziness to seeing Daniel finally getting to explore Atlantis and the new aliens are certainly intriguing. There was a great moment where the audience just sees Daniel start to think about his captors which just is classic Daniel.
In the final analysis, it is difficult to completely judge this episode when the second half of the story is yet to be told. On its own, the episode is still very accomplished; tightly written, good direction, well-acted and it sparkles from top to bottom in terms of production values. For the second half, I’m hoping McKay and Daniel will get to do more than talk; I’m hoping Teyla will be doing more than hanging around in the background; I’m hoping that the story’s climax will be worth the amount of time that was spent in build-up, and importantly, I’m hoping I won’t be bored.