Earth: Final Conflict: Grave Danger

Renee looks up an archaeologist former lover when she goes in search of a tomb that holds an Atavus and a device that will enable more hives of the aliens to be found.

It's such a simplistic story, and it seems to come totally out of sequence. Renee apparently still has credibility problems relating to the Atavus and she's still searching for more hives. This seems stupid, as with all the hybrids roaming the Earth by now, surely Howlyn has more than enough raw power to mount some kind of assault without his brethren. Oh, which reminds me, that's how that word is spelt, whoever it is writing the captions on the show. This word, 'vizier', is usually pronounced 'vizeer' rather than the way it's said by everyone in this story. Has anyone been given anything approaching an education on the staff?

Most of this story is too Stargate for its own good; replace the Atavus with the Goa'uld and you'd likely have exactly the same story, only with some decent characters and a plot. What we have is the usual Renee being a bolshy, tough-talking idiot plus added comedy in the shape of the man who's playing the ludicrously named Raleigh St Clair, an archaeologist who just has to be English. His dialogue is appalling throughout, his accent is hilarious, and the fact that Renee would be even remotely attracted to him is hard to fathom. Then again, she seems to have got through a lot of different men from all walks of life; she's met about four former lovers this season alone.

There's still no tension, not even in Renee's attempt to escape from the tomb she becomes trapped in, and you'd think in case something went wrong she'd have used a bomb you could deactivate. Sandoval serves no useful purpose that couldn't be handled by any old minion (and why is he on the mothership when he was banished to Earth last episode?) and Street gets about five lines and sits about at home base. Yet again. Why won't anybody do anything?

Nice sets, though.

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