Stargate Atlantis: Best Episodes Season 1-2
Okay, so although I love the original Stargate movie and the Stargate: SG-1 series, Stargate: Atlantis is my one true love in the Stargate diaspora. So in the normal way of blogs, I tried to compile a list of my favorite episodes.
It got kind of long.
The Loonatic told me to cut it down.
In a fit of perverse rage I cut it into two posts instead.
Anyway, this is the first of those posts, covering the first two seasons of Stargate: Atlantis. And again, this is a favorites post, so these episodes don't necessarily have an plot-based value. To give any newcomers a little help, I given each entry a summary and an explanation of what overarching relevance each episode has (if any).
Rising (s1e1 and s1e2)
Summary: A multi-national, scientist-led expedition boldly goes through the Stargate (a wormhole-harnessing device allowing for instantaneous travel across vast interstellar distances) on a mission to the lost city of Atlantis...in another galaxy. Without a sure way back home, the team must fight to survive in a whole new world.
Overall Relevance: I mean, it's the first episode. And it's not some backdoor pilot or un-aired starter pack either, it's like...actually the first episode. It's good, really good. It introduces the characters and the overall situation in a lovely, action-packed way that sets the tone for the rest of the series.
The Storm and The Eye (s1e10 and s1e11)
Summary: The new Lanteans are forced to abandon the city while hurricanes menace the city. The Genii take advantage of the situation by invading the city and Weir, McKay, and Sheppard are left alone to fend them off while Beckett, Teyla, and Ford weather the storm on the mainland.
Overall Relevance: Critical in establishing the ongoing threat of the Genii. Plus, this is really the first episode(s) that sold Sheppard as a badass for me.
Hot Zone (s1e13)
Summary: A group exploring a distant part of the city accidentally unleashes a deadly virus. Sheppard tries to work around the city's quarantine response in order to track down a possible carrier while McKay feverishly fights the clock to save himself and everyone else.
Overall Relevance: No real relevance to the overarching plot, but I loved episodes in this series that highlighted the amount of exploration to be done within the city as well as in the rest of the galaxy. Plus, stay-at-home episodes like this one allowed for a better look at the expedition as a whole, with all of its personnel tensions, black market negotiations, and scientific snark.
Duet (s2e4)
Summary: In a accident with a Wraith storage device, McKay accidentally ends up with Lt. Cadman's mind sharing his body. Hijinks ensue as McKay tries to have a date and Cadman despairs of his interpersonal skills.
Overall Relevance: Again, pretty much nonexistent. However, Atlantis didn't have a lot of comedic episodes, and most of them fell a bit flat for me. This, however, is one of the rare episodes that was both actually funny and emotionally relevant.
Epiphany (s2e12)
Summary: Sheppard gets trapped in a bubble of increased time dilation where the Ancients have set up a haven for those seeking ascendance (for people who don't speak gobbledygook, Sheppard gets trapped in a bubble where time passes a lot faster, so a week for him might only be a couple hours outside the bubble). As the rest of the team strives to get him out, he spends months attempting to learn patience and protect the local villagers from their own stupidity.
Overall Relevance: I mean, I feel like this is an important episode for the show, but also it has little to no impact on any real plot elements. Take that as you will.
Michael (s2e18)
Summary: This episode forms the backstory for one of Atlantis' most persistent, and most comic book-esque, villains. When Atlantis military personnel Michael Kenmore wakes up to find he has no memory of his past, he's worried but trusting. As time wears on and memory returns however, he finds that instead of being part of the expedition, he is actually a Wraith captured by the Atlantis expedition and experimented on in their fight against the vampiric species.
Overall Relevance: Crucial. This episode sets up the entire seasons-long Michael arc, and displays one of the worst ongoing ethical failures of the Atlantis as they try to genetically re-engineer the Wraith in an attempt to de-fang and humanize them.
It got kind of long.
The Loonatic told me to cut it down.
In a fit of perverse rage I cut it into two posts instead.
Anyway, this is the first of those posts, covering the first two seasons of Stargate: Atlantis. And again, this is a favorites post, so these episodes don't necessarily have an plot-based value. To give any newcomers a little help, I given each entry a summary and an explanation of what overarching relevance each episode has (if any).
Rising (s1e1 and s1e2)
 |
| All screencaps come from the lovely GateWorld.net |
Summary: A multi-national, scientist-led expedition boldly goes through the Stargate (a wormhole-harnessing device allowing for instantaneous travel across vast interstellar distances) on a mission to the lost city of Atlantis...in another galaxy. Without a sure way back home, the team must fight to survive in a whole new world.
Overall Relevance: I mean, it's the first episode. And it's not some backdoor pilot or un-aired starter pack either, it's like...actually the first episode. It's good, really good. It introduces the characters and the overall situation in a lovely, action-packed way that sets the tone for the rest of the series.
The Storm and The Eye (s1e10 and s1e11)
 |
| I associate this angry look with actors who've had buckets of water thrown into their faces for too many takes in a row |
Summary: The new Lanteans are forced to abandon the city while hurricanes menace the city. The Genii take advantage of the situation by invading the city and Weir, McKay, and Sheppard are left alone to fend them off while Beckett, Teyla, and Ford weather the storm on the mainland.
Overall Relevance: Critical in establishing the ongoing threat of the Genii. Plus, this is really the first episode(s) that sold Sheppard as a badass for me.
Hot Zone (s1e13)
 |
| I'm not sure why this picture is so fuzzy and oddly colored, but I'm kind of liking it. |
Summary: A group exploring a distant part of the city accidentally unleashes a deadly virus. Sheppard tries to work around the city's quarantine response in order to track down a possible carrier while McKay feverishly fights the clock to save himself and everyone else.
Overall Relevance: No real relevance to the overarching plot, but I loved episodes in this series that highlighted the amount of exploration to be done within the city as well as in the rest of the galaxy. Plus, stay-at-home episodes like this one allowed for a better look at the expedition as a whole, with all of its personnel tensions, black market negotiations, and scientific snark.
Duet (s2e4)
 |
| There's honestly way too many good caps for this epissode, but I think this one best represents the chaotic energy of everything happening. Katie's sweet but confused. Beckett is manically trying to keep everything together. And McKay is staring into the abyss and listening to it giggle at him. |
Summary: In a accident with a Wraith storage device, McKay accidentally ends up with Lt. Cadman's mind sharing his body. Hijinks ensue as McKay tries to have a date and Cadman despairs of his interpersonal skills.
Overall Relevance: Again, pretty much nonexistent. However, Atlantis didn't have a lot of comedic episodes, and most of them fell a bit flat for me. This, however, is one of the rare episodes that was both actually funny and emotionally relevant.
Epiphany (s2e12)
 |
| Do I want to know what he's been using to gel his hair with in this rural community? |
Summary: Sheppard gets trapped in a bubble of increased time dilation where the Ancients have set up a haven for those seeking ascendance (for people who don't speak gobbledygook, Sheppard gets trapped in a bubble where time passes a lot faster, so a week for him might only be a couple hours outside the bubble). As the rest of the team strives to get him out, he spends months attempting to learn patience and protect the local villagers from their own stupidity.
Overall Relevance: I mean, I feel like this is an important episode for the show, but also it has little to no impact on any real plot elements. Take that as you will.
Michael (s2e18)
 |
| Thank whatever gods there are that the showrunners never decided to put the Wraith-standard long wig on Michael. |
Summary: This episode forms the backstory for one of Atlantis' most persistent, and most comic book-esque, villains. When Atlantis military personnel Michael Kenmore wakes up to find he has no memory of his past, he's worried but trusting. As time wears on and memory returns however, he finds that instead of being part of the expedition, he is actually a Wraith captured by the Atlantis expedition and experimented on in their fight against the vampiric species.
Overall Relevance: Crucial. This episode sets up the entire seasons-long Michael arc, and displays one of the worst ongoing ethical failures of the Atlantis as they try to genetically re-engineer the Wraith in an attempt to de-fang and humanize them.
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