Sci-Fi Showdown GATE-TO-GATE - Week 3 (07.28.06)

Welcome to week 3 of the KHYRON.NET Sci-Fi Showdown, Gate-to-Gate edition.

Last week saw a couple of solid Stargate episodes. Although Stargate Sg-1 was marred by a poor ending, The Gates dished out some quality entertainment. Now this week, Sg-1 crossed over with Atlantis in a big way. So how did the team-up work out? And did Stargate Atlantis continue to dish out the goods? Let's find out...

Stargate Sg-1 ("The Pegasus Project")

I always like it when Sg-1 and Atlantis crossover with each other. Up until now however, the extent of this interaction has been limited to brief references and the occasional character from Atlantis traveling back to Earth.

In episode 10.3,"The Pegasus Project," Sg-1 travels to the Pegasus galaxy to try and stop the Ori supergate from allowing more crusading reinforcements into the Milky Way. Their plan? Drop a stargate by a black hole and detonate a nuclear warhead next to it. The power of the blast would cause the wormhole to jump from the connected gate to the nearest secondary gate (i.e. the supergate). Referencing a past episode of Sg-1, Carter (Amanda Tapping) and McKay (David Hewlett) hope the power of the black hole will cause the supergate to be dialed-in indefinitely.

Besides crossovers between the two Gate shows, I'm also a pretty big fan of past episode references. Having been following Sg-1 since the Showtime mini-series that started it, bringing back past plots to help solve current season problems is like a welcome blast of nostalgia.

But how did the character crossovers turn out in "The Pegasus Project"? Well, let me just say that this episode more than makes up for the less-than-stellar episodes that have plagued the last couple of post-Richard Dean Anderson seasons. This episode was so well written, funny, and downright entertaining that it is now on my Top 10 list of favorite Sg-1 episodes. Finally seeing Sg-1's Mitchell (Ben Browder) meet up with Atlantis' Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) was priceless. As was Mitchell's interaction with McKay. The whole bit about Sheppard keeping a lemon in his vest had me cracking up.

Also, it was nice to see Carter and McKay back together again. Their conversation about how McKay hallucinated her image to help save his sanity when trapped in a sunken jumper in a past Atlantis episode was great. The look on Carter's face after hearing the story was a slice of fried gold.

Yup, "The Pegasus Project" was a good'un. If ever there was doubt that Sg-1 would be able to pull off a 10th season, it's certainly gone now. If the much hyped 200th episode is anywhere near to the quality of this one, good times are ahead for Sg-1 fans.

Rating: 10/10

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Stargate Atlantis - (Irresistible)

With such an explosively delicious Stargate Sg-1 episode on before it, Atlantis had the difficult task of trying to follow it up. It would be pretty hard to match Sg-1's scale, so instead the writers went for more of a one-off filler episode. But an incredibly funny filler episode it was.

In episode 3.3, "Irresistible," Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) and crew travel to a planet with the hopes of taking its stargate as part of Carter's idea to shorten travel time between Earth and Atlantis. However, when a human settlement is discovered on the planet in question, the Atlantis team decides to check things out. There they find a charismatic herbalist named Lucius Luvin (played by guest star Richard Kind). Although initially skeptical of Lucius' hospitality, one by one the team begins to warm up to Luvin's contagious personality.

The antagonist's name--Lucius Luvin--is enough to tell you that this particular episode is going to be a comedy. Comical moments are becoming more and more overt in Stargate Atlantis, and "Irresistible" only pushes this trend further.

At the core of the episode was guest star and noted television comedian, Richard Kind. Without his goofy, outgoing performance, this episode would have totally flopped. However, he nailed the role perfectly, creating a memorable character on par with Dom DeLuise from the Sg-1 episode "Urgo" (for those that remember).

Seeing all of the Atlantis characters become smitten with Lucius was good for a laugh or two. Dr. Beckett and Ronon in particular turned exceptionally er...feminine when around him. Hearing Ronon speak adoringly of another man was so out of character that I couldn't help but laugh.

Although a filler episode by definition, "Irresistible" ranks up as one of the funnier and more memorable Atlantis episodes to date. The overt comedy and sexual innuendo was a big risk for the show, but with the help of Richard Kind, this one is a winner.

Rating: 9/10

Thus concludes Week 3 of the Sci-Fi Showdown Gate-to-Gate review. Check back each Monday for new Showdowns.

~Khyron