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Stargate Atlantis: Fan’s Choice Blu-ray Disc Review

By Stone ⋅ August 4, 2009 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

STARGATE ATLANTIS: FAN’S CHOICE (2009, Blu-ray released August 4, 2009 - MSRP $29.98)

REVIEW BY EMPEROR STONE:

There’s lot’s to like about TV shows like Stargate Atlantis being collected onto Blu-ray disc so that you can enjoy your favourite shows over and over in a really high quality way. Which is one of the things that makes this disc release so baffling. I’ll talk about the issue at the end, after I cover what’s on the disc.

The Stargate Atlantis: Fan’s Choice Blu-ray disc offers you two episodes: the feature length pilot, Rising and the extended version of Enemy at the Gate, the series finale, which, according to the packaging were voted as the two fan favs (also, with “packaging designed by you”, more on that later). We get a nicely made menu screen and a solid, rich transfer with strong, vivid and fairly accurate colours. I was never that much a fan of the Stargate series’, so it’s hard for me to comment on the content. I will say, though that the pilot episode manages to successfully carry on the spirit of the previous series, Stargate SG1 and offers up just enough explanation that anyone can follow along with out having seen much of the SG1 series. With the finale episode, Enemy at the Gates you get what you paid for. The series and actors have found their stride and really give themselves over to the powerful conclusion. Nothing to complain about here in the actual content of the disc… except no commentary, no behind the scenes, no interviews, no booklet/leaflet insert. No bonus features to speak of whatsoever.

Here’s where my real issues with the disc begin. Before being able to access the film, my Playstation seemed to struggle with the encoding of the disc, jumping back and forth from 1080i to 480p through the trailers for other Stargate releases. Artifacting and other standard definition horridness ran rampant across my screen while I sat waiting to experience awesome modern special effects in 1080p. Not a good selling point to make me want to buy more of your discs FOX.

They have also made a modification to the Blu-ray case that, while I loudly applaud the environmental concern shown by using an “ECO BOX™” that uses less plastic, seems to make this product feel cheaper on the whole (the ECO BOX™ has a recycling logo cut out of the face behind the cover insert and a generic wheel pattern cut out from the part underneath where the disc is seated. This probably cuts the plastic used to form the box in half).

Stargate Atlantis: Fan’s Choice is a real misstep for the studio and will most likely not appeal to many people and I’ll tell you why. Devoted fans of the show will no doubt hold out on this purchase in anticipation of the eventual Complete Series Box Set releases. No fan would ever be satisfied with only a couple of episodes when they know there are hundreds more out there, just waiting to be given the high-def treatment. And those new to the Stargate universe will no doubt be disappointed to discover that they’re being offered the end of the epic sci-fi saga right after their introduction to it. You know, it still upsets me when studios do odd things like offer “Fan Choices” or “Classic Episodes” or “Best Of’s” for television shows that are very, very linear. Why would you release a disc that gives you the pilot and the finale and nothing else? Stargate Atlantis: Fan’s Choice is a disc they put out to trick your Grandmother into buying for you.

Cool series. Fun episodes. Wrong way to package them.

Tags: Fox, RIchard Dean Anderson, Stargate, Stargate Atlantis, TV, TV Shows