I’ve written extensively about MGM’s releases of the series “Stargate SG-1.” I came to the series late as I was a huge fan of the movie “Stargate”, which heavily borrowed from books like “Chariot’s of the Gods” to create a world in which the ancient gods of Egypt were actually aliens. As much as I liked the movie, I stayed away from the TV series since I had little doubt it would pale in comparison. It wasn’t until a few short years ago that a friend suggested I watch the series. After all, it had survived a few seasons on Showtime, then was picked up by the Sci Fi Channel and continued a highly successful run. I agreed that I must have been missing something so I picked up the 1st season on DVD. My wife and I have been hooked ever since.

Aside from the occasional foray into cheesiness, “Stargate SG-1” proved to be a highly entertaining series. This was not only thanks to the tremendous work of the cast, which included Richard Dean Anderson as the irascible Colonel O’Neill. I didn’t think it was possible for the writers to sustain an aura of quality in a series that pretty much took our heroes to new worlds each week via the ‘Stargate’, a device capable of creating a wormhole in which travel to distant worlds (also containing Stargates) was possible. However, the writers continued to prove me wrong for 10 seasons.

The show has continued to be an international hit, spawning websites and conventions worldwide. So when the thought of a spin-off was mentioned, I was wary. It was one thing to create a successful series based on a motion picture, but totally another to create a whole new show with the same format. The main problem being, how do you make it different enough to be a rehash of what has come before, yet similar enough to hang on to your core audience? The spin-off, “Stargate Atlantis” hit the airwaves 5 years ago and any fears that the series wouldn’t work were quickly quashed. It became one of the Sci-fi channels main shows, sitting in the middle of the Friday night line-up of “Stargate SG-1” and the equally surprising runaway hit “Battlestar Galactica.”

Still, I didn’t catch the series at all until MGM’s DVD release of the 1st season a couple of years back. But when the set arrived, my wife and I tore into it immediately. The first episode did a great job of setting up the premise as well as the lead characters. Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks (Daniel Jackson) from “SG-1” showed up briefly to help kick off the series, which involves the discovery of the Stargate address that would take travelers to the home world of the “Ancients”, the race who originally built the Stargate system. The catch was that there was only enough power for a one-way trip, so whoever went stood the risk of never returning to Earth. They would only be able to travel throughout the ‘Pegasus System’ of planets in order to acquire knowledge. The hope would be that a power source would be found that would allow trips back and forth between ‘Atlantis’ and Earth.

We immediately noticed that the series had a similar feel to “SG-1”, but it was the characters that made it so different. Each one brought a fresh attitude to the new series, and the way they gelled as a team was perfect the first time out of the gate… so to speak. The best character of the bunch, and one I was glad to see reprised from the previous series was Dr. McKay, played by David Hewlitt. He had been in a couple of episodes of “SG-1”, and each time he butted heads with the resident science genius, Samantha Carter, played by Amanda Tapping. McKay was also somewhat of a genius, but he was well aware of it so he would always talk down to Carter and their conversations and games of ‘insult tennis’ were priceless. In “Stargate Atlantis”, his character is a little more subdued, but nonetheless fun to watch.

Also lending a different style to the series was a whole new enemy in the form of The Wraith. They are an old race, who is as frightening as they are deadly. Tall and blue, they resemble something of an old world vampire… and in essence they are as they suck the life force out of their victims. They are just as evil as the G’oauld, but a lot more terrifying.

When the 2nd season was released on DVD, it just got us further hooked on the show. The 2nd season was even better than the first, starting off by hitting us with the end of the cliffhanger started in the 1st season. The Wraith were pretty much decimating Atlantis, but then our heroes were able to…. Oh wait… what am I doing? I can't give it away here. You just have to watch it for yourself. The rest of the season allowed the main characters to open up more to viewers and there isn't a single character I'd want to see leave the show. We were also introduced to a brand new character by the name of Ronon (Jasin Momoa). He was a 'runner', a tough warrior type sent out to be hunted by the Wraith. I wasn't sure I liked him at first as he looked exactly like a taller version of one of my old friends. He had the same eye and facial expressions… as well as the same sense of self-importance. But he grew on me after a while. The series also continued to wrestle with a lot of moral decisions, making the characters wonder if some of their actions made them just as bad as their enemy. The most notable being their experiments with a virus that could change the Wraith's DNA, turning them into humans. Sounds kinda silly in print, but trust me the storyline is quite intense and thought-provoking.

This general level of intensity and terrific writing continued to be present throughout every subsequent season, which brings me to the DVD release of the 5th, and sadly final, season of the series. As if I wasn’t miffed enough at the Sci Fi channel for cancelling “SG-1” after ten seasons, I am doubly ticked off that they opted to cancel “Stargate: Atlantis” after only five. There were no signs that the series was slowing down, and watching this 5th season only proved that point. Every episode was a winner, but nonetheless some idiot in a suit decided it just wasn’t in the cards. Thank goodness these guys in charge only last a year or two themselves, never realizing that they too are a dime a dozen. The bright side is that there are plans to make some follow-up films which I hope come to fruition as they did for “SG-1.”

I mentioned that all of the episodes are standouts in the 5th season, but if I had to pick a couple it would have to be the final two. “Vegas” gives us a story within an alternate timeline, where the cast is given an opportunity to play their same roles, but in a somewhat different light. The style of the episode from start to finish looks more like “CSI” that “Stargate” and that only adds to the entertainment value. But what I found especially interesting was it was hinted at that the actions of a single Wraith were to have far-reaching effects on multiple timelines and dimensions. This point was driven home in the final episode “Enemy at the Gate,” which finally brought the Wraith to Earth. This was an excellent ‘final episode’, though it did serve to leave us wanting more.

This 5th Season DVD set, like all in the “Stargate” universe, is full of extra features from audio commentaries on almost every episode to featurettes on costume design and a bit of behind the scenes on most of the episodes. There are literally hours and hours worth of features.

I’m still reeling from the news that “Stargate: Atlantis” has been cancelled, but life will go on. There is going to be a new series starting up, “Stargate: Universe”, which I’m hoping will fill the void with new characters and stories, but the old will still certainly be missed.

Episodes:
Search and Rescue
The Seed
Broken Ties
The Daedalus Variations
Ghost in the Machine
The Shrine
Whispers
The Queen
Tracker
First Contact
The Lost Tribe
Outsiders
Inquisition
The Prodigal
Remanants
Brain Storm
Infection
Identity
Vegas
Enemy at the Gate

Starring: Joe Flannigan, Rachel Luttrell, David Hewlett, Jason Momoa, Jewel Staite
Extras: Audio Commentaries on Select Episodes, All New Mission Directive Featurettes, Photo Galleries,
Specifications: Widescreen (1.78:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: MGM
Release Date: 6/30/2009
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
http://www.mgm.com

We'll give Stargate Atlantis: Season 5 an A.