Writer: Robert C. Cooper
Director: David Warry-Smith


Hide and Seek, the third episode of Stargate: Atlantis is also the first 'event of the week' episode. You know the ones i'm talking about. Buffy and Angel had 'monsters' of the week, Smallville has 'kryptonite freaks' of the week. Most genre action/drama shows have them, and they range in quality greatly. This one is pretty good.

When Jinto, one of the refugee youths at the Atlantis facility goes missing, the search begins in earnest. All the characters jump into their respective roles, with Major Sheppard being the the main focus. Soon enough, there appears to be an alien force moving through the facility. I won't describe it in too much detail, but it's referred to as 'the darkness'. Go figure.

The episode moves along swiftly, with all the dangers and pitfalls of this type of episode. It's all standard fare really, but it's raised to a better level by the fact that the actors and dialogue are all pretty good. Add to that fantastic set design and it becomes a very entertaining show that rolls along at a good pace. One slight note is that the Wraith are conspicuous by their absence. They are referred to, which keeps their presence in the viewer's mind, but they didn't actually feature at all. This is perhaps a sign that we won't get complete Wraith overload, which is good, but i'd still like to see them in a majority of episodes.

All in all, a standard episode that is well worth watching.