TV REVIEW Stargate Atlantis 4.15 "Outcast"

Written by: Alan McCullough and Joe Flanigan

Directed by: Andy Mikita

Rating:

The One Where: Sheppard returns to Earth for his father’s funeral. He meets a researcher, Ava, who says a human-form Replicator is on the loose and asks for his help in capturing him. As it turns out, Ava is also a Replicator, but after she helps the military deal with the escapee, they have her consciousness permanently inserted into a virtual world and destroy her body.

Verdict: There was good potential for some exploration of Sheppard’s strained relationship with his family here, but although what efforts are made are executed well, it still feels like a missed opportunity. The whole escaped Replicator stuff is rather dull, and while having Ava turn out to be a Replicator too is a nice twist, it’s obvious from the outset that she’s not all she appears.

Nitpick: Sgt Bates returns, having not been seen since season one, and reveals that he’s joined the IOA following an honourable discharge from the Air Force. Except that in season one, he belonged to the US Marine Corps, not the Air Force.

CarterWatch: She shows up at the beginning to tell Sheppard about his father’s death... then she disappears.

Ronon’s Pop Culture: Ronon watches Blades of Glory, expecting a film about fighting. He’s rather disappointed to find it’s about figure skating (and is bemused by the very idea of figure skating).

References: Talking about the escaped Replicator, Dr Lee references both Fellowship of the Ring and Terminator 2.

Best Line:
Nancy: "Two John Sheppard encounters in two days? I hardly saw you that much when we were married!"

Leah Holmes