As topic editor and resident Sci-Fi TV Feature Writer here at Suite101, it's probably no surprise to any of you that I'm a big fan of any project willing to keep me interested in its adventures for a hundred hours or more, all depending on the success of its own established franchise.
For years had I longed for a Star Trek type brand name, one which could build upon itself with various spin-offs, very much like Gene Roddenberry's own brainchild had over four decades.
This manna from heaven finally came in 1997, with the advent of Stargate SG-1, a popular spin-off of the hit 1994 film starring Kurt Russell as military adventurer Jack O'Neill. Former MacGyver star Richard Dean Anderson had taken over as O'Neill, along with a team of fellow explorers as they visited other planets, seeking out new life and new civilizations, not unlike their Trek counterparts.
About seven seasons into its ten-year run, fans of SG-1 began asking for more of the same, giving viewers a chance to follow a new team of like-minded explorers into another galaxy altogether, the Pegasus galaxy. The result? Stargate: Atlantis, which aired from 2004 to 2009.
Stargate: Atlantis The Complete Series (Blu-Ray) (4 out of 5)
Keeping with the winning recipe which made its predecessor just as popular, Atlantis followed the weekly adventures of a foursome team of explorers, each as different from the other as can be. Filling in the O'Neill archetype is Joe Flanigan as John Shepherd, Rachel Luttrell as the ever wise Athosian tracker Teyla Emmagan, Rainbow Sun Francks as Lieutenant Ford and returning fan favorite David Hewlett reprising his role as the irascible genius Dr. Rodney Mckay.
The series picked up momentum early in the second season when the Ford character was replaced by newcomer Jason Momoa as the fearless Ronon Dex, a towering warrior whose skill evading the enemy was second to none.
Rather than recycle the usual villains from the flagship series, the Atlantis showrunners opted for new and even more fearsome foes for the away team. Among the new threats are The Wraith, a race of hunters who live off life energy; the militaristic Genii, led by the cunning Kolya (Robert Davi); finally, the Asurans, a more evolved form of replicators similar to those seen on SG-1.
No spin-off would be worth its weight in space ore unless it managed to bring in the occasional guest-star from its sister show, as such Season Four sees a change in team leadership when the powers that be bring in Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) to help the cast fight off new and more imposing threats
But let's forget all that for now. After all, you've got a good hundred or so episodes ahead of you, enough to help you familiarize yourself with all of the show's intricacies. The good stuff here is the excellent uplift MGM has given to the series in its move to blu-ray. Given that half the scenes in each episode take place in space or during some sort of sci-fi-type altercation (the type usually involving laser guns and flying craft), the viewers will be rewarded in spades, when watching the show in the new format.
As someone who faithfully followed every single adventure, I can sincerely tell you that the upgraded version of the show in the high-def format will definitely be worth your while, despite the slight hit to your pocket. Nonetheless, I urge you to take the leap through the gate and enjoy this excellent spin-off once again, for the first time.
Source Code (3.5 out of 5)
Jake Gyllenhall is an unwitting participant in an experimental military project involving neural temporal travel. In short, the soldier's consciousness gets to inhabit another person's body for about 8 minutes, in this case with the goal of finding out who put a bomb on a commuter train. Part Groundhog Day (minus the laughs) and part Quantum Leap (minus the witty sidekick), this surreal thriller is sure to provide some surprises, despite the theatrical trailer having given too much away to start with.
Trust (3 out of 5)
A cautionary tale for the Internet Age if I've ever seen one, this well crafted directorial effort by former Friends star David Schwimmer does a good job of displaying just how misleading online conversations can be, as can advertising in the media. Clive Owen and Katherine Keener play the concerned parents, while young Liana Liberato shows incredible promise as their daughter Annie. I foresee many firewalls being erected after viewers see this film.
Life During Wartime (3 out of 5)
Fringe director Todd Solondz is as experimental a filmmaker as you can possibly find in this second decade of the 21st Century. Returning to characters previously seen in his late 90s film Happiness, Solondz uses a new cast to shed some light on a dysfunctional clan about eight years after the previous movie. Not everyone's cup of tea, certainly not mine. There are a few decent moments, but a handful of them does not a movie make.
Burn Notice: The Rise and Fall of Sam Axe (2.5 out of 5)
A highly anticipated prequel produced as a reward of sorts for loyal fans of the spy series Burn Notice, this TV movie tries to put on some meat on the bone that is Sam Axe's career as a former Special Ops man with the U.S. Navy Seals.
Director (and Burn Notice star) Jeffrey Donovan maintains the pace of the show's usual format, however there isn't nearly enough substance to this project to really help add to the titular character, played with usual panache by Bruce "The Chin" Campbell. Save yourself some disappointment and watch the regular series instead.
Also on Blu-ray and DVD this Week
The good folks over at Paramount Home Video are rewarding their large fan base by releasing the first four seasons of NCIS, a great mixture of CSI-type investigation mixed in with legal procedural. Makes me wonder what the show would have been like had Aaron Sorkin touched it at any point.
Also, the people at eOne honor Shark Week with their latest title, Restless Fury. While not necessarily bringing any sense of novelty to the shark docu genre, the producers and filmmakers still know how to shoot a scary looking predator in its own element.
Dominic Messier - Dominic Messier is a Toronto-based Film & TV writer, Sci-Fi TV and Film Dramas Topic Editor, and creator of PopCultureLandscape.com
