Sci-Fi Showdown GATE-TO-GATE - Week 5 (08.11.06)

Welcome to week 5 of the KHYRON.NET Sci-Fi Showdown, Gate-to-Gate edition.

We are now at the half-way mark for the Summer season. 5 weeks in, we have been gifted by some quality Stargate episodes. This week, before Sg-1 celebrates its 200th episode, we get another one-off filler episode. The Atlantis preview didn't reveal much, but there was quite the bombshell to be revealed.

So let's see how the episodes played out...

Stargate Sg-1 ("Uninvited")

From the preview, I was expecting a monster movie-like Sg-1 episode. There haven't been many aliens to step foot on Earth lately, so I thought this might make for a pretty fun story. Well... the story was good, the monster wasn't.

In episode 10.5,"Uninvited," Mitchell (Ben Browder) drives up to Gen. O'Neill's cabin to meet Gen. Landry (Beau Bridges) for a team bonding experience. However, with the rest of Sg-1 busy with more pressing matters, it seems it will just be the 2 of them. But after a local hunter is brutally killed, Mitchell and Landry go out in search of the beast responsible.

What started as a half-decent story was immediately shot down as soon as they brought the monster on screen. With CGI on par with the worst SciFi Original "movie", the dang thing ruined the episode. Nothing sucks you out of story than crappy CGI.

Sg-1 rarely has a problem with creature effects, so the only explanation I can think of for this is pure laziness. I don't think funding is a big issue nowadays. At least I wouldn't think it is...the show has proven itself for 10 seasons now.

I will admit that seeing Ben Browder run through the woods with a big pump-shotgun was marginally cool, but save for that, this is a below par episode no matter what way you cut it. I guess this one just got the shaft so that more attention could be given to the 200th episode. Or at least I hope...

Rating: 5/10

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Stargate Atlantis - (Progeny)

I'm still so blown away by this episode, I don't even know what to say about it.

In episode 3.5 "Progeny," the Atlantis team finds a seemingly untouched Ancient civilization. With several fully functioning ZPM devices, the massive city these Ancients live in has 10 times the grandeur of Atlantis. However, after the team is held captive, they soon discover these people are far from Ancients.

Oh snap. That's the best way to describe this episode.

Replicators. Replicators are on Atlantis. I still can't quite get that through my head. For the past 2 Atlantis seasons, I have only joked about Replicators making their way over from Sg-1. It was a far-fetched 'what-if?', nothing more. But I guess dreams can come true.

I've always liked Stargate Atlantis, but now I love it. In all honesty, I love this show. With this revelation, I now consider it on par with early Sg-1 seasons. If this show doesn't get the chance to go the distance, I will be truly saddened.

In fact, just thinking about the possibilities the Replicators bring to the show brings me to the point of a geek freak-out. Quality. This episode had enough of it to make up for the less than stellar Sg-1 episode that preceded it.

Rating: 10/10

Thus concludes Week 5 of the Sci-Fi Showdown Gate-to-Gate review. Check back each Monday for new Showdowns.

~Khyron