Stargate Atlantis: The Complete Third Season DVD: Review By Bryan Yentz

Man, I never would have thought a show based on such an awesome movie would last this long, let alone spawn other series using the same concept of space travel. Atlantis is another one of these take-off's, yet proves as heartfelt and entertaining as its predecessors.

The story jumps around here and there, but for the most part, it revolves around central characters trying to decipher the mysteries of Atlantis and its "Ancients"; all the while battling nefarious "Wraiths", robotic "Replicators", and the occational monster. Yet when the story isn't enveloped in the central theme, that's when the show becomes that much more interesting. The side-stories seem far more character oriented and build upon the protagonists far better than episodes dealing with the main storyline. --Bear in mind I still enjoyed the entirety of the show; I just particularly enjoyed the branching storylines more.-- One episode entitled "Sunday" is not only creative and surprising, but also both sad and moving. Without paying attention to any one enemy, this episode's focus is on a weapon that can hurt enemies and users alike due to its immense radiation. When the radiation infects, a small exploding tumor is birthed behind the victim's lungs, and well... After a short amount of time, it does what all exploding tumors do... Go boom. It's a pretty good premise combined with quite a bittersweet ending.

The final episode is another that stands out among the pack. Not only is it a story of political intrigue and war; it's also a story with some of the show's best visual moments (Atlantis submerging itself as a laser tries to penetrate its shields, a 1 minute sequence of a warhead plummetting downward upon an unsuspecting planet, etc...).

The characters of the show are also perfectly acted and don't allow themselves just to be hollow personalities. You've seen a lot of them before, but it still doesn't diminish the fact that just about all of the performances are excellently handled. From the ol' Scottish Doctor and Sheppard, to McKay and Weir; the acting is definitely something to be commended.

The biggest gripe I have is that there are a few episodes that feel like somewhat rip-off's of other stories. Take for instance the episode called "The Real World". To sum it up, it's exactly like the far superior film, Jacob's Ladder. Another episode has a scene in which the Stargate team reach an unfamiliar planet only to find military remains. After a short bit of searching, the crew finds a sort-of "marine-cam". The following sequence reminded me exactly of that found in one of the cinematics of the first Halo game. Yeah, it's nitpicky, but it still bothered me a little that a lot of the Atlantis ideas were somewhat rehashes.

Overall, by creating a heartfelt script and actually taking chances with its characters; Atlantis is a fun little piece of sci-fi that exceeds in some unexpected key areas.

Lots o' stuff here...

--Commentaries... And LOTS of them. Selected episoded with commentary tracks are: No Man's Land

Misbegotten

Irresistible

Sateda

Progeny

Common Ground

McKay and Mrs. Miller

Phantoms

The Return-Part 1

The Return-Part 2

Echoes

Irresponsible

Tao of Rodney

The Game

The Ark

Sunday

Submersion

Vengeance

First Strike

The commentaries range from boring to interesting as the changing commentators are either very enthusiastic with their work, or just happy it's over. Even still, these tracks do a good job of explaining the effort applied to each of the episodes. Be it the music developed for the show, the special effects, characters, or the creators favorite enviornmental shots; the commentators do a fine job on expressing their likes and dislikes regarding the creation of the show.

--Lots of Photo Galleries--

A robust amount of stills from both the show and behind the scenes. Not the best thing, but oh well.

--Mission Directives--

The "Directive" segments are basically making-of's for specific episodes. These segments are everything you'd expect from a behind the scenes featurette. For the most part the shows directors and writers are the only ones that get screen time here. Then again, after watching the actors for so long, it's understandable as to why the creators are now given the chance to speak. All in all, the Mission Directives are a decently engrossing addition, especially when there's more than one.

Episodes which support these directives are: Progeny

Sateda

Phantoms

The Game

First Strike

--Masters of the Alien Featurette--

This little ditty of a feature explores the methods used in creating the multiple aliens seen on the show; or more specifically, the Wraith. Nothing amazing, but it is always interesting to see the creative process behind the monster's molds; especially for the big ol' brute wraith.

--General O'Neill Goes to Atlantis--

A semi-interesting feature in which the creators chat about the veteran General O' Neill (from the original Stargate SG-1 series) making an appearnace on the show. While it's entertaining to see an old face, the best thing about this segment is learning that a lot of his character's dialogue is just him improvising.

--Inside the Stargate Atlantis Special FX Department--

A surprisingly dull featurette. Although they do take us behind the scenes of the visula effects; no one seems that excited. Some interesting stuff here, but overall just kind of dry.

--Profile on: Rachel Luttrell--

Basically a behind the scenes solely focused on the Jennifer Lopez look-alike Rachel Luttrell's character, Teyla. Here she decribes acting on the show, her character's strengths and weaknesses, and how dancing has helped with choreographing her fight sequences. Another nice addition are questions sent in by fans that she answers on camera.

The show looks great, but some of the CG wanes at points. It is presented in a 1.78:1 widescreen format.

Sounds just fine, and some of the music is pretty solid too. It's presented in English 5.1 Dolby Surround, as well as French Dolby Surround. This set also has English, Spanish and French subtitles.

A bunch of the show's protagonists standing around... Nothing spectacular here.

A fun, heartfelt sci-fi show with some surprising moments.