SGA - This Mortal Coil

[Mabus]

https://sfdebris.com/videos/stargate/atls4e10.php

Back in 2007-2008 when S4 of Stargate Atlantis aired, I felt it was inferior to the previous ones. Mostly because there were too many low-stake or generic uninteresting stories, that felt recycled from SG1 or earlier SGA episodes. It wasn't just me, many other fans also felt that the writers began to run out of good ideas and instead relied too much on recycling older stories.

The mid-season trilogy thankfully is much better than most of S4 episodes. While at the first viewing I didn't quite liked this episode, over time I've started to like it. The idea of an alternate team ruminating over their own existence is an interesting story line, and in this case it's different enough from SG1's "Tin Man" that it stands on its own, though maybe it could have been expanded more. My only grip is that they could have used the clone Atlantis team to fight the Asurans in the next episode, killing them off here felt kind of cheap, it's like the writers just wanted to get rid of them so the main heroes can get to blowing up the enemy fleet. Because apart from the Asuran warship tracker, there is little continuity between this episode and the next.

Also, Joseph Mallozzi made a series of Reddit posts where he talked about his experience on both SG1 and Atlantis, it's a whole list that you can find on the r/Stargate sidebar. For this episode, he mentioned how he found writing (and rewriting) it extremely frustrating and that there were plans to find the real Elizabeth Weir in a future episode (which was supposed to take place in the cancelled S6). You can find the post here.

[clearspira]

SGA never really recovered from the death of Carson Beckett for me. I continued watching it sure, but exploding tumours? Come on. That was a Tasha Yar death. The fact that they brought him as a clone was also troubling. Its like ''that character you loved, here he is. He's back! Its not him though. And he'll be in it for like 5 episodes. But he's back baby!''

Another problem with S4 is the treatment of Carter in that she no longer seems all that smart. I get why they did it. McKay is the smart person of this show and they didn't want to overshadow him. But it also kind of seems to me that the writers had a pile of scripts written for Weir and just inserted Carter into them because she now just seems like an administrator as opposed to the super genius who blew up a sun.
SGA has never treated her character very well though. Amanda Tapping showed more flesh in that episode where she is wearing a water soaked bra than she did in ten whole seasons of SG-1.

[Sir Will]

I do wish they'd done a little more with the clones than killing them off right away. I agree it felt really cheap.

Carter had her moments. I can't remember a ton of specifics and do recall thinking that she was toned down, that is true, but I still think she had some good stuff that season too.

[McAvoy]

SGA never really recovered from the death of Carson Beckett for me. I continued watching it sure, but exploding tumours? Come on. That was a Tasha Yar death. The fact that they brought him as a clone was also troubling. Its like ''that character you loved, here he is. He's back! Its not him though. And he'll be in it for like 5 episodes. But he's back baby!''

Another problem with S4 is the treatment of Carter in that she no longer seems all that smart. I get why they did it. McKay is the smart person of this show and they didn't want to overshadow him. But it also kind of seems to me that the writers had a pile of scripts written for Weir and just inserted Carter into them because she now just seems like an administrator as opposed to the super genius who blew up a sun.
SGA has never treated her character very well though. Amanda Tapping showed more flesh in that episode where she is wearing a water soaked bra than she did in ten whole seasons of SG-1.

That was the thing, they were handicapping themselves by making McKay be the smart one that fixes things and it really was by that point Stargate The McKay show.

Atlantis just got lazy after a point. There was potential when they were hinting at other sleeping or hidden powers. Possibly even those giant Borg looking things in the Daedalus reality skipping episode.

[Mabus]

SGA never really recovered from the death of Carson Beckett for me. I continued watching it sure, but exploding tumours? Come on. That was a Tasha Yar death. The fact that they brought him as a clone was also troubling. Its like ''that character you loved, here he is. He's back! Its not him though. And he'll be in it for like 5 episodes. But he's back baby!''

It's one thing to kill off a recurring character during an important story. It's another to kill a recurring character during a shitty bottle episode. Worse, the writers didn't learn from this and in S4 they kill off dr. Kate Heightmeyer in another lame way. I guess the franchise really hates doctors.

Another problem with S4 is the treatment of Carter in that she no longer seems all that smart. I get why they did it. McKay is the smart person of this show and they didn't want to overshadow him. But it also kind of seems to me that the writers had a pile of scripts written for Weir and just inserted Carter into them because she now just seems like an administrator as opposed to the super genius who blew up a sun.
SGA has never treated her character very well though. Amanda Tapping showed more flesh in that episode where she is wearing a water soaked bra than she did in ten whole seasons of SG-1.

Oh yeah, I literally forgot about that. There are only a handful of scenes this season where Carter does some smart things (like in the next episode after this one), the show from this point on is just "The Adventures of John Sheppard and Rodney McKay". Ronon gets like 2 good episodes in S4 and 5, and Teyla like one good episode in S5. Everyone else takes a back seat. Even Todd gets better stories.

[CrypticMirror]

Oh yeah, I literally forgot about that. There are only a handful of scenes this season where Carter does some smart things (like in the next episode after this one), the show from this point on is just "The Adventures of John Sheppard and Rodney McKay". Ronon gets like 2 good episodes in S4 and 5, and Teyla like one good episode in S5. Everyone else takes a back seat. Even Todd gets better stories.

That one is excusable. Once you become a leader you give up the right to be a specialist. Carter, as Atlantis leader, has a tonne of other duties to take care of even in crises. She can't devote all her time and energy to working the technical problem, she still has to do the leadership thing and work all the other problems that come with keeping a whole ass city going-especially in a crisis, so that is Rodney and Zelenka's job. When you are a leader, you have staff for a reason. It is the same reason O'Neill's IQ always seemed to leap a dozen points on SG1 when he had to work a problem on his own without the SGC or the rest of SG1 at his back. You delegate, or quit being a leader. Carter in Atlantis was delegating worrying about working the tech stuff, and only checking in, which is completely what someone in her position should do.

[Sir Will]

I like Keller but I did really miss Beckett too. I really liked him.

Teyla didn't get a whole lot latter on besides being pregnant. Sheppard and McKay did dominate a bit too much.

[McAvoy]

I like Keller but I did really miss Beckett too. I really liked him.

Teyla didn't get a whole lot latter on besides being pregnant. Sheppard and McKay did dominate a bit too much.

Problem with Teyla was that was pretty much replaced by Ronan. The local alien. They should have from the beginning made her a well traveled person, maybe with perhaps a little book of addresses she kept on her.

But they made her knowledge limited. The Wraith DNA did help a little.

Atlantis really dropped the ball on everyone except McKay. No explanation about Shep's natural affinity to Ancient/Lantean tech.

[CrypticMirror]

No explanation about Shep's natural affinity to Ancient/Lantean tech.

He has the magic gene. That is literally all there is to it. Just like Jack on SG1, some great-great-great-etc grandparent was a magic space-person, and Shep got lucky on the genetic lottery.

[McAvoy]

No explanation about Shep's natural affinity to Ancient/Lantean tech.

He has the magic gene. That is literally all there is to it. Just like Jack on SG1, some great-great-great-etc grandparent was a magic space-person, and Shep got lucky on the genetic lottery.

Its more than that. He can naturally access it better than anyone else short of the Ancients/Lanteans themselves.

Now it could be that his mind is just wired differently that is naturally attuned to the tech itself. So it comes easier to him. Or his magic genes are stronger for some reason.

They even have a ranking with Shep at the top and Becket at second. Who if you remember did struggle in using the tech though that was more of him being stressed or unwilling.