Why so much hate towards atlantis

[heisenberg]

I never quite understood why a lot of stargate fans hated SGA. Over the years, I have heard numerous comments from, Atlantis having crap characters to Atlantis being too different. On the Contrary,I have also heard that atlantis was too much like SG-1. To this day I still don't understand why people hated atlantis?

When Atlantis started airing I never got a chance to watch it, I waited until it came on dvd(i.e. the first season) I gave Atlantis a go,and to my surprise, I loved it from the very episode! As I continued to watch atlantis, It drew me closer and wanting more and more of stargate atlantis. Before I knew it, the assholes pulled the plug on the show(never ever forgiving TPTB for that EVER!). I loved it because it was very similar to SG-1, and it had a nice arc to it too.

Even today after watching atlantis 5 times,it is still equally as good as stargate sg-1.The cast was lovelable, the stories were great,there was a great script writing with the humour element of stargate and, it was enjoyable to watch. Infact the similarities between the two shows is quite remarkable. You could easily relate the two shows together, and it was correctly labelled as a spinoff series(unlike shitty SGUpoo) I never quite understood why people still to this day hate stargate atlantis so much.

 

[Stonelesscutter]

I never quite understood why a lot of stargate fans hated SGA. Over the years, I have heard numerous comments from, Atlantis having crap characters to Atlantis being too different. On the Contrary,I have also heard that atlantis was too much like SG-1. To this day I still don't understand why people hated atlantis?

When Atlantis started airing I never got a chance to watch it, I waited until it came on dvd(i.e. the first season) I gave Atlantis a go,and to my surprise, I loved it from the very episode! As I continued to watch atlantis, It drew me closer and wanting more and more of stargate atlantis. Before I knew it, the assholes pulled the plug on the show. I loved it because it was very similar to SG-1, and it had a nice arc to it too.

Even today after watching atlantis 5 times,it is still equally as good as stargate sg-1.The cast was lovelable, the stories were great,and it was enjoyable to watch. Infact the similarities between the two shows is quite remarkable. I never quite understood why people still to this day hate stargate atlantis.

I don't hate SGA.
I do like SG1 better though.

 

[heisenberg]

I don't hate SGA.
I do like SG1 better though.

Wasn't exactly picking on people like you man, but, you know what I am talking about right? I am sure you've read the negative comments of SGA over the years it was on. I am sure people have reasons to love SG-1 more than Atlantis(one of them could be partly because RDA is in it). But if I was honest, I can't rank shows or which characters I like better. It's either I like it or I don't.SG-1 maybe generally more appreciated more because it came out before atlantis and ran 5 seasons more than what atlantis did. Both atlantis and SG-1 are both loveable and great franchises.

 

[Gatefan1976]

Wasn't exactly picking on people like you man, but, you know what I am talking about right? I am sure you've read the negative comments of SGA over the years it was on. I am sure people have reasons to love SG-1 more than Atlantis(one of them could be partly because RDA is in it). But if I was honest, I can't rank shows or which characters I like better. It's either I like it or I don't.SG-1 maybe generally more appreciated more because it came out before atlantis and ran 5 seasons more than what atlantis did.

I love SGA but lets be real here, alot of the criticism leveled towards SGA is valid. Of course alot of it is shit as well, but that type of criticism isn't really criticism, it's just "SGA was crap" with no backing it up.

 

[Stonelesscutter]

Wasn't exactly picking on people like you man, but, you know what I am talking about right? I am sure you've read the negative comments of SGA over the years it was on. I am sure people have reasons to love SG-1 more than Atlantis(one of them could be partly because RDA is in it). But if I was honest, I can't rank shows or which characters I like better. It's either I like it or I don't.SG-1 maybe generally more appreciated more because it came out before atlantis and ran 5 seasons more than what atlantis did. Both atlantis and SG-1 are both loveable and great franchises.

I agree both are great shows. I also think both have their stronger and weaker points.
If I really get into it and start nitpicking on every little thing I didn't like about the shows then I'd probably end up with quite a list. But still, when I compare the shows with other tvshows, SG rules above all. It's a matter of perspective really.
I think people that don't like SGA are probably people that liked SG1 very very much and they wanted SGA to basically be SG1 only then in Atlantis. I don't really see the fuss myself. To me Atlantis is a show similar to SG1 that ran simultaneously with SG1 and overlaps here and there. It's a good thing.
SG1 is simply more enjoyable though, it just went a little bit deeper whereas SGA is somewhat more superficial. But hey, that's why they came up with SGU ey, to go that little bit deeper.

 

[Red Mage]

What I noticed is that some fans complain that SG-1 storylines were recycled from the Milky Way to the Pegasus Galaxy in SGA (replicators and several others). It certainly valid but I watched SGA before seeing the majority of SG-1 so this didn't impact myself.

 

[Overmind One]

One is part of the other from where I sit.

I don't hate SGA.
I do like SG1 better though.

I have to agree with that, for me SG-1 tips just a tad in favor over Atlantis, but thats just because it was an extension of the original movie and had RDA in it. But after season 6, it went to shit (IMO) I didnt like the addition of earth starships, Treknology. The Ori, OR the "defeat" of the Goa'uld. Why did the writers vanquish them? Having them defeated/under control was okay, but why ELIMINATE them as a threat? For me, the Goa'uld are the only real enemies in SG-1. After season 6, things got too Trekkie for me, and being a Trek fan more than a Stargate fan, it sorta put me off, but not enough to stop watching. But when Atlantis came out, I was all excited again, and the show was AWESOME. This time, the show was an extension of SG-1 and I loved it all the way through until about the last half of season 3 and then things started to go sour a bit. Even still, it never became unwatchable. There isnt a single episode in SG-1 or Atlantis that is as bad as Life or Earth in SGU.

Wasn't exactly picking on people like you man, but, you know what I am talking about right? I am sure you've read the negative comments of SGA over the years it was on. I am sure people have reasons to love SG-1 more than Atlantis(one of them could be partly because RDA is in it). But if I was honest, I can't rank shows or which characters I like better. It's either I like it or I don't.SG-1 maybe generally more appreciated more because it came out before atlantis and ran 5 seasons more than what atlantis did. Both atlantis and SG-1 are both loveable and great franchises.

Most SG-1 fans became Atlantis fans. A few did not, but the vast majority did. Proof of that is in the premiere ratings numbers for Atlantis and its first year. Personally, I loved them both almost equally.

What I noticed is that some fans complain that SG-1 storylines were recycled from the Milky Way to the Pegasus Galaxy in SGA (replicators and several others). It certainly valid but I watched SGA before seeing the majority of SG-1 so this didn't impact myself.

I agree. Neither show ever delivered an episode I would consider "unwatchable". But SGU has several episodes falling into that category.

 

[Joelist]

I don't really buy a lot of the criticism of SGA, especially the lack of originality meme.

The Wraith were nothing like any SG-1 villain (and for that matter were a pretty original Sci-Fi villain in general). Their motivations, tactics, tech, everything was different. Likewise the Asurans were quite different than the Sg-1 Replicators. The Asurans had no "bug" versions, did not "replicate" in the normal sense, were driven by completely different motivations and even had a different origin. Again, save for being made out of nanites they were an original villain.

So SGA did not lack for originality.

The characters of SGA were likeable and well drawn, just different (again). They resisted the temptation to make Sheppard an O'Neill clone and there was no counterpart to either Carter or Jackson. Ronon was a (VERY) loose counterpart to Teal'c but that is about it.

Another difference was SGA tended to blur the distinction between the science and military personnel far more than SG-1did. You saw more science people on "military" missions in SGA.

So really I don't get the hate - it makes little sense. Each show was a unique and good contribution to SG lore.

 

[SerenityS]

I have seen quite a few SG1 fans who don't like SGA as much as the orig, but haven't seen all that much virulent hatred towards SGA. (That's saved for SGU,LOL)

SGA is my favorite series but even I had problems with some of the decisions they made during the show's run and had some heartfelt criticism at the time.

I liked SG1 alot, but didn't love it quite as much as SGA and stopped watching altogether in the last two seasons. (I tuned in to the last episode to see how it ended but was not very impressed.)

 

[SG-Rocks]

0.02c

Lots of ground to cover.

I'm watching a few eps of SG S1 (Comtrya!). It's geared so you always want to know what comes next. Once Atlantis got running it was a sort of "what now" before every episode.

It also occurred to me that every one that's an enemy in scifi seems to end up our friend. Sure there are exceptions but the friendly talking Wraith are what did in SGA for me. And it's been pointed out whatever happened to them pulling their mindfucks after the first season. Ronon went from wildman to fratboy in a few episodes.

There were lots and lots of ways SGA could have gone but they didn't. A big crit is they really never got into looking around the city.

Like I said lots to cover but SGA was infinitely better entertainment than SGPoo.

Oh yeah, let's not forget Keller.

 

[Stonelesscutter]

Lots of ground to cover.

I'm watching a few eps of SG S1 (Comtrya!). It's geared so you always want to know what comes next. Once Atlantis got running it was a sort of "what now" before every episode.

It also occurred to me that every one that's an enemy in scifi seems to end up our friend. Sure there are exceptions but the friendly talking Wraith are what did in SGA for me. And it's been pointed out whatever happened to them pulling their mindfucks after the first season. Ronon went from wildman to fratboy in a few episodes.

There were lots and lots of ways SGA could have gone but they didn't. A big crit is they really never got into looking around the city.

Like I said lots to cover but SGA was infinitely better entertainment than SGPoo.

Oh yeah, let's not forget Keller.

Ain't nothin' wrong with Keller.
If anything Beckett was the annoying one with his cringing phoney Scottish accent.
Still I kinda liked him.

 

[Lilith]

I like them both. There were more episodes in SGA that I didn't care for but that is due to the lack of imagination of the writers. Could it have been better of course but I still thought of it as a separate show that my favorite characters from SG1 showed up on sometimes.

I wasn't on any boards back then so I'm unaware of the complaints against it. Personally didn't like all the attention given to Keller or Mckeller.

 

[circle square circle]

I loved the early seasons of atlantis but thought that the show went to pot in the later two. I loved the characters but thought that they were sometimes too stereotyped (Ronon was the violent POC, Teyla was the wise POC, Liz was the mommy who had to clean up after the boys) or were ignored in favor of McKay and Sheppard. I thought the wraith were a great enemy at first but they were weakened to the point of absurdity and wtf was that replicator nonsense. I thought the floating city was cool as hell but tptw eventually ignored it. The writing was too pat and lazy at times too.

I think atlantis had huge potential, and while I really liked the characters and most of the stories I feel like tptw squandered most of that potential with poor writing and a lack of vision. Basically the same thing as sgu, only sgu didn't even have the good characters and stories to get me hooked!

I think it's also hip for sgu fans to openly hate atlantis now because they take their cues from tptw. They also know that sgu was a failure in every way compared to atlantis and since they can't blame sgu or tptw they whine about atlantis.

 

[Stonelesscutter]

I like them both. There were more episodes in SGA that I didn't care for but that is due to the lack of imagination of the writers. Could it have been better of course but I still thought of it as a separate show that my favorite characters from SG1 showed up on sometimes.

I wasn't on any boards back then so I'm unaware of the complaints against it. Personally didn't like all the attention given to Keller or Mckeller.

I don't get it when people talk about McKeller and how that got too much attention. I recently rewatched all of Atlantis and there are perhaps two episodes out of a hundred where Keller and McKay are really in the picture together. The rest of it is like a single line or a short scene here and there. I guess people would have rather seen McKay hook up with Kate or Keller hook up with Ronan or something and they can't stand it that it turned out differently. Weird if you ask me.

 

[Stonelesscutter]

I loved the early seasons of atlantis but thought that the show went to pot in the later two. I loved the characters but thought that they were sometimes too stereotyped (Ronon was the violent POC, Teyla was the wise POC, Liz was the mommy who had to clean up after the boys) or were ignored in favor of McKay and Sheppard. I thought the wraith were a great enemy at first but they were weakened to the point of absurdity and wtf was that replicator nonsense. I thought the floating city was cool as hell but tptw eventually ignored it. The writing was too pat and lazy at times too.

I think atlantis had huge potential, and while I really liked the characters and most of the stories I feel like tptw squandered most of that potential with poor writing and a lack of vision. Basically the same thing as sgu, only sgu didn't even have the good characters and stories to get me hooked!

I think it's also hip for sgu fans to openly hate atlantis now because they take their cues from tptw. They also know that sgu was a failure in every way compared to atlantis and since they can't blame sgu or tptw they whine about atlantis.

I concur with the parts I've boldened, especially that last bit. At first we were considered the whiners because we didn't like SGU but things have absolutely come around a full 180 on that. Bunch of whiners they are indeed!

 

[Inara]

I like them both. There were more episodes in SGA that I didn't care for but that is due to the lack of imagination of the writers. Could it have been better of course but I still thought of it as a separate show that my favorite characters from SG1 showed up on sometimes.

Yeah, I liked them both, but towards the end you could tell the writers were losing interest in writing for both shows.

I probably should not have watched SG1's last two seasons, but I had such hopes with them bringing in Browder, but he was squandered away like so much other potential. Some of the episodes in those two seasons could have been excellent... in another series. It just wasn't SG1 anymore.

If anything Beckett was the annoying one with his cringing phoney Scottish accent.

The accent is quite real. The actor is Scottish by birth, but as an actor in Canada, had to "unlearn" his accent.

That's true of most actors who have an identifiable accent though. I'm vaguely remembering they were going to make Radek of a different nationality, but once David Nykl was hired, they went with Czech because that's his country of birth. He too can drop the accent when needed.

 

[Stonelesscutter]

Yeah, I liked them both, but towards the end you could tell the writers were losing interest in writing for both shows.

I probably should not have watched SG1's last two seasons, but I had such hopes with them bringing in Browder, but he was squandered away like so much other potential. Some of the episodes in those two seasons could have been excellent... in another series. It just wasn't SG1 anymore.



The accent is quite real. The actor is Scottish by birth, but as an actor in Canada, had to "unlearn" his accent.

That's true of most actors who have an identifiable accent though. I'm vaguely remembering they were going to make Radek of a different nationality, but once David Nykl was hired, they went with Czech because that's his country of birth. He too can drop the accent when needed.

McGillion might be Scottish but he certainly doesn't sound like it. A Scotsman should sound proud and tough, not like a wee little whiney ******ty puppydog. (sorry for the insult dear gay people)

 

[SG-Rocks]

I dinna know what this is all aboot.

McGillion might be Scottish but he certainly doesn't sound like it. A Scotsman should sound proud and tough, not like a wee little whiney ******ty puppydog. (sorry for the insult dear gay people)

McGilligan is the same sort as Amanda Tapping and Mike Myers. Their parents are post war Brit immigrants to Toronto so they can speak plain English and also mimic Brit English or Scots.

I have a theory that because Canadian English is so neutral that our news people are in high demand in the USA because they have no regional accents. John Robarts CNN/CBS lives not far away.

Me? I speak Trailer Park Boys.

 

[stclare]

I never quite understood why a lot of stargate fans hated SGA. Over the years, I have heard numerous comments from, Atlantis having crap characters to Atlantis being too different. On the Contrary,I have also heard that atlantis was too much like SG-1. To this day I still don't understand why people hated atlantis?

When Atlantis started airing I never got a chance to watch it, I waited until it came on dvd(i.e. the first season) I gave Atlantis a go,and to my surprise, I loved it from the very episode! As I continued to watch atlantis, It drew me closer and wanting more and more of stargate atlantis. Before I knew it, the assholes pulled the plug on the show(never ever forgiving TPTB for that EVER!). I loved it because it was very similar to SG-1, and it had a nice arc to it too.

Even today after watching atlantis 5 times,it is still equally as good as stargate sg-1.The cast was lovelable, the stories were great,there was a great script writing with the humour element of stargate and, it was enjoyable to watch. Infact the similarities between the two shows is quite remarkable. You could easily relate the two shows together, and it was correctly labelled as a spinoff series(unlike shitty SGUpoo) I never quite understood why people still to this day hate stargate atlantis so much.

I dont know. I watched the movie, tried sg1 and didnt like it came back to see the sga premiere and fell hopelessly in love with the characters.

Did i think it had problems, for sure. The missed opportunities pissed me off more than anything else. I realy wanted them to stay out of contact with Earth as i new the miniute they re-connected it would be >insert sg1 charater/bad guy<

I did not enjoy season 4 as much because it had carter in it, the impact for certain eps like Doppleganger would have been better had Weir still been there (death of Heigt....) imo. what can i say, i feel sg1 is a writting crutch for tptb so they dont have to expand on the characters on sga. to a certain extent i think tptb are still doing it.

i know a lot of sg1 fans who didnt hop on board the sga train, but we were able to discuss things openly and it was not a case of "your show sucks mine is better, see BW said so" it was more a case of "the shows are quite similar in basic format, so how come you prefer one over the other?"

atlantis caught a lot of the shit storm when it was cancelled, as i saw a lot of posters pop up on gw in order to bash sga to make the new show WHICH NOBODY HAD EVEN SEEN YET look better.

You know because the story is so much more mature - when you have not watched a fucking episode yet :ori:

 

[Laurania]

The setting for the show was better than the execution of the story. I wanted to see more of the city explored and stories about the city. Instead we get weak enemies, rehashed enemies, SG-1 takeover, and mud hut village of the week. I sure hope Atlantis was much more than a flying ship that fires weapons. I liked the show but, realized the people in charge were no capable of making the show better than they did.

I agree. Trust me, I loveee Atlantis. It was my first Stargate before SG-1 (trust me to watch it out of order) and at the time I thought it was the best show on the planet. But then I watched SG-1 and I started to see the difference that pacing and taking the time to actually really drive things home made.

Atlantis just seemed so rushed to me, especially toward the end of the series. It was always hinted at just how large the city was, but I felt like it became more about defending it from the Wraith and finding power than about the city of the Ancients. And then they killed off Beckett and brought in Keller (but then brought Beckett back in in weird, emo-clone form to please the fans, which was another thing that irked me). I can appreciate Jewel as an actress, but I did not like Keller. Her backstory was bland and boring, and she was far too air-heady and helpless to be apart of a Stargate show in my opinion. I liked the trend that SG-1 and SGA had going with strong, independent women, and not even all military strong--take Fraiser for instance.To me, Keller was in over her head there.

But other than that, I had no qualms about SGA. I'd gladly watch it again and again if I had the time.