Between blotch and blok

Finally, with "Childhood's End", an episode of SG: Atlantis that was worth keeping more than half an eye on. I'm still struggling with the characterisation: too thin, a tad clichéd. I'm still not entirely convinced there's any coherent story developing. I do feel, as was generally the case with ST: Voyager, that "they should all be dead by now" [due to their collective stupidity and carelessness] rather too early into some episodes.

But last night there were signs of real moral dilemmas.

The results were interestingly murky too. The device that was potentially useful to Atlantis was returned to the people whose very existence depended on it. The extent of McKay's arrogance becomes clear: he simply takes things--and insists on keeping them--without regard for others' needs. Had the object in question proved useful to Atlantis, I wonder whether he would have relinquished it at all. Of course, this is a reflection of the whole Stargate enterprise, picking up bits of alien technology willy nilly. Admittedly, McKay does eventually shows signs of kindness, but again it's rather unconsidered. Did he think, when he, and later Sheppard, handed out chocolate bars? The villages seem to be existing at a hunter gatherer level (no signs of fields and cultivation, lots of little boys with bows and arrows), so I can't imagine there's much refined sugar in their diets. With a population entirely under 25, I can't imagine that dental hygiene is high on their list of priorities (heck, if you're only going to live to 25, do you need to care?). Let's hope when the team returns to maintain the improved (yes, McKay tinkers with the returned artefact) item, they bring toothbrushes and a dentist.

The Logan's Run element, population limitation through culling at age 25, was interesting. It was played as something acceptable to its own society, as in Logan's Run, though there were hints of possible past recusants. We never met Michael York chasing runners tho'. (Shame that.) The reason for the cull in Childhood's End is a necessity to keep the population small enough to remain under its protective EM umbrella very much like the limited space and resources of the domed city in Logan's Run. In the latter the perils outside--Box freezing successful runners--are unknown; in Childhood's End, the Wraith are known and feared even if not encountered for 500 years. Maybe the replacement of the false belief, that the custom of killing oneself at 25 was the key to safety from the wraith and the route to a good death (the latter seems like a positive belief), with knowledge of the true state of affairs can be seen as a good thing. Yet one wonders at the cost. What happens when the "children" age, when grandparents do become part of society? What happens when the population growth fills the expanded range of the shield? There seemed no thought for consequences, beyond telling the scientific truth (McKay's influence on the whole team?) as opposed to understanding and accommodating the situation, as Sheppard seems to attempt by accepting the invitation to go to the current leader's pre-suicide rituals. Teyla's apparent incomprehension and lack of concern perhaps indicates just how shell-shocked the character is by her own rising into a more technologically developed culture, but it seemed uncharacteristically unempathic (actually Teyla reminds me of a rather dim version of Leela).

Weir, the voice of reason and compassion, had too small a role to balance out the impression of thoughtless children (that's the team from Atlantis not the "kids" they encountered) trampling heedlessly over the lives of the people they meet, bringing conflict, danger, ill-considered change along with them. The youthful elders, even the one cast in the role of closed-minded pretender to the throne, behaved in as mature a manner. Ah, metaphors for European exploration and colonialism.

Actually, I think Weir is generally wasted. I enjoyed her introduction into Stargate:SG1 and was rather disappointed when she was swiftly extracted to Atlantis. She seems rather sidelined in the city there and SG1 seems to lack some vital ingredient in the interactions of its protagonists at the moment. (Maybe I'm just missing Hammond.)