STARGATE ATLANTIS

SEASON THREE

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Because of: violence, thematic elements

Rated:

No one ever warned me that this show could be so addictive. One hour spent with my friends turned into a marathon of the first three seasons, ending with me as a true blue fan of one of the best sci-fi programs out there. And season three is the best!

In a desperate attempt to protect Planet Earth from invasion by the Wraith Hive ships, stocked full of soul-sucking alien entities, Lt. Colonel John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) risks his position and his life to sneak aboard one of the ships and rescue his comrades, Ronan (Jason Momoa) and Dr. McKay (David Hewlett) from a fate worse than death. His associates at Atlantis believe he has been killed, since they have not heard from him since the ship leapt into hyper speed. Clamping onto the underside of the hive and enlisting the unlikely assistance of a half-wraith in invading the ship, Sheppard and his friends manage to set the hive ships against one another, returning triumphant to Atlantis with a number of incapacitated wraiths. This provides their physician Dr. Beckett (Paul McGillion) with the opportunity he has been waiting for, to test a human serum on the wraith to determine of their genetic structure can be reversed.

The team is eager to implement these tests on a neighboring abandoned planet, but their hopes for the future of the race have catastrophic results, and the position of their leader, Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson), is placed into jeopardy. While dealing with the constant threat of the Wraith, the team continue to explore and attempt to befriend neighboring civilizations through the Stargate, a portal that allows them to travel between planets and solar systems. The result is an epic season with more than a few surprises in store for its audience. The characters continue to amuse and entertain, while battles are bigger and threats ever more perilous.

One of the things I liked most was the number of Wraith-involved plot lines. They are truly a terrifying enemy, with the ability to suck the life out of any human being and feed off its energy, but as we learn along with Sheppard and his companions, that is not all there is to them. There is a history and even an odd sense of honor among their ranks, and the episodes that highlight these important discoveries are among the best the season has to offer. It's not all gun battles and alien invasions, however, because there are some highly emotional moments too. In "Sunday," one of the team's life is lost in a valiant attempt to save his friends. The absence of the character, the reaction of those who loved him, and the sight of his funeral casket passing through the Stargate to earth does not fail to bring a lump to the viewer's throat. But to offset the sorrow is the humor, a never-ending stream of witty puns and wordplays, accompanied by a few good old fashioned but well-meant insults.

There is also a guest appearance by Jack O'Neal (Richard Dean Anderson), and one of the most amazing season finales the show has yet to offer, as Atlantis is once more submerged. The content is on par with former seasons. The wraith suck life from humans, leaving gnarled, ancient corpses behind. There are a number of explosions and occasional casualties; entire civilizations are placed into peril and sometimes perish. Frequent exchange of gunfire is involved, along with physical altercations for self-preservation. Language is limited to a handful of profanities now and again, and sensuality is nonexistent, apart from Teyla's midriff bearing casual clothes, and the fact that a man in "Irresistible" uses his hero status to impress the ladies (implications but nothing explicit).

Fans hoping for romantic entanglements between certain characters will be somewhat disappointed, but for me the highlight was how consistently strong the season was from beginning to end. There's not a dud in the entire season, at least for me, and that in itself is remarkable.