Thursday, January 1, 2009

Stargate Atlantis - Reading Eagle: Tune in Tonight: Fri Jan 2 '09

At the Reading Eagle (Reading, PA):

(Please follow the link for the complete column.)



1/2/2009

TUNE IN TONIGHT: On 'Stargate,' a murderer runs amok in Sin City

By Kevin McDonough
United Feature Syndicate

"Stargate Atlantis" (9 p.m., Sci Fi, TV-14) enters it second-to-last hour with a tale of a vicious killer run amok in America's gambling Mecca. The slogan "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," never seemed more apt.

After a series of brutal murders that leave the victims desiccated husks, Detective John Sheppard (Joe Flanigan) is at his wits' end.

Those wits get twisted further after he's taken to Area 51, where he gets a tutorial in the real source of the killings - a renegade Wraith who crash-landed on Earth and who has since gone on a killing spree (for energy).

He's also plying the poker tables of Las Vegas to earn the money to concoct a device capable of phoning home to the Pegasus Galaxy, a toll call with ominous implications for the planet.



For casual fans of the show and of sci-fi in general, the hour's highlight has to be moment when the Wraith, disguised as a deranged punk biker, insinuates himself into a mobster's poker game, featuring "Sopranos" stars Steve Schirripa and Frank Vincent.

Filled with menace and dry humor, the scene makes you wonder if there is a future in a "Mafia vs. the Aliens" movie genre.

No comments: