Inquisition - Review
12/11/2008 08:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rachel500Inquisition is the 13th episode in Season 5 of Stargate Atlantis.
Review
Clip shows are never a welcome surprise in my book. No matter how much pretty wrapping goes around the clips, no matter how many sparkles it’s dressed up in, at the end of the day, a clip show is a clip show is a clip show. Having said that, both the clips chosen and the wrapping do make a difference on whether it ends up being a bad clip show. With Inquisition, the jury is still out. Let’s take a look at the evidence…
A bad clip show is charged on two counts: the first count being having a thin, flimsy story around the clips and the second having an unimaginative selection of clips that add nothing and have the barest relevance to the story.
On the first charge, Inquisition is not a particularly imaginative take. Stargate SG1 often used the clip show as a way of introducing bureaucratic complications (Kinsey, the IOA, the new President) and an element of examination to the team’s successes and failures (Politics, Disclosure, and Inauguration). Inquisition really falls into the same category: the Atlantis team are placed on trial by a new coalition between human populations within the Pegasus Galaxy. They are faced with having to justify their previous actions within the episode itself, and no doubt the intention was for the coalition to start being used in future storylines as a way of complicating life in the Pegasus Galaxy for the Atlantis expedition.
The execution of the story is not all that interesting either. The coalition seems to be pitched at just a level up from the medieval style villages the team usually visit and below the technological and military level of the Genii. Therefore the courtroom, the setting and the imprisonment all have usual medieval overtones. The question is at this level are the coalition really going to ever become a believable force to be reckoned in terms of ongoing story-telling? I fear not. More, it seems that the only reason why the coalition is at this level is because the resolution to the plot’s main issue – how the Atlantis team win the trial – is the bribe based on Atlantis’s own technological and military superiority being the better bet for the corrupt judge.
It’s not a badly constructed story as it stands and certainly, Joe Flanigan and Robert Picardo who have to carry it to a great extent, do a good job. Picardo’s Woolsey actually gets a great outing demonstrating leadership both on Atlantis when searching for the missing team and in the prison, and utilising the character’s legal and oversight background to great effect with the tables turned: Woolsey having to defend the Atlantis record rather than be the one to scrutinise it.
Yet the story never reaches its potential and this is the major disappointment. Although this type of story has been done in Stargate before, this is effectively it’s first outing in Atlantis. Certainly, the idea of the Atlantis team being called to account for their actions by the natives of Pegasus is a strong one (and more interesting than Earth based politics). It could have been used to have introduced some great new allies as part of the coalition, perhaps still at a lower technological level but maybe more equivalent to Sateda, the Travellers or the Genii.
More had the charges been more explicit rather than wishy-washy (after two rounds of watching I’m still not completely clear what the charges were), had the coalition seemed more accurately informed (most of their comments seemed to be asking for information rather than charging Atlantis with an actual crime), had there been more of an actual trial with evidence put forward and witnesses being examined and cross-examined rather than a simple retelling of events, had the ending not settled for the scene of glib self-congratulations on the balcony a la Boston Legal and been more reflective of the expedition's innocence or guilt, then this might have had some real substance.
The best moments in the whole episode are those which provide that substance; when Ronon and Teyla exchange a look at McKay’s statement, the female judge’s anger and grief at her loss that has resulted from the team’s actions even if only indirectly, the impassioned statement from the coalition representative that the expedition needs to be brought to account. If there had been more moments like these, the story could have been a classic. I know I would have found it incredibly interesting to hear a real prosecution and a real defence of the team’s actions since their arrival in Pegasus. But Inquisition doesn’t give this. In the end, it settles for the story being the framework around the clips rather than excelling as a story utilising clips in the telling.
The clips themselves are mostly action packed: the first attack of the Wraith, the killing of the Queen, shooting up of various hive ships, destroying Michael’s cruiser, escaping from the Replicators, destroying the Replicators. It is a nice recap of events to date in many ways, relevant to the discussions where they are used and given the very fixed setting of the trial, they do provide some action and drama to offset the very talky court-scenes. However, for me, the best clips were around Michael. It was fascinating to revisit the beginning of what happened with Michael especially given the next episode in the series will return to the Michael arc.
The overall verdict? On the first charge of story-telling, Inquisition is slightly more than a loose concept holding together a series of clips. The story is OK, elevated by the performances of the actors and there are moments that shine but it could have been so much more. On the second charge of selection of clips, it has a solid defence. Overall, well, in the eyes of this judge, Inquisition is not a bad clip show but perhaps it should plead guilty to the lesser charge of simply being average.
A bad clip show is charged on two counts: the first count being having a thin, flimsy story around the clips and the second having an unimaginative selection of clips that add nothing and have the barest relevance to the story.
On the first charge, Inquisition is not a particularly imaginative take. Stargate SG1 often used the clip show as a way of introducing bureaucratic complications (Kinsey, the IOA, the new President) and an element of examination to the team’s successes and failures (Politics, Disclosure, and Inauguration). Inquisition really falls into the same category: the Atlantis team are placed on trial by a new coalition between human populations within the Pegasus Galaxy. They are faced with having to justify their previous actions within the episode itself, and no doubt the intention was for the coalition to start being used in future storylines as a way of complicating life in the Pegasus Galaxy for the Atlantis expedition.
The execution of the story is not all that interesting either. The coalition seems to be pitched at just a level up from the medieval style villages the team usually visit and below the technological and military level of the Genii. Therefore the courtroom, the setting and the imprisonment all have usual medieval overtones. The question is at this level are the coalition really going to ever become a believable force to be reckoned in terms of ongoing story-telling? I fear not. More, it seems that the only reason why the coalition is at this level is because the resolution to the plot’s main issue – how the Atlantis team win the trial – is the bribe based on Atlantis’s own technological and military superiority being the better bet for the corrupt judge.
It’s not a badly constructed story as it stands and certainly, Joe Flanigan and Robert Picardo who have to carry it to a great extent, do a good job. Picardo’s Woolsey actually gets a great outing demonstrating leadership both on Atlantis when searching for the missing team and in the prison, and utilising the character’s legal and oversight background to great effect with the tables turned: Woolsey having to defend the Atlantis record rather than be the one to scrutinise it.
Yet the story never reaches its potential and this is the major disappointment. Although this type of story has been done in Stargate before, this is effectively it’s first outing in Atlantis. Certainly, the idea of the Atlantis team being called to account for their actions by the natives of Pegasus is a strong one (and more interesting than Earth based politics). It could have been used to have introduced some great new allies as part of the coalition, perhaps still at a lower technological level but maybe more equivalent to Sateda, the Travellers or the Genii.
More had the charges been more explicit rather than wishy-washy (after two rounds of watching I’m still not completely clear what the charges were), had the coalition seemed more accurately informed (most of their comments seemed to be asking for information rather than charging Atlantis with an actual crime), had there been more of an actual trial with evidence put forward and witnesses being examined and cross-examined rather than a simple retelling of events, had the ending not settled for the scene of glib self-congratulations on the balcony a la Boston Legal and been more reflective of the expedition's innocence or guilt, then this might have had some real substance.
The best moments in the whole episode are those which provide that substance; when Ronon and Teyla exchange a look at McKay’s statement, the female judge’s anger and grief at her loss that has resulted from the team’s actions even if only indirectly, the impassioned statement from the coalition representative that the expedition needs to be brought to account. If there had been more moments like these, the story could have been a classic. I know I would have found it incredibly interesting to hear a real prosecution and a real defence of the team’s actions since their arrival in Pegasus. But Inquisition doesn’t give this. In the end, it settles for the story being the framework around the clips rather than excelling as a story utilising clips in the telling.
The clips themselves are mostly action packed: the first attack of the Wraith, the killing of the Queen, shooting up of various hive ships, destroying Michael’s cruiser, escaping from the Replicators, destroying the Replicators. It is a nice recap of events to date in many ways, relevant to the discussions where they are used and given the very fixed setting of the trial, they do provide some action and drama to offset the very talky court-scenes. However, for me, the best clips were around Michael. It was fascinating to revisit the beginning of what happened with Michael especially given the next episode in the series will return to the Michael arc.
The overall verdict? On the first charge of story-telling, Inquisition is slightly more than a loose concept holding together a series of clips. The story is OK, elevated by the performances of the actors and there are moments that shine but it could have been so much more. On the second charge of selection of clips, it has a solid defence. Overall, well, in the eyes of this judge, Inquisition is not a bad clip show but perhaps it should plead guilty to the lesser charge of simply being average.
