10 years of blog & Stargate: Atlantis

I have already a few good minutes of staring at a blank page with no idea of what to write at 10 years of blog (well, 7 for the English version). I'm a bit puzzled how I didn't close it yet. I recently found out that Romania seems to be the EU country with the least cinemas per capita. But since I never really cared of earning something from my blog probably doesn't matter that much. I'd really not turn this anniversary entry into a political one and also I already see rising the depressing potential of it, so let's just move swiftly to the movie subject...

Why "Stargate: Atlantis"? First of all, there are several moments during a year's time when I typically try my best to find a movie that really deserves recommending = close to the holidays and the current day. So I tried to "save" "Toni Erdmann" for the current occasion based on ratings, awards, etc., but after watching it I decided that it doesn't deserve the effort of writing an entry (especially the one of today). So, I was left without a subject... I got to "Atlantis" because it was the most convenient. Despite the fact that it ended quite a while ago, for me is just running now = I re-started watching season 2 this summer from where I left it in... 2007, I guess? (we're anyway at the "10 years" step).

In any case I don't have much to say, because there is too much to say. For who didn't have any contact with the "Stargate" universe, here's the basic premise: a bunch of star gates spread throughout the universe and connected by holes + the travel between them. For more context watch the movie - "Stargate" (1994) - probably one of the few good films of Roland Emmerich (I counted two) & you can follow up with "Stargate SG1". "Atlantis" is a spin-off where Earth settles an operations base in the city that gives the name of the series - a remnant of a long gone civilization (the Ancients) highly advanced, but extinct from the galaxy after a conflict with "the wraith", some sort of alien vampires (no blood and teeth, but having more scary looks). Well, through the seasons you get also to meet other enemies but as I said.. it would be too much to tell.

I don't know if it's because I re-started watching "Atlantis" somewhere at the beginning of the summer and it helped moving my mind from some problems that were beyond the standard stress level, but the best description I can give is that "it grows on you". Initially I found the writing in some episodes from season 2 to be a bit silly. Besides that you also have a visible difference of how the TV production level changed in the last 10 years. But slowly the quality of the scripts grew and it became that type of series that works perfectly from time to time to disconnect your brain: relatively short episodes (~40 minutes) + a set of characters that become familiar + typically without extreme emotional impact (although there are a couple episodes that are a strong exception) + quite enough humor for an action SciFi. As a conclusion, I would risk comparing "Atlantis" with "MASH" from a very personal point of view, obviously keeping the proportions (or more precisely the subliminal in "Atlantis" vs the direct approach in "Mash") = in both of them an episode is pretty much the right dose to make you take things more lightly in life ;)