Stargate Atlantis - Series 2 - Complete - DVD (Torri Higginson, Joe Flanigan, Paul McGillion, David Hewlett, Rachel Luttrell - Dir: )

If Stargate Atlantis isn't the coolest sci-fi series on television, this five-disc, 20-episode box set from the second season (2005-06) offers ample evidence that it's right up there. The writing is good; the stories are intriguing, and the science part of the equation is credible enough to justify our suspension of disbelief. The characters are for the most part well-defined, and the acting, while perhaps not Emmy-calibre, is just fine. The action is exciting, the effects work impressive, the costumes and sets first-rate. But what Atlantis really has going for it is the presence of some of the baddest bad guys in the cosmos: the Wraith.

With their flowing white locks, cat-like eyes, pale, almost translucent skin, and shockingly bad teeth, the Wraith rock. They also have a constant need to feed--on humans, of course--and are a serious threat not only to Atlantis but to the entire known universe, including good ol' Earth. And although there are occasional diversions, the producers and writers have wisely kept the focus on these implacable antagonists; in fact, the newest member of the team, one Ronon Dex (played by the dreadlocked and hunky Jason Momoa), is a "runner" who escaped the Wraith's clutches, was a fugitive for years before being found by our heroes, and specialises in dispatching the villains with cold precision. In the course of the season, via single episodes and several multi-parters, the Stargate team, commanded by Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Torri Higginson in the show's least interesting role) and led by insouciant Major John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan), with genius-neurotic Dr. Rodney McKay (David Hewlett) handling the scientific intricacies and yet another doc, Carson Beckett (Paul McGillion, affecting a Scottish brogue), overseeing medical matters, deals with the enemy on many fronts. Lt. Ford (Rainbow Sun Francks) defects after assuming Wraith-like characteristics. The team experiments with a "retrovirus" designed to turn Wraiths into humans (the results are decidedly mixed). They encounter a human who raised a Wraith female from childhood and insists she's just like us (she's not). They're captured and imprisoned on a Wraith "hive" ship. And in the final episode, the humans and the Wraiths even form an alliance of supposedly mutual convenience (the episode is a cliffhanger that awaits resolution until Season Three, but anyone who thought this "partnership" was a good idea for our side clearly hasn't been paying attention).--Sam Graham

Customer Reviews of Stargate Atlantis - Series 2 - Complete

Charlie
UK
30th July 2008

Fantastic DVD Season
I bought this and it only took me 2 days. Stargate Atlantis season 2 was absolute superb, the action was great and good story lines but i think this was well worth the money. So all of you Stargate fans out there...get this now because you will not regret it trust me.

life is but a dream
london
24th June 2007

REALLY COOL!!!!!

Im not really an sg-1 fan i love rhe original movie but never got in to the tv series i did try but a)it didnt really appeal to me or b)i never gave it enough time to grow on me.I came across atlantis by accident i caught an episode on sky and decided to watch it and i loved it, the first thing i noticed is how cool the characters are rodney was hilarious and kept making me laugh along with becket.So when my birthday came around my wife asked me what i wanted, i took a chance and got season 1 and 2. After watching both seasons this is one of my favourite shows in fact im starting to like this as much as deep space nine and i love that show.The characters in atlantis are funny and cool from rodney,sheperd,ronnan all of them there is great chemistry between them which i have not seen in a show since ds9, the episodes are mostly well writen and are never trully awfull, also i love the wraith and the effects are great.The dvds have 5.1 sound and a great picture, i have even started to watch more sg-1 so if it was the creators desire to try to introduce new people in to the stargate universe they have succeded i may never be a big sg-1 fan but i love atlantis and cant wait to see season 3.

celticshedevil
Ireland
16th June 2007

Another great season
Stargate Atlantis is a fantastic spin-off of the much loved Stargate SG-1. Where SG-1 had to deal with the Go'auld Atlantis have their own terrifying and seemingly unstoppable force in the Wraith. While the Go'auld were evil they were teddy-bears compared to the Wraith - personally I'd rather have a contingent of Go'auld over for dinner than even one Wraith!

In Season 2 Weir, Sheppard, Teyla, McKay and Beckett continue on their quest to discover all they can about the ancient Atlantians while dealing with neighbours with agendas of their own. All the while they must keep the threat of the Wraith at the forefront and it leads to some great battles of wit and weaponry.

As a series the makers of Stargate Atlantis have managed to find a formula that makes Atlantis unique from SG-1 which will attract newbies but with a similar formula which will attract devout SG-1 fans. Atlantis is a darker sci-fi series but with some great one-liners which make it highly amusing also. Rodney manages to crack me up every episode without fail. The casting, stories and cinematography are excellent and I expect Atlantis to be around for several more seasons yet.

chasingshadows
Liverpool, UK
31st March 2007

Season two holds strong at 80%
`Stargate: Atlantis' season one not only established this show as a unique rival to its fellow series `Stargate: SG-1', but also set the bar very high for a second season with this new breed of adventurers continuing to battle Wraith and other foe in the far-removed Pegasus Galaxy. Consequently for me this season did not quite live up to that impressive debut.

Just as with its sister series, `Atlantis' is adept at balancing a large season story-arc while at the same time providing its audience with inventive one-off stories that act both to attract new viewers to the show and also give the loyal fan-base a break from the on-going threat of the Wraith. This second season is no exception. However, with many of the episodes it seemed to me that the plots were simply too similar in style and set-up to many from the first season. Episodes like 11- `The Hive' (6/10) and 14- `Grace Under Pressure' (7/10) felt like carbon-copies of episodes 2- `Rising, Part 2' and 4- `Thirty-Eight Minutes' from the first season- obviously mixing up ideas and going in slightly different directions, but still- simply too reminiscent of those season one stories. This season works slightly differently compared to the first in that many episodes (even those that aren't strongly Wraith-based) tend to bleed into one another, even though they're not described as `to be continued', which means that many episodes here end quite abruptly and in an unsatisfying way for the viewer. Episode 7- `Instinct' (6/10) (guest-starring the unrecognisable Jewel Staite of `Firefly'/'Serenity' fame) was one that left me particularly at a loss and wondering `is that it?' only to begin episode 8- `Conversion' to discover that the closure awarded the character was particularly brutal and baffling. Even in episode 17- `Coup D'etat' (7/10), which sees the long-awaited return of the Genii- the plot feels stretched and doesn't come close to rivalling the twists and character intricacies that were so engrossing with the Genii episodes of season one i.e. `Underground', `The Storm' and `The Eye'. Of course it's great to see Colm Meaney return as the villainous leader of the Genii people, but throughout the episode I was willing the pace to quicken and for events to take off the way they never failed to during season one.

Yet still, there are some especially engrossing and original stories to enjoy in season two. Some of my favourite episodes would be episode 4- `Duet' (8/10), which has some great chemistry between McKay and Beckett (hilarious), episode 12- `Epiphany' (9/10) that steps into SG-1 territory somewhat by exploring the ancients and their process of ascension, and episode 18- `Michael' (10/10) guest-starring Enterprise's Connor Trinneer, which is easily the best episode of the season- absolutely original, suspenseful and emotional. All fans of `Stargate: Atlantis' should be reassured because season two definitely maintains the high-quality of this show, although frustratingly- doesn't quite manage to up the anti after a rollercoaster first season. Anticipation rating for season three- 4 stars.

matthew10691
England
12th February 2007

The Adventure Continues
This is 1 great season from start to finish the season kicks off with the resulution to last seasons cliffhanger in the seige part 3 where sheppard is on his way to destroy the wraith hive ship but just in the nick of time we see the arrival of the battleship deudalus to save him under the command of colonel Steven Caldwell played by Mitch(X-files)Piligi also we see the arrival of a new character a few episodes into the season Ronnen Dex who is on the run from the wraith after they destroyed his homeworld as the season continues we start to see crossover episodes with SG1 with General Landry, Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter this has to be the best season out of the 2 so far

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