Critical Myth Article: Stargate: Atlantis: Looking Back on Season 3
Coming out of the second season, “Stargate: Atlantis” was struggling with a slight but discernable sophomore slump. After a first season with a strong and well-developed set of plot and character arcs, made simpler by the opportunity to introduce a new, isolated status quo, the second season felt a bit sluggish. The character development was lacking, too much focus was placed on Sheppard and McKay, and the plot elements that dominated the first half of the season seemed to disappear in the second half.
The series also struggled with an important story transition: from the isolation and lack of resources and allies in the first season to the broader availability of Earth and its technology in the second. The original choice to isolate Team Atlantis was a practical decision; it forced the writers to develop the plot and characters without too many connections to established elements within the Stargate franchise, and it also gave the team a goal. Once contact with Earth was restored, the lines began to blur.
The second season also ended with a series of plot contrivances that left Weir looking like a horrible leader incapable of learning from previous mistakes. Add to that a number of retreads from previous “SG-1” episodes, and the second season was simply disappointing, coming in with a Critical Myth average rating of 6.8, slightly below average.
The third season, on the whole, did little to resolve the basic problems, though there were definite improvements. In particular, there was a growing sense of dissatisfaction in Weir’s command, continuing one of the more interesting subplots involving military vs. civilian leadership of Team Atlantis. Unfortunately, every time it seemed to come up as a major plot point, it would be dropped to maintain the status quo.
Also, characters like Teyla and Ronon continued to get little or no development. One episode, “Sadeta”, did focus on Ronon, but amounted to a poorly written and directed sci-fi action piece rather than anything substantial. Similarly, episodes devoted to Teyla seldom delved into her current psychology, instead reinforcing her role as the Exotic Warrior Woman.
The preference, as always, seemed to be episodes highlighting Sheppard or McKay. Sheppard is still the wise-cracking action hero. McKay had no less than three major episodes devoted to what was, at the time, presented as a turning point in his outlook on life. Of course, none of these events seem to have resulted in any discernable personality change, so all that emphasis feels unnecessary, especially when others characters are begging to be explored.
The most egregious example of this problem came after the landmark episode “Sunday”. In that episode, Dr. Carson Beckett was killed, and in the process, the writers explored several characters in more depth than perhaps the rest of the season. By the season finale, these events were all but ignored; only the arrival of the new doctor gave evidence that anything had changed. That lack of follow-through was quite disappointing.
Yet the quality of the episodes, even the stand-alone efforts, largely managed to overcome the lack of balanced character exploration. If the character threads lacked progression, the plot threads managed to add new and interesting complications and consequences. This was closer to the first season model, and as a result, the season was strengthened as a whole. Had one glaring mistake been avoided, the season might have been even more successful.
That mistake was the character of Lucius, highlighted in two atrocious episodes, one of which celebrated the character’s penchant for sexually assaulting women while they were powerless to stop him. The character was framed as amusing, even broadly comical, which was a terrible miscalculation. The two episodes featuring Lucius were among the worst in the series’ history and stand as a stain on the season as a whole.
Despite the challenges, the third season managed a Critical Myth average rating of 7.2. That’s a shade above average, which is an improvement on the second season. Early indications are that the writers will be focusing on tighter plot and character arcs for the fourth season, and that could represent an overall improvement if handled well.
John Keegan
Reprinted with permission
Original source: c. Critical Myth, 2007
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