TVSquad

(S05E04) Big things are on the horizon for our friends in Atlantis. Episode five brings with it a big picture episode that will take us back to a host of things that happened in season four. With a slot to fill before that, it was time for another stand alone episode. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Some of my favorite Atlantis episodes have been of the stand alone variety. And luckily for us, this is another of the really good stand alone entries.

Gallery: Stargate Atlantis: Season 5

Of course, there is one big possibility that could save this episode from being relegated to the one-off folder, a new (slightly Borgish?) enemy. Those guys were badass. It takes a certain kind of crazy to think, "You've shot my ship down, so I'm going to crash it through your hull, climb out of the wreckage, and kick your ass." And that's just the kind of crazy I'm looking for in an Atlantian foe. I don't know that there are any plans to bring these guys back in the near future, and the preview for next week makes it look like there are other fish perched over the frying pan. But it does stand to reason that they could be out there somewhere, in our reality, lurking.

I've gone and put the cart ahead of the horse there though. Getting back to the main story, it was clever in its simplicity. The problem was plain to see early on. Then it was just a matter of settling in and enjoying the ride. I liked the progression of the various realities - Atlantis under attack by alienX, no Atlantis, the sun going red giant, asteroids. My favorite of those was the attack. Aside from the fact that it had the mysterious new baddie, it also had some very cool space battle FX to go along with it.

What really made the episode was that it was a big team adventure. Along the way we got some really good interactions between them. Among my favorites: Check out the big brain on Teyla. Who knew she'd been soaking up the training on running the ship? Ronon, he's no Han Solo. I really liked how much Ronon struggled with operating the ship's guns. He's great in his element, but he has many things yet to learn. It also set up Sheppard for the line of the night with, "Easy Chewy, those buttons are your friends." And Sheppard talking to Sheppard was very funny. From "This is...Daedulus" right on through to the mutual admiration party.

All good, but the star of the episode, Dr. Rodney McKay. It was just about the perfect McKay episode. He hit the whole range of McKay nuttiness. It started right at the beginning with him not being able to understand how Teyla wouldn't want him to hold Torren, just because he dropped him. It was only two feet. It carried on with him being so very impressed with his own genius in another reality. We also saw him once again totally discounting the idea that anyone could know better than him as Teyla asked if she could be of assistance. "I doubt it." says Rodney. Something we also saw as Sheppard pointed out that he had the idea for going in reverse hours ago. "And naturally I dismissed it out of hand." Getting winged by the alien might have been karma.

The greater team aspect is one place I thought the episode missed just a little bit. The decided lack of Woolsey kind of stood out. I get that Robert Picardo isn't going to be in every episode, but it could have been explained a little better. For now, I'm just assuming he was partaking in some much needed suit time. It wasn't a total loss though. I find that I really like Lorne in charge of things. I believe that guy has a future with this outfit.

At the end of the day, it is another floating episode that can pretty much be plugged in anywhere in the season without damaging any continuity. But if they are going to do them, this is the way it should be done. And really, I've seen too many shows get so caught up in their own mythology that the episodes suffer. If the big story for season five can't carry all the episodes, I'm thankful that we get this instead.

Finally, I have to ask again, what the hell is going on in the promotion department over at Sci Fi? If you saw the preview for the next episode, in two weeks by the way, they gave away a huge plot point. That scene, assuming the network hadn't just showed it to everyone, would be a very cool reveal. I know, I'm like Charlie Brown trying to kick that damn football. I really should just realize that the network is going to keep doing it and go out of my way to avoid them, but man, I just don't get the thought process.