Reception
Before the episode originally aired, a near-complete version was leaked onto the Internet. After it aired in the United States, "Adrift" earned a 1.2 household Nielsen rating, representing 1.7 million viewers; 896,000 from ages 18 to 49, and 962,000 from the 25 to 54 demographic. The episode decreased viewership by six percent from the average ratings from the back half of the third season, and dropped from a 1.5 household rating from the third season premiere, "No Man's Land". The reasoning may be the fact that several well-known series aired on the same time slot. However, according to the Live + 3 Day rating, the ratings boosted to 1.4. In the United Kingdom, "Adrift" received 527,000 viewers, placing Atlantis number six in the top ten broadcasts for Sky One for that week.
Tory Ireland Mell of IGN thought the season premiere performed well without Stargate SG-1, and liked the episode's visual effects sequences and action, but was critical about the lack of Ronon's presence after his injury in the last episode, giving "Adrift" a "descent" rating of 7.0 out of 10. Critical Myth rated the episode 8 out of 10, praising the direction the writers took with the episode, Sheppard being rather forced to be command of the city with the incapacitation of Weir, as well as comparing the characters' "chance to prove their meddle through extreme adversity" to "The Siege, Part 2". Joe Flanigan (who plays John Sheppard) described this and the following episode as "fun to do," and praised the idea of Atlantis being marooned in space, and wished the arc would last "seven or eight" episodes. "Adrift" was nomintated for two awards. In 2008, the visual effects team submitted "Adrift" for a "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects", but lost to Battlestar Galactica's "He That Believeth in Me". The episode was also nominated for the sixth annual Visual Effects Society Award for "Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series", but lost to Fight for Life.
Read more about this topic: Adrift (Stargate Atlantis)
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