Reception
"First Strike" earned a household rating of 1.5, representing just below 2 million viewers; 1.1 million from the 25-54 demographic, and 986,000 from the 18-49 demographic. It was the strongest rating for the series since the 1.6 rating from "The Return, Part 1". This placed Stargate Atlantis the Sci Fi Channel's second most viewed series, losing only to Stargate SG-1's final episode "Unending", which achieved a household rating of 1.7, representing 2.2 million viewers; and was placed fifth for Cable television for the day it aired. "First Strike" was also given a syndication rating of 0.6. It also received a fan rating of 9.29 out of 10, and a GateWorld rating of 3 out of 4 stars. The episode was considered the biggest the producers have done for series at the time. According to Joe Flanigan (John Sheppard), the episode would start a new direction for Atlantis.
Jason Van Horn of IGN rated the episode an "impressive" 8.2 out of a possible 10, where the episode was praised for its visual effects and tension after the cliffhanger, which he thought would make the wait for its conclusion in the fourth season "even harder to handle," though surprised to see Beckett's replacement, Jennifer Keller introduced in this episode, which in Horn's thought would please the fans of Firefly. Critical Myth rated the episode 9 out of 10. It was noted for Weir's struggle to maintain her leadership, which was covered earlier in the series since the introduction of Colonel Caldwell, though the topic should have been covered earlier in the season. Ian Calcutt of HDTV UK noted the although the episode had many parallels with the SG-1 finale, "First Strike" made a "cracking" finale for the third season of Stargate Atlantis. Brett Love of TV Squad considered the episode a classic season finale, and liked the introductions of Keller and Ellis to the storyline, as well as stating the return of the Asurans as a welcoming one. Brigit Cherry of Total Sci-Fi rated the episode 9/10, commented that though the premise seems simple, the plot was fast-moving and efficient, and appreciated the episode's visual effects, stating that Atlantis is an "exceptionally strong Stargate brand in its own right."
Read more about this topic: First Strike (Stargate Atlantis)
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