Storytime with Rachel F Hundred

When the raw material just isn’t good enough

On the surface Remnants has everything it needed to be a spectacular success; the return of one of Atlantis’s best loved villains, Sheppard facing his demons and Woolsey’s command under review. Unfortunately, the mix of elements results in a schizophrenic mish-mash of threads which all come together in an unoriginal ending. The actors do their best, the direction and production quality is as good as ever but, in the end, the basic raw material – the story – is just not good enough.

 In his blog, Joe Mallozzi explained the genesis of the story began with the idea of a lonely Woolsey having a relationship with a woman only he could see leading to a bittersweet ending where she would leave him and he would return to his lonely existence. As the idea was considered to be insufficient to make a whole episode, it was combined with a previously shelved idea of Sheppard confronting Kolya on the mainland and ultimately changed. It’s always interesting to read the original concept behind a story and here, I think it explains why the story doesn’t work: two entirely different stories are squished together.

The original idea ends up as the main thread – Woolsey meets an attractive woman (nicely played by Anna Galvin) who helps support him through a fraught meeting with fellow IOA representative Xiao Chen who is after his position. There is a lovely sense of romantic comedy running through the thread; Woolsey’s ‘and you can call me…Dick’ beautifully timed by Robert Picardo, the ‘you’ve poached my private spot,’ the comic moments as he tries to interact with his colleagues while talking with the AI who only he can see. It’s all very amusing and enjoyable with Picardo putting in a wonderful performance. Even here though the IOA review is nothing new. While the aim might have been to show Woolsey’s full transition from IOA lapdog to independent Atlantis leader and one of the gang, it might have been good to have attempted a different take.

Woolsey’s characterisation also seems ‘off’ in his decision-making around the Sekkari device. The idea that Woolsey has softened to such a degree that he would be so easily influenced by the AI to ignore the technological value of the data doesn’t gel for me. The ending seems glib and idealised to fit with the story-line rather than with Woolsey as a character.

The other main character in the story Sheppard does get something of a better outing in his confrontation with the AI on the mainland. The thread explores Sheppard’s personal demons as he effectively tortures himself. The thread is an uncomfortable contrast to the romcom antics of Woolsey’s although it’s a nice insight into the character and Flanigan does a wonderful job at showing Sheppard’s angst. The use of Kolya as the AI’s manifestation of Sheppard’s inner demon is a good one and in terms of the arc, Sheppard fearing old enemies coming back from the dead and trying to take over Atlantis is a nice nod back to the previous episode where that happened. Robert Davi always excels and here is no different. The chemistry between him and Joe Flanigan is great and the usual tension seeps from the screen. The spinning shot as Sheppard falls off the cliff is wonderful.

Yet as engaging as this thread is, as wanted as it is, it does no more than skim the surface. There is not enough time to explore Sheppard’s demons fully, or the dynamic and certainly no time at all to deal with the consequences. It feels like this could have been a fabulous stand alone story given a different approach and more tweaking. I’m reminded of Kolya’s last appearance in Irresponsible where Kolya’s showdown with Sheppard took sub-plot status to Lucius’s redemption story – here the redux takes sub-plot status to Woolsey’s. All in all, I do think it was great to revisit Kolya but again, it’s just such a shame that the aim wasn’t to fully shine the spotlight on the dynamic.

There are enough hints thrown out in both threads to suggest something is astray and they neatly link with the third thread sandwiched between Woolsey’s and Sheppard’s which is McKay’s discovery of the device. The usual banter and competition between McKay and Zelenka is a delight and there is a nice was he AI or not mystery until the revelation in the final table scene. The table scenes do nicely bookend the episode although, again, I’m not keen on the Woolsey is now one of the gang note at the end.

My final observation is that the underlying story of the device containing an ancient civilisation which needs to reseed and represented by an AI is very reminiscent of SG1’s Scorched Earth and the decision to help the Sekkari reseed, while the requisite happy ending, is very unoriginal. The final glimpse of the Sekkari is great – fabulous special effects – but it’s not enough to offset the ‘seen it all before’ nature of the ending.

I think part of the problem I have with this episode – and why it’s taken me almost four days to construct a review – is that I really want to like it because I was so looking forward to it. Yet there is just enough wrong with the story that while the episode is an enjoyable and entertaining enough hour of television, it lacks substance. I find myself wishing Mallozzi had stuck with the original intent.

In conclusion

My issue with the story is the usual one that I find with most of Mallozzi’s and Mullie’s episodes; great concept but not enough depth to the story in execution. It’s a bit like getting a Christmas present with shiny, gorgeous wrapping only to discover a pair of socks inside. Unfortunately, Remnants is that pair of socks.